Runic Storm (ONC 2022)

Chapter 14 || Somebody, Give Me A Real Opponent

"What is the point of this, Skyler?" Cane seemed calm as he addressed Paul in front of him, but his eyes kept shifting to Tyler and I blocking off his exits. "I don't know what you think you are doing but if you were looking for a fast ticket into jail, I am more than willing to oblige."

He was smiling at us, seemingly unperturbed by the disruption.

"Mr. Cane." Paul stepped forward, smiling back at him. "If there's nothing to hide then I bet you won't have any problem watching what we have to show."

"This is an official council meeting, not a stage for you to play around as you please. "

Paul didn't waver. "I can assure you, we, the Dark Hunter Guild, will accept full responsibility for this incident. "

For a short moment uncertainty flashed over his face, but then the mask was back on, and he was frowning slightly, feigning disappointment.

What a fucking actor.

Disgusted, I turned away to  scan the crowd. Some people looked confused, others angry, and some had a serious expression on their faces. The other council members were seated a bit to the side on a balcony overlooking the stage. Only a few of them seemed outraged. The rest was surprisingly calm and relaxed as they watched the events unfold.

Paul must have prepared at least some of them.

I felt a bit annoyed that Paul didn't give me much of a heads up about what was happening here. Then again, he had had to contact Charlie to even reach me at all. So maybe-

"You take left, I got right." I shot Tyler a confused look as he disrupted my musing, but suddenly five security guards jumped on the stage. I could tell that they were not as ordinary as the ones we'd dealt with before.

I rushed forward, spear in hand, immediately blocking one of them from reaching the center. He jumped up into the air, three meters at least. Probably an air mage. As if to confirm my suspicion a gust of wind hit me. My breath hitched. He was trying to suck the oxygen out of the surroundings while simultaneously pushing me down.

Not bad.

But the air was my element.

I conjured a current of my own pushing back against his pitiful efforts, and in the next second he was blasted straight of the stage, right into the opposite wall.

Whoops.

I didn't expect him not to block my attack at all. Maybe he wasn't even able to see it coming?

There was no further time to contemplate, since the other fool had started casting his own magic. Water rose up around me, completely walling me off from the others.

A water spear formed in his hand. The raging water was being pressed into a somewhat solid form, ready to burst at any moment. He seemed to have some talent at least. His face showed how sure he was of himself as he smiled at me confidently. I was completely trapped.

He dashed forward, his spear ready. Instead of pointlessly blocking it with my own, I side stepped and grabbed the water. Blood sprayed around my hand, but I ignored it. He was laughing at my attempt to stop him.

I chuckled coldly as lightning shot up from my hand. He didn't get any chance to react as it travelled along the water and hit him full force. His smirk was washed clean off his stupid face as his whole body lit up briefly. The distinct smell of burnt skin filled the air as the water fell back to the ground, harmless, followed by his smoking body.

Never mind. Another weakling.

When I turned, I saw three bodies lying around Tyler. They seemed to be knocked out cold. I hadn't followed the happenings on stage anymore, but he handed a transmission crystal to Paul, who lifted it up.

He was faster.

Everyone held their breath as the crystal activated. Images started to fill the air above the stage. A dark tunnel was shown at first, then there were cells lining the wall. People, mostly young, were stuck inside, their eyes dulled. Most of them barely wore any clothes.

The worst part were the runes. They were strewn across their skinny bodies, covering every bit of skin that could be seen. I could already tell that more than eighty percent of them would turn. They were walking zombies.

The person recording was standing outside the cells. There was a group of people bound by mana chains lined up in front of a black door. One by one, the people were led through.

"Stop this nonsense," Cane shouted.

Panic started spreading, the crowd was shocked by the images shown above the stage. Cane, of course, tried to stop the live broadcast. More security stormed the stage, but Paul had brought some guild mates as well. Together we fought off the guards as the scenes kept playing. One after the other the children and young adults were led through the door, shaking in their chains. No one returned.

Then on the screen, the door opened again. This time however a man stepped through. His image was flickering so it was hard to make out his features, but it was easy to make out what came through next. It was some sort of creature. Long spindle limbs ended in sharp claws. Its head was long, sort of horse shaped with three fangs on each side of his mouth. The whole thing looked like a nightmare.

Everything around me stopped as people waited to see what would happen. Even Cane paused, his eyes glued to the scene.

When my eyes searched for Tyler, I froze in shock. His usual calm demeanor was nowhere to be found. His hood had fallen back, revealing a pale face. Both of his hands were clenched tightly as his eyes scanned the recording closely.

There was no audio transmitted, but the man said something, and then the creature seemed to sniff the air before it started moving. Slowly. Towards whoever was recording this.

Wait a second...

I held my breath as a dark realization started to hit me. I watched in horror as the thing crept closer and closer. All the prisoners shown shrank away in terror, crying and trying to cover themselves.

It stopped, seemingly looking right at us. Then the man walked over. Although he should be easy to see at this distance his features were somewhat flickering in and out.

He said something, reaching forward. My sister backed away, effectively dodging his hand. But it was no use. In the next second the crystal went black.