CHAPTER 100: THE FRAGILITY OF LIFE
The air froze heavily in the surrounding area and the entire area became an icy zone in which it was difficult to move around.
Even the temperature control of the equipment failed to stabilize the low temperature.
“Cold,” Somali Terror muttered as he reinforced his body with his magical energy and ran through the trees.
Running at a high speed, his instincts screamed in a warning, and the Somali Terror stopped.
*BOOM*
A tremendous explosion happened as a red pillar fell in front of him.
The shock-wave shattered trees and raised a cloud of dust.
The next moment that dust cloud froze, and the Somali Terror gritted its teeth, turning back in the direction it had come from.
Occasioning afterimages because of his high speed, he rose using platforms generated under his feet and when he noticed the young woman who was surrounded by ice; he lunged towards her.
With terrifying speed, he reached the two meters near her, surprising the young woman with his increased speed.
Aiming his dagger at the young woman’s throat with astonishing speed, the Somali Terror was completely incredulous as a black mass swallowed the woman.
The dagger sliced through that black mass and in the next instant, protrusions came out so suddenly and one of them sliced through the waist after breaking through the barrier of his equipment.
“Shit!” Letting out a curse, the Somali Terror twisted in the air, performing a spin that caused a whirlwind of slashes, which helped him escape from the black tentacles that sought to trap him.
Retreating to the ground, he noticed how the group surrounded him.
Three against one... He had no chance of victory.
A mechanic with enormous attack power that was very versatile.
Laser, explosive, or sonic attacks. He had many drones of different types and had excellent control over them.
The drones that revolved around him were not only attack drones, but among them were mixed with defense drones, making the overall defense of the young man very high because of the powerful barriers that the drones could generate.
Psionics were similar.
The way she froze the surrounding area was very troublesome, as if he was careless he would have felt cold, and the next moment his blood, tissue, or muscles could freeze, becoming a problem that could lead to him losing a part of his body.
Still, the most problematic was the Protector of Zerzura.
The Somali Terror watched as that black mass it had cut retreated to the woman a little further back.
Alice could move her allies by her shadow and, worse, she could hide in the shadows.
Attacking a defenseless enemy only to be caught like a moment ago was a horrible situation, one that the Somali Terror did not wish to have happen to him again.
“How about we say we draw? We’re both wounded and have losses.” Somali Terror commented with a smile.
He had landed some light cuts on the psionics and had taken down dozens of the mechanic’s drones, as for the young woman with black arms... The Somali Terror surveyed his surroundings where black arms lay motionless after being cut.
The young woman felt no pain from losing her arms, or at least did not show it.
However, he believed that unlimited regeneration was impossible, and at some point, the limit would come.
“Do you want to give up?” the young woman asked as other black arms grew from the shadow of her back.
The Somali Terror’s expression quivered.
It was at that moment...
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
A crazed laughter rippled through the surroundings and as the Somali Terror looked in the direction it came from, he could make out his former subordinate in the distance.
General Kavuri’s face was distorted as black veins spread throughout his body, feeding demonic energy into the protrusions that throbbed like living hearts.
“Oh, he’s turning into an abomination. I guess as a psionic it will have a temporary power surge and then because of the conflict of energies, it will end up dead,” commented the young woman with a smile and, looking at the Somali Terror, she asked. “Do you want to join or will you give up now?”
Did he want to accompany his subordinate to death? That was what she was asking.
The Somali Terror was a tyrant it was true.
He was also a powerful individual, not constrained by morals and with unparalleled ambition, yet he was not an idiot.
He had survived as a warlord and had lived his glorious life at the cost of other lives and all that was thanks to always knowing when to act.
In the clashes against the Lord of Mombasa, she played defensively and let her military forces strike the decisive blow, always maintaining her own security.
In this battle, he had been running away all the time, looking for a way to escape between the barrier.
Surrendering was the best option when facing three S-Ranks, who were just as strong as him or even stronger, and they coordinated perfectly with each other.
However...
“Yes. I will surrender...” announced the Somali Terror and, with an amused smile, he added. “When I have enough fun.”
Inwardly, he was thinking about the best way to escape, even if it meant he had to use all his subordinates.
Maybe in a moment, the situation would change in his favor, or maybe at some point, he would have the opportunity to strike a lethal blow and escape.
In the end, in case he was in an impossible situation, the thing to do was to surrender to keep his life.
“Is that so? I hope what follows amuses you.” Replied the young woman with an indifferent tone.
The black arms that were cut off trembled.
