Icarus Awakens

Murdon slammed through the nearly paper-thin wall of the tool shed and came out the other side without slowing down. He'd taken the bolt from the ballista square in the chest, enchanted tip and all. Aside from the pure force of the blow, he'd barely felt it due to the active buffs on his armor. Between his own, making it appear he was some metallic, demi-avian draconoid, and those of the enchantment Cleric tailing his team, it'd take more than siege weaponry to drop him.

"Damn," Tounaki called over to him as she jetted his way, trailing fire and setting alight parts of the Shattered Falls. "You really don't break easily."

"Took you this long to figure that out?" he asked, helmet smiling with him.

"Not now you too, save the doffing of your decency and the rest for after we take that hill!" Lograve's sharp voice called out from further back, where his squad and the lower level support teams were trailing up the mountainside.

It'd taken them ten entire minutes to even reach their designated rallying point, dodging what air defenses and defenders that came their way. Quala had been enough to keep everyone healthy in the meantime, though she'd already burned through two mana potions while chain casting Flash Heal.

Still, their advance on the ground had gone well after that point. Aurus may have had the advantage in both numbers and aerial superiority, but the loss of most of their Clerics had punched a hole in their utility and given it to their side. Defenders gave ground while harrying from the sky while they took shelter and then pushed.

This was the first real moment of resistance, met at their primary target. The aerial defenses of Aurus were spread around the mountain, yes, but the majority were contained in small strongholds meant to protect both them and those manning them from attacks. Builders had reinforced the structure, and even afforded magical shielding that had prevented Tounaki's first attempts to strongly suggest those inside abandon their position.

Between the emplaced weapons firing on anything that got close, and the various spells and attacks concentrating on anyone exposed, it was tricky business advancing. But if they could only take their target, those following could turn the city's defenses upward.

Your prayer still holds, Quala, Murdon thought as he righted himself. He didn't want to ask, but the words came anyway. You're sure Daniel's broke?

Yes. The Cleric was blunt with the truth, as she always was. But I still hold hope they'll make a difference. We'll need it. No one could disagree with that.

Above, a battle far beyond their level was taking place. Zozar and Zolyra were both titanic figures, one a massive cloud giant, the other, of course, a dragon. The Commander of the region had somehow given herself the form of one twice the size of the level 6 lightning dragon they'd defeated in the Thormundz, but was no less adept with her mortal powers despite the change. Indeed, her armor had grown to cover her body, scrolls flying in the grip of huge claws.

The first few seconds of their clash had been terrifying, though an agreement of sorts had been formed between them once Zolyra had fully buffed. The vast majority of their magic was sent at each other, as even one stray attack or spell could decimate Aurus' population. As opposed as they were, neither side wanted a Pyrrhic victory unless it was the only option. Zozar might get pushed to that point eventually, but the cold truth was…

Zolyra was losing, and Murdon wasn't sure if every ballista on the mountain would be enough to change that.

…

The team spared just enough time to confirm that Hunter's last Focus Enhancement perk was broken, and saw that indeed it was ridiculous. There were two major downsides, but only in how it interacted with Blood Union. That wasn't even considering the future implications, but as everyone who wasn't Daniel or Hunter reminded the pair, the clock was ticking.

Daniel spent the rest of the time running the team through everything he knew about fighting an active rift. The mana regen would be helpful as at the very least Daniel could one-shot projections with telekinetic reach, and Sigron could keep a safe zone up indefinitely with Area Denial so long as his shield didn't take a hit strong enough to break his guard.

Corruption was the main issue. They were a decent distance from any rift Daniel controlled, and there was no way of knowing how long it would take to clear a smaller one nearby. If anyone took too much of it they'd have to retreat, leading to a potential snowball that would leave Daniel the only one able to fight given his immunity.

The larger map of the Arcadian zoomed in more and more as he reached the destination it had prioritized, built almost exactly in the center of the blunt crescent moon shape that was the back of the ship. They could have approached from various directions as there seemed to be catwalks above the main floor like in the lower power core, but the consensus was to try the widest path closest to them.

Shuni was sent out to scout as always once they were sure the immediate area was free of invisible projections. Everyone else made final preparations, Daniel choosing to load elemental phasing ammunition in anticipation of wardens. They'd be the primary target no matter how many there as the threat their shields posed was too great, regardless of the fact that they didn't have an attack until later grades.

He looked at Hunter uneasily, knowing that of the attacks they would be taking, he would face the brunt of them along with Tak. It remained to be seen if their bond would equalize the corruption taken between them, or if his ability to soul swap would extend the immunity. Either way, he didn't like the fact that Hunter had taken off his armor, but it was the best they could do considering the significant upsides of his new power.

