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A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 206 ~

_Come

The two images of Yzeira lowered their hands. The orbs around their waist moved slowly with reversed orbits, until one strayed from each of his bodies. They both walked forward while one of their orbs floated towards Jenso slowly, growing darker in shade until they were pulsating with crimson-black wavelengths.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

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~ End Of Chapter 205 ~

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The Arkvoid impact struck Bruce head on, launching him across the room in a flash of blinding light that consumed Nexus whole. His body was rag dolled until it struck the darkened wall with a resounding thud, and he fell back to the floor, with a broken arm, and significant damage that plagued his body. The effects of Nexus' particular mimicry were less lethal that its original form, but it succeeded in directly damaging his inherent Ki reserves, and by extension, dampening his very soul. Whether the damage was permanent or not still remained to be seen. Nexus however, stood with his back to Bruce, relatively unharmed. The order member straightened his posture and reached up towards his face with his unarmored hand.

"When I first set out to become the greatest scholar of my time, I had a benevolent view, believe it or not." He stressed the muscles in his arm and neck for a moment, and the wound in his leg slowly began to heal, pushing Bruce's blade out until it was evaporated, as his armor reformed. "Yzeira was not too different either. The biggest difference between us, was just that. I wanted to be known in my time. He wanted to be known by all time." Nexus began to turn around clockwise, clenching his right arm. His armor quickly regained its mirrored gleam. "Bruce. The void is an unkind place to those without the desire to conquer it in its entirety. It festers inside the hearts of the stubborn, latching onto their undying willpower until it... Manifests into som.. Something amazing..." He turned his body around and lowered both arms to his side. His hair flourished into view and he stood his ground with a great deal of passion etched into his stance. Nexus wore a simple little smile as he looked to Bruce with one eye, tears streaming down his right cheek.

"Don't let Jenso become like us..."

Nexus' pose gave way. He dropped to his knees.

"Like... Me..."

The armored man fell forwards with a gentle thud, slamming face first into the ground. The length of Bruce's blade tore through the back of his skull as its hilt hit the hardened stone floor, releasing a somber blue aura from his body that began to flood the room.

Defiance

Dannisus backed away from Corc and his ears went completely flat against his scalp for the duration of his roar. He shared Aelih's sentiments with gusto, nodding rapidly while he turned away from the gate and threw his hands up in a fit of absolute disbelief. "Alas Aelih, it is our fate to be encumbered by brutish warriors, swarmed by the living dead, and dragged into a cavalcade of insanity!" He flicked his tail impatiently and turned back towards the group. Running off into the forest without them seemed like it was his best option. But the danger that those skeleton's wrought didn't post an immediate threat. He groaned quietly to himself and crossed his arms, whipping his tail from side to side like a furry little metronome. There were plenty of opportunities to expand upon his research in Lui, and Jack's gauntlets. But was it worth sticking around? As he thought on his choices, yet another person approached, bypassing his hearing entirely. He noticed Gabriel a moment after he spoke, approaching from behind Corc. The stress must have been dulling his senses. That, or Gabriel was very light-footed.

"Why are you so concerned with that map?" Dannisus hissed, "The town has fallen. This man with the gauntlets speaks the truth- Though I'm sure most could come to that conclusion at a first glance. Anyone that exercises the desire to investigate the origins of this tragedy will find themselves party to unnecessary danger for the sake of petty vengeance, and nothing else." His nose contorted fiercely as the stench of violent mana burst through the air. He covered his face for a moment and looked past Gabriel. "Regardless, there is no reason for us to stay here any longer. Look." Dannisus pointed past the group towards Devlin and Ren. Foeldar's sudden approach was out of view at his current angle, but he heard the rumbling of his charge. His ears adjusted slightly and he looked towards the wall that stood by their escape route. A moment later, it it nearly gave way to an unexpected impact that sent several of its carefully laid bricks flying through the air. Dannisus' entire body flinched, but he held his ground.

"Mya.. Are there still objections to leaving immediately?"

