NOVEL NEXT Chapter 437: Faction Rage
The establishment had gone dead silent, every patron frozen as they tried to process what they'd just witnessed. Portal technology existed, but it was restricted to military applications and certainly didn't involve purple energy that looked like it was eating reality.
Bruce felt the familiar sensation of recognition, his telepathic abilities picking up Noah's mental signature despite the months that had passed since their last encounter. "Noah Eclipse. You've certainly learned some new tricks or is this an old one?"
"Bruce Hilton. You've certainly learned how to clear a room." Noah stepped away from the dissipating portal energy, his casual demeanor doing nothing to reduce the tension. "Should I be concerned about the weapons pointed in our direction?"
The hunters were still frozen, their beast rifles half-raised but clearly uncertain whether they were dealing with a threat or something beyond their ability to handle.
"Stand down," Bruce said firmly, his telepathic abilities projecting calm authority into their minds. "This is EDF business. Return to your drinks and forget what you saw here."
The suggestion took hold immediately, the hunters lowering their weapons and returning to their table with the confused expressions of people who'd just lost several minutes of memory. The other patrons followed suit, their attention drifting away as Bruce's mental influence convinced them that nothing interesting was happening.
"Handy ability," Noah observed. "Mind if we grab a table?"
"After that entrance? I think we could use somewhere more private." Bruce gestured toward the exit. "My place is across the street."
---
The Starlight Motel had seen better decades, possibly better centuries. Its neon sign flickered with the irregular rhythm of failing electrical systems, casting intermittent red and blue shadows across a parking area that hosted more rust than functional vehicles. The building itself was three stories of weather-beaten concrete, its windows small and thick enough to stop projectiles but not noise.
Bruce's room was on the second floor, accessible via an external staircase that creaked ominously under their combined weight. The door was reinforced steel disguised as wood, while the walls were thick enough to provide actual privacy rather than the illusion of it.
The interior was spartan but clean—a single bed, a small table with two chairs, a kitchenette that looked functional if not sophisticated. A beast rifle leaned against the wall near the window, while tactical gear hung from hooks that suggested Bruce hadn't entirely embraced civilian life.
"Space has been good to you," Bruce said, settling into one of the chairs. "Last time I saw you, you looked like a nineteen-year-old soldier. Now you look twenty."
Noah took the other chair, noting how Bruce had positioned himself with clear sight lines to both the window and the door. "Probably all the hyperspace travel. Time dilation effects, you know how it is."
"How's the team? Lucas, Sophie, the others?"
"Doing well. Still together, still getting into more trouble than we can handle." Noah's expression grew more serious. "Speaking of which, how's civilian life treating you?"
Bruce was quiet for a moment, his attention drifting toward the window. "Fitting back in has been harder than expected. Three years inside alien minds leaves marks that don't fade easily. But I'm managing."
"The EDF didn't offer you counseling services?"
"They offered. I declined. Some experiences are better processed privately." Bruce turned back to Noah, his expression sharpening. "But I doubt you're here for a social visit. The EDF didn't send you, did they?"
Noah shook his head. "I've been MIA from the EDF for almost a month now. My team and I are handling a more personalized mission."
"MIA?" Bruce's voice carried warning. "Noah, if you mean desertion, that's serious trouble. The kind that follows you for the rest of your life."
"Not desertion. We have a problem that's on a similar scale to the Harbinger War. Something that required going outside official channels."
Bruce's telepathic abilities picked up the sincerity behind Noah's words, along with something else—stress, urgency, the mental signature of someone dealing with threats beyond normal parameters.
"The walls have ears," Bruce said finally. "And if we're discussing problems on that scale, we need proper privacy."
They were already in his room, the reinforced walls providing better security than most military installations. Bruce activated additional privacy screens, electronic devices that would defeat most surveillance systems.
"Alright," he said, settling back in his chair. "Tell me what's really going on."
Noah organized his thoughts, deciding how much background Bruce would need to understand the situation. "What do you know about human awakening? The process that gives people enhanced abilities?"
"Standard education covers the basics. Humans began manifesting enhanced abilities approximately a century ago, coinciding with the Harbinger visit and increased exposure to off-world beings and alien technologies."
"That's the public version," Noah said. "The reality is more complicated. There were humans who awakened over a thousand years ago, before recorded history. They became the foundation of what we now call the Seven Original Families."
Bruce's expression didn't change, but Noah could see understanding dawning. "The Greys. Lucas is from one of the original bloodlines."
"You know about them?"
"When you reach a certain level in the EDF, you gain access to classified information. The original families exist, they maintain significant political and economic power, and they work with the EDF when it serves their interests." Bruce paused. "They're also supposed to be bad news. Dangerous people with abilities that make normal enhanced humans look like children."
"Lucas and Lucy aren't bad news," Noah said. "But the families do have problems. There were originally eight families, not seven. The Eighth Ancestor has been operating from the shadows for centuries, collecting family heads as part of some larger plan."
