Ezekiel was still in the midst of fighting off a group of Cruor and Umbral Beasts when the roar that signaled their retreat echoed through the city. The barricade he had joined up with was holding out fairly well, but it was obvious that it would only take a few more minutes before they were overrun.
Initially, when the call for retreat rang out, it was only the Winged Cruor that attempted to flee. But as the rest noticed that a large number of their forces were retreating, the rest also began to flee. They knew that, with the Human Reinforcements on the way, it would be too difficult to continue holding the city. Especially since the only reason the Broodlord would call for a retreat was if he too was retreating.
The fact that the Broodlord was retreating, rather than wiping out the city, greatly implied that the Legendary Hunter was still alive, and would be in a better position to wipe out the Cruor within the city. This silent implication brought great relief to the Hunters that were still defending the city. To the point where many Adepts fell to the ground in tears as they knew that they were going to survive.
Of course, that didn’t mean that the Umbral Beasts were also retreating. Many that were used as mounts by the Cruor did retreat, but the ones that were used as fodder and swarm troops remained in the city. Their instincts drive them to kill and feast on the mana rich blood of the Hunters and Spirits. Hence why Ezekiel was still fighting, though with a much easier time than before.
“Get down!” A voice called out to Ezekiel, who immediately ducked as a rain of stone and ice arrows cut through the large canid Fang Beast that he was fending off.
While he had been careful to not expend too much mana, it was obvious that, as time passed, and the battle continued, he would start running low. He had been relying solely on his physical might for the last several minutes. Luckily, as a Void Mage, his physique was significantly stronger than the average Mage of the same tier.
“Thank you!” Ezekiel called back to the Hunters who had helped him.
He passed the favor forward when he realized there were no Umbral Beasts near him. Throwing Shine at one of the beasts that was about to pounce on a downed Obscure Hunter who was covering their injured Spirit, another Umbral Beast fell to the ground without a head. This one being a Bone Cruor that had a defense that couldn’t be pierced by the other Hunters at the moment.
Suddenly, just as it looked like the area was cleared, the city lit up with a flash of violet light. The crack of thunder rolling and repeating like a chaingun echoed through Ezekiel’s ears. The zigzagging lines of lightning that appeared around him turned the remaining Umbral Beasts to ash and dust. Yet not a single Hunter or Spirit was harmed in the process.
Even as he felt the lightning pass by, raising the hairs on his arms from the static, he felt none of the heat, or mind numbing pain, that would usually come from being hit by electricity. Instead, the lightning wove itself around every human and Spirit in the city. Ensuring that the defenders weren’t harmed in the process.
“Amazing...” Shine muttered as they flew back to Ezekiel’s hand. “Is this the might of a true Mythic Tier powerhouse? The sheer control over his element... He must have a Soul Sense that covers the entire city, or more, to be able to keep himself from simply turning everything to ash.”
Ezekiel silently agreed, because he knew full well how difficult it was to control one’s spells. Even now he still couldn’t control how deep or far his Void Cuts went. He could roughly control the distance of his Jumps, but that was thanks to the innate nature of the spell itself.
Even his telekinesis was difficult to use in finer details. Shine could use it to create vibrations to speak, but Ezekiel knew that that was mostly due to the innate information of the spell that Shine had acquired when they had gotten it.
“One day...” Ezekiel whispered to himself as he stared at the remains of the Umbral Beasts that had been nearby. “One day, we will also reach that height.”
Shine merely conveyed a sense of appreciation and agreement. They knew that Ezekiel had a goal much greater than Legendary. Not even Mythic would be enough to get what he wanted. But no matter how difficult, or impossible it may seem to others, Shine still felt that Ezekiel would be the one to reach those heights.
As the lightning from the Mythic Hunter moved east, wiping out the stragglers of the Cruor and Umbral Beasts, Shine and Ezekiel turned to the rest of the barricade defenders. There was still work to do, even if the enemies were dead, clean up waited for no man.
Though, as Ezekiel and Shine moved to help the survivors of the battle, a familiar feeling settled in their souls. This wasn’t the end. Not by a long shot.
----------
----------------------------------------
Roughly a kilometer away, standing on top of a ruined multistoried home, Yarrik stared into the distance. Bereft of his Spirit armor, he stood stoically in enchanted half-plate armor. Next to him, laying sprawled out on its back, was a golden finch that was obviously his Spirit.
