Ch 27: Fragminis Caelum, the Fragments of Heaven

Stepping in to prevent a grudge match between Alexander and Xanth the demonfolk captain, Richter squares off against him instead, their freedom on the line.

            A look of great displeasure crossed Xanth’s face. Glaring at Richter, he said, “You think you stand a chance against the Son of Theraph? I don’t know who you are, but you should learn your place…” Placing a hand on Richter’s shoulder, Alexander said, “I’ll take him Richter. I get the feeling he and I have some things to work out here…” Turning his head to look at Alexander with a serious expression, Richter quietly said, “Alexander, as your friend I must insist you shut up and listen to me! I don’t know what’s going between you two, but I can tell he’s after you. I’ve seen what happens to you when faced with matters of your past! Do not let him goad you into this unnecessarily! We’re fighting for our freedom! This is no time for a grudge match!” After a moment’s pause, Alexander smiled reluctantly. As he turned and walked over to join the others, Alexander glanced back and met Xanth’s gaze, calling out, “You handle it then Richter. We’re all counting on you!” 

Xanth clenched his trident in rage, shouting after Alexander, “Coward!” Forming his pistol, a crystal pistol to compliment it, and three crystal walls, Richter faced Xanth and said, “You don’t know who I am you say? Then allow me to reintroduce myself…” His crystal walls started to orbit around him as he said, “I am Former Colonel Jack Richter, the Energist of Prisms!” A hint of fury in his tone, Xanth muttered, “If I have to destroy an insignificant being like you to face him, then so be it…” Raising a hand in the air, Xanth shouted, “Condense the barrier! I want no interference!” The barrier formed again, this time sealing the way between the side of the field where Richter and Xanth stood and the side where the others were. The announcer, rather unsure if he should go ahead with this, nervously called out, “The next battle will be a one on one match with Xanth, the Captain of the Daemonholm Guard himself! Let the battle… begin!”

            Aiming his pistols, Richter unleashed a hail of crystal bullets, but spreading his wings, Xanth took off into the air, swerving to avoid his fire. Gathering EDE into his trident, Xanth fired a purple beam of plasma at Richter, but one of the crystal walls blocked it easily. Just as he was thinking the attack seemed weak, Richter watched the crystal wall that had blocked the attack disintegrate, and he thought, “That is one deadly energy attack…” Stopping in the air, Xanth called out, “You will meet the same fate against my Deathbeam if it strikes you! Just like my honored father before me, my affinity manifests as the ability to generate my own unique vapors and even ionize them into special plasma beams that can disintegrate matter! Surrender while you can, I have no interest in a lowly creature like you!” Willing the remaining crystal walls to hover parallel to the ground, Richter hopped one and rode it up into the air, the other seeming to vanish as Richter quietly said, “Refraction…” Taking aim with both pistols, Richter unleashed his Radiating Shot as he shouted, “I’ll teach you to look down on others!” 

Flying away from Richter’s hail of multicolored bullets, Xanth returned fire with more of his Deathbeams, but swerving through the air with amazing aerial maneuvers, Richter seemed untouchable. Reforming his crystal pistol into a crystal spear, as Richter pulled left to avoid another Deathbeam, he raced at Xanth. Raising his weapon, Xanth fired yet another Deathbeam at him as he drew close, but this time Richter did not avoid. Reappearing out of nowhere in front of Richter, the barrier that had vanished before blocked the plasma beam and disintegrated, and reaching his opponent Richter swung with his spear. Xanth managed to block with his trident, but continuing to will his crystal wall forward, Richter pushed him through the air and slammed him into the wall of the barrier around the battlefield. Xanth got the wind knocked out of him, and tumbled to the ground as Richter pulled away. Coughing as he struggled to get up, Xanth looked up as Richter lowered himself back down to hover above the ground and said, “It’s looking as though you may want to consider surrendering, Son of Theraph…” His rage building, Xanth stood and muttered, “Fool…” Raising his trident into air as he began to spin it rapidly, Xanth shouted, “If you insist on being destroyed, so be it!”

