Inverse System

Chapter 42 - Charred Battles (2)

Meanwhile, in the volcano...

Quint and Clyde stood there, waiting for their opponent to make his move. Galo waved his arm, summoning a wave of copper coins at Clyde and Quint. They dodged, maneuvering around his attacks. With the coins moving relatively slowly, they were able to find an opening and attack him directly. Galo defended himself and blocked with the coins, but not effectively, both of them able to cut through his wall of coins, grazing him slightly.

"Impressive…" Uttered Galo.

"The hell is this guy's Spring? Why can he control coins? And how is the gold platform floating?" Asked Quint as they broke away from the battle.

"Galo, the green squad captain. He can manipulate all matter, depending on the value placed on it by public perception. His go-to ammunition is copper coins, which are made out of a strong material and have a certain value placed upon them. His hold over them is fairly weak though, as they are not worth an extraordinary amount," Clyde explained to Quint, who seemed to understand.

"So is that why he can float on that gold platform? Cause gold is worth so much?"

"Correct. And we are lucky he is not using it to attack us. We would stand no chance if he were to use as valuable a material as gold. With the correct ammunition, he is easily the strongest member of Crypt," Clyde claimed, which made Galo laugh.

"You give me too much credit. Dunno bout being the strongest in Crypt, but your first statement was true. You would stand no chance if I used pure gold."

"Guess it's a good thing there's none here then," Quint spoke, relieved.

"Oh? I wouldn't be so sure."

Suddenly, Galo jumped off of his platform, crossed his arms, and began controlling the gold he stood on. He stretched it, split it, and solidified it, controlling it with maximum fluidity.

"Shit… Maybe I shouldn't have said anything," said Quint, bracing himself for an attack.

The speed at which the gold moved was untraceable, the two who fought it not being able to dodge. They were thrown around, beat, and rag-dolled by Galo.

"Tell me, where is the white-haired brat?" He asked while attacking them.

"Like I'd ever tell you…" Uttered Clyde, barely able to block the lightning-fast gold that attacked him.

Clyde activated his Spring, affecting both himself and Quint, which cut his Spring duration in half as he was affecting double the people. They were able to barely escape the barrages of gold that pummeled them, with enough energy to reconvene.

"The hell… This guy's too strong… And it's not even that much gold too… Hey, now would be a good time to check what's in that box," Quint proposed, which reminded Clyde.

He opened the box Rein handed to them, revealing a crimson-red ring placed inside. Clyde was only able to inspect it for a second before the barrage of attacks continued, forcing Clyde to put it back in his pocket. The lava pool around Xenia was beginning to fiercen, with a shot of lava spewing out, getting dangerously close to hitting her.

"Xenia! Are you alright?" Quint was able to find a brief moment to himself, where he made sure his sister was okay.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Watch out for yourself Quint!" Xenia blindly warned Quint, somehow knowing that the piece of gold was flying directly towards his back.

Quint was able to react in time thanks to his sister's warning, beastifying his back to cushion the attack.

"Impressive. But you can't keep goin' forever. You're eventually gonna run outta gas," Galo smiled, as he continued his barrage on Quint and Clyde.

Clyde found a moment of respite, putting the ring on, feeling his vision turning a tint of red, then taking it off instantly.

"Did my Spring just... invert..?" He thought to himself. "Why would Rein give this to us… Perhaps he wanted us to use it on Galo? No… It would be nearly impossible to get this ring on his hand. And besides, if his Spring is inversed and he's able to control worthless matter, he may be able to control rocks and wind. I would rather not take the risk…" That's when it hit him. A stroke of genius.

He looked around his surroundings, the cave being filled with cinnabar ore as far as the eye could see.

"I see what you were trying to tell us Rein… I just need to get to her," he thought to himself. "Quint!"

"Y-yeah?"

"I have a plan. It will make use of your poison immunity. All I need to do is reach your sister's location, and we may have a chance at winning."

"Huh?"

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Meanwhile, back in the Hasbin Gulf.

"Um, miss Julianne? Where are you taking us?" Emria inquired while following the principal into a mysterious-looking elevator on the ground floor of the dormitory. Saphrilla followed silently.

They reached a basement floor, the walls filled with tools, materials, and other miscellaneous items. The room was grey, with a scent of cold steel writhing through the air.

Julianne banged her hand on the wall, shaking the room, the sound drawing out a girl in the backroom of the floor.

"Huh? Who the hell was that?" A young, rough-looking elf girl emerged. She had red hair, yellow eyes, and a red cap on, wearing a yellow shirt with the sleeves pulled up to her shoulders and brown pants that were also pulled up to her shins. Her hair flowed down to her waist, tied together at the end with a hairband. She was about 5'5 in height.

"Girls, meet Raxo. A second-year student that took over the engineering club at the academy. She's been having some trouble with her gadgets lately, so help her out," Julianne introduced them, inducing an angry reaction from the red-haired elf.

"Hey! The hell are you doing bringing these kids to my workshop? I told you to find me club members, not grade schoolers!" Raxo remarked rudely at Julianne, which earned her a whack on the head.

"I expect you to pay them for their work!" Julianne exclaimed as she went back up the elevator, leaving Emria and Saphrilla in the engineering club.

Emria turned around to face Raxo, followed by Saphrilla. Raxo looked at them both and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Ah what the heck. My name is Raxo Tincer, 17 years old, president, and currently the only member of the engineering club. How old are both of you?" She interviewed them, Saphrilla giving a small reaction when she heard her full name.

"My name is Emria Xilris and I'm 12," responded Emria.

"And my name is Saphrilla Xilris and I am 13 years of age," Saphrilla continued. "Your name is Tincer? Could you be the daughter of Alen Tincer? The CEO of the Echo company in the Orthlys capital city? The ones who specialize in utility rings?"

"Yeah, that's me. My dad sent me here to get better at engineering, though it was probably just to get rid of me since I break everything I touch," she said discouragingly.

"Well, we can't wait to get to work!" Emria affirmed, trying to cheer Raxo up. Saphrilla looked at her with an air of suspicion, before following them into the backroom to look at Raxo's gadgets.