A bead of sweat dripped down Xard’s face as he stared at the horde of golem soldiers. They were never ending, and he felt like he hadn’t made any progress. His objective wasn’t actually to defeat them, but to keep them occupied long enough for the others to capture Sim. However, there was an issue: the sheer overabundant force that was this army.

They were slow-moving, so they weren’t exactly a threat, but Xard had to keep their attention exclusively on him. He wasn’t sure how smart they were, but he wasn’t going to take any chances in letting them run. It was possible that if they saw him as an unbeatable or uncatchable enemy, they’d return to their former posts. Xard had lured them a good distance away from the castle, but he couldn’t simply abandon them and fly away. He had to keep them from focusing on the other Fiends at all costs.

The others had enough to deal with. Adding an entire army on top of their troubles could prove to be too much. It would be a lot simpler if Xard could just kill them all, but that was proving far more difficult than he expected. Originally, he compared them to zombies from movies, since they were a slow but unrelenting force. However, a simple headshot wouldn’t kill them. In fact, it barely even phased them.

Xard’s energy bullets were practically useless. No matter where he shot them, they’d just regenerate. If he used his grenade ring to blow off a few limbs, they’d regenerate too, but much slower. Even if their heads came off entirely, as long as there was a body to recombine with, they’d get back up eventually. Only his missile ring proved useful. With its power, he could obliterate their bodies entirely, and there was no coming back from that.

Unfortunately, that ring had a rather significant cooldown, and it would only take out a handful of the army’s overwhelming numbers. While the missile ring was on standby, Xard would absorb the bullet and grenade rings to stack their power. He’d practiced enough to be able to hold the energy in while waiting for the missile ring to be ready and add it to that power.

Another good source of energy was the soldiers themselves. Those who had guns had been firing them this entire time with abandon. Xard had been inflicted with a barrage of bullets for the entire encounter, but he’d gotten quite used to the experience. At this point, it wasn’t really different to being in a light rain. Eventually, the golems would run out of ammo, but Xard was going to take advantage of it while he could.

It was a tedious process of hit-and-run tactics, but Xard was slowly wearing down the army’s numbers. However, he had to admit that he was being pushed-back by them. Even though they were painfully slow, they were moving in formation and without reservation. They covered ground faster than he could destroy the front lines.

A tactic he considered was purposefully letting them swarm him, and letting those with melee weapons bash him freely. Xard could then use that energy to take out a good chunk of those around him, since he didn’t imagine they’d be conservative with the energy they’d transfer. However, he was getting flashbacks to the hexadillos he’d encountered a few months ago, and shivered when he thought about it. What if they didn’t hit him hard enough, or were able to swarm him faster than he could repel? The idea of being buried alive by a pile of bodies was nightmarish and a risk he wouldn’t take.

Damn, I really messed up, Xard conceded when his back was literally against the wall. He had been so focused on not getting caught and dwindling their forces that he hadn’t paid attention to where the army was pushing him. Now, he was trapped at a choke point: the base of a cliff, with angled walls on either side of him. The army had strategically closed off any exits, so there was nowhere to run.

Xard could easily use his Curse to fly away and get to safety, but he didn’t even view that as an option. If he ran, he had no doubt the army would run too once they lost their focus on him. They’d return to the castle and cause hell for the others, and none of the other Fiends were nearly as capable as him when it came to handling an army. He could attack them from the air during their retreat, but it would be impossible for him to finish them off before they made it back.

The army slowly closed in on Xard who had nowhere to go. Either way, this was going to end soon, and for Xard, failing wasn’t an option. Drim had hammered a certain point into Xard’s head, that when an animal or monster was cornered, that was when it was the most dangerous. He was starting to think that it applied to him too. Xard reached into the front of his top, and grabbed the ring that was hidden in his outfit. He gave it a good tug, and the chain around his neck broke. Then, he slid the ring which was adorned with a nuclear symbol onto the thumb of his left hand.

