Full Pr Credits to Draconis afternoon sorry about this late release i was pondering a bit before writing this raw in which direction and what sort of things i could do to make es interesting thankfully i have a nice solution :) i hope you guys enjoy this.
Please Rate/Follow/Favourite/Enjoy ch 10 :)
---------
Kyta and the group had begun navigating their way through several outcrops throughout the plains, ignoring the creatures that didn’t seem like they would pose a challenge. Their mission was not to bring back T.Gears, but to improve themselves.
C rank groups, in general, were sent on tasks that were mainly used as training for them to improve them and prepare them for higher ranked planets, even though it would sometimes be dangerous. This weeded out the weak from the strong.
After all, the world of Archia, with just over 13 billion individuals scattered through many, many continents and lands, had an abundance of people willing to apply.
It wasn’t hard to stumble across a genius or two every few years but it was more so rare to stumble across a super genius that would maybe come once every thousand years, if lucky. Even then, they couldn’t force such a person to undertake becoming a T.Gear user, as they may have other plans.
Leona, walking beside Lyrim, began to speak. “I wanted to ask you, what sort of skill was it that you used to defeat the Spineaphant?” She spoke curiously. When she had tried to do those things to Lyrim that night it was her way of apologizing.
Being such a hot headed, feisty female, she was used to being right all the time and praised by her friends and peers. She had never felt she was so far in the wrong before. Lyrim softly spoke, even he was curious. “It’s uhh...Well, something new. I haven’t really named it”
Leona chuckled and sighed softly “I gotta admit though, it was incredible. I can see why you were put into Team Deadly, even though they have thousands of candidates a year.”
Lyrim blinked with surprise “I never knew they were that impressive.” Leona frowned before gazing at him “You don’t know the half of it. They’re the main source of Catalyst level T.Gears, and even with other Catalyst level groups, they still out do them because of their harmony rate.”
The area they were passing through was a sort of indentation into the ground that was somewhat visible from their camping site. It was more so like a miniature gorge that connected to the plains and had a straight, but somewhat narrow path.
Lyrim quietly began to think of the events he had witnessed the day before. “-I wonder what that voice was. I’m taking a guess and saying it’s this armor, but it’s weird...To have my body taken over like that... And why hasn't it spoke again?-”
Lyrim quietly thought to himself before having an idea. “-Hello, Mr Armor sir? Can you hear me? Are you there?-” Silence was all that he was greeted with, which made him frown visibly. Leona caught onto this and spoke.
“Lyrim, are you ok?” Lyrim blinked and looked up at her. “I’m fi-” Before he finished, he saw a large boulder fall towards them.
He quickly grabbed her by the waist, and used the power of the armor, which had significantly increased unknowingly after its second activation, to save Leona and himself. The boulder, spanning several meters in diameter, collided with the ground.
It caused the earth to rumble slightly as it formed a small crater. Leona was stupefied as she looked at it, then at Lyrim, before sighing in relief “T..Thanks, I guess I owe you one again..” She tried to laugh a bit.
The others were more serious, as Kyta’s voice rang out while they were all looking up at the gorge. “On your guard, seems we got an ambush…” Kyta was a little surprised. He wasn’t aware of many creatures of Beast level capable of enough intelligence to ambush someone.
But his worries were heightened. He heard the sound of screeching, like laughter, and quiet laughing. Kyta spoke softly “Shit...It just had to be them..” It seemed the others knew to what sort of creature this was.
Lyrim quickly spoke to Leona “What are they?” Leona, who retook her balance, narrowed her eyes, taking a battle stance. “Harlequin Imps...Had to be these guys”
From the walls of the gorge, dozens upon dozens of reddish imps at least a few feet tall began to charge down at the group of T.Gear users while giving menacing like looks, hungry for excitement and blood.
As a few landed, the T.Gear users immediately commenced battle. The Harlequin Imps were one of the weakest Beast type creatures discovered. Although weak, they were many in numbers and could be dangerous if one was surrounded.
