Anguished struggles restrained Yumi, draining the very life from her. She flailed her hand weakly to reach out. Wet thick pools of blood soaked into her clothes and smeared her cheeks. Vision blurred and the warmth in her fingers retreated. Everything turned cold. A sharp pain struck her again forcing her into the grass.
It felt as though someone had cut the last branch her hand held on the edge of a cliff and all she could feel was falling, so empty. The ground came rushing up to her in an eager embrace and the crushing force blasted through her.
Chapter 113 – Test Strike
She threw her head forward from the pain yelling. It startled everyone around her, even snapping Yori out of his dense fog. She panted heavily, slumping her back, her eyes wide open realizing the truth. ‘I’m still alive?’ Looking around at everyone gathered in front of gave her pause for relief. ‘They’re all alive. But what was that? It was so real!’
Standing next to Yori, Yuki leaned forward coming very close to her face trying to examine her. “What’s the matter, Yumi?”
The impact of what she experienced drained the blood from her face giving her a pale complexion. It felt as though she ran for her life, unable to stop until at that moment. Her body was sore. She tried to slow down her breathing thinking that her chest would burst. ‘I know it happened! Or it…will? What’s this feeling?’ She stared up at Yuki, silent and pensive, never hearing his question.
“Yumi?”
She darted her head around feeling the growing unease in the air. A dark menacing pressure surrounded her giving her a familiar sensation. ‘It’s like that dream or vision I had. Like death’s descending…’ She snapped up to her feet. She didn’t know what happened, but she needed to warn everyone. “Something’s coming! I can’t explain it, but something’s wrong. We need to get out of here or we’ll all die!”
“Huh? What are you talking about Yumi?”
“Girl’s gone crazy!” remarked Seiji starting to back away.
Doubting her abrupt case of paranoia, she watched the concern that they had falling away. ‘I can’t let it happen again! I don’t care if I’m mistaken! It was too painful to ignore!’ She leapt forward, knocking over Yuki and scattering the others surrounding her. ‘I’m the only one that can protect them!’ She closed her eyes, panicking. A pale green film appeared just beyond the circle everyone instinctively created. Clanging of swords against the sphere echoed dully through the space.
The noise put the group on alert not seeing anything further. No one spoke another word scanning the area out of the barrier to understand what happened. They no longer questioned her. Apologizes waited however, they had their new guests needing attending.
Simonides stared from his perch unchanged in expression. ‘A barrier…’ He made a mental note to himself as he already started making future plans based on what he saw. ‘I didn’t think a stealth attack would work, but this is a different outcome. However, it means the second stage starts earlier.’ The briefing he gave to his men ran through his mind prepping for what should happen next.
Thirty minutes ago, Simonides explained the purpose of the mission. Next, he needed to give them their orders and information on the enemy. Grouped into their teams, he began with Photine first.
She had been with the South Gate since completing her training at the academy unlike some Meso Prosecho, which had stations in the Capital prior to border security. A woman in her early twenties still, she had little experience against any opponent other than a normal human. She kept to a strict professional regime waiting for her chance to prove her worth. Simonides saw the eagerness in her light blue eyes, which shone with their own radiance.
Photine’s team filled out with three black uniforms. Their purpose changed after the first stage of the mission. “Photine your target is one of the confirmed MP users. A teenage girl appearing about sixteen described as having short black hair and a frail appearance. The powers she has displayed using are a rebounding barrier, telekinesis and hovering. Her barrier was strong enough to rip a sword from the hand of the wielder.”
Four figures in Atlantean military uniforms appeared from thin air positioned roughly behind Yori’s sister’s location before she leapt forward. Leading the small group was a woman with short dark blonde hair rigidly forced back, Photine. Her white uniform swayed in the breeze a moment before a small ripple echoed from her feet.
