Serial
40: Servaival
January
12th, 33 S.D. 09:26 Talimer Forest, Sventa
An instant before Suvla fired her round, Losha dashed forward with a speed-step. Though now blind and deaf, she managed to locate Suvla’s position as she spoke. Using the sound of the Henron officer’s voice, Losha had tracked her with the third-eye series. Upon realizing that her two foremost senses had failed, she chose to act immediately. In a single, swift motion, she tackled the woman just as the arrow was about to fly free. The force of their sudden collision wrenched Suvla’s arm high above her head. As the pair tumbled to the ground, the shot raced upwards harmlessly.
Rolling over one another for several meters, they eventually crashed against a tree. Suvla gasped and gagged as her back smashed into the heavy trunk, leaving her immobilized for a time. Once halted, however, Losha pushed herself away. Quickly, she stood up and paced back but shortly. She stumbled a bit as she walked the uneven terrain. To her, it were as if her mind had been consumed by a black abyss. She could still feel things by touch, however, her greatest connections with the physical world had ceased.
“Hmm...” Suvla said, as she picked herself up, leaning against the nearby tree with one arm; she held her crossbow in the other. “Looks like I have no more use of this,” she said. Without even looking at it, she tossed it aside, already knowing the bowstring had broken.
While Losha resumed her combat stance, an idea rapidly formed in her head. A finely tuned third-eye series could detect echoes with relative ease. As events reverberated across the air, they bounced off other interfering objects, and the picture the series created changed. It gained detail. For example, as Suvla’s crossbow fell to the forest floor, Losha could “see” the ground, the roots extending from the earth, and Suvla’s feet. Even so, this all came about due to the noise things generated. It was by no means constant, so the clarity of such an image remained fleeting at best. The solution she envisioned, however, was to make sound of her own. Using a proper kinetic series, Losha could flood the area with sound waves.
She moved her hand in a small circle as she cast the series. In principle, all she had to do was vibrate the air at a set interval, creating a pulse not unlike seras frequencies. As she began her art, she inadvertently set the rate too high. A shrill, piercing whine exploded all at once. Its volume and strength actually shook her body. At this time, Suvla collapsed to her knees as she tried to shield her vulnerable ears.
“Grrrh!” she growled through clenched teeth. Losha, however, seemed unaffected given her lack of hearing. Her third-eye, on the other hand, suffered an overload of information. Saturated with sound, the very input she’d tried to gain appeared as but garbled static. She adjusted the series with another sweep of her hand, putting the cycles at a mere 16Hz and bringing down the amplitude by several orders. Though now undetectable to human senses, it provided her third-eye with a wealth of data about her surroundings.
As soon as the cacophony stopped, Suvla went on the offensive. She leaped at Losha as she drew her fist back. Using her new-found ability, Losha saw her opponent’s rush before the assault actually began. Still, no time remained to dodge Suvla; she had to intercept her in close-combat. Suvla thrust her arm forward, yet it slowed down to a complete stand still as it approached Losha. As if the two were opposing magnets, Losha and Suvla apparently repelled one another. Her curled fist drew but centimeters from striking Losha, however, it never reached her target. As it hung there, her hand merely trembled despite the pressure mounting behind it.
“This pesky little barrier...” she said. “...shall not help you at all!”
Switching sides, Suvla quickly threw another punch; this one came in low and fast. Like a hook swinging upwards, Suvla rammed her fist into Losha’s gut. Though her previous attempt had failed, this go around saw her attack penetrate Losha’s kinetic force-field. Normally, only a notable amount of energy could disperse the shield, yet Suvla’s power as a fighter proved more than sufficient in this case. Losha doubled over, yet Suvla remained relentless. She threw her knee into Losha’s face, driving the tip against her cheekbone. The blow knocked Losha back, but before she could fall to the ground, Suvla caught her by the thick tail of her Wolf of War pelt. With unexpected agility, the Range Lead heaved her to the left. Chest-first, Losha crashed into a tree; she slumped on her back after the impact.
“You know, I really dislike fighting like that,” Suvla said, holding up both hands before herself, opening them widely. “I much prefer long-distance work and deception. When I fight like this,” she said as her hands suddenly tightened. “It is just too easy.”
She lowered her limbs and walked slowly over to a dazed Losha. “I know you can hear me. I know you can see me. That is all part of the vision I had of this day. Now, I want you to listen carefully about how this battle will be won.” She stopped perpendicularly in front of Losha. Raising her leg up, she stomped on Losha’s side once.