Their main attack was their claws on both their feet and hands, and were one of a few Beast level creatures that couldn't advance to Mega Beast variants. They’re usually considered scavengers, unless they had the numbers enough to handle a small group.
They were not durable and the T.Gear users, using their own speed and techniques, were able to wound or dispatch the Imps with one go, and with their own training and fighting techniques, could avoid the Imps’ attacks.
But it didn't last long, as the Imps continued to flood out of the gorge. Kyta bit his lips and called out, seeing that some T.Gear users were taking hits. “Everyone make a run for it we will try and get to a better area..Seems this is their nest..”
One would think an open area was worse when you could be surrounded by these Imps, but right now they were in a narrow gorge that was their nest with a near limitless supply of them. The Imps were careful about going outside of their nesting grounds.
They didn't last long in the open, and were used to fighting in terrain with a lot to jump and climb on.The entire group began to run with the Imps in front being decimated by the groups focused on fleeing and clearing the front.
As they continued on, the hundreds and increasing amount of Harlequin Imps gave chase, with their screeches engulfing the entire gorge. Although they were weak, it was somewhat frightening. As if a feeding frenzy were taking place.
Kyta glared at one Imp that had gotten in his way and kicked his feet forward, managing to use a burst of speed to pummel his fist into its gut. The poor Imp had somewhat exploded with its innards spewing out, as if it had been squashed.
Lyrim, who was in the back of the group, hurriedly began to dash, but it seemed the further they got, the rockier the gorge became. “Shit, there are so many!!” Leona called out while a friend of hers, Oria, replied “A nest...Can't believe we stumbled into a freaking nest..”
Lyrim kept himself calm. Regardless of this, it was nothing compared to the fear he felt when he was in Shadow Chasm. This could be said to be a small kiddy ride compared to such an event.
All of a sudden, Kyta’s eyes focused on the top of the gorge. He saw many Imps running across. Running in front.
“Not good.. QUICKLY!!” He called out, the entire group seeming to use more of the T.Gear’s powers to boost their speed with the speedier T.Gears in front while the durable T.Gears lagged behind.
Lyrim’s harmony with his T.Gear was the lowest, although it brought him safety. He felt somewhat safe. It could be said he feared more for his team than he did for himself. The group showed signs of joy as they could see the open area of the gorge up ahead.
But as they approached it, something weird had happened. The Imps had stopped dead in their tracks, and began to flee back while giving screeches, not of excitement, but of fear. The group, feeling something was wrong, as well as the danger no longer present from behind, stopped to catch their breath near the exit of the gorge.
“Ha….Why did they head back?…” Lyrim spoke, trying to catch his breathe slowly. Leona nervously looked around “I have a shitty feeling…” Kyta bit his lips as he too felt something was wrong.
Their bodies as well as the area around them had gone silent, as if every living thing as well as the wind had gone silent in fear.
The entire area was then bombarded with a powerful natural energy like aura, as well as killing intent. To them, this feeling was new and terrifying. To Lyrim, this feeling was somewhat familiar and terrifying. He mumbled out as he tried to keep balance, his T.Gear had obviously gotten stronger.
As he fell to his knees, the others were already feeling like they were being crushed against the ground due to the pressure of the aura. “Fuck!“ Kyta spoke as he coughed out some blood as well as the others giving fearful screams. Leona, tried her best to hold on, as if trying to push her body up.
Lyrim, still on his knees, slowly looked up. The aura that bombarded them then faded before the eery silence returned. But this time the recovering T.Gear users showed signs of fear and fright as they looked at the gorge’s exit.
What could be said to be a giant walking humanoid engulfed in fire, placing his hands against the walls of the exit causing the rock around it to crumble due to the immense heat. The creature’s body was a powerful green, and it emitted a terrifying presence.
