by L. M. Kerr
Micheal had reacted instantaneously, his instincts taking over.
The moment he sensed the attack coming, he stepped forward and slightly to the right. He controlled his body perfectly, just barely dodging the attack by a few centimeters.
In the same moment, he let go of his Ashari Blade and the glow stick he held in his other hand, instead tapping on his Spatial Ring.
His Ashari Blade was an incredibly sharp weapon, but it was also an above-average length sword. In the doorway, there wasn't enough room to make use of it effectively. He could pull it from the sheath at his waist in an instant, but the angle to attack with it would be rather awkward.
The moment he touched his Spatial Ring, two small, black-colored daggers appeared, one in each hand. Each blade was short for a sword but long for a dagger, around the size of his forearm. Kouki Daggers, weapons that cost 8,400 Points in the Shop.
He hadn't bought these himself, but acquired them from a few Open Markets that he visited in the time between their exiting the Cluster and the fight with the Black Flag Pirates. He'd also sold off a great deal of the treasure, including the huge bear corpse he'd obtained, from the battle with the Black Flag Pirates there, stocking up on various ingredients and tools he'd need in the future.
Instantly, Micheal jerked his left hand to the left, the Kouki Dagger coated in a layer of colorless, Intermediate Sword Energy.
The dagger stabbed into the lower stomach of the white-skinned Abnormal, sinking in with only a slight amout of resistance.
Then, in one smooth motion, Micheal jerked the dagger straight up.
"Watch out, Crane!"
Micheal jumped forward as a huge gout of black blood spewed out from the front of the white-skinned Abnormal, his attack almost ripping the creature's chest apart. A gaping, meter long wound had appeared on its chest, its insides virtually destroyed.
Apart from the Abnormal, there were four other Morenkai in the room. These four were all normal ones, three of which immediately turned and charged at Micheal as he entered. The fourth was one of the ones under Sophia's control, standing still and doing nothing.
Behind Micheal, Sophia let out a small 'eep!' in surprise and stumbled backwards, avoiding the spurt of acidic black blood. At the same time, however, she managed to maintain her Fairy Eyes, not letting the shock overwhelm her.
The white-skinned Abnormal shook for a brief moment before falling to the ground.
.
—-Points Obtained —-
Points: 112
.
With that notification confirming that he killed the Abnormal, Micheal ignored the scene behind him, instead hurling his two Kouki Daggers forward.
Two of the charging Morenkai collapsed, falling to the ground each with a long dagger impaling their skull.
.
—-Points Obtained —-
Points: 9
.
—-Points Obtained —-
Points: 13
.
The last Morenkai sprinted across the room, reaching Micheal in what felt like an instant. It ignored the deaths of its brethren, charging forth alone.
Instead of drawing his Ashari Blade, Micheal jumped forward again.
The room they had entered was a large, storage room. It was empty at the moment, with a high ceiling and about fifteen meters of space in either direction. The glow stick he'd dropped was the only source of light in the room, giving everything an eerie green glow.
The Morenkai tried to punch him directly in the chest, both of its arms lunging forward. Micheal double jumped, dodging that as he flipped over its head. He then led out with a two-fisted attack of his own.
"Hup!" The muscles in his arms flexed as he punched down hard, each fist slammed into one side of the Morenkai's head simultaneously. The powerful double impact rocked the Morenkai, sending it stumbling forward as he finished flipping over landing down smoothly.
The last attacking Morenkai stumbled for a few steps before slowly collapsing to the ground. The double-fisted blow, powered by Micheal's enhanced body, had dealt a large amount of damage, right to the creature's head. Morenkai were incredibly tough, but they also had brains, just like humans.
They were able to deal with impacts coming in from one direction, their magically toughened skin absorbing much of the blow. But when it came from two opposing directions at once, especially in a rather vulnerable area…
.
—-Points Obtained —-
Points: 10
.
The last Morenkai lay still.
Even without using a sword, Micheal was more than capable of taking them down in his present state.
"Crane, you alright?" The first thing he did was spin around, checking on her.
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" She huffed as she ran into the room. Micheal had cleared it all out in the span of a few seconds, killing everything with insane efficiency. She hadn't even had a chance to attack anything.
"Alright. You handle the last one." He waved at her as he went and picked up his Kouki Daggers, wiping the blood off them.
Sophia nodded and made the last Morenkai walk over to her. She killed it without hesitation, using the burning power of her weapon to melt through its defenses and strike it down with impunity.
Like that, the room had been cleared of hostile Morenkai.
'A coordinated attack… just like how it works around Nests. The surprise ambush must've been because the Morenkai we killed outside warned it.' When Morenkai were near a Nest, they tended to work in groups, together, instead of attacking blindly. It was speculated to be some type of instinctual focus, rather than intelligent, planned tactics.
As this thought ran through his mind, he stared at what was at the center of the room.
A small, fist-sized black sphere, floating ominously in mid-air.
His hand slowly fell to his waist, resting on the sheath of his Ashari Blade as he began to walk towards it.
.
