Ashborn Primordial

Chapter 268: Ray in the Dark (Three)

Vir swore in rage as he hacked the head off a Shredder.

Im too late!

Hed anticipated that the northern wall of Samar Patag wouldnt holdthat the beasts wouldnt be daunted by the thick forest to the north, nor the soft, narrow coastline that led to it. But he had expected those terrain features to at least slow them down.

That logic mightve worked for normal beasts, yet even without their prana, Ash Beasts were in a league of their own. While Vir had been busy to the south, theyd flooded in through the north, breaking the tired old wall as if it were paper. Several had already entered the city.

Those rebels better have heeded my advice and hunkered down, or this is going to get ugly, Vir thought worriedly. While Shan was more than capable of fending off the beasts that made it through, like Vir, he could only be in one place at any time.

Vir knew Janani would keep the orphans cloistered and hiddenrather, it was the rebels who were the type to do something rash.

It soon became clear that Virs plan wouldnt work. The distance between the walls was simply too vast, and while he dispatched enemies with easefar faster than most demons wouldve thought possibleit wasnt enough. By the time he finished with the monsters at the northern wall and arrived back south, the city was perilously close to falling.

More than once, Vir lamented the Chitrans neglect of Samar Patags most valuable defense. If only theyd maintained the walls. If only theyd filled the gaps

Faster. I need to take them down even faster.

Vir glanced up worriedly at Samar Patags ramparts. Whether emboldened by his success at protecting the city or because they had a death wish, he now had a gallery.

From this distance, he couldnt be sure if it was Chitran guards or civilians, but either way, it meant his movements were now under scrutiny, his every strike observed.

Vir had two choicescontinue as he had, thereby allowing Ash Beasts into the city, or unleash the might of his full power, revealing his unique strengths. Any unique power he used now, hed have to hide in the future, lest people trace his identity back to Vaak.

Vir didnt have to ponder hard. That risk was incomparable to the value of even a single life saved.

Reaching under his cloak, Vir retrieved the Artifact chakram from his back.

He grinned. Lets see how you do now.

The artifact buzzed angrily, and were this the Ashen Realm, Vir could have left the weapon to its own devices, flying autonomously and annihilating any Ash Beast it came across.

The demon realms lack of prana, however, compromised its capability. Without prana to power it, the disk was no different from any other finely crafted chakram. Vir had spent long hours struggling with making it useful again.

The deadly razor blades spun at unimaginable speeds as it ripped through the air, homing in on the nearest Ash Wolf. The poor beast fled, but it couldnt outrun an Artifact of the Gods.

The chakram entered its belly, exited the other side, and lodging itself into the dirt. When Vir recalled the disc, it sailed right back into his hands.

By itself, the disk wouldve been useless, but as it happened, Vir possessed an ability that synergized perfectly with the Artifact. As if they had been made to work together, when fired alongside a Chakram Launch, something magical occurred.

Itd surprised Vir so much that he had to reproduce the phenomenon several times just to convince himself it wasnt a fluke.

His hard-won ability, Chakram Launch, sent a disc of pure Ash Prana flying from Virs body. While he couldnt alter its path, the Artifact had no issue consuming its energy as it flew. At first, Vir wondered if Ashani had built the feature in to allow it to function outside the Ashen Realm, but quickly realized that wasnt the case.

The Artifact simply pulled prana from its surroundings. In this situation, all the prana was concentrated in one particular areathe Chakram Launch disk. This meant that the prana disk could power the Artifacts spinning blades, multiplying its lethality. More importantly, however, just enough residual energy remained within the Artifact afterward to be recalled to Virs hand, thus preserving its most useful feature.

While not as potent as it was in the Ash, the weapon remained supremely devastating, nevertheless. Groups of enemies that had previously taken Vir ten minutes to dispatch now took barely a third of that as Vir shifted his fighting strategy, engaging targets directly around him while simultaneously throwing the chakram at more distant threats.

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The weapons range was limited only by the range of Chakram Launch, and while an incredibly prana-intensive ability, Vir just happened to have hundreds of nearby reserves to tap intothe Ash Beasts themselves.

What had once been an effective offensive strategy in the Ashen Realm now served to also replenish Virs own reserves, allowing him to remain fighting far longer than he otherwise could have.

Well, Vir thought. Now that the secrets out of the bag, might as well make the most of it.

Vir whirled, confronting another horde that had just broken through the forest.

He hurled his Artifact Chakram and Blinked into the fray.

This way! Hiya whispered, urging Bolin and Ekta through Samar Patags streets. I think it came from over here!

Why are we doing this again? Ekta muttered anxiously. I feel like we should have told Janani.

And how long do you think thatll take? Hiya replied. The people who screamed need help right now! Isnt that right, Bolin?

Thats right, Bolin said with a serious expression. We cant just leave them.

But what if its an Ash Beast? Ekta said with slumped shoulders. Wed just die.

Bolin gave her a confident smile. You saw what Neels doing for us out there. Hes fighting all by his lonesome. If we dont help him out, who will?

