The Fallen arc
The Azalea Forest
Behind the humongous trees within the location of where Jayden and his friends were fighting the Draugr, something or rather someone was watching them. With his glowing yellow eyes gazing upon the group. He spoke to himself in a demon language.
"Republic forces. Why are they here? For the boy perhaps? But what do they intend to do with him I wonder? Hm?"
The mysterious figure that was spying on the group took notice of something. It was Jayden. Or rather, what was on his left arm.
"Ragnarok." The mysterious figure said.
***
Jayden now fully realized how little he truly knew Henro. His scanner wasn't properly working due to the forest's inter fence so he couldn't use it but he saw what Henro's demon form looks like and what angels look like in books. So after seeing Henro's form, it looked like a fusion between an angel and a demon, there was no denying it.
"Wait Henro, you're a Fallen!?" Jayden asked.
"Jayden! We'll talk about that later! Let's focus on getting them out of here first!" Ziera shouted.
"Oh right!" Jayden said.
"Emilia! Hurry up and get Henro out of here!" Ziera ordered.
"On it!" Emilia said with compliance. Suddenly, vines from the ground went up and wrapped around her leg. "What the!?" Emilia said in surprise. Then more latched onto her wrapping around her body making Henro fall out of her grasp.
"Henro!" Emilia shouted. But the vines picked up Henro and wrapped around his body too. Emilia tried to break free but she didn't have the strength to do so.
I can't reach my swords and I still can't use magic! There's no way for me to get to Henro like this! Emilia thought to herself.
"Emilia!" Ziera shouted. She tried to shoot the vines but the draugr went at her again and swiped at her with it's claws. Ziera barely dodged it's attack and jumped back.
"Ziera!" Jayden shouted.
"I'm fine, just stay back for a second!" Ziera responded.
"But Ziera!" Jayden said with protest.
"I'm serious Jayden! Now stay back!" Ziera ordered. Ziera checked on her left cheek and noticed a small cut.
Ziera thought to herself, Damn. It managed to cut me. Just a small scratch but still I should be cautious. Tsk bastard.
Where is that ghost lady? Did it run off? I guess it doesn't matter. Besides that, this thing is more dangerous than I thought. It's fast, can use magic and has some level of intelligence. It's not letting me anywhere near Henro and Emilia. It's smart enough to know that if I get Emilia free she'll fly Henro out of here and it'll lose them in an instant.
Right now the best course of action is to draw it away from those two. Emilia and Henro can't use magic in this forest but I think this thing is in the same boat. For some reason neither me or Jayden are being affected. Is it because we are using Magitech instead of magic? Assuming that's the reason, it must be because magitech is different from just regular magic.
Magitech is a combination of both magic and technology. It was founded two thousand years ago by the goddess of machines, Zenith. She infused mana into both machines and her technology which brought forth magictech to Esos.
It completely changed the world and how it affected people's lives like with Jayden's hometown Lockwood. In the case of utilizing it for combat, magitech is used by both machines and cyborgs.
While it's similar to that of magic, magitech has technology infused within the body that allows the user to convert mana in their bodies to cast spells unlike that of a mage which lets mana flow through their bodies naturally and they manipulate that mana themselves to cast spells.
Like how a generator converts mechanical kinetic energy into electricity, magitech converts mana into magic and unlike mages like Henro and Emilia, people like Jayden and Ziera don't lose their magic because the technology within their bodies is too advanced to allow the forest to affect their mana flow.
Yes! That has to be it! It would also explain why the ship we flew in wasn't affected by the forest either. The same goes for the imperial troops that are scouring the forest looking for Luca. The only thing this forest affected regarding our tech was our scanners. Maybe it's also because I was created by Zenal himself?
Well regardless The forest can't affect my magitech for the most part. The same goes for Jayden since he has Ragnarok. That gives us an advantage over this thing. It can't use magic like us and it can't fight all of us at once so it's taking advantage of this situation to pick us off one by one.
