39 - Cage Fight (Patreon)

Now…

Anisa rushed toward the door, but it vanished. A moment later another door began forming on the opposite end of the cage. 

“Shit,” Maya muttered. She rushed toward Anisa and put herself between the woman and the forming door. “You stay behind me. You do what I say.” 

The woman looked frightened, but nodded. 

“What’s happening?” Anisa asked. 

“A giant turd is being dropped. I just need him to fully enter the cage before I can flush his ass. Once he’s in, I can prevent him from exiting. He needs to spring this trap without knowing what’s going on.” 

The newly formed door boomed open and a black clad stormtrooper entered, followed by a half a dozen more. Their weapons were raised and they didn’t so much as look at Maya or Anisa. After a long moment, Shen entered. Anisa gave a gasp of horror. 

His mask was off, so was his armor. He was dressed in what Maya could only call high fashion. Golden cape, velvety clothing, and a tricorn hat gilded with more gold. He sauntered forward and his eyes caught on Maya and Anisa. 

“What is this?” 

“You said this was only a test,” Maya said. 

“Why did it take you two hours to connect? Surely you could have managed faster?” He swaggered into the cage and behind him the door slammed shut. 

Maya grinned. “Halvara! I summon you as my defender!” 

The defense token Maya had palmed flashed and she threw it down before her. 

“Wh-“

There was a flash of light and heat as a figure formed from essence mana. She was tall and beautiful, a slender reptilian SIL covered in bright feathers and with a long lovely tail. 

“Halvara! You are my Champion!” Maya cried again and threw the small piece of metal she had retrieved from killing the rogue AI rat champion.

Champion Shard  

Double the levels of a singular entity, summoned, created, or designated as a champion. 

The Champion Shard exploded into light and burned through the summoned Defender. Halvara didn’t expand or grow, but she roared in ecstasy and power burned across her body. 

“Kill Shen!” Maya shouted and grabbed Anisa. 

They both hit the ground as an explosion of heat and mana filled the room. 

“You betray me!” Shen screamed and in a moment his clothing turned from formal wear and into battle armor. He pulled a gleaming sword from his Inventory and faced Halvara, a look of recognition flashing across his rotting face. “You!” 

“Shendogradeh Firnakaal! Vengeance is mine! Your sins will be repaid in kind!” the summoned defender screamed. 

Both Shen and Maya stared. She had thought the summoned defender was just an essence mana constructed copy. How did it have memories? 

“Come on, come on,” Maya hissed at herself. “Stop gawking and start moving.” 

Halvara and Shen crashed together and the stormtroopers weren’t caught flatfooted. They joined their boss in fighting the defender and Maya took the opportunity to pull Tender out of her Inventory. 

“What the hell is going on!” Anisa screamed, staying by Maya’s side. 

There was an audible boom as Tender’s new form materialized before Maya. He wasn’t as mobile anymore, his original legs had to be removed due to the damage they had taken, but a new set of smaller thicker legs had been added, for stabilization.  

Upon Tender’s back was a scaled up pulse stunner. The design was simple, it would release mana in a pulsing frequency that disrupted the power systems of rogue AIs and other System Tech. It was the type of weapon that the first rogue AI she had battled had used on her, but whereas that one’s had been smaller and ineffective against a biological SIL, Tender and Maya’s creation packed the power of two mana cores and a lot of desperate prayers.

Nanaseto’s autopsy of Halvara’s abandoned corpse had uncovered the weakness of the stormtroopers. Maya had already discovered that they were susceptible to pulse stunners, but from Nanaseto’s study, the System Tech around the base of their skulls could be momentarily blocked from receiving and transmitting messages to move their body. For a moment, they could be paralyzed. 

That would allow them the opportunity to strike at the same areas and destroy the stormtroopers. They just needed to cut through the light armor around the area and Maya had a nicely recharged cutter to do the work. 

“Now!” 

There was a crackle of energy and Maya felt the air turn heavy. She could almost taste ozone in the air and grinned when she saw the seven stormtroopers suddenly turn toward her. Energy crackled along their bodies and with effort they abandoned the fight against Halvara and turned to face her. 

“It’s not going to hold very long,” Maya said. She summoned her cutter and turned to Anisa. “I need your help. We have to do this fast.”

The woman looked terrified at what was going on. She gave Maya a wide eyed stare. “What?” 