Behind him, also bereft of her Spirit Armor, stood the Glacial Hunter that had joined him. She too had her Spirit laying next to her. A dark blue dove that attempted to look regal as it perched on a broken wall. But the red gashes that marred its feathers made that difficult.
“Are we going to strike him now?” The Glacial Hunter asked. Yarrik didn’t turn from where he was staring at Ezekiel.
“No... Neither of us are in a good enough condition to do so. While I am willing to die for the Radiant Lord to kill him, I will not destroy our efforts in this Empire. Not when we’re so close to our goals.” Yarrik replied.
“When we return to the Light, I shall accept my punishment for not following through. But if it was revealed that the Followers of Radiance only came here to kill a Void Hunter, the first of his kind, who has also provided great contributions to the Church of Ten, and the World, we will be hunted down like dogs and put down.” The Glacier hunter grimaced at the consequences that Yarrik was bringing up.
“Shall we report to one of the remaining command centers? Show our full support for helping the city?” The Glacial Hunter asked. “Also, what about the other four? From what I understand, they fought with Legendaries that had come to support the Anathema’s parents. How do we deal with the fallout from that?”
Yarrik finally turned to the Glacial Hunter and addressed her directly.
“I was unaware that there were other Followers that had come here. Obviously, we came here to aid the city, as any illuminated Hunter would. Only fools, or fakers, would dare to obstruct the duty of all Hunters, in destroying the Cruor.” Yarrik said.
The Glacier Hunter nodded in understanding. They were going to pretend to not know each other. Yarrik hadn’t bothered giving his name when introductions were initially made. Nor did he bother remembering the other’s names either. It wouldn’t be hard to pretend they didn’t know the others.
“From now on, your name is Tina, while I am Bruce.” Yarrik said as he withdrew several documents from his Void Pouch. The Glacial Hunter raised an eyebrow, but accepted the document all the same, imprinting her mana into it to activate the dormant runic scriptures. “If anyone asks, yes, we’re Followers of Radiance, but we had no idea that there were any fellow Followers that were here that might have caused trouble. We came here to help the city, since we both had friends and family that were evacuated earlier, understood?”
“Understood.” The Glacial Hunter said. “Do you even know my real name?”
“No, and I don’t need it. After we’re done here it’s unlikely that we’ll be meeting again.” Yarrik said. “Now let’s go. I don’t think these identities will hold up for more than a couple of days, while they’re too focused on rebuilding the city. We’ll need to officially leave as soon as possible. Running away will just cause more problems. Not that we even could in this instance.”
Looking over the half healed injuries and exhausted Spirits, Yarrik and the Glacial Hunter both sighed in frustration. The two Spirits looked apologetic, but it was obvious that they would need to spend several hours recuperating before they could leave. Too long to get by without being noticed, and questioned.
“I believe there was a recovery tent not too far from here. Let’s go there first, and hope that we won’t be asked too many questions.” Yarrik said. Turning towards the closest city wall, he began marching off. The Glacial Hunter followed behind him.
Neither one was happy with their current circumstances, but they knew full well that there was nothing they could do right now. Better to cut their losses and leave, rather than die a needless death while failing to kill the Anathema. Besides, they’d likely get more chances in the future.
----------
----------------------------------------
It was several hours later that Ezekiel and the defenders at the barricade he was at finished cleaning up the area. From what he could tell, it was apparent that there were also preparations being made to improve the defenses if another attack occurred. He hoped that it wouldn’t happen anytime soon, but he also knew that it was unlikely that they’d be able to make suitable defenses anytime soon.
Looking at the walls in the distance, he could see the stop gaps that were made to fill the holes created by the Cruor and Umbral Beasts. Several dozens of Scholars were also gathering to lay down their enchantments to do what they could in preparation.
Turning towards the Cathedral, Ezekiel felt horrible to see just how heavily damaged it was. It was clear that the defensive enchantments were barely hanging on after they had been shattered by the Broodlord’s attack. The place that was a third home for him when he was young was unlikely to be repaired beyond its defensive capabilities anytime soon.
“It’s bigger than the Cathedral in Sanafalls.” Shine said as they also looked upon the broken Cathedral. “The defenses are also pretty cool. I didn’t think they would have survived at all from what we saw before. But I guess that’s what the combined might of the smartest Mages in the world can make.”
