by Yuri Ajin
Finally, the tunnel ended and they reached the central hall — the queen’s chambers. However, what they saw there was completely different from what they expected.
Corpses. A multitude of human corpses was scattered across a huge room under a giant dome. They immediately identified the representatives of the Central Alliance, which stopped communication with them ten minutes ago.
But their killers weren’t the insectoids, but a group of people — members of the Western Alliance.
There was an explosion.
The hive shook, and from the far tunnel, where Group Eight was supposedly located, several powerful flames burst out.
“What is this?!” Diamond asked, shouting over the noise of the explosion.
“A trap, Diamond!” Alexander said, appearing next to him. “And I’d rather remove you from the game first... Night Space!”
Nobody had time to do anything.
In a blink of an eye, a huge black sphere hung in the air in the spot where Diamond had just been.
Chapter 14
POCKET DIMENSION
Two people appeared in a vast field of nothingness.
As soon as he stepped foot in this new place, where eternal darkness seemed to reign but where one could still see as if the sun was high in the sky, Diamond immediately moved aside, which saved him from being hit.
“I see your reflexes have improved since our last meeting,” Alexander said condescendingly as he appeared nearby.
“What did you do?” Diamond asked, assuming a fighting stance. “Where are we? Why did you attack us?”
“Night Space is one of the gifts that I’ve received from the System,” he replied. “And I brought you here. Because... Well... The Western Alliance and the Union aren’t the best of buddies, are they? I’d like to say that Luke’s death was the straw that broke the camel’s back... But, to tell you the truth, it’s because of these insects. We’re allies now.”
Diamond just barely managed to maintain his usual calmness. How was an alliance with those things possible when Laura had clearly said that their only goal was to eat and reproduce?
“So you decided to betray humanity? To betray Earth?” he said in an accusatory tone after he had calmed down a little.
Alexander froze for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Diamond frowned and clenched his fists, certain that his opponent was itching to start the fight and was just stalling.
“You’re hilarious!” Alexander sighed theatrically and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “Oh, that was straight from a cheap movie... Oh, Lord... Ahem...” His face suddenly darkened and tone became more serious. “Humanity has no chance, Diamond. The Kaoh’s shared with me the memories of their world. I saw their armies; I saw the power of their warriors. They have a horde, and they’re much stronger than us.” Recalling the innumerable legions that surrounded the Gates, Alexander almost flinched. “I... I have an obligation not only to myself, but also to my people. The fate of hundreds is in my hands. For me, the Western Alliance isn’t just a bunch of united guilds... But there’s a way out, and I have to use it... Honestly, I would’ve invited both you and the Central Alliance to join us, but the bugs wouldn’t be too happy about it. I’m sorry, but I...”
“Fuck you!” Diamond growled. Pulling out his pistol, he aimed it at Alexander. “Fall of Dawn!”
A beam of bright blue light cut through the darkness. Diamond had put about fifteen percent of his ki into this attack. On such an opponent as the Champion, he wasn’t going to spare his strength.
The beam would’ve killed Alexander had it not collided with something invisible three feet away from him. The air in front of him rippled. The next moment, the trajectory of the shot changed and the bullet circled him.
“You used to pose a threat to me,” Alexander said to the shocked Diamond. “I’ve always thought that gunners are one of the most dangerous opponents in battle. Not only are you powerful, but the bullets allow you to wreak havoc from a safe distance. It’s a deadly mistake to give you time to prepare... This became even more obvious when we last met. My hand still hurts sometimes...” He grinned, rubbing the old wound. “But that was in the past. Now, you stand no chance against me. I’d advise you to give up and not waste our time...”
“You really do like to talk...” Diamond snapped, darting away from him.
At the same moment, a small, spherical object flew toward Alexander. Realizing that a Gold-rank grenade was flying toward him, his eyes widened in shock. Some time ago, he learned that the Union had made a similar weapon. But he never would’ve imagined that anyone would dare to use it since it was so powerful that it could mortally wound even the person who threw it. What he didn’t know, however, was that, a few weeks ago, the Union’s scientists had managed to improve this weapon.
The darkness was illuminated again, but ten times brighter this time. The shockwave was so powerful that it not only knocked Diamond down, but also cracked some of his bones.
When the light began to fade, he rose to his feet and looked around. A ring of fire danced around the area where the grenade had hit. The flames raging inside were compressed more and more under the influence of the symbolic technique embedded in the artifact.
“You bastard!” Alexander suddenly yelled.
Diamond was hit in the ribs and sent flying back. He felt incredible pain. His right lung was pierced in several places. Coughing up blood, he tried to suppress the pain and get rid of the blurriness that obscured his vision.
Focusing his ki on recovery, he saw Alexander slowly approaching. Covered in blood and burns, he didn’t look good either.
“I’ll end you even if it kills me!” Diamond growled and, overcoming the pain, jumped up.
***
In the queen’s chambers, events were unfolding rapidly.
As soon as Diamond and Alexander disappeared, the remaining members of the Union were under attack. Fortunately, they were well prepared and organized so they were able to fight back and counterattack. However, this was only the beginning of the battle.