“Ready your axe, its the best weapon. Follow me, do as I do. We need to do this fast.” 

“I don’t-“

“You’re trapped in here until they die or you die. Help me.”

Anisa gave a quick nod and the two raced toward the nearest stormtrooper. 

Losardar - Level 44

“Behind the neck, under the helmet,” Maya cried, her cutter blade extending. She set the red blade to the back of the stormtrooper’s neck and the metal hissed and sizzled as it cut through. For the first time, heat bloomed outward, but Maya gritted her teeth and cut through the thin layer. A moment later she plunged the cutter into the poor soul’s neck. A cutter wasn’t meant to work against flesh, but there was enough system tech within the trooper that the blade cleanly sliced through the components 

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the trooper dropped to the ground. 

Losardar - Level 44 - Defeated

+ 9,400 EXP

+ 4,800 credits

Lootable

“Do the same thing, cut through the neck.” Maya called out, rushing toward the second trooper. 

Anisa, to her credit, didn’t dawdled. She immediately hefted her axe and began attacking the nearest trooper’s neck. The thin protective metal warped and finally surrendered to the heavy blade. A moment later a second trooper fell to the ground. 

“I leveled up!” Anisa gasped. 

“Hurry!” 

Maya dropped to the floor a second later as Shen soared over her. She caught a look of rage on his face, his milky eyes tracking her for a second before refocusing upon Halvara who wasn’t letting up. The woman was a glowing powerhouse of mana, she carried no weapons, but attacked by strengthening her body and sending out bars of light that struck Shen like blades. The torturous fuck was barely holding his own against her. 

Her second trooper fell as Anisa managed two more. Within a few more seconds all but one trooper was left. Maya rushed toward it, noting the name that appeared above it. 

Dosama K’van - Level 55

It was the one that had beaten Bell up. Maya raced toward the trooper, but she felt the air suddenly change. She nearly skidded to a stop as she saw Dosama move. The black clad trooper’s head snapped toward her and they took a step. 

Maya was ready to run, but then they stopped. 

“Hurry,” the voice came through. “I can’t-“

Maya stared as she watched the trooper struggle against whatever controls had been placed upon it. The trooper grabbed at their head and pulled their helmet off. There was a screech of metal and a hiss of air; Maya was assaulted by the same stench that had come off of Shen. She looked at a tortured mangled face, one pleading for her to end their pain. 

Maya raised her cutter. 

Dosama K’van - Level 55 - Defeated

+ 12,000 EXP

+ 6,400 credits

Lootable

Maya spun around and faced Shen, only to drop to the ground again as a jagged blade seared through the air where she had been a moment ago. She looked up to see Shen battered and bruised, but still standing. The mana pulse had effected him, but now that it was done, he was back to his full strength. 

Halvara for all her new levels still wasn’t strong enough to go toe to toe with a Tier 2 SIL. Shen might not be alive, but to the System and everyone who mattered, Tier 2 was Tier 2 and that meant they had power.  

It came from his soul and it came from a body that had been shaped before he had died, will and self had kept him alive, but using his own soul as a fuel source had allowed him to retain his strength. 

Even outmatched, Halvara wasn’t backing down. The champion’s face was contorted in rage and she kept her attacks up, forcing Shen back and into a defensive position. Already his armor was battered and he was suffering from minor wounds. Maya had to tip the balance. 

She rushed to Tender’s immobile body and leaped onto it. Anisa was behind her, looking terrified. Maya summoned their last weapon from her Inventory and slammed it down into the mounts that they had built. 

Nanaseto’s small robotic body appeared, but it had been modified. Maya might not have been able to hack the medical AI’s brain, but she could ask her to do things. Nanaseto had agreed and together they formed the weapon that would hopefully defeat Shen. 

The beam weapon hadn’t been destroyed, instead it had suffered some minor component blow outs, allowing Tender and her to patch it back up. As the mana pulse was the only weapon that seemed to be able to do anything to Shen’s zombies, they had spent two days rebuilding the weapon so that it now what Maya had labeled aa pulse cannon. She had gained an [Engineering] Ability from its creation. The versatility of rogue AI components showed itself as most of the racks had to just be rearranged to accomplish the feat. 

