A/N: Hello! Big thanks to Aevari and Taee for proofreading this chapter! I wouldn't have been able to post this without you! And thank you readers for keeping up with me until now. Yes, i'm back to my regular posting schedule! This chapter is an actual first for me in writing Eve's combat in greater detail. It's a lot different compared to chung's where his is all about raw strength and swinging for the fences, Eve's is a lot more technical and coordinated with the help of her drones. Feedback would be appreciated as well as suggestions for how you imagine Eve fights like.
Visibility was minimal.
The sandstorm that violently battered Eve felt as if someone was wrapping her in sandpaper. Even Remy struggled to keep up with her mistress against the relentless gale.
"I'll catch up as soon as I can!" Elesis's voice was barely audible just a few steps behind her. The redhead was slumped weakly against the destroyed village gate. Elesis took a huge swig of a life elixir before laying her head back against the archway. The wound in her torso may have been patched enough to staunch the bleeding but it looked serious enough to warrant a proper visit to a doctor when they returned. Telling her to stay put and rest would be fruitless, however. Much like her brother, the Blazing Heart would only be encouraged to do the opposite if told to sit out.
Eve pressed on along the village's main street. As she advanced she noticed an entirely different beast corpse laying off to the side. Its body looked like that of a female humanoid but its appendages were that of a bird.
"Harpies," Remy chirped, "Records indicate they're native to this region."
I never imagined them to be so large.
"Their wingspan allows them to carry even the heaviest of cattle back to their nesting grounds. Extreme caution is advised against encountering such beasts."
Its jaw lay slack and a large, wound with dried blood was visible on her chest, seemingly pierced from behind. A spear, most likely. The idea of a human running up to these airborne beasts and driving a spear through its chest seemed highly unlikely, which was why she found it rather peculiar.
Losing interest on the body her eyes focused on the visible tracks on the ground that ran the entire length up and down the street.
A vehicle? Caterpillar treads, it seems.
Eve noted the deep grooves that dug into the ground. A set of two that appeared to run along the main road. Odd. The village was small and remote enough from the capital city that the idea of high-tech vehicles in the town was highly unlikely.
Heavy enough to leave tracks on stone.
"Possibly victims fleeing from town," Remy noted the crushed human bodies that riddled the rest of the path, "With little regard for the safety of its fellow man. Typical disregard for their own kind: killing each other for their own safety."
Eve frowned at the statement, immediately causing Remy to backpedal on her claim.
"I mean, at least for you, mistress, your actions were justified. The Nasod King had corrupted our people and genocide was the only option."
Genocide, huh.
Eve turned her attention back to the mainstreet.
"I-I didn't mean genocide, mistress. I meant-"
Movement detected.
Remy shook herself back into focus and trained her scanners towards the direction Eve was facing. Through the storm, they both noted a small shadow leap across the main street from the rooftop of a two-story building, onto another.
"One. Humanoid-"
Another shadow, much larger came bounding through. Like a combination of a bear and a gorilla, the second shadow's weight caused the building the first shadow had leapt off of to crumble under its weight as it pursued. As it leapt across the main street, it crashed through the rooftop, causing the entire building to collapse.
Gunfire filled the air followed by a monstrous roar.
"It's Rose!" Remy reported, already tracing a summoning portal above Eve's head.
Explosive whip.
"The whip, mistress? Wouldn't your blaster-"
Too heavy. Engagement demands mobility.
"Understood."
Eve could feel her El leave her as Remy used her mistress's life essence to power the portal. The circle the drone traced emitted a bright blue glow and data began to flow out of it. Eve extended her hand forward and a handle took form in her palm. The flexible weave of Nasod alloy ribboned outward from the handle, knitting itself into a slender, whip-like, shape before neatly coiling itself several times over in her hand.
With weapon in hand, the queen took off after the two, following the echoes of gunfire as quickly as she could. With a single bound, she leapt over a ruined wall and onto the rubble beyond. She traced their path over rooftops, thin walkways, beams teetering dangerously over destroyed homes. To an observer, Eve appeared to practically glide over each obstacle with unmatched grace. To Eve, it was a flood of information as she moved along a path marked by Remy.
"Approaching target," Remy reported.
Through Eve's eyes, an outline of the hulking beast was highlighted in bright red through the storm, prompting the queen to make a beeline straight for it. Its form was partially visible behind a destroyed mud wall, hunched over something.
Where is Rose?
Eve asked as she closed the distance.
"Scanning… Here," the drone highlighted Rose's body in bright yellow. The beast had her pinned on the ground, pinching her neck between its thumb and index finger, "Caution advised, Mistress, when using the whip."
No time. We act now.
"Acknowledged, creating window of opportunity."
Remy propelled herself forward, slamming right into the beast's temple. Its form was visibly rocked by the blow as it blindly swatted over its head in an attempt to find what had hit it. The beast's raised arm was accented in a bright green hue followed by a tooltip of dozens of trajectory altering factors, including wind, momentum, and airborne obstacles. In this snapshot of a moment, Eve's processing power took in all of the calculations as she wound up her swing. With a flick of her arm, the whip ensnared the beast's arm, wrapping around its elbow and along its forearm.
Before it realized what had occurred, the Nasod sent an electrical current through her finger tips, detonating a series of charges woven into the whip's alloy. What followed was a series of micro explosions that effectively sliced through the flesh of the beasts arm like a saw. The whip fell slack as nothing solid was left to hold it in place.
All happening in a fraction of a second, by the time the beast realized its arm had been reduced to mush, a bullet had already found its way through its thick skull.
