Chapter 6: Invasion (2)

“What in the world is going on?”

After the arrest of doctor Vincent and the majority of the espers on a global scale five years ago, the remaining espers who managed to allude the authority formed a new organization called the Resistance. Their objective was simple: bring back freedom and human rights to their discriminated fellow men and women as well as denouncing the crime of president Hyland for being responsible for the incident. Led by Jora, one of the last remaining member of the Greymen, the Resistance has grown over the years from a small group of just a few starting members to an international organization of thousands. Of course, they were deemed a criminal organization by every country and associated with terrorist groups, making them the most wanted criminals on earth.

Despite the aggression pointed at them, the Resistance still prided themselves on their non-violent stance and refused to hurt any civilian. They led many operations over the years, disrupting many governmental facilities all so that their voice could be hurt.

Today was one of those operations. It was the inauguration of George Hyland for his second term as the president of the United Federation. Undoubtedly, it was the most important event of the year and surely the eyes of the world were all watching the capital of the United Federation. The Resistance planned to take advantage of this situation to voice their opinion. The plan was to openly confront Hyland on the discrimination of the espers and to display irrefutable evidences on how the whole thing was a set up. However, not everything went according to plan. No one, not even the Resistance or the government, could foresee the way things would enfold.

An unknown force has launched an attacked on the capital and the army seemed almost powerless against them. Even now, the Resistance was unsure on how they should proceed. In an underground hideout in the capital, under a single bulb, leading members of the Resistance were discussing their strategy. The female silver haired in a grey long coat was Jora, the leader and a telekinesis user. She certainly was among the most powerful fighters of the organization and had the mind of a leader.

“I recommend that we continue to stay here and observe the situation.” a Resistance member said. “It is too dangerous to go out there.”

“We can’t just abandon the civilians. Leader, you have to send us out there.” Another man spoke out.

“Those people didn’t care about us when we were persecuted. Why should we care about them? I say we wait. When the fight is over, we come out and take out the winner.”

“Are you out of your goddamn mind? We are being attacked by aliens and you just want to sit here and watch?” The two men continued to argue.

Meanwhile, Jora was also in a dilemma. Should she attack? That would put the Resistance in a very disadvantaged situation. Even if they managed to win over the invaders, the government could take the chance to wipe them out. Knowing Hyland, he would definitely not waste this opportunity. But if she abandoned them, countless lives would be lost. Furthermore, the Resistance did not plan for such a large scale attack. They only planned for a protest, not a war. The conundrum was killing her. Ever since being chosen as the leader of the Resistance, she feared for this day, a day when she had to make a tough choice. She didn’t prepare herself enough for this kind of responsibility. She just wanted everything to go back to how it was. Why did this have to happen? What would her mentor, Kennedy, say? What would he do in her place?

“Jora” a large man with big muscles in a tight uniform similar to Jora’s put his hand on the woman’ shoulder. “Don’t take this on yourself! We are all in this together. You just have to say the word.”

The words of a longtime friend were reassuring indeed. It dispelled her hesitation. “Thanks, Pat.” Jora took a long deep breath and exhaled. “I am fine.”

With a refreshed mind, Jora looked worriedly at the person beside her. Next to her stood a brown haired woman who could not stop biting her nails. One could guess that she was stressed about the unsuspected attack but that was not the case. There was actually another side mission of today’s operation that was only known to the participants: rescue Astora from the hospital ward. And indeed, the one who led that side mission was Astora’s mother, Fiora and also doctor Vincent’s granddaughter. For five years, she lost contact with her daughter. Every day she feared for her child’s life, imagining what those men in black could have done to her. While Astora did not show it, Fiora knew that she was a special child. After all, she was technically the child of the Traveler.

“Fiora, I am sure she is fine.” Jora comforted. “Based on our scout’s report, the attackers have not yet reached the hospital ward yet and she is held there, isn’t she?” Jora turned to the man in hood sitting in the corner of the room.

Upon noticing her question, the man stood up and removed his hood, revealing his identity: the scientist in charge of Astora for five years. “Yes. I just spoke with her a few hours ago. She is definitely still there.”

“If you have not contacted us, we wouldn’t have known. But why did you do that?” asked Pat.

“I…I am a coward. For years, I was the one who tormented her. Even if I was only following orders, that cannot excuse my unethical immoral conduct. I have to atone for my crimes.” The scientist said in a sad tone.