Right now it's focused on me because I'm the biggest threat. Jayden can help but he's still new to fighting. This thing doesn't know that but if he goes charging recklessly he'll only get infected with it's poison too. Still Jayden has improved since the week he's climbed aboard the ship. Maybe...
["He died because of you Ziera"].
Tsk! Shut up! Ugh never mind. I can't let him get involved right now. I'll just tell him to get Henro and Emilia out while I distract this thing on my own. It's our best shot.
"Jayden! Go to Henro and Emilia! I'll deal with this thing alone!" Ziera shouted.
"What!? But you're injured! And this thing is smarter than it looks! We should fight together!" Jayden shouted back.
"Getting Henro to safety takes priority! Don't worry about me and go!" Ziera ordered.
"But!"
"QUIT ARGUING AND DO AS I SAY! NOW GO!" Ziera yelled.
Jayden was reluctant to listen but he complied with her demand. He couldn't just leave Henro and Emilia in that situation.
"Okay but be careful!" Jayden said. Jayden dashed towards Emilia and Henro but the Draugr aimed it's hand at Jayden trying to use it's magic. But nothing came out, leaving the creature confused. Ziera smirked.
"Ha I knew it! You're in the same boat as Emilia and Henro. You can't use magic in this forest!" Ziera said.
The Draugr growled in confusion and frustration. It tried to force out it's magic but no matter how hard it tried nothing came out of it's hands. While it was confused, Ziera made a dash towards it. While Jayden went to Emilia and Henro. He propelled himself into the air towards the vines that held Emilia and Henro in their grasp. Emilia saw Jayden coming towards them.
"Emilia! I'm coming!" Jayden shouted.
"Jayden!" Emilia shouted. Jayden reconfigured the top of his right wrist. Out from the top of Jayden's mechanical right wrist came a blue energy blade.
"Omni-Blade!"
Omni-Blade. An ability Ziera taught Jayden during their week of training. It's an energy blade made of mana. It can cut through solid steel like butter, pierce through Omni-Shields, Omni-Barriers and with enough mana and power could even cut through a dragon's scales.
Jayden had only trained with his Omni-Blade for about two days before the mission. So there wasn't enough time to efficiently train him on how to fight with it. But Ziera was confident that his improvement in hand to hand combat would be enough to handle situations like this.
Jayden swung his blade at the vines and cut them down, freeing both Henro and Emilia.
"Henro!" Emilia shouted. She immediately flew over to Henro and caught him before he plummeted to the ground. She held him in her arms bridal style. Jayden landed in the branch of a tree nearby.
"Emilia! Are you guys okay!?" Jayden asked.
"I'm fine but Henro is unconscious! It's really bad Jayden! We need to get him out of here quick!" Emilia said with worry.
"Dammit! If we had just stayed together this wouldn't have...I could have done something!" Jayden said with regret. Suddenly he detected something on his scanner. More vines were rising from the ground fast. "Emilia! Watch out!" Jayden yelled. The vines rose from the ground from all sides and attacked the trio in a frenzy.
"Whoa!" Emilia saw them just in time and while carrying Henro managed to avoid them with her speed. Jayden jumped off the tree in time and landed on the ground. The vines gave chase towards him so began evading the vines with his enhanced speed. Jayden used his Omni-Blade to slash at the vines attacking him.
"Emilia! Get Henro out of here! I'll clear you a path!" Jayden yelled out.
"But what about you!?" Emilia asked with worry.
"I'll be fine! Besides, Ziera is still here fighting that thing all on her own. I can't just leave her!" Jayden replied.
"Okay! Please be careful and both of you better make it back alive!" Emilia demanded.
"We will! Scouts honor!" Jayden said cheerfully. He stopped slashing at the vines attacking him and then transformed his arm into an Omni-Cannon. He pointed at the vines attacking both Emilia and Henro. "Okay Emilia watch out!" Jayden warned.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Right!" Emilia complied.
