Chapter 372

When the Star Fell (II)

It was quite a view, Cain mused inwardly as he watched the endless stretch of dark space extend in front of him. He was a tiny dot in the incomprehensible vastness, drifting within the cocoon of Mana, patiently observing. He had poured quite a lot of Mana into his eyes to look for any signs of the supposed ‘invasion’, but there was nothing. It would be soon, though--for he had began to feel it, the twine of Mana. It was faint and relied heavily on a sense even he couldn’t fully understand yet, but he felt it was there. And thus, he decided to wait.

**

“You are ready,” Quinn spoke slowly, looking at the beaten trio heaving and rolling on the dusty ground. “Well, you’ve been ready for a while. But any further improvements you can make will have to wait till you bulk up.”

“Y-you... you mean, we’re, we’re ready to fight? The boss?” Emma squeezed the words out between the heaves.

“Yup,” Quinn nodded, sitting down and pouring herself a cup of wine. “Just go out there and fight. You probably won’t make it in one go, but it should be done within 10 tries.”

The rest of the raid got similar news, prompting the remaining souls to gather in the tall and wide hall that they used as a shelter. Most everyone looked rather... adventurous. Though they did get to leave the Tower ever so often, it wasn’t that often. And the last time they did was well over six months ago.

Being beaten on the daily basis, training non stop, and perpetually sleeping less than two hours a night gave birth to a lot of appearances.

“We’ll rest for two days,” Emma announced as soon as everyone had gathered. “And, finally--fuckin’ finally--we’re raiding that bitch.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Is--is it true?”

“Are you sure?” a barrage of befuddled questions came flooding in after a momentary silence.

“Yup, I’m sure,” Emma nodded. “It’s not another test. Not another prank. Not another one of those when they tell us we’re ready, then film us crying in the woods at night, then blackmail us with that footage. Nothing like that. We’re free, guys. We’re finally free.”

“We’re free?”

“We’re free.”

“WE’RE FREE!!!” the entire hall erupted in cheers and crying. There was a lot of hugging and quite a few people even fell to their knees in fervor. It was a strange scene, even Emma realized, and if someone were to happen upon it... it would be beyond difficult to contextualize why 80 strongest people on Earth were crying like children in kindergarten.

Shaking it off, Emma went to find Cain to share the good news, but his place was empty. Even using Mana to try and look for his signature turned out nothing. Shrugging, she figured he likely popped down to the 2nd floor to visit Rick as he did that at least twice a week. Stretching, she rounded back to her room and immediately crashed, too tired to even shower.

Two days passed swiftly and the whole gang gathered--there was a renewed fire in them, hope kindled by the years of training. They all felt just how much stronger they’ve become since the day they entered the valley.

Emma waited for a while to see if Cain would show up, but as he didn’t, she stepped to the front and looked at the group standing tall, heads held up high, a complete contrast to how they were the first day of the training when their spirits were entirely broken.

“There isn’t much to say,” she hollered. “Just this: we’ll go up there, kick that bitch’s ass, and come down here to drink our body weight in whatever booze we can find. You all ready?!”

“Yes!”

“Good. Let’s go!”

“Hey, where’s dad?” Senna walked up to her as the group began to disperse toward the 20th floor.

“I don’t know,” Emma replied. “Haven’t seen him all day.”

“You think it’s wise to go without him?”

“We’ll be fine,” Emma shrugged. “The twins are accompanying us.”

“Oh, alright.”

“What? You wanted him to come so you could show off?” Emma teased with a faint smile.

“... shut it,” Senna rolled her eyes. “Like you’re not the same.”

“Like mother like daughter,” Emma said. “But he’s the one losing here, missing the show. Come on, don’t dilly-dally. We should take care of the boss before he returns so we can surprise him.”

“Alright.”

The march up to the twentieth floor was rather unremarkable. Everyone, for the most part, remained silent and deeply entrenched in their thoughts. It has been a while since anyone has last fought U’nul, and most were fuzzy on the memories of the fight. Digging through the holes of years ago, they tried to recall how the fight went and what they did wrong the first time.

Looking at the towering behemoth, Emma felt memories surging back. Though she was different--though everyone was different--the scars were dimming the lights of progress, she knew. No matter how much stronger they’ve gotten in vacuum, it doesn’t matter nearly as much without first actually fighting something and being pushed to their limits.

