CHAPTER XVIII: CHARGE
Our carefully built defenses were crumbling before you. My minions desperately tried to devise plans to stop one marine who single–handedly defeated the demonic hordes. Essential resources were redirected because of you. I had to think of something to solve the problem but even I had started to suspect that it was already decided who would win... I had to strengthen the city's defenses at all costs, but I lacked the necessary number of underlings to fulfill the plans that the Council of the Thirteen had laid down together. The city's pillaged warehouses did not provide as much resources as we had expected and our troops at the star port could not reach the humans that were trapped there. To top it all, Lord Baphomet decided that I should go back to Inferno and assess the damage.
The brimstone–imbued air of Hell always made me feel better. As I stood on a high plateau, I took a deep breath and looked down upon Inferno. Ominous columns of smoke rose from the damaged buildings below. Above my head, still hovering silently, was Deimos – dead and forsaken. The Hell Keep, the Pandemonium, the House of Pain – they were damaged and demons went through holes in the walls, carrying heavily injured survivors that were to be questioned. Far in the distance, I beheld the smoking towers of the Unholy Cathedral. Pain and anger were boiling inside me as I watched the ruin of what I had built. I decided to go there and check it up close, hoping that my wrath may give me the strength to destroy you.
The outer wall, ornamented with runes of destruction was ruined – a large hole indicated the point you have used your rockets to penetrate the walls and enter the Cathedral itself. I walked through several rooms – their floors covered with the corpses of demons of several kinds. I walked in silence and witnessed ravaged reliquaries, devastated libraries, destroyed cursed idols and other evidence that a fierce fight had taken place as the cathedral defenders struggled to stop you. In the central yard, I stopped and examined the five towers. The top of one of them was missing. The others were relatively untouched and I decided to visit the western tower.
I went up, familiar places and images appearing before my eyes. I reached a room that was not damaged at all – it contained images on the walls and sculptures. I thought that I had never looked at them before... There were images of epic battles, many of which were unknown to me. Lord Baphomet was on those images – crushing unknown races, conquering unknown worlds, claiming unknown artifacts of great power. Next came a gilded image of Baphomet performing a dark ritual – his arms high in the sky, with powerful bolts of arcane energy swirling and tearing the very fabric of reality. Below him were thirteen little figures that were spawned into existence – each of them had a runic sign on it. I stared at one of the figures – the one marked with the rune, which I recognized as my own name. The scene represented my birth. Other images of battles and rituals filled the dusty hall. I stopped for a moment when I saw the largest of those pictures on the walls – the one that depicted a panoramic view of Hell in its full glory. In one of the picture's corners was a small obscure building. A tower made of iron.
The Iron Tower – the place of palpable fear that attracted me. I remembered that I had promised to visit it one day and uncover its secrets. I had seen maps of Hell, and the location of that tower was never indicated in any way, as if it did not exist. One of the sculptures caught my attention – it was a small marble model of the Temple of Darkness. I smiled – the dark priests and necromancers had noted an achievement of mine. I wanted to spend more time in that hall but I had to check on Dis. And I knew what I would see even before I went there.
A few Cyberdemons had gathered in Dis, looking at the ruined towers and the corpse of the Master Spider – my reincarnated ancient servant. I still could not believe that he – the one who was selected among many faithful – had fallen before a desperate human that was not considered a good warrior by his brethren, who had left him to guard the landing pod on Phobos. Ironically, that saved you – I am sure that you would have perished in the chaos that ensued when your brethren were suddenly ambushed in one of the tight corridors of the Phobos colony. I wondered if Gatekeepers could travel in time... impossible, but if only I could do it, I would simply go back to the first moments of the invasion and blow up that landing pod while you were still inside, or even while it was landing. The thought of this was so sweet that I found myself standing in one place and smiling, under the surprised gazes of the Cyberdemons. They were really angry after the loss of their Warlord and only the necessity to use their strength to work on the recovery of Inferno prevented them from going to Earth, where they undoubtedly would have try to find you and tear you into pieces...
I returned to Earth prepared for bad news. I was right. It took my servants some time to gather enough courage to tell me about your newest "achievements". The group of facilities that we had conquered outside the city area had fallen. The Spider that ruled one of our important headquarters was defeated in a terrible battle that left you slightly injured. My minions tried to find you while you were weakened and destroy you... but you had hidden somewhere. I could not use my observation orb to find you as some recent incursions by surviving marines had forced my troops to deploy their potent warlock spells and the areas to the west of the city were now charged with residual energies that interfered with my observation spell. Yet my scouts informed me that there were indications that you had found some marine survivors – including the last members of the unfortunate platoon that was deceived by my "Major Boyd" illusion. I was sure you, humans, were plotting together.
The fall of the Spider in the western hills had created much chaos among my troops. I had to appoint another Spider to control the troops that were responsible for the city's defenses. I did not have time to organize the distribution of the forces, so I decided to send that Mastermind to one of the industrial facilities near the star port – a factory that had some kind of enormous crusher. While he coordinated the efforts of the city defenders, I took charge of the demonic forces within the city itself. Many of the facilities and devices that I had ordered to be built were almost ready. The defenses were particularly important now as I was sure you and your new friends would attempt something that would cause trouble but also provide a good opportunity for me to destroy you.
I could not order my minions to search for you and your fellows – I did not have enough troops, as most of Hell's army was currently focused on wiping out the last remnants of human resistance throughout the planet. Besides, I had decided to keep most of my servants within the city. I did not expect that you would take decisive actions against me soon. I should admit that I was mistaken... and I definitely did not expect what was going to happen.