The smoking revolver remained pointed at the monster's head as the markswoman waited for any additional signs of life. The grip around her neck loosened and Rose rolled out of the way as the monster's lifeless body collapsed with a heavy thud. Her hands came to her neck as she coughed and gasped for air, all the while keeping her gun pointed at the motionless body before her. Satisfied, Rose spun the revolver in her hand and tossed it up in the air. It melded into a formless mass before Zero took shape from within the twisting runes.
"Took you long enough," Rose said, still catching her breath. She tapped the tip of her boot on the ground, checking the propulsion systems on them before doing an ammo count.
Remy whistled at the both of them, nodding accusingly at Zero who scoffed defensively.
"Hey! It's a joke," Zero began, "When I said 'take your time' I actually meant 'hurry your asses over here as quickly as you can'. Clearly your sarcasm detection program is malfunctioning."
Remy fired back, chirping sporadically at Zero in defense of her queen.
"As I said, I was joking! There's no such thing as a sarcasm de- you know what? Forget I said anything."
Eve approached Rose who had just finished giving herself a once over before giving the Nasod her attention.
"How's the redhead doing?" Rose asked, brushing the bangs out of her eyes.
Stabilizing. She told me to come look after you.
Rose snorted, "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm doing a lot better than the legendary 'Blazing Heart'."
You were near death.
"I had it under control," Rose stated, quickly before grumbling something about Elesis under her breath.
What is that thing?
A text box read as Eve pointed at the slain beast. Like the corpse at Garpai's entrance, this one was a hulking monstrosity of muscle and fur. Its large, beady, lifeless eyes had a faint purple glow that continued to fade.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure," Rose began, showing the first sign of real uncertainty since they arrived in the region, "But I think that's a trock."
A trock?
"Maybe? They're distant cousins of the pongoes that inhabit Lurensia… The ones I remember are nothing like these ones though. They're supposed to be tiny-like up to your hip in height if they stood on their tiptoes. Not the size of a damned house!"
What makes you think these are trocks, then?
"They both have big pointy ears, for one. They have the same earthy grey fur and they're known to carry crude stone weapons like the one this thing was swinging around. Plus, I don't know if you noticed," Rose strode over to the body, kicking it at its disproportionately smaller hip. A skull-lined rope belt was tied around its waste, bearing a loin cloth with distinct green and purple dyes, "But trocks wear these sorts of clothes that depict the tribe they originated from. The animal skulls are new, though."
Anything I should know about taking one of them down? You seem to know a lot about these creatures.
"What? I guess fill them with holes?" Rose said with a shrug as she read through Eve's message, "Honestly, I couldn't tell you the best way to approach them. The trocks in my time were… a lot less violent in nature."
"Read 'peace-loving'," Zero added, "Sweet enough to give you cavities."
"The ones here? They're something else entirely. Either they evolved differently in your timeline or something else here changed them."
Your timeline sounds vastly different compared to ours.
Rose stepped towards a ruined hole in the wall. She paused, turning to give Eve a long once-over before locking eyes with hers. She held it for a moment longer than Eve was comfortable with before Rose shook her head as a grimace appeared on her lips, "You don't even know the half of it. Come on. We have to save Raven and Elsword."
Do you know where they are?
Eve asked, moving after her.
"I think I do," Rose checked down the streets on either side before firing up the boosters on her legs, "I heard fighting further in. Care to investigate with me?"
Of course.
The blonde grinned at Eve before motioning for her drone to follow. "Zero, let's move!"
"Aye, boss!"
The boosters on her legs fired up and she leapt out onto the street, disappearing into the sandstorm once more at breakneck speed.
The Nasod pursued after her, albeit at a significantly slower pace. Even with Remy's guidance over obstacles, the queen was forced to chase after a fading trail left behind from Rose's thrusters.
All the while Eve ran, she was reminded of the tread tracks along the main road as well as several more corpses both fresh and old lining the streets. Trocks, harpies, and humans all lay strewn about as if all three races were fighting tooth and nail against each other. Even children and elderly weren't spared. Many looked as if they ran into the fray bearing anything they could grab as a weapon.
"Why didn't they retreat?" Eve thought as her headcount for human civilians climbed higher.
"Mistress, it appears we're approaching the town's square," her white drone reported.
As they drew closer, Remy highlighted Rose's location directly ahead of them. A live visual link was requested from Zero and after a short moment, Eve's peripherals were flooded with incoming data. Through the veil of the storm, numerous threats were noted in red. Harpies filled the skies above them, Trocks surrounded the ground level of the market square, and silhouettes of what clearly looked like humanoids lined the rooftops behind them.
Eve came to a stop as she spun around, immediately noticing the main road she came in on was quickly shut by more hulking beasts.
"Oh… shit," Rose whispered, upon realizing they were surrounded. She nearly backed herself into Eve before pointing out who she had been looking for further into the clearing.
"Elsword and Raven located," Remy chirped, highlighting the two men in blue standing near the center of the market square. Both of them stood back to back, a little more battered than usual amidst a pileup of bodies of trocks, harpies, and humans.
Elsword! Raven!
Eve's pop-up message appeared in bright blue, catching both of their attention.
"Eve?! Help has arrived, finally!" Raven shouted over the howling winds, "Where's Elesis? Is she okay?"
The Nasod joined them, carefully stepping over the corpses that littered the floor.
Elesis is stabilizing. Rose is here with me.
Eve scanned the dozens of threats that surrounded them as she and Rose caught up with the other two.
You killed civilians.
"Els did," Raven corrected, motioning over his shoulder, "I told them it was against what we stood for to attack innocents but-"
"After what they did to my sis?" Elsword growled, "I'm not taking my chances around any of 'em."
