Skyfire Avenue

It wasn’t only Wang Hongyuan who was affected by the sight. The massive creature, too, was aware of what it faced. Still the vicious monstrosity fearlessly beat it’s wings until, with some effort, it lifted free from the ground. It roared madly at Thor, vomiting a beam of violet energy towards it.

But before the beam could pierce Thor, it scattered and dissolves upon contact with the flashing lightning that surrounded it. Thor was entirely unfazed. In the interim before the beam struck, Thor had changed from a dazzling blue to a blinding gold. Squinting through the blazing light one could see the mecha was blanketed in tightly compacted golden lightning bolts.

“Die!” Lan Jue shouted back at the roaring behemoth, and Thor met the impromptu battle-cry with a forward charge. From where Wang Hongyuan watched, he could see the spear of golden light crashing earthbound. It’s glow covering everything within dozens of square kilometers.

The behemoth hadn’t risen a thousand metes above ground before it lurched to a stop. It’s skin began to split, and from somewhere within it’s rotten body rays of golden light escaped. It reeled, roaring towards the heavens, before it burst apart in a searing blaze.

A shimmering figure stood in the air where fragments of the creature were falling away. Around it, the skies opened up and hundreds upon hundreds of golden bolts of lightning came crashing from the dark clouds on high. The world became a dazzling forest of lightning.

Thor released the power it had stored unto it’s enemies, the devastating Forest of Lightning.

Below in the tainted forests the multitude of hideous creatures were quickly turning to coal, burnt to oblivion by the lightning. In the space of an instant, hundreds of the monsters were turned to ash or blown apart. It was like a blast from the gods themselves, turning against the evil pestilence.

Wang Hongyuan swallowed hard. “Glad I’m on his side!”

Even the soldiers and tourists in their headlong rush for escaped were inspired to stop and stare at the scene above them. Not a soul knew what had happened, even the satellites couldn’t penetrate the cloud cover to run their scans. All the fleeing masses knew was turning their monstrous assailants to fried carcasses.

Even atheists were on their knees, shouting praises to whatever god would listen. For it could only be a god who possessed this level of power.

Eventually the golden light receded. The large figure at it’s core descended until it connected once again with the ground.

“Are you alright, Zeus?” Thor’s metallic voice rumbled through the cockpit.

Lan Jue, his face pale and sunken, shook his head. “I’m fine. Just made the wound flare up, that’s all. You? How much energy do we have remaining?”

“Fifty-seven percent.”

“Then continue on auto, I need a breather.”

“Very well.” Without pause, Thor’s thrusters sent it up and away towards the next enemy.

Thor’s Forest of Lightning had temporarily eased the immediate danger of the encampment being overrun. Already there were more and more tourists under soldier care rushing towards the airship tarmac. They took off, one after the other, as they were stuffed full of evacuees. They reeled and raced skyward in any direction, just desperate to flee the nightmare they’d found themselves in.

A flash of red, and Idoloclast appeared behind another one of the creatures. Dual crimson blades shimmered in it’s hands. As the seven meter weapons cut through, a dark light remained in the air it passed through.

The creature slowly fell away in to countless chunks of chopped meat.

Wang Hongyuan had already lost count of the number of creatures he’d dispatched. It had been two hours since he’d called Idoloclast and their work begun. He figured at least a hundred, but compared to that guy... he was behind perhaps ten times Thor’s kill count.

And yet the creatures kept coming. It was like they were an endless wave. It almost seemed like their numbers were increasing instead. Fortunately it appeared most of the ships in this encampment had already set off, and radar revealed fewer and fewer fleeing tourists.

“How you holding up, Professor Lan?” Wang Hongyuan called through the mech’s communicators, somewhat out of breath.

“I’m all good,” his voice responded, cool and collected. At present he was controlling the mecha manually to conserve power.

“Reserves are down to less than thirty percent. Nearing the warning line. I count twenty eight ships still remaining at the encampment.”

“Alright,” Lan Ju replied. “Fall back to the encampment, guard the strip. I’ll join you there in about twenty minutes. We need to prep our own evac.”

“Got it!” Wang Hongyuan immediately left for his new post.

The two of them had done all they could. Now, they had to get themselves out before it was too late.