Those arms that were made up of a black mass transformed into a liquid that spread around, rejoining the black arms that held the young woman.
The shadow of the young woman’s back spread around the surroundings, solidifying and absorbing its former severed pieces, creating a dome that covered the entire group.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
A black dome that the only thing that glowed was the light of the drones floating in the air, glowing with a red hue.
The Somali Terror froze as he felt that both the psionic and the mechanic were watching him and would not allow him to move.
The young woman slapped her mask back, revealing her face and, with an indifferent expression, opened a bag of chips with boredom.
Around her, the mass of darkness created by the ‘dome’ trembled as hands writhed, seeming to want to ‘escape’ from that abyss of darkness.
“And do you think you’ll have fun if you keep going?” the young woman asked as from the dome arms came out.
Surrounded by hundreds of arms that could transform into many weapons, the Somali Terror watched the young woman, who was protected by her companions.
Assassinate her to end her ability?
If it was difficult to land a blow before, now it would only be a distant dream.
How many arms could he cut off before one caught him?
The Somali Terror’s expression turned unpleasant.
******
Clémentine watched as the deformed creature extended its arms towards Aurora, turning into black tentacles.
Aurora dodged it and only threw lightning punches at long range.
However, those lightning strikes hit that creature’s powerful psionic barrier.
“Die!” shouted the abomination as its protrusions pulsed in unison, releasing a psionic wave.
Clementine raised her psionic barrier to resist the indirect hit and her expression paled, as she heard distant, distant voices like ghostly wails.
“Are you all right?” Nicole asked with an agitated expression.
They were quite close to where the major fight was taking place and despite Aurora trying to ward off the abomination; the attacks that were not directed at them affected them.
Right now, they were collateral damage.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Clémentine muttered, calming her expression and pointing to the warehouse nearby.
The group headed for the warehouse, hiding and being as stealthy as possible so as not to draw the attention of the abomination or any enemies.
They had already used some strong artifacts given to her by her parents. Still, Clémentine had to strain to pay attention to the abomination while trying to hide from enemies.
She was so tense that she was sweating, and the sounds of combat coming from everywhere didn’t help her calm down.
In the dead of night, they advanced rapidly while their companions surveyed their surroundings.
The sounds of intense battle echoed in the distance, however, they could no longer see the battles of their comrades.
Everything was dark and without the concoction to see in the dark, they would surely have some trouble.
Most of them were nervous, as they not only looked everywhere, but clenched their fists to calm themselves.
That they could see the intense battle Aurora was having with that abomination that was slowly increasing in strength and suppressing her made the group even more nervous.
When they arrived near the warehouse, Leslie stopped to check her scanners, as did Andrés.
“No one’s there, let’s go,” Leslie announced, and they moved forward to the entrance.
The warehouse was one of the farthest away and had no one guarding it, giving the impression that it was being devoured by the surrounding darkness.
“Guard the entrance,” Clémentine ordered, giving a signal to Érica to follow.
This was the last warehouse and differed slightly from the others, as it was built with concrete walls, unlike the others that looked like wooden barns.
Opening the metal door with her telekinesis, Clémentine prepared herself in case someone attacked her from inside.
In the second warehouse, they went to no one attacked her and now that they were in the third; she didn’t want to risk it.
The door was heavy to open and unlike what she expected, there was no attack and the only thing she could sense was a strong smell from inside.
Entering the warehouse, Clémentine deployed a barrier as she looked around.
The warehouse seemed to be divided into two parts. The first held all kinds of tools to maintain the mansion.
After giving Érica a signal to follow her, she walked into the second part of the warehouse, which was divided by a wooden wall.
When they opened the door, the smell became more intense.
A smell that intermingled the scent of a dead animal left in the sun for days and an intense smell of sewers that were never cleaned.
Clémentine had to cover her nose as did Érica, and they continued through the entrance, freezing when they could observe what was on the other side.
Hanging like bleeding animals were several people.
Some letting out groans of pain and others were motionless.
When did it happen?
That question came to Clémentine’s mind as she went blank.
It wasn’t recently, that was obvious...
Wounds and traces of torture that had been going on for weeks.
For some gods, potent emotions are greater delights than the best delicacies, that is the reason sometimes sacrifices have a cruel process.
Clémentine remembered what she once read in a book and gulped in fear, horror, and anger.
“Let’s go down...”
*BOOM*
Before she could finish her words, an explosive sound echoed from outside, and the next moment, they saw the wall crack with a dull thud of someone hitting it.
