Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 35: MK-290

Amidst the cluster of ash and dirt clouding the air, Ria was the first to react as she pushed Altair, ssing the hairs on her neck stand on d. Her actions were calm as a beam of light whipped past the boy's head, searing the tips of his brows and cheeks. He rolled through the bushes, a chill storming his mind.

His stomach dipped as he saw a machine, a drone of sorts, reveal itself. Hovering in the skies with the help of two winged repulsors, smoke shimmering off the barrel of the cannon. Altair expression paled as two more MK-90 drones made their appearance.

"What the hell is that?" Reina barked, whipping out 'Ice' while Altair summoned his grimoire.

"They look like the MK-90. Drones that were made for surveillance and scouting. They're capable of killing a Tri-circle Soldier with that cannon, so don't let it hit you. The Aros family must be using it for security: I guess they figured having anything stronger for such a weak dungeon wasn't necessary." He said, pondering if they could break through its metal frame.

"I'll take two. You—"

"No." Altair hastily commanded. "These bastards are scouts there fast. It'll take two of us just to kill one if we can petrate its metal shell. Three is… coming here was a bad idea." He cursed as sweat trailed his cheek. " Raina, don't ever stop moving. Let's hope the AI isn't that intelligt."

'AI?" she thought but said nothing. Such a machine was already out of the bounds of Ria's understanding. She had never se such a thing but knew danger wh she felt it. All she knew was the forest.

Releasing a string of beeps and boops, a single MK-90 rushed toward Altair. Its frame was like a blur in which light could not refract. It made the concept of sound seem like a dream as it shattered the first barrier. It arrived directly in front of Altair; the cannon, a blaze with mana, prepared to fire wh suddly two other beams of light flashed towards the young Prince.

[Shadow Cage]

Channeling the spell through the grimoire with predetermined foresight. A flash of black light sprang from beath Altair's feet. Everything caught within the shadows stood froz as tdrils of darkness wrapped a everything, be it the beams of light inches from his skull or the drone itself. They were bound by the boy's spell.

Caught by shadows that trailed up the light as though it were a physical manifestation.

Altair moved to save his life wh Ria reacted, cleaving 'Ice' down with all her Mana blazing off the surface of her skin. She howled as a thrashing sound erupted.

"KEEP AT IT!!!!" Altair howled, seeing Ria's blade barely pierce the metal frame. She lifted the blade one last time and swung it down with all she had, oping the drone. At the same time, the Young Prince maintained his atttion on the two other drones. Apprehsion waned over his mind, awaiting Shadow Cage to d.

"Its shell is op." Reina roared, through a forehead wet with sweat. Altair appeared ready to strike again, but against all reason, he tackled her down as two beams of light ripped through his Cage, shredding the darkness to nothing.

"What are—"

"Two Seconds. That's how long it holds," He whispered, rolling as beams struck the g. The duo raced to their feet, using the forest a them to the best of their ability. They ducked and weaved, dodging like wild monkeys swinging from tree to tree with wild abandonmt.

The winds howled with the fearsome debris, followed by ash, stinging Altair's eyes, disrupting his vision. However, reason told him not to move, not to stray from the path he was on.

Sweat oozed from the young Prince as he suddly saw from the corner of his eye the third Drone rise from the g, bearing a gruesome gash over its frame, with a few cracks over the flight system.

"Ria, I'm going to stop everyone again. Aim for the wings. We need them out of the air. If we can disrupt their mobility, this battle is ours." Altair phrased, and without waiting for Ria to confirm, he dipped toward the damaged drone.

'These drones' primary mission should be to defd against intruders. The loss of a single drone could mean a significant loss in stability." The Prince quickly thought. "The Injured MK-90 is not beyond fixing. Meaning…" He glanced at the Drones hovering above him and grinned as they whipped towards him like a blur of prismatic light.

The Prince grinned evilly, pausing inches away as the Grinomor hovering near him lit up. "Meaning you'll try to save your comrade in times of danger against a boy without a Magical Circle.

"You're predictable. Shadow Cage!"

Darkness sprang from the void, trapping the drones all of a sudd. Altair felt every strand of hair on his neck stand on d. His heart skipped a beat, and against his own will, he fell to his knee. His instants overwhelmed his mind as a scarlet semi-arc, so foul the grass and trees withed beath its aura.

[Infernal Rage (F)]

Attribute: Nephilim, Blood

Effect: Stat Boost .5x

Cost: 30% Lifeforce

Description: Through the Blood of the Nephilim, call forth the Wrath of Heav and Hell to sever the agts of Yahweh and Lucifer. Beath the Will of the Nephilim, all shall burn beath their rage.

Altair whirled to his feet, nearly buckling as the arc of transcdt light carved its way through the wings of the three Drones in but an instant: Shards of metal dropped like a house of cards as she appeared. Her once ash blue hair was now an infinite sea of crimson, with eyes to match.

In a flash, she swung her azure blade stained with a scarlet sin that carved through the metal as though it were hot butter. And yet Ria wasn't done. Her sword flared like the edge of a storm, shredding the metal into scraps before Altair's very eyes.

The boy had never se anything like it. But he could feel it. The rage bled from every orifice the girl had before the scarlet haze vanished a her, returning her to a righteous state. She smiled at him just barely before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her face planted itself into the g.

"What? What the hell?" He muttered, only to notice a pool of blood gathering a Ria's wrist. Startled, he lunged towards her, only to see a deep vertical gash trailing up her wrist.

Altair recognized the wound as something his mother told him was called a Blood Art. Techniques used to call upon the ancestral power everyone's blood carried in every geration. Tebrae had warned about the dangers of Blood Arts, stating that all of them came with a heavy price.

If one were lucky or powerful ough, the Blood Art would merely call for their blood, but in many cases, it would call for hundreds of bloodlines, sometimes based on age, sex, or mtal and physical purity.

He clicked his tongue, "You're so careless." He tore his sleeve to dress her wound the best he could before placing her on his back. "Now the big question: do we go in or head back."

The Prince scratched his head as he stared at the trance to the forest ahead and grunted. "Should I head in, or should I leave? We barely survived." he judged for a bit, glancing at the scraps, and made for the trance with a heavy heart: Retreat wasn't an option.