AA. 18 (Patreon)

Not looking up was easier said than done. As they progressed closer to the titanic tree, he had to look out for collapses. The local architecture appeared similar to that of ancient Rome, with several intricately carved stone pillars, cement walls, and marble statues. They were cumbersome, forcing Nil to rely more on Expend to push them away than stop them with Absorb. He only used the latter whenever his energy levels dropped dangerously low. Nil and Sakura talked as they moved between assists.

“Is this your first disaster zone?” She asked after a particularly unfortunate rescue attempt. Nil had stopped a collapsing pillar to save a pair of young women, only for a giant stone block to come flying out of nowhere and crush them.

Nil nodded. “And my second Summoning.”

“You’re doing pretty well for someone so new to this. Your instincts are decent, and your movements show technique. Jeet Kun Do?”

“Muay Thai,” Nil answered.

“Ah. The quick decision-making and eclectic moves say otherwise.”

“I hopped around a bunch of styles and ended up in a Mixed Martial Arts gym with bodyguards and bouncers?”

“Mixed Martial Arts gym?” Sakura raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps we’re not from the same Earth. I’m at the peak of Iron Realm. This is my third emergency quest. The rewards are decent, and the Void kind doesn’t require me to fight a lot. I can focus on just helping people.”

“Did the Schema put you in a Rescuer role?”

“Defender. Void Lords, Kings, Titans often have minions and scavengers with them. They travel on or in the things body. This guy, apparently, comes with body-snatching slugs and insectoids that command them. Fortunately, we haven’t seen any of them yet. So I can focus on assisting you.”

Sakura slid to a halt next to a collapsed building. She pressed a finger to her lips, gesturing Nil to keep silent, before pressing an ear against a fallen wall. “There are people trapped under here. Children, I think.”

“I got it,” Nil said. Sakura stopped him when he curled his fingers under the wall’s edge and prepared to lift with Expend.

“We don’t know what it’s like under there. You might make things worse using brute strength.” Sakura drew a dagger from her belt. Light enveloped it when she flicked her wrists, and the blade gained a couple of inches in length. When she swung it, the weapon cut through stone like it was butter. She carved a neat rectangle at the center of the wall and left a corner attached. “Remove the piece. Go slow.”

“Carve me a handhold,” he pointed at the best point for gaining maximum leverage.

Sakura complied and then stood at the corner she hadn't cut yet. Nil firmly gripped the handhold, channeled Expend, and heaved just as she cut the final bit free. The burst of power let him rip the stone free with ease. Several screams burst from the space below.

“It’s okay,” Nil called through the opening. “We’re going to get you out of here. You’ll be okay.”

“Can you move?” Sakura added. “Are you okay to come to us?”

“No,” a small voice replied. “We’re not alone.”

A metallic tapping sound followed.

“Scuttlers.” Sakura spat, dropping her dagger. Only a warped, blackened blade and twisted hilt remained. It looked like someone had tried to melt the weapon or reforged it and failed miserably. “I’ll take the lead. You get them out. Okay?”

“Got it,” Nil replied.

Given his ability to withstand most physical damage, he would’ve preferred to go in first. However, Sakura was the more experienced Summoned and was apparently close to ascending. He wasn’t too proud to admit it, but he suspected that she was also the more martially gifted of the pair. Prior to his first ascension, Nil had only casually sparred. She, on the other hand, was intimate with live combat. More importantly, unlike him, Sakura had knowledge regarding whatever they were about to face.

The enemy gave away its location as soon as they descended into the hole. Nil could think of no better description than ‘chitinous centaur.’ The creature walked on six insect-like limbs. An almost human torso extended from where its head should’ve been. One arm ended in a four-finger, taloned hand, while the other featured a lobster claw. If not for the pale purple light seeping through its skull, the beast’s dark chitin would’ve helped it perfectly blend into the darkness.

Sakura drew a pair of kukris and enveloped them in the same golden light. The weapons lengthened and grew broader, resembling scimitars as their shape changed. When she charged at the scuttler, purple light flowed from its head through its neck and shoulder and into the lobster claw. The beast repelled her first attack. The blade that had successfully cut through stone but bounced off the lobster claw. Sakura’s off-hand swing successfully sliced through the chitin, protecting one of the scuttler’s front legs. The carapace and flesh underneath burned and sizzled.

A brutal fight began between the two, and Nil knew straight away that he was unmatched. Both were significantly stronger than him, and their attacks shredded the environment. He couldn’t help even if he wanted to and was about to settle for just saving the trapped civilians when he noticed something large slithering in the shadows. The unknown creature blended into the darkness, only appearing for a heartbeat now and again, as its scales caught Sakura’s blade-light.

Unwilling to get close and get caught by the two primary fighter’s attacks, Nil grabbed a chunk of marble, aimed at a moving shadow, and threw it with all of his strength. Expend added to the power, making the projectile shoot forth like a cannonball. It struck something soft, and an angry hiss filled the darkness. Sakura looked away from her opponent for half a heartbeat and almost got disemboweled. Her off-hand blade slipped inside the lobster appendage at the last second. It forced apart the smaller cruncher claw from the big and heavy pincher claw before separating the former from the rest of the limb. Unfortunately, the light blade shattered, and burnt metal fragments sprayed both fighters.

