The skull-shattering explosion mimicked the echo of a Howitzer cannon. I lost presence for a mont and stumbled to the side, trembling hand reaching up towards a wetness on my cheek. My left ear, closest to the explosion, was bleeding. I grimaced and quaffed a health potion, making my way towards the twins alongside Sae.
Got 'em? Sae was leaning on Astrid, squinting through the gaping hole that yawned open where the door used to be, beyond masked by enough dust to pass as a sandstorm.
As the dust receded, scaly corpses ca into view, chunks of their bodies missing, cleanly cut through by the laser. Think so. Astrid huffed, breathing hard but otherwise undeterred. Considering the scale of what shed just managed, the lack of tiredness was off-putting.
And a little disturbing.
The twins were strong, to be sure, but they hardly dominated the competition.
It was a reminder that every User still alive had been continually getting stronger, driven towards progression by the impending threat of another transposition event. Magic stood out because it was flashy and could cause catastrophic damage from a distance, but many lee Users were advancing far beyond the realm of human potential in both defensive and offensive capacities.
I was at a higher level than most. The combination of the Allfathers backing, stumbling upon the adaptive dungeon, and early access to Kinsleys store had allowed to get an early head start, one Id capitalized on to the best of my ability. Subsequently, the string of misfortunes and contentious paths that led here helped widen the gap. Between pushing higher up the tower and clashing with problem mbers of the order, Id tried to continue that trend.
But there was an uncanny sense, lately, that the gap was closing.
If I needed to deal with a User like Astridpowerful, but lower level than the thodology was simple. Create enough of an opening to force through and either direct them to turn their wand or weapon on themselves, or use them against their allies.
But if the User was equal to my level or higher?
That was a problem. In an ideal environnt with plenty of space and places to hide, I could punch far above my weight class. But this was the real world. You didnt always get to pick your battles. If the wrong Users ambushed at the wrong ti, I was in a world of trouble.
Especially with family in the mix.
My eyes trailed to my sister, still ashen in Saes arms. We need to get going.
We darted across the street in loose formation, keeping and Iris in the center to shield us from view as we circumvented the small groups of Users pushing back monsters, slowly making our way through back allies and side roads until our destination lood in the distance, less than a half mile away.
Sae nearly took a step before her eyes glazed over, and she swiped a finger across her invisible UI. Max is on comms and in range. Better late than never, I guess.
Max? I asked dumbly, giving Sae a pointed look.
Minor mistakes could easily sum to disaster. Though the strike team didnt require my presence to function, I spearheaded things often enough that the five of us had a working chemistry. Saethe only person present who knew Myrddin and Matt were the sa personhad to take special care.
She startled and glanced over at the twins. To their credit, they were too preoccupied with our surroundings to notice the slip. Ops guy. Can hold his own in combat but has advanced reconnaissance feats.
Switching gears, I played the role of an annoyed VIP whose life was in danger. There are no freaks in sight. Whatever the hell the attack was about, they obviously focused on the outskirts. Its right there. I pointed at the building. Quick jog and were ho free.
Confident enough to bet your sister on that? Sae challenged. When I scowled and didnt answer, she continued. Just sit tight for a second. Max will get back to , and well
Her eyes flicked to her UI, and Saes expression froze, the already light skin around her chitinous material paled ghostly white.
The private ssage ca a second later.
Icy fingers gripped my spine. Maxs estimations were useful, but you couldnt always trust them. A positive rating15 being the maximumonly factored in elents that were currently present. A 15 could easily change to a three if so sort of threat beyond its range entered the fray. But for him to give us a 1?
There was sothing insidious in play. A massive ambush, or sothing just as devastating.
I considered our surroundings. The alley didnt have any defenses, anything we could barricade save two large dumpsters with rusted wheels and a small mound of trash. The dumpsters could provide so cover in a pinch, though not muchespecially under any heavy sustained fire. My instinct was to move, get the hell out, and find a place to hide. But if we moved before we knew where the danger was coming from, itd be all too easy to run into it.
Astria had noticed the lapse, and tracked back to us. Sothing wrong?
