Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Training Field Septa
Time: 1501
January 31, 2050
“What the hell!” Sinder couldn’t stop her shoulders from trembling. She clutched her chest, hoping that the rushed thrumming rhythm of her heart would settle. Damnit, she was panicking. “What is this?”
It felt like a cold brush ran down her spine. All of this startled and struck her with a pang of pain that was like a claw slowly digging deeper and deeper into her the further it traveled down her back. And it only got worse as she kept watching. Her beast human senses picked up on a spike of energy, it was.. different. Wiping the sweat away from her brown, she dared to look ahead, to meet his gaze.. No.. its gaze.
“Go!” She shouted, calling and summoning packs of hounds. They emerged from fire and brimstone, snarling with fangs bared. “Take him down! Do it now!”
Even with panic in her voice, the pack broke to the right in a determined sprint. They closed in on Itsuki, who was already tearing through the frontlines of her beast's formation. Minutes ago, they had him surrounded. But the tables had turned, and all because of the actions of a couple students. At first, she thought that their effect on the battle would be minimal, just a couple of inexperienced kids. No issue, no problem.
But that girl. And those swords.
It was only a moment. Sinder had seen it play out. When that sword of ice found its way into Itsuki’s hands, the threat it posed was an abrupt click in her mind. Her opponent's ability made use of past experience, memories, and a constant analysis of the combat situation. Itsuki was versatile, able to do anything and everything at his disposal in a fight. Sinder wasn’t surprised if he could weaponize a fistful of dust, she shuddered, believing that could be true. So what if? What if he had a blade? That changed the variables. He would adjust.
And the one variable Sinder had been relying on for all this time was the lack of weapons he could use. It had been the strategy she and the others were basing their plan around. She’d seen what he could do with a knife. It wasn’t pretty, and she swore she still had nightmares about it. With a single sword of ice? God help me.
Hacking, slashing, and stabbing, Itsuki came at all the enemies around him. That singular weapon gave him options once unavailable to him. Fresh hounds poured in around him. A trio of them pounced from all different directions. He brandished the cool blue blade of ice, and in the next second its edge pierced fur and mowed the beasts down in a handful of slashes. They fell, dead and disappearing back into energy.
“Fire! Fire Everything!” Sinder roared, commanding her hounds and willing herself to muster all the fire they could put to their howls. “NOW! Do it NOW!”
The 30 hounds spread around on her left and right opened up, fiery mouths gaping to let embers crackle and collect as they reeled their heads back. They threw their heads forward and thundered with the might of a volcanic eruption. Condensed shots rained all over Itsuki’s position, creating a scene from hell. With a sweep of his sword, a long silver arc traced the air with a momentous whish and woosh. A handful of the incoming barrage was sliced and snuffed out before they could hit. The remainder crashed and blew the ground to hazing rubble.
Sinder clicked her tongue. “Shit.” She threw her hand forward, summoning new hordes of hounds. This would be too many for her to control personally, but it didn’t matter. She needed to stop him, at all cost. “Charge! Bring him down!”
Her horde of beasts bellowed and barked, spurring each other on into an all-out sprint. Kicking and bucking the dirt, they got up to racehorse speeds. Itsuki, unaffected and unnerved at the tide of enemies, plunged himself against it. There was no fear, no signs of self-preservation, only the intent to kill and destroy. Was he even human? He sure didn’t look like it. He killed without care, unfazed by any intimidation and knowing no fear.
Facets of his sword of ice flashed as he cut through the beast one by one. A claw came in, he ducked, slid under and skewered the hound’s belly. Bone and flesh tore as he dragged his weapon clean through to its tail. The bisected hound whimpered into silence a second later. Already moving to attack again, Itsuki jumped to his feet and spun on his back foot to come face to face with more snarling beasts.
First, 50 became 40, then a minute later 30, then whittled to 25, then only 10. And it all happened in a matter of minutes. This isn’t working. Sinder knew she needed a new plan. But what! What do I do now! She searched for an answer, desperately expanding her senses to find a weakness in her opponent. Her eyes turned to a deeply bright fiery glow, a color similar to that of a sun’s fire. They were so brilliant, beautiful, and brave. Except.. Sinder’s lips fell into woeful distress, she was scared of what she saw.
