Inside Blackthorn Security's main hall, Leonard, Miles, and Captain Dunn worked together to keep Megose calm.
None of them relaxed for even a second.
Leonard kept a hardened, grotesque blood vessel tucked inside his coat. A dangerous artifact capable of stealing a single ability from a nearby target. With the presence inside him guiding its activation, its effectiveness would be pushed to the limit.
Miles carried several high-grade solar charms made from a mutated holy emblem. Lethal, stable, and free of backlash.
In his hand, he also held the upgraded pacifier Rowan had given him, ready to activate it at any moment.
Captain Dunn did not retrieve the Saint's ashes.
He knew better.
The ashes would violently stimulate whatever existed inside Megose.
Worse, without the ashes anchoring Chanis Gate, the sealed vault itself could destabilize.
Instead, Dunn carried a thin strand of silvery hair. An artifact once used to restrain Old Neil.
If Megose lost control, Dunn would immobilize her first, then have Cohen retrieve the ashes.
They had prepared for the worst.
They were still too slow.
A shrill cry pierced the hall.
Not human.
Not infant.
Something in between.
The sound carried raw hatred and corruptive force.
Megose screamed.
Her hair fell away.
Her flesh twisted and reshaped.
In seconds, she became a monstrous figure wielding two pale bone blades.
Only her distended belly remained unchanged.
She did not attack them.
Instead, she looked up.
One slash erased the ceiling.
Miles, Leonard, and Dunn followed her gaze.
A flaming meteor was falling straight toward Blackthorn Security.
"Cohen! Get the Saint's ashes!" Dunn roared.
He raised the silvery strand, preparing to suppress Megose.
They could no longer wait for reinforcements.
Then Miles stepped in front of him.
"Captain, don't!"
Rowan's voice echoed in Miles's mind.
Let her deal with the meteor.
Dunn hesitated.
Then understood.
The meteor had triggered the thing inside Megose to awaken in self-defense.
Better to let it exhaust itself destroying the threat.
Megose shrieked again.
She leapt.
Bone blades crossed.
The meteor shattered into blazing fragments.
The impact ripped one of her arms apart.
Cohen returned at that moment, clutching the box containing the Saint's ashes.
He tossed it to Dunn and took the silvery strand.
"Now!"
Dunn opened the box.
Every drop of his spiritual power surged into it.
Cold, threadlike filaments exploded outward, wrapping around Megose.
Green flames.
Corrosive ichor.
None of it could damage the threads.
A roar shook the hall.
Invisible force smashed Dunn into the wall.
Blood sprayed.
He did not release the box.
Cohen flung the silvery strand, reinforcing the bindings.
Leonard activated the blood vessel artifact, stealing Megose's voice.
She could no longer chant.
Miles triggered both solar charms and the pacifier.
Blinding light.
Burning flame.
Megose's head disintegrated.
One remaining bone arm turned to ash.
Still, she did not fall.
Another cry.
Louder.
Her belly split open.
A black infant's arm pushed outward.
The god's offspring was forcing its way into the world.
The threads held.
Barely.
The creature had already burned enormous energy destroying the meteor and resisting multiple attacks.
More help was on the way.
The Storm Church's Punishers.
The Steam Church's Machine Hearts.
They would arrive with heavy sealing artifacts.
If nothing else changed, victory was inevitable.
Something changed.
A pale hand struck Dunn from behind.
He flew.
The box fell.
Control over the Saint's ashes vanished.
The threads disintegrated.
Only the silvery strand remained.
It was not enough.
The black infant tore free.
Just seeing it polluted the minds of Miles, Leonard, and Cohen.
"Captain!"
They attacked the figure who had ambushed Dunn.
Adrian Crowe.
Crowe ignored them.
He reached for the fallen box.
Once he had the Saint's ashes, he would leave.
The offspring's strength was currently limited.
Reinforcements would kill it.
The Night Watchers would be slaughtered first.
Civilians would die.
None of that mattered to him.
His fingers were inches from the box.
Warm light flooded the hall.
Pure.
Gentle.
Overwhelming.
A young man descended from above.
Twelve radiant pairs of wings unfolded behind him.
Holy.
Majestic.
Terrifying.
Rowan Mercer.
He had chosen his moment perfectly.