"Okay! This is a new move Ziera taught me! Hopefully I don't end up cutting half the forest down. Alright let's do it!" Just before vines reached Emilia and Henro, Jayden fired his new move.
"OMNI-STREAM!"
Jayden released his blue energy attack and sliced all the vines attacking Emilia and Henro at once. Omni-Stream is a compressed laser that moves at the speed of light and can completely slice through almost anything. However in Jayden's case it takes a good amount of mana from him so he can't repeatedly use it in a fight.
"Okay you're free Emilia! Now go!" Jayden shouted.
"Got it! Thanks a bunch Jayden! I'll be sure to cook you the "EM Surprise" when we get back!" Emilia cheerfully said as she winked at him before flying off with Henro into the distance.
"EM Surprise" huh? I've been with the gang this whole week but still never tried it yet. I wonder what it'll taste like? Eh, I'll wonder about that later. Gotta get to Ziera quickly!" Jayden said to himself as he ran off to her.
***
Ziera vs The Draugr:
Ziera landed a kick on the Draugr's face. She used the fire from the bottom of her rocket boot to burn the Draugr's face completely off. Leaving nothing but burnt flesh as it flew back and fell onto the ground hard.
"That was for hurting my friends, you unwanted newborn." Ziera spat.
The Draugr regenerated it's face and got back on it's feet.
"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Roared the Draugr.
"Well come on then! Don't keep me waiting!" Ziera yelled. Ziera reconfigured her right wrist and unleashed an Omni-Blade of her own. The color of the energy blade was green unlike Jayden's which was blue.
"Omni-Blade!"
Since it can't use magic it'll want to keep it's distance from me. If I just keep shooting at it, it'll just keep avoiding my attacks and find the right moment to strike me down. Plus I don't want to hit one of my friends or a yokai by mistake.
Downside is I already got hit with some of it's poison. It won't affect me as fast as it will for Henro since I'm a cyborg instead of a Fallen, but it won't be long until my vision starts getting blurry and the other side effects start kicking in. So I have to finish this quickly.
The best way to do that is to turn this into a fist fight. I can't get rid of Draugr as proficient as Henro. I'm neither a dark or holy light elemental user so dealing with it's regenerative capabilities will be difficult.
And from what I understand about demon physiology is that pure blood demons have about 3 hearts in their bodies. While half-breeds have 4 and from what Henro told me about his body is that Fallen have 7 hearts in total. It'll be difficult to destroy all 7 of this thing's hearts but I have just the tech to deal with their kind.
Ziera got into a battle stance and pointed her blade at the Draugr. The Draugr growled and did the same, sharpening it's claws and got in formation.
That stance. This thing is patient and even knows how to fight in hand to hand combat too. Tsk. Silas must have put his heart and soul into making this thing. It's much smarter than the draugr I saw back at his lab. Plus it's twice my size so fighting it in close quarters won't be easy even with my blade. Still it's young, inexperienced and easy to irritate. As long as I keep my cool and keep it off it's toes I can-Gah!
Ziera's vision started to get blurry and her head was beginning to ache. It threw her off for a moment but she reclaimed her focus and didn't lose her stance.
The poison is starting to kick in. It's throwing off my vision. Fine. I'll just have to rely on Command Key T for now. Ziera thought.
Ziera closed her eyes for a moment. Ziera had an unique ability known as command key. Commands are rare magitech abilities exclusive only to that of Ziera herself, her older siblings, her father Zenal, and two old members of the Crimson Knights. These command keys are bestowed by Zenal to those he considers something of value. Commands fall in two categories. Support and attack. Similar to that of support and attack magic. In Ziera's case she has the support command type known as:
"Command Key T: Switch!"
Ziera's ability Command T: Switch, allows her body to move on it's own. She can use Command T to control her own body and have it fight without her doing so herself. This would be something akin to the auto-pilot of an airship.
However, for it to work Ziera must first provide command T the logistics of what action it must take as detailed and precise as possible. When she is done, Ziera will give the order "on" and it will carry out it's objective.
