Chapter 30: Irreversible
At first, Miguel thought the Windwalkers would try to go after the other survivors, but it seemed that all their attention was focused on him; which was a relief.
Moments earlier, Ivy was trying to stop a group of Windwalkers from entering the apartment, but it was no easy task.
The first one had received his spell all over his face and had died instantly, however, the others had changed their strategy. Three of them were hovering in the air with their spears at the ready.
Ivy was amazed at the force with which they could throw the spears, even, without any foothold in the air, but she soon noticed that they were using magic to propel them. A small amount concentrated on a single point, managed to fire the weapon at high speed as it escaped their hands.
Ivy narrowly dodged another spear and cursed herself for thinking useless thoughts in the middle of combat. It happened to her often, especially when she was really scared. Strange as it seemed, analyzing the creatures she was facing seemed to distract her and calm her down a bit.
However, this was not the time for distractions. Three other Windwalkers landed in the alcove of the apartment and approached her with their spears at the ready.
Ivy built up energy to release a supercharged spell. The much larger than normal ball of darkness exploded in the middle of the room and splattered all three zombies, who howled in pain.
Ivy breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that these zombies were quite fragile and she wouldn't need much help to keep them out. But, moments later, a dozen Windwalkers appeared. Half of them threw their spears at her, while the other tried to get in. Ivy found it impossible, amid the hail of spears, to find a moment to cast a spell, so she cast one without looking. She heard screaming, but wasn't sure how effective it had been.
"There are too many of them!" Ivy shouted, but she was aware that, from the sounds of gunfire, Miguel was also busy.
Without waiting for a response, Ivy retreated to the adjacent room; from where she could attack the zombies before they attacked. From where she stood, she could see the hallway and the entrance to the kitchen and living room, where Miguel must have been fighting in the doorway.
It wasn't long before the first Windwalkers emerged from the room and Ivy covered them with a ball of darkness. However, behind the first group more appeared and Ivy was forced to cast her spell without stopping, which further drained her energies.
Luckily, a horrible scream was heard and the zombies retreated for a moment. Ivy was relieved, but it didn't last long, from the room emerged a giant Windwalker, with black plumage, something his counterparts did not possess.
[Zombie Windrunner Breeder.]
Not a Windwalker, but a Windrunner, she thought, in a state of paralysis. The zombie was so tall it could barely fit in the apartment, its head was replete with black feathers and its eyes looked like balls of darkness. Ivy felt a shiver and reacted at that moment out of pure reflex. She cast a spell directly at the monster, but, to her surprise, the darkness stuck to the feathers for a few seconds before rushing down like water.
Luckily, the mass of darkness managed to do some damage to the zombie, as it howled in pain. Seconds that Ivy took advantage of to retreat back inside the room.
The Breeder only paused for a few seconds before continuing to move forward. It exited the room and, with difficulty, due to the narrow space, aimed its spear at Ivy, who, terrified, raised a barrier of darkness in front of her and jumped aside. The Windrunner hesitated for a second as it lost sight of the enemy, but the spear flew out moments later. Ivy narrowly dodged the throw and landed on the bed of the room, out of the barrier and back in sight of the zombie.
The Breeder raised his spear again and Ivy closed her eyes, but just then a ball impacted the zombie's head and exploded with a weak sonic wave.
The Windrunner was stunned and took a step back, almost losing his balance. He had never received such an attack before, so frightened and confused, it staggered back into the room and tried to jump away through the hole he had made in the wall. But he was still quite dazed, so he found himself falling at great speed toward the ground, unable to fly.
The Breeder hit the ground hard and felt a horrible pain throughout his body. He struggled to his feet and, to his horror, found that one of his wings was injured, preventing him from flying. Some Windwalkers approached and flew around him, concerned.
He waited until he recovered and then signaled his sons to stand down. He couldn't believe these prey could fight so well. He looked up over his shoulder, trying to see his injured wing. Also, he realized that the number of Windwalkers who had died had been numerous. He calculated that it would take some time to recover from his injuries, so he decided to concentrate on recovering his flock and preparing to attack the humans in that building again.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen entrance, in one of the apartments on the top floor of the building, Leonard was looking in the direction in which the Breeder had disappeared. He was pale and feeling very weak, he had barely managed to kick the ball hard enough, so he was relieved that it had worked. He left the kitchen and stuck to the wall of the hallway, trying to make sure the zombie couldn't see him from the room. When he reached the end of the hallway, next to the bathroom, he peeked into the room and, besides the remains of the Windwalkers, there was no one there. He was relieved to find it empty. Finally, he made his way to the room Ivy had entered, hoping she wasn't hurt.
Ivy was lying on her back on the bed in the room and when Leonard entered, she looked up at him and then smiled.
"Thank you, I think without your help she would be dead now."
"You're welcome," Leonard replied rather awkwardly.
Ivy got up and cautiously peeked into the adjacent room. The entrance was partly barricaded with what was left of the corpses of several Windwalkers. The darkness that had clung to them had mercilessly consumed them until they disappeared moments later. Ivy struggled to make her way into the room, but found nothing else; the Windwalkers and their leader seemed to have retreated.
"That zombie gives me the creeps. It's... different."
Ivy looked at Leonard and nodded, she knew what he was referring to. That Breeder was very smart, so it would be quite a problem to deal with.
They both heard another gunshot in the room, so Ivy rushed to Miguel's aid. Meanwhile, Leonard stepped back, still watching the room with the hole warily. The pain still bothered him, but he was starting to get used to it. He realized that leveling up probably brought far more benefits than he thought.
On Miguel's side, the Windwalkers had also retreated after he had killed two more. The other Stalkers didn't prove too difficult for the old military man, who then waited until they got close to him to kill them in one hit.
In the end, only one Stalker remained and he tried to enter the apartment where the survivors were, but Miguel decided to shoot him to finish him off.
Moments later, Ivy arrived from the hallway.
"Are they all dead?"
"It looks that way, although I suppose there will be some left on the lower floors. What happened to the Windwalkers?"
"With Leonard's help I was able to push them back."
Miguel's expression changed as he heard about Leonard.
"Quick! He needs a health potion for his arm before it is too late."
Ivy opened her eyes and ran out to the apartment where the potions were, Miguel followed close behind her as he watched the outside; still waiting for another spear.
Ivy entered the apartment and made her way to the kitchen, where a group of terrified survivors lay on the floor, trembling.
"Is it all over now?" asked one of them, but Ivy ignored him.
"Where are the health potions?"
One of the survivors pointed to one of the drawers, where Miguel had placed them. Ivy opened the drawer and grabbed one of them before running back out.
She found Leonard in the kitchen of the adjacent apartment, pale and without energy to get up.
Ivy uncapped the potion and forced him to swallow it whole. Leonard felt exhausted and horribly sleepy, but he regained some color and felt somewhat better. However, Ivy gave him a worried look. Leonard followed her gaze and then rested his eyes on her arm.
He realized that he still couldn't move it. The bleeding had stopped and some of the skin had regenerated, but the gaping hole left by the spear was still there.