Arc 2 - Chapter 47: Jack, Elizabeth, Johnny vs Mia I

(Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:11AM)

“Stay Alert.”

Five young adults, and one teenage girl, walked through the metallic flooring of the facility. Peering their eyes at every corner, they didn’t allow a single shadow to move. The air was cold, enough for them to shiver while gripping their weapons tightly.

Being the leader, Luke was in front of them, as he equipped a flashlight with his left hand. Letting the high beam pierce through the darkness, he had his right hand gripping his uzi.

“It’s really dark for a building…”

“All we have to do is reach the second floor right?” Questioned Jack.

“Yeah, but we have to climb the stairs though, and they don’t look stable.” Said Fred.

“Don’t worry, just stick behind me. I don’t think it’ll break.”

Motioning everyone to form a line, Luke captioned his steps once he saw what he was dealing with. Right in front of him, was a creaking staircase.

Placing his left foot on the staircase, he heard the metal scream out in pain. Strands of his back hair spiking up, he felt the need to tread lightly, given the fact that the stairs aren’t that young.

“Follow my lead.”

Taking the helm step by step, Luke found his heart to pound against his chest. Holding his breath, every step they took was another shrill scream from the old metal. Until Jack noticed a shadow moving.

“I think I saw something.”

“Where?”

“To my right, but no clue on the outline…”

Everyone stiffened from Jack’s words, leaving their breaths to slow. Straightening his back, Luke felt the need to stop, once he stalled on the second stair to the top.

Once his blessing began to spike.

“See anything Jack…”

“N-No why…”

“Something’s watching us.”

He heard the muffling of a service bell, like it was whispering to him. Continuing to stand still, his face began to concede with sweat, while he moved his finger toward the trigger.

“Let’s just get to the—”

—Danger boomed.—

Spinning his head to his right, a white blur gathered wind with its body.

Unable to jump back, his only choice was to view the lich barreling her head at the staircase. Headbutting it, the stairs shrieked loudly, leaving everyone to widen their eyes and wrinkle their faces.

“Get to the second floor!”

Jumping to his left, he was able to get to the second floorwithout issue. Hearing the staircase scream like a banshee, its age showed, once it began to split and crumble apart like a graham cracker.

Luckily for Hope, she was behind Luke, as she leaped right next to him before the stairs turned into debris.

“Guys!”

In present motion, a cloud of dust scattered the bottom floor of which they walked. Both him and her staring down, the cloud of dust already began to sway away.

Luke saw three figures laying on their backs, their eyes closed from the stinging dust. Noticing one person missing, he scoured his eyes across the first floor, trying to find—

“H-Help me up!”

Fred clung onto a metal rod. Dangling on the edge, it left Luke no choice but to grab Fred’s wrists, and pull him up. Bulging his lean biceps, his shoulders, and especially his calves and thighs, he growled from his vocals from his below-average strength.

Until he had Fred laying on the floor, panting and breathing heavily.

“You ok Fred?”

“Yeah … just about.”

Leaving Hope to comfort Fred, Luke turned his attention onto Jack, Johnny, and Elizabeth. Noticing all of them laying on the floor, groaning, Luke had his feet on the edge.

“You guys ok!?”

He continued to stare at them. Their bodies sluggish, dust had slobbered onto their faces and clothes, leaving their skin to turn temporarily brown. Jack, who was the first person to get up, stuck out a thumbs up.

“We’ll be right there with you.”

“No, I can’t let you—”

“cough … It’s ok Luke! Cough cough … We’ll figure something out.” Said Johnny.

Sealing his lips, Luke glanced at the flashlight he still wielded. Seeing that the battery began to die, the light that it shone flickered repeatedly. Tucking it back into his pocket, he turned his eyes on Jack.

And gave him a simple nod.

“Good luck!”

Turning his body toward his destination, he pushed an absurd amount of air into his lungs. As Hope let out a wry smile, and Fred scratched the back of his head, Luke took a simple step forward.

While pushing all the air out from his lungs.

“Come on, let’s get to that room.”

________________________________________________________________________

(Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:13AM)

‘What the hell is she anyway? I know there was another lich girl, but what does she do?’

Rubbing the back of his head, he felt a small line of blood moisten his fingers. Feeling like his skull was caving into his brain, his face was wrinkled. Turning his head to both Johnny and Elizabeth, he placed his other hand in his jacket, while the pain stung him.

“We need to be careful. For all we know, she could pull a grenade out of her—”

Widening his eagle eyes, he panned them to the left as he noticed a white of blur.

Jumping back, he pulled out his sniper rifle, which was laid in bed behind his back. Clutching it firm with both hands now, he had the butt stationed into his armpit, and his finger bastioned on the trigger.

Pushing him to boom the barrel.

‘Hope this works!’

