Maids VS Apocalypse

[You have defeated Neb’Elseth’s desciple (Apprentice)]

[+80 AP]

[You have defeated Neb’Elseth’s desciple (Apprentice)]

[+95 AP]

’Fucking... finally...’

A sharp gasp threw Mark into a coughing fit. Unbeknownst to him, had been holding his breath the entire time, forcing his body to move despite the harrowing actions he had to take.

He looked down at his hands and saw the red painting them and felt its warmth slowly dissipate into the air. His eyes shifted and he caught sight of the tool he had used to draw out the crimson essence.

A small knife with a modern design. Its surface should’ve been dark gray yet it was covered in a thick layer of red, but that didn’t seem to suppress the faint glow enveloping its blade. Staring at it caused a System screen to appear. Mark pressed A on the "Yes" option and sent the item back to his inventory.

CFBW type 01 (+3). It was the same as the basic weapons one gets from the starter pack at the very beginning of Maids VS Apocalypse, though it was a knife, unlike Lara’s spear. Mark had bought earlier and even enhanced it with a +1 Pierce, +1 Sharpness, and +1 Durability enchantment scrolls. It was a precautionary measure in case his guns were unusable but came in handy right away.

’... I... I think I get it now....’

Ramsay had told him that most Awakened relied on close quarter weapons when fighting because they allow one to make use of their Force Field. The explanation seemed logical at the time, but only after experiencing it himself did Mark understand what it’s really like.

The weak resistance the preceded his stabbing the enemy was from their Force Fields, he had no doubt about that. Since he had coated the knife in the full output of his own Force Field it was able to overcome the protection theirs offered and inflict lethal damage on their bodies, allowing him to carve through them with ease.

The wounds from the knife alone would have killed anyone. The two Red Hoods only had a few seconds to live at most, unless they had a way to instantly heal the wounds. Mark wasn’t about to wait and see so he finished things with his rifle.

’Four...’

That was the number of human lives he took. Not Madness driven zombies or mutated monsters; sane humans capable of understanding logic and reason. Mark killed them and didn’t feel anything about it. They were enemies who tried to kill him, after all. He wasn’t about to shed a single tear for them.

’Focus...’

He tore his eyes from the bloodied corpses and was about to shock on the others when something slammed into him from the side. The impact spread through his body and shook his innards. He hadn’t seen it coming and thus failed to raise his defenses in time.

The blow wasn’t from an enemy, however. It was the orange hand created by Ben’s Artifact. Mark caught sight of him as he was sent flying. The big guy had a sword stabbed into his left leg and his usual smile was replaced with a grimace. His right hand was stretched to the left as if he was just done swiping the air.

At that instant Mark’s field of view was filled with a blue color, followed by wave of scorching heat that prompted him to cover his face with both arms and raise the output of his Force Field. Only once he sensed that he had stopped moving did he drop it and his eyes darted to the source of the fire immediately.

A tremor spread across the hall as a large broad sword struck the floor. The petite girl who swung it had her eyes squeezed shut and her face twisted with pain. The one she aimed for had already moved out of the way.

Zhang Tianmu was in no better condition as shown by his rage filled expression, but his eyes were open, even if slightly, and were fixed on Mark instead of the one fighting him. He stretched his arm and raised his palm toward the youth. The blue embers dancing on it suddenly condensed and turned into a torrent of flames.

’Shit!’

Mark threw away Ramsay’s lesson on MP conservation and was about to crank up the output of his Force Field when he noticed that the flames had spread out in every direction quickly filling an invisible box.

A close call. Mark didn’t dare to sigh in relief and got to thinking about what he should be doing next while on the move. Although he had finished off two of the red hoods on his own it didn’t change how much of a burden he was and his reckless use of the flashbang had negatively affected not just his enemies but his allies as well.

The enemies Franco was facing had went down by one. Although she had freed herself from the purple bindings, Lara was still occupied and didn’t have the leeway to rejoin him.

Enemy reinforcement had yet to show up which made Mark wonder if his maid and the big guy had dealt with all of them on their way to the hall.

’Should I escape?’ He eyed the entrance they arrived from. ’Ramsay and Alex aren’t back yet...’

First of all, he needed to get back behind one someone. Being out in the open was a disaster waiting to happen. His first choice should have been his maid, but she had enough on her plate and didn’t need more, and that’s without mentioning how close she was to where Elya and the enemy boss were fighting.

’So much for protecting me...’

His petite squadmate was supposed to remain close so she could use her barrier ability to protect him. He didn’t want to blame her for abandoning him, seeing how she was occupied with the enemy boss, but there was no denying that she had failed miserably at her assigned task.

’If it’s someone to hide behind then-’

Mark made his choice and upped his speed. He had dropped his rifle when he was sent flying earlier which forced him to take out a second one.

"Run for the door, lad!" Ben yelled when he noticed him running his way. "Get out of here!"

"You know it’s not that easy!"

Taking aim and pulling the trigger sent a flurry of bullets at the two Red Hoods facing the big guy, forcing them to retreat. Simultaneously Ben raised his right fist and punched down. The floor trembled and an orange wave spread along its surface. Once it reached the enemy position spikes jutted out from the floor like a trap in an ancient temple.

Sadly the attack wasn’t as effective as when he had used it against the Exo-apes. The two Red Hoods got out of its range and quickly circled around. One of them rushed toward the big guy while the seconds locked onto Mark.

’Oh c’mon!’

The distance between them shrunk in a second and in another it would be gone. If his bullets couldn’t get through the enemy’s Force Field by then it would be his loss.

There as no time for a change of direction so Mark could only keep his finger on the trigger. With only a couple of meters between them, the enemy raised his sword and was about to swing it. A shadow fell on him just then and when he looked up all he saw was an illusory palm that’s about to squash a mosquito.

The motion Ben made for that attack alerted Mark and allowed him to distance himself before it landed. The Red Hood was able to evade it as well but another palm came crushing down forcing him to roll farther away. The other one had targeted the big guy but was forced to retreat as well. In the meantime Mark made it to safety, and seeing the massive back in front of him allowed a sigh of relief to escape him.

"We... we need those two alive..." He spoke while panting for air.

"My earsdrums were popped so pardon me if I heard you wrong." With a heavy step forward Ben threw his right and a massive orange fist flew out. "Did you just say we need them bastards alive?"

"Only one." Mark replied. "I don’t know which, though."

"You don’t say."

If he were to be honest, Mark saw no reason why he should bother getting the tablet back. There was nothing about it in his quest and his friend would likely be able to work with just about any other tablet. Still, he wanted to retrieve it just in case. Though his drawing skills were nonexistence he still understood the important such a tool to its owner, especially if it was one they had been using for a long time.

"Can’t you knock them out without killing them?"

"Easier said than done." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

One of the Red Hoods closed the distance again and swung at Ben who raised his gauntlet to block. Pushing him back, the big guy spread his arms then brought them together in a clap. Two illusory palms flanked the Red Hood before his feet could touch the ground. The moment they connected, a blast of air spread out and washed over everything.

"Let’s hope they’re still up after that."

Sensing the usual light tone in the big guy’s voice, Mark curled up the corners of his mouth. He looked over the battlefield once more and gave everything more thought. There is no telling how things would proceed from there, but there is one thing he had to be wary of.

"Big guy," he paused and went through what he had to say one more time. "I might pass out soon. Mind keeping an eye on me in the meantime?"