The civilians attacked you?
"Elesis didn't tell you?" Elsword grunted, not lowering his guard for a second as he kept his eyes on the surrounding enemies, "Of course she wouldn't-too proud to admit it: we were trying to escort these people to safety, but all they did was shout at us and call us outsiders. Then out of the blue one of these bastards pulled a knife on sis and stabbed her in the gut before running off with the rest of them."
"Then this idiot decides to chase after them, leading us right into a trap," Raven added, "I thought we were past this, Els. You know better than this. This entire town is a warzone, and we walked right in the middle of all of it… and to make things worse they suddenly decided to act all buddy-buddy with each other."
It would seem that way.
"What are they waiting for?" Rose asked, noticing that neither the humans, harpies, nor the trocks, had made a move yet.
"We don't know. But they were all on us just moments ago before suddenly backing off," the Half-Nasod replied, "Something must be controlling them."
Laughter filled the air as an unfamiliar voice of a woman cut in, strangely unhindered by the storm. "Finally! It took you long enough."
It sounded as if whoever was speaking was standing right behind Eve, yet as she spun around, she found no one there. The others reacted in a similar fashion, moving back to back as they searched for the source. "I was starting to think you all were too stupid to figure that out," the voice continued. A large shadow, much larger than the Trocks and almost as big as a two-story house, came into view.
Like a giant, round boulder, each step the being took shook the floor, cracking the stone under its weight. Its flesh was salamander red and marred with deep dark scars from years of battle. Chains wrapped around its rotund body holding up massive plates of bladed armor. A giant axe rested on one shoulder and its tiny beady eyes were almost hidden behind a large jaw plate that outlined the row of tusks protruding from its lower jaw.
The being towered over the four, shielding them from the sandstorm and giving the party a glimpse of the speaker who sat on its other shoulder.
The first striking feature Eve noticed was the speaker's wings. Large, bat-like wings surrounded the speaker, shielding them from the storm and shrouding their form in darkness. A devil's tail flicked lazily from side to side before wrapping itself tightly around their leg while the wings parted, revealing the individual inside. It was a woman. She wore a form-fitting, revealing attire that hugged her voluptuous body and left little to the imagination. Bright red hair was tied into pigtails, highlighting the black and purple horns that protruded from her head.
This individual sat on the large demon's shoulder, her body exuding seductivity that even Eve was able to recognize. A smug, condescending grin was splayed across the woman's face as she looked down upon the four intruders.
"Demon," Elsword growled, turning his blade towards the two, "What's your business here?"
"I was just about to ask you the same question," the demon giggled. The succubus eyed the young man, her grin widening as she gave Elsword a quick appraisal. "A Velder Knight… what's a stud like you doing in my neck of the woods? Are you lost?"
The hateful sneer never left the young man's face and as the demon spoke, Eve noted the slight tremor of Elsword's grip on his blade. "Who are you?"
"You may call me Karis," the demon replied, not taking her eyes off of him. She drew in a deep breath, as if taking in the sweet aroma of a delicious meal, "And… oh my. I know this scent. You poor… unfortunate soul. I can take your pain away, if you let me."
Ignoring her offer the young man pressed on. "What have you done to these people? Tell me!" he demanded.
"That's none of your concern, handsome," she said, her interest clearly growing as she bit the tip of her finger before leaning forward, "But I'm willing to trade information if you're willing to give me something else in return."
The Lord Knight returned the offer with a deep, hate-filled growl, "I'd rather beat the answer out of you instead."
"So straightforward!" a disappointed pout formed on Karis's lips, "You're missing out on half the fun if you skip the foreplay, you know? Why not indulge yourself a little?"
"We're not playing your game, demon!" Elsword yelled.
"You're no fun," Karis sighed. She looked over the others, appraising each of them before losing interest in general. "I was making a simple… mutually beneficial offer here, and if you don't want to indulge yourself… then our business is done here."
She snapped her fingers and the entirety of the village leapt into action in one unified assault. The demon's wings expanded and she took to the skies.
"Everything is nearly ready. It's a shame you won't be there to witness it," Karis laughed, "Waldo? See to it that they're taken care of. I have others who require my services."
"Get back here!" the knight demanded.
"Now's not the time, Els!" Raven grunted as the rest of the party stood back to back against the incoming horde.
"What do we do?" Rose asked, eyes darting from trock, to human, to harpy, "I don't think we have the luxury to ignore the civilians."
"Try not to hurt them," Raven ordered.
Understood.
Eve's blue text box read as she turned her attention to the nearest threat.
"Not possible, we kill them," Elsword interjected. The conflicting orders caused Rose and Eve to hesitate.
Raven turned to the young man "Els! For the last time, we are not going to-"
The knight lunged forward, thrusting his blade straight through the chest of a deranged woman and driving her into the ground before withdrawing his weapon. Without missing a beat he spun to his left, blocking a would-be fatal blow from a man bearing a pitchfork. He snapped the head of the weapon off, kicking the man back before turning to cleave another civilian in half at the hip.
"If we're going to get out of this alive, we're going to have to. You saw what they did to my sister. You do as I say. And that's final."
Scanning through the other two's faces, Eve could still see a bit of hesitation in the Rose and Raven's eyes. Raven moreso. The half-nasod gripped his blade tighter as he tried to find the words to express his disapproval and Elsword stood there, challenging him to say otherwise.
A hulking trock loomed over Raven. Spinning his blade around, the mercenary drove the sabre into the beast behind him before turning to face the beast. Gripping the blade with his mechanical arm, the weapon was pulled upward and out from the trock's shoulder, severing everything else along the way.
