Broker

Chapter 144

He lowered his hand and examined the readout from the dungeon, the changes were starting to take effect. It was so interesting. He had only used a few of his cheats and the features of his ability. They were all he needed and the others seemed so pointless when he’d first acquired them. What more did he need than to be invincible? He frowned a little, Clearly much more, he thought as he remembered the pain of being blown nearly to pieces by a self-destructing An Set. He raised the hand that had regrown and flexed it a little. 

He glanced up at the dungeon again, The monsters will respawn faster now and its drawing in more mana. I’ve uncapped it so it shouldn’t burst at least. He chuckled, he didn’t really care whether or not it was forcibly altering a ‘natural’ process of the dungeon. In fact, I wonder what could happen if it just keeps filling up. Maybe the reward will get better? He paused, Oh, weren’t the scouting trainees inside? Oh well. He snorted and turned away to look at the young woman leaning against a tree nearby. She frowned at him and sighed when he gestured for her to come to him.

“Jessica,” He said with a wide smile, “How have your powers been developing?”

She stared deadpan at him, “Well enough, I’ve kept pace with the Nashville team,” She said and crossed her arms, “Why?”

He pursed his lips, “That’s not good enough,” He said and she narrowed her eyes before taking a momentary step back, “I want to try something, if you’ll indulge me.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” She said, pulling her arms closer to her chest only to freeze when he leveled a cold stare on her. Her face went pale and her knees buckled once, “Please?” She asked, “I really don’t want to be your guinea pig.”

“That ship has sailed,” He said with a his and snapped his arm out, grabbing her by her throat. He tilted his head to the right, “I’m going to make you strong enough to deal with that Cassiopeia girl, whether you like it or not. Liberty has the right idea in this case, surprising for an idiot like her,” He said with a snarl as she coughed and squeaked, trying to pry his fingers off of her throat, “Stop struggling, it’ll only hurt for a moment.”

He drew on his powers, his eyes widening as a smile cracked his face in half. “Let’s try it out!” He cackled and activated the cheat. She let out a scream of anguish as pale white shocks of energy ripped through her body. She convulsed, her arms falling limp and her head bucking as the energy tore through every cell in her body. When he was done, he let her go and she collapsed face-first to the ground. He tapped the side of her head with his boot but she didn’t stir. Still breathing though, I suppose that’s good enough. He scoffed.

He glanced towards the trees, “Not watching today either, probably preparing for the exam ahead. Ignorant thing,” He muttered only to pause as two presences approached. He narrowed his eyes until two of the aspirants he had brought in as lackeys came into view. They paused when they saw Jessica. His eyes narrowed. And this is what I get for being careless. He grumbled, “What is it?”

They blinked a few times and looked away from her. The first opened his mouth and was about to say something when the second cut in, “We spotted a group of people wearing masks heading this way, sir,” He said, “They’re heavily armed.”

“Isaac tried to teleport to you but his ability’s on the fritz,” The first added quickly. “He’s unconscious.”

He frowned at them for a moment before glancing over at Jessica, “Ah, I see what’s happening. It looks like she took too long,” He tilted his head, “The camp is under attack. That works for me,” He said with a smirk.

“Sir what happened to–”

Otis accessed his cheats and called a gun to his hand. He turned his weapon on the two young men and fired off two quick shots. Both of them dropped like sacks of meat to the ground. He wrinkled his nose and walked over to them, he kicked each to make sure they were dead. Stupid things, shouldn’t ask questions like that. More trouble than your pathetic abilities were worth. He thought before pausing and chuckling, Oh, Liberty, now look what you did!

He turned towards Jessica, “Looks like you don’t have time to rest,” He said aloud and walked over to her, kneeling down and grabbing her by the face. “Let’s try stat modification next,” He chuckled, “Rise and shine!”

Golden energy crackled across her body as all of her muscles contracted once before she threw her head back in an anguished scream. He released her face and got to his feet, brushing his hands off, “Get up,” He snarled.