Leaping to the right, the building echoed from that single sniper shot. Seeing that his bullet missed, he hissed through his teeth, and kept the crosshairs steady on the lich girl.

“Elizabeth, let’s back him up!”

“Sure thing!”

Similar to Benn, Johnny wielded a heavy machine, but with the size somewhat smaller. Unlike Benn, the barrel was installed with a silencer, meaning he didn’t take pleasure in hearing lead rumble his eardrums.

As for Elizabeth, she carried nothing but her hands.

Wiggling her fingers in the air, she thrusted her palms outward, and unleashed a small plume of … clouds? Yes, clouds. Letting them zip through the air, her cat-ears rose up.

“I always wanted to try this! I never got to experiment this with the ranchers!”

“W-What?!”

As Jack and Johnny had their barrels firm the lich, they readied for her chance to pounce. But in a sudden twist, she ceased her charge and leaped to the left, and extended her arms outward. The shape of her fingers moving, molding, both of her hands began to be replaced with something different…

“Oh shit…”

She replaced her arms with assault rifles.

Without hesitation, he fired another shot at her, with the bullet rippling and gathering the air around its edges. Same as usual, she dodged it, but the outer edges grazed her left cheek as she did.

Lifting her arms with rifles with ease, she burned the barrel hot with escaping lead. Johnny found a huge metal cabinet right next to him, right at the moment the bullets burdened his ears.

“Take cover near me!”

Pushing out his vocals, his voice rang through the walls and into both Elizabeth and Jack’s ears. Her clouds unable to darken or mold, she pulled them back, and leaped right alongside Johnny in an instant.

As for Jack, his legs weren’t as strong as Elizabeth’s.

“Ah!”

He felt a sudden biting sensation on his hip. Clenching his teeth, Jack held his sniper like a body pillow, and dug his head into his body like how a turtle would. As the bullets ricocheted through the building, he caught a whiff of blood streaming out from his wound.

‘Shit she got me…’

Unable to place a hand on his wound, he sucked in whatever air that was available to him. Being covered in patches of dust, he narrowed his eyes and pushed his legs to soar with strength. Feeling his jacket and clothing being rippled with bullets, they barely grazed him, as luck managed to caress his soul and body.

Reaching the metallic cabinet that Johnny and Elizabeth used, they both widened their eyes.

“How did you make it here without getting killed!?”

“Ah! … Luck is a rollercoaster for me…”

The bullets ceased.

Hissing from the skin of his teeth, he arched his head up as the pain increased evermore. Johnny had a pale face, while Elizabeth had a complete contrast.

Placing her right hand onto his forehead, his skin scalded her palm, as if he had a fever. Pulling back her hand, she rubbed them back and forth, all the while her smirk pushed upward.

“Looks like you need to be healed.”

“Please be easy on him, he isn’t going to like it.”

“W-What do you mean?”

Johnny turned his attention onto Jack, whose face flustered from both the cat-girl and his body heat. Johnny’s grip on his heavy machine gun tightened, as he averted his eyes away.

“It’s not as peaceful as it looks.”

—“Veil Delirium.”—

A single white cloud puffed from her palms, making Jack see the animate creature without any eyes or ears. Looking like a character out of a cartoon, but having the attributes to an actual realistic cloud, it made Jack casually smile at the adorable pet.

‘Huh, looks peaceful to—’

It zipped straight into his mouth.

Forcing its way in, the cloud caressed his tongue until it sunk deeper and deeper into his body. Blocking his breathing, it traveled further until it would reach the injured area. Flailing both of his arms and legs outward, he couldn’t scream, as the cloud had blocked his way to do so.

“You're lucky it wasn’t your leg. Otherwise, cloudy’s trip to the wound will be a lot slower.”

“Poor man…”

Standing up from the rustic floor, she placed both of her hands onto her hips. Tilting her head to the left, she continued to have out a gleaming smile, while sticking out her finger.

While s redness swelled his eyes, and tears dribbled from the corners.

“Don’t worry Jack, we’ll take care of that lich girl. You just let that cloud do its work.”

‘Internally screaming…’

Hitting his palms against the metallic flooring, he also slammed the butt of his boots with excess force. Trying to gag out his words, they were sufficed well within the cloud’s chilling strength.

As Elizabeth comforted Jack, somewhat, Johnny readied his machine gun with sweaty palms.

“Now to deal with that lich—”

Just before he peeked his head out the corner, he pulled it back right away. At the corner of the cabinet, a bullet struck where the lich girl still stood, meaning she had her eyes honed in on them.

Instead of ambushing them, she waited for them to peek their heads out.

“Shoot, she’s trying to trap us here.”

Clattering his teeth, his heavy machine gun trembled under the stress of his fingers. He tried to control his fear, once he turned his attention to the cat-girl.

“Get your blessing ready Ellie. We’ll have to surprise her.”

