Rangers Endgame

Chapter 93: Hope to Escape

Yakeru and Daichi shielded their eyes as the debris once sealing the entrance to the boss's lair suddenly burst open. Having no time to react, Haruki helplessly thrust forward before being buried under the settling rubble. Daichi paid no mind to his second fallen teammate, only mildly interested in the slain Crystal-fanged Weaver that had come tumbling out of its lair.

Itsuki followed before coming to a stop and Yakeru sprinted to his mentor's aid.

"Itsuki!" He slid to his side, hastily tearing fabric from under his armor to wrap over Itsuki's stump, the fabric immediately dyeing red.

"Good to see you're still standing, kid." Itsuki coughed, wincing as Yakeru carefully raised what was left of his arm over his head to help stop the bleeding.

Yakeru drew his health elixir and offered it, which his mentor eagerly accepted and the red pooling beneath him gradually stopped.

"Well that was unexpected." Daichi said, scratching his head with a lifted brow.

Yakeru ignored him, his focus only on stabilizing his mentor's condition. The only thing the traitor had done was stand around away.

Daichi was certain that Itsuki would've been made food for the Crystal-fanged Weaver by now but he'd underestimated him. This miscalculation could cost him greatly which was why he decided he shouldn't take anymore chances.

"You both have been very lucky today." Daichi reached into his satchel and pulled out a red vial. "But even luck has its limits."

Popping open the lid, he downed the vial and tossed it aside. Yakeru followed Itsuki's fearful gaze to find Daichi spasming violently, his limbs jerking this way and that as his veins became more prominent.

Itsuki stood to his feet, startling Yakeru out of his trance. "We need to go!"

Yakeru gave a sharp nod and supported Itsuki's side as they hurried down the cavern, limping past the contorting Daichi. A shriek resounded from behind them but they didn't dare look back. They kept the same pace, Yakeru tugging Itsuki along as fast as he could until he realized Daichi's cries had stopped but he resisted the urge to glance over his shoulder.

Mere moments later, he found that he didn't have to as the sound of shattering stone echoing down the cavern grew louder behind them. Having no other option, Yakeru infused his legs, his lower half shuddering in protest as he sped forward, forcing Itsuki to take small leaps just to keep pace with him.

"You're pretty optimistic to think we can outrun him..." Itsuki groaned, blood trickling from his mouth.

"Stop talking. I have an idea." Yakeru assured, leaping over debris.

As they rushed down the cavern, a blood-curdling scream tore at the air behind them. Yakeru made the mistake of glancing back, catching a glimpse of the horror that would eviscerate them should it reach them.

Sickly gold gushed from Daichi's extremities, lashing out at the rocky surroundings in a wild torrent of rage. His disfigured armor exposed his bulging veins as his bloodshot eyes locked onto them.

Hot pain seared through Yakeru's legs as he began to slow but he didn't stop. Looking forward again, he finally spotted streaks of faint light that connected the walls. Gnashing his teeth, he called upon every last drop of strength and weaved his way through the field of streaking lights until he they made it to the other side.

As he collapsed with Itsuki, all he could do was watch and pray that his plan would succeed. Daichi's form rapidly approached, the tunnel trembling and collapsing behind him under his unhinged power.

Whether he didn't see the light streaks or ignored them, Yakeru didn't know but Daichi bulldozed through them. The streaks tangled and snapped under the sheer strength of his pouring radiance, but with each one he touched, he slowed down a fraction.

His skin began to harden as a sheen spread throughout his body. As he outstretched his hand to grab at Yakeru, his body came to a jittering stop. Crystalline formations clawed their way up his arms, locking his joints. He shrieked as skin and ligaments tore, his body becoming a glistening canvas of twisted crimson.

"Clever little brat..." Daichi squeezed out before the crystallization disabled his vocal cords.

The blood rushing from his mouth slowed then hardened as his raging radiance continuously burst from his crystalized skin, his eyes flashing with unimaginable agony.

