Deus in Machina (a Warhammer 40K-setting inspired LitRPG)

The blaster barrel inched deeper into the chamber, its muzzle catching the faint red glow like the malicious glint in a raker's eye.

Angar hugged the wall with his blood-slick maul clenched tight in his fists. A second barrel nudged through the doorway beside the first.

A soldier stepped in, his helmet twisting too late to spot the threat. Angar swung hard, the chert head of his maul slicing through the air with a vicious roar. It smashed into the soldier's chest plate, crumpling metal with a grotesque crunch as splintered ribs gave way. The man hurtled backward, crashing into the soldiers clustered behind him.

Shouts ripped through the air as more soldiers charged in, their weapons blazing. Rounds hammered the stone where Angar had just been, blasting chips outward like shrapnel.

He dropped low, rolling despite the sharp stab of pain from the wound in his side, and sprang up behind the closest enemy. His maul swept wide, slamming into the soldier's jaw. The head jerked back with a meaty pop, and the lifeless body crumpled to the floor.

Three blasters pivoted toward him, their deafening blasts echoing in the confined space. One shot grazed his armored shoulder, shrieking off in a spray of sparks, another broke through and tore into his thigh, sending hot blood spilling fast.

Even through the pain, he marveled at the sheer force of these firearms, their deadly relentlessness.

Roaring against the agony, before more shots could tear into him, he triggered Ground Current. Electricity coiled around him, and he surged forward, a streak of fury materializing in the soldiers' midst. Lightning bolts lashed out, charring armor, forking, bouncing between them.

The group convulsed, their blasters slipping from their hands as their scorched remains collapsed.

One soldier lingered, dazed and stumbling. Angar's maul crashed down, splitting the helmet with a sickening crack. A second blow finished it, pulping what remained in a spray of blood.

A handful of soldiers lurked nearby, crouched in the hallway beyond. The rest were either still far down the hall or drowned out by the ringing in his ears. He caught the hum of lifts in the distance of more enemies arriving.

Cautious, he pressed himself near the door, puzzled why the nearby soldiers held back. Then he heard a metallic clank as a little ball bounced across the floor, followed by another, then a third.

A gut-deep dread bloomed, a sense of foreboding that flared powerfully through him, and he dove into the hall as he spun into Tempest.

Behind him, the room detonated, the blast hurling him hard against the hallway's far wall, but his spin continued.

At both ends of the hall there were some Knights. There were a lot more soldiers, and they were all hunkered behind light-blocks, smaller cousins of the barriers Dragon Company employed with Holy Fortification. The very moment Angar appeared, they unleashed a relentless storm of blaster fire.

Even with his 90% damage reduction, the barrage overwhelmed him. He was taking too many injuries, forcing him to spin back into the shattered room.

The three nearby soldiers had slipped inside too, seeking safety from Tempest and the blaster fire. Tempest made short work of them, his whirling maul cutting them down in a bloody blur. He ended the Ability with three seconds left to go.

He believed his damage mitigation had applied to his armor, because it was banged up horribly, but very few rounds had penetrated it.

But his head throbbed with three hits taken. One hit his cheek, another hit the back right of his head where neck met skull, and the last got him above his right ear, all bleeding freely and hurting terribly.

Other injuries gnawed at him, but these were the ones he worried most about. Dizziness crept in as his vision wavered.

On the flight to Zanaya, Spirit had explained Holy Fortification to him. She'd said most Lay fighters favored Classes with a similar Ability. The Milites Class had Defensive Fortification, and there was a popular Lay version of Lock and Load for the Lord called Get Some, though he couldn't recall which Class offered it.

He knew Defensive Fortification had a longer cooldown than its Holy version. He doubted those soldiers would abandon their light-blocks until that Ability was off cooldown.

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He rummaged through the corpses for medkits. The one in the room with Mithas had some usable items left, but none of the critical items he really needed.

On the sixth body he searched, he found a kit strapped to a belt. As he tugged it free, two drones zipped into the room, sending beams searing toward him. Ground Current flared, frying them into sparking husks.

A voice bellowed from the hall, "You're trapped! You have nowhere to go! Surrender!"

Angar ignored it, limping to the adjacent room with Mithas' corpse. He patched his head wounds as best he could, then shed his armor to tend the rest.

He took a stimulant, then rummaged through the old medkit to take the other. The double dose hit fast and hard. Too hard.

Regret gnawed at him, but he'd been in agony, his mind fogged, teetering on collapse. Now his thoughts raced, and he became jittery, but he received a surge of energy too, and it dulled his pain to a steady throb.

