Chapter 80

To Be Oneself (III)

The construct, having one of its ‘eyes’ smashed into countless pieces, went berserk immediately after. The sphere rolled forward, nearly stomping over Emma who barely managed to dodge to the side in time. It began flaying its limbs chaotically, digging out more and more craters with each punch aimed at the ground.

The world began to quake as everyone except Emma lost their footing, stumbling to the side and falling over. Eerily enough, the sheer amount of force managed to tilt the arena to the side. Though it wasn’t a copious amount, it was still enough to askew the world the small group was seeing.

“Stand up, quickly! It’s attacking!” Emma warned as a swarm of halos appeared around the construct, this time glowing even more brightly than before, their hue a shade darker, shuddering.

She sprinted over to Diya and quickly pulled her onto her feet, immediately tossing the girl over her shoulder and running over to Senna and Jamal who stood side-by-side, barely managing to maintain their balance.

As soon as she reached them, she put Diya down and began summoning out a shield after a shield, stepping in front of the other three and slamming her warhammer into the ground, erecting a jagged wall in front of them that she palmed right after, pushing it forward.

Jamal carried Diya, while Senna stood at the far rear as the group pushed forward under the layered protection of the shields. It was then that the swords began to rain.

Some missed awfully, landing hundreds of feet to the side or behind them, and some hit squarely, shaving away at their layers of protection. Just as they caught up, however, the construct began to roll around again, swords continuing to fire off like bullets, with its ‘limbs’ now joining the fray by digging out massive boulders and throwing them at the party.

“We won’t be able to hang on for long like this!!” Emma exclaimed as she was pushed back a few feet, held up by Jamal from going any further. “We need to get its other eye!”

The world around them continued to collapse as Diya’s eyes darted about, trying to look for any point of contention. There was a trace of panic and helplessness in them, but she didn’t give in to the feeling.

As though a voice whispered into her ear, she glanced back abruptly and noted a halo hanging behind her head, shimmering faintly. Her eyes lit up as a plan came together in her head, one that could potentially work.

“Hey,” she called out, drawing attention to them. “If you... let loose -- do you think you three could destroy that eye in ten seconds?”

“... what do you have in mind?” Emma asked, gritting her teeth at managing to resist yet another barrage of swords that shaved an extra layer of their defenses.

“Halo’s ability,” Diya said. “For ten seconds, you don’t need to protect me, and I can make sure... nothing happens to you guys. If... if you can win in those ten seconds--”

“We can.” Senna interrupted with a firm expression. “Turtling like this won’t get us anywhere. We may as well go all out and do our best.”

“...” though Jamal said nothing, he nodded, his expression hardened and ready, the look in his eyes alight. Everyone turned toward Emma, waiting for her decision. In many ways, they deferred to her more than Cain -- especially Diya and Senna.

Emma remained silent for a few moments, contemplating. Try to withstand until the construct gets 'exhausted', and pray they had enough in their tanks to push on an offensive... or bank everything on a ten-seconds-window that could either get them a victory or cost them their lives? She felt sick in her stomach for a second, realizing it was up to her to make a decision. Was this what he feels every time?

She shook her head, dispelling the straying thoughts. Looking at those expectant eyes once again, she nearly pushed out a smile onto her lips. Even Senna, a girl nearly half her age... looked ready and undaunted. Mana definitely screwed with our brains, she concluded with an inward chuckle. Oh well...

“Alright,” she nodded while blocking yet another sword that pushed her defenses further, with now only half of the starting ones remaining. “But let’s not go in blind. I’ll use all the Mana I have in a single attack to try and at least destabilize it. Jamal has the highest one-stroke damage, so, Senna, your job will be to tie up the construct’s limbs and to get Jamal near the eye. And you, wanna-be-ghetto-kid... as they say, deliver us to the promised land.”

“...” the three grinned broadly, especially Jamal, the undaunted look in his eyes growing. The atmosphere among them shifted abruptly, from the chilly, uncertain wind... to the tall-standing, proud fire.

“Here I go, then.” Diya said, taking a deep breath and activating the halo’s ability -- one she named ‘Seed of Light’.

Golden sheen erupted from the spinning halo as it extended until it was almost half a mile in diameter, pushing the short girl into the sky as the winds roared like dragons around her. Her eyes closed for but a second before abruptly opening, golden beams surging like the sun's rays, drowning out the world in its colors. A mirage suddenly pulled out of her back, in her image, half-transparent, floating in the place of the halo, wholly golden in make.

For that moment, Diya looked like a monarch of reality -- like a heavenly queen descended from the high skies above to grace her worshipers with her mere presence. Mana erupted in droves, damned and maddening, as it rushed toward her, coalescing into visible, purely translucent droplets. She could touch them, she knew, if she only extended her fingers. She could play with them, use them in whichever way she willed. The world was now her castle and she was its queen.

“GOOOO!!!” Emma roared, withdrawing her shields and charging all the Mana she had remaining into her warhammer, summoning out a tenfold-higher projection behind it that copied the weapon’s trajectory. She heaved it back over her shoulders as a flicker of golden surrounded her, a shield that looked capable of withstanding the winds of hell themselves.

