by Riker Kane
Jade and Alisa kept firing to watch my back. The sounds of the creatures’ squeals joined the blasts of energy echoing through the sky like fireworks.
More flashes of light filled the sky as more goblins poured down. They quickly surrounded me, converging on me without hesitation.
“Revolver Drill!”
My gauntlets raised at my sides and I rotated fast enough to cover all sides. I kicked up dirt and sand in every direction as my armored fists sent every Shadow stupid enough to get near me flying. Mana exploded in the air, littering the sand all around me.
I regained control and saw more than half of the swarm of goblins had been defeated. I’d broken a sweat but managed not to take any damage at this point.
“Caaaaaaw!”
A squeal from the vultures above made me look up. The sun was bright as hell but I could still make out the birds flapping around in a circle. They started to grow, moving closer and closer.
“They’re coming down,” Jade said. “They don’t realize we’re not dead.”
“But they will be.” I knocked back the last few goblins trying to swipe at me as the vultures descended. There were only six of them, so we wouldn’t have much trouble.
But the closer they got, they began to flap their wings even harder. Hard enough I could feel the wind. The sand kicked up and sprayed against my face.
“Caw-caaaaaaw!” All six of the black buzzards were right above and the things were damn bigger than I expected them to be.
“Shit…” Their wingspans were the length of a bus. Black feathers covered their entire body, except for the pink skin of their heads. Orange beaks with tips as long and sharp as swords threatened to cut right through me. Empty white eyes filled with a feral anger locked on me as they dived in my direction.
I rolled out of the way just in time as they hit the sand.
“Let ‘em have it!” I yelled.
Jade sent a Solo Spark that engulfed one of the birds’ wings. It flapped violently, screeching as it tried to put the fire out. I rushed up and slammed my fist into its body, knocking it onto the ground. Before it could recover, it took another fist to its beak. The cracking of its mouth from my punch was satisfying but not as satisfying as seeing it explode into Mana.
“Not bad—Ahh!” A buzzard caught me from behind, stabbing its beak into my lower back. Never got stabbed before but I couldn’t imagine it hurting any worse.
“Enzo!” Alisa shot her hand cannon. She didn’t do much damage but it was enough to make the bird flap its wings and ascend back with the other four remaining.
I stayed on one knee and grimaced from the pain. Jade rushed up and helped me to my feet. “Are you—”
“I’m fine,” I grunted. “Just a flesh wound.” I turned up toward the sky to see the vultures circling for their next attack.
“I can take ‘em out,” I said. “Just gotta get ‘em in position. Zero Blast. Tell Alisa to set up a stun shot. We’ll take ‘em down one by one.”
The raven-haired Harbinger gave me a nod then made her way back to Alisa. They both held their weapons ready as we waited for the vultures to make their next move.
The stinging pain in my back was annoying but not enough to distract my focus.
“C’mon… Come and get me, assholes. I’m right here…” I squeezed my fists tight. I clenched my jaw and breathed hard through my nose.
“Caaaw!” Another squawk and the five birds began swooping toward me.
“Wait for it,” I said calmly. “Wait until they’re close.”
The birds grew larger, blocking out the sun. The wind picked up, threatening to knock me over if I didn’t dig my heels into the dirt.
“Wait…”
The vultures locked their eyes on me. Sharp claws on their feet extended out, ready to snatch me as soon as I was close.
“Wait…”
“Enzo?” Jade said, her voice uncertain.
“Now!”
“Zero Blast!” Jade yelled and fired a blast of blue energy from her staff. The straight beam of cold shot out and caught one of the birds. It flapped hard to try and shake away but the frost continued to spread from its wing and over the rest of its body.
“I got you!” Alisa let loose with a charged stun shot. The white burst of energy was as fast as any bullet. In a flash, it slammed into another vulture and electrical energy pulsed through it.
“Raaaaah!” It squealed as it tried to break free but was forced to land.
I ran as fast as I could to the two vulnerable birds. But the other three weren’t about to let me have it so easily. They pecked with their mouths and clawed at me. I rolled forward. Slashes against my back made me grimace but weren’t enough to stop me.
Jade’s Zero Blast finished freezing the bird completely. All it took was a hard right cross to its chest. It shattered into thousands of shards before exploding into orbs of Mana to collect. I quickly spun around and hammered the other stunned vulture with a backfist to the face. It keeled over, stumbling on the sand. It moved in perfect position for me to slam a punch into the side of its head and crack its skull. It burst into Mana the same as the previous one.
But with three vultures still here, I couldn’t stop to celebrate. Thankfully, Jade and Alisa were already on it. Another Zero Blast froze another vulture in place while Alisa fired another stunning shot.
I ran forward and shattered another vulture, the satisfaction from it more than I would ever admit. And the next stunned vulture met the same fate with a straight right fist.
The last bird ascended back into the sky, swooping away from the blasts.
More lizards popped up from the sand but they weren’t much trouble for me to knock away.
The blood was continuing to leak from my back. The status display on my communicator indicated as much. All of the dirt and sweat on my face made it harder for me to see. My muscles were sore from how many punches I’d thrown. But as I stared up at the last bird in the sky, I found the last bit of energy I needed.