            Reforming his spear back into a crystal pistol, Richter took aim with arms crossed and said, “Haven’t learned your lesson, have you?” Quickly he opened fire with his Radiating Shot, unleashing a storm of prismatic bullets at Xanth, but moving his trident before him as he continued to spin it, Xanth shouted, “Dreadwind!” A mighty cyclone shot forth from the spinning trident, shooting across the field and scattering the bullets. Caught off guard, Richter reacted too late and the cyclone struck him, sweeping him off his crystal wall. It carried him across the battlefield, and he was slammed hard into the side of the barrier. Slumping against it, Richter muttered, “That was even more painful than it looked…” As Richter struggled to his feet and raised his pistols, Xanth raised his trident and said, “You and your dishonorable race infuriate me! Die!” Xanth unleashed his Deathbeam, and Richter quickly called his last crystal wall into its path. As the beam disintegrated it, Richter opened fire, shooting through the aftermath of the blast. Leaping aside, Xanth hurled his trident at Richter, who raised his pistols and tried to shoot it down. His bullets were deflected by a strong wind around the trident, and Richter realized it had been charged with a powerful attack and quickly ran for it. As the trident struck the ground, an explosion of powerful fire erupted around it, and Richter barely leaped to safety, rolling across the ground and coming out on one knee as smoke and cinders spewed everywhere. 

Coughing as he inhaled some ash, Richter thought, “He can use flammable gases to wield fire as well?!” Looking around for Xanth, Richter looked up and ducked aside just as the demonfolk captain dropped out of the air with a falling kick that smashed a crater in the ground. Richter turned to take aim, but quickly recovering his balance, Xanth turned and kicked him away with demonic strength. Dropping his crystal pistol as he bounced a short distance, Richter got to one knee again and raised his remaining pistol, opening fire again as Xanth rushed after him. Raising his arms up in defense, to Richter’s surprise Xanth simply rushed through his fire. Watching his bullets bouncing off Xanth, Richter thought, “What?! Since when is leather armor so resilient?!” Breaking through Richter’s onslaught of bullets, the demonfolk captain grabbed Richter by the arm and pulled him in close to slam his knee hard into Richter’s gut. Richter coughed blood and dropped his weapon as he took the strike, which Xanth had launched with all his demonic strength. Still holding Richter’s arm, Xanth whirled him around and tossed him across the battlefield to land sprawled on his back. Returning to his trident, Xanth pulled it from the ground and started walking towards Richter as he said, “You’ve had your chance. Pray for an honorable death…” Struggling to his feet, Richter held his hands up and formed small prismatic spheres between his fingers, quickly hurling them all at Xanth like grenades. The spheres exploded on impact, causing Xanth to be obscured from view by the prismatic light of multiple explosions, but stepping out of the aftermath unharmed, Xanth continued towards Richter as he said, “If that’s the best you can muster, this is over.” A look of determination in his eyes, Richter said, “It’s not over. I have things to do still…” Gathering a mass of EDE again, Richter shouted, “For the sake of the world we lived in, together as a family, I will help my friends to the very end in their struggle to protect that world! For the world of our memories together!”

            The mass of EDE split into three masses, one forming into a pair of silver, square rimmed glasses with crystal lenses, while the other two formed into a pair of twin barreled semi-automatic pistols, one silver and one black, the words “Fragminis Caelum” etched on their sides. Reaching up and adjusting his crystal glasses with his pinky finger a moment, Richter said, “Fragminis Caelum is it? Interesting name, it roughly translates as ‘Fragments of Heaven’ I believe. It’s fitting of my past, a fleeting moment of heaven with my family, shattered by Altera Veritas…” Narrowing his eyes, Xanth muttered, “You think I’ll pity you? My father was not the only victim of your kind…” Gathering demonic magic into his trident, a potent branch of arcane magic that demonfolk developed in ancient times, Xanth stabbed it into the ground and said, “Do you know what was here before Daemonholm was built? It was a grave site, a place where countless demonfolk were buried after a crushing defeat against humanity and their honorless automations! Why don’t I use a bit of old demonic magic to introduce you?!” 

