Chapter 550 - Fight for first place (Patreon)

Hera's Status

Hera had just passed through the sixth checkpoint, the one right after the island, and she was now just a few meters away from Laika and Kelpi. The rest of the guides were nowhere to be seen, which gave her and Capri a good chance to take the lead.

'Daskka, use your shadow smoke to hide us,' Hera said.

'Are you sure, mum? That will make some black smoke,' Daskka looked up. She was currently wrapped around Hera's waist, not to be tossed back due to Nimbus' speed.

'Yeah, if they look back and see a cloud, they might think it's just another obstacle trying to approach them. Either way, we still have the element of surprise,' Hera turned to Capri and said in a quiet voice, "Can you hear me?" Capri looked forward and nodded, "Ok. We are making some smoke. Stay close to me, and when we have a chance, we can pass them."

"I have a better idea. Make the smoke, and I'll start a spell that will help us take the lead," Capri replied directly in Hera's ear. If it wasn't for the communicators that Hera and her friends already had, she would ask Capri about that spell.

Daskka started making some black mist, and in just a few moments, they were completely covered by the effect. When casting that spell, Daskka could select people to be able to see through her black mist. Everyone else would only see a dark cloud. It was almost as if the shadows themselves were rising from the ground and creating this area of darkness.

"Alright, let's go," Hera said, and Nimbus took off running. She knew that Daskka's spell wouldn't last forever, so she wanted to make the best use of it while it did. Capri started casting the spell he was talking about, but they still used that opportunity to move closer to the two in front of them.  

Laika was too busy trying to stop Kelpi to notice the incoming black smoke, but the fish guide was already looking back and saw the looming darkness. He threw a couple of pearls toward it, and the projectiles exploded inside the dark mist, creating small pieces of thunder that highlighted Hera and Capri's silhouette. 

"You two are going to need to do better than that!" Kelpi yelled, recognizing their mounts. This was one of the problems of this race. Everyone had a unique mount, which made it easy for anyone to identify who was getting close.

Either way, Hera let Daskka continue her spell. They weren't just trying to hide their position but also what they were doing. 

"Empress, should we attack them?" Core asked, itching to throw one of his Sediment skills at the two guides.

"No, not like that," Hera replied. She knew the guides wouldn't be hurt if she attacked. The only damage would be to their statues. Still, going for something like that felt wrong. This was supposed to be a fun thing, like a friendly spar, not a duel to the death, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"They wouldn't get hurt, but fine," Core replied while still attached to Hera's waist. He was one of the few court members constantly out since he was quick and one of the easier blades to secure in her clothes. 

"I'll try something different," Hera said before launching a Paralyze Bolt toward Laika. The spell, which usually was like a projectile coming out of a crossbow, was now a spiral chain. It flew through the air, and just as it was about to hit its target, one of the UFOs moved to intercept it. When the spells collided, the chain unraveled and wrapped itself around the flying saucer. Both spells fell to the ground and vanished, the mana no longer able to keep its shape. Another of the lasers went to Capri, and he had to waste the spell he was preparing in order to block the attack. 

Kelpi noticed the blasts and tossed another pearl at Laika, this one flashing right in front of her eyes, temporarily blinding the guide. At the same time, the ground shook, and the road started to rise. The next leg of the race changed from a simple straight line to a set of several loops in a spiral. Hera wasn't all that worried about this new obstacle. After all, every single one of them could simply fly in the middle of the spiral. The only issue was the speed loss that doing so would bring. Nimbus couldn't fly at the same speed he could run, and gliding would make their speed fall fast. It was a bit weird since that would go against the laws of physics, but apparently, there was a limit on Nimbus' flight speed. 

Hera saw Kelpi and Laika jumping off the road to fly instead of risking going through it. It was a shame, but she had to agree with that decision. There was no way to make Nimbus run through a loop. If it was a car or a motorcycle that always had all the wheels touching the ground, then maybe she would try, but for the Sentinel, that shouldn't even be possible. 

"Nimbus, let's jump and fly through this part, too," Hera said.

"What? But why, Empress? Nothing stops us from going forward, and now that they've decided to fly, we can pass them easily!" Nimbus asked with a confused tone. Hera gave him a weird look, and she unconsciously shared her feelings. She was already touching their web-like connection that was tomming from her ankles this time, allowing her to share Nimbus' senses for a brief moment. She would never expect that these loops would affect the riders and the mounts differently. For the Sentinel, he was still running on an incline. There was no looping around, just a straight road for him to run, while Hera saw this new weird arcade racing-like structure. 

"Are you sure you can keep running?" Hera asked, still unsure if the loop was a trick or not." 

"I am!" Nimbus nodded, every fiber of his body telling him that what he saw was real.

"Ok then, let's go!" Hera said as the Sentinel sped up. He was already tired, but this was a moment where pushing harder made sense. If they managed to pass Laika and Kelpi, they could just focus on keeping everyone else behind them. 

"Hera, what are you doing?" Capri asked when he noticed that she was going up towards the loop.

"Nimbus is telling me this is the right way. I'm trusting him," the Empress replied as she felt her body start to be pulled to the side by gravity. The Sentinel was already sideways in the loop, but he was still going. For him, nothing had changed. He was still running forward in a straight line. The only difference came from Hera herself, who was tipping to the side for some reason. 

