Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 36

After all the bloody scenes Mia had seen since Freedom had begun almost two years ago, rarely had she seen such a beating. Unlike the last four rank D users, Brendon Black didn’t rush in to face off with Mel. There were seven of them against one. Instead of clearing the distance when their bolts didn’t seem to work on him, Brendon kept his men back and kept attacking.

Bolt after bolt struck Mel even as he tried to avoid them, pushing the limits to his defensive psionics.

“Brendon Black knows he intends on defending the flag, so he’s punishing him for it,” Mr. Rachet said.

“He’s so cruel,” LeLisa huffed.

“Maybe, but you saw how Mel handled the last group. He’s also playing it smart. What would you do if you came upon any enemy with four rank D users dead at his feet?”

“So you’re saying Brendon Black is afraid of Mel?” Mia scoffed.

Mr. Rachet frowned. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I think there’s more to it than that,” Bolt said. “Brendon and his men keep glancing up as if they’re expecting someone.”

He rarely came off as the insightful one, but Mia knew he wasn’t nearly as dense as he played at. What he mentioned didn’t bode well. Lucius wasn’t far behind, but if they knew he was coming? They certainly had enough opportunities to observe Lucius while they were competing for flags.

“All at once,” Brendon Black called.

Seven more bolts flew.

***

Mel remained still as if he had every intention of taking the assault. Flashing sideways, he dodged the volley. He gave the group a bloody grin, throwing a bolt of his own that struck one man, doing little damage. He could create an overcharge bolt quickly. Compared to his normal casting, though, it wasn’t that fast. It would cost him dearly if he tried to cast one now.

They didn’t let up. Staggering their bolts for their next attack, several struck Mel as he tried to dodge at least a few of them. His internal walls and shielding combination was powerful, but it didn’t make him invincible. He’d tanked what, fifty to sixty bolts already not including they ones that had missed? If they’d been spread out more, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but it seemed he needed to start training his walls with Kline. The density of one’s internally psionic energy went a long way to allow them to shrug off the electrifying effects of psionic bolts. There was a large difference between a momentary shock and constant current, however.

At least he was still standing. Nor were they going after the flag. He’d liked to think he’d earned some respect, but no one had ever considered him intimidating. He knew there was more to their actions than just wanting to torture him. He’d let Lucius know they were expecting him.

Another round of bolts tried to shake his resolve while simultaneously sending a tremor through his body. His internal walls reacted more like slabs of gelatin than stone. It forced him to a knee. He could only take one or two more rounds of this.

Whether he began laughing as a ploy to distract them and buy some time or to encourage them to get it over with, he couldn’t be sure, but even if they had no intention of listening to what he had to say, he said it anyway, “Waiting for Lucius is the biggest mistake you’ve made in Vanguard.”

It wasn’t just a little trickle of blood in the back of his throat. He spat out a mouthful.

Brendon Black took the bait. “Your rank E friend is a little better at running than I thought he’d be. That’s all. Catching the most evasive prey requires the right bait. I should be thanking you.”

“I should be thanking you,” Mel retorted. “Yes, I’m the bait. But Lucius isn’t the prey. You are.”

The answer he received was in the form of violent green energy blasts. He tried to roll, but just kind of flopped over instead.

“That’s enough,” Brendon commanded. “If we kill him then it will give his friend less incentive to come and play. Two points and we’re tied for first place.”

At that, Mel dropped his psionic shield as if daring them to attack. At the same time, he was careful not to let his energy show as he secretly began to heal himself. It wasn’t an ability he was that proficient at yet. That meant he couldn’t heal his throbbing head, but he wasn’t dead yet.

He expected Lucius to try to make as stealthy an entrance as possible. So why in the world did he use a massive push to throw himself more than a hundred feet above the top of the half mile-high wall where everyone below could feel and now see him.

Brendon and all of his men glanced up. Lucius wasn’t directly above them but closer to the narrowest part of the chasm-like tunnel a half mile away.

Mel put his hand behind his back, planning on getting in one last good shot to take one of them out when the enemy leader smirked, glancing in his direction. It was a dare he realized. The man had known Lucius was coming and wanted him to try one last cast.

Whatever he’d been thinking was quickly forgotten as Lucius didn’t waste any time falling. His friend hadn’t even entered the tunnel and yet he could see the distortion under his feet as he propelled himself toward the tunnel as quickly as psionically possible.

Once he was up to speed, the man didn’t stop. Mel tried to swallow down the forming knot in his throat and tasted blood.

***

“He’s going too fast!” Mia said frantically. It was her turn to jump to her feet.

“LeLisa, what has been his fastest speed in today’s event?” Mr. Rachet asked from his feet.

Their in-house genius with the ditzy personality already had her AI creating a side-by-side comparison. The window popped up a moment later.

As for his fastest speed, he’d reached 239 MPH once while averaging a top speed of 221 MPH when diving. But now?

His current speed was 270 MPH.

He wasn’t even at the halfway point and was still accelerating. The moment he did, Mia’s hand shot to her mouth. 330 MPH.

“How can he accelerate that fast?” Mr. Rachet asked.

A sudden close up appeared on screen with the image brightened thanks to Oren. It showed something that was mostly invisible to the naked eye. He wasn’t just pushing out of his feet as most psionic users did. Psionic energy was flying out of him at an outward and downward angle from his head all the way down to his feet.