Ezekiel couldn’t help but agree. He hoped that the Cathedral would be rebuilt in the future. But depending on how long it took to run the Cruor out of Harkem’s territory, it wasn’t likely to happen soon. Though the defenses might be enhanced, given that the Harkem territory was now neighbors to a Broodlord.
“Let’s get to one of the recovery zones. It’d be better to get treated there than try to get into the Cathedral right now.” Ezekiel said. “I’m honestly surprised that we’re not much worse off than we are.”
“Agreed. But I guess that, when you actually have helpers, it’s not as bad when you’re fighting like this. It’s not like we were facing off against any Legendaries, or multiple Adepts, on our own this time.” Shine said. “Let’s not go that way, though. I’m getting a bad feeling from that direction.”
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Ezekiel glanced in the direction that Shine was directing him to look at. It was somewhat to the southeast. Roughly the direction of the area where he saw the Cultists fighting against the Guilds’ Hunters. He was getting the same bad feeling from that direction.
“Yeah... I think there’s another tent that way. Maybe we can get a cot to lay down in, or something.” Ezekiel said as he moved towards what he hoped was a recovery area.
Looking around as he wandered the street, he vaguely realized that he was near the Guild District of the city. He could roughly recall visiting this place with his friends and family when he was younger. Walking through the ruins of Harkem, he was disturbed to see just how many similarities his hometown had to the Ruins that he’d explored over the years. He desperately hoped that they’d be able to recover from this. He didn’t want Harkem to become another Ruin for future Hunters to explore.
Groups of Hunters passed him by, most with Guild insignias on sashes worn somewhere on the bodies. Spirits were also much more abundant due to the sheer number of Hunters that were out and about. Most were helping clear debris or rebuild what they could for defensive constructs and formations, but others were also scavenging equipment from bodies, and refinable parts from Cruor.
A part of Ezekiel was disgusted by the scavengers, but another part understood that it was necessary for everyone to use whatever they could to survive the current situation. Including getting what valuables and supportive items, like weapons and armor, that they could. The dead had no need of such things, after all. But that didn’t mean that he would stay to watch or participate.
Several minutes later, he arrived at a recovery zone that was entirely swamped with injured Hunters, and busy Mages healing them as best they could. The were so many injured Hunters that there weren’t enough beds for everyone to lie on. Several blankets had been laid out, with soft leaves and other cushions of varying sorts that people were lying on.
Sighing in exhaustion, Ezekiel makes his way to an out of the way corner of the recovery area. Giving himself a quick once over with his mana, he confirmed that he wasn’t in need of any immediate treatment. So he sat down, making himself as comfortable as possible. Taking Shine off his waist, he placed the Void Spirit’s blade flat on his lap.
He briefly thought of his parents, a spike of worry lancing through him as he wondered if they had managed to survive the fighting. But his exhaustion from fighting on fumes for hours on end was finally taking its toll. The adrenaline had run out, and he fell into a deep sleep while sitting.
----------
----------------------------------------
It was well into the night when Ezekiel had woken up. Seeing the darkened sky, and with the Cruor still on his mind, he nearly panicked as he thought that he was in the Desolate Lands, but he realized that there were still patches of light shining in the sky here and there.
The dark clouds that blocked out all light hadn’t consumed the area just yet. Merely a normal, but heavy, cloud covering, for the most part. Though it was clear from the lines of light flying through the air that there were numerous scouts watching, even now, for anything that might be coming for them at this time. The thought comforted him, slightly, but his thoughts trailed back to his last moments before sleep.
“Shine, did anyone approach while I was out?” Ezekiel mentally asked as he looked over the sleeping patients in the area he was in. “Best get a head start on things if we can. We need to either meet up with my parents or Garrad. We’re relatively directionless otherwise.”
“A couple medics checked you over, but left once they realized you were out of the way and weren’t injured. I think most assumed you were a Hunter who lost their Spirit, but they seemed confused.” Shine explained. “I know a few looked at you funny because of your hair, but no one did anything.”
Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved to hear that. It meant that he was still safe from the cult and imperial forces for now. None of the Guilds had any reason to look for him, so he knew that if anyone did then they were likely to have less than good intentions for him.
