Epiphany Of The Weak 119 Lutalo's Descen

"Stay where you are, Mister. It's chaos out there. You don't want to get caught in the middle of it," I said to him.

Though, it didn't seem he heard what I said as kept staring at me. It was understandable, really, since everything happened too fast for him. Of course, I didn't want that guy to get hurt while we were doing our thing.

"Ava," said a monotone voice inside my head, "there's more of them."

"Thanks, Aegis," I whispered.

A few moments later, the cemented floor cracked and three Anciles emerged out from underground. They pointed their red eyes at me, seemingly eager to take me down. The floor cracked again when the Aegis-using robots sprinted towards me at my left side.

Just as I was about to manifest my scythe, Hope stood in their paths. He had a large, golden s.h.i.+eld with an intricate design, sprouted out from his right arm. The Anciles thrust their blades toward him and he blocked the attack easily with his s.h.i.+eld. Upon contact, the s.h.i.+eld glowed faintly in gold brilliance.

As I looked at him, a metal hand forced itself out of the ground and grabbed me by the leg. "Well, this is pathetic, ain't it, Aegis?"

"Yeah, I do not see how only one of them can even put up a fight against you."

I sighed, unable to comprehend the Ancile's futile attempt. I flicked my right wrist and a large, crimson scythe sprouted from my right arm. The scythe didn't damage my battle uniform whatsoever when it emerged. From a glance, the scythe appeared to cut through the uniform as if it was water. The fabric still maintained its shape. The uniforms were specially made by Klaus and his friends for us, Aegis Users, to use in combat. The fabric didn't tear when my scythe appeared, as it worked the same way as the Anciles' metal frames.

Coated with a protective layer, the Lutalo uniforms were a must-worn battle gear for us.

"I'll cut you apart," I mumbled.

The scythe elongated and it dropped onto the Ancile's hand. The robot was frozen for a second, and I cut its head immediately.

Meanwhile, Lily smashed the remaining Anciles with her crystal-coated gloves into pieces. After that, the three of us focused our attention towards Maltyie and Qara outside of the hall. Their figures could be seen clearly through the destroyed wall, along with the others. There were Khenbish and some Neo African soldiers fighting alongside those two.

I quickly stepped outside, followed by Hope and Lily.

"Those C.U soldiers didn't put up much of a fight," commented Lily. "Maltyie and Caesar can handle them without our help."

"Yeah, " said Hope.

"They're about to mop the floor with them," I remarked. "There's supposed to be another Aegis User here, right? Aside from the one Caesar just shot in the head."

"He's hiding, I'm sure." Hope's golden eyes glinted and he looked at me. "Our sheer number alone should enough to take him down."

I smiled at him. "Yeah."

The Lutalo Aegis squad had decided to attack the prison because of Ulii's confirmation that those Aegis Users were there. If it was not for her, we would just attack aimlessly, without knowing they were there or not.

"Ava, that User from before," said Aegis in my head.

I turned my head around and saw the long, dark-haired male User had broken free of Caesar's tendrils. He glared at Lily and then lunged at her. With one quick motion, he slashed at her with his blue Aegis blade.

Unfortunately for him, Lily had activated her Full Aegis Form and the blade bounced off her body.

"W-What?!" His jaw dropped at his broken Aegis blade. "Her body is made up of Aegis crystals? Impossible!" Then, a realization hit him. "Wait, you are . . . Lily! That's right!"

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "Reinhart. It has been a while, isn't it? What, five years now? Since Melker sent you and the others out of Sweden. Stand down, Reinhart, and I will spare you. Even I have a heart for a former comrade."

Reinhart didn't seem like he was pleased with what she said. He gritted his teeth and formed another Aegis blade, replacing his broken one. "I have sworn loyalty to Amathelia, our new ruler."

"Come with us, Reinhart. Please." Lily formed a thin smile on her face, but Reinhart clung onto his intention of wanting to fight.

"No can do, Lily. You guys will not win against the Four Pillars." Reinhart readied his blade to attack.

"I will--"

"No, stand back Hope," interjected Lily. "He's a former comrade."

Reinhart unleashed his battle cry and thrust his blade toward Lily, but she dodged it. With one swift motion, she punched him in the face and his body spun a full circle before he dropped. His eyes were wide open, clearly unconscious after that one punch.

"Reinhart was holding back. He is not this weak," said Lily. "I want to take him back with us."

Hope shrugged. "Well, he can be useful no doubt. One way or the other."

Lily looked at Reinhart for a few seconds, and then she turned to me. "Caesar needs us."

"You mean, you need Caesar," Hope said.

The three of us s.h.i.+fted our attention to rubble about a hundred meters away, where Caesar had taken cover. Maltyie was next to him, as they waited for the C.U soldiers to stop firing at them. One moment after that, Qara and the Neo African soldiers ambushed the C.U soldiers from the side and fired at them.

"We need to protect the bystanders," said Hope with a stern face.

"Ulii is onto it, and so do the other Neo African soldiers." I looked at him as his golden s.h.i.+eld dissolved back into his right arm. Hope was still about the same height he was a year before. But, he was no longer the shy and awkward Hope when I first met him.

Right then, as he stood beside me, he had an aura of maturity that he had gained for the past one a half year. I found myself smiling at him, and he returned it with his own smile.

"It's not over yet," said Lily, her yellow eyes flashed towards the blue sky.

A transparent dome-like structure had closed us all in, and no one had any idea when it happened. It enclosed the entire prison.

"Aegis crystals, Ava," said my Aegis. "Another Aegis User."

I gritted my teeth. "He finally decided to show himself to us, huh."

