A massive booming noise reverberated through the city, gradually growing louder with every repetition. A skyscraper, two blocks down, let off a plume of smoke. It sagged and sank towards the ground, the remains vanishing within the cloud of black dust. In a minute from the first sound, the entire tower had collapsed, and the ruins were obscured by the massive cloud of dust.

“Hell’s crown.” Marie swore.

“Damnation.” I agreed.

We stood in silent awe.

“What was that?” Copper asked.

“I don’t know for sure.” I said, “It could’ve been a tragic accident. But I think it was a Sunderer.”

Copper frowned, “A name is not an explanation.”

“Didn’t you read the guide?” I asked, “A stronger form of the Shadowbeasts. They’re deadlier, but they’re not going after people directly. They go for shelters with people in them.”

“Then there were people in that skyscraper.” Marie said, and frowned.

“If I’m right.” I said.

“If you’re right, we’ll find out when the next scraper falls.” Copper said, “It won’t stop until it’s killed, right?”

“Let’s not wait that long.” Marie said.

I frowned, “I’m not sure we can kill it. It’s going to be tougher than anything we’ve faced yet. The odds are bad. Worse, the first one will be extra dangerous.”

“Saving people is what matters.” Marie said, “Are you going to turn back now?”

“If we fail, it won’t help anyone.” I said, “It’ll be better to retreat for reinforcements, and make it a sure thing.”

“You can do what you want.” Marie said, “I’m going to deal with it. I’ll do it alone if I have to.”

“That isn’t wise.” I said, “You definitely won’t survive alone.”

“Well, count me out.” Copper said, “I’m not into long odds without a sure payout.”

“Both of you, name your price.” Marie said.

“What?” I asked.

“Name your price.” Marie repeated.

“You can’t buy me.” I said, “If I thought our odds were good enough to be worth the risk, I’d do it for free. They aren’t, and I’m not going to throw my life away for nothing.”

Marie grumbled, “Do you have to be this frustrating?”

“Yes.” I answered, “Am I missing something that changes the equation?”

Marie scowled, “Fine.”

She pulled out a scroll, sealed with clay and black metal.

“There’s an angel in it. If you drag the Sunderer into a dream, I can release it there.” She grinned threateningly “ Is that enough?”

“Nope!” I said, and grinned, “Angels can fail, or even lose. Besides, I don’t trust it not to turn on me and Copper.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Marie demanded.

“I don’t! Even if I did, I don’t trust whoever made it” I repeated, “If you trust them that far, swear an oath.”

“What?” Marie asked.

“If you want me to trust our lives to this Angel, you’d better trust them with your soul.” I said, “Swear that if it kills me, you’ll dedicate your life and soul to Eris to make up for it.”

“Absolutely not.” Marie said.

“See?” I said.

Marie sighed, “Fine. I swear, barring deliberate sabotage from you or Eris, to abide by the teams you stated.”

“I’m potentially willing, then.” I said, “I’m not sure we won’t all die, but if Copper’s coming, that should tilt the scales far enough.”

“Copper?” Marie asked.

“Will it be lucrative?” Copper asked.

“Not very.” I answered, “Sunderers drop scraps that are good for various sorts of crafting, but there isn’t much profit in killing them.”

Marie glared at me, but I wasn’t stupid enough to lie to a Fae.

“Someone needs to compensate me for the risk, then.” Copper said, “Marie, Ashlyn?”

Marie stared cooly back at him.

“What do you want, Copper?” I asked.

“Good question.” Copper said, “I’ll assume each of you is paying half. Ashlyn, I want to be free from my end of the contract. Marie, some of that marvelous battle standard you have would do nicely. It’s not like you’ll be using it in this fight. Half of the fabric or all the metal, please.”

I grinned at Marie, “Of course, Copper. By the eight jewels of the stars, the four tyrants of the moon, and the heiress of the verdant plains, I release you of all contracts I hold against you. Marie, will I need to find something to pay for the other half?”

“Copper, you don’t ask for small favors.” Marie said.

“Are you refusing?” Copper asked.

Marie looked at him, looked at me, and winced, “No, I’m not.”

“Good.” Copper grinned, “Hand it over.”

“Any half the fabric will do?” Marie asked.

“It has to be a single cut.” Copper said, “Any angle where it’s half the fabric.”

Marie scowled, and summoned the banner into her hand. It held an image of a golden sun on a white background. It looked like it was physically painful for her to slice it in two, evenly down the middle, but she managed. She handed Copper half, and he grinned at her.

“Thank you.” Copper said.

“Can we go now?” Marie demanded, “If I have to buy lives at this price, I’ll be furious if this delay costs any.”

“Certainly!” Copper said, and grinned.

The first step to tracking the monster was simple. We headed towards the site of the former skyscraper. The cloud of dust had only subsided a little, but it was enough to see through with some discomfort. We improvised masks to filter the air, but it still tasted metallic and poisonous. I doubted this area would be truly safe for some time.

