The Fifth Layer (9)

The Werewolf Alpha ran down a hill with his pack. The cursed red skeleton ran after them in a furry. It was approaching them quickly.

Once it had gotten led down the hill two wolves howled from above. Immediately after, ten werewolves surprised the skeleton from behind. They jumped on it and tried to tear through its bones with their sharp claws and strong jaws.

Christopher Fireblood joined the chaotic struggle and immediately regretted it.

Even he couldn't penetrate the red skeleton's bones. They could hardly scratch the skeleton with disproportionate limbs.

The skeleton let out a sharp cry and Christopher instinctively backed away. The other werewolves weren't quick enough. Dozens of spikes grew out of the skeleton and ripped their flesh apart.

A few jumped off. Red spikes sprang out of the ground and finished them. The skeleton opened its mouth and swallowed the dead werewolves' souls. Christopher clenched his teeth.

"Hey!"

Christopher found someone behind the skeleton, on top of the hill. "Isaac?"

"Come get me." The skeleton sensed the young mage's red magic and instantly jumped on him. Isaac extended his arm, veins popping with his red magic, and summoned an array of barriers.

-Crash!

The skeleton broke through the red barriers with brute force and made spikes out of the ground. Isaac jumped to avoid them, and the beast broadened its mouth.

The red skeleton jumped after its treat, the red magic stemming from Isaac's body. And fell into his trap. Three giant spears pierced through its skull as it flew and stuck it to the ground.

Isaac landed on the skeleton's back, placed his two hands, and sucked all its red mist. The large disproportionate body parts reverted to their original forms. A simple pile of bones remained.

Christopher looked at him with stupefaction.

"That's the second one. Anne, where are you?"

…

On the opposite side of the battlefield, Gabriella arrived at the third red skeleton.

It extended its arm toward Anne Galewood. The mage lept back and blocked with her knives.

The skeleton let out a strident scream and wriggled its extended limbs, attacking everyone within five metres. Two soldiers lost their heads.

-Slice!

The skeleton's sharpened index finger cut another soldier in half.

The soldier's upper body fell at Anne's cold feet. The man locked eyes with her. The physical pain had gone away. His vision was blurry. He wanted to speak, blood was clogging his throat. If only he had one last breath. He died without saying a single word.

Anne's shoes were stained with blood. She looked up. The skeleton was grinning at her.

Gabriella landed next to her and looted the soldier's backpack. She brought out anti-magic handcuffs. "I need you to immobilize it."

Anne clenched her fists, nodded, breathed deeply, and raised her arms forward. Her eyes glowed green. The skeleton rushed toward her with inhumane speed but she stood like a statue.

Her own wind cut the grass under her feet, and another gust came from behind and scratched her skin.

The wind was slowing the red skeleton down!

'Come on! I have to stop it!' Anne felt her heartbeat quickening as more and more wind surged out of her veins.

Aaron was right behind her, doing the same thing, pouring all his mana out.

The red skeleton screamed again, its voice muffled by the sharp sound of the wind. It slipped, landing face-first on the dirty ground.

"Hurry! Put the handcuffs!" Aaron fell from exhaustion.

Gabriella landed on the skeleton. She couldn't handcuff both of its hands, so she resorted to strangling it with one of the cuffs. It did the job, the skeleton's mist was dissipating into the air. 

All that was left was a hollow vessel. Aaron stood up with great struggle and walked to Gabriella.

-Bang!

He shot through the softened skull with his sniper and a pile of bones formed under her feet.

"We… did it." Exhausted, Anne fell on her back.

Isaac arrived a few seconds later. "Oh. You already killed it?"

His hair came down. He sat on the ground and meditated, trying to absorb more red mana.

Once they had all regained their strength, they looked towards Syphon City. Only twenty-five skeleton wizards were left, along with some vampires and reptoids.

The air smelled like ash and blood. So many people had died on this morning.

Gabriella sighed. "Are we done here? It feels like it was too easy."

Seth appeared behind them. "That's because you've all grown stronger. However, it's not over yet."

He pointed towards Syphon City. Suffering from the hypnotization tactic, Zephyr, and the skeletons, Commander Rack's side needed help.

A sudden thought woke Aaron up from his silence. "Has anyone seen the skeletons' ruler, the Bone Mother?"

Seth frowned. "No. I haven't heard a word about her."

…

The edge of Syphon City was filled with bones, magic, bullets and blood. 

Rack was exhausted and cracks had appeared in his armour after Zephyr's several blows.

The commander fell to his knees after receiving a punch in the stomach. His metal armour fell off completely. Zephyr stood in front of him, crouching with a wide grin.

"The difference between your armour and mine is that yours relies on mana. It's temporary."

"No…" James Rack tried to stand up but fell on his back. Zephyr pressed his silver boot on his stomach.

"Urgh! I won't die today!" He couldn't move his legs.

"Look around, no one's coming to save you. No one can."