Noah spent the next twenty minutes explaining the situation—the kidnapping of King Damien Grey and Vex Marduk, the investigation that had revealed the scope of the Eighth's organization, the recent battle on Oregun where they'd captured a single elite operative.
When he finished, Bruce was quiet for several minutes, processing the implications.
"I know about this," he said finally. "Not the specifics, but the general situation. When you reach SS-rank clearance, you learn certain things about humanity's real history."
"Such as?"
"The original families aren't just politically powerful—they're the reason humanity survived first contact with alien civilizations. Their abilities and resources prevented early exploration missions from being wiped out entirely." Bruce's expression grew troubled. "But they're also the reason the EDF maintains strict boundaries about certain operations. We don't interfere in their internal affairs because the few times we tried, entire task forces disappeared."
"And now a group of military academy graduates is tackling threats on that level?"
"The optics don't look good," Bruce agreed. "But if you're asking for my help, I assume you have a specific reason."
Noah explained their current situation—the captured elite who refused to provide information, the need for telepathic extraction to locate the imprisoned family heads, the time pressure they faced.
"One telepath session, extract what we need, get you back here for more bar fights within a few hours," Noah concluded. "No long-term commitment, no extended involvement in family politics."
Bruce considered the proposal, weighing the risks against his desire to help people who'd once rescued him from a situation he couldn't escape alone.
"The original families are weird," he said finally. "The EDF avoids their business for good reasons. But if I can help rescue kidnapped civilians and be back here by dinnertime, I don't see the harm."
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation.
Bruce stood, moving toward the entrance with the careful steps of someone who'd learned not to take unexpected visitors for granted. As he approached, he stopped abruptly, his enhanced senses detecting something that made his expression shift to immediate alert.
Under the door, shadows moved wrong. Not natural shadow patterns cast by people standing outside, but darkness that gathered and shifted with obvious intent. Multiple figures, positioned for tactical advantage rather than casual conversation.
"Room service," came a voice from the other side, too cheerful and carrying the kind of false note that made experienced soldiers reach for weapons.
Bruce caught Noah's attention, pointing toward the window while gesturing for silence. Noah understood immediately, void energy beginning to circulate around his form as he prepared for combat.
[VOID BLINK ACTIVATED]
Noah vanished from the room, reappearing in the corridor behind the assembled figures. There were six of them, dressed in civilian clothing but moving with military precision. He could see the infinity symbols emblazoned on their gear, along with slash markings that indicated enhanced operatives.
His hand closed around the nearest figure's throat before they could react.
[VOID BLINK ACTIVATED]
They disappeared together just as the remaining five burst through Bruce's door with weapons drawn and shadows coiling around their forms like living armor.
Bruce was already moving, his hand closing around the beast rifle he'd positioned near the window. The weapon was designed for Category 3 threats, its energy output sufficient to punch through reinforced armor or thick hide. Against human targets, even enhanced ones, it was devastating.
His first shot took the lead attacker center mass, the energy beam punching through shadow constructs and tactical gear to emerge from the figure's back in a spray of superheated blood. The man collapsed immediately, his shadow manipulation failing as his nervous system shut down.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[QUEST TRIGGERED: CLEAN HOUSE]
[OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE ALL HOSTILES WITHOUT TAKING DAMAGE]
[REWARD: MYSTERY BOX]
The remaining four shadow-wielders spread out through the room, their forms blurring as they used their abilities to move faster than normal human perception. One appeared behind Bruce, crystallized darkness forming a blade that drove toward his spine.
Bruce dropped to one knee, the shadow blade passing through the space where his head had been. His elbow drove backward into his attacker's solar plexus, his strength folding the figure in half. The beast rifle's stock came up in an uppercut that caught the man under the chin with enough force to snap his neck.
Two more attackers flanked him from opposite directions, their coordination suggesting significant training. Bruce rolled sideways, putting the room's small table between himself and one attacker while bringing the rifle to bear on the other.
The energy beam caught the second attacker in the shoulder, spinning him around and sending him crashing into the wall with his arm hanging at an impossible angle. Bruce's follow-up shot removed the man's head entirely, the energy beam vaporizing skull and brain in a burst of superheated steam.
The final attacker tried to bind Bruce with shadow constructs, darkness rising from the floor to wrap around his legs. Bruce's response was to trigger the beast rifle's overcharge function, releasing a concentrated pulse of energy that disrupted the shadow manipulation and left the attacker solid and vulnerable.
The rifle's next shot punched through the figure's chest, the beam emerging from his back to leave a hole large enough to see through. He looked down at the wound with surprise, then collapsed forward as his heart stopped beating.
Outside the motel, Noah was dealing with his own problems. The figure he'd extracted from the corridor was one of two three-slash elites, their abilities making them significantly more dangerous than the foot soldiers they'd encountered on Oregun.