A sudden flash on one of the still functional monitors around me indicated that a disturbance had occurred somewhere within the vast fields to the west of the city. Surprised, I looked at the dim images of smoke and explosions. A battle! I quickly summoned and carefully adjusted two observation spheres. I did not at all like what I saw in them – you and an enormous group of marines, as well as civilians with assorted weapons, were charging towards the city, shouting and shooting dead some of my Former humans that kept watch over the valleys. Together, you looked like a formidable strike force and I knew that I had to deal with you seriously, without underestimating for a second the humble abilities that you, humans, possessed. My strategy required that I knew perfectly where you were trying to go. I drew a large magical scheme of the battlefield – a small red light indicated where your group of desperate human "soldiers" was. I looked more carefully and checked where your possible destination was. I gasped in surprise and terror. You were going straight to a point where my defenses were not completed, or more precisely – not even begun construction. There was no way to stop you.
I don't remember very well the following hour. I shouted orders at my servants. I connected with my troops on the battlefield and ordered them to move quickly and close the gap that was so foolishly allowed. My group of Arachnotrons was near the place your group was and I put my hopes into them – in a group fight you might as well fall and be removed from my path forever. Two Cyberdemons in the nearby hills were another option – if only they could assume position to launch their missiles in time. There were a few small groups of Hell Knights and Cacodemons, though I doubted they would be any good. I breathed deeply, trying to calm down and analyze the situation. Your group was quickly approaching from the west; some of my troops could intercept you, coming from the south and the north. I had the opportunity for two attacks upon your group. I checked my map and felt relief when I saw that there were no other human forces in the area. I could not count the minutes – the shining points on the map were running for one determined point, as a bigger red light moved towards the outer facilities of star port. The first fight broke out on time – a group of Hell Knights intercepted your group but only succeeded in killing a few of you – your brethren were really inspired to fight.
The Arachnotrons assumed positions around the remains of some destroyed trees. "Fire at will" was what I told them before contacting my forces within the star port. They reacted quickly and made sure the way to the Great Switch was blocked. Many facilities were shut down so that the maintenance tunnels and access shafts were blocked off. If one of the humans would reach the star port, he would have to go through the whole complex, looking for the chamber of the Switch. In the best case, none of you would reach the compound. I leaned back in my throne and prepared to watch the show. The first of your troops came out on the small hill. He looked around and decided that it was safe. He turned around to wave to the others... but he never finished the move. Bolts of plasma erupted from many directions and he was fried. The others quickly retreated terrified by the stomp of metallic legs that drew closer. Most of them carried only pathetic pistols and weak one–barreled shotguns. Before they could decide what to do, my minions had climbed the hill and unleashed another volley of plasma that claimed another four victims.
A rocket flew through the air but missed. It came from the back of the column – it was easy to assume that you were there. All humans took cover and gave back a few shots that merely scratched the armor of the cybernetic spiders. I smiled – the events had turned out in a way I liked. My troops slowly moved forward. I could hear the terrified voices of the hidden humans that trembled in fear as the sound of the deadly hydraulic mechanisms came closer. I could literally feel their fear – the feeling was the same as the feeling of satisfaction from a tasty meal, or a keg full of human blood after an exhausting battle, or standing quiet before the glorious falls of fire close to the Unholy Cathedral. The moment was so good that its interruption was rather unpleasant. Apparently, you had brought several rocket launchers and plasma guns with you. And your comrades had gathered many boxes of ammo and energy cells. Your retaliation destroyed one of spiders. I shouted to my servants and demanded that they finish their work quickly and leave no one alive. Driven by a hellish frenzy, the Arachnotrons moved forward, spraying deadly plasma in all directions. I guess you remember well as all of you rose at once and opened fire with the chainguns and plasma rifles that you had been hiding until now. Smoke and flames hid the scene from my eyes as shots were fired in all directions. A few minutes later I saw what had happened. More than two thirds of the human troops were dead and almost all of their equipment was destroyed – that was a fortune development. What spoiled my happiness was the fact that all Arachnotrons were destroyed and you were still alive. In my anger, I grabbed the imp that stood near me and tore him into two halves. The other servants looked terrified but did not say a thing.
Later that day, the human survivors finished burying their fallen comrades and moved further towards the star port. I had already overcome my wrath and prepared one final ambush for you. They never saw the two Cyberdemons that were waiting in ambush among a few damaged cargo vehicles. I was quite annoyed after my spiders' defeat and ordered the Cyberdemons to purge the area when you appeared. The rain of rockets was something you did not expect. Powerful explosion shook the ground. The Cyberdemons unleashed their whole load of missiles and retreated back into the star port. The result of that violent attack was the picture of many crushed bodies that covered the burned ground. I laughed – the threat was finally destroyed and...
One man walked slowly towards one of the entrances of the star port. I recognized his uniform – your uniform! I felt helpless. To my credit, I succeeded in vanquishing all of your fellow troops but you had survived the two violent attacks. Armed with nothing more than a pistol, you sank into the shadows of the infested facility. All of my troops inside were alerted about the new situation.
The human army that had attacked the breach in our security was defeated. The man who caused so much trouble was still alive and seeking to find the chamber of the Switch and set his brethren free.
I leaned back in my throne again. For the first time in so many years, I felt the need to have a break...