Rangers Endgame

Chapter 118: Beacon

KAKKONA:

He couldn't peel his eyes away from Matoi's body lying limp within a bed of spikes, trails of blood flowing down their jagged surfaces. His face was twisted in a silent scream, and his lightless eyes stared into nothing.

Replays of Kakkona's time with the greedy rogue flashed through his head. How he begrudgingly protected him from a wave of earth devils as he unlocked an enticing chest. How he and Maeve went out of their way to double-team a Saberclaw Tiger just to explore a hidden chamber of treasure it was protecting. How Matoi ventured into a sketchy room, entirely empty aside from the single chest at its center, only to be outwitted by a mimic.

Now, memories of him were all that remained. He wrenched his gaze away to look at Akane, the one who was supposed to be responsible for retrieving him should he be in danger, but found a colossal conglomeration of twisted earthen mass blocking her field of view. With some effort, he pushed down the impulse to cast blame and turned to Maeve.

Before, he was never certain what was running through her head as she always wore her carefully crafted mask of indifference. Now, it was all too obvious. The twitch of her fingers, the subtle tightening of her jaw, the flash of regret in her eyes. He could see, clear as day, the inner turmoil threatening her calm.

As much as he wanted to let his own emotions run rampant, it would serve them no good. Tightening his hold on his feelings, he laid a consoling hand on the Saberclaw leader's shoulder. She didn't react immediately. After a few seconds, she breathed out and looked at Kakkona, her feline eyes showing a sliver of vulnerability.

She was tired.

He hardened his gaze and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze as if donating some of his resolve. He didn't speak, nor did he have to. Seeing the determination reignite in her, she gave him an appreciative nod before turning back to Matoi's killer.

The Savior was able to stop the combined effort of not one, but two Sentinels and an S-rank with ease. They needed to deal with him first, but at the rate they were going, it wouldn't be possible.

["Dai,"] Kiyoshi's voice rang from Kakkona's communication artifact. ["Report."]

It took a few seconds for the big guy to reply. ["All that has opposed us has been swiftly dealt with."]

["Good,"] Kiyoshi responded, taking a breath before continuing. ["There has been a complication. Our only chance at accessing the Vault has been lost. We need you here."]

There wasn't a reply, and for a second Kakkona wondered if he'd heard it. He looked over at Kiyoshi and saw that he was going to ask if he'd heard, but Dai finally answered back. ["During your struggle, you call upon the man you've instructed to stay away...how will I find the Vault? You can't expect me to retrace your steps."]

Kiyoshi shifted his gaze up past the entanglement of earth towards the ceiling, and Kakkona knew he was conjuring up a new improvised plan. ["You won't have to. Just remain on standby until..."]

The room began to tremble again, and Kakkona snapped his focus on the Savior again. The ground lurched, and Kakkona and Maeve dispersed to evade potential spikes. Kiyoshi leapt as the ground below him burst into javelins, tearing at his uniform and staining it red. Fortunately, it didn't seem like the surprise attack dealt vital damage as he was still nimble enough to weave around and deflect the rush of earthen appendages.

As the three of them darted around the room, Kiyoshi strategically ended up running on a horizontal pillar beside Kakkona, who was speeding through a volley of plunging spearheads.

"Once Dai arrives, let him take care of the Vault!" Kiyoshi shouted, his voice competing with the roaring room. 

"You're planning to pick the lock by force?" Kakkona shouted back as his fist hammered through a wall intended to cut him off.

"That's the idea. Regroup with Akane." Without waiting for a reply, Kiyoshi peeled off as several blades of marble raced to intercept him.

The two broke off onto their own respective paths, and Kakkona found himself caught up to Maeve. She had coated her blade with a dense layer of radiance and conjured another on the other end as she performed a mesmerizing dance of precise slashes and elusive maneuvers.

"Let's rendezvous with Akane!" He informed, already heading towards where he last saw the conjurer.

Maeve nodded without breaking focus and followed behind him towards the solidified tsunami. Kakkona bounced from one platform to the next as he scaled the twisted wall. As he expected, the stone and marble suddenly erupted into spikes wherever they stepped, but fortunately, they were faster.

They coordinated their movements carefully so as not to endanger each other with their respective paths as they raced upward. Leaping over the wall, the spikes barely grazing their boots, they landed on a plane just out of the Savior's range. Kiyoshi was already there with a consoling hand on Akane's shoulder.

From her downcast gaze, Kakkona assumed he'd broken the news about Matoi to her, guilt written on her face. She only looked up when Maeve rushed over.

"Is Matoi really...?" Akane trailed off.

Maeve grabbed her arms and gave her a firm but assuring look. "Don't even think about blaming yourself. It won't contribute to our situation."

Akane looked into her bright topaz eyes, seemingly drawing upon her strength as the regret in her features gradually wiped away into something more fierce. She took a deep breath to steady herself, acknowledged Kakkona with a nod, pleased to know he was safe, then turned back to Kiyoshi.