[VOID BLINK ACTIVATED]
Noah appeared behind his opponent, void-enhanced fist driving toward the elite's spine. The figure twisted aside at the last moment, their shadow abilities allowing them to move faster than normal physics should permit.
A blade of crystallized darkness sliced toward Noah's throat. He leaned backward, the weapon missing by inches, then grabbed his attacker's wrist and used their momentum to throw them into the motel's exterior wall.
The elite hit hard enough to crack concrete, but recovered immediately, shadows coiling around their form as they prepared another assault. They gestured, and spikes of darkness erupted from every surface around Noah's position.
[VOID BARRAGE ACTIVATED]
Purple projectiles erupted from Noah's fingertips in rapid succession, each void bullet tearing through shadow constructs like they were made of smoke. The projectiles that missed his target punched holes in the motel's exterior walls, while the ones that connected sent his opponent staggering backward with void energy eating through their tactical gear.
The second elite appeared beside Noah without warning, their form stepping out of shadow with a blade aimed at his ribs. Noah caught their wrist, void energy meeting shadow manipulation in a contact that sent shockwaves through both combatants.
[ENTROPY TOUCH ACTIVATED]
Purple decay spread from Noah's grip, breaking down whatever enhancement allowed the elite's shadow abilities. The figure's eyes widened as their powers began to fail, leaving them solid and vulnerable.
Noah's knee drove upward into their solar plexus, his strength folding them in half. His follow-up punch caught them in the temple, the impact sending them flying across the parking area to crash into a rusted vehicle with enough force to cave in the door.
The first elite had recovered from his encounter with the wall, shadows gathering around his position as he prepared what looked like a massive assault. Darkness began to coalesce into solid constructs—spears, blades, and barriers that filled the air around Noah's position.
[VOID BLINK ACTIVATED]
Noah appeared directly in front of his opponent, inside the range where shadow constructs couldn't form without hitting their caster. His fist, wreathed in void energy, drove into the elite's chest with enough force to crater concrete.
The impact lifted the figure off his feet, void energy tearing through his tactical gear and the flesh beneath. He flew backward through the air, crashed through the motel's front window, and came to rest in the lobby with his chest showing a hole large enough to put a fist through.
The sound of approaching engines drew Noah's attention to the street, where three hovering vehicles were converging on the motel's position. Each transport carried additional figures with infinity symbols, their numbers suggesting this had been a much larger operation than the initial assault team.
[VOID BARRAGE ACTIVATED]
Purple projectiles streamed from Noah's position like machine gun fire, each void bullet punching through vehicle armor and the figures inside. The first transport exploded as void energy reached its fuel systems, the blast lighting up the street in brilliant orange and sending debris raining across several city blocks.
The second vehicle tried to evade, its pilot pulling into a steep climb that might have worked against conventional weapons. But void bullets didn't follow normal ballistic trajectories—they simply erased whatever they touched, regardless of distance or angle.
The transport came apart in mid-air, its occupants scattered across the street in pieces that steamed where void energy had touched them. The wreckage crashed into a nearby building, bringing down several floors in a cascade of concrete and twisted metal.
The third vehicle's pilot apparently decided discretion was the better part of valor, pulling into a tight turn that would take them away from Noah's position. But they'd underestimated his range.
[VOID BARRAGE ACTIVATED]
The sustained burst of void projectiles reached across the distance like a purple laser, cutting through the transport's rear section and severing its main engines. The vehicle fell from the sky like a stone, crashing into the street with enough force to leave a crater in the pavement.
[QUEST COMPLETE: CLEAN HOUSE]
[OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED: ALL HOSTILES ELIMINATED, NO DAMAGE TAKEN]
[REWARD: MYSTERY BOX ACQUIRED]
Noah dismissed the system notification, filing the mystery box away for later examination. Right now, they had more pressing concerns.
Bruce emerged from the motel, the beast rifle still smoking from recent use. His room was wrecked, furniture overturned and walls scarred from weapons fire, but he appeared uninjured.
"Well," he said, surveying the destruction that surrounded them, "I think my security deposit is forfeit."
Emergency sirens were beginning to sound in the distance, response teams converging on the scene of what would probably be classified as a terrorist attack. They had minutes before the area was swarming with authorities asking questions they couldn't answer.
"Time to go," Noah said, void energy beginning to gather around his form. "Ready for a trip to space?"
Bruce shouldered his rifle and moved to Noah's side. "After this? Space sounds peaceful."
[DOMAIN TRANSPORT ACTIVATED]
Purple energy erupted around both figures, reality folding as they vanished from Earth's surface just as the first emergency responders rounded the corner. They left behind a scene of destruction that would puzzle investigators for months, with weapon signatures that didn't match any known technology and damage patterns that defied conventional physics.
But by then, Noah and Bruce were already somewhere in the void, traveling toward a confrontation that would finally provide answers to questions that had been plaguing the seven families for generations.