Chapter 11:

Let Me Slap Your Smug Face

The Leigh Theory


Rest was never an option.

Right after we unofficially became part of Omen, Leo and I immediately went to help with any manual labor. Little did we know, we would instantly be thrown into the battlefield.

While we helped the Omen members distribute the resources, I noticed a few of them running back and forth but tried to ignore them.

A few more minutes passed, and we saw more people running towards the city entrance in the north. I intercepted Hannah, who was in a rush, as I couldn't help but be bothered by what was happening.

"A-According to the scouts of the Battle Division, five armored vans from P-Paradise were approaching the city," she said.

I wasn't looking forward to any rigorous activities, especially fighting. My wounds might've healed, but I still felt a little pain. My body was still sore, and more importantly, I wasn't especially excited for more violence.

But we swore an oath to give our best in helping Omen; for our loved ones.

"What should we–"

I wanted to know what the two of us could do, but she had already left. It seemed like the commotion was pretty urgent as more people ran up to the gates.

A few other members ran up towards the alleys in the northeast. We tried to follow but lost them as soon as we turned a corner.

"Oliver, let's just climb the wall and observe what's happening!" Leo suggested.

People do change once they face something threatening at some point in their lives. I might've just realized it recently, but it was quite evident that we did change, especially him.

We climbed the city walls after we passed through the alleys. It had a ladder that led up to the top, which we then used to climb. The wall was almost as tall as a two-story building. As soon as we got to the top, we observed what was happening in the north.

Omen rode their vans outside of the city. It seemed like they planned to intercept Paradise’s army and bring the battlefield away from the city.

In the distance, Megan went through the car window, then up to the roof. She balanced herself as she stood up and then removed the disc from her waist. She aimed the disc towards the Paradise vans, and with all her force, she threw the disc away.

The disc flew to the vans, which then went directly into their front tires. The tires exploded, causing the vans to lose control and crash against each other. It then returned to Megan and kept spinning as it hovered on her right hand.

Omen members got out of the vans and charged toward the Paradise Protectors. The Protectors struggled to get out at first, but as soon as they did, they immediately rushed toward Omen.

Sounds of metal clashing and lasers echoed in the dry wasteland. Paradise had their spears, while Omen had laser pistols and blades of varying shapes and sizes.

We wanted to go and help them.

“Oliver, I think only you could go and help,” Leo said as he felt on edge while watching the battle.

Leo was right, as he didn’t have his gun after it got confiscated. While I was fast asleep after the chaos in Chora, the remaining members of Paradise retreated, and they must’ve brought it along with them.

We must find a gun, as I would feel at ease if I knew Leo was just somewhere near, ready to support me.

A few Omen members were at the top of the walls in the north. I immediately grabbed Leo and rushed towards them.

“Excuse me, do you have a few extra weapons?!” I asked as we arrived.

They were stationed there as the last line of defense if ever Paradise would pass through the combat team. Beside them were crates, and one of them was full of various weapons.

“Uh, feel free to take one from here,” a male Omen member replied.

Leo instantly grabbed one of the laser pistols. Since I was more of a hand-to-hand fighter, I rummaged through the crate to look for melee weapons, but couldn't find a single one.

“Do you have any of those blades or daggers?” I asked as I double-checked the crate.

“I don’t think there’s any more left. Plus, most members prefer guns more than short-ranged weapons,” he responded as he helped me rummage the crate.

“That reminds me, we had this weapon no one wanted to use. Let me find it first in this trash crate.”

The man checked the other crate that contained nonfunctional weapons and other scraps. He dug deeper into the container and then raised both his eyebrows. He pulled up his hands and showed me a bracer-like object.

“So this one… I don’t know what this one is. I guess you insert it in your arm an–”

“Don’t worry. I know how this thing works,” I interrupted the man.

Upon seeing the structure of the bracer, I immediately recognized it as a wrist blade. I got excited. I thought it was a perfect pair for my shield. I just thought.

I was right-handed, and my bracer was only made for my right arm, unfortunately. It would feel awkward if the wrist blade was in my non-dominant hand.

