Void and Pahanin raced through the battlefield, zipping and jolting as they cut apart the hive with a flurry of slashes. Their figures blurred at breakneck speeds as they dashed around in a frenzy, fighting tooth and nail with the emerging Hive forces.
IEatPaint, TheOneWhoKnocks and Waffles rushed towards the perimeter, gunning down the approaching thralls.
Undecided and Dumbledore began sniping those they could, while ILoveLoot and LeroyJenkins chucked healing grenades nearby to maintain their health bars.
Moments later, a shrieking cohort of wizards emerged from the light, and the magic brewing above gleamed with a dark power. The battlefield was gripped by a dreadful cry as the viridian clouds split apart, raining down arrows of wicked flame.
Thousands of arrows shot towards the Anchor of Light; the sheer numbers blotted out the horizon. Void's eyes widened as he quickened his pace, weaving through the attacks. He looked ahead. Pahanin's clones were already rushing to intercept the attack.
The clones leapt, slashing forwards as their attacks cut through some arrows, but it simply wasn't enough.
With a storm of arrows still inches above them, ThunderClapping surged with Light, shaping it into a bubble as he triggered his ward of dawn, encompassing everyone around him.
Thousands of arrows rained down on the ward as their cursed flame began to burn through and eat away at the ward's light. ThunderClapping looked up. The rains of arrows were relentless.
'F*ck' His eyes widened as he immediately realised the ward wouldn't last.
Before he could say a word, a massive aura of lilac light flickered ahead. Void kneeled on the ground, tugging against his light as he'd condensed a cataclysmic shadowshot at the tip of his bow.
As he tugged again, the shadowshot shivered, energy stirred as it flared around the arrow. Void looked up, aimed and let go.
The shadowshot whistled past, a single flicker of lilac tore towards a sea of green flames raining down. But as the arrow clashed, it erupted.
Tendrils of lilac light slithered outwards, devouring everything that lay in its way till the shadowshot itself collapsed, turning into a singularity of green and dark that continued sucking in the cursed flames.
As the rain of fire withered away, the singularity flared, compressing everything it had devoured into a single point until it could no longer contain it.
"Duck!" Void braced, shielding his eyes.
Instantly, everyone followed.
The next second, it imploded, sending a devastating shockwave and kicking up a gargantuan dust cloud.
The surface of the moon cracked. Fissures tore through it all, glowing hellish green as the ground shook beneath Anchor of Light.
When the dust settled, all they could see were wounds in the Moon's surface, scars that were carved deep, almost as if they had no end.
But everyone present knew it wasn't over.
Hive poured from the cracks, like blood from a wound. Thralls in swarms, Knights in phalanx formation, Ogres howling with rage, and a hymn echoed as a new trio of Wizards drifted overhead.
Void and Pahanin stood at the crater's edge, staring down the tidal wave of death.
Mist slithered across the battlefield like a curse, thickening with each passing moment. Void could feel it; this battle would never stop till it grew bitter. Like a subtle pressure that built around the eyes, like a sour lump forming in the throat.
Whatever curse they were under was not simple.
"I'm out of rockets!" Dumbledore barked, reloading a sidearm as he saw the Hive respawning.
"Those dogs! What is this mission! They just keep coming back!" Waffles panted, entirely exhausted as she saw her super bar drop to zero. "I got nothing left!"
"They're literally endless!" BearSpray loaded his last special ammo into his sniper and yelled. "We got other plans?"
Undecided shook his head as he saw more Ogres climb out of the Fissures.
Void grits his teeth, light arcing off his body.
He leapt and slammed down into the first Ogre, sending out a thunderclap that split the ground beneath his feet. Arc energy detonated outward in a perfect ring, vaporising a full squad of Thrall mid-lunge.
The other Ogres reeled. Void twisted, spun under its arm, and drove the blade into its gut with both hands. Lightning tore through its insides, blowing the creature apart from the ribcage out.
Pahanin darted beside him, this time wielding silver knives that he chucked amidst the chaos.
One, two, three enemies fell before he even drew a breath. Then he blurred and reappeared, stabbing a Knight through the back of the skull with an arcing flourish.
Pahanin directed his clones towards the centre as he called out, spinning to hurl a grenade. "Clear the Wizards!"
"On it!"
Void raised his hand, and a ripple of arc exploded out. The energy leapt from Hive to Hive, frying them instantly.
