Chapter 72 – Invalid Nobility

Ash stopped running as she darted behind a toppled tree, using the root ball as cover. She still clutched Hope’s core to her chest as she braced her carbine on a root. She began scanning the gently rolling terrain for any sign of her pursuers.

It had been days of constant evasion with little rest, and she was about at her limit. She had hoped that her ruse would last longer than half a day but supposed that something was better than nothing. Still, she had managed to take down 2 of the scouts, the poor bastards.

The usurper was using those elves as fodder to spare his ‘chosen race’. She knew it was far too much to ask that he had been reformed. Even in this world, Ethan was a tyrannical zealot. She was just thankful that he wasn’t a pilot, though she was sure he would still be a pain in the ass.

Only problem was that she wasn’t sure she would live to see him be a pain in the ass. A flicker of movement in the mottled shadows under the canopies of the trees caught her eye. It was probably the hunter party sent after her. She hadn’t passed any more beasts to try and lure them into another trap either.

A second darting movement confirmed it was the hunters. As much as she hated them for their loyalty to the genocidal maniac, she had to respect their ability to track someone. Ash was sure that they weren’t using anything of hers to follow a mana signature, since she had destroyed and burned everything except her construct.

“I am really starting to wish I had taken your frame with us.” She said to the core in her arms.

The core responded mentally to her muttered words. “If that were the case, they would have gunned us down before we left the gate.”

Ash had to concede the point. The whole reason she abandoned the construct was because it would act as a distraction and lead to conclusions that she was still at the tower. “Still, the fire power would have been nice.”

“Come on, we have to keep moving.” Hope said. “If worst comes to worst, I can self-terminate. The yield will ensure you are not taken alive and more than a few of them will go with us.”

Swallowing hard to clear the lump in her throat, Ash tried to stay positive and not think about that, no matter how likely the scenario. “Let’s see if there is a place that maybe we can set up a better ambush.” She said while getting up and moving on, keeping the root ball between her and the hunters.

The terrain was getting a little more rocky and hilly as she went, where the delta had been mostly flat. This was easily the farthest anyone had been toward the mountains that bordered the lowlands. She wondered if there were other cities that she would be able to stumble upon or if she would be run down before that.

Ash glanced up through a gap in the trees. She could see the tall ridge line of the mountains and assumed she would be in the foothills within another few kilometers. Her plan was to hopefully get a good vantage and be able to spot a place to go or better yet another city.

She wished that she could use her other form. Only problem was that it would leave her having to carry the core in her mouth. Well, that and long-distance running wasn’t exactly her strong suit when shifted. She might get to use it soon, if she was able to lure the hunters into a close ambush or a confined area. Even better if the area was dark.

She thought she could hear voices, her sharp hearing able to pick up the sounds on the wind. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she now saw that the hunters had closed within a few hundred meters.

“It’s now or never.” She growled and began looking around for a good place to set up an ambush.

“I am with you until the…” Hope began but suddenly stopped.

“Hope? Hope!” Ash hissed at the core in her arms. “What happened?”

Try as she might, she got no response from her core. Muttering a few choice words, she saw what looked like a boulder pile with a broken off tree limb part way up the hillside to her left. What caught her eye was the gap she could see between the rocks.

Pivoting, she changed course and angled for the opening she hoped was a narrow cave entrance. It wasn’t far out of the way and if it turned out to be a bust, she could try and climb the hillside to at least get a vertical advantage.

As she approached, the cave opening seemed to widen slightly. She thought it must be a trick of perspective and the angle. As she closed, she could see a deep dark void where light didn’t illuminate the back. It must be a decently deep fissure. I just hope it leads somewhere.

At just over 20 meters out, she could hear the voices clearly now. Ash put on a final burst of speed and darted around the obscuring brush and dove for the entrance. She made the jump with barely a hands breadth to spare with her armor, weapon and core.

She knew the landing would be unpleasant, these crevasses tended to be a simple split that would wedge her in the bottom or a rocky jumble. She was hoping it was one of the rare ones that opened up rapidly and had a somewhat level dirt floor. Rather than a dirt floor or even an uneven rocky one, she dove full speed and headfirst into something solid. She briefly heard the ring of metal and a thump-hiss before she was knocked out from the head injury.

*****

Matt was absolutely shocked, completely astonished, some might even go so far as to accuse him of being flabbergasted. “Did that just happen?”

