Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 28 - Broken Peace (Patreon)

Ours is a universe of obvious intention. The mighty crave power so they can maintain their wealth and influence. The weak need to grow stronger so they can throw off the yoke of oppression. Peace is a temporary illusion because war is both the means and the end of all things.

Alistaris Kargat

Freddy jogged ahead of me, his gait unhurried but his aura, held so close and controlled, roiled with obvious agitation. I could scarcely see it, but what I could see felt like a series of carefully contained explosions. There was power there, and even though I knew that an attack was underway, I was eager to see how his strength manifested.

All around, white-robed people – some of whom had been serving us tea only a few minutes before – sprinted on one task or another. None of them were panicked, which told me that they had endured plenty of attacks through the years. Meanwhile, Patrick and I followed Freddy, and soon enough, we burst through the door to see a huge ship hovering over the town.

The sleek ship was smaller than the Leviathan, if only just, and even from so far away, I could feel its cannons charging. So could Freddy, because he wasted no more time before rocketing forward almost too quickly to track, and planting himself in the ship’s line of fire. So, when it let loose with a huge blob of roiling Mist, he found himself directly before it.

It bore down him with inevitable destruction, but Freddy didn’t immediately react. Instead, he waited until the last possible moment before thrusting out with his long-bladed spear.

That was the moment I first saw Freddy’s true power.

He unleashed a wave of pure Mist that crashed into the cannon fire and tore it apart. But it didn’t stop there. Instead, the expression of his power ripped through the sky, leaving a wake of tiny, rippling explosions before it slammed into the ship. A blue Mist shield rippled, then tore, leaving a jagged wound that, only a moment later, mended. At the same time, the ship rocked backward under the blow. It only went a few dozen feet, its sharp nose tilting toward the sky before it righted itself, but even that small result was worth noting.

That was when I summoned the Emperor.

After using Explosive Shot to enhance every round in its magazine, I used Empowered Shot, took aim, then fired. The resultant shot sent a ripple across the ship’s Mist shield, but that dissipated within only a few feet. However, that was precisely what I had expected, and I repeated my actions, sending another shot into the ship’s shield. This time, the ripples were more widespread, and with Observation combined with my {Mist Warden} senses, I could see a few cracks.

I fired again, and they widened.

But more importantly, I finally felt the impact of the Mist drain. Over the months of my training, I’d grown more accustomed to the cost of using the Emperor, but it was still harsh enough to be distressing.

So, I’d created a bit of a workaround.

Using Mist Authority, I cast tendrils of my will in every direction. However, instead of picking something apart, I grabbed at the ambient Mist and dragged it into the Emperor. I used that to partially fuel the fourth shot. By that point, the weapon’s issue was powerful enough to rip a small hole in the ship’s Mist shield.

But it wasn’t enough.

So, dragging even more Mist into the weapon, I fired again. This time, the ship rocked backward like it had when Freddy hit it with his Mist spear. But I had more in me, so I fired a sixth time.

The Mist shield ruptured like a burst bubble, exploding into motes of Mist that rained down on the town below.

However, the cost had grown even more onerous, and I fell to a knee as the Mist deprivation washed over me. I didn’t let it stop me, though. Instead, I summoned a Mist booster from my arsenal implant and jabbed it into my hip. After that, I used Vanish, then Stealth before activating Execute.

Then, after using Empowered Shot once again, I fired the seventh and final shot in the Emperor’s magazine.  I tried to mitigate it by dragging more Mist into the weapon, but it was a trickle compared to the flood the weapon required, and all the Mist I’d just recovered rushed out of me, leaving only a desert in its wake.

But it was enough.

Even as the ball of Mist-infused death tore through the air, the ambient Mist ignited and swirled. The ship tried to employ evasive maneuvers, but it was far too slow to avoid the pure devastation bearing down on it.

When it hit, the sky erupted into a wave of blue fire that swept in every direction. The sound of that explosion was deafening, and the shockwave tore the roofs from nearby houses. For my part, I was thrown backwards, and I saw that Patrick suffered a similar fate. Notably, Freddy endured by virtue of a series of thick ropes of Mist latching him to the ground. I only got a brief glance before I hit the ground and skidded backwards into the wall, but even then, the sight gave me all sorts of ideas.

I was thinking too small with Mist Authority.

Ripping things apart was great. So was using as a means to spread my Ghosts. But those were unimaginative, and confining myself to those was ultimately going to hold me back. I needed to expand my scope.

I blinked as my vision cleared, and I saw the fruits of my efforts. The ship listed to the side, a third of its fuselage missing. A series of fires raged across its exposed interior, and I saw a couple of aliens fall from the hole in the hull. More importantly, its cannon was entirely gone, and the ship seemed incapable of remaining in the sky much longer.

Unfortunately, the Emperor was spent for now. Otherwise, I would have begun the process anew. But even with it recharging – or recovering from the strain; I wasn’t certain which was applicable – I had plenty of other weapons at my disposal. So, as I pushed myself to my feet, I summoned the HIRC and took aim.

