"Yoho! To your right, my headband wearing compatriot!" Wall exclaims, pointing in that direction. The fog is dense, but the movement of a shadow is unmistakable to the eye.
"An enemy has been spotted!"
Stiyl raises a hand to his eyes, attempting to see what exactly Wall had pointed out. Upon closer inspection, however, it was nothing more than a—
"Branch. It's a branch."
He turns around, glancing at his companion. In truth, he could not understand how anyone could mistake that shape for a humanoid. He sighs.
"Ah. The enemy must have turned into a branch!" Wall exclaims.
"Just admit you were wrong.."
"And how does a branch even remotely resemble a human?"
"Well, it could resemble an arm sticking out from behind a tree." Wall replies, standing atop a broken pillar.
The two are currently located within what seems to be an old Sorayan structure. Pillars stretch upward, or rather what remains of them, their age evident even at a glance. Hundreds of years, perhaps more. Each pillar has crumbled in its own way, the weight of time tightening around their form.
All that remains are dirty white cracks and a barely functioning ceiling above them.
Stiyl exhales. "We have about forty minutes to find this hider. We shouldn't waste our time on things like this."
"If you see something suspicious, instead of yelling really loudly, snap your fingers," he suggests. His companion nods.
They begin moving forward, Stiyl's mind drifting as he takes in the details of their surroundings.
"Stiyl, you notice that collar around K-man's neck?" Wall calls out, dropping down from his elevated position.
"Hm? I did. It was a shock collar."
"You don't think he's a slave, do you?"
"Well, he wouldn't be wearing that for fashion reasons, would he?"
"I guess."
Wall reaches behind his neck and stretches. "I didn't want to comment on it. Felt a bit insensitive, you know?"
"You using the word insensitive feels wrong."
Wall grins. "Anyone can change, my compatriot. We shed our skin for new, better ones. To evolve is to be human!"
"…"
"Yeah. That was too much."
Stiyl comes to a stop.
"Way too much."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I kind of feel bad for the guy. He's basically a double slave right now. Unless Tyrox's soldiers have started distributing military-grade shock collars."
Stiyl nods. "We should have asked him about his circumstances. At the very least, out of curiosity. Maybe we could have helped him."
Wall sighs.
"Man, we really got screwed over, didn't we? Knights of Vultia being enslaved by a bunch of goblins." His feet begin to drag. "That's really embarrassing."
"Don't forget, these goblins are being led by an incredibly intelligent orc. When coordinated, goblins are surprisingly resilient soldiers. And to make matters worse, the ones in this umbral valley appear far more intelligent than their surface counterparts."
Wall chuckles.
"You can be intelligent all you want, but one good swipe of my Severant and you're in two.." Wall turns to his companion. "—Why do you keep stopping?"
Stiyl keeps walking.
"Ignore that."
He raises a hand. "Never underestimate intelligence. Even if you are weak, exploiting that fact can let you accomplish great things."
"I get that, but imagine you're in a room with a wyvern. Nothing else inside. No weapons. What do you do? Simple. Nothing. You're dead."
"That sounds like an artificial scenario. There is always something to work with. A room with nothing inside and a wyvern sounds like a lab experiment. I'm talking about natural settings."
"It's a hypothetical."
"A ridiculous one. There is always a way to outsmart something. To be human is to use the strength of the thing inside your head. Your brain."
"And that scenario is so far removed from reality."
"A more realistic one would be…"
Stiyl turns his head to the right.
"Hiding behind a tree while two victims converse."
A sharp wince escapes from behind the tree directly beside them.
Wall chuckles and turns toward it. "You should really watch your steps if you want to sneak up on someone."
A shadow steps out from behind the tree, barely visible until it enters the light.
A goblin stands before them. Not an ordinary one. No, far from the 'ordinary', nearly the size of a human, black stripes running across its muscular body. On its right forearm rests a familiar insignia. Perhaps the most defining feature that set it apart from other goblins was the faceplate-like adornment on, well, its face.
"The same insignia Kaito saw on the previous hider," Wall mutters.
"It's a hider."
"I see." It speaks. It's voice is deep, piercing.
"You had periodically stopped walking to hear the disrupting pattern of my steps behind you." Its body is almost sleek, yet muscular all the same.
"No matter. You two. Surrender.
"So that's what Tyrox was doing…" Stiyl says quietly.
Their eyes shift to the weapon in the goblin's hand. A large tendril-like blade, coiled and restrained, its true reach impossible to judge. White stripes run along its length, the inverse of the goblin's markings.
