Chapter 136: It Speaks!
There was a lot to take in. A lot to consider in this moment as we gazed out towards the wall. Of our own impending doom. Of the reality now facing us.
Cresting the wall was a much larger version of the lizard-thing we had just fought. Only, not quite. Adorned on its heads were antlers of a sort. Instead of looking like it was dipped in tar or ink, the entire creature seemed to be more solid, whole, as if it were made of obsidian. With blazing red eyes that shone through the rapidly darkening horizon as the looming storm pressed in from just beyond.
It easily climbed over the wall. Its very presence exuded nobility, a kind of, twisted awe that compelled one to fall to their knees and worship it.
As it slid in, its tail sweeping in behind it. It looked over the city, the soldiers, and finally us…
It beheld the sight of our battle with clear boredom a lack of care. It looked down on everything as if we were all beneath its notice, and yet, when it beheld us, something in its eyes flickered.
In contrast, when it took in the lizard we had just slain, whose body was rapidly disintegrating and giving off the silver aura of a coin to be claimed, the being before us almost seemed disgusted. As if just being in its presence was an affront.
It, and the thing staring at us didn’t quite feel human. Rather, terrestrial would be a better word. Not quite like they should exist. Something about them, how that thing used electricity felt wrong, almost like it was anathema to our very existence.
Whenever the lizard had used its electricity I hadn’t felt the surge of magic, as I was used to feeling. Rather, it was something else, something fundamentally wrong that made my skin crawl. Even now, faced with this greater creature, it didn’t feel as if it belonged. Its very presence made the world lose color, and wherever it planed its feet, the abundant life just, died.
I could almost see the color bleed into it, killing it off, rendering the world null and grey.
Ats to why that was… well, it didn’t matter not at this moment. Right now, we needed to figure out how we weren’t going to die.
“How do you miss something that big?” I muttered aloud, the thing had easily crawled over the wall. Not even needing to smash it down. The wolf from last, and even the lizard from earlier were nothing compared to this thing. This thing, easily stood a few stories tall at minimum.
Not just that, but… it had to be gold ranked at least and… I had a strong feeling it might be a High-Gold, based on presence alone.
“I’m well aware, it must have done something to keep me from seeing it.” Morrigan practically spat out. She was on edge, teeth grinding, yet… even now she was trying her best to smile, to grin back at the thing before us. “Still… don’t you think we should try and run? Ya know, make an effort of it?” She continued after a beat.
“Don’t see the point, we won’t make it far.” I say, all too calmly. “Honestly, what I said earlier still holds true, all we can do is hold.”
“Hold, for what exactly? To die a little slower?” She growled.
“For the army. Individually they aren’t much to speak of, but the officers, and the commander have some skill.”
She laughed. “You really think those bastard will help?”
“Uncertain.” I snap back, “What else do we got?”
“And how exactly are we to hold? We’re all beat to hell, and we’re running on fumes here.”
“Well we have these.” Carefully produced a bronze coin, one of the coins we received from the last major fight. “We also have that one.” I gesture towards the shimmering silver smoke.
“You can’t be serious… Look, even if you use those coins to top yourselves off, it won’t help me. My magic is, well, it relies on more than just magic, you realize that? I have to leverage my soul pretty heavily, and after your friend over there hit me, I haven’t exactly been in good condition. I mean, yeah, I had a bit of rest, and all those extras I killed earlier before joining up with you helped, hell, even that lizard we just killed will be a huge help, but I need time to digest my gains, you do know that?”
“Wasn’t aware it worked like that, but doesn’t that mean you get stronger as you kill?”
“Hardly, killing restores and even strengthens my soul, but not enough for me to go on perpetually. With all the killing I’ve done and with how much energy these things have, if I get the chance to properly rest and heal up, I’d be at least twice, if not thrice as strong as I am now. But for the time being, I am expending more than I’m getting out of all this.”
Food for thought, truly.
“And really, do we have the time to be discussing this!?” Morrigan finally announced.