Soon, the crystals reached his face before fully encapsulating him within a prison of torment. Yakeru pried his eyes away from the gruesome sight and fought to regain his composure.

"Let's go, kid." Itsuki tugged on his arm.

Yakeru helped him up before they both staggered towards the exit.

*****

As the sun began its slow descent towards the horizon, painting the sky scarlet with a blend of vibrant orange, the two limped their way to the nearest village bordering the inner and mid rim. Itsuki cradled his stump of an arm as Yakeru used the last of his meager strength to drag him down the street.

As they went further within the village, the scent of freshly baked bread provided a comforting contrast to the metallic stench of blood staining their clothes. Worried eyes followed them as the villagers who were just retiring to their homes stopped to either watch or rush to them to assist. The villagers kindly guided them to their infirmary, where they were rushed to the emergency room.

After a few tests, the medical staff didn't find any major injuries with Yakeru, which was surprising for him. Itsuki, however, was wheeled away for emergency surgery.

As Yakeru lay in bed, the moonlight meandering through his window to caress his scratched face, he delved into his thoughts to process the events. Even with Blitz Step, he doubted he could slay the Crystal-fanged Weaver since Itsuki was nearly killed by it. Even then, he still struggled to defeat Daichi's lackeys, even when they held back to feed him to the Weaver.

Reflecting back, Blitz Step was far too predictable, especially since they were mostly aware of its capabilities and limitations from the Clan Skirmish. He'd need to position himself properly each time before he used the ability, but this in turn would telegraph his intentions to his opponents. To eliminate this, he'd have to train himself to execute Blitz Step without the need to prime himself with a stance.

'Easier said than done.' he thought, absentmindedly watching the clouds roll over the twinkling stars through his window.

He pondered heavily what that entailed. Without giving away his intentions to his enemies, he'd need to somehow activate the muscle groups in his legs responsible for movement without physically moving. After letting the idea hang in his head, he was tempted to deem it impossible. However, he also had the same preconception about radiance before he'd met Itsuki.

Putting aside the idea for now, he thought back to Daichi. He hadn't expected to see him use an elixir similar to what he saw in Yama Village.

'So that's what it does.' A chill crawled up his spine as he meditated on the implications of the elixir.

He now knew what it was capable of. Not only did it bolster one's power, similar to enhancement elixirs, it plunged its user into a feral-like state. If it was getting more exposure, he didn't want to know what kind of disaster it would invite. He could only hope the Capital had made some headway to stop its production before it got to that point.

Yakeru was discharged a few days later, but stayed in town to check in with his mentor and guardian regularly.

He walked inside the recovery room and pulled up a chair to Itsuki's bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"If it isn't my one and only visitor," Itsuki chuckled. "Never better."

Yakeru glanced at the bandaged stump where Itsuki's arm should've been, guilt beginning to swell within him. "I'm sorry."

Itsuki lifted an eyebrow. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I let myself become comfortable with my colleagues even if they're complete strangers," Yakeru's eyes drifted to the floor. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt otherwise."

"Please, I knew what I signed up for when I agreed to be your guardian," Itsuki looked at him with gentle eyes. "Had I followed my gut when those three approached us, I wouldn't have ended up like this in the first place. Plus, you wouldn’t have had to fight those guys on your own if I’d done my job properly. If anything, this whole situation was my fault. So don't go blaming yourself," his brows twitched up a fraction of an inch in realization then a bead of sweat formed on his face. "And do us both a favor and don't mention this to your sister. If she asks, say an earth devil got the drop on me."

Yakeru nodded. "Sure."

Itsuki looked up at the ceiling as his face turned more serious. "So I guess the rumors were true. There's another, more potent, elixir."

"Yeah. I'm sure the Capital is on it," Yakeru's eyes returned to his mentor's missing arm. "So what happens now? Retirement?"

Itsuki feigned offense. "You think I can't lift a great sword one-handed?"

"Can you?" The youth asked with genuine curiosity.

Itsuki chuckled as he stretched slightly to relieve the knot in his back. "I suppose I can't demonstrate now, or even later, since my contact will be arriving shortly."