“You won’t let you get away with this, you know that right? After this, you should come with us.” Said Fiora.

“It is fine. I won’t run away anymore. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and be proud of what I have done. You don’t need to worry about me.” Said the scientist.

“But…” Fiora spoke but she was halted by Pat.

“A man has to do what he got to do. You should focus on your task ahead.” Said Pat as he turned to Jora. “So what do we do now leader?”

“We go out. Save as many civilians as we can and bring them to the government shelters! Even if there are soldiers there, they won’t outright shoot us just yet if we show that we are there to help.” Jora proposed with determination.

“Not much of a plan though.” Grinned Pat.

“As if you would follow an actual plan.” Smiled Jora.

“Haha. Indeed!”

“As for you, Fiora. I will assign a few fighters to your team. You go with the scientist and find your daughter.” Said Jora.

“Are you sure that it is wise to split our forces like that?” Fiora spoke worriedly.

“We will manage on our own. Now go!” Jora spoke firmly.

“Al…Alright!” Fiora headed upstairs.

“By the way,” Jora stopped the scientist as he followed Fiora.” Do you happen to know a greyman named Kennedy? Where they are hiding him?”

“Kennedy…that name does ring a bell. Ah yes, it is the guy who was brought back to our facility together with Astora five years ago.” Said the scientist.

“Really? Is he still there? Is he doing okay?” Jora grabbed the scientist.

“No…they took him away somewhere soon after that.”

“They? Who are they? Where did they take him to?”

“I don’t really know. All I know is that it was done by the president’s order.”

* * *

Meanwhile, as the city continued to burn, two children were running away from a golden knight who invaded their city. The invader could have killed them instantly but wanted some entertainment out of this supposed boring assignment. After all, there were only weak helpless humans on this planet with no gift of magic. What could they possibly do to challenge the might army of the gods?

Cornered in a dead end alley, the children were at their wit’s end. The knight has caught up to them and they had their back against the wall. There was no way else to escape. Just a moment ago, the two saw their parents giving their lives to save them. But now, was this where it ended? Would their parents’ sacrifice be for naught?

“The game is over. Time to meet your maker!” the knight raised his mace.

The brother held his little sister tightly and closed his teary eyes, preparing for the worst.

But then without warning, a crimson door appeared behind them and opened.

“Phew, we finally made it.” The first person said. He wore a long Victorian coat and a top hat.

“We must hurry and find the girl.” The second person walked out. Wearing a white masked with no holes, judging from his voice, the man seemed rather old and wore a bartender’s clothing.

“Alright. Alright. No need to rush. The Veil of this world is already gone.” the third person walked out, a woman with a long red intricate frilly dress. She also handled a red umbrella. “Oh look! A local right away.” The woman noticed the two children right away. “Poor things, you look so scared.” She pat on their little heads.

“Who are you? How did you come here?” shouted the knight.

“Shh. The children are here.” The red lady smiled deviously. Yet, her beautiful smile only unnerved the knight further. She turned to the two children. “Do you want to see a magic trick? Close your eyes!”

The two children nodded and quickly closed their eyes.

“Alright, no peeky weeky! One…two…” the red lady opened her umbrella and pointed it at the knight, hiding everyone’s vision on the knight. “Three….Tada!”

A disgusting sound like flesh exploding signaled the end of the magic trick. “You can open your eyes now!” said the red lady as she folded her umbrella.

Opening their eyes, the children could no longer disappear. However, in his place, or rather across the whole small alley, pieces of crimson flesh were scattered all over. The gore made them fear for their lives even more. Compared to the knight, this woman in front of them was much scarier.

“Show is over. Go along now, children! Hush hush!” the woman said.

“Enough of your charade, Madame Red!” the bartender man spoke loudly. “Let’s go!”

“Chop chop!” the other man clapped his hand.

“Okaayyy.” The red lady sighed. “Bye bye children!”

Leaving the kids behind, the trio exited the now bloodied alley and observed the chaos around them.

“Hum…” the masked bartender waved his hand forward. In an instant, an invisible shockwave spread across the entire city. However, only those with incredibly sensitivity would notice the wave. “Humm….as I expected. We can’t find her through normal means. We should split up.”