He didn't care what any of them had to say. Within the next few minutes, Dannisus would be gone.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The armor around Bruce's hand melted away, but he refused to leg go. The energy in his right hand began to swirl intensely, growing streams of chaotic fire as its momentum increased. It grew rapidly, while Nexus tightened his grip around Bruce's arm. He looked directly at him through the slit in his armor, and brought his right hand towards Bruce in a wide arc. Mid-swing, the mirrored surface of his armor rippled towards his right hand, flooding the attack with a sudden spike of power, so that its focus reached an all time high, nearing the sheer destructive power of his earlier wide-scale attack, though on a much smaller scale.

"𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝," Nexus begun, suddenly bearing down on Bruce with his sapphire glare. His visor vanished, the mirrored effect that encompassed him with it. Even the attack headed for Bruce himself, began to shrink rapidly, yet still retaining the brunt of its form. "𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭!!" Sheer seconds before the attack made contact with Bruce, Nexus' eyes brought a halt to his sage state, and promptly sealed off a great deal of his power. The sphere shrank considerably, and lost the immediate destructive power that it held moments earlier, but despite this vast decrease in power, Nexus aimed to strike Bruce when he was most vulnerable.

Defiance

Dannisus' ability to think clearly was suddenly overshadowed by a numbness that he'd not felt since attending to his duties in Sylsashia. 'Kitty?' His mouth hung open as he mulled over Fauve's unbearably lax comment on his whiskers. Nothing she said afterwards registered in his mind as anything more than baseless bragging as he glared dully at Corc, still somewhat astounded by that crude woman's tone of voice. 'Kitty??' He half expected to see a little girl as he slowly craned his neck towards her, perhaps the same girl he'd entertained earlier in the day. But he didn't. He saw the wench that had shouted an obscenity at him back in the tavern where he'd met Lui and Aelih. He glared at her, his expression blank as she went on about a map- The same map that Corc had mentioned.

"Um-" He mouthed inaudibly, immediately cut off by Fauve again before he could say anything. She made her way past him, and the rest of the group, out into the open forest with a firm slap of her own buttocks. Dannisus cringed. Where the hell was she going to find clothes in the forest? Did she think the survivors were stationed nearby? Even if they were, would any of them willingly offer up their garments to this woman?

"I..." Dannisus started. There were simply no words. Some humans were just... Repulsive. He gave his head a light shake and turned back to the group, trying to recollect his thoughts, when he caught sight of another one of the pungent tavern-goers approaching their little circle. He glanced at Lui and Aelih for a moment, and then back to Jack, who stepped into their group with some ill-conceived notion of fate. Even worse, he pronounced the little gathering as some kind of coherent group! "Mya..." Dannisus reached for his bad ear with one hand and gave its base a light rub.

"Pardon me if I'm intruding on something here," He mumbled, "But, I'm to believe- No, I'm almost certain- Quite certain actually, that I have no idea who you are, save for a passing glance, sir." Dannisus' eyes worked their way towards Jack's gauntlets as he spoke. It wasn't long before he was staring at the curious artifacts. He sighed and looked at his feet for a moment, before raising his eyes back towards Jack. "Is there anyone else alive in town?" He asked, reluctantly.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Nexus' Beam continued to tear through the tower's circumference, stopping for only a moment when he feet were caught in stone. He paused, and the beam remained stagnant for a moment, before vanishing completely. By then, he'd already had his leg caught in place. The top layer of his armor melted away momentarily, leaving room for Bruce's blade to strike home, hitting the opposite side of his thigh guard and stopping. Blood spurt out of his leg and he buckled forwards, reaching for Bruce's arm with his left hand, whilst creating a sphere of energy in his right.

Defiance

Dannisus slowed himself to a halt as they they neared the west gate, but not because of their arrival. He stumbled slightly and spun around, stopping ahead of everyone else. Why were they stopping? Why would they even think of stopping? It was something Lui mentioned, that they should remain at the gate and wait for survivors. Corc and Aelih agreed on the idea almost immediately. There was also something about a map? Why the hell did they need a map!?

