“ELIMINATE THE INTRUDER!”

A dozen Esh stand before me. The metallic soldiers are much sleeker— taller and slimmer— than their En counterparts. They are made of a darker material, too. Dark gray. Not black. But evidently distinct from the En.

They do not carry lightshooters. Instead, they raise their arms, and weapons are made from their hands. Some of them create blades of light, brimming a concentrated energy that glow a dark crimson. Others point their hands at me as cylindrical barrels protrude from their palms.

I glance over the group of Esh, shaking my head. Then I take on a wide stance as I welcome their challenge.

“Come,” I say with a grin. “Try and take me on if you will.”

All at once, the Esh begin their assault. Six of them dash forward, swinging at me with their laser swords. The other six fire beams of light my way— more potent attacks than the petty lightshooters used by the En.

I spin around like in a dance, using my palms to deflect the onslaught of projectiles flying at me. I redirect their attacks like they are leaves flowing with the wind. I gently push these laser beams back at the charging Esh, slowing their approach.

One of them leaps into the air, thrusted by a boost of flames, before crashing down at me with a swing of their light blade. I sidestep the attack with ease, countering with a pinpoint strike using only my fingertips.

The attack lands. The Esh stops moving, balancing mid-air at the tip of my fingers. For a moment, nothing happens. The remaining Esh continuing rushing my way. They take a single step closer—

Then the Esh I had attacked explodes. Its parts ricochet in all directions, becoming fast moving projectiles that scatter throughout the room. They knock the charging Esh back— slowing them just a little longer. And in that moment where the machines are discombobulated, I strike back.

Precise, fast attacks. I go from one to the other, landing kicks and punches at their joints, whittling away at their defenses until they begin to break down. One of the Esh comes up at me from behind, swinging its laser sword, but I catch it by the elbow. I bring my knee up and smash its arm apart.

The forearm and hand along with the laser sword breaks off. And using its own hand, I decapitate the Esh. When I am finished with the first six charging Esh, I turn my attention to the ones that stayed back, attacking me from afar. They continue their onslaught of laser beams shot my way, even as I leap into the air and land between them. They open fire, and I simply duck and dodge, letting their attacks tear each other apart.

Eventually, all twelve of the Esh lies destroyed at my feet. I step away from them, kicking aside one of their broken heads. It was a tougher battle than it should have been— it physically exhausted me somewhat. But there was a reason why I did not expend any Qi. I know I need to preserve it for both the battles that have yet to come, and for the escape that needs to be made after I destroy this ship.

“Now, then.” I start down the open corridor. “Where is the core?”

I head further down the hallway until I reach a junction, but pause when the lights around me turn red. I hear a shrill sound— not a scream. The sounds of… an alarm going off. The corridor around me continues to flash with the light, then ahead of me, a metal door slams shut with a bang.

But that is not all. It is accompanied by a cacophony of echoes. Bang! Bang! Bang!

I look around me as all paths— front, back, left, and right— all slam shut, trapping me in a box room. I narrow my eyes, hearing the clangor of gathering En at the other side of each door. I shake my head and kick one of the doors open.

It goes flying, crashing into dozens of En, crushing the ones waiting just at the other side for me. There are even further down the hallway. They raise their lightshooters, and I sigh.

“This is going to be more tedious than it is dangerous…” And I charge forward.

***

The School of Phantasm.

It is my specialty. The abilities that I wield best along with the School of Enchantment. It draws power from the Seventh Heaven. The Heaven of Nightmares and Illusions. It expends Red Essence. Something which is incredibly rare, even in Jhisie.

With no more ginsoul pills at my disposal, I have been apprehensive to use the School of Phantasm. The only way I can regain Red Essence is through Soul Cycle. Turning my Aura into Qi, then turning Qi into Essence. But it is a process that takes a lot of time. One which I did not have when I escaped my own Imprisonment before the third wave of the invasion of Utana began.

To use the School of Phantasm— to expend Red Essence— would be risky as I do not have much to spend. But I have no choice. This is taking too long. The army of Esh and En barring my path to the core of the ship is too numerous. While they are not dangerous to my life, they are cumbersome to kill. Far harder to take down than any single Zombie.

So I mask myself. I cast a cloak of invisibility to cover my movements. I muffle my footsteps, even if it is not necessary. I escape the hordes of metallic soldiers sweeping over the area. The alarm does not stop blaring, of course.

They are aware that I am in the ship. But they just do not know where I am. I continue my way down the myriad of hallways— it is almost like a labyrinth. A giant maze. But its complexity is incomparable to the Land of the Cursed. In fact, the ship is relatively simple to navigate despite the haphazardly strewn hallways.

I eventually find myself descending down, passing through familiar corridors. Not because I have ever been here. Rather, its layout is too similar to Galgom’s Hive, so I can simply trace after my memory. There is no need to waste Indigo Essence to use the School of Divination here.

And I eventually find it. I arrive at my destination undetected. But I do not peel away at the curtain of invisibility coating my movements. Instead, I hug close to the walls of the ship, noticing that something is amiss.

When I had destroyed Galgom’s Hive, I had been under the impression that it was his true body. I believed that he was not a hivemind of bodies— rather, that those were simply false bodies he had created. Now? Now I know it is the core of the ship.

I am aware that destroying it will bring the ship down. Destroy it in its entirety. A single vulnerability. One that Galgom sent most of his bodies to protect.

So it should be well-guarded. The core of the ship should not be left unprotected. I expected to see a thousand soldiers of Esh barring my path to destroy the core. But when I glance into the room, I see nothing.

There is only a giant cylindrical shell at the center. One that is connected to dozens of pipes like a heart.

I narrow my eyes. I cast my gaze around the room, frowning as I do not make out a single figure inside. Even with the lights of the hallway I am in flashing red, alerting the ship that an enemy is on board, there is no rush to protect the core of the ship.

Perhaps it is because they are machinery, so their programming overrode what should be common sense— it is entirely possible my presence drew out all the guards to find and exterminate me. But I doubt that. I know better than to trust in chance turning out in my favor.

So I do not just step inside. It is far more likely that this is either a trap or a dud. I expend what little Indigo Essence I have, using the School of Divination to explore the room. And with my enhanced and altered gaze, I notice a flicker moving in the room.

It moves around like mist. A blur in the air. It is rather large— standing twice as tall as me— and it drifts around quickly like a fish in the water. Before I can fully process what it is, I realize something.

I realize that it is bounding towards me.

I back up, ready to dodge the attack. But I hesitate for a moment. Surely it cannot sense my presence, right? After all, I have disguised myself with the School of Phantasm. My specialty.

But the invisible thing leaps forward. I see the vague shape of claws swinging through the air, scraping against the metal floor before the creature swipes at me. I duck under the attack, kicking up once at this unseen enemy—

And my eyes grow wide when my attack hits nothing.

“What…?” I blink.

Then a strike to my stomach sends me flying.