Rise Of Pandora

Rise Of Pandora: LXVII. Brighter Days

"."

-

XIX. Stoic

"Listen up, everyone! The burning buildings ahead of us is the township of Brale. It is a military town with some of the brightest soldiers in the world. I have no doubts that they're fighting hard. We need to hurry and aid them before Atland is overtaken too. Do not worry about the Neon Demon for now. There is not a hair on your heads he can harm as long as you are within my aura, that much I can promise," he said tearfully, thinking of Sundahl.

The steam and flames blazing out from their bodies were like large clouds of torrid sultriness, humidity, and mugginess swelling and forming together, setting everything in their path ablaze. Atlas could hear the commotion coming from the town, the shouting coming from panicked soldiers who were still fighting valiantly although three others could not. They could only hear the clattering of hooves, squawking of Deathknights, and the incessant clanking of scorching armor.

Suddenly, Atlas stopped running, turned around, removed his aura off of the others, and discharged a powerful blast from his fist in the direction of the shore behind them. He would soon grow to do this periodically. He would run for a few seconds, stop, and discharge another chaotic blast. Run, stop, and attack. Gaijin understood why. He had heightened senses, though likely not as honed as Atlas's, he too could hear footsteps trailing from behind them despite all the madness booming from ahead.

Atlas had been doing it so much nearly all of the wildlife that had been there before were either obliterated or sent flying into another part of the area. He kept doing it until he could not longer hear footsteps trailing from behind.

Now, he turned his attention to the Deathknights on land and the ungodly Shadowbirds above. They were so large, Atlas wondered if one blast would even be enough to slay the enormous beasts. This did not deter him, however. He released his aura again, leaving Gaijin and the others vulnerable, and concentrated his energy into his right hand which was now balled into a tight fist, his fingers curled tightly into the palm. The energy around his fist and arm was radiating with light until it shone so brightly it forced the others to shield their eyes.

"You might feel the earth tremble," Atlas warned the rest.

As soon as he was finished speaking, he, with a face as fierce as a lion's lunged his radiating arm out and forced the shaking energy around him into the air, striking down one particularly colossal Shadowbird from the air. The blast caused a shift in the earth, something like a miniature earthquake and the wind that followed was like a small typhoon. The energy traveled so quickly the three could hardly it in their sights and it tore a hole so large into the large bird's robust chest, they could see parts of the sky through the exit wound. The Shadowbird's screech was so loud and deafening, they were forced to stuff their ears with their fingers or else suffer the shockwaves at full effect. Atlas was fine, the others were in awe, and the Shadowbird came crashing down, the full weight of its body crushing everything it landed on, toppling the burning buildings, and everything else that stood. They were at a distance far enough for them not to be affected but they felt the breeze of wildly swirling air brush against them even at this distance.

The one Atlas struck down was incredibly large, so large in fact the other Shadowbirds around it looked harmless. Atlas was thrilled to see such a beast dead and defeated, leaving him with one less threat to taunt his already stressed mind.

"I did not know things were this bad," he said to the others. "That one was larger than any I have ever seen before."

Atlas, before they could have the chance to respond, fired his aura up again and quickly made waste to the several Deathknights that were still charging ceaselessly at them, swords and bows in hand and Atlas took notice.