Chapter 2.3: Leviathan
Alexander89
Pet the pretty kitty? Y/N
- Location
- Italy
Reducing the boat's speed to a minimum, they slowly moved inside the cave's entrance, looking out for possible dangers.
"Ugh... The stench is getting worse," Vyrn complained, holding a paw over his nose.
"We must be getting close to the source of the pollution," Rackam observed.
"No kidding," For Archer, it was even worse, since he could also smell the residual magic from whatever process those wastes came from. He had enough control to not let it affect him, but it didn't make the stench any better.
"By the way Eugen..." Katalina suddenly asked. "You wouldn't happen to be aware of the local legends pertaining to primal beasts, would you?"
That got Archer's attention. Primal Beasts were the closest equivalent of this world to Phantasmal Beasts. Why would Katalina be interested in them?
"Local legends... Oh, like the one about how pieces of the Sky Map are protected by great primal beasts scattered across the Skydom?"
The Sky Map... he remembered coming across that term during his initial studies of this world's history. According to the stories spoken among Skyfarers, it was a comprehensive map of the Skydom left behind by the Astrals, capable of leading whomever owns it to wherever they wish without fail. It was literally the 'Holy Grail' of the Skyfarers.
"I already told you about Lord Leviathan. There are also legends about Grani, a divine horse that carried a famous hero into battle during the Astral War. Oh, and it isn't local but here on Auguste it's also famous the legend of a supposedly 'Ice Empress' living in the coldest regions of Phantagrande. Some believed she lived around those parts before migrating elsewhere when the climate became warmer."
"You sure seem knowledgeable about this, Eugen," Rackam pointed out. "Have you been here a while?"
"Idiot! I was born here on Auguste," Eugen laughed. "Everyone who lives here has heard the tales."
"Huh? But I heard you were raised by wolves in the wilderness!"
There was a sharp 'click' as Eugen chambered a round, his face a mask of stone. "Just you wait, Rackam. Once we clear out the Empire's filth, you're next."
"What did I do!?" The brown-haired, smoking helmsman protested in a panic.
"Reaping what you sow, I believe the saying goes," Answered Archer.
Seeing the tunnel was widening Archer scanned through the darkness with his enchanted eyesight. He immediately saw it. 'Jackpot.'
"Over here, everyone!" Io pointed! "There's some kind of huge... something!"
"What is that?"
That was a large military complex built on one side of the cave. There were mine rails going through tunnels dug in the wall, towers connected by large pipes and a barbed wire wall encircling the whole building. On the wall's bottom were present drainage channels that released small streams of purple, sticky liquid. It pooled on the cave floor, spilling into the water and staining it before the liquid, being heavier, fell on the bottom and disappeared from sight.
"The source of Erste's pollution, no mistake about it," Eugen moved the rifle's barrel away from Rackam, much to the latter's relief. "Archer. You seeing anything suspicious?"
"No, and that's what worries me," His eyes were darting back and forth. "It's too quiet. It's like the whole complex is abandoned, but that is either too convenient or a clear sign something's wrong."
"No shit," Eugen grimaced. Moving closer to the only entrance, the group jumped out of the boat and on the cave's floor. "The Empire started a war for this damn thing, I doubt they would be willing to just drop everything."
"This doesn't add up. And considering the lack of security..." Katalina looked around, using her experience as an ex-Erste Officer to see if she recognized something. "Is this a trap?"
"Almost certainly," Archer raised a hand towards the gate, intending to perform Structural Grasp on it. "The other possibility is that the Empire has already completed what they were working on here which is even worse."
The sudden sound of mechanical gears and heavy stomping made him jump back, Kanshou and Bakuya forming in his hands. A moment later the gate was crushed from the inside, a three-meters tall robot stepping over the remains to confront the group. Its legs were tiny compared to its body, with the right arm being twice as big as the left one. Coming out of the top of its 'head' was a hybrid between an axe and a gear, bizarre but as sharp as the former. Instead of eyes, it had a single glass visor, which was glowing an ominous red.
"So something was guarding this place!" Io cried.
