Scarlet

After dropping off the civilians at the bunker, we continue on through the train station, just clearing out the zombies where we can until we reach the point where they are too high a level for us, where we then change to stalling tactics. Just fighting off the zombies while working together and holding them in place so that any other civilians we missed won’t be in harm’s way.

Although if it weren’t for Michael’s being here, we’d all be zombies by now. And he also makes it convenient since he can cure the infected zombies that haven’t crossed the point of no return yet. Which makes me very happy that I’m on the same team as him. Since these types of Fractures tend to lead to public hatred of some of the Guardians who killed someone who was infected, even if it isn’t very logical.

Not to mention that it just means we get to save them.

Even if it does get annoying stopping by so many bunkers on the way.

We continue fighting for over an hour, just holding off the higher leveled zombies, hounds, and huntsmen until I hear the sound of loud footsteps from far, far behind us. Close to the entrance of the station itself. And the footsteps are clearly human, likely from someone wearing magi-tech armor.

Then I hear their voice speaking into a terminal and quickly recognize the voice as Sylver’s.

“I’ve arrived on scene and am currently heading towards the core,” he says before getting a response from Sage answering, “Affirmative.”

“Looks like our backup has arrived!” I shout at the others while raising my foot and kicking a zombie a few meters away from me, only to grunt as I feel a crossbow bolt cut open my transformed forearm before flying straight past it, missing the bone, and hitting only the edge of my arm in the process.

“ETA?” Michael shouts back, only to say, “Nevermind,” when all of our terminals buzz, and Sage’s face appears. She then says, “Reinforcements should arrive within the next five minutes.”

As if on cue, I hear more sets of footsteps enter the station from various locations. And at the same time, I hear the sound of lightning shoot out, following which a steady electrical current runs somewhere by the sounds of it.

“Alright, just a little bit longer,” I hear Michael calling out as the call with Sage drops.

Yep. Just a little bit longer and I’ll be able to go on a SP spending spree.

“Of course that’s where your mind’s at,” Tar mutters, seemingly exasperated with me.

Hey! SP is SP, and skills are skills. I need them to survive if you didn’t forget.

Or at least, to not fully become a demon.

“True,” he mutters in reply as I barely avoid another crossbow bolt that flies straight over my head after bending backwards slightly. “But you can at least take comfort in knowing the blood lycans would never hurt you should you enter Tartarus.”

That comment gives me pause, almost making me stop in the middle of the battle from the impact it has on me.

They what?!

“You didn’t know?” Tar sounds genuinely surprised for a second, only to mutter, “Oh, wait. I guess humans wouldn’t know the interactions between the demons, now would they? Especially the nobles…”

My eye twitches as he speaks as if I’m not listening. But I continue to fight with the demons all the same, just hoping that the reinforcements will get here faster.

Please get to the point.

“Oh, well, blood lycans are like wolves in a lot of ways,” he starts, stating something I already know, “they share quite a few instincts with them, along with a powerful pride, and a large importance on blood ties. Meaning they care a lot about those they see as ‘pack’, which always includes their blood relatives unless they were expelled from the clan. And even then, they still tend to care about them far more than any other demons.”

And you’re only telling me this now?

I grunt as I feel a hound charging headfirst into my hips, knocking me forwards, further into our formation, breaking it for the split second before I grab the hound and tear out its throat, quickly climbing back to my feet to refill the gap. But during that time, a couple of level 34 zombies made it through, only to be stopped by Michael’s treants before they could do any real damage.

This really isn’t the time to be having this conversation.

“Guess you have a point,” Tar says before adding, “after the reinforcements arrive then?”

I nod my head while spinning around and doing a roundhouse kick to the face of an infected zombie who was already past curing judging by its grayish black skin, sending its head clean off of its body – the head being attached only by a rather rotted neck, which was obviously where the other zombie had originally infected it.

The battle then continues for a few minutes, none of us taking any serious injuries thanks to Michael’s healing. And right when I’m beginning to worry about not only my own mana, but Michael’s as well, reinforcements finally arrive in the form of Sylver blasting by us while using literal chains of silver lightning as a mode of transportation somehow.

How does that even work?

“Your work is over here,” I hear someone that I don’t recognize say, bringing my attention to a man with a familiar face. One of the many Guardians of the Silver Association that Allen had me remember, or at least look over the details of to familiarize myself with them even the slightest bit. Seeing as we’re coworkers. “Fall back and let us handle the rest. You’ve done well.”

The voice belongs to a beautiful woman wearing a dress for some reason in the middle of a zombie filled train station during a Fracture. But after a second, I catch some flashes of red light from the dress, along with the sensation of mana pulsing in it, marking it as magi-tech.

Just for some reason in the form of a dress.

Isn’t that hard to fight in?

The woman practically has the body of a model, being quite a bit taller than me with beautiful blue eyes, blonde hair, and smooth skin. The only thing that stands out on her – aside from the dress of course – are the two strange lines streaking down her arm and up her neck. Kind of like snakes but seeming to be alive.

Some sort of skill? Or maybe her reality warp?

The woman just glides past me, her feet somehow not touching the ground. But I can still hear something touching the ground, so I know she isn’t floating per se.

So many unique types of magic… I wonder if there’s a limit?

Actually, never mind that.

Tar, please continue what you were talking about.