She stared up at the canopy of trees for a moment, tears in her eyes as her chest rose and fell. She looked at him, her pupils tiny with terror. He sneered, “The camp is under attack, we’ve lost two already,” He said, mocking sympathy and gestured to the two corpses behind him. She sat up and brought her hands to her mouth before retching and looking away, he sniffed, “Come on now, you’re a killer aren’t you?” He said and took a step towards her.

“But they-”

“Were loose ends and unreliable,” He corrected before she could continue, “Now, as I said, the camp is under attack, by your old owner if I had to guess,” He said with a shrug.

She coughed and looked up at him, “B-but I- I haven’t had enough time to get close! I finally set up my cover and-”

“And there’s your problem, glacially slow,” He said with a shrug, “You forget that winter can onset suddenly,” He continued, “Now get up, we’re going to join the others back at camp.”

She pulled herself up, stumbling a little at how fast she rose. She blinked and looked down at her hands, “What did you do to me?”

“Made some improvements,” He said callously, “Is there a problem?”

She bowed her head, “N-no sir.”

“I didn’t think so,” He said, “You and I are going to pretend like we know nothing about the attack and return separately. Follow any orders given,” He said and waved her away. She straightened a little before nodding and darting into the trees. He watched her go before turning back to the corpses, “A little close to the portal,” He said thoughtfully and walked over to grab both of them, “Lets put you somewhere a bit more entertaining, might as well get some use out of you. A good timewaster before my heroic arrival.”

He snickered, “Today’s the day! I gotta hand it to you, Liberty! You really do make an excellent unwitting subordinate!” He laughed as he walked into the trees and disappeared.

–

The doll lunged from behind cover, its arms open wide and its fingers splayed out. It hurtled through the air as gunfire rang out around it. The masked man spun in place and looked up at it, his eyes going wide behind his mask. He let out a scream as it landed on him, raising its arm that swiftly extended a baton from its wrist. It brought the weapon down and delivered an electric shock that sent the man into convulsions before he collapsed, unconscious. The doll rose to its feet and turned its attention on the next masked invader only for its head to be separated from its body as a third raced up behind it and swung an axe with all his might.

The axe-wielder raised his weapon into the air, “Strength from Liberty!” He roared and snatched another doll out of the air with his free hand, throwing it to the ground and bringing the axe down again. “Forward!”

A chorus of responses, repeating his words, spread out throughout the training field as they ran up the slope, clashing with dolls as the automatons threw themselves at the enemy. Flashes of energy shot from fists, powerful blows cause small localized tremors, weapons were fired with pinpoint accuracy. A masked woman spun through the air, a ripple of wind wrapping around her leg before she sliced a doll in half. She turned to face the slope and continued upwards, grabbing an injured man and pulling him to his feet.

Axel frowned, crossing his arms at the top of the slope, his eyes fixed on the intruders. A wide array of powers and abilities from uncommon to one or two epics it looks like, he thought, his gaze shifting from person to person. Another bullet slammed into the side of his head and turned into a flat wad of metal as the momentum sank into his muscles. He let the energy build as he remained still, ignoring the attack as if it were a fly buzzing near his ear. He shifted his attention to one of the lead epics, a man with brown hair and a farmers tan, blade-like claws of energy hovered over his hands as he sliced through dolls.

The hero reached up and rubbed his dog tags thoughtfully for a moment before slipping his hand into the side pocket of his cargo pants. He pulled a gray wad of modeling clay out. He plucked off a piece and rubbed it between his fingers lazily as the man drew closer and closer. Woulda taken you on as a hero if you’d applied, moron, Axel thought irritably before holding his hand out with the freshly formed ball of clay out. He exhaled and a bit of energy left his muscles, the ball leaping from his fingers without a gesture and slamming into the man’s head between the eyes with a noisy thud. The man fell backwards, slapping down into the wet soil with foam bubbling from his mouth as a single wad of clay stuck to his forehead.