“One more!” I shouted. “Get ready!”
The vulture continued circling above, blocking out the sun as it passed. Jade kept her staff at her hip. Alisa pointed her hand cannon in the air, her arms shaking slightly. My fists stayed at my sides as I gathered my strength.
I could end this with one punch. I just had to hit the right spot. All I needed was for either one of them to land a shot and I could kill this thing.
“C’mon, you bastard… What are you waiting for?”
“Caaaw!” the vulture squawked and suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.
“What the…” I squinted to make sure I was seeing it right. But all that was in the sky was the bright light of the sun.
“Did you see that?” Jade said. “It’s gone.”
“Maybe it ran away,” Alisa said. “It’s scared.”
I looked around and saw no goblins or lizards. It was quiet except for the soft breeze whistling by.
“Huh…” I sighed softly. “I guess it ran away.”
Jade walked up and began collecting some of the Mana.
“We’ll get you a communicator,” Jade said to Alisa. “Then you can start leveling. More levels means you can amplify your shots.”
“Maybe I can get a sword and shield, too,” she said enthusiastically. “I’ll be just like the Omegas they talk about in the brochures. I’ll pick every class!”
Alisa’s enthusiasm made me smile and the battle we’d just fought was already forgotten.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I said. “Just because you had fun this one time doesn’t mean you’ll always enjoy it.”
“Are you kidding? Jade with her magic. Me with this gun. You with those fists. We’re already unstoppable. Once I get stronger, there’s no way we won’t get to Anarchy.”
I glanced at the map on my wrist. “We’ve still got a long way to go—”
BOOM!
“Caaaaaaaw!”
A burst of light flashed in the sky, followed by a sud
den shriek that pierced the air loud enough to shake the ground.
I turned my head up to see the black vulture flying back above us. But I only had to look at it for a second to see it wasn’t the same bird.
“Uh, guys…” Alisa muttered. “Is it just me or did that thing get… bigger?”
I kept staring at it and realized just how large it was. The others might’ve been as wide as a bus but this thing was the size of a small building, about three times as wide and twice as tall.
Even though it was so far away, the force from its wings flapping sent a gust of wind that forced me to press my heels into the sand to stop from falling over.
“Holy shit,” Alisa said. “What are we gonna do?”
The vulture kept circling above us, waiting for a chance to attack. I thought about it but nothing came to me. That’s when I knew what I had to do. There didn’t need to be anything else.
“Plan doesn’t change,” I said. “Stun it. Freeze it. I’ll do the rest.”
“My Zero Blast isn’t strong enough to freeze that thing,” Jade said. “Unless it’s willing to stand there for a few minutes and let me do it.”
“You don’t need to freeze it. You just need to slow it down.”
Jade clenched her jaw and nodded. Alisa didn’t appear as confident, her lips quivering. But she exhaled a sharp breath through her nose to recompose herself and nodded.
“I got your back, Champ.”
I pounded my fists together and moved in position, daring the buzzard to come at me.
“C’mon, you stupid bird. Come and get me.”
I held my hands out and motioned with my fingers. The buzzard changed its trajectory, almost like it was looking right at me. It brought its wings to its sides and began diving in my direction. The vulture might’ve been the size of a building but it moved like a bullet.
“Enzo!” Jade called out just as the bird hit the ground, stabbing its giant beak into the dirt.
I just managed to roll out of the way and avoid getting skewered. “Let him have it!”
Jade and Alisa fired in unison as it pulled its beak free from the earth. Stun shots and beams of ice concentrated on one wing slowed it down.
“Caaaw!” It squawked as it tried to flap to ascend.
“No, you don’t!” I ran forward with my fists up. Right when I swung, my gauntlet met one of the vulture’s claws. I kept moving my right fist forward and knocked its claw away, moving close enough to send a follow-up left hook into its body.
“Caaaaw!” Its squeal of pain let me know I got it right where it hurt.
Another right hand slammed into its body, forcing it to sit back down on the ground.
Jade’s Zero Blast froze the tip of its wings with the frost slowly spreading to the rest of it. Alisa kept firing charged shots to keep the bird off-balance.
I put my fists up and blocked its clawed feet. It pecked at me but the barrier from the gauntlets did just enough to stop it from getting through. But I wasn’t ready for its other wing. It flapped hard enough to knock me onto my back, leaving me in position for it to claw at me.
“Ahh!” I grunted in pain as the sharp claws pierced my arm. Instinct took over as I knocked its massive leg away from me. It used its other leg to try and pin me down so it could peck me to death.
“Shit…” I looked up and saw Jade and Alisa’s shot continuing to slow it down. But the vulture was still dangerous enough to cut right through me with its claws or its beak.
One punch. It didn’t matter how big it was. I just needed to get to its head. Stun it long enough to finish it off.
And that was it. I had to let it come to me. A counterattack.
The bird rushed its clawed feet back toward me, catching me in the leg. I ignored the stinging sensation and held my ground.
“Finish me off, you bastard.”
