Chase and Mia cautiously roamed the streets, listening out for the cries of a fresh horde or the relief of another human voice. Their firepower was drastically weakened with just the two of them, and both were feeling the effects of injury and fatigue, both physically and mentally.
They turned left after exiting the alley, hoping to loop back around to where Jamie and the rest had evacuated. Unfortunately, a tremendous wall of pinkish-red crystal sealed the path to their salvation.
“Nebula,” Chase breathed.
“What’s that?”
“Nebula, the S-Rank. She botched a Raid at Majesty and disappeared, but…” He stood still, closing his eyes and listening to the carnage. He’d never heard Nebula’s Talent in action, but he had an idea of what it might sound like as those brittle crystals spiked into flesh, growing and splintering and flowering from one another like a patch of growing fungi.
In the distance, there was a screeching clamour like a giant walking on shards of glass. “Down that block,” he said. “If we find her, we might find the others. You up for it?”
Mia looked unsure. She unstrapped the shield from her arm and shook it out, easing an ache. “Are you sure we should go towards the S-Rank? What if she’s fighting the boss or a massive horde all by herself?”
Chase hadn’t even considered the existence of a boss outside its own Gate. It made sense, but he assumed it would come out last, once its minions had been destroyed. If it wasn’t already defeated, Two City was in for another round of pain.
“Our alternative is to wait around here until we get unlucky,” he said. “We could try breaking through Nebula’s wall, but it’s damn thick. As brittle as it is, I’ve still got no chance.”
“Towards the S-Rank and imminent danger it is, then.”
They changed their direction, sticking to the middle of the streets where there was less risk of degraded pieces of buildings falling on their heads. They were more visible here, but judging by the monster who’d torn through hundreds of kilograms of rubble to find them, hiding wouldn’t help much.
Very few of the trees in Two City had survived the invasion. Jagged branches littered the road, some of them small and blowing around in the wind, others big enough to crush the rooves of cars. A thick trunk had been ripped from the ground, roots and all.
They scampered across three blocks before encountering Nebula’s fight. She battled a monster so large it would’ve had to duck its head to leave most Gates, and the weapon it wielded was nearly as huge. Nebula had the monster’s feet locked to the road in crystal prisons, but it broke free by simply tearing out the entire piece of road and earth that the crystal attached to, wearing chunks of Two City like sandals. It swung a towering, gnarled club, swathes of swampy moss flying off the slimy weapon. A piece landed near Chase — it was big enough to carpet his bedroom.
And it had eyes. Thousands of them.
The ‘moss’ broke apart into a sea of tiny creatures, most of them no bigger than a marble. They scurried away on hair-thin legs, burrowing into the rubble. Whatever they were, Two City had just been cursed by a long-lasting affliction of miniscule monsters.
Nebula came hurtling toward them as the giant monster’s club connected with a building, spraying basketball-sized clumps of stone through the streets like confetti from a cannon. She landed neatly next to them, using her crystals like steppingstones as she zipped through the air.
“Ranks?” she demanded. Her eyes settled on Chase for a moment, as though she vaguely recognized him but couldn’t place his face.
“A-Rank,” Mia said. She was actually a B-Rank, but Chase understood why she’d given herself a boost.
“Me too,” he answered. It was his own personal judgement, and lately he’d started to feel like one anyway. When it came to doing damage, he was Jamie’s peer for sure.
Nebula sighed as if they were garden-variety Talentless. “Go away, then. I can barely outrun this thing, and speed is one of my specialities. You’ll just get in my way.”
She turned back to the fight, casually knocking a lump of rock out of the air that would have otherwise put a hole in Chase’s stomach. It was clear that the display of power she’d shown in that fateful Majesty Raid was only a tiny mote of what she was capable of. Perhaps that was why she’d made the mistake — it was difficult for the S-Rank to dampen her own power.
“What about the civilians?” Chase said. “You can’t evacuate them while you fight, surely?”
The S-Rank spun around and placed an icy glare on him. “Maybe not, but as I said, you won’t be able to either. Stay out of my way unless you want to be added to the casualties.” She stalked away, leaving Chase and Mia in a swirl of dust.
“Was that a threat?” Mia whispered. She said it with incredulity, as if it were an honour to be threatened by an S-Rank and live to tell the tale.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Pretty sure it was a promise. She’s not exactly a ray of sunshine, is she?”
“Not at all. I like her.”
Chase turned on Mia and frowned. The Tank just shrugged her shoulders, then pointed toward the battle of titans going on a couple hundred metres from them. “Oh shit, is she winning? Look!”
He swivelled just in time to see the monster sink to its knees. It seemed to happen in slow motion, though the hunks of tar and dirt that it sent flying were anything but slow. A huge spike of pink crystal hung above Nebula’s head, quickly growing in size until it rivalled the monster’s colossal club. She flew up behind the flailing beast, jumping from lumps of crystal before gravity took hold of them and sent each platform raining down to the ruined street below. Once at the monster’s neck, she drove the ten-metre-long spike through its grey-green flesh. A geyser of black sludge spurted from its throat and the monster fell, crashing into a building and slumping up against it like a drunkard who’d passed out one step their bed.