Axel snorted and began repeating the process, firing off balls of clay as bullets struck him and restored his momentum. Each followed by a sudden and final thunk! The slow to defend fell quickly, but where he had raw power, they had numbers, numbers that were growing at an alarming rate.

How many people did that psycho send? And where the hell are the reinforcements? Shouldn’t Euclidia have started sending people by now? He griped, pivoting and firing shot after shot off as they got closer and closer. 

BANG

Something heavy slammed into the side of the observation deck. He steadied himself and whipped his head to the right. A man climbed over the side, a sneer in his eyes. He reared back and revealed a forearm that had grown three times in size and had been coated in some kind of metal. The invader lunged over the rail and charged, throwing a massive fist towards Axel. Axel scoffed, “Haymaker? Come on man,” He grunted and stepped to the side, rapping his knuckles against the metal fist with a gentle tap. The invader blinked before abruptly launching past him like a rocket, screaming. “Seriously,” Axel shook his head, rubbing his ear at the ringing that had started in it, “It’s like-”

He felt something tingle in the air. No, on his skin. A feeling he knew all too well. Years in the military had given him something of a sixth sense, not a true ability, but enough to know when his head was in the wrong location. He used the momentum built up in his body and pushed himself to the right so fast it looked like he’d disappeared and reappeared. He slid to a stop just as a ruby-colored streak of something that felt like raw mana lanced through the air, spearing two of the attackers and going off to the sky. It was fast! Not laser fast, but fast enough. Heroic? He watched the two men look down at the holes in their chests, eyes filled with confusion and betrayal. Son of a bitch.

A gentle palm pressed against his back and he blinked before pain exploded through his back. He stumbled forward, gasping for air and whirled around to see a younger man with his fingers reaching towards him. Axel frowned and glanced towards the base of the slope, They’ve stopped shooting at me. Someone with a brain showed up. He thought as the young man stepped towards him soundlessly, his movements odd and jerky. There was a faint chime, the ringing! He realized as the young man vanished and reappeared next to him. He jerked back a step and slapped the incoming hand away only for two fingers to brush against his chin. Agony ripped through his jaw and he felt one of his teeth crack.

Shit! Sound waves! He thought before dipping low and sweeping his leg out, transferring momentum into his attacker’s ankle and sending him spinning through the air like a pinwheel before falling to the ground and vanishing with a noisy chime. Just as the chime rang out another flash of red came his way, this time narrower and far, far faster. He jerked his head out of the way as the searing ray cut his cheek only for another palm strike to send rippling soundwaves through his calf muscle. He jerked his leg away and then kicked the guy in the head before quickly taking stock. I’m taking too many hits and more of them are coming! I’m gonna lose momentum at this rate.

He turned towards the camp and glanced over his shoulder at a red light lingering at the base of the slope. Another figure stepped out to join it. He clicked his tongue, The real attack force is here, time for a tactical retreat. He thought and threw his momentum into his feet, launching himself forward over fifty yards before landing and doing it again. Shouts rose up behind him that he pointedly ignored, Gotta meet up with the others! I only hope I bought them enough time.

–

As Axel made his retreat, Sir Halloway stepped out of the trees, his eyes glowing brightly. “I’ve locked down the region,” He said calmly, “Euclidia won’t be sending any reinforcements anytime soon, certainly not in a way that would matter.” He glanced at the other two who were standing there as the main force raced up the now unguarded slope. “How was he?” He asked.

Sir Ewen pulled back his cropped blonde hair and slung his bow over his shoulder, “Fast, at the very least,” He said with a chuckle, tugging at his pierced lip, “Managed to avoid my ruby shots. Looked like he took more damage from Sir Ellis,” He pointed out, gesturing towards the observation deck where Sir Ellis sat on the rail, kicking his feet as little bells rang around his ankles. 

Halloway nodded, “Good work, now,” He turned to the last member of their four man strike force. A woman with steely gray eyes and burned-charcoal colored hair. Her lips were curled up into a delighted sneer, “Dame Kant?”

She met his gaze, “I know, Black Lotus is mine.”