Pushing himself up from the ground, he moved to leave the recovery area. Several medics saw him, and a couple moved over to address him and his situation. They weren’t pushy about it, but it seemed like they still had a few questions for him. Ezekiel was fine with this, as he had slept for long enough that his mana had fully regenerated.
“Greetings. I’m sorry for your loss, but we need to ask you a few questions before you head out. Though I’m not sure where, exactly, you’re headed to.” One medic said. “If you don’t mind, we need your name and affiliation for our report. Exalt Harras returned a few hours ago, and wants a full report of all available forces as soon as possible.”
Ezekiel nodded in understanding. It was obvious that the Mythic Hunter from the capital wasn’t going to just sit around on the defensive now that he was here. Given that he had come with his own small army of Hunters from the Empire, the Exalt was likely to try and push the Cruor to get as much of the Harkem territory back as he could.
“Ezekiel Luminance. Void Hunter, and affiliate of the Wandering Titan’s Guild as part of my conscripted service in exchange for all past crimes being pardoned.” Ezekiel said in a short and curt tone of voice. “I came here from the barricade not far from here. The one leading to the Cathedral and the Spirit Lands. I didn’t stick around for long after the Cruor retreated, but I can give you the leader of the defenses in that area if you need confirmation.”
Ezekiel held out his contract for the medic to look over and confirm. The medic just looked at him in shock as Ezekiel provided that information. A part of him clearly didn’t believe what Ezekiel was saying, but Shine stepped up and formed their small barrier avatar, along with floating out of their sheath. The medic stared in open mouthed shock, as did the others who were nearby and watching.
“Oh! I-I see. Wait, you said the nearest barricade leading to the Cathedral, correct?” The medic asked. Ezekiel nodded. “Then why didn’t you head to the southeast recovery area? It wasn’t much closer, but it would’ve been a clearer path from where you were.”
“Well... I’m a Void Hunter, and I found out that there were Cultists in that area.” Ezekiel explained. He hoped that it would be enough for the medic to get what he was implying, and it was. The medic had a look of realization on his face as he seemed to grow angry at what Ezekiel was saying.
“I see. That’s understandable then. But given your situation, I think you need to report to one of the higher ups as soon as possible. You said you were part of the reinforcements that came with the Wandering Titans from the south?” The medic asked. Ezekiel nodded again.
“We were separated due to unfortunate circumstances, but I held to my contract, and fought with all I had.” Ezekiel said to the medic.
“Well, you should be able to meet up with them if you head to the central wall near the castle district. They’ve been set up as the primary last line defenders. Though, they’re mostly just construction workers right now.” The medic explained. “The sun only set a little while ago, so most of the Legendaries should still be up and about.”
“Alright, I’ll head over now. Question for you, though.” Ezekiel suddenly said. “I don’t suppose you guys get information from the other recovery areas? I’m looking for a Legendary Hunter duo. Radiant and Obscure elements, who are both partnered with feline Spirits. They’re family, and I was hoping to find out what happened to them.”
The medic just shook his head. Other than notices for support and incoming wounded, they hadn’t been given such specific information. But apparently, since the more skilled and powerful healers were redirected to the inner city areas, it was likely that they’d be at one of the recovery areas in the castle district. Most Legendaries had been sent there for recovery.
“Thank you. I’ll be off then. You guys try to get some rest if you can. You won’t be saving anyone if you’re dead on your feet.” Ezekiel nodded his head to the medics and strode out of the large recovery area’s tent. Looking over the city, he once again got chills as he saw just how similar it was to the Desolate Lands it was.
“Let’s get going.” Ezekiel muttered to himself and Shine as he jumped into the air. Since his mana was full, and he didn’t currently sense any danger, Ezekiel decided that he would make haste, and get to the castle district as soon as possible.
The sooner he got there, the sooner he could find out about his parent’s condition. As well as find out what his next steps would be in this war.
----------
----------------------------------------
Leaping over piles of debris and rubble, Ezekiel quickly made his way to the castle district, which was basically a large crater in the center of the city. Only a few of the larger and more reinforced areas were still standing after the Broodlord’s attack. Even then, it was only the areas outside the walls that remained standing.
In fact, much of the Cathedral area that was broken was due to the shockwave that traveled from the destruction of this area. As well as massive pieces of debris that flew towards it when the attack weakened the defenses. Seeing the sheer size of the hole in the city, Ezekiel wondered if anyone had actually managed to survive being in, or near, the castle district when it was attacked.
