ZETA

Even if it resulted from his own poor decisions, Zeta had enough of mistreating that precious sword. Given the situation, however, Black Meridian would forgive him if he managed to save Hera’s life.

She swung into action, fiercely jabbing Balder Rex’s flesh. After receiving so many of her Neural Fighter hits, he could vicariously feel her poking into his thigh. It almost made him feel sympathy for Rex. Almost.

He had long resolved to slay the man.

Rex reeled backward and yanked Black Meridian from his shoulder. He tried to break it, same as the foes before him, but that blade would not budge. Never to the likes of you.

He tossed the sword aside, but Zeta did not make a gambit for it. It was predictable, and Rex was counting on that prediction. Wait, retrieve it later. Even as he planned, it was distasteful to abandon the sword.

He loved it. Only the flames of Hell itself could overpower his wrath if Black Meridian were lost or broken. Neither would happen so long as he lived and breathed. To Zeta, that sword was possessed by Sir Kagan’s soul.

With Rex some distance away, Zeta and Hera rejoined. They shared many unhygienic characteristics at the moment. Doused in sweat, blood, and grime. Honestly, the only difference between them was Zeta’s broken jaw and the inability to speak.

“Everything he’s doing, he does out of lust. That’s such a disgusting, selfish motivation,” Hera said with venom.

I heard, Zeta wanted to say. Unfortunately, his slackened jawline had ended any snide comments he desired to make. Maybe it was for the better. He could focus on fighting this way.

“Lust is an awful substitute for ‘passion,’” Balder said. He looked at Zeta. "You’re still conscious? You have the physique of a tank, and all without sigmas too. Unfortunately, a proficient build does not equate to a painless one. If you insist on living, I’ll turn it into suffering.”

“You will do no such thing,” Hera declared. “He suffers enough, more than you could ever imagine.”

Zeta really wished he could speak right now. Hera almost seemed to be crying. Her tears quivered as they came out a warm drizzle. Zeta grimaced. She had to represent him even if she was in no emotional condition to do so. Damn you, Balder!

Balder laughed. “If you’re referring to his jawline, trust me. I can do a great deal worse.”

She looked at Zeta. A gaze that pierced his retinas. They were locked in sorrow, and although he couldn’t speak, he knew she was seeking affirmation. He permitted it, even though he had no clue what it was she needed to say.

“A physical fracture like that must hurt tremendously, but that is not the suffering I’m talking about. If I know anything about you, Zeta, you’d laugh it off by morning once the danger passes over.”

Hera’s enraged glare fixed on Rex, who maintained his smug expression, unfazed. “The suffering I speak of, Balder, is one of humility. Something a complete, narcissistic, self-obsessed asshole like you would never understand. Humility!

“It took me a while. And –you know– I may not even quite get it yet, but I think I understand the basics of the term Servant of Humanity. It’s not the ‘servant’ role that I know. It’s something new, something…admirable. Not heroics, but dedication. Subservient dedication to the betterment for all. Am I right, Zeta? I think if you could say something, you’d agree. Maybe I missed the mark completely. But, regardless–” her temper flared. “It’s a much better existence than anything you’ve shown, Lion of Aspic!”

It was a futile speech, but it parted the clouds of the mind. The world may never hear Hera speak, but it was a healthy thing to get off the chest. I can’t talk, but that was the voice I wanted. It wasn’t even what he would have asked Balder. It’s what he wanted to tell himself.

Balder started clapping. “Great spiel, Harpy. I wish I recorded that somewhere. The book would have flown off the shelves, and the money would come flying in. Hell, maybe I could add that to my dowry for Lena.”

“If she’s anything like me, she would never accept you in a million years.”

“But she’s not. You may have an infantile grasp of her powers, but your personalities could not be more different. For one, she is Lena Kurova the Wise, the Pentagon’s Pillar of the Mind, and you are but a speck of her shadow. Sonic Ray.”

He opened his palm and sent another sonic blast there way. They dodged to opposite ends, and Zeta made a break for Black Meridian.

Balder caught on to his attempt and aimed another ray. He fired, and Zeta braced for pain, but the aim was wide off. Balder winced, clenching his forehead. Neural Flash. Thanks, Hera. Finally, her fear had shed its skin, or maybe that was the adrenaline. Either way, it was Zeta who was left encouraged. His ally finally had her head in the game.

The instant he gripped his sword, he split it into two with Dual Wield. Vocal commands were necessary for all sigma activations unless repeating one of the previous five. Thankfully, since Zeta only had three notable sigmas, it didn’t matter if his voice didn’t work. Just make the activation pose and attack.

He dashed towards him, once again his feet darting against the ground for great coverage. Zeta had given up on Impossible Shots as an effective means against Rex. Although a stray shot here and there wouldn’t hurt.

Rex readied to defend, but he sensed Hera behind him. Even with two opponents on opposite sides, Rex proved more capable of handling the situation than the Curved Storm. He pushed them away at interchangeable turns, ensuring that neither of them could harm him simultaneously.

However, he strained to maintain this process. Zeta recognized it favorably as a war of attrition. So long as they kept pressure, the Lion would eventually succumb.

When enough exhaustion settled in, Rex tried to shove past Zeta’s next blow. Zeta purposefully missed, swinging his sword a little too close. Therefore, Rex’s arm was elsewhere when Zeta slashed his belly.

“Agh!” Rex stumbled into Hera, who kicked him the spine. With Neural Fighter, Zeta twitched to imagine the paralyzing pain.

