Chapter 74 Artifact Heist Attempt (Sam POV)
Chapter 74 Artifact Heist Attempt (Sam POV)
Raziel's team attacks us forty minutes after promising to cooperate, and I realize angels lie just as easily as demons when it serves their purposes.
"Down!" Kieran tackles me behind a concrete barrier as celestial fire erupts where I was standing. "Sam, they're not waiting for the corruption threshold! They're taking the artifact now!"
"Raziel promised..." I start, but another blast of holy energy cuts off my words.
"Angels don't keep promises to corrupted Nephilim!" Marcus returns fire with his weapon, though bullets do nothing against beings made of celestial light. "Sam, they've decided the artifact is more important than your cooperation! They're going to kill you and take it by force!"
I peer around the barrier. All six angels have manifested their true forms, no longer disguised as refugees but revealed as warriors wrapped in blinding radiance. Raziel stands at the center, his voice carrying harmonics that make my bones ache.
"Sam Drewsbury! Surrender the stolen artifact and your death will be swift! Resist and we'll make you suffer for every moment you've worn celestial property!"
"Swift death versus suffering death!" I shout back. "Those are terrible options!"
"They're your only options!" Raziel's team advances in coordinated formation. "The artifact was never meant for Nephilim hands! Sariel stole from the celestial armory to create her abominations! We're reclaiming what belongs to the angelic host!"
"The artifact is bonded to my genetics!" I touch the necklace, feeling it burn at eighty-six point eight percent. "Raziel, you can't remove it without killing me anyway! Why not let me use it to stop Asmodai first?"
"Because every moment you wear stolen celestial technology, you defile it further!" Raziel's voice carries righteous fury. "The artifact has been corrupted by three years of demonic influence through your bloodline! It must be purified! Reclaimed! Restored to its original holy purpose before the corruption becomes permanent!"
Another blast of celestial fire forces us to retreat. Kieran's knife glows with protective runes, but even blessed steel can't stand against angelic assault for long.
"Sam, we need to run!" Kieran pulls me toward an exit. "Forget the fragment! Forget the mission! If angels are attacking now, we've lost tactical advantage!"
"No!" I plant my feet. "Kieran, we can't let them take the artifact! Without it, I can't destroy the remaining fragments! Can't seal the gateway! Can't stop Asmodai!"
"You also can't stop Asmodai if you're dead from angelic execution!" Kieran's voice is desperate. "Sam, please! We retreat, regroup, find another way..."
"There is no other way!" I channel power through the artifact, golden light mixing with the angels' celestial fire. "Raziel! You want the artifact? Come take it! But I'm not surrendering without a fight!"
I release a burst of Nephilim energy toward the advancing angels. It's not an attack, I can't kill angels, they're too powerful, but it's a barrier. A wall of hybrid power that makes even celestial warriors pause.
"Impressive." Raziel's voice carries grudging respect. "The artifact has taught you to blend angelic and demonic abilities. That's...unfortunate. It means the corruption has progressed further than our initial assessment suggested."
"My corruption level hasn't changed!" I maintain the barrier, feeling it drain my energy rapidly. "I'm still at eighty-six point eight percent! Still below your execution threshold!"
"The threshold isn't just about percentage!" Raziel counters. "It's about capability! Sam Drewsbury, you just created a barrier using both angelic and demonic power simultaneously! That's not human behavior! That's not even corrupted Nephilim behavior! That's full bridge-walker manifestation!"
"So what?" I pour more power into the barrier. "Raziel, I'm using my abilities to defend myself from your attack! That's not corruption! That's survival!"
"It's proof that the artifact has unlocked your full potential!" Raziel's team repositions, flanking the barrier. "Sam, you don't understand what you've become! You're not just a corrupted Nephilim anymore! You're a fully activated bridge-walker capable of reshaping dimensional boundaries! Angels can't allow that kind of power to exist unchecked!"
"Then you should have let me complete the mission before attacking!" My barrier flickers, I'm running out of energy. "Raziel, I was cooperating! I agreed to your terms! Why betray that agreement?"
"Because orders changed." A new voice cuts through the chaos. "Higher celestial command decided the artifact's recovery takes priority over Seattle's salvation. I'm sorry, Sam. But you're about to die for carrying stolen property."
A seventh angel manifests behind Raziel's team. This one is different…older somehow, carrying authority that makes even Raziel step aside respectfully.
"Commander Uriel." Raziel bows slightly. "I wasn't informed you'd be joining this operation."
"Last-minute decision." Uriel studies me with eyes that see through flesh to soul. "The Nephilim has bonded too deeply with the artifact. Standard reclamation procedures won't work. We'll have to kill her first, then extract the artifact from her corpse before the bond dissolves."
"That's..." Raziel hesitates. "Commander, killing her before the gateway is sealed risks Seattle falling to demonic invasion. Shouldn't we at least let her complete tonight's ritual first?"
"Letting her complete the ritual means letting her cross the corruption threshold while wearing the artifact." Uriel's voice is cold logic. "By midnight, she'll be ninety percent corrupted with full bridge-walker abilities and stolen celestial technology. That's an existential threat to dimensional stability. Better to sacrifice Seattle than risk that outcome."
"You're willing to let millions die to recover one artifact?" I let my barrier drop, conserving energy for what comes next. "Uriel, that's not justice! That's just...bureaucratic enforcement!"
"It's triage." Uriel doesn't apologize. "Sam Drewsbury, one city's survival doesn't outweigh the risk of a fully corrupted Nephilim with celestial weapons. If you complete tonight's ritual, if you seal the gateway while wearing that artifact, you'll have proven you can manipulate dimensional barriers on a scale angels can't counter. You'll become too dangerous to eliminate. Better to kill you now while you're still weak enough to stop."
"She's not weak." A new voice...elderly, familiar, impossible. "And you're not killing my granddaughter without going through me first."
Lucinda Drewsbury steps out from behind a building, looking nothing like the compromised grandmother I left confined to the safe house. She's armed with weapons I've never seen, surrounded by an aura of power that makes my artifact feel like a toy in comparison.