A Ray of Hope

A Ray of Hope

(Chapter 23)

[<<]

The Elder swings its lance with all four arms while the Cover tries to pierce them. He steps aside to dodge the piercing attacks, but he's not an I.M.U; he fends of those heavy swings with human strength. It's overwhelming. He can't concentrate on two targets like that. He's pushed into the buttress roots of a tree. There's nowhere to move now. His arms are failing from the intense impacts and Tina can't fight.

Just when he thinks it can't get any worse, he hears "BRAINZ!" It sounded short and robotic. All of a sudden, all the other Zombies in the region start to chorus "BRAINZ!" That's what they do when they spot a target. It's just like when a bunch of robots detect a target and they all make a noise almost simultaneously. It's SCARY!

The Elder pushes the Cover aside and charges up its flames, raising its lance and gearing its muscles. Its muscles bulk up and the lance starts to glow, as in its really hot now. They're surrounded by a sea of red eyes and there's no way to escape this one.

[>]

[He-Rose]

It's a Raid Unit that consists of three pretty boys. There's a brunette, red-head, blond and black-haired gentleman; One, Two, Three and Zero respectively. They're dressed similar to modern day waiters. They're fit to win a pageant. By the looks of things, they're all E.M.Us. They entangle the Zombies with vines that slowly digest them, and sprout perfume spouting fleurs. They aren't even breaking a sweat.

"Wouldn't it be better if we spread out Zero?" the blonde asks?"

"We're only here to make sure that Succubus is extracted safely. That means keeping the Zombies away from the Cartesian falls. Besides, the best we can do is to split into two groups tops."

"I agree with Three. If we split, we might be able to decimate more of them. The best outcome is to keep as many as possible, away from Banlieue."

"Alright then. You and Three should head out. Watch your backs."

"See ya later."

[Boundless]

Guillelmus puts Valentina down behind him in preparation for a mortal blow. "I'm not gonna give you the satisfaction you ugly bastard!" With the might of all for arms, it brings the wrath of its lance down on him, but in the split second before he does.

"{Elmus! If he can absorb our fire, we should be able to do the same! Reverse your inclinations!}"

It slams down on him. He guards with Amitha overhead. The impact is so strong that it knocks him over into the buttress of the tree, but he's able to pull it off. He devours the flames, averting a searing death

The Covers behind the Elder start to shriek and some of the Zombies come at Elmus. EVERYONE is being attacked. Elmus' arms are as weak as jelly and the Elder assumes that he'll die. The first Cover runs back to help the other, and the Elder follows. It seems like there's a lack of control. This Elder Brain is young, just like Anika said. The breakdown is Elmus was in the buttress of the tree with Valentina. Due to parallax, when the first Zombie called out "BRAINZ!" Elmus was not in sight of a lot of them. It was the Lancentaurus' that were in sight, so those ones are locked onto and are attacking the Lancentaurus'.

"{Elmus! It worked-It worked-It worked!}"

"Great but… Tina? What's up with you?"

"…"

"Is she dead or something?"

"{No, she passed out. You have to get out of here. They'll be back in no time.}"

"My arms are as limp as noodles right now."

"{If you can get her on your back…}"

He tries. When he said his arms were limp he wasn't joking. He rolls over into a crawling position but his arms give in. He sheaths both of their blades and tries his best to pull her onto his back. It's not working out.

"I can't. My arms aren't listening to me anymore."

"{Calm down Elmus. I know it looks bad but relax and try again in a few seconds. The skies were cloudy before but now, there's a ray of sun.}"

Elmus takes a deep breath. He takes a deeper breath, then he tries again. He pulls her hands straight forward first, then pulls her up his back by her collar. He proceeds to pull her up onto the top of his back by the elbows. It's a success. He rests a little and goes through a series of contorted movements against the buttress root of the tree to get up to his feet. He doesn't have the strength to keep her on his back, so he's compelled to remain bent over as he scuttles away.

[Shadow]

They walk up to the huts along the river. It's not normal for a village to be this desolate. Something doesn't feel right. Axel tells Emily that he's gonna go first and she should proceed stealthfully. He takes a few steps and arrives at the door of a hut. He means to take a peek inside but something or SOMEONE jumps him, almost taking his head off. It's Arthur!

"If it isn't our pretty little rivals…"

"Don't tell me you missed me." He sheaths his blade.

"You actually had everyone worried."

He scratches his head. "My bad. What's going on back at home?"

"State of Emergency—"

"What!?"

"An Elder Brainz might have emerged, Platinum Priority Raid Unit missing, other Epic Emerged in the mix… There are no Diamond or Platinum League-ers available for deployment. What if it turns out like the Black Minotaur Raid?"