"Bastard was making Severant-wielding goblins," Wall finishes.
By nature, an Aberration could not utilize a severant, or be a Gazer for that matter. They could only utilize the abilities given to them by birth. A classification of its own. That was by nature. Here, Tyrox had destroyed the rules and artificially utilized the goblins' ability to crossbreed with what seemed to be Severant users to create hybrids. And the most dangerous part? These goblins in the umbral valley were already smart enough, and offspring of goblins are known to be much more intelligent than their parents.
"This is your second warning. There will not be a third," the goblin- no, the hybrid says.
A crushing pressure fills the air. Dread presses in from all sides, threatening to collapse everything.
Whatever this hybrid's ability was, it was powerful.
'Taking this thing out is out of the question right now. We've got to figure out it's abilities. However, the one thing that's holding us back from doing anything impactful is the nullification field. We can't use our Arcana reserves whatsoever.' Wall thinks.
He glances at Stiyl.
'Exactly twenty-one minutes have passed. Tyrox said the nullifiers would disengage after thirty. Nine minutes remain.' Stiyl calculates.
The hybrid raises its weapon.
"You have five seconds to surrender before I execute you."
Stiyl locks eyes with Wall for a brief moment, then looks right.
"Five."
Wall meets his gaze, then shifts left.
"Four."
They remain silent.
"Three."
Wall's feet twitch.
"Two."
Stiyl's hands tighten.
The wind blows in anticipation.
"One."
In that instant, yes, instant, the word 'Run' Had been imprinted in the two's minds.
'Run' was the only way to survive being chopped down.
However, this was not an attempt to preserve one's life.
They leap in opposite directions, with Stiyl being approximately 2.5 centimeters ahead in his own direction.
The tendril blade halts midway through its attack towards Wall, having been stopped by the Hybrid's arm grabbing it.
The two have already covered two meters in opposite directions.
'I see,' the hybrid thinks. 'They're attempting to flee. Well, this won't be particularly difficult. These sapients are nothing without Arcana.'
A crude smirk crosses the features of the hybrid, its yellow teeth visible in the light. A grin that expressed everything it needed to express.
'A futile attempt. Eight minutes is all I need to destroy these cattle.'
With that, it leaps toward the direction of Wall, a powerful back leg propelling it farther than the man had propelled himself. Dust circles the area before being pushed back..
The hybrid launches into a tree, using its legs to stabilize before shooting to another, then another, then another.
As it moves, it spins. To summarize its movement, it is akin to a bullet ricocheting off walls.
'I will chase after the white-haired boy. He had been arguing with his subordinate on the importance of strength over intelligence. That alone is enough for me to attack him. He is simply more stupid.''
As it dashed at intense speeds, the wind pressed into its body, fog being cut through like butter. This creature had been designed to be the perfect killing machine. It had been birthed by a Severant-wielding father, which further emphasized its strength.
After two minutes, a figure appeared, running away in the direction opposite to the hybrid. White hair revealed it to be Wall, its prey.
A sly smile crossed its features as it pulled its arms back.
'He knows I am behind him. Yet he's confident in my weapon's hard limit to reach him!'
Wall's arms moved back and forth uniformly, his form being maintained. There were no signs of any kind of fatigue on him despite running at full speed for over two minutes. His form was perfect.
'When Stiyl and me jumped, it was about two meters. He didn't attempt to even try and attack us.That means his limit has to be at least two meters!" The boy thought.
The smile that had adorned the hybrid's face extended past any reasonable limit, almost demonic in nature.
'You daft worm!! My limit is at least four meters!!!!'
The tendril-like weapon begins writhing as if alive, anticipating flesh to tear into. Perhaps this creature was, in fact, alive.
The hybrid finally drops to the ground about three meters away from Wall, its body bouncing from the height. Its momentum, however, is not affected in the slightest.
Finally, it shoots its arm forward, a high-pitched laugh erupting from its throat. A squeal from the tendril follows, launching toward Wall's back.
"GYAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!! I'LL CARVE YOU A NEW HOLE THROUGH YOUR CHEST CAVITY!!!!!!!"
"!!"
Suddenly, the sound of bushes rattling erupts. The hybrid cannot even assess what it is before a figure mounts its neck.
—THWACK!!
A stone has been utilized on its head, getting destroyed into hundreds of pieces, the dust dissipating.
It does little damage, but successfully blinds its vision for a few moments. It flails its arms around, attempting to remove whatever it has mounted on its back, but it reaches nothing. Whatever had attacked him had long removed itself.
Still writhing, the Hybrid hears the sound of Stiyl Efet's voice ringing behind him.