One second.

Senna similarly cried out, summoning out sixty weapons in total, everything she had left in her arsenal, splitting her attention until her brain hurt so much she feared it might fry. She sent at least five per each limb, pouring all the remnants of her Mana into each strike, reserving only a tiny amount for the two swords that stayed behind, the ones that Jamal jumped on, ready to be carried up, already preparing to unleash the same combo as before, but this time without conserving any Mana.

Two seconds.

Emma’s swing was halfway-through done when the construct appeared to realize something was off -- it stopped summoning the halos and roared, its sphere alighting in dreary, piss-yellow colors.

Golden rain drowned both Senna and Jamal, shielding them, the tiny fireflies in the shape of liquid gold fluttering around them like winged angels sent to protect them from all of the world’s harms.

Three seconds.

Emma's warhammer landed squarely, all her strength, her will, her heart, and soul put behind that swing. She felt her arms tremble, the world giving in under her feet, under the weight of her beliefs.

Senna’s weapons reached the limbs, each streaked in a thick sheen of gold, seemingly bolstered by something holy beyond description.

Jamal could now see it squarely, the last remaining jewel upon the crown, the red-dripping ruby sitting there, solitary.

Four seconds.

The construct retaliated, its limbs reaming through the arsenal of Senna's weapons, tossing them back, and even crushing a few. Right then, its spherical body caved in due to Emma's impact, a massive, crater-like shape extending from the epicenter of the hit over halfway up its body. It leaned forward, like a building that's had one-half of its foundations removed.

Five seconds.

The hymn of golden accelerated, blocking the sharp debris from the ensuing impacts from hitting Emma, Senna, and Jamal. The golden winds began to howl and blow at Jamal’s back, giving him an extra burst of speed as he raced toward the ‘eye’.

Six seconds.

Emma was unable to endure the backlash any longer, both her arms caving and breaking all the way up to her shoulders, bones protruding through the thin layer of skin, blood spraying out in droves. It created a ghastly sight as she was tossed back into the air, flying by like a stringless kite, crying out in pain.

The creature continued to fall forward, two of its limbs managing to get untangled from the Senna’s arsenal, swinging directly at her.

Seven seconds.

The golden shield was broken, and the other limb landed squarely against Senna’s chest, caving it in until her organs flew out of her back. Just as the cold claws of death reached out at her, in the moment of pain that numbed the senses, a gold-tapped liquid, a warm current, swelled inside of her, repairing every bit of her that was broken.

Emma, similarly, found her arms quickly repaired, a golden hand tugging at her gently and helping her land onto the ground whereupon she sprinted back to the front, seemingly unaware of the dangers.

Eight seconds.

It was there, Jamal noted -- right in front of him. His entire body, by now, was surging with milky-white starlight, a few traces of silver and gold burning fervently in there. He extended his arm and his sword, holding the handle tightly with both his hands, eyes calm and focused.

Nine seconds.

Senna landed squarely on her back, but due to the protection of the golden sheen, she felt nothing. However... she was spent. The two swords carrying Jamal gave in as their connection to Senna was cut short.

Emma continued to run like mad, the concept of how much time had passed entirely lost on her. She ran but with a single thought -- get to the warhammer and swing it again, with all her might.

Ten seconds.

Diya closed her eyes, losing her consciousness. She began to fall from the sky like a bird who’s lost its wings. Noting this, Senna willed her beyond-spent body onto her feet and began ‘running’ toward the girl, every muscle in her body strained and aching.

Jamal swung -- a bright sheen of white erupting out in the midst of gold, a reality-bending curtain curling under the might of the blade's will. He felt it land -- squarely, directly onto the ‘eye’. And then... the sound of the breaking glass boomed out, tens of thousands of shards spat out like a spray of blood from a wound. It was done.

Eleven seconds.

Emma reached the warhammer and lifted it, swinging madly with her physical strength alone, barely managing to heave the thing from one point to another. Her muscles gave in, tendons ripping, her shoulders dislocating and her knees collapsing... until she fell back, gasping for air, her vision growing blurry. Just before she passed out, a string of notifications flashed before her eyes.

Senna summoned out a single sword with the tiny bit of Mana she managed to recover in a few seconds. She commanded it with the last ounce of the strength of her mind to swoop into the air and scoop Diya up, carrying her further off to the side and -- she prayed -- helping her land safely.

Jamal found himself falling in the midst of rubble and debris and the crimsoned shards of the eye. Glancing back, he saw Senna just passing out, falling flat onto the ground. Then he saw Emma who was already gone, lying just beneath him. And he saw Diya carried off by a wobbly sword in the distance.

He chuckled and looked again at the nearly seven hundred feet between him and the wholly ruined and cataclysm-shaped ground. A string of notifications flashed in front of him, though he ignored them, closing his eyes. They’ve won. Instead of all four dying... he found solace in the reality that only one would... and that it would be him.