For example, Ziera can't just give the order, "attack the draugr" and nothing else, otherwise command T will not comply. Or worse case scenario it does but since it won't have a detailed plan of how to carry out it's actions, it will go off it's own judgment and use whatever in Ziera's arsenal in order to wipe out the target. Command T will not care who or what the collateral is as long as it fulfills it's task. That is something Ziera wishes to avoid.
Also at her current level, Ziera can only maintain Command T for about 30 seconds. After that it must recharge for about 30 minutes before use again and the previous order that Ziera gave it will be erased so Ziera would have to give another specified order.
So right now Ziera gave Command T the order to match the Draugr blow for blow. With only using both her Omni-Blade and her rocket boots to defend herself. She may be under the effects of the poison but with Command T, it will move her body for her at 100% capacity.
While Command T will basically have my body on auto-pilot for 30 seconds, that'll give me enough time to find this thing's blind spots. And when time is up I'll use my ace in the hole and take this thing out.
So come at me bastard. Ziera thought to herself.
Both Ziera and the Draugr didn't move from their positions yet. They were both getting a feel for each other and waiting for the right moment to strike. While the draugr wasn't that intelligent, it was smart enough to know that Ziera was not tk be taken lightly. Since it couldn't rely on magic right now, it would rely on it's physical and regenerative capabilities to wear her down. Then strike her again with it's poison.
Even if it couldn't finish her off, if it at least struck her with more poison then it wouldn't matter. Ziera would slow down from the effects of the poison allowing the draugr to flee and rush towards Henro and the other two. The draugr grinned with confidence that it could succeed. Both Ziera and The Draugr waited enough time and finally rushed at each other.
"Command T: Switch! ON!"
Ziera's body was now under the control of command t so both her body and the draugr met in hand to hand combat to exchange blows. The draugr tried to slash at her but Ziera's body dodged it by bending backwards.
Ziera's body did a handstand, jumped forward and kicked the draugr in the face with her boots. The draugr was unfazed but Ziera's body wasn't done as it tried to stab the draugr with Ziera's Omni-Blade but the draugr caught her arm and pulled her towards it and punched her right in the stomach.
"GAH!" Ziera gagged as she coughed up blood and saliva.
The force of the punch sent Ziera flying back through the forest and tumbling across the ground. Command T made her body catch herself but the draugr jumped after her and was on her in a heartbeat.
The draugr while midair went in for a slash attack but Ziera's body backflipped and dodged out of the way. Ziera's body pulled out another Omni-Blade on her left arm and dashed towards the draugr. The draugr went in to grab her but she kicked dirt in it's face blinding it. She then slid towards it's legs and slashed at both of them.
SLICE
Both of the Draugr's legs came off and it fell to the ground on it's knees. Before it could regenerate it's legs, Ziera jumped on it's shoulders and then jumped off performing a somersault off it's body. Then while in midair she grabbed onto it's horns, pulled them down, activated her rocket boots with it's boost in speed and slammed the draugr's head into the dirt hard.
The draugr growled in frustration as it picked itself up from the ground. But Ziera wouldn't let it off easy. As it picked itself up Ziera jumped onto and straddled the back of it's neck. She wrapped her thighs around it's neck to secure her position. The draugr tried to grab her but she sliced both of it's hand's off. Ziera's body then took both her blades and stabbed the draugr in it's face.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Screamed the draugr in pain. It panicked and tried to shake Ziera off but she wasn't getting off from her position. The Draugr's screams didn't last as Ziera's body stuck her blade down it's throat.
"Thank you Command T! Eat this you piece of shit!" Ziera spat. Ziera's body then went in and sliced the draugr's head off from it's body.
"That should throw it off balance for a while. Then I'll use-."
Ziera's thoughts were interrupted as the headless draugr unexpectedly grew wings out from it's back.
What!? It can still fight instinctively without a head!? Usually when a demon gets their head cut off they're thrown off balance at least for a moment. But not this thing. Is that the case with all Fallen!?" Ziera thought to herself.
