Unity IV / Birth of the Beast

“I can’t believe you did that!” Shina wailed as we sprinted along the campus’s outer walls, trying to get as far from the tower as possible before it collapsed.

“Why are you mad? We’re alive, aren’t we?” I fired back, matching her pace despite the unconscious body I held in my arms.

“I could’ve created an ice slide or something! That was really scary!”

“You need to conserve your mana, and besides, changing direction quickly is my magical specialty. Sure, there was a lot of downward momentum to reverse this time, but I managed just fine!”

“Yeah, it was amazing, but I’m still ma—”

Our bickering ceased as a massive cluster of refined masonry crashed into the ground behind us, sending a shockwave through the cliffside.

“Do you have any ideas on how we can contact the others?” I asked, the severity of our situation sinking in further with each passing second. “I’m sure they’ll notice a gigantic wyvern flying around eventually, but—”

“There’s no need for that; I’m sure they’re already on their way,” Shina answered between heavy breaths. “You’ve probably been too distracted to notice, but our blessings have some kind of weird resonance with the Anomaly Beasts. Aside from Akio, everyone else has felt it before, so they should be able to sense its rough position and get over here.”

“Now that you mention it, I have been feeling something odd emanating from the tower, but I figured it was just my mind playing tricks on me.”

I shot a glance backward. The roof had already collapsed in on itself, and a gargantuan, violet mass writhed and expanded amidst the rubble, forming the torso of what would soon become Ames Nori. Unlike Fragments, which grew their scales last, this monstrous lump of flesh was already heavily armored by the time a disgusting appendage ruptured outward to serve as the basis for its neck. With how many chunks of stone were snapping off the tower under the creature’s increasing weight, it was a miracle the structure remained intact at all.

The sounds of a large commotion ahead drew my attention back. More than likely, panicked students were flooding away from campus through the nearby gate, though whether or not they were aware of the true scale of this calamity was unclear. Shina and I would need to cross the upcoming corner to survey the situation, so we quickened our pace as we barreled onward.

We need to regroup with everyone, but it might be difficult to push against a massive flow—

“Shina! Everett!” A familiar voice rang out as a figure darted past the turn and into our view.

“Mara?” Just as I realized who it was, three other individuals caught up from behind her.

“There you are!” Akio called. “We were worried sick when we couldn’t find you in the dining hall.”

Kerne looked just as relieved. “I feared something might have transpired when neither of you arrived for dinner, but I am glad to see the two of you remain in one piece. Er, two pieces, I suppose.”

“I kept telling Kerne you were just on a little tryst, and lo and behold, what do we find?” Fleur, nonchalant as ever, gave us a casual wink as Shina and I reached the group.

“Somehow, I just knew you’d gotten involved in some sort of trouble the second I sensed Ames Nori,” Mara complained, shooting a glare my way. “Anyway, what’s the situation? And why the hell do you have Professor Seris in a bridal carry?”

“It’s not a bridal carry! Well, it is, but I had to put Shina on my back earlier, so… whatever, that doesn’t matter!” I laid the professor’s body against the wall and turned back to face my comrades. “This is all kind of my fault. I confronted him, we fought, and as a last resort, he did that.” Hoping the abridged version of the story would be enough for now, I pointed over my shoulder toward the tower.

“You fought!?”

“What did you confront him about?”

“And what did you do to piss him off this bad?”

Yeah, I should’ve expected this. I was way too vague.

“I—” Before I could explain in more detail, however, a set of heavy footsteps diverted my attention elsewhere.

“Whatever you’re going on about, we don’t have time. Save it for later.” The gruff voice, though forceful, felt less threatening than usual. “I have a plan, so listen up.”

“V-Vandan?” Shina stared in shock at the new ally approaching us. “B-but you said—”

“Shut up! Do you want my help or not?”

“Not to complain, but where the hell was this spirit the last time we fought it? I seem to remember you ignoring us completely and charging in alone like an idiot,” Mara said, condescension painting her tone.

“Mara, stop. We do not have time for this,” Kerne snapped. “Vandan, what do you have in mind?”

Vandan grunted, scanning the six of us carefully. “I need you to buy me time and get it grounded. If you can manage that, I’ll crack its shell, and then we can kill that bastard in one fell swoop.”

“Crack its shell? You know as well as I that Ames Nori restores its scales quickly; a single opening will not be enough to—”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Four-Eyes,” Vandan declared. “The more scales it needs to regenerate, the longer it takes; I figured that out from battling the Fragments. Last time, we only ever managed to rip a few off at once, and that was our biggest mistake.”

“So? You can’t just say that and expect it to mean anything,” Mara said, still critical. “You’d need to practically strip it clean if you expect us to have time to kill it in one go.”

Vandan grinned, a look of sadism in his eyes. “That’s right. I’m gonna tear every last scale off its flesh in a single throw.”

