Chapter 11: Shift I part 3
Chapter 11: Shift I part 3
The mysterious woman walked through the corridor with multiple doors on each side. The atmosphere was oddly quiet, with almost no one in sight. A slow, eerie sound seeped into her mind; she braces her body. A large combustion explodes on her right while she creates a crystallised wall between them.
A group of guards holding shields suddenly charged towards her, bashing through the wall.
「I think we got her.」
「I don’t think we have; I feel like we are squishing a wall.」
「But that’s not possible; we would hear our mages fire their spells if she jumps over us.」
They slowly backed away from the wall, revealing an imprint on its surface left solely by the shield.
「Oh hell no, I didn’t sign up for this.」
「I agree; the last time someone disappeared like that was when I was-」
The guard instantly dragged down towards the ground, instantly disappearing from sight.
「Huh? What -」
Another Guard disappeared. The guard panicked while each one disappears from sight. The guards at the back starts firing different magic spells at the floor, trying to stop the guards from getting dragged down. They scream while panicking, with some shaking to the ground out of fear, but before long, each every guard disappears from sight.
A small shadow portal appears from the corridor walls where the guards bashed the mysterious women. One by one, the guards fling out of the portal completely knocked out before the woman crawls her way out of the portal and continues to walk through the corridor.
「You were there at the Christmas Party last year when Jerry pulled out his unicycle and rode it while juggling metal pipes, right?」
「Yeah, but it doesn’t mean he can do that with a mansion.」
The two security guards bickers on their chairs, facing away from the security footages.
「Yeah he can, Terry told me that.」
「Oh, come on, Terry lies about everything to do with Jerry. He is like -」
The mysterious woman rips open the door beside them; she throws the door towards the ground and slowly walks towards the two. The two guards turn their chair towards her, frightened by her presence.
「Hey, you say something.」
「Why me? I suck at talking to new people.」
「I can’t man, I can’t talk to any women, I am already on my last warning before my wife divorces me for interacting with a woman. I can’t lose my marriage now, it’s only been 3 days. 」
The mysterious woman stops right in front of them while look right into both of the guards' eyes before leaving the room. Both sighed in relief while loosening their bodies.
「Wait three days? How many strikes did she give you?」
「Thirty.」
A group of guards marched towards a door before opening it, revealing a heavily reinforced room, with Nikola pacing around the room while mumbling. The guards salute towards Nikola.
「Oh great, you are here on time; I need your guards to protect me; I need a few guards at the front and a few with me. I know she is going to kill me, so no matter what, stop her. 」
「Nikola, please calm down; if she was going to kill you, she would already have done it by now.」
「She is toying with me right now, I looked into her eyes; she is going to kill me.」
「ok, just calm down for now, we will protect you at all cost.」
The guard signaled to the other guards, and each one got into their positions. Half of the guards guarded the corridor outside the door while the other half surrounds Nikola preparing for the inevitability of the mysterious woman's arrival. The guards on the opposing side shifted, their attention drawn to the encroaching treads. A mysterious woman advanced slowly towards them, unfazed, as mages began chanting and unleashing a volley of elemental spells in her direction. Before the spells reached her, they instantly dispersed into the air in front of her. Shocked, they chanted a spell to strengthen the vanguards, giving them a boost in strength. They charged towards her, preparing to swing but with a snap of her fingers, every guard transported into the clouds falling off from a canyon. Each one screamed for their lives before they slammed into the ground, instantly knocking them out of the hallucination.
She walks past the knocked out guards while avoiding stepping on the guards before finally reaching the door. She slowly place her palm onto the door; her arm quickly glowed gold before puncturing the door open.
A sudden, coordinated blast erupted as every mage targeted her. In the blink of an eye, she extended her palm, deflecting the onslaught. The reflected magic surged back, striking them down before they could even react. She took a step closer to Nikola, and he collapsed onto his backside in sheer terror. He frantically propelled himself backward with his arms and legs, not stopping until he pressed against a large stack of containers at the back of the room.
The remaining guards charged, but before they could reach her, a hallucination seized them: they saw their own bodies sliced into sections before collapsing, foaming at the mouth.
「He-hey, you want money?」
She continues to walk towards him. Nikola shakes in fear with his mouth continuing shaking.
「H-how about I give you magic crystals? Real ones that we have stored.」
She does not stop walking forward.
「How about uhhh, name what you want and I will give you anything, so please don’t kill me?」
She stops in the middle of the room. Nikola sighs in relief before picking himself up.
「I knew you were-」
Two of her fingers flexed skyward, and in an instant, a colossal tree ripped through the ground; sprouting directly under Nikola. He was swallowed whole by its burgeoning form, his terrified face and outstretched hands the only parts remaining exposed.
「WAIT. PLEASE DON’T-」
Pointing her fingers like a pistol, she focused on him. A tiny, luminous yellow sphere materialized before her hand, its soft glow quickly overshadowed by a building, ear-splitting whine that climbed steadily in pitch. With a blinding flash, a colossal laser beam tore through the mountain's flank, streaking diagonally upward into the sky.
Tiana curled up onto the chair, her gaze fixed on the dining table. Suddenly, her eyes glowed purple, drawn to something outside the ship. A deep, resonating hum filled the air, instantly snapping her to full alert. She abandoned her chair, moving with a strange, almost automatic purpose toward the bunks room.
「Hey, Wake up Leo. We got to go.」
She shakes Leo, trying to wake him up. Leo gradually open his eyelids while turning towards Tiana. Seeing the alarm in her eyes, he knew immediately that trouble was brewing. He nodded at Tiana before he leapt from the bed.
「I’ll get ready first.」