They set up a quick camp outside once again, settling the few members of the logistics team that they’ve brought with--mostly cooks and such--before everyone except the main personnel dispersed to rest.

“We try the original strategy?” Jamal proposed as everyone sat around a large table, drinking.

“I agree,” Kramer nodded. “Best to just feel it out.”

“We’ll probably blast through the first phase,” Emma said. “So, how do we adjust from there?”

“Do we even need to?” Chriss asked with a belligerent scoff. “We can probably just keep at it and we’ll blow through the bitch in an hour.”

“Optimistic,” Emma shrugged. “We’ve never hit deep into her second phase. Scratch that, we’ve barely touched it. No matter how good we’ve gotten, we can still be fucked hard by the unpredictable. Besides, we’re not invincible, Chriss. Haven’t you learned the cornerstone lesson of ‘em all?”

“We ain’t,” the man confirmed. “But have you forgotten the other? Grab your balls and ride into the storm, woman. We ain’t cowards, either.”

“... he’s right,” Jamal crackled. “We ride and cast the die. We’ll be fine, Emma. Have faith in us, as they say.”

“... your lunacy,” Emma shrugged. “We still need at least the basic formation. It’s not gonna be a free-for-all.”

“It won’t. Relax,” Senna chimed in as well. “Let them fly free for a bit, at least. Those wings will get clipped soon enough.”

“True.”

It was precisely four hours later that the raid made it past the archway and into the spacious hall. It had been long ,but they hadn’t forgotten. This place still felt familiar, and the scalding scars burned once more. In the distance, they saw U’nul open her eyes and look at them. She still appeared indifferent, unbothered, as though they were still the same as ever.

The carpet of fire soon unfolded and the heart raged, as though spurred from the lovely slumber. Emma, Kramer, and Chriss rode to the front, their countenance emboldened.

“Babes grew to children,” U’nul spoke, though there was no mockery in her tone, despite the choice of words. “And flutter their meager wings. But the winds cannot undue the flames. And thy fires kindle still.”

“What’s she mumbling ‘bout?” Jamal craned the heavy sword over his shoulder.

“Pretty sure she’s mocking us,” Senna replied. “Go and teach her a lesson, old man.”

“I ain’t old yet, kiddo,” Jamal jeered. “I’m finely older.”

“Jesus, the levels of copium,” Senna sighed. “Just go. We’re starting.”

Emma was the first to rush forward, but not madly as before--there was due diligence in her probe. She swung the warhammer evenly, holding back some in case she had to dodge--which was precisely what happened.

She frowned, realizing immediately that something... was off. The speed of the thrust was much, much, much quicker than before--even at her current level, she barely reacted in time.

She was forced to bleed backward once more as the point of impact erupted into a pillar of roaring flames, seeming to awaken everyone else as well--as they have never seen that attack before, certainly not in the first phase.

“There is no seed of lovely in war,” U’nul spoke, unsheathing a blade. A spear in one hand and a blade in another gave her a mightily imposing image. “Blood for blood. Name for name. Death for death. Children who would want be men and women, come. Here is my Death.”

U’nul heaved forward, spinning midair as the rolling blades of fire came into existence around her, spitting the kindle that alighted the arena around her in a hellish inferno. Emma and Kramer gasped for a moment before unilaterally activated all their aggressive, group-wide defensives, barely managing to block her after being dragged back for nearly half a mile. There was no time for respite, however, as she immediately followed-up the rolling whirl of fire with an overhead slash with her blade toward Emma while thrusting the spear toward Kramer.

“... GODDAMMIT! HELP THEM!” Senna cried out, having finally come to. The fight had completely changed--it was nothing like they remembered. Not just in terms of attacks, but also the general difficulty of attacks.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” while the raid collectively roared to dispel themselves of the fear, Harmony and Nature stood at the rear, inwardly smiling at the situation.

“Cain’s just mean,” either Nature or Harmony said.

“I’m not sure this is Cain,” the other replied. “This reeks of that bitch.”

“... true. She does have enough missing screws to go after them like this. If they get beaten black and blue here, they’ll lose whatever little spirit they managed to build back up.”

“If they do, then they were never meant to be,” the other one shrugged. “Just sit back, relax, and watch the poor little things struggle. It’s fun.”