Only incase of emergency, right? I’d say this qualifies, Nathym. Guess this is as far as I go. I know it’s selfish, but I’m leaving the rest to you guys. If I had one regret… Xard’s thoughts paused for a second as pressure built in the back of his eyes. He managed to hold back from crying, but it still tugged at him.

If I had one regret, it’s what I said to you, Drim. I was out of line, and said things I can never take back. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what you said, what you told us about your project, and you were right. That world you want to make, it doesn’t seem so bad after all. I hope I get to see it one day, and I’m sorry.

The pain from the ring fusing to his nerves hurt, but it didn’t compare at all to what came next. Xard absorbed the energy from the ring, but he did it too early. The power was overwhelming, far more than he could have possibly imagined. His body felt like it was going to pop, but he had to hold onto the energy. The army wasn’t close enough yet. He had to make sure that he got all of them. With this amount of energy, he’d surely kill them all even if he released it right away, but that was the problem.

If he released it openly, there was no telling how far it would spread. It was highly probable it would destroy the castle and kill everyone in it, and even had the potential to ruin the nearby town. Nathym hadn’t been exaggerating when he said it had the power of a nuclear bomb. Xard would have to limit the explosion radius around him as much as possible, and fire most of it into the air above him. This meant he needed the army to be as close as he could get them.

Xard keeled over, the energy rampaging through his insides. It was far too much, and it was starting to damage his body. In a few places he felt his skin rupture, golden blood squirting out and coating the ground. His body wanted to force the energy out as soon as possible, but he had to hold on longer. Closer dammit, get closer!

At this point, Xard was barely conscious. His attention was entirely on keeping the energy from leaking out, and he barely noticed when there were footsteps directly next to him. The soldiers started wailing on his body, but his Curse couldn’t protect him. He didn’t have the mental capacity to turn his Curse on, and even if he could, his body couldn’t hold another drop of energy.

Finally ready to release, Xard focused all of his awareness to the area above him, a last ditch effort to direct the flow of energy. The next second, a Rathe shattering boom echoed throughout the region. In the sky directly above the epicenter, clouds were missing large chunks of fluff that had been there previously, as if they’d been bored through. There was now a massive circle of pure blue sky, with just a single glint of gold etched in crimson blood at the center.

Xard’s banner had been blown off of his body and into the air. It slowly fluttered down into the brand-new massive crater that decorated the landscape. It fell past mounds of unnaturally colored dirt, and landed on the only other object in the crater. Laid there was a mangled body, with each limb twisted and torn. Golden blood was leaking out of every inch, soaking into the cracked ground below.

◆◆◆

The helicopters had circled around Kada, as if they were a flight of bees, waiting to sting her from any direction. Like Xard, she had done her best to lure them away from the castle. Eventually, however, she found herself blocked by a wide river, preventing her from progressing further. She could easily swim across, but that would leave her exposed to an attack. While she could dive deep into the water to lessen the danger from bullets, a single well placed electric charge could be deadly.

Kada could also swim in the ground underneath the river, but wasn’t confident she could hold her breath for that long, and was now regretting not having the foresight to bring her oxygen gear. Even if she could swim the length, it probably would be counterintuitive to her efforts. The CP was only targeting her because she was a direct threat to them. Undoubtedly, their main targets were Drim and Phon, with herself and Xard as secondary objectives. If she were to vanish, they’d likely return to hunting the Drazahs.

Along this riverbed is where she’d have to make her stand. The CP had already taken a few shots at her with the mounted guns on the helicopters, but they were ineffective, of course. Kada re-formed one of the bullets that had hit her, and tried to melt the rest in their guns, but nothing happened. Wow, randomized metals for each individual bullet? That’s some dedication.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

It was likely then that each helicopter was made of randomized materials as well, meaning that even if she brought down one, it wouldn’t let her take down the rest. Kada slid her thumb along the backside of her purse string, activating each material. It would likely prove a futile effort, but she might get some results out of it. A few liquids dripped from some of the helicopters, but it all seemed to be from non-essential components.

