Chương 98: 11 - THE WANDERING GOD

They stared at the den in the distance. The ground beneath them shivered, and the air over the rocky plain began to distort, as if the air itself were shattering into glass. The pressure in the air doubled the effort it took to stand. Nervousness began to consume them. Ellie ground her teeth. Cannon's muscles tightened. Acelin was reduced to short, inconsistent breaths. German could sense it with the hypersensitivity loot freshly in his neck. He didn't even have to look at them.

He could sense his own sweat on his brow before he felt it on his skin. T'balt held his fist in the air.

"Deep breaths." And on that command, everyone's tension relieved. Everyone's except for German's, which T'balt sensed without having to look at him.

"German," he said.

"It's here. On your gun." Then he remembered his part in the plan. He laid down, eyes on the scope of his rifle, zoomed in on the distortion above the den. The sound of thunder struck. Where in one moment there was nothing, a creature appeared. It was a four-legged beast, body formed like a great lion with the sleek skin one would imagine on a dragon. Even still, it stood on massive hind legs. It looked like it could switch between four and two whenever it liked.

There were marks all over its body, similar to the ancient tribal looking ones on the loot coins. They guided the eye to the thing's head, which was covered by a strange mask bearing the same markings, except these were glowing violet, centered around a circle where the mouth of the thing was missing. Just beneath the radiant glow of its eyes. It was its loot stamp. A disappearing arrow pointed up. It stood still for a while, like a man recovering after a long day's work.

T'balt didn't leave the others time to stare.

"Acelin, get moving."

"Right," the kid answered, and then he zipped at his immense speed, disappearing somewhere in the land. Once he was gone, "German, take the shot." The man centered himself, putting the crosshairs of the rifle right in the center of the beast's mask. He hesitated a moment, thinking about the moment he would pull the trigger. If it didn't hit then…

"I've got your back." It was Cannon, kneeling next to him. Somehow, this comforted him. He had to clear his mind like he'd been able to do in a hundred intense litigations with powerful men. This was no different. So he counted.

"1… 2… 3" And fired. But somewhere between the bullet's start and its destination, the Wanderer reacted. The shot hit the dirt, and thunder struck. Despite them being a mile away, the beast instantly appeared above German's head. Its body must've weighed half a ton as its massive frame covered them in shadow. It dropped its massive clawed hand right down on German. The hand fell on Cannon's forcefield. The beast left its hand, and the giant mask cocked to the right as if it were taking measure of him.

But the man struggled with just the weight of the Wanderer's arm.

"It's cracking!" The wrestler shouted as his defense was already on the verge of shattering. Ellie readied her bow, sending three arrows at the beast's arm in rapid succession. They all missed as the beast teleported in front of her, already swinging its hands as if they were bladed gauntlets.

"First equip, reflex." T'balt pushed her out of the way. Just before its claws severed her head. They were already covered in dried blood. It wouldn't have been its first kill today. He grabbed her and took off running away from the thing. The Wanderer stared for a moment, curious that its prey was not dead yet.

"German!" T'balt shouted.

"Right," he had to remember and focus his mind." Telepathic communication established." The words weren't real. They were in everyone's mind all at the same time.

"This is so wild," Cannon thought.

"Is that really you, playboy?"

"I would refrain from pointless thoughts during our battle." You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. As he ran, T'balt thought,"Use your senses to feel for when that demon's gonna appear. There should be something of a distortion in the air that you can see. My reflex can only react to my limited senses. So I need you to sense for me. Tell me where to look."

"Above you!" German could see exactly what he meant. He could see the air move, like it was being displaced in that exact shape the beast was ready to appear in. And it wasn't until he saw it that he believed in T'balt's vision. T'balt looked up, and in the moment of the creature's flash, he pushed Ellie to the right as he went left. Its attack cratered the ground. It disappeared again.

"Cannon, duck." The man narrowly avoided a fatal blow to the head." Above me." Then he jumped using his force field as a cannonball. The thing appeared and disappeared again before it had the chance to attack.

