On the bright side, Hitori wasn’t bored any more. He slipped around a tendril of grasping vines and cut it down at the source. Well, maybe he was a little bored. It turned out being able to stop time was pretty helpful. You haven’t even begun to see the potential.

Still, in the conventional sense, things were a lot more exciting. A minute or two after they broke the seal—something the Templar made to shield it from ambient malhahons—on the Ex Stone, the earth erupted in a wave of metaflora. It was at least as bad as the last moments of Monte Aldé.

The Templar were disrupted and scattered, though still able to communicate. It must have been through something other than the WebLine Arte, as Hitori himself was cut off from the world.

“Magnus knew we were coming,” Reaper said. She made a point to stick with Hitori during the chaos, and so far had managed to stay right on his tail. Which is rather annoying. For such a noodlely chick she’s surprisingly tenacious. I’m going to have to do something.

“Maybe he set up an alarm?” Hitori said.

Reaper shook her head. “It would take at least a day to prepare this, possibly more.”

Hitori shrugged. “In any case, we have to retreat. Did you reach Virgil?” They needed him, as the Templar helicopter was destroyed when the attack started.

“He’s ten minutes out. My agents will try to rendezvous down south, but if it comes down to it I want you to take the Ex Stone and get out of here.”

Okay, I hope they’re too distracted to notice a little glow coming out of the boy’s pocket.

Hitori laughed. “Honestly, I think I’m the one in the least amount of danger.”

Hey, Morgan!

“What’s with that look?” Reaper said

There’s a complication. That Reaper woman I warned you about is still with the boy, and the stone.

“Ah, you know, got a weird feeling, is all,” Hitori said. “Like my malhahons are draining faster than normal.”

The sea? Yeah, I think I can.

“Could that arte of yours be doing it?”

Hitori and Reaper skirted around a whipping tendril. Before Hitori could answer her question he found himself launched forward by his Dash Tech. Reaper snapped next to him a moment later as they both continued to run.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Why’d you turn east?” Reaper said.

Hitori frowned. “It… uh, seemed like a good idea at the time? It’ll get us a little closer to the helicopter, at least.”

Reaper gave him a dubious look, but continued to follow. They reached the sea a few seconds later, near where the land fell sharply into the water. Hitori stopped, and took a moment to inspect their surroundings.

“Hey, it looks like the vines haven’t made it here,” Hitori said. He quickly double checked. “Yeah, I bet the Templar—“

Hitori was interrupted by a deafening crash of ocean waves. He turned in time to see a massive form rise from the sea, buried under a torrent of water. A small black figure emerged from the deluge, followed quickly by the scaled head of a Leviathan.

A-aren’t you overdoing it a little?

The titanic beast surged from the water, mounting the cliff wall with massive claws. It was easily the biggest creature Hitori had ever seen. Even the Sandworm paled in comparison, barely longer than its tail, and not quite as thick. Its hind legs were buried underwater, propping it up as the giant peered over the land.

When it spotted Hitori and Reaper, it opened its maw, rows of jagged teeth glistened in the sun. Even from this great distance he could hear the rush of wind down its throat. Then it roared. Or perhaps it would be better to say it exploded a sound out of its mouth. The force slammed the pair into the rock behind them.

Reaper turned to Hitori. “Go! Get inland!” She picked him up. “I’ll hold it off as long as I can!” Then tossed him over the stone barrier.

Follow the boy, I’ll meet you there.

Hitori hit the ground and rolled directly into his Dash Tech. He felt an earth shattering roar, dodged a few tumbling stones, then heard a great rending of earth. The cacophony of battle soared as he increased his distance. His only reassurance was the periodic crack he recognized from Reaper’s beam attack. It sounded now more like a pop from a toy gun, but at least meant Reaper still lived.

Hitori slipped between a pair of boulders into a level clearing. He was about to fire off a Dash Tech when a small Seitojin girl dropped in front of him. She watched him with keen eyes.

Morgan! You are… much cuter than I expected.

For some reason the young girl blushed and turned away.

Yes, we have business to attend to. But first, I need you to… give the boy a bit of a fright.

“What are you doing here?” Hitori yelled. “You have… to….” Ah, he figured it out.

Hitori activated FlashPoint, prepared to fire off a tech to counter whatever attack the possessed girl would make. His goal was to slip by and evade long enough for Reaper and the Templar to regroup. Morgan was greatly weakened by the Curse Arte, but one percent of godlike was still overwhelming.

Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t fight back.

A change came over the girl, her face relaxed and she turned back to face him. Her eyes looked on with detached interest, more analytical than cunning. She waved an arm towards him, a trail of black mist billowing from her fingertips.

Hitori felt a spike of panic. The world didn’t slow down. He tried to activate his FlashPoint again, but got no response. He would do it the old fashioned way then, by turning aside and pushing into his Dash Tech. Sorry kid, but I got work to do and you’re in the way. Nothing. His Vital Net complained about interference in their connection, and would he please wait a minute for it to diagnose the problem.

He didn’t have a minute. A cloud of spikes materialized around him, aimed at his heart. They shot forward.

He felt a pull on his hand.