The draugr flew into the air and did backflips mid air to shake Ziera off it's body. It worked as Ziera's body jumped off but the draugr grabbed onto her leg and slammed Ziera's back against a tree so hard her body broke through the tree making it collapse.
"Gah!" Ziera grunted as she coughed up blood.
That stun. Even though both this thing and Henro are Fallen, this thing is three times physically stronger than him. It has enough raw power to use my body as a bat and break through these trees. And it can keep up with my top speed. If I don't end this quickly it'll keep adapting to my moves. This won't be easy. Ziera thought.
The draugr wasn't done. It swung Ziera's body around and slammed her face first onto the ground hard. It did so again on her back. It then got on top of her and pinned her arms to the ground. As Ziera's body struggled underneath, the draugr regenerated it's head. It licked it's lips and sharp teeth as it went in to bite Ziera. However, Ziera's body reconfigured her legs and turned them into Omni-Blades. Ziera smirked.
But that's fine with me. I love a challenge.
Since one of the orders Ziera gave command T was to use her Omni-Blades, she made sure to specify that almost anywhere from her body like her legs and feet could be used to create said blades to fight back. She folded herself up and used the blades to slice the draugr's arms off. That caught the draugr off guard which gave Ziera's body the chance to counter. With her arms now free, command t had Ziera stand on her hand performing a handstand.
I'm almost out of time. Command T will end in 15 seconds. I have to find an opening now. I may not be much of a dancer but I hope this will take your breath away, draugr. Ziera thought.
Both her legs were still Omni-Blade's so Ziera's body perfumed a breakdance and spun around and around with her legs slashing at the draugr repeatedly with her blades. Command T had Ziera move so fast that the draugr could barely keep up. It tried to block with it's arms but Ziera would cut and cut and cut at them so many times they eventually both fell off leaving the drsugr vulnerable to her attacks.
But even still command t wouldn't let up and do Ziera's body kept slashing all over the front of the draugr's body. Spilling it's blood. As she kept slashing the draugr with her blades she got faster. And faster, and faster, and faster, and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster until.....
"Command Key T: Switch OFF"
Ziera had lost the power of her command key. However what she lost is also what she gained in return.
"NOW!" Ziera shouted. She regained control of her body and stopped her assault. Ziera then jumped stood up on her feet and pulled out a disc from her thigh then converted it into a small sphere shaped Omni-Grenade. But this was no ordinary grenade. It was just the thing Ziera needed to win this fight.
Command T really helped me out a lot. But I'm not out of the woods yet. I'm still under the effects of the poison and all that fighting will increase the symptoms. Like right now I can feel my head splitting but that's okay. As long as I stick this grenade through it's chest I'll destroy all of it's hearts and kill it.
"Sorry. I don't know who you were in your past life but I'll put you to rest now." Ziera said with sadness in her voice.
The Draugr was in a very bad situation. If it didn't do something soon it would die. It tried again to cast magic again but failed. It kept trying and trying but nothing would come out. As it kept failing, it's fear grew. The fear of losing, the fear of failing it's mission and the fear of failing it's master, Silas. The draugr was distraught at that very thought.
Failing Lord Silas.
An image of Silas entered it's mind. Silas only said three words to it.
["Do. Not. Fail."].
"NO!!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" The Draugr let out a loud and horrific screech. It was so loud that it's voice reached half the forest.
"Gods what the hell!?" Ziera asked as her ears were subjugated to it's screech. But she fought through the pain and kept going. "This thing is gonna rupture my eardrums but I can take it. As long as I stick it with this grenade I'll be fi-."
Then out of nowhere before she could throw the grenade at the draugr, Ziera's body grabbed onto and being crushed by two big hands.
"What?" Ziera said, coughing up more blood.
I-I know I cut off it's arms. Ziera thought to herself.