“Aack!” Losha wheezed aloud, spitting up blood down her mouth. Suvla removed her foot, positioning it above her foe, ready to hit again.
“You and I can see and know exactly what the other will do. Every move we make is perfectly clear to the both of us.” Suvla crushed her heel into Losha’s ribs, twisting and grinding into the bones.
“Grrhhnn...” she moaned as the boot came up again.
“But know this: it does not matter if either one of us can anticipate our foe.” A third strike fell, but Losha vocalized nothing. “Whether one can see the future, or see every aspect of a given moment, it does not matter!” she repeated. “One will live, and one will die simply because one of us was the better fighter!”
Suvla was about to press into Losha a fourth time when all at once her leg stopped, held in place by an invisible force. Even as she applied the fullest extent of her might, her foot would sink no further. Then, coming back from the brink, Losha threw her arm out, cutting the air in half, as if to wipe Suvla away. While this was but a gesture, in the same moment, she cast a powerful kinetic series in Suvla’s direction. As if caught in a great wind, Suvla was torn from the ground and blown through the forest. Approximately 10 meters away, she bashed backwards into a tree. As she slid down, a mark appeared where her body actually caved in parts of the trunk.
Painfully, Losha stood up, however, she seemed to ignore her injuries altogether. Gazing intently at her opponent, with both her blind eyes and her extrasensory series, she focused herself on Suvla. Her nostrils flared widely for an instant before she took off. Pumping, charging, she ran straight at Suvla. Remarkably, the Henron officer recovered from her little trip. Raising herself to her knees, Suvla shook her head for a bit then prepared to engage her foe. With a snap, she too launched herself into a sprint. Seconds later, the two were but centimeters away from combat.
Suvla issued the first strike, punching Losha roughly where she’d kicked her before. Her fist connected without having to deal with the force-field; by now it appeared deactivated. Nonetheless, her attack didn’t seem to register with Losha; she gave no reaction. As Suvla struck her, Losha delivered her own blow. It would have been an ordinary punch, a rather weak attempt by a girl who’d never learned a thing about fighting. However, she enhanced her movements with serialization.
Though she lacked the skill to battle hand-to-hand unaided, a carefully considered series could turn even a student into a soldier. As she shoved her arm forward, she called upon a quick kinetic series to swing the motion along even faster. In principle, this series was not terribly different from the speed-steps she used. Rather than increasing the force her legs pushed against the ground, this series increased the force of her attack by accelerating her body. A faint, blue light flickered around her forearm before her hand swiftly pummeled into Suvla’s face. With this single maneuver, she beat Suvla to the ground.
Something was wrong with Losha; though she saw that her enemy was now defenseless, she continued her barrage. As if she had lost all regard for her restraint, Losha delivered an unending string of additional attacks. Each one, backed by the art she had long studied, hit Suvla with an energy no normal human could match. Through her arms and legs, Losha unleashed a brutal combination of simple punches and kicks, but due to their serialized nature, the damage dealt proved staggering. The Olta Fox managed to endure Losha’s onslaught, at least that is to say, she did not faint.
Losha landed a solid punch straight to her chest, causing Suvla to stumble back four steps. Battered, Suvla felt blood run across her forehead, spilling slowly from an open wound above her hairline. As she took in quick, rapid breaths, the trail worked its way over her band and slid down the corner of her mouth. She licked it off as she composed herself. That latest attack had driven her away, but it also afforded her some space. Temporarily, she stood just outside of Losha’s range, an ideal opportunity to command a counteroffensive.
Lunging, Suvla came in low and executed an uppercut the reeled Losha’s head back. She followed this by elbowing her right temple. Although Losha visibly recoiled from the two moves, again she didn’t appear particularly bothered by them. To be sure, she definitely carried the bruises of Suvla’s strikes, however, it were as if none of it really affected her. As soon as Suvla had finished, Losha went on ahead and took her turn. She grabbed Suvla by the front of her suit and tossed her forward. Suvla rolled several times before she caught herself. By the time she stood up, however, Losha tackled her yet again with another speed-step. Pinning her against a tree, Losha smacked her repeatedly with short, blitzing jabs.
