Battles Beyond (Book 1: The Fleeing Saga)

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Ippe went at a steady pace towards Grand Station. As the sight of it became more detailed, one of the wooden offshoots of the talisman got stuck in the chamber where the Rebounder rounds would return to rest. The cannon was then uprooted due to his forward momentum. He now had company for the final moments of his travel.

It wasn't long for him to let go of the shell through a series of fanciful front flips in an arc for the hooded stranger. His beefy, long legs managed his descent well and the flips seamlessly flowed into multitudes of full rotations across the stable petal with the Rebounder cannon still hanging on.

At the far end of Grand Station was a serrated tear—a remnant of a previous battle between the two great forces: The Balmi War Troupe and the Defence Force. Today, there were four, and each had their own reason to fight.

In the last rotation, he flung the cannon with much ferocity—an ironic feat. The stranger bent back sharply and all he heard behind him was absolute destruction. A gaping hole was now present at the greenhouse that was adjoined to the larger structure that was Grand Station. The Rebounder round followed the cannon after regaining a bit of its pace after being freed from its talismanic burden and striking the foundation of the greenhouse. Its power caused serious cracks on most of the panes, while those fully compromised broke into numerous glass shards to sprinkle the plants and animals inside.

There was a clear path towards the front entrance of Grand Station, decorated by eight garden beds split into two groups of four per side and fastened with webs of surface roots where small crops grew freely. Right after that was the small front greenhouse section. The glass on it hardened as an ingenious way of protection created by Ees when other means were not feasible. Despite this, it failed miserably.

Ees spectated the fight between Ippe and the stranger. The soldiers outside kept themselves on standby.

The wild swings of Ippe were easily dodged by the stranger. He was surprised that he could lift such a thing. It was huge compared to either of them.

In each attack, the general's already dislocated bones and torn muscle fibres got worse. He bawled not from anger, but from unbearable pain in both arms. The stranger distanced himself to form letters unable to harm Ippe's frame as they came one by one. Forming sentences had no impact as well. He decided to charge in with some close-quarters combat despite being less proficient with such.

The stranger placed some good kicks into Ippe. He nearly overwhelmed him with this. However, Ippe released his weapon and threw a punch going across his cheeks.

He opened his arms and two chunks of carbon fibre formed at the sides of the stranger. Not long after, feathers filtered out of each one. Several cut the stranger all over, highlighting their threat. Ippe clasped his hands together, to which the carbon chunks did the same. From this, a cutting circular shockwave raced outwards. Part of Grand Station and all of the greenhouse were caught. The creatures in the greenhouse were swift and perceptive enough to not die from the attack. Some flesh and limbs were lost, but they were alive for another day in this brutal world.

The stranger fell to the ground to dodge a slice of concentrated feathers. He then got back up, fought his way through the guards and got inside due to the gaping hole at Grand Station.

Ippe chased him to the interior-and the talisman wasn't far behind.

* * *

Xopip, Hahbou's alternate name, was nearing Cascachu. He was exhausted and felt unable to take another step with Deeli in his arms, having saved her from being submerged under the waves. And now he not only had to protect her by running away but also himself. Xopip saw a weakened Cascachu as a chance to take out the War Troupe Commander.

"Cas...Ca...Chu?" Deeli's voice became weak and dry.

"Yes?" Cascachu's innate initiative to respond drove up his tender side.

"We're go...nna win this fig...ht. I just k...now it."

Hahbou was closing in and Cascachu knew he couldn't fight her, even though her power wasn't the most combat-oriented. He hoped for someone, anyone, to come to rescue him. It was something that damaged his pride. But what pride did he have left? He called for help so many times when he got into trouble, so why he would have an issue with it now? It was probably because he wanted to take responsibility for his actions, whether they led to victory or defeat. Too many times he depended on others, and in this instance, however small, someone was depending on him.

Cascachu could touch her or the ground but most likely something wouldn't happen. He overused it. But he had to do something. He placed her on the wet dirt to freely use his randomness. Hahbou was excited. She thought he had given up or was exhausted. But she didn't care for the reason. All she wanted was to kill. And this was the chance. She got near...but then she went far far away.

This was the closest she could get as Zartzs went after her and wrapped the top part of Hahbou. Her stature then dwindled gradually until she became no more.

"Where you sent Hahbou to?" Cascachu asked Zartzs while he picked back up Deeli.

"As I say before, I could send beings over long distance but not specific location."

"Bosslady, I wonder if your power could work on us." Nem came to Zartzs as Wixin's fight to escape ended. He was completely covered in a dough ball to suffocate.

"To go where?"

She pointed to the murky heavens. Zartzs now knew what had to be done.

THANK YOU FOR READING IF YOU REACHED THIS FAR. IF YOU LIKE THIS AND OTHER CHAPTERS, FOLLOW, LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, AND ADD THIS BOOK TO YOUR LIBRARY FOR MORE BATTLES BEYOND. MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORIES AS WELL.