Earth (Buryoku Book 6)

by Aaron Oster

  Tokei slipped the blow, walking right into a knee, which she caught full-on with her Armorer technique. The man followed her as she was blasted back, his white-hot fists flashing out in a blurring series of attacks that made the very air ripple and burn. Tokei realized what he was doing while she slipped, blocked, and retaliated. His body heat had climbed so high that the air was no longer breathable. It didn’t matter all that much to her because breathing was more a choice than anything else for someone so powerful, so it was only the heat that really bothered her.

  Ikari flashed in from behind, and the Beast’s hand snapped out, catching her. He tried to drag her forward and around, to slam into Tokei. Seeing the blow coming, Tokei decided she’d had enough. She lunged, extending two fingers and slamming them into the center of the Beast’s forehead.

  It was as though an explosion had gone off inside the creature’s body and all of the attacks Tokei had dealt struck at his internal organs at the same time.

  The Beast screamed, releasing Ikari and plummeting from the air as his skin visibly rippled and flexed under the combined force of over four thousand blows. Blood sprayed from dozens of wounds as his Armorer technique shattered, the pain of all those attacks breaking his concentration.

  Tokei dropped after him, wind whipping about her as she tapped into her ultimate technique, dubbed The Conqueror. Although her attack had definitely come as a surprise and had undoubtedly inflicted some damage, there was no way it was going to be enough to finish him off. But, with his defenses down, she had a pretty good shot at ending him.

  The air around her seemed to freeze for a moment as she extended a hand, a sphere of white blooming between her outstretched fingers. Tokei’s brows furrowed as she poured as much power as she could into the technique, layering and compressing over and over again.

  At her back, she could feel the presence of three more Conqueror techniques, their power building to incredible heights. But she ignored them in favor of her own target. The Beast slammed into the ground, his eyes popping wide as he saw Tokei bearing down on him. His body, despite the thrashing it had just taken, began to glow as extreme heat fought against her freezing cold, but it was far too late now.

  Tokei drove her open palm down, slamming the full force of her Conqueror technique into the man’s chest. The condensed sphere sank right into him with no resistance at all, his spirit having been disrupted by all the internal damage. Tokei retreated immediately as the Beast roared in pain, clawing at his chest and trying to impose his own will over the attack that had penetrated to his very Core.

  When the explosion came, it was blinding in its brilliance. Tokei’s Conqueror technique was a bit different than others, in that it didn’t directly affect more than just a single target. However, of all of the Sovereigns she’d met, her technique was by far the most destructive. The layered, freezing power of her condensed attack infected an enemy’s Core, blending with their own power. It then forced all of it out.

  Not only would this technique kill its intended target, but it would also affect everything within a one-mile radius. Of course, the actual level of destruction would depend on the strength of the person she’d attacked, but seeing as this was a Sovereign, the explosion was quite fantastic.

  There was a blinding flash of white, followed by the detonation as the technique went off, ripping through the enemy Sovereign in an instant. She was vaguely aware of others fighting next to her as the dome of white rose into the sky, followed by the whipping, freezing wind as the force of the blast hit her.

  It did nothing to her, though the blast itself was as dangerous to her as it was to everyone nearby. She whirled back around as she reached the safe point, fighting hard to keep her cycling pattern. Though she didn’t allow it to show outwardly, that had taken a lot out of her. Not only that, but she was sporting several painful injuries from her battle with the Beast.

  Tokei was doing a good job of hiding her pain, but even as she straightened, she could feel the broken bones grating in her chest.

  A flash of movement to her right caught her attention, and she turned away from the white dome, still glittering and flashing, to see the same large Sage flying at her, her body trailing brown light. There was a massive crack in the center of her breastplate, and Tokei could see blood leaking from beneath her helm.

  As the woman’s aura began to intensify, Tokei realized what she was about to do. She cursed silently to herself, reaching for her Full-body technique and preparing to weather the onslaught. That was, until Ikari flashed into view above the woman, slamming a glowing black sphere into the top of her head with a look of abject glee on her face.

  The armored woman let out a horrible scream, dropping her spears and grabbing at her head as Ikari’s attack began to burn. As a Sage, she might have stood a chance at full strength. Right now though, she was injured, so the woman didn’t stand a chance, falling from the air just a minute later, her body slack.

  Tokei’s own attack had faded by then, leaving a crater larger than any formed throughout this battle. Her eyes flicked then to the snake-man, who was on his knees some half-mile away. His body was covered in wounds, his Core all but empty and surrounded by the other three Sovereigns.

  None of them had escaped injury, though none had anything quite as serious as the snake-man’s.

  “…will not get away with the treachery!” he hissed, his voice now audible thanks to the absence of battle.

  “We already have,” Ame said, then slammed a closed fist into his head.

  The snake-man went down hard, his eyes rolling up into his skull. Then, Ame plunged her hand into his chest, ripping his Core free with a sickening crunch.

  Tokei started when the realization hit her, and she whirled, intending to claim the Core of the other Beast for herself, only see that Ikari was already there, pulling the Core from the blackened husk that had once been the second Sovereign.