Sae nodded, her mouth tight. Serious threat. Waiting on Maxs cooldown for more info.
A flit of shadows from above broke up the light, and there was a warning cry from the massive raven. It circled overhead, calling repeatedly each ti it reached the left side of its circle, the call increasing in urgency.
GUUUUUUU BAAAAAAAAAAH
Sothing roared. Everyone present imdiately covered their ears and winced. Beyond the deafening volu of the scream, it was strange. For one, it was guttural and raw, as if the creature who made it was malford or injured. Second, it was broken up in the middle. In abstract, it almost sounded like two unintelligible words, the phonetics lost in pure, unbridled fury.
An oscillating whoosh followed, not unlike helicopter blades. Seconds later, a long pole with a bright yellow triangle on one end that was spinning almost too quickly to make out, smashed into the raven, sending it crashing onto the building below.
In the wake of the impact, the decapitated minotaur staggered into view on the street beyond. It hadnt completely regenerated, and considering the damage to its ligants and muscles, I had no idea how it was still standing. Headless and bleeding, it ca to a standstill and pointed a gnarled finger at .
Guuuh Baaaaaah.
Give it back.
Well, fuck.
Beyond cutting off the head and taking it with , Id done an astronomical amount of damage to the creatures body after it was down for the count. Hard to imagine I was worried about overkill when this was the result. The fact that it was still standing at all bothered the shit out of . Sure, it was probably the product of a necromancer and undead creatures tended to flaunt the rules but co on. It had a gaping hole where its neck should be. It was down three senses, and still managed to track
I stepped to the side, and its body shifted slightly, staying on target. That shouldnt be possible unless it was being directly controlled. And it was still communicating, still showing personality. Unless
Its following the head.
I began to back away. The minotaur advanced toward with lumbering footsteps, paying no mind to the others. Astrid charged up a spell, Astria supporting from behind.
Tell them to stop. I murmured.
Saes head snapped back toward . What?
The mage twins. Stop them.
Gemini, hold. Sae said, using their official callsign.
What, so furless-furry-dullahan can roll us over? Astrid snapped.
It probably cant see you. And even if it can, its priorities have changed. I said, projecting as much confidence as I could considering the circumstances. Itd taken out the bird, but only because the raven was actively hindering it and I got the feeling these things could sense each other. Crack open the manhole and take the girls down into the sewer. Give a minute to lead him away, then scorch concrete.
She stared at . I dont care how good you think you are. That thing will tear you to shreds.
Its gotta catch first.
Matt
Get Iris to the Adventurers Guild. Make sure Tyler knows whats happening. Send as many people my way as you can. Ill keep the pins coming.
Max gave us a near-zero chance of making it to the tower together. If I wanted to get Iris clear, that ant improvising. I had the beginnings of a plan. Hard to say if it was a good one, but it was better than nothing.
Sae took Iris and helped her and the twins into the sewer, mory guided as I flew through the UI, pulling up Kinsleys store and making a very specific purchase. I spamd through the invasive warnings and prompts letting know my purchase had been logged and selecting construction, in the reason field. Considering that you had to be on the approved listgenerally a non-fledgling mber of a respected guild or vouched for by oneto make purchases on this section of the site, the warnings were probably unnecessary. But better safe than sorry.
Twenty minutes.
No small ask, when the battlefield had a way of turning minutes into eternity. I withdrew the bag from my inventory and fished out the contents. Considering how alive the body was, I half-expected the head to animate, maybe even speak to . But compared to the body, it wasnt looking so hot. The once red tissue was dull burgundy, the texture hypoxic and prune-like, eyes rolled up into the back of its head. With any luck, that ant most of its intelligence and higher reasoning were out of commission.
Ahead, the minotaur was still advancing slowly, hand out-held.
Looking for this? I hefted the minotaurs head by the base of the skull. Then reached up with my free-hand, cocked my middle finger behind my thumb, and delivered a aty flick to its nose.
The reaction was imdiate. The creature roared, warbled voice full of rage and hatred. And rushed forward.
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