Wha-what is this? Waves of silver energy pulsed off of Itsuki. Invisible to the naked eye, this phenomenon was common between explorers in combat. Sinder saw her own fiery energy exuding off of herself. It was powerful and abundant, but compared to Itsuki’s? It paled in comparison. What is going on! How.. How can he.. What in the world is this?
Her questions stopped as she noticed something that made her skin crawl and her blood turn to ice. Are those.. Hands? The silver energy emanating off of Itsuki curled and extended like ghostly appendages. They reached up from the charred ground like haunted spirits. They made a grab for the attacking hounds. It should’ve had no effect, this was just energy. But the moment the hands touched one of her beasts, it shuddered. All of them. Burdened, weighted down, or even pinned in place, they flinched as if under an invisible pressure.
What do I do! What do I do! Sinder blinked, focusing her intent to link her mind with her hounds. Surround him! Don’t stop! Keep attacking! Go around and hit him from behind! GO! GO! GO! The hounds shook themselves free and threw themselves at Itsuki. They didn’t stand a chance. This wasn’t a fight, it was becoming a slaughter, a butchering, a culling.
But then.. Sinder saw it. Wait.. there. Right there. Her pupils dilated as they focused on a brief pause she caught in Itsuki’s movement. One of her hounds used it and caught his wrist, biting down, trying to rip the limb off. Itsuki smashed its head against the ground a second later, but Sinder saw it.
There.. I get it.. He’s slowing down. It’s working. “Keep attacking.” Sinder commanded. “Don’t let him recover!”
Through her intent, the hounds changed tactics. Splitting into groups of four, they began running circles around Itsuki, spacing themselves out so that they weren’t taken all out at once. In intervals, they threw themselves at the opponent. Itsuki would rip the small groups apart in seconds, but by the time he did there would be another pack on him, and then another and another. He would be too occupied, and couldn’t give chase with how agile, numerous, and well spread out the packs were.
And when the numbers fell, Sinder would replenish them. Grind him down. She thought. Be relentless and keep him in a never ending cycle. She sighed, relieved but staying cautious. Good.. If I keep this up, then he’ll burn out.
Or so Sinder thought.
“Itsuki!” Yelled a voice. It was that girl, the one with the icy blue hair. Beside her was the other student, and both of them had something in their arms. At the girl’s prompting, they threw whatever they were. “Use it!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Sinder watched closely. It was hard to make out what they threw from how far she was from them. They looked like pieces of ice. She narrowed her brow, squinting as light shimmered off the faces and facets of what seemed like large and long chunks of ice. Then her heart skipped a beat. No.. No No No. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! She wanted to run over and grab them, to throw them away. She was a step too late, Itsuki was closer.
Itsuki leapt back, up and over her crowding hounds. He landed and spun around on his heel to make way for what the students had thrown. The beasts swung their heads around and gave chase. Sinder urged them to catch up, to stop him, to keep him away from where he was going.
A blast of fire flew over his shoulder. Glancing back, he tracked the incoming attempts to slow him. One of the hounds had him dead to rights, jaws gathering with flames. Doing a long jump forward, he let the momentum of it carry him as he turned around and threw his ice sword. It cut into the hound’s neck, stopping it from spewing anymore fire. Other blasts of fire missed Itsuki by a close margin as he glided down from his long jump. He came skidding backwards along the ground and calmly spread both his arms as if inviting a challenge.
Sinder gritted her teeth. “Shit.” She hissed. “Too late.”
A pair of hilts slapped into Itsuki’s palms and he came to a stop. He pulled a pair of ice swords that were thrust into the ground. Then, he gave a cursory gaze at all the weapons scattered around him, either sticking up from the blackened dirt like grave stone or laid flat like a mess of loose tiling. The faintest hint of satisfaction found itself on his usually stoic expression. Immediately, he went back to normal and his eyes widened on Sinder with an intense focus. His locked gaze gripped her like an iron collar around her neck.