Zeta readied a second strike, but Rex grabbed his shoulders suddenly. With one fearsome pull, he threw Zeta into Hera and sent them both flying. They hit the ground rolling over like logs.

“I’ve had enough!” Rex said as he plunged his hands into the ground. “Quake!”

Neither Zeta nor Hera could focus as a crack split the world beneath them. They screamed as they fell, and Zeta stabbed the two Black Meridians into the rock. Hera grabbed his waist as they came to a halt.

Planting his feet in the stone and dirt, he started picking his way back to the surface. With two people, the weight created a slow, arduous performance. Rex would have none of it. Red-eyed, he glanced into the crack and used Quake again.

The world fractured again, and Zeta’s swords came loose from the soil. No second chances. They were falling into darkness, the planet vibrating around them.

Rocks, boulders, debris fell around them, piercing the solid bottom of the pit. It broke open, exposing stone and a stream of filthy water. A torrent of chaos followed, culminating with Zeta opening his eyes to the smell of fecal matter drenching his clothes as the brown fluid flowed around it. Great, saved by a sewer.

He supposed he was grateful that he was still breathing. He scrambled to his feet and searched for Hera. She lay a few feet away, conscious and seemingly alright.

Damn it, I wish I could speak.

Hera rose to her feet and scraped away the nasty crap dangling from her clothes. She may have been physically okay, but her face stated I want to die.

“Well, swine isn’t preferable, but at least we’re alive,” she said.

Zeta urged that they needed to move. Balder may not be able to follow them, but being underground as the surface was shaking was far from ideal. Tunnels were naturally resistant to faults and other seismic disturbances, but they weren’t immune. In fact, if Rex created enough severe damage, their safe haven would instantly transform into a death trap.

“I understand, but these sewers are a maze. I used to use them for smuggling before I realized Aspic didn’t give a damn about the illegal trade. Nevertheless, we stuck to the edges to avoid getting lost.”

The sewer rumbled, intense despite the tunnel nullifying the effects. Water splashed up and hit Zeta’s mouth, and that’s when he contemplated cutting off his lips.

He started running. He didn’t know where he was going, but it was better than being directly beneath the source of Rex’s Quake.

Hera scowled. “I can’t believe it. Doesn’t give a damn if we’re dead or not and immediately goes back to ripping the city in two. Despicable bastard.” She told him she usually put a mental guard against ‘common curses,’ which made hearing them escape her tongue without hesitation far more terrifying.

The tunnel twisted endlessly. They would spot a faint, ambient light only to be barred by a grate. Zeta wanted to cut through them, but Black Meridian had enough dents in it already. Besides, chipping away at that iron was a hopeless feat.

Hera yelped whenever a rat crossed their feet. Amusing, but with Zeta jumpy for any imminent dangers, the false alarms weren’t helping. He threw her a glare to stop.

“It’s not my fault they’re filthy!” she claimed.

Another Quake. The pattern seemed to follow them through the sewers. These were created for more than mere chaos.

It was evident now that Balder Rex was trying to kill them from above or, at the very least, snuff them out of the sewers. If you wanted us dead, maybe you shouldn’t have thrown us down here in the first place.

An awful sound interrupted Zeta’s speculation. Pleasant on a tropical cliffside, disastrous in a dark, tight space with a cistern.

Running water.

Hera heard it too. “Zeta–”

The water came around the corner in a violent splash, followed by a tide full of fish and disease. Zeta had no plans to die to a flood of filth, but fate wanted other ideas.

“No! No! No! This is a dream! This is a dream!” Hera screamed as they sprinted back the way they came. The panic led them down the wrong routes. After three or four turns, it was clear that their split-second decisions led them into an entirely different section of the sewers. The flood’s water level barely died down behind them.

They made one corner, then another, then they faced a grate. The current sealed the path behind them. Doom.

I refuse to die here!

Thinking about it did little for reality. Hera and Zeta braced to drown in a sea of excrement. She even crept behind him just a little, as if letting him die first would somehow better her chances. Thanks.

They heard the zipping roar of a ski on water, and then the wave stopped.

The flood folded back in on itself as if the water was bouncing against an imaginary wall. It could not touch them except for little leaks at the edges.

That’s when Zeta realized that feeling had returned. The evil shiver down his spine. Chilling Presence. They turned around, and the man in the brown cloak stood there, eyes shadowed and smiling. His extended hand stopped the water.

With his other hand, he used liquid to cut a sizeable opening in the grate. What the hell! Sure, the grate was partially rusted, but not even Black Meridian could cut through it that easily. How lacerating was that sigma?

Regardless, Zeta and Hera passed through the opening without question.

“Praise Valeri! Thank you, sir–” Hera began.

He started chuckling. He let go of the torrent and tossed his hands behind him. His body glided across the stream of sewage as if powered by a motor. The flood resumed.

“Hey! Come back here!”

Zeta grabbed her hand and followed the man’s direction. The brown wave pursued them afterward. They did not know the brown cloak’s intentions, but that did not matter for the moment. All they did know was that he saved them and following him would bring them to an exit.

Anything to get out of this hell.

Dam Force - Liquid, Defense: User can forcefully halt an oncoming tidal wave from crossing a certain, invisible barrier. (943).

(A) Hold hand towards oncoming flood or wave. Dam Force can be applied up to a distance of 5 meters away from the user. Dam Force does not have to be linear. If using two hands in activation, Dam Force can surround the user in a perfect circle. Dam Force can cover a maximum area of 100 square meters by default. The angle and placement can be adjusted by force of will. The current height of Dam Force is maintained when using the radial variant.