by Riker Kane
“Uh… How big of a fireball can you shoot?” Alisa asked.
Jade exhaled a deep breath then looked at me. A focused acceptance of what she had to do was in her eyes. A real test for all of us.
BOOM!
Thunder cracked in the sky, loud enough to shake the ground. The goblins remained motionless as they stared up at the white energy forming.
I narrowed my eyes and watched the figure emerge. The outline of another goblin floated down from the sky among the snowflakes. But as it got closer to the ground, it became clear it wasn’t just another goblin.
The creature stood seven-feet tall. Its arms. Its legs. It was three times as thick and muscular as the other goblins. Even its white leather armor seemed more durable. Its smooth forehead protruded out slightly, just above a pair of blue eyes that were staring right at me.
In its right hand, a giant, jagged blade that was as long as its body rested in the snow. The sword was wide and rusted. Its edge was dull and blunt but the goblin looked big enough to swing it with enough force to cut.
The snow drifted gently on top of the giant goblin’s bald head. The scene was serene. Quiet except for the soft wind whistling by.
“That’s weird,” Alisa shifted her eyes left and right along with her hand cannon. “None of them are moving. They’re all just… staring.”
“You’re right,” Jade said. “They could swarm us right now and it would be hard to hold them off.”
The giant goblin stepped forward through the snow, dragging its blade behind it. But it only moved a few steps before stopping.
Its blue eyes didn’t have any pupils. It was looking right at me though. I could feel it. A stare as cold as my surroundings.
“What the hell is going on?” Alisa said.
The goblin raised its hand up. Its three long, thick fingers had nails like claws on the end of it. It closed its hand except for one finger, keeping it extended and pointed at me.
“Is he pointing at you?” Alisa said. “Because it looks like he’s pointing at you.”
“I think he is…” I took a step forward and the giant goblin matched me.
“Hmm…” Jade lowered her staff. “I think he’s challenging you. All the other goblins. Their weapons are lowered. They don’t look like they’re ready to attack.”
“You ever fight someone that big, Champ?”
“Middleweights don’t get that big. Never fought above my weight class. But I never had these before.” I clenched my fists together. The adrenaline burning inside of my gut was something I hadn’t felt since I was getting ready for my last fight in the cage. Didn’t realize how much I missed it.
“He’s a goblin warrior,” Jade said. “Representing everybody else. If you beat him…”
“The only way forward is through him. If that’s what it takes.”
Alisa lowered her gun and sighed. She smiled despite the uncertainty in her eyes. “Go get ‘em, Champ.”
Alisa and Jade slowly backed up toward the circle of goblins around us.
The goblin giant kept moving forward until he was only a few meters away from me. Its muscled arms were thick and sinewy. Every inch of its white scales was stretched tight over its body. The bastard looked like it spent all day in the gym.
Dangerous weapon. Strong armor. The asshole had size on me, too. But I wasn’t gonna go down.
“All right.” I raised my fists up. “Let’s go.”
I started circling it, searching for my spot to attack. Just one wrong move was enough to be the end.
The goblin warrior moved its feet to keep its eyes on me, its wide sword resting on its shoulder. Its armor was something a gladiator wore, only made out of leather. A chestplate. Pauldrons. Faulds. Boots. Along with its head, only its arms and legs were exposed.
It moved slowly then quickly swung down at me with a massive cleave. I shifted to the side and the blade pounded into the grass, sending a cloud of snow and dirt into the air. I countered with a right hand and caught it right in its side.
WAP. The punch was enough to make it take a step back but its armor absorbed some of it.
The goblin steadied itself and raised its sword back on its shoulder. Didn’t do much damage with the first punch but it wouldn’t take long for them to add up.
Another overhead slash and I rolled out of the way, this time hammering the giant in its knee. It let out a grunt and reached up with a fist of its own. I took it right in the chest and went stumbling back a few steps with my feet sliding through the snow. But I stayed up, just in time to see another cleave.