Again, she wasn’t wrong. The monster, now that I looked at it, looked almost like an eastern dragon. Which means, this is probably that sect guardian beast. Which… if true, complicates this whole affair and confirms something else…
That being, that I needed to have a serious talk with Usagi after this.
Regardless, that thing was taking its sweet time to come to us. Practically swaggering as it closed the distance, its eyes locked on us like a snake would its prey. I’m sure a sudden move on or part would trigger something, instead we were stuck holding still, as if hiding from a dinosaur of some sort.
Not that it helped, if anything it really was just delaying our death. Though, with our supposed purpose being to buy time, well, it worked in our favor, probably… maybe…
“Then, if you had the means to restore your soul, do you think our chances would increase?” I asked.
“Immeasurably! Not like you have anything like that anyway.” She said in dismissal.
“I wouldn’t say that…” I trailed off a little, earning myself a look. Carefully I reached into my pouch and retrieved an item I typically carried around with me.
“Would this help?” I asked, though, there was no doubt it would. Hesitantly she took the procured item, a small orb made of a special kind of crystal, etched with shimmering lines.
The moment she took hold of it, she grasped and cradled it, like it was the most precious of objects. “What is this thing!?” She both hissed and screamed just under her breath. Almost like she’d seen her favorite celebrity just across the street.
“A bauble… well, a Soul Stone.” I corrected after seeing her annoyed face. “I had it made awhile back.
“Well, whatever this thing is, it’s incredible!... though… it seems kinda… I don’t know, poor?”
“I’m well aware that it isn’t as well made as it could be, but will it do?” I replied back, slightly annoyed that even she knew it was a poor product.
“Oh, definitely! Hell, with all the power pumped into this baby, I might make a full recovery!”
That was good to hear. Not that I was going to vocalize that thought. Truthfully, the thing was almost a boondoggle. A kind of, semi-useless trinket in my possession. I didn’t have to actively use it to collect energy. It just needed to be near when things die.
Back during the bone golem fight, it became apparent that I had miscalculated the effectiveness of the orb. It could be used to fuel enchantments and other items, since the etchings and enchantments allowed the Soul Stone to gather and refine residual soul energy into pure magical energy.
The problem with the bauble was when I use it to fill my own reserves. The transfer rate was… poor. In part due to the quality of the item, but also because of the natural conversation rate of soul energy to magical energy to ice attributed magical energy, which I use. There was an additional cost due to the difference in purity of the energy compared to my own, and what was inside the orb.
Truthfully, only like, a tenth of the energy could be transferred over to fuel my reserves. Directly using the orb and casting my own brand of magic had about half the efficiency at best, but quality made up for quality in a sense.
Still, it was a nice fallback plan. Truthfully, I had considered using it during the last fight, but… it truly wasn’t that dire of a situation, and when it became dire, well, it was already too late for me to even make the attempt.
As it was, at least half of my soldiers were dead. More of them were crippled, with missing limbs, or worrying cracks on their frames. They couldn’t be relied on, so… what did I have to lose by giving it to Morrigan?
The greater issue was surviving this ordeal.
“Good, I’ll be relying on you to deal damage to the thing. I’ll keep its attention, and Joan… the moment I go forward, claim the silver coin and top yourself off. I’ll be relying on your healing and shielding to pull me through, understood?”
She jolted at me calling her name. Almost as if I had pulled her out of a nightmare, or worse. She blinked rapidly, and by some miracle, she seemed to understand what I had said without me having to repeat myself.
I could also see that she wanted to argue, to fight, that something inside her desperately wanted to do something about our situation, but in the end…
“Okay… I’ll do that, just… don’t die.” She said, biting her lip, eyes watery, her entire demeanor like a ceramic doll on the verge of shattering.
“Promise.” I lied all too easily. A lie that was just enough to keep her together. With one last glance back, I made my move.
For its part, the monster seemed affronted I even dared to approach it, Morrigan followed a half-step behind, wary of the monster’s attention and for good reason.
“You really think you’ll survive that?”
“No idea, but… I think we should start considering loot distribution.”
She choked on a laugh. “Really? Loot? I don’t even think we’ll survive.”
