Destruction's Aftermath: 6
A shadow flitted by. Dax turned to face its direction. Another dashed right across it. It stopped for a moment, then turned towards him.
A decaying face leered.
More of the repulsive things appeared. They resembled zombies, except that they were MUCH faster. They were about 2 metres tall, skinny, and had extremely sharp claws. Altogether, there were probably 150 to 200 of them.
"AMBUSH!"
Carnation recited another mantra. "I am everybody, I am nobody." Her body seemed to shimmer, then she simply vanished, leaving a faint outline. Sara leapt onto a nearby wall, launching her glaive in a wide arc. Lucas simply slammed the ground with his shields, creating a large shockwave. And Dax pressed a button on a device affixed to his neck. The world instantly slowed to a crawl as the energy booster poured into his system. Pure energy infused through the Twilight crystal entered his veins. Raising his TMP10s, he fired what to him seemed like an infinitely slow stream of bullets, spraying across the zombies.
The entire horde charged. Several were cut down by the bullets, and some of their heads were blown off. The centre of the horde was sliced in half. Some of the zombies exploded with the force of Lucas's shockwave, while others were dismembered by Carnation's spinning sword.
Still, they came. Those chopped in half continued to crawl on their hands. The bullet-riddled corpses got up to fight again. Only those which were detonated, decapitated or dismembered stayed dead.
A tornado of white fire appeared as Carnation recited yet another mantra. "I am everywhere, I am nowhere." Many zombies were consumed by the flames. Dax switched tactics. He leapt onto a wall and started to run across it before gravity took its effect. In slow motion, he aimed and fired controlled bursts at the zombies' heads.
Boom, boom, boom.
A zombie leapt at Sara. She recoiled at its fetid breath as she plunged her glaive into its neck. The thing's head dropped off, and it fell away. Then, another dropped on her from above. Screaming, she plummeted to the ground, and was dragged away kicking and struggling to escape by several zombies.
"NO!"
Lucas charged blindly after her. A zombie that had not been properly killed caught his leg. He crushed its head angrily, but it was enough. Several zombies latched on to the back of his armour. One managed to punch through a weak spot on his shoulder with its claw. Roaring in pain, he attempted to pry it off with his one good shoulder. Another plunged its claw into the back of his knee, then ripped sideways. Lucas collapsed forward, and his other arm and leg were disabled in a similar manner. It took 20 zombies to drag him off.
Carnation held back. She couldn't blast the zombies as long as her teammates were with them. She ran towards them, but found herself blocked by a living wall of zombies. Dax fired at them, but more took their place. At this rate, he would lose his teammates. Eventually, the two captured Alphas vanished from sight. The zombie wall retreated into the shadows.
Dax and Carnation were alone. They ran after the trail left behind by the zombies, but eventually lost sight of them.
Then, a ragged voice called out.
"...Help..."
Dax turned to see a man about as weak as his voice.
"My family... other survivors... this way... we need--"
He was interrupted by a loud cough.
"Help... Dead people..."
Dax and Carnation grew angry. The zombies had taken two of their number. They could not be allowed to claim more innocent lives. Sara and Lucas had been lost. But no more innocents would die.
"Follow..."
The man staggered off along the main road. Then, gunfire erupted. A dome of energy shields sprung up. Erans.
They looked harassed. There was a pile of assorted undead limbs lying nearby. So they had been holding the line so far.
Dax had no time for these guys. They had forgotten something: Their top was exposed. The person holding the top had evidently died. Dax activated his energy booster again. He lobbed a single grenade over the shields. Into the middle of the ragged formation.
The entire group exploded. Body parts were sent flying with the force of the explosion. At least there would be no zombies made of them. Hopefully.
The man crept out from behind cover and began to move forward again.
The rest of the journey was similar. Dax and Carnation encountered several more ambushes. Some Erans, some small packs of zombies. And some small packs of Eran zombies wielding swords, guns and shields. These were in better condition than the regular zombies, could communicate effectively and had comparable levels of tactics to Eran regulars, but they were unmistakably zombies from the fact that they were simply immune to pain. However, they still had a limit, and could actually die from wounds. For that, Dax and Carnation were grateful. It made things easier.
Eventually, they reached a large concourse. Then, they saw something surprising. Right in the middle were Sara and Lucas. Dead Eran bodies littered the place. And in the middle was a young girl in a tattered red dress. She was cradling a bloodied head and crooning softly.
Then, she noticed the two. She looked up and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Valentine Ward. Please, do play with me!"
Carnation gasped. "Didn't SWORD kill--"
She never finished her sentence. An invisible wave of force threw her against a barrier, knocking her unconscious. Dax's booster clicked when he pressed it. It was dry. Before he could react, he, too, was slammed against a wall. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Valentine's face looming over his and saying, "Wasn't that fun?"