"T'balt behind you." German's thoughts were coming in as fluidly as their own, if not more so. No different than if they made the thought themselves. Ellie loosed where the beast appeared; this time, the arrows connected with its arm.

"Ellie left. Right. No above."

"What?" The Wanderer appeared on all sides of her in rapid succession, leaving her confused about where to aim her bow. Until finally, it appeared directly in front of her, massive hands wrapped around her body before she could react. Then she and the beast were gone. She felt the squeeze of its grip around her waist, struggling to break herself free. But to her surprise, it let her go and disappeared… And she was falling. A thousand feet above the ground. Nothing but the evening sky around her.

Her heart burst through her stomach as she plummeted to the ground, with no choice but to scream. She fell and fell before coming to an abrupt stop. Then breathed a deep sigh of relief when her body realized it wasn't dead.

"He catches the pop fly, and the crowd goes wild." Acelin made a mock cheering noise as his invisible fans adored him. He held his arm beneath Ellie, who was floating in the air, supported by his psychic power.

"When you're done congratulating yourself, can you put me down?"

"Oh sure." She floated down to the cracked earth, landing gently on her feet, still trying to calm her heart rate.

"You alright, Ms. Brazer?" Acelin asked. She took a deep breath.

"Yeah. Alright. Now you know the plan. Keep moving, and it won't be able to pin down your location."

"Right." The boy zipped away.

"I wish you'd stop calling, Ms. Brazer," she mumbled under her breath.

"Makes me feel old."

"ELLIE!" Cannon called her name, watching the monster take her and disappear.

"It's alright," T'balt said, making his way back to him.

"Acelin's got her." German bowed his head.

"I'm sorry. From now on, I'll only speak where its final image appears."

"Good. It's time for phase two. Second equip: Earth. You're going underground." German nodded his approval as T'balt pushed his arms downward, making a human-sized ditch in the ground. German climbed inside, and T'balt summoned a stone to cover the hole. Everything went black. But he could still see everything, and the Wanderer wouldn't be able to see him.

"Is he gonna be alright down there?" Cannon asked.

"I'm fine," German's voice sounded in his head.

"Time for you to go too, Cannon," T'balt said, digging in his pocket.

"Another blow from that thing will shatter your shield."

"Alright." The big took off for the nearest rock formation to cover himself as T'balt made his third and final equip. The thunder cried, and the beast appeared in front of him, Ellie's arrows sticking out of its arm. They were steaming at the point of impact, like it were burning the creature. Though it didn't seem too bothered. It merely grabbed and yanked them out, for them to disperse into the air. T'balt then summoned a sword of absolute light to his side.

"Third equip. God Slayer Sword." The thing attacked, teleporting around him in rapid succession, each one a feint. T'balt stayed still, waiting for German's signal on the real attack. It came from above. T'balt swiped the sword, creating a slash of light. It connected with its forearm, as it used them to shield its core. It teleported again, but each time it reappeared, T'balt made it burn.

With the combination of his reflex, the speed of the sword, and German's commands, he was attacking with greater speed and precision than he ever had before. The fifth attack left a large burn mark on the side of its neck, and it dropped to a knee. T'balt attacked again, but it flashed away, leaving empty space. This time it didn't reappear right away.

"It's gone?" German thought. T'balt readied the sword, not sure where to face but knowing the fight was not over.

"It's coming back." Several moments passed, and the beast did reappear. Well, not quite the beast. Something else. The form belonged to a man, smooth and chiseled. Its skin was charcoal grey, but the markings persisted, as did its burns. The marks on its mask still glowed in a menacing aura.

"T'balt, who is that man?" German asked.

"Is that… the same beast?" T'balt nodded, knowing the man would sense it. The Wanderer raised its hand, palm out and readying its stance as if it were a monk trained in the finest of martial arts. This time, it would wait for T'balt's first move. No longer a hulking beast. This version of the Wanderer wanted a duel.