“Then you have no qualms if I took the coin?” I answered back.
“Honestly? Between this thing,” She motions to the Soul Stone, “and with you taking the front, I wouldn’t care one bit.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
We moved slowly, the monster paused, watching us approach. I took the time to check my rifle, making sure I had bullets inside and at the ready.
Frankly, that was the issue… I’m not sure I could even hurt it. These things were surprisingly anti-magical, if that was even a thing. Normal magic just rolled off their body, like water off a duck’s back. My own bullets did serviceable damage but… with how big the dragon was… yeah…
It was going to be like mosquito bites.
If anything, I was beginning to see issues with my choice of weapon. I’m sure there was some underlying methodology behind how damage was dealt, or rather how magical energy converted to force.
I’m certain, each bullet, depending on the tier, or rather, how long I let them bake before completed them had differing rates of conversion. With the most basic version, being able to be made in scant seconds, having a questionably low conversion rate. The rate being something like, the amount of magic that can be channeled or stuffed into the bullet within that time multiplied by something…
I wasn’t sure, but it was a hunch I had. It was something I’d have to ask Éclair about, she seems like she’d know.
I digress, only because it was clear one of my bullets couldn’t compare to a proper weapon. The bayonet acted as a stop-gap, but it was an accessory, not a proper weapon. The only reason it worked so well, was due to typing, or attributes, or some kind of non-sense that Éclair had explained way back when.
The issue wasn’t that the monster before us was clearly a gold rank, but… could I even kill it? Could, we kill it?
Having my uniform as long as I have and having… some experience fighting other magical girls in uniform, and now faced with my second gold rank, rather, third, possibly even fourth if I stretch the definition of fighting a bit, well, I had an idea of what made a gold rank, a gold rank.
Uniforms were shockingly versatile. They acted as a power multiplier, boosting my various attributes and made me feel almost invincible. On top of that, it aided my fighting style, specifically by producing bullets via the poches on my belt, so I didn’t have to keep conjuring bullets on my own.
The primary benefit of a uniform, however, was that it came with a subtle barrier. A barrier that absorbed and redistributed damage taken. Anything below a certain point wouldn’t work, though, there was a certain point where a quantity of blows could break past the barrier. That much I could tell.
In much the same way, there was only so much damage a uniform could take before it broke down. A singular blow with too much power would bypass the barrier, albeit not without losing some of its force. However, if the blow went far beyond the uniform’s threshold it would shatter the uniform on the spot, not unlike a pilot hitting the eject button. In the contrary, a too lethal blow, like an instant decapitation would kill the magical girl before the uniform breaks.
A uniform could be worn down, but anything within a certain threshold was fair game. Well, as long as continuing blows weren’t taken…
Now, how was that relevant to the task at hand?
Taking a moment to consume my bronze coin, letting the feel of magic fill my veins… though… it was rather meagre, like barely the first course of a multi-course dinner. Leaving me hungrier for more. Even then, it was enough.
As for the relevancy… well… if I was going to be taking blows for Morrigan, and distracting the beast, I needed to take hits, enough that it doesn’t lose interest, but not as many as it would take for me to die, or for my uniform to break apart.
Really, I just needed to get hit right. As for counter-attacking… my bullets could punch through a gold-ranks barrier with ease. Unlike us, they lacked uniforms, but their rank alone provided them with a subtle barrier that protected them from mundane harm. Or really any kind of damage beneath a certain threshold.
A barrier that practically glowed in my vision, like a subtle film of light covering its frame.
Could it be broken with enough mundane means? Perhaps, but I wasn’t looking forward to seeing if that was true or not. Not when I had a task at hand.
I only stopped when I was before the thing. Morrigan stood slightly to the side, waiting for my cue, at the far back, I felt the air stir, a sudden spike of energy alerting us to her collecting the coin, or coins.
Something the dragon noticed immediately. Its head snapped to Joan, and for a moment, it looked ready to leap forward, but right before I could move, it did something shocking.
It spoke.