Yakeru furrowed his brows and tilted his head in confusion. "Your contact?"

"Yes. In fact, you've heard of him. From what your sister said, you even wore one of his products."

Before Yakeru could even begin to wonder what he meant, a sudden commotion stirred outside their door. An old, frustrated voice boomed through the halls as Itsuki's lips curled. "Speak of the devil."

Yakeru tuned in to the muffled voices beyond the wooden door.

"Sir, please calm down. You’re going to disturb the other patients." A female voice, likely one of the nurses, said.

"You have your building's labyrinthine layout to thank for that," the older voice rasped in irritation. "Now where is he?"

"The third room to the left down the hall. And he needs to rest."

"I assure you I will be brief." The voice got closer.

A few seconds later, the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was an older gentleman with white-streaked hair and piercing emerald eyes. His tailored black suit complemented his refined posture. The reflection of the room glided across his dress shoes as he entered with poise, a permanent scowl marring his weathered features.

"Long time no see, Itsuki," the man stood over his bedside, his eyes looking down his nose.

"It has been a while, yes." Itsuki smirked.

The man glanced further to his right to acknowledge the boy. "Yakeru, yes? Though I'm not particularly interested in little squabbles, I was curious to see who dared to rile the Yamato House," he faced Yakeru and extended a hand. "Congratulations on your hard-fought victory."

Yakeru accepted his gesture with a raised brow. "Thanks."

The man turned back to Itsuki. "As for you, there had better be a good reason for my summon."

Itsuki lifted his bandaged stump into view. "Is this a good enough reason?"

The man's brow flicked up a fraction of an inch as he rounded the bed to carefully examine it. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a silver circular device. Giving it a squeeze, a soft blue color ran through its inscriptions as it emitted a gentle hum. Letting the artifact hover over his stump, a hologram of it materialized from the device.

The man cupped his chin. "Hmm...skin deterioration around the site, cellular mutation, torn muscle groups, complete fracture of both the radius and ulna bones. All indicators of a traumatically removed appendage," he looked at Itsuki. "Did you perhaps have a bare-handed scrimmage with an acid blight?"

"A weaver..." Itsuki mumbled shamefully.

"What?"

"It was a Crystal-fanged Weaver." He said more confidently, annoyance tinging his voice.

The man blinked then looked back at the hologram. "There are many monsters that can match your caliber—the relentlessness of a bloodhound or the ferocity of a dragon—and you lost to a bug?”

"I didn’t lose. Just take my measurements, you old fossil."

Fiddling with the floating artifact, it scanned his arm, taking into account his proportions and calculating the length of his missing forearm. After finishing, he pulled out a book and flipped through its pages. It had illustrations of various prosthetics and there was a particular exoprosthesis that caught Yakeru's eye, one that looked identical to the one he'd worn in Yama.

Looking back at the man, he began piecing together who he was. "You wouldn't happen to be Daisuke, would you? The CEO of Daisuke Prosthetics Corp?"

"Goodness me. I suppose I hadn't introduced myself. You'll have to excuse my rudeness, but yes. That would be me," he continued flipping through the pages until he'd arrived at the more pricey options.

"Trying to rip me off, eh?" Itsuki called out.

"I'll offer you my best selections for half off." Daisuke waved away his concern.

"Well aren't you sweet." Itsuki huffed in amusement.

"Consider it a professional courtesy." Daisuke tried to respond professionally, but there was a soft undertone slipping into his voice.

As Itsuki traced his finger from one design to the next, Yakeru asked Daisuke, "So with this prosthetic, will he be back up to full strength?"

"No. Think of your body as a battery that absorbs and stores radiance," he glanced at Itsuki's missing appendage. "Remove pieces of that battery, and you will effectively reduce its max capacity."

Eventually, Itsuki's finger settled on a design while Daisuke marked it before slipping the book back into his pocket.

"Thanks for coming all this way." Itsuki said.

Daisuke waved a dismissive hand. "Let's just hope we don't meet under these circumstances again."