“That’s why he chose the wall by the second layer,” LeLisa said matter-of-factly. “He’s using the wall.”

“Isn’t he cutting it too close?” Bolt blurted out.

“Was he?” Mia wondered. He still hadn’t angled his approach. She watched as he flew toward the ground at a reckless pace. She didn’t even realize she was holding her breath.

When he did pull up, the angle looked too sharp, but his legs parted, and his elbows flared while he kept ahold of the spears he was carrying.

Before his trajectory changed, Mia saw the last reading. 392 MPH.

It should’ve been impossible. Not only did he manage to round his approach, but there was a smoothness to it that hadn’t been there in his earlier dives.

He’d slowed down. He would’ve had to, right? But as he rocketed over the ground that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

Mia checked. 346 MPH and he was beginning to slow. Was it the momentum he was going for?

Brendon Black and his men were already there waiting for him. Psionic bolts began to fly. Even if they girth of the tunnel was about twenty feet at the narrowest, it was twice that where the Forefathers stood.

“Lucius should be an easy target, right?” Bolt asked.

As if to answer his question, Prodos’s Right Hand flew to one side of the tunnel, ascending slightly as he did.

“His speed,” LeLisa said in unbelief. She came to her feet to stand by Mia.

Lucius was using the one wall to push against and increase his speed even more. He’d dipped below 325 MPH but was once again climbing slowly.

Mr. Rachet cuffed Bolt on the back and motioned for him to stand. Soon the four of them were on their feet and watching anxiously for how the exchange would go.

Except, something was wrong.

Traveling at such speeds, even the smallest movements would affect his trajectory. He was able to remain against one wall momentarily, but soon he was flying across the gap toward the other. As soon as he reached it, he used it as well. That too was short lived.

They could all feel it. He was about to lose control. He was just going too fast. Then it happened. He darted toward the opposite once more only to seeming bound off of it toward the other one. Like a human pinball machine, he ricocheted between walls at an ever-increasing pace.

Mia had her hand covering her face even if she was peaking between fingers. Leaning forward while squinting, LeLisa froze while trying to calculate the possibilities. Mr. Rachet had both hands up in fists as if reading to block the wall when it came. As for Bolt, well—Bolt screamed.

Lucius’s entire descent took a matter of seconds. He reached them quickly. Not only was he in a state of frantic rebound, but he was also gaining altitude in small increments between each ricochet.

When Major Lucius Edwards approached and none of their bolt struck home, Brendon commanded for his men to throw themselves against the walls. His timing was good, and their opponent was going to soar right over their heads.

As the man reached them, his trajectory changed. He was gone as quickly as he had come.

Nobody even noticed it until they’d caught their breath. One of Brendon’s men that hadn’t fully reached the wall had been cut in half.

Then Mia saw him. Lucius had regained control of his flight path and was even using the ground to slow. It took him so long that he exited the tunnel all together and stood before the base belonging to a battalion that hadn’t been able to defeat their Manticore King.

Pushing himself up off the ground, he remained there for a brief moment and waved at the men in the towers. Then he hovered back the way he came.

“How many times did he die when trying to learn something like that?” Mr. Rachet grumbled. “What would posses him to even try?”

Mia knew Lucius well enough to know exactly why he dared such a thing, so she snapped at him. “War.”

***

He had to hand it to Lucius. When the Forefathers hadn’t been able to hit him with their bolts, Mel had found it quite easy to scale the Manticore King, steal the flag, and tumble to the ground on the other side of the monster. Leaning his back against it, he continued healing himself. Lucius wasn’t delaying his return. Mel was getting dizzy just watching the guy jump back and forth between the walls as he flew this way. At least he wasn’t flying at a ridiculous speed.

“The flag,” someone called.

It wasn’t the only thing he heard. Lucius had definitely hit someone for there was a guy moaning at the top of his lungs. He was all too familiar with the sound. The slow bellowing way he sounded meant he was dead, knew it, but it would take some time, and he wasn’t in his right mind to do anything else.

Then he heard something that he didn’t expect. Brendon Black rebuked the guy and called for him to end their man’s suffering.

As Lucius drew near, Mel heard him say through his headset, “Good job. How bad is it? Can you make it to the top and continue healing yourself there?”

“Can I have a nap first?” He held back a laugh. “Yeah. It might be ten minutes before I can make it back to the base, though.”

“That works.”

“Sure you don’t want to just return the flag yourself?” He already knew the answer.

“Tying for first isn’t good enough.”

“I could try to bleed on one and blind him.”

“You could probably also kill a few with your overcharged bolt while I distract them, but you've already done enough. It’s time.”

He knew what he meant. They’d been spending a lot more time together and discussed this at length.

“Fine,” Mel said, forcing himself to his feet.

Lucius was close enough that they’d already seen him bounding toward them from about three stories up. That didn’t mean Mel was in the clear. He knew this was going to hurt, but it was time for him to go. He took two explosive steps before pushing himself into a hover and darting away from the manticore and the Forefather just beyond it.

“Please, try it,” Lucius said, lifting his voice.

Mel took that as a sign that that he should stop hovering in a straight line. He grinned when not even a bolt was thrown in his direction. He waited until he neared the end of the tunnel before beginning the painful ascent.