Looking around the half standing walls of the district, Ezekiel made his way to one of the reconstructed towers. Lights were shining from within, so he assumed that there must be some people that he could speak with.
Landing a hundred meters or so from the tower, he began walking up to it slowly. There was no good reason to risk spooking or otherwise startling the people inside after all. Something that he was thankful for when he got closer, as he was approached before he could get within fifty feet of the tower.
Two Hunters approached from the tower. One from above, as she descended on a fiery bird, and another from within, as he leapt from a window on the back of a large green gorilla. Both were Adepts, and the sashes around their arms indicated they were members of the Wandering Titans.
“Halt! Name and battlegroup before you get any closer.” The woman on the bird called out.
“Ezekiel Luminance. Wandering Titan’s southern pardoner conscript reinforcements. I was separated from the battlegroup before arriving at the city, though I technically got here before they did.” Ezekiel said. “I have two contracts, one signed by the Ruler of Gates, as my pardon contract, and one signed by Garrad Mountloch, granting me permission to move ahead of the reinforcements to the city due to extenuating circumstances. Ones that I was not supposed to talk about outside of his supervision.”
The two Adepts looked surprised that he was technically part of their battlegroup, even if it was a part of the reinforcement division. Even more so when he explained why he wasn’t with them during the main battle earlier that day.
“Hand over your contracts so we may confirm.” The woman called out. Ezekiel slowly reached into his Void Pouch, showing the documents before handing them over. The Adepts looked at his contracts for a moment before taking another look at him. Specifically at his white hair, which they had only glanced at before.
“Guild Leader Garrad has been looking for you. Take this. It’s a badge of entry for the temporary command center. You’ll find him and the other commanders discussing what we’ll be doing next. We were ordered to tell you to report to them as soon as you got here.” The woman explained. “Most of us wondered why we weren’t meant to go looking for you. But Garrad said he trusted you to come on your own. I’m glad his trust was not misplaced.”
As he took the badge that was handed to him, Ezekiel felt somewhat warm inside at the faith that Garrad had placed in him.
“I’m happy to be worthy of such trust. If I may, when you say all the commanders, does that include the Exalted Mythic Hunter as well?” Ezekiel couldn’t help but ask. The Adept’s faces darkened briefly, but both nodded in confirmation. They relaxed when Ezekiel simply paled and sighed before heading towards the direction of the command center. “I see. Thank you for the heads up. I’ll be on my way then.”
“... He seemed like a fairly polite young man...” The man riding the green gorilla said. “Nothing at all like the rumors that were spread about him.”
The Adepts watched as Ezekiel made haste to the command center. The both of them were locals, so they had known about the events leading up to Ezekiel’s banishment eight years ago. They had both actually been a part of the Wandering Titans when it had happened. They had mostly been on the fence about the situation, but given the rumors that were being spread about Ezekiel, it was hard to not believe them due to the sheer number.
“Indeed. Maybe he’ll actually get out of this alive.” The woman said. “Of course, it’s no skin off our backs either way.”
The two then went into the watchtower once again. Their shifts weren’t over yet, and while the Exalt had destroyed almost every Cruor and Umbral beast that was in the city, that didn’t stop the less than honorable Hunters and conscripts from doing as they liked, when they thought they weren’t being watched.
----------
----------------------------------------
As Ezekiel showed the badge of entry to get into the command center, he was swiftly directed to the main conference room, where Garrad was apparently discussing matters with several other commanders and Guild Leaders.
Up until this point, Ezekiel had been feeling pretty confident. The sinking feeling in his gut that preceded most dangerous situations had been absent since he had woken up, so he believed that he was safe. At least for now.
But as he opened the door to the meeting room after being called in, his stomach immediately sank to the floor as he stared face to face with a person whose sheer appearance weighed as heavily on him as the intentional pressure of a Legendary Hunter.
“So, you’re the Void Hunter.” The Exalt said to him. “Get in here. We need to talk.”
Absent-mindedly he followed the orders given to him. Ignoring the looks he got from the Guild Leaders that were around him. He had been expecting to be directed to a smaller meeting area, where there were Guild Leaders, at best, discussing their specific battle group's actions. Not directly speaking to one of the strongest Beings on the planet.