At least we could see through it now, for all that I suspected moving through it was unhealthy. It wouldn’t kill us, I didn’t think, and for now that was all that mattered.

While we rushed towards the site of the wreck, I bought a few upgrades I hadn’t thought I’d need this early. I also bought a few that I had wanted to buy using only Potential, because ultimately it would be incredibly wasteful to die to save some Quanta. It would be a setback for my plans to get free of my contract with Eris, but even in the absolute best case, dying would be a much bigger one.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[You have spent 76,800 Potential to upgrade ‘Usurpation by Fire’ from level 9 to level 11!]

[You have spent 29,361 Potential and 73,039 Quanta to upgrade ‘Melody’s Reprise’ from level 11 to level 12!]

[You have 33,592 Quanta Remaining!]

Tracking the beast from the wreckage was surprisingly easy. It apparently was tunneling under the roads as it moved, leaving massive swathes of road and sidewalk undermined. If it weren’t for the Shadowbeasts, it would’ve been easy to chase it without slowing. As it was, it still wasn’t terribly difficult, though Copper had to join Marie on her horse. He wasn’t fighting enemies with Marie and I. Instead, he was focusing on something involving Marie’s battle standard, a selection of bullets, and his gun.

Unfortunately, the Sunder was very fast. After about thirty minutes of chasing it, Marie slowed down a little.

“Tell me about this thing.” Marie said, “You’re a schemer, I’m sure you’ve noticed something.”

“It can’t break skyscrapers effortlessly.” I said, “There’s some prerequisite slowing it down.”

“That’s obvious.” Marie said, “Do you have anything more useful?”

“It’s wandering randomly.” I said, “It doesn’t have a target yet.”

“I’d hoped we could ambush it.” Marie sighed.

“I wish.” I agreed, “They don’t run from fights, but they aren’t interested in fights either.”

“Where would it seek prey?” Marie asked.

“It’s too early to tell.” I said, “I suspect it hasn’t decided.”

“So we know nothing useful.” Marie groaned.

“Nothing for tracking it.” I said, “Given the tunnels, I’d expect any powers it has will be associated with earth. Given that it made the skyscraper collapse rather than topple, I’d guess it has some influence over metal as well, but I’d be shocked if it’s usable in combat.”

“Why not?” Marie asked.

“Because whatever makes these things, they’re designed. They have some form of balance to their abilities.” I said, “It’s cheaper to provide just enough power to undermine key supports than to give one that could be used bluntly in combat. They might not even have given it that ability, I don’t know much about skyscrapers. It might be that tunneling under the foundations would be enough to make the building collapse.”

“Besides whatever it’s using to dig and its absurd speed, what should we expect?” Marie asked.

“It won’t be fragile.” I said, “It’ll probably have a simple strategy backed with excessive power. Maybe it’ll have a contingency for the obvious counters.”

“That doesn’t leave us with much.” Marie complained.

“Nope.” I agreed.

That was when we saw a skyscraper that was visibly trembling. I could feel the Sunderer on the edges of my range, burrowed beneath the skyscraper. It had already dug a tunnel under the bottom of the skyscraper.

“It’s here.” I said.

I dragged it into a dream. In the same breath, I activated [Blood of the Sacrificed]. As that finished activating, I set [Beast of Still Waters] on it. It shrugged off both effects in seconds. I frowned, and summoned [Mirrored Night] as a sword.

It tunneled back towards us, and surfaced a few steps away. Now that it was in the open, I could finally see it. It was a massive badger, with black and white fur, and a gray tail. It moved on four clawed feet, and was roughly the size of a minivan. There was nothing obviously supernatural about it other than its absurd size. It snarled, opening its mouth wide.

Then, It charged. It was faster than Marie’s horse. As it reached us, Marie stabbed her lance into its eye.

It hissed, and whirled. Its tail slammed into Marie’s horse. All three of us were knocked off, and the horse shattered into wisps of light.

Copper managed to catch himself with his wings. His gun transformed from a pistol to a shotgun, and he fired at the still-spinning Sunderer.

Marie and I recovered before the Sunderer finished spinning. Marie unraveled the scroll, releasing the Angel.

There was a feeling of overwhelming pressure. A blinding radiance spilled out. I shuddered and closed my eyes. The effect persisted for two minutes before slowly fading away.

The Badger was still there. It was covered in glowing chains that wrapped around its body, but it wasn’t dead, and the chains weren’t keeping it from moving. It was covered in burn marks, and the chains looked like they were hurting it, but it was still a threat. I realized, to my dismay, that both eyes were intact again. If the Angel hadn’t sabotaged us, it could heal that damage in minutes.

“That’s all your angel can do?” Copper said indignantly, as he shot the badger again.

“It’s weakened, slowed down, and those chains are still hurting it.” Marie said, “That’s not nothing.”

She wasn’t wrong, but the badger was still deadly.

It lunged for Marie again, and she slashed at its face with her sword. She missed the eye by a few inches. It slammed into her. She went flying. It charged where she’d land.