Van was also confused by the sudden turn of events. “Oh, there is more. She knocked herself out.”

“How the hell did that happen?”

“She jumped headfirst into your seat. Unprotected head had a sudden stop against metal.” Van explained. “She has the core with her. I have been communicating with it for the past few seconds.”

“What? How?” Matt asked while returning his attention to the group of people coming into the kill zone they made. He had Van set up on the hillside with a good vantage, using his mantle to blend in effortlessly. Echo was across from Matt, lurking in the branches of some trees.

Van hummed for a moment while he thought about how to describe it. “Hmm. It was like I suddenly could sense a new mind once she came within a certain range. I didn’t know what to do at first, so I just stayed quiet. Then the pull I was feeling almost compelled me to reach out.”

“What did you say?” He was curious since Van rarely ever acted on his fleeting thoughts.

“I said ‘Hello’ like a normal person.” Van said, getting a little defensive. “What was I supposed to say? ‘The square root of 9 is 3'?” He finished in a mocking tone.

Matt would have face palmed if he thought he could get away with it. “Fine, we can figure it out later. Can you keep them contained? I don’t want them causing a ruckus while licked inside you.”

“I can figure something out.”

Nodding, Matt returned his attention to the group of people that had come rushing into the grassy area at the base of the hill. There was a strip of grass between the slope and the bottom of the valley that would make a great killing field, if things went that way.

One by one, the group came up to the edge of the grass, stopping to scan the area. He could hear the hushed conversation they had, a departure from their earlier shouts while chasing the woman. Then, just as he was about to lose hope, they all stepped forward and began walking through the knee-high grass.

After they had all cleared the brush on the edge of the woods, Matt threw a rock from his overwatch position on a slight rise. The clatter of stone got their attention and they all looked to the source of the noise, pointing their rifles in that direction.

“Wait.” Matt called out, still not revealing his location. “I mean no harm and wish to talk.” It was the best he could think of in the short time he had since they saw what happened.

“Who are you and where do you hide?” One of them called back, sounding both startled and bossy at the same time. They clearly didn’t know where he was yet as they all circled and faced outward.

“My name is Matt and I come from a city far from here.” He was only giving them the barest of details. “Would you be open to a conversation?” The group whispered to each other for a few moments. He couldn’t hear what they said from almost 200 meters away but had his suspicions.

“I am Lucas, overseer of purgation in service to his divine majesty. I would treat with you, if you can provide some information to us.” Said the human man standing on the opposite side of the group from Matt. They still had no idea where he was due to the echo off the wall of the valley.

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Before Matt could respond, Van sent him a mental message. “She is a pilot. They want her dead.”

“Why?”

“Something about a prince?”

Before Van could say any more, Lucas spoke up again. “Show yourself by order of his divine majesty.” He sounded a little more annoyed than before, voice raising with a hint of strain.

Matt didn’t like where this was headed but he decided to play along. He stood from where he had been braced against a log, just his head and rifle poking over the top with his viper hood obscuring him. One of the others saw him first and called out.

“There he is!” he pointed at Matt.

“Yeah, here I am.” He said. “What information were you looking for?”

Lucas, the leader of the group, judging by how the rest of the party moved around him, oriented to face him. “We are after a fugitive. You will comply and answer our questions before returning with us to the tower.”

Matt smirked under his visor. This had the same feeling as lord Alfron all over again. He could sense the aura coming off the group. Their intent was plainly obvious, and he could almost taste the smugness. Lucas was the worst of the bunch with his nearly open hostility. 2 of them were not quite so enthusiastic about the encounter and seemed to be pretty against everything happening.

“Well, let’s see about that.” He said, being dodgy. “What do you want to know?” It wasn’t lost on Matt that he had to ask what they wanted to know multiple times while they were puffing themselves up.

“Where is the abomination?” Lucas spat the last word.

“I don’t know what an abomination is. Can you describe it?” He asked, still remaining partly obscured by the tree trunk. He didn’t plan on coming out in the open when they clearly had an authority complex and itchy trigger finger.

Lucas sneered. “It takes the form of a woman of average looks. Abnormally tall with brown hair and pointed ear tips.”

“That sounds like half the elves I know.” Matt said in a deadpan voice.

“This creature is even worse than them, if you can believe it.”