"We don't need a map," Dannisus remarked eagerly, while gesturing towards corc with his hands and eyes, "I can guide us- I could probably steer us clear of human hunting parties, let alone a few stray undead. There's no telling if any of the survivors will even be able to escape! It's unlikely enough as it is- And what if something even nastier is waiting for us to the west?" He spun around and scanned the immediate vicinity of the west gate, keeping his ears perked, and his nose sharp. His right her flapped, and he spun around. "There," He urged, pointing towards the center of Nadska, "I just heard something! Something big." He couldn't put his finger on it, but the sound of crashing rocks has to be related to whatever shook the ground earlier. He looked at everyone, granting them a moment to consider his offer again. "The way is clear for now, but how long will that- How long can we even hold out against those monsters if they reach this gate first?" He looked to Lui, Aelih, Corc and Fauve with a desperate fear in his eyes. Five of them versus hundreds of skeletons, and a likely entourage that carried even more danger? Dannisus considered making a run for it on his own, but a quick glance at the horde behind them showed a significant slowdown in their advance. Were they retreating? Or was something holding them back? what if...

It didn't matter!

"I for one, am against this idea."

Defiance

"Narrowly?" He chortled, "I wouldn't say that. I was investigating something peculiar, when this started up." He gestured over his shoulder again, pointing back at the encroaching undead hoard. A quick glance showed Corc and Fauve lagging behind quite a ways, but that giant orc was a lot faster than he looked. It seemed that they were making headway in catching up, even after being held up. Dannisus shook his head quickly. No, let's all find ourselves absolutely engulfed by the living dead, that will mull over quite well, Dannisus thought to himself with sarcasm to spare.

He turned back to Lui and forced a smile despite the nasty situation they found themselves in. "I think there are people still trapped near the center of town, in the church. Going in there- Well, that was out of the question!" He fixed his eyes forward once again. "I'm glad to see that you two weren't swallowed up by those beasties. Quite glad." Part of him expected Aelih to turn around and brave the horde. It was a part of himself that he wanted to assure otherwise. Most of the anxiety that he'd been dealing with since the beginning of this whole ordeal, hell, since he'd stepped foot in this dingy old town, had finally gone away. But some of it still festered, and it wasn't because of the skeletons. Still, it probably wouldn't be long before they met something else at the western gate. Those skeletons seemed more coordinated than a few rogue undead. Their numbers hinted at a necromancer's work, or perhaps, something even more insidious than some angst ridden psychopath with far too much time on their hands. Either way, this whole ordeal was starting to feel very similar to the stories he'd heard about monster attacks all across the island. If there was any relation...

"I'm intent on escaping," Dannisus blurted out with a slight cock of the head, "Just to be clear." He interrupted his own line of thought rather abruptly. Curiosity would not best his better judgement today. There was a fine line between investigating a cursed gem, and besting the countless hordes of undead behind them, or anyone who may have been responsible for that matter. That was somebody else's problem, preferably somebody more qualified for ridiculous acts of heroism. "We're not too far from Sylsashia. I know these forests quite well. Once we're free of Nadska's walls, I could guide us to freedom through the forest- Avoid the roads... Stay clear of anything intent on gutting the living. It's the least I could do." There wasn't much sign of remorse in his offer. The dozens, perhaps hundreds that fell behind them were of little concern. If Aelih or Lui showed any desire to turn around, he wouldn't be spending any more time with them. People with an inclination towards Heroism were dangerously stupid, and dangerously stupid people had a tendency of putting anyone near them in just as much danger. He glanced over his shoulder again.

That orc was frighteningly quick.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"Hide all you want," Nexus began, as the energy in his hands slowly reached critical mass, "I will flood every crack in this room with power."

"𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐦"

A beam of searing blue energy erupted from Nexus' hands, covering every square inch of the room in front of him in the exact fashion that he described. Bruce's chains, and anything else caught in its wake, were evaporated immediately. But rather that simple disappearing, their energy was accumulated, and added to the wave that Nexus fired. It showed no sign of stopping, and just when it seemed like a straight forward attack, Nexus pivoted his foot ever so slightly to the left.

"Sweep!"

The overbearing stream of energy began to move clockwise around the room as Nexus heaved his entire body in a circular sweeping motion, hefting as much force into the movement as he could muster.