Chapter 57: Chapter 55: Filthy animals
[Verdantis]
[Outskirts]
The outpost was perched atop a snowy mountain, its structure blending in with the harsh landscape. The main building, made of dark steel and concrete, stood tall against the biting winds and snowflakes. Its dark walls were made of a sleek, nearly indestructible material that glead under the harsh fluorescent lights. The windows were tinted black, preventing any glimpse into the secrets held within. The only visible entrance was a heavily guarded gate, flanked by two towering turrets ard with advanced weapons.
There were a lot of soldiers stationed there, clad in thick, black armor that seed to absorb the feeble light of the overcast sky. Their helts, adorned with a single red visor, gave them an almost robotic appearance. Each guard held a sleek rifle, their fingers poised on the trigger, ready to defend their post at a mont’s notice.
Beyond the gate was a maze of buildings and structures, all constructed with the sa dark steel and concrete as the main building. The air humd with the sound of machinery. There were smaller structures, each one seemingly identical to the next, serving as barracks for the guards and prisoners alike.
In a large courtyard surrounded by high walls, a group of prisoners was being escorted to a smaller building off to the side. The prisoners, dressed in tattered clothes, were chained together and prodded forward by guards with electrified batons. Their faces were gaunt and weary, bearing the marks of their harsh confinent.
Mikoto watched in silence as the prisoners were ushered into a dark structure. He had a good view of the large outpost from on high as he was currently high in the air.
"Didn’t even think technology like this existed in this world," he murmured. The cultist he interrogated had directed him to this outpost. He had put the man with his other comrades after he was finished with him. Of course, he had used magic to make sure they were restricted. But still, there was that irkso feeling, especially when he was staring at the guards.
"No mana either, what the hell is this?" He questioned to himself. He had no reason to hold such distaste, yet it was too evident within him. He shook his head. "Those prisoners are villagers, no doubt, but why kidnap them?" His question was left unanswered as he took off the blazer of his uniform before igniting it in flas. He was left with his black long-sleeved button shirt and gray vest. "No need to make it obvious that a student of Luminare attacked this base," he mused as he hovered closer to the ground. In no ti, he was in the outpost as his feet touched down onto the ground. "Ti to take care of so animals."
Imdiately, so of the guards took note of him. There were around fifteen where he landed, and it seed they were not content to engage in any conversation. He saw one hold a hand to his helt and talk, no doubt informing others.
The guards imdiately leveled their rifles at him. The air crackled with energy as beams of light exited the barrels of the rifles and streaked towards him, lting the snow that fell around the bolts of light. Raising his hand, he channeled his mana, creating a translucent red barrier that ca into existence just in ti. The lasers slamd into the barrier, scattering sparks.
Seizing the mont, Mikoto raised his free palm, summoning flas, the fire erupted forth in a large torrent, engulfing the surrounding area. The snow sizzled and evaporated upon contact, and the fire spread large enough that buildings within the outpost were consud by in, collapsing in showers of molten debris.
More guards trudged through the snow towards him, but he did not care.
With fifteen guards rid by the searing blaze, Mikoto wasted no ti. He shifted his focus, drawing upon another elental aspect. Lightning crackled in his palm, arcing and snaking. A bolt of electrifying mana lanced out, striking a guard squarely and sending a surge of electricity coursing through his armor.
The lightning spread like wildfire, jumping from guard to guard in a chain reaction. Each strike was accompanied by a blinding flash and a deafening crack, the guards convulsed and staggered, overwheld.
"You animals just keep coming," he scoffed as he raised his right hand.
Twenty large swords materialized behind him, with a swift command, they launched towards the remaining guards with incredible speed. The swords pierced through armor and flesh alike, striking and leaving a trail of incapacitated.
"Hex: Distortion of gravity," Mikoto spoke as he raised his hand to the remaining guards.
The ground beneath the guards began to warp and distort, pulling them downwards with a force they could not resist. Snow swirled and gathered around their sinking forms as they struggled in vain against the intensified gravity. Mikoto watched as they sank deeper and deeper, their armor creaking under the strain until they were immobilized in the snowy ground.