Still, the fog thickened.
The players rallied with whatever they could. ThunderClappin lobbing blind grenades into the dark, TheOneWhoKnocks continued sniping down cursed Thralls before they could reach the fireteam.
Void darted through the air, chasing a Wizard mid-flight, blasting it with his lightning till it charred.
Its corpse spiralled into the dirt, disintegrating on impact. His eyes flared as Void landed on his feet. He ducked, swiping upwards to match the blow of Knight. He flickered, then drove a dagger into its knees, crippling it instantly.
"Keep it coming!" BearSpray roared as he charged with his assault rifle.
IEatPaint shifted, charging from side to side till his super bar glowed a faint yellow. He didn't hesitate, instantly thundercrashing into a wave of Knights.
"Void!" Pahanin barked as another wave poured through the broken fissures. "We need to leave!"
Void stabbed his sword into the ground, sending out a wave of lightning around him that momentarily jolted the Hive.
"I know!" he shouted. "We can't hold this forever!"
Pahanin threw a knife behind his back, impaling a leaping Thrall without looking. "I wasn't planning to!"
He deftly tapped his wrist, bobbing through a Knight's slash.
Void chuckled as his blade glinted with faint lightning. He blinked across, beheading the Knight, "Do you even have a plan?"
"Almost. Just leave it to me!" Pahanin shouted as he sheathed his sword and vanished.
Void fought three knights at once, parrying their strikes. Then, as if answering the call, the moon seemed to rumble as everyone felt a tremor.
Void's eyes narrowed, 'No, it was different this time.'
His eyes darted as he searched for the source, and as he looked up, he finally saw it.
Far above, something had entered the moon's orbit with a deafening roar as its shadow tore across the sky, eclipsing the Moon's Horizon.
"What in the.." Void's eyes widened as he realised what the shadow belonged to.
The roar reverberated. And a hulking Fallen Ketch sailed above the horizon, turning towards them. It was massive and bristling with jagged cannons.
As it descended, the Ketch's engines spluttered and howled, spitting flame and smoke with every sputtering cough. The massive ship dropped fast, its hull shuddering as it tore through the thinning clouds—chimneys bellowing thick plumes into the mist-choked sky.
A low, metallic bell tolled from somewhere deep within the vessel.
Pahanin appeared at Void's side, a wry smile curling his lips. "That's ours."
He pointed towards the hull, where a crude ring of coiled snakes had been sloppily painted in dark black, unmistakable.
"I can f*cking see that." Void shook his head in disbelief.
Then, with a seismic KA-CHUNG, the anchor chain dropped, slamming into the ground just shy of the Umbral Veil, cracking the stone and tearing through what little order remained of the Hive line.
Void whipped towards the players and began racing towards the Veil, "GO, go, go now!"
He dashed towards the Veil with Pahanin by his side, "Zamyr! Break it!"
Void shouted, and his blade flared.
~As you wish!~ Zamnyr cackled, gleaming with a newfound power. His phantom rushed to the Veil, crashing into it as he took a bite, violently eating away the umbral curtain to leave behind a gaping maw.
With the way clear, the players immediately jolted.
"Let's go!" Void halted beside the chain, looking back as he and Pahanin covered their retreat.
The Anchor was inches away.
Hearing Voids' shouts, Waffles darted and grabbed it, climbing up to the Ketch.
ThunderClappin followed, shielding Dumbledore as they ascended. TheOneWhoKnocks and ILoveLoot laid suppressing fire while Undecided tossed wave after wave of solar grenades into the mist, eventually climbing up as well.
BearSpray raced back, but caught a hex straight to the chest and stumbled. Void immediately grabbed him by the arm, hauled him upright, and practically threw him onto the chain.
"Move!"
Void turned to Pahanin, who deflected one more of the Wizard's barrage of hexes.
"After you!" Pahanin said with a wink.
Void just vaulted upward, and Pahanin's clones flickered back, shielding his main body as he climbed up.
As the two latched onto the chain, the Ketch's chimney bellowed, and it began to rise.
Below them, the Hive screamed, held back by Pahanin's clones.
As the anchor reeled in, the hatch slid open, pulling everyone into the belly of the ship. The moment the last Pahanin crossed the threshold, his clones faded, the doors slammed shut, and the Ketch roared, sailing out of the Moon's orbit.
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