Chapter LVIII: Contingency

            The thrill of escape...

 

            It’s been too long since Kevlar felt this way. Despite the situation, a feeling of excitement sparked inside him as he ran through the Nether Brick walls. It won’t be long until he’s completely surrounded so he hurries toward the exfill point, his legs feeling lighter and senses growing sharper with each step he takes from his sprint. Behind him, countless faceless Demons make chase, craving the taste of his flesh, hungry for the red spilled from his insides.

 

            The first time he was in a situation like this, he was running away from some shady scientists who had done experiments on him. Like most Avians, the Crow never knew his parents. In fact, the only information he could come up with about them was the fact that they sold him off to some organization that was doing some very meticulous research on Cataclysm, particularly on its application on Humans.

 

            Many other children like him were subject to tests that forcefully turned Plebians into Aristocrats by injecting all sorts of mixtures that induce mana into the body. They weren’t exactly treated like a bunch of lab rats, although there were a few that were disposed as such. The condition was that they’d be given proper care as long as they pass the all the tests in the induction, and unfortunately, he turned out to be one of the rejects. You see, the mana inside him was unstable, to the point where he actually killed some of his playmates during the observation period, and so they decided to get rid of him.

 

            They never had the chance, though. He got rid of them first.

 

            “No Stygians coming at you from the opposite direction. Just keep running and you’ll make it.”

 

            His earpiece sounds off with Sheldon’s voice.

 

            “But what about the amulets-“

 

            “You’ve already been compromised. Just keep running.”

 

            “I get it.”

 

            He makes it to the cannon tower and spots an Acolyte waiting for him inside. With one swift crowbar strike to the face, he neutralizes the Demon and jumps off the two storeys. He made the landing as smooth as possible by rolling on the ground to distribute the force. He was once again wrapped in the darkness of the Plaguelands and so he pulls out another mana flare and lights it up. The cold air chills him, but he picks himself up with a boost from his left leg until he was practically gliding through the air.

 

            In no time, he made it to where Sheldon was set up. Surprisingly, none of the Demons followed him as he made his way toward his comrade-

 

            *Bang*

 

            Sheldon was holding onto a sidearm pointed at him. The gun was still smoking as Kevlar noticed a particular hole bore through his side. The pain was something he hadn’t felt in a long time now. A feeling of weakness radiated from the wound, and before he knew it, he was down in both knees. With a confused look in his eyes, he looks at Sheldon as the Falcon stands in the dark. He seemed to be smiling at the Crow’s predicament.

 

            “...*cough*... Why..?”

 

            Surprisingly, no blood spills from his mouth as he utters the simple question.

 

            “It’s the will of my Mistress”, he says confidently.

 

            “Good job, Sheldon~”

 

            The sweet soothing voice of a woman emanated from behind him. He watched as she walked toward Sheldon with her face radiating the aura of a Goddess. She wore nothing but a white robe to cover herself, exposing some of her skin that was so white it practically lit up the darkness. Deep inside, however, Kevlar knows what this woman really is.

 

            “Heh... You one of the Arch Demons? I can’t... I can’t believe Sheldon fell for such a b*tch-“

 

            Sheldon immediately gave him a fist to the face when he tried to insult his ‘Mistress’.

 

            “Watch your manners, man”, he says, smiling naturally as if he weren’t being controlled at all.

 

            Kevlar helplessly fell with his back against the cold surface.

 

            “This man has quite a peculiar way of speaking, doesn’t he?” The woman approaches him and steps on his face with her bare foot, cracking the frosted surface under his head, causing a feeling of stinging cold on one cheek and bruising burns on the other.

 

          “Forgive me, Mistress. I never thought this man would act like such an uncouth lout in front of a lady like yourself.”

 

          “No worries, dear Sheldon~ Come now, let us be on our way. I’ll have some of my people keep your friend company.”

 

            “As you wish, Milady.” Sheldon gestures Kevlar goodbye. “Have fun, buddy.”

 

            The two leave him there in the cold as they went back to the palace. He wanted to scream at Sheldon and tell him to snap out of it, but he knew better than to use his energy when the Falcon is obviously in her grip.

 

            He turns to his side and on his chest, the pain radiating anew. The two were slowly fading from his vision as he pushes up with his arms. It’s surprising how he could still stand up, but apparently, Sheldon didn’t hit any vital organs from his shot.

 

            Maybe he wasn’t actually being controlled?

 

            I don’t think so.

 

            The large swarm of Stygians earlier were already shambling toward Kevlar.

 

            Damn.

 

            I guess this is how it ends.

 

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            “So... You two stole a basket of dalandan?”

 

            Sticky and Maise were standing in front of Elias for a scolding. Apparently it was Sticky’s idea to steal the fruits but he merely suggested it after Maise said that she wanted some. I guess the kid was trying to show off his skills as Yvaine’s underling. Eventually the vendor caught up to them and made Elias pay.

