OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 350: A Short Interruption II

"I'm sorry about us stealing the kill, I know you guys worked hard."

A sarcastic whisper resounded loud and clear just above an invisible man lying prone.

" ?!"

Shocked to his core, that man looked up.

He saw death.

Black eyes swirled, a mouth smiled, and twin swords descended onto him, emitting a similar black filled with Aether.

"RAPID RETREAT!"

He roared, his body springing away in a roll, barely dodging the swords that left two long gashes across his back.

"Ughh..."

As the Ranger struggled to stand up, blood continued to trickle from his wound. His augmented suit's force shield was broken and out of energy, rendering the suit unable to provide any sort of medical assistance.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he tried to assess the situation. The once-reliable suit now felt like a heavy burden, its advanced systems reduced to dead weight. Each movement sent a fresh wave of agony through his body, but he forced himself to focus on the menace that

stood opposite him, his Camfolauge ability about to end.

"Ah, there you are."

Emir, who spotted the once 'floating' blood slowly reveal a human, raised his brow.

"You dodged that? And here I thought most on my level wouldn't handle Death's shadow."

Completely losing his Camouflage, the Ranger didn't reply, not involving himself in the provocation game. Instead, he threw away his anti-material rifle that was half the size of his body and took out a sidearm that was as big as his head, aiming it at Emir.

"Twin shot!"

BANG!

Two blinding bullets shot out at once, heading directly towards Emir's second heart.

If they hit, he would die instantly, since they were both Seraphim, yet he didn't react, only watched as they approached, the world going through slow motion in his eyes.

Crackle...

It took a moment for the bullets to cross the tens of meters between them, reaching a few inches before his body.

Whoosh!

And just as they were about to hit, he disappeared, his body joining the bullets in their path, almost leading them. Their destination was the side of the hill, and once Emir's foot touched the ground, they tore through the rock to his right, rumbling the entire hill, bringing untold destruction.

Emir didn't witness that for long, as he stepped away while picking up one of the larger rocks that scattered in his direction. Using his Weaver's Veil aspect, he filled it with Aether, then paused, using his Aerialis aspect in the next moment to throw the stone with all his strength directly at the Ranger.

Whoosh!

It cut through the air like a bullet, accurate and deadly, but the Ranger easily dodged it by stepping to the side.

In that swift movement, his eyes momentarily looked away from his opponent.

That was a mistake. It was no attack, Emir's intention was to distract him. He succeeded. When the Ranger returned his gaze to Emir, he found that he was no longer there. Unknown to him, Emir had Flash Stepped upwards and flew high in the sky.

The Ranger blinked, his head turning in every direction to find him, but it was too late. For in the time that it took him to spot Emir, he had already conjured a platform up above, flipped upside down, and pushed himself off it, Flash Stepping back onto the ground.

With his Temporal Perception ability still active, he saw the man shift to absolute panic in his last moments, trying to Rapid Retreat away but failing, their speeds incomparable.

So all the Ranger could do was watch as Emir's foot landed on his left shoulder, squashing half his body to the ground.

Crack-BANG!

His last act of resistance only increased his suffering as he lived for a few seconds longer, his eyes staring at what remained of his body in disbelief as it slowly fell over.

Thud!

Emir looked at him in pity and stepped on his head, crushing it.

Splat!

No blood neared touching him as he had his Aetheric Shield up, easily killing the man while not using the augmented suit for protection.

"You're too weak to face my sword, enjoy this death instead."

As he said that, he looked back at Ragnar in the distance and saw him return to his motorbike through a portal hidden behind Morgiana's cruiser.

Ragnar, without wasting any time, got out his assault rifle and began helping Morgiana, his calm undisturbed, indicating that he had successfully set the tracker.

"Let's confirm that."

***

Meanwhile, Southern Cross led the other four into battle, his feet plowing through the mud, This shield up, and his eyes on the enemy.

"BEHIND ME!"

They faced a Knight, a Shadow Binder, and a Spell Weaver that surrounded a Technomancer who sat in the same type of mech Emir had in his garage. Royal Panzer-D.

It was a menacing piece of tech with human-like limbs the size of Titans, laser rifles on each hand, and four massive Aether blasters equipped on top.