I summoned Beast, dragging the Sunderer under for two seconds. That was enough time for Marie to stand up and resummon her horse. She retreated with her horse. The Sunderer turned to watch her, but it didn’t give chase. Copper shot it again, with no visible effect, and it turned to point its back at him. In one fluid motion, both hind legs clawed at the ground. It sent debris flying at Copper. None of it hurt him, but a piece hit his wings and they shattered. He dropped like a stone, and the Sunderer lunged for him.

He shot it in the right eye as he fell, but it didn’t stop. It slammed into him, and he was hurled down the street. He landed with a loud crack, and didn’t move. I could feel him, he was still alive, but he wasn’t conscious. The Sunderer lunged for Copper again, but Marie intercepted it, driving a spear into its left eye.

It whirled around again, but this time Marie held onto her weapon. She was yanked from her horse, but the horse managed to get clear and retreat.

The Sunderer continued to spin, clawing at the ground as it did. It hurled debris in every direction. I managed to block most of the rocks coming for me with my shield. Unfortunately, Copper wasn’t quite so lucky. He was battered with rocks, though none of them were large enough to cause major injury.

After a few seconds of spinning, Marie’s spear came loose from the Badger’s eye. She landed smoothly on her feet about a foot from the Badger, who didn’t stop spinning. She charged forwards and slashed at the Sunderer with her sword. After a few rotations of Marie slashing it relentlessly, it slashed her with a claw as it spun past.

It tore through the armor and into Marie’s left side, leaving a visible gash. Even so, she managed to stay on her feet.

She hurled herself backwards, and her horse came running towards her. She scrambled onto its back.

The Badger lunged for me, and I slammed it with [Beast of Still Waters] when it got into stabbing range. That bought me a second to stumble backwards.

The Badger surfaced, and charged for me again. I managed to stab my sword into its right eye. It kept going, and slammed into me. I tried to cling to my sword, but it went flying with me. I landed on my back.

Before I could think, it had me pinned down. It chomped down on my neck, hard enough that I heard its teeth clack together. [Skin of the Changeling] activated without giving me a choice in the matter, turning me into a shapeshifter like Mimic. I pulled my head and neck from its mouth.

It swiped at my body with its claws as I slipped out from underneath it. I heard a clopping of horse’s hooves as I tried to scramble for shelter before the skill deactivated.

Marie slammed her spear into the Badger’s right eye with as much force as she could pour into it. The Sunderer was hurled backwards, and Marie let it take the spear with it, resummoning her weapon instead.

I was helpless until the lockout ended, though [Blood of the Sacrificed] hadn’t deactivated.

She charged again, but this time the badger was ready. It let the blade stab into its socket and slashed through Marie’s horse. She landed with a clang, and an instant later, it slashed into her. With the same sound as last time, a gash was ripped into her armor, this time revealing her stomach. If Marie had been a human, her organs would’ve spilled onto the ground. She wasn’t, but she still lost consciousness.

I picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it at the Badger. I hoped that would distract it from killing her. It did. Instead, it rushed me.

I hurled myself to the side, barely getting clear before it would have slammed into me. If it wasn’t blinded, the trick wouldn’t have worked. Once it realized it had missed me, I threw another rock.

The trick didn’t work twice. It advanced slower, listening for movement. When I tried to jump clear, it heard me, and swung blindly in my direction. It hit me with the limb rather than the claw, and knocked me down the street. It lunged for me, and pinned me down. Its head came for my face, and I prepared to die.

I didn’t regret trying, but I regretted misjudging the odds. If we failed, this would all be for nothing.

A bang sounded, and the Badger stumbled backwards. Five more bangs followed in rapid succession, and the Badger retreated with each shot. There was a pause just long enough for me to stumble to my feet.

The Badger was visibly dripping blood from both eyes, and staggering a little.

Copper was conscious, and reloading bullets into his rifle.

The skill lock ended.

The Badger charged for Copper. I grabbed it with Beast. It broke free, and Copper shot it six more times.

Abruptly, it abandoned the charge. Instead, it turned and fled back down the tunnel it had burrowed to meet us. I tried to give chase, but it was faster. There was a loud shriek of metal and stone. I could feel the Badger slowly dying, but it had toppled the skyscraper.

With an ear shattering boom, the skyscraper began to collapse an instant later. A thick cloud of debris flooded the area, as the booms continued to grow louder. I blacked out from an impact before I choked.

---

[Badger of Babel has been defeated!]

[You have gained 10,000 Potential and 1,000 Net Quanta]

[Tutorial Quest: ‘Shelter Sundered’ has been completed!

* 100 Net Quanta

* 1000 Potential

A temporary Safe Zone has been created for fifteen minutes!

Contribution Bonus:

+1,000 Potential]

[Notoriety has advanced to “What was her name again?”]

[Class Upgrades have been unlocked!]

[You have gained an unlimited achievement: ‘Sunderer Slayer’. +1 All Stats]