Into Battle: Page 1

a few days later

I didn't sleep that night. Maybe it was Lexi keeping me up late. Maybe it was just my brain being a dick. Either way, I couldn't get to sleep. I groaned in frustration when I saw the alarm clock hit 3:30 am. Abandoning the idea of sleeping, I yanked my blanket off and made my way to the kitchen.

Truth be told, our base of operations was actually just a medium-sized apartment on the top floor of an otherwise normal building. It was strange. Once again, I was living in a room assigned to me, with about as much agency as I've ever had. Which is to say, very little. I sighed, grabbing a soda from the fridge and making my way to the balcony.

The apartment did have one thing going for it, it had a great view. From the balcony, I could see almost the entire city. All of New Crest, spread out before me, filling my senses with the sights and sounds of a bustling metropolis. Even at night, the world there was alive with magic. It couldn't have been more different than my sheltered upbringing in a godly rich suburban town.

I popped open a can of coke and eased into a lawn chair on the balcony. I didn't know what would be in store for me in the future, but at least I had that moment. A rare moment of peace in my crazy ass life.

But nothing lasts forever. My peace was interrupted by an loud noise from within the apartment. It was a robotic voice loudly announcing a message.

"Guild Squadron #146, report to 8421 Pailey Street. Further details will be given as necessary."

I checked my watch. It was 3:32. From their rooms, Tius and Sarah both emerged. He looked almost bored, but she seemed to be almost happy.

"Guys, what is going on?"

"We've got heads to bust. Get dressed."

Lexi stumbled out of her room, looking very tired.

"Wasappenin?"

"Put your uniform on and grab your weapons. We've got work to do.”

Lexi and I quickly rushed into our rooms. Our uniforms were very normal, if oddly flexible, black dress suits. The inside of the cloth had golden symbols stitched in, presumably giving the material some unknown magical properties. Altogether, the outfit felt very formal. Too formal. After a moment of hesitation, I pulled the tie off and unfastened the first button on my shirt. Better.

I willed Vedra into a gauntlet on my left hand, covering Samara's brand on my wrist. I quickly checked my appearance in the mirror and rushed back into the living room.

Lexi joined us a moment later, dressed similarly, and with a strange kind of purse over her shoulder. It seemed to be woven out of a variety of colored fabrics and leather, with a kind of geometric designed resembling a face on the side that faced out. Lexi had an honest to gods Mosaic™ Bag of Holding. Even growing up rich, I knew those things were damn rare. She gave my a smile when she saw my eyes wide.

"Hey, lovebirds, let's go."

We took the elevator down, piled into a black Chevy Impala, and drove through the late-night traffic.

"What exactly are we doing?"

Sarah turned back, smiling widely.

"Some kinda monk causing problems. We're gonna beat 'em up and take them back to the Guild for sentencing or whatever."

"Or whatever?"

She shrugged.

"Not our job, Lucas. We just bring em in."

I nodded, heartbeat slowly rising. This would be my first real fight. I saw Lexi have a similar reaction to the news. We slowed to a stop at the address, and all exited cautiously. The address was a multi-storied parking garage. We walked in single file, Tius in front, Lexi and I in between

"Who are we looking for, exactly?"

He shushed me, holding up a hand to stop us. When he spoke, his voice was a low whisper.

"Some kind of mutant speed monk named Serath. That's all they said. Orders are to arrest him alive. Failure is not an option."

We all nodded so he directed Sarah and me to search the underground floor while Lexi and he searched above ground.

The dim lighting cast long shadows from the few cars parked down there. Every noise made me jump. I was waiting any moment for an enraged martial artist to leap at me from the shadows. Beside me, Sarah could hardly contain herself. She held her enormous mace loosely, but I could tell she was itching to use it. I kept looking around for any sight of the target, but everything my eyes jumped to just turned out to be a rat or something.

Suddenly, there was a whoosh sound from behind me. I spun around, seeing Sarah fly through the air, slamming into a concrete pillar. I barely have time to react as a red boot impacted the side of my head, knocking me to the ground. I looked up, seeing a glimpse of my attacker before he attacked again.

He was thin and tall, probably over 7ft (~210cm), with pale gray skin. His fists were enveloped in dark purple fire. He pulled his fist back for that aforementioned attack, but I threw an Eldritch Blast his way, which momentarily disrupted the punch.

Tag me in, boss, I got this.

I summoned Vedra into my hands as she took the shape of a spear.

Let me handle the melee.

Hesitantly, I relaxed my arms, allowing her to puppeteer them. It was a strange feeling, not being the one to move your body, but I went with it. While she blocked the man's attacks, I focused on conjuring my Mage Armor.

The ghostly transparent plate armor formed around me, blocking the few attacks Vedra couldn't block. We even got a few hits in there. I really felt like I was going to win.

Unfortunately, the tide began to turn. My arms were starting to tire from Vedra's relentless usage, and more and more of his aggressive kicks and punches battered my magical armor. Luckily, all that commotion could be heard even on the floor above us. A few feet away, a cloud of smoke appeared, and Lexi and Tius emerged from it like damn ninjas. Good timing, considering the next kick shattered my armor and sent me flying.

Tius gestured at Sarah, then charged towards the monk with his revolver drawn, while Lexi ran towards Sarah's **** body.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each shot made a ball of fire about a 5 feet (~1.5 meters) in diameter when it reached its target. Unfortunately, he dexterously dodged and flipped away before they could hurt him. Even after Tius had fired nearly a dozen rounds, the monk was barely singed. I wondered how he could get that many shots out of a 6 shooter.

While Tius kept him busy, Lexi kneeled next to Sarah, syringe in hand. I heard Sarah yelp a little when Lexi actually inserted the needle. A moment later, both girls were running to help Tius. Following their lead, I pushed myself to my feet, recast Mage Armor, and started Eldritch Blasting the monk.

Tius tossed a length of chain at him, which elongated and split into over a dozen writhing chains. They wrapped around his limbs, slowing him down a little bit. But it was enough. I was able to get a few more attacks in. Lexi pulled out her own revolver, much like Tius's, and shot a glowing green bullet at the ensnared speedster. The bullet hit, and Serath stumbled and swayed, and the purple fire around his fists flickered out. Still impressive, considering just about anyone else would be passed out instantly. Luckily, Sarah picked up the slack, bringing her mace slamming into his stomach with the most gleeful look I've ever seen.

The man collapsed to his knees and inhaled desperately. He was done. Tius quickly willed his chains to fully ensnare him before holstering his gun.

"Good work guys, but we need to work on our-"

Serath suddenly cried out, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"MY LIEGE! GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE, I BEG YOU!"

We all watched him for a moment confused, before his prayer was seemingly answered. His body was enveloped by that unnatural purple flame, and he stood, despite the chains pulling him downwards. He flexed his muscles, shattering the chains like they were nothing.

"Now you will taste the fury of the Dracolich!"