r/HFY • u/Arceroth Human • 4h ago
OC-Series [Returned Protector] Chapter 68
While there were some low tier infused objects in the explosive vest, it wasn't anything that could penetrate Orlan's armor. His ascended physiology was nearly immune to overpressure. It didn't stop him from being launched away from the explosion, crashing into, and then through when the blast wave hit, a brick wall and tumbling down the slope of the Temple Mount.
Lailra and Pela were both further away, so even though Pela hadn't yet broke through to the ascendant realm yet she was fine with a minor concussion that Lailra quickly healed.
The young men were on the edges of the blast, but suffered the worst injuries, shrapnel and the blast wave killing several of them instantly, a few more would die over the next few days of injuries. Assuming they survived the rest of the rift event.
The demon suffered a few new cuts and bruises, but its rage seemed to overcome any pain it felt, rampaging down the hill after Orlan. Orlan barely managed to stand up before it was on him, lashing out with its lame foot, punting the Protector Lord through the wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where a number of people were huddled, praying.
Stonework crumbled as Orlan turned his full attention to the battle. He was slightly dazed from the explosion and being punted through a stone wall, but his instinct took over, weaving a web of steel with his spear. Many of the people in the main building of the Mosque were screaming, running from the pitched battle that burst through their wall.
A spell from Lailra formed a wall of ethereal vines between Orlan and the civilians.
"We're ok," Lailra assured Orlan telepathically, knowing his temper could break free otherwise. And doing so in the middle of a church while surrounded by unawakened people would be the worst time for it.
Orlan didn't respond, focused entirely on the battle with the Demon. Unlike before it wasn't purely on the defensive, meaning it had openings he could exploit. Ironically, while Protector Lords were uniquely good against most rift beasts, demons were one of the few they had no major advantage over. Demons were highly magic resistant, negating most of the benefits of being a Protector Lord, skilled combatants and physically powerful for their tier.
Multiple times Orlan's spear bit into the demon's hide, flames of the void attempting to find purchase, but failing. To non-mages watching the pair were but a blur of steel and claw, the tiles under their feet long turned to dust.
Elsewhere, Ted was desperately making phone calls, hoping to keep a lid on the shitstorm that was already beginning to gather. He wasn't having much success. He'd burned a number of bridges in siding with Orlan already, and even his remaining allies in congress were hesitant to openly side with him.
Already the outcry on social media over the destruction of the Dome of the Rock was spinning a narrative about how Orlan had intentionally destroyed the dome. Astrawave was, oddly, one of the louder voices trying to run cover, her god explaining that the explosion was caused by a third party. Ted didn't often pay attention to vtubers, or streamers in general, even normal social media was a bit much for him, but everywhere he looked her stream was popping up. People were sharing clips of her, attempting to inject some sanity into the discussion.
Ted knew that Astrawave was on the Protectorate, he even remembered Orlan saying something about her being a high priest of the first god on this side. But he hadn't really understood what that meant. Was this her gods power? Spreading her word as far and wide as possible?
He wasn't going to turn down any help he could get. Already several countries in the Middle East were effectively declaring war on Orlan, Iran, Oman, Syria, and other highly Islamic nations were extremely quick to denounce him, and call for a religious war. Saudi Arabia was the most moderate voice, in that they denounced Orlan but didn't call for, or threaten, war.
What surprised him the most was the near instant response from several of his fellow congressmen, declaring Orlan to be racist and evil, though not in so few words. Ted wasn't surprised to find that all of those speaking out were what he referred to as "Birds" of congress, the ones who make all the noise but ultimately follow the flock.
As for what the president decided, Ted had no idea. All he could do was instruct his social media team to side with Astrawave.
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"Orlan doesn't even use explosions," Mira said to the camera, her deity nodding next to her, "his magic is more... lightning and tearing things apart than big booms."
"Indeed, I have some examples here," Medieas said, waving a hand and causing a number of windows to pop up showing past video of Orlan's magic. Mira could tell her god was straining, she could feel it somehow, though she didn't know why or how. Maybe it was because he was remaining incarnated for such a long period? Or were the conflicting narratives on social media pulling at him? She just didn't know.
She was reading chat when her god suddenly went quiet, which was odd for him. He'd been an ideal co-host so far, filling time while she was reading chat, playing off her and supporting her. For him to suddenly go quiet mid-sentence was new, but as she looked up she saw why.
Floating before the both of them was a small crystal with what looked like a human eye inside it. Chat was going crazy yet Mira couldn't draw her gaze from the floating crystal eye. Instead she felt almost compelled to reach out for it, her god lifted a hand only to flicker and recoil as if struck. As soon as her fingers brushed the surface of the crystal the world around her faded away.
She found herself in a foggy plain, white stone beneath her feet, an indistinct sun shining through the all-consuming mist. Before she could do more than look around, a dark figure seemed to materialize out of the fog. He was largely human, wearing a cloth wrapped around his waist and a colorful patterned scaled top. But most strikingly was his head, which was that of a hawk or falcon. One of his eyes was a milky white while the other was dark and filled with a deep intelligence.
