The air was filled with the braying, howls, and roars of the monster horde, their expressions lost in a mindless fervor of destroying all in their path. The Wasteland experienced many devastating occurrences—dust storms, radiation left by bombs dropped during the Monster Invasion, slavers, overbearing Warlords, unclean water, starvation, and much more. Yet, there was none other like a monster wave. This was the true reason behind New DC building walls so tall and thick—to keep waves of monsters at bay.
What was known about monster waves was that they were unstoppable unless a strong enough Anointed appeared to quell the stampede, but those kinds of Anointed were few and far between. Conventional wisdom said to simply avoid the wave, go into hiding, and wait for it to blow over. Whatever someone chose to do, the most important thing was to avoid the monster wave’s path at all costs.
Outside the city ruins called “Liberty Heights,” a Humvee could be seen driving toward a wave of monsters.
“M-melly!” Two Tap gasped, witnessing Amelia not bothering to slow down, sending their Humvee directly into the endless numbers of monsters.
“Lush needs us!” Amelia shouted, her focus entirely on getting into the ruins. All her life, she had only known phony people who couldn’t afford to be honest with her. Anyone who could shed their masks and show her their true heart, she let them into her life, and they had her entire devotion. That was why she stayed by Elina’s side like a guardian. Amelia would give her all to keeping her friends safe, Lucian included.
She had told him when they first met: she never betrayed her friends.
What looked like a charging armored rhinoceros mooed with fury as its horn dipped low to get under the Humvee to flip it over. A quick twist of the steering wheel, and Amelia barely avoided the horn but soon struck a striped feline monster with a catfish-like face and long whiskers. A deep roar rumbled in the feline’s throat as it tried to buck back.
Amelia stepped on the brake just enough to allow the feline and rhinoceros to clash, initiating a fight between them. The chaos then grew outward in waves, much like the surface of water in a pond when a pebble was dropped into it. Yet, even as the monsters fought, the horde remained on the move, destruction their only aim.
There came loud metallic crunching and crashing as the monster brawl hit the Humvee back and forth, making it appear like a pinball. Two Tap shrank into her seat, clutching her seatbelt with all she had, while Amelia skillfully maneuvered their vehicle the best she could.
Hope was seemingly lost, their windows shattered, and a few of their doors missing. The Humvee was suddenly bounced out of the horde, right into the outskirts of Liberty Heights.
“We did it!” Amelia cheered, staring at an open, dusty area free for them to traverse unobstructed. “Two Tap, we did it!”
“M-monsters from before!” Two Tap gulped, pointing a thin finger at her cracked window, where the monsters that had chased them from New DC could be seen rapidly approaching with wicked intentions.
“Think I’m going to let you win? Yeah, right!” Amelia spat at the sight of the monsters, shifting the Humvee into reverse and stepping on the gas.
“Backwards?!” Two Tap gasped, her face paling. “The monster wave is back there…!” They had just barely escaped it. Now they were going back in?
The monsters, in pursuit, were momentarily disoriented as the Humvee they were chasing abruptly surged towards them. They seized the opportunity and attempted to swipe at the vehicle. However, their efforts only stirred up dust clouds, as the Humvee deftly spun and evaded their attacks.
Amelia drove straight into the horde and skillfully slid to a stop next to the most menacing creature she could find—a gargantuan reptile resembling a dragon without wings, towering to the size of a two-story house.
The pursuing monsters swiftly leaped at their target as soon as they came to a halt.
Amelia suddenly pressed the gas, speeding away and leaving the monsters to collide with the reptile, which promptly became enraged. Venomous gas erupted from its scaly mouth, instantly melting those it perceived to be assaulting it.
“Ha, ha!” Amelia bellowed in victory, holding up a fist and turning to drive into the city.
“…Melly is crazy,” Two Tap muttered under her breath, yet somewhere inside her, she couldn’t help but begin to respect the girl from the Heart Rings.
What neither girl expected was that the monsters hunting them had not given up. The death of their kin only stoked the flames of their fury. Only momentarily were they locked in a battle within the monster wave, but they wouldn't always be. Soon, they would meet with their quarry and kill them. That would fulfill their alpha’s desires.
