The Flaming Elder

The Flaming Elder

(Chapter 22)

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[<<]

"It's almost finished! Let's go one more time!"

"I Copy, Tina." Both of them give chase.

Its mood seems to have changed since it's lost two of its arms. It looks left and right. It's compelled to put the lance in its mouth so it can suppress the bleeding. Fear starts to embrace it. "SHRIIIIEK!" it goes. Valentina zooms at it and whirlwind slashes towards it. All of a sudden, a flaming lance meets her blade, and it's overwhelming force catapults her far, into a tree.

"AAH! What the?..."

"Tina… The gravity just multiplied."

A Flaming Lancentaurus has joined the battle. More robust than the other, it stands tall with blazing hair and a flaming lance. It's chest is guarded by armored plates. Another Lancentaurus trails right behind it. The presence of the Silver Emerged was masked by the two Bronze Emerged of the same type that were accompanying it. The trio lets out loud, consecutive shrieks, right before the Elder descends on Elmus.

[>]

[Anika]

She's worked up about failing to spot the masking. Erin tries to calm her down but it isn't really working. The mass of resonance indicates that The Elder Brainz' Zombies are drawing closer. She deployed Units to keep them at bay. Have they been wiped out?

"Will you listen to me Anika?"

"What?"

"Every action has consequences."

"I'm realizing that right now. I'm really screwed." She puts her hand to her face.

"Why's that?"

"… The royal family decided to go on a parade march to boost the morale and faith of the citizens. They're visiting every city and town possible. If news about this gets out, they'll have to call it off. We can't afford for them to breach the gate."

"But we should have TOO much manpower for this one, shouldn't we?"

"I had to get Saturnine off my back. Then there's also the fact that I sent Shadow on the search for Succubus. Veteran's away as The Twins are also. Let's not talk about Martyr and Raze."

"Ouch, but there are many more." Eris steps in.

"Wow! So now everybody's gonna just step in here when they feel like?"

"SORRY. I just felt my brother was here is all. What's up with you?"

"…Sorry. I'm just stressed out." She holds the bridge of her nose. "This is too much for me. Next time, I'm gonna make sure to keep at least one platinum league-er home."

"By the way, have you seen Harmonie anywhere?"

"Sis… His Unit might be fighting a group of Epic Emerged as we speak."

"What? How? WHY?"

"'Cause that's what's closest."

"… I need to—"

"Don't you dare! Just look at yourself. Go home!"

"That isn't the wisest decision you could make Erin. Won't she just head for the gate? Let her stay here and help you."

"If that's the case, please go and have yourself a good rest."

"While everyone's out there risking their lives?"

"No one's as good as you at what you do. If you want to prevent anyone from dying, you're gonna need to be of SOUND MIND!"

"Fine. I get it. But—"

"THAT'S ENOUGH. Think about yourself for once! You're just gonna batter yourself up if we lose someone. Up for that?"

"… I'm going to my room… Nevertheless, if anything strange pops up, come get me."

[Boundless]

"We have to split Elmus—!"

"No! Just get some reasonable distance. I can't afford to lose sight of you." They run in different directions. "'Cause what if they all go after one of us?!"

"Good point!"

They're dozens of meters apart now. The Elder shrieks again. Both of the unharmed ones dash straight for Guillelmus while the injured one goes for Valentina.

"{Elmus, you've got incoming! Start now!}"

"Aye Aye!"

He sends Mana surging into the hilt again. They don't give him the chance to set her ablaze. The Elder unleashes a barrage of slashes, sending a stream of sparks flying with each clash. (Covers are the Emerged masking an Elder) The Cover comes in on Elmus' rear and attempts to thrust him through. He thinks fast and rolls to the side.

[/]

She's already on guard. The injured one comes charging through the ferns. Valentina times her strike and fakes as if she were going in for a slide. Midway in the slide, she catapults herself forward but it head butts her before she can even get her sword in. It gallops around trying to trample her underfoot but she evades its hooves swiftly as she rolls over the ground.

Its arms have been seized but it still doesn't wanna drop dead. It shrieks again, much louder than before and another Cover appears. How many Lancentaurus came out here? It's not looking good. The enemy keeps on calling in reinforcements.

"I don't like to brag but I'm going to kill you no matter what you do. Just drop down and die!"

[Shadow]

"Emily."

"What is it?"

"Don't you find it strange that the Mal-Hecate doesn't seem to have engaged any of the villagers down here? It could've feasted on all of them."

"I don't see any signs of destruction across the river, although, no one's outside…"

"Exactly. We should cross over and check it out. They might've fled."

"The only question is where. To flee, they would've had to head further downstream."