In the hands of a mortal, it wouldn't be much of an issue. But when a Technomancer rode the machine, it became a whole other beast. Techno Meld would make them one with the machine, their ability amplifying its power and capabilities.

"AETHERIC SIPHON! OVERCLOCK!"

But that wasn't enough for this Technomancer as he went all out at the start.

With his roar, much of the Aether around and in them began to congregate towards him, absorbed by the mech and sent to his core. That allowed him to supply a lot more Aether than what was usual to the machine, overclocking it, making it more than a tool, a Celestial, not a first sub-ranked Seraphim, but a second, an Exarch.

That transformation wasn't uncontested, however.

"Hell's Rain."

Red Dragon planted his long staff into the ground, and the veins of lava within it brightened.

The still bright sky above them flashed and a barrage of fireballs came down, much more potent than the one Emir went up against when battling Alex's men.

BOOM!

But before the fire could reach the ground, the mech shot out a large blast of Aether, cutting through them and pushing the others away, clearing the sky.

As the Technomancer and Hell Weaver fought to control the battlefield, the two Knights faced

off against each other, both protecting those behind them with an Aetheric Bulwark, swords

clashing.

But their shields weren't going to stop the Shadow Binder.

He Shadow Stepped forward, springing out of Phoenix's shadow and slashing down his

dagger at her head.

"YOU'VE COME TO DIE!"

Not bothering to look behind, she smiled, and her body shot out a fiery blast in all directions,

pushing back the Shadow Binder and burning away much of his augmented suit's energy.

||||

Making no sound, he landed softly on the ground and raised his right hand, whipping it

forward.

"Stygian Whip."

A snake-like whip suddenly materialized under his shadow and snaked its way from shadow

to shadow towards her flame's own shadow.

"Fuck, this bastard is a six-ability!"

Her surprise was warranted; with the exception of Eagle, none of their members had more

than five abilities, and no Spell Weaver was above the Eighth Class.

Yet that spike of emotion didn't hinder her.

As the whip sprang out to form tendrils that attacked her, she didn't allow it to get close.

"JET!"

Pushing her hands down, she conjured a strong force of wind that molded with her fire, flying her up and away like a booster jet.

The Shadow Binder was about to chase after her, but Red Dragon interrupted, swinging his

staff forward.

"Dragon's Breath!"

A streak of fire shot out of his staff, aimed directly towards the Shadow Binder, and before he could react, it expanded in size, bursting in all directions, covering all the space around them.

It momentarily stole the surrounding shadows, killing his every chance to escape.

The Shadow Binder stopped moving. Red Dragon did the same.

They locked eyes.

||||

"..."

"...Dammit! That mask ain't hiding shit! I know that you're Red Dragon!"

Deciding to change tactics, the Shadow Binder began his attempt at conversation, wanting to

distract him.

"Oh, great job figuring that out. And don't bother asking why we're doing this. It's just

business."

Quickly concluding that to be a failure, the Shadow Binder rushed to the nearest shade, his

steps fast.

"Gah!"

But... he wasn't fast enough.

Phoenix came crashing from above, blocking his path with her flames, causing him to fall on

his back.

"The only place you're going is down!"

She continued with the momentum of her descent, moving forward in a dance-like motion as

she manipulated the fire that sprouted from her skin, swirling it around her as she slashed her

hand in a wide arc.

"Wind Slash!"

The fire combined with the wind, boosting the air blade forward while trailing behind it.

"SHADOW MOLD!"

As shadows returned due to Red Dragon's ability extinguishing, the Shadow Binder immediately tried to escape, but he wasn't fast enough.

With half his body already sinking into the shadows, the fiery blade struck.

"ААААААААННННННННННН!"

It cut him in half, the intense heat cauterizing the wound instantly, leaving behind a

smoldering, severed form.

The battle was over for him, he died mid-scream in absolute agony.

"Easy!"

Phoenix, acting as if her actions didn't cause such a scene of horror, flashed a proud face to her

left, wanting to brag to Red Dragon, but he was already gone.

He was on his way to help Maharajah deal with the Spell Weaver, which by the looks of things,

turned out to be a Tidal Weaver, her every spell a flood of water.

"No wonder he's taking so long..."

Shaking her head, she pushed her hands down and soared through the sky, joining her team.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

But while she was flying, tens of stray lasers shot at her from the mech, with one aimed right

at her chest.

"Fuck..."