The vulture’s giant white eyes locked on me. It reared its head back and—CAAAAAW!—it let out a squeal loud enough to make my whole body shake. I clenched my jaw and my fists, staying in position.
All I had to do was time it. And just like I expected it to, the bird came rushing its face at me.
With all my strength, I threw an uppercut as hard as I could. The steel gauntlet crunched against the underside of its beak. Its own momentum made the blow even harder. Its head knocked back and the rest of its body stumbled with it.
It wobbled on unsteady feet, flapping its wings wildly while its head bobbed in every direction. It was still alive but not for long.
Left hooks. Straight rights. I hammered its face like a punching bag, doing enough damage to slow it down even more. Cracks appeared in its beak. Black blood dripped from its eyes and face. Its legs wobbled like it was trying to stand on ice. Jade and Alisa didn’t stop their assault. It kept slipping until one last punch to its face made it stumble. It fell onto its back and exploded into a blinding shower of shimmering Mana that littered the ground in every direction around me.
“Ungh… Shit…”
The rush of adrenaline left me as I fell to my knees. All of the pain from my injuries returned to me.
“Whoa… You did it.” Alisa ran up and put a hand on my shoulder. “You… okay?”
I looked up and saw the smirk on her lips. I was bleeding like hell and tired as shit but still managed to laugh. “I’m just fine.”
She scrunched her face in confusion and looked around. “Are battles always like that? That’s kinda crazy.”
“It’s kinda weird there was such a giant Shadow in the middle of the zone…”
“That’s it.” Jade had her head down as she looked at her communicator. “Dr. Redgrave’s estimation was off. This is the end of the zone. Look…”
She pointed just a few meters away from us. An Obelisk slowly materialized in the air. Next to it, a circle of blue energy began pulsing. The gateway to the next zone.
“I think we should take a break before we decide where we’re going,” Jade said.
I let out a deep breath of relief and nodded. “Agreed.”
“Yeah, I did work up an appetite,” Alisa said. “And we all know just the place to relax after a hard-fought battle.”
21: Alisa Does The Math
Enzo Drake
Level 18 Slayer
(5 levels available)
Hit Points 100
Endurance 50
Strength 15
Speed 11
Durability 15
Control 9
“Huh… I thought I’d get a little more experience from beating that buzzard…”
“If your level is too high for the zone you’re in, you won’t reap as much experience,” Jade explained. “It’s part of the reason Omegas never spend time farming in low-level Junctions.”
“Funny. That vulture wasn’t exactly a simple fight.”
“You did give some of that Mana to Alisa. You’ll have to spread things around with another person on the squad.”
“Whatever works…”
I approved the levels and the rush of Red Mana flowing through my veins made my whole body tense up. I closed my eyes and savored the improvement for a moment then looked at my gains.
Strength 17 (+2)
Speed 12 (+1)
Durability 16 (+1)
Control 10 (+1)
“An extra point in strength. Looks like Redgrave intended on making the Slayer a pure melee fighter.”
“Back in the District, squads were always balanced. Three-man teams always complemented each other. There was never more than one class in the same squad. Never all melee. Never all ranged. With Alisa, I can’t think of a better team comp.” Jade looked over to where Alisa was talking to Redgrave. “Though I’m not too sure about her yet…”
“What’s wrong? You don’t trust her?”
“It’s not that. She’s young. Excited and enthusiastic.”
“She’s the same age as you, Jade.”
“But we have different experiences. I know what it’s like to fight Shadows. Day after
day, heading into Pandora and constantly pushing yourself. The first taste of battle leaves you wanting more. But some people get tired. My recruitment class dropped to less than half after the first World Boss.”
Jade made sense. To go from living an ordinary life to finding monsters in another world just a few hours was strange. There was no telling if Alisa would still be on-board with it once we got closer to Anarchy.
“Alisa’s free to leave if she wants,” he said. “The more important thing is she doesn’t squeal to Castleberry. We’ll make it to Anarchy with or without her.”
I walked over to see Redgrave examining the communicator on Alisa’s wrist. The old man looked over the tip of his nose as he tapped on the touchscreen. “Everything appears to be in order. You’re free to apply the Red Mana you’ve gained.”
“All right! That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
“You sure you wanna do this?” I asked. “Having Red Mana in you is a big deal. Even though you won’t be an Omega, you won’t be an ordinary civilian either.”
“I started taking lessons from you because I just wanted to walk down the street and feel safe. As long as I’m not causing any trouble, it’s cool, ain’t it?”
All I could do was let her make her own decision. “It’s your call.”
“I’m on your side, Champ.” She tapped my arm and walked over to Jade with a bounce in her step. Alisa’s enthusiasm made me forget I was in a dusty old storage warehouse for a moment.
“What do you think?” I asked Redgrave.
He held up the jagged piece of blue rock in his palm. “It’ll take some time to break it down. It feels a little heavier. Not surprising, since the Shadows you’re dealing with are dense with Mana. I’ll be able to upgrade the Slayer Gauntlets as expected.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” I glanced at the map on the display at the side of the room. The blinking blue dot had jumped forward on the line leading to Anarchy, covering more distance than I know we walked.