"Katalina! Yuisis! With me, we'll take the front!" Unsheathing his sword, Gran began to issues orders. "Rackam! Io! Protect Lyria and Vyrn! Mister Eugen! Mister Archer! Can you provide support?"
"Piece of cake!" Eugen grinned while he and Archer darted to the right side of the robot, while Rackam and Io did the same to the left side. "I'd say this guy's weak points are the legs. What do you think, Archer?"
"I agree. It may be strong enough to fight efficiently, but those disproportionate arm and legs make its balance fragile," He replied before dismissing the two falchions and switching to his bow. "I'll take the left one."
"The right one is mine then!" Coming to a stop Eugen took aim with his rifle and fired at the back of the right leg's knee. The blow hit just after the robot tried to deliver a devastating punch to the frontline attackers, only for them to dodge out of the way, making it slightly stumble.
Then Archer's sword-arrow punched straight through the left knee, followed by a second one doing the same with a tiny gap on the hips. Rackam's bullets and Io's ice spikes slammed into the robot's back, making it fall on its knees as it used its large right arm as support.
"Let's finish this!" Taking advantage of the moment of weakness Gran and Yuisis ran at the robot.
It raised its left hand, but it was stopped by Katalina stepping in front of the blow and creating a magical barrier. "Light Wall!"
"I'll finish this with my own two hands!" Yuisis shouted as she and Gran jumped in front of the robot's head and stabbed their swords through the red visor.
The robot lurched violently, steam escaping by the gaps in its armor, before falling silent, its whole body going slack.
"Yay! We won!" Io cheered.
"Uhm... Io? There are more," Lyria pointed to the destroyed gate, from which three more identical robots were coming from.
"Oh, come on!" The twin-tailed little mage loudly protested.
"Whew..." Io wiped the sweat from her forehead. "W-Was that the last of them? The enemies are all gone now, right?"
"Quit shaking in your little boots," Rackam looked around and nodded. Seem like they were in the clear. "We can handle anything that comes our way!"
"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right..."
"You've found yourself a tough little crew, Rackam. And Gran," Eugen addressed the young boy, who was having his wounds healed by Katalina. "For a spacy, unfocused upstart you're not bad. Better than I thought anyway."
"Ah, thanks," He scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "But like you said, I've still got a long way to go."
"You've always so hard on yourself, Gran!" Vyrn waved a paw. "You can just accept it when people compliment you, y'know?"
"Have faith in yourself!" Yuisis winked. "A Boss needs to be humble but also confident, otherwise other families will look down on him."
"You don't believe me? Let's hear a second opinion then. Hey Archer!" Eugen called out to the red-clad bowman. "What do you think of Gran and his little crew?"
The white-haired man stood up from where he was checking one of the fallen robots and faced them, arms crossed and right eyebrow raised. "What do I think? Let's see... Miss Katalina is an excellent swordswoman, though that long cape is just asking for an enemy to grab it. And why do you need more than one belt for?"
The brown-haired woman slightly blushed, one hand clenching around the cape as she looked away. "But, it's fashionable..."
"Fashion has no place on the battlefield. Rackam is a likewise good, if inexperienced, gunslinger. But, as we have seen, his weapon lacks the power to damage heavily armored enemies."
"Can't really object there..." Rackam replied, aware of his own weaknesses.
"Io, your magic is strong but you need to learn how to use it while moving. A mage who standstill on the battlefield is just asking to be singled out."
"No need to worry," She puffed out her chest with pride. "If someone comes too close I'll just blast them away!"
"What about an enemy which is resistant to magic, or someone else with ranged attacks?"
"Guh!"
Archer closed his eyes, "I'll pass over commenting about Vyrn and Lyria since I haven't seen them doing anything-"
Both lizard and girl felt like a figurative arrow just stabbed them.
"So let's skip to the most glaring issues," He pointed a finger at Gran and Yuisis, palm facing upward, before snapping his fingers. "You, Gran. Before the one you have now, you used a lighter sword with a curved single-edged blade and a single-handed grip, correct?"
