"A hostage situation once again, eh?"
I laughed out loud through the pain.
Morgan herself looked shaken, as if not believing what she was seeing.
And the archer, oh what great pleasure I felt from her devastated expression.
She most likely knew of Fenrir's existence. She had shot an arrow at him. Perhaps saw him running alongside me before almost shooting my entire arm off.
And she seemingly didn't mention this. The reason for her teammates' situation, the lack of communication.
The archer lowered her weapon, the man with the greatsword doing the same.
Morgan didn't have one, at least she hadn't summoned one. Not like she needed one either, her pure speed and strength were terrifying.
I rose up from my position, the nightmare augmentation the only reason I could even do such a thing.
I counted the seconds, my mind working the calculations I didn't understand.
I turned to Morgan, about to make another remark, but before I could.
My eyes widened as Morgan's fist was right in front of my eyes.
She herself looked shocked, as she was frozen in place.
I quickly jumped back several times, careful to avoid the crater.
All the while, I watched as Morgan struggled to get out of her bindings.
The spiders had done well, entrapping the surrounding area.
Their special metallic webbing is stronger than any alloy, yet flexible, hard to cut.
The perfect balance one might call it.
This time, Archer dropped her weapon, hands aimed towards the sky.
It seemed, she had given up.
The man with the greatsword didn't, but he didn't seem the type to do something foolish. And he seemed to be keen on protecting the archer in particular.
Before I could say anything, Fenrir bit down on the neck, my eyes widening.
Before I could shout, the limp body shattered into hundreds of shards.
The slim figure, wielding dual daggers, appeared behind me, both daggers pointed at separate vital points. Heart and jugular.
I gulped silently, but I continued counting each second. It was close.
The archer quickly picked up her weapon, aiming towards Fenrir.
He vanished as quickly as he had appeared, circling towards me.
The daggers pressed closer, brushing my skin.
"Release Lady Morgan."
The girl behind me commanded, her voice soft and silk.
I opened my mouth, only to close it again.
I blinked several times, abusing each second it bought.
Finally, I saw it, or rather, felt it.
The wind slammed down like a God descending.
Everyone looked up, only to see three brilliantly glowing arrows aiming for each awakened.
Eyes widened, hearts sank, despair crept in.
A grin marked my face, hiding the desperation beneath.
I had made this, this brilliant attack.
But how the hell am I supposed to stop it?
I hadn't expected it to drain me so much, warping the arrows high above the clouds. But it had, it had taken too much.
I felt as if my very nightmare core had cracked from how much I poured into the ability.
And now? Nothing short of a Saint could block those arrows.
The arrows themselves were Ascended. And with the enchantments it had? They were falling at neck-breaking speeds. Literally, I felt as if my neck was breaking from the wind pressure alone.
The slim figure behind started retreating, her fear making her clumsy.
Morgan only stared upwards, mouth agape.
The archer dropped her weapon once again, legs trembling.
Only the man remained, wielding his greatsword in front of the archer. The golden barrier appearing yet again.
I raised my left arm, desperately trying to at least slow the arrows down.
I didn't actually want to kill them, nor myself. Because one of the arrows was heading straight towards me.
Fenrir jumped out from a building, his form blurring towards me.
I snarled, tears welling up at the corners of my eyes.
"Stop.."
My fingers trembled, and my nose started to leak blood like a fountain.
"Stop."
I repeated, louder, with more confidence.
I collapsed to a knee. Warp activated, only to shatter under the strain.
"Stop!"
I roared out, my hand shook, blood flowing from my eyes like tears. My hearing was muffled by the blood flowing through them. My heart beat as loud as thunder.
And magically, the arrows stopped.
Warp settled over the arrows with absolute authority. The arrows themselves looked like a constantly moving object, vibrating from the momentum.
I could feel Warp crack each second I held it, my eyes rapidly losing focus.
Suddenly, from nowhere. A figure grabbed me by the hood, dragging me away.
I watched with half-lit eyes as three crystal arrows shot towards the arrows suspended in the air.
And then, whiteness. Absolute, deafening, blinding.
Then the wind came, it knocked whoever was dragging me to the ground, and I fell on top of them. Then I passed out.
***
I stared towards the sky, pure shock momentarily clouding my own judgment.
"Stop!"
The shout brought me back to reality, my neck snapping towards the young kid that apparently decided to take himself out, with my squad mates included. Perhaps even I couldn't withstand such a blow. I was no fool; I was an expert in memories, able to discern the ranks and enchantments at a glance. This was an Ascended memory, with an enchantment increasing power from distance.
