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Vega Of The Wastes
Chapter 77: The Scarecrow Striker! (Part 1!)

Chapter 77: The Scarecrow Striker! (Part 1!)

Chapter 77: The Scarecrow Striker! (Part 1!)

Standing face to face to a murderous conqueror doesn’t always give people a sense of safety, especially when he’s invading your city. It might be, forgive if I’m wrong, more absolutely shit your pants terrifying. But hey, maybe for some people it’s actually calming.

What wasn’t calming was the look on Runtaii’s face. Vega, Bolato, and Amir could all see it. In his eyes dark red veins bulged large, barely able to contain the hate inside. And a wicked smile, with stains of blood carried down from his face. A hatred that smiles.

Breathing in deeply, Runtaii appeared not so well. An arrow was embedded in his left arm, with a small stream of blood coming out. However, he moved like it wasn’t even there.

“...scarecrow…” His voice, full of malice and pain, called out Vega. Riding his horse closer, Amir and Bolato backed up, preparing for a charge. Instead of giving ground, Vega continued forward to meet Runtaii.

Everyone there seemed surprised, even Runtaii. Though clad in battle armor, he felt fear for a moment. Soon after, he felt hunger. A hunger for torment. A hunger to prove himself not a tool of Ani Arma, but the fiercest warrior of Clan Galabag.

“Hah. I see the little girl is braver than the other two.” Runtaii rode forward, spinning his spear in his hands. Much of it was covered in blood, and it sprinkled as he went.

“I’m no-no little girl. I am Vega.” Putting her pickaxe at her back, Vega carried her guitar in her left hand.

“...V… Vega…” A weak voice spoke, from underneath a small pile of bodies. Blonde hair stained with blood, and carmel skin bruised.

“...Florato?” Turning to see her, Vega gasped at what she saw. Wearing the mastercrafted armor the mermaids had given her, Florato had decided to aid in the fight against the invaders. Covered in scratches and bite marks, much of the armor had suffered. One of her legs seemed to have been chewed on, with rivers bleeding out.

“Hey… how’s it going?” Laughing and coughing, Florato crawled over to her. Bolato ran up to the actress and pulled her away from Runtaii.

“Holy, Florato!” Vega called out, finally breaking from how sudden it all was. Amir, taking out some medicines from his pockets, immediately went to work, patching her up. He did not care that Runtaii was ready to kill them all, all he understood was that Florato was hurt.

“Ha! It seems like you know this one, little lady. A shame too, she would been a nice addition to my harem-” Caught off, Runtaii’s mouth started to bleed as someone had thrown a dagger, narrowing missing his mouth. “Rah! What the…”

Florato, with her last bit of strength, had thrown the dagger. In fact, Skaldi had given it to her just in case anything went wrong. She wouldn’t let someone talk down to her and make her some object to be leered out.

“You can go to hell. And don’t worry, Vega is gonna send you there!” Giving one final promise, Florato then passed out. Although the actress wasn’t one for blood and gore, she persisted long enough to resist.

“~Don’t worry Florato, my friend. Rest now, we will take care of the rest.~” Amir whispered into her ear, laying her head down and patching up her wounds as best he could.

Rage, like boiling magma, resided in Vega’s core. She wanted to sprint start at Runtaii and brush his skull. However she knew she was outnumbered.

Vega didn’t have enough strength to face Runtaii alone, feeling the tremendous presence of the Snake Skins. One of them could slice her into strips, so she had to come up with an idea.

Would it work, she did not know.

“Ya don’t talk to like that to-to any of my friends. You’ll pay for that.”

“Oh, I see.” Runtaii spoke as if offended that Vega was claiming to be more than what she immediately looked like. “ I guess you’re just some mature lady, are you going to lecture me about how I shouldn’t pillage this city and burn it to the ground? T-that I shouldn’t rob it of its riches? Well, that a-ain’t how's it going to be!”

“~What is that fool doing?~” Amir pinched the bridge of his nose, while Bolato looked close at Vega’s Soul Gems. They weren’t glowing, but softly flashing on and off, like a heartbeat. Was she trying to hide them, Bolato wondered. Whatever she had planned, Bolato understood he needed to back her up.

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Right now, she’s the ace up the sleeve and folding this hand isn’t an option.

“Runtaii, trust-trust me when I say this. Ya don’t deserve to live.” Speaking with the upmost disgust, Vega proceeded to flip Runtaii off.

“Oh fuck.” Bolato muttered to himself.

“~This isn’t good.~” Amir, despite not knowing any Iozian, agreed.

“Ya are a detestable ball of slime, ya des-despicable fuck. Did ya really think I came here to lecture ya? Ya don’t deserve me-me to talk-talk to ya-ya. In fact, get the fuck out of here before I show ya what I can do.”

