As he rose higher into the sky, Strike thought he had reached beyond the root’s range when one of them grazed his flank, ripping through his costume. Though it drew no blood, it still left him confused.
That was when he heard a series of faint blasts coming from the source of the roots, and an instant later, he saw a salvo of the wooden spears heading in his direction, their speed leaving him no time to evade.
His instinctive response was to raise his arms to guard his head. Though most shattered upon impact, a few managed to pierce his skin, while others went straight through him, jutting out of his back.
From the looks of it, the last few spears weren’t connected to anything, gaining power and speed at the cost of the ability to change their trajectory.
"This is..." The blond hero fought through the pain with gritted teeth. "Be on guard! This one is at least a Level 4!"
[We already noticed.] Huntress replied. [The question is: how do we finish him?]
[Well, you better get to it already!] Star shouted through the comms. [He isn’t giving me an opening!]
"Erebus! Where in the world did you go!?"
More spears ripped through the air as they flew in his direction, but this time he was prepared to meet them. Instead of trying to evade, he swung his right arm and launched a massive bolt, incinerating them before they could ever reach him.
He turned to the ones piercing his body next, commanding his lightning to surge out and envelop him. In an instant, the wooden spears burst into flames then shattered, disintegrating into burnt charcoal.
The holes left behind closed soon enough, but the pain born from them remained for a few more seconds. To avoid being put in the same situation once more, Strike kept his lightning out and zapped through the sky, trying to think of a decision.
"Guess I have to do everything myself."
Clicking his tongue, Thunder Strike was about to fly into the cloudy sky when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. A short distance from the city hall, on one of the buildings adjacent to the main street, a group of three was engaged in a furious melee. Two of them seemed to be on the same team, as apparent from their matching black suits. The third one, however, was the most bizarre.
Neo-Vatra, City Center, a few seconds after the protest turned into a riot.
"Well, things just got out of hand."
The buildings surrounding the city hall were purposefully kept short, with most being high-end restaurants and cafes only those with deep pockets could afford to visit. Today, however, not a single one of those establishments had its doors open.
"Since when did rabble have access to Genome therapy?"
"I think it’s that. What did they call it again..."
Every establishment in the area was closed, sure, but some people couldn’t care less. Two young men still found their way to the roof of one of the restaurants, having picked it specifically for the view it provided.
One of them was leaning on the railing, watching the crowd blow through a circle formed by the thumb and index fingers of his right hand. The other was sitting at a nearby table, glancing at the scene while enjoying a cup of fragrant coffee.
"I think he’s done for." The first one said. "There is no way he’s getting out of this."
He was a tall fellow with a lean body hidden behind his back suit, rust colored spiky hair, and a cleanly shaved face. His only distinguishing feature was the scar splitting his left eyebrow, though it wasn’t much to speak of compared to the average mutilation in the city.
His name was Brody Graves, and he was a member of Stahlkorps’s fifth team.
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, he’s a bit eager to storm the city hall." Through the circle formed by his fingers, Brody searched the crowd till he found a certain red-haired youth. "He isn’t making it out of that building without handcuffs."
"I wonder about that." The second one raised his cup and took a sip, pausing momentarily as he savored the taste. "This will likely get swept it under the rug after those pseudo-Genomes are caught. The authorities will use this incident to make themselves look good while scaring the others into submission."
Elias Thorn was a stark contrast to his partner, appearing a little wild with long hair tied into a low ponytail and a stubble born from not shaving for two whole days. One could tell from his unbuttoned jacket and loosened necktie that he had let himself go now that no one was there to supervise him, yet despite his untidy appearance, most would agree that he was the better looking between him and his clean shaved friend.
"Well, either way, he’s definitely getting fired after this." As he said that, Brody watched the subject of their conversation follow the rioting crowd through the massive gates of the city hall. "Remind me again why we have to watch this guy?"
"Because he’s a suspect of the braching attempt from a few days ago." Elias replied evenly.
"I was being sarcastic." Letting out a sigh, Brody moved away from the railing and walked over to his partner, producing a normal looking smartphone from his pocket. "We now know he’s just some stupid brat. I’m gonna tell Makoto and see if we can go back already."
"Forget about it." Elias shook his head. "He’ll have us watch him for a couple more days, at the very least. That guy is way too paranoid."
"I’m gonna tell him anyway."
Ignoring his partner’s argument, Brody went about composing a message for their team leader. The text box was soon filled with a simple message that said [The target has entered the city hall and is likely to be arrested soon. Should we return now?] Reading it a couple more times, he nodded to himself and pressed the send button, but a second passed and the text bubble didn’t appear in the chatbox.
Thinking the screen hadn’t registered his touch, he tried tapping the button again, and again, but the app didn’t respond. Noticing his furrowed brows, Elias lowered his cup and asked "He replied already?"
"No, the message didn’t go out yet." Brody scratched the back of his head. "I think this thing is glitching."
Just as he convinced himself it was the case, something bizarre happened right in front of his eyes. The text he had just composed was erased, and in its place, new words began to appear one after the other.
[We have been discovered by Flame Guard.]