Chapter 46: Resort

“No way…!”

Everyone watched in hopelessness from atop a low building as Steve banged against the Walls. Each time, they could see the Walls bend backward just a bit further. Beneath the layers of iron plates, the cement structure was crumbling.

Crack!

The connecting bolts between the plates came undone and the top of the Wall broke off a bit. The rubble fell on the other side. Another hit and some more chunks of the Wall fell.

“This is bad! At this rate…!”

The whole Defense Force started panicking.

Then, to make the news worse, from behind Steve, on what remained of that portion of the Walls, popped out a giant, black Parrot. It climbed onto Steve’s shoulder and screeched, announcing its arrival. It then slid down Steve’s body to reach the ground.

A Mayhem got into Rencia.

A few seconds later, a second Mayhem—a Pigeon—arrived and did the same.

“What?! How? There are still over thirty stories of Wall left there.”

“The rubble that’s falling on the other side…” Drake realized, “…it’s forming stairs for Mayhems to climb up!”

The jagged and unstable slope that the rubble had created behind the Walls would be scalable by bird Mayhems, who could flutter a small distance in the air and jump heights.

Next, a not-so-cute black Rabbit popped its head in and decided to hop down to join the party. All the while, Steve continued to destroy the Walls.

“General, we’re losing the Walls and Mayhems are entering. We need to do something!” Walt exclaimed.

General Rein furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. He knew he had to end this before the destruction worsened. The helicopter had fled by now, but there was enough gunpowder in Steve’s mouth to do the job.

“Lighter.” He put out his hand.

A soldier handed him a lighter, modified to remain lit.

Before Drake could protest, “Walt.”

Walt grabbed Drake’s arms and restrained them behind his back.

“What’s with this?” Drake said as Walt tied his arms with rope.

“Sorry, Drake, but this is necessary, and we know you won’t accept it,” Walt replied.

Rein looked at him. “I know you're worried about the people of the city, too. But you can't bring yourself to face the reality of the situation. Perhaps you’ll forgive me later, but that’s none of my concern.”

“You can’t make this decision!” Drake protested.

Rein turned around and ignored him.

“You’re just the newly appointed General. You’re not even wise or experienced like Arthur was. The Authorities are the only ones who can make the call now.”

Rein stopped.

“You’re right that I’m new and nothing compared to my predecessor… but I’m still the General of Rencia’s last defense against the Mayhem world!” Rein announced loudly. “I have accepted this seat and will readily perform my duties and responsibilities and act to protect and help the people of this city to the best of my abilities, just as my predecessor did!” Then, more quietly, “I finally understand what you entrusted to me, Darian, and the weight it carries.”

With that, the Commander flew off toward Steve.

“No!” Drake yelled.

The other soldiers gasped and murmured.

“Is he really going to blow it up?”

“Won’t the General die if he gets caught in the explosion?”

Drake clenched his teeth and yelled. He suddenly jerked his head back, hitting Walt in the forehead. Walt stumbled back and held his head in pain.

“Wha—” soldiers around were surprised.

Drake clumsily grabbed Walt’s sword hilt from behind him and pulled it out of the scabbard. He started cutting the rope binding his arms.

“Someone, stop him!”

As someone tried to attack him, Drake stepped aside to evade. He kneed him in the stomach. He fell to the ground in pain.

Drake only had his legs to use at the moment.

Two more opponents faced him. Drake’s hands were bleeding from gripping the blade and making cuts on his arm near the rope, but he didn’t care. He ran around to avoid the two pursuers. The other soldiers didn’t know what to do—they knew Drake’s capacity—but they couldn’t let him go either. They tried to catch him when he got near them.

The scene resembled a group of farmers trying to catch a chicken.

After a few seconds, Drake was free from his bonds. He immediately turned on his jetpack.

“Drake!” Walt faced him with a bruise on his head.

“Move. I don’t have time for you.”

Drake ran past the soldiers and jumped off the building. He flew at full speed toward Rein.

General Rein looked behind him and spotted Drake.

“Sheesh, I can’t trust those guys.”

He went at full speed also.

By now, about a dozen Mayhems had accumulated at the base of Steve, partying with the Human ones. Rein flew straight into the crowd of them in an effort to shake off Drake.

Drake flew past the Mayhems, ignoring them, unlike in the past. The Mayhems tried to grab onto or bite the two of them, but they both swiftly and expertly evaded the attacks.

Can't I protect Steve after everything I went through? After joining the military and working hard? After focusing on protecting people over revenge?! After losing my mother and all of Beil and Arthur, can’t I save one person?!?

Drake quickly flew to the side to avoid a hopping Hare that leaped at him. He ignored the pain in his bleeding hand and used it to control his jetpack.

A Mountain Goat that had climbed up a nearby building jumped toward him. He once again moved out of the way.

“Move!”

He continued, only evading his attackers, his eyes solely focused on his objective.

The two were now flying up the length of Steve’s body to reach his head. Rein frequently looked behind him. Drake was getting closer and closer.

“Dang, it. You don’t relent.” He didn’t want Drake to do something reckless and get caught in the explosion, especially because he knew perfectly well what Drake would do.

With the wobbling Mayhem destroying the Walls in front of him and Drake behind him, Rein was under much pressure. He could feel time slow down. After what felt like a minute, Rein reached the funnel in Steve’s mouth. He took out his lighter, turned it on, and held it out. He started flying up again. He needed to be out of the explosion’s range. But Drake was already at chest-height.

“Don’t do it! Rein!”

Rein couldn’t afford to lose more time. He was fifteen yards high. He wasn’t sure if either of them could survive the explosion at this range, considering the amount of gunpowder. He closed his eyes and dropped the lighter.

“Rein!”

Time slowed. The lighter fell through the air in slow-motion. Drake’s eyes widened. He reached out. Rein turned and braced for impact. Drake stopped controlling his jetpack. His instincts told him to get away, but there was no time for that.

In a matter of a few seconds, the lighter made its way into the funnel and landed on the pile of black dust. The gunpowder instantly ignited. The funnel raged with bright flames, which made their way outward and into Steve’s throat. Drake saw red flames burst through Steve’s skin at his neck and cheeks. Fire expanded until it engulfed his vision and, soon, him as well. Drake felt incredible heat and pain, one that his body remembered from a previous incident.

Within seconds, he could no longer feel anything. The force from the explosion’s impact pushed him hard suddenly as if he’d been hit by a bus. His limp body hurled through the blaze and air. He couldn’t understand what was happening as he lost his sense of orientation and his vision blurred.

That was when Drake lost consciousness.

MAYHEM ON EARTH: Volume 8. / End.