Broker

Chapter 229

SHRRRIIIIK

Ishtar knew the trajectory of the attack, all of her mental abilities working in concert to navigate the fight. Even so; He’s so goddamn fast! She thought, twisting to the right as the golden sword cut through the air to her left. She kicked off the ground and into a backflip, slowing her move with gravitic flight enough to reach down and tap her hand against his follow-up horizontal swing. She pushed off of it and threw herself into the air, spinning rapidly. But his attacks are so basic. If he wasn’t so powerful I could easily take advantage of him. Adomopathy is useless against him as well, his style is so simple there’s nothing to read.

She stopped her spin and spread out her arms, spears of hardened light springing into being around her and rocketing down towards him in a stream. He darted to the left, running as the spears crashed into the ground behind him, laughing wildly the entire time. 

Tsk!

She whipped her hand and clenched her fist, the spears blinking out for a moment before appearing around him. They spun and pointed in his direction as he slid to a stop before launching again. A series of blinding gold flashes responded to her pincer and the spears shattered into motes of light. They fell around him, the fire burning through the forest casting his face in shadow as his blue eyes shone through. The motes left over from her spears fell around him, flickers that showed bits of his cruel expression.

Ishtar pulled a hand back, concentrating on the motes left behind and changing them again. Instead of heavy spears, thousands of needles took another attempt on his body. The tiny shards of light riddled his skin as he stood there, looking up at her. He didn’t move even as one struck his eye and bounced off. He spread his arms out wide, “Is that it? I know you have more than these light tricks and some good punches! Where’s the juicy stuff, Ishtar? How’d you make An Set go boom like that? Show me that!”

She floated in the air over him, tilting her chin up; “I don’t need to use up all my cards on you, Otis,” she said from the sky as lighting continued to fall. The fire was growing more and more intense, the explosions and bangs in the background hinted at the ongoing fights that raged all around them. Gunfire and screams, and the coppery light of Liberty’s might.

His expression fell slightly and he lowered his arms a bit, the needles falling ineffectively from his skin. “Are you saying you can beat me with what you’re using now?” he asked with a scoff, “You think highly of yourself. I suppose that’s to be expected of my nemesis-”

BOOOOOOM!

The blast shook the ground, wind ripping through the trees and interrupting his monologue. Otis’ expression turned dark. He tilted his head to glance back at the source and Ishtar pointed a finger at him. So goddamn cocky.

WA HA HA HA HA HA!

The booming laugh of Sapporo carried across everything, the itching confusion and giggly lunacy of his presence crashing into Ishtar. She blinked and shook her head, losing her moment to strike as light began to bloom brighter and brighter at the center of the battle. She looked up and spared her own glance at the flash of the japanese hero’s aura clashing with the copper light of Liberty’s. She looked back down at Otis, he looked back up at her with rage in his eyes.

Caught on already?

“I heard you did the same thing at Vegas, didn’t you? You like stalling,” he spat, “Hoping the heroes will take my kill from me? You’d help them to get at me? Wow.”

Ishtar smiled a little behind her helmet, a bit of sweat beading on her temple, “Gonna run?”

“Gonna let me?” he asked with a predatory snarl.

The air stilled again and she was in front of him in an instant, her fist reared back. He, on the other hand, had finally made a mistake, pivoting to block an attack from behind. He stopped his turn and looked back to see her fist coming right at him and his eyes went wide, curving upward slightly in delight. She threw her back into it with a roar, “YOU AREN’T-” 

BOOM!

He took the hit and soared, nearing a tree before she appeared beneath him, kicking him in the back and sending him into the air with a thunderous kick. “GOING-”

BOOM!

She darted into the sky and raised both fists over head, she pulled a power from her warehouse in that flicker of a moment. She drove her fists down and against his chest, she saw his skin flicker, absorbing the blow even as it sent him careening towards the ground. “ANYWHERE!”

BOOM!

The ground shook as he hit it, she threw her hands out and activated Limitless Volley, spheres of light appeared around her before shrinking and lancing out in narrow beams of light. More. More. More!

For a moment, the cloud of dust and debris hung over Otis. She waved a hand to create some shields in case he tried to jump out and surprise her. Another blast from nearby created enough wind to push it all away and reveal him. He was on his feet, shoulders hunched, knees bent, and head tilted back as he looked up at her. His body was riddled with holes, blood oozing from every wound. His single remaining eye was wide, wild, and his smile was twisted in a mixture of rage and twisted delight. 

I hurt him.

“That-” he said as his eye grew back before her, “Was different! That felt different! I felt it! You pulled that power out of thin air!”

He can feel that?