“Activate the exoskeletons!” Rogers ordered. “Hold the line, we need to wait for— Son of a bitch!” he snarled and deflected an attack coming his way.
This incredibly fast attack could have ended his life had it not been for Dale. A bright flare of blue flame forced the enemy to retreat.
“You got lucky this time, old man.” The girl grimaced, words oozing with disgust. “But you won’t slip through my fingers again!”
“Don’t test your luck,” Dale said angrily.
“Or what?” The girl snickered. “Do you really think that you’ll be able to keep up with me?”
“Why wouldn’t we?” someone else asked.
The girl’s daggers flashed as they collided with a sword.
“Who are you?!” she asked, amazed by her opponent’s speed. “Soul Stage?! How can you see me?!”
Ivsim couldn’t see her as he was blind, but, as he had proved before, his hearing was so well-developed that all he needed to find his opponent was for them to breathe.
She’s fast, I have to admit... Lei Shen would envy her, he thought. I won’t be able to beat her with a limited supply of energy... However, I can buy us some time.
His blade and hand twitched. The two figures disappeared in an instant, leaving behind a blurred trail visible only to the Exorcists.
While the Union and the Western Alliance clashed with each other, Lily stood near one of the tunnels. Closing her eyes, she outstretched her arms. With the thin blade of her sword glittering in the dim light, she concentrated. She couldn’t see the Exorcists, so she decided to assist as best as she could.
The wind slowly began to circle in the queen’s quarters and soon turned into a tornado that none could ignore. The Union’s soldiers began to notice that they were moving faster, while their opponents were moving much slower. From time to time, whirlwinds would appear in different parts of the battlefield. Sharp as blades, they’d wreak havoc in the ranks of th
e Western Alliance.
Winds of War was the main ability of her Gold-rank blade. And although it wasn’t useful for duels as it required a lot of ki, right now, it helped to turn the tide of the battle.
The Union might’ve had better equipment, but there were fewer of them. A total of two hundred soldiers against four hundred members of the Western Alliance. Jiang Yong and Jiang Si were able to even out the odds, but it was Lily who managed to provide a major advantage.
The Union began to quickly press down on its opponents.
***
In another part of the central hall, another battle was raging. Several dozen soldiers of the Western Alliance, two Exorcists, and the man who had talked to Alexander before were trying to destroy the remnants of the Central Alliance. They were waiting for the right moment to attack as their opponents were protected by a powerful barrier that grew weaker by the second as its casters were getting more and more tired.
Just as they were about to launch an attack, the pale young man sensed something.
“Go help your people. It seems they’re having problems,” he said, turning his head toward the battle with the Union.
“Nobody gave you the right to command.” one of the Exorcists snapped.
“Don’t you care about your friends? Or do you want everyone to die? I can handle things here.”
The Exorcist looked toward the other battlefield and grimaced.
“Damn it... Fine! I’m going!”
Motioning to his men to follow him, he went to help his allies. The Western Alliance surpassed the Union not only in the number of Soul Stage soldiers but also in the number of Exorcists. The Union had only nine, out of which only three were at the middle level. But the Western Alliance, in addition to Alexander, also had two mid-level and eight initial-level ones.
The eight Alliance Exorcists had been fighting against the seven Union ones, while Ivsim was buying time. But now that two more Western Alliance Exorcists were about to intervene, it seemed that the Union no longer had a chance to win.
What an interesting technique... Elize thought, pointing her finger at the dark sphere hanging in the air. Space, probably... If those books that I had read are correct, this is similar to the compressed space in our Rings, but of a higher quality. This is probably a pocket dimension, and this sphere is its shell. How original! I wager that it isn’t tied to some object, as is usually the case, but to the person who created it. How interesting... Whoever made this must still be inside. I suppose that only those who are stronger than them can destroy the technique... I doubt that this can last long as it spends a lot of energy... So, whoever made this has to win quickly... I’d probably have to spend half of my energy to destroy it. If my Forces of Space were better than those of the creator, then it wouldn’t be a problem...
Her contemplation was interrupted by two Exorcists and several dozen soldiers who were about to join the battle.
“Preposterous... Looks like I’ll have to intervene,” she muttered to herself and took a blade from her Ring. Pointing it at the group, she said, “Execution of the Broken Ones.”
The weaker soldiers died instantly. Their bodies simply fell apart. As for the Exorcists, they lived a second longer. The two men grabbed their weapons and were already on their knees. Several moments in this state seemed like hours of torture. Pain tormented their bodies and souls until they died. From the outside, it looked like crimson blades were escaping from their bodies. Her ki and the Forces of Sword literally tore them from within.
Elize’s technique lived up to its name. The special mixture of ki and Forces was introduced into the enemy’s body and exploded inside, using the power of the target itself. However, this only worked if the victim’s ki control level was lower than that of the attacker.
“That should do it.” Elize smiled. “I’ll let them deal with the rest...”
***
Having broken through the barrier and defeated the remnants of the Central Alliance, the pale young man was about to begin implementing his plan, when he felt an incredible surge of power.