"That would make sense, since we detected Emerged Blood up there. Let's stop wasting time debating while it's just across."

They leap as far as they can and swim the rest of the distance across. The water's running pretty fast and a twig rams Axel in the eye. He starts to flail, splashing the water to signal Emily that he's not alright. He almost gets swept away but Emily grabs his hand and guides him. They're swept downstream and emerge at the lee-ward part of the backyard garden.

"That was a close call." He kisses her on the forehead.

"Wouldn't let my man die." She smiles at him.

[Boundless: Guillelmus]

The Elder jumps at a tree and ricochets toward Elmus. The Cover follows in its footsteps. They don't give him any room to breathe; it's a series of relentless lunges. It definitely won't be long before—the Elder slashes his shoulder to bleeding.

"GAAH! {They're not giving me a breather Amitha!}"

"{Quiet and let me focus! Dodge left! Right! Roll backwards! Above you!}"

"Hunh!?"

The monotony of the attacks served a purpose. It was to delude him into thinking he was safe if he just kept on evading every lunge that came at him. However, that wasn't the case. The Elder gains serious air and launches the spear down. Guillelmus steps out of the way but it ruptures the ground as it bursts out with flames. The shock wave blows him away, into a tree.

"Ah! Darn it!"

The Cover charges in to teach him a lesson. "{He's obviously stunned,}" it thinks. It thrusts with all its might but Guillelmus steps aside. It just gave him the chance to recover. "YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SET TRAPS!" he yells as he lands a rising slash under the part of the shaft closer to the Cover's hands. It sends its lance spinning in the air. "AMITHA!" It flinches in surprise. Amitha kindles up again and delivers a very foul diagonal slash mid-air. She rips its chest open, even rending its ribs asunder. Elmus lets go of Amitha and catches its lance while he's up there. It didn't stand a chance. The lance rips through its heart and comes out the other end, blood gushing out its heart and spattering onto the floor. Its last wish is to go with him. It grabs Elmus arms and legs and holds him still for the Elder, which just retrieved its lance. "Damn you!" he struggles.

[/]

They don't even try to engage her. The injured one runs off and the new arrival follows. "What the—?" She gives chase. "I'm not letting you escape! {… They probably want to get me away from Elmus so that there'll be no interference, but I have no choice. I can't let them get away.}"

They lead her in the direction from whence they came. After getting her a few hundred meters away, they suddenly make a U-turn to land a surprise attack but she thought ahead. She evades the first one and hurls a rock that she picked from the ground earlier, at the injured one's face. It releases its hands for a brief moment to guard its face and puts them back hurriedly. She's already in front of it.

It's a very stubborn one. It horns her in the gut so she can't slash it, then punches her hard in the same place. It turns tail and makes an attempt at getting away but she grabs onto its tail. "I'm not letting you go!" It drags her a distance but it proves futile. She stabs it in its right thigh. Reflex serves it well this time. It mule kicks her, sending her flying into its counterpart. She has crippled one of them.

[/]

It tries to stretch him out, but that's too much for something with a slashed ribcage. Guillelmus struggles and flails. Amitha comes down in the nick of time and he head butts the falling blade into the open wound. He flings his right leg with all his might, breaking free and displacing his body enough to evade the flame charge. However, he hadn't broken free completely. Lance aside, the Elder just tries to wring his head off. Guillelmus gets another hand free and resists.

It seeks vengeance. It extracts Amitha from the wound, intending to slay him with her. Little did it know she was a cursed object. Once it draws her out, black particles stream out about its hand. It goes crazy for a second and charges into a tree after casting them aside. It drops to the ground and trembles.

"Elmus now! Do it now!"

He leaps to Amitha and takes her by the blade tip, and dashes at it as he repositions his grip. She blazes up in time to deliver a finishing blow but that's the mistake that he made. It turns around and catches his hands, then devours the flame. Guillelmus quickly kicks it in the face to get free. It follows up with an uppercut that sends him packing. It's annoyed now. It shrieks on top of its lungs and its flames intensify to the extent of melting its chest armor.

"I have a feeling that it doesn't intend on dying anytime soon. This is gonna be a tough one."

[Martyr]

We have a young man on our hands, probably in his late twenties. His skin is pale. He's a blonde alright but his hair is almost as pale as his skin. He wears something similar to a priest's robe; the color scheme is white, blue and silver. He has crystal blue eyes, a thin moustache and wears white gloves. Something's different about him. He doesn't look like any normal young man; he looks rather divine.

