Jeff signalled for the volunteers of the Heavenly Christian Army to advance onto the battlefield.? ? The best of those trained by Nallit had been drafted to face the Demon Choker.? ? The payment rendered in exchange for their service was a literal army of attuned warriors for the church:? ? all those who weren't good enough to be one of the hundred sent to face the devil's chosen one.? ? Their count of a hundred included seven full paragons, nineteen ignited aeronauts, twenty-two ignited brutes, with the remaining fifty-two being ignited kinetics.? ? On paper, they should be more than a match for a single full paragon.? ? But if Nallit couldn't defeat this man, then they might not be as overpowered of a force as it seemed.
They had practiced their opening maneuver hundreds of times against Nallit.? ? They called it the Holy Swarm.? ? Englobe the opponent, have the lessers -- kinetics and brutes and aeronauts -- sting with their coronas, creating a chaotic mess.? ? When Jeff, as their commander, gave the command, the lessers would stop their assault to allow the attacks of the seven full paragons to land.? ? The opening maneuver was a dust cloud hiding artillery launches.? ? The Demon Choker would be ripped to pieces in under a second.? ? The full paragons had drilled their part relentlessly, coordinating their coronal assaults to create the greatest shearing forces possible with machine-like precision.? ? Any one of them should be approximately equal in strength to their target.? ? Nallit estimated that Jeff was actually stronger, though the difference would be miniscule compared to the immense gap between a full paragon and anyone else.
The man flew in low and landed in the center of the battlefield.? ? He tucked his chin and faced them looking up from beneath his heavy caveman brow, massive shoulders creating a gorilla-like silhouette Jeff would have crossed the street to avoid before his rebirth as a holy warrior.? ? The Heavenly Christian Army flowed forward in the pattern trained into them through long hours.? ? About half of their host went left, about half went right, and a few went overhead.? ? They would stop at pre-arranged spots to complete their englobement.? ? If the man tried to fly upwards, they were ready to follow to form a true englobement.? ? If the man were to attempt to back away, they would pursue until he left the bounds of the invisible cage and Nallit would kill a hostage before restarting the battle.
The Demon Choker watched them come forward with no reaction.? ? The front ranks split and began to sweep around his sides.? ? And crashed to the ground.
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At least a dozen of their number hit the dirt hard enough to leave impact craters.? ? Jeff did not expect them to rise again.? ? They had drilled for this kind of eventuality, though.? ? "Alternate attack!"? ? His command was echoed by those around him, spreading until everyone had repeated the change of tactic.? ? Englobing with their weaker members wasn't possible, so they would instead form a wall and drive at him.? ? Hopefully he would take wounds and die quickly, but if not, the loss of a hostage should unsettle him enough for them to . . . .
Another swath of Jeff's army were swatted from the sky.? ? Someone behind him asked the question on everyone's mind.? ? "How strong is this Demon Choker?"
"Attack!? ? All out!? ? Kill him!"? ? Jeff's command relinquished his role as the tactical leader, turning his army into berserkers whose only order was to unceasingly attack with no concern for their own lives.? ? God would welcome them into heaven as martyrs if they fell here today.
Jeff obeyed his own command by lashing out with his weighty corona, striking forward to . . . have his talent fail him completely.
Back in the eleventh grade, Jeff had tried to bully a kid who had just moved into town.? ? It had started off as verbal put-downs of someone who didn't have the right accent.? ? Then the kid had run his mouth back.? ? Jeff recalled the entire incident as if it was yesterday.? ? The fast-talking city boy had said something about Jeff's mother being a whore and Jeff had wound up his fist on reflex.? ? He threw the hardest punch he could right at the kid's chin.? ? Unfortunately for Jeff, the kid's chin hadn't stayed in place.? ? It moved just a few inches.? ? Jeff's punch missed by those few inches.? ? The kid's counterpunch didn't miss.? ? It put Jeff on the ground hard, his bell rung hard enough that he couldn't get his balance for several minutes.? ? He had avoided the kid after that.
The Demon Choker had done something that sparked that memory, somehow evading and countering Jeff's corona with a finesse that had nothing to do with pure strength.? ? Around them, more of the lessers fell.? ? Only one or two of them died at a time, but the army still bled lives while its opponent stood impervious.? ? Every attack Jeff launched slipped out of phase.? ? He found one of the other full paragons and moved to stand beside him.? ? "Let's hit him one after the other!"
The man attacked, Jeff felt his corona fade out, then launched his own attack.? ? The Demon Choker collapsed to all fours as the massive swipe smashed into him from above.
Every man in the Heavenly Christian Army drove in, sensing blood in the water.? ? At least fifty of their host remained and each of them lashed out with kinetic attacks.
