Null watched the doors close. He figured he''d just have to trust his senior core. Turning his attention towards the ducks, He saw they were already heading down the hallway. And quite quickly at that.


    Not ones to waste time I see, Null thought to himself before breaking out into a run to follow them.


    The next few minutes were a flurry of feathers, fireballs, and the occasional fist from Nulls Magimech suit whenever he got the chance. Granted, half the times he swung he missed, but there was something about smashing a demon''s face in that felt so satisfying. And besides, the ducks took care of it when he missed. All the same, none of these demons looked anywhere close to being as powerful as the demon champion. No point getting a big head over small fry after all.


    They progressed quickly through the hallways, continuing to fight through demons. They ran into a security squad in a vicious fight with several demons, and after helping them out, Null gave a quick explanation and got them to join him in proceeding towards the last shield array. Right before they went around the final corner to their destination, a demon came flying through the air, hitting the wall with enough force to cave in the wall a bit. The demon scowled, clearly injured, but before it had the chance to pry itself out of the wall, Corporal Vane came dashing in from the same direction, ending the demon with a well-placed hammer strike


    Vane?


    "Null? What are you doing here?"


    Super Death sent me here with his pet project to help defend the last shielding array. A portal opened in his room and a demon champion came out with several demons. Once I was out of the room, he sealed himself in there with them.


    "Well. that''s unfortunate. Come on. We have a shield array to protect."


    With that, Null, the security team, and the ducks followed Vane towards an airlock labeled shield array. The first airlock door was caved in, but the second one was open. Vane quickly led the security team and Null into the shield array room. The ducks just waddled in on their own. Once everyone was inside, Vane went to a console and closed the remaining airlock door. Furthermore, upon the door being closed, Vane closed what appeared to be emergency blast doors as well. Vane then coordinated with the security team leader to set everyone up in the best position to secure the room. After setting everything up, Vane walked up to Null, who had sat down on the floor.


    "Alright. You said a portal opened in his room and a demonic champion came out. Correct?"If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Yes. Thats exactly what happened.


    Willis clicked a button on his wrist.


    "Willis. Vane checking in. We have a confirmed sighting of a third demonic champion and portal in the Colonels quarters."


    After a brief moment of silence, Willis replied.


    "Copy that. Status update over here, Shield array One has been cleared out. We''ve begun to overhaul the wreckage. Ember is proceeding to Shield Array Three to clean house. Maintain your current position. Over."


    "Copy that. Maintaining current position. Out."


    Vane frowned and sat down next to Null.


    "Hmm... well, I guess he just saved the fortress then... again."


    Wait, what do you mean?


    "Each of the other shield array rooms had a portal just like the one you described. Demon champion and a whole lot of demons coming out and wrecking the place."


    You mean to say that he redirected the portal meant for this room to himself? Do you think he''ll be okay?


    "Hard to say to be honest. I''d say he has at least a decent chance. This isn''t the first Demon Champion he''s fought. Furthermore, once Ember is done with the third shield array, she''s definitely going to head over there."


    I''ll keep my hopes up that he wins or holds out long enough then.


    "For sure. At any rate. I was running system checks in here when the attack began, and as much as I hate to say it, I can''t beat a demon champion alone."


    That''s a sobering thought.


    "Exactly. The Colonel probably just saved my life to be honest."


    Well. No point dwelling on it until we''re out of this mess. What now?


    "Well. We sit tight here and guard the shield array. The security teams are spread thin fighting the demons at the moment. Ember should have everything cleared up fairly quickly. After the sky fortress is secured, we''ll regroup, repair the shield arrays, and take the fight to the demon king."


    Sounds good to me.


    With that, Null and Vane both stood up.


    "Null. I''m going to display the security camera for the outside of the airlock on that monitor if you want to keep an eye on it."


    Sure thing.


    Null watched the monitor while Vane went over to the Security Team to update them on the situation. The next five minutes were relatively calm... until they weren''t.


    Vane! I got movement in the Hallway.


    As Vane rushed over to the monitor, he cursed and shouted out to the security team.


    "We got Boomers outside! Get ready to defend the breach."


    Null was just about to ask what a boomer was. Unfortunately, he figured it out when he saw a rather round demon charge towards the door. Next thing he knew, he heard a loud explosion noise, the camera feed died, and the blast door had a sizable dent.


    Hey Vane. I counted three boomers. You?


    "Same here."


    Another explosion rang out, and cracks appeared in the door. Vane readied his hammer. Null readied his fists. The Security team readied their weapons. The Ducks quacked angrily at the door and flapped their wings menacingly.


    Vane cracked his knuckles.


    "All right people. Get ready to crack some demon skulls."


    Finally, a third explosion rang out, the door exploded inwards, and after an all too brief moment, numerous demons began to swarm into the shield array room.