16 Volume One | Chapter - Aftermath Part One

The sound of a thunderous crash rang out through the corridor, as Sachika launched her opponent into a wall.

Part of the wall crumbled upon impact bits of debris slamming onto the Nebula Familiar's back. From the looks of it, Sachika's opponent was barely phased by the attack.

Sachika used her speed to charge forward, as she dashed towards her enemy dust particles of white and blue trailed behind each of her dashes. Her opponent too used Tachyon to evade Sachika's attack.

She grunted as her opponent dashed away little did Sachika know that the colour of her iris' was changing between her natural eye colour and azure blue.

She too looked as though her whole body was in pain, but she was too motivated in killing the Familiar before her.

Chasing after the fleeing Familiar Sachika grabbed her by the hair yanking her backwards, the enemy Familiar whelped

out in pain as strands of her hair were pulled out of her scalp.

Sachika wrapped her left arm around the girl's throat almost choking her, as her right arm gripped tightly upon the girl's right arm. With bloodlust rage evident in her eyes, Sachika wrenched the girl's arm from her body.

The sound of snapping and popping could be heard as Sachika tore the girl's arm from the joint, blood poured out as it splashed against the once shiny floor of that corridor.

The girl broke free from Sachika's grip her free hand gripping the area where her right arm was once located, biting her lower lip she winced in pain.

The turned around facing Sachika with new-found determination, but when she saw the look on Sachika's face the ocean blue aura that she emitted, it was as if her instincts told her to run.

As the girl turned to run she instantly fell face first to the floor.

She looked up to she that Sachika had a hand wrapped around her ankle with a look of hatred spread across her face.

Without pause Sachika with her bladed gauntlet sliced off the girl's leg with a clean cut halfway up her upper leg, the girl, in turn, screamed in pain as her dismembered leg dropped to the floor like a hunk of dead meat.

***

The group of third-year students that included Ashina and her Coordinator Amelia were standing before a huge blast

door, as they waited for their uninvited guests to arrive.

The ten students braced themselves for the oncoming fight that was going to ensue between them and their enemy.

The Nebula controlled Familiar charged down the underground passageway that barely lit up from the limited light sources installed in the underground passages.

They were unaware of the Essentia Japan Academy students presence until they turned the last bend that leads them to their objective.

Stopping short in front of the students for a few seconds both the third years and their enemy eyed one another.

Suddenly Ashina stepped forward her purple moving angelically with her motions, she raises her right arm as a bright orange light mixed with dust particle effects started to form. Before her a glaive-like weapon formed, the blade being longer than your standard variation of the glaive along with her armour that covered her legs and forearms.

"Would you surrender if I asked you to?" Ashina directed her question towards the Nebula-controlled Familiars in a cheerful manner.

When they didn't respond instead opting to charge the third year students, Ashina pouted, "Aw that's too bad"

As the enemy charged her Ashina smirked, "Essence Eruption" she muttered. Suddenly a deafening crack could be heard as a semi-bright light emitted around Ashina which then created a powerful shockwave heading away from herself.

Ashina was able to control and detonate her Essence particles emitting themselves from her body in order to create a powerful crowd control ability.

The girl fell to her knees weakened by Ashina's attack, without warning the rest of the enemy group charged the student council president all of them using their incredible speed.

Ashina wasn't prepared for the whole group to attack she was only able to deflect one attack effectively leaving her open to the rest of the groups' attacks, she reinforced her guard stance towards the nearest attacker.

Before she even realised it Wendy dashed in front of her, Wendy's hands were clenched into fists over them was the all too familiar material of digital metal, with blue vein-like currents covering her Essence Weapon.

Wendy, a hand to hand Familiar type felt at home in this close quarter situation as she grabbed the attacking Familiars ankle, then threw her into the reinforced concrete wall leaving a large impact crater.

Wendy turned to Ashina, "Are you alright President?" she asked.

In response Ashina smiled innocently, "You didn't need to go out of your way to save me"

The Familiar girl that Wendy had just thrown into the wall pulled her herself out of the crevice, as well the girl that Ashina attacked moments ago stood up slowly.

The group of Nebula controlled Familiar's looked pissed, and this time it was as if they were taking this seriously unlike before.

"Well, it looks like they're not messing around now" one of the other third-year students spoke out.

"Agreed..." Wendy replied as she turned to look at Ashina "...President, plan of action?"

Ashina's annoyed expression was clearly visible to Wendy, "No matter what, we can't let them get through those blast doors..." she changed her stance to that of an attacking position, as faint orange dust particles emanated from the energy currents of her armour pieces "...let's do this!"

Amelia already knew what Ashina wanted as did the other Coordinators, in unison, they activated her Essence Barriers that shrouded their Familiar partners in a protective veil.

As the Familiars charged into the oncoming enemy Familiars, the sounds of crashing metal upon metal could be heard for hundreds of metres throughout the underground passageways.

***

As the command centre continued to try and establish contact with various groups across the academy campus, suddenly one of the operators noticed a sudden fluctuation in energy readings as the systems were finally unscrambled.

"Ma'am, I have some insane compatibility readings here" the operator called out.

Mistress Daiki rushed over to take a look at the readings upon the operators' screen she looked at it with hesitation and shock, "That can't right check it again!"

