Chapter 133: Mika rage

Chapter 133: Mika rage The first guard rounded the corner with her weapon already drawn, her boots echoing sharply against the pristine white floor. Naia shifted her stance, water beginning to coalesce around her fingertips in preparation for the confrontation ahead. But before she could even begin to channel her element properly, Mika was already moving. The earth-wielder surged forward with a snarl of pure rage, her blade cutting through the air in a vicious horizontal arc that caught the lead guard off-guard. The woman barely had time to raise her weapon before Mika’s earth-blade crashed into her defense, sending her staggering backward into her companions. Blood sprayed from her split lip as the blow rattled her skull. "Mika, wait!" Naia called out, but her friend was already pressing her attack. Mika’s second strike came from below, an upward thrust that forced the guard to twist away. The woman left herself open, and Mika’s boot slammed into her ribs. Bone cracked. The guard crashed into the white wall, leaving a red smear as she dropped unconscious. Two more guards emerged from the right passage, their shouts of alarm echoing through the corridor as they took in the bloody scene before them. One of them raised a crossbow, the bolt already nocked and aimed at Mika’s back. Naia moved then, her hands weaving through the air as she called upon her water element. Moisture condensed from the air around her, forming into a concentrated stream that lashed out like a whip. The water struck the crossbow just as the guard pulled the trigger, sending the bolt wide of its mark and embedding it harmlessly in the ceiling above. But Mika was already spinning toward the new threat, her face twisted with fury that burned in her eyes. Her earth-blade swept wide, forcing both guards back as they tried to dodge. The blade caught one guard across the forearm, slicing through leather and flesh. Blood splattered the white floor as she screamed. "You want to fight?" Mika roared, her voice echoing off the walls with startling intensity. "Then come on!" The guard with the crossbow tried to reload, her hands fumbling with the mechanism in her haste. Mika didn’t give her the chance. She launched herself forward, her blade coming down in an overhead strike that the woman barely managed to block with the wooden stock of her weapon. The earth-blade sheared through the crossbow like it was made of paper, continuing its deadly arc to carve a deep gash across the guard’s shoulder. The woman’s agonized shriek filled the corridor as blood poured from the wound. Naia watched in growing alarm as her friend’s attack grew more and more reckless. Mika was fighting like a berserker, her usual tactical precision replaced by raw, unbridled aggression that seemed to be consuming her rational thought. Three more guards appeared from the left passage, their weapons gleaming in the strange white light that emanated from the corridor walls. They moved with the coordinated efficiency of trained soldiers, spreading out to flank the two intruders from multiple angles. "Mika, behind you!" Naia shouted, but her warning came almost too late. Mika spun around just as the nearest guard thrust her spear toward her back. Her earth-blade caught the weapon’s shaft, deflecting it to one side, but the movement left her open to attack from another angle. The second guard’s sword was already descending toward her exposed ribs when Naia’s water struck her. The concentrated stream hit the guard in the chest with enough force to knock her off her feet, sending her sliding across the smooth white floor. Her head struck the far wall with a wet crack, blood pooling beneath her motionless form. But Naia’s intervention had put her directly in Mika’s path as her friend completed her spinning counter-attack. "Move!" Mika snarled, her earth-blade sweeping in a wide horizontal arc that barely missed Naia’s head as she ducked desperately to avoid the strike. "Mika, what are you doing?" Naia gasped, rolling away from her friend’s follow-up attack. But Mika wasn’t listening. Her attention had already shifted to the remaining guards, her weapon moving in a complex series of strikes that drove them back step by step. Her breathing was harsh and ragged, and sweat mixed with blood spatter was beginning to bead on her forehead despite the cool temperature of the underground complex. The third guard tried to circle around behind her, his sword raised for a killing blow. Mika sensed the movement and pivoted, her earth-blade coming up in a defensive position just in time to catch the descending weapon. The impact sent sparks flying as metal met metal, but Mika’s superior leverage allowed her to twist the blade, carving a jagged line across the guard’s wrist. He dropped his sword with a cry of pain as blood streamed between his fingers. Naia took advantage of the momentary distraction to deal with the guards who were trying to flank them from the right. She extended both hands, calling upon her water element with greater intensity than before. Moisture gathered from the air around her, forming into multiple streams that lashed out simultaneously. The first stream wrapped around one guard’s ankles, pulling his feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the floor. His head bounced off the white stone with a sickening thud, leaving him motionless in a spreading pool of blood. The second struck another guard’s weapon hand, numbing his fingers and causing him to drop his sword. The third stream coiled around the final guard’s waist, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into the white wall with bone-jarring force. He slid down the wall, leaving a red streak in his wake. But even as Naia dealt with her opponents, she could hear Mika’s battle growing more intense behind her. The sound of clashing metal was constant now, punctuated by Mika’s wordless roars of rage and the guards’ pained cries. Naia turned to see Mika facing off against four guards simultaneously, her earth-blade moving in a deadly dance that kept all of them at bay through sheer ferocity. Blood dripped from several shallow cuts on her arms, but she fought on with increasing savagery. One guard was already down, clutching a gaping wound in his thigh as crimson soaked through his fingers. One of the remaining guards