Though Bolin did his best to project an aura of confidence, he could hear the shaking in his voice. Ekta knew he was scared. Because she was scared. And she was rightif an Ash Beast truly had entered the city, there was little any of them could do.

But how could they just turn back? They couldnt. Not after seeing Neel fight.

For years, hadnt they complained about their meager rations and their ripped, too-small clothes, expecting Janani or Greesha to help? But what had they ever done about it? What had they done to change things for the better?

Nothing. Not one thing. At least Bolin went on the food raidsthe others just sat quietly at home. Theyd grown complacent.

That was until Neel came along and showed them that anything was possible. That one demon could change the fate of an entire city. Hiya may not have been a Warrior of Ash, nor even a Porcelain-ranked Guardian, but she did know the city like the back of her hand. So did Ekta and Bolin.

They rounded a bend, and in less time than it took to gasp, Hiya knew shed been wrong. About fighting. About the Ash Beasts. About everything.

Her body refused to move. Her eyes were glued to the bipedal monster in the distance, pecking at a dead body on the street. Its skin was see-through, revealing its bones and blood and ghastly organs.

It was the most hideous thing Hiya had ever seen. She knew, then, that they would die if it noticed them. Forget fighting or even distracting itthere was no running away from such a beast.

Worse, backed up against a wall, cowering in terror, was none other than Svar and two of his friends.

Finally regaining her senses, Hiya inched backward Only to collide with Ekta, who had rounded the corner just after her.

Hiya whirled in panic, desperate to shield Ekta from the horrific scene, but she was too late.

Ektas eyes widened in horror. And then she screamed. AAAAAAAAH!

Bolin clasped her mouth from behind, but the damage was already done.

We should never have brought her. Shes too young, Hiya thought as dread flowed through her veins. Were all too young! What was I thinking?

Bolin reacted first. Run! he screamed, shoving Hiya and Ekta into the alley theyd just come from.

C-Come here, you lousy monster! Bolin shouted. Svar! Lets work together!

Bolins plea fell on deaf ears. Svar and his goons had taken the opportunity to sprint in the opposite direction. The beast ignored them, focusing on Bolin.

Hiya didnt think. Her instincts took over. Before she knew it, she was tearing down the alley, holding Ektas wrist in a death grip.

Hiya! Ekta shouted. Hiya, stop it! Youre hurting me!

Hiya finally came to her senses. She was drenched in sweat, and her breaths came ragged and uneven.

We just left him there! Ekta squeaked.

You saw that thing! Hiya shrieked, knowing just how hysterical she sounded. Do you think we can fight that? You were right. You were right, Ekta. I was a chal for thinking we could help.

Im scared, Ekta said, breaking down into tears. Im scared, Hiya. I wanna go home.

Somehow, witnessing Ektas panic calmed Hiyas own raging torrent of emotions. Her thoughts came more clearly, and she took a deep breath before looking Ekta in the eye.

I know, Ekta, Hiya said. I am too. And youre right. We cant leave Bolin. Ill Ill go back to help. I want you to go to Janani, alright? Tell her everything thats happened. Shell send help. Okay?

She expected the terrified girl to obey, so she was shocked when Ekta frowned and shook her head, her expression full of determination.

No, she said. Wherever youre going, Im coming too. I wont abananadon you.

Hiya paused. Was this the right decision? Perhaps not, but she didnt have the time to argue. Stay close, alright?

Ekta nodded.

Then lets go. Oh, and Ekta?

Yeah?

Its abandon.

Hiya drew a deep breath and made her resolution.

Hiya led Ekta through Samar Patag, quickly homing in on Bolins position. Finding him wasnt nearly as hard as she fearedhis shouts and running feet carried far in the empty city streets.

But what to do when we get there?

Theyd recklessly approached the beast without a plan, and it had nearly gotten them killed. If Bolin was still alive when they reached him, they needed some way ofif not winningthen at least escaping together.

What would Neel do? What would Vaak do?

Hiya wracked her mind as they ran, yet no solution was forthcoming. She wasnt like Bolin or Neel or even Janani. She simply wasnt smart enough to think on her feet like that.

When they finally found Bolin pressed against the wall at the end of an alley, Hiya still had nothing. So she did the only thing she could.

Hey! Over here! she yelled, causing the beast to spin and regard her. Bolin was covered in tiny scratches that covered his face and arms.

Ekta gasped, and Hiya frowned.

How is he still walking? She wondered. While the wounds looked bad, they looked only as bad as the ones Bolin got when Svar beat him. The beast couldve killed Bolin in seconds, so why hadnt it? It had chased him into this alley instead. Why?

Because its toying with him! Hiya realized. And maybe, just maybe, they could use that to their advantage.

Hiyas mind whirred, and a plan began to form. A plan that could very well

A black blur descended from the sky, so fast that before anyone had registered the newcomers arrival, the bipedal beasts head was rolling on the ground, cut cleanly from its body.

The body of the translucent beast that had nearly killed Bolin fell over, dead.

The new beast stood on its hindlegs, spread its webbed wings, and roared.