Tides Of Protomis LXV
The Lord of Beasts Najeem Al-Moussa!!!
The three fighters stood as they did before, their gaze focused on their opponents. It went without saying that both sides knew how dangerous their opponents were. It was for that reason that they seemed almost reluctant to attack. As tacticians and soldiers, they knew well what rushing into battle unprepared could get them… Something that Al-Moussa didn’t seem worried about. Or rather, he’d finally figured out his plan of attack. The apostle opened his palms before bending his knees.
“Let’s get on with this…”
Sokol’s left hand went to his rapier. As he removed it from his hilt, it was soon pointed at his opponent. The former tsar burst forward, appearing in front of Al-Moussa, thrusting his rapier at the man’s chest. He looked upon this with surprise, his eyes widening, though he would quickly stop the thrust of his blade with a shield of bone, stopping his attack. His assault continued regardless, as thrust after thrust came toward Al-Moussa. The man squinted his eyes.
“He’s fast, even more than Ito...And he was the fastest out of us all. This could end up being an issue for me.”
The apostle sidestepped to the right, moving out of Sokol’s range, before swinging at him with his arm blades. Sokol, however, was quick to evade, simply appearing behind him. As the man swiftly looked over his shoulder, he saw his opponent begin thrusting, but he would soon jump out of his range once more. However, Sokol would move to follow. Appearing in front of him, as he began to launch a storm of thrusts once again. Al-Moussa tsked, before letting more bone break out from his skin, the white solids soon forming a flat surface covering his arms, almost resembling shields.
Regardless, Sokol continued to thrust at him, leading the apostle to continually move his arms around in tune with the attempted jabs changing their target. Stopping the strikes with the shields he’d created. However, he’d taken notice of the fact that small punctures appeared on his body. His attempts at defending against him were not going well. His defense was starting to fail. But, of course, the fight did not happen in a vacuum. His second opponent had since taken note of this fact. Taiki removed his cigarette from his mouth, now holding it between his fingers.
“Shift…”
No sooner did a luminance grow around Taiki’s hand once again as the cigarette in his hand began to warp, growing both in width, and size, with its shape changing as well. A hilt and a guard soon formed, followed by a blade, as his trusty greatsword appeared in his hand. As he gripped it, he turned his attention to the two fighters. Najeem had still not managed to escape from Sokol’s storm of thrusts. Taiki was prepared to take advantage. He charged forward, flashing across the room, and appearing behind him. No sooner did he take a swipe. His target managed to narrowly dodge before jabbing his elbow into his opponent’s stomach, which sent him flying back, though he skidded, stopping himself. Sokol, smirking, would capitalize, appearing behind the man and slashing him down his back, leaving a light gash between the torn fabrics.
He would soon rotate his body, bending his leg, as he kicked Sokol’s side, sending the man away from him with the force of the strike. Taiki and Sokol glanced at one another from across the room as if to confirm their plans. Before they jumped at their opponent, from his left and right, ready to overwhelm him with the volume of attacks. But once again, shields of bone appeared on his body, extending from his elbows. Stopping their initial attempts to stab him. The three fighters stood there for a moment before they began resuming their attack. While Taiki tried to cut the man, again and again, Sokol would continue thrusting at him.
Though, the injuries the man gained remained trivial at best, as he continued to extend shields out of his body where they would strike, stopping their attacks in their tracks. Though some would get through, they were trivial at best. However, his guard was faltering, and their opponent knew this. Blades of bone would soon extend from the back of his ankles, he would soon bend backward. Using his hand as a support, he began to spin around. The blades on his legs would come dangerously close to his opponent’s legs. Though they took notice within moments and jumped away from him, returning to their original positions.
“Tch… it looks like we won’t get through this quickly, though I’d expect that much.”
The apostle’s eyes began to glide over both of his opponents. Though the strikes had gotten close, his expression remained unchanged, having since learned to have a cool head in battle, even in his situation. His opponents, in that way, were the very same. One has been a monarch and military leader with much success, and the other has led an elite team that was instrumental in various operations.
“Now then… I’d say it’s about time that we get serious.” Najeem Stated.
“I agree…” Taiki responded.
“As do I…” Sokol stated.