In a measure of desperation, Suvla pulled out an arrow and held it in her grip. Although she no longer had a functioning crossbow, the fine point of its ammunition could still act as an effective weapon. Using it in the vein of a knife, she plunged the sharpened head into Losha’s nearest arm. While all of her previous attacks seemed to do very little to Losha, this one actually elicited a response. Losha let go of Suvla as she tried to yank the bolt from her flesh. For her part, Suvla escaped, ducking and circling behind the serialist. Losha saw this happening and tried to prevent it; she threw a weighty punch but her target had already slipped away. To her surprise though, her hand pulverized the tree, going so far as to embed itself in the wood.
Keen to take advantage of this opening, Suvla pulled out yet another arrow. Wielding it carefully in her hand, she sprang towards Losha, hoping to impale her. She held her tool high in the air as she sought to bring it down at an angle. However, aware of this plot, Losha spun around. Even though her free arm had an arrow in it, she used it to stop Suvla. As the second bolt came at her, Losha grappled Suvla’s wrist, bringing the attack to a pause. For a moment, their two sides struggled evenly against one another as both of them shuddered and strained. Neither one could prevail at that rate, nevertheless, this brief stalemate provided Losha with a chance. Though her course certainly involved an amount of risk to herself, she decided upon it without hesitation.
Casting another series, she began to freeze her hand. As it remained locked to Suvla’s, her grip trapped the Henron officer as well as the ice quickly bloomed. Soon the two were bonded together. They each wore a sort of crystal sleeve that reached up to their elbows. This gambit had stopped her enemy, yet it also deprived her of an arm. With one already burrowed into a tree, she’d run out of usable appendages. Despite these obvious faults, everything went according to her plan. Suvla was just at the right distance and incapable of going anywhere.
Suddenly, a strong glow surged from within the tree. In an instant, rays of blue sliced through its thick bark. With one fluid pull, Losha tore her hand free. She ripped the wood away, rending it to pieces as she extracted herself. Losha did not emerge empty-handed, for she held a most curious thing upon breaking out. Wrapped tightly around her palm and fingers, a vibrant, azure beam rested. Though its form looked rough, its shape remained consistent. The edges seemingly quivered, as if it were alive. It was by no means complete or refined, but this was Losha’s first successful iteration of her servai. This time, it did not disperse, even as she handled it.
She only performed one stroke; that was all that was needed. Losha held the servai far behind her back. Then, in a great sweep, swinging the manifested seras, she slashed Suvla, cutting her vertically. The beam ran through her, perfectly parting her in two. From the pelvis all the way until Suvla’s eyes, Losha buried her servai into the woman and drove it straight up. As the servai entered her body, a brilliant orange light splashed into the air as Suvla’s seras was ejected from her soul. By design, Losha’s new tool could not harm the human body, thus is left no marks. However, it aimed at something deeper and more precious.
As soon as the servai came to the bridge of Suvla’s nose, it exited, arcing outward while Losha retracted herself. Suvla took one gasp before succumbing to the strike. Just as fast as she’d summoned the ice, Losha reduced it to liquid. Free from its clutch, Suvla fell onto the forest floor. With a muted thump, she crumpled onto her back as she could but lie there. Her hair spread out wildly and randomly; her arms and legs splayed apart as if broken. The thick band that constantly covered her eyes dislodged slightly; it hung unevenly across her face. All the while, what looked like orange sparks raced up and down her body, hissing as they appeared.
One thing Losha did not know about concerning the servai was that once someone reached their limit, once their seras was violently depleted to next to nothing, their remaining seras became erratic. Even those who were non-serialists suffered as such. The visual result was this strange almost electric phenomenon. The victim’s last amounts of seras were trying to recollect themselves, and in the process they gave brief bursts of light. However, it was an obvious sign of distress. Losha noted how Suvla’s seras frequency grew incredibly faint. Any more of this sort of fighting would end her life. She but laid there motionless, save for the stuttering rise and fall of her chest.
Coming out of a stupor of a kind, Losha suddenly realized just how much she was hurt herself. Wobbling a bit, she slid down to her legs before uneasily plopping down for a seat. Her servai evaporated without a trace, this time by her will. Grabbing the butt of the arrow still within her, she saw that unlike the time Koter had blasted her, this bolt couldn’t simply snap in two. The head had made its way into various tissues. Even so, she gritted her teeth as she pried it loose.