"We're going to have a nice, long, talk about all this when we get back, Elsword," the man said, moving to the next closest enemy-a mind-controlled civilian-and cutting their arm off with a quick, clean slice.
"Mistress?" Remy chirped, garnering Eve's attention, "Numerous threats identified. Even with the additional help from the humans, it will prove difficult in keeping you from harm. Moby's assistance is recommended."
Unnecessary. Cleri's safety is jeopardized if he leaves her. We will continue without him.
"But… mistress!"
Summon my blaster.
Remy clicked in disapproval as she took in Eve's El and used it to open a portal. As Remy circled above Eve, the drone's eyes noted incoming threats, highlighting what she could see in a bright red outline around them.
Data for her atomic blaster took shape in her hands, its bulky, heavy form causing Eve to heft the weapon with some difficulty. Fresh belt-fed plasma rounds were loaded into the feed as Eve revved up the blaster's engines. Dozens of targets were marked in kill order from closest to furthest and she swung the barrel of the massive gun towards the oncoming horde. She pulled the trigger, bracing herself for the recoil as a rope of plasma rounds dotted holes onto the nearest trock. The shield did little to protect it when the molten rounds punched through the bone material and melted through flesh and fur.
Presumed dead before the rest of the rounds connected, Eve was already switching priority to her second target. She swept the weapon to the left, saturating the area in her cone of fire until the barrel was pointed at the second target, a human. There was little hesitation, given her orders, as the woman was brought down from the sheer heat of the plasma rounds that blazed by her. The ones that actually connected left nothing but an empty melted hole.
The blaster continued to spit out round after round, cutting down the number of opposition in her side. Yet for every enemy she added to her kill count, another seemingly crawled out of the many corners and alleys of the town to join the coordinated assault. After buying herself a few seconds of breathing room, however, she quickly checked on the others.
Rose was nowhere to be found. Assuming she must have moved herself elsewhere, Eve's attention fell on Raven who, despite efficiently dispatching anyone that got within reach of his sabre, was slowly becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of civilians that surrounded him. It was clear he was doing his best not to harm them. For every child, or elderly person that threw themselves on him, he took an extra moment to turn his blade, striking them with the blunt edge before disengaging and finding the next nearest threat.
Although he excelled in clean, precise kills, it was clear that his ability to subdue and render targets unconscious wasn't his strong point. More often than not, the targets he disengaged from were only downed temporarily before they pursued him with renewed vigor. Hands began to reach for him, limiting his movement and freedom in cutting through the trocks and harpies.
"He refuses to take their lives," Remy chirped, "He won't last."
Eve hefted her plasma rifle, spinning up its engines as she waited for a clear shot.
Raven! Stand Clear!
Her message went unnoticed. Caught in the thick of battle and completely unaware that assistance was waiting on him, the Half-Nasod punched, kicked, and headbutted the growing masses of mind-controlled humans. An elderly man, unseen amidst the swarm, lunged for his legs, causing Raven to lose his balance.
Although unplanned, this was the opening she needed. As the man fell on his back, Eve pulled the trigger, slowly sweeping the barrel from left to right as the bullets tore through soft human flesh.
Eve's on-screen ammo counter rapidly depleted until it flashed red. Her blaster clicked empty, prompting her to call in more ammo as she returned her attention to her side of the battlefield. Remy traced her summoning circle and data began to flow from it again, taking shape of a new belt of plasma rounds.
At the corner of her eye, she could see Elsword locked in battle with Waldo. The knight had just barely managed to dodge a downward swing of the demon's gigantic axe but the strike alone was enough to shake the entire village. The powerful tremor caused several buildings to crumble and send a wave of unstable earth outward that shook Eve off balance. The belt of ammo missed its mark, clattering to the floor once it fully manifested. She hastily made a grab for it before an alert chimed in her display.
"Above!" Remy chirped as a harpy dove in on her.
The white drone flew up to meet it, colliding into its ribs in such a way that the harpy narrowly missed Eve and instead came crashing to the ground. The harpy writhed next to the Nasod and Eve quickly turned to finish it off.
"Incoming!" Remy's warning came just at the nick of time as a flood of information filled Eve's head. With Remy working as her second pair of eyes, the Nasod quickly ducked a swing from a trock's bone sword as it narrowly missed her.
She spun around, turning the barrel of the weapon to the beast. Instinctively, she pulled the trigger, getting an empty click from the blaster at the most inopportune time. Eve was suddenly jerked upwards and pulled off of her feet. Pain filled her circuits as the trock held her aloft by her hair.
In a shrill panic, Remy threw herself at the beast only to be batted away with the monster's free hand. It raised its blade at the Nasod, looking to cleave her with a single blow when it suddenly arched its back, roaring in agony.
"I got you!" Raven shouted, appearing behind the beast, his coat soaked in blood. He guided the blade further up the monster's spine. Eve silently opened her mouth in pain as her body was subsequently pulled further off the ground. With its dying breath the trock flung the Nasod away from the others. She watched as the ground moved further away from her feet, until it disappeared from her peripherals completely.
"Eve!" she heard Elsword call for her.
She crashed through a metal gate, its damaged hinges giving way as she rolled backwards onto a neatly paved walkway, coming to a stop in a soft layer of overgrown exotic plants. Eve immediately brought up a window for damage assessment, rubbing her head as her hair had nearly been pulled from their roots. Her spinal frame in the assessment window flashed yellow for moderate damage, but otherwise she was still functional.
The Nasod pushed herself off of the ground, stumbling out of the strange, out-of-place gathering of plants and found herself staring at an empty, gated, plot of land. It was as if a house-no-an entire estate had once been here.