"God forbid! It'll be a slaughter."

"Sir Arthur."

"Yes milady?"

"You look pretty fine, so what has held you up here?"

"Follow me."

He takes them to the farthest hut, i.e. the chief's hut. It's the closest to the waterfall. He pushes the beaded curtains aside and there they are. Daara's in his normal sleeping position: back to the wall, one arched knee with his arm resting on it, blade resting on his shoulder making an angle with the ground between his legs and with an arm resting on it as well. The problem is Angelica. Her forearms and thorax are heavily bandaged. She's definitely not waking up any time soon.

"*gasp* What happened?"

"The Mal-Hecate ambushed us. Gelica(Hel-ica) protected me. She hasn't woken up yet but she's still alive."

"And what about him?" Axel asks.

"Gelica's condition seemed too delicate to move her at the moment. If we found ourselves in another ambush… We decided to wait for her to regain consciousness before we moved. He'll sleep till he's woken."

"That really possible?"

"Everything is possible under the sun."

"… I don't mean to ruin the moment but it's dark out."

[Boundless]

He gains some distance from the Lancentaurus'. Some of the Zombies spot him and give chase. "Arhn. The stench! I think I'm gonna hurl."

"{Elmus! It's better to get rid of them before more join in.}"

"My arms can't cut through bone right now."

"{But your body still has strength. Use momentum.}"

"Alright. Here it goes."

He puts Valentina down, against a tree and draws Amitha. He can't afford to set her ablaze because it'll draw attention. He swings his body, swinging his arms in turn. The first one fails by a centimeter of flesh. He has to kick it off. This time he spins much faster to slash them down. 1, 2,3…7,8,9…11,12,13; that's all of them. They're successfully decapitated. He sits beside Tina to conceal himself from sight; It's getting real dark in the forest.

"Tina…Tina."

"{She's still unconscious. Obstruct her air ways or something.}"

He pulls something out. Drawing attention to it, every Raider has this disc shaped pack called a Pocket, usually somewhere on the waistline. It seems to be a metal case but he opens it and there's a crystal occupying the insides. He pulls out a gourd of water from it, opens Tina's mouth and pours a bit of water in her mouth. Her face quivers a first time, a second time then she launches up, coughing it out.

"*coughs*"

"Tina. You awake?"

"…I drowned?" she asks in quite a faint voice. She doesn't look well.

"Erhhhmm, something similar. How do you feel?"

"*cough* My head hurts real bad."

"{I feel like you got some fluid in her lungs. You shoulda just plugged her nose.}"

"{Too late NOW.}What happened?"

"I was fighting them but one of them got my hair… If they hadn't let go as soon as they did I'd probably be dead already." Elmus taps her scalp. "Ow!"

"Were you losing before that?"

"Seriously?...Of course not. They played dirty."

"No such thing as playing dirty for beings with inferior intelligence. Can you still fight?"

"No…I'm still hurting… Did you save me?"

"The hell I've been through. I can't even move my arms now. Either way, we can't let them frolic about freely. We're too close to Banlieue."

"I'm gonna be honest right now,"—they hear shrieking—"I'm really hurt. It's blurring my vision. I can't get up right now." She's in a lasting daze.

"{Amitha.}"

"{The yank on her hair most likely strained her veins.}"

"{How long do you think it will take her to recover?}"

"{She won't recover fully but she should be up and running if she relaxes a little. Try wetting her a bit.}"

"Alright." He drizzles a little cold water over her head. She moans out gently in relief. "This is how we're gonna go about things. We're gonna rest for a bit. The Lancentaurus will clear out the Zombies FOR us. The Elder will leave the Covers behind and follow the scent of the corpses to this point thinking that it's trailing us. We'll ambush and eliminate the Covers before it can return so that we'll only have IT to worry about. Sound good?"

"Mhm."

[Shadow]

"So what're we gonna do now?" Axel asks him.

"Your presence makes a difference. Daara and I will transport her on a make-shift stretcher. YOU will be the escort."

"And when are we leaving?"

"…" He taps Daara and wakes him up. "Does that answer your question?"

[Boundless]

"Tina. Do you feel better?"

"I think so. The migraine hasn't subsided completely though."

"Can you walk?"

"Even the slightest turbulence will cause it to resurface."

"…But it's been quite a while. We have to move before"—the Elder's shriek echoes through the woods—"THAT. If you can stick to my back…" He gives her a piggy back ride.

[/]

After a while, he sees a flame approaching in the distance and takes cover. It zooms by. "That's our cue." They go a bit further and they're right there. There's barely any light and visibility is very poor. However, their targets are a little more visible than silhouettes, meaning they might also spot them if they're not careful.