He's currently standing in the inner chamber of the national cathedral. If this is the inner chamber, then the cathedral's huge. Giant stone pillars tower high up, giving the roof its strength. There's the normal colored glass decorum and the high seat in the inner room. Incense burns all about them. He's in the presence of the High Priest, Father Matthias.

Although he's with him, his lips are still in constant motion. He doesn't waste a single second he has. If he's not been engaged, he will pray. He waves at him to draw his attention, and the boy gets down on one knee.

"What're you doing? Sol."

"Yes Father?" He stands.

"You've been away for long. I longed to see your face again."

"I was doing the work you asked of me. I still haven't found it."

"That's strange. Your sensory talent is unfathomable."

"My heart doubtest not but… Could it be that the progenitors made a mistake. What if it doesn't incarnate in our era?"

"The Spirit of God makes no mistakes. It will emerge now. That's the only reason why I'd send my only son."

"Yes Father. I will find him no matter how long it takes."

"Come." The young man walks up to him and they kiss each other on the cheek. "Tarry around for a while, until you are well rested."

"…If it pleases you."

[Boundless-Valentina]

The other LTaurus reacted fast and caught her, hugging her to its chest. It takes her to its fallen brother. The brother knows what to do. It head butts her in the plexus. She stops struggling for a brief moment, allowing it to adjust its grip and grab her wrists. She comes to her senses and knees it's forehead on its second attempt. That gives her enough time to try to break free.

She swings forward, and up onto its neck. It tries to pull her off but she holds it tight with her knees. Had it held her legs as well, it would've been game over, but now, it has to find a way to get her off before it passes out. That's easy. After flailing uselessly for a while, it just lowers its front side, to enable its brother to get a firm chomp on. It yanks her off by the hair.

[/]

It's like Elums is fighting a whole different LTaurus now. Any time it attacks, its whole body gets enveloped in flame. Its capabilities have heightened. Whenever it swings, one wrong move could be the end of Elmus. The worst thing is the frame between its attacks. Whether it's swinging or charging, it doesn't matter.

It chases after him, swinging it's lance around as if it were a mace. Guillelmus takes advantage of the terrain and repeatedly takes cover behind the trees. The way it's looking, it might just set the forest ablaze. He runs into some bushes and shakes the Elder.

"Tina! You there?!" There's no response. "[Darn it! Could they have gotten her already?}"

"{Have faith in our team mate.}"

"{Did you see where she went?}"

"{That way. Sneak around here when I give you the signal…Go!}"

[/]

It demands reprisal for its arms. It drags her around by her hair. It wears her down in seconds. If you don't understand how painful that is, it's more offensive than raising a cat by its tail. She hadn't screamed until now, but her screams slowly change to whimpers. It's so bad that she can't even think, only hope that it stops. It stops when the other Cover retrieves its lance. These things always seek to end the battle prematurely.

Tina can't even put her thoughts together. The other one charges in to skewer her, his hard earned dinner. She's definitely not recovering from this one. Little does he know that Elmus is coming in from the side.

"{Elmus! You won't make it in time!}"

"{But YOU will!}"

He sets Amitha ablaze and hurls her at it. Its blood lust blinded it, so it doesn't notice the highly luminous object approaching. Amitha slices its hand clean off, just below the wrist. She also hits the shaft of the lance, spinning it off trajectory. Elmus runs in as fast as he can, before they can recover from that ordeal.

The injured Cover shrieks in pain. The other tries to pull off a hostage situation by suspending Tina by her hair. Her yelps don't matter to Elmus. He runs at them anyway and slides the freshly injured one's fore leg. It falls and sprains its ankle. Elmus grabs Amitha. He gets ready to slash but a flaming lance crashes hard into the ground in between them. It literally rips the ground apart, spewing out flames. The shockwave blows everyone back, even the Covers.

"Valentina!" She doesn't respond. This is his opportunity to deal game changing damage. He dashes at the Cover that Tina crippled and severs its throat. He also pulls Valentina's blade out of its thigh, but when he hands it to her, she can barely even hold onto it. "Valentina! You need to get up!"

"I…can't." Her face is red; the veins in her neck are protruding as well. Her face depicts suffering. She's not gonna get up anytime soon. All Elmus can think of is to get her on his back before the Elder retrieves its lance. He makes a run for it but both of them chase after him. The only thing that saves him is his prudence. He runs in a way that he's always behind a tree in relation to their positions. He can't keep it up though. They corner him, and he has to deal with their attacks head on.

"I can't keep this up Valentina! You've gotta get up!"

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.

"That's it. It's over."

-------End of Chapter 22-------

Chapter 23 Teaser

BRAINZ! BRAINZ! BRAINZ! They have no BRAINZ.

To be continued…