The operator ran another test only for the same results to come back up again on her screen.

The system was able to monitor Familiar's compatibility ratings with their infused Nebula tissue, normally the highest reading had never exceeded eighty per cent however right now they were witnessing the number going beyond two hundred per cent.

"Quickly get me a visual!" the Mistress ordered, it wasn't long before an image on the big screen showed that of Sachika in her Essence Form beating one of the Familiar girls turned Nebula to death like a ragdoll.

W-What? How is...Sachika Eto able to harness the same power as that girl before she was, it was all the Mistress could think.

When her mind was brought out of its daze she ordered the operator to send a strike team to take out the Nebula Cruiser Platform that was still on the route towards the academy.

Thankfully the forces near the forest were able to quickly incapacitate the small group of Nebula controlled Familiars that were left behind by the others.

Everything now came down to Ashina and her squad stopping the small group that they had encountered not so long ago, and how to approach the unforeseen situation that Sachika had gotten herself into.

"I'm counting on you girls, please don't falter" Mistress Daiki quietly muttered to herself.

***

As Sachika continued pummelling the girl with her armoured fists after sheathing her bladed gauntlets, the girl beneath was defenceless to her attacks as she laid there dormant.

Sachika's breathing was heavy as vapoured vented out of the mouth of her helmet like a crazed predator.

She once again punched her violently in the torso as the sound of cracking ribs could be heard, the girls back lurched in response to sudden pain receptor of her bone breaking.

The girl then slowly attempted to crawl away from Sachika, the latter just watched.

Suddenly Sachika grabbed the back of the girls head pressing it tightly against the floor as the girl hastily tried to break free from her grip.

Sachika producing only her right armed bladed gauntlet without hesitation sliced cleanly down the girl's spine, dismembering bits of bone from her back.

The girls' pupils within her eyes had shrunken so much that you would have thought every ounce of life had been stripped from that body.

Turning the girl around to face her, Sachika noticed the red pulsating light beneath the girl's chest armour.

Instinct told her to rip the armour off, she latched her fingers inside the ridges where the energy currents of her Essence Form resided.

With incredible strength, Sachika pried the armour off the girl's chest as blood pouring from the patches of skin tore off with the armour.

The girl's body slumped back to the floor aimlessly, she was still alive however she experienced so much pain that she gave out consciously.

Seeing the red pulsing crystal in the centre of the girl's chest between her breasts, Sachika grabbed the crystal then ripped it from the girl's chest.

In turn, the girl screamed as the crystal along with artery like tendrils were ripped out of the small puncture wound. Once fully removed the red lighting from her armour had died down, the girl was somewhat conscious only able to barely speak.

"K-Kill m-me"

Sachika blinked for a moment as if a hint of humanity was registered within her.

Tears started to run from the corners of the girls' eyes, "P-Please kill me" she whispered.

Her arm shaking uncontrollably Sachika mind was fighting with itself on whether to kill the girl or not, eventually, she pulled back her right arm, the bladed gauntlet aiming for the girl's heart.

With a terrifying battle cry, she screamed as she went to kill the girl.

However, she paused unable to finish the girl off when she felt a tight soft embrace wrap around her stomach when she turned her head to see whom it was Sachika almost stopped breathing for a moment her eyes wide in shock.

***

Chi-Sun along with the rest of combat-capable Familiar's and Coordinators lead them to take out the Nebula Cruiser Platform.

Thankfully not many got injured in the battle against the Nebula-controlled Familiar's, and once they were dealt with they detained immediately.

As the strike force quickly ran through the forest in the distance many of them could see the flashing of purple, pink and red explosions in the sky.

It wasn't long before they came across a temporary forward operating base set up by the JSDF.

Upon first sight many of the girls felt physically sick, they witnessed grown men lying outside the hospital tent with their chest cavities vaporized the smell of rotting flesh filled the air.

Men screaming in pain as doctors, surgeons, nurses and medics tended to the many missing their limbs.

"Move!" shouted a JSDF medic as he ran through the group of Familiar's and Coordinator's, the injured soldier he helped was badly injured.

That fact was made more apparent as a glob of melted flesh dropped from the soldier's arm splatting against the floor, a mixture of flesh, blood and burned clothing.

Since the battle at the academy, the JSDF had done all they could to slow down the advance of the Nebula Cruiser Platform but at great costs of men and equipment.

Upon seeing this sight before her Chi-Sun's determination to destroy the Nebula was greater than ever, she couldn't stand to watch people that had no form of protection against the Nebula be massacred by them.

She grunted at the thought, her emotions fuelled by anger for what the Nebula have done to them, spinning around on the spot she directs her attention to the rest of the second year students.

A combination of both the Japanese and South Korean branches.

"It's time to go, we have a date with death..." she smirks "...it's best not to keep him waiting"

A chorus of cheers could be heard throughout the base as the Familiar second-year students pumped themselves up for the upcoming final battle with the Nebula Cruiser Platform.

In the distance, the wounded JSDF soldiers turned their attention to the cheering students.

"Wait...are those...Familiar's?" a soldier asked hesitantly, his arm in a sling.

Another coughed violently, "About damn time they got here"