Back at the ship, Vinnie puts the final touches on the ship’s engine. The wing was fixed using the rubble from the flying fortress. Meanwhile, Kevin used his free time to practice his sword skills, or at least what he remembered growing up. Wielding the sword brought him back to when he was twelve, and he took in martial arts. As he practiced, the vibe he felt from the sword earlier was getting stronger. With each swing, it felt like the sword was becoming a part of him, like an extension of himself. Vinnie watched Kevin practicing as he noticed how serious he was taking it. Kevin finished his training letting out a sigh of satisfaction. He puts his sword back in the scabbard and wipes the sweat from his face.
"You’re getting good with that sword." Vinnie complimented.
"Thanks." Kevin replied. "It’s weird, though; at first, the sword was a little heavy, but it seems like it’s getting lighter, like it’s a part of me."
"Really?" Vinnie said as he jumped off the airship easily landing on the ground unscathed. "What kind of sword did Rika give you?"
Just when Kevin heard Vinnie ask about the sword, he started getting nervous as he remembered that no one knew he had taken the sword from the tomb of a knight. He sees Vinnie walk toward him as he wants to look closer at the sword. Kevin takes a step back, trying to prevent Vinnie from looking at the sword.
"It’s nothing special; it’s just a sword."
"Nonsense, for you to feel attached to a weapon so quickly must mean your reiki resonates with the energy from the sword." Vinnie replied.
Vinnie continued to approach Kevin, who was going to back away from him knowing it would make him look suspicious, until Vinnie stood in place as he heard something coming. Kevin noticed Vinne’s attention was elsewhere as he watched Vinnie focusing on locating the sound as his ears were twitching, trying to pinpoint the location. The sound was getting closer as he could hear the metallic shrills that he knows all too well as they were getting closer. Kevin noticed Vinnie looking worried which gave him a feeling that trouble was coming.
"What’s wrong?" Kevin asked.
"It looks like we got company." Vinnie announced. "They’re coming for us." He then looks at Kevin seriously. "I hope you can hold your own, as Rika said."
"Yea, me too." Kevin said to himself as he took out his sword and prepared to fight. Ten Lurkers appeared as they came from all areas of the room. One transformed its claws into sharp blades and attacked Kevin, which he blocked with his sword, and the two fought for dominance. Vinnie charges at a nearby Lurker and attacks it. As the two battle their foes, a few other Lurkers noticed their ship and were heading there to destroy it. Vinnie noticed and quickly charged one of his swords with reiki energy.
"Get away from there!" Vinnie yells and sends the energy towards the Lurkers before going back to focusing on the ones he was fighting. As the blast of energy draws close to the Lurkers, one saw it in time and moved away, but the other Lurker got caught as it made contact destroying its mask destroying it to nothing. The Lurker that dodged looked at Vinnie and hissed with its hair-like tentacles flailing with rage. With its tentacle hair, it created energy balls and shot them at Vinnie while his back was turned. Kevin looked back at Vinnie to see how he was doing and noticed the volley of energy balls heading towards the half zonian. He pushed the Lurker in front of him away and ran towards Vinnie.
"I got your back!" Kevin yells as he stood behind Vinnie with their back facing each other.
With his sword, he either blocked or swung away the energy balls that were heading their way. Those he deflected went flying in different directions, crashing and exploding on impact when they hit the wall. Vinnie quickly looked back and saw Kevin had saved him from an attack.
"Hey, thanks, man." Vinnie said as he turned his attention back to who he was fighting.
With great speed, a Lurker appeared in front of Kevin, ready to cut him down with his sharp claws till an energy ball hit it from behind, sending the Lurker flying overhead. Everyone stopped to look at the direction where the energy blast came from and saw Rika had arrived. The Villagers stood from a distance and watched as Kevin and the Knights succeeded in defeating the remaining Lurkers; the villagers cheered for their heroes. The three put their weapons away as our heroes reunite thrilled to see that each other were ok. Vinnie looked past the others and noticed the villagers from different places.
"You found the villagers." Said Vinnie.
"Not all of them." Rika replied. "They say that those creatures have been taking the villagers someplace, but they don’t know where. Caleb is still looking for the Princess."
"The ship should be able to hold these villagers, but we’ll need to come back for the others."