Al-Moussa’s body had soon been surrounded by a blue light that was just barely visible. As he clenched his fists, the blades around his body began to grow longer. The ends now appeared much sharper than they had before as they narrowed. With the overall shape more crescent-like. The light around him began to swirl as he bent his knees, putting his left foot forward.
“Come to Me- Yako(Malevolent Kitsune)”
Shortly after, the floor below them began to crack as a black blur came from below. Which caught both of the fighters’ attention, and their eyes darted to follow it. Now, they saw what he had called. Landing between the hole and Najeem was a black-furred creature resembling a fox. It stood on four legs and was much larger than anyone there, nearly reaching the rather high ceiling. Its two furry tails continued to move as it bared its fangs. The creature let out a low growl as what looked to be a red flame-like light surrounded it.
“One of the life weaver’s creations, no doubt.”
Sokol had heard of these creatures before; they’d apparently made it to the eastern coastal areas of the empire during his reign, as a group had apparently made their way onto a dreadnought by some of Yamato’s forces attempting to use them as war hounds. The creatures were more than Adaptable enough to spread to different regions. However, there was something that he remembered, the very reason that project had failed… He glanced at Taiki as he spoke.
“This is strange… Non-Sapient yako tend to attack humans or stay away from them entirely. So why is it listening to him.”
A good question, but he didn’t have a good answer.
“I wouldn’t know...But I’m guessing he’s tamed it, but even then, that’s iffy at best.” Taiki responded.
“Not only that, but this one seems much larger than they normally are, likely stronger given the amount of muscle…”
“Then it seems that those blades weren’t his only ability…” Watanabe mumbled.
As the three warriors prepared to continue their battle, a different one continued outside. As one would expect, with the number of forces both had, the Battle between the Coalition and the Kaemerge was not over. Though the death of Minoru had thrown some of the Kaemerge’s forces into chaos and brought about a sense of unease among the forces, they had to keep fighting regardless. Though, the death of one of the enemy’s leaders did renew some vigor in the Coalition’s troops. Something that has led to the battle situation to begin changing.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Outside of the military, however, the effects on the city’s inhabitants were great as well. Though many of the Civilians had since been evacuated into the bunkers lining the city... It seemed a bit late to do so. AS the damage was already done. The streets of Tsugashuan were not a sight for the faint-hearted. Pile after pile of the deceased, civilian and military alike, lined the empty, destroyed streets and filled the ruined buildings. Crater’s deep, wide, and both of the above laid upon the surface of the ground. That, and the effects of proto-human battles. One area of the city almost looked like the arctic. While another was caked in embers and smoke. To say that the city was damaged would be an understatement…
In one of these areas, there stood the Coalition’s men, wearing full armor, a group of 3 squads. The street that formerly would’ve been litten by street lights was now limited to their helmet lights and the dim rays from the moon above. Defunct aircraft, transports, warships, and even the occasional HAU surrounded them. Even so, they continued forward, ignoring the devastation, or at the least, not speaking of it. Finally, they stopped in front of an open ramp that reached below the road in front of them... They glanced at one another as they nodded, entering and beginning their walk down into a well-lit tunnel.
Further within, the enemy lay in wait. Something that they took note of immediately, as a gauss round whizzed past one of their heads. Something which led to the member of the squad jumping into cover. Getting behind metal crates lain throughout the tunnel. As the squad members looked to the far end, they saw their opponents, a group of soldiers laid behind a barricade, firing off rounds from their gauss rifles. The attacking squad began a counterattack, moving in and out of cover as they advanced, shooting all the while.
One of these soldiers wore an orange patch on his armor’s left shoulder, showing that he was a Lieutenant. More specifically, he was,
“Lieutenant Mills-- Corporal Chen has discovered the location of the Kaemerge’s main research lab…”
Mills nodded at this, glancing at the man.
“Good, we’ll move to capture them… We believe many of these researchers were held against their will. but that does not apply to them all.”
They went back to firing. One of his troops would be shot through the head as he peeked out of cover, prepared to take a shot at the enemy. His visor shattering as he collapsed, Mills clicked his tongue as his eyes went to the source of the round, returning fire and returning the favor. His men continued firing until they’d finally cleared the hallway of the opposing men. They continued their advance, hopping over the barricade as they made their way further in. All the while, the lieutenant’s gaze moved around the area as he searched for their target.