“Hark, children of promise. Chosen of its puppets.” Its voice rumbled through the air. Echoed far and wide. Even made the rapidly approaching storm still. “You stand before a harbinger of the inevitable, an envoy of the ever after, of the eternal end.” Its, his voice continued unbothered, unhurried as he addressed us.
“In deference to your ignorance, in understanding of your hopeless position against the inevitable that stands before you, this one offers you a choice.” And as it finished those words, its gaze sharpened.
“Surrender. Accept the inevitable. You have no chance, carriers of light, for this is not a darkness you can hope to beat back. This realm’s days have come. The bell has tolled, its end foretold.”
I worked my jaw. I felt Joan and even Morrigan shiver at its words. And yet…
“Oh… FUCK! IT TALKS!” Morrigan exclaimed from afar, having finally processed everything. And honestly, she sounded more annoyed than scared.
The dragon before us merely snorted in annoyance.
“This one does indeed, talk. This one is nothing like those lessers you have claimed, whose very existence is a stain, a symptom of this crumbling realm. Whereas this one is so much more, now surrender, or do you truly believe you can defeat me?” It continued, it spoke, and it almost seemed amused.
“Do you really think we would surrender, just because you asked?” I asked, befuddled.
It chortled. “Ignorance is a shield, one those puppets use to great effect, but understand this, your goal, your purpose is hopeless. Even should you survive this day, the end is inevitable.”
“So you say…”
“So this one says.” He replies back smugly.
I had more questions, but… well, a lot more questions, but the issue was, being so close to it. It felt wrong. Not just that, but I could feel it pulling at my own reserves. If I didn’t move now, it would be never. Even as we were buying time, the dragon too was gaining the advantage by the moment.
“No.” I declared. Hoping the other two would agree.
“No?” his voice sounded, incredulous. “You would deny this one’s mercy?”
“I would.”
He laughed, “Then so be it.”
All at once I felt it. The weight of his attention level on me, and me alone. It hit me with a physical force that nearly sent me flying back, but the ice held steady, keeping me on my toes. Granting me a chance to shoot my shot.
I opened fire with a salvo of shrill bullets. Each easily cut through the shimmering barrier surrounding the dragon before me. Unfortunately, on contact with the dragon’s scales, all the bullets did was leave a mark.
Irked at my defiance and blatant disregard for its majesty, the dragon lumbered forward and sent out a lazy swipe of its claw. Almost like a king stepping down from his throne to backhand an annoying heckler.
It was an easy strike to dodge, and reload, only to loose another salvo of rounds. Discordant cries filled the air, each peppering its scales and body with ice, but again, no notable damage. I must have looked like a bug, a tiny little thing in its perspective. The apartment building sized beast glowered down at me, and the air shivered as it inhaled.
Noticing what it was doing, how it was breathing in, well, I took a gamble. Loading in a particular bullet, I aimed for just the right moment as it opened its mouth. Flames flickered from the depths of its being, a burning heat that made the air itself shimmer and waver like a mirage.
Just as the heat began to rise, and belch out all-consuming flames, I pulled the trigger.
A crystal song, of high and low, made itself known. Even before it hit, the bullet melted and exploded out. The force was unusually concussive, blasting me back, as the dragon’s head was snapped back. Causing a gout of flame to shoot into the sky.
I hit the ground and rolled before righting myself. Just in time to see the dragon shaking its head, sneezing out half-melted crystals before settling on me with murder in its eyes.
It didn’t hesitate, not anymore. Like a cat pouncing on a mouse, it came. With a powerful leap it charged, and just narrowly missed crushing me under its cruel, clawed digits. Its head snapped towards me, even as I ran, as blades of silver formed under me feet, giving me just enough speed to evade the strike.
The dragon’s maw snapped shut right behind me, but it didn’t stop there. A sudden gout of flame burst out, forcing me to hit the ground in a roll. A claw came swiftly after, digging furrows into the ground, seeking to slice me into pieces.
I had a moment, with no chance to avoid the strike. The world slowed to a crawl as I let the ice take hold, as I dipped into my reserves. I shifted my body, raised my rifle, bayonet attached at the tip, and… hoped.
