I charge towards the building's ledge at full tilt and cast myself into the air, flying towards the roof of its neighbor. I hear the roar of jets above me, signalling the ORPO mech suits rapidly closing in. Beneath me is the roiling red thread of the servant, winding its way around the building I was on, just a moment too late to engulf my body. My feet slam into the roof of the next building and I drop into a slide, neatly avoiding the metal frame of a bill board that had been installed on the roof.
I swiftly scramble back up to my feet and resume running towards the next building in my path, the sound of the jets growing steadily louder. I click my tongue in consternation while performing another gymnast's flip to make it over the gap between the two buildings. The ORPO mecha may be clumsy and slower than me, but they have the advantage of being airborne. The mech suits can pursue me as the crow flies, without the need to dodge obstacles or perform long jumps.
"Additional mech suits have entered the fray, Transmigrator." The Voice informs, "Be careful of ranged attacks."
"What are you talking about?" I hiss while darting around a water tower, "ORPO mecha are armed with axes, not guns."
Before The Voice can respond, the surroundings echo with the staccato crack of gunfire. Matter sense screams a warning of multiple high velocity projectiles headed my way. The enhanced reflexes provided by the core immediately take over and my body ducks and twists on its own accord, weaving its way through the incoming attack. Bricks shatter and dust is showered all over the place as the bullets slap ineffectually against the walls of the building.
Brushing my clothes off, I risk a quick glance behind me and take in the sight of an additional three ORPO mech suits joining in the pursuit. Instead of actually carrying a weapon, these three newcomers each cradle an ORPO rifleman in their arms, allowing the gunners to take pot shots at me from above.
"Pretty ingenious." I grumble as I start picking up speed for yet another jump across empty air.
"Dangerous as well." The Voice rasps, "The moment you are caught within the servant's field, the ORPO riflemen will tear you apart with gunfire. Do not stop running, your life depends on it."
"What do you think I am doing?" I mutter as I vault over the building's railing and send myself flying towards the next one. Midway through my flight, matter sense blares another warning of an incoming attack just as the rifleman let loose with another volley of shots at me. Shit, I can't dodge while I am still midair. The bullets thump all over my body before uselessly pancaking and falling away. But the impacts throw me off balance and I stumble badly upon landing.
"You are losing speed." The Voice warns, "The blind spot is catching up."
I grit my teeth as another burst of gunfire hammers my back, the added momentum sending me veering towards the side of the building I am on. And to my dismay, I realize that The Voice, if anything, is understating the severity of the situation. The red thread has pooled itself around the base of the building, eagerly beginning its ascent towards my position. With another rattle of gunfire, my entire body is once again peppered with lead, forcing me to drop into a roll to prevent myself from being knocked off the roof.
"Transmigrator, the mech suits are right above you." The Voice rumbles, "Prepare yourself."
The howl of jets cuts The Voice off and I see the trio of ax wielding mecha descending from above like a guillotine, their weapons raised high. The mecha have arranged themselves in the points of a triangle, surrounding me completely. Reaching terminal velocity of their drop, the three mech suits simultaneously slash their axes downwards, looking to cleave me apart. Sending power from the core into my arm, I deliver a smooth uppercut into the air, my fist squarely intercepting all three blades at once. The whine of servos fills the air as the mechas and my fist engage in a duel of strength. Cracks start to form across the ax blades and with a final push from my arm, the weapons shatter explosively, sending metal shards spraying all over the rooftop.
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The mechas land heavily on their feet, their suspensions groaning from the abuse. My hand shoots outwards and grapples with one of the mecha, slinging it upwards in an overhead throw, right into one of its comrades. Both ORPO mech suits go down in a crash and tangle of limbs, their pilots stunned from the collision. Their remaining partner stomps forward, sending its fist in the direction of my face. I catch the fist with my other hand and hold the struggling mecha in place, while kicking its torso repeatedly as hard as I can. The armored torso buckles inwards from my blows and I follow up with a hard right hook that sends the mecha flying clean off the roof. The pilot however manages to halt his suit's fall by engaging the jet nozzles and proceeds to hover unsteadily in empty air.
I run to the pair of prone mecha piled up on top of one another and drive my fist hard into the duo, all the while surging my core. My fist drops on to the pair like a boulder and the roof gives way around them, opening up into a yawning chasm. The duo, still insensate from the pounding they had taken, plummet down the hole like dead weight, crashing into the apartment below us.
"Transmigrator! Hurry!" The Voice booms in consternation. From the edges of the roof, I see the first trace of the squirming red thread pulling itself up. I am almost out of time.
Sweating profusely, I notice that the only thing of interest on the roof is a long antenna, roughly double my height, likely used to facilitate mobile transmissions. Wasting no time, I tear the antenna from its mount and begin a headlong charge towards the building's edge.
"Make sure the antenna doesn't snap!" I shout, stabbing downwards with it and kicking off the ground, performing an impromptu pole vault. I soar how above the encroaching red tide and work my arms desperately, pitching myself off the roof and across the side street. I become a human cannon ball, blasting through the wall of the opposite building in an explosion of masonry and sprawl across a deserted corridor.
"The main road is close to the other end of the corridor." The Voice instructs, "Get going before the servant redirects her power."
Getting back up to my feet, I begin picking up the pace again, heading in the direction The Voice had indicated. The infuriated roar of jet engines makes itself known again, as the third ORPO mecha barrels through the hole in the wall I had made, charging at full tilt at me.
"Damn. You're persistent." I mutter, throwing my palms out to meet the mecha's challenge. The mech suit's bulk hits like a raging bull and I feel my feet skidding backwards from the momentum.
"Damavand!" I shout and channel the spell through my arms, arcane pressure jousting against mundane propulsion.
Like a car slamming into a concrete wall, the mech suit crumples the moment its hit by Damavand. The jet nozzles blaze even more brightly, trying to bull their way past the barrier of my magic, but all it accomplishes is to crush the mecha like a discarded beer can against my palms. There's a long wrenching noise as the mecha begins to compact, metal folding and buckling. Blood begins to seep from the odd tears and rents forming across the suit.
What a way to go, being pulped to death. The jets finally sputter and die out, causing the mecha to drop to the ground like a stone. I pitch the hunk of scrap metal straight into the wall at the end of the corridor, knocking out a fresh hole leading to the main road. Screams come from below as the passersby take in the sight of a bloody, trashed mecha erupting from a nondescript wall.
I step out of the new gap in the wall and drop down to the pedestrian walkway by the side of the main road. A crowd of people have gathered around the ORPO mecha, which had landed in the middle of the walkway. Close by, I see the SUV making its way towards me along the main road.
"Transmigrator, the ORPO shock troopers are falling back." The Voice announces in relief.
What? Why though? I turn back and sure enough, I see the remaining trio of mecha flying back to the Kingdom of Love. Then I see the answer. The red thread had chased me all the way through the corridor and is now snapping furiously at the edge of the hole in the wall. But there is no attempt by the red thread to continue pursuing me. Its as if an invisible border is preventing the chase from continuing.
"We are at the limit of Celeste's range, isn't that right?" I ask.
"Most likely." The Voice agrees, "The blind spot shows no further change in size or scope. The servant is probably unable to expand it any further."
"And the ORPO shock troopers know they're dead meat without the servant's support." I grin while walking to the SUV, patting the doll secured under my coat.
"Spot on." The Voice confirms, "Now return to the SUV with the nexus."
"There is much that still needs to be done."