Chapter 128: Heartstopper

    I almost didn’t react when I saw everyone streaming past us. Turning around had killed our momentum; we wouldn’t be able to get back up to speed before the Scourge was upon us.

    I had taken the gamble that everyone could use their brains to figure we had a chance of survival through teamwork. Perhaps, in a moment of crisis, they would revert to their teachings at the Magisterium — instilled in them for even longer than it had for me — and band together to face the threat.

    But when it really came down to it, I suppose it was everyone for themselves. I pounded Vetsmon’s chest with my fist.

    “Divert to the side. Quickly.”

    “Mm.”

    He took off without a moment’s rest, my squad running to the side instead of following behind the pack.

    I looked back at the horde, the two Authority 7s screeching as they redirected their pursuit towards us.

    They were both a type of scorpion, one I recognized from my Magisterium classes: a Heartstopper, known for... well, heartstopping.

    Both darted towards us.

    Then a white wave, honed to a fine point, slammed into the carapace of one of the scorpions from behind. Whatever it was, in a rare moment of luck, the scorpion shook off the impact and diverged with a good half of the swarm. It continued chasing after the rest of the group while we were left with the other half.

    Our chances, though much higher, still looked grim. We were all worn out from the battle between ourselves at the base, despite the rejuvenation. I had almost shattered Umara’s barrier only because I pumped so much Psyka into the bullets I could, at best, empty a pistol magazine before dropping unconscious.

    Thankfully I had only fired a few shots, but that still used around half of my reserves in just a minute’s time. It wasn’t good for the body, not for me, not for the others.

    “Tana!”

    “Yes!”

    Umara called to Tana, and they linked up while running.

    Umara brought out her gifted knife from Shadowbane, a one-off weapon that could kill high-level enemies.

    My eyes brightened.

    “This is a powerful weapon. It’ll kill that Authority 7. I’m leaving it to you. Use it at the right moment.”

    “... I won’t let you down.”

    Tana took it with a nod, glancing back at me before shooting off into the trees.

    We continued running as I let out a breath.

    “Handle the small ones first, then focus on the scorpion. Ready?!”

    “Yes!”

    “Let’s go!”

    With my word, everyone spun around in sync, preparing attacks.

    I was dumped to the side before Vetsmon shot off with his shield. Feiden also shot forward, making a beeline straight for the scorpion and stopping it in its tracks.

    I took aim at the small fry, opening fire without a word.

    Explosions rang out as I mowed down all the nearby beasts. It was easy to kill the ones I could see, so I did as much as I could.

    Feiden also started killing stragglers while Vetsmon charged the scorpion. For the first few seconds, it seemed to be going well.

    That was until Vetsmon actually clashed with the thing. I watched as his shield was shredded by the spikes on the scorpion’s head upon collision, the force knocking him into the air.

    I felt my pupils narrowing.

    “Feiden!”

    “Got him!”

    I didn’t even have to say anything. Before a word came out of my mouth, Feiden was already on his way, launching his body towards Vetsmon and tackling him to the side.

    However, the tail was the scorpion’s chief weapon, and it came like a whip on top of both of them.

    An explosive crack resounded as it slammed them both into the ground. It cratered beneath their bodies. Their armor crunched inwards, taking the shape of the spikes on the creature’s tail.

    Perhaps their adrenaline surged at just the right moment, because, despite the damage, they were able to jump away like nothing happened.

    A second afterward though, while running away, Feiden buckled and rolled to the ground, blood oozing from his chestplate.

    Vetsmon didn’t fare much better, but Feiden had at least taken the brunt of the hit for him.

    Umara fired off a barrage of spells, slicing open what monsters I couldn’t see, and throwing a few at the scorpion for good measure. It was pushed back for a moment, allowing Vetsmon to stand back up and prepare an attack.

    Yet, with one swipe of a claw from the scorpion, he was sent straight back to the ground, his chestplate into his body.

    As his head snapped to the ground, I felt his Aura greatly diminish. He had actually lost consciousness.

    But I wasn’t even given the opportunity to panic. Taking advantage of the attack on Vetsmon, Tana appeared on top of the scorpion’s back.

    I hadn’t even sensed her. Her Aura was impeccably hidden. It seemed in this moment of crisis, she had pushed her Aura forward a large step.

    Just like that, she plunged the knife between the layers of the scorpion''s spiked carapace. It plunged deep and like a needle, injected a surge of pure power almost through the scorpion.

    But perhaps the worst place to attack a scorpion was on its back. Tana learned this the hard way as its tail spike plunged into her gut.