Just as Kada was about to give up, there was a clink from one of the helicopters. The rotor popped off entirely, and the helicopter immediately began plummeting towards the ground. Three men bailed out before the impact: a pilot and two soldiers. All of them managed to deploy their parachutes and get far enough away before the helicopter exploded into a fireball.

This was definitely relieving for Kada since it was one less helicopter to worry about, but now she had to deal with the troops on the ground. Both the pilot and one of the soldiers landed hard, likely breaking a few bones in the process. It seemed the pilot got off easier and could still move, but it appeared that the soldier broke both of their legs. The second soldier landed perfectly, and immediately started charging at Kada.

She didn’t hesitate in responding either, immediately flinging her anchor at him. It was thrown low to the ground, and the soldier jumped over it to dodge. However, Kada’s intention had never been to hit from the front. If the sharpened edge of her anchor hit his legs, it would sever them. As soon as the soldier landed back on his feet, Kada recalled her anchor, and it hooked the soldier’s legs while rapidly pulling him towards her. She continued the momentum, swinging the soldier past her, and slamming him into the river behind her. He was then caught in the rough currents and swept downstream.

The pilot, despite her injury, didn’t give up. She pulled out a pistol and started hobbling towards Kada while firing. While melting the bullets that were hitting her, Kada pulled out a new orb from her purse and loaded it into her anchor. It contained a substance she hadn’t tested before, but assumed it would get the job done. Kada fired at the pilot, and then the orb exploded into a thick gooey foam which expanded and wrapped around the pilot’s entire body. She was immobilized by the foam, with only her head poking out to allow her to breathe.

Wow, that worked way better than expected, Kada praised the foam’s usability. Now, I wonder if.... Kada had another foam orb, so she loaded it and then fired it at one of the helicopters. The helicopter tried to dodge, but the foam managed to hit just a small piece. That was enough, though, and the foam expanded and encapsulated the entire helicopter both inside and out.

The rotor stopped spinning, and the helicopter plummeted like the first. However, this one didn’t explode. It just sort of thumped when it hit the ground with nothing else of note happening. Kada had to guess that the foam absorbed all of the shock. Hopefully, like with the first shot, those trapped inside would be granted enough clear space to breathe.

While Kada didn’t exactly want to kill these people, they were trying to kill her, so she wasn’t going to hold back while defending herself. She rummaged through her purse to see what else she could use. There were quite a few bombs, but she’d save those as a last resort since they’d surely kill the soldiers, assuming she hit them. Oh this? I forgot I had this.

Kada pulled out the anvil orb Nathym had bequeathed to her when he first arrived. Now she just needed to find an opportunity to use it. One of the helicopters had their doors open, and the soldiers were firing out of it with assault rifles. It seemed they had tried this as a different tactic, using incendiary ammo that wasn’t compatible with their turrets. This ammo didn’t work either, and it honestly felt quite nice on Kada’s skin, kind of like a hot rock massage. She just had to make sure to melt it a few inches before it hit her, so the ammo didn’t burn her clothes.

The helicopter was flying around, trying to get different angles on her, even though none of them worked. Kada waited for them to be in the spot she wanted before firing. Once the orb was only a few feet away from hitting one of the soldiers, she broke it, and reverted the anvil back to its full form. It hit the first soldier, rammed him backwards into the second, and then both of them went flying out of the other side of the helicopter. They landed in the river beneath and were swept downstream.

After that, the other helicopters decided to regroup and fly a bit higher, in the hopes of getting out of the range of her shots. While they were settling into their new formation, Kada decided to check on the soldier with broken legs. He was unconscious, but alive at least. She felt a little bad that she was the reason his treatment was being delayed. If possible, she’d like to wrap this up quickly.

The sun was going to start setting soon, which would lower visibility. It wasn’t a problem for her, since she could use her goggles, but it would make the CP even more cautious. Kada didn’t want to drag this out any longer than she had to, wishing they had started their assault on the castle earlier in the day.