Eventually, he would find it, a small metal door at the end of the tunnel. He pointed it out and began moving in, with the troops following him. This hallway was narrow, considerably smaller. Something that certainly would’ve been an issue if anybody was guarding the door. But, that did not look to be the case, and they found themselves within. They found themselves in a darkened room lit with a dim blue light. Within said room, it was chaos. Dozens of researchers, wearing white lab coats over their clothes, scrambled around the room, grabbing research material and attempting to transfer data between their holo-phones and the large terminals that lay in front of them.
In the very back of the room, there lay what looked to be a hangar bay. Standing in front of said hanger bay was a brown-haired woman with a thin pair of glasses talking through the microphone, wearing the same lab coat as the others there.
“Let’s go, let’s go- This battle is lost. We need to get off of Earth. Hurry up before they catch on! We don’t have to worry about the Coalition in the wastes. I doubt any of the factions will care about Earth’s issues.”
Another scientist, a man with straight black hair that reached his shoulders, came to her side.
“What of the prototypes?!”
Another with green hair would soon come, walking past the two with a large wooden crate in his hands.
“We’ll take what we can and destroy the rest!!”
Within the hangar, the mentioned prototypes began to be loaded on. Among them, HAUs that were...Strangely designed, to say the least. One with a head that almost resembled a bull and the other that had seemingly had four arms. As the roof above them began to open, the ships would begin to lift from the ground, speeding up as they exited the hangar. Another scientist, standing closer to the tunnel entrance, would wave his arms, directing his contemporaries.
“Let’s hurry this up. The last thing we need is for them to get the V.A.S.C.A.V. That’ll mean the difference between us being abl-”
However, the man was stopped, as with the all-too-familiar boom of a gauss rifle firing, his chest seemingly exploded as he fell to the ground, his words unfinished. This did not go unnoticed by any of those within the room. Their eyes flew over to the now-deceased researcher and then to the coalition soldiers. Even so, this did not trigger a surrender. Rather, they would simply begin moving faster, rushing into the ships and rushing to activate their reactors. Several would soon break into the crates, pulling out rifles of their own. The lieutenant had but one thing to say.
“Light em up”
Shots would soon ring off. The ones to pick up weapons were the first to go. Their bodies, unable to withstand the force of the shots, were torn apart, left in a bloody mess on the floors below. However, the troops did not stop there. Even those who hadn’t picked up weapons were targeted as well. Though, even with their efforts, ships streaked across the night sky as they began to ascend, further and further up, until the city looked to be but a sea of lights. The fugitive researchers moved to occupy the stations in the dimly lit bridge.
“Set a course for the Minamoto Spaceport on Mars. For now, we’ll split. It’s too risky to be seen together; we’ll rendezvous there.”
Mills stepped over the bodies below him. He raised his head as he watched the escaping ships disappear into the clouds. One of his platoon members came to his side, also looking at the display.
“That doesn’t look, good Lieutenant.”
“Yeah, I’ll need to ensure that command is notified about this.”
Part B
Within Rizian, the launching of ships did not go unnoticed. Taiki’s gaze went to the streaking lights as they moved above the gorge’s walls, gradually exiting his view. Sokol would soon do the same, with their opponent glancing over his shoulder.
“Looks like we got some stragglers… Not like I have time to worry about that, though...Especially with one of their head honchos right in front of me.” Thought Taiki.
“We’ll probably end up having a lot of cleanup after all this is said and done.” Sokol thought.
Al-Moussa simply nodded at this result.
“Good...At the least, the researchers have escaped, or most of them. I’ll need to take care of these two if I’m to help with the rest. The first got himself killed, and we only have about 35% of the imperial guard left, assuming no more have died...The situation is desperate, but regardless, Ardam shall guide us!”
As Al-Moussa pointed at his two opponents, the Yako opened its mouth as a volley of red lights snaked their way across the room, flying at the two fighters. Taiki stamped his foot as rubble broke up from the floor. A light would soon surround his hand again as a metal shield formed in his hand. The bursts slammed onto the shield, and yet, Taiki remained unphased. Sokol also remained unaffected, flashing around the room and out of the way of the attacks. The beast closed its mouth for a moment but would soon open once again as it simply fired more. Taiki arched his brows as he took note of the display.