Haha! Holy shit, I never really expected that amount of sass and bitterness out of such a kind hearted being as Vega.

“What is this idiot planning? She’s gonna get herself…killed…” Bolato, in the middle of his sentence, realized Vega’s plan. She wasn’t planning to sting and rile up Runtaii for the sake of pissing him off.

Vega was deliberately putting a target on her back so that Runtaii would focus on her. If could have at the moment, congratulated Vega on her idea.

Now granted, this was a relatively simple plan, but one that allowed to split up the forces of the main leader. Still, they needed a way to take down that werehyena. That, Bolato understood, Vega didn’t have a plan for.

“Damn ya straight to the hells, because neither Recor or I will have mercy upon ya!” Vega finished her last insult, and strutted up to the side of Runtaii’s horse. He could see the anger boiling in his skin and his fist clenching so hard it snapped a piece of metal from his gauntlet.

“...hmm. Haha! HAHA!” The sound of Runtaii’s laughs echoed throughout the city, like a siren of some awful devil. Crazed, exhausted, yet enchanted by violent purpose, Runtaii could hardly restrain himself from immediately bulldozing Vega.

His smile began to fade, as Runtaii locked his teeth into a bitter frown. Raising his fist into the air, the Snake Skins readied to give their lives for the next order.

“...murder her…” Commanding those under his rule, Runtaii led the charge after Vega, who bolted away from Bolato and Amir.

Whole lines of Snake Skins ran with hellish strength, flat out ignoring the fires they ran into, not even caring to jump over or pat the flames on their bodies. Like a scene out of a horror show, the Snakes Skins were not able to care for themselves, for they were robbed out of any choice in the matter.

Vega knew that, and she knew that she could fix that.

Left alone with ten troops and the Werehyena, Bolato and Amir admired what Vega had done for them. Although this would be the fight of their life’s, it might be a fight they could win. So long as they stick together, they could be more than they were alone.

Running down the streets and powered only by hope, Vega drew Runtaii and his forces out of line. Because he was chasing her, Runtaii disconnected from the other forces, and was now alone. Still, he had plenty of men to throw at her, so she began to think on how to best use her power.

Playing a basic melody, Vega thought on how to create the roses from before. Would it be a violent, thunderous song? Or a soft rhythm that broke through the chaos of war? Vega needed an answer, she needed inspiration.

“Come on, think-think Vega! Ya need something? Ya need… emotion!” Vega snapped her fingers and placed them on her guitar. The clopping of hooves and mob of Snake Skins chasing after her became drums, loud and great. And so she played quick and electric sounds on her guitar, and her Soul Gems started to glow once more.

“What!? What is that?!” Runtaii saw the glowing, and began to swing his spear at her wildly, always just off the mark of hitting her. The more and more she played, the greater the glow, and Runtaii could feel the power emitting from them. Not the type from fires and explosions, but a power that unites all sentient beings. One that moves heart and souls.

“ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!” Screaming, the scarecrow leapt into the air, and started to float, ever so slightly. Calling his horse to stop, Runtaii looked up at her, amazed and angered by the event.

Really, floating when you really shouldn’t isn’t all that amazing. But the fact Vega was able to replicate the same event, back in Obstacle One, was rather peculiar. Even she was astonished. But that would have to wait, as she continued to play the song, and sing.

“I do not breathe, I cannot feel, I do not care which one is real.” As she sang, thin vines grew from the Soul Gem on her hip. And the string changed from a brillant purple to a passionate red. From all across the cityscape, you could see a red star emerge along with the song.

“Your will to live, put to the test. What separates ya from the rest?” Pointing down at Runtaii, Vega smiled in a cheeky manner. Seeing the fury on his face, she could feel the vines growing barbs and spikes.

She was drawing out his emotion to fuel her magic.

“I’m stronger now! Ya cannot win! Against the evil that’s within!” Evermore, the vines shot down with lighting pace, imbedding into the ground as if they were metal!

Backing up in shock, Runtaii let his mouth drop. This scarecrow wasn’t some fool, it wasn’t a spirit nor mortal being. It was something more, something further beyond.

With a cosmic strength and vigor, Vega sang out into the sky with the Soul Gems singing with her. She wasn’t singing it to herself, to Runtaii, or even to the people who were witness to the moment.

The Scarecrow sang to the world, to anyone that wished to destroy her or her friends. That she was the mightiest construct in all of existence. Not because she was a metallic menace, or a heartless hazard. But because she had something to fight for, something to protect.

Something lies and deceit can never defeat.

Something spear and shield can never heal.

A belief that was truth, a fountain of youth. A familiar youth was made.

Tears fell from her eyes, as realized what she was made for. To destroy, to protect, and to save.

“No blood to bleed, no bones to break. Now let’s see HOW MUCH CAN YA TAKE!”