Charlotte Wick trained on the beach red electromagnetic crackling across her limbs Likely she was deeply occupied with her own training she wasnÆt one of the individuals who noticed his arrival But how could Randidly miss the shifts in her image How could those notes not pull his attention
She had received his personal training based on Yggdrasil Her Primal Force had evolved into a boundless and wild being And now the scent of blood and bone had been injected into that same old form warping it into something close to a shambling chimera
The image resembled corpses clumsily stitched together than any sort of spring fueled animal animus
Randidly swayed He felt a response from his Resonant Fangs of Extinction Domain as he looked at Charlotte And through the connection between them there was no way that he could miss CharlotteÆs attempts to forcefully keep Helen alive in her own image
Yet ultimately Randidly turned away from this ailing student At least right now based on the simmering emotional pot the bear woman kept in her chest she wasnÆt ready to open up about what she was going through Her pain would lash out ready than prepare itself to be healed Randidly knew that stage He knew the long blank stares into the middle distance of memory and the way your heart felt like it was crumpled trash
He knew the tightness that she probably felt in her chest all too well
Those wings Randidly spoke softly to himself feeling from afar how lopsided the joints were and the blood seeping out of the spot where they attached to the back He grimaced in distaste and shook his head The image with all its elements was currently in an ugly duckling form But if Charlotte managed to mix the two combining life and death
Well Randidly knew from first hand experience how effective that could be His Soulskill had gone through several revisions of that process
As he ascended to the mountain the reply from Tatiana came Yes actually there will be a tournament soon IÆm surprised you remembered It was supposed to be this month but its been pushed back by the trial
The trial He responded as he settled back into this place
Annie made quite a fuss last week Tatiana sent back Hamstrung a passenger jet above the Orchard Painted the whole sky white and knocked the plane out of the sky It crashed into one of their larger skyscrapers
Chapter 1919
The group moved in darkness their cloaks fluttering about their heels as they proceeded across the rooftops like loping carnivorous cats Moving like this it was easy to feel heady with the intoxicating power of secrecy as they moved above the naive city goers below them All of the four person group were highly trained their footfalls make nary a noise Or at least none that rises above the din of voices from the Orchard below
Code Name Chakram born Danny Finn tugged at the edges of his hood as he ran The group moved quickly enough that the top portion of the clothing expanded in its best parachute impression threatening to fall away from his face and reveal his identity The possibility gnawed at him making his stomach release sour notes up through his throat
Not that my identity is particularly important He reflected not a little sullenly Then he shook himself and made his internal preparations His Skills hummed ready to be activated
Chakram knew why Duskfist insisted on this abrupt operation when usually the Order moved very very slowly in the course of pursuing the tail of the Order Patricide Annie had proved frighteningly capable She somehow had sniffed out old meeting spots and crept toward the most recent ones stalking ever closer to their suppliers and allies Yet just when the tension was highest a scared to death member of the Order Patricide made an observation
On the days Annie came looking for them the clouds were low and grey no matter how much the sun beat down on them Her pursuit seemed to possess a physical form that could be observed
Chakram planted his foot on the concrete edge and leapt following three other Order Patricide members All kept their images close to their chest at least for now They needed to get closer before they set the plan in motion
For a few weeks they had used this weather based observation to stay a few steps ahead of Annie despite her horrifying proficiency They cleared out old hideouts and had the few contacts that actually knew what this Order did flee underground when she neared Then out of the blue on a day without any clouds on the sky a private plane carrying four of the toughest and most determined Cabal Leaders from the Order Patricide was shot out of the sky by a single arrow
Which left the survivors with the numb realization that Annie had been playing them the entire time That although she stood in the shadow of Donnyton and the Ghosthound Annie herself was a monster
A monster licking its lips and creeping ever closer to them
Her projectile had ripped straight up from the ground eviscerating the guts of the plane and killing all the passengers instantly The pilot somehow survived he was later found shivering and shellshocked in the cockpit when the plane was eventually lowered to the ground while the muttering population of the Orchard watched
Now at night in the Orchard a few weeks later Chakram reached up and adjusted his hood The Order needed to take back the initiative Which was why this group without a true Cabal Leader amongst them was mobilized
Here Duskfist growled The other two slowed and closed their eyes making their individual preparations for the fight that would undoubtedly follow Chakram walked up to the edge of the roof and looked down at the busy street below filled with pedestrian and Mana vehicles honking and shouting the language of the city They were in the business district so most everyone was well dressed and serious as they crossed the street and went about their business
It was the perfect place for a splashy fight There would be plenty of casualties The sort of casualties that would earn media attention
Wait until her hearing is over Duskfist said Then we will move closer No doubt she will scent us immediately Remember to be as indiscriminate as possible in your attacks as we flee The more damage that was caused the more chaotic the scene the more we can push the blame onto her
Chakram bowed his head They planned on using her awareness against her Since it became obvious that the image virus had no effect on truly powerful individuals they needed to do some damage to the elites of the world in another way to continue with their plan Turning public opinion against them when there was already so much malcontent over the constant caravans of refugees seemed like the best option
For a better world Chakram repeated the familiar mantra to himself To make a world where your worth isnÆt determined by power
Chakram There was a strange hint of fear in DuskfistÆs voice as he screeched out a reminder Jolted back to himself Chakram raised his weapons and filled them with a cutting image of wind Then he whipped the projectiles forward aiming for HankÆs thighs Opposite him Thunderbolt released a crackling wave of electricity that shot toward the cowboyÆs back The timing was slightly disturbed by ChakramÆs distraction but it was a combination that could slow down even the most powerful combatants
Their pure belief in their cause fueled their image They needed to be strong because that was the only way they could build a better future
Hank Howard drew his repeater used the butt of the weapon to deflect one of the projectiles and dodged the other one with a sharp step Roaring Duskfist hopped forward and brought a punch hammering down at the man
The deflected chakram struck ThunderboltÆs attack and caused it to discharge prematurely most of its potency snapping at the air and dissipating Meanwhile cool as refrigerated milk Hank met DuskfistÆs heavy blow with a jab that smashed into the manÆs mouth and stopped him up short His swing harmlessly whipped through empty space
Blood dribbled out of DuskfistÆs mouth as Hank took another too quick step forward but Skystrike unleashed a volley of arrows that had to be deflected with the butt of his pistol Which gave Chakram time to guide his weapons to spin back and aim for the back of Hank HowardÆs head