"Your Severant…"
Finally wiping away the residue, the Hybrid turns around aggressively, swinging its weapon in the process. Stiyl backflips away, landing on his feet.
"It only chases what is closer to its user, doesn't it?" Stiyl asks.
"I am faster than Wall. So when I leaped during your countdown-"
The tendril launches toward Stiyl, who swiftly dodges, embedding it into a nearby tree trunk.
"What the?!"
"—I was farther than Wall, who had been the one to be chased. Not only that, had you not stopped its trajectory with your arm during that exchange, I would never have come to that conclusion."
"KH!!"
"In trying to obscure the truth, you made it more apparent."
"Heads up!!"
The hybrid spins around before taking in the sight of Wall, his arms up, and his right leg in the process of delivering a powerful kick. With a quick twist of his torso, the world spins to the right.
"THWACK!!"
An impact delivers itself to the Hybrid's face.
The tendril attempts to shoot itself towards Wall, who quickly sidesteps along with it before jumping backwards, creating distance. Grass erupting from the ground is a sign of his relocation.
"Thunk!!"
A sudden elbow to the back of the neck is the result of Stiyl, minimizing the damage to his arm.
The tendril switches targets again, sacrificing momentum. Stiyl dodges.
A palm thrust slams into the back of the hybrid's head.
Tendril shoots. Wall dodges and creates distance.
Stiyl closes in and kicks its back.
Tendril shoots. Stiyl dodges and creates distance.
Again. And again.
Rinse and repeat.
'These can't be ordinary Sapients! They're superhuman!"'
Wall jumps backwards, his feet drifting back in the dirt.
'I'm not nearly as tired, but Stiyl's starting to get a little slowed. We just need to keep repeating this motion for about–'
"—For four more minutes,' Stiyl thinks, continuing the silent brainstorm. 'We are not doing major damage, but this is better than running. We just need to stall until our abilities return. Though it would be foolish to assume he does not know this as well…'
The cycle repeats for about two minutes.
A tendril shoots, Wall dodges, and—
"Gah!?"
"I'll murder you!! BASTARD!!!" The Hybrid screams before twisting its torso.
'He threw it!?'
The Severant is thrown towards Wall, the tendril squealing in delight as it stretches out towards him. He raises his hands in anticipation, but it quickly brushes past him.
Or did it stab him?
Wall cannot tell.
No, his 'perception' cannot tell whether he had simply been brushed off or attacked. It was as if that tendril had always existed, akin to the same feeling as one's tongue being attached.
Only when he had glanced at his shoulder had he received his answer.
"!"
The hybrid quickly switched around, seizing Stiyl by the throat. It lifts him off the ground, the sounds of choked gasps starting to erupt.
'These bastards are dangerous! I need to take them out as soon as possible, as efficiently as possible!'
In a smooth motion, Stiyl swings his legs backwards in quick succession, before utilizing the momentum in them to shoot them over the Hybrid's arms, striking it in the face.
It staggers, letting go of him.
The boy drops to the ground, grabbing at his throat. He glances at his partner a couple of meters away from him, who had been grasping at his shoulder.
Inside Wall's shoulder is revealed to be a gaping hole, his clavicle bone being slightly exposed along the writhing flesh and slight yellow fat.
The most apparent thing, however, was the massive amount of blood being almost spurted out like a fountain. Even the muscle seemed to be twisting.
The Hybrid grinned.
"Whenever Nature's abomination strikes a target, it tampers with the perception of said target's body. The body will presume the wound is some kind of foreign object and attempt to dispel it unaturally. Everything will twist and morph. He is dead!"
Gritting his teeth, Wall ignores the wound, focusing on the danger of the tendril that had been laid out on the floor, rapidly attempting to reach towards him.
'It's coming fast! I need to dodge, NOW!!'
Wall lifts his arms, attempting to minimize the damage once again.
Thirty seconds remained until Wall and Stiyl regained their abilities.
A rock thrown by Stiyl quickly disrupts the trajectory of the Tendril, resulting in it missing its target. It stops---confused, before glancing at Wall once again.
At this moment, Stiyl had begun running towards the Severant, gaining its attention.
'If I get closer, its attention will be diverted towards me, and I'll take the brunt of the attack! I don't think Wall can handle another direct strike!'
Fifteen seconds.
Wall turns around, his body risking its back to run away from the tentacle. The motion was to allow Stiyl to divert its attention. He was not running to preserve his life, but rather to enact the plan that Stiyl had.
'He's running towards it, so I'll run away!'
