Maids VS Apocalypse

Thin tendrils crackled in the breath Alex exhaled. Gripping his claymore with both hands, he lowered his posture and was about to lunge. That was when his head snapped down, his Ability nullifying and the lightning coating his body scattering.

Confusion took over his face as he looked up at the one who had just smacked him.

"Idiot!" Elya shouted. "What do you think you’re doing!? Why the hell did you rush in like that!?"

"Elya! That’s-"

"I don’t give a damn!" She silenced him with another shout. "Who said I needed your help anyway!?"

Alex kept his silence for a second. His sight then shifted to the robed man, and though it wasn’t as intense, anger returned to his expression.

"We found the survivors." He said.

Elya looked up at him then turned to their opponent.

"We were going to kill him anyway." She said. "No need to be so rash."

"... got it..."

[Lara had defeated Neb’Alseth’s disciple (Apprentice)]

[+80 AP]

The message diverted Mark’s attention back to his maid. The flashy entrance of their blonde squadmate hadn’t distracted her in the least, seeing how she went on to finish off the Red Hood whose arm and leg she had sliced off. Her sight turned to the other one.

Someone else walked into the hall just then.

"Took you long enough," Mark said.

"Could say the same." Ramsay settled beside him and replied. "Why didn’t you stick to the plan."

"The bastard knew my face."

"... What?"

Mark gave his superior the side eye.

"So You’re going to pretend you didn’t know anything about this?"

"You think I would’ve agreed to the plan if that was the case?"

Ben raised his arms and manifested two massive hands to block a beam fired in their direction. Its original target was Franco, but his perfectly timed dodge led to it reaching the others. An arrow manifested in Ramsay’s hand and he proceeded to knock it on his intricately designed bow.

"We found your friend." He said.

"How many?" Mark asked.

The remaining Red Hood tried to distance himself from Lara and Franco while shooting his beams, unaware of the archer aiming at his head until the last moment. He moved the pyramid-shaped crystal to block the arrow only for it to shatter and the energy condensed inside it to expand into a large red globe. He coated himself in the full output of his Force Field only for a white crescent to bisect him. The red energy disintegrated his body in an instant, leaving only charred remains to fall to the floor.

[Lara had defeated Neb’Alseth’s disciple (Apprentice)]

[+85 AP]

"Hey." Mark ignored the System message and turned his narrowed eyes to the Sergeant. "I asked you how many?"

Ramsay drew his mouth to a line.

"Is that why he was angry?"

The youth gestured to their blonde companion who had just engaged the enemy boss again. Compared to before, he was much calmer, having opted out of using his ability and switched to his one-handed sword and gold heater shield.

"If you already made your guess-" Ramsay muttered under his breath. "Why the hell are you asking me?"

He knocked another arrow and pulled the bowstring, released it, then crouched down. He vanished from his spot and a second later appeared among the audience stands to the left, already knocking another arrow.

In the few minutes since the battle started, Mark had tried not to think about it too much. He already had a lot going on so the last thing he wanted was to concern himself over something irrelevant to him. So long as his friend was alive and he had the chance to finish his Quest, nothing should’ve mattered.

Up ahead, near the podium at the very end of the vast hall, the civilians who had entered the hall earlier were lying on the floor, unmoving. They had been pushed away from the center of the conflict at some point, and judging from the scorch marks on the floor, Elya had been doing a good job preventing the enemy’s flames from reaching them.

The first thing the enemy boss did was use his Soul Pressure to knock out most of them, leaving only those with a mind strong enough to resist him.

It was difficult to imagine someone like that dedicating the time and resources to moving those who had collapsed before the next batch of civilians arrived, and going by the stench he smelled he had noticed soon after entering the hall, Mark felt that he knew all too well what had occurred shortly before he arrived there.

’I thought they needed people...’

Looking down, the AR-15 in his arms came into sight. He suddenly felt defenseless and quickly opened his inventory to equip another item. His newly purchased carbon fiber knife appeared in his hand, the blood covering its blade yet to be removed.

He stared at it for a second then enveloped it in his Force Field. The red essence disintegrated in a second, returning the blade to e pristine condition. Tightening his grip on the handle, Mark raised his head and gazed forward. His eyes happened to meet those of the robed man, and at that moment, his next move became clear.

The scales had shifted and the numbers were in the Peace Keeper’s favor, and with six of them being far more powerful than the average Red Hood, Zhang Tianmu was in for a difficult battle if he wanted to stall for reinforcements. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Retreat was the most optimal choice considering his current situation, but after everything that had just occurred, Mark didn’t believe he would simply leave even if they were to leave him be.

’He’ll come after-’

The thought had barely formed in Mark’s mind when Zhang Tianmu made his move. He leaped backward, distancing himself from Elya and Alex while dismissing the halo over his head and forming a new one.

Alex held his shield up and pursued while Elya shrunk her sword and did the same. Just then, something seemed to change about the spacious hall and an instant later a wave of heat washed over everything.

Zhang Tianmu’s figure turned hazy. Ramsay launched an arrow and struck him in the chest only for the robed man to scatter like a reflection in a murky pond.

The enemy vanishing right in front of them struck the alarm in everyone’s head. Franco, Alex, and Elya leaped back while Ramsay produced one arrow after the other and fired in the direction of every exit. Each time they pierced the ground a wall of roots and vines sprouted.

"Who said I’m fleeing?"

The voice echoed from every direction, making it difficult to discern the source. The tip of a white jian manifested at the back of Alex’s head. Chains tingled as a glowing green sickle came swinging at it but no metallic clang followed. The jian, and the robed man holding it, melted into thin air.

Another one came swinging down at Ramsay who raised his bow to block. A third one came running at Ben. The latter swung his arm and smashed the robed man with an orange fist while the latter backed a stem as he felt the weight of the blade pressing on his weapon.

The temperature increased once more and the real Tianmu, the one facing Ramsay, leaped back, turned hazy, and faded out of sight once more. Shooting arrows at him only sped up the process.

Three more appeared, then four, then five. Each appeared real enough to be mistaken for the original. Each fragile enough to shatter at the slightest touch. The real enemy was among them, choosing a different target to strike each time. Sometimes he would sit back and do nothing, allowing only the clones to lead the charge.

He was looking for an opening and simultaneously trying to trick them into putting their focus on what they were able to see. Still, even if they were aware that the real one would undoubtedly remain invisible while going for his true target, no one dared to let their guard.

The attacks focused on Elya most of the time. The weight of each blow gradually pushed her from the others and the intervals decreased, leaving her no time to recover. Alex activated his ability and flashed toward her position, swinging his lightning-infused sword at the robed man just as he manifested out of thin air.

Elya had already preparing to activate her Ability so the instant she saw the sparks flying from the collision of the two swords she manifested a barrier around them.

"Got you!"

"Nice try but-" A smile spread across the robed man’s handsome face and his form grew hazy again. "Who said I can be trapped?"

A new one manifested dozens of meters away with his jian thrust toward Lara who didn’t hesitate to block it with the shaft of her spear. The loud clang revealed showed that he was no illusion and so the maid hastily slashed him with the white blade of her spear only for it to be parried by the white jian.

Tianmu stepped back, but instead of fading away he lunged forward and thrust his blade once more. Lara moved to meet it when danger bells rang in her head.