Chapter 30: Weapon

  So it was chains, huh? He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that it had taken him so long... The chains were the perfect weapon for him. With their sharp tips, they were swift, malleable, and deadly. He could control their movements and spread his momentum through them.

  He was leaping from building to building. Using the walls he could go faster. Although it wasn't as discrete, it didn't matter anymore. Now his priority was to meet up with Kolya. Maybe he would bring Serena with him and then… maybe they would have a chance… feeling his surroundings getting darker, he abruptly glanced back.

  "Last chance kid, give them to me." Anyxa was right there, her distorted voice unusually calm. She was effortlessly keeping up with him, the dark aura around her seemingly calmer than usual, a light white glow surrounding her. "Come on kiddo, I don't want to hurt you." He was tracking her out of the corner of his eye, she was getting closer. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be trying to fight him right now, her claws were retracted.

  He didn't even listen to her anymore, he was focused. Now that she had caught up, he would have to fight her. Besides, it seemed like he had successfully kept the other two busy with his distraction. They couldn't let the civilians die from the rubble or the sun.

  He patiently waited for her to close the distance. When she got close enough, he lunged towards a building, his chains following suit. Anchoring them onto the side of the building he was able to swiftly stop himself. It was like the building had absorbed his momentum. The whole side was filled with cracks. The people inside looked on in horror as he kicked the lunging Anyxa to the ground.

  Unlike Slava, she had no way of slowing herself down, so she had no choice but to take the hit head-on.

  Watching her break through the glass dome surrounding the street, he jumped through the hole. It was a scene of complete and utter chaos. The ground where she'd landed had been destroyed beyond repair. Dismembered corpses were dispersed around her. Half of them were rotting while the other half were burning. A horrific scene that didn't seem to faze Slava as he peered through the smoke trying to spot his enemy.

https://imgur.com/a/buK7eWO

  Just like that, he passed by a child looking on in shock. He was covered in blood, he had an injury on his right eye, but he didn't seem to notice. He looked on in awe at the angel of death walking past him, the chains on his back spreading like wings, his scythe seemingly ready to reap his soul.

  As Slava stepped into the fog, he was suddenly grabbed from behind. Shit, he was careless. Feeling the tendrils grinding away at his suit he tried to use his chains. Unfortunately, he wasn't proficient enough yet. He only got the chance to wrap a few chains around Sasha before he was smashed into the ground. As the black smoke dissipated and retreated into the figure holding him down, a voice echoed through the street. It was so distorted that it sounded more like a distorted scream. That's when the figure before him cleared up, her face slowly revealing itself.

  "Why?" She asked, black tears flowing down her cheeks. How twisted was she to switch moods so easily? Regardless, he'd found her weakness. "I'll do it, I'll save you," she said, lifting him up, a distorted grin on her face. "I won't let that bitch take someone else!" Seeing her crazed look, Slava's expression turned to disgust. Almost there, just a few more inches, his suit's interface was turning static. Feeling one of his chains grasp onto something, Slava looked to the side. Following his gaze, Anyxa's eyes landed on what his chain was holding and she instantly let him go, backing off.

  "No! Stop!" She screamed, making her suit and tendrils retreat as much as possible. The child was being held up in the air, his skin was already starting to turn black. If they wouldn't have been under the still intact part of the dome he would probably also be severely burned.

  How did this seemingly unstoppable force of nature become so weak at the sight of spilled blood? She looked like a lost puppy.

  As he was lost in thought, he suddenly felt the movement of the particles behind him shift. Shit! As fast as he could, he jumped to the side. His reaction was swift but not swift enough. In the next moment, a ray of light rushed past him, blasting a good chunk of his upper arm off. There was no pain, but he could see charred skin and bone as the suit moved to cover the wound. Feeling a sudden dizziness wash over him, he focussed, his blue eyes turning white.

  "You sure made a mess kid." Looking up, Slava witnessed Lightbringer slowly descending to the ground next to Anyxa, holding the unconscious child in his arms. His suit was white, lightly glowing under the rays of dusk, adorned in golden patterns that gave off a feeling of majesty. Behind him floated eight slowly rotating drones, while the golden patterns on his arms constantly pulsed with light. Ten! Ten possible sources of deadly attacks.

  "Get a hold of yourself Black, this isn't your student." Saying these words, Lightbringer took out a blood-red syringe and stabbed it into her arm. Meanwhile, Slava was struggling to stand up. He still couldn't use his right arm, but it was gradually healing. He had split his focus.

  To be honest he was starting to feel the strain. He was making sure Sasha was safe on his back, healing his own wound while also fighting. He'd thought that he'd prepared for any situation, but he'd obviously been wrong.