“Who’s that?!” he blurted out in confusion. “There shouldn’t be anyone with such strength here! I checked everything! I checked everything!” He turned even paler. “No... It can’t be... Can it? A traveler from another world?! They could ruin all of my plans! Everything! I must do something… Forgive me, Master, but I must do it now, otherwise, you might get hurt!”
Nodding to himself, he spread his arms out to the side. Clots of blood began to form in his palms.
Having formed two large spheres, he focused on the bodies scattered around him. In the next moment, crimson streams emerged from the spheres and pierced the nearest corpse, sucking the blood out of it.
“I need to collect as much Blood Essence as possible...”
***
Avoiding the bullets with the help of the Distortion Barrier, which had to be activated with each directed attack, Alexander dashed forward. Intending to end this fight as quickly as possible, he covered his fists with the Penetrating Punch Technique, which was based on the Forces of Gravity and Space.
Aiming at Diamond’s head, Alexander noticed his opponent take another grenade from his Ring. Throwing it at his opponent, who was four feet away, and using the Forces of the Path of Magnetism, he pulled out the pin and accelerated the detonation.
You decided to take me to the grave with you?! Fuck you! Furious, Alexander got ready to retreat when he noticed that something was wrong. Fuck! He has already fired! Not only did he figure out the limitations of my technique, but he also realized that I can’t properly defend myself while it’s activated! What a bastard!
Changing his mind about retreating, he held out his hands to the grenade, as if intending to catch it.
“Annihilation Sphere!” he shouted, infusing the technique with ki.
A small piece of space became covered with cracks and began to collapse. Before the grenade had time to detonate, it disappeared into the void of the Space.
“Fall of Dawn!”
I’ll make it! Alexander assured himself, activating the Barrier.
Just like the first time, Diamond’s attack circled the target, ending somewhere behind Alexander’s back. But before the latter had time to recover, two pistols were aimed at his head. Grabbing them with his hands, he failed to block the kick aimed at his stomach. Luckily for him, Diamond wasn’t a close-combat fighter, so the kick didn’t deal serious damage.
Hitting back, Alexander threw Diamond to the ground. He was about to finish him off, but instead turned around, holding out his palm. In front of it, a bullet, continuing to spin, froze midair.
Turning slowly to Diamond with a victorious smile, Alexander grinned, seeing confusion and horror on his opponent’s face.
“You thought that I wouldn’t sense it in time?” he asked. “Under normal circumstances, I really wouldn’t have had the time. But you didn’t take into account that this is my domain. This darkness is a part of me, and with it, I can sense everything!”
Diamond cursed. His plan had failed. Alexander knew from the very beginning that the bullet was heading directly to his head. The bastard had decided to pretend that he had no idea about it just so that he could see the despair on his face.
With practically no ki left in his body, as well as physical strength, he was struggling to breathe. Sweating, he tried to move but failed. He had given it his all, but the difference in strength was too big.
“You were a worthy opponent,” Alexander said. “Thank you for the good fight.”
Directing his palm at Diamond, he was about to activate a technique when he felt someone’s presence entering the sphere. A moment later, an incredibly powerful blow hit him in the face, and he flew a good twenty feet.
Surrounding himself with the Barrier, he began to rise. Staggering, he held on to his broken nose. Finally focusing his gaze, he saw a figure lean over Diamond.
“You bastard, how dare you to attack my little brother?!” the person sho
uted angrily.
Chapter 15
REVENGE
Diamond looked at his brother with eyes wide in both shock and admiration as Kai’s incredible power washed over him.
Thanks to Ultimate Focus and the activated Gates of Power and Speed, he was able to break through Alexander’s Cover. Since his Forces of Space were better than Alexander’s he managed to enter the sphere. Being the Favorite of the Forces, Kai was able to achieve a complete understanding of all the Forces of Space, and even achieve perfect mastery of the Force of Attraction. However, he knew that he’d be a fool if he were to underestimate his opponent just because he managed to break through the first line of their defenses.
He had to give credit to Alexander, who was still able to come close to complete mastery of most of the Forces of Space without having access to the knowledge and resources that were given to Kai back on Saha.
“Kai?!” Diamond said loudly. “How did you get here? What happened to Group Eight?”
“Getting here isn’t that hard.” Kai smiled, turning to him. “At least for me. Group Eight was, unfortunately, destroyed. We were attacked by an initial-level Exorcist, who suddenly exploded as they approached. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have time to protect anyone. I barely managed to take cover, and even after that I needed time to recover...”
Diamond’s shocked gaze left his brother’s face and slid down to his clothes. Soaked in blood and tattered, they looked like rags and not like the fancy robes he had had when he arrived to this world.
“That... That must’ve been awful,” he muttered, looking back up. “I’m just glad that you’re in one piece... I’m sure that you did everything you could...”
“Enough chit-chat, you two! Who the fuck are you?!” Alexander shouted, having finally recovered from the extremely powerful blow. “How dare you turn your back to me, you scum?! Do you know who I am?!”
Turning around, Kai gave him a crooked smile and a look full of malice.