Demonic magic shot from the trident into the ground, and it carved long scars in the ground in front of Xanth. Then, skeletal hands suddenly burst into the air from out of the ground. Rising from their graves, an army of demonic skeletons gathered themselves around Richter. With a smirk, Richter raised his new pistols and said, “There is no honor in revenge Xanth, only more suffering. I’ve learned now there are more important reasons to fight. That is why I won’t lose to you!” As the skeletons rushed at him one after another, Richter raised his twin barreled pistols and opened fire, cutting them down with round after round of crystal bullets. He did not even seem to have to aim as he pivoted his body and ducked strikes as though he had eyes in the back of his head. Knocking the head off one of the skeletons with a powerful swing using the barrel of one of his pistols, Richter riddled its body with bullets and turned to mow down the next. Downing another with a spinning kick, as two more came at him from both sides he raised a gun at each and destroyed them. The skeletons ranks began to thin, and clenching his trident angrily, Xanth muttered, “Fine. It seems if I want anything done right…” Shooting another skeleton in the face, Richter leaped over the remaining skeletons just as Xanth raised his trident and shot an orb of swirling gases into their midst as he shouted, “…I HAVE TO DO IT MYSELF!”

The ball of flammable gases exploding in a pillar of fire, Richter escaped the blast but went sailing from the force. Rolling across the ground, as he jumped back to his feet, Richter barely sidestepped as Xanth used a gust of wind to close the distance with a thrust of his trident. Ducking and dodging as Xanth swung his trident at him powerfully, Richter finally ducked under one of his horizontal swings and moved in, and jumping up with a powerful rising knee kick, he struck Xanth in the chin and popped him into the air. Thrusting the barrels of his pistols into Xanth’s chest while he was still in the air, Richter shouted, “Blast Fragment!” As Richter pulled the trigger, four massive prism colored blasts from his pistols sent Xanth crashing into the side of the barrier. Bouncing off it and landing on his hands and knees, Xanth coughed blood and muttered a curse Richter could not understand. As he stood Richter was surprised to see his attack had damaged Xanth’s leather armor greatly, yet Xanth himself only suffered minor burns. Casting aside his damaged leather chest plate, Xanth said, “Do not be so surprised. I am my Lord’s shield first and foremost!” Spinning his pistols in his hands, Richter said, “Is that why you’re going against his orders? Your loyalty seems rather circumstantial…” Invoking demonic magic, Xanth said, “I’ve had enough of you!” Smirking confidently, Richter replied, “Then why don’t we finish this?”

            Stabbing his trident into the ground, Xanth said, “Demonfire!” Three waves of demonic flame tore through the ground at Richter, but Richter leaped over them and high into the air. Pulling out his trident and aiming up, Xanth fired a Deathbeam as he shouted, “Fool! You’ve sealed your fate!” As the beam came at him, Richter flipped in the air and stopped as though he were touching against some invisible object, and quickly he pushed off and shot away, speeding past the beam down at Xanth with pistols out. As he opened fire with his Radiating Shot, Xanth jumped back and gathered EDE into his trident, preparing to attack. Yet once more Richter flipped in the air and pushed off against some unseen force, air jumping again and again as he bounced around Xanth shooting prismatic bullets. Taking round after round as he struggled to shoot Richter down with Deathbeams, Xanth thought, “This is absurd! I can’t hit him! Even my body cannot endure this!” Then after spinning in a corkscrew flip in the air, Richter fired another Blast Fragment at him, a shining prismatic bullet shooting from each of the four barrels of Fragminis Caelum, and Xanth disappeared in a blast of prismatic light. 

Jumping away, Richter came to a stop in the air as though he’d landed on solid ground and watched as the dust cleared. Then the dust blew away as, spinning his trident furiously, Xanth generated another cyclone of wind and shouted, “Just stop moving damn you!” Richter flipped a switch on the pistols of his Fragminis Caelum, and in a blur of shifting machinery they switched from their current configuration, designed for energy conservation, to the all out form of Fragminis Caelum, optimized for full attack power. Taking aim at the powerful windstorm coming at him, Richter said, “Safety deactivation complete. Begin charge.” The barrels of Fragminis Caelum glowed as great amounts of EDE gathered within. Just as the demonic wind was upon him, it struck against an invisible object, and as the wind struggled to break through the object became visible as it began to crack. It was a barrier formed of all the crystal walls that Richter had hidden using his Refraction ability, which had been the secret behind all his air jumping. Just as they shattered and the wind barreled through, Richter pulled the triggers as he said, “Charge complete! Cannon of Heaven!” From the barrels of Fragminis Caelum, multi-colored energies shot out and combined into a mighty beam of prismatic colored power, tearing through the wind instantly and continuing on at Xanth. Without time to move, Xanth was struck head on and was blown into the air as the beam exploded in a flash of blinding prismatic light. As he started to fall back to the ground, Xanth choked, “No… I am… the Son of Theraph, I… cannot lose… to such a lowly creature…” Landing hard, he laid there motionless for a moment. Then as Xanth struggled up onto one knee, he found Richter standing before him with one of his pistols aimed right into his face. Richter simply said, “Checkmate.”