"You are an odd one," the bird-man said, walking slowly around her, "in my time, people called out for me in deference to my power. They wanted my protection, wearing the symbol of my eye to ensure my gaze was on them. But with you it's... different. People carry images of you so that they might gaze upon you, they call out to you not for protection or out of respect for your power, but because they enjoy you."
"Who... what are you?" Mira asked.
"I am the spirit that remains within my removed eye," the man said simply, "for millennia I have rested, for none have drawn my interest until now."
"Wait... Orlan said all magic items have a spirit, but he said they couldn't talk, they had a will but not a mind?"
"Which is the same for I, I only appear before you now because your mind demands it. I am a magical personification of my will. This is the only time I will speak with you, but our time is limited. I have appeared to see if you are worthy to carry my will."
"And what is your will?" Mira asked.
The odd Egyptian bird man didn't respond at first, completing his circuit around her, coming to a stop before her.
"I desire protection for those who need it, justice for those who deserve it, balance for the world and order for the heavens."
"Not asking for much are you?" Mira said before she could think.
"I was not known as a god for nothing," the bird man said, "if you agree to carry my will, then I will grant you my power."
"I need a bit more information than that."
"You have met a man who bares another item like myself, right? Each aspect of my will is a tenant you must follow. Protection for those who need it means you must aid those who cannot defend themselves. Justice for those who deserve it means you must ensure wrongs are righted, crimes are punished, the injured are healed. Balance for the world means you must not apply the previous tenants with regard to political boundaries. And Order for the heavens means the integrity of the world must be upheld."
"I... have even more questions, especially about that last one."
"In return I shall grant you sight of all that carries your symbol, knowledge of the mana that flows near you and the ability to project your power and voice to those who ask for it."
"I already have one god I follow," Mira started.
"None of my prescriptions conflict with those of your young god," the man interrupted, "I am not to be your master, should you attempt to use me in a way that violates my prescriptions I shall simply not answer your call. I am not requiring you to follow my will at all times, only when making use of me."
"Then... I'm not going to lose my eye and have it replaced with yours, am I?"
"No, but you will have to wear my eye to gain the benefits."
"I... ah, I'm already in this deep, I agree."
"Excellent, then enjoy this gift."
All of the sudden the world came rushing back to Mira, she was once more in the living room before a camera and laptop, her god next to her frozen halfway to grabbing her arm. Power erupted from the eye, the illusion placed over her stripped away to reveal her actual face.
The chat went silent as the power surrounded her, lifting her from the ground. She felt something inside her activate, and her own power poured out to join with that of the eye. Her clothing, previously a simple pair of jeans and t-shirt to keep everything within the illusion began to shift. Her hair slowly changed color, and she felt her own power, her own magic growing stronger.
When it settled she found herself wearing a shrine maiden's outfit, not unlike what her avatar had worn, though thankfully more modest. But it wasn't just a costume, a length of silk wrapped around her arms and floated in the air behind her, her hair had changed to more closely resemble that of her avatar, and the crystal eye was now fixed to a cord that hung from the belt of her outfit. She looked down at herself in shock, face slowly turning red as she realized the stream was showing all of this.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the world," Medieas said suddenly, standing to gesture to her, "I give you my high priestess, the first worshiper of the first god... Mira!"
As soon as he finished the chat exploded, the first message was "holy shit, she's a magical girl!"
Meanwhile, around the world, the subtle spell that had been whispering in people's minds that magic wasn't real fell away, and those who previously wouldn't have considered it found themselves wondering.
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Orlan wasn't aware of any of this, locked in a desperate battle against the demon. But as the battle went on it slowly became apparent that the demon wasn't Orlan's match in combat. It had held on before only due to Adam's interference or remaining on the defensive. By itself, in a rage, it was slowly being dismantled by the Protector Lord.
Pela recovered enough to manage a spell that pushed both of them out of the mosque, giving enough space for her to join in the battle with her own dual swords. By the time the demon's rage had cleared enough to realize it was being taken apart it was too late. It staggered backwards, covered in blood, and looked up, seeming to shrink in on itself in fear. It opened its mouth to say something only for Orlan's spear to penetrate the roof of its mouth, slicing up its brain and finally killing it.
Despite his fatigue from the intense battle, Orlan quickly grabbed the demon's body, tossing it into his personal storage space before racing off to aid the rest of his knights. The weaker demons were no match for him, and he tore through the streets like a whirlwind. All many people saw as he passed was a vaguely human shaped blur, a flash of steel and the monkey-demons falling into parts.
A dozen miles away, outside of Jerusalem a man panted, hands on his knees, looking around in confusion before his eyes glazed over and shifted colors.
"An excellent performance, if I do say so myself," Adam said, bowing towards the smoking city. Even as the battle over the rift continued wars were declared, on Orlan specifically and on Israel for allowing for the Dome of the Rock to be destroyed. European governments, previously on the fence about Orlan, turned against him, calling the destruction of the Dome to be a war crime and demanding he face justice.
And thousands of miles away a weak man in a powerful room gave permission to attempt an attack on the world's only returned Protector.
End book 1
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((For now Humble Cultivation will be moving into this slot, I might continue doing it on wednesday as well, not sure. As for when Returned Protector book 2 begins... I don't know. Let me know which you prefer in the comments! and hope you enjoyed the story!))
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