As Rika and Vinnie were discussing a plan to escape, several claws emerged from the ground behind Kevin stretching towards him. Without warning, they grabbed Kevin by the waist, shoulders, and ankles, putting him in a stronghold Kevin couldn’t get out of.
"Hey!" Kevin yelled, struggling to break free.
Vinnie and Rika look at Kevin to see the Lurkers holding him. The Lurkers use their ability to phase through objects on Kevin. Kevin started to feel light and watched as Rika and Vinne were rising. Knowing that it couldn’t be right he looks down and sees he was moving closer to the ground as he realized that the creatures made him almost transparent like as he was phasing through hard matter. Kevin panics as he couldn’t believe this was possible and yet it was happening.
"Newbie, hang on! " Yelled Rika as she and Vinnie grabbed his hands and tried to pull him out from the ground.
Unfortunately, the Lurkers were too strong for them and pulled Kevin through. The Lurkers were hanging from the ceiling as they phased Kevin through the floor of the other room and into the same room where the factory was held, and the villagers were turning into Lurkers; They were lowering Kevin towards the floor. Kevin managed to grab his sword out of its scabbard and cut the Lurkers' arms. They shrill in pain as they let go, and Kevin falls several feet from the air, he attempts to tuck and roll trying to break his fall but he still lands a little hard on the ground but not as hard if he didn’t. Sore and feeling bruised, he rolls on his back, trying to recover. Kevin then hears metallic shrills above him; he looks up to see the lurkers on the ceiling falling towards him with their arms regenerated and transformed into large sharp talons.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
They all stretched their arms towards Kevin to attack, but Kevin rolled away in time as their claws almost made contact. Kevin rolled to a stop and quickly got on one knee with the sword still in hand. The Lurkers from the ceiling drop to the ground facing Kevin who stands up and prepares to fight; the two Lurkers phase into the ground. Kevin cautiously waits looking around to see where they would pop up next.
A Lurker emerged behind him from the ground, ready to attack, but Kevin sensed it was behind him. He turned quickly cutting the Lurker’s mask off, destroying it. Kevin then hears screaming coming from the human-sized conveyor belts. He looked at the machine seeing what it was doing, as he saw villagers being turned into Lurkers. Shocked, he looked down at the pile of ash from the Lurker he had just killed, realizing that it once was a human being. Before the thought could sink in, he heard the Princess calling for help. He looked back at the machine as he saw that the last two people on the conveyor belt were the Princess and Callon attached to the machine as it prepared to put masks on them. Kevin runs over to the controls to try and stop it, but a Lurker comes out from the controls, grabbing Kevin by his face, and begins to squeeze. As Kevin tried to yank the Lurker off his face, Callon was locked into position. He looked up as he saw a mechanical arm holding a mask over his head. The arm descends, heading towards Callon’s face.
"No! Noooo!" Yelled Callon as he struggled to break free from his straps.
Kevin starts to feel the painful pressure on his head as it is about to be crushed by the claws of a Lurker. Kevin tried to swing his sword, hoping he would make contact, but the Lurker dodged with ease. With no time left, Kevin dropped his sword, grabbed the wrist of the Lurker with one hand, and broke the Lurker’s elbow with the other hand. The Lurker failed to anticipate Kevin’s move to phase in time and shrilled in pain, releasing its grip. Kevin quickly does a roundhouse kick to the Lurker sending it flying into the machine. The Lurker crashes into the mechanical arm that was holding the mask prepared for Callon, and sparks flew everywhere as the machine malfunctioned, electrocuting the Lurker. The large surge of energy causes the Lurker and the machine to explode. The mask attached to the arm falls to the ground; when the Lurker exploded several pieces from its mask flew everywhere. Small shards of the mask land on Callon’s neck, unknown to him, the shards absorbed into Callon’s skin till it was out of sight. Kevin picks up his sword and uses it to cut the straps off the Princess and Callon from the conveyor. The remaining Lurkers cornered the three; Kevin and the Princess armed themselves with their weapons protecting Callon from them.
"You guys alright?" Kevin asked.
"I can’t believe you came." Said Princess Anya.
"Just returning the favor." Kevin said as he looked at her and smiled.
The Lurkers then began to shrill, causing Kevin and the others to cover their ears as the sound was sharp and piercing. The Lurkers stopped and retreated, phasing through walls and the ground till they were out of sight. Kevin and the Princess looked at each other, confused as to why they left when clearly they were surrounded.