Chapter 8
Sophia's heart pounded as she watched Micheal finish defeating the last of the attacking Morenkai. As she stared at the man, the situation around them calmed down and now relatively safe, her mind flashed back.
The past few weeks had been terribly chaotic and eventful. So many things had happened, it was hard for her to keep track. One thing, however, remained constant, like a steady rock in a rushing river.
'Micheal…' She thought slowly, her eyes trailing his movements,
'What are you?'
If she had to describe him in a single word, it would be…
Incredible.
He was smart and strong, wise and intelligent. He seemed to have a plan for everything, his vision and creativity exceeding her wildest expectations. He claimed to be able to see small blips of the future, and with all the inexplicable knowledge he seemed to possess, it looked to be true.
Every action he took was carefully weighed and measured. He didn't do things hastily and always thought of the consequences. He was meticulous and incredibly skilled.
"Crane, you alright?" She blinked as she put the thoughts to the side, Micheal's voice breaking into her thoughts. He had just killed the last Morenkai by punching it, somehow, and had turned to look back at her right after, concern in his voice.
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" She quickly moved into the room, stepping carefully over the dead Abnormal's blood. The floor was slowly starting to sizzle from the blood, melting slightly. She glanced at the dead Abnormal, her eyes filled with a faint hint of awe.
'How can he be so incredibly skilled?' She shook her head minutely. Every time she watched him fight, it was as if she was watching an Olympic gymnast or an incredibly skilled artist. His movements were so smooth it was as if the Morenkai were missing him on purpose.
Back in college, she had been a talented gymnast herself, taking 5th place in the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships. It had only ever been a hobby to her, not a passion, despite her considerable talent and the effort she put in. E
ven she didn't know how far she would've gone if she had been passionate about the sport.
From that, she could well recognize the extreme levels of control that were required to move one's body like Micheal did. Even she couldn't move like him.
And that wasn't even considering his near instantaneous reaction speed.
'With him by my side, Anna, it won't be long till we find you.' She clenched her short sword in her fist, an image of her little sister, the only living member of her family that she had left, filling her heart.
'Don't get distracted, Sophia. Focus.' She blinked several times, looking over at Micheal with warmth and a hint of nervousness.
In the time she'd taken, he'd gone over and picked up the pair of daggers he'd thrown, killing a pair of Morenkai so casually it felt unfair to Sophia. Just as she looked at him, he waved at her and gave her a nod,
"Alright. You handle the last one." He motioned at the Morenkai that was currently under Sophia's Fairy Eyes, standing still near the center of the room.
Just a half dozen meters away from the strange, floating black orb that Micheal had said was the target of this hunt.
She nodded and walked up to the strange creature.
'I'm sorry. I don't like hurting things. But I have to. I hope you live a full life in the next.' As she did with every Morenkai she'd killed, she sent up a silent apology and prayer.
She didn't know if the weird creatures had souls, but it was the only way she could reconcile brutally killing so many beings, even ones that were freakish and alien.
Her Burning Ice Blade sizzled with faint, blue flames as it stabbed into the chest of the Morenkai. The small sword melted through the tough skin of the Morenkai, encountering only a small amount of resistance to the blistering strike.
.
—-Points Obtained —-
Points: 12
.
The Morenkai slumped to the ground, its weight tugging at her arm as the body fell. She grunted silently as she pulled the sword out, staring at the dead creature for a silent moment before turning away.
As she looked up, she caught sight of Micheal walking towards the strange, floating black orb that was located at the center of the room. His hand was resting on the hilt of his long sword, his movements full of purpose.
"Are you certain it's safe?" She spoke tentatively, a small hint of nervousness present in her heart.
"No, I'm not. I have no idea. This is untested grounds for me." Micheal replied back, his voice full of so much confidence it made her want to roll her eyes.
'If you're not sure, then why are you so confident?! Ugh.' It was almost unfair how unworried and relaxed he was about everything.
'I suppose he can die and come back to life, that probably helps.' She took a few steps back, not letting any of her mental grumblings come out.
"Alright, well, I'm just going to back away in case it explodes or something." He would be fine. Anything that could hurt Micheal would be way out of her league, anyway, so there was no point waiting near it.
"Good idea, Crane! I was just about to ask you to do that. I'll let you know when I'm about to attack it!" He gave her a thumbs up.
'Ugh, what a dumb nickname. Heron and Crane? Why are we birds?…'
'I guess anything is better than Sofa, though…'
'…'
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she gave him a smile, forgetting that she was wearing a mask, and jogged off towards the entrance of the room.
.. .. .. .. .. ..
Micheal watched Sophia go to the front of the room, smiling beneath his mask.
'She takes to the role well. Maybe she likes the nicknames, they are pretty cool. I'll make sure to call her Crane more often.' He took mental note of the somewhat amusing thought before turning his focus back towards the Nest Core.
His blue eyes narrowed as he stared at it.
It was black and floated in place, not moving even a millimeter. Very faint white particles of energy could be seen fluctuating off of it. Despite that, it didn't give off a dangerous aura or air, and was very self-contained.
