Chapter 381

When the Star Fell (XI)

Emma and others stared at the sight with gaping jaws and wide eyes, their minds incapable of processing what they were seeing. They were jetted off on a plan as soon as they left the Tower and were flying over the Pacific. Most expected they were flying to another continent—and though they were technically correct—the kind of continent they landed on… blew their minds.

Sitting there, in the middle of nowhere, beneath the scorching sun, was a plateau of dirt stretching out for hundreds of miles, nary a lifeform—fauna or flora—to be found. It was a stretch of dirt that escaped the horizon’s curve on all ends, indicating that it was massive. There were only a few structures there that they could see—some houses, some towers, but most was just… nothing.

Among those already there was Quinn who was ushering about some young-seeming and drenched-in-sweat mages and ordering them with specific tasks. Everyone seemed to be in an unrelenting hurry, barely even registering that the plane had landed and spat out nearly a hundred additional souls. They all stood about mindlessly until Quinn noticed them and, a moment later, approached with a faint smile.

She remained silent as her keen eyes seemed to dig through their skins, as though trying to peer within their souls. Though uncomfortable, everyone knew better than to resist, simply staying still and waiting. Eventually she stopped, glancing for a moment toward the sky. Others followed, their jaws quickly gaping even further if possible.

If the first time they saw the flashes was like witnessing 4th of July fireworks, then this was… well, it was certainly much worse. Even with some aerial shield that the mages deployed, the strobing flashes of light were unrelenting, painting the sky like an ungodly brush in infinite colors. There were no breaks, no pauses, no breaths taken between each blinding stroke of illumination—it was as though cataclysmic skies were being torn open and an era of decay was being ushered in.

By then, they began to feel it—the residual Mana that found its way down from beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. It was suffocating, so much so that even Emma and Senna and the ilk had to use Mana to protect themselves. Fear slowly began to worm its way up their spines—they were summoned here to fight, that much they knew, but even with the ‘purification’ few felt they could as much as stand there, let alone fire off a skill or two.

While Quinn was putting finishing touches to the battlefield, the twins regaled the newcomers to the varying corners of the island, linking everyone into a Mana-fueled neural network in which they could communicate with their thoughts. It was very limiting, however, as only a few could speak to all, and the all could only speak to the few.

Soon enough, everyone paused whatever they were doing and looked up—a boom echoed out into the world, the first time that a sound made its way through, and a flash of red light appeared in the sky. Bit by bit, it grew larger, until they realized it was heading toward them. Panic took over, but there were no orders to erect a shield or to intercept—so everyone merely covered themselves in Mana and waited.

However, just a few miles off of the surface, they noticed that the reddened shape was slowing down, coming to complete halt some six hundred yards off the ground. Though it stabilized, it was covered in a thick layer of Mana-dilution, preventing anyone from seeing anything.

Quinn suddenly took flight and appeared near the figure, and though quite a few wanted to join, one look at the twins told them that it was best that they remain grounded.

“You could have held on for a few hours longer,” Quinn complained half-heartedly. While the extra few hours would have afforded her some leeway to perfect a few things, she was already quite ready.

“Shut it, woman,” Cain grumbled. “I nearly fuckin’ died trying to make it seem like I almost died.”

“… what?”

“Bah,” Cain flayed his arms out. “Whatever. You couldn’t understand the mighty ways of the mighty Cain and his illusions that sway the eyes. How did things go here?”

“They were baptized,” Quinn replied. “Unfortunately…”

“No seed?”

“No, there are four,” she said. “But all are delayed.”

“Damn. Dogshit luck. Who would you rather take on—the thrice-Awakened alongside the twins while I support elsewhere, or vice versa?”

“You do the support,” she said. “We’ll just stonewall them.”

“Try to kill them.”

“Impossible,” she firmly shook her head. “Not everyone is like you, Cain. In fact, killing even a twice-Awakened is a monumental undertaking, let alone a thrice-Awakened one. Just because you can whip out your magic and start claiming heads doesn’t mean it’s a common occurrence. Best you’re going to get is stonewalling and stalling—beyond that, we’re helpless. So, finish your job quick and come help us.”