"Do you have a plan?"

"His long-range capabilities and control over matter make closing the distance strenuous. Even if we do, getting past his sturdy defenses has proven to be nearly impossible with our party as it is now. We also don't know how large his pool of radiance is compared to ours," Kiyoshi reviewed what he'd learned. "The only obvious limitation is his range."

"That's where Haruka would excel at." Kakkona pointed out.

Maeve's sharp eyes scanned the cluttered room, but she gave up after a few seconds of looking. "Searching for the exit isn't viable. With his uncanny ability, he likely sealed it off anyway."

"That won't be necessary," Kiyoshi assured.

As he briefly relayed his idea to the team, however, their cover and the floor began to shift again. Surprised, they all scattered as spikes erupted from the floor. Kakkona leapt to a platform below and sprinted across a field of lashing tendrils, his fists carving gold arcs through the air as he smashed through the living obstruction.

He thought they were safe where they were. So either the Savior had a larger range, or he was on the move. Now that he'd been separated from his team, he could only assume they were following through with the plan.

He looked up towards the ceiling, attempting to chart a course, but the writhing environment made doing so challenging.

The ground shook, and a pillar rose from beneath him. Using it to his advantage, he rode the pillar until it started turning horizontal. He jumped off onto a diagonal wall, sprinting along its surface as spikes erupted where his feet had just left.

He spotted a platform up ahead and raced towards it, only for it to crumble away into a sweeping blade to protect the Savior. Kakkona's eyes darted to find another platform, but he'd already reached the end of the wall.

He leapt from it and hurtled downward, the cold winds whipping at his face. Though he landed with a roll to mitigate the impact, the hard, uneven floor ground against his bones. But there was no time to lick his wounds.

Stumbling to his feet, he tried a different approach to reach the ceiling. Charging his gauntlets with radiance as he sprinted up another lopsided wall, he spun and fired a blast behind himself to slingshot him upward. The wall shattered from the impact and sent him flying, though not very far. The recoil had gotten him to a platform with fissures already beginning to slice it apart.

As he prepared to fire another blast, stray spikes in the distance curled back on themselves and struck the platform. He narrowly escaped death's jaws after whipping his body around to evade a spike piercing his heart, ending up with a gash across his chest instead. Landing on a pillar, he slid down its rough side back to ground level. He was back to square one.

The platforms, the pillars, the walls, and the floors were all constantly in motion. Reaching the highest point would practically be impossible.

Leaping over a bed of erupting spikes and sliding under a pillar rushing where his head used to be, he caught a glimpse of the Savior already battling Kiyoshi and Maeve. Like last time, each of their attacks would be interrupted by a barrier before they'd be launched back.

As he watched, an idea came to mind. Kakkona smirked, figuring he could use this opportunity to score a few points in the "cool" department as he redirected his focus.

He sprinted towards the battle, evading wild attacks meant to hinder anything that came too close. Two colossal walls shot from the ground on either side of him as javelins burst from their surfaces.

He leapt, dodged, and punched his way through. Small pockets of the ground gave way beneath him, and he stumbled, giving the javelins an opening. In his desperation, he twisted his body in an almost unnatural way to avoid being skewered as the point of a javelin drew a gash in his arm and another across his leg.

The javelins ahead of him jutted out from the walls in a crisscross mesh to form a blockade while the ground began to fully open up. Launching himself across, he concentrated more of his radiance in his gauntlets, increasing their density as he loaded his fists.

"Meteoric Devastation." He spoke as he unleashed his barrage.

Dozens of lightning-quick fists pummeled the blockade before it exploded into shimmering fragments of white-amber and marble. His form flew through the opening before it could repair itself, and he was then falling towards the Savior himself.

His snow-white hair whipped as he turned his nose up to see Kakkona dive-bombing towards him. As expected, he raised a hand and conjured a barrier. Kakkona didn't use his full strength, however, as he only needed the Savior to protect himself.

Kiyoshi, recovering from being blasted back, watched as Kakkona slammed his fist into the barrier, the surface rippling. The Savior kept the same look of indifference through the protection of his barrier.

"A surprise attack will not work on me."

Kakkona swiftly adjusted himself to be standing on the barrier in preparation. Kiyoshi watched with confusion and annoyance as his colleague deviated from the original plan.

"I thought I told you to—" He was cut off by the confident smirk Kakkona shot his way.

Before Kiyoshi could read what he was trying to do, the Savior catapulted Kakkona away towards the ceiling. Pouring more radiance into his gauntlet, Kakkona loaded his fist, his form a blur as he drew a line of amber through the air.

If they wanted a beacon to signal to Dai, this was their best shot. As he rapidly approached the ceiling, he unleashed his stored power. The blast carved a tunnel through the ceiling before reaching the outside world. The blast dissipated, allowing a soft pillar of sunshine to flow into the room. His gauntlet cracked from the immense strain.

"Hopefully that'll do it." Kakkona coughed as gravity seized him.