Corrupted pressed in from all directions, desperately clinging to the surrounding shards of rock. Reaching through the gaps in Mark's defense like prisoners desperately clawing at freedom.
Mark wasn’t worried, the spell was holding, but he needed to get out before something more dangerous arrived.
Looking back to the defensive line Mark saw the corpse of the woman lying amongst her creations. Andy was there but Jonathan was missing from the scene.
Shaking himself Mark got ready to move, but before that, he reached down and plucked Roland’s sword from the dirt and ichor.
Something about being on the receiving end of the blade had caught Mark's attention. He originally thought that the reverberating attacks were from Roland’s Aura expression, but it was more than likely that they originated from the blade itself. Either way, it didn’t hurt to throw it into his inventory since the previous owner wasn't using it.
Just as Mark was standing up and getting ready to make a mad dash through the sky, he noticed the air directly above him was swarming with Ghasts. Their fight had caught the attention of a great number of Corrupted, Mark wouldn’t be surprised if Titans were lumbering to his little prison at this very moment.
At the same time, Mark felt Jonathan’s Aura once more. It was nearby and frigid, with brows raised Mark turned his eyes back to the Ghast-infested skies and noticed a figure amongst the cyclone of wings.
Jonathan floated in the sky as though he were standing on flat ground, the very air seeming to accommodate him. Ghasts encircled him unable to approach, as any who even got close fell out of the air in pieces. Jonathan had created a powerful field of invisible blades that left a perfect sphere in which nothing but Jonathan could exist.
He was searching the ground, unbothered by the Ghasts that screeched nearby. Even their combined fear effect seems to have little influence on the guy.
Realizing he was looking for him, Mark lifted himself in the air and created an orb of light in his palm.
Both groups reacted at once. A portion of the Ghasts broke off in Mark's direction and Jonathan dashed through the air and out of the encirclement.
At first, Mark thought they would arrive at the same time, but Jonathan’s Aura expanded and tore neatly through the approaching hoards.
Lifting higher, Mark saw Jonathan running through the air. At first, Mark thought the air was just meeting at the bottom of Jonathan's foot but on closer inspection, it looked as though he was balancing on the edge of a ghostly blade. The keen edge looked more than capable of lacerating steel, and on closer inspection it phased right through his boot, probably cutting into the soles of his feet. Jonathan had found a flight skill, but it probably came at a steep Aura cost.
When he got near, Mark surrounded them both in a construct and was not at all shocked to see that each step Jonathan took in the air drew blood. It was minor and his body was resilient but the longer he used the skill the more noticeable these effects would become.
The swarm was not far behind and Mark was relieved to see they still couldn’t approach even with him here now. They both bolted for safety with their swirling entourage hot on their heels. Unfortunately for the Corrupted, they still could not get through the curtain of lethal Aura, and even if they did, Mark would stop them.
When they landed, the defensive line sent attacks at the ghasts, throwing them into disarray and scattering them along the length of the formation.
Mark collapsed to the ground his breath coming in heavy pants, looking up at Jonathan, he saw the guy was covered in tiny wounds and more blood than Mark thought possible.
He was also short of breath, but doing his best to not let it show. Mark knew that projecting one’s Aura like that had to be draining, on top of using his skill and rushing over here straight from the frontline, he had to be running on empty.
Despite all that Jonathan looked pissed.
Mark had a good idea of why but then he noticed the dead Corrupted woman lying in neat bits nearby.
What was left was mostly beatle remains, but still, Mark couldn’t help but worry for their people.
He looked around and could see Tommis had already worked through more than half the patients, but Mark couldn’t help but swallow when he saw that number included dead.
The acrid taste of bile worked its way up his throat and Mark had to bring his mind back to reality.
They were in the middle of a battlefield, he’d done what he could, and he had to be okay with that.
Mark was shocked out of his thoughts when he saw Daphne along with Gibby and Chloe pushing towards them.
His first question was what they were doing here, when Daphne pulled Mark into a hug.
“The frontline was mostly clear of real threats when Andy arrived, so they will have to figure out the rest. What in the everloving shit were you thinking going out there alone?!”
Mark explained his reasoning and it seemed to placate Daphne some, but he could tell they weren't done talking about this.
Jonathan stepped forward again.
“We need to head to the back line, the casters failed to kill that thing. Lisa is heading there now to plan. Gibby, Andy. You two remain here and get our people to the front again. If we’re leaving, I want us near the front of the pack.”
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Mark glanced back at the heart and saw the Guardian’s form riddled with holes, burns, and slashes. The largest one was a massive wound near the base, gouged out as though a giant took an axe to it.
Patrica’s light was slowing its regeneration, but the cut had only made it halfway through before petering out. Even with all that damage the heart still looked more than functional.
The four of them gathered up and headed toward the broken base of the creature.
When they arrived Mark searched for Sam and found her along with Isabel, and Sofia. All three of them looked hollowed out as though they had spent every ounce of Mana they had.
Lisa was already there talking to the leads once more. As they neared Mark saw her glance their way and made a beckoning motion to their group.
Mark went over to stand by Sam and she gave him a tired smile as Lisa kept talking.
