The Last Dainv

Chapter 247

Presence Between seeped into Gale. What was previously ethereal now became a tangible presence causing multiple flesh abominations to shudder and take one step backward.

Patterns, rhomboid shapes, and intricate lines bloomed across his clothes and skin. On Erebus, the black lines inverted into white, revealing a majestic form, almost ornamental with flowing lines through out dark sword. The intricate lines pulsed with a heartbeat; a peristalsis that flowed into his spine.

The dim corridor that was once dark now turned into something as bright as a sunny day. Every surface became clear. Reflexes enhanced. The slower flesh abominations looked like they were in slow motion.

A flesh acolyte pounced at him from above, daring to step into his influence. One cut above. The acolyte's body didn't even touch the floor as both halves of its body flew left and right.

As Gale fought, the tendrils showed a clearer picture than before of the battlefield. Little by little, the group was getting pushed back as the Tekanimantus and Guardians were already through the 3rd gate. Clyde and Lily even had to pull back the forcefield blockades that they used as cover.

Rachel held the centre, her whole body looked to be engulfed in flames. With a wince on her face, her blood ran down her lips and nose. Whenever she tried to charge up a larger fireball, she'd get pounced on by the abominations or shot by a Guardian. Instead, she resorted to exploding just what's in front of her. Less effective compared to the destruction she caused earlier.

Another explosion mushroomed near the right side of Rachel. But the following rounds that came after were standard shockwave rounds that Clyde used. "Mini-nukes spent! Got no more!"

A flesh acolyte climbed up the walls of the 3rd gate and threw its blade like a boomerang at Clyde's head. A dagger intercepted it mid flight.

Blink.

Kyle caught his dagger mid air and threw it at another centipede abomination. A flesh warrior barreled down through to Lily's side, smashing its body against her forcefield.

Blink.

Its head was already gone. But Kyle's usual grin was gone, replaced by an utter cold expression.

Ollie stood right at the left side of Lily's forcefield, handling both Guardians and Tekanimantus that overflowed from the right. Holding his hand forward in a clutch, hundreds of spider mechs and abominations stopped in their tracks.What followed was multiple blue lances that shot through tens of entities by Lily's deagles. Once those were cleaned up, he once again held hundreds more.

Rinse and repeat.

However, for every ten that died by Lily's lances, hundreds more pushed forward. From the looks of Ollie, the vein popping out from his temples, it wasn't long before he'd run out of steam.

Gale rushed to the left of Rachel. Erebus moving continuously as he shot out reflection after reflection against the oncoming tide of metal and flesh.

A six legged Guardian spider mech charged past him with its rocket thrusters, ignoring him completely and beelining for Erin. Dashing towards the escaping spider mech, a flesh warrior blocked the path.

Erebus met the flesh warrior head on. Vertical reflection. Its body sliced perfectly in half. But just before Gale could dash again, a centipede abomination shadowed over him.

A dagger whistled through the air.

The blade embedded itself in the centipede's mechanical body. Kyle blinked on top of it. Eight shots to where the core should be, and the centipede limped downwards.

"We got this!" Kyle shouted over the chaos. "Go!"

Gale nodded. Dashing and pouncing into a spin, the six legged Guardian was split in half by Erebus.

Though it was all for naught. The battlefield once again shrank a metre. What had been no man's land between the Guardian and Tekanimantus was now a blurred line that didn't seem to matter. Even as both factions killed each other, it was a never-ending push towards the Rift Aperture System.

In a few more minutes, the whole team would have their backs right in front of Erin's position. Any stray Guardian or abomination would disrupt the repair. They would have to retreat to who knows where now that the Guardians were against them.

Think Gale.

Guide said that the chances of success increased if the Guardians joined their side. But how?!

Gale threw another reflection at an oncoming Guardian and acolyte. A centipede threw itself at Rachel's position, but he was faster. Pouncing into a spin, the centipede abomination's body was cut in half directly where its core was.

"Guide?! What the fuck do I do!? Tell me!" Gale shouted.

[Query accepted. Host is recommended to rally the Guardian faction to fight against the Tekanimantus.]

[Analyzing options...]

[Analysis complete.]

[Presence Between contains useful function. Ability to apply host's presence to all living beings touched by Breath of the Void. Communication is possible.]

[Activate passive function: Y/n]

What the fuck does he even say to the Guardians hell bent on capturing Erin to become their battery?!

Looking behind him, Gale knew he wasn't Ollie. It's possible to convince the Guardians, as shown already by Ollie, but that was Oliver Glory being who he was. He was just Gale. A once socially stunted boy who just wants to read books under the stars.

Heck, even this whole leadership thing was just something that he had to do because he didn't want to see any of his friends die.

Boy. Listen to me. Arad's voice whispered in his ears.