 

            “But he was the one who stole it!”, Maise protests.

 

            “You told me you wanted it!”, Sticky fights back.

 

            “I don’t give a damn about who stole it... The point I’m trying to prove here is that you two used my money on it! So the next time you see something you want, you tell me first, Maise. And as for you, Sticky, the next time you try to be [1] Vipir the Fleet, make sure no one has to pay for the damages when you fail. Do I make myself clear?”

 

            ““Yes.””

 

            “Good. Now fix up the food supplies out back.”

 

            The two obediently follow.

 

            It took a while when it was just the two of them, but when Tim joined up with Elias and Cris, the job was done almost instantly. It turns out Tim is a Macromage, and a powerful one at that. Elias felt indebted to the guy for fixing the ship so he lent his ear to listen to what the Avian had to say.

 

            “I’ll be using this ship to get us to the ruins of an old Avian base. It’s situated in a rather obstructed terrain, and as you can imagine, I don’t have the time nor the equipment to get there. From there you’ll be joining me inside the ruins where we’ll procure a weapon that will turn the tide on our fight against the Demons.”

 

            Elias had no idea what the guy was talking about, but the old man did fix his ship, and it’s not like he has anything better to do. Besides, the Avians helped him become what he is today for free, so the least he could do is to help out.

 

            “Alright, I’ll do it. But I’m taking my sister and my maid with me, if you don’t mind.”

 

            “Of course. As long as you come with me to the ruins, we’ll be able to do my plan.”

 

            And so here they are, eastbound toward the border between Draconia and The Lower Kingdom. In his mind, however, Elias felt like there was some sort of catch to Tim’s plan.

 

            “Why do I have to go with him in the ruins?”

 

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            I’m guessing now’s a good time to shift back to Winston...

 

            Well, there he is, still bandaged up at his arm. He’s headed to Mayor Lavoisier’s mansion with a pissed off look in his face.

 

            It seems De’Ann went through with her plan to call on the chief, and inevitably, the Nightingale was subdued. Luckily he had just administered a sedative on Tristan so the guy won’t be waking up soon, although he’s still worried about what the other guards will do with him.

 

            Front and back, De’Ann and the chief were with him, respectively, both of them with swords unsheathed as they lead him to the mayor. He decided to keep his mouth shut lest he blow his cover as an Avian...

 

            ...

 

            ...

 

            ...

 

            It took one look from the mayor for the chief to realize he was making a mistake. Without question, he left Winston and took De’Ann with him despite her call for an explanation. He also notified his men to stay away from Winston’s shack, such as the mayor’s order for discretion.

 

            And that’s how he ended up here, sipping tea with the mayor at his balcony. He had just finished his report on Tristan when the mayor suddenly brought up an odd subject.

 

            “Apparently, my daughter is a lesbian...”

 

            “What? I thought she had a boyfriend-“

 

            “No, no, not Anna. It’s my biological daughter.”

 

            “Lady Lena... is a lesbian?”

 

            “I had my doubts as well, seeing how lady-like she acts...” The man’s eyes seep with anxiety as he stares off into the distance. “...But last night...”

 

            Must be where De’Ann got that little kiss mark. I bet there’s a lot more all over her body.

 

            “What happened?”

 

            “I... I caught her having sexual congress with her personal guard using a... I don’t know, some sort of apparatus with a long shaft that vibrates. The woman who was with you when the chief brought you here... It must have been her!”

 

            “Oh... Well, I did spot a kiss mark on her earlier as she tried to arrest me.”

 

            The mayor palms his face with a sigh.

 

            “Damn it all... I thought my bloodline would continue when my wife was finally able to conceive... But it turns out that girl wants p*ssy just as much as I do!”

 

            “Don’t fret, sir. These Demons will be taken care of soon and we can focus on making test-tube babies to repopulate.”

 

            Winston takes a long sip of his tea to finish it off when someone suddenly came by with a message for the mayor.

 

            “Sir, direct message King Daelin!” The man stands in attention and salutes. “The message was disseminated from the capital to all cities within The Upper Kingdom!”

 

            The mayor takes the message within the envelope given to him, and as he read it, a look of urgency manifested in his expression.

 

            “Thank you”, he says as he returns the message to dismiss the messenger.

 

            “Sounds serious”, Winston remarks.

 

            “Yeah... The Garrison’s been breached.”

 

            “What!?”

 

            “According to the report, Arch Demons were spotted along with the army of Stygians during the attack. Seems they couldn’t strike back as they were taken by surprise.”

 

            “That means...” Winston speaks with a worrisome tone. “My colleagues are supposed to be in the Plaguelands for a retrieval operation. If they’d been there they would have seen the enemy mustering their forces and notified the Garrison immediately.”