No one needed to ask how bad it was when Shuni came back and lowered her hood. She was barely breathing, minimizing every movement as if trying to tiptoe through a lion's den despite the distance from the core. "Hundred. At least."

"Gods," Khiat sighed. "How are there so many? Is it because there's more of us?"

"Could be, but there isn't anyone level 3 with us either." Daniel was about to say that could be manageable if they went all out from the beginning, but Shuni wasn't done.

"There's also half a dozen corrupted avianoids, that I saw." She winced. "Sorry guys. It's a mess in there. Lots of cover, I could only get rough counts, but it looks bad."

"Any idea what level they are?" Shuni gave a diminished shake of her head to Evalyn's question. The Bard shot a distant look down the hallway, though they were far enough out that there was only a purple glow in the distance. "What did you see exactly?"

Daniel nodded at her and Shuni bobbed her head in kind, beginning to breathe more deeply. "It's a wide space, almost twice as big as the other one but only just taller. There are these… I guess I'd call them cages, on the ground. They're everywhere except the center." Hunter shifted at that, frowning. "The rift's a half dome on the ceiling, but it's got all these tubes running from the cages into it. I've only seen a handful, but it kind of looked like all of this was done after the place was already made. Just a guess."

"Cages?" Hunter asked.

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Shuni nodded again, gulping. "Yeah, I didn't like the look of them either. They're small rooms all around the floor. Not as tall as the ceiling, and they all lock from the outside. Obviously didn't go in one to check it out, in fact I barely got in there at all. There's at least ten of the shield bastards, no offense Sigron, and they've laid out multiple layers between us and the core at the center. I didn't see any magical weapons on the corrupted's, at least, but that's the only thing I can say."

A pall settled over the team. "I'll say what we're all thinking," Evalyn said, perhaps more accurately than anyone else would be due to Roomsense. "Fighting over a hundred monsters by ourselves is insane, and that's not counting that some of us don't have experience against these things. 7 hunters and four prototypes liable to roast us as much as the enemy."

"And me," Alex added quietly. "You guys are used to fighting in general though, right? It can't be that bad."

"The only way ten to one odds aren't dangerous is if you're fighting a swarm monster," Evalyn replied. "And we're fighting on their terms. It's bad, Alex."

"Just like it is for the army in Aurus." Tak activated his combat form, shifting his beak and hands. "I say we try. That is the reason we are here, and I do not want to see what the world will become if the Spiritualists win." He looked down and away. "I want to think the people I was with in Kallical had good intentions. No one told me this was the plan, if they knew. I wouldn't have…" His shoulders dropped. "But I have never been smart. Maybe there were signs, and I didn't see them."

It took Daniel a second to remember that Tak had mentioned being a part of the Spiritualists before coming to the Thormundz. It'd been the entire reason the Totem Warrior had been exiled, in fact, but it'd been months since anyone had said anything. While he'd been caught off guard by the reminder, someone who'd never forgotten spoke up.

"You didn't know. You have no reason to feel guilty." Hunter stared at Tak until he raised his head to look back at his friend. "And who says you are stupid? My ears are the best here, and yet I have only heard you say this. You speak differently, maybe simpler than most, but who cares? No one. Be proud of who you are. If you need to do this," Hunter flicked his tail in the direction of the purple glow, "To finally let all of this go, then I will fight with you even if no one else will."

"Not without me, you won't," Daniel said, stepping toward them and the power core. Shuni gripped his shoulder as she passed him.

"Guess that means I'm in this too. Damn, should have realized dating you would mean constantly running headfirst into danger, but then again you prefer the worst case scenario right?" Daniel winced, but inside he was smiling.

Khiat gripped her bow firmly. "I'm going too. It's not going to be like last time. I'm better, I'm stronger, I'm-" She stopped as a metallic arm pushed against her midsection gently.

"I'll protect," Sigron said, both to her and the group in general. "You… sure? No fear?"

"I am afraid." Khiat's free hand touched her head again. "I'm always afraid when we're fighting. This hasn't been anything like I thought hunting would be. But every dawn when I go to sleep, I think about what I've done, what it'd be like if I'd just stayed in my village and never been Blessed, and I feel something better than fear. Confidence. Ever since I was given the chance to live my own life, I have never regretted my choices. I'm not going to start now."

"Well," Evalyn said, laughing lightly. "I was going to ask for a vote but it seems you all don't need me anymore. I guess I'll just head back to the armory and let you sort everything out." She turned, took a couple of exaggerated steps, and then spun around as if she'd just remembered something. "Wait, Thomas is there. I guess almost certain death's a better option after all. So, Wingcraft, you ready to end a war?"