"This is it Tina. I'm gonna make my move. Follow and rip it apart by the hair. We've only got one shot. Are you ready?"

"… Let's do it."

They stay low and sneak up behind the fallen one. It looks like it went through a great ordeal itself. There are bite marks all over it. Seems like the Zombies did a number on it. Elmus crawls very carefully, avoiding twigs and most of the crunchy leaves. Once he gets the chance, he lands a vertical slash on its scalp and rockets ahead. Before they can even realize what hit 'em, he drives Amitha into the other Cover's torso.

The fallen one shrieks to call the Elder in but it's cut short. When Valentina saw the manner in which he slashed it, she knew what she had to do. She grabs the hair on the left and right sides of its head and pulls apart with all her strength, notwithstanding the fact that she's an I.M.U. She literally rips its scalp open, off its skull. Let's just say its blood makes a mess on her. On the other hand…

"{Amitha!}"

"{BURN ME!}"

He sets Amitha ablaze in its torso. It swipes at him but he ducks and thrusts her in further. The flames end his movement in an instant. Blood gushes out its mouth and its knees loosen up. It falls over on its side with smoke rising out of its mouth. Elmus withdraws Amitha and puts her out.

"We have to hide Valentina! Back to cover!"

"Wait a sec!"

She draws her blade and decapitates the one she dealt with. They take cover behind the trees momentarily. The Flaming Elder comes rushing in but it's too late. Only a nasty mess remains of what used to be its Covers. It's more than enraged. It lets out a series of deafening shrieks like a mother that has lost its babies.

"{Elmus! Get ready to devour!}"

On the last and wildest shriek, everything goes up in flames. In fact, the flames burst out; it's intent was to incinerate everything because they had to be near. If it wasn't for Amitha's warning, they'd be dead. Unfortunately, devouring the flame only served to give off their location. It knows where they are.

"{Elmus…Run.}"

[Shadow]

They're at the base of the waterfall. Emily's at the top and Daara's currently climbing and is almost at the top. The villagers have also gathered around to see them off, torches ablaze and all. Axel walks up to Arthur.

"Wait a second Arthur. Nightfall is nigh. Why don't we wait till tomorrow?"

"Angelica needs to be in a regulated environment." Daara secures and tosses a line down. "The longer we wait, the more she'll suffer if she wakes up." Arthur ties it to the knots on the stretcher and tugs.

"Alright."

Daara starts to pull her up by the rope. Arthur and Axel climb beside—to make sure that she doesn't fall in case anything happens. They progress a bit slowly but make it to the top. Arthur looks down to the villagers and expresses a 'thank you." The villagers all bow back. They start on their way.

"I'm saying it again. You two will have to man the front lines; not saying that you should endanger yourselves though. By the way, are there any other Units in the vicinity?"

"Judging by what Anika said, He-Rose and Panthera should be nearby. If we're lucky, we might run into them."

"That's not what I was thinking exactly. I was concerned about the Zombies in the dark. If we knew the positions of the other Units, we could draw the line and determine the safest route."

"… They could've retreated so we can't rely on that. Let's just move ahead, shall we?"

"Alright."

[Tyrannus: Conference Room]

Erin and Eris are still up and at it. Looking at the board, you just wonder how Anika's able to do this every day. The interface has been upgraded with intelligence but it's still stressful in so many ways. As if that weren't enough, she has to document most of her findings in the form of Logs and Raids.

"What's the use of this?"

"And what's that supposed to mean Eris?"

"What if we find something out? How're we gonna get the info out when everyone's already gone?"

"I knew it. You just wanna go after him. You know that's stupid right?"

"I know but…I can't help myself. I'm worried SICK. What if Elmus gets hurt? I'm gonna feel guilty…I'm an E.M.U so I'll just stay—"

"Cut it out. I wouldn't let you even if I were unconscious. We'll just have faith that a Diamond League-er will pass by. If they do, we'll need to update 'em in a nick of time—"

One of the bluish gems lights up. The intensity keeps on increasing so Eris taps on it. It's a LOT of Spectres. The Probability Count(Estimated No.) keeps on increasing till it just says 'Horde.' A lot of Spectres are Emerging and it might not be pretty. Eris looks Erin very sincerely in the eyes. He can feel what she's feeling.

"Elmus is in danger."

"…"

"YOU KNOW that he's an I.M.U."

"And Valentina is too…"

-------End of Chapter 23-------

Chapter 24 Teaser

Zombies, and now Ghosts. The Evil Forest must be haunted.

To be continued…