“Power Shield!”
CLANG. I brought my gloves up and the blue barrier stopped the sword from splitting me in half. The giant pressed its weight down on me, trying to break through it. Its eyes narrowed and its teeth gritted.
I clenched my jaw and pushed back. “You won’t get through, asshole.” I used all of my strength to make it stumble back. Its sword went flying back over its head, giving me more than enough time to run up and slam my fist into the same knee I hit before. Another grunt of pain and it wobbled, low enough for me to wallop it in the jaw.
“That’s it, Champ! You got this!”
Left and right hands hammered the goblin’s face, drawing dark blue blood from its nose and mouth.
“Finish it!”
Jade’s cheers pushed me even more. BANG. BANG. BANG. I cracked the giant over and over.
“RAAAAAH!”
The goblin roared loud enough to make me back up a step. A momentary daze and I was watching its sword move toward me. The blade caught me right in the thigh.
“Shit!”
I punched the sword away and moved back. The blood leaked from my leg and on the outside of my jeans.
“Dammit…”
“RAAAAAH!”
The goblin didn’t give me a chance to rest. It leaped into the air with its sword reared back.
In a fight, you only had a split-second to react. It was after the fight you’d know whether or not you made the right decision.
I didn’t play it safe. Instead of activating my barrier, I threw a right fist as hard and fast as I could, trying to beat the giant to the punch. BANG. The gauntlet clanged against its sword. The massive blow reverberated through the rest of my body and made both of us stumble back. But the giant fell back even more.
A split-second.
That was all I needed. I rushed forward and before the goblin could raise its blade—CLANG—I cracked it in the jaw and turned its head sideways. Its fangs cracked and more blue blood sprayed on the snow.
The goblin stayed on its knees as I hammered away on its face. Right hand after right hand, I used my other hand to keep it sitting up so I could punch it until it had nothing left. The goblin was near lifeless, its arms at its side, its weapon on the ground, and its face a mask of blood.
“You’re doing it, Champ! Let’s go!”
I reared back with my fist. Heart racing. Lungs burning. I used all my endurance until I had one punch left.
“Any last words, asshole?”
The goblin narrowed its eyes at me. Its brow furrowed in anger, it spit blood out to the side. “You are not strong enough.”
My whole body froze up. I thought I heard it talk. A deep, gravelly voice. The goblin’s lips moved. I saw it. I heard it. But I still didn’t believe it.
“What?” I moved my hands away in confusion.
“You are not strong enough. But I sense in you what they fear. Relentlessness despite inevitable doom. Foolishness.”
It spoke. It definitely spoke. I was so confused I let it go from my grip.
The goblin worked its way back up to its feet. I was too puzzled to try and stop it. It picked up its blade but showed no signs of attacking me. Instead, it held its hand out and a red energy began to swirl around in its palm. Red Mana. The goblin dropped it on the ground and slowly walked to the side where the hundreds of goblins were gathered.
I watched them all as they walked away before fading into th
e air like mist.
Jade and Alisa ran up to me. Their eyes were wide, filled with the same confusion I had.
“Did you hear that?” I said.
Jade nodded her head slowly.
“It talked,” Alisa said. “I didn’t know Shadows could talk.”
“Yeah…” I looked back down the path in front of us. “Doesn’t matter now though. Let’s keep going and—”
BOOM!
Thunder cracked the sky and the wind blew the snowfall in every direction.
“Now what?” I grumbled through gritted teeth.
I expected another flood of goblins to come pouring out. But there was only one figure. A four-legged beast. It leaped from the sky in a flash and crashed into the snow.
A frosty blue mane. Icy white fur. Fangs as long as daggers. Claws sharp enough to punch a hole through metal. Even its white tail whipped back and forth and wiped away the snow behind it. I only had to look at it for a second to know what it was.
“Glacier Lion.”