'If I leave you alone, you'll spawn a bunch of Morenkai. Hell, you'll probably spawn several as soon as we leave the room.' Nest Core's weren't exactly intelligent, but it was a well-known fact that they wouldn't bring any Morenkai into existence if a living being was within a certain number of meters.
There were several rules to how Nest Cores worked. There were even a few secrets about Nest Cores and their spawning patterns that Micheal was aware of, though none of that was relevant now.
Nothing of what Micheal knew could help him when it came to breaking the orb.
What he did know, however, were the legends that if one did break a Nest Orb, some type of reward would be obtained. While no one had actually ever confirmed these legends as far as he knew, people with Abilities that could divine things about other beings or objects could tell that there was some truth to them.
Breaking a Nest Core would do... something. No one knew what, exactly, but it shouldn't be too dangerous. At the least, whatever happened should only affect him and not Sophia, and even if he died, he could still come back to life.
"How do I shatter you…" He spoke aloud, staring at it.
"I suppose there is only one way to find out." He shrugged, flexing his fingers.
And then, in one almighty motion, he whipped his Ashari Blade from his sheath and slashed down hard. The sword was covered in a colorless layer of Intermediate Tier Sword Energy, crackling silently.
The muscles in Micheal's right arm bulged as he swung the weapon, his eyes zeroed in on the Nest Core.
The blade slammed into the Nest Core.
Nothing happened.
The Core didn't even so much as move a millimeter, remaining perfectly still in space.
Micheal frowned as he saw this, pulling his blade back. He couldn't even see a hint of a scratch on the Nest Core, its black shell perfectly undamaged.
"Tough bastard, aren't ya?" He smiled slightly. If it had been so easy to shatter, it would've long since been broken. Millions and millions of humans existed in this Layer alone, many of which had grown to be quite powerful. The number of strong humans that had tried to destroy a temporary Nest Core likely numbered in the tens of thousands already.
He wasn't discouraged. Instead, this time, he put both hands on the blade. He took a deep breath, steadying himself.
He blinked.
Instantly, he entered a state of absolute focus. A feeling that used to be very familiar, a type of meditative and fighting state. In the higher Layers, when he had been in this state, Sword Energy had flowed through his blade like a molten river as he transformed into a god of death.
Down here on the First, Micheal made use of this focus, his mouth twisting as a thin layer of red energy swept over his blade.
Advanced Tier Sword Energy or Advanced Sword Energy, as it was known. The next step up from Intermediate Tier Sword Energy.
Micheal's soul currently couldn't handle the strain of using Advanced Tier Sword Energy, not for any long period of time. If he only used it for a few strikes in a 24 hour period, he should be able to just barely handle it. Anything more than that, however…
The energy was inherently different from the colorless Intermediate Tier Sword Energy. Advanced Sword Energy could shear through literally everything from Earth. It was qualitatively more powerful, able to slash through incredibly tough or tensile objects like they were nothing.
That was where the huge amount of pressure on his soul came from, as a result of that vast increase in cutting power. Such a difference wasn't just a measure of raw energy, but a fundamental change.
Using Advanced Sword Energy, Micheal had been able to cut into one of the skyscrapers back in the Stardust Cluster. He had been casually testing using the technique on his own one night. A single slash had been able to cut a huge gouge in the wall.
This was a wall that was seen as invincible by almost everyone, immune from ex
plosions, acid, and all manners of sharp objects. Yet, when he used his Advanced Tier Sword Energy, he was able to slash through it, albeit while encountering a bit of resistance.
In one motion, Micheal swung down with is Ashari Blade, his arms flexing as he attacked with his full strength.
"Hah!" He grunted out loud.
His blade blurred down and slammed directly into the floating orb, coming to an abrupt halt. The sword quivered as it rested atop the Nest Core, its impact causing a visible change in the orb.
The entire orb had shaken in place for a few seconds, the first reaction Micheal had seen from it. In addition, a small, white crack had formed, right where his sword had slammed into the orb.
"It worked! I cracked it!" Micheal yelled out loud, extremely pleased.
At that exact moment, his sixth sense went off, a sense he'd trained over more than a decade of intense, constant combat. A feeling of danger swarmed over him as he threw himself to the ground, ducking.
A flash of white light shook the room.
Not a moment later, a bolt of white energy crackled in the air and flew over his head, slamming into the metal wall of the room. The bolt melted through that, forming a glowing hole as it shot through several other rooms, out of sight.
Micheal blinked, shocked.
"It… it attacked back?"
He instantly recovered from his shock, snapping back to attention as another flash of white light shook the air, another feeling of danger swarming him.
"Woah!" He ducked a second bolt of energy. Each bolt was far faster than him and seared through the air, but they didn't move instantaneously or change direction. As long as he knew they were coming, it was possible to get out of the way.
"Crane, stay back!" He yelled out loud, his curiosity stoked.
‘I need to use my final attack here and now, before I get hit and waste a Life Orb.’ He had no idea that Nest Cores had a self-defense function. Were they intended for humans to destroy, just like the Morenkai?
He didn't hesitate, gaining his sense of focus once more as he raised his Ashari Blade above his head. He took a deep breath, his eyes calm.