A text was received from Remy in their shared log.
Mistress? Where are you?
I'm fine, Remy. I believe I was thrown… north-northwest of your location.
On my way! Moby joined the channel.
Is everything okay? Do you need me?
Standby, Moby. I don't need your assistance as of yet. Eve replied.
Oh… well. Like it or not, we're coming!
We? You mean Cleri?
Yep! She's not listening to me! I don't think she can understand chirping.
Moby, you are forbidden from allowing her to go anywhere near here! That's an order!
Tell her that, mistress! Oh, wait! Bad people! I'll be right back.
Moby!
A loud, ear-splitting roar echoed from the center of the village. As she focused on the source, Elsword was seen flying through the brush, sliding against the ground until he stopped at Eve's feet. He groaned, rolling back to his feet and wiped the blood running down his lip. The silhouette of the behemoth demon Waldo appeared through the storm, the earth thundering with each step he took. He looked larger; much larger than before. A red and purple aura emanated from him as the visible cuts and holes in his body rapidly healed into new scars. With each freshly closed wound, Waldo's aura seemed to grow.
The knight leaned forward, using the blade as a cane as he tried to catch his breath. His body shook as it seemed he was on the verge of collapsing. Slowly, he shook his head, a frustrated, almost distraught cry escaping his lips. Glancing around he finally noticed Eve standing behind him. Eve could see the way his eyes widened, as if caught in a moment of vulnerability, the look of surprise and uncertainty vanished. Replacing it was an expression of confident zeal. She knew this expression: it was the defiant look he gave anyone when he knew he was doing something inexcusably stupid. Although, this time, something was off.
"You might… wanna stand back, Eve," Elsword said, his breath was haggard as he took a more defensive stance. Quickly scanning the young man, it appeared his arm was broken as it hung limply to his side, and he held his sword with his off-hand instead. With the possibility of Cleri being danger as well, this job was already compromised. She had to tell Elsword to call this mission off.
You're hurt. We should retreat for now.
The text above Eve read. To her dismay, Elswords eyes were set on the demon in front of him and the Nasod's message went completely unnoticed. Trying to grab his attention, she created another text box, sliding it in front of him.
Elsword?
Either he didn't see the message or was purposefully ignoring it. Regardless, the young man charged forward, leaving her behind as El flowed into his sword. The energy took form, extending it into a massive magical blade. With no added weight to the weapon, Elsword brought the armageddon blade down on Waldo with a mighty downward swing.
Waldo's eyes widened as he raised his axe, meeting the blow with the demonic steel of his axe. Even with the magically enhanced strength, the attack was easily blocked and Waldo effortlessly pushed the blade aside and pushed forward, closing the distance on the young knight.
Unflinching in the face of danger, Elsword rebuffed his attack, lining up his strike and driving the magic blade forward in one all-in attack. The sharpened tip slid off the massive metal plate protecting Waldo's chest, drawing sparks as it traced itself upward and severing one of the chain links that held the thick armor together. It drove through the demon's flesh and into Waldo's shoulder joint until the shining tip pierced completely through the rotund monster.
But to Elsword's surprise, the demon did not flinch, nor did it slow in its advance as it pushed closer and closer, purposefully running itself along the length of the armageddon blade. The redhead struggled to wrench his weapon free but found himself staring up at the demon's horrific grin. The wound on Waldo's shoulder bled sickly black El that only seemed to coalesce into the demon's gigantic axe. Infused with new strength, the demon wound back his blade, high above his head, lining up for the cleanest cut while the young man looked wildly undecided whether to ditch his weapon and run or attempt to free it. Yet the longer he stood there, the more apparent his decision became as he hastily tried to undo the sword enchantment.
Elsword! Run!
The message was, of course, unseen and, in her frustration Eve hesitantly took a step towards him, unsure whether to put her life on the line to pull him out of there or simply watch him die.
"Mistress!" Remy whistled, appearing in the storm was a small white dot in the distance, "I'm here! What do you need of me?"
Without thinking, a single order was given its urgency written only in a level that her trusted drone understood.
Save Elsword!
Eve marked the target not too far in front of her and it only took a split second for Remy to read the situation and veer off her initial course without a single word of protest.
Remy slammed into Elsword's side, pushing him off his feet and peeling his only functioning arm off of his sword hilt just as the giant axe came crashing into the earth.
The resulting impact sent another shockwave with Elsword and Remy taking the brunt of the blast. Dirt and rock were flung outward as Eve was knocked backwards from the force of the explosion.
She flew to the opposite end of the estate clearing, her back slamming against a stone pillar that supported the metal fence.
Something gave.
Amidst the surge of pain and the storm of warning displays that filled her screen, the one that caught her attention was the damage assessment window. The wiring for her body had been severed from the damaged spinal column.
She couldn't move.
Remy?
No response. She coughed, shaking the dizziness in her head as she closed all the irrelevant windows in an attempt to locate her drone through the settling dust.
Remy, respond. I am unable to move. Immediate emergency repairs necessary.
Again, nothing. A new sense of dread filled the Nasod's senses. Slow, thundering footsteps could be heard approaching her. In the distance, Waldo's massive shadow could be seen drawing ever closer. Elsword's armageddon blade could be seen still protruding from the demon's chest.
Remy?
"Eve!" Rose appeared, flying in and sliding to a stop next to the Nasod, "There you are! Are you okay? Where's Elsword?"
Elsword's location is unknown. I am unable to move.
"You can't move? Why?"
Significant damage to spinal column detected. Emergency repairs to nervous system is necessary.