It’s face was like a half burned giant skull that was pitch black. It’s body was also pitch black, covered by the raging plumes of fire that seemed to sustain it. Kyta’s body gave out quietly as his soul seemed to shudder. He had heard of such a creature and knew it was encountered only a few times ever, but to face it on such a planet was terrifying he uttered a few words.
“I..Inferno...Walker..” He then turned to the scout that had spotted it and spoke “I..thought you said it was a Nova..w...Walker..” The scout, who showed signs of fright, couldn’t help but not reply. Lyrim, gazing at them all, including Leona, who seemed to be on the verge of tears, as if knowing she was going to die, had began to think.
“-They’re here..because they pressed on, thinking I was going to help them-” Lyrim had clenched his fists and stood up while the Inferno Walker gazed at them, as if they were some new sort of bug it hadn’t squished yet, wanting to examine them out of curiosity.
Lyrim spoke up loudly “All of you make a run for the exit while I grab it’s attention.” Kyta blinked, coming back to his senses. Hearing that voice, he turned to see Lyrim “We don’t leave anyone behind. We will fight with yo-”
He was stopped by Lyrim “No!. I’m not going to risk any of you dying. I’m able to protect myself, but I’m not sure about the rest of you. Rush to the exit and make your way back to the field portal…”
Lyrim, inside, wasn’t sure if he could pull this off.
He was having doubts about the armor reacting again to save him. It was a 50-50 chance of success or failure. Then again, he could probably die in a heartbeat before it could even activate.
Leona gazed at Lyrim and growled quietly, as if having her courage returned.
“I’m..not leaving..” Lyrim narrowed his eyes, but at that moment, the Inferno Walker’s natural energy flailed about wildly as it eyed Lyrim. It had seen these humans as bugs, and this one bug, which it saw as Lyrim, had resisted the most, from him not falling completely, to him speaking in a loud, somewhat demanding tone.
This Inferno Walker wanted to crush him first, knowing he had somewhat damaged it’s ego and pride. The Inferno Walker roared, causing the air to heat up and shudder. It was as if the light in the area had gotten a reddish tint due to the ferocity of the flames it had emitted. With that, it rushed towards Lyrim.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
It had ignored everyone else and made its way towards him, as if taking its time, its feet leaving scorch marks on the ground while causing it to rumble slightly. Lyrim, clenching his teeth, eyeing it, as if he had found courage, forcing himself to grow up and make his life meaningful, called out.
“RUN DAMMIT!!” He then began to retreat, as if to lure the Inferno Walker in more, but it saw Lyrim’s running as infuriating. This bug had taunted it somewhat, and was now fleeing. It wouldn’t let him escape. Leona quickly got up, as she was about to chase after him, but Kyta grabbed her by the arm.
“He’s putting his life on the line to save us...Don’t let this go to waste…” Leona’s body shook with anger and frustration before she nodded, the entire group leaving through the exit to find a safer path back.
With Lyrim backtracking his steps into the gorge, the Imps that were minding their own business saw Lyrim and started to screech, as if ready to attack. But when they saw the Inferno Walker roaring behind him, they ran with their tails between their legs in fear.
“Shit shit shit!” Lyrim called out with a smile on his face. Even though his life was in danger, he felt excited. His heart beated quicker. He had made himself useful and bought them time. This brought him satisfaction.
The Inferno Walker, becoming fed up with Lyrim, opened it’s mouth before charging a condensed ball of fire. Lyrim stopped for a moment before gazing at it, having a bad feeling.
His body froze. The Inferno Walker fired off a condensed beam of superheated energy that began to cleave the ground while quickly making its way across the gorge walls. As if like butter, the gorge collapsed slightly, blocking Lyrim’s escape route.
This left the only exit behind the Inferno Walker. “Guess..you got tired of running” Lyrim rubbed the back of his head nervously while the Inferno Walker eyed him, showing a faint, human like smile from its torched skeletal head.