The claws cut, cleaving through hard, frozen flesh with shocking ease. Only catching on bone. Even then, there was a horrible moment where it felt like they’d cleave through, and perhaps they would have, had a golden light not placed themselves right over the claws at the last second.
Instead of being cleaved, I was thrown aside, badly wounded with large scoring gashes on my body that leaked not a drop of blood. Yet… I was alive. Better yet, as the claws dug into me, the tip of my bayonet scored a blow, carving a bloody line in one of the digits.
With ice fortifying me, with the uniform further bolstering me, I was able to land on my feet and gain some more distance while the dragon inspected the wound with growing incredulity and anger. Until finally the roared. Tar-black… No, the black had a hint of crimson inside it oozed out of the wound. The very moment that blood touched the earth, I could almost see grass growing. The very air filling with a heady scent of magic.
Allowing myself a moment to take it in, I levelled my rifle and once again took shots at the beast as I continued to circle the dragon, keeping its attention, its eyes, solely on me.
It worked. Maybe a little too well…
Golden light washed over me, I felt it flow into my body and settle in, struggling to knit closed the wounds on my body before petering out. Still, it was something as the dragon lunged at me with purpose.
It swung wildly, snapped and hissed. Every snap of its jaws was followed by a spurt or gout of fire and flame. Barries of light saved me from the worst of the damage, what I couldn’t avoid, I took. Letting the fire scorch my clothes, dig blacken my too-white skin.
In a matter of moments, I was scored all over. Sporting wounds even a true veteran of many wars would wince on seeing and yet…
It wasn’t life threatening. I could feel that much. I was teetering on the edge. The uniform constantly struggling to keep up with the damage, ready to give up the ghost at any moment.
It was frustrating. I knew I could push harder, but every time I came close, I could feel the fragile line that was my uniform fray ever more. I was more battling my own uniform’s endurance rather than the dragon before me as I traded blows. Taking what I could, leaving cuts on its otherwise pristine form in retaliation.
It was macabre dance for sure. Like two eagles crashing together and diving towards the earth. After near misses my bayonet would clash against its form, leaving small gashes along its scales, but after a few strikes, the bayonet would shatter, forcing me to use the blades on my feet.
With spins and twirls, as the dragon pounced and slithered around me, it presented plenty of opportunities to strike, leaving small cuts along its body, even as my blades chipped and broke.
This continued. For how long, I couldn’t say, not with the ice enhancing my perception, not as seconds stretched into minutes, or perhaps even hours as every possible moment was used to its fullest.
Despite the accumulating damage, neither of us quit. It was pride against pride. A foolish game of chicken to see who would go the distance, who would stop first…
Unfortunately, I knew I wouldn’t last. Bursts of healing from Joan came more infrequently as she quickly realized the futility of it. Panes of light became more common, blocking blows, layering or curving in such a way to mitigate as much damage as possible.
Even then, I was faltering. Dying. Even with the ice keeping me afloat, I could feel the line of my uniform teetering, like the sword of Damocles of old hanging above my head. That thread, fraying by the second, ready to fall at any moment.
If my uniform shatters now, I’d be left with these horrifying scars, without a single ounce of magic, flush with ice. I wouldn’t die immediately, but…
It remained to be seen if it would actually amount to something.
What helped, was Morrigan was at work. A cloud of crows had gathered, clawing and snapping at the beast. Each crow took a chunk of flesh, moving as a living cloud, like a swarm of locusts trying to devour the beast whole.
All the while she hovered on the periphery of the fight, sneaking in strikes and blows, eyes constantly searching for that single line. In fact, she was easily doing far more damage to the dragon compared to me, and if anyone was going to kill it, it would be her.
So it went. The seconds grew heavier. The line tauter. The cliff, came ever closer as we both simply pressed forward without care. Neither of us willing to stop until the other dies. Its eyes solely focused on me, me on it.
It wishing for this state of affairs to continue, for the inevitable to occur, and for us, we wished for a miracle.
In the midst of it all, I heard something. Like the sound of rolling thunder, a sound that sounded awfully similar, to a gun.