The delay had been partially her fault. They’d flown to the nearby town in The Tourist, but Kada had originally passed it by accident. In her defense, all the small towns looked exactly the same from high in the air. That detour had cost them about an hour, and when they finally arrived, it took them a good while to find a place to stash The Tourist.

Once that was settled, it was already mid afternoon, but they decided they should eat first. The flight had already made them miss lunch, and they didn’t know when they’d get to eat again. This caused a huge debate on where to eat which consumed even more time. Most people would already be on their way home from work by the time they finally headed towards the castle.

Kada was thinking about her next move when she heard some chatter nearby. It was coming from the unconscious soldier. She rummaged around his body and found a radio. Thinking it would prove useful, she clipped it to her swim trunks and headed back towards the river bank. Based on their conversation, it seemed her suspicions were correct, and that they were going to keep their distance from her.

“Launching a missile,” she heard over the radio, and seconds later there was one flying right at her. It wasn’t huge, but would still deal considerable damage. They had waited for her to be clear of their comrades before firing. The explosion from the missile could certainly prove dangerous to her, so she had to melt it before it made impact with the ground. She planted her feet into the ground and kicked off hard, dashing as fast as she could.

Kada made it just in time, tapping the missile mere feet before it would explode. It turned into a puddle of goop that splattered onto the ground. Well, I wasn’t going to use explosives, but if you’re just going to give them to me… Kada sucked up the missile into an orb and loaded it into her anchor. She kept a small droplet of the goop for herself just in case.

She did this as a contingency in case the anchor didn’t launch the orb the needed distance. It indeed fell short by just a bit, so Kada reformed the missile, then used the goop to make the missile crunch in on itself. This triggered the explosion, which barely managed to hit the tail rotor of one of the helicopters. It was sent into a tailspin, but all of the occupants bailed into the river before the helicopter crashed on the other side.

This made the CP even more cautious, flying even higher, annoying Kada in the process. Ugh fine, if you’re not going to come to me, then I’ll go to you. With aggravation in her hands, she loaded a bomb into her anchor. She shoved the muzzle into the ground, then stood on the anchor’s arms. An explosion erupted beneath her feet, and she was sent flying into the air.

She didn’t quite get enough height, so she flung her anchor towards the nearest helicopter. It hooked onto the skids and she used the anchor’s magnetism to pull herself to it and grab hold. Before anything else, she loaded another bomb into the anchor as preparation. The door on the helicopter slid open, and a soldier pointed a gun right at her head. Kada smirked at him and advised, “I suggest you aim for the water.”

Kada placed her hand against the helicopter's main body and melted it all away. The three occupants were suddenly exposed to the air, and started plummeting towards the ground. Kada angled herself in the air, and fired her anchor once more. She went soaring towards another helicopter, using the same method as before to latch onto it. After repeating this method for a total of four helicopters, they finally scrambled enough so that she couldn’t reach any of them.

There was no other choice but for her to return to the ground. Kada dove into the dirt with her Curse, not wanting to foolishly break her legs. Once she resurfaced, she heard over the radio, “Switching to experimental ammunition.” Every door on every helicopter opened and every soldier pointed their rifles at her after swapping out their ammo mags.

Kada didn’t know what this experimental ammo was, but she decided it was probably best that she didn’t stay a stationary target. She started running along the riverbank, alternating her speed every few feet to trip up the soldiers. They started firing on her, but their distance made them lousy shots. She’d wait for a break in their firing before trying to grab one of the bullets so she could examine it and determine if it was a threat.

As she was running, there was suddenly a massive boom in the distance. The shaking almost knocked her off her feet, but she managed to keep her balance. Ultimately, she couldn’t help but divert her attention. That was the direction Xard had led the horde, so she was worried about what foolish thing he had done.

Kada wasn’t stupid enough to leave herself entirely defenseless during this, and made sure her Curse continued to radiate around her, but it didn’t matter. Her eyes grew wide and her body tensed up as she felt a striking pain in her back. She knew the cause immediately. No way… are these bullets… alive? A few more shots riddled her backside before she collapsed. Silver blood trailed out of her, flowing down into the river where it was swept away by the water.