Gunfire, screams, and furious shouts from inside the chapel carried far beyond its walls. Armed Eden members, who had been gathering outside and refusing to leave, now heard the chaos and turned red-eyed with rage, ready to charge in. Fortunately for the NCPD, the Holy Father was inside that chapel, standing behind Connor and his men. Eden's members did not care if they hit their own companions, but they could not risk harming the Holy Father. Afraid their bullets might hit him, they dared not open fire, instead wielding their weapons like blunt clubs.
Even so, the police found themselves in dire straits. The chapel's interior was cramped, giving them no room to maneuver. Enemies poured in from all directions, far too many to handle. While the officers used their Lexingtons without hesitation, the gun's weak firepower could not hold back the flood of frenzied Eden followers. It seemed only a matter of time before Connor's team got torn to pieces.
Suddenly, without warning, the chapel's ceiling exploded in a thunderous blast. Chunks of concrete and clouds of dust fell like rain, blanketing the scene. Amidst the swirling debris, a storm of bullets rained down, each shot thudding into flesh with sickening force. Yet, miraculously, none of them struck the NCPD. Every round found its mark in Eden's ranks.
The moment the magazine ran empty, Leo flung aside the Dian-style smart SMG he had used. He dropped down through the hole in the roof, landing light on his feet. With his left thumb, he flicked the hilt of his blade; with his right hand, he gripped the katana's handle. Then, in a flash, he dashed through several Eden followers. A thin silver arc glinted at their necks. Blood spurted high as they collapsed, eyes frozen wide in shock.
"Who are you?
Get him!"
Four Eden members nearby hurled themselves at Leo. He sliced through them with ease, and they toppled before they could even register the attack. Another trio rushed in, equally reckless, only to meet the same fate.
With Leo's arrival, the pressure on the NCPD dropped sharply. Like a bulldozer, he killed anyone foolish enough to get close, singlehandedly slashing down at least half of the Eden gang members in the chapel within moments. Still, more poured in from the entrance, possessed by a deranged fanaticism.
Leo slid his katana back into its sheath and pulled out two Cracker kinetic shotguns. Ordinarily, such powerful shotguns required two hands to manage the recoil, but thanks to the powered arm braces he wore, Leo could fire them single-handed. Muzzle flashes blazed, sending shredding blasts of buckshot into the tightly packed Eden members. Flesh was ripped apart, screams rang out, and in seconds, Leo had cleared a path across the chapel floor.
Lucy then jumped through the broken ceiling to join him, gripping a Senkou tech SMG in both hands. Charged-up rounds ripped through the constant stream of enemies at the door, punching them full of holes.
"Lucy, shut the door!" Leo shouted.
Lucy's eyes glowed briefly, and the chapel's automated doors slammed shut and locked. On the other side, Eden members hurled themselves at the barrier, hammering it with loud thuds. Though solid, the doors would not hold forever.
One of the gang members tried to sneak up behind Lucy. Leo reacted instantly, slashing off the attacker's arm. Then he drove a fist into the man's chest, flinging him backward like a ragdoll and crashing into a cluster of his own comrades.
Inside the chapel, the fight raged on. Even with Leo and Lucy's help, several of Connor's officers lay dead, scattered in pools of blood. They were too few, with minimal cyber enhancements, and their Lexingtons were scarcely effective in these cramped quarters. The unarmed Eden members felt no fear and ignored their wounds, overwhelming the police with sheer numbers.
Suddenly, a young female officer tossed aside her empty Lexington and charged straight for the Holy Father. "Protect the Father!" voices howled, but most of his guards were already caught up in battle against Leo and Lucy. Only two remained at his side.
Those two hurried forward to intercept, but the officer stamped the floor hard and leaped, slamming a double scissor kick into both men, knocking them aside. Landing gracefully, she snatched up a pistol from a fallen comrade and pressed the barrel to the Holy Father's forehead.
"Everybody back off, or he dies!"
The Eden followers, who had been in a fevered rage only seconds before, abruptly froze as though someone had flipped a switch. The officer let out a shaky breath, still holding the gun against the Holy Father's temple. "Let us leave."
"You're not going anywhere," the Holy Father said calmly. Though his life hung by a thread, he seemed utterly unafraid, as though certain the officer would not pull the trigger.
The officer tried again, voice trembling with tension. "Let us go!"
Before the Holy Father could speak, Leo's expression shifted. His left hand darted to the scabbard at his waist. In the next instant, the scabbard tore through the air like a missile, aimed straight at the Holy Father's skull.
The Holy Father had extended a rapid hidden blade from his forearm, planning to slit the officer's throat, but he was forced to alter its path at the last second. With a swift motion, he batted aside the incoming scabbard. Alarmed, the officer fired a flurry of shots, yet the Holy Father evaded them all with inhuman contortions, twisting his body in ways no normal person could manage.
No longer held at gunpoint, the Holy Father was free. The Eden members roared back into action, hurling themselves on the police with renewed viciousness, fueled by near-delirious rage. Lucy, reloading her empty magazine, gave Leo a quick glance. The automated door at the entrance had begun to buckle; it clearly would not hold much longer.
While Leo used his left arm to block a blow aimed at Lucy, he thrust his katana into one attacker's abdomen, then yanked it out to impale the next. With each swing, blood fanned across the already-slick floor. The heavy odor of iron thickened in the air, clinging to everything.
Lucy, still unable to finish reloading her tech SMG, quickly drew a smart pistol. She aimed only roughly toward the group behind Leo, and each bullet curved midair, dropping any thug who tried to flank him.
They pressed forward together, cutting down a few more enemies. Eden's numbers in the chapel had dwindled drastically, but their situation had not improved. The Holy Father proved a seasoned fighter himself. Once he joined the melee, Connor's people took heavy losses. Several officers fell to the Father's swift blade, and more Eden followers were closing in from outside every passing second.
Judging by the buckled metal, Lucy's hack to seal the chapel door would soon fail. The door groaned under brute force from beyond.
Leo spun his blade in a circular arc, severing the heads of eight charging fanatics at once. Their blood splashed across the sticky floor. "Lucy, look over there!" she called out, spotting the young officer from earlier locked in close combat with the Holy Father. She was clearly outmatched. A quick slash from his hidden blade cut her thigh and sent her tumbling backward.
"Cover me. I'll get her," Leo said.
Lucy emptied the last rounds in her smart pistol, eliminating several gang members. Three more tried for a cheap shot while she reloaded, but she ignored the reload entirely, pressing her right hand to her temple instead.