Immediately, they both headed outside.
“I thought I’d take some hostages to see if I could escape. I never expected to run into some wimps. Looks like my day just gets better,” muttered the man as he tensed his muscles.
At his back was another individual who looked slightly wounded.
Both were eyeing their group like predators.
The one who had hit the wall was Nicole, who was groaning in pain as she stood up, gritting her teeth.
“I’m...”
Before she could speak, the wrestler moved towards Leslie, who was closer, and hit her barrier with enormous force, sending her flying into the concrete wall.
*BOOM*
A minor explosion echoed in place as Andrés made his drones explode near the enemy fighter.
“Fucking shitty little kid.”
Letting out a growl from the cloud of smoke left by the explosion, the fighter appeared with light wounds and charged towards Andrés, hitting the barrier.
Andrés’ barrier could withstand the impact of the blows thanks to his drones, which remained active at their maximum power, however, it prevented him from being able to retreat.
As the fighter was delivering his third blow, Nicole, who had jumped into the fight, punched him in the cheek, letting out a dull thud.
Before the man could catch her, Clémentine, using her telekinesis, caught Nicole’s body and pulled her back, allowing her to escape.
Érica prepared her best spell and before she could cast it, someone lunged at her, pushing her, causing her to hit her head against the wall.
They had forgotten about the other enemy at the fighter’s back!
“I will make you suffer.”
With a terrifying statement, the fighter slammed into Andrés’ barrier, whose drones were overloading to the limit.
Clémentine moved.
Pressing herself to the limit, she caught Érica and threw her near the door to prevent the second enemy from attacking her.
A mage would be easily defeated if they approached her, that thought was her motivation.
Clémentine controlled the tools, causing them to levitate, and then threw them with all her might at the fighter, seeking to create an opening for Nicole.
The pointed tools pierced through that fighter’s combat aura and dug into his body, and even though it wounded her enemy, she could not consider it a victory.
The fighter had withstood the blow so that he could punch Nicole.
It was so fast and unexpected that no one could avoid it, not even Nicole herself.
*BOOM*
“UGHh...”
The barrier shattered and Nicole received a severe blow to the stomach, pushing her with such force that she collided with a pillar and split it in half.
That fighter spat blood and did not move, becoming completely unconscious.
The fighter, by resisting minor blows and knocking out a B-ranked fighter, showed the difference in power compared to an A-ranked fighter like him.
Without giving the group time to think, the fighter pulled out his body-piercing tools and slammed into Andrés’ barrier, breaking it in the process and grabbed him by the neck.
“Mechanics are easy to break.” Muttered the wrestler with a vicious grin as he held Andrés by the neck.
A slight light covered Andrés, getting the wrestler to frown as if he couldn’t squeeze his hand.
“GRAAAAAA!!!”
Before anyone knew what was happening, a great roar resounded.
Everyone present felt their brain being pierced by dozens of needles, worse than an unimaginable hangover.
“You are weak...”
A voice echoed in Clémentine’s mind and the image of the hostages hanging like cattle came to her mind.
“We will die because of you...”
Dozens of voices rang out in unison, getting Clémentine to tremble with fear as she tried to cope with the pain.
“Your friends will die because of you... They will die because of your weakness...”
The fear grew stronger, supporting her great fear, and at that moment, as if the voices were right, the fighter holding his head stood up.
He moved to Andres, whose guided drones automatically pushed him back.
On the other side, the second enemy was closing in on Érica, who was crawling on the ground to retreat while her nose was bleeding.
Clémentine’s mind was flooded with fear.
“They will die because of you...”
The voices rang out again, and from the back of her mind, a powerful force rose up.
Guided by her anger and her resistance, by all her terrible emotions and her fears, she exploded like a bomb.
“NO!!!”
All her resistance, all her emotions, were shouted in one word.
A word that sent the objects flying and caused a powerful mental wave that went to both enemies, making those men’s eyes go white as they became immobile.
In that instant, Clémentine, who took a deep breath as the feeling that she could control the surrounding objects, with a force greater than she had ever felt, awakened.
She could feel that intangible force at her command and Clémentine moved it around the fighter’s neck, then...
*Crack*
The fragility of life was revealed before his eyes.
That power of her mind guided by her emotions made a fighter who was completely defenseless die without the ability to resist.
On the other side, Érica raised her hand at the approaching man and an ice spear appeared at her side, piercing the man’s stomach and lifting him high into the air.
The bluish hue of the ice was painted with red lines of blood.