Thor paused, hovering in the air. It raised it’s metallic head. At this point the whole of Taihua was enveloped in a grey mist. Although Thor was capable of replenishing it’s own energy stores, it could only be done through cosmic radiation. Even if some could get through the dense fog, he’d still require time they didn’t have.

With how much Thor had endured, it’s own stores were only about thirty percent as well. Still the radar reached out.

Beep! Lan Jue looked at the information, and was shocked to find someone taking one of the beasts by themselves. The power fluctuations were intense.

ζ

Tan Lingyun half squatted under the canopy, an arm stretched out for balance and gasping heavily. Her clothes were almost rags, but it only enhanced the ferocity glinting behind her eyes.

Before her a giant python coiled, watching her with it’s lidless gaze.

Their fight had been raging for a little while already. She’d raced headlong in to the forests to search for Lan Jue and Wang Hongyuan, killing perhaps a dozen of the beasts barehanded along the way. But she was reaching the end of her limit. In fact, were it not for the restorative and vibrant qualities of the environment she was linked to, she’d have been a goner long ago.

The entire beast was a sort of mulberry color, stretching twenty meters long. It was covered in tough scales and thick flesh, and although Tan Lingyun had already managed to put several holes in the thing none of them were grievous injuries. Worse, their last exchange had done some internal damage to herself.

Her eyes were growing dim. The world before her was slowly becoming blurry like staring through dirty water. Tan Lingyun knew this was the result of stretching herself beyond her limit.

She couldn’t hold on much longer. Although she knew her decision to remain behind would likely lead to disaster, she had no regrets. She may not have been able to find Lan Jue and Wang Hongyuan, but she’d managed to help at least eight other tourists escape.

She’d die fighting, if it came to it!

With another deep breath Tan Lingyun launched herself forward. A glowing green light shone in the center of her forehead – her core. As it revealed itself, wisps of green energy appeared from the surrounding forests and merged with her. She was urged on, powered by the supernatural essence of the forest she protected.

Her right arm lifted, and clutched in her hand was a glittering and translucent emerald blade. She gripped the pommel with both hands. In this instant her thoughts turned to her mecha. If only Druidess were here, exhaustion wouldn’t be a concern. But it wasn’t, so she had to make do. And even if she died, she was going to make sure this damn snake choked on her corpse.

The anaconda keenly felt the approaching threat. It’s scales began to peel away, opening up and allowing a thick cloud of mist to envelope everything around itself. First it was like a spectre, a dangerous silhouette. And then it vanished.

The natural mana sustaining Tan Lingyun had reached it’s peak. There was no more room for hesitation. She blindly lashed out with the shimmering green sword.

Where the blade passed, the magenta mist parted like snow before a flame. The green flash revealed, just briefly, the mighty beast. It’s howl of pain said the rest.

Strike? Tan Lingyun’s heart skipped a beat. And yet, a moment later, she was met with the exact thing she didn’t want to see.

She had landed a strike, but what she’d hit was the damn thing’s tail. A three meter section of the monster had been cleaved free, belching pools of purplish liquid. A strike, but hardy a lethal blow.

The snake-monster’s distended maw lashed out with horrendous speed. At this point the mecha teacher was too exhausted to dodge. She watched the fanged mouth barreling towards her, helpless.

This was to be her end! Tan Lingyun bitterly shut her eyes. Memories of the past twenty eight years flooded her mind’s eye. In that time she’d experienced so much, endured so much. She suddenly felt.... liberated. At peace.

She felt her whole body tighten. Next she heard the violent blast of a thunderbolt, and suddenly the earth was spinning.

Her eyes opened, almost of their own accord. She was greeted with the sight of a massive blue mecha, which held her in it’s giant hand. Blinding flares of blue light burst forth, casting the snake away like it was nothing more than a pesky insect. The mecha twisted in the air, firing once more upon the beast from an impossible angle. The monster’s head was split open.

As she watched, caught in it’s grip, the sapphire mecha moved once again. It hung in the air long enough to spin about, heading to ground in a perfectly executed inverted V-shape.

It twisted and rolled, pressing Tan Lingyun tight against the metal palm. The pressure, and her exhausted, colluded to blanket the world around her in darkness. In the moment before she fainted, all she could remember where the frightening yellow eyes of the mecha.

Boom! Thor landed amidst flying debris and foliage.

Seeing Tan Lingyun clutched safely in Thor’s hand, Lan Jue couldn’t help but feel a surge of warmth fill his heart.