Flapping its massive wings, the giant white goose soared straight up into the sky. Magnus held tight to its feathers, knuckles white, not daring to let go.
He knew well - once Fire Crystal was activated, tal Crystal couldn’t be used at the sa ti. Without tal Crystal’s defensive power, a fall from over a hundred ters ant he’d hit the ground like a sack of at.
He loosened his right hand, trying to reach for his left middle finger to trigger tal Crystal. But just at that mont, the white goose veered sharply to the left. His right hand missed, and instead he got flung around wildly, windmilling through the air, managing to barely grab onto the goose’s feathers with one hand.
Whether the altitude was too much for the bird, or the searing pain from where Magnus was clutching it, the massive goose thrashed a few tis mid-air and then dropped - hard.
Before Magnus could even touch his middle finger, the goose was already plumting fast, heading straight for a six-story building. He saw it all too clearly as they hurtled downward. A crash wouldn’t kill the goose, but him? If he didn’t act fast, he’d be half-dead at best.
Right as the goose closed in - less than ten ters from the rooftop - Magnus let go with his left hand. The goose smashed into the building with a gut-wrenching boom, tearing a giant chunk out of it. Magnus fell free from near the height of ten stories.
He reached out mid-fall, grabbed his own left wrist, wind roaring past his ears. He was now about level with the fourth story. No panic, just this strange calm.
Thumb grazed left middle finger.
Right before impact - barely three ters from the ground - his body lit up with a thin layer of golden glow. The tal Crystal shield enveloped him.
"Boom!" He slamd into the ground, the impact roaring through every bone.
Hell! Since when could freakin’ geese fly?
Dizzy from the fall or lack of oxygen, his head spun bad. He struggled up, swaying on his feet.
And then - a shadow.
A massive beak, easily the size of a sedan’s hood, lunged down and clamped onto his neck. A sparrow - the size of a damn motorcycle - snatched him off the ground, wings flapping hard, struggling to lift him.
Cursing through gritted teeth, Magnus reached again for that familiar finger. Fire Crystal lit his body. The sparrow screeched in pain and flew off, beak scorched and split.
Safe for the ti being.
He dropped to the ground, panting hard, chest thudding like a war drum.
He was the only one who could switch Crystals on the fly like this - anyone else would’ve died three tis over by now.
"Goddamn it all!"
He cursed loud and rough, then shot a glare sideways toward the wrecked building.
The goose - it crashed headfirst into the wall, knocked a huge hole in the sixth floor, then slid all the way down. Now it lay by the wall, barely breathing. Talking speed, Magnus took off toward the giant white goose like a shot. In just seconds, he was at its side, jumped up, and clung to its neck with arms and legs wrapped tight.
The big goose suddenly jolted awake, its giant eyes flaring open, and began smashing into everything nearby. Magnus’s left arm slamd hard against a wall - white-hot pain burst through him, his head dizzy, arm limp, and the next second, he was flung off again.
"Damn it!"
Acting on impulse just got him a broken arm. Pain glazed his face in cold sweat. No ti for the goose now. Gritting his teeth, he dashed for the off-road vehicle, opened the door with his right hand, then slamd it shut like hell trailing him. Harper had seen him fly into the air monts ago and was already a bundle of nerves. Seeing him like this, she panicked and grabbed his left arm.
Magnus cried out from the agony and shoved her away.
"Don’t touch !"
The roar ca quick. He turned off the fire crystal mode, his right hand trembling as it pressed the middle finger of his left. The fiery glow across his body faded, replaced with a faint white mist on his palm.
Sweat poured down his forehead as he gently moved his right hand over the injured arm. A warm, tingling numbness crept in, easing the edge of the pain.
Harper, shoved right in the chest, felt both awkward and a bit embarrassed. Now seeing Magnus hurt, the embarrassnt lingered, but her earlier frustration vanished.
She was known to be bold, yes - but now she stood there, unsure of what to do.
"I - You pressed right on the wound."
Slumped in the passenger seat, soaked in sweat and utterly drained, Magnus tried to explain, turned with effort and found a can of Eight-Treasure Congee in the back. Just as he was about to open it, Harper seized it from him.
"Captain, let . I got it..."
He gave her a weak smile. She popped the lid, tugged the little plastic spoon from under it, scooped so oatal, and fed it to him.
The air got a bit stiff.
He finished the can, lit two smokes, and finally started to feel a touch more human. Then he stepped out and walked to the high-rise building again.
The giant goose lay weakly against the wall, occasionally twitching. Its long neck dragged on the ground, blackened and motionless. No blood flowed. Its blood-red eyes, the size of car tires, stared out sideways without blinking.
Standing not far from it, Magnus couldn’t help but feel that the birds today - goose, duck, chicken alike - were nastier than they had been the night red light first struck.
That night, he’d managed to kill over thirty and didn’t see a single one that could fly. Today, the very first ca at him with wings.
Staring into those ridiculous blood-red eyes, sothing flicked in his mind. This one’s basically done for - but next ti, he could try targeting the eyes with his handgun, see how effective that is.
But there’s a downside. Blind both eyes, and these beasts might just charge around, crushing whatever’s in their way. One slip, and the off-road vehicle might end up flattened. Or worse, they could stumble into the underground garage. Who knows what kind of chaos that’d stir.
Weighing the thought, Magnus crept a bit closer again, pulled out his handgun. Ti to test his hunch - shoot this one’s eyes, see what happens.
If even a badly wounded one like this reacts too wildly, then the healthy ones would be hell. But if it doesn’t go completely berserk... well, he might have a nasty little plan brewing for them.
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