Chapter 147

Chapter 147

The din of battle raged over the other side of the wall, shouts and screams shook the air. A masked man was flung skyward, falling unceremoniously to the ground while four more were sent hurtling away in an arc that briefly revealed them to those on the other side. The wolfmen moved in from all sides, claws extended and eyes filled with bloodlust as they focused their bestial fury on the red-light wielding archer.

The blonde man scowled at the pair as the glimmering sheen crawled across their bodies, the music once again changing the nature of the fight. He strode to the right and then the left like a caged animal, this gaze contemplative. Crowley shifted a bit where he stood, his legs tensing as he readied for another movement. “There is something strange with his weapon, be careful,” He said in a low voice, glancing towards Canis, “There are odd letters that glowed faintly when he used his abilities. They’re connected somehow.”

Canis tilted her lupine head, yellow eyes narrowing a little as she looked the man over. Her pointed ear flicked and she let out a low, predatory growl, “I see them,” She murmured.

The man stopped pacing and clicked his tongue, throwing his arms out wide, “The song only lasts so long doesn’t it? What are you waiting for? Come at me!” He barked out. “This Sir Ewen will be your executioner, fake heroes!”

Crowley reached out and put a hand on Canis’ arm, “We must vet him, we don’t know how his powers work yet, though I am beginning to suspect a kinship with the Guildmaster.”

“Right,” Canis agreed and dipped low into an open grappling stance. With a mighty roar she charged just as the wolfmen leaped from every conceivable angle, going high and low, from the side and from the front, any way to throw off his extremely directional attacks. Fur and claws closed in on the man as he stood there, hand clutched around his bow. A heartbeat, a flurry of movement, and as Canis sped across the field in his direction she bore witness to a dome of red arrows spraying out in all directions, her wolfmen carried off with them. She grit her teeth and charged, throwing her shoulder into the attack as he became visible.

He was standing with his hand held up like he was holding a tray, hovering over it were several red arrows. He smirked as she collided with him, crashing into the wall. A glob of blood pouring from his lips as he looked down at her with madness in his eyes. He didn’t defend?

“CANIS!” Crowley shouted, a cloud of birds wrapping around her and pulling her away just in time to avoid the arrows that had skewered her wolfmen returning to their sender and turning the spot she’d been standing at just a moment before into a glowing pincushion. She glanced up at him in gratitude before getting to her feet, she scanned the area as the shouting intensified on the other side, the loud bangs coming more frequently. I hope Axel’s alright.

Sir Ewen clicked his tongue and wiped his lips, “Worth a try,” He wheezed before wrenching up his hand, the arrows of red light dissolved into motes that raced to his palm and formed a shifting and roiling glob. “Suppose I should stop messing around,” He said with a sigh and threw the glob at the ground at his feet. It vanished as if the ground wasn’t even solid. Canis and Crowley didn’t wait to see what he had planned, Crowley burst into a cloud of birds and spread out, hiding his location while Canis charged in again.

She brought her clawed hand up and down, raking at Sir Ewen as he hopped to the left, raising his bow and creating a faint dome of red light that she easily cleared even if it prevented her from hitting him. He skipped back a few more paces and whipped around, throwing a backhand at Crowley as he took form and readied a swing of his cane. Crowley took the blow to the face, the shimmer on his skin flickering for a moment as he burst again into a flock before reforming in front of Sir Ewen, swinging his cane up and catching the man on the chin.

As the archer took a half step back from the blow, Canis lunged and swiped her clawed hand across his chest. He threw his arms up in a cross, a thicker panel of red light appearing between him and her. He narrowed his eyes as her claws dug into it and threw his head forward, spitting a red glob into her eye. She gasped and stumbled as he created an arrow in his hand and drove it forward at her heart. The glimmer gave way but the loss of force from piercing the musical barrier left it helpless against her metallic fur. He grunted and hopped back a few more paces, glancing up towards the furiously playing Rouge.

“Just about-” He muttered as Crowley reformed to his right, his eyes wide and turning an off-orange color. Crowley let out a screech and Ewen peeled away from him, cupping his ear in irritation. “Little shit,” He snapped and threw out his hand, a flurry of arrows bursting from his palm, passing through the cloud of birds that was Crowley and riddling a hunk of wall with holes. “I take it back! You two are a genuine pain in the ass!” He laughed, “But! All good things come to an end and we’ve played enough!” He shouted as he pivoted, throwing up two domes on either side of himself and catching a furious claw strike from Canis and a brutal caning from Crowley.

No! He screamed on the inside, his lung was punctured. He could barely breathe. The woman grinned and seemed to take a deep breath, savoring something, a dark aura beginning to form around her body.

Crowley felt himself get lifted to a kneeling position, something wrapped around his torso and squeezed. He looked down at the glowing red ropes around his body. Panic overrode everything. How had things gone so wrong? Why? What was that strange light?

He whipped his head around, taking in his surroundings. Next to him, in a line, were the other three, all in various states of unconsciousness. Canis wasn’t moving. His heart sank. Please no, stay awake! He closed his eyes and tried frantically to use his ability, he had to escape and get some distance. Find some way to turn this around- A sharp pain went through his good leg and he threw his head forward in a scream that he couldn’t hear. His throat was hoarse now. A pair of sandaled feet stopped in front of him and a hand grabbed him by his hair, pulling it up to look him in the eyes. The gray-haired woman shook her head and wagged her finger before glancing up at the ongoing fight between Ellis and Rouge. He glared back at her with all the hatred he could muster.

She let go of his head and he forced it up just enough to see the figure standing just behind the doors of the common building. A sword in that person’s hand.

Don’t. It’s what they want... He begged in silence as he tried to catch his breath.

–

Chunhua stood at the entrance, the students having been sent down to the secure rooms beneath the planetary diorama. She held her sword in one hand, her eyes fixed on the scene outside. Her stomach lurched as she took a step forward only for a hand to snap out and grab her wrist, pulling her back. She rounded on Amos and nearly punched him in the face. He looked more tired than usual as he threw his hands up, “Stop, stop, it’s me!”

Her chest heaved as she pointed towards the scene of four of her comrades in an execution line outside, “You all expect me to stand here when-”

“If you go out there, they’ll broadcast it as proof that the Committee doesn’t hold on to its rulings and is an arbitrary organization, just like they claim. You go out there without clearance and you’ll be proving them right,” Amos snarled, getting right back up in her face. “Calm down.”

“They’re going to die!” She shouted.

“They know the risks!” He shouted back, “I got Carla reconnected to the network, count on her! She’ll pull through! I’m almost done with the contingency I worked out too. If they try to get in you can defend yourself but-”

“Don’t go out there, I know,” She snapped and turned away, rage billowing off of her in waves. The ground cracked beneath her feet and she gripped her weapon so tightly blood streamed down the blade, “Just hurry up! I can barely contain it any longer,” She paused and looked down at the floor, “I hope Lily and the others are alright...”