Chapter 182 – Floor 18: Part 7
“So that’s it, huh? Kinda ostentatious, I would have gone for something more…unassuming and humble, but I guess I’m just strange like that.” Mathew said to the floating Celestial spirit hovering just above his left shoulder.
“You Must Zatize Us”
“Not right now; I’m in the middle of something. I think we should just go straight through the center; no time for dilly-dallying.” Mathew brushed aside the incomprehensible words that the spirit whispered; he had heard them for years and needed to be focused on what he had to do.
Ridley White’s home was easy to spot; it occupied the highest point of the island and had massive spotlights shining on its white exterior as if it were a beacon to draw the attention of the populace.
Mathew stood on top of a building a mile or so away, studying the layout of the massive building carefully. There were guards everywhere he looked and a wrought iron fence that ringed the estate. A long driveway cut through the green lawns in front to reach the building directly.
He let out a sigh. His leg was bothering him again.
The potions he consumed to heal his wounds after fighting that monster earlier hadn’t been able to do anything for the pain and stiffness in his leg. He wouldn’t be able to move quickly during the approach, meaning he would need to absorb or deflect their bullets.
“Investiture of Lightning is out.” Mathew thought out loud. He didn’t need the increase in speed that the Blessing brought if his leg wouldn’t allow him to make use of it. Running his hand through his hair in frustration at his limitations, he reached into his inventory and pulled out the small statue of the Wyvern that was resting inside.
“Hey buddy, long time no see.” Mathew whispered as he set the statue down on the rooftop and stepped back. Funnelling some of his mana into it, the statue came to life and expanded until the Wyvern stood next to him, its head a few feet above his own.
The creature looked around curiously at the sights of the town and sniffed the air tentatively. For an animated statue, it was surprisingly lifelike, and Mathew reached out and rested his hand gently on its head.
“Miss me?” He asked, but the Wyvern ignored him.
“Fine, be that way.” Mathew grumbled as he ran his hand along the smooth scales of its neck.
“I just need you to get me over the palace. There is no fighting for you today. I want to handle this personally. Besides, I don’t know how bulletproof you are.” Mathew said to the creature as he patted it gently before mounting it. He didn’t use ‘Enlarge’ to increase its size; he wanted to save all his mana for what was coming.
“Alright, let’s make an entrance! Shock and awe!” Mathew shouted as the Wyvern took to the skies.
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“Anything to report?”
“Nothing, everything silent from the Bartlett estate. They were supposed to check in regularly, but we haven’t heard a thing. Do you think something happened?” One of the guards asked another as they patrolled the perimeter of the estate near the fence.
Both wore combat uniforms, black undersuits with white ballistic armour over them, helmets and assault rifles.
“No, it’s probably a communications issue. We need to focus on-”
A loud screeching sound cut through their voices, drowning out all sounds from around them. It came from directly above, and both guards immediately looked toward the sky. A strange beast was flying overhead, its shadow barely visible against the stars and the moon overhead.
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“Shoot it down!” A shout came from another section of the compound, and both guards raised their rifles to take aim.
“Here we go! Investiture of Flame!” A voice boomed out from above, followed by the whistling noise of something moving at tremendous speed. Flames erupted from the falling object, a fire streak trailing behind it as it sped toward the ground.
The object was a person, and everyone outside in the estate could hear it laughing madly as it descended.
Mathew couldn’t hear much over the sound of the wind, but the exciting feeling of freefalling made him barely notice the sounds of gunfire that were rising up to meet him. His skin was covered in flames, and he had used all of his Blessings to enhance his physical abilities to their limit.
Behind him, the Wyvern circled once around the estate and flew away where it would rest on one of the nearby buildings for him to return.
Mathew’s landing was akin to a bomb detonating. An intense burst of light and fire rocketed into the air while the ground shook. A plume of smoke and dust obscured the stars, and the people guarding the estate fled in terror at the sudden attack.
“Might have overdone it a tad.” Mathew commented as he slowly stood and brushed the dust and dirt from his clothing. The suit was ruined; it had accumulated enough tears, holes and rips in the material that it was little better than the rags he had arrived in.
Mathew himself was unharmed; his enhanced body from Alter Self and Investiture of Flame had protected him from the impact. He had left a crater in the street in front of the palace, the pavement had peeled back, and he had buried himself half a dozen feet below the ground and pushed back the dirt and soil.
Mathew slowly emerged from the crater, his limp making him awkward and deliberate with each footstep in order to keep his balance on the loose soil. When he made it back to street level, he found the wrought iron gates of the palace twisted and tossed aside from the force of his arrival.
“Fire!” A voice commanded from a distance, and several spotlights immediately shone down on him from the nearby rooftops. Shielding his eyes from the sudden glare, Mathew heard a cacophony of gunfire erupt in all directions.
Bullets impacted on the ground next to him with sharp cracks or whizzed by him. But many struck his body directly, and even with his Blessings, it felt like someone was punching him in the torso. Mathew almost lost his balance from the force, and he let out a grunt of irritation.
Picking up the large, intricately carved gate that had a large ‘W’ worked on the front in gold, Mathew heaved it toward the palace. While it was in midair, he pointed at the flying piece of metal.
“Enlarge!” Pumping his mana into the Blessing, the gate expanded until it was the size of a house. It landed in the garden and shook the ground. It had the added effect of destroying a gun emplacement, and Mathew could see several of the guards fleeing before it hit.
But there were more to replace them, and each step Mathew took felt like he was pushing against the wind.
He responded with all of his Blessings.
“Breath of Dragons!” A swath of flames swept across the garden, burning white in intensity as it consumed the grass.
“Earthbind!” A half dozen guards were wrapped in golden tendrils, unable to flee or react. Mathew walked past them like they were not even there.
“Reduce!” Rifles became the size of toothpicks; concrete barriers shrank until they were only a foot tall.
“Word of Power: Break!” Again and again, he used the Word of Power to destroy weapons, defences, automobiles and large sections of walls. Anything that stood in his way was broken and shattered. And through it all, Mathew continued to walk calmly.
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“A single man is tearing through our defences, Sir!”
“What man? I told you to arrest these women! What are you waiting for!? Keep playing; I want music!” Ryker commanded, not understanding the severity of the situation. As he kept shouting, the doors to the entertainment room turned to dust, and a man with a limp strode through.
“Best you all leave now.” The man said as he looked around the room. The musicians took one glance and fled, followed closely by the scantly clad women. The guard was the last to flee, throwing down his gun and radio as he shouted that he quit.
“Ah, that’s better. Nice and quiet.” Mathew said as he walked in and started to take a seat. Seeing that the large, half-dressed, fat man was about to speak, Mathew pointed at him.
“Earthbind. You’ll speak when I tell you to. Now, Junior, hand over that syringe. I saw you tucking away inside your jacket, and I don’t want things getting nasty.” Mathew ordered.
Seeing Ridley hesitate as he was unaccustomed to being on the receiving end of commands, Mathew used the Righteous Aura of Subjugation to reinforce his command. Before Ridley could comprehend what was happening, Mathew was holding the vial of bright blue liquid with streaks of black in it.
“Sit.” Mathew ordered, and again, Ridley obeyed immediately.
“Good. Now, you’re both going to tell me everything you know about this Aether.”