"Arad?!" Gale shouted. If this masochist was here, he'd probably wipe this whole place. But at 2500 essence per second, there was no way the nightmare demon could be summoned.

The Guardians will heed your call. Believe the fear that if you don't, then all is lost. Arad whispered.

But why would they? There was no proof they would.

Proof...

That's right. Greatness required no proof. Don't waste your goddamn time searching for something that's been there all along.

He wasn't Ollie. To call them, he needed to be Gale Hathie.

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Tens of flesh warriors surrounded him. Erebus changed into Fangtian Huaji. A spin of the halberd popped all of the metal bucket heads around him.

"Ollie!" Gale shouted over the chaos. "Stop the battlefield! All of it!"

Ollie's head snapped toward him, eyes wide while still clutching his hand against the hundreds of oncoming enemies. "Are you fucking insane?! I'm at—"

He stopped himself from saying anymore. Instead, Ollie reached into his pocket, pulling out the dust vial that Erin modified, the one with the WEBER logo. The pale gray liquid inside swirled as tiny stars sparkled.

Snapping off the lid, he downed the whole liquid in one go. Ollie's signature surged, turning from Resonant to Harmonic. His veins glowed a slight blue hue, eyes lighting up with the stars that were once in the vial.

A weight pressed down on everything surrounding Ollie.

One breath in.

Ollie spread his arms as he floated into the middle of the battlefield. A shockwave of psychic force spread throughout the whole battlefield.

Flesh warrior, centipede, acolytes, Guardian spider mechs, four to six legged ones and even Stormbreaker—all froze.

It was as if the entire battlefield paused.

"Gale, fucking do your shit. I can't hold this for more than half a minute!" Ollie grunted.

Gale immediately pressed Y on Guide's request.

[Presence Between Passive function activated.]

[Your Presence forces communion through the lowly preys...]

[Max Load Breached: 1200/150]

[Warning: Core Integrity at risk]

[Warning: Multiple Core Overload, risk of damage increased by 4.8%]

[Warning: Core Damage inevitable in 63 seconds.]

He didn't need that much time.

Taking a deep breath, the tendrils all dispersed into a mist like void throughout the surrounding area.

The rhomboid patterns on his skin pulsed all at once. Dots all formed inside the billions of rhombuses, all blinking at independent intervals.

"People of the Cryil Race!" Gale's voice echoed deep into every entity in the vicinity.

Rachel, Ollie, Kyle, Clyde, and even Erin paid attention. Not to mention, every Guardian and Tekanimantus felt his voice in their very souls.

Gale continued. "Before you were metal and hardware, you were flesh and blood! You felt the heat of your burning cities! You tasted the ash of a world consumed by the tide!"

Stormbreaker forced its head to turn towards Gale's voice.

"I am speaking to the souls within the machines!" Gale shouted. "The soldiers who gave their bodies in the war against the tide. You remember your families, your children, the faces of those you fought to protect. You remember the pain of watching them fall."

The Guardians all stopped resisting Ollie's hold as if to let the young man, once was just a boy, speak.

"Has your age cast you into insanity or is there still a heart within?!" Gale shouted. "I can feel it. You are not just metal units. You are veterans of a war that cost you everything. You are the last remnants of the Cryils who refused to break."

At the very back of the battlefield, Adam's eyes tracked towards Gale and shot him a psychic force. However, before the force could hit Gale, it dissipated.

[Prey cannot disturb the communion.]

"The Tomb is lost. That is certain." Gale's voice turned low, carrying a weight that surprised even him. "But look around you. Who is to blame? The Tekanimantus is right in front of you. They are part of the corruption that felled the children you so dearly loved."

Rachel's soft, but fierce, smile was telegraphed to him by the mist.

"I am but one soldier in this war. I cannot give you anything in return except for one thing." Gale raised Erebus above his head and then pointed it at the Proctor. "I will let you bathe in the blood of those that took the life of your brothers and sisters."

His presence grew heavier, seeping into everyone's spines. "Guardians. FIGHT WITH ME!"

For one heartbeat, nothing happened.

Ollie's hold broke. The psychic wave dissipated and he fell just beside Lily. Wiping off the blood that dripped from his lips, he armed himself once again with Prudent.

Stormbreaker moved first. No longer caring about the dying Guardians, she jumped right into the fray of the Tekanimantus. Two daggers out, she easily sliced off multiple giant centipede abominations that crawled alongside them.

Six legged spider mechs and even the one outside the facility all shifted their targets. Rockets launched, gatling guns spun, all aimed at the Tekanimantus.

The Guardians wedged themselves into a blockade by Gate 3 where the Tekanimantus flowed in.

Multiple six legged Guardian units stood overshadowing the forcefield generators where Lily and Ollie sat. They fired into the lake of flesh while creating a wall that blocked off the Rift Aperture System.

The battle roared once again.

