While Hiroshi dug at the earth with his bloodied pipe, Miyako stared up at him a little stunned. She couldn’t believe that she was hearing those words come from their leader. Retreat was always an option to them. Running away to another town or just further away from the neighborhood. Despite Takako mercilessly expanding and killing, she didn’t seem to push on the opposite side that they couldn’t protect. It was a very real solution that escape would have saved them all from their current fate. One that they all likely considered.
Yet, it was never taken. Even when it was thought of, it was never an option. It was silently denied before even being brought up. To retreat from their base, their home. It should never have happened.
More stunned was that she was willing to accept it. She wasn’t firmly against it. Such a realization sank into her deeply. The corrupting feeling wasn’t welcome.
Hiroshi freed part of her. Even while he worked, she fought with any part of her body that was free to keep them back. The pain didn’t matter to her. Blood dripped along her body, her wounds reopened. But she was finally free. Her full strength returned allowing her to pick up one of the students and fling him around over her head before chunking him into the crowd.
Miyako glanced over at Hiroshi to see his condition. He had endured repeated attacks just to save her. “Are you sure? Code black?”
Nodding with a little reluctance, he looked forward at the crowd of enemy soldiers. “Yeah, there’s no other option. Give the signal.”
Chapter 299 – Black Signal
Further away in the large hollowed out ground, Haruo stared off with Fumiko. His animals provided cover for him, but little in the way of any offense. He analyzed her patterns and attacks. Their time in Atlantis gave him little insight in her powers, as they weren’t together most of the time. ‘I was under the impression from what I saw that she could only cast her magic through her hands, but I’m not seeing that happening. She’s creating magic circles in the air around her. Did her power evolve after the last fight against Glykeria?’ He never learned much from the fight.
Naturally, Fumiko became more of a recluse in their month-long stay after the fighting ended. He rarely saw her and her attitude made it clear she had little intention of being friendly with the rest of them. It made him curious to know why she changed so dramatically between when he first met her and after the fighting.
It meant that he didn’t learn anything about her. And Glykeria was even more mysterious and confusing to understand. He failed on several occasions to try to figure the girl out. It left him with no useful knowledge, not that he expected to have to fight against her later. If he ever had to fight with her later on, he wanted to plan around her powers.
He summoned several more wolves as flames consumed more of them. Their size diminished greatly from the standard ones he used. However, he just needed to keep her busy. ‘I practiced summoning these animals often, this much doesn’t seem to have an effect on me anymore. It’s not like with Teris. However, I’m still no closer to understanding why their size varies so much. I can’t find any consistency.’
Their battle dragged on with little progress made by either. But it started to be something he noticed. ‘I’m barely holding her back, but I know she’s not limited by this. I’ve heard Seiji tell enough stories to know this is not her limit. Why isn’t she making a more pressing offensive?’ Haruo looked around the area wondering if his answer lay elsewhere, such a hidden attack.
Nothing stood out to him. She didn’t seem to be up to anything. All around students in black uniforms, mixed with outsiders, had become almost a wave of death. They swept through many of the defenders with ruthless efficiency. They had coordinated attacks and teamwork. ‘I don’t recall them acting like this the first time I saw them fight. What’s changed?’
“Stand still you coward!” yelled Saki, as she kept trying to connect with Tatsuya. Every fist she threw missed him. Her face twisted with anger the more that she failed.
Dodging again with flawless precision, Tatsuya smirked a little. “Given the strength of those punches I don’t think that’s much incentive to let you hit me.” He had to dodge again before she connected. Her speed was nothing to scoff at, despite his casual attitude. “I’m not a fan of sleeping when I’m not tired.”
“Tatsuya! I’m going to kill you when I get my hands on you!”
“Still not a reason to stop!”
Yori still didn’t understand it. Everything he saw in the way they moved should have had Tatsuya eating dirt. His movements weren’t faster than Saki, but she still missed him with every attempt. ‘What is it that he’s doing to stay one step ahead of her the whole time? What is his secret? This is his power isn’t it?’
Catching her latest punch, Tatsuya grinned and delivered a swift counter to her face. It didn’t seem to make her budge at all. “Guess I’m going to have to be more serious. I can’t half-ass it with you, huh? Such a pain.” He wound up several more punches trying to move her but it was as if she was a wall. The last hit Saki caught with her free hand.
Barely even marked up on her cheek from the barrage, Saki’s eyes slid over to look at Tatsuya. “You hit like a girl.” Nothing he did made any affect on her.
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Fighting a losing battle of strength, Tatsuya only had bravado to hold himself up. “And I thought I had at least graduated to womanhood,” he mocked. His legs complained to him along with his back to stop trying to keep up with Saki.
“You’re nothing like Rheia!”
“Who?”
“A real woman!” Saki suddenly broke free from the power struggle. She disappeared from Tatsuya’s sight and appeared in twin form striking him from two completely different directions.
Blood coughed up from his mouth as he flew back. “Damn!” His body slammed into the earthen wall of the ruined base. Smoke coughed up around his body.
“Tatsuya!” Yori yelled in surprise. Everything flipped in an instant. He never saw it happen. Not even a blur of Saki. Only at the end, he saw a shimmering around her body almost as though he was crossed-eyed and she was slightly out of focus.
While he turned to try to assist Tatsuya, Saki appeared behind him. “I’d be more concerned about yourself, Yori.” She spun around, throwing Yori into the air with a wide kick. Followed up in an instant, she appeared above him spinning her leg down with her heel digging deeply into his stomach. Blood sprayed up from his lips dotting Saki’s face.