He blinked, the shock clear in his eyes. "Y-Yes, but how-"
"It's in the way you wield it. You got used to a different type of weapon, so you kept using the same movements without adapting first," He walked closer and pointed first to Almace and then to Gran's chest. "You need to use both edges and both hands while fighting. Furthermore, that armor is not appropriate. Since your new sword emphasizes power over speed it will slow you down, so you need a better one. The one you have is good for gun users like Rackam and beginners, but if you want to keep being a close-range fighter you need to protect your body. Why?"
He pointed to one of the destroyed robots, "One single punch of them would have been enough to kill you. Blocking or dodging, it doesn't matter how - never neglect to improve your ability to survive. There are no do-overs in death. Do you understand?"
The last words were delivered with a tone as cold as ice. No one felt like speaking, and all Gran could do was gulp before giving a shaky nod.
The tension suddenly melted as Archer nonchalantly shrugged and shook his head. "Let's hope so. Finally, we come to the issue."
Tilting his head, he glanced at Yuisis, "Simply put, you aren't using your weapon at its full potential."
Her eyes narrowed, "Big words, but can you back them up?"
"You calling me a con? I can and will, solid as a rock," Archer internally chuckled at the nostalgic feeling talking like that gave him. Ignoring Yuisis's visible surprise he pointed to her weapon. "Your sword can combine with your shield, but have you never noticed that when you block a blow with your shield it gains a slight luminescence that grows stronger with every following parried blow, but disappears after you combine it with the sword and then separate them?"
She blinked, opening and closing her mouth two times before finding some words to say as she looked down at the Relic of Ditoria. "I-I mean, yes? But, isn't it just something it, y'know, does?"
"Oh yes. It does," Archer smirked. "What it does, is storing energy from the deflected blows into itself and then releasing it when combined with the sword. With a fully charged effect, I assume it would more than double your strength."
He shook his head. "With weaker enemies, it's not necessary, but remember it if you ever face an enemy that seems invincible. It may save your life."
Yuisis' gaze snapped back up, boring into his own, "How...?"
Archer smirked again. "There is no one who knows as much about swords like me."
====
Snippet is currently un-beta'ed, Mizu is busy.
"Ugh... The stench is getting worse," Vyrn complained, holding a paw over his nose.
"We must be getting close to the source of the pollution," Rackam observed.
"No kidding," For Archer, it was even worse, since he could also smell the residual magic from whatever process those wastes came from. He had enough control to not let it affect him, but it didn't make the stench any better.
"By the way Eugen..." Katalina suddenly asked. "You wouldn't happen to be aware of the local legends pertaining to primal beasts, would you?"
That got Archer's attention. Primal Beasts were the closest equivalent of this world to Phantasmal Beasts. Why would Katalina be interested in them?
"Local legends... Oh, like the one about how pieces of the Sky Map are protected by great primal beasts scattered across the Skydom?"
The Sky Map... he remembered coming across that term during his initial studies of this world's history. According to the stories spoken among Skyfarers, it was a comprehensive map of the Skydom left behind by the Astrals, capable of leading whomever owns it to wherever they wish without fail. It was literally the 'Holy Grail' of the Skyfarers.
"I already told you about Lord Leviathan. There are also legends about Grani, a divine horse that carried a famous hero into battle during the Astral War. Oh, and it isn't local but here on Auguste it's also famous the legend of a supposedly 'Ice Empress' living in the coldest regions of Phantagrande. Some believed she lived around those parts before migrating elsewhere when the climate became warmer."
"You sure seem knowledgeable about this, Eugen," Rackam pointed out. "Have you been here a while?"
"Idiot! I was born here on Auguste," Eugen laughed. "Everyone who lives here has heard the tales."
"Huh? But I heard you were raised by wolves in the wilderness!"
There was a sharp 'click' as Eugen chambered a round, his face a mask of stone. "Just you wait, Rackam. Once we clear out the Empire's filth, you're next."
"What did I do!?" The brown-haired, smoking helmsman protested in a panic.
"Reaping what you sow, I believe the saying goes," Answered Archer.
Seeing the tunnel was widening Archer scanned through the darkness with his enchanted eyesight. He immediately saw it. 'Jackpot.'