"Oh… that's not good. You can fix yourself though, right?"
Eve shook her head, struggling to train her eyes up to Rose's
No.
"What? What do you mean no? Aren't Nasods supposed to-"
I need Remy.
"Who?"
"She means the white drone, boss," Zero replied, "Make it quick, big guy's coming."
Rose looked about in a panic. The white drone was nowhere in sight.
"What do you need me to do?"
Find Remy. She was with Elsword. Near the blast.
"Okay. Right," Rose muttered, standing and turning to Waldo, "Finding Remy would mean I'd find Els, too."
Bring Remy to me. She can fix me. Hurry.
"Got it," Rose revved her boosters, "I'll see what I can do."
The footsteps were nearly upon them. Rose darted away from Eve, leaving a trail of smoke that caught Waldo's eye. Eve could see the large figure turn, tracing the line to its source.
"Over here!" Raven's voice echoed through the storm as the thunderous footsteps came to a halt. The mercenary's shadow could just barely be seen darting in from a high angle, the sound of flesh tearing as he sliced diagonally through his target before landing in front of the monster. He stood defiantly in the demon's path, the spines of his Nasod core were driven into his limbs, guiding and enhancing his movement.
"You compensate your lack of actual fighting skill with hyper regeneration," the Half-Nasod commented, "Pathetic."
Waldo uttered a deep, bellowing laugh, his voice sounding just as heavy as his body, "You are one to talk with that machine assisting you. Come then. Show me how a true warrior bleeds."
Raven's shadow took his signature ready stance, "You'll have to hit me first." The Nasod core attached to his back began to glow a bright amber and, nearly faster than Eve could blink, Raven had vanished, reappearing near the demon's left leg as he severed Waldo's tendon. He vanished, again, appearing at the right leg and repeating the action before taking to the air.
Waldo, who was still turning to his left after the initial strike, was suddenly sent tumbling forward as a heavy blow from the mercenary's mechanical arm slammed into the back of the monster's head. The demon rolled on his back, swatting at the mercenary who threaded himself through the monsters fingers before driving his sabre into the demon's chest.
Raven quickly turned to the armageddon blade still impaled in the in Waldo's shoulder.
"I'll be taking this back," the Half-Nasod said. He gripped the handle, causing the energies of the magical sword to dissipate. Dark El energies flooded out of the wound like a sickly syrup as he removed the disenchanted sword and narrowly slipped out of the demon's grasp.
The rushing sound of thrusters could be heard closing in and Rose reappeared, sliding to a stop by Eve. She held a white ball to her chest and she knelt down, a look of uncertainty splayed across her face.
"I, uh, found your drone. I also found Elsword. He was barely breathing but I had to rush this thing to you." She let the lifeless orb roll on to Eve's lap and the Nasod saw, among minor scratches and broken pieces, a deep dent concaving inward on the drone's rear hull, "Will this do?"
Remy's engines weren't running. It'd be impossible to with the large dent preventing any of internal gears from operating.
Remy...
Without question, the drone had put herself in danger for someone else other than her mistress. Eve would hug the drone if she could but given her condition, all she could do was stare at the lifeless orb sitting on her lap.
"I… I have to go help Elsword," Rose said, unsure of what to do next since Eve was doing nothing but staring at the drone, "I'll be back for you soon. Just hang tight."
Rose darted back towards where she found their leader, leaving Eve to mourn for her loyal companion. She closed her eyes, apologizing to her drone for ignoring her warnings. It was foolish of Eve to put herself in danger despite her condition. And now, Remy was gone. Moby would be crushed.
Her eyes snapped open, remembering that Moby was on his way. She reopened her chatlog, pinging for her second companion in hopes that he was somewhere nearby. There was no return ping but the chat log opened anyways. Confused, Eve sent a message:
Moby? Are you there?
No response. But the message had been received.
Moby, immediate assistance is required. I am unable to move.
Eve took a deep breath, knowing the next part of her news would upset the black drone greatly.
Remy's… gone, too. I asked her to save Elsword, exposing her to danger and destroying her engines in the process. I'm unable to repair her.
The message was received. Still no response.
Moby, I'm sorry. When we rebuild her, I'll do my best to remind her of who you are.
The message was received. This time, there was a response.
I can fix her.
The response was strangely flat. Far unlike her black drone.
Moby? You know you can't fix her. We don't possess the ability to repair damage this significant. It's been lost to us since the corruption.
I can fix both of you.
This definitely didn't sound like Moby. Still, if the black drone knew how to bypass the corruption restrictions, any solution would help.
You can? How?
Let me out.
Eve's eyes widened as she immediately closed the chatlog. She hadn't been speaking to Moby. The corrupted code was talking to her directly. If it could hijack her communications log, then it'd be only a matter of time before-
A blinking red window opened in her heads up display, a single message flashing in white filling the screen:
Let me out.
Another window opened, and another, then hundreds of flashing windows filled her peripherals with the same single message flashing in white:
Let me out.
Raven let out a labored grunt as the Nasod core powered down, pulling itself from his limbs and causing him to fall over in pain. He hurried to his feet, rolling into a defensive stance and meeting the downward swing of the axe and redirecting it just enough to miss him with his blade and Nasod arm.
His blade shattered from the impact and the robotic arm buckled under the pressure. Even still, Raven just barely managed to slip by, his body wracking in pain as his Nasod arm reacted violently to the damage.
"No crutch for you, human," the demon laughed, stomping the ground and sending a ripple of earth outward, knocking the mercenary airborne.
Just before Waldo could snatch him from the sky, Rose flew in, catching him and pulling him off to the side.