  If he had to go down, he wouldn't go down without a fight. The Blood Queen was also missing. He would need to be constantly on edge.

  "I know he isn't, but… I can't, he's still a kid," she said, struggling to her feet. The look of madness in her eyes had completely disappeared. She seemed to be used to this because she went on as if it had never happened. It hit him like a truck, he remembered now. How could he forget, the deterioration of the mind and body, necrosing strength… There hadn't been one in so long, but this was definitely Blackcoda, the Death Demon, the name bestowed upon the people who bore the Necrosis Gamma suit. It had gone through metamorphoses throughout the years, but one thing always remained the same. It's toxicity. No matter who it was, the user, or its surroundings, the suit would slowly eat at them. For the wielder, it meant that their body and mind would deteriorate over time. The users never lived long. Their bodies would either fail or they would lose their minds leading them to be put down for good.

  "Fine, youngster, if you can not fight this child, I will. But don't get in my way." Hesitatingly stepping back, Anyxa looked away. In the next moment, light spread from his back. Following this, the drones' rotation accelerated, their surface beginning to glow.

  At the same time, beams began flashing all around the city, all heading towards the moon. So they finally did it. The city had been abandoned. Looking back at his opponent, he heard him say; "Finally!"

  Taking a deep breath, Slava prepared his weapon with his still usable hand, the other remaining stiff. Feeling Sasha's slightly warmer body with his chains, he grit his teeth. What happened next happened almost instantaneously. Slava frowned, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. At the same time, his dimming world suddenly lit up. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

  Right to left. He moved his right foot to the left, spinning his back towards his opponent, barely dodging a ray of light.

  One, Jump back. The second grazed his hair.

  Two, hand spin. Throwing his scythe, he landed on his hand. Shifting his body to the side, he evaded the third.

  Three, down, lunge. Bending his arm, he lunged forward another one passing above his head.

  Four, slide. As he slid across the ground another one passed him by.

  Five, jump. His chains evaded the beam and passed him by, anchoring themselves onto the ground. Not a millisecond passed by and he was already in the air, a few meters away from his opponent, a ray of light passing below him.

  Six, momentum shift. His eyes dashed around, spotting what couldn't be seen. When Slava's eyes stopped moving, fixing themselves to his opponent again, a lightning bolt materialized between them, fizzling out with the next ray of light.

  Seven, throw, hopefully, his instincts weren't wrong. He could almost reach him. As a ray of light left the last drone, he threw the scythe.

  When the scythe left his hand, the world brightened once more. It spun through the air effortlessly splitting the ray of light in half. However, when it was about to cleave the man's figure in half, he disappeared.

  Slava stood stunned. He watched the man reappear behind the scythe, moving to grab it out of the air. So he still couldn't compare to the speed of light. Even if the previous one was just an illusion, the reaction time was still astonishing.

  "You're good kid, I can see why Black likes you so much," he finally grabbed the spinning weapon, halting its movements. "Unfortunately you're too dangerous I can't…"

  In an instant, the scythe turned back to its original color. Interrupting him, purple chains spread from it wrapping around his limbs.

  This… the scythe actually copied his chains? No, these were different. They didn't propagate momentum, they moved through something else.

  "Don't resist, you need to return to your rightful place…" he was visibly struggling. Slava was honestly surprised, weren't they aware of the thing inside? Shouldn't they have countermeasures? This was probably the best time to land a blow, but seeing even Anyxa on guard he decided to stay back to focus on his recovery.

  Grunting, Lightbringer's suit lit up, rainbow-colored lights dancing around its surface. His suit showed him more than the naked eye. The amount of radiation he exuded was astronomical. The floor was melting, if this continued they would all die. Next, a bright light flashed between them as the sound of chains snapping reverberated.

  "This is its rightful place." As his eyes adjusted, he was met with a glowing Sasha floating down towards him, a huge hole below her. The suit seemed to have somewhat merged with her skin. Her lightly purple hair flowed behind her. Her eyes glowed a familiar purple. Her black and purple suit had changed to a more graceful form. Some of it was covered with what looked like stars.

  "You're not Sasha, are you? Who are you?" He asked, feeling the shattered chains behind him retreating into his suit. He didn't get the chance to react when she appeared next to him picking him up. He was too stunned to do anything.

  "Yes," "no," two voices answered at the same time. They both came from her mouth. Not wanting to think about it, he simply asked:

  "Where are you taking us?" This time only one voice answered back and it wasn't Sasha's.

  "To the others." Hearing the words, he was about to interrogate when his eyes landed on a clearing below them as they widened in shock.