“Haah, fine,” he shrugged. “You think we stand a chance without me going too nuclear?”

“Perhaps?” she replied, tilting her head. “You never said how many of them there are.”

“A lot. Perhaps even too many for the number of traps you’ve prepared,” he said. “But, I’ll be a good dog and corral them where they need to be. So, just be ready to unleash all hell.”

“Everything is in place. Despite the painful lack of talents… this world is strangely organizational and devoted. Even creative, as quite a few of them offered some clever ideas on the improvements. Make sure to reward them after the fact.”

“Tell that to Rick,” Cain shrugged. “He’ll give ‘em a mansion or something.”

“If they live.”

“They gotta. Can’t be handing lives over to some raging cunts with a boner for slaughter. That’s my job!”

“…” Quinn smiled lightly before she looked up—through the tear in the shield, she saw the descending figures clad in thick layers of Mana. “And here I thought that staying here for decades would have been a bore.”

“There can never be a boring decade with me around,” Cain jested. “Maybe a week or a month, but even a year is a bit out there. Decade? Nah. There’s a higher chance of shitting out a helix-shaped load of gold.”

“Yes, you are very good at tooting your own horn. And pulling the horns of others. Your people have a lot of expressions involving horns. It’s quite strange.”

“You should see what we do with animals’ balls. We are quite strange, but very lovable. Get Senna up there. Let’s go.”

“Let’s go indeed.”

Senna didn’t miss the signal—as soon as she saw Quinn indicate with her head toward the shaded figure, she spun a blade beneath her feet and flew herself up. She reached him quick, within seconds, and saw a somewhat tired and tattered figure floating there effortlessly, a faint smile hung on his face, dirty, somewhat reddish—likely from blood—hair fluttering in the wind. He was hazy, even up close, and seemed even more distant than ever before, as though he was reaching toward realms she couldn’t even fathom.

“’elo firefly,” he greeted her with a sheepish smile. All that mystique vanished—in the end, he was him, as he always was. It appeared as though nothing would ever change that. “Miss me?”

“Always,” she replied honestly, stretching her lips into a smile. “Are you alright?”

“Alright? Bah, kiddo. Not even a truck-kun could deal with your dad!”

“Track-kun? What?” she titled her head.

“… oh. Damn. I felt that one. Anyway, there’s a heap of thingamabobs coming our way. Care to escort your daddy and help him a bit?”

“So long as you promise you’ll stop using ‘daddy’,” she said. “Please. Please.”

“Really? Figured since you swing your way, you ain’t ever calling another man ‘daddy’.”

“…”

“Do girls use ‘mommy’? Would that make it weird with Em’?”

“Stop talking. Please.”

“What? I’m naturally curious! No judgement, firefly! You wanna scream mommy? Scream—”

“I’ll never speak to you again if you don’t. Stop. Talking.”

“…”

“…”

“Man. Been a while since I last saw that look,” he grinned, entirely unbothered. “Fine. I won’t be the creepy, meddling, weird daddy. I’ll just be the cool, silent, brooding daddy.”

“Haaah… whatever. What am I supposed to do?”

“Welp, you and I will be in charge of keeping their armada from trying to attack the rest of the world,” he said. “In a little while, you’ll see me flying about everywhere. Lag behind me and try to corral the stragglers. However—” his voice suddenly deepened, expression flatting. “Do not, under any circumstances, engage in a fight. Just support me from the rear and fire off your weapons from vast distance.”

“Huh? Why? I’m strong!”

“They’re stronger,” he replied. “They’re all at least twice-Awakened. No matter how talented you are, firefly, they’ll kick your ass seven ways to Sunday. So, be a good daddy’s princess, and listen to him for once in your life. If you don’t, I’ll keep pestering you about your sex life till I croak or you kill me. I promise you that much.”

“… fine.”

“Good,” he patted her head gently. “Besides, you’ll be too busy observing me to fight, anyway. Learn a thing or two—you’ll finally see some depths, I think. It’ll do you good. This whole thing is a marathon, kiddo, and this is just a random hurdle we need to leap. Mountains that block our paths… are yet to appear, I’m afraid.”