Maya pulled back on the charging lever that connected it to the remaining mana batteries and left the aiming to Nanaseto.  She jumped off of Tender and grabbed Anisa. Simulated tests of the weapon had shown there would be a massive mana backlash when it fired, enough to severely injure a SIL, but not an AI. 

She saw Shen’s head snap toward her as Nanaseto fired. 

The brilliant blue light that slammed out of the weapon blinded Maya for a second, but as her vision returned she grinned. Shen was thrown against the wall and his armor crackled and his body shuddered as the condensed mana burned through him. 

“Hurry,” Maya snapped, jumping to her feet She snapped up a sword that had been dropped by one of the troopers and raced to cross the distance between her and Shen. She didn’t have much time. 

Halvara screeched a triumphant cry and raised her hand above her, it glowed with hot energy and a bar of light began forming. Shen wasn’t giving up, though. He summoned what appeared to be a defense turret from his Inventory. The machine was squat and mounted a heavy weapon. 

“Shit,” Maya cried a moment before it fired. 

She wasn’t the target through. Halvara’s cry of victory turned to one of disbelief and pain as she was thrown back by a ball of crackling nothingness. Maya didn’t stop to stare, instead rushing the turret and swinging the sword with all her might. 

She channeled essence mana into the weapon and was shocked to see the blade enveloped in flames before connecting with the turret. It wa so easy, it was so readily available. She nearly laughed in glee. The blade sliced through the turret without resistance. 

The turret sizzled and popped, the black orb burst, sending out a wave of black light that staggered Anisa behind her and send a spike of pain through Maya’s head. She shook off that pain and looked down to see the sword blade had melted. She dropped the hilt and summoned her last weapon, the crowbar. 

Shen pushed himself against the wall, a snarl on his face. 

“I will not kill you! For a thousand years you will suffer, everyday a living hell. You and your fri-”

Halvara slammed into him. The reptilian woman was severely injured, half of her body was a wreck and the other half was just gone. There was no blood or viscera, but Maya stared at the damage. She didn’t have much time. 

Mana burn was her only option. She had to get in close and light the fucker on fire. Maya rushed forward, Anisa yelling behind her. 

Halvara suddenly exploded into a flash of sparkling light. 

Halvara - Champion - Defeated

“Run!” Maya screamed at Anisa. The woman only looked terrified. 

Within a heartbeat, Shen was before her. His long metallic hands gripped her neck and he squeezed. His rotten face was damaged, the skin sloughing off and revealing the network of system tech that made up his body. He shuddered with obvious pain and lifted Maya off the ground. 

“You foolish-“ 

The rattle of the AK was loud in the room. Maya watched as the bullets punch into Shen’s face, a second of distraction and his grip loosened. 

She was an essence mana channeler. She commanded powers that only Tier 4 or higher beings could. Maya barely had to strain to feel the immense power that wanted to be released. It was an ocean pushing against a leaking levy. Maya grunted as she allowed it to flow. 

Time slowed down. 

Shen staggered back, more skin and components flaking off. Anisa was screaming something. She had her axe out again and tossed aside the AK. 

Maya felt power coursing through her body, it raged and she knew she couldn’t control it. In that slowed moment of time, Maya wanted to laugh. Everyone had told her that her body was too weak to channel essence mana correctly, but she had to ignore all of their knowledgeable advice. She could channel mana, she could even control a tiny amount of it, but what she let loose was not a tiny amount. 

Channeling into the black stone was like flipping a switch. It barely needed any essence mana even though she had felt as if it were sucking her dry. All it required was the barest minimum of essence mana. Now, Maya felt the same power she had when she watched Bell being seared. No, it was different. It was stronger, more intense. She wasn’t held back by the dimensional plane now, she wasn’t trapped in a place where the essence mana couldn’t go. 

Maya burned with essence mana. 

Shen blocked Anisa’s strike with his arm, his eyes and attention were not on the overly brave woman. He was focused on Maya and she could see all of his four eyes expand in shock. 

Unsealed

There goes the neighborhood, the channels, and basically the self control. You wield raw, destructive essence mana in its purest form. Hope it was worth it. 

- All levels lost

- All experience lost

- Foundation, Fortitude, and Luck set to zero

+ Countdown to vaporization added

“Fuck,” Maya gasped, her voice reverberated and was distorted. A small set of numerals appeared at the edge of her vision. It began to count down. 

