novelraw Chapter 38: Entry in the City
Chapter 38: Entry in the City
Terrence paused, watching Isis raise her hands in a sharp, practiced seal. Crimson runes ignited beneath her bare feet, flickering like dying embers on the cracked asphalt. The air around her thickened, charged with heat and the faint scent of sulfur.
"No use in wasting our time here. We’ve got more important matters to attend to. Destroy them juggernaut." She said with a wide and emotionless smile on her face.
The ground buckled violently. A colossal red dragon claw burst upward in a shower of pulverized concrete and twisted rebar. Claws longer than even Terrence was flexed once, then swept forward in a single, contemptuous arc that cut the air with a low, thunderous whoosh.
Caesar and his decaying gorilla pack had no chance to brace. The swipe connected with bone-shattering force. Bodies launched skyward, rotting fur and exposed muscle tumbling in chaotic arcs. Caesar slammed chest-first into the side of a rusted shipping container, the steel crumpling inward with a metallic scream. The gorillas scattered like broken toys. Some crashed through collapsed scaffolding in sprays of sparks, others skid across pavement in mangled heaps. Howls of rage twisted into wet gurgles as the dragon claw sank back into the earth, leaving only smoking craters and silence.
"You heard the lady." Terrence chuckled as his War Hammer started to crack and pulse with lightning.
Godzilla’s Toenail trembled in his grip. Jagged fissures of electric blue-white energy spiderwebbed across the crystalline head. The air around the weapon snapped and hissed. Lightning forked down from the gray sky in blinding streaks, drawn to the hammer like iron to a lodestone. Each strike hammered into the metal with deafening cracks, feeding the growing storm.
[Elemental Resonance Detected.]
[Lightning + Kinetic + Seismic]
[Resonance Fusion: SUCCESS]
[Mode: Thunder God’s Wrath]
The hammer screamed. It was a high, tortured whine of overstressed crystal and raw power. Terrence’s arms burned from the strain, vibration traveling up his bones like electric fire. Lightning continued to lash down, coiling around the haft in crackling ropes. If his durability hadn’t been superhuman, the weapon would have shattered and taken his arms with it.
[New Active Skill acquired!]
[Thunder God’s Cry LV. 1]
[Description]
Unleashes a divine annihilation strike forged from absolute resonance between Lightning, Kinetic, and Seismic forces.
Upon impact, the war hammer detonates its entire stored vibration and momentum in a single convergent collapse, creating a localized thunder-core that pulverizes matter at the point of contact before erupting outward.
A collapsing storm-ring expands from the strike zone, turning terrain, enemies, and structures into airborne fragments as chained lightning lances through the rupture, using debris, metal, and living targets as conduits.
With a grunt, Terrence heaved the War Hammer and appeared beside Isis.
"Yeahh we don’t want to be here for the aftermath." He said before lifting her up bridal style and speeding away.
One arm hooked under her knees, the other supporting her back, he blurred forward. Wind roared past them. Isis’s curls whipped wildly across his face, her arms instinctively looping around his neck. The ruined yard vanished behind them in a streak of gray and rust. He crossed half a mile in heartbeats, boots barely touching the ground.
Zzz-
BOOOOOOM.
The explosion rolled across the outskirts like apocalyptic thunder. A blinding white-blue flash lit the clouds for an instant, followed by a shockwave that flattened abandoned containers and hurled debris skyward in spiraling clouds. Lightning chained across the blast zone in jagged webs, arcing from one ruined structure to the next, turning steel into molten slag. The storm-ring collapsed inward, dragging everything into a single point of annihilation before detonating outward again in a final, earth-shaking roar.
When Terrence finally stopped, they stood on a cracked access road overlooking the city’s perimeter. A massive translucent barrier arched overhead like a dome of frozen sky. It was pale blue, faintly rippling, humming with latent power that vibrated in the teeth. Behind it rose sheer concrete walls fifty meters high, topped with razor wire and watchtowers where searchlights swept slow, methodical arcs. The air here felt heavier and dense with mana.
[Fused Tier-5 Rend Objective update:]
[You have made it to Khoi City.]
[Here there are 6 Malignant Apostles that you will have to kill to complete this Rend.]
