Chapter 34: Heal
Chapter 34: Heal
The scout tried to attack the Canzer while it was in its frozen state. However, sharp claws suddenly came thrashing down towards him.
"Argh!" He didn't expect to see the Canzer recover from the ice in its body so fast.
Three gashes appeared on his torso, staining his green battle suit bloody red.
The pugilist was caught off guard too. He tried to use his twisting tornado punch again and dealt a heavy blow to the head, but the Canzer suddenly spat out green goo toward him.
He thought he'd be able to duck away from it, but he didn't account for the green goo's unpredictable splash pattern.
The acidic liquid splotched on his left shoulder and a little bit on his neck. Smoke came out as the acid burned away his battle suit and skin.
The tank panicked when he saw this. He quickly rushed over to their side and put up his shield. "Are you okay?"
The tank tried to save the scout and the pugilist, but that was a mistake. He forgot that he was the only one standing in the way between the Canzer and the Stun Wizard.
GYAOOO
The Deiztruphia Canzer noticed the lone woman in front of it. It roared and got on all fours. It dug its feet into the fibers on the ground and used them to charge toward the Stun Wizard at fast speeds–much faster than what they could all react to.
The Stun Wizard was dazed as she saw the Canzer rush towards her. In her panic, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen.
SHINGGG
Just when she thought that she'd have a thousand kilograms of force slamming on her body at top speeds, a holographic bubble suddenly appeared around her body.
The Canzer collided head-first into the bubble and was repelled away, unable to break through.
The collision disoriented the Canzer as it stumbled and crashed into the trash bin.
"Stop panicking," Neumann shouted to the youths. "Just do what you all practiced. You don't have to worry about your injuries."
Neumann's reminders broke them out of their stupor. In the midst of all the excitement and nervousness, the group forgot their respective roles in the fight.
They got too impatient and that led to mistakes and injuries that could have been easily avoided.
"Let's group up!" shouted the tank.
They all nodded as they slowly backed away from the stunned Canzer and used this time to recenter themselves.
"I'll protect the stun wizard and the archer." The tank reminded himself to protect the most vulnerable. Because of his mistake, the stun wizard was almost knocked out.
"I'll have to aim for its legs now." The archer tried to save both the scout and the pugilist, but because he aimed for the head, his shots missed. He got too ambitious.
The pugilist took a deep breath and forced himself to be patient. His injuries reminded him of what would happen if he tried to attack at an inopportune moment.
The stun wizard remained silent and forced herself to calm her nerves. Yet, her hands still shook from that terrifying experience.
"Scout! Are you okay? Can you continue?" asked the tank.
The scout held his bleeding torso and forced himself up. He gave his team a smile and a thumbs up.
Now that they knew the consequences of their carelessness, the group became more careful.
The Canzer got up from the trash bin and roared at the teens. They steeled themselves and got into their respective positions, just like they practiced.
Atlan watched as the group started to work like a well-oiled machine. They stopped acting by themselves and started to communicate their moves to one another.
This led them to cover for each other's downtime.
The scout, the tank, and the stun wizard all worked together for defense and distraction. Whenever the Canzer tried to attack their group, they would stun or distract it enough for the others to escape.
Meanwhile, the archer and the pugilist took that time to deal as much damage to the Canzer when they found an opening.
Slowly but surely, their gears got going and they settled on a safe rhythm in their battle against the Canzer.
After half an hour of fighting, the Canzer couldn't keep itself standing anymore. It limped as it tried to use its front legs to move closer to its attackers.
The combined attacks from the archer and the pugilist injured the Canzer's extremities to the point of crippling them.
Atlan thought that the battle would soon be over.
"It's not over yet," muttered Neumann beside him.
"What do you mean?"
Neumann pointed at the Canzer. "All Destruction Canzers have a special ability…like that."
Just then, he saw the arrows embedded in its four legs start to fall out till the wounds closed. The twisted fur and skin it suffered from the pugilist's Tornado Punch LifeSkill turned back to normal.
The injuries on the Canzer's body started to heal!
It was at this point that the Canzer fell on the floor and covered its body with its large shell. The youths had no way of penetrating through it.
The large tongue on its head peeked out of the shell and shot out green goo up the air like a fountain. No one could approach it unless they wanted to burn their bodies in acid.
In just a few more minutes, the Canzer would return to normal and their hard work would all be for naught.
Why aren't they panicking? Is this normal?
"Atlan. It's time!" Neumann patted him on the back. "Put down the bag on the floor."
Atlan had more questions, but he knew that this wasn't the time for it. He immediately took out the large boulder-like bag on his back and put it on the floor.
He undid the straps on the bag and let the whole thing unravel.
Layers upon layers of fabric laid down on the floor like a carpet until a shiny metallic cube showed itself.
This cube was twice as tall as a normal person, and it had intricate wavy and curvy lettering etched onto the very material. As soon as it finished unraveling, its edges suddenly glowed a bright yellow light.
"Step back," said Neumann. "It will activate by itself."
Just then, the cube suddenly floated up in the air until it was towering over them 10 feet in the air.
KUSHHH
A grid-like pattern emerged on its surface, separating the whole thing into 27 smaller cubes. And after a few moments, it all flew away in different directions in the sky. It didn't stop until it encompassed the whole Remedium in a dome.
The cubes glowed and shot out glowing lines that connected each cube. A small shockwave emanated from the 'dome', signaling its completion.
Nothing physically changed, but Atlan looked around and felt the difference. It felt like the air got heavier.
Why does this feel familiar?
GYAOOOO
The Deiztruphia Canzer suddenly trembled the same moment Atlan felt the air change. Its whole body spasmed as if it were being electrocuted by lightning.
It couldn't help but extend its arms and head out of its shell.
Atlan noticed something then. The Canzer stopped healing! The bruises in its body returned and the cuts on its body let out violet blood again.
"Destruction Canzers can keep regenerating as much as they need. That construct prevents them from healing." Neumann muttered.
"How?"
He shrugged. "I heard it's something about their weakness. It has something to do with Angels."
Atlan was surprised. Canzers have a weakness against Angels?