It wasn’t just the shade of it. The thing was probably five times the size of a regular one. Even tamers had trouble with regular ones. This bastard was gonna put up a fight.
“Are you all right?” Alisa glanced down at my leg.
“Just a flesh wound.”
“Uh… It’s dripping down your jeans.”
“I’ve got plenty of HP. Still time before I go unconscious.”
The lion locked its empty white eyes on me as it moved forward. I’d never seen anything look so much like a predator than right now.
“What’s the plan?” Jade asked.
“Plan never changes. Keep your distance. I’ll engage.”
Jade raised her staff and charged a fireball. The green flames surrounded the tip of her weapon and fired. The Solo Spark zoomed forward and caught the lion clear in the face.
It roared in pain and its legs wobbled in a daze.
“Go!” I ran forward as fast as I could. The creature was so big I had to jump to hit it. But I got just enough air to clock it right on the side of its head with a left hook.
It stumbled back again but swiped at me. Its massive paw caught me in the chest. Its claws ripped through my shirt and drew blood instantly.
“Dammit…” I moved back to avoid another swipe. It stopped mid-swipe when Alisa caught it with a charged shot.
The lion immediately shifted its attention to them and began charging forward.
“Oh, shit…”
Alisa and Jade fired to keep the lion back but two blasts weren’t enough to stop its momentum. It pounced on Jade and snatched at her. She stuck her staff up and barely blocked the lion from biting her head off.
“RAAAAAH!”
“Get off!”
I ran up and slammed the lion in its hind leg. It didn’t matter how big it was. Even this giant asshole couldn’t take a blow from the gauntlets.
The lion roared and whipped its tail hard enough to knock me back a few paces. It kept its attention on Jade as it pinned her down with both of its front paws.
“Get off her!” Alisa let off another blast that caught the side of the lion. Steam rose from the singed white fur but it wasn’t enough to free Jade.
“Try this on for size.” I raised my gauntlets up and slammed them into the snow. The Seismic Quake made the ground rumble. The giant creature moved away from Jade and lost its footing.
“There we go. Help her!”
Alisa rushed up and grabbed Jade out from underneath the beast. I sent another right cross into its hind leg, finally forcing the lion to turn its attention back to me.
It snatched at me with its teeth. But my reflexes were enough for me to counter it. WHAM. Both gauntlets shot forward and caught it in the mouth. Its fangs shattered, splintering in every direction on the snow. I followed up with a few more punches to knock the creature’s head left and right.
“Let’s go!”
I called out and Alisa and Jade immediately responded. Another Solo Spark and more gunfire caught the lion in its side, forcing it to sit.
That was all I needed. I ran up and caught the lion in its chin, knocking its head back. It swiped again at me but I was already bleeding so much, I was numb to the claws digging into my chest again.
I kept pressing forward. Teeth gritted and jaw clenched, I grabbed the beast’s mane and pulled myself up to crack it right on the side of the head.
It rolled over onto its back and exploded into the biggest shower of Mana I’d seen.
The plains fell silent except for the wind once again. I stayed on my knees to catch my breath. Sweat dripped down my face despite the cold. I was bleeding badly. But I had more than enough in me to smile.
“Impressive, indeed.”
A familiar voice rang in my ears. I quickly turned around.
“Enzo!”
Jade yelled out but it was already too late. A pain in my chest. Not like the cut from a blade or sword. Not piercing like a bullet. Not blunt like a punch. It was something else, draining the life out of me.
I looked down at my chest and saw the hand digging into me. Long, pale fingers connected to a bony arm. Dark robes. A black hood. Shadows covering its face except for two glowing red eyes.
“Herald…” I barely managed to get it out.
Its red eyes narrowed as the pain grew stronger in my chest.
“Strong.” The voice from the figure was distant even though it was right in front of me. “But not quite strong enough. So much effort for certain demise.”
“Get off him, asshole!” Alisa fired two shots that went right through the Herald.