Valentine gathered all four of them at the centre. She wouldn't kill them. But they would serve as very useful power sources when Eve's final plan came. Picking them up, she launched them into a portal back to Eva, the capital of Skolir. Then, she lifted herself into the air and flew back towards the site of the anti-aircraft guns.
Or more precisely, creatures. Each one of the "guns" was a Chrysalid. A 10-metre tall pyramidal beast, the Chrysalid released self-guiding psionic energy blasts at targets up to 20 kilometres away while buried underground. Very powerful, very discreet. Valentine didn't even think they needed protection, especially since they already had a 1000-strong horde of Creeps, which were the clawed zombies fought by Alpha, and Resurrected, zombies with mind and body intact, protecting them. Captured Erans and their technology formed a large part of the Resurrected, and would provide a significant advantage to the Undead forces against any human attackers.
They were ready for an assault.
-------------
This is not the end. There will be more. 1-6 are just a prologue (a damn long one).
-------------
Glossary:
Creeps: Decaying, mindless zombies raised by a normal Field Necromancer/Dark Priestess-ranked undead. They do not have a direct connection to Eve, so they don't regenerate. However, they're nearly unkillable and must be dismembered or otherwise shredded, or else decapitated, in order to kill them.
Resurrected: Zombies raised at an Altar of Eve or by a Full Necromancer/Vampire-ranked undead, or else by Eve or a Champion. They retain their minds and regenerate as they have a direct link to Eve, but will not recover if damaged too heavily in order to prevent energy wastage. They follow a chain of loyalty: Eve --> Champion --> Summoner --> Former Commander/Leader (if any) with the first being the highest priority and the last being the lowest priority and often ignored.
Field Necromancer/Dark Priestess: Basic rank of Undead Mages. Necromancers are male while Priestesses are female and wield more power than their male counterparts.
Full Necromancer/Vampire: Medium-ranked Undead Mages. They possess stronger magic and a direct link to Eve. Vampires have Physical powers of super-strength and super-speed, while Necromancers can Magically transform into demons. Necromancers posess limited regeneration but heal fully when transforming, while Vampires have unlimited regeneration unless staked through the heart or completely destroyed such that they cannot regenerate again (e.g. fire, detonation, shredding into pieces).
-------------
A decaying face leered.
More of the repulsive things appeared. They resembled zombies, except that they were MUCH faster. They were about 2 metres tall, skinny, and had extremely sharp claws. Altogether, there were probably 150 to 200 of them.
"AMBUSH!"
Carnation recited another mantra. "I am everybody, I am nobody." Her body seemed to shimmer, then she simply vanished, leaving a faint outline. Sara leapt onto a nearby wall, launching her glaive in a wide arc. Lucas simply slammed the ground with his shields, creating a large shockwave. And Dax pressed a button on a device affixed to his neck. The world instantly slowed to a crawl as the energy booster poured into his system. Pure energy infused through the Twilight crystal entered his veins. Raising his TMP10s, he fired what to him seemed like an infinitely slow stream of bullets, spraying across the zombies.
The entire horde charged. Several were cut down by the bullets, and some of their heads were blown off. The centre of the horde was sliced in half. Some of the zombies exploded with the force of Lucas's shockwave, while others were dismembered by Carnation's spinning sword.
Still, they came. Those chopped in half continued to crawl on their hands. The bullet-riddled corpses got up to fight again. Only those which were detonated, decapitated or dismembered stayed dead.
A tornado of white fire appeared as Carnation recited yet another mantra. "I am everywhere, I am nowhere." Many zombies were consumed by the flames. Dax switched tactics. He leapt onto a wall and started to run across it before gravity took its effect. In slow motion, he aimed and fired controlled bursts at the zombies' heads.
Boom, boom, boom.
A zombie leapt at Sara. She recoiled at its fetid breath as she plunged her glaive into its neck. The thing's head dropped off, and it fell away. Then, another dropped on her from above. Screaming, she plummeted to the ground, and was dragged away kicking and struggling to escape by several zombies.
"NO!"
Lucas charged blindly after her. A zombie that had not been properly killed caught his leg. He crushed its head angrily, but it was enough. Several zombies latched on to the back of his armour. One managed to punch through a weak spot on his shoulder with its claw. Roaring in pain, he attempted to pry it off with his one good shoulder. Another plunged its claw into the back of his knee, then ripped sideways. Lucas collapsed forward, and his other arm and leg were disabled in a similar manner. It took 20 zombies to drag him off.
