Chapter 104

Soon, most of the Walkers were bound to reach their limits, with or without any fight. It won't come once or twice. This trip will be a contentious suffocating trial. Huffing, sweating, and feeling as if their bones and Emblems were creaking in nerves, hope, and pressure, the siblings kept up with their pace.

At least there was no fight for them but for others. Reaz managed many Vector Chains of her own great Molds, whipping them around like whips and swords and anything that they could do or flex. Her Vector Type wasn't overly unique, but her body and way of fighting were quite brutal like many of her chains. They seemed alive and part of her body, hair, and both arms and legs. She swirled like a maniac, slaughtering and leaving tides of bloody dances behind.

The rest of the team was sufficient, and with the girl away when they rested, Dreadus was going all out as well. he wasn't as crazy as Reaz, but his ways were even more massacring than her in a much cleaner way. Some of them were close to having enough fighting in the first hundred miles. It won't stop, and fighting was better than running forever.

The girl felt apprehensive and feared the time this whole situation would shift and turn to shit. Weirdly, it never did. The people fought, let the siblings rest, and then went onward once again. Dreadus wrapped the girl and Hound again, and kicked the ground, disappearing in a flash of wind far away.

Hours later, they arrived at the corner of a vast plain. It was a healthy one, with very little Corruption or Fogs going around for one single reason; it was one of the few maintained safe zones made by the Emblem Academy. The primary effect of such zones was a unique place where Walkers would feel rested and secure in this crazy landscape.

It was not as safe as one would expect, but from the position in Australia, mapping, hunting, and looting, it was a good corner to rely on. Planning important, second to the core killings that were never enough.

Australia was rich for many of those purposes. Perhaps even more than other similar dreadful places simply because of its immense weirdness, variety of Darks, and no settlements meant no harm in wreaking havoc.

Caused by the differences and internal conflicts, Darks in Australia weren't as devoted to hunting or taking humans to extremes. It was still in their instincts, so they would hunt and kill them, but their internal conflicts weren't simple. On average, one should take them for incredibly hostile animals and beasts who care about territories, power, and hierarchy. Customary Darks were like unhinged monstrosities that would hunt humans at all costs and not be like the wild zoo animals that were in Australia.

Many Walkers had a great time growing and learning here, looking for targets, training, or breakthroughs. As long as they wouldn't meet something regretful or out of their reach, this was a valuable spot that the Academy and some Divisions of the Federation took very seriously.

From a natural standpoint, most places were hellish for anything human. Thus, there were no buildings or permanent residents in this safe zone. For Walkers, it was an opportunity devoted to trials and rites.

The group was still hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, and the surroundings around this plain weren't better than any other region. It was a miracle there was even some greenery and trees in the surroundings, even if the plain seemed fake.

The girl could not sleep or rest on this trip, so she spent time in her head, looking at the blurry views when they raced to this plain or hearing or caring about thuds and shivers coming from Dreadus's chest. Imagining things and devoting her memories to the past and disruptions never left her for the past few hours.

Was it a test? Was the harsh lesson coming and she was.... bad again? The moment it would calm down, and her time wouldn't be hers, that would be a time worth some shocks.

She learned something was surprising even without it. There were people, large machines, and no apparent monsters on this plain. One of those was subjective because she was seeing people like her with Emblems, interesting clothes, and many faces. There weren't just a few of them. There were dozens of them if not a whole hundred. There were many soldiers around who were armed with strange tools and weaponry she had never handled but witnessed.

It was no wonder.

What she was watching was the cream of the top Walkers and their supporters, as well as one of the best organizations in the world. Of course, she was unaware of what they could do, what their tools were capable of, or where did they come from. What sort of organization those people adhered to was far behind her other questions. She couldn't even feel so many alive and faceful people.

Regular weaponry wasn't fitting for the mission around most Holy Land, or in pretty much most parts of Australia. It was plain stupid, yet there were some weapons among those people that could cause a lot of damage. Some were strange ones, looking like hand-missiles, big sniper-cannons, or handguns with far too big ammo.

There were hundreds of people in total, including many helicopters, numerous jeeps, and motorcycles specially designed for rough terrains. Most had a special symbolic flag on them, which was something that Dreadus didn't expect and liked to see.

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Reaz did.

“What the hell?” Dreadus muttered as he stopped like the rest of the team, gliding through some thick air and witnessing this safe zone. Most were happy they reached this place, even though everyone was way too tired and worn down after everything.

Vern and Vera were far from their previous appearances. They were bloodied not because of the fight but because of the overextension of their whole bodies and Arcana. Their faces wished for rest, similar to those legs that lost their strength when they saw this plain. Reaz was crazy as usual, handling her big chains and looking like a god of war that came out of the jungle. Maria was no better than the siblings, and she was genuinely injured, tired beyond all means, and glad for this to be over.