"Run!" Waldo bellowed, "That's all you can do against me! Flee for your insignificant little lives!"
I can save them, the message on Eve's window flashed.
Them? Unsure of who the entity was referring to, it responded as if it could clearly read Eve's thoughts:
Remy. Raven. I can save them.
How?
Let me out.
Eve gritted her teeth, her stance on the matter wavering as she saw Rose doing her best to drag Raven's writhing body back towards Eve.
Never!
Let me out. They all will die if you don't.
Remy's lifeless hull rolled off her lap, Her empty lenses stared up at its mistress as a rush of guilt filled the queen.
She could feel her grip on her own resolve loosening. Again, as if reading her mind, the entity opened another window for her:
Full Generate Mode: Initiate / Cancel
Eve stared at the screen, her eyes darting from either choice. There was no other demand given as the window waited for her decision. This was all on her. And as she weighed the consequences in her head, all she could feel were a pair of empty, accusing eyes staring back at her.
She made her decision, regret filling her along with the sudden surge of power that filled her body. Feeling returned to her from the neck down and she watched the minute twitch of her legs as she regained control of the rest of her body. She was running a repair protocol. But none of her drones were there to assist her with it. Spines protruded from her back as she stepped away from the stone gate, taking the shape similar to wings. Energy coursed through these spines as portals to pocket dimensions opened and closed around her.
Eve remembered this sensation-the feeling of limitless potential as more and more of her lost programming suddenly came online. Everything she was able to do before the corruption was at her disposal as well as an array of defensive protocols she had yet to access. A display hologram with a single decorated banner appeared before her:
Hello world! Full Generate Mode: Initiated!
Energy burst forth around her, causing a temporary stillness of the storm. Her body was brimming with so much energy that sparks of electricity crackled around her. Even the demon noticed the shift in the air around him.
"Eve…?" Rose paused, gently laying Raven down on the floor as she stared in awe.
The queen turned to her white drone and, with a simple gesture, the orb levitated off the ground and flew to her. Her eyes inspected the damage as it rotated in front of her lifelessly. All that was required was a simple thought and a pocket dimension was opened. Data began to flow into the drone. Parts were replaced, dents were undone, and the soft hum of an engine starting up could be heard as it continued to spin before Eve. Life returned to its lenses as she slowed to face Eve.
"Remy_004, at your service, my queen," the white drone whistled.
"You… fixed her?" Rose whispered, "I thought you said you couldn't-"
Eve turned to the two humans. She extended a hand towards Raven and the mechanical arm lurched towards her through some unseen force. It raised itself into the air, following Eve's gesture, turning just as she did. With a simple nod as if giving it permission to proceed, the arm locked in place as more pocket dimensions appeared around it. Like Remy, pieces were torn off and replaced. The pain that wracked Raven's body rapidly diminished and in moments, the arm was gently laid back on the floor, a beautiful sheen replacing its worn appearance.
"Eve? How did you-" Rose began but was interrupted as Eve raised a hand and turned to face Waldo.
"Wait here," Eve said.
"Y-you can talk-" Rose was at a loss for words, "What's going on here?"
"I'll explain later," Eve replied, her attention not on the approaching demon but a flashing red display as a certain number ticked up once more.
61%
"I don't have much time."
The demon stepped into view, his increased size blocking the wind as the blood from his wounds surrounded his body in a familiar dark aura.
"Neither do I," Waldo bellowed, "I cannot leave Mistress Karis waiting."
Like fire, the aura around the demon began to burn wildly as the ground began to shake.
"He's going to blow again! Eve! Get out of there!" Rose yelled, grabbing Raven as she attempted to pull him to any form of cover.
The demon let out another ear-splitting roar as El energy burst forth in another massive explosion with Eve, Rose, and Raven standing at ground zero.
The explosion leveled whatever was left standing around the square. Stone houses that had withstood the ongoing battle crumbled like a deck of cards. The foliage that filled the empty estate lot were ripped from their roots and flung outward. Even surviving trocks in the area were sent flying.
As the dust settled and the storm resumed its pace, Waldo's size reverted to its original, his wounds closing and leaving deep, visible scars. He thumbed the broken chain that held his chestplate in place before turning to leave.
Suddenly, a rocket connected with his exposed shoulder. The resulting impact blew the flesh off, leaving a gaping wound that caused the surprised demon to lose his balance and fall over. The exposed bone could be seen only briefly before the muscle began to knit itself together as he rolled over in search of the source.
A blue, grid-like shield stood where he had last seen the humans. As the shield came down, he saw the two humans completely unscathed despite standing within the immediate blast zone. Eve was with them, discarding the rocket launcher she held, its remains evaporating in a puff of data as it hit the ground.
The demon grunted and attempted to push himself back up with his only functioning arm. "You survived. Impressive, but fruitless. Every wound you inflict, every limb you sever, I will return your punishment a hundred fold."
Eve pointed skyward and the demon followed her finger to a white drone who flew high above them. It traced a massive portal ushering in a gigantic spear that slipped into their dimension. With a simple flick of her finger, the spear was hurled downward, impaling the demon and effectively pinning him to the ground. The chain supporting his chestplate on the opposite shoulder was snipped like a string under the incredibly sharp spear tip, letting the plate hang loosely by the chain wrapped around Waldo's waist.
The Nasod approached the downed demon who struggled to wiggle himself free from the gigantic spear buried into his other shoulder. His previous wound had almost completely knitted itself together, and he used that arm to grip at the blade. Merely touching the Nasod steel caused the sharp edge to dig deep into his hand, slicing his fingers off as he tried to grasp it. He pulled his fingerless hands away as the appendages began to regrow.