“What have you done!” Shen gasped. 

“Well, this wasn’t the plan, but fuck it.” 

The crowbar in her hand glowed, not with mana fire, but with essence mana. She could feel the very atoms of the crowbar begin to change, reforming, turning heavier and reshaping as she charged it with essence mana. Shen looked terrified as he casually knocked aside Anisa and sent her flying. 

Maya could feel the Tier 2 components around her, they were shifting their allegiance from her back to Shen. She stopped it cold, wrenching away control from the necro.  

“You’ve killed yourself. You’ve doomed us both,” Shen stated. 

“Yeah, I don’t really care.” She could feel her muscles warping and churning, the very essence that formed them was being effected. It was not a pleasant experience and Maya knew that it would not stop. The essence that made her up would continue sucking up essence mana until she lit up like a candle.

Shen’s face hardened and he glared at her. “So be it.”

His fist was in her face in an eye blink, but the coursing essence mana through Maya reacted faster. Her crowbar snapped up, the golden light that now lit the crowbar flashed. Shen screamed. He staggered back as his fist vanished from the wrist downward. 

Maya threw herself forward and took the rest of his arm off. The crowbar, for all its blunt form, cut finer than the sharpest sword. For a brief moment, Maya knew she would be his equal. The essence mana searing her up from the inside at least gave her that much power. 

Shen’s fist slammed into the side of her head and she staggered, but replied with the crowbar slamming down into his thigh. The glowing metal burned its way down into his armor and flesh, sizzling and eating away at the components within. Shen screamed and clawed at her. She felt her blood spill as his claws dug into her arm. She ignored the pain and wrenched the crowbar out of his thigh. Hot stinking blood filled the air with the smell of burned plastic. Shen dropped to his knees. 

“A thousand years,” he muttered looking at her. 

Maya only glared as she lashed out with the crowbar and stabbed the it down into his torso. The glowing metal warped and crackled, Shen’s armor melted away like plastic and he stared at her in utter horror as essence mana burned him from the inside out. 

Maya cried out as she watched her left hand twist and deform, finally searing away in a small burst of multicolored light. The crowbar was destroyed and it took her hand with it. She gasped at the pain and looked down at her stump. No blood, just a creepy multicolored light pouring from the wound. 

Shendogradeh Firnakaal - Tier 2 - Level 124 - Defeated

- You are Unsealed

“Maya!” Anisa cried, grabbing onto Maya. “Oh, God. Your hand!” She tried to dig into the small bag she carried, but Maya stopped her.

“You did damage to Shen, right?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Touch him, before you leave. You’re considered a party member if you fight along side someone. Touch him and you’ll get some experience. Do the same to every one of the dead guys, they drop a small portion of their experience points.” 

“How do you know this?” Anisa reached forward and touched Shen’s body. She gasped. “God…” 

“Hurry up. Once you’re done. Run. I can’t-“ Maya shuddered feeling her channels burning away. It was an odd feeling, like going numb combined with a great sense of loss. 

“What can I do?” Anisa asked staring at her. 

“Grab the experience and run. There’s nothing you can do for me now. I’m dead.” 

Sorrow etched in the woman’s face. 

“If you don’t run and I die, you’ll be trapped in this cage when the mana runs out. The cage will return to that hellhole and you’ll die in the crossing.” 

Anisa nodded firmly and rushed toward the other corpses, touching each one briefly, but still letting out a shocked gasp. Maya groaned in pain and she felt her arms shaking and blood pounding in her head. 

“Thank you, Maya Sullivan. You’ve given me much and I shall remember it.” Anisa said as she stood by the door. “I’ve gained so many levels and so many Titles. Thank you.” 

She exited and Maya felt like collapsing into a puddle of weariness. Her arms shook violently and without her control, but she managed to get to her feet and stumbled toward Tender and Nan. 

“Looks like this is the end, kids. Great job. Couldn’t have done it without you.” 

“I’m sorry I cannot do anything to help you,” Nan said. 

“We shall attempt to do what we can for Bell once we return, boss.” Tender said. 

Maya smiled. “I can count on you.” 

She leaned up against Tender’s form and sighed. She could feel the essence mana burning her up, she watched as her skin began to flake away and rise up in multicolored light. 

The countdown neared zero. 

“Hey, System. You there? It’s me Maya.”