"This is such a mess...but, well, it's definitely working," Sighed Rans, staring down at the ground far below.
"Unfortunately. Too bad, this whole thing might have been called off if this hadn't worked," I responded wistfully, my gaze on the clouds and sky.
"You really shouldn't be so blunt about how you feel, Aku," Remarked Makeru, another Wight Anomaly who had been roped in for this operation, though he didn't have a particularly important role to play; he was just really good at combat.
He was a fully mutated Wight, his mouth opened vertically instead of horizontally, he had three tails, a straight, pointy horn at the top of the middle of his head and green eyes, along with wings and sharp, bony spikes growing out of each elbow.
His power was the ability to control and manipulate gravity within a certain range, he could either affect the area around him or focus the effect on a particular target to pull them towards him or push them away. It's a really annoying ability to go up against.
Anyway, it was currently the 28th of December, and we'd set off for the mission to wipe out the people inside the Sanctuary about an hour ago. We had a total of five thousand troops, because that was the most I could cast my invisibility onto, even with Aug's boost to my powers.
"How long do you think it'll take for us to get to the Sanctuary?" Kaze asked me.
Since I've been to and spent a fair amount of time in the Sanctuary, they're treating me like the resident expect on the subject, even though I don't really know a great deal more than they do. After all, most of my findings had long since been shared to everyone.
"Well, at this speed, plus taking rest times into account...maybe around ten days? Probably two weeks at the most," I estimated uncertainly.
"Uggh, you mean I have to do this for upto two weeks?" He groaned in response.
"Don't complain, all you need to do is adjust my weight, I have the most difficult task here," Ked's voice boomed beneath us.
Right, so as for how we were transporting ourselves...allow me to explain this mess. For starters, Ked used his size-shifting powers to grow to his absolute maximum size, which was big enough to fit the five thousand troops on his back.
Next, Kaze used his weight-manipulation powers to make Ked as light as a feather, so that he'd float in the air. Several Prodigies with Wind Attribute XFE and the ability to generate wind were using their powers to steer Ked's body and keep it on track.
To keep ourselves concealed, I was using my invisibility on Ked and everyone else, which isn't exactly easy with this many of us. And finally, Rans was using her XFE transfer powers to keep us from running out of fuel, by absorbing XFE from the Prodigy troops and transferring it to us at regular intervals.
Otherwise, with our relatively small XFE reserves, we'd be forced to stop frequently for long periods of time, it'd take us forever to even get close to the Sanctuary. Oh, and as for Baku, his self-destructive powers will come in to play a bit later, his abilities are of no use to us right now.
"Good work, Anomalies, keep it up! Once we're upon the heart of enemy territory, you lot can take it easy, leave the destruction to us Prodigies!" Declared Syoi, as he paced around on Ked's huge back.
"Yeah, yeah, we look forward to it, mighty Prodigy," Remarked Rans, rolling her eyes as she approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Pardon me, I'm absorbing some of your XFE."
"Go ahead, take all the XFE you need, I've got plenty to spare!" He grinned before letting out a exuberant laugh.
"He's way too loud," Muttered Kaze with an annoyed look on his face, "If I die on this stupid mission, I'll kill him, I swear."
"I don't think that's how it works, but okay," Sighed Aug in response.
"Hey, that rat Hebi is definitely in the Sanctuary, right?" A Wight named Maji asked me, a devious look in her eyes.
"Uh, probably...last I heard, he was cooperating with the humans."
"I really hope that I get to see him again...I can't wait to tear him apart, piece by piece," She smirked with a lick of her lips.
Ohh, that's right, she was in a relationship with him at one point...though all she did was toy with his emotions and mess with his head. She's a manipulative sadist who even scares me. And speaking of weirdos that scare me...
"I wonder what the blood of the Sanctuary humans are like...hey, do you know?" Inquired a Wight named Ketsuki, a gleam in his eyes as he approached me.
He's another skilled Anomaly, but his ability is terrifying...he can take control of any blood within a certain range, meaning that he could make someone explode from the inside out just by having them inside that range. I'm seriously grateful that I'm an Anomaly, since I'm immune to his powers thanks to it.
"Oh, uh...it's not as thick as our blood, and it's a lighter shade of red too, if I remember right," I replied awkwardly.
"Really? Mm, I can't wait to see for myself," He chuckled in anticipation, a look of excitement on his face.
Except for a few idiots and freaks, most of everyone else here were pretty low energy right now. Which isn't exactly surprising, considering that this is just day one in a journey that'll definitely take several days to complete.