…

Daniel had heard a lot of meaningful words since coming to the Octyrrum, but there was one saying he found himself coming back to as time progressed. 'A capable warrior can defeat their opponent without slaying them.' One of Gadriel's truisms and, he suspected, complete bullshit. He had chosen to avert a lethal blow against the lodestone ludegrund, but the shot to the body could have just as easily killed the true elite. There were some circumstances where it was simply kill or be killed, regardless of what the idealistic Hero said.

Despite this, he'd come to a decision on the final approach and managed to sell it to the team. They were going to try and take the corrupted avianoids in the main power core alive if possible. If he was honest with himself it wouldn't have been a clean option without the stunning ammunition he'd just unlocked, and he wasn't ruling out killing any or all of them if it came to it. But he'd try, and that's what was important.

He was the third into the room, barrel of the blast bow glowing with an almost fully charged Power Shot. Ahead of him was exactly what Shuni had described, though he could appreciate more detail now. There was a gentle descent to the space, which would have allowed him to see to the center were it not for the shields and the cages. Purple barriers, the same as every warden had shown so far, ringed the circular chamber. In the space between the shields there were astral projections, corrupted mortals, and the cages. Aside from the cables and tubes rising above to connect them to the central rift, the layout of the various box-like structures could have been passed off for a scale model of a city complete with long gaps that could have been streets.

The immediate issue in that no enemies were outside of the shields, which would have made things very difficult without the phasing ammunition he'd gained from the cloudborn scion. He would've liked to kick things off with something from Might and Magic, but the combination of Power and Scatter Shot was too good.

As soon as Quick Mind gave him enough aim assistance, he shouted into the team's sending stone, "Firing, ears!" He wasn't able to protect his own, and resolved to suffer as his weapon kicked. The round flew extremely quickly toward one of the wardens inside the first shield, passing through the initial barrier as if it wasn't there. The astral projection raised its arm coming from its neck to cast the only mobile shield it was able to cast in time, but only caught the round just before it would've hit its body. "Not good enough," Daniel grunted before a wave of sound crashed outward.

While the projectile didn't explode, it burst apart against the shield with all of the tremendous energy Power Shot had given it. The shield survived, but as ghostly copies of the damage spread out from the initial impact, the warden behind it did not. It wasn't the only casualty either. "Three down total, we need to move clockwise to get to the next one! Trying to get a count but everything inside the third shield is too hazy."

"Got it, everyone get moving!" Evalyn shouted, her and the rest of the team on his heels as Lightfoot Song played. Spears and spells flew out of the first shield wall unimpeded toward them, but the initial return volley didn't score any hits. The cages outside of the wall helped to provide cover, but the true contributors were the shield bearers.

Sigron was an obvious and ever-dutiful example, but Tak had a moment to shine as he gripped one of Daniel's more resource-expensive items in each hand. Walls, though these two were special in that he'd used the astral aegis shield formulae as their base. The initial intent had been to create safe areas from projectile fire, but a few of them were strong enough to wield them single-handedly.

Tak and Sigron each took one side, the Totem Warrior Jumping at one point to knock attacks out of the air while the team shot across a gap in the cages. Even the corruption attacks from the casters splashed harmlessly off the fur, his formulae protecting it. All the while Evalyn was playing, Shuni was scanning for hidden enemies, and Khiat and Hunter were both biding their time for when the shield dropped.

Daniel released his next Power Shot at half charge, but instantly transitioned into Telekinetic Reach as the attack and his mana flow released. The single free hand of the warden attempted to project a shield to defend itself, but he wrenched it upwards and the shot went through. "Two down, looks like two to go! Quick Mind's putting this place at 600 meters wide at least."

"What if killing the first wardens doesn't drop the shield?" Khiat asked, a bit of frustration evident in her voice from being unable to contribute.

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. May be tied to the death thresholds you talked about." Evalyn's head rotated almost as quickly as her fingers danced across the enchanted guitar, keeping the team moving faster while also keeping track of them. "Either way, we keep this up as long as we can. I'd rather run circles around them and slowly pick them off than directly engage, but I doubt we're that lucky."

Her words were too prophetic as on the way to the third warden, a spear from an impaled slipped through Sigron's guard. He'd had to make his shield wide to protect the team, and while his bond could repair it faster than Daniel's self-repair affix worked, he was soaking a lot of fire. It penetrated partway into his thigh, though the Knight was quick to rip it out and keep moving.

"No corruption," the gruff voice that was growing more familiar and more frequent called out. "Will heal."

"But they get that next breakpoint. Damn it!" Daniel released his anger in the form of a bullet, taking out the next warden and a mauler that'd been too close. "And they'll be more concentrated the further in we go."

"Keep pushing, and keep your heads," Evalyn encouraged. "We've got this."

"Yes. They have not seen what Hunter can do yet," Tak added as he continued to dual-wield damage negation and narrowly avoid hits himself.

As Daniel sighted the last warden, he heard his brother rumble in his mind. But they will, soon.