* * *

Among the rubbles of a once prosperous street, a little girl was making use of her relatively small size to stealth her way through the battlefield. For now, she has escaped the grasp of the government’s agents, though not exactly in the way she would expect it to be. Stuck between a battle between two sides, the only thing the girl could think of was to run. But where to? For five years, she was stuck in that underground room and her previous life was a rather enclosed one, rendering her oblivious to find her way around. All her relatives were supposedly captured or have already escaped to god knew where. Where should she go now?

“Mistress, I sense something approaching. Hide quickly!” Grimora said while held in the girl’ arms.

No one predicted this sudden unprovoked attack and certainly not from medieval knights falling from the sky. Conventional weapons didn’t work against them. However, it would be wrong to assume that the army was completely useless. They did manage to hold their grounds with heavy weaponry and armored soldiers using exoskeletons. Still, it worked against the normal troops until the enemy special units arrived.

From behind the lines, the knights separated into two sides and made way for a ten-foot tall giant. The muscular giant, bare hairy chest with a leather cape that seemed to be made from some animal and bushy beard, made a thunderous roar like a tempest almost blowing away the barricade of the army.

“Useless mortals, you can’t even deal with a few sinners. I Tyr, son of Hymir, will show you how a true God fights.” The giant proclaimed loudly. “Take my !”

Tyr charged forward like a mad bull. His tremendous weight market the ground with every step.

“Fire at all!” the soldiers pointed their guns at the charging giant but his skin was as hard as steel. “Your toys won’t save you. AAAARRR!”

With a single impact, the barricade was blown away along with the soldiers. Some who managed to avoid the charge retaliated with their weapons. Even Tyr’s head was hard as rock.

“Weak! True men don’t need weapons. True men use their fists!” Tyr threw a light speed punch at the firing soldier. His punch hit like a bus, blasting the soldier into a mess of gore against the wall. “Hahaha! Weak! Come on! Bring me some challenge!”

From her hiding location behind a pile of rubbles nearby, Astora could only watch the soldiers being massacred like nothing. Crushed, smashed, stomped, they were all being killed one by one. Some were retreating back while a tank was slowly aiming at the God. Still, Tyr showed no fear. He was simply taking his time and playing around.

“Haha. Show me your best weapon! I won’t fight back. Come at me! Try if you think you can scratch me.”

Even though the soldiers worked for those who have wronged her, Astora could not help but feel sad for them. What if they were just like that scientist, following their orders but still had a conscience. Why would they risk their lives to defend a stranger like her? Not many would be willing like that scientist and she could not blame them for doing their duties.

“Mistress, you are not thinking what I am thing right?” asked Grimora.

“I….I can’t just let them die.” The girl said.

“You are going to get yourself killed.” The book agitated in her arms. “That giant is a God, not someone you want to mess with at your current level. We should take this chance and escape.”

“But…”

“Unless you have a plan.” Grimora said.

“A plan….”

“I don’t like it but perhaps now is perhaps the time to show you what I can do. First use your eye on the big guy! You know what I am talking about, right?” Grimora spoke cryptically. But Astora fully understood him. She was simply surprised that he was aware of this power. Perhaps it was the fact that they now shared a connection that allowed him to know about it. Alas, Astora stared at the god and concentrated.

“Psychometry activated!” A stream of words of images overflew the girl’s mind.

Target: Tyr

Species: God (Estella)

Description: Son of the giant Hymir and sworn brother of Gnome, the Sleeping Mountain. Prideful and easily provoked, Tyr possesses abnormal strength and defense. Weak to magic.

Psychometry, an unusual esper ability, was a form of extrasensory perception characterized by the ability to see relevant associations from an object or a person via a form of contact. In many cases, a psychometry user could also feel the emotions hidden within their target, usually the most predominant. However, this put them under great stress as they were obliged to go through the same experience and sometimes resulted in even death. Furthermore, for such ability that seemed extremely useful, the info they saw were usually very ambiguous and difficult to interpret. In the entire history of Greymen, few managed to control their power and only a handful could actually use their ability without damaging their own mind.

In Astora’s case, the girl possessed a much rarer form that allowed her to perceive these info of everything in her sight without a need for physical contact. But up until now, even with the help of the drugs and tools used by Chris, she never managed to properly control it, only succeeding in seeing a few brief images and even that was enough for her to pass out. Yet, just now, Astora felt no difficulty in using her ability and even managed to see some surprising info.

“What…was that?” Astora spoke, not believing her eyes.

