Kyle rocked back as he felt the impact against his chest, right over his heart. Another bullet grazed his helmet, right where his head had been. He watched as Cornelius leaped for him; axe poised to cleave him in two. HASTE had been active the whole time, and Kyle was ready for it. As the axe began its descent, Kyle sidestepped. As he slipped past the descent, he smashed his baton into the large man’s ribs, not stopping to see if his attack caused any damage.

Instead, he dashed forward towards the line of soldiers leveling their rifles in his direction. In the blink of an eye, he was in their midst. He struck hands, arms, and skulls before dashing away. Cornelius followed, charging like a bull. The men looked on with fear evident in their eyes as they saw him draw back the axe, and they scattered to get out of its trajectory.

Kyle was satisfied with the chaos he’d caused, which was cut short as he was rocked back by another impact, this time the bullet striking his pack. Good thing we finished reinforcing it. Still, Kyle knew that he couldn’t keep taking hits like this. Whatever was hitting him, it was an order of magnitude stronger than the combat rifles. He knew he was on a timer before his gear would give out against sustained fire. Dodging another swipe of Cornelius’ axe only reinforced the point.

I’ve got to find the sniper. Kyle was convinced now that the source of these powerful shots had to be the second awakened in the camp. Even Ranger-type awakened had struggled to hit him when he was moving with HASTE active, much less consistently land shots on vital areas. Not to mention the quality of the gear. As much as he despised their methods, Liberation was effective. They wouldn’t have given a high-caliber weapon like this to just anybody.

Kyle scanned the camp to try to find the culprit, dodging Cornelius again in the process. There! Kyle spotted a plain-looking man among the other gunmen, but his rifle was different. It was longer, with a thicker stock. The man met Kyle’s eyes, and his suspicions were confirmed as he activated a skill of his own. Kyle’s Auric Perception felt the air around him become infused with mana as it seemed to thicken and condense.

It felt like he was underwater, his movements sluggish despite using HASTE. As he struggled to escape this slowed domain, the other man calmly raised his rifle and fired off another shot. Kyle had already crossed his arms in front of his face, and they had barely gotten in place to intercept the bullet aimed for his skull. It still halted his forward momentum, and as he staggered, he felt a shadow fall over him. Kyle looked up to see a grinning Cornelius, his axe already beginning its descent. There’s no time to get clear. His mind was calm as he evaluated his options, time seeming to slow down.

He thought back to his lessons with Frank, and he followed the training. If you can’t dodge completely, pick the least dangerous option. The most dangerous part of the axe was the broad blade, so it followed that the place he wanted to be was on the interior of the arc. His body moved almost on its own, but even as he closed the gap Cornelius brought his other hand around to grab at Kyle.

Unfortunately for him, Kyle was prepared for just such a reaction. Cornelius was off balance from his overhead swing, and the young man smashed his baton into the back of the giant hand reaching for him with a satisfying crack. This had a secondary effect of moving Cornelius in the path of the gunman, and Kyle dashed past him and out of the encumbering air to reset and plan his next move.

Less than a minute had passed, and already the camp was nearly destroyed from the battle. Large scars in the earth marked Cornelius’ strikes, bullet holes riddled tents and stone. There was no doubt that the more troublesome opponent was the Ranger. The problem was figuring out how to get close enough to deal with him while avoiding Cornelius. The larger man turned, brandishing his axe again. Kyle saw the beginning of a bruise forming on his free hand, confirming what he’d suspected back in Duilleag. He’s fragile for his level, way too specialized into Strength. That meant his attacks could work, although slugging it out with him wasn’t an option. Being staggered by a shot from the rifle could spell death if he was caught by a follow-up with the axe.

Kyle’s mind had been on overdrive the whole time, and he was beginning to get frustrated. The two men were simply too coordinated. Suddenly, Cornelius let out a roar as mana burst out from him, just in time to intercept and disperse a familiar blade of wind that was careening towards him. Garth sighed as he stepped up beside Kyle.

“I’ll handle the big fella. You keep that sniper off my squad. If he kills them, you answer to me.”

With that, the grizzled veteran closed on Cornelius. Behind him, blasts of fire and lightning scattered the unawakened soldiers, leaving Kyle a path to the startled gunman.

“Thanks, Garth.”

Even if the older man couldn’t hear him, it was worth saying. HASTE active, Kyle dashed towards his target.

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~~~

Garth’s focus tightened as he got closer to the colossal man, slowly blocking out everything around him as he prepared to fight. AIR BLADE had been neutralized by Cornelius’ shockwave ability, which left Garth no other option than to fight in close combat. The axe came swinging towards him, and he didn’t even bother trying to block. He knew full well that trying to stand strong against an attack like that would end with him dead on the ground. He dodged the first strike, then a second. He began to grow concerned as a third came in quick succession, followed by a fourth attack.