He hauled his battered armor back on quickly as he almost had enough charges to cast Glory Thunders and didn't want to lose them.

He now completely understood why everyone used firearms. He really needed to ensure he stopped taking hits from them.

He wondered if he should grab a blaster and try using, quickly dismissed the idea. Now was not the time to figure out these new weapons. His way to victory was Ground Current and Tempest.

He smashed the small mirror in the wall, hoping for a hidden route to flank his foes, but it only concealed some machine. He noticed he forgot his gauntlets and cursed. He didn't have time. He needed to rush or his Thunder charges would fade away.

As he neared the door, it flew open, and more exploding balls clinked across the floor. As the door began to swing shut, he used Ground Current to lunge toward the entry room's center.

Seven foes were in a tightly-grouped pack containing three soldiers, two drones, and two Knights clad in armor marked with the Eyes of Providence's triad. One Knight wore a cape and gripped a blaster in his hands, the other held a pistol and shield.

Lightning flared, killing two soldiers and both drones, stunning the Knights. Angar spun into Tempest, his maul a sanctified storm thudding into the pair and the last soldier.

A maul strike shattered the lone soldier's armor, breaking the bones beneath, then Thunderstorm's lightning forked and bounced between the Knights as the stun ended.

The caped Knight dove away, out of range of the spinning attack. Angar whirled toward the pistol Knight, who still seemed dazed, moving around him to the other side, using him as a shield as the caped Knight rolled to his knees and aimed his blaster.

The maul bounced off the Knight's armor uselessly, so Angar adjusted, knocking the pistol from the stunned Knight's grip with his next spin.

A moment later, the Knight recovered, roaring as he lunged with his shield raised, battering Angar, shoving him back. The maul clanged off the shield, just as ineffective as against the armor.

Now basically pinned against the wall, Angar spun, lightning crackling from his weapon as it clanging against both the wall and the Knight's shield with every spin.

The caped Knight shouted, "Move, Charitut!"

Charitut didn't budge. Lightning tore into him as he battered Angar with his shield over and over, but Angar's armor and damage mitigation shrugged off the blows.

At six seconds, the lightning faded, and after two more spins, Tempest ended.

Charitut, his armor smoking, swung his shield feebly. Angar hit him with Glory Thunders. He only flew a couple feet backwards, and, somehow, he kept on his feet, his shield up still.

The caped Knight was sent tumbling, but after rolling a few times, was back on his knees, pointing his blaster.

Angar dropped his maul, lunged, seized Charitut's shield with both hands, and tore it away, slamming his body into the Knight, then cracking the shield's edge on the Knight's helm as he fell.

Charitut crashed down. And lay unmoving.

Both Angar and the caped Knight froze, surprised Charitut was down, and more surprised he wasn't getting up, but the caped Knight snapped out of it, and, while still kneeling, fired his auto-blaster.

Angar ducked behind the shield, holding firm as a few rounds punched through, tearing into his flesh. Blood flowed, but he charged, shield up, ramming into the Knight.

But the Knight had stood and braced himself, ready for it. He held his ground and kept his feet, but the blaster was pinned between the shield and his armor.

Angar dropped the shield, grabbing at the weapon with bloodied limbs. They wrestled for long and tense seconds until Angar twisted it free, then swung it, smashing it into the Knight's helm.

Using the blaster like a club, he battered the Knight with two more blows before sweeping his legs out, continuing to pummel him until the weapon cracked, hissed, and something on it exploded, tearing the weapon from his hands to clatter off a wall.

As Angar went to stomp, the Knight kicked out at his shin, knocking his leg out, and causing him to trip and fall.

Both warriors clamored to stand, and they stood facing each other, squaring off.

The Knight's armor gleamed, and the triad emblem stood out starkly against the rune-adorned metal. The helm hid the face, but Angar felt the challenge crackling between them, daring him, asking if he had the guts to go toe to toe unarmed.

The Knight lunged first with an armored fist rocketing toward Angar's head. Angar sidestepped and the blow whistled past his ear as he threw a quick jab to the Knight's chest.

His fist thudded against the unyielding plate, making his knuckles throb, but a muffled grunt from within told him the man felt it. The armor wouldn't dent, but it seemed a good hit could shake the dog inside.

Angar danced back, dodging a swinging backhand, blocking a kick with his forearm. He knew the armored blows would hurt, but they caused nowhere near the pain and damage of a blaster shot. Still, as always, his plan was to not get hit at all.

That was the plan, but that was impossible. He was far too injured to move well enough for that, and this Knight was as fast as he was.

As Angar threw an uppercut, he heard new lifts delivering more opponents to join those already choking the ends of the hallway.