Nil’s interruption drew the serpent’s attention, and it sprang at him, fangs bared. He caught the open maw with both hands, channeling Absorb, stopping the beast in its tracks, and filled his balloon to capacity. The residual momentum pushed him backward by a few inches, and pain lanced through his elbows, shoulders, and back. The monster fell to the ground like a sack of bricks. The abrupt stop appeared to stun or surprise it. Nil didn’t wait to find out which it was. Given the quest’s danger rating, he doubted a standard Expend-empowered punch would do the job. So, he used the ability’s dual function to release energy through the outer side of his right hand and chopped downwards as if the serpent’s head were a stack of tiles in a martial arts demonstration.

Nil cleaved clean through it.

The serpent immediately went still, and purple slime sprayed his face and body. Nil winced as he switched back to Absorb. It wasn’t so bad when he released the energy through his entire body or even his fist, but concentrating the release across just six inches of skin hurt. A large, almost-black burn covered the side of his hand, running from the base of the palm all the way up to the tip of his pinky.

There was no time to lick his wounds. Sakura remained locked in combat with the scuttler, and he still had civilians to rescue. With the move, Nil had blown almost all of Brutal Battery’s stores. Practice and gaining ranks had significantly increased his timing. However, he still lacked adequate control over the amount of energy released with the dual function. So, when Nil had to move two fallen beams to clear the civilians’ path, he had to rely on the minuscule energy in his stores.

A quick scan of his surroundings helped Nil locate a five-foot-long metal rod. Much to his relief, Armmaster’s Disappointment didn’t activate when he grabbed it. The curse understood his intention. He slotted the rod between the two beams and pushed downward. The lever did its job, and the wooden beam budged. Nil didn’t know where to go from there. After a minute in the position, he got nowhere, so he switched to Expend and kicked the beam supporting the rod. The wood shattered.

The surrounding stone and wood rained on him. Nil suffered a few blows before switching to Absorb. Brutal Battery’s stores rose to thirty percent. So, he brute-forced through the rest. Removing the blocking debris proved easy. Ripping the door off its hinges was even easier. The cowering civilians needed some convincing, but he convinced them to comply. They hesitated, struggled, and ran in the opposite direction when the scuttler emerged. But in the end, he got them all up the debris slope and through the hole above.

Meanwhile, Sakura had removed two more limbs from her enemy. The damaged lobster claw remained, but it had lost the human-like arm and an insect leg. Several broken, burnt, and warped blades littered the ground around Nil. Sakura’s only remaining weapon was a longsword—or the light enveloping her weapon made it look like so. Scratches covered her exposed legs. The scuttler had successfully ripped open her leather vest, too. Crimson stained the white shirt underneath.

Tiny scratches marked Sakura’s face. Her sleeves also featured red lines. Sweat covered her face, and her movements appeared sluggish and clumsy compared to when the fight began.

She’s not going to make it.

When Nil picked up the metal rod again, memories of Aisha’s death and his inability to do anything about it flooded his mind. The visage stood to his left, shaking its head. Neither stopped him from running at the scuttler with it. Unfortunately, he only covered half-a-dozen steps before his motor skills failed him. Nil stumbled and fell. The rod struck the ground with a loud clang. It bounced and clattered before rolling towards Sakura. She kicked it at the scuttler, making the length of metal bounce off the chitinous torso. Then Sakura caught the rod in her left hand, and golden light enveloped it. She screamed, spinning away from the fight and throwing it like a javelin at her scuttler.

The rod ripped through her opponent and flew out of the opposite end.

A leap helped Sakura close the distance between her and her opponent. She swung her longsword and decapitated the scuttler. The lights enveloping her blade flickered out, and only a black, half-melted chunk of metal remained. She dropped it before falling on her bottom, panting.

Quest completion criteria met.
Evacuate through the portals at the edge of the city.
You will receive your rewards at the Nexus.

Nil helped the woman to her feet, and they exited the ruined building together.

“I’m going to be so pissed if I don’t get a decent bonus,” Sakura said as they limped away from the giant tree. “That was, at least, a Bronze Realm threat.”

“You were incredible,” Nil commented. “I’ve only seen people move like you in Apocalypse Arena.”

Sakura grinned. “Where do you think I sharpened my skills? I’m sure your Earth has luduses. They’ll probably have great trainers, and you’ll get to spar with incredible fighters. However, there is no better way to improve than to fight opponents from all over the multiverse.”

“Do you have to join luduses to access Apocalypse Arena, too?”

Sakura nodded. “As far as I know, that’s consistent on all seed worlds.”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what’s your power? It's bloody beautiful.”

“Cutting Light. I know it doesn’t have the most glamorous name, but I love it. I can coat any metal I hold with light to create a superheated weapon. It’s difficult to use but gets the job done.”

“It's a shame your power ruins your arsenal.”

“I know.” Sakura sighed. “I’m hoping for a soul weapon seed as my reward. If not, there are a few Bronze Gauntlet tournaments with those as prizes. But that’s a long way away.”

“Well, I hope it works out for you,” Nil said. “It was great working with you.”

“And you, Nil. You did brilliantly for a Bronze Realm. I’m curious how you dealt with Void Serpent. They’re notorious ambush predators. Mid-Iron Realm, I think.”

“Are you asking about my power?”

“No,” Sakura answered. “I suspect it's something complicated, and there is a chance we might face each other someday. There is no honor in being told an opponent’s secrets. I’d rather figure it out for myself.”