    My vision flared, almost blinding me for a second. I saw the scorpion turning into ash from the inside-out, the point of penetration spreading a wave of death, but I registered none of it, even as the carapace collapsed and clattered to the ground.

    Tana was left in the midst of the dissolving shell and a pile of ash.

    She quickly ripped the tail out after cutting off the spike. She seemed healthy... at first. It only took two steps for Tana to collapse in a heap.

    “Tana!”

    Umara screamed as I ran forward, sliding to Tana’s side as she fell on her back.

    Without hesitation I unbuckled and ripped off her chestplate before pulling up her shirt, finding the hole in her gut.

    It wasn’t exactly centered, close enough but significantly to the side. Perhaps it had destroyed a kidney, but since she was a knight, she could survive all that.

    Instead, what made my heart drop was the rapidly spreading venom. I could see it spread visibly as it turned her veins black while traveling upward toward the heart.

    I panicked. I didn’t have anything like an antivenom. Nothing geared toward recovery could stop something like this. And even though Tana was a knight, this venom wasn’t something she could naturally fight.

    She would die. Without her heart pumping, no oxygen would reach her brain and she would be brain dead before long. How long, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps her magic could keep her going for a little while longer.

    I saw her eyes trembling while looking toward me, her weak voice barely getting pushed out.

    “I did it...”

    “...We’re not done yet, Tana. Just stay with me. I- we’re getting you home.”

    “...”

    She couldn’t respond, slowly losing consciousness as I took out a knife and sliced her shirt in half.

    I looked at her bare chest, black veins already spreading to her heart. When I put my ear to her chest, I could barely hear the last few beats before her heart stopped.

    Clinical death.

    I pulled my head back, hand moving down her chest before finding the right position over her heart.

    Then, I put my palms down and started chest compressions.

    Her Vigor wasn’t active, so her body barely resisted my efforts. She was just a normal girl now. Thankfully, otherwise there would be absolutely nothing I could do.

    I felt her chest cave under every press, maintaining a steady rhythm while including mouth to mouth resuscitation. These were the only two tools at my disposal.

    Umara came over not long later.

    “John...”

    “Check the others.”

    “Someone important, and I’m honestly not sure. It’s nothing bad though. Plenty worth it.”

    “... Let’s get her a shirt.”

    Umara just sighed while taking out a spare shirt, covering Tana’s bare chest with it.

    The Puppet Master reappeared sometime after that, bringing us into the retreating army and deciding to ignore the topic of Tana’s miraculous recovery. There were few spare vehicles to use, so we had no choice but to march with everyone. Vetsmon, who was still unconscious, was laid on top of one of the few trucks while Feiden was given some recovery meds and resigned to march with us while healing.

    I kept Tana with me, shifting her on my back. I also put my coat on her. Her body was incredibly cold.

    At least she was alive, I kept reminding myself. It was quite the miracle. Or perhaps a given. She was a knight, so since I was able to keep her heart going, her own body worked on preserving the rest. It was almost logical.

    But those three hours felt like an eternity. I didn’t know if it was possible that she could be alive after the first five minutes, let alone hours. But I banked on the fact that knights defied death itself, as had been shown to me repeatedly.

    That, and the voice of my angel continued to echo in my mind.

    Don’t give up. Seemed she hadn’t been talking about running away.

    ......

    ...

    It seemed the Kingdom could at least respond quickly to a crisis. We didn’t have to march for more than half a day before the soldiers did something peculiar.

    They found a spot on the ground and started digging. Earth warlocks caved in the earth while scooping out massive chunks of land.

    And what was revealed below after a few dozen meters was the Rail tunnels.

    Better yet, they had sent some Rails over. It seemed we were lucky and most of the rail cars weren’t actually at the base at the time of the attack.

    Since we now had access to them, we were able to load them with people and head back to the military depot.

    Once there, all the students were sent to the medical ward to get checked.

    All things considered, my squad had gotten off pretty well. It would’ve been smooth sailing had Tana not gotten poisoned.

    As for the other group that abandoned us, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, but a good chunk of them survived.

    The children of rich nobles naturally had a few things to preserve their lives against stronger enemies. It was just unfortunate for the ones who didn’t descend from endless generational wealth. The rich kids kept everything for themselves.

    What was 30 Elites and 20 students had been cut down another chunk. A headcount said there were only 18 Elites and 5 students, including us.

    23 students remained of the 150 who left for the excursion. It was an utter massacre, killing off almost all of the new blood that would’ve become soldiers only a month or so later.