“Alright people. If you have any great ideas, now’s the time.”
Mark was at a loss, if a full bombardment from their strongest forces wasn’t strong enough to kill this thing, then he was out of ideas.
One of the team leads Mark didn't know, spoke up, his tone heated.
“Its sheer size makes our efforts feel empty. We hit it and by the time we take another swing, the fucker is already healed. Not to mention every attack we expend on this thing is one less to fend off the swarms.
Lisa nodded at this with a sour expression.
“All true, but not helpful. What else you guys got?”
The leads exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of uncertainty and dismay. The only one that looked thoughtful was Jade, she didn’t look much better than Sam, but she spoke now.
“I noticed when I cut into that thing there were multiple walls arranged around what seemed like a core. Assuming it's similar to a human heart, there should be four chambers. We managed to get through three of them but if we want to do any lasting damage we’ll need to pierce the final one.”
Lisa latched onto that, even though at best it was just a theory.
“Alright, good. How can we get through that last layer?”
Another round of uncertainty crossed their faces, but Sam shook her head.
“You’d need a small team willing to go on the equivalent of a suicide mission. Not to mention by the time we’re ready to fire again, that thing will have healed over eighty percent of the damage. We will have lost a lot more fighters by then, all for a gamble. I hate to say it, but we should seriously consider a retreat.”
A round of resounding ‘yeses’ rippled through the crowd.
Lisa looked from Sam to Mark.
“Mark, what about you? Do you think you could get us through the final wall?”
Surprised to be addressed directly Mark looked at Lisa, trying to figure out what she was talking about. His Mana was not even half full, and after the fight with Roland and healing himself, he didn’t have much Prana either. Then Mark got where she was coming from and his eyes widened as he looked up at the creature. For a moment he wondered if he could, but quickly shook his head.
“No, I will not be able to take down that wall. Not with the enormous amount of energy it has at its disposal.”
The others nearby looked confused but Sam and Jonathan were glaring at Lisa now.
Lisa pursed her lips and tried again.
“If we don’t do this I’m going to have to do something I really don’t want to. Are you sure you can’t get us through?”
The looks were even more confused now, Mark had a feeling she had a backup plan but there would be consequences to using it.
Mark let a breath out through his nose.
“I want to help, I do, but I can’t. The likelihood of getting lost in there is way too high”
Lisa thought Mark could make a path into the heart like last time and honestly, it was a tossup whether he could or couldn’t, but in this case, trying was way too much of a risk. This thing had been gathering Corruption from day one, building up a network of malformed life across the city. It was entirely possible he’d be overwhelmed the moment he connected with the thing. Neither his Prana nor [Corruption recovery] could help if he took on too much Corruption at once, and he had a feeling the staff had its limits too.
Lisa still wanted to argue but Jonathan cleared his throat, and as tired as the guy looked, his Aura still rose like a wave.
Lisa didn’t look affected by it, but she certainly wasn’t happy about how things were turning out.
“Alright, call the retreat. Groups that arrived first are the first to fall back. I’m going to make the call to the surface to set our failsafe into motion.”
Sam looked at Lisa with a sideways glance.
“It's a bomb, isn’t it? It's the only thing I think of that the army would demand such a high price for.”
Mark glanced at Sam and then Lisa with wide eyes, and then the pieces started to fall into place.
Lisa just looked like she wished Sam hadn’t said that.
“It is. The beacon we planted when we first entered will act as a target for a modified bunker buster. Suffice it to say it has some kick to it. It's a firecracker compared to a nuke but with the modifications, it should release its payload directly into this chamber.”
The more she spoke the more the people's surrounding faces changed to fear and shock.
“I am well aware of the risks and this is the best option we could come up with. The bomb has been calibrated to do as little damage to our surroundings as possible, but there may still be collateral damage. That's why my people are doing everything in their power to minimize the damage.”
Mark's mind flashed back to the inscriptionist’s engraving the massive walls outside, they were going to try and contain the damage. The builder's quarry was already far from populated areas and if NAS evacuated the area then the chance of casualties would be greatly reduced.
Mark wanted to argue with her and try for another, plan but he could see the danger this creature represented. If left to grow, it would consume the city from within.
Against all odds, it was the best plan he could see right now, there was just one problem. He had intended to say this later but now it was much more relevant.
“Lisa, I already know you don’t trust Oscar, so I need you to know the Corrupted we warned you about, the conscious ones. They were here. One of them called Oscar out by name, as if he had personally spoken to the guy.”
Jonathan suddenly stood up straighter.
“Please tell me he can’t trigger the bomb?!”
Lisa's face first froze but then went slack.
“It requires duel authorization so he can't activate it without Nathan’s code, and he won’t give that up unless I tell him it's time.”
That’s when Mark realized he had not seen the man since they managed to break into the place. He had expended all his Mana and must have retreated.
“And he’s safe?” Jonathan pressed his voice firm.
Lisa’s eyes narrowed and she pulled out a set of comms speaking directly into it. The call should have gotten an immediate response, but the only sound that came through was the haunting whisper of grey static.