I was the same, there was a serious sense of lethargy about using my powers, since we're still way out of the range of the surveillance drones...but the higher ups insisted that I have my invisibility active right from the start, just in case the Sanctuary has expanded that range.
This is so damn draining, I can literally feel my XFE getting depleted. If not for Rans' regular XFE transfers, I'd have run out several times over already. And I'm supposed to keep this up for several DAYS? Just thinking about it makes me feel overwhelmed.
So, the best thing to do is just not think about it at all. That's probably easier said than done though. For instance, right now, I'm thinking about how cold it is up here. We were flying above the clouds, since the surveillance drones have thermal sensors built into them too, not just cameras and motion detectors.
And while this'll probably help us slip past their detection, it's so damn cold! I'm freezing here, and the air is kinda thin too, so it's easy to get light-headed and dizzy if you're not too careful.
Case in point, Syoi, who'd been pacing around like an idiot this whole time, was now puking his guts out over the side. Ughh, this is the worst...damn it, the plan had better succeed, because by the time we reach the Sanctuary, I'll probably be in desperate need to let off some steam.
And the best way I can think of to do that is to terrorize some random, panicking people. Ahh, I feel calmer just thinking about it. Perfect, I'll just keep thinking about torture on a loop, until we reach the Sanctuary...
...
...
O-okay, uh, I think I'm starting to lose my goddamn mind. I feel antsy and restless, and I keep getting this urge to just grab someone nearby and strangle them to death or something. It's now the 8th of January, eleven days later.
And we should be closing in on the outermost ring of bases that the Sanctuary built...fortunately, it doesn't look like they've expanded any further. Once we see the first base, we'll be a little over a hundred kilometers from the Sanctuary, which would probably take two or three hours to reach.
After days of tedious, exhausting travel, the end was finally, FINALLY within sight...but I didn't feel any less anxious or irritated. Because we hadn't stopped for a few hours, and we wouldn't be stopping until we reach the Sanctuary...we're well within the range of the surveillance drones now, so we can't shut off the invisibility or land, or we'll lose the element of surprise that we've gruellingly spent the last several days maintaining.
"Damn it, how much further is this place? I feel like I'm going crazy, all this endless wasteland makes it look like we're stuck in a loop or something," Grumbled Kaze in exasperation.
"Maybe that's exactly what it is...it feels like we've been at this forever," Added Rans with a groan.
"Stop being dramatic, just-...," I began with a weary sigh, before trailing off as, finally..., "Th-there it is...the base! Oh, looks like they've built a wall along that radius...whatever, if doesn't matter, because more importantly, once we reach that point, it's only another one hundred and twenty-five kilometers left to go!"
"It's about time! For a while, it felt like we'd never get there!" Exclaimed Makeru in relief.
The base was still a bit far ahead, but...but it was in sight! And honestly, that's all that matters right now...
...
A little under three hours later, we had finally arrived...hovering a few dozen meters above the Sanctuary, ready to invade, kill, torture and who knows what else. Ohh, I'm gonna have some real fun down there...but first, we need to get through.
"Woah, it's huge..."
"Even as high up as we are, we can't see the whole thing, incredible!"
"Hey, we can live here once we kill everyone inside, right?"
"Yeah! Let's hurry up and wipe them out already!"
Tch, how annoying...though I can't deny that I was pretty amazed the first time I saw this dome too. Anyway, time to focus, our assault is about to commence.
My intangibility won't work now that they've implemented a vacuum layer in the dome, and there might be some barriers too. However, we already knew all that...and we wouldn't have come here if we didn't have an answer to their defenses...
"Alright, Baku, you're up," I remarked, patting him on the back, "Go ahead and suicide bomb a hole through that dome for us to get in through."
"Yes, of course...that is my mission here, I shall not fail," He responded with a nod.
His severed finger segments cause explosions big enough to leave behind fairly big craters, so I can only imagine how big the explosion would be if he exploded his entire body. Or to go even further, I can only imagine how big the explosion would be if he exploded his entire body while being boosted by Aug's ability...
"Which spot should we aim for? Dead center?" Inquired Aug, as we got ready to drop Baku.
"Hm...aim a bit to the south. The South Quadrant holds a sense of familiarity to me, I think it's the perfect place to launch our attack from," I suggested with a smirk after mulling it over.
"Very well, then. I am ready to be dropped at any time," Stated Baku, holding his head high.