***
In the heart of a park in Liberty Heights, nature had reclaimed its entirety and transformed it into a wild jungle, where plants had swallowed up most of the man-made recreational structures. Suspended in the air by [Copperborn] snakeskin rope, a wooden cage swung, its confines holding a motley group of Wastelanders amid the abandoned city ruins.
Inside the cage, the old Wastelander gazed despondently as the [Succubus] drew near. He had been named after an old-world tire shop where he was born and raised—Michelin—but his friends simply knew him as Mich.
Not many Wastelanders were able to see years enough to receive white hair like he did. He had been alive for so long, and in all that time, he had witnessed much of humanity. Above all, Mich knew them to be selfish and conniving, only ever looking out for themselves.
The stories of Wardens, monster slayers dedicated to ridding the world of monsters for the greater good, reached far into the forlorn wasteland, reaching his ears when he was a boy. He thought they were superheroes, akin to the characters in the old comics that could still be found in ruins, but that wasn’t true. These so-called heroic Wardens never came to the Wasteland to save his kind, nor would they ever.
No one gave a fuck about people from this God-forsaken hellhole.
His wrinkled eyes fell upon Lucian and Asher, sure they would abandon them. Yet, what happened was not what he expected. Lucian sprung upward, and as if wielding a wrecking ball, smashed the bottom of their cage, releasing them to the ground below.
“Thank you!” cried Wendy, the red-haired Wastelander, to Lucian as soon as she landed, her dark blue eyes misty.
Rubbing his rear end after landing on it, the old Wastelander, Mich, grunted at Lucian, “So, every man for himself then—make the demon have to choose one of us while the rest get away? Is that the game?”
“Get out of here, old-timer,” Lucian responded simply, his back to the Wastelanders, facing the encroaching demon storming out from the shadows of the buildings. “We’ll keep that thing busy while you guys get away.”
The well-dressed Asher side-eyed Lucian and remarked, “Who’s ‘we’?”
Mich remained fixed in place, stuck in uncertainty. There was no such thing as heroes. What was this young man’s plot? Was he planning on using them as bait while he escapes on his own?
“Old man,” Lucian shouted, turning to Mich, “Get the hell out of here!”
Mich finally realized the other Wastelanders were already moving through the overgrown vegetation of the park, attempting to run as far away from the demon as possible. He soon joined them, running past broken park benches, but not without one final grateful glance toward Lucian before disappearing into the tall grass.
Arms crossed, Asher wore an unpleasant expression. “Lucian, do you think I’m going to risk my life to save some insignificant dusty barbarians?”
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“Yes,” Lucian answered, meeting his gaze. “We’re allies, and you’re Asher—your word is your bond. You're going to help me. ‘No favor is too big to ask for’ — remember?”
“You fucking...!” Asher’s fists clenched in frustration. “Damned Crow! Why are you so much trouble for me?” Never would the Corp Anointed have thought Lucian would use his own words against him so soon. “And to do all this for these dust eaters of all things!”
“Heads up. Here it comes!”
The [Succubus] launched itself into the air, its eyes glowing vibrant violet lights, claws at the ready.
[Goblin Bash]
Lucian met the jumping attack with a fist glowing with Aura.
Asher pulled out a pointy letter opener from the pocket within his suit jacket. With a flick of his wrist, the letter opener transformed into a rapier, the weapon’s handle growing a metallic guard.
The Corp Anointed activated an Inner Trait and a Spell.
[Acute Focus] – Asher’s self-made Innate Trait that allowed him to concentrate a spell to a singular point to amplify its effects.
[Strength of Arms] – A basic Spell common among support-type Anointed magic users that strengthened attack power.
Blue light ran from his body to the very tip of his rapier as he lunged forward with a thrusting attack.
A burst of blue, white, and violet energies collided with Lucian and Asher, meeting the attack of the [Succubus] with their own. Wind scattered, and the ground trembled. Asher felt a nearly debilitating numbing in his sword arm from the impact. The Corp Anointed then paled, seeing Lucian get launched as if thrown out of a moving car.
“Crow!” Asher hissed, “Why are you so weak…?!” He had to block another hit from the demon, this time alone.