            Suddenly the barrier around the field came down and the announcer called out, “By order of the Lord of the Demonfolk, this fight is over! The victor is Jack Richter, the Energist of Prisms!” Quickly standing and whirling around, Xanth shouted, “What is the meaning of thi-” Jumping down onto the field next to him, Loki shouted, “That’s enough out of you!” With a single punch, Loki knocked Xanth flat on his back. Lifting his head, Xanth groaned, “Loki… why?” A stern look in his eye, Loki replied, “You think I want to sit here and watch one of my oldest friends die?! I don’t Xanth, none of us do. Were it anyone else, I would question your loyalty after a stunt like this…” Angrily, Xanth muttered, “I would have questioned my loyalty to my father’s memory had I not! If he is truly Gabriel the Immortal…” Clutching his head in frustration, Loki muttered, “You fool! He was a great man, but as you well know it was your father’s mistake to join the Dark Crusade. As it was for my ancestor. They led our people to the brink of ruin Xanth, we’ve talked about this…” Resting his head back on the ground, Xanth stared up at the sky and said, “My father was taken from me, while yours merely passed on! You cannot possibly understand! Just take me to a cell. I’m done talking about this.” As the guards carried Xanth towards the gates, Grey and the others rushed over to Richter, and Grey exclaimed, “Nice Richter! How the hell did you do all that?!” Nodding in agreement, Mythra said, “Quite a show, I’m honestly impressed.” Grinning, Richter simply said, “It was all the glasses.” Amy giggled, but Alexander said, “He may not be joking. I noticed an increase in his already incredible accuracy and an almost godlike ability to anticipate his opponent’s movements the moment he donned those glasses.”

            As Mythra started to heal Richter’s injuries, Loki approached them all and said, “Angelorum Lux, allow me to welcome you to Daemonholm, and please allow me to express my humblest of apologies for this entire ordeal…” Still quite irritated by the whole thing, Grey heaved a sigh and replied, “Alright fine, I’ll let it slide. Seriously though, put a leash on that Xanth guy or something! He’s a total nut job!” Bowing his head, Loki said, “I’m terribly sorry for his behavior. He has been like an older brother to me since my childhood, and has supported me in my duties after my father’s passing. I think the stress of our current situation has gotten to him, lately he’s become quite withdrawn and irritable. Your arrival has opened old wounds as well it would seem…” Grey quickly exclaimed, “What old wounds?! Do you even listen to the things that come out of that guy’s mouth?! He talks about people like they’re dirt compared to him! That’s not stress! It’s called being an arrogant b*****d!” Placing a hand on Grey’s shoulder, Alexander said to him, “Grey, I agree with you in many ways, but the issue here is with the demonfolk’s culture, a part of their society born from conflict with the other races in the distant past. There are many like Xanth, raised to look down on others who are of different race or blood. I know it is something you feel you must correct, but there is little to be done for the moment. Besides, now is neither the time nor place. We came here for a reason.” 

As Grey looked away from him with a frustrated expression, Alexander stepped forward and said, “It’s an honor to meet you Lord Loki. This is not how I’d planned our meeting, but now that we’ve met there is something we came to discuss. Would you grant us an audience?” Bowing his head again, Loki said, “Gabriel the Immortal, whatever it is you wish to speak of, you will have my ear at the soonest of opportunities. I have much to ask as well, if you would, but there are matters I must attend to first. For now I would be glad to find you a few rooms for you to stay in at the citadel until I am available.” Nodding, Alexander said, “We’d be more than grateful if you could. We are meeting the rest of our comrades once we are done here, but considering we’re likely already late-” Interrupting, Mythra said, “Yeah… About that Alexander, there was a bit of a hiccup on our side. That Grave guy attacked us at the faire, and while Serius took a hit, it’s Scott who’s really in bad shape…” Grey turned to her in terror and said, “Bad shape?! He’ll be ok though, right?!” His heart sank as Mythra quietly said, “I really hope so…”