"Over here, everyone!" Io pointed! "There's some kind of huge... something!"
"What is that?"
That was a large military complex built on one side of the cave. There were mine rails going through tunnels dug in the wall, towers connected by large pipes and a barbed wire wall encircling the whole building. On the wall's bottom were present drainage channels that released small streams of purple, sticky liquid. It pooled on the cave floor, spilling into the water and staining it before the liquid, being heavier, fell on the bottom and disappeared from sight.
"The source of Erste's pollution, no mistake about it," Eugen moved the rifle's barrel away from Rackam, much to the latter's relief. "Archer. You seeing anything suspicious?"
"No, and that's what worries me," His eyes were darting back and forth. "It's too quiet. It's like the whole complex is abandoned, but that is either too convenient or a clear sign something's wrong."
"No shit," Eugen grimaced. Moving closer to the only entrance, the group jumped out of the boat and on the cave's floor. "The Empire started a war for this damn thing, I doubt they would be willing to just drop everything."
"This doesn't add up. And considering the lack of security..." Katalina looked around, using her experience as an ex-Erste Officer to see if she recognized something. "Is this a trap?"
"Almost certainly," Archer raised a hand towards the gate, intending to perform Structural Grasp on it. "The other possibility is that the Empire has already completed what they were working on here which is even worse."
The sudden sound of mechanical gears and heavy stomping made him jump back, Kanshou and Bakuya forming in his hands. A moment later the gate was crushed from the inside, a three-meters tall robot stepping over the remains to confront the group. Its legs were tiny compared to its body, with the right arm being twice as big as the left one. Coming out of the top of its 'head' was a hybrid between an axe and a gear, bizarre but as sharp as the former. Instead of eyes, it had a single glass visor, which was glowing an ominous red.
"So something was guarding this place!" Io cried.
"Katalina! Yuisis! With me, we'll take the front!" Unsheathing his sword, Gran began to issues orders. "Rackam! Io! Protect Lyria and Vyrn! Mister Eugen! Mister Archer! Can you provide support?"
"Piece of cake!" Eugen grinned while he and Archer darted to the right side of the robot, while Rackam and Io did the same to the left side. "I'd say this guy's weak points are the legs. What do you think, Archer?"
"I agree. It may be strong enough to fight efficiently, but those disproportionate arm and legs make its balance fragile," He replied before dismissing the two falchions and switching to his bow. "I'll take the left one."
"The right one is mine then!" Coming to a stop Eugen took aim with his rifle and fired at the back of the right leg's knee. The blow hit just after the robot tried to deliver a devastating punch to the frontline attackers, only for them to dodge out of the way, making it slightly stumble.
Then Archer's sword-arrow punched straight through the left knee, followed by a second one doing the same with a tiny gap on the hips. Rackam's bullets and Io's ice spikes slammed into the robot's back, making it fall on its knees as it used its large right arm as support.
"Let's finish this!" Taking advantage of the moment of weakness Gran and Yuisis ran at the robot.
It raised its left hand, but it was stopped by Katalina stepping in front of the blow and creating a magical barrier. "Light Wall!"
"I'll finish this with my own two hands!" Yuisis shouted as she and Gran jumped in front of the robot's head and stabbed their swords through the red visor.
The robot lurched violently, steam escaping by the gaps in its armor, before falling silent, its whole body going slack.
"Yay! We won!" Io cheered.
"Uhm... Io? There are more," Lyria pointed to the destroyed gate, from which three more identical robots were coming from.
"Oh, come on!" The twin-tailed little mage loudly protested.
[*]
"Whew..." Io wiped the sweat from her forehead. "W-Was that the last of them? The enemies are all gone now, right?"
"Quit shaking in your little boots," Rackam looked around and nodded. Seem like they were in the clear. "We can handle anything that comes our way!"
"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right..."
"You've found yourself a tough little crew, Rackam. And Gran," Eugen addressed the young boy, who was having his wounds healed by Katalina. "For a spacy, unfocused upstart you're not bad. Better than I thought anyway."
"Ah, thanks," He scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "But like you said, I've still got a long way to go."