"I guess that's something that I have to modify if I ever get the chance," I murmured as I equipped both bracers.

The wrist blade's mechanism was that the ring, attached to a string, must be worn to the middle finger, and you must pull it to make the blade appear from its top part and to retract the blade.

While I tested out the wrist blade, the Omen members quickly went to their positions. It turned out that most of Omen got defeated by the sheer numbers of Paradise.

Hannah and her medics carried the injured towards the city gates while Megan and the others covered their retreat. The Omen members up the walls aimed and fired at the approaching Paradise Protectors.

While they were retreating, Megan suddenly became the only one left, as the rest got injured. She kept on throwing the disc and redirecting it as soon as it returned to her right hand. Her movements were like flowing water.

Although she did great, it wasn't enough to stop the Protectors. They gradually overpowered her as she got very close to the city walls.

"Leo, cover me," I said as I prepared for a leap from the walls.

"Say less," he replied with the smuggest face he ever made.

I made a few steps backward to wind up for the jump, then sprinted towards the edge. With all my force, I quickly jumped off the wall.

While in midair, I quickly shift my bracer to Shield Mode. I curled myself as if I was a projectile from a catapult.

As I landed, I hit a Protector that tried to attack Megan with his spear. The momentum of my fall knocked him to the ground. I then quickly stood up and protected her from a few laser attacks.

"O-Oliver?!" Megan exclaimed in shock.

"Allow the two of us to help," I said while facing her with my guard down.

A Protector tried to sneak up on me from behind and lunged with his spear. I didn't turn since I saw Leo firing from my peripheral vision, and he was able to knock down the enemy.

Megan averted her gaze to Leo, who was pretty focused while firing at the Protectors. A few Protectors fell, and I quickly activated the wrist blade.

"I feel so uncomfortable with the blade in my left hand, but I have no choice," I said to myself as I faced the enemies.

With the shield on my right and the blade on my left, I rushed to the Protectors. I didn’t hesitate, as Leo supported me from afar.

After that encounter in Chora, I finally understood how their spears work. Lifting the index and middle finger of the active hand made the weapon switch between a dagger and a spear, and the index finger and thumb of the same hand made the spear fire lasers. Coupled with their skill and you had a formidable fighting machine.

Back then, I could've died if it wasn't for Leo. Things were different as I now both had a marksman and a woman who could move like water.

Megan handled the Protectors to her left while I took care of the ones to my right. Leo and I used the same strategy back then; coordinated attacks at the speed of the laser.

Having another weapon was way more efficient than just having one.

I jumped and slashed the Protector ahead of me while Leo fired at the one on my left. Another jumped at me with his spear, but I blocked it, then Leo also fired at him. The other one fired at me, but I dodged it and slashed him.

There was still approximately ten Protectors total, and Megan fought six of them. Each time I caught a glimpse of her, I could only see the beautiful flow of the disc.

One by one, the Protectors stood up, and we kept fighting. We did a series of dodging, flipping, slashing, firing, and weapon shifting as we fought. No matter how good I was at parkour and how coordinated Leo and I were, we had a hard time with their numbers and skills.

While we fought, a few other Omen members rushed to our aid. Little by little, we were able to beat the remaining ten Protectors. However, we sustained a few wounds, and some members aggravated their injuries.

The medics rushed to them, and as I turned, an injured Protector grabbed my left leg. I tried to kick him, but he didn't let go.

"Ten vans got sent here…" the Protector muttered in his dying breath.

If I remembered correctly, Hannah told me they saw five armored vans. I then stared at the distance as the Protector let go of my leg.

We struggled a lot with that many of an army already, and if the same number appeared again in our current situation, I wouldn't be too sure if we could even survive.

"Eli, bring the Cannon here!" Megan ordered angrily.

"It's not ready yet! The system would overload before even firing!" Eli explained.

The situation certainly made us call for drastic measures. I thought of what Leo and I could do, but I guessed it wouldn't be enough. Another thing popped up in my head. I stared at my right bracer and realized I still had one more weapon.

Unfortunately, that was the perfect opportunity for me to test the gun.

Cora
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Xiellion
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