[As a Fused Order + Ruin Rend, you must restore order while establishing death and destruction. The Fate of every innocent person here lies in your hands, so adjust your steps accordingly.]
’Seems way more intense than the last Rends I’ve entered. I wonder what’s the secrets inside of this place.’ Terrence thought as he gently placed Isis down.
She steadied herself against his arm, silver eyes wide as she stared at the barrier. The dome’s surface shimmered like liquid glass, reflecting the gray clouds above in distorted waves.
They weren’t the only people here.
Dozens of Stragglers dotted the perimeter. They were ragged figures in patched armor, cloaked summoners with glowing tattoos on their skin, beastkin with matted fur, humans with haunted eyes. Some waited in tense clusters, others hammered futilely at the barrier with weapons or spells. A group of lizardfolk swung obsidian axes; impacts flared blue but left no mark. A woman with spectral wings hurled shadow bolts. It was the same result, just ripples and sparks. Others sat defeated, staring at the walls like prisoners at a noose.
"No one knows how to get through this magical forcefield. It blocks any magic you can think of from getting pass it." Isis said as she placed a hand on it, feeling the warmth and power.
Her palm pressed flat against the surface. It thrummed under her touch. The forcefield was warm, almost alive, vibrating with a low frequency that resonated in her bones and teeth.
"What about absorbing it? Have anyone tried that?" Terrence asked.
She nodded her head. "Yes, but the type of magic this is made up of is so powerful and potent. Usually if one try to absorb it their body ends up exploding."
"Well damn.." Terrence then smirked widely. "Sounds fun let me try."
"WHAT?!" Isis yelled and placed a firm hand on Terrence’s chest. "That is a horrible plan! One you can end up dying and two, what if you alert the Apostles?!"
Her voice cracked slightly. She was still marveling at its return, but sharp with genuine fear. Her fingers curled into his shirt, silver eyes pleading.
Terrence crossed his arms. "Alright alright. I highly doubt I’ll die, but you’re right about the other part. What do you suggest then Ice?"
She smiled at the nickname. It was small, genuine, the first real softness he’d seen on her face since the voice restoration.
"Well I suggest you follow me and we can blend in together."
Terrence nodded his head and held out his hand. In it was an Epic-Grade clothing set.
"Here. This will look better on you than that dirty white dress."
The outfit materialized in a soft glow. It consisted of dark gray tactical pants with reinforced knees, a fitted black long-sleeve top with subtle crimson threading, lightweight armored vest, fingerless gloves, and sturdy boots. It looked clean, practical, and edged with faint protective coverings that shimmered briefly before fading.
"I’d love to take a shower first before I put on those new clothes. Thank you but keep it for now." She said, her smile widening in gratitude.
"Alright." He equipped them again and then followed her as she led him. "So about these Apostles, what are their goals? What are they seeking to accomplish?"
"Honestly I don’t know. It’s a question I’ve been asking since I was separated from my family." She gestured ahead.
A narrow checkpoint cut into the wall—two towering red gates flanked by rune-etched pillars. A line of ragged figures waited single-file. Overhead, a massive crystal orb hovered, pulsing with pale blue light. One by one, Stragglers stepped forward. The orb scanned them—light sweeping from head to toe.
"Right there is where Stragglers can get approved to enter Khoi City again. It’s determined by how powerful you have become. If the light turns green-" They watched as a Straggler stepped through to the other side, happy yells and cries could be heard. "They will enter another area where an Apostle has the final say so on whether they can be apart of Khoi City or not."
The man who passed was tall, scarred, and carrying a massive war-axe. He vanished through the inner gate to cheers from friends waiting beyond. The orb chimed softly, green light bathing the area.
The next Straggler that stepped forward, the light instantly flashed red.
He looked fearful before he tried to escape..
The red gates that formed on both sides prevented him from doing so.
Crimson barriers snapped into place—translucent walls of force that sealed the checkpoint like a cage. The man pounded against them, panic rising in his eyes.
"But if the light turns red-"
WHIFF.
A flash of red overcame the area and the man was no longer to be found.
He simply..vanished. There wasn’t even blood as evidence. The red light faded, gates dissolved, and the line shuffled forward as if nothing had happened.
"You are erased as if you weren’t there in the first place."