Carnation held back. She couldn't blast the zombies as long as her teammates were with them. She ran towards them, but found herself blocked by a living wall of zombies. Dax fired at them, but more took their place. At this rate, he would lose his teammates. Eventually, the two captured Alphas vanished from sight. The zombie wall retreated into the shadows.
Dax and Carnation were alone. They ran after the trail left behind by the zombies, but eventually lost sight of them.
Then, a ragged voice called out.
"...Help..."
Dax turned to see a man about as weak as his voice.
"My family... other survivors... this way... we need--"
He was interrupted by a loud cough.
"Help... Dead people..."
Dax and Carnation grew angry. The zombies had taken two of their number. They could not be allowed to claim more innocent lives. Sara and Lucas had been lost. But no more innocents would die.
"Follow..."
The man staggered off along the main road. Then, gunfire erupted. A dome of energy shields sprung up. Erans.
They looked harassed. There was a pile of assorted undead limbs lying nearby. So they had been holding the line so far.
Dax had no time for these guys. They had forgotten something: Their top was exposed. The person holding the top had evidently died. Dax activated his energy booster again. He lobbed a single grenade over the shields. Into the middle of the ragged formation.
The entire group exploded. Body parts were sent flying with the force of the explosion. At least there would be no zombies made of them. Hopefully.
The man crept out from behind cover and began to move forward again.
The rest of the journey was similar. Dax and Carnation encountered several more ambushes. Some Erans, some small packs of zombies. And some small packs of Eran zombies wielding swords, guns and shields. These were in better condition than the regular zombies, could communicate effectively and had comparable levels of tactics to Eran regulars, but they were unmistakably zombies from the fact that they were simply immune to pain. However, they still had a limit, and could actually die from wounds. For that, Dax and Carnation were grateful. It made things easier.
Eventually, they reached a large concourse. Then, they saw something surprising. Right in the middle were Sara and Lucas. Dead Eran bodies littered the place. And in the middle was a young girl in a tattered red dress. She was cradling a bloodied head and crooning softly.
Then, she noticed the two. She looked up and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Valentine Ward. Please, do play with me!"
Carnation gasped. "Didn't SWORD kill--"
She never finished her sentence. An invisible wave of force threw her against a barrier, knocking her unconscious. Dax's booster clicked when he pressed it. It was dry. Before he could react, he, too, was slammed against a wall. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Valentine's face looming over his and saying, "Wasn't that fun?"
Valentine gathered all four of them at the centre. She wouldn't kill them. But they would serve as very useful power sources when Eve's final plan came. Picking them up, she launched them into a portal back to Eva, the capital of Skolir. Then, she lifted herself into the air and flew back towards the site of the anti-aircraft guns.
Or more precisely, creatures. Each one of the "guns" was a Chrysalid. A 10-metre tall pyramidal beast, the Chrysalid released self-guiding psionic energy blasts at targets up to 20 kilometres away while buried underground. Very powerful, very discreet. Valentine didn't even think they needed protection, especially since they already had a 1000-strong horde of Creeps, which were the clawed zombies fought by Alpha, and Resurrected, zombies with mind and body intact, protecting them. Captured Erans and their technology formed a large part of the Resurrected, and would provide a significant advantage to the Undead forces against any human attackers.
They were ready for an assault.
-------------
This is not the end. There will be more. 1-6 are just a prologue (a damn long one).
-------------
Glossary:
Creeps: Decaying, mindless zombies raised by a normal Field Necromancer/Dark Priestess-ranked undead. They do not have a direct connection to Eve, so they don't regenerate. However, they're nearly unkillable and must be dismembered or otherwise shredded, or else decapitated, in order to kill them.
Resurrected: Zombies raised at an Altar of Eve or by a Full Necromancer/Vampire-ranked undead, or else by Eve or a Champion. They retain their minds and regenerate as they have a direct link to Eve, but will not recover if damaged too heavily in order to prevent energy wastage. They follow a chain of loyalty: Eve --> Champion --> Summoner --> Former Commander/Leader (if any) with the first being the highest priority and the last being the lowest priority and often ignored.
Field Necromancer/Dark Priestess: Basic rank of Undead Mages. Necromancers are male while Priestesses are female and wield more power than their male counterparts.
Full Necromancer/Vampire: Medium-ranked Undead Mages. They possess stronger magic and a direct link to Eve. Vampires have Physical powers of super-strength and super-speed, while Necromancers can Magically transform into demons. Necromancers posess limited regeneration but heal fully when transforming, while Vampires have unlimited regeneration unless staked through the heart or completely destroyed such that they cannot regenerate again (e.g. fire, detonation, shredding into pieces).
-------------
Labels: Destruction's Aftermath
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