Yori crashed into the earth with a crater formed from his impact. His body screamed at him from the sheer force of the collision. He tried to move his body, but the earth seemed to take a hold of him. ‘Damn…she’s just too much for either of us…’
Saki came to a landing next to him. Her fingers pressed together forming a wedge as she thrust down for his heart. Blood sprayed up across her face. The cold look from her light blue eyes held no emotion at that moment. However, it quickly changed when she looked closer. ‘Damn, his barrier protected him at the last moment and deflected my hand enough to miss his heart.’ She withdrew her hand from his chest leaving a bleeding hole in his lung. “Don’t think that’ll be enough!” Saki pulled back for another attempt.
A slab of earth flew at Saki knocking her off Yori before she could finish. “Don’t forget you’re fighting me,” coughed Tatsuya, appearing out of the smoke. He wiped away the blood from his chin and walked back into the fight.
Pulverizing the chunk on top of her, Saki didn’t look much worse for wear other than a slightly dirtied uniform, though the black made it difficult to see. “Your turn is next after I finish Yori off.”
“Get used to disappointment then.” He worked up a grin to keep his confidence on display despite his feelings on the matter. ‘Damn Saki, since when were you so powerful?’
Interrupting the fight, a siren blared with all of its might despite being damaged and barely producing the intended sound. However, Tatsuya immediately glanced around. He knew the signal. ‘Black? Really, it’s gotten that bad?’
He didn’t get much time to react as Saki closed in with both of them. Tatsuya intercepted Saki and flipped her to use her speed against her. Reaching behind him, he retrieved a strange looking weapon with a wide barrel. A yellow beam burst out of it the moment he pulled the trigger. The ceiling all around Saki came raining down even heavier than the rock he tossed at her. It completely buried her. “That should slow her down…” Tatsuya lifted up Yori ignoring his wound and rushed out of the area.
“What…are you…doing?” asked Yori, trying to stay awake.
“Code Black has been given. We need to get out of here! Hiroshi’s putting an end to this battle!”
Hiroshi and Miyako fought back to back trying to keep the mob back. Nearly all of their men had fallen or retreated, by his order. They were the last ones standing. “Get the hell out of here, Miyako!”
“I’ll be damned if I’m letting you do this!” she shouted over punching with her good arm a close ranged kid. Her foe went flying into the mob. They slowed them down both a lot with all of their powers, but they struggled on together.
He spun around evading a stone attack and protecting Miyako. “I’m in charge, dammit! Obey my orders!”
“To hell with your orders! There’s no way I’m leaving you behind!”
“Dammit, Miyako! I don’t have time for this!”
Knocking through some of the mob trying to make it to the exit, Tatsuya stumbled across Hiroshi and Miyako arguing as much as they were fighting the enemy. “What the hell are you two doing?!”
Miyako glanced over at the voice to find Tatsuya. “Tatsuya! Good timing!” She pushed Hiroshi down to protect him from an attack that ate into her ribs. Blood quickly pooled up around the wound. Once it was over, she lifted Hiroshi up with one arm. “Catch!” She tossed Hiroshi through the opening into Tatsuya ignoring the fact that he already carried someone.
The incoming human cannon made Tatsuya duck and forced Hiroshi to eat dirt. “What the hell, Miyako?!”
“Take him and get out of here! I’ll handle the order!”
“You can’t!”
“Someone needs to stay behind to keep them busy! Now go!”
Hiroshi recovered quickly, but the mob already started to close the gap and turn towards him. He tried to push through and fight off the crazed mob. “Miyako! Damn you!” Nothing would get him through and their lethality did not change just because he wanted back inside.
Four shadows suddenly appeared behind Hiroshi. As he looked back, afraid he was surrounded, he saw Miyako’s team, those closest to her. The men she took everywhere with her. They were all badly injured and looked like they could barely stand.
Junichi pushed Hiroshi aside and used his size to break down the wall between them and their boss. Covering him, Jiro took aim with his finger firing off several quick bursts of purple-red light that struck down two students in the head. Shigeru slashed outward with his arms drawing blood as he finished their path to their boss.
Yasuo forced Tatsuya and Hiroshi back towards the exit. “We’ve got this. We’ll look after the boss.”
Fighting against Tatsuya, Hiroshi tried to go after them. “Let me go, Tatsuya! I’ve got to be the one!”
Throwing a wake up punch at Hiroshi, Tatsuya floored him in surprise. “You’re the leader, Hiroshi! You have to live and keep hope alive for all of these people! That is the responsibility you’ve taken! I won’t have you abandoning it just because it’s gotten a little hard for you!”
“Tatsuya…” Hiroshi wiped his mouth a little, surprised to be lectured by Tatsuya.
Inside the group, Miyako was annoyed at seeing her men around her. “Jiro, Junichi, Shigeru, Yasuo…what do you think you’re doing?! I told you to get out of here!”
They all stood back to back around Miyako. “Sorry, can’t do that boss!”
Junichi turned around to Miyako. “Sorry boss.”
“What are you—“ He suddenly picked her up far above the heights of all the swarm around them. Junichi threw her over the crowd as she tried to turn around to grab after them. Her eyes filled with stunned shock to see the determined looks on her men. She knew what they planned. It was the same thing that she planned. “You can’t!”
“Commander Hiroshi!” yelled Jiro, “Get the boss out of here! We’ll be the bait!”
“Jiro! Stop it! Junichi! Shigeru! Yasuo! Guys!”
“Let us do this, boss. For you, who saved our lives. It’s time we paid back our debt!”
“NO! You can’t!”
Tatsuya helped a reluctant, but finally accepting Hiroshi drag Miyako away. Once they were inside the escape tunnel, another quake ripped through the whole base. Explosions erupted everywhere raining down stone and debris upon everyone. The further they went into the tunnel the more the ground rocked until a single massive blast ripped through the gigantic hole burning everything.