“What was what? You mean those descriptions? It is the combination of your power psychometry and my codex.” Grimora said.

“But I never managed to see the information so clear. It was like on TV.”

“That is because of the limitations of your brain. Your eye act as a scanner that identifies the target and then send a request to the hub. However, before, the hub was your brain. Imagine it like you are searching for info on the internet! If the database of your internet is small, there aren’t much you can find on there. But now that you are connected to me, the amazing archive of knowledges, it is guaranteed that the result is much better. Am I making sense?” explained Grimora.

“Kind of…but how can that help me here? It said he is weak to magic but I don’t know any magic.” Said Astora.

“Precisely. So give up and run!” Grimora spoke firmly.

“NO!” Astora shouted loudly.

“What was that?” the voice of the young girl attracted the attention of the worst person possible: Tyr. Before Astora could even move, the god was already standing in front of her hiding location. With a simple smack, he threw away the rocks and revealed a frightened girl hiding herself behind a small notebook. “Just a kid?” Tyr’s eyes glowed slightly for a moment. “Power level at 1 only? Even my kid as a baby is stronger than you. Damn, this will leave a bad taste in my mouth.”

“Get away from her! Run, kid!” the soldiers shot repeatedly at Tyr’s back. They seemed to not realize that Astora was wanted by the government. Still, their efforts did not even twitch the mighty god. The bullets only bounced back and fell to the ground.

“Hum, so worthless. I will deal with them after I finish with you.” Tyr raised his arm. “It’s nothing personal. I will make sure you won’t suffer.”

“Elongate!” The small notebook extended in length and pushed the startled god against the building of the other side, breaking the entire wall before pulling back. “Did we get him?”

“No…” Grimora uttered

From the hole on the broken wall, Tyr emerged unscratched. “That’s surprising. I want to say ‘you almost got me’ but…unfortunately no. That didn’t do a thing.” Tyr disappeared from his position and reappeared behind Astora who couldn’t manage to follow. He poked slightly on her forehead with a finger but it was enough to blow her away. Hit by a sudden attack, Astora released the book from her arms and landed against a wall. She was lucky that she didn’t break any bone, only slightly shaken.

“Quite an interesting weapon you have here!” Tyr examined the creepy looking book. “A magical artefact! How did you get your hand on it?”

“Give…it…back!” Astora slowly stood up. “Give it back to me!”

“Why don’t you come and get it?” Tyr provoked.

“AAA!” the young girl rushed forward and tried to throw a punch. But she was kicked back to where she started. This time, something did break.

“Hahaha! Give it up! How about this? I will give you a fair deal since I don’t really like killing children that much. You can walk away and I will take the book. Deal?” Tyr spoke with arrogance. He was only interested in the book. Besides, even if he let a little girl run away, sooner or later, this entire city would be razed to the ground so she wouldn’t live that long anyway.

“Never! He is mine. GIVE IT BACK!” Astora charged again and once again thrown back against the wall. However, she refused to give in. Her body was screaming in pain. Her head was bleeding. Her arms, paralyzed by fear. Still, her spirit remained strong. “Give…it….back!” The girl stood up again.

“How tiresome! You ask for it.” Tyr walked toward the injured girl.

“Disgusting!”

“What? Who said that?” Tyr looked around but found no one. Suddenly, an ominous aura engulfed him whole. He felt shiver, a god. This dread, it came from the object he was holding.

“To be held by a smelly hairy dude…how disgusting! And you hurt my mistress!” The book suddenly turned into giant proportion and bared its sharp teeth. Thanks to his instinct, Tyr was able to take a step back in time but lost something else in return.

“AAAARRRGGGG! My arm….ARGGG!” Blood splattered across the floor and continued to flush out of the dismembered right shoulder of the god. “I WILL KILL YOU!!!!” Tyr raged.

“Just shut up!”

*STAB*

An unexpected event has occurred. Out of nowhere, a man in black suit appeared behind the raging Tyr and plunged his needle-like weapon straight down on the god’s head. Just like that, Tyr, a mighty god, fell in battle.

Soon after him, a group of men wearing gas masks and black protective battle clothing arrived on the battlefield. Using oddly advanced weapons, the troops quickly subdued the unsuspected golden knights.

* * *

Location: Somewhere above the sky

“I can’t sense Tyr anymore…It can’t be…that bastard died? What happened down there?”