Sudden clarity came to his eyes as his body continued to heal. He threw his head back and laughed, he laughed, and laughed, “I get it! It makes so much sense! Why didn’t I see it before? All the stories about you and your ability are inconsistent! Something new every time. Roots and trees at Vegas? Water? Creating those statue soldier things?” He clapped his hand on the side of his head and shook it, “I was so stupid! It’s just one power!”

Ishtar clenched her fists but kept her chin up, “And how does that change anything?”

“Oh ho ho ho! It changes everything, power thief!” He accused and held his hand out in front of him, he gestured a few times as if- Does he have a heads up display? What-

He vanished.

A sudden sense of dread came over her. An animal instinct, a fight-or-flight warning in her gut. She blinked and there he was, hovering in the air and rising over her head with his hand outstretched. Madness in his eyes as he reached for her head, sparks and wisps of something roiling off of his fingertips. All the color seemed to drain from the air around it, “SHOW ME MORE!’

Her instincts screamed at her to get away. Whatever he was doing, she was done for if he touched her. Shit!

She darted backwards, speeding away as fast as she could to get a little distance. He pursued, flying through the air as if he could do so all along. He soared after her as she quickly took stock of her surroundings. She could hear a fight happening just beneath them, swords clashing, power building up in a steady rhythm of back and forth. A familiar voice. Her lips thinned, She’s troublesome but she’ll be useful here, she thought as he sped towards her. Just as he reached her she put everything she had into a dodge and axe kick, dancing around him like a flicker rather than a single movement. As she did, she felt the power below swell.

Oh, crap.

–

Chunhua slid to a stop, deflecting another blow and sending a shockwave of black-red internal energy to the ground to her right. It left a terrible rent in the earth where it spread out, spiderweb cracks ripping up the earth and leaving destruction in its wake. She held her sword with both hands, muscles tensed as she looked into the wild pair of burning red eyes that stared back at her. Kant had not even bothered to do the song and dance she had opened with back during the raid, her initial attack coming in with a brutal surprise.

Six pandora soldiers had died in an instant, an epic tier hero was already out of commission, his arm severed.

“You’re stronger,” Chunhua murmured.

“All thanks to you,” Kant hissed, “I owe you everything that I am now.”

“Not your boss?” Chunhua growled, straining her arms a little bit more to hold Kant’s sword at bay.

Kant clicked her tongue and smiled, “Credit where it’s due,” she said and with superhuman fluidity, slid her weapon out from beneath Chunhua’s weapon and twisted her body, whipping around so fast that Chunhua had to retreat a full step to block the incoming blow from her own improbable angle, her hand shifting on her weapon to grip it backwards while her free hand reinforced the block. She grit her teeth beneath the sheer force of it and glared up into the wild eyes and smile of her foe. 

“If it weren’t for you!” Kant shouted and snapped her leg out in a kick, Chunhua took the blow and allowed herself to be carried backwards, changing her grip and cycling her power.  Kant appeared to her right and swung again. Another overhand chop, Chunhua blocked and the weapon changed trajectory, her eyes went wide, That’s- new!

A flash of pain dug into Chunhua’s arm. She grit her teeth and dropped her sword, snapping her hand out and grabbing hold of the woman’s head. Kant’s own eyes bulged as her head was brought down sharply into Chunhua’s knee. She bounded off the blow, staggering backwards, blood seeping from her nose and laughing.

“If it weren’t for you, I would be nobody!” she laughed and raised her weapon over her head, the red glow around her body siphoning up into the blade.

Chunhua glanced at her injured arm, it wasn’t bad, she called her sword back to her hand with a snap of motion and raised it up as well, mirroring Kant’s stance. Power began to build between them, internal energy crackling in the air, snaps of power burning nearby foliage as they wound up for their attacks. She paid no mind to the two presences moving in her direction from above, she had more immediate concerns.

“Black Lotus! Allow me to thank you for it by making you a martyr!” she roared as she brought her weapon down. “HEAVENLY DEMON’S SECOND STROKE!”

Chunhua bore her teeth and swung as well, “NINETY-TON FLOWERING BRANCH!”

THOOOOOOOM

–

The column of power hit Ishtar broadside, rippling flower-scented energy crashing into her. The hexagonal barriers of light she made crumbled one after another as she strained to hold off the attack, getting pushed further and further until, like a baseball struck with a pro’s swing she was sent flying. This is what I get for fighting on a battlefield with a bunch of other mythics! She snarled inwardly, drawing on gravitic flight to slow herself down. She stopped in the air and spun, getting a good look at her surroundings. The fires were small here. How far was I sent? Maybe a mile or two?