The creature then began to charge another beam of the same attack called Scorch Beam, usually used by the Nova Walker. This was a stronger version and had a green color as opposed to the yellowy-orange.
Lyrim quickly looked around in a panic, but he could see no escape. He doubted any of the boulders would be able to last even a half second against such power. This was a Catalyst level creature after all.
He had no choice but to try and reason with his only hope “-H..Hey, I know you can hear me...Any time is good to help me..-” He gazed at the Inferno Walker, which seemed to be charging a more powerful Scorch Beam than it had used to block his path.
“-Any...time now-” lyrim spoke before the air had begun to heat up due to the creatures condensed flame. The flame it had condensed was so powerful it began to screech, like a mini nuclear explosion, even distorting the creatures own body a bit.
“Using an attack like that on me….Overkill….Ha...haha..” Lyrim had all but lost hope as the creature fired off the full powered Scorch Beam which was more like a full blown laser. Lyrim could feel the heat get hotter on his face as the beam had directly been shot towards him.
Before it reached, a voice called out in his head. “-Useless…-” Lyrim’s body had spiked with pain before it was covered by a deep ghost like green aura, his head facing down. The creature’s beam was right near him.
As the beam collided with him, dwarfing his body, it seemed to have vanished in the colors, as well as the blast of the concentrated attack that the creature continued to sustain. But a figure seemed to jump through the beam effortlessly, as if there were nothing there, and in a moment, revealed itself in front of the head of the creature in the air.
With the T.Gear engulfed in a ghostly green aura, Lyrim’s face showed seriousness as his pupils were a reddish green cross circular shape. His finger made a shape as if preparing to flick something, and as he released the flick, it generated a powerful force.
The force of air had broken the sound barrier and blasted towards the creatures head, cleanly knocking it off. As if it had been cleaved off by a super sharp sword in one go. The gust of air generated from the super powered flick had even shattered the surrounding gorge, causing a large sound, enough for the T.Gear users of Team Hawk to barely hear as they had ran away at full force.
Leona stopped for a moment. She had felt the energy of the scorch beam from here and was worried for him “D..Dammit, if you die I’ll kill you“ She joked, as if to cheer herself up. But she wasn’t the only one worried. The other T.Gear users who had been saved and helped by him and come to know him, were also worried.
Kyta more so he had his own pride diminished, he was not able to help him. He tried to cheer himself up “T..That’s right..He’s a Deadly member..h..he should be able to protect himself…” Meanwhile, as the dust settled from the ruined gorge, the corpses of Imps crushed by rocks and hiding in the mini crevices were revealed.
With Lyrim standing steady with a face that showed no care, he gazed at the Inferno Walker that had slumped down. The fire surrounding its body had vanished, leaving only the corpse that had emitted the flame.
The corpse itself was like a humanoid body shaped by rock with small cracks that had faint glowing green smoke emitting from it. Lyrim’s body began to revert back to normal, with the aura engulfing him as well as his pupils reverting back to their original form.
The voice sounded off in his head again as he looked around dumbfounded “-Although you are my wielder, the most you can sustain is what you humans call Celestial level energy. Do not rely on me forever..I am storing that energy for myself..-”
Lyrim listened curiously at that deep, ghostly voice, before he spoke, sighing in relief. He looked around, all the Imps had either fled or died. “Thank..you, for helping me..” The voice didn't reply back. He could only wonder what it meant when it said store the energy for itself.
And when it said he could only sustain Celestial level energy, he knew the creature that made his armor was something unfathomable. He began to sweat nervously a bit as he walked passed the dead Inferno Walker to try and make his way back.
His own body was in pain, most likely from the energy that had possessed him. But on the bright side, his plan had worked. The soul of the creature had saved him, but he bit his lips in frustration. “Least you could do is teach me some way to protect myself…” He replied in frustration
With 15 hours passing, Team Hawk had returned to the Lazuras HQ with a somewhat unsuccessful but eventful mission. They wasted no time briefing the higher ups in what happened. That being said, they left the field portal open just in case a miracle would happen.