“This isn’t nearly enough to stop us. I suggest you stop holding back!!!”
Now, Sokol flashed forward, appearing in front of the Yako, thrusting his rapier into its head, and stopping its assault. The beast howled in pain as Taiki tightened his grasp on his blade, rushing forward and then, going across the length of the beast, dragging his blade along it as he did so. And, as he landed, the Yako fell into chunks. However, his assault did not end there, as he would soon move to engage Al-Moussa. Who stood watching him, bending his knees.
“Herculean Cutter”
With his words, the blades on Al-Moussa’s would soon expand once again. The growing length was accompanied by a changing shape as they began to curve inward. He leaped forward as well, ready to meet his opponent’s charge. Taiki soon launched a diagonal slice at his opponent’s shoulder. But the apostle evaded, beginning to slip and slide around Taiki, keeping moving to make sure he eluded him. Accompanied with, swinging with the blades near his wrists and ankles alike. Leaving small cuts across the man’s body. Ready to stop the onslaught, Taiki ducked out of the way as his opponent sent blades toward his neck with a kick. No sooner did he backflip away, landing on the other side of the room. Taiki would move to continue his attack, charging at him. But Al-Moussa would soon extend more, thinner blades across the length of his arm.
“Don’t think that you’ll win this easily, even if there are two of you.”
As Taiki moved to strike, Al-Moussa moved out of the way before returning with the needle-like bones, extending and retracting again and again. Taiki grunted in annoyance as he took notice of the fact that the speed of the bones had even begun to increase...
“He has me on the defensive?”
After observing the battle that took place, Sokol would finally take action. He would soon point his blade at Al-Moussa as he grasped it in his right hand, charging forward to join the fray. As Al-Moussa took notice, his eyes darted over as a storm of thrusts soon began to fall upon him...Unlike last time, however, he was caught on both sides by the two’s attacks.
“It’d be unwise to weaken my defense from one to handle the other… Even with what I said earlier, to think that I’ll have to pull out my trump card this early…”
The man would soon leap out of melee range. As the two took note of this, they immediately began their pursuit. Taiki extended his unused arm as Sokol seemingly disappeared.
“Sub-Zero Blades.”
Shards of ice soon flew out of his hand, closing in upon Al-Moussa, as he rotated himself in an attempt to avoid them. Regardless, he found himself pierced in his shoulder. Sokol appeared behind him, thrusting at his back. However, Al-Moussa would change his direction once again, flipping over Sokol’s back as he flew away from him. Taiki flew out of the hole that remained in the wall, soon coming to join his ally as they once again faced off against the apostle… This certainly wasn’t the outcome he preferred, and yet, at this point, there was very little he could do about it. He would need to achieve victory either way.
“Algios!!!” He shouted.
With his words, Sokol and Taiki’s usually composed expressions turned to surprise. Sokol’s eyes widened as he heard the name, and Taiki did the same, his hands opening, nearly losing grip on his blade. Soon, small embers began to form on the buildings around them. Though small at first, within some moments, the flames began to grow in size, beginning to swallow the skyscrapers and the Area around them. With them growing bright enough to almost look like a beacon in the night sky. The sounds of the battle around them were drowned out by the roaring flames… That beast was here?!
“It can’t be! He’s bluffing!!” Thought Sokol.
Now the flames behind him began to converge into a single point, as shooting from underground was a downright gigantic bird-like creature, surrounded in flame. Its size even dwarfed the mighty dreadnoughts that flew elsewhere. What followed soon was the beast raising its head and letting out a loud screech radiating throughout the city, catching the attention of all those within. The soldiers on the ground, the occupants of the warship, Zhao watching from afar, the tides, their allies, and the apostles alike.
“The Phoenix of Crete?!” Watanabe yelled in surprise.
“That shouldn’t be possible… That beast was sealed away by its creator over a millennium ago…”
A smirk came to Al-Moussa’s face as he looked up to see the flaming avian loom around rizian. He nodded at it before looking down at his two opponents.
“Keyword, was… While one could say that it was by chance that I found it within Gythros, I’d say that much was Ardam’s blessing… It will surely be useful. Now, then, let’s end this!!”
To Be Continued