Chapter 124: Rampage Through City (1)
Reinhard, Marie, and Joseph burst through the theater doors to find Niki, Gran, Scáth, and Roana rushing toward them.
Roana’s golden eyes landed on them as she asked quickly. "What happened to Phineas?"
"It was just a string clone." Reinhard said quickly, his words coming fast. "He’s at the Mekhko Research Center. What happened?"
Scáth’s grin was fierce, almost crazy. "It seems those bastards really let them out."
Niki’s usual cheerfulness had vanished as her expression was grim. "The Phantasm Beasts they had placed in cages underground are awake and have broken through. Now they’re running amok in the city."
Reinhard, Marie, and Joseph’s eyes widened simultaneously before they quickly began rushing forward. They reached the theater’s main entrance with the others following behind, and then they saw it.
The street outside was pandemonium.
A Werefang rushed past on two legs, its coarse brown fur matted with something dark. Crimson eyes blazed with predatory hunger as it pursued a fleeing merchant. Three bushy tails swished behind, and its clawed hands flexed.
But then a young Phane City guard intercepted the creature, his sword had already appeared, glowing with blue energy.
He slashed horizontally, cutting a bit into the midsection of the Were fang and blood splashing out. The beast shrieked as it stumbled back before recovering quickly and lunging towards the guards.
But the guard quickly raised his other hand, which shone blue before a shield appeared. Then the guard thrust his shield, which smashed into the beast and threw it backward into a vendor’s abandoned stall.
An Autumn Deer galloped through the intersection ahead, swinging their multiple antlers and smashing into stalls.
While the leaves on their bodies glowed, they rushed out and slashed apart the banners. Its green eyes held intelligence that recognized the chaos it was causing.
Two old Beast Masters wearing the insignia of the Hunter’s Guild worked together. One fired an arrow of compressed air that exploded against the deer’s side, driving it toward his partner. The other had summoned a massive net of golden light that expanded to catch the creature as it tried to escape.
The Autumn Deer fought the net, its antlers tearing through sections, but more light expanded itself to replace damaged areas.
On a parallel street, Reinhard watched as Bear-Terrors charged down, their massive bulk making the ground shake with each thunderous step.
Spikes protruded from their backs, each as long as a forearm, while standing twice the height of normal bears, their frames so massive they had to turn sideways to fit through some street sections.
City guards formed a defensive line with shields locked. Behind them, Beast Masters unleashed spears of ice, bolts of lightning, and wind streams. The Bear-Terrors crashed into the shield and flung the normal guards like toys.
Before the Bear-Terror was sent flying from the stream of windows and bolt of lightning, it hit the walls.
But then another Bear-Terror appeared from the side and rushed towards the Hunter Guild Beast Masters.
Each of them swiftly reacted as they used the fallen carts to launch themselves out of the charging bear. The Bear-Terror smashed into the walls, leading debris to fall to the ground and for it to come out.
But the Beast Masters’ attacks came immediately after, striking the Bear-Terror. Ice froze legs, lightning stunned, and wind cut shallow wounds across exposed flesh before the Hunter Beasts Master descended on it.
Tonothus stampeded through the market district, their enormous bull-like bodies crushing vendor stalls beneath their hooves. Gray hide stretched across powerful frames, and black plating covered their limbs from joint to hoof.
Curved horns protruded from their heads, and spiked tails dragged across cobblestones, leaving gouges in the stone.
Civilians fled before them, screaming, carrying children, and helping the elderly who couldn’t run fast enough.
A middle-aged Beast Master woman positioned herself directly in the stampede’s path. Her hands moved in complex patterns, and a wall of earth erupted from the street. The Tonothus crashed into it, their momentum arrested. Horns punched holes through the wall, but it held long enough for the civilians to escape.
Cheronos moved through side streets on two legs with frightening speed. Their lean bodies were built for pursuit, claws extending from hands, mouths revealing razor-sharp teeth. Yellow eyes blazed with hunger and aggression.
One caught an elderly man who’d fallen, its claws rising for a killing blow.
Shadow Striker!
Black spears erupted from the creature’s shadow, puncturing through its torso from multiple angles. The Cheronos shrieked and collapsed. Reinhard was already moving past it, Zenuken glowing in his hands.
"Let’s head to the Mekhko Research Center." Reinhard called the others. "We kill any Phantasm Beast that comes in our way."
"And help anyone in need that the others can’t reach." Marie added that her Longinus had already appeared.
Everyone nodded before they began moving north through the chaos.
A Werefang lunged from an alley at Marie. She sidestepped smoothly, Longinus slashing upwards that opened the creature from belly to throat.
It fell without another sound as blood splashed out.
Two Cheronos converged on a family trapped against a collapsed building. Joseph reached them first, Arondight thrusting through one’s back before withdrawing and sweeping horizontally to decapitate the second.
The family stared in shock before fleeing when Joseph gestured urgently.
A Bone Wyvern descended from above, its massive form blotting out sunlight. Twenty feet of scales and bone armor, wings spreading wide enough to cover an entire street. It crashed onto a building’s roof, which collapsed under its weight. Civilians inside screamed.
Scáth’s eyes lit up with fierce joy as she summoned twin daggers crimson-black before she launched herself at the wyvern. Her blades found gaps in its armor, striking again and again in a blur of motion.
The wyvern roared and tried to bite her, but she was already gone, reappearing on its other side to strike again.
Roana waved her hands as shards of ice rushed out, striking at the joints of the Wyvern’s limbs. Each impact weakened its ability to move and froze it, leading to it crashing down into the ground or the walls around.
The wyvern’s tail lashed out, trying to crush Scáth. She ducked under it, laughed, and drove both daggers through its eye. The creature’s shriek cut off abruptly as it collapsed, shaking the ground with its fall.
They continued north.
The streets were a battlefield with civilians running, Phane City Guards fighting, and Beast Masters engaging Phantasm Beasts with skills that lit the air with colored energy.
A Bear-Terror appeared ahead, charging directly at them. Gran stepped forward, his hands moving in precise gestures.
Vector Path showed him exactly where the bear would move in the next three seconds. He clenched his fist as his eyes glowed, and muscles bulged as he held out a hand towards the charging beast.
The Bear-Terror hit Gran’s arms and slightly pushed him back, but it was stopped. Then, gripping his fist Gran smashed his fist into the side of the Bear-Terror side, which lifted it up from the ground. And then he spun around and lashed out with a kick that sent it words sideways into a building wall.
Nikki laughs as she waved a hand before a wave of flames devoured a charging Autumn Deer, who released an ear-splitting noise.
Three Tonothus blocked an intersection, their massive bulk creating a living wall. Behind them, Reinhard could see civilians trapped, unable to escape past the beasts.