Williams was gazing at the field portal “Poor kid. He has some terrible luck…” He frowned as he watched the field portal “That T.Gear... Argh…” Williams shuddered, seeming to value it a bit more than Lyrim.
Bray walked over and softly spoke with his arms folded “Don’t worry too much. From what Lord Thell told me, that boy’s armor is something remarkable. If it saved him once, I’m sure it will do it again.. All we can do is hope”
The field portal began to fluctuate a bit, as if to notion that something was entering. A figure began to make his way through, and the looks of Williams and Bray showed a smile.
The personnel guarding the portal to make sure no loose creatures would enter consisted of several Demon and a few King ranked individuals.
The figure began to step closer and closer, with the reality of one world fading and the form of another making it’s presence more real. The person was none other than Lyrim, who seemed to have a look of satisfaction on his face.
He was brandishing what appeared to be an orb of green flame. This orb was the T.Gear of the Inferno Walker. Lyrim had thought of quickly leaving, but he noticed on his waist a small capsule the read as ‘Corpse Converter’ The capsule itself was no larger than a thumb, but had a strange liquid inside of it.
Lyrim decided to go for broke and used it on the Inferno Walker. Most creatures have their natural energy core in their heads or in the center of their bodies. When the Gemini Wolves were killed, their cores were damaged or destroyed, making them useless.
For the creatures in Shadow Chasm, their cores were destroyed from the immense energy. Luckily for Lyrim, the Inferno Walker’s core, as well as it’s body being mostly intact apart from it’s head, had it’s core in it’s chest.
Lyrim, using the capsule, had trouble with it at first before he threw it in frustration at the corpse and converted it. Now that he was back in the Lazuras HQ, he felt that he had at least brought back a souvenir.
Williams and Bray immediately ran down to greet him with several scientists rushing over, as if to examine his armor. One of them noticed what he held. “!!! A Catalyst T.Gear?!!” Immediately recognizing it from the energy he detected using a device similar to a T.Sphere in design.
While the word in the area began to spread, the scientists brought over a box, as if notioning for him to put it in. Lyrim frowned and looked at it for a moment. “Well… After what I’ve seen, it’s not like it’s better than what I have…”
He placed it in the box, to which it was escorted by the scientist who held it as well as two King level T.Gear users who were eyeing it with what looked like envy.
Williams and Bray made their way to Lyrim with Bray speaking first. Mmy my.. Lyrim, you impress yet again. Even bringing us a gift.” Lyrim sighed and glared slightly “Inferno Walker….You wouldn’t happen to know why it was there, right?”
Williams quickly spoke, seeing Lyrim wasn’t in the mood “We honestly didn’t know boy. These worlds, as much as we visit them, still hold mysterious creatures. What’s to say Archia doesn’t have it’s own Catalyst level creature lurking around somewhere.”
Lyrim released his T.Gear, his body engulfed in a soft white light before it had vanished, leaving only the clothing he wore before using the T.Gear “Can’t be helped…” He was a little shaky and exhausted because of his dance with death and the devil.
“Uhh..” Lyrim looked up at them worryingly.. “Team Hawk is?” Bray smiled and spoke “Thanks to you, they’re all safely here and recovering. That being sai-” A voice quickly interrupted him. “Lyrim!!” A female voice called out. It was none other than Leona, with Kyta behind her, as well as several Hawk members behind him.
She rushed over and glared at him angrily as she got him in a soft headlock and began to give him a noogie “You little devil... You’re alive!!” She happily spoke, her eyes a little red. She hadn’t known him for long, and had only just made things right. If he was to die when they hadn’t had a chance to properly make up, she would of been devastated.
(A.N i will explain how lyrim got the corpse converter capsule in the next ch its not a plot device :) ))
---------
Previous ChapterNext chapter