  With a growl, she realized Ikari had gotten the other one as well, having taken it while Tokei had been distracted. Before she could say anything, she heard a distinct crack and looked up to see the dome faltering. Her eyes flicked over to where Hermit and Duncan were, and though she couldn’t see them, she knew they could see her.

  She smiled, fluttered her fingers, then stepped through the portal that split the air right before her. She would hear how this all ended up later and secretly hoped that her little flirtatious wave would get Hermit himself to come deliver the news.

  29

  Hermit watched the other two Sovereigns step into the rift in space created by their combined power. He and Duncan couldn’t interfere from outside his dome, as that would be traced by the other Scions. However, what happened inside the dome was hidden even from them. It had taken a lot of planning to carry this plan out, the hardest part of it being the dummy fight that they’d needed to fabricate when the Cores of all the Sovereigns had vanished.

  Truthfully, there was no way he or Duncan could have done so. Neither of them was suited to that kind of task. Thankfully, the Scion of Tales was happy to lend her aid. Though she wasn’t with them now, she’d forged a false fight and managed to disguise her actions from the other Scions.

  If she wasn’t close to the 1st Dan already, then Hermit would be shocked.

  “The dome’s coming down,” Duncan said as wide cracks formed over the invisible field.

  It had taken a lot of doing on Duncan’s part to keep it hidden from the enemy Scions. According to what he said, it would be visible from the inside, so they had made sure to brief their own Sovereigns about not allowing any of the enemies to make it out alive, lest their ruse be discovered.

  He’d allowed Hermit to see through the dome and watch the fight that transpired within. As they’d predicated, a five-on-three fight, even if they counted the Sage, skewed heavily in their favor, and having Ikari and Pelata battle for a bit before crafting their illusion and energy-suppressing dome had weakened them enough to be easier targets.

  Their Sovereigns had gotten
a bit banged up in the process, but in the end, one of the enemy Sovereigns hadn’t even had the chance to call on his own Conqueror technique, as Mizumi Tokei had taken him down in a brilliant combination of techniques. She might have looked like a little girl, but that woman was as dangerous as they came.

  He still wasn’t sure what the little wave had been for, but knowing her reputation, she had to be plotting something.

  The dome dropped then and the illusory fighters, who’d been descending over the last minute, settled over the spots where the real fighters were before Hana dismissed them. Hopefully, their timing was good enough that the enemy wouldn’t be able to tell what happened, but Hermit prepared himself for what he knew was about to happen.

  With a boom of displaced air, three figures appeared above the battlefield, staring down at the two Sovereigns who had bested their fighters.

  “Shall we?” Hermit asked.

  “It’s not like we have a choice,” Duncan replied.

  The world warped and bent around him as Hermit willed himself to travel to the site of the battle. It was a power innate in all Scions, the ability to warp space around themselves, pulling two points of the world together and moving through it. It still wasn’t easy for either of them, new as they were to being Scions, but they managed all the same, only stumbling a little bit as they appeared over the battlefield as well.

  Hermit finally came face to face with the enemies who’d been distantly threatening them since the start of this battle.

  Two of the Scions wore Belts, solid and Black, though the one in the middle wore none. This confirmed Hermit’s worst fears — that one of the Scions had made it past Base Black. Hermit had no way of gauging how strong this man was, not unless he chose to show off. As it was, despite the fact that their Belts were visible, all of their Cores were heavily suppressed, as were his and Duncan’s.

  “So, you are the commanders of the human forces.”

  The middle Scion who spoke, the one whose Belt wasn’t visible to either of them. His voice was rich and smooth, contrary to his bestial appearance. It was obviously by choice at this point, as he could have appeared nearly human if he so chose.

  He was eight-and-a-half feet tall, with a mane of dark red-black hair standing out in wide spikes from his head and spreading all the way down his back. His skin color could be best described as a golden brown, and though he wore robes, they were mostly open at the front, revealing powerful pectoral muscles free of any fur.

  His arms, on the other hand, were a different matter. They were coated in a thin layer of black fur, outlining the densely packed muscle beneath. The backs of his hands were bare, and the nails were elongated and sharpened to wicked points. A pair of tails twitched behind him, highlighting the animalistic features.

  His face was the most striking part about him, without a hint of human features. The man had the face of a lion, his dark tan fur blending to black as it traced down to the sides of his neck to join his shoulders. His muzzle only protruded a couple of inches, but enlarged teeth were clearly visible, as were deep-set eyes, both of which were an almost white green.

  The other two weren’t nearly as striking, both appearing a lot more human. The one on the left was distinctly female, though her robes were open at the front as much as the others. Her skin was light, not containing a hint of a tan, and she didn’t seem ashamed to be showing as much of it as she did.

  She had long, shaggy black hair, and a pair of rounded white ears poked from the top. Her eyes were small, beady, and black, and a single fang protruded from one of her upper lips. She had no tail of which to speak, but a pair of curved spikes protruded from both of her slim shoulders, colored the same white as her ears.