Ziera looked at the draugr. These aren't the arms she dismembered. They were two new arms that the draugr grew from it's body. Since her scanner was still messed up from the forest's interference she couldn't see it coming in time.
This thing...can grow more arms!? But Fallen can't do that! So why!? Gah! Shit! It's claws are digging into my skin!
"RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" The Draugr kept screeching as it squeezed Ziera's body hard.
"AAAAGH!!!" Ziera screamed in pain.
I have to break free! But the poison is killing me. I can't use my command key again and I feel like I'm getting weaker and weaker! If I don't do something quick I'll die!
["Please help me!"]
["Don't worry! I'll save you! I promise!"]
Jayden! I can't give up! He didn't risk his life to save me just for me to die now! I have to keep fighting! I have to win! I have to-
Ziera's eyes began to glow bright green. The draugr was caught off guard by this action. It didn't know what was about to happen but it didn't want to risk her breaking free. So it regenerated it's first two arms and went in to slash her and finish her off. But....
"Hey jackass! Didn't your mother ever teach this when you were younger?!"
The Draugr turned it's head at the voice coming from behind but was met immediately with a double kick in the back from none other than Jayden. The force sent it flying across the forest.
"Keep your claws to yourself!" Jayden said.
"RAAAAH!" The draugr cried out in pain. Ziera fell from it's grasp but Jayden caught her in his arms bridal style.
"Gotcha! Ziera are you okay!?" Jayden asked with worry. Ziera was in a pretty bad state. She had holes in both sides of her stomach. Along with cuts, scrapes and dry blood on her face.
"J-Jayden?" Ziera asked with relief.
"Yeah! Sorry I took so long! It was hard to find you without my scanner!"
Jayden explained.
"That's okay but.... actually no it's not okay I told you to stay out of it." Ziera said sternly.
"Yeah well my mom did say I always had trouble following directions. Sorry but I'd never leave you even if you told me to." Jayden said jokingly. Ziera chuckled.
"Is that so? I don't remember appointing you as my knight Cortez." Ziera said with a smirk.
"Well within the week I've met you Ziera you seem to always find yourself in situations like this so if you are looking for a knight...". Jayden teased.
"Oh shut up! I don't always find myself in situations like-gah!" Ziera began coughing before she could finish.
"Hey take it easy! You did great! Emilia and Henro got away so you don't have to keep pushing yourself. Just please let me help you, Ziera. You don't have to do this alone." Jayden said.
Ziera pondered about that. Hayden's right. That's why I even trained him to begin with. That's why Tenjin even sent us on this mission but...
["He died because of you, Ziera"].
"Jayden I-."
"RAAAAAAAH!"
Jayden and Ziera turned their attention to that sound. It came from the draugr. It was back again and fully regenerated.
"You gotta be kidding me! It's still not done!?" Jayden asked with frustration.
"No. Not until we take out all of it's hearts." Ziera explained.
"Dammit!" Jayden cursed.
The Draugr roared and launched itself toward both Jayden and Ziera.
"ENOUGH!!!!"
All of a sudden a huge wall of golden flames appeared in front of the draugr blocking it's path.
"WHOA!? WHAT THE!? Where did these flames come from!?" Jayden asked in shock. He had no idea what just happened. But Ziera had an idea.
"Golden flames? There are no dragons here so could this be?" Ziera asked.
"Yes, it is Ziera. Former second princess of the Machina Empire." Said the mysterious voice.
Jayden and Ziera turned their attention to their left. Out from the bushes came a yokai. It looked like a deer with antlers but it has scales like that of a dragon covering it's body. Followed by an ox tail, a golden flowing mane and golden flames covering it's body.
"A deer?" Jayden asked.
"No. A kirin. It can't be! Are you...!?" Ziera asked with shock.
"Yes. My name is Arkin. And I am the guardian of this forest. What brings you here princess Ziera?" Arkin asked. Arkin then turned his head to Jayden. Staring at him with his piercing golden gaze.
"And what brings you here Jayden Cortez?"
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