Matt did not like the sound of that and the one elf in the group shot a rather heated glare at Lucas.

Unfortunately, Lucas took his silence as permission to continue. “It’s ears are the size of a human but have a pronounced point. The teeth are more telling, with elongated canines.” He huffed and looked Matt up and down, seeming to notice that he was covered from head to toe. “What is your race?”

“Mostly human.” Matt said with an audible chuckle. He had begun to identify each member of the party and they all seemed to be ahead of the curve based on the people of Vil’ Krad. Lucas was the highest level at 48 with the rest all above 40 except for the elf who was a level 32. Matt was beginning to wonder why he was there at all.

“And what does ‘mostly’ mean?” Lucas asked, his hand drifting toward his holster.

Matt had already made up his mind and decided to fuck with them for a while, just on principal. “Well, you know the saying ‘you are what you eat’? Yeah, I eat a lot of meat, but I won’t turn down some grilled veggies or perhaps a nice bit of fruit.” He was really hamming it up, amused at the looks on their faces. “Oh, and booze. Some of the brewers have made some really good beer and my alchemist friend figured out vodka which I was super thankful for.”

The look on Lucas’ face only grew more incredulous as he went on. “And coffee, can’t live without it. I’m running low though so if you find some let me know. Anyway, where was I? Oh right. So given that I have a pretty varied diet, I would say in omnivorous but that’s more of a dietary pref…”

“STOP!” Lucas said, his face turning beet red once he caught on. His pistol was in his hand now, pointed mostly in his direction.

“…rence. What? You asked. I was just trying to be thorough.” Matt said, purposefully overacting and sounding shocked.

Bang. A single shot hit the dirt several meters to his left. “I command you to stop! Your prattling and blatant disregard for your superiors is irksome. I command you to submit yourself for interrogation.” Lucas said. His eyes were nearly bulging as he stared at Matt.

If he were a better commander, perhaps he would have noticed the tides has turned. 2 of his subordinates, one human and the elf looked at each other before nodding and backing away slowly, hands raised to show they wanted no part of this. Matt just watched them go, not wanting to give it away.

He still needed to stall for some time if they would make it away safely. He sent a mental message to Echo to let them go while he went back to his conversation. “Listen, I don’t recognize your authority. You can give commands until you are blue in the face, but it won’t get you far.”

“Then we will take you by force of arms.” He said and they all pointed guns at him. “Now are you going to come along peacefully, or will it be by force?” The group began to slowly approach him, fanning out as they did.

Putting his hand on the chin of his faceplate, Matt made a show, pretending to consider the offer. “That is quite the offer you make. Regretfully, I think I am disinclined to accept your proposition.” He could see the man’s lips move as he tried to break that sentence down. “Also, there is one little problem you might have.” The deserting duo had backed up past the brush line and had turned and fled according to Echo.

“And what is that?” Lucas said, waving his remaining men to take positions on either side of him.

Matt smiled, very much enjoying himself. “I out level all of you.” He dispelled his hoods masking effect, revealing his full level. That naturally wasn’t where he stopped. As the group froze, the finally crossed into the edge of his domain he had been pushing their way.

“Through the flames of retribution, cleanse the unworthy. Convert the obstacle…” He began enacting the spell as he stepped forward, naturally flaring his aura to envelop the area. “…into the path. Purge my domain.” Speaking the final line, he moved his hand in the appropriate pattern.

He flicked his palm down, making a wave gesture at the ground before pulling his fingers into a fist. He then turned his fist over and opened his hand. Pale blue, nearly clear flames rose from the ground in a 200-meter radius around him. The closer to him, the denser and larger the flame, nearly becoming opaque as they flared up.

The men before him all screamed as the ghostly flames burned them. 3 fired shots at him which missed by meters. His image was so distorted by the heat that he doubted any of them could see him. The other 2, Lucas being one of them, fired some sort of spell at him that was absorbed by his domain spell.

Matt stopped short, not closing more than 50 meters before he heard the thump-thump-thump of the autocannon. Rounds splashed into the round to the right of the group. Each projectile hit, skipped and burst among the hunter squad, spraying all of them with shrapnel. One of them ended up taking the base of a round to the head, which was messily removed.

Lucas was barely standing as his men collapsed around him. “Demon! Hell spawn! Our lord will cleanse you from this world with his divine presence!” he was nearly foaming at the mouth as he shouted at Matt.