Instantly, brownish-red dust billowed outward altering the grass plains into a barren wasteland of dry stone and earth. Accompanying the warm earth was jutting rocks carved out by strong winds and towering too far above to fit into the field, suddenly being cut off at the limit of her reach.
As the dust bowl began to settle out several flashing lights appeared hazy through the windy soup. Little brief glimpses broke through giving enough pieces to discern weapons. Not granting those trapped inside a moment to consider their position, the weapons flew away in long streaks of light caught from their blades. Only leaving their sight for a second, a loud buzzing and sparking blasted over their heads. The sound changed to pounding echoing through the thin film of the barrier beating out an ominous message of doom.
“What the hell’s happening?!” shouted Seiji over the almost deafening noise created by the weapons. Pounding from above became worse for his ears.
Gathered closer to Yori’s sister, Yuki had one eye partially closed trying to manage the pain of the ringing in his ears. “Are we under attack?”
“I think that’s pretty obvious!” snapped Saki, covering her ears up with her hands.
Left on the ground murmuring in pain, Yori’s sister felt like a rope connected to her heart being yanked. She didn’t understand the feeling, just knew that it pulled on her invisibly. ‘…it hurts…’ All of her will power struggled to fight the urge to release her grasp and be taken away with the current. Where the force tried to drag her felt empty and wrong in a way she had no words for. While instinctively she knew remaining was correct.
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Photine stared at the barrier unflinching, waiting.
‘So your first task will be to neutralize that barrier. Her Field has not been seen yet, so there is no judge on her strength yet. Make use of your weapons to drive her back and shatter her barrier.’
She concentrated on the task of materializing more weapons to crush the barrier. So long as it stood a stalemate remained and their mission stalled.
The duration that the barrier survived before the first crack appeared surprised Photine. ‘It’s only now weakening even with me dampening her Field?! Just how powerful is this child?’ She continued to press the attack, hearing further cracks develop along the bubble’s film. Certainty in its collapse came assured, only time remained a factor.
Yori’s sister felt the imminent failure approaching. She still didn’t fully comprehend what she felt, but knew to trust her body. Staggering to her feet, she braved the pain that racked her body. With heavy panting, she drew herself firm before her friends. “I can’t…hold them…off much longer! Be ready!” Almost on cue, a sound like glass shattering rippled through the chamber. Highly reflective shards still holding on to energy rained down around beginning the cascade. ‘…the pain’s gone…’ Relief rested on her with all of the tension that ripped her body, cut her free.
Breaking to recover wasn’t in the cards for her. A battle cry from a guttural feminine voice directed towards her snapped her eyes around. Instinct saved her in the last moments as four long strangely shaped swords flew at her colliding against a small square of a barrier reflexively erected. The mass and velocity of the weapons knocked her back sending her careening through the air out of control. Trails of dust drew lines through the air following her arc.
‘Once you bring down the barrier, corner her and force her away from the rest of the group. It’s important that you remove her from the others. Keep her at a distance from the rest.’
Watching her prey disappear from range, Photine broke rank. The black uniforms in her team had different orders when things reached this situation. As the Atlantean woman charged through the ragged group of teens, two walls of solid purple barriers raised dividing them and leaving her an aisle to her target.
Turning to the next team, Simonides focused on Antipas. Youngest of the three MPs, he had much to prove to his Captain fresh from training and filled with promise. “Once Photine strikes, that'll be your signal to prepare. When the girl’s barrier comes down and she’s separated from the group you will make your move. There are still two others of concern that must be divided. Two boys, one is rough looking with dark brown hair tied back in a small ponytail while the other has roughly cut black hair. You need to use your walls to divide them.
“Your target is the black haired boy. He’s the only one of the group that has displayed his Field. He uses a grass Field and makes use of a strange physical technique that is more deadly than the physical attack. Keep out of his range and don’t give him anything to use against you.”