That went to most of them apart from Esten who handled normal people and didn't fight apart from the rest time. As for Dreadus, he always ensured nothing would come close because of the girl alone, him included. His acts were enough to support their focused fleeting. He barely killed any Darks when running because he pushed them far away or around like annoying flies.

It wasn't a disgraceful tactic; it was satisfying to crash Darks without killing them outright, while their journey focused on getting away.

Unfortunately, some things about this tactic weren't as fortunate. For Vern and Vera, wobbly legs for hours wavered like their Arcana. Yet their faces remained cold, making a funny picture right beside the bloodied Reaz and the rest.

The water around the crystal was intact, which might be a miracle after going over so many territories, Hordes, and millions of Darks.

The girl didn't know that. Blur might be faceless, but shakes and some hues still escaped from it. For example, most Fogs were very notable and quite hard to overlook and had this distinct charm to them that made her serious as if she dived in her pool.

Fortunately, with Walkers among them, they walked through it as their name suggested. Normal people had help like oxygen masks or protection made by Walkers. Barriers or aura-like forces could disallow Fogs from going too close, creating safety if the fog wouldn't be of higher Rank, or if some Darks didn't involve it.

As far as this trip went, every rest lasted ten gruesome minutes, which was a time that allowed the girl to glimpse into their lives and surprising sights. How much of it was as unfamiliar as familiar? A lot of it.

There were monsters she considered predators and tougher than a mountain or some hills, and many others seemed smaller or different because she wasn't aware of every corner of these lands. But she knew and felt those monsters in one way or another before, so everything ended up as she had expected. The world was vast. These people too.

They struggled when those cold siblings rested for some reason and stopped running. Reaz was a monster, yet who wasn't? What wasn't? Perhaps she was thinking about that word wrongly and that hag might be something else like many things she was unaware of.

Dreadus protected her and talked to her in some brief moments, even if they were less than a handful and quick because of the endless pursuit of Darks. The weakest amongst them were Rank 4s. Most wouldn't ever come a mile closer to Dreadus who had quite some aura, but due to that crystal, things were still tougher than he or Reaz expected.

There were some Darks that the girl was unfamiliar with. They weren't entirely grotesque. Most, if not all, weren't human-based, which Reaz feared. It seemed what Dreadus met on that mountain was unique, or they were lucky.

That previous Creature never came back, nor did any other show their faceless faces. But many equally bothersome Darks did show up, crashing their Arcana or strolling around like hunters playing with their prey, waiting for a better chance.

That went on until the group disappeared into the void by stepping into a protective layer of this plain. It was a fine sacrifice. Now that those Darks knew of this location, they were about to destroy it and get rid of this safe place.

Darks had many varieties and sub-types due to their corrupting nature, and seeking flesh, or Arcana would create contrasts, modifications, or evolutions. It wasn't about humans in Australia, so this resulted in some surprising and insane transformations, resulting in corrupted bodies and instincts.

What the Corruption sought wasn't always fine. It was chaotic. It was no surprise. Australia was hell on earth even before Dawn. Its nature was deadly, species mixed to survive, yet could they be deadlier than the Dawn? Hardly.

Arachs described spider-related Darks and had many sub-types within the Insectoid Family. They usually had various shapes and names under their uniqueness or species, and their Dark Aspects were kind of brutal. Long legs, poison, and size were common.

Some looked like great spiders, others had clever use of tough or special webs, and others were large like cars with poisons and nasty mouths and eyes. Of course, many Dark Aspects remained from other Darks, giving them tough and maddening looks, or distinct likes to others. Through many evolutions and numerous years had passed in Australia alone, what came from them was insanity. Eyes, speed, numbers, and many other matters were hazardous, bordering on natural disasters.

Arachs weren't as populated outside of Australia, which many surviving people thanked for every single day. They lacked something crucial, that Walkers knew and also feared. Australia might be that alone, followed by the unique detachment of the surrounding lands. The reality was different. They grew accustomed to these lands and changed, and they weren't even alone.

Arachs weren't growing so big to pose as Primevals, the biggest and the most mysterious Family of Darks. Some of them could seem like one, however, looking big and mysterious thanks to their evolutions.

Spiders as a whole were hundreds of millions of years old, so many considered their richness intoxicating and dangerous when Corruption hauled its meaning. Thankfully, there was some weight and power in their Madness, so their instincts remained or turned up a notch. Some insects could not have what it takes to bear with it, so very few dangers could arise from them even if they Turned. They had numbers instead.

For every failure of Corrupting, one in a couple of thousands or tens of thousands of attempts might succeed amongst the Insectoid Family. Even some lesser animals were the same. From rats, squirrels, rabbits, and so on, there was something that Corruption liked more than Turning. It was about death, hunting, instincts, and desires.

It ate and did not dare change everything every time. Darks were the same; they had to eat and advance, for there was a baptism of Corruption and Madness ahead. Always ahead.

Sometimes, it was better to Corrupt and be a failure. Be a coward.