The Herald finally released me and I collapsed on my back. I kept my eyes on it but it vanished into thin air like mist.
Jade and Alisa rushed up and fell next to me.
“Oh, shit…” It was like everything had been drained from me.
I glanced at my communicator. Even though I felt like shit, there was some relief. My head dropped to the side and I saw the purple Obelisk form. Next to it, another gateway with blue energy resonating.
“Set the checkpoint,” I sighed. “We’re at the end of the zone.”
37: The Duty Of An Omega
Enzo Drake
Level 45 Slayer
(0 levels available)
Hit Points 100
Endurance 50
Strength 25 (+1)
Speed 23 (+1)
Durability 22 (+2)
Control 20 (+2)
Six levels. A new Core to upgrade the gauntlets. Reaching the end of the zone on the doorstep to Anarchy. Jade and Alisa didn’t suffer any major injuries. All my wounds, as bad as they were, were healed.
Still, all of it wasn’t very satisfying.
“Puzzling…” Redgrave scratched the growing scruff on his chin. “The goblin spoke to you?”
“I heard it,” Alisa said. “Loud and clear.”
“It’s on record the Heralds are able to communicate with us. There’s no record of any other Shadows being able to communicate so coherently.”
“What does it mean?” I said.
Redgrave walked over to the display map and placed his finger on the blinking blue dot. “This is where you’re at in Pandora now. The only Omega who’s been able to get this far is your father. On the record, of course. Because you’re so deep into Pandora, it appears you’ve encountered a more advanced Shadow. A goblin who could actually speak.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second.” Alisa put her hands up. “The Legion has been around for nearly fifty years. Are you telling me in all that time since the First Event nobody’s ever seen anything like this?”
“It’s the Legion Omega Defense.” Jade walked over to the map and pointed at the left side where we started our journey. “Omegas don’t venture into Pandora like we’re doing now. We only go into the nearest dimension where Shadows are threatening to come into Earth.”
“That’s correct,” Redgrave added. “The Slayer Project was the first of its kind. To pick a dime
nsion with no immediate threat but travel through it, moving from zone to zone, and getting to the deepest zone we could measure. There we hoped to find the source of the Shadows and end this threat. I’m certain that’s evidenced by your most recent encounter.”
“What do you mean?”Alisa still didn’t look like she was getting it. Frankly, I didn’t blame her. We were doing something nobody else had ever done.
“Your battle data has been recorded. Enzo is making tremendous progress, as intended. The gauntlets are able to do damage. But even upgrading your abilities, your damage has not been able to measure up.”
“Now that you mention it… I didn’t seem to hurt that lion very much without shooting my hand cannon a billion times…”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I only need support. We’re right where we need to be. Talking goblins. Shadows. Whatever. We can finish this.”
Redgrave let out a deep sigh. “I’m afraid I’m still working on the Potent Mana. Unfortunately, it may be another day or two. Perhaps longer. Without it, I would strongly advise against venturing into Anarchy.”
“I’ll go in without it if I have to—”
“I regret losing Oliver.” Redgrave’s intense stare was more than I could ever remember seeing from him. He meant what he said. “My regret has driven me all these years to do this. I refuse to let you make the same mistake again. I know you want to save your father. But I will not lose you, as well.”
I put my hands on my hips and sighed. My frustration stewed inside of me. But that’s all it could do.
Redgrave was right.
He put a hand on my arm and smiled. “Patience, Enzo… You’ve come a long way. I suggest you take some time to recharge. It may be the last chance you get.”
“I’m pretty tired,” Alisa said with a yawn. “I’ve got a long day tomorrow. I think I should get some rest. Take it easy, guys.” The blond walked through the portal connected to the other storage warehouse.
Jade walked up to me. “My things are packed. I figured now would be a good time to move into your place.”
I chuckled. “Right… Almost forgot about that.”
“We’ve all had a lot on our minds. Maybe this’ll be a chance to forget about everything else.”