Curving the barrier, he blocked all of the escapes to the rear for Yuki. The light brown haired Antipas surfaced with his band of three black uniforms. Besides Yuki, he caught two others on his side, but neither of them were his target. His only goal in mind was Yuki. Already cut flat by his smooth stone cobble Field, the grass disappeared from nearby view. Large stone slabs groaned from behind breaking free from their place to become new walls. Each newly formed obstruction forced Yuki to step forward to keep ahead of the quickly fading ground.
‘Force him out away from the rest of the group as well. It’s important that these three individuals remain apart from the rest. Leave the rest of your team is to deal with the others as Commander Abeiron will take command of the soldiers.’
Yuki silently cursed his misfortune. Everything happened so quickly that he still didn’t understand what occurred. Off balance, they forced him to play to their pace. He barely had the chance to see where Yori’s sister went, keeping ahead of the thunderous stone. ‘Damn! I can’t find Yumi and the others are getting further away from me! If I could just get a second to think straight!’ His Field remained down, not having a chance to concentrate.
Soon he found himself standing almost too far out of sight of his friends with a young man in his way. “Move,” demanded Yuki, not realizing the language barrier that existed. Even still, he managed an expression that weighed equal to his words.
Antipas brought up further walls between them and the rest of the party, completely isolating the two. He had no words for Yuki other than the actions that he made. A clear sign made as his answer to Yuki’s order.
Spinning around his head side to side, Seiji tried to take in everything that happened around him. The scene kept changing so fast for him that he had no time to figure things out. Worse now, half of them disappeared from his sight. “Where the hell’s everyone?! What’s going on here?” Not thinking much longer than to speak, Seiji turned on his feet towards the strange purplish wall that separated him from the others. He rammed his fist into the wall making it ring out as a wailing bellow. Resisting his first punch only made him force his other fist to come up. The second felt like he made an impact.
A third and final set of shadows appeared behind Seiji’s back.
“That last team is yours Miltiades,” spoke Simonides, facing the remaining soldiers made up of Miltiades, Abeiron and the remaining black uniforms. A small and light appearing man, Miltiades had a little age behind him that came in experience. He had a patience method that Simonides thought worked to match his opponent.
“Your target is the rough appearing teen. The only thing he has displayed so far is a surprising strength that is enough to take any normal person down in a single punch. It is best to remain distanced from him and keep him off balance so that he can’t connect.”
Rippling at Miltiades’ feet signaled his readiness to begin. The wall of purple disappeared as Antipas drew Yuki away and Miltiades acted in the same instant. Covering up the grass, a debris filled ground with random tossed junk, metal, wood and rock all worked to be a complete blanket over the desperate blades of grass that fought to poke through. Aside from looking like a breeding ground for disease and tetanus, the appearance gave off an almost benign mood. However, serenity lasted for only a second as a large log jutted out of the ground at an angle to Seiji.
Managing to dodge the attempt made against him, Seiji leapt away moving closer to the Atlantean. A few more rose up making Seiji evade them to keep from being clipped by jagged edges on untrimmed logs. After the series of attacks (in his mind), Seiji had enough of the games. He had a target in front of him and made straight for the man. Sprinting forward with his fists raised, Seiji locked onto the young man with blind rage. He saw the soldier starting to retreat from him, but he stayed his course knowing that he eventually would catch up. However, when he felt that he came into range a wide trunk burst through the ground in front of him making him collide with it.
Simonides watched from his vantage point of the drawn battle lines. Each target was forced out from the others. “They’re divided now. If they stayed too close together it would only serve to weaken Photine, Antipas and Miltiades.” It had been some time since he witnessed a real battle between two MPs. Planning and logic only went so far when they were involved.
“Now draw out their powers. I must know everything about them if they are to be stopped.” Glancing down at the now smaller groups left behind of regular Blacks and the remaining intruders, Simonides judged each of them. “In desperation, anything you’re trying to hide will be forced out. Let’s see if there are any more MPs hiding in your group.” The plan progressed into the next stage. He waited in anticipation of what came next.