He curved his arm above his shoulder, creating a vacant ring to the right of his head. Then, in a blinding burst of light, an enormous metal rod, nearly as thick as a tree trunk, manifested in the space. It was so long that its tail slammed into the ground behind him, while the jagged tip extended well above his head. I guessed it was some kind of ballista bolt, but it almost looked more like a rocket-powered missile from my world.

There’s no way he thinks he can…

I recalled the irrational size of his warhammer, and how easily he could swing it. It seemed impossible, but as the strongest of the Inheritors, he might just make it work.

“Focusing the blessing’s power into something this huge will take a while, so I’m making you a deal: if you can buy me a few minutes, then I can give you a ten second window to tear it apart. Those ten seconds before it recovers its armor will determine the victor of this fight; either you kill it in time, or we die. Got it?”

He wasn’t just asking for us to stall for him; he was relying on us entirely: to fight it, to restrain it, and to slay it.

He wasn’t asking us to help him. He was offering to help us.

“Guys, we should go with his plan,” I said, the first to concur. “From what you’ve all told me about Ames Nori, its scales are way tougher than what the Fragments had. Most of us probably can’t pierce them, so until its flesh is exposed, stalling is perfect for us.”

“I-if you say so, I agree too.” Shina joined me.

“Very well. Our first approach was undoubtedly flawed, so a new strategy was in order.” Kerne nodded after a moment of consideration.

“I’m down for whatever you guys are! I’m just pumped for my first boss battle!” Akio beamed, far too excited to face what would surely be the deadliest trial of his life.

“Sure, whatever. Beats the useless crap we tried last time, I guess,” Mara said, sighing.

Fleur, conversely, giggled. “Vanny’s being so nice. What a world we live in.”

I shot one final look at Vandan, having rallied support for his cause.

“Don’t screw this up, Foreigner.” His words, though cold, made me grin.

It looks like you wound up on our side of the arena, after all.

Then, to put an end to our moment of camaraderie, a harsh roar resounded across the entire academy, heralding the birth of the beast.

A moment later, it felt like something began pulsating in my brain, screaming at me that it was now on the move, somewhere in the skies behind me.

This must be that “resonance” they were talking about. Like I needed a voice in my head to tell me what I clearly just heard!

“Let’s move! We need to get away from Vandan if we’re gonna buy him time!” I shouted an order as I started running back toward the tower, my allies following close.

“Any ideas on how we grab its attention?” Akio asked, hoping to get some input from the four survivors of Ames Nori’s first appearance. “Something that big being able to fly is just unfair!”

“Well,” Shina began, “its size is kind of a disadvantage for its flight. It’s too heavy to gain height quickly, so it prefers to only land in high areas. As long as we’re this low, it’ll probably just swoop down and glide up again before we can fight back.”

“We should get on the wall then, right?” I suggested. “That’s the obvious place it would want to perch.”

“Between smashing our way into a tower and sprinting up the stairs, it’ll take a while to make it onto the ramparts,” Mara said. “Anomaly Beasts are drawn to Inheritors, just like we are to them. If we don’t grab its attention sooner than that, it’ll probably go for Vandan. He’s using way more of his blessing right now than we are, so I’m sure to Ames Nori, he’s the prime target.”

As we passed by one of the unscathed towers serving as a junction between segments of the outer wall, I dug my heels into the ground, halting my momentum. “If taking the stairs is too slow, I have an idea.”

My friends stalled their sprints in turn, each panting to various degrees to catch their breath.

“Mara, do you have the power to break a hole into this tower like you were talking about?” I pointed to the side, and she nodded.

“Yeah, though it’ll take a few shots. But like I said—”

“Okay, great. I think I have a way for me and Shina to make it up there faster, but the four of you will need to take the manual route. We’ll draw its focus and try to hold off until you can join us.”

“Hold on, Everett, what are you suggesting? None of us have any magic that would let us climb the wall from the outside,” Shina said.

“It’s not magic. Well, some magic, but mostly physics.”

As I explained the simple plan to my companions, I received a bombardment of blank stares, looks of horror, and exasperated sighs.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Are you an idiot?”

“The odds of failure are quite high, you realize?”

“E-Everett, I’m a little scared of heights! You already made me sorta fly once today, and I don’t want to do it again!”

“C-come on guys, we’re on the clock!” I shouted, sensing the pressure closing in on us. “Trust me, please. I might be reckless, but if Shina’s at risk too, I wouldn’t suggest something I didn’t think I could pull off.”

“Ah,” Akio gasped. “Alright, I’ll trust you, buddy. That line was supercharged with so much ‘power of love’ energy that there’s no way it could fail!”

“D-don’t say that! Anyway, is that a ‘yes’ or ‘no’!? Kerne? Shina?” I looked between the pair I needed to pull off my plan.

“F-fine! You’re lucky I trust you so much,” Shina whimpered, her legs shaking. “Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…”

I couldn’t tell if her final muttering was directed toward me or herself, but I nodded at her acquiescence. “And Kerne?”

He sighed. “We have no time, so fine. But let the record show I do not approve of this idea!”

I turned to look at the great curtain wall that served as the final obstacle in my path before facing Ames Nori.

Here goes nothing!