Brainwashed fool, I couldn't ever imagine sacrificing myself in such a way. Though, with his powers, he doesn't really have another use besides exploding, I suppose.
"Alright, it's time...drop him," I commanded, before Aug let him go.
As he plummeted down rapidly, a dagger in his hand, the Wind Attribute Prodigies quickly flew us up higher, in anticipation of the explosion. And as he began to close in on the dome, automatic guns extended out from the dome, along with a bunch of androids and drones.
They began firing as he got closer, but he didn't even bother to flinch, and right as he got within about twenty meters of the dome, his body riddled with holes and probably on the verge of death, he let out a loud roar as he plunged the dagger into his heart.
His body then began glowing brightly, unaffected by the continued gunfire of the Sanctuary's mechanical defenses...and then, it exploded.
A loud, deafening explosion, a brilliantly blinding bright light and then...it abruptly disappeared. Huh?
Before I could figure out what just happened, a massive shockwave burst out, reaching us all the way up in the air and nearly knocking Ked's body around, the Wind Attribute Prodigies just barely managing to offset the impact and keep us upright. Woah, that was some force...
I then quickly looked down at the Sanctuary, realizing what must have happened as I saw the sight below...a massive hole was torn through the south part of the dome, it was probably a good kilometer-wide or so.
However, while the outside of the Sanctuary was scorched from the explosion, the inner part of the hole looked more like it had been torn through by sheer force that destroyed all the way through by the explosion.
"Okay, guess that's my cue to leave. Good luck, everyone," Remarked Aug, before spreading his wings out and flying back.
"He certainly wasted no time in getting out of here. So, should we just drop through the opening? And how did the explosion suddenly disappear like that, anyway?" Inquired Rans curiously.
"Huh, maybe there's some kind of XFE nullifying barrier inside the dome? It must had nullified the explosion since it was made of XFE...but it looks like the sheer force caused by that massive explosion was enough to tear through the rest of the dome. My invisibility that I've cast on everyone will probably get nullified too, too bad...I can only recast it upon about fifty of you. What a troublesome barrier. Had the explosion been any smaller, we might've failed to break through the dome...," I muttered to myself in intrigue, before standing up and addressing the others in a loud, clear voice, "Alright, everyone! What do you say we drop in and say hi!?"
"This is such a mess...but, well, it's definitely working," Sighed Rans, staring down at the ground far below.
"Unfortunately. Too bad, this whole thing might have been called off if this hadn't worked," I responded wistfully, my gaze on the clouds and sky.
"You really shouldn't be so blunt about how you feel, Aku," Remarked Makeru, another Wight Anomaly who had been roped in for this operation, though he didn't have a particularly important role to play; he was just really good at combat.
He was a fully mutated Wight, his mouth opened vertically instead of horizontally, he had three tails, a straight, pointy horn at the top of the middle of his head and green eyes, along with wings and sharp, bony spikes growing out of each elbow.
His power was the ability to control and manipulate gravity within a certain range, he could either affect the area around him or focus the effect on a particular target to pull them towards him or push them away. It's a really annoying ability to go up against.
Anyway, it was currently the 28th of December, and we'd set off for the mission to wipe out the people inside the Sanctuary about an hour ago. We had a total of five thousand troops, because that was the most I could cast my invisibility onto, even with Aug's boost to my powers.
"How long do you think it'll take for us to get to the Sanctuary?" Kaze asked me.
Since I've been to and spent a fair amount of time in the Sanctuary, they're treating me like the resident expect on the subject, even though I don't really know a great deal more than they do. After all, most of my findings had long since been shared to everyone.
"Well, at this speed, plus taking rest times into account...maybe around ten days? Probably two weeks at the most," I estimated uncertainly.
"Uggh, you mean I have to do this for upto two weeks?" He groaned in response.
"Don't complain, all you need to do is adjust my weight, I have the most difficult task here," Ked's voice boomed beneath us.
Right, so as for how we were transporting ourselves...allow me to explain this mess. For starters, Ked used his size-shifting powers to grow to his absolute maximum size, which was big enough to fit the five thousand troops on his back.
Next, Kaze used his weight-manipulation powers to make Ked as light as a feather, so that he'd float in the air. Several Prodigies with Wind Attribute XFE and the ability to generate wind were using their powers to steer Ked's body and keep it on track.
To keep ourselves concealed, I was using my invisibility on Ked and everyone else, which isn't exactly easy with this many of us. And finally, Rans was using her XFE transfer powers to keep us from running out of fuel, by absorbing XFE from the Prodigy troops and transferring it to us at regular intervals.
