Luke’s mind raced as sparks cracked off the centipede’s green carapace. His broken weapon trembled in his hand, but his eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he opened his intercom.
"Support team, anyone still got energy rounds left? I need them. Now."
The line crackled before Rogan’s voice ca through, harsh and clipped.
"Can’t. Still sward by these damned dragonflies!" Gunfire echoed faintly behind his words.
Another voice chid in, Aya’s, trembling with strain.
"I—I can’t either...! Too many on my side already, I can barely hold them back—"
For a mont, silence pressed heavy in Luke’s ear, until Dori’s calm but slightly unsteady voice cut in.
"I can help. Just tell where to shoot."
Luke’s chest loosened with relief. "Aim at ," he said firmly. "I need that energy to charge my Mirror skill."
There was a sharp gasp on the other end.
"W-what?!" Dori’s composure cracked, panic bleeding through. "Shooting you directly? What if I—"
Luke’s voice cut through the intercom, "Dori, did you forget what I can do? Feels like Julian’s stuck in your head so much you’ve forgotten the rest of us."
There was a pause, then Dori answered, her tone awkward and flustered. "Th-that’s not it. I know about your skill... it’s just, this is the first ti I’ve ever aid my rifle at a human."
Luke softened his voice. "Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine."
Before the mont could settle, Celestia’s strained voice burst in, gritted with effort. "I’m still holding this centipede! Less talking, please!"
Luke exhaled, almost sheepish. "Right, sorry."
On the other side, Dori exhaled shakily. "...Alright. But you’d better not move." He could almost picture her biting her lip, steadying her aim. "So I can shoot you easily."
Luke lowered his stance, heart pounding, eyes locked on the raging centipede. The air shimred with heat, Don still pushing against the monster, Celestia’s threads straining to hold its limbs.
"I won’t move," Luke said quietly, more to himself than to anyone else. His grip tightened on the broken weapon.
The air burned with the centipede’s searing heat, its body glowing sickly green as sparks of fire danced off its shell. Don’s massive fra strained as he locked its thrashing mandibles in place, his muscles trembling under the sheer force.
"Stay down!" he growled, though sweat rolled down his brow.
Celestia’s threads glead silver under the wavering light. No longer just strings, they hardened, sharpened, and stretched outward, twisting into the form of countless shimring needles. With a sharp gesture, she unleashed them like a storm of silver blades, striking at the centipede’s joints, forcing it to shift its focus away from Luke.
"Go, Luke! I’ll pin it down as long as I can!"
Through the chaos, Luke stood still, perfectly exposed. His eyes didn’t blink, his jaw locked tight.
The centipede roared, flas bursting from its body, the ground trembling under Don’s stance.
The sound of the trigger pulled—
BANG!
The energy round blazed through the air like a cot, straight toward Luke.
For a split second, Celestia risked a glance, her silver-thread sword piercing another limb of the monster. "Stay still...!"
The glowing shot streaked closer, just as the centipede lunged violently against Don, shaking the earth.
Luke didn’t flinch. His reflection-like aura shimred faintly across his broken blade, as if hungry to absorb what was coming.
The shot scread across the battlefield like a streak of lightning, But at that exact mont, the centipede lunged. Its massive, burning mandibles snapped open, swinging down straight toward Luke with murderous speed.
Don’s eyes widened. "LUKE, MOVE!" He slamd his bulk into the monster, forcing its head off course, but the sheer power of its charge sent shockwaves through the ground, shaking everyone’s balance.
The energy bullet veered slightly, its trajectory wavering from the quake.
"Damn it—!" Dori gasped through the intercom, her voice breaking.
Luke’s heart hamred, but his mind remained razor-sharp. He lifted his fractured blade, channeling what little power he still held. The faint aura of Mirror Shard flickered weakly across the weapon’s edge.
The centipede’s burning body lood closer, its heat clawing at his skin. Celestia cried out, unleashing a whip of silver threads that coiled around one of its legs, yanking hard to disrupt its angle.
For a breathless instant, ti seed to fracture, The energy round, slightly off course.
The monster’s mandibles, descending.
Luke, holding nothing but his broken blade.
With a desperate roar, he slashed upward, his blade catching the streak of light midair. The energy exploded into his sword like a star igniting, Mirror Shard screaming alive in his hands.
The empowered reflection burst outward in a blinding flash, hurling back the centipede just as its mandibles nearly closed around him.
Don stumbled back, eyes wide. "What the hell—?!"
Celestia shielded her face with her threads, the silver vibrating from the surge.
Luke stood at the center of it all, blade now whole again, glowing like a prism of living light. His breath was ragged, but his eyes burned with renewed determination.
The Mirror Shard pulsed in Luke’s grip, the broken blade now reforged by Dori’s shot into sothing far more terrifying, a weapon of living light. The energy coursed through the steel, resonating like a heartbeat.
"Don, fall back," Luke ordered, his voice firm but sharp.
Don staggered, his body scorched and torn from taking the monster’s strikes. He wanted to argue, but one glance at Luke’s burning eyes silenced him. "...Okay," he muttered, before retreating with heavy steps.
Celestia tightened her threads, weaving them into a lattice of shimring silver across the battlefield. "I’ll keep its movents bound!" her voice strained as the centipede thrashed violently, trying to shake free.
Luke crouched low, his blade humming with unspent fury.
The centipede shrieked, flas rolling off its body in waves of molten heat. Its mandibles spread wide, glowing green with venomous light, ready to crush everything in its path.
Luke sprinted forward. Each step cracked the ground beneath him as Mirror Shard blazed brighter, colors splitting like glass under sunlight. At the last instant, he twisted his body, channeling every ounce of energy into his swing.
"[Prism Break]!!"
The world erupted.
His blade slashed across the centipede’s armored shell, the light refracting into countless mirrored beams that carved into its body from every angle. The monster shrieked, staggering as its own fiery aura reflected back at it, shredding its defenses.
Celestia’s threads snapped tight, forcing the creature to stay in the storm of light. "Finish it!"
Luke roared, driving the final slash into the centipede’s head. The refracted energy converged in a blinding burst, exploding like a shattered prism. Chitin split, green fire burst outward, and the centipede’s scream was cut short as its massive body collapsed, shaking the earth with its fall.
Silence followed, broken only by Luke’s ragged breathing. He lowered the Mirror Shard, its glow dimming but still alive, proof of his victory.
Celestia’s silver threads unraveled and faded into the air as the centipede’s massive body crashed lifeless to the ground. She caught her breath, sweat glistening on her brow, then tapped her intercom.
"This is Celestia," she announced, her voice steady despite her exhaustion. "Target neutralized. Our team has successfully eliminated the enemy."
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