Cornelius was chaining his swings together without leaving Garth opportunities to counter, and the pace was picking up. Finally, he saw an opening. He cut a thin line across the larger man’s side, but his eyes opened in shock as a massive fist came crashing towards him. Without the ability to dodge, the best thing Garth could do was turn his shoulder into the blow. It felt like he got hit by a car. Garth was knocked back nearly three meters, creating space between himself and the titan before him.

“You’re going to regret this, Boltsbury. We were going to kill you anyway, but you just picked a much harder death.”

“It sounds like I made the right call then.”

Garth was calm before the man’s words, not bothered by the bluster. He raised his sword to approach again, before Cornelius spoke.

“You know, you’re the second person I’ve fought with mana blades like this, but I’ve gotta say you’re a hell of a lot tougher than the chick who tried before.”

Garth stopped cold. How does he know about Crystal? The big man was clearly taunting him, and this time it was working. “You’re telling me you bastards are the ones who took Duilleag?”

“Would’ve been a lot harder if you were there. With just her and that wimp of a Healer it was like taking candy from a baby.”

Garth couldn’t even find the words to respond, so he dove straight towards his opponent. Rage once again overtook him. He activated FLEET FOOT, dashing forward in a straight line. The larger man attempted to dodge as Garth blew past him, leaving a shallow cut across Cornelius’ chest as the movement was completed. The grin was completely gone from the Liberation lieutenant, replaced with a scowl. Hefting his axe, he roared as he charged. His eyes were full of bloodlust, and it was clear he was looking to end their fight with a single blow.

~~~

Without Cornelius or other soldiers to keep him pinned down, Kyle was having a much easier time. Still, he had to give credit where it was due. The sniper was good. From what Kyle could put together, the man had three distinct skills. The first was an enhanced Perception skill to track movement, which was fairly common for Ranger type classes. The key difference between him and the others Kyle had faced before was a matter of raw attributes. Kyle expected his opponent’s Perception was at a level similar to his own, and far above the rank and file awakened he’d encountered before.

His second skill was the movement restricting technique he’d used before. It wasn’t particularly powerful, but each time the man used it, he was able to get another shot off. The final skill he showcased was based on movement, and it was by far the most impressive of the bunch. It looked like it was a short-range blink of some kind, with the man disappearing then reappearing four or five meters away.

Despite Kyle’s use of HASTE, he wasn’t able to consistently close the distance. He would get close, get bogged down in the second skill, then the man would blink away and repeat the process. That left them in a stalemate, with the deciding factor coming down to a war of attrition. Would Kyle’s armor and healing win out, or would the other man run out of mana and ammunition? Kyle had no intention of finding out.

“C.H.A.D.D., do you have a good grasp on his teleportation skill?”

[THE MANA SIGNATURE FOR HIS DESTINATION IS FAIRLY CLEAR, DR. MAYHEW.]

“Overlay it for me the next time he tries to teleport.”

One of the major improvements they’d made during their time in Albaum was integrating the inscribed chitin from the Infernal into C.H.A.D.D.’s body. The damaged portion of his arrays were largely replaced with this highly mana conductive material. While they couldn’t return his mobility, one of the functionalities that returned was the drone’s ability to project holographic images.

Kyle reached to the side of his pack where he pulled out one of his newly-created experiments. As soon as he saw the overlay C.H.A.D.D. indicated, he threw it. The gunman appeared directly where the drone said he would, and upon materializing he was immediately struck with a small ball of chitin. The shell on the orb was paper thin, cracking on impact.

A cloud of noxious green and brown gas was released, which the man was definitely not prepared for. He ran out of the cloud coughing, eyes watering from the stench. Unfortunately for him, Kyle was prepared for that reaction. Blows fell on him like rain, cracking bone and knocking he gun from his hands. Still the strikes came, one after another until the man was lying motionless on the ground.

[I TOLD YOU THE STINKBUG ESSENCE WOULD BE USEFUL, DR. MAYHEW.]

Satisfied he’d neutralized his opponent, Kyle turned to check on the progress of Garth and his team. The two Mages looked to be exhausted, but otherwise uninjured, likely thanks to the efforts of the Healer behind them. His breath caught as he watched Garth. His skills on full display, he repeatedly dashed into and out of Cornelius’ range, leaving thin lines of blood every time he passed. The larger man continued his wild swings, and though there was no doubt that they’d prove lethal if they connected, he was simply too slow.

Kyle thought back to the lessons he’d learned, that technique would make up for raw attributes. He was about to turn away, confident that his friend had it handled. Then he froze, seeing the last member of Garth’s team just a short distance away. Garth’s focus was on the giant before him, and he didn’t notice Terrance until it was too late. One dagger slashed across his back, while the other punched into his kidney. Garth turned, bewilderment clear on his face as he saw his squad mate jump away, giving Cornelius an opportunity to raise his axe for one more strike.