Otherwise, with our relatively small XFE reserves, we'd be forced to stop frequently for long periods of time, it'd take us forever to even get close to the Sanctuary. Oh, and as for Baku, his self-destructive powers will come in to play a bit later, his abilities are of no use to us right now.
"Good work, Anomalies, keep it up! Once we're upon the heart of enemy territory, you lot can take it easy, leave the destruction to us Prodigies!" Declared Syoi, as he paced around on Ked's huge back.
"Yeah, yeah, we look forward to it, mighty Prodigy," Remarked Rans, rolling her eyes as she approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Pardon me, I'm absorbing some of your XFE."
"Go ahead, take all the XFE you need, I've got plenty to spare!" He grinned before letting out a exuberant laugh.
"He's way too loud," Muttered Kaze with an annoyed look on his face, "If I die on this stupid mission, I'll kill him, I swear."
"I don't think that's how it works, but okay," Sighed Aug in response.
"Hey, that rat Hebi is definitely in the Sanctuary, right?" A Wight named Maji asked me, a devious look in her eyes.
"Uh, probably...last I heard, he was cooperating with the humans."
"I really hope that I get to see him again...I can't wait to tear him apart, piece by piece," She smirked with a lick of her lips.
Ohh, that's right, she was in a relationship with him at one point...though all she did was toy with his emotions and mess with his head. She's a manipulative sadist who even scares me. And speaking of weirdos that scare me...
"I wonder what the blood of the Sanctuary humans are like...hey, do you know?" Inquired a Wight named Ketsuki, a gleam in his eyes as he approached me.
He's another skilled Anomaly, but his ability is terrifying...he can take control of any blood within a certain range, meaning that he could make someone explode from the inside out just by having them inside that range. I'm seriously grateful that I'm an Anomaly, since I'm immune to his powers thanks to it.
"Oh, uh...it's not as thick as our blood, and it's a lighter shade of red too, if I remember right," I replied awkwardly.
"Really? Mm, I can't wait to see for myself," He chuckled in anticipation, a look of excitement on his face.
Except for a few idiots and freaks, most of everyone else here were pretty low energy right now. Which isn't exactly surprising, considering that this is just day one in a journey that'll definitely take several days to complete.
I was the same, there was a serious sense of lethargy about using my powers, since we're still way out of the range of the surveillance drones...but the higher ups insisted that I have my invisibility active right from the start, just in case the Sanctuary has expanded that range.
This is so damn draining, I can literally feel my XFE getting depleted. If not for Rans' regular XFE transfers, I'd have run out several times over already. And I'm supposed to keep this up for several DAYS? Just thinking about it makes me feel overwhelmed.
So, the best thing to do is just not think about it at all. That's probably easier said than done though. For instance, right now, I'm thinking about how cold it is up here. We were flying above the clouds, since the surveillance drones have thermal sensors built into them too, not just cameras and motion detectors.
And while this'll probably help us slip past their detection, it's so damn cold! I'm freezing here, and the air is kinda thin too, so it's easy to get light-headed and dizzy if you're not too careful.
Case in point, Syoi, who'd been pacing around like an idiot this whole time, was now puking his guts out over the side. Ughh, this is the worst...damn it, the plan had better succeed, because by the time we reach the Sanctuary, I'll probably be in desperate need to let off some steam.
And the best way I can think of to do that is to terrorize some random, panicking people. Ahh, I feel calmer just thinking about it. Perfect, I'll just keep thinking about torture on a loop, until we reach the Sanctuary...
...
...
O-okay, uh, I think I'm starting to lose my goddamn mind. I feel antsy and restless, and I keep getting this urge to just grab someone nearby and strangle them to death or something. It's now the 8th of January, eleven days later.
And we should be closing in on the outermost ring of bases that the Sanctuary built...fortunately, it doesn't look like they've expanded any further. Once we see the first base, we'll be a little over a hundred kilometers from the Sanctuary, which would probably take two or three hours to reach.
After days of tedious, exhausting travel, the end was finally, FINALLY within sight...but I didn't feel any less anxious or irritated. Because we hadn't stopped for a few hours, and we wouldn't be stopping until we reach the Sanctuary...we're well within the range of the surveillance drones now, so we can't shut off the invisibility or land, or we'll lose the element of surprise that we've gruellingly spent the last several days maintaining.