"That was about fifty; this place is huge, though, so there may be more," he noted as his form vanished from the massacre. Reappearing in one of the structures, it was dark and expansive with the only source of light being what looked like prison bars made of a harsh blue light. Beyond the bars were the damaged forms of won, children, and n. They numbered around twenty, shock and fear graced their features as they took note of Mikoto.
He could not bla them; they surely had seen better days.
"It’s alright, I’ve co to save you," Mikoto snapped his fingers, and within the cell, there seed to be a tear in reality as sothing akin to a red portal materialized. So scurried away in fear, and others rely did not care, as if they had given up. "It connects to the town of Briarwick; you should get so help there. I recomnd being fast; more of these guys may show up." Mikoto did not wait to see their reactions, so without another word, his form blurred and disappeared.
In an instance, he was back outside where the various bodies of the guards were littered.
"Their signatures are disappearing; they must’ve gone for it," he noted; they were rather desperate if they trusted him so easily. He himself just wanted to be quick about it; there was no reason to waste ti and comfort them. "Might as well blow this place up when they’re." He raised his left arm to prepare a spell, only to find it gone. He glanced upwards to see it flying through the air.
"I am sorry, but I cannot allow that," he heard a voice state as he glanced to his side.
--------------------
[Galadriel]
[Ruins]
Adrian sighed to himself as the woman’s fists moved like lightning, he dodged left and right, narrowly avoiding the deadly strikes that seed to cut through the air. Sweat beaded on his brow as he struggled to keep up with her assault.
However, he took the light opportunity to imdiately back away. With a re thought, shadows coalesced around him, swirling and twisting until they ford the shape of a large monstrous centipede-like demon. Its segnted body writhing, and its multiple legs clicked against the ground as it erged, as if piercing through reality itself.
Its elongated body writhed, and its razor-sharp mandibles glistened in the light as it lunged at the woman, its movents were fluid and fast.
With a deft sidestep, she evaded the demon’s initial strike, her ao dai fluttering. With a swift kick, she shattered the demon’s head, sending shards of shadowy substance scattering into the air like shards of broken glass.
Adrian’s eyes widened, but he quickly composed himself and summoned more demons.
The first demon appeared as a towering figure wreathed in flas, its eyes burning. Flas moving along its massive form, licking at the air and scorching the ground beneath its feet. With a gesture from Adrian, the demon unleashed a torrent of fire that engulfed the surroundings, scorching the stones and blackening the earth.
The woman, seemingly undeterred by the searing heat, moved through the flas with astonishing speed. Not a single ember touched her skin, nor did her clothes catch fire. With a focused expression, she closed the distance between herself and the fiery demon, her movents nothing but a blur of speed. Adrian managed to back away, but it was much too late for the demon.
In a swift series of strikes, she incapacitated the first demon, shattering its fiery form with strong blows that seed to extinguish its flas and body alike. Adrian sighed as he gestured to his second demon. It was a dark wraith-like demon, with translucent tentacles prodding from its form.
A swirling mist emanated from the demon’s form, tendrils of black snaking outwards and decaying everything they touched. The ruins of the castle crumbled and decayed under the influence of this mist. Adrian watched as her form rely blurred, his eyes widened as he leaped backward once more. She reappeared before his demon and with a punch that shattered the demon’s core and a kick that dispersed the mist with a burst of force, she dispelled the dark magic with ease.
"I do hope this is not all," the woman spoke, seemingly disappointed. Adrian did not imdiately respond; instead, he glanced at Williams’ fallen form. He was leaned against a cracked wall with blood seeping from his head. Ruby was currently tending to him via healing magic, so he was left to fend off this woman alone.
"Oh, not at all," he spoke. Cracks seed to form in the sky inches above him. An enormous clawed hand broke through it as he smirked. "This is one hell of a test."
Reviews
All reviews (0)