novelraw Chapter 109 : For The Evil’s Of Civilization
Chapter 109 : For The Evil’s Of Civilization
15 Days Ago.
Likho 2
A missile went off right in front of me, and shrapnel flew everywhere, bouncing off my body. I was able to handle the kinetic impact as well, holding myself back from getting obliterated by the force. However, the greatest threat wasn’t either of them; it was the Magick that came next.
Spirits of red emerged from the epicenter of the explosion, dousing hundreds of feet with themselves. Immediately, everything felt hot, well, of course it should be. This missile was designed to incinerate, to turn tanks and buildings into molten slag.
I could feel my internal organs melting inside of me, turning into mush while my skin baked and boiled, crackling and popping. But I was still alive. I could feel my body fix itself with every passing moment.
One thing I did notice was that the ground, while it did combust into flames, only did so briefly, and even then, the heat seemed to die down relatively quickly. Even the explosion was a lot more tame than usual, as if the environment was even dampening our abilities, or more likely, something else was.
Dela then spoke out, her body reforming from the blast as if she had never been hit. Not even phased by the heat. “Over there, the Likho!” She raised her arm up and pointed directly at what appeared to be a tall tree, but upon enhancing my eyesight, I could see what it really was:
A tall, pale-skinned humanoid was attempting to camouflage his body amongst the trees. They had one unblinking eye that resembled that of a broken coin. It looked around, hungrily, as if trying to spy a meal. From his eye came forth the strange little sprites that roamed aroun,d causing so much trouble.
I had to get to it, but how? Every time we got close, unfortunate things seemingly popped out of nowhere. What sort of means could counter this?
Dela began to walk, strutting around as if she knew the answer while the boys above tried to stabilize themselves. “I’ll draw the misfortune to myself. It would still affect us, judging by how big it is, but it should be lessened enough for you to finish it off.”
She dashed ahead, tripping and falling spectacularly, doing somersaults in the air. She kept the
Meanwhile, I focused on using my Magick.
“The Spirits Bring-“
I bit my tongue in mistake, wincing as bad luck has called upon me yet again. I tried once more, numbing the pain I felt and softening my mouth as I spoke again.
“The Spirits Bring The Hope I Require.”
Spirits wrapped around my body, completely enveloping it with their golden light as I saw those black sprites try to rush toward me again, this time, repelled swiftly by my Spell.
I further focused, using my Magick to keep this spell longer than the usual as I dashed through the forest. I felt my strength regain and my vitality increase. It seemed that these mischievous, unlucky spirits were the cause of all the mishaps. I had to take care of its source, the Likho.
Luckily, Dela was dancing across the swamp, swarmed by those little sprites as they caused her physical form to destabilize, almost like they were tearing her apart, keeping her in a glittering state where she could barely move without turning into mist.
Taking advantage of the distraction she caused, I sped myself up to the Likho who tried to escape, but I couldn’t let that happen now, could I?
I reached out with my hand, clawing the air as I formed a missile, the opposite of the one that exploded in my face. I hurled it towards the Likho who stared at it, from its one eye, it sent forth several dark sprites.
But I was already ready, manipulating the golden spirits that were on my body, I sent them out to coat the missile, defending against the misfortune of the Likho.
Then, I detonated it. Shrapnel flew all across the air as the force shook the ground and trees, knocking several of them away before the real Magick kicked in.
Blue spirits flew out of the explosion, covering the land in several hundred feet of ice and cold, freezing everything, including the Likho in place. I adapted to the cold rather quickly, like I did with the heat. Even if I felt all of my organs go completely still, I simply restarted them.
The Likho fell from the air to the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces as I sighed, turning towards the others as Dela, Derek, and Topher all gathered behind me, the menace finally gone.
I took a deep breath, but before I could say anything else… I bit my tongue once more. Instinctively, I looked around and found in the distance… Another Likho, simply standing amongst the trees once more.
Dela nods as if to confirm what I’m seeing. “It is why the land here in Saunne is unlivable. The spirits here are incompatible with civilization itself.”
I sigh for a moment before smiling. “Then we shall simply deal with them as much as we can. But never lose sight of the true mission at hand. Fire, Brimstone, stay and watch our six. Make sure to minimize your actions as much as possible.”
“Aye aye, Miss!” They both yelled out before I turned to Dela, who had already gone ahead. She knew what she needed to be: A distraction, and for that, she was damn good at it.
I, on the other hand, simply sped up, dashing once more to meet those who dare stand in my way, only saying one thing in response.
“It’s missus.”