Sinder swore to herself again silent, then raised her voice. “Attack!” She screamed, very unlady-like. “Attack Attack Attack!”
Another barrage of fire hit like artillery. A thick plume of smoke rose as explosions rocked everyone to their core. Sinder didn’t stop her hounds or herself. She just kept roaring blasts of fire, willing with her very being that this would be enough. The smoke thickened, getting darker and darker. Suddenly, a number of flashes broke from the carnage. The hounds were stuck with throwing knives made of ice. They squealed and collapsed in pain. Their suffering ended as Itsuki appeared in front of them like a reaper coming to harvest their lives. Except, he didn’t use a blade. He raised a warhammer made of ice and brought its weighty size down with all the ease of a child swinging a toy sword.
Sinder could almost hear the splat and feel the tremor from where she was all the way in the back. The bodies of her hounds flew up in heaps. They countered, some risking a reckless point blank blast. Itsuki didn’t flinch. His hammer squashed their attempt and swatted those who charged in droves. A hard crack reverberated. The warhammer broke, finally succumbing to Itsuki’s reckless handling. A moment of relief welled in Sinder’s eyes. It died as quick as it came. Itsuki withdrew a greatsword of ice from his storage ring. The nightmare wasn’t over, all because of that thing.
Sinder scowled at it. There it was, materializing out of nowhere. And who knew what else he had now.
Damnit Damnit Damnit! She wanted to scream. Itsuki didn’t seem to care. With a wide swing, the enormity of his greatsword of ice swayed the air, filling it with bodies rendered chunks before they could dissipate. Heads fell in lines and red glistening blood spurted and sprayed. A few seconds of chaos ran rampant before the remains dissipated into energy, but that didn’t make it easier for Sinder to swallow. Her packs were getting cut down like wheat to a scythe, and all the viscera wasn’t easy on the eyes, nor for her mental health.
“G-Go!” Sinder ordered, voice cracking with a heavy heart. Is this all I can do? She gazed down at her injuries, her hand still clutching the bruise on her abdomen. “This isn’t right.” She mumbles. “Why isn’t it healing?”
A thrum of cold pain jarred her for a moment. The damage Itsuki had inflicted earlier should’ve by now dissipated. Her aura was supposed to block out and counteract the effects of physical trauma. Yet this bruise? It wouldn’t go away, instead it burned like a poison laced into her veins. If she wasn’t so affected by it, she would’ve jumped into the fight and risk a close quarters encounter.
But no, the smart thing to do was for her to stay back. For now, she needed to keep Itsuki away and grind him down until he loses control of the flow of the fight.
Sinder scoffed derisively at the thought. Easier said than done. No, need to think. There has to be a way. She scanned the surroundings in between sending packs of beasts out to hold off Itsuki. Her ears flick for a second as she becomes acutely aware of another person’s core energy in the air. And it was collecting, getting stronger, getting bigger even.
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Where.. Where.. Where.. Her head swung around. There. Found you.
Sinder locked gazes with that girl. Icy blue eyes flinch back at her in terror. Sinder noted that the girl's hands are held together, a ball of snowflaking particles fluttering around the centers of her palms. It didn’t bode well. Then she realized what Itsuki was doing, the deeper purpose of his actions. He’s buying time. For something? Whatever it is, it isn’t good.
She wasn’t going to let them go through with it. Taking a second to ensure that she had her perimeter secure, and the other nuisances locked down, Sinder discreetly sent a few of her strongest wolves to flank the girl. They galloped, fanning out to the far left and right to bypass Itsuki, to stay away from the butcher.
***
“Amanda!” Richard called shakily, readying his sword. “We got incoming!”
Amanda looks up from her hands, her work coming together, thought, not yet ready. If those wolves interrupted her then the plan would be shot. She wished she could fire back, except it took all her focus to conjure what that they had in store. “Woah.. I see’em, that’s a lot.” She wasn’t sure, but said it anyway. “Cover me, I need a few more minutes to get this ready.”