managed to get inside Mika’s guard, his sword aimed at her ribs. Mika twisted away from the strike, but the movement left her off-balance. Another guard immediately pressed the advantage, his spear thrusting toward her exposed back. Naia reacted without thinking, her water element responding to her desperate need. A concentrated stream shot across the corridor, striking the spear-wielding guard in the face with enough force to shatter his nose. Blood erupted from the broken cartilage as he reeled backward, screaming. But her intervention once again put her directly in Mika’s path. Mika’s earth-blade swept around in a vicious backhand strike that would have taken Naia’s head off if she hadn’t dropped to the floor at the last possible moment. The weapon passed through the space where she had been standing, close enough that she could feel the displaced air ruffling her hair. "Stay out of my way!" Mika screamed, her voice raw with fury as she continued her assault on the remaining guards. The final guard tried to retreat, backing away from the obviously unhinged warrior who was advancing on him with murder in her eyes. But the white corridor offered no escape, and Mika cornered him against the wall with predatory efficiency. Her earth-blade struck the man’s weapon with enough force to shatter the steel, sending fragments of metal scattering across the floor. One shard sliced across his cheek, opening a deep gash that bled freely. The guard dropped to his knees, his hands raised in surrender, but Mika’s blade was already descending toward his neck. "Mika, stop!" Naia shouted, grabbing her friend’s arm to halt the killing blow. For a moment, Mika struggled against her grip, her muscles corded with tension as she fought to complete the strike. Then, gradually, the rage seemed to drain out of her, leaving her trembling with exhaustion. Blood from her various cuts dripped steadily onto the white floor. The guard scrambled away from them, joining his unconscious companions in a heap against the far wall. The corridor fell silent except for the sound of heavy breathing and the soft crackling of energy from the humic, which had remained pressed against the wall throughout the entire bloody fight. "We need to go," Naia said quietly, helping Mika steady herself. "Before reinforcements arrive." Mika nodded wordlessly, her earlier fury replaced by a hollow exhaustion that seemed to drain all emotion from her face. She followed Naia as they joined the humic, leaving behind a corridor painted with blood and littered with broken bodies. They traveled in silence through corridors that all looked identical, the pristine white surfaces reflecting their passage in endless repetition. The humic’s glow had dimmed to barely a whisper of light, as if it too was affected by the strange atmosphere of this place. They had been walking for perhaps ten minutes when the humic suddenly stopped, its form pressing itself against the wall in the universal gesture of hiding. Naia and Mika immediately followed suit, flattening themselves against the smooth white surface as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the corridor ahead. This time, the number of guards was significantly larger. Naia counted at least twenty soldiers as they rounded the corner, their armor gleaming and their weapons held at the ready. They moved with the precision of an elite unit, their formation tight and disciplined as they advanced down the corridor. Mika drew her earth-blade, the familiar weight settling into her grip as she prepared for another fight. Her earlier exhaustion seemed to evaporate, replaced once again by the same burning rage that had consumed her during the previous battle. But as the guards drew closer, something unexpected happened. Instead of continuing their advance, they suddenly stopped in perfect unison. Then, as if responding to some unheard command, they all shifted their stance and began beating their spears against the floor in a rhythmic pattern that echoed through the white corridors like a drumbeat. The sound was hypnotic, filling the space with its steady rhythm as the guards maintained their synchronized display. Naia exchanged a confused glance with Mika, neither of them understanding what was happening. Then, from the center of the formation, two figures emerged. Both wore identical robes of deep blue that seemed to absorb the white light around them, creating an almost shadow-like effect against the pristine walls. What drew immediate attention, however, were the massive skull masks that covered their faces entirely. The bone-white surfaces were polished to an almost mirror-like sheen, with hollow eye sockets that seemed to stare with an unsettling emptiness. The skulls were clearly not elven in origin—too large, too broad, with features that spoke of some ancient, forgotten creature. One of the skull-masked figures took a single step forward, the movement fluid and precise despite the grotesque mask obscuring her vision. When she spoke, her voice carried easily through the corridor despite being barely above a whisper, the sound seeming to emanate from within the hollow bone structure covering her face. "You have been quite a disturbance lately." Mika stepped forward, her earth-blade still held at the ready. "Where is the Veilwalker?" she demanded, her voice tight with barely controlled anger. "Where is Viva?" The same skull-masked figure tilted her head slightly, the gesture somehow conveying amusement despite the grotesque bone covering that hid her features. The empty eye sockets seemed to bore into Mika as she spoke. "Unfortunately, the Veilwalker is currently performing TUNA with our master, Kiran—the greatest air user who has ever lived." The pride in the masked figure’s voice was unmistakable, each word carefully chosen to emphasize their master’s supposed superiority. Mika’s reaction was immediate and violent. "Kiran?" she snarled, her knuckles whitening as her grip tightened on her weapon. "That bastard witch!" The skull-masked figure’s posture shifted, her voice taking on a sharp edge of disapproval that somehow managed to sound even more menacing when filtered through the hollow bone structure. "Watch your language, girl." Mika took another step forward, her entire body radiating aggression as she faced down the mysterious figure. "Make me do it."