Chuma and Beda
Certain areas of the swamp were much worse than normal. It wasn’t bad luck this time that plagued us, but rather, the actual plague and the blights that came with it.
In these areas, the mist from before was even thicker and greener, blanketing the top and bottom. Of course, there was an easy way around this, but it might be a little costly. That would be flying. The fuel for the golems was limited, and perhaps she could find a way to synthesize more, and she did save up enough for it to last, but a limited supply is still limited.
For me, however, it was as easy as desiring myself to have wings. When I did so, the skin in my back protruded, bones formed, and feathers emerged. Suddenly, thanks to a convenient slit in the back of the bodysuit, perfectly formed wings erupted.
Now, in no way were these going to actually generate enough lift for me to fly. In fact, I would have to make all the bones in my body hollow for that to work, and even lighten my load even more. Or, I would have to flap extremely quickly or with even more force. Perhaps I could, but it would be a waste of too much energy on my part.
Instead, I used the Acting of Flight. A spell that allows one to fly as long as they have wings that look convincing enough. And as bright as day, I saw several spirits support my wings, allowing me to soar into the air.
“I will scout above, see if there’s any danger to be had in the sky.” I shot up straight above the canopies, looking around for anything strange, but that was when it hit me, literally.
A cloud of putrid smoke rose up as fast as I did. I was about to avoid it when-
Beep
My mind flashed with the memory of Adrian’s hospital room. The constant beeping. I held his hand, staring into his blank eyes. I waited at his bed every day, every hour. It felt like an Abyss I could never free myself from. Every single possible movement, I thought he’d stir away, I thought I would see the lights in his eyes again.
Beep
Beep
Beep
It rang in my head again and again as I felt a painful sting wrap around my mind and heart, forcing me down as everything turned dark.
“Why did you leave him?”
“Why did you leave me?”
“You left me all alone…”
His voice echoed and bounced in my head. I couldn’t take it, I wanted to rip my ears off my head and yell into the sky. Why did I leave him? Why did I go? Why would I ever abandon the one I love to be here? Why am I a coward?”
My claws grew, and I was about to claw off my own ears until someone else grabbed my hand… And was it me?
I looked up at myself, wearing my lab coat, as she stared back at me before speaking in a familiar voice.
“Let not your heart harden. This is the work of the Beda. Be still and calm yourself.”
I took a deep breath and listened to the words of the Caretaker. Calming my mind, body, and soul, closing my eyes to focus myself.
I didn’t leave him because I was a coward. Nor would I ever truly let him be alone. I left to go and find if there was a way to cure him outside of this land. I couldn’t trust the other nations. They would find a way to take advantage of me, and of Epithet, so what better than a land that was all but abandoned…
That, and it was a dream of his to know, to figure out, and to understand what exactly was in Galfania. Oh, the stories I can tell him, the tales I could sing and spin. Haha… Maybe this could finally heal him. Maybe my powers could work on him.
I took a deep breath once more. I won’t be the wife who abandoned her husband. I shall be the one to save her husband.
I opened up my eyes to find myself on the ground, the wings I had already receded back into my body. I pulled myself up from the muddy ground, brushing it off my bodysuit. Luckily, thanks to its properties, it’s nearly impossible to get dirty.
I turned to my left, finding Dela on one knee. I could tell by the grunts that she was struggling with something, as if she was being stabbed through the gut and was attempting to remove the blade. Carefully, I walked up to her and placed my hand on her back.
In my mind, I felt pangs of deep regret, loathing, and… A sense of desperation. As if deep down, there was something about all of this that she didn’t enjoy. I pulled on that, giving Dela’s body, mind, and soul so much-needed comfort and warmth, blessing her until I heard the Faerie gasp out loud, standing up in what appeared to be surprise.
“Am I back in Netzar- No… No…” She exhaled loudly as I saw her actively try to calm herself before returning to the semi-monotone way she held herself. “The others, how about them?” She turned to Derek and Topher, whose golems had both stopped moving.
I approached them as well, gently gliding my hands over the golems. Unlike myself and Dela, I sensed nothing too major within them. Just a few minor pangs of pain and discomfort, but that was about it before they both whirred back to life.
“By my knees, what was that?” Derel shouted out as he actually looked at his knees.
“I don’t know, man… Everything is dizzy, and I feel like I might hurl.”
“Please, not in the golem. It has cleaning supplies, but do not sully it more than it needs to, because right now, we’re going to need as much of it as possible to deal with the monsters here-”
Then, all of a sudden, I nearly vomited my guts out.