“Got it.”

Feeling his own throat be parched, he felt the weight of his plan upon his shoulders.

Instantly lunging out of cover, he sprinted toward the other side of the building, leaving the lich girl to pin her eyes on him. Unleashing metal rain, it sprinkled near his boots as he ran.

Giving Elizabeth a small window to leap out of cover as well.

Spreading both of her feet, she strained her low wedged heels on the floor. Raising up both of her hands, her palms aimed toward the heavens, and had them flatter than pancakes.

Feeling her body grow light, she trembled under the cold air that pinched her skin. But out from her palms, was none other than a cloud, a cloud already painted black. Her back aching, her calves and thighs pulsating, the black cloud rushed up to cover the ceiling.

Then came light, which spread across the endless cushion of air cotton.

Hearing the mini shockwaves of thunder, Elizabeth kept her smirk stacked near her right lip once she arched her back. Her hands still up in the air, she then threw them outward, and had her fingers nonchalantly pointing at the lich girl.

“Take her down!”

By the sudden action of her voice, a part of the cloud bolted down to the ground, or rather … a simple bolt of lighting struck near her position.

But the lich girl already predicted Elizabeth’s attack.

Luckily for her though, Johnny didn’t have anyone’s eyes on him. His finger on the trigger, he shot a collection of bullets from his silenced barrel.

Speeding toward her, she widened her eyes from the attack from the shadows. Dodging and leaping, two to three bullets struck her body, allowing tar to pour out. Obviously, this sent her to loosen her footing with the floor.

‘We are actually putting her on the edge! We just got to keep this up.’

Johnny let his gun rumble, from his arms down to his legs. Keeping his boots glued to the floor, while feeling his eyeballs rock back and forth, he had his eyes narrower than a hawk.

And as for Elizabeth, her low wedged heels anchored deep. Considering she can’t move when attacking, it meant that she was out in the open. But because Elizabeth had bolts of lightning trying to smite her, it pushed the lich girl to always be on the move.

She felt each strike crackle the floor. Narrowly avoiding each bolt, she didn’t have time to raise her arms. Completely on the defense, she growled the tar that swirled her yellow teeth.

Until her stomach and chest was riddled with bullets.

‘I shall end this hubris at once!’

More and more, each and every bullet that lodged into her stomach grew. Unleashing tar, it blackened the floor, and began to trail once he zipped back and forth. Lead after lead, each bullet that pierced into her was burning hot.

‘Come on Johnny, aim for her chest!’

Unfortunately for Johnny, there were only so many bullets his gun could spit out.

Hearing Johnny’s gun go dry, it widened the girl’s eyes. Letting an idea spring into her mind, she glanced to her right, and jumped toward her destination. Scraping the bottom of her feet, pigments of skin littered the floor.

‘You have made a mistake.’

Elizabeth and Johnny gasped in shock, making the cat-girl flow back to cover.

And as for Johnny, he quickly turned his head toward Elizabeth. Clutching the rifle with his fingers, he sprinted with burning calves straight toward the metallic cabinet. Reaching the halfway point, 1/4th, 1/8th—

Gunshots rippled the air, and…

—He found his stomach to be riddled with cold air.—

Unable to mutter a voice, Johnny’s sprint toward his original cover had failed, as he collapsed several inches from the cabinet. Blood drooling from the corners of his mouth, veins strained the outer layers of his eyes.

Letting go of his suppressor machine gun, he honed his blurring eyes at the cabinet that he was close to reaching. But his objective was attained, once he felt a shaking hand grab his collar.

“Johnny!”

Forming a small cloud with her right palm, she then hovered her hand close to his mouth. Instantly thrusting it into his windpipe, the same thing that was happening with Jack, was happening with Johnny. But unlike the red-haired man, Johnny didn’t flap his arms or legs out in pain.

‘Thank you … Elizabeth …’

He kept his body motionless, as the pain began to numb his own nerves.

Feeling the floor swell his head, Elizabeth stood up with quivering bones, and kept her eyes on Johnny. Her face darkened, she could feel her own stomach beginning to boil.

‘I promised to keep you safe … and I failed even that…’

Peeking her head around the corner, the lich girl didn’t even bother to shoot. Instead, her barrels were aimed low to the ground, leaving the girl to cock her head to the right.

Extending her arms outward, she slid her fight foot back, and formed saliva bubbles from the corners of her mouth. Her eyes bloodshot red, it caused the girl to take a step back.

“You … you …”

A collection of lightning and thunder roared on top of her.

Tilting her head up, the girl’s eyes widened at the predicting lightning she’ll dodge. Pushing her bare heels off the floor, it dented the metal, while beads of sweat trickled from her temples. And in the flick of a switch, Elizabeth stomped her right foot, … to scatter the battlefield with lightning.

“You're dead!”