Chapter 58: Earth's Guardians
In one of the VIP rooms of the Bastion city 4 teenagers were in a heated debate about tommorow's menu.
"Pizza."
"Burger."
Kei looked across the table at Andy. "We have had burger only for three days in a row!"
"And?"
"Enough is enough. If we get to choose the day's menu, we should vary it."
Jimmy leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "I don't understand why we're having this argument. You guys are acting like you belong to the first year of middle school, not the first year of college."
Andy points at Kei "It's cause he says Pizza is better than burger!"
Kei stares in disbelief "Wha- Are you dumb?"
"Burger has meat!"
"So does pizza!!"
"Burger has more meat."
Yato yawns "Kei, just veto this food dictator. If we let him have his way we will eat burgers only for the rest of our lives."
For a few minutes, the war outside the Bastion might as well have belonged to another world. Then, the alarm sounded. The four of them stopped, the relaxed atmosphere vanishing as the change took hold of them immediately.
Kei stood first. "Where?"
Andy was already pulling on his jacket. "East Gate. The first Grade 3 beast appeared and destroyed our beast beacons in the area. This caused a flood of beasts to attack our eastern gate and blow past the defensive line. The other special squads are on a mision to lure the grade 3 beast away. It's still outside of the range where it can detect the city but they have to move it further to avoid future complications."
Yato wiped his hands and rose from the table, while Jimmy grabbed the last piece of his burger.
"Always the slow eater." Kei rolled his eyes.
"I like enjoying my food. Unlike you barbarians who only know how to swallow it." Jimmy muttered.
Kei shook his head. "I can't enjoy food when a creature we definetly can't defeat spawns a few dozen kilometers away from us. Let's go."
They were through the door before the second alarm finished sounding.
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The East Gate was already burning. A defensive squad had been pushed against the inner wall, their lines broken beneath the pressure of several Grade Two beasts.
A tank fired from behind them, the heavy shell striking one of the creatures and throwing it sideways, but the monster scrambled back to its feet almost immediately.
"Fall back!"
The frantic order barely reached the soldiers before another beast crashed through the outer barricade.
Kei arrived at the wall and didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. "Vermilion Bird Revival Technique" Red light erupted across his body as it ignited, covering him in a brilliant crimson aura that flowed around his physical frame like living flame.
He jumped from the defensive checkpoint, and the distance between the wall and the trapped squad disappeared beneath his sudden speed. A beast swung its claw toward the defensive line, but Kei caught the injured cultivator beside the impact zone and pulled him away just as the attack tore through the frozen ground.
The cultivator's leg was twisted at an impossible angle. "Hold still," Kei commanded, placing a hand flat against the man's chest.
The red aura surged into the soldier, and his frantic breathing steadied. Bone shifted back into place beneath the skin, and the torn muscles rapidly knitted themselves back together. His Qi, which had been scattered and depleted by the trauma, began returning to his internal network.
The man's eyes widened in sheer shock. "I..."
"Can you stand?" Kei asked.
The cultivator pushed himself upright, his body feeling entirely different. He was stronger, his senses were sharper, and his breathing was deeper; even the Qi circulating through his meridians felt far more substantial than it had before the injury.
Kei was already moving toward another wounded cultivator, delivering another touch and another surge of crimson light. The exact same transformation occurred—the wounds closed and their strength returned.
Then something else manifested. Kei's aura intensified as every person he successfully revived seemed to feed a small fraction of energy back into his own body. His muscles grew stronger, his vitality increased, his senses sharpened, and the pressure of his Qi rose significantly. The Vermillion Bird did not simply return people to what they had been; it actively pushed them beyond it, and every successful revival pushed Kei further as well.
A Grade 2 beast charged out of the smoke. Kei turned, and as the creature's claws came down, he stepped directly inside the arc of the attack. His fist struck its chest, and the impact folded the beast backward, it's claws managing to tear through his body as it got pummeled. Before it could recover Kei, who had already healed, grabbed its head and drove it hard into the earth, shattering the ground beneath the force and sent a flurry of attacks it's way until the beast stopped moving entirely.
"Kei!" Andy shouted from the perimeter.
He turned to see three more creatures breaking through the gap. "I've got them," Kei replied, throwing himself back into the fray as he moved.
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A blue streak crossed the chaotic battlefield. Andy appeared beside the first beast before the soldiers watching the breach had even finished turning their heads. "Azure Dragon Dashing Technique" The technique activated covering his legs in a brilliant blue aura.
His foot struck the ground, and he vanished from sight. The next instant, he materialized behind the creature, then beside it, then directly above it as the beast swung its claws uselessly at empty air. Andy was already somewhere else entirely.
"Where the hell is he?" a soldier shouted from the barricade.
A blue blur flashed across the monster's body, causing it to stagger before Andy reappeared fifty meters away. The beast collapsed lifelessly onto the shale.
He looked toward the next breach, rolling his shoulders. "That's all?"
A guttural roar answered him from the haze. Andy grinned, his eyes locking onto the threat. "Good."