Deus Didymus: Rend

Pt2Ch55: Chimera's Flames IV

Y/n rested his elbow on the table, dully staring into his food. While Minju and Liz set off to gather information, he and Yuri stayed back in a tavern.

The food's not even like what we have at the base... I should have seen that coming.

Silence filled the tavern's interior. Not a single person aside from the duo sat inside--or visited the tavern, turning the building into a husk of its former self. The trend of taverns and villages seeing a decline in activity spanned all of IZLand. Most people looked over their shoulder and walked with light steps out of fear that they'd be next.

"Yuri, where's the closest base?" Y/n mumbled.

"At the border of HYBE," Yuri replied while resting her cheek on her arms.

Y/n pushed his empty plate away. "Let's go there."

"What about the other two?" Yuri asked.

Y/n handed the tavern keeper his payment before gesturing toward the door with his head. "We'll grab them on the way."

Y/n approached the hidden Orca base, eyeing the surrounding environment. Columns of bark spread throughout the temperate forest where a gradient of oranges and browns created a carpet on the forest floor. Without foreknowledge, the average person would think they stood far from civilization and not atop a secret base.

Both Yuri and Minju's eyes turned toward opposing directions. Minju grabbed Y/n's wrist, stopping him from reaching for the trapdoor within the leaves.

"What are we waiting for?" Liz asked.

Suddenly, a dense aura filled the air causing Liz's hair to stand on its ends. Y/n braced himself with a shield before turning into a blur as a body crashed into him.

"Oppa!!" the three girls shouted.

A faint crackle snapped through the forest. Yuri froze, her eyes turning toward the noise. Seven women emerged from behind the tree trunks, seemingly appearing out of thin air. Amongst the group, a woman with lime green streaks running through her hair held a pair of lightning charged sai in her hands.

Yuri clutched her head screaming as she fell to her knees. Her vision blurred, and her body froze. Yuri felt Hana tear her body to shreds, saw the woman tear her eyes out, and smelled her own blood in the air.

"Get a hold of yourself!!" Minju shouted.

"Lola, join Sua in attacking the guy. Satbyeol, Dajeong and Rinji, take the black haired one. Dia and I will take the blonde one," Ella instructed.

With a forward gesture the women split into three groups. Ella held her spear close to her body while she charged forward, allowing Dia to take the lead. Yellow arcs of lightning streaked through the air as the woman swiped and jabbed, forcing Liz on the backfoot.

Their movements, while not especially fast compared to Minju and Y/n's, kept Liz from taking offensive action. Chills shot down her back, branching into a cold sweat on her forehead.

Can I stall long enough?

Y/n dug his feet into the ground, skidding to a stop. He cocked his fist back, meeting Sua's punch with one of his own. On contact, a shockwave strong enough to shake the trees swept through the forest. Though he couldn't see her face behind the mask she wore, Sua's sun-patterned eyes glowed with a brilliant blaze.

A flurry of throwing knives whistled through the air, forcing Y/n to swat them away with his buckler. Despite deflecting what he thought was all of the blades, a knife slipped underneath Y/n's arm and into his ribs.