  The one on the right could have been either male or female; it was difficult to tell as it wore longer, baggy robes. Its body was tall and lanky, though the facial features were fine, showing a thinner bone structure. Its eyes were distinctly serpentine, but judging by the dark blue tail whipping behind it and the pair of short, curling horns rising from its bald head, Hermit doubted it had once been a snake.

  Its skin was a light blue, being the most out of the norm as far as color went, though standing next to the lion-headed Beast, it didn’t seem quite as odd.

  Hermit took them all in with an appraising gaze, and the enemy did the same. Finally, he answered the question asked by the lion-headed man.

  “That we are,” Hermit said. “Though I can’t say I see the commander of your own.”

  He noticed a small tick in the corner of the lion-man’s eye as he said this, but other than that, nothing else. It told Hermit all he needed to know about this Beast’s temperament.

  “Our master does not need to face inferior creatures on his own,” the lion-headed man said. “I, Mororna, Scion of Shattered Dreams, will speak in his place.”

  “Well, so long as we’re spouting off titles,” Duncan said, speaking up for the first time. “I am Herald Duncan, Scion of Callers.”

  “Oh, and I would be Hermit, Scion of Honor,” Hermit quickly added.

  “Honor, you say,” Mororna said, glaring down at where the two Sovereigns still stood over the bodies of their dead comrades.

  “Maybe defeating your enemies is considered dishonorable to you,” Hermit said. “But in my opinion, sending three fighters to take on two is a bit more so, especially when said fighters outrank the others.”

  A low growl escaped Mororna’s throat as the blue-skinned Scion took a step forward, its slitted eyes narrowed.

  “You show no respect, human. Does your race have so little regard for their betters?” Its voice came out in a rasping hiss that still didn’t give away its gender.

  It was light enough that it could have been female but also deep enough that it could have been male.

  “Betters?” Duncan asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’d say that the results of the battle prove otherwise.”

  “Watch your tongue, human!”

  This time it was the woman on the far left who spoke, taking an angry step forward.

  “Do your subordinates do all of your talking for you?” Hermit asked, ignoring the outburst and speaking to Mororna directly.

  “Disgusting ant!” the lion-headed Beast growled. “This,” he said, gesturing to the woman, “is Nam, Scion of Thundering Bells! And this,” he said, pointing at the blue-skinned creature, “is Raia, Scion of Names! Your lack of respect is as apparent to me as the sun shining overhead.”

  “I feel terribly sorry for the lack of respect we’re showing,” Hermit said. “Perhaps we’d feel more inclined to be respectful if you hadn’t invaded our lands and killed our comrades. If you didn’t act so superior, it might help your case.”

  Silence greeted his words, then, in a flash, Raia was down on the ground, hand flashing out in a blur to take Pelata’s head from his shoulders. There was a muffled boom, and the Beast found its hand caught in the grip of a woman dressed in flowing robes, her eyes hard as steel.

  “And you call us the dishonorable ones,” Duncan said, still staring at the lion.

  Now that their numbers were even, the lion didn’t appear so keen for a fight. Sure, they probably had a better chance of winning than the humans did, but injury or death was still entirely possible.

  Hermit could practically see the thoughts whirling behind the Beast’s eyes. He hadn’t counted on the other human Scions interfering, and if one had come to their aid, more might join.

  With a twitch of its head, Raia backed off, pulling its hand from Hana’s and blinking back up to join Mororna. Hana remained where she was, standing in front of Pelata, who was still staring in blank shock at the spot where the attack would have landed.

  If there was any doubt remaining in his mind as to the true power of a Scion, it was now well and truly gone. He would have been dead before he could have blinked, Sovereign or not. The difference between them was like night and day.

  “I don’t know how you did it, but I know that some foul, human trickery happene
d during that battle. There’s no way Render and Nira could have lost to the likes of them, especially not with Ella backing them up.”

  Hermit hadn’t heard the middle name before but figured that he was referring to the second Sovereign.

  “If there’s anything foul here, it’s you, readily admitting to sending fighters you believed to be superior. Let me let you in on a little secret. This is war. You might want to pretend that you’re fighting with some great code of ethics, but in the end, it’s the one left standing who really matters.”

  The lion’s muzzle bunched up, his oversized canines partially showing.

  “We do not wish to see more bloodshed,” he said, though his tone said they definitely wanted it, lots and lots of it. “We will give you a day to figure out your terms of surrender. You cannot hope to win, and you know it. We will return here at this time tomorrow for your answer.”

  Hermit probably could have stopped them had he wanted to, but he let the enemy Scions go. They bent in on themselves, their presences reappearing once more in the Burning Hills.

  “Thanks for your help,” Hermit called down.

  “The next time you call for me, I expect something other than a battle,” Hana replied, then she too left.

  Duncan gave him a raised eyebrow, but Hermit chose to ignore it.

  “It seems we’ve been given terms of surrender,” he said, tapping his foot against the air as though it were solid ground. “So, how do we go about it?”

  “Do you really want to surrender?” Duncan asked, seeming surprised.

  “Unless you know of a way we can beat them all,” Hermit said grimly. “I’d say it’s our best chance.”

  30

  “The enemy Scions, those who take commands from the Bringer of Fire, have just offered terms of surrender to Hermit and your father,” Doragon said.