 

            The mayor breathes out a sigh... “It seems this war won’t end as soon as we thought...”

 

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            “Is that it?”, Elias points out the obvious land formation as the ship closes in.

 

            It was a high mountain with a steep slope and an elevation roughly as high as Mount Olympus from your world, dear reader.

 

            “Yes”, the old man answers promptly as he pilots the ship.

 

            Supposedly, inside that mountain lies the ruins of an old Avian fort that was abandoned when King Swain came to power and initiated the Flock Wars. All of the Known Regions felt his wrath borne from nothing more than his attempt to emulate King Orion. As soon as he could-

 

            I can’t take this seriously with that background music playing from Elias’ music collection. I don’t even know who that artist is.

 

            I think it’s Every Woman in the World by Air Supply.

 

            Regardless of the title or who’s singing, it’s really starting to throw me off, although these two seem to feel otherwise.

 

            “You have good taste in music, Mister Elias”, Tim remarks as they get close to the mountain, my annoyance to the music notwithstanding.

 

            “Oh, thanks. I picked up that entire playlist from my old man.”

 

            “Your ventilation system in this area of the ship is pretty much sh*t, though/”

 

            “Uh... Sorry, I guess?”

 

            In no time, they made it to a small landing on the mountain where the area seems to be blocked off by rocks from an avalanche. One of the wings stopped flapping as Tim positioned the ship, but luckily they were able to land safely.

 

            After bracing for impact and recovering from the landing, Tim, Elias, and Crisostomo-

 

            “I’m sorry, Mister Crisostomo, but you’re not qualified to see what’s in here”, Tim says as he blocks off Crisostomo from the ship entrance.

 

            Elias gave his friend a nod as a gesture for agreement.

 

            “Alright”, the guard says. “I’ll be in the ship.”

 

            The ship hull closes with Crisostomo whilst the two men approach the pile of rocks in front of them.

 

            “Stand back, Mister Elias”, Tim forewarns.

 

            With a wave of his hands, a collective portion of rocks at the bottom started to part at its center as if opening up into a cave.

 

            “Looks pretty inviting”, Elias comments sarcastically.

 

            And so they enter the cave. Tim lights up a blue mana flare, revealing a room full of silos and conveyor belts connecting them. A bunch of switches and gauges were attached to each silo, probably used for whatever systematic process is going on here. Frankly, I don’t know what this place is supposed to-

 

            “This is a batching plant for asphalt.”

 

            Oh, thanks Elias.

 

            “No, it’s for concrete mixtures”, Tim corrects. “Before the Flock Wars, the Avians started to do some research on things other than covert ops. This was one of our experimental projects in city development.”

 

            The two traverse the prototype batching plant, Elias inspecting the different apparatuses for testing, until they make it to another area.

 

            This area had all sorts of lab equipment like flasks and burners placed on tables for mixing chemicals and such. Test tubes with chemicals on them were still sitting on their racks waiting for usage in experiments.

 

            Deeper inside, they find themselves confronted by a large steel door with a silhouette of a bird with spread wings on it. Come to think of it, the figure resembles Ho-oh a lot.

 

            “Ah, here we are”, Tim says. “Beyond this door lies a weapon that can be used against Demons. The purpose of this weapon is to serve as a supplement and back-up plan if the Keys ever fail their goal.”

 

            “Okay, but what am I even here? You said it was a weapon, right? What the hell does have to do with me?”

 

            “Well, you see, the weapon is quite meticulous with its owner. In other words, the weapon takes up its wielder and not the other way around. It seems to have a mind of its own, and we’ve tried different people to pair with the weapon. Obviously, they were all failures.”

 

            “And you think I’d be a success because...?”

 

            “Your attitude, Mister Elias, is... unique to say the least. In any case, it’s merely a test to see if you pass up as its rightful owner. We’re just looking for someone to wield a weapon that could even the odds.”

 

            “There’re a lot of things you’re not telling me, sir. I’d prefer you tell me the truth.”

 

            “Fine, then”, Tim says with a relieved smile. “I wasn’t expecting you to be this sharp, so I’ll let you know the truth. What lies here, is not a weapon, but a means to contact the God of Time. It’s an altar that allows us to win his favour by having someone talk with him and have a pleasing conversation.”

 

            “You want me to talk to him? I’m sorry but I can’t even keep a conversation going with a cutesy airheaded blonde and you expect me to talk to a God? This all sounds pretty sketchy to me.”

 

            “Whether or not you believe in me is none of my concern. It’s simple: all you have to do is step inside and see if he makes contact.”

 

            Elias didn’t like the sound of that. Such convenience leads to a lot of deception, given his experience with Quinholm’s Alkalde. His instincts were telling him to decline this whole deal, but his curiosity got the best of him...