Luo and Jenna had been caught in a stalemate against the ice wizard, and Ejiro was busy fighting the snake humanoids and hypnotized vampires. Rack's duel with Zephyr had brought him too far from the other soldiers.

Straining his arm, he reached for his earpiece. He closed his eyes. "Seth… I'm afraid my time has come."

Not connected to the call, Isaac, Gabriella and Aaron turned toward Seth. "What is it?"

Seth's pupils dilated. "Rack?! Where are you?!"

"Hello, Seth." This wasn't the voice he had expected.

"Zephyr Dragos!" The shadow magician looked toward Syphon City. He couldn't spot his old friend. "Ejiro! Luo! Jenna! Save the commander!"

"I'm on it! Luo, hold them!" Jenna responded with a heavy breath. She flew across the battlefield, a tornado of debris forming around her. The skeleton wizard tried to stop her with an icicle.

"Watch out!" Luo warned her. He threw a blue fireball to parry for her.

She spotted Rack, and then Zephyr's cold-blooded smile.

Zephyr shook his head. "Sorry Rack, she's too late."

'No, I have to try.' Rack's eyes turned grey. His stiff arms moved on their own. "At least I'll take you down with me!"

Iron blades came out of his arms and stung the reptoid's leg! They were about to penetrate Zephyr's bones. The reptoid leapt up with his other leg.

"A last-ditch effort?" Zephyr frowned. He was now twenty metres above ground and it would take some time to get back down.

"I'm almost there!" Jenna wiped her eyes as her vision became blurry.

Seth was touching the soil with his bare hand, desperately trying to locate him. "Dammit! Where are you, Rack?! There are too many people, I can't find you!"

Zephyr smiled again. He had an idea. Chains popped out of his wrists and he fired them down. Rack stared in disbelief as the gap between them closed in an instant. One chain stuck into his ribs, another in his eye. Zephyr pulled on the chains which caused him to bolt down feet first. The reptoid's hard silver boots crushed Rack's stomach.

"How do you like this?"

His organs spit out right before Jenna's eyes. Rack let out a putrid smell from a mix of blood and stool.

"Rack! Where is he?!" Seth could hear everything from Rack's microphone. Aaron avoided Seth's eyes.

He tried lifting his upper body. Zomb's silver fist mutilated his head.

He lost half of his teeth. He swallowed them, they cut down his throat. His nose and eyes were hidden inside his head, and his brain was beyond repair.

"There! Seth, he's over there!" Aaron pointed with his sniper, but it was too late to save the commander.

It was hopeless.

Jenna manifested her soul and clutched Rack inside her giant glowing hand, trying to protect him from Zephyr.

Seth jumped out of Jenna's shadow. She put him down. Rack couldn't see, but he could still hear his friend's voice. "James Rack… Commander. You fought well. Thank you."

"T- t'was 'n honour." His lungs compressed for the last time.

The old mage held back his tears. It wasn't the place nor the time to mourn.

"Ha!" Zephyr retrieved his two chains stuck in Rack's body, plucking out his left eye along with a part of his brain. Seth screamed.

The reptoid had already jumped far into the city.

Jenna looked down at the commander. "He's…"

"Yes, he's dead."

…

Ejiro had finally killed the snake humanoid and the vampire who had started all the chaos. "It's all because of you. You turned us against each other."

Victor was aiming his gun at him when he woke up. "Huh? What was I doing?"

Humiliated, he looked at the vampire before him. Ejiro's face was red and sweaty. His sword was stained with the blood of his comrades and kin. "It's best you save that question for later."

Stephen broadcasted a new message. "The commander is gone. Everyone at Sanguine City. Do not let Zephyr escape!"

"Stephen. We don't have enough manpower right now." Luo complained. "They're already inside the city."

"Seth! Go after him!" Stephen responded violently.

The mage plunged his staff into the ground. He looked at Zephyr who was running away with the ice wizard.

Deputy Kray questioned Stephen. Her face was pale. "Did I hear this right? Commander Rack's…"

Seth was ready to teleport again. "I'm going in."

 "Watch out!" Jenna turned towards the gate and protected them both inside her soul manifestation.

There was a giant mana surge coming from the middle of the fields. Everyone around them was falling from the wind pressure.

"What's happening?!" Aaron asked, from the other side, in the same situation.

All of the skeleton cursed suddenly collapsed into bones.

Zephyr was inside a building, running up the stairs and laughing. "Shall we go wait for them on the roof?"

He looked at his new friend, the ice wizard, but she wasn't beside him. 

"Huh?"

He turned around and found her remains down the stairs. The bones suddenly became attracted to something far away. They burst out of the building's wall and went into the fields.

A giant tornado of bones appeared in the middle of the fields and formed a massive structure as the bones all connected.

The Bone Mother had turned into a titan, a giant beast with three heads, six legs, two tails and millions of bones. She had absorbed the mana and bones from all the skeleton cursed and corpses. She shrieked with her giant neck.

She was so tall that her dragon-like head touched the Obscure Guild's concrete roof.