[Acute Focus] x [Barrier]
[Barrier] — A support Spell used to enhance defense. Much like [Basic Guard] used by defense-type Anointed, this Spell created layers of compact energy to fortify defense, but instead of Aura, it utilized Mana. Additionally, it also possessed the characteristic of rebounding anything it successfully blocked.
Mana coalesced in a singular spot on Asher’s arm, illuminating it. The demon’s blow was received well but left Asher’s arm trembling with numbness. There weren’t too many of the same kind of powerful hits the Corp Anointed could take before he possibly could succumb. As the demon bounced off the light, Lucian swooped down from above like a hunting falcon.
[Goblin Bash] x [Cotton Flurry]
Rapid Aura-infused punches blurred as they hit the [Succubus], causing it to retreat. But there was only bruising and no other meaningful effect.
“Shit,” Lucian cursed, hastily stepping backward before one of the demon’s claws could get a hold of him. “I think this thing came out of a yellow gate.”
“No shit!” Asher spat as he gathered mana at his legs to gain speed equal to that of a speed-type Anointed. There was a mass of violet energy gathering on the palm of the [Succubus] that worried him. His speed took him away swiftly.
[Acute Focus] x [Hasten]
[Hasten] — A support type Spell that boosted the speed of whatever it was cast upon.
As the Corp Anointed expected, the energy was soon released in a violent ball of light that exploded where he had just been.
“Tell me you have more of that melting substance that you killed the first [Succubus] with,” Asher said, running from more energy gathering on the demon’s clawed hand.
Lucian found himself in a rusted playground, trying to avoid the blasts himself. “Sorry, it’s kind of a once-in-a-while thing.”
“How long is a ‘while’?” Dirt flew as Asher swerved in circular patterns to stay evasive.
“Just keep that thing busy while I take a nap, and I’ll have some more ready to go when I wake up.” Lucian dashed across the top of monkey bars, keeping an eye on the demon's violet energy that caused light to dance across the park.
“Stupid Crow, this isn’t the time for humor!”
“Hey, I thought we were supposed to be allies. Is that how you talk to your allies?”
“Yes!”
“I can tell you don’t have many friends,” Lucian commented as he slid under a playground bridge, allowing one of the demon’s energy attacks to blow it up instead of him.
“Stop talking and fight!” Asher roared and went in with his rapier for another [Acute Focus] x [Strength of Arms] attack against the [Succubus]. There was a time window between the demon’s blasts that he took advantage of.
However, he miscalculated in what he should be looking out for in approaching the monster. He thought to keep track of only its limbs in case of a counterattack. But when Asher neared, it was the spaded tail of the [Succubus] that lashed out from his blind side.
On instinct, he tapped into his Anointed powers.
[Acute Focus] x [Magnify Vision]
[Magnify Vision] — A support-type Spell that allowed the user to improve the vision of the Spell’s target. When coupled with [Acute Focus], that effect was multiplied.
The world around Asher slowed, his sense of sight growing to the point of being inhuman. Details bloomed of the intricate way monster materials were sewn into his black suit. The [Succubus]’ seemingly smooth feminine skin became more detailed in his vision, exposing it to be actually comprised of uncountable reptilian scales.
His empowered dark eyes glanced to see the point of the demon’s spaded tail nearly about to pierce his eye. In his new world of heightened senses, he had time to react.
[Acute Focus] x [Barrier]
The defensive Spell gathered at the point of impact near the side of his face, and just before he would’ve lost his eye, the spaded tail was blocked and ricocheted off in concentrated spell. However, the Corp Anointed didn’t get away unscathed. His Spells instantly dispersed like dirt cleaned from a driveway as his mind became dazed. Wobbling on his feet, Asher had a hard time keeping his balance. He had been concussed.
The [Succubus] saw its opportunity to kill and leapt toward him, only to be battered away by glowing punches that moved rapidly.
[Goblin Bash] x [Cotton Flurry]
A hiss came from the demon with agitation growing in its violet glowing eyes seeing Lucian block its way to Asher. A violet ball of energy began to gather at its fingers.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Lucian grunted and stepped closer to unleash more blurring punches shrouded in light. No longer could the [Succubus] gather its energy while being put on its heels. What made matters worse for the creature was that Lucian seemed to have such a deep reservoir of Aura that his attack repeated without end.