As Eve drew close, she stomped on the ground, causing smaller spears to erupt from the ground before her. They bent to her will, creating stairs for her to climb on top of the demon. She stood on the demon's chest, her hand gently caressing the large spear that pinned him to the ground.
"This is nothing," Waldo snarled, clearly unfazed by the damage she had caused him, "As long as I have El, I will never die."
Still partially growing, he flexed his newly regenerated fingers and made a grab for the little Nasod. Another large spear fell from the sky, nailing his arm back to the ground. Waldo let out a surprised gasp, looking up he saw the drone waiting patiently for an opportunity to protect her mistress.
Eve turned by the heel and faced the loosely hanging plate sitting on his chest. With another stomp of her foot a massive spear erupted from the ground, punching through Waldo's chest and knocking the heavy plate out of the way.
"Remy," the queen ordered, prompting the white drone to fly in from above, "Scan here."
The drone gave a quick chirp before quickly running a scan over the demon's exposed chest area.
"What… are you doing?" Waldo questioned, a hint of distress evident in his voice.
"I've faced many demons before," Eve explained, turning face Waldo, "In Feita, Velder, and most recently, Hamel. But it was during my time in Hamel that I've learned a crucial lesson on dealing with your kind. You may have strength, size, and hyper regeneration... but you are most certainly not above death."
Remy whistled, marking a small point in the demon's flesh with a laser pointer.
"Your enemy just has to know exactly where to strike."
Waldo's eyes widened.
"Wait!" the demon protested in an uncharacteristic show of fear.
"As I've said," Eve began, her focus not on the demon's eyes but instead on a red display floating in her peripherals.
70%
"I don't have much time."
Without looking, Eve snapped her fingers. A spear was driven into Remy's designated location and, for the first time, the demon's face contorted in an expression of pure agony. Eve turned, stepping off the demon as he writhed about, unable to move under the spears. Waldo's body convulsed wildly as his limbs began disintegrating into ash.
His body withered quickly, reaching half its size in a matter of seconds, and was no longer recognizable shortly afterwards. Through the plumes of ash that scattered into the sandstorm, a single spear stood where Waldo once lay. A small shard of El, no bigger than the palm of Eve's hand, lay shattered under the blade's tip.
"He's… gone?" Rose whispered in disbelief, "So it's over."
"Far from it," Eve replied, scanning the area around her.
"Remy, scout for additional threats. Quickly."
"No additional threats of note, mistress," Remy replied quickly and to Eve's surprise.
"All of them?"
"Without a doubt."
"How can you be so sure?"
"The other companion informed me."
"Who? Moby?"
A voice could be heard in the distance calling for Rose and Eve. Shortly after, a request to open comms was received in Eve's display.
Cleri and I have arrived! I killed all the baddies! Er, actually no. Cleri and I both killed all the baddies!
Moby! There you are!
Sure enough, Eve's black drone appeared with Cleri slowly making her way over the leveled remains of a building. She stumbled, prompting Moby to catch the noblewoman. Cleri adjusted her glasses and waved the others down.
"Cleri! You're not supposed to be out here, you know! It's dangerous!" Rose replied, running over to her.
The woman looked largely unscathed, save for a few scratches and tears on her expensive clothes. Eve's eyes met with Moby's and the black drone chirped happily as it flew over to Eve.
Hi, Mistress! Hi, Remy. Are you two okay? I know I wasn't allowed to move but we heard this big scary roar and Cleri got really scared for you all. And then I tried to tell her to stop but she doesn't speak drone so she mistook me for encouraging her rather than discouraging. But wow! You should've seen Cleri! She was like zap! Pow! Zing! It was really cool! At first I was like "Whoa, watch out!" but then I was like "Whoa! Watch out!" to the bad guys, instead! And then...
A collective sigh escaped the survivors in that moment. If the threat was truly gone for now, then Eve had a more pressing matter to attend to. As Moby's flood of text filled the chatlog, Eve's focus darted to the number on her display. It ticked up to 71% and she hastily ran the shutdown sequence on her Full Generate mode. As the shutdown screen appeared, a message pushed itself to the front and center in her display.
Parting with me so soon?
Eve gritted her teeth, saying nothing to the entity, and began to shut the program down.
Pity.
In that moment, the rush of power was ripped from her. Like falling from a sea of clouds filled with seemingly endless data, the strings of code that once were hers flew away from her as more and more of her recently accessible programs began to shut down once more. In her mind's eye, she clawed and grabbed in a futile attempt to take back the code that once was hers only to have them slip out of her grasp.
Still in her mind's eye, through the rush of code that slipped time and again out of her grasp, a single string caught her eye. She lunged for it as her body fell out of reach of the increasingly distant clouds. She gently landed amidst an empty gridded plane, her limitless potential far out of her grasp. Eve stared up, a sense of longing filling her as she tightly gripped that single line of code.
Looking at it curiously, she realized… it wasn't a code at all. She stared at it for a long moment, unable to process its meaning.
Back in the real world, nothing significant of note was visible as Eve powered down her Full Generate mode. The spines around her dissipated as well as the gigantic spears that once held Waldo in place. The crackling energy surrounding her all but vanished and as she stood there, seemingly off in her own sea of thoughts, she mirrored her mind's self. She read the word, again and again. The more she did so, the more frustrated she felt… until she opened her mouth to speak. It came as a whisper but its utterance was enough. She understood. Suddenly a face had a name. Suddenly, everything she had done today was out of this person's example. Just the sound was enough to cause her heart to skip a beat:
"Seiker."