The right side needed help. Gale dashed to Rachel's position where the Tekanimantus squeezed through the gaps of the Guardians.

Flesh warriors climbed over the large mechanical bodies. Blue lances shot out from Lily's deagles, taking them out; not before the spider mechs died at the hands of the flesh warriors' spinning blades.

Gale landed his feet on the metal bucket, crumpling it inwards. Around twenty flesh warriors jumped at him. Halberd form, reflection activated, one spin of the staff and all the flesh warriors were sliced in half.

An explosion cut off the reinforcements flooding into the gate. Rachel had released a full bodied one. Her whole self had become engulfed in flames, now teeming with a Harmonic signature.

She stood at the front of a wave of flesh. Pushing her palm forward, a wave of fire swallowed the oncoming tide. Bits of flesh mixed with bone flew and splattered onto the metal walls of the tunnel.

Bodies jumped up over the wall of corpses that had formed. Blue outlines formed all over them as they stopped mid air.

"Fire!" Ollie shouted.

Shockwave round and blue lance pierced through the floating flesh abominations. Once enough were dead, Ollie formed his hand into a fist, compressing the remaining live entities into a small ball.

A dagger intercepted an acolyte that pounced at Ollie. In one swift motion, the acolyte fell back onto the floor, headless. Blink again, and Kyle was already on the oncoming centipede abomination.

Erebus formed into a sword twice the size of Gale. Reflection cast out. Hundreds of bodies fell. Fountains of blood formed from the decapitated heads. Rivers of blood flowed from the mountains of flesh.

But more kept coming. Thousands waited in line at gates 1 and 2 and in front of 3. There was no end to them.

The corrupted presence moved. Mantis legs shot him over the Guardians, right towards gate 3 where the team was.

Stormbreaker met its trajectory. Daggers out. Sparks flew as they met Cain's needle arms, sending the monster to the ceiling.

Cain's legs met with the ceiling and launched itself down, needle extended. Dagger met its black metal, forcing Stormbreaker's hull to groan even though she was much bigger than him.

Phase Touch activated. Its giant dagger jabbed to the side of Cain. At least that's what Stormbreaker tried.

Cain's mantis legs had slammed the Guardian mech's giant body down to the floor before her dagger completed its arc.

Thrusting herself away, Stormbreaker reset while firing her back lightning rifles at Cain, who avoided them easily and pursued her further down the Guardian's front line.

Gale needed to do something. She was holding back Cain, but if she were gone, the rest of the Guardians might fall at the hands of that monster.

[Essence: 1344/2340]

Checking his essence count, it was enough for One Step. Then he could drink the modified dust to recharge. Maybe he'd even get a chance at aiming for the Proctor, but that wasn't the goal.

"Rachel!" Gale shouted. "Cover my side! I'm helping Stormbreaker!"

Gale locked on to Cain's position and willed One Step. But before the skill initialized, he was swarmed by flesh warriors all around, blocking his physical line of sight.

Activation failed.

Fuck. Gale needed to clear L.O.S. first.

Erebus changed into a mist again and instantly formed the familiar halberd. Spinning the shaft, the blade sent out reflections, giving him enough room.

Jump.

Erebus shifted back to a sword.

[Max Load Breached: 500/150]

[Warning: Continuous overload.]

One Step. Space compressed at the side of his eyes as he saw Cain. Step forward on solid ground in mid air. Slice. A dark streak followed the arc.

Cain twisted its body in that last instant. Too late to dodge completely. The dark streak caught it by the left side. Half of its torso with its left arm disappeared along with the star-streaked darkness.

But it didn't die. It jumped back to where Adam was. Stormbreaker followed. Dashing low, she drove both daggers towards Cain's remaining right flank.

A psychic blast hit both her and Cain. Adam's eyes glowed red again, then sent another psychic blast directly at Gale.

Sommersaulting backwards, Gale replied with a reflection of his own that was struck down by another psychic blast. This time, it nicked the side of his shoulder. He fell onto the floor, putting pressure on the wound. Blood dripped down as that blast took a piece of his flesh, almost down to the bone.

Stormbreaker stood back up and covered Gale from Adam's gaze. Multiple blasts striking could be heard sparking against her daggers. She was protecting him.

Get up, Gale. That blast wasn't even as heavy as the Dark Knight's sword.

Using Erebus to pull himself up, tendrils showed him the standstill that the battlefield came down to.

Ollie still held hundreds frozen. Clyde and Lily killed them in batches. Kyle picked off anything that tried to threaten any of the backline members. Rachel held the right flank alone now. Even with the Guardian joining them in this battle, it couldn't match the Proctor's army of Tekanimantus.

A stalemate was fine. They could probably hold this long enough. But why? Gale had an itch. He wanted to punch that Proctor asshole in the face. With his team supporting him, he could probably do that.

And who knows? It might even turn the tide.