But then, Freddy was beside me. He placed his hand on the enormous weapon I held at my hip and said, “No. If you attack it with that, the ship will crash inside the town. Give them the ability to land elsewhere, and we will save our people.”

“But –”

“They won’t get far,” he stated. “Besides, there will be plenty to do in the meantime. Look.”

I followed his pointing finger to see that those people falling from the ship were not falling at all. Instead, their descent was controlled. Still, it wasn’t until I heard an eruption of gunfire that I realized that they’d sent a team of soldiers in to finish the job they’d started.

By that point, Patrick had regained his feet. As he dusted himself off, he said, “That thing really packs a punch.”

“It does,” I agreed, watching the ship drift away from the town. It was slowly losing altitude, so I knew Freddy was right. It was going to hit the ground soon enough, with or without my additional input. It was better to fight the invasion that had already begun instead. So, turning to Freddy, I asked, “Plan?”

“They will target the uninitiated. Then the trainees. Any apprentices they can find. Only when everyone else is dead will they converge on full Templars.”

“How many do you have here?”

“Seven,” he answered. Then, he cocked his head to the side, and I saw a pulse of Mist spread across the town. It only lasted an instant before it dissipated, but when it did, he said, “Six. Laris has fallen. The Adjudicators are efficient and deadly, and they are well-versed in dealing with our methods.”

“Shit,” I muttered. If someone could kill a full-fledged Templar, then they were a serious threat. “Okay. Patrick and I will focus on saving as many people as we can. Do you have somewhere safe?”

“The Bulwark,” Freddy said, pointing to a small building across the square. “It’s underground and features the stoutest defenses of anywhere in the village. Most of the uninitiated know to go there.”

After that, we agreed on a plan of attack. Patrick was the least mobile among us, so he was best used to secure the Bulwark. While he did that, Freddy and I would sweep through the village and rescue as many people as we could. It wasn’t a perfect plan by any means, but it was the best any of us could come up with, given the objectives. So, with that, we set off through the village.

It wasn’t long before we encountered the first so-called Adjudicator. The entity was dressed all in pitch-black armor that, as far as I could tell, was entirely sealed. More importantly, when I reached out with my {Mist Warden} senses, I saw absolutely nothing. A quick attempt to rip the soldier’s Mist away was similarly useless.

So, I summoned the Stinger and fired.

At the same time, Freddy leaped forward, positioning himself between the Adjudicator and the three white-robed civilians the soldier had been about to attack. The black-armored warrior drew a black sword. Notably, it didn’t have a hint of Mist running through it, but even I could tell that it was no ordinary blade.

My fire took the soldier in the chest, and it stumbled. However, the impact was not nearly as dramatic as I’d expected. I continued to fire in a staccato of three-round bursts. Meanwhile, Freddy brought his spear to bear, aiming for the Adjudicator’s legs. The warrior danced out of the way of the sweeping attack, but my continued fire threw it off just enough that Freddy’s next attack speared them through the chest.

Most of the impact was absorbed by the curiously sturdy armor, but Freddy’s long-bladed spear still managed to find flesh, and when he ripped it away, it came free with a spray of blue blood.

But that wasn’t enough to stop the Adjudicator, and he leaped forward, but not at Freddy. Instead, his intent was to kill the relatively unprotected civilians. Seeing that, I did two things at once. First, I dismissed my Stinger and drew my Interdiction Blade from the sheath on my back. And second, I used Teleport, putting myself directly in his path.

I met his blade with mine, then used a front kick to send him stumbling backward. That’s when Freddy swept in, his spear clipping the back of the Adjudicator’s leg. It cut deep, and the man staggered. I kept up the pressure, rushing forward to remain in range. As I did, I aimed one attack after another at the off-balance Adjudicator, but in a staggering show of swordsmanship, he managed to block each blow.

Barely.

But even barely counted, and I grew increasingly more frustrated with every passing moment. I was so focused on the battle at hand that I didn’t even notice Freddy creeping in behind the soldier until I saw his blade erupt through the black breastplate. The Adjudicator went stiff, but only a second later, he tried to wrench himself free.

That’s when I saw a bit of Mist leaking out of the crack in his armor. With instincts born of months of practice, I reached out with my Mist Authority, grabbed ahold of that thin trickle of Mist, and yanked it away. The moment I did, it was like a dam had broken, and the Mist came pouring out of his chest in a torrent. I dove into it, ripping it away with reckless abandon.

It only lasted a few moments, but in that time, I tore my way through more Mist than should have been possible. And then, suddenly, the flow ceased and the black-armored Adjudicator fell forward on his face.

I nudged him with my foot, but I already knew he was dead.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded, turning to Freddy. The Templar was already kneeling next to the Adjudicator’s would-be victims. “What was with his Mist?”