“On it!” Richard stepped in front of her. He was going to use himself as a literal human shield. “Don’t know if I can last a few minutes, but I’ll do what I can.”
Amanda chuckled. “Thanks, I’m reassured.”
He still hadn’t gotten the hang of his abilities, whatever they were. Still, he had guts.
Richard titled his head to crack his neck, then smiled. “Okay! Here we go!”
BOOM!
Like hammer blows made of fire, the wolves volleyed on their approach. Three bursts of flames came from both sides. Richard threw himself at each one, flecks of his white aura shimmering off his uniform as flames threatened to burn him away.
“Ugh.. Damn.” He staggered, not able to cope with the building damage and pain. “Can’t seem to block it all out.”
“You alright?” Amanda asked, worried. She got a dismissive wave of his hand and a thumbs up. “Alright, just hang in there.”
“Yeah, doing my best. But.. can you go a little faster?”
“I’m trying!”
Another bolt smacked into Richard. He raised his free arm to block another. The cinders fell from his skin like the large drops of dew off of leaves. From just the touch, they prickled like a thousand thorns under his skin. Dang it. I can’t get the hang of this.
00’s voice then rang in his ear. [Query.. User Richard. Enemy contacts closing. Prepare for close combat.]
[Understood, but where’s that support you promised?]
[Query.. It is on the way, please hold.]
For a silly second, Richard thought the AI was joking with him like some telemarketer. It was disconcerting with how human this artificial intelligence was trying to be. But well, this is my first time meeting one. He shrugged away his confusion and was quick enough to meet fangs with his blade.
The first wolf snarled a mouthful of fire. Before it could fire, Richard smacked its lower chin up with the pommel of his sword. Then with a quick thrust, he downed the fierce beast. He could feel the new adrenaline pumping through his heart, it was like magic. Energy welled as he slashed at one beast and the next.
Come on! Come and get me!
As much of a brave face that he could put on, he knew he was tiring and that the enemy’s numbers would soon overwhelm him. He only hoped he’d buy enough time.
“Richard, watch out!”
Amanda’s voice made him snap his head to her. She pointed to a slope, and he saw exactly what had caught her attention. A new wave emerged from behind the wreaked landscape, and this time in double the numbers. 30? No, 60? Richard sighed, meeting his imminent defeat with a defiant smile.
Three beasts closed in and clawed at him in unison. The rest surrounded them and laid down cover fire. Amanda flinched as bolts of flame streamed at her. She heard a dull thud as Richard threw his sword away, rushed over, and then spread his arm as he turned his back to the enemy. A blast hit him square in the back, his face morphed from a gritting smile to a gasping grimace.
Amanda, unable to help, watched the hounds close in. Her eyes grew moist. sadness pierced her heart. It was happening again. She was going to lose a comrade, a friend. It wasn’t real, she knew, this was training. But she couldn’t see it that way. This was real, so very real. And if this was the result, she didn’t dare to think what would happen if this was in the field, in a real fight.
I have to finish this. She pushed on, redirecting her emotions and using them to fuel her determination. Time.. seemed to slow. The wolves were getting closer, only a handful of lopping steps left. Richard was going to fall, he was going to be beaten. Then she saw a flash of blue, and something silver. The figure was like a wisp, a spirit in the wind.
Amanda smiled very faintly, taking in who it was. Itsuki.
Knives impaled the wolves necks. They howled in defeat, laying to rest on the charred ground as a specter of death arrived with the hammer of judgment. Itsuki gave no pause or prayer. He brought death down on them fast and hard. The beasts’ forms disappeared in a spray of black particles. Richard heaved a breath, glancing over his shoulder and understanding who had pulled his ass out of the fire.
He was met with only a stare from a pair of silver slit eyes. The glow of that fine vertical line in those irises was like an opening into the void. It gave Amanda and Richard the creeps. Itsuki tugged Richard to his feet and forced him behind. Their moment of peace was broken by a rumbling around them. Howls and snarls drew attention to the massing enemies that followed Itsuki.
