"Let's go! Finley, you stay here. Defend the town if you can. Stay out of the way if you can't. Rhyss, get moving," Alex yelled. "Take toward the worst of the battle! And what can I do to help defend? Is my Town Ability ready?"
Rhyss floated in the direction of the explosions, which almost would have been codic if it wasn't for the situation. There was sothing deeply amusing about soone floating at any speed faster than a slow walk.
Alex's heart accelerated in his chest like a revving engine that pumped his body full of adrenaline as he sprinted after Rhyss. He could feel the Region Boss' presence bearing down against his mind. His Ascending Forerunner Title really was quite useful, but it was going to start getting annoying if it didn't stop soon.
"You have access to two of them. The Mists of Vil'Kazer are always prepared, though they will co at a cost of the town's energy reserves," Rhyss said. "Labyrinth is an ability that should be left to charge for longer durations. It will provide so benefit, but not to the full extent of its potential."
The two of them broke past the wooden fortifications surrounding the town — and Alex skidded to a stop as his eyes went wide. Campers ran around their makeshift defenses, desperately fighting back against a tiny sea of monsters.
Snakes squird through the trees. So were just that, while others had sprouted arms to bear roughshod weaponry and walked on two legs. Magic danced between the two sides, crashing into the ground with thunderous explosions and sending plus of dirt sailing into the darkening sky.
Flashes of purple magic split through the air as the campers abruptly vanished and new ones appeared in their place. It seed that the Warp Relay was doing its job.
Orchid stood near the front of their minuscule forces, her staff braced against the ground as she sent waves of magma roaring up from beneath the ground and crashing down upon their advancing enemies.
But Alex's eyes only lingered on the scene around him for a flicker of a second before they were drawn to the horizon above — and there they stuck. His lips parted in awe as, for a mont, he found himself unable to do anything but stare.
Flying above just above forest was an enormous, eight-headed hydra. The monster's body was covered in rough, jagged black scales and its wings were leathery like those of a bat. Each of its heads was full of teeth far too large for its mouth, forcing them to remain permanently open in a rictus sneer.
Its body was easily the size of an Olympic swimming pool and had a wingspan of twice that. Flashing lights lit like birthing stars around it, only to detonate in thunderous explosions re monts later. It was like the hydra was a giant, flying firebomb.
The monster's massive legs dragged through the trees as it flew, heads twisting and biting at the air in an attempt to take down a blurred figure weaving in and out of them. The figure was Claire — and the air above the huge hydra shimred with red light as the System, sowhat pointlessly, identified it to Alex.
[Region Boss] Gorgonaga (Adept 4)
"Holy shit," Alex breathed. "That's a fucking hydra. And an Adept 4? Rhyss, how do I activate the town abilities? Both of them."
"Typically, you need to be present at your Town Core for the first ability activation. An Advisor can also activate your Town Abilities with verbal permission. Would you like to activate them now?"
"Yes!" Alex snapped. "We're going to need everything we can get! Loose the hounds! And whatever the hell other things are living in the Labyrinth. I'm sure we've got at least a few rats down there too."
Rhyss' hands danced through the air as if he were playing so invisible string instrunt. The hair on the back of Alex's neck stood on end as static electricity abruptly made itself known. It intensified to such a degree that he could practically taste it on his tongue.
Then there was a crackling pop. Power rolled out from Rhyss. The matted grass at their feet abruptly stood on end. Each individual blade separated and trembled as a deep thrum rose from beneath the ground at a pitch that made Alex's bones feel like they were vibrating.
Plus of mist coiled up from the earth. All around the town, thick white clouds pulled themselves free from their dirt prison. They poured out over Mirrorwane and the surrounding battlefield in a thick, all-consuming smog.
The mist prickled against Alex's skin and stung his lunges as he inhaled. It bore the slight sll of citrus and thick herbage. Sothing about it hung heavy in his lungs. If the ability hadn't specifically said the mist wouldn't negatively affect residents of the town until they had prolonged exposure to it, Alex would have taken off at a dead sprint.
All the light bearing down on the town was snuffed out as the heavy white clouds swallowed it up. The world was cast into dancing shadows, broken only by the booming roar of magic and sounds of battle.
Why do I feel like I just released a chemical weapon?
Deep, shuddering crunches echoed through the muted air. They ca from the ground around Alex, but it was impossible to tell from exactly where. He didn't have ti to wonder. There was no way he was going to sit around and do nothing while everyone else fought for their lives.
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Even if the battle had sohow been going so well that Alex wasn't needed — which it wasn't — it would have taken a small army to keep him from missing out on all the fun.
"I'm going to go help Claire fight the Region Boss," Alex said, sending several rapid commands to his summons. The air around him shimred and the clouds flowed back as his monsters dragged themselves into existence to stand by his side. Alex sent a final glance at Rhyss, who was just close enough to avoid being obscured by the thick mist. "Find if I'm needed or if there's a major change in the flow of battle."
"I will continue to observe," Rhyss said.
Alex nodded. Then he spun on his heel and sprinted off. His monsters ran alongside him, Glint and Spark taking up the lead while Princess' thundering steps marked her at his back. Even though seeing the sky was completely impossible through the white mist, Alex had a whole other sense to lead him.
