Chapter 136: Zachia vs Mirage (reunion)
BOOOOOOOM!!
The river exploded upward again.
CLING–CLANG–SLASH!
CLANG–DODGE–CLASH!
Water rose like an enormous wall between the two warriors as Zachia and Mirage crossed blades in the middle of the raging stream. The force of their collision split the water beneath their feet, sending torrents crashing down both sides of the dam.
Behind them stood the enormous structure that protected Playmore.
Massive and unyielding.
Steel pipes stretched for hundreds of meters underground all around the city, forming part of a system designed to withstand disasters that could have destroyed entire districts.
Unfortunately, Mirage wasn't trying to destroy the dam itself. He was trying to destroy the pipes.
The battlefield surrounding them had become almost unrecognizable. Dead degenerating Freakers floated through the river. Stars lay unconscious in the mud. Royal Guards were buried beneath collapsed homes.
CRAAASH!!
BOOOM!
Nyx's monsters continued tearing apart anything unfortunate enough to cross their path.
BRRRMMMM!!
Fires burned along the shoreline, while thick smoke covered the lake like a second layer of fog.
The entire sector had become hell. Yet in the center of it all, two men continued refusing to fall.
Mirage pushed Zachia backward, their blades screeching against each other.
SKRRRRRRRCH!
"You just don't quit."
Zachia smirked despite the blood running down his face.
"Funny."
He pushed Mirage's blade away.
"I was about to say the same thing."
Mirage clicked his tongue.
Blood dripped from his chin.
One eye was swollen, and his breathing had become ragged.
"You've gotten stronger."
Zachia laughed.
"Don't sound so surprised."
"You guys keep trying to kill us."
He raised his sword.
"Eventually, we adapt."
Mirage's expression darkened.
"Adapt?"
He pointed toward the battlefield surrounding them.
"You think this is adaptation?"
His voice grew louder.
"Two hundred Stars. Half gone. Freakers wiped out. My mission delayed, and all because one idiot samurai refuses to stay down."
Zachia scratched his cheek.
"Thanks."
Mirage blinked.
"What?"
"Idiot Samurai."
Zachia smiled.
"Sounds cool."
Mirage stared at him.
For several seconds, he seemed genuinely unable to understand what he had just heard.
"...You're unbelievable."
Nearby, a gigantic monster bit the head off a Freaker.
CRUNCH!
Another creature grabbed a Star and threw him through a building.
BOOOOM!
Three Royal Guards fought desperately against a horned beast while explosions continued erupting throughout the surrounding streets.
Chaos was everywhere.
Zachia pointed toward the monsters.
"See?"
He smiled.
"Even they're helping me."
Mirage growled.
"They're helping no one."
He glanced toward the destruction.
"They're killing everything."
Unfortunately, that part was true. The monsters had no allegiance to either side. They simply attacked whatever moved.
Mirage tightened his grip around his sword.
"I don't have time for this."
His expression became serious.
"The Boss gave an order."
"My duty is absolute."
Zachia sighed.
"There it is."
Mirage frowned.
"The Boss."
Zachia shook his head.
"The Boss this."
"The Boss that."
"You Silver Moon guys never shut up about him."
Mirage's eyes sharpened.
"Watch your mouth."
"No."
Zachia pointed his sword directly at him.
"Think for yourself."
The words struck harder than any blade.
Mirage's jaw tightened, for the briefest moment, he hesitated.
Then the anger returned.
"You know nothing."
His voice became colder.
"My brothers and I would've died years ago."
"The Boss gave us purpose."
"He gave us a future."
"He saved us."
Zachia's smile disappeared.
Now he understood.
This wasn't fear, this wasn't simple obedience.
It was loyalty, pure and genuine loyalty. And that made Mirage far more dangerous. Because men who fought only for themselves could eventually be broken.
'But men who fought for someone they genuinely believed in?'
Those men kept getting back up.
Click....
Mirage slowly pointed behind Zachia.
Toward the enormous dam.
"I only need one opening."
"One slash."
"One moment."
His eyes narrowed.
"The water floods Playmore."
"The mission succeeds."
Zachia twirled his blade.
"Then I guess you're out of luck."
He raised the sword again.
"Because I'm still standing."
Both men smiled, not because they were happy, or because they enjoyed what was happening.
They smiled because they finally understood one another.
SPLAASH!!
The river shook beneath them.
Fwooosh....
The wind howled through the ruined streets.
Bzzztle.....
Lightning flashed somewhere over Playmore.
Then—
SWOOSH!
Both warriors vanished.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The water beneath them exploded.
Mirage's blade descended and Zachia intercepted.
CLAAAAANG!!
The impact generated a shockwave that split the river.
SPLAASH!
Fish were launched into the air and the shoreline cracked.
"Woaa!"
"Uaarrgh!"
Nearby Stars were blown off their feet.
Crash....
A monster lost its footing and rolled directly into the lake.
SWIISH!
Mirage spun through the air.
SHRAK!
A crescent-shaped blade of energy tore across the battlefield.
SWOOSH!
Zachia dashed sideways.
The attack missed him by inches, but the energy continued forward and carved through an entire hill behind him.
BOOOOOOM!!
The ground split apart.
BRRRMMMM!!
CRAAAACK!
Zachia looked over his shoulder as his eyes widened.
"Still got some juice left."
Mirage suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
THWACK!
CRASH!!
A fist slammed into Zachia's ribs as blood escaped his mouth.
GRAB!
But before Mirage could pull away, Zachia grabbed his arm and drove his forehead into his face.
BANG!!
Mirage staggered.
Zachia followed immediately.
An elbow.
BAM!
A knee.
THUD!
A punch.
BOOM!
A kick.
CRACK!
The relentless combination drove Mirage backward.
SKREETCH!
Mirage blocked some of the attacks, but others landed cleanly.
PSSSH!
Blood sprayed across the water.
SPLASH!
The river around them slowly turned red.
Yet neither man slowed down.
Far behind Mirage, the remaining fifty Stars watched from the battlefield. Thirty-six Freakers remained. Twenty monsters continued their rampage.
And all of them knew one thing, their leader couldn't help them.
Because right now... Mirage had found the strongest wall in Playmore.
And that wall's name was Zachia.
Their blades collided again.
CLANG!!
Then a distant explosion echoed from another district.
KA-BOOOM!!
Both men briefly glanced toward the city. The force was enormous far stronger than anything they had heard before.
Mirage frowned.
"What now...?"
Zachia smirked, even exhausted, bleeding, and barely standing.
He somehow looked confident.
"That's probably my friends."
Another explosion followed.
BOOOOOOM!!
Then another.
KRAAAASH!!
Mirage's expression slowly changed.
Because for the first time that night... he had a terrible feeling.
That maybe...
Just maybe... The Outsiders were winning.
to be continued....