My graceful facade fell, worry for all present more important than politics that weren't here.
I sharpened my armor, my very body. Thrashing wildly in the restraints.
Until finally, they broke.
I shot a glance towards the sky, the arrows had stopped.
My gaze shot towards the boy, who lay on the ground, bleeding from more places than I could count.
Then the same wolf creature appeared, dragging away my target like a snack for later.
Then I heard it, a crack. Deafening. My head snapped towards the sky once again, eyes widening as I saw one of the arrows dip lower, then the other two followed.
My strategic mind worked its magic once again, realizing the only option.
"Chloe! Shoot them down!"
I shouted, my own voice on the verge of panic.
As soon as the command left my lips, I dove for Rel, my larger form covering hers.
In the corner of my eyes, I saw Dex covering Chloe with his barrier.
Then eyes were forced shut as everything turned white.
The winds tore at my back, blocked only due to the high-tier Transcendent memory I have.
After several seconds, everything calmed down. I opened my eyes, already scanning the battlefield. Dex and Chloe were fine. Rel was fine, groaning in displeasure under me.
And my target? Gone.
I scanned the area, brows knitting together.
Then I saw it, a hand sticking out of rubble.
I shot to my feet, already sprinting.
I saw the wolf ahead, unmoving. Injured or dead, I couldn't care less.
It would be put down after I made sure the boy lived.
I dug through the rubble with sharpened fingers, the rocks giving away easily enough.
And finally, I uncovered the body, or lack thereof.
Only the arm was there, the arm that Chloe had nearly torn off with a single shot.
I turned back to the wolf, only to see it missing.
Now visible metallic webs covering their way.
I had been fooled. By creatures.
My teeth gritted, barely suppressing a snarl of rage.
I didn't chase them. I would just be stalled until the boy got away once more.
Instead, I ran to my team. Making sure no one sustained major injuries.
***
I awoke, immediately realizing I wasn't on Earth. I was in the dream realm once again.
I turned my gaze upwards, only to see darkness. I looked all around me, and there was nothing but darkness and more darkness.
I raised a brow, the situation was interesting.
Then I slapped myself, or at least tried to.
Nothing happened, my eyes locked onto my arm. And it was missing. From the shoulder, everything is gone. Of course.
I pushed away the sad thoughts before they could fully form, trying to forcefully awake. Nothing.
I growled, my five fingers twitched.
My nerves jittered on the edge of panic, eyes starting to dart around.
I couldn't see anything, but it felt as if a thousand eyes were staring into my very soul.
Then the ground in front of me rippled. And the sudden realization that I was standing in front of black water came faster than light.
The water rippled again, harsher.
I slowly stepped backwards, praying not to fall off whatever ground I was on top of.
Then the water surged. My vision was covered in colossal fangs, each as large as myself.
I tumbled backwards. I felt my hair tips land onto something wet. Panic surged.
The creature shot over me, its body barely discernible due to the lack of light.
As soon as I was sure it had passed over, I rolled forward.
I made myself the smallest target possible. On what seemed to be the center of a very tiny platform. Perhaps a raft.
I stayed as silent as possible, the action also making me seem less threatening. More like a creature. A follower. That's how it usually worked.
This time? It didint.
I felt on whatever I was standing move slightly. And the absolute feeling of doom spread through the entirety of my mind. This was the end.
The same second that the thought was fully formed, I shot upwards with the ground. A girlish scream leaving my lips.
'If I'm surviving this, I will kill any and all witnesses' I promised myself inwardly.
I tried to remember any words or phrases for what the people called a "prayer". I wasn't sure of the significance, or the reliability of such a thing. But I didn't really have any better options. Warp would be suicide. My other ability was useless. None of my memories could help.
I was at the mercy of gravity and whatever creature decided to snack on me.
"My lord, savior and guardian. Please, kill this thing, because I will not be as merciful as you."
A line I've heard ran through my lips with ease. The words seemed scandalous. Inappropriate. What savior would kill?
The thought of a different following came to mind.
I was a follower of "-Unknown-". This didn't seem like a prayer to him. It sounded more like something a war-mongering bafoon would do.
As the thought registered, I felt my body stop mid-air.
Then I was awake, staring at Fenrir, his eyes two balls of violet red flames.
I gasped several times, my breathing slowly evening.
Then I opened my mouth.
"What the fuck?!
[Read Author Notes].
If nah.
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