"Why do I get the feeling this is not a good idea?" Princess Anya asked.
Just as the Princess asked the question, they suddenly felt a rumble underneath them. The pressure in the room changed as it became heavy; the pressure forced the three to go down on their knees, gasping for air.
"I can’t…breathe." Callon softly said.
"What’s…. going on?" Kevin asked.
"It’s Laban." The Princess replied.
"Who?" Kevin asked.
"She’s referring to me." Laban said as he walked into the room, still exerting his energy, parading his dominant power with pride.
Kevin looked at Laban; he couldn’t understand it but something about the person he sees before him made his whole-body tremble. Not just because of the large amount of reiki energy he was emitting but with fear. He could feel the intent of this warrior wanting to kill them, and Kevin felt there was nothing he could do.
"I can’t stop shaking." Kevin thought to himself. "Why does my body shake with fear? I can barely move."
Laban looked at Kevin as he tried to sense any reiki energy coming from him, but he sensed nothing, which disappointed him as he thought that the earlier power might have come from him.
Alas, I was expecting a worthy opponent after seeing my Lurker army demolished by such incredible reiki. However, I arrive with more disappointment. Laban said as he reduced the pressure of his energy enough for the three to stand back up. I am Laban Du Kane, the future ruler of this world.
Laban huh? Names Kevin, a warrior from Earth who's gonna stop you. He said as he stood tall, trying to look intimidating even though, in his mind, he knew he had no chance in hell against him.
You? An Earthling? Do you take me for a fool? Laban asked.
Don’t know, you tell me. Kevin replied with a smile.
Laban at first was a little annoyed at the boy’s remark but remembered he didn’t sense any reiki.
I admire your attitude. Laban chuckled. I don’t know whether it's bravery or sheer stupidity. Laban replied.
After hearing that remark, Kevin honestly felt insulted and stepped forward in front of the Princess and Callon with his sword in hand as he prepared to fight. The Princess looked at him, confused as to what he was doing.
Wait, what are you doing? She asked.
She grabbed him by the arm, stopping him in place; Kevin looks back at the Princess.
You’re not thinking about fighting him, are you?
What choice do we have? Asked Kevin. He’s not going to let us go.
Tell me you felt that immense pressure, that’s his reiki; he’s too powerful. You can’t beat him. The Princess warned him.
Yea, I figured that much when he came in. Kevin said with an awkward smile.
And you still want to fight him? The Princess asked.
The Princess thought back to the former knights and how they were easily defeated by the hands of Laban who she learned has gained such power that she knew they had no chance of winning. Anya looked at Kevin confused.
Why are you doing this? She asked. Knowing that you’ll be killed?
Hearing the word killed sent chills down Kevin’s spine as he knew his fate was sealed going head-to-head against this powerful foe. He just wanted a normal life, but it seems fate had other things in store. He wanted to save his world from the advent guard but that may not happen. Knowing where this battle will end up, he knew what needed to be done; he softly sighs accepting his fate.
I have to do this. Kevin replied. Anya just looks at him surprised to his response.
I may not be a descendant, hell I’m not even a knight. I still want to save my planet, but until then, I want to help you guys. I don’t know how but I wanna be able to help protect people, even those I just met.
Kevin looks back at her and smiles just like how she did for him. The Princess softly blushed as she looked at him, surprised that he would do this. She remembered he didn’t want anything to do with their world, and now he wanted to help.
Thank you. She said smiling back. Seeing her smile made Kevin happy taking it as a sign of forgiveness about earlier. She and Callon step back to give them room as Kevin and Laban approached the center of the room.
This is amusing; you still want to fight despite having no powers. Laban stated.
Well, I wouldn’t say I’m completely powerless. Kevin replied. I’m half seirei jin; I just can’t figure out that side of me yet.
Laban couldn’t help but chuckle again, amused by Kevin as he’s never fought someone as amusing as him.
I admire you, kid; in fact, I’ll make it fair and fight on your own level.
Laban raises his hand in the air; particles of his reiki energy come out from his body and begin to collect in front of his hand in the air. The particles of reiki formed into a sword and materialized before their eyes. He grabs the sword in midair and aims it at Kevin as he prepares to fight with his sword in hand.