All he had to do was follow the explosions tearing through the sky.
Shadows danced in the mist all around him as he ran. Glint darted to the side, vanishing for a mont. The pained hiss of a snake near Alex ca to an abrupt halt. The monster's head slamd down at his feet as he suddenly found himself standing beside Aaron.
The boy's eyes were wide in a mixture of shock and fear, and he held a sword in shaking hands.
"Thank god. You're here. Appreciate the help," Aaron said through ragged breaths. He shook himself off and gave Alex a nod. "Gotta go find May. Good luck!"
Then he was gone, sprinting back into the mist before Alex could say anything else. That was just fine with him. He took back off running, ignoring the trickle of energy that entered him from the monster Glint had just killed.
He dodged past the trees, following in Spark's footsteps to avoid running headlong into a monster or a large piece of unforgiving foliage. The ground seed to blur beneath Alex as he accelerated, moving faster than he'd ever thought possible.
Alex burst free of the mist. It was sudden, so fast that he nearly tripped over himself in surprise. He skidded to a stop. There were half a dozen surprised-looking snake monsters of varying levels and shapes around him.
And, in the sky overhead, was the Region Boss. One of the monster's legs dangled just a few dozen feet away from Alex in the air. A tree crunched as the monster's leg slamd into it, snapping its top half clean off.
Alex didn't wait around for the monsters to get over their surprise. He burst into motion — straight at a tree.
The snakes finally rembered who they were supposed to be fighting and lurched to stop him.
Princess had other plans. She bowled straight into the monsters, driving her massive fists into them like she was a middle-aged mom on Black Friday and they were nothing but toddlers that had dared stray into her path.
Snakes went flying, their hisses coming to abrupt, sharp stops as they slamd into trees with enough force to shatter their backs.
Alex didn't so much as slow. He reached the tree he'd been charging at and launched himself straight up. Bark whizzed past his face as wind bit at his eyes. And, for one glorious instant, Alex was flying.
What is this power? I feel incredible! Like nothing can—
He slamd head first into a large branch.
The branch snapped with a loud crack and pain lanced into Alex's skull. He let out a slew of curses and his hand shot out, snagging onto the stump of the branch before he could fall back to the ground.
Right. Not immortal. Not unstoppable. Just stronger. This Visualization stuff is seriously crazy. I feel like I could bench press a car.
Alex dragged himself up to the top of the tree. His eyes fixed on the Region Boss' leg. It was just under twenty feet away — a frankly ridiculous jump for even an incredibly athletic human. Six feet was hard enough with a running start, and he was standing stock still.
A grin split his lips. Then, with a delighted laugh, Alex launched himself off the tree.
He slamd into the Gorganaga's leg, digging his fingers into the rough black scales covering the monster's body. The monster barely even seed to notice Alex as he clambered up its side, dragging himself up until he'd reached its back.
Explosions tore through the air all around Alex, each one threatening to burst his eardrums. It was like he'd walked right into the center of a firework show.
All eight of the Gorganaga's heads were still completely focused on trying to bite Claire, who was doing an admirable job of weaving its necks into nots. She couldn't last forever, though. She needed backup.
Alex cracked his neck. With a thought, he banished all of his monsters and summoned them back to his side. It would only take a few monts before —
A glowing light lit right in front of his face.
Oh, shit.
Alex flung himself away, falling prone on the Gorganaga's back.
It wasn't going to be enough. He'd seen how large the other explosions had been. At the very least, the force of the detonation would send him flying… but there was no ti to do anything but dig his hands into the monster's scales to brace himself.
The air flashed. A brilliant explosion tore through the space where he'd been standing re monts before with a deafening whoom. Heat slamd into Alex in a wave of pressurized force.
He clung to the monster's body with every single scrap of energy he could. No matter what happened, Alex would not let go. He was staying right here.
And then the wall of fla hit him.
Sothing deep within his chest shuddered. It was like an enormous millstone had ponderously turned itself over within him. He didn't have ti to pay the sensation any attention. All he could do was brace himself for the…
…where's the pain?
Coils of fire twisted around Alex, swirling around him in an odd, almost orbit-like pattern. They sputtered and died, failing to so much as brush across his skin.
Huh?
The explosion had definitely been close enough to hit him. Even if he hadn't been dead center, the edges of the blast should have caught Alex within it. But, for so reason, he hadn't even been grazed by the magic.
Alex grinned. There was no point looking a gift horse in the mouth. He had sothing else to look in the mouth of.
Naly, one of the Gorganaga's heads. A long neck twisted so the hideous, bulbous head perched upon its end could stare straight at Alex with baleful eyes. Green saliva dripped from its misshapen fangs as the monster's huge mouth opened wide and it let out a furious scream of challenge.
The air around Alex rippled. Glass shattered. Glint erged onto the Gorganaga's back, followed shortly afterward by Princess and Spark. Another one of the hydra's heads turned toward Alex as the Region Boss realized he may have posed a little bit more of a threat than it had initially thought.
Alex grinned.
Then he raised a hand, pointing a finger at his opponent's heads.
His monsters charged.
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