"You've always so hard on yourself, Gran!" Vyrn waved a paw. "You can just accept it when people compliment you, y'know?"
"Have faith in yourself!" Yuisis winked. "A Boss needs to be humble but also confident, otherwise other families will look down on him."
"You don't believe me? Let's hear a second opinion then. Hey Archer!" Eugen called out to the red-clad bowman. "What do you think of Gran and his little crew?"
The white-haired man stood up from where he was checking one of the fallen robots and faced them, arms crossed and right eyebrow raised. "What do I think? Let's see... Miss Katalina is an excellent swordswoman, though that long cape is just asking for an enemy to grab it. And why do you need more than one belt for?"
The brown-haired woman slightly blushed, one hand clenching around the cape as she looked away. "But, it's fashionable..."
"Fashion has no place on the battlefield. Rackam is a likewise good, if inexperienced, gunslinger. But, as we have seen, his weapon lacks the power to damage heavily armored enemies."
"Can't really object there..." Rackam replied, aware of his own weaknesses.
"Io, your magic is strong but you need to learn how to use it while moving. A mage who standstill on the battlefield is just asking to be singled out."
"No need to worry," She puffed out her chest with pride. "If someone comes too close I'll just blast them away!"
"What about an enemy which is resistant to magic, or someone else with ranged attacks?"
"Guh!"
Archer closed his eyes, "I'll pass over commenting about Vyrn and Lyria since I haven't seen them doing anything-"
Both lizard and girl felt like a figurative arrow just stabbed them.
"So let's skip to the most glaring issues," He pointed a finger at Gran and Yuisis, palm facing upward, before snapping his fingers. "You, Gran. Before the one you have now, you used a lighter sword with a curved single-edged blade and a single-handed grip, correct?"
He blinked, the shock clear in his eyes. "Y-Yes, but how-"
"It's in the way you wield it. You got used to a different type of weapon, so you kept using the same movements without adapting first," He walked closer and pointed first to Almace and then to Gran's chest. "You need to use both edges and both hands while fighting. Furthermore, that armor is not appropriate. Since your new sword emphasizes power over speed it will slow you down, so you need a better one. The one you have is good for gun users like Rackam and beginners, but if you want to keep being a close-range fighter you need to protect your body. Why?"
He pointed to one of the destroyed robots, "One single punch of them would have been enough to kill you. Blocking or dodging, it doesn't matter how - never neglect to improve your ability to survive. There are no do-overs in death. Do you understand?"
The last words were delivered with a tone as cold as ice. No one felt like speaking, and all Gran could do was gulp before giving a shaky nod.
The tension suddenly melted as Archer nonchalantly shrugged and shook his head. "Let's hope so. Finally, we come to the issue."
Tilting his head, he glanced at Yuisis, "Simply put, you aren't using your weapon at its full potential."
Her eyes narrowed, "Big words, but can you back them up?"
"You calling me a con? I can and will, solid as a rock," Archer internally chuckled at the nostalgic feeling talking like that gave him. Ignoring Yuisis's visible surprise he pointed to her weapon. "Your sword can combine with your shield, but have you never noticed that when you block a blow with your shield it gains a slight luminescence that grows stronger with every following parried blow, but disappears after you combine it with the sword and then separate them?"
She blinked, opening and closing her mouth two times before finding some words to say as she looked down at the Relic of Ditoria. "I-I mean, yes? But, isn't it just something it, y'know, does?"
"Oh yes. It does," Archer smirked. "What it does, is storing energy from the deflected blows into itself and then releasing it when combined with the sword. With a fully charged effect, I assume it would more than double your strength."
He shook his head. "With weaker enemies, it's not necessary, but remember it if you ever face an enemy that seems invincible. It may save your life."
Yuisis' gaze snapped back up, boring into his own, "How...?"
Archer smirked again. "There is no one who knows as much about swords like me."
====
Snippet is currently un-beta'ed, Mizu is busy.
Of course I will ^^
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, and it's not like he was rude or anything, sure he was harsh but one could argue that's just his teaching style, that and we're talking about live combat, his words could save Gran's life someday (if you ignore the plot armor).