    The fourth year, even disregarding the Elites, was supposed to be a generation of exceptionally talented students who were basically guaranteed to rise above the average. They would become valuable soldiers in the future. At least a few would likely reach Authority 10 within a decade or two.

    Now, over 90% had been killed unceremoniously. Those left were generally the cream of the crop, or at least the richest of them. But that didn’t mean the Kingdom hadn’t lost a major portion of their upcoming talent.

    It was the first tragedy of its kind. The Puppet Master had never lost an Elite before, and student deaths were exceptionally rare. Now, it could be said that so many Elites surviving through this was something to be proud of, given what happened.

    A King of the Scourge had stepped out to do battle. I didn’t know the last time that had happened, but considering the fact that few knew about the Kings, I could guess that it was a long time ago.

    War was coming, that much was certain.

    Sitting in the medical ward, we were all given some sort of recovery medicine. I resorted to my cigars. Except for some internal injuries and a headache caused by the initial battle against Umara, I was perfectly fine. Umara was also untouched. It was our knights who needed the treatment.

    To our surprise though, someone came and found us while we were waiting around.

    “Umara!”

    “Dad?”

    Umara’s eyes widened when her father appeared out of nowhere.

    He was wearing bloodied and beat up armor, so he had obviously fought with something. Thankfully, he had come out on top.

    Ikhor ran up and patted down his daughter.

    “Are you okay? You weren’t hurt?”

    “I’m fine, dad. What about you? Your armor is dented.”

    “Oh, I’m fine. Your father may not be a demigod, but my skill hasn’t degraded even after all the paperwork your mother has made me do. If not for the situation, it would’ve been a refreshing battle.”

    “I see... But why are you here?”

    She looked at him worriedly. She probably didn’t think that her family should ever have been a worry. Turns out, her father had gotten caught up in all this.

    He sighed.

    “I had visited the base to talk to you, but while I was spending some time with some old friends, Anarchy appeared. I had no choice but to run as far away as I could before the coercion messed with my mind.”

    “Run away?”

    “...You felt it too, didn’t you? The desire to kill those you were close to in order to spare them the horror that was coming. If I had been nearby... what would have happened shouldn’t be talked about.”

    “...”

    Umara’s breathing hitched a bit.

    Her own father would have come to kill her if he hadn’t made the wise decision to run when he did. If something like that had happened, how would he have lived with himself?

    Unfortunately, that was now the story of most who survived the mental coercion. They had either lived long enough to get saved by the Authority 12, or they had killed whoever they were trying to ‘save.’

    My own ears twitched as I heard the screams throughout the depot. Some were from the medical ward. Most were coming from the surviving soldiers who had to bear the agony of knowing they killed their friends.

    All because a King had stepped within a few miles of the base. Such power was horrifying, and still hardly comprehensible despite us experiencing it first hand.

    Ikhor suddenly waved his hands.

    “Nevermind that. What matters is that you’re alive. Both of you. You can’t imagine the weight on my chest as I was looking for you. So don’t worry about anything else. Once you’re ready, I’ll bring you both home. John, I invite you to stay with us. I don’t want you to be alone at a time like this.”

    “...I appreciate it.”

    “Of course.”

    He nodded to me before sitting down on a nearby seat.

    After a few moments of silence, I lifted my Aerial and dialed a number.

    Maxwell picked up almost instantly, causing me to snort a little.

    “Hey. You’ll never guess what happened.”

    “You were attacked by the King of Anarchy and survived?”

    “...Way to kill the surprise.”

    “Hardly something to be excited about. But I suppose making it out alive is an achievement worthy of accommodation. Good job, and I’m glad you’re safe.”

    I could feel the relief in his voice. I wasn’t sure how he knew about what happened, but it was nice to hear such genuine concern.

    I smiled.

    “Thanks. I’ve been invited to the Talerria household. Should I go?”

    “You can do whatever you wish. Doubt you’ll ever have to step foot on Magisterium grounds ever again after this too. Once this tragedy reaches the public’s ears, there’s going to be an uproar. How many students died?”

    “Only 23 remain. My squad comprises 5 of those survivors.”

    “I see... Alright, I needn’t know any more. Be with your friends. I’ll be waiting at the Capitol for your return.”

    “Sure. Goodbye.”

    “Goodbye, my boy.”

    The call ended, my Aerial dimming.

    I silently put my arm around Umara, pulling her in while waiting.

    Before long, Vetsmon and Feiden came out to greet us.