“Dear God.” Richard slowly said in astonishment. “Amanda? How long?”
“Almost there.” Amanda tapped her earpiece. [And where’s that support!] She demanded to know, except there was no response. This was a bad time for the AI to bail on them.
The wind whistled with the familiar sound of incoming projectiles. The space and air lit with fire. Wordlessly, Itsuki materialized the ice weapons from his storage ring. They stood plunged into the ground like an assortment of mismatched and haphazardly strum headstones. Six short swords rose into the air from a wave of Itsuki’s hands. Amanda and Richard were flabbergasted once again when all six of the swords flew in every which way.
The blades of ice danced and slashed into the barrage of fire. Then the wolves got a taste of them. A handful were cut down before they knew what hit them and the others growled, both surprised and angered. Bestial eyes flitted and blinked, the beasts massed for a charge on the right. Itsuki waved his hands, his fingers articulating and flexing. The six ice swords flew once again to tear ranks apart.
It’s like a meat grinder. Amanda thought, about ready to shake her head in disbelief. Holy shit.
She found Richard making a similar face like hers, only he was scrutinizing Itsuki’s hands, specifically the silver fingerless gloves he wore. When Itsuki moved his hands and wavered his fingers again as if ordering the swords to move, that’s when they noticed the almost invisibly thin strands of what seemed like wire threading off his gloves. Itsuki was controlling them.. with..
“Core energy?” Richard recalled the lessons in controlling his powers. About how to make strings out of energy. It was a simple skill, not helpful or usable in combat. Except.. “Such incredible control.”
Amanda didn’t get it, but she was a little glad that things were going to be alright.. And that Richard would be alright too. A new pack, one of the already mounting numbers, drove deep to flank Itsuki under a hail of fire. Richard pulled himself up to his feet and met them. Outnumbered 10 to 1, he didn’t let that get to him.
“RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” He shouted, swinging as fangs bit at his aura, and flames singed the tips of his dark hair.
Itsuki, controlling his six string bound blades with one hand, took up a spear with the other. He stepped and striked around Richard, killing the beasts he pinned. Over and over, the waves kept coming. Body after body was slashed, stabbed, or flattened to the dirt.
Opting to stay close to Amanda, Richard picked off the ones that slipped past Itsuki. There wasn’t much, but the flood of enemies was enough to cause a bleed in their untenable position. Itsuki made the most of it and pushed hard. For Amanda, every moment was like watching a master of war at work. From the assortment of weapons she made him, she was dubious if he needed all of them. Turns out he did.
With more and more enemies coming from every direction, he used them all to extensive efficiency. He picked up a polearm and slew from a distance with its reach, twirled its blunted end to use it as a sledge hammer, and as a projectile as a whole in desperation. Entire lines of beasts fell in seconds and then he was onto the next. His six string bound swords danced like no blades could. With purpose and deft control, they found marks in necks or eyes, rending bodies in twain. He flung his arms, whisking them every which way. It was like being the eyes of a storm, or more like a blender. The bodies just disappeared when the hounds got too close, or if Itsuki got closer.
Four attempts of rushed charges, one following the other by a couple seconds, headed straight for Amanda. Itsuki moved to intercept without needing any orders. He hefted a new warhammer, using it to break each charge like a mad but silent berserker.
Soon the enemy withdrew, understanding their disadvantage. Then a roar rose up, a new one, one that was not from a wolf, but from a girl. A distance away, Sinder was rallying her packs. They massed beside her, aligning in organized firing formations. Richard knew what was coming, so did Amanda and Itsuki.
“Cover!” Richard yelled, shielding Amanda with his body.
Itsuki threw his hands out, spreading them as new strands and strings of core energy reached and coiled around the remaining assortment of ice weapons. He whipped them through the air as the first flames came in.
Amanda’s eyes went wide. Too many.. He can’t block them all.