Looking on, Matt cancelled his spell, there wasn’t enough mana coming in to sustain the flames, let alone be useful to him. After the flames had abated, he could see the 4 men bleeding out on the ground behind Lucas. He took off his helmet, storing it in his ring and allowing the man to see his greyish skin.

“Your lord doesn’t scare me. I have met true gods whose power is so absolute they rule thousands of planets.” Matt began, watching as Lucas fell to his knees, staring up at him while cradling what was left of his arm. “Your pretender and his armies will fall before me like wheat to the scythe.”

Eyes rolling back, Lucas fainted. The loss of blood too much for his E grade body to handle. Matt sighed, he walked forward and pulled out his rifle. Standing back a few meters, he put a round into each man’s head, making sure they were dead.

With a shuddering sigh, Matt felt his wrath recede and the post-fight ache set in after the adrenalin abated. He went and stored each body in his ring, planning to loot them later. He also picked up the rifles, inspecting the lever action design on the 2 surviving examples. With a shrug, he stored those too.

“That was a little dramatic.” Van said. “Honestly I approve, maybe we kick it up a little if we ever get another chance?”

“HA!. Maybe, I would hope that we meet more friendly people in our travels, but who knows.” Matt said as he turned and walked back to Van. “How is our guest?”

“Still unconscious. Well, the person is, the core is still awake.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, she is quite talkative. She hasn’t stopped asking questions since I sealed the hatch.”

Matt considered his options a moment. He had passed a cave entrance not far away that would likely make a good place to set up for the evening now that the sun was starting to make its way back to the horizon.

“Alright, here is the plan. We backtrack to the other side of the valley and set up in that cave we passed. We can talk to our guest tonight when she wakes up.” Then as an afterthought he said. “Van, can you tell her core that we don’t plan to hurt them?”

Getting an acknowledgement from Van, they set out for their future camp site. Echo scouting ahead while Matt walked alongside the mech. I wonder what happened to those other 2. He wondered as he looked back over his shoulder.

*****

Gerd was running for his life, sprinting as fast as he could to anywhere but around that monster. Alec was right beside him, the human keeping pace despite being able to run faster. They both regretted stopping to watch the encounter.

They ran for over an hour, headed mostly back down the valley and toward the edge of the delta. After crossing one of the feeder streams, they both stopped, leaning against a boulder while they caught their breath.

Gerd was the first to break the silence with something other than panting. “Who the hell was that?”

“No idea, don’t want to know either.” Alec said as he looked back over his shoulder.

“Well, what now? Do we go back to the tower and tell them what happened?”

Alec looked at him like he had lost his damn mind. “Are you crazy? You heard what Lucas said, how he thinks about elves.” He then glanced around like he was looking for eavesdroppers. “Between you and me I say we make a run for it. I never wanted any part of this and think going back there would eventually end up with both our deaths.”

“What do you suggest? Its sounding like you have a plan.” Gerd said. In truth, he wasn’t keen on the idea of being a second-class citizen at best and a slave at worst.

Sitting down and beckoning Gerd to follow, Alec leaned back against the boulder. “Remember what that guy… Matt, I think. What he said about being from another city?”

“Yeah?”

“Right well, if he is from another far away city, maybe there are other far away cities that would like to have a couple new, highly motivated, citizens that are very willing to lend a helping hand.” Alec gave Gerd a knowing look. “Listen, we get along great, and I tried to cover for you and the other elves with some of my friends. We didn’t like what was happening after he took power, and we were thinking of ways to fix the issue.”

Gerd nodded along. “Right, and I appreciate that, honestly, I do. What are we going to do? We have no real power or ability to fight him and his enforcers.”

Pulling out a water bottle, Alec took a pull before passing it over to Gerd. “Let’s try to find another city. At the very least we can warn them about Ethan and maybe we can find a way to kill him or hire someone to do the deed.”

“Alright.” Gerd said with a sharp nod. “Which way then?”

Alec looked over the edge of the rock again. “Well north is not happening, east leads back to the tower. Let’s try west. Maybe we can get on top of one of those mountains and eyeball something.” He looked at Gerd and extended his hand. “What do you say?”

“I’m in.” Gers said, taking the hand and giving it a firm shake. They didn’t know where they were going but they sure knew where they didn’t want to go back to.