"Damn it, how much further is this place? I feel like I'm going crazy, all this endless wasteland makes it look like we're stuck in a loop or something," Grumbled Kaze in exasperation.
"Maybe that's exactly what it is...it feels like we've been at this forever," Added Rans with a groan.
"Stop being dramatic, just-...," I began with a weary sigh, before trailing off as, finally..., "Th-there it is...the base! Oh, looks like they've built a wall along that radius...whatever, if doesn't matter, because more importantly, once we reach that point, it's only another one hundred and twenty-five kilometers left to go!"
"It's about time! For a while, it felt like we'd never get there!" Exclaimed Makeru in relief.
The base was still a bit far ahead, but...but it was in sight! And honestly, that's all that matters right now...
...
A little under three hours later, we had finally arrived...hovering a few dozen meters above the Sanctuary, ready to invade, kill, torture and who knows what else. Ohh, I'm gonna have some real fun down there...but first, we need to get through.
"Woah, it's huge..."
"Even as high up as we are, we can't see the whole thing, incredible!"
"Hey, we can live here once we kill everyone inside, right?"
"Yeah! Let's hurry up and wipe them out already!"
Tch, how annoying...though I can't deny that I was pretty amazed the first time I saw this dome too. Anyway, time to focus, our assault is about to commence.
My intangibility won't work now that they've implemented a vacuum layer in the dome, and there might be some barriers too. However, we already knew all that...and we wouldn't have come here if we didn't have an answer to their defenses...
"Alright, Baku, you're up," I remarked, patting him on the back, "Go ahead and suicide bomb a hole through that dome for us to get in through."
"Yes, of course...that is my mission here, I shall not fail," He responded with a nod.
His severed finger segments cause explosions big enough to leave behind fairly big craters, so I can only imagine how big the explosion would be if he exploded his entire body. Or to go even further, I can only imagine how big the explosion would be if he exploded his entire body while being boosted by Aug's ability...
"Which spot should we aim for? Dead center?" Inquired Aug, as we got ready to drop Baku.
"Hm...aim a bit to the south. The South Quadrant holds a sense of familiarity to me, I think it's the perfect place to launch our attack from," I suggested with a smirk after mulling it over.
"Very well, then. I am ready to be dropped at any time," Stated Baku, holding his head high.
Brainwashed fool, I couldn't ever imagine sacrificing myself in such a way. Though, with his powers, he doesn't really have another use besides exploding, I suppose.
"Alright, it's time...drop him," I commanded, before Aug let him go.
As he plummeted down rapidly, a dagger in his hand, the Wind Attribute Prodigies quickly flew us up higher, in anticipation of the explosion. And as he began to close in on the dome, automatic guns extended out from the dome, along with a bunch of androids and drones.
They began firing as he got closer, but he didn't even bother to flinch, and right as he got within about twenty meters of the dome, his body riddled with holes and probably on the verge of death, he let out a loud roar as he plunged the dagger into his heart.
His body then began glowing brightly, unaffected by the continued gunfire of the Sanctuary's mechanical defenses...and then, it exploded.
A loud, deafening explosion, a brilliantly blinding bright light and then...it abruptly disappeared. Huh?
Before I could figure out what just happened, a massive shockwave burst out, reaching us all the way up in the air and nearly knocking Ked's body around, the Wind Attribute Prodigies just barely managing to offset the impact and keep us upright. Woah, that was some force...
I then quickly looked down at the Sanctuary, realizing what must have happened as I saw the sight below...a massive hole was torn through the south part of the dome, it was probably a good kilometer-wide or so.
However, while the outside of the Sanctuary was scorched from the explosion, the inner part of the hole looked more like it had been torn through by sheer force that destroyed all the way through by the explosion.
"Okay, guess that's my cue to leave. Good luck, everyone," Remarked Aug, before spreading his wings out and flying back.
"He certainly wasted no time in getting out of here. So, should we just drop through the opening? And how did the explosion suddenly disappear like that, anyway?" Inquired Rans curiously.
"Huh, maybe there's some kind of XFE nullifying barrier inside the dome? It must had nullified the explosion since it was made of XFE...but it looks like the sheer force caused by that massive explosion was enough to tear through the rest of the dome. My invisibility that I've cast on everyone will probably get nullified too, too bad...I can only recast it upon about fifty of you. What a troublesome barrier. Had the explosion been any smaller, we might've failed to break through the dome...," I muttered to myself in intrigue, before standing up and addressing the others in a loud, clear voice, "Alright, everyone! What do you say we drop in and say hi!?"