“Adjudicators are specially trained warriors whose purpose has and will always be to kill mystics,” he answered. “Your Mist manipulation abilities will not work against them unless you breach their armor. But you’ve already discovered that much.”

“What is it made of? Is it valuable?”

“A norcite alloy. And no. It is bound to them in a way that prevents anyone from reusing it or repurposing the materials. Watch,” he said.

I did, and I saw that the armor had already begun to smoke. In seconds, it dissolved completely, dissipating into fumes. That revealed an ordinary, blue-skinned alien corpse.

“Damn,” I said.

“Indeed,” was Freddy’s response. After that, he left to guide the civilians to the Bulwark. I caught a glimpse of Patrick standing before the door, his massive Mist shield deployed as he aimed the rebuilt Dragon at anything that came close. Fortunately, he wasn’t up against any Adjudicators, but instead, fought ordinary soldiers. Still, even though he held his own, it clearly pushed him to his limits.

But I had to trust that he could handle himself.

So, I turned away and raced through the town, gathering men and women as I went. In that way, Freddy and I swept through the village, saving as many as we could. Along the way, I found plenty of casualties. Most were civilians, but I came across two full-fledged Templars as well. They’d been ripped to pieces, but I recognized the distinct cut of their robes.

Neither had gone down without a fight, and the corpses of their enemies were piled high all around them. Still, despite their power, they’d been killed, and that was a grim reminder of how pressing the danger really was.

There were plenty of fights, too. However, Freddy and I quickly learned to work together, and so long as we didn’t make any mistakes, killing even the Adjudicators became routine. The only problem was that we were grossly outnumbered. Everywhere we went, there were more Adjudicators, and they usually didn’t come alone. Instead, they were often accompanied by a host of other, more ordinary soldiers that made dispatching the true threats that much more difficult.

But we made progress, and that was all that really mattered.

I’d just beheaded a particularly resilient Adjudicator when Freddy whipped around. He started to say something, but before he could get a word out of his mouth, a surge of Mist ripped him from the ground and threw him across the street. He hit the wall of a nearby building, then went through it like it was made paper. Additional crashing sounds told me that his momentum had taken him deep into the building, perhaps even out the other side.

“Surrender,” came a tinny voice. I turned to see a red-robed man. Outwardly, he looked mostly human, though his skin was pale gray, and his head was devoid of hair. He carried a white, metal staff that had been etched with fanciful designs. At each end were carved claws clutching rubies that glowed with bloody light. His mouth was covered by some sort of metallic half-mask. He stepped forward, adding, “Give up, and you may yet live to serve Justice. Resist, and you will surely perish.”

From his tightly controlled aura, I knew he was a mystic. The other hint was that he’d picked Freddy up and tossed him aside with nothing but a wave of Mist. Ever since I’d seen my first Templars in action, I’d wondered how I would fare in a fight against their kind. Now, it looked like I was going to get my chance.

And I wasn’t going to underestimate this newcomer.

So, without answering, I summoned the HIRC from my arsenal implant and let loose. Like its predecessor, it roared as it bathed the mystic in a tidal wave of deadly fire. And yet, I knew it wouldn’t be enough. So, even as one of my minds concentrated on sending as many bullets downrange as was possible, another focused on manipulating the Mist. I reached out with Mist Authority and slammed my will against the mystic’s aura. I chipped a little away, but it was like throwing myself against a brick wall.

Fortunately, that wasn’t my primary objective.

With a third mind, I continued to form an evolving plan of attack. It was a good thing, too, because the mystic burst forth holding his staff before him and deflecting my fire with a sheer expression of Mist.

So, he never saw the pair of grenades I’d rolled in his direction.

Not until it was too late, at least.

They exploded, sending him flipping backwards through the air. I tracked him with the HIRC, but he continued to swing his staff, batting aside my fire with his hastily constructed shields of Mist.

So, I switched gears and flipped the HIRC to its secondary fire mode. A moment later, a glob of molten Mist tore across the village. It met the mystic as he hit the ground in a skidding slide. He’d managed to land on his feet, and what’s more, his white staff had never stopped moving. However, there was a marked difference between blocking a few hundred bullets and trying to stop a roiling ball of boiling Mist – if only because the explosion that came from the latter was accompanied by quite a bit of momentum.

The resultant shockwave sent the mystic flying further backwards, and I dismissed the HIRC in favor of the more versatile Stinger. As he arced through the air, I continued to fire, peppering him with further fire. I had to use Observation to aim properly, given how far he’d flown, and yet, my training proved up to the task. Finally, a few rounds managed to pierce his defenses, and I was rewarded with the sight of misting black blood.

I didn’t let up, though, and I bent the entire weight of my multiple threads of thought to the task of finishing him off.

That was probably why I never even saw his partner coming.

Suddenly, my entire world seized. The Mist inside my body froze, and my body followed suit. I couldn’t even breath as a feminine voice caressed my ears. “Oh, you are an interesting one, aren’t you? I would so like to study you.”