“Crikey,” Chase murmured. He’d been about to suggest going against Nebula’s orders and joining the fight anyway, but it was lucky he hadn’t. His bullets would be less than pinpricks on a giant like that, unless he had Herb cook up some projectiles packed full of every Talent-residue he’d found to date. He sorely hoped he could be part of the clean-up crew once this was all over — this stockpile of Nebula’s crystals could keep him going for decades.
Mia turned to go back the way they came. Chase made to follow her, reasoning that if they continued far enough, they could loop around the fallen hotel and make their way back to Jamie and the other Hunters. Nebula had already disappeared from view, probably finding another crisis to avert…
“Wait.”
The S-Rank materialised in front of him as if she’d popped up from a hidden entrance under the road. There were a few scars on the pale skin of her left cheek, and her auburn hair was tied up in a tight bun. Her saving-the-world outfit, a pair of brown sweatpants and a black short-sleeve top with ‘Save the Penguins’ imprinted on the front, was mostly undamaged.
“Do I know you?” she asked.
“I…don’t think so?” Chase replied. “I was a Hauler at Majesty during, uh, that Raid. That’s the only time that—”
“Ah!” Understanding dawned in Nebula’s hazel eyes. “I remember now. You were being hauled out on a stretcher. What was an A-Rank Hunter doing in the Hauling party? How’d you get so banged up?”
Chase briefly considered how to condense all that had happened to him since then. In the end, he just held out the MP7. “I’m not actually a Hunter, at least officially. I’m Talentless, but this does the job.”
Nebula didn’t seem too perturbed, which was surprising. She just nodded her head, as though it was to be expected. “Right, yep. I see what they’re talking about. You might want to check the news, by the way. Might find it interesting.” She looked up at the black helicopter circling overhead. “Thought it was here for me, but…oh well. Don’t leave, by the way. You should help the civilians. Might help your image.”
With that, the S-Rank vanished. When she’d said speed was one of her specialities, she wasn’t kidding.
“Gimme a sec,” he told Mia. “Enro? You busy?”
{Not currently.}
“Would you mind doing a search for me? Apparently, I’m on the news. I just need to work out whether I should bother hiding the MP7.
There was small wait.
{You should hide.}
That was an odd way to answer the question. “The MP7? Or me?”
{Both. I have analysed the content of 354 articles and other news sources, concluding with 97.2% likelihood that public opinion has drastically turned against you. Apparent reasons include: the intentional destruction of Two City, threatening of civilians, abuse of civilians and, in one instance, ‘having negative aura.’ Would you like me to complete a more thorough analysis and report?}
“Right. No thanks, Enro, I think I get the picture.”
{You have also been labelled as—}
“Enro.” He reigned in the Relay. The thing seemed to have a mind of its own sometimes, as if it derived enjoyment from being slightly annoying almost every time he used it.
He took a deep breath. It was clear that the world had gotten the wrong idea about him. At least there wasn’t a band of Hunters chasing him down like a dangerous fugitive. Nebula appeared relaxed about the debacle, so maybe she could see through the ridiculous claims.
Or she just knows that I couldn’t threaten her even with a fleet of tanks at my disposal. Actually, if Jenny signed off on such a purchase, and Herb could work his magic…
He shook his head to clear the thought. Now wasn’t the time to brainstorm new avenues of gaining power. He had to do something to show the world who he really was. Running and hiding wasn’t an option, even if Enro had suggested it. It would turn dark soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, making the rescue efforts far more difficult. These last hours of daylight were his best chance to build support for his case. Even if he only saved a handful of people, he figured their voices would be the loudest when it came to pleading his innocence. The court of public opinion may be wicked, but there would be no better testimony than that of someone whose life he’d saved.
But first, he had someone else’s fears to allay. Chances were she’d seen him on the news, but Kim’s message still lay unanswered, and that was something he thought worth remedying.
[Heyo. I’m not dead, only a few scrapes and bruises. Assuming you’ve seen me on TV. Sorry about the gun…You alright?]
He sent the message then nodded to Mia. They took stock of their surroundings. The slain monster down the street looked like a person collapsed in a dollhouse, completely dwarfing the surrounds. Its feet were as long as lampposts, and its bulky frame created a dangerous, stinking barrier across the whole street. If they needed to, they could climb up its spine to reach the sixth or seventh floors of the building it lay against.
“Thoughts?”
“I think most people will have evacuated,” Mia said. “Maybe not the old people though? I say we start on the bottom floors — that’s probably the safest for us, too.”
Chase nodded. “And if we find someone, it might be best if you talk to them first. Seems like I’m not the crowd-favourite at the moment.”
“Aye, cap’n.”
They steeled themselves. Both had been at their limits hours ago, and Chase was running out of bullets. The MP7 rounds were light, though it wasn’t like he was running around with all five-hundred of them in his pocket. Soon, he would have to switch to the Beretta, putting his faith in the gun that had struggled even with monsters much smaller and less ferocious than these.
Still, they strode forward, aiming for the tired, broken buildings.
There was work to be done.