The Empress clenched her feet under the griffon and yelled, "Daskka, hold on!" Worried that her friend could slip and fall. The second the words left her mouth, she realized how stupid that sounded. Daskka was wrapped around her waist. If she was secure enough not to be tossed back by the speed they were moving, gravity wouldn't make that much of a difference. 

They went through the second loop when Nimbus passed Laika and Kelpi. Hera saw them looking at her and preparing some spells, but they stopped for some reason. She glanced up at Capri, who was following her along the loops. Laika and Kelpi were trying to attack him but the guide stopped them by throwing large balls of wool in the air, giving some problems for their aim. Not wanting to waste that opportunity, Hera covered Nimbus with a mana reinforcement to buff him up and maybe increase his speed or stamina a little bit. Her idea didn't seem to do much, but the Sentinel appreciated the effort. 

After a few more loops, with Hera holding on to Nimbus the entire time and Capri doing his best to grab onto his goat using his tights, they finally came out of that obstacle. They were considerably ahead of Laika and Kelpi, but it wasn't like they could take things easy. Especially since the next problem was already in sight. Just beyond the checkpoint, the road was moving. Several pieces were split and would rock back and forth in constant motions. To make things worse, there was a sign just before it with a picture of someone flying with a red circle and a line in front. It was obvious that this should be a no-flying zone and Nimbus confirmed that. Somehow he understood that in this part of the race, he wouldn't be able to fly. 

Hera turned around and tossed a few Paralyze Bolts at the two guides close by, and just as they passed the checkpoint, she tossed a slow field. If there was no flying here, they wouldn't be able to dodge that attack and give even more room for Capri and Hera to run. Just after the two of them got to the first moving platform, Kelpi was hit by the spell and lost third place to Laika, who had created an air bubble around her as a shield. Unfortunately, she let the spell go after a few moments, thinking the effect was no longer there. If that happened a day before, she would be right. However, now Hera's spell was different. Slow Field was a spell based on her Sensory Net, and thanks to her new affinity to mana, it behaved more like a net itself. By using a shield to stop it, Laika simply picked the spell up and carried it along with her. If she continued for a while, the mana would dissipate, but since she created the bubble for just a few moments, the spell was still there, and it latched on to the space dog riding an old bike. 

Capri and Hera were on top of one of the platforms, now waiting for it to get close enough to another piece of the road so they could continue the race. Looking into the distance, Hera could see one more checkpoint and then a straight line to the finish, which was marked by a rainbow arc and a checkered flag, "So I guess our alliance ends after this part?" Hera turned to Capri.

"It seems so, but I must say. I don't feel like I did all that much," Capri replied.

"Don't say that. You helped a lot. I mean, if it wasn't for you, we would have to worry about the rest of the guides as well."

"Still. Despite what I say, you were the one who led us to first and second place. You noticed the island and how the loop would work," Capri continued. 

"So? You kept the rest of them at bay, even if my spell was bothering them. Your wool helped a lot."

Capri just shook his head, "Not enough. But I appreciate your compliment. Maybe…" noise came from behind them, and they saw how Laika completely ignored the moving platforms. She created a flying saucer underneath her bike and moved fast toward the next checkpoint. 

"Shit!" Hera gasped and told Nimbus to run. She had noticed that this part of the road was made out of rock, not coral or something else. Using her stone shape, she created a small jump pad for them, and Capri used a different wool spell to make them fall more slowly, allowing the two to reach the next platform from a very far distance. They continued jumping from moving road to moving road using that combo. Laika could be using that spell, whatever it was, but she still had to go around the platforms, causing her to waste some time.

Hera and Capri continued running as fast as they could, but when they reached the checkpoint, Laika was right beside Hera, with Capri a few meters behind. At the same time, a notification appeared in front of all of them.

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Attacks are disabled during the last part of the race. Only support skills or spells are allowed.

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"What?" Laika snarled and tried to use a laser beam to hit Hera, but to no avail. Whoever was going to win now would be the fastest of them. 

Seeing that, Hera tried pulling the rocks from the ground to cause Laika and Capri to trip, but the road was no longer made of stone. Nimbus triggered his Frozen Ash aura, and it still worked since it was a defensive skill. Hera glanced back and saw Capri lagging behind, enough to make her relax a bit. It was now between her and Laika. The two of them pressed forward, moving as fast as they could, trying every skill and spell they had access to, but most of them would count as an attack. Even a Flood Light spell wasn't allowed. Having Daskka create a dark mist also resulted in nothing. It was a straight road, and it wasn't like there was anything to stop Laika. 

Behind them, Capri started to cast a spell. One that would envelop him in a large ball of wool. Doing so would make him unable to turn, but just like a snowball going down a hill, he would be faster and faster. The problem was the two who were in front of him. Since he would be trapped inside the ball and spinning if they were more towards the right side of the wool when they crossed the finish line, one of them could end up being the winner instead of him. 

'Then again. I don't mind if Hera wins. So I have two chances out of three. I like those odds,' Capri thought to himself and triggered the spell. The goat under him became a large ball of wool and engulfed him in a moment. His speed didn't change at first, but the more he rolled, the faster he got. In less than a minute, the towering ball of wool was already hot on Hera and Laika's heels. The two only had a moment to glance back before they were swallowed by this fluffy cream-colored fiber. It was quick and painless, but it made them both panic. Hera and Laika tried their best to escape the wool ball but to no avail. In the end, they were only able to wait until this giant ball crossed the finish line and hoped that they were the ones who got first place.