As utterly insane in what Itsuki could do, he couldn’t stand up to this. His movements increased in pace to keep up the defense, but so did the projectiles. The white lines across his body pulsed, branching down his fingers, arms, back, and chest. They were everywhere on him, and they were an ominous sign of an impending omen. He couldn’t keep this up. He was going to break, shatter.. And.. Die?
Two bolts of fire made it through the veil of slashes Itsuki was creating. The first hit him in the chest and the second missed. He didn’t stagger, though his pace slowed and then another bolt slipped in and exploded into his chest. This time his right knee buckled and his left foot slid back. Then he was hit again, then again and again, until he was on his knees. The thread bound weapons fell away, their strings cut, and scattered to the wind.
Richard pulled Itsuki back, throwing him to Amanda who put up a half made barrier of ice in time before the next barrage of fire could end them. Except, this wasn’t going to be enough. The layers of her barrier cracked and chipped, each flaming projectile shaving off more than she could put back. She couldn’t muster any more effort as most of it was taken up by the work in her other hand.
Amanda looked up at Richard. Just a little more. She told him with her pleading eyes.
Richard nodded, turning to make a stand as a human shield once the barriers of ice came down. Come on.. Don’t fail me now! He crossed his arms into a guard and drilled his feet into the loose and brittle black dirt. Come on.. Activate.. Activate. His core energy surged through his veins, he tried to quicken it, make it stir and churn so that he could harness the strength of the energy’s potential.
The ice barrier cracked, creaked, its corner and edges teetering on the brink of falling to pieces. Through its transparent face, Richard saw the hell ahead. Fire and brimstone, a literal storm of flames that would consume and turn him to but little ash in seconds. There was a final crack before the barrier disappeared and red light spilled at him.
Richard screamed his heart out. It felt like a wall was rapidly and repeatedly slamming into him. The pressure on his arms built, more wolves threw gouts of fire. Sinder joined in, roaring an enormous torrent of flames. It was getting hot, too hot. For a moment, he thought he could smell the scent of his own flesh burning. He tuned it out, and decided he didn’t need to breathe in these few seconds, only to think.. To force his power to manifest.
His eyes were heavy, they squinted, brows lowering against his will. The bright red of flames was being consumed by darkness. He held desperately on to the last smolders of his consciousness.
Protect. Said a voice, not his own, yet similar. Like his father’s. No, like his.. Father’s father. He had never heard or met the man, but Richard knew this voice. It was his Grandfather, he was sure, it was that hero who saved the western Bloc. The protector of mankind, the shield. The..
Richard flung his eyes open. Realization dawned on him as knowledge and words of an incantation floated up from the pool of his mind. “Be it Flesh or Steel, I am the Shield.” He said, his volume growing in leaps. “Protect To My End! Come Forth! AEGIS!”
The edges of his aura brightened to an ethereal white. The particles of energy took shape, forming into delicate and pure white feathers. They pushed against the flames, floating over to Richard on currents of a gentle breeze as they collected on his shoulders and crossed arms. White gauntlets and shoulder pads with a feather scale pattern forged and attached to him.
“PROTECT!” Richard bellowed and threw his arms out, straining against the onslaught of flames. “PROTECT!” She screamed, and a white shield with two crossed angel wings of angel on its front materialized as if from the ether. It was as tall and as wide as Richard and it completely pushed the wave of fire back.
[00!] Amanda shouted into the comm. [Where are you! We need you.. Now!]
5 seconds of agonizing silence passed. Richard was beginning to buckle and Itsuki was knelt beside her, rasping with what seemed like little life left in his body. Suddenly, Itsuki tilted his head up as if reacting to something, then static filled everyone’s ear.
[Query.. Now in position. Communications received User Amanda.. Engaging.]
They felt a tremor and the torrent of fire eased away. Richard dropped to a knee, his enormous shield disappearing to reveal the horizon. They gazed out at the plain and he was the first to see it.
“Is.. that?” Richard panted, trying to bring everyone’s attention to what was ahead.
Amanda needed a moment to understand. A breath finally left her lips, and she inhaled deeply, her nerves unwinding. It’s about damn time..