Yet, like Asher, Lucian failed to keep track of the demon's tail as it entered his shoulder in a counterattack, knocking him off his feet and halting the barrage of rapid punches. Adorned with dark bruises, the Succubus hissed, lashed out with its claws to tear Lucian apart.
The point of a blade suddenly emerged from its throat. Black blood dripped from its lips. Its gold eyes dashed backward to see Asher wielding his rapier.
“Fucking die already,” Asher rasped.
Unwilling to perish alone, the demon attempted to take Asher with it, but Lucian grabbed its head by one of its horns to slide the head along Asher's blade and sliced it off.
Asher flicked his wrist to fling the [Succubus] black blood from his weapon.
“See?” Lucian said, kneeling down to catch his breath, tossing the decapitated head of the [Succubus] aside, and stared up at the well-dressed Corp Anointed. “That wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Asher wanted to curse at him but instead found himself letting out a sigh, “Why do all this for a group of dusty barbarians anyway?”
A memory came to Lucian of a young girl at a sun-filled windowsill, smiling at a tulip she put in a cup of water there. He’d never seen Camelia so happy.
“I’m a Madkid,” Lucian answered. He would carry on the legacy of his orphan group as long as he could.
One of the gray eyebrows rose upon Asher’s face. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”
“I just help people sometimes, alright? It’s not like I trust people from this fucked up place.”
The mindless Wastelander slavers suddenly stiffened in the overgrown grass nearby, putting them both on alert.
“Are they waking up?” Lucian wondered aloud. The slavers started to charge, running like maniacs toward them, eyes still glazed over. “They’re still under the mind control…?!”
Atop the roof of an old vacuum repair shop, another [Succubus] appeared, its eyes glowing, its influence upon the slavers rousing them into action.
Lucian looked to the [Succubus] they had just killed and saw that it was crumbling as if it were made of sand. Looking backward, he saw the [Succubus] he had melted with [Naga Venom] had disappeared — no body or melted puddle remaining.
“Fuck,” Lucian grimaced, “I think that thing can clone itself!”
[Goblin Bash] x [Cotton Flurry]
Lucian unleashed his Skills and brutalized any attacking slaver that neared him. With their senses and thoughts lost to mind control, they were unable to use any Skills or Spells, leaving them vulnerable to attack.
[Acute Focus] x [Strength of Arms]
With the edge of his rapier enveloped in concentrated Mana, Asher clipped off any body part of a slaver that came close to him, as if he were snipping off the limbs of a bonsai tree. Not a drop of blood stained his black suit as he took out one after the other.
“Sky Metal?” Lucian prompted, seeing the true nature of Asher’s blade. He threw his [Cotton Flurry] punches in opposite directions to punish two slavers attempting to attack him in a pincer fashion.
“Most Anointed worth a damn have a weapon made from Sky Metal,” Asher commented, his breath unperturbed as he took slaver life after slaver life. Sky Metal was nigh indestructible, made from ore found in orange gates — High Threat Level Monster Gates. Silence from Lucian made the Corp Anointed add in a plain tone, “You don’t have a weapon made of Sky Metal.”
“That much is obvious, Ash!” Lucian spat, jealousy painted across his face.
“Ash…?” Asher echoed. Nicknames were typically given by friends. He side-eyed Lucian as his rapier severed a slaver’s head from their shoulders. “Crow, we’re not friends. We’re only allies.” He felt the need to clarify.
[Goblin Bash]
Lucian dipped under an attack from a slaver to counter with an uppercut carrying Aura. “I don’t know the difference.”
Asher frowned. He was not accustomed to dealing with someone like Lucian—obviously from very humble means by the way he talked and lacking the propriety Asher grew up knowing.
“Behind you, Ash!” Lucian shouted.
There it was again, the nickname. Asher felt the need to argue against its usage, but a descending shadow fell upon him, knocking him unconscious. The demon had appeared, if it was real or a clone was unknown. But since its mind-controlled drones couldn’t get rid of these pests, it would.
“Fuck…!” Lucian cursed, staring into the glowing violet eyes of the [Succubus]. With the Corp Anointed out of commission, there would be no help in fighting it this time. He was on his own.