She reached out with her senses, I don’t feel anyone nearby, she thought and turned to look in the direction she’d come from. The flashes of light above the main compound were intensifying. Sapporo is giving it everything he has, unsurprising. She flexed her fingers and scowled, So many details from one fight with him, details I wouldn’t have noticed unless I finally got a chance to face him one on one. I wonder how they would compare to Sonya’s memories… she trailed off and closed her eyes, creating a dark chocolate in her mouth and chewing slowly. The strain on her body eased as she checked on Sonya.

The little mote had grown again, it was pulsing, trembling, something was happening inside but she couldn’t get much closer without feeling a sense of refusal wash over her. She was forbidden from touching it in its current state. It was a flat refusal that struck her by surprise. 

Not like her to be so firm, Sonya, what’s happening to you?

She opened her eyes with a sigh and caught her breath. Focus, I need to get back to Otis and hold him off. I can’t let him get close to Liberty. Killing her and getting that glory for himself was one thing. Interfering with Cassiopeia’s fated battle was another. But… what was that with his hand? I’ve never felt- she looked down at her hand, it was trembling. But she has. In the past timeline. Watching the world crumble around her.

She growled and clenched her shaking fist, So this is fear. If he’d touched me… she shivered again before setting her jaw. Whatever it is, I can’t let him touch me when he’s using that power. I need to be careful while I’m holding him off.

She connected to the comms on her helmet, “Technocrat, how are things?”

Silence, then, <”Kingsharks on to the third target, he’s moving fast, that’s the good news,”> he trailed off and cleared his throat, <“Uh… They definitely sent the right people to those dungeons,”> he said flatly, <”Mana levels are crazy right now, monster formations are beginning across the battlefield. My biggest worry is the mass of mana coming from R4.”>

“The fallout?”

<”I… don’t think this is the fallout, boss,”> he said hesitantly.

Ishtar frowned, What does he mean by-

Then it hit her. The report from Tokyo with addendums from Cassiopeia herself. Dame Ito, the monster manipulator. She swore and held out her hand on instinct, preparing to create portals to call more of her legion through when they crackled and fizzled out. Halloway! Damn it, I can’t lean on Visage too much or it might affect me like Sonya. Blackrazor, what are you doing? Get rid of him already, we’ve got problems!

“ISHTAR!”

She whipped around, spotting a bloom of light blue and gold flying in her direction. She clicked her tongue and created a knife in each hand. It looks like it’s time for round two- wait… she paused and glanced over her shoulder as a smile curled on her lips. “Technocrat, I need the coordinates of that mana wave,” she said quickly.

<”What? That is a lot of monsters and you’ve already got Otis- oohhh… Ha ha ha! On it!”> he laughed and the connection cut, she turned back to her approaching enemy as a message popped into her heads-up-display. She checked the coordinates and held out her hands. The portal began to form only for yet another crackle of red lightning to spread across it. She concentrated, Perhaps not for my legion, but for one man? 

He was getting closer.

Focus! She schooled herself, drawing one more time on Visage of Titania. She felt the power activate and a sharp pain ran up her arm from her fingertips. It felt like it was looking for something, spreading out through her limb. She grit her teeth, Just a little more! Her fingers went numb on her left hand as the connection established to her destination. She looked up and saw him raise his sword while he stretched out his hand to grasp at her, that unsettling power dancing on his fingertips.

She met his eyes.

Now!

The portal opened, his eyes went wide and then his face went deadpan, “Oh you bi-”

–

Otis hit the ground with a tumble, his body skipping painfully off the ground before he slid to a stop. Red lightning danced across his skin, searing flesh that healed just as quickly. He flinched, twisted, and writhed until the pain stopped. When he could breathe normally again he scrambled to his feet. The portal was gone, “Coward!” he shouted and threw his head back, cackling as he let his shoulders relax. 

He hummed merrily to himself, thinking about what he’d already learned. Just one fight and I already know so much more than before, delightful, he thought, That said…

“Where did she send me?” he muttered and turned towards a new sound, a rumbling that was starting to vibrate the ground. His brows furrowed and he squinted, “What the f-”

He barked out another laugh, reaching up to clap the side of his head as a horde of monsters crested a hill in the distance, massive bulls with dozens of tails that whipped and struck at the ground and one another, urging the herd forward. Their horns gleamed with hidden power. He popped his neck and stood up straighter, “A masterstroke, Ishtar, my hats off to you,” he said and pointed his sword at them, “As expected of my nemesis.”

This won’t take long. I’ll be back soon.

–

In the shadows of the main building of the compound, Blackrazor glided across whatever surface he could find. His instincts told him he was getting closer to his target. Just a little further now and his mission would be complete so long as there were no further complications like that Graff fellow. He was about to round a corner when he heard tussling, movement, and raised voices. He paused and listened.

“DAMN IT HALLOWAY! YOU BASTARD!”