The tendril attempts to get started again, this time attempting to precisely aim at Wall, who was in the process of running away.
'Ten seconds! Ten seconds for the ZVP to go off!!' The sunglasses-wearing man surmised.
A hand suddenly seizes Stiyl's collar, grabbing him.
'I won't let him distract it! Stay right where you are!!"
The Hybrid had attempted to stop him from diverting the attention of its Severant.
"Get over here!!" It yelled, its entire body focusing on the singularity point in front of it.
Had Wall not been injured previously, he would have easily escaped from the tendril, or at least had more time.
The tendril closes the distance to the running boy, inching closer and closer.
'Three!'
One foot away.
'Two!'
Five inches away.
'One!!!'
Five centimeters-
A sudden flash explodes into the air, enveloping the area for a split moment, blinding the Hybrid.
The sound of a grotesque mushing erupts.
Suddenly, the tentacle falls to the ground. It had been severed.
The Hybrid turned its head upwards towards it, sensing the damage that had been done.
'NO!'
A looming feeling of defeat began to sink its fangs into the Hybrid's body. It can no longer hold it together.
'No, I can't panic; I've still got him in my grasp—'
The hybrid glances down at its arm, but there is nothing there.
Yes, nothing exists. Not even its arm is there. It has been sliced in half, black blood spilling out in controlled spurts, painting the green grass. A foul smell of iron coats the air.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
The Hybrid falls over and begins to writhe around in the grass, clutching the stump that once held its arm.
"This guy's quite the hassle, huh? Well, I could have handled him alone." Wall's voice erupts from behind the Hybrid, who slowly turns around.
A fast relocation of its vision would simply not suffice in this situation.
Despair. That is all it can feel at the sight of the two.
"The hole in your shoulder says otherwise," Stiyl begins. "Though I did need a good training session to improve my abilities before this..."
In Stiyl's right hand is a curved spear, unnaturally shaped. One cannot even guess whether it is a sword or a spear. A sharp blade erupts from the weapon in multiple places, giving it the sense of thorns.
"Demise," Stiyl says.
In Wall's hand is what can only be described as a grand broadsword. It is white in nature, with gold accents accentuating its form. Multiple blades curve outward with an almost plantlike nature, yet artificial all the same.
"I'm not a Severant Gazer. I'm a Thaumite, so I kinda just use plasma and shape it into this form." Wall chuckles.
'Did he say plasma!?'
"..."
"Should we reveal our abilities to him?" Wall asks.
The Hybrid drops to his knees, at the mercy of his opponents. His Severant has already been destroyed.
'This hollow entropy!! It's so strong!! I can almost see their hollow points!!'
"Why would we do something that stupid?" Stiyl sighs.
Wall pushes his glasses slightly down, his eyes glancing into his opponent's form. Wall's perception catches the pattern of shadowy figures. White figures that stood out from the rest are perceived as hollow points.
"Well, I can see his hollow points, and we're pretty much going to kill him anyway!"
"Hold on a minute. He is perhaps a new species of goblin, perhaps an entirely new Aberration in of itself. We could turn him in to Dr. Arato."
Wall raises a severed forearm, its Hider's mark present.
"I think this is enough of a sample."
"Hm. I guess it'll suffice." Stiyl shrugs.
"..."
Wall grins. "Consequential Passion, my Thauma Function, allows me to generate any of the---"
"Shut up." Stiyl sighs.
As these words are relayed to the Hybrid, it grits its teeth.
'I have no idea what the hell these bastards are talking about. I don't care! I've still got a chance to win. That cavity created by Nature's abomination will only continue to destroy itself and morph!'
"Oh, you seem pretty happy for someone who's about to die." Wall muses.
Stiyl turns his head to Wall.
"The cavity. What are you going to do about it?"
"Oh, I cauterized it. Honestly, cauterizing something with plasma is pretty damned hard."
"!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I'll kill you!!" the Hybrid exclaims, reaching out toward Stiyl, its arms stretched. A last-minute defense. A final attempt to destroy its—
A headless corpse falls to the ground.
"Ah. He was more squishy than I thought."
The marks that had been on the two's hands have now dissipated. No longer were the marks present.
"I guess that means we can escape now," Stiyl concludes, glancing at his hand.
"Man, I knew we'd have to end up fighting the hiders! Of course this wasn't going to be that simple!" Wall groans.
'You had no idea, did you?' Stiyl thinks. He shakes his head before glancing at his partner.
"Arax and Kaito are at risk. We should refrain from escaping at the moment and go help them."
"Alright, let's hurry."