 

            Without a word, he opens the door and checks. It looks like an empty room with a stone table at the center where a Cesium Atomic Clock stands.

 

            “Well? Nothing peculiar, right?”

 

            He enters the room and closes the door and...

 

            Nothing.

 

            It was totally silent save for the incessant clock-

 

            “Okay! I’m dead!”

 

            A flash of light blinds him as he exclaims. His entire vision turned white, but the sound of the clock going still persists. He waits for his breath to trip, but it stays constant.

 

            His vision slowly fades back when someone’s voice echoed inside the room.

 

            “So...” The voice sounded childish. “...You again? I guess you’re no longer a variable.”

 

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            Kevlar was at the brink. Though he stands his ground armed with a small knife, he was unable to escape the swarm of Demons surrounding him. His equipment was left at the Chu’fer camp, leaving him ill-armed against his enemies with an unenchanted blade.

 

            If only he’d packed an enchanted weapon he’d be able to pick them off one by one.

 

            It then occurs to him: There’s no way out.

 

            In one last ditch attempt, he looks for an opening and throws the knife where a lone Stygian stood.

 

            He pushed the Demon aside and strode across the blackened ground, his mana flare still shining. But with his senses dulled by the dark, he never noticed the summoned sword aimed toward him.

 

            And then it hits him...

 

            Punching straight through his side near the bullet wound and exiting his left thigh, the blade felt like broken glass exploding into tiny shards after the collision. The glow in his mana flare turned purple as blood splatters on the shaft, the pain slowly becoming unbearable. A sense of dread splays his mind as the Stygian he pushed aside earlier came back and stabbed him through the abdomen, the blade running through his stomach.

 

            He was standing still, unwilling to give up his life, when another summoned sword digs against his back and breaks through his right clavicle bone.

 

            His adrenal glands were working at full. With every ounce of blood that spills from his wounds, his heart beats faster and faster.

 

            “Three open wounds... One through my chest... One through my stomach... One through my back... Any more than this and I’ll most likely...”

 

            As if to finish him off, the Stygian slashes him in the neck. The sight of him choking on his own blood excited the Demon... And just as it was about to take a bite...

 

            “Perfect.”

 

            And voila!

 

            The power of a man infused with the blood of an [2] Outworld Devourer!

 

            A blast of pure energy exploded from his adrenal glands, disintegrating the Stygian that was coming at him, miraculously mending his grave wounds in the process.

 

            His strength doubles over and over until his body was engulfed in refined mana from his system. With his newly acquired strength, he breaks through the Stygians about to surround him, each blow sending the Demons to oblivion.

 

            Kevlar laughs maniacally in his carnage as rotten blood drips from his now bare fists. His primal instincts were starting to kick in, and the perfect way to sate it was presented all around him.

 

            A banquet of slaughter.

 

            He’d break each one of these Demons with childish pleasure, taking extra care to bludgeon their heads first until they become dust. He was especially satisfied when he caught that one Acolyte that threw a sword at him. That Demon disappeared into nothingness within a split second of his beat down.

 

            His rage could not be quelled, but his enemies were as relentless as he was as they come wave after wave, unafraid of his terrifying rampage.

 

            The smell of blood hangs thick in the air as the Miasma starts to build up from the collective corpses, but his senses were already gone. All he felt was the call of his insatiable hunger to tear flesh.

 

            Until...

 

            He felt weak.

 

            There was something on his neck that stung for a bit. It didn’t bother him at first, but his strength was slowly being depleted.

 

            “What...”

 

            The mana from his adrenal glands were gone. As he probed his neck, he found a small dart embedded in his skin. Before he became a full-fledged Avian, Violet used to give him a serum that keeps him from using his powers, and it seems this dart has the same effects.

 

            His eyes widened as he realized what it was.

 

            “Sheldon?”

 

            His reflexes worked instantly as he uttered his friend’s name. Kevlar was able to duck down before a bullet landed on his head.

 

            It seems the bullet came from the Falcon, and he’s dead set on killing his friend with that sniper rifle from earlier.

 

            Knowing how dangerous Sheldon is with that rifle, Kevlar scrambles and retreats from the area.

 

            He felt his strength starting to drain away as he runs. Trying not to stumble, he quickens his pace, when a bullet landed near to his right. He shifted left, but another bullet came. The bullet didn’t miss.

 

            His left arm was gone.

 

            The bullet must have sheared through his bone and cut off his limb.

 

            He tried his best not to scream. He didn’t want to stop and think about the fact that he was now missing an arm. He tried not to... But he did.

 

            He screamed in agony, stumbling on the cold ground.

 

            The rifle was already aimed at his position.

 

            A blinking strobe was at Sheldon’s sight and as he pulled the trigger, the strobe was gone.

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References:

1. Member of the Thieves' Guild from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

2. Int type hero from Dota 2