Boom!
The light consumed a portion of the forest, including Yuanchen, who was caught off guard. A loud tick echoed through the trees, and digital frames returned.
It was as if time itself was being affected.
And the orchestrator? Jinx, who was observing. The erasure of events that had happened gave Yuanchen insight into what was going on.
He pushed away just as the blast shot past him and adjusted his position on the snow. Yuanchen looked at Jinx and raised a thumb up, only for the creature to poke its tongue out at him.
His hyper-awareness ticked, and Yuanchen focused on what was in front of him just as a blade came at his neck. He bent his body backward, and the attack sailed above his head, cutting strands of his hair.
Yuanchen placed his hand on the snow during the pathing of the sword and released the Neuro-Qi in his mechanical hand, projecting himself up. He kicked Edith on the chin, knocking her back.
"Payback!" Yuanchen smirked.
Edith hovered in the air and adjusted her footing before ceremoniously placing them on the ground. She extended her hand to the side, and the blades on her back combined into a new form — a miniature railgun pointed at him.
The railgun charged up Neuro-Qi and fired, releasing a purple beam that tore through the barely standing trees as it shot toward Yuanchen.
Don't move! Jinx spoke as it moved its hand, causing the world to glitch yet again. The blast's trajectory shifted, missing Yuanchen by a mile.
The attack disappeared into the distance, and a loud boom rippled through the air. A shockwave blew across Snow-Peak.
A mountain range was vaporized from a single attack.
Yuanchen whistled at the display of destruction.
Thump!
Thump!
His heart skipped a beat, and he collapsed to his knees. He looked at his hands only to see double vision. Yuanchen coughed, trying to wrap his head around what was happening to him. He could feel the Neuro-Qi mixture in his core subsiding.
"Damn... it..." Yuanchen cussed as he fell onto the snow.
Edith walked up to him and stared down at the man. She raised her sword, ready to end Yuanchen.
"Hold it!"
A voice stopped Edith as a small red sphere rolled between her feet, prompting her to gaze downward.
The sphere clicked, and a cloud of smoke escaped from the exposed pores, shrouding the area.
Edith leapt back, escaping the smoke's reach. Her eyes tracked the cloud, catching sight of a silhouette standing beside the fallen Yuanchen.
Serena stepped out of the smoke. Her casual smile was gone.
In its place was a cold, calculating face.
She gained some distance between herself and Yuanchen. "Never thought they'd reach you," she mused to herself, slipping her hands into her pockets and pulling out three rings, which she casually slid onto her fingers.
Immediately, her Neuro-Qi levels surged tenfold.
Edith's scans went frantic from the massive amounts of Neuro-Qi radiating from Serena, each signal marking her as an escalating threat.
The control over Edith faltered slightly, and for a brief moment, she was herself again. "Help... me!"
Serena nodded and cracked her knuckles. "Count on me, kiddo."
She blazed across the gap between them in an instant. Her speed defied all logic — her body was not built for such movement.
Appearing before Edith, she punched her in the face, sending her flying deeper into the forest, and followed after.
The control over Edith quickly reasserted itself. Whatever was commanding her movements took over again, and she glided to a stop just as Serena's kick came flying in. This time, the sword on Edith's back blocked the strike, and a cut appeared on Serena's leg. Alarmed, she swiftly pulled her foot back.
Serena skidded to a halt at a distance, her leg bleeding from the attack. She placed a hand over the gash, and the rings glowed briefly as the wound stopped bleeding.
She grinned and charged at Edith again.
The exhilarating feeling of battle — one she had long forgotten after her retirement — surged back. Facing her pupil brought Serena nothing but pure ecstasy. Her Neuro-Qi resonated with her desire, activating her long-dormant Conduits. Once-dead technological meridians roared back to life.
"Earth Shocker!"
Serena threw a punch the moment she got into striking range. Neuro-Qi flowed like an ocean, cradling her fist before bursting outward as a massive wave of energy. It tore through trees and snow, permanently carving the land.
The wave struck its target, shaking the earth beneath them.
< Shield at 50% >
< Adaptive material damaged >
< Core overheating >
The warnings flashed in Edith's computerized pupils, projecting the damage from the attack.
Her shield was barely holding. Her wings were torn apart, and parts of her armor crumbled.
"Oh my, what's this? You managed to withstand that? Not bad," Serena mused as she walked closer to the crater her attack had made.
She raised her hand to unleash another strike — but was suddenly interrupted.
"That will be enough for today."
A male voice cut through the air, his body materializing from the space around them.
The man gazed at Serena, and a chill gripped her soul.
It was unlike anything she had ever felt — sinister, reeking of blood. The murderous intent leaking from the newcomer almost made Serena vomit.
She lowered her hand. "Who are you?"
The man grinned under his crow-mask and raised his gloved hand, wagging his finger. "That's for another time, Serena — the great whimsical crane of snow!" he teased, then placed a hand on Edith. In an instant, they vanished.
Serena stood powerless to stop him. The man knew her, knew her past life. Despite reawakening her long-buried battle spirit, she felt certain she would not have won if he had chosen to fight her.
Clicking her tongue, Serena returned to Yuanchen.
Little did she know, their problems were far from over.
---
"Damn it! We should've helped Elephant!"
"Calm down, Snake."
"Of course you would say that bullshit, Falcon! Our friend is dead! Tang is dead, and you have the nerve to tell me to calm down?" Snake spat, slamming her petite hands on the table.
The leader rose from his seat and looked at everyone present in the room — everyone except Tang. "Make no mistake, Elephant's death will not be in vain. We need to focus on our objective, and that is the Red Clad Sect. After that, we can focus on Snow-Peak."
"What about—"
"What about nothing!" Snake's protest was cut short as the leader's suffocating aura filled the room, forcing everyone to their knees. "We are attacking the Red Clad Sect envoy tomorrow at the crack of dawn, and that is it. Understood?"