“Rrrraaggh!” she roared through her shut jaw. A good tug popped the arrow out along with a path of oozing blood. Her arm felt as if someone had poked a pointed iron into her, leaving only a smoldering hole thereafter. She’d live though, and that was her chief need at the moment. She doubted Suvla would do the same trick twice, but Losha was not willing to underestimate things again; she tossed the arrow away instead of cracking it in half. Despite having won, she was in no condition to move right away. She could only sit there, huffing slightly, holding her wounds together.
After a minute or two, her senses began to return to her. First, her hearing gradually restored itself, as if some type of blockage had been removed from her ears. Following this, the darkness enveloping her began to rescind, starting at the very center of her eyes and slowly expanding to the sides. At last, her third-eye series was no longer warranted, thus she ceased its operation. Yet, upon her return to normalcy, a shocking sound echoed in the unseen distance: gunfire. Along with it, dull shouts rang on occasion. Though quite a ways off, the far commotion triggered an urgency within Losha. Her head snapped up in the direction of the battle raging elsewhere. She may have settled things here, but her comrades were still contending with the enemy. Pushing aside her own status, Losha stood up firmly; all the same she grimaced. Limply, her arm that had been punctured with the arrow hung at her side as her other hand clamped around the reddening lesion. She started to walk, albeit stiffly. Just as she was about to leave the area, she heard a rasping voice call out to her.
“Where... think you... going?”
Losha stalled for a moment, then turned around to look at Suvla. “I am done here. Our fight is over. My unit needs me elsewhere.”
Suvla took a gulp before she was able to speak again; her tone remained as weak as a whisper. “So you can hear again? That was fast...” she chuckled. “And how cute of you to worry about them... your friends... But you and I both know they are just fine...”
Quickly, Losha pinged the local seras frequencies; evidently, an overwhelming majority of the Henron contingent had vanished while WOLFWIND and the Special Operations Corps came in strongly. She’d lost track of everything happening over there during her engagement with Suvla. Now that matters across the Talimer Forest had apparently settled, she could only assume Aslo and the others were victorious based on what the frequencies told her.
“You cannot leave just yet...”
“Why?” Losha asked. “Surely you do not believe you can continue our battle.”
“I... have something important to tell you...”
Losha stood there in silence. “Well?” she said after a time. “What have you to say?”
“Please... come closer. You have to hear this.”
Losha frowned, suspecting the whole conversation to be a ruse or some other nefarious tactic. “I can hear you quite fine from where I stand-”
“No!” Suvla said, suddenly forceful. “I... I have to see you...” Now Losha was puzzled by Suvla’s words. What did she mean? Was she delirious? “I know you will want to hear what I have to say,” Suvla continued. “It is about Nabel Viska.”
Losha’s eyes widened as she took a step forward. “Nabel...?” she said, her mouth left agape. “H-how do you know about that man?”
“I have seen him quite a bit... In my visions I mean...”
Though she were loath to draw any nearer, she did so to satisfy the peculiar curiosity welling within her. At any rate, she figured Suvla could scarcely do much of anything at this point. Any threat she posed now was less than nominal. She brought herself over to Suvla, kneeling beside her.
“Why do you want to tell me anything?” Losha questioned. “After all, we are still enemies.”
“But not for long... Ungh...” she said in discomfort.
“You will not die. I might have gotten caught up in our struggle, but I can assure you, none of the injuries I gave you are fatal.”
Suvla smiled as her face turned away from Losha and towards the ground. “No... you do not understand... What I have seen of this day.” She turned her head back up, looking into the great fog that blanketed the sky. “This is important,” she repeated as her arms weakly worked to undo the buckle of her band. As if cold, her hands shivered as they fought with the headwear. Eventually she managed to unloop it. Tired from even that much effort, her arms fell, spread at length.
The band seemingly split in two, and Suvla’s face was finally revealed. She must have worn this article nigh constantly, for though her natural complexion was fairly dark, the parts she kept covered remained starkly pale. Her eyes had lost their color as they were but two silver, luminous orbs. Suvla truly had been blind...
“I have seen you many times before today, Losha. At first, I really did not know why. But now, I think I see how all of the pieces will line up. So please, hear me out. You have to know...”
“Know what?” Losha demanded, leaning over Suvla. “What is it you have to tell me?”
Her gaze ran up blankly towards the trees above them as her lips moved slowly. “I am going to tell you... the story of a world yet to come. I am going to tell you your future.”
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