More Anciles started to pop out from huge rubble, and behind them was a man that looked similar to Reinhart. He could be the one who summoned the transparent dome.

Maltyie, Qara, and the Neo African soldiers had taken cover a bit further than they were before. Everhart spotted me, Hope, and Lily standing at the exposed wall and he grinned at us.

"My, my, to think that Ava, whom the Pillars revered is involved in this," he said as he took a few steps closer towards me. He was about fifty meters away when he stopped.

"Everhart. He is Reinhart's twin," said Lily.

With a wave of Everhart's hand, the light pa.s.sing through the dome s.h.i.+fted its trajectory. It was unclear what his specialty was at first, but it dawned on me after that. The sunlight's temperature increased to a point that my skin suffered a mild burn.

"Ouch!" I muttered.

Everhart was pinpointing the sunlight and intensifying it at the same time, at the three of us.

"Light Manipulation Aegis," mumbled Lily. She stomped the ground and pink crystals emerged from it, forming a small cave around us.

"Yes, Lily. That's right. I remember the last time we saw you back in the lab. You weren't a part of the squad back then, and to think you have betrayed the C.U . . . I'm disappointed," said Everhart.

Lily clicked her tongue. "My loyalty lies towards Caesar."

"Of course, of course. That man exploited you, huh. Such a shame."

Hope looked at Lily. "What is his specialty? He can manipulate light?"

"Any form of light pa.s.sing through his Aegis crystals," replied Lily. "His Aegis is one of the lesser ones in terms of fighting strength."

Everhart's mouth twitched. "Lesser? You said my Aegis is inferior to the others?! I have perfected my usage of it, and with this Aegis, I will take you all down."

I glanced at Maltyie and the others, and surely, they were fighting off the Anciles. Caesar was holding them off by fighting them in close combat. The others were firing their rifles at the Anciles behind the rubbles instead.

Everhart continued, "If I manage to single-handedly destroy the Lutalo rebel squad right here, Amathelia will surely promote me. Perhaps I can even be a Pillar!"

He laughed at his own statement, and certainly, he took off his guard in front of his enemies.

"They are supposed to be elites," said Lily with sad eyes. "I admired them once, but it seems like they are not the same anymore."

"Caesar!" yelled Maltyie. She lifted up Caesar's sniper rifle that she had kept at her side. Then, she threw it in his direction, and Caesar caught it with both hands.

There was only one Ancile left in the area, and it stood beside Everhart the whole time. Caesar aimed his Aegis Gear: Sniper Rifle at the Ancile. He pulled the trigger, and in a split second, the Ancile's metal body was blown into pieces. Then, Caesar changed his target to Everhart and fired again.

However, Everhart noticed it.

He formed his transparent Aegis crystals to block it, but something happened. The projectile exploded upon contact with Everhart's s.h.i.+eld from his right arm. However, it did nothing. "What is that toy? An exploding bullet? That's it? How unoriginal."

Caesar's battle uniform shuffled a bit, as he adjusted the yellow sleeves. "It's checkmate for you."

"Hmm?!" Everhart's mouth gaped when yellow tendrils sprouted out from his s.h.i.+eld and began to wrap his hand entirely. "Aegis crystals? What?!"

"My bullets have the properties of my Aegis crystals imbued into it," Caesar said.

Everhart screamed frantically, waving his right arm up and down. Caesar took advantage of the situation. With one quick snipe, he shot him in the head. Everhart fell down and in mere seconds, his whole body was wrapped up in yellow tendrils.

"Capture success! Hah! Take that, light-manipulating User whose specialty is utter garbage!" said Caesar.

Hope and I looked at him with bored eyes, while Lily ran to him.

"His trash-talking is not bad," said Hope.

"I can do it too," I said with a puff of my chest. "I never have the chance to do it, that's all."

I heard footsteps coming from my right side. Unconsciously, I manifested my crimson and dark blue scythes to defend myself. "Oh, Gheele!"

Gheele Folami was wearing his battle uniform, the one with bright, orange sleeves. He approached me with his usual slow gait. "Caesar is being too nice. The User he's fighting didn't really deserve such delicate treatment. I would have killed him."

Lily dissolved her Aegis crystals upon seeing him, with her Full Aegis Form still activated. "Master Gheele."

"I have taken care of the guards . . . So, there shouldn't be any foot soldiers lying around."

"Keyword is, shouldn't be, right?" said Hope. He had more to say but bit his lip when Gheele narrowed his eyes at him.

I hit Hope in the shoulder and then I smiled at Gheele.

"Speaking of which . . ." Gheele looked at the sky. "There are still some leftovers I haven't clean up yet."

When he said that, five military helicopters were fast approaching the prison. Everhart's transparent dome started to crumble, and it gave way for the helicopters to enter the prison's airs.p.a.ce.

Gheele sighed when he saw it. "If it is this easy to get hold of the prison, there shouldn't be any reason for me to be here." He raised his right arm, and within seconds, the helicopters were pierced with large, orange crystal shards. "Moronic. They dare to send such weak machinery to stand up against me."

I laughed awkwardly at his comment. "Oh, um, Master Gheele. Did you dispersed your Aegis particles the moment we got here?"

He smiled. "Yes. That was the reason why I didn't join you earlier. Truly, it is my glaring weakness."

Hope looked around us and then he set his eyes on Gheele. "There shouldn't be any enemies left."

"But your specialty is still the best, Master Gheele," I said.

Gheele laughed at my statement. "Child, since when did you start to properly address me? Also, my specialty requires me to spread my Aegis particles throughout the area first. I hate to admit it, but if I skip such process, my combat strength is comparable to that of Pseudo Aegis Users."