End Online: Volume 6 (23 page)

Fen stands there
embarrassed, lowering her head in defeat.

“Fen, you are not alone.
We can beat him!”

I grab Fen’s hand,
ignoring her surprise, and pull her along to chase after the other AI. Verde
stumbles slightly as she also breaks into a run to follow.

“You are really interested
in this tablet, aren’t you?” Chronix calls out amusedly. “Don’t worry, I am
generous enough to help you get it! I will even protect it for you!”

I curse as Chronix and his
party charge forward and follow. Their players are at a much higher level than
us, each in the 300’s. Due to running at a speed Verde can keep up with, they
are also able to follow behind us.

We were supposed to get
the stone tablet before the other AI did. Not only did he get to it moments
before us, but now Chronix and his group are trying to get it for no other
reason than it would be inconvenient for me. It can’t possibly get any worse
than this...

- Lost -

While chasing the AI
swordsman, we unexpectedly don’t encounter any guards along the way. It must
have something to do with either the swordsman knowing where they are and
avoiding them, or Chronix’s men holding them back, I’m not sure which.

The swordsman is quick,
slowly pulling away from Fen, Verde, and myself. He glances over his shoulder
at us with an air of smug superiority. Even I can tell that this AI is
profoundly arrogant. However, this could be used against him in combat to give
us a chance to surprise him and gain the upper hand.We soon escape through the
open rear door of the museum that Verde was unable to open in time. As our
group exits the door we see the AI casually leaping over one of the walls
behind the museum and out of sight, not even bothering to give us a second
glance.

“Damn it. Fen, Verde,
escape through the streets. I will follow the AI and let you know where he
goes.”

Still in my draconian
form, I fly up into the air and over the wall in pursuit of my quarry, while
Fen and Verde run in a different direction. Chronix and his party have no
method to get over the wall and are forced to follow after the two girls.

Soaring through the air
gives me a great vantage point, so I am able to easily track the AI swordsman
as he bounds through the city. Not only is he incredibly quick, but his ability
to jump is astounding. If it wasn’t for the fact that I can fly, I wouldn’t be
able to keep up with him despite all the obstacles he has to go over.

“Lost, where is the
swordsman now?”
Verde’s inquisitive tone
resounds in my head as she sends a private voice message.

“He’s heading East,
towards the nearest city gate.”

I also relay this to Sir
Laurence and Gladox, who are currently avoiding the guards after escaping from
prison, so they can meet us there.

As Fen is with Verde and
doing her best to keep Chronix from catching them, I am the only one near the
AI swordsman. He quickly reaches the city gate, easily dodging the few guards
who bar his path and escapes the city. The guards are then rapidly left behind
as he flees toward the neighboring swampy forested area just outside the gate.

Not far behind the rogue
AI, I fly through the air at a speed so great it creates afterimages of myself
in the sky. As the AI reaches the forested swamp, I shout out loud and strain
my body, forcing myself to undergo a short burst of speed, overtaking the AI
and send a ‘Dire Starburst’ raining down on him.

The swordsman reacts
instantly, dodging the attack in a way that made me think he has some
paranormal sixth sense for danger. He doesn’t dodge every small ‘Dire Star’
that falls down upon him, as the technique spreads out damage in a wide area if
I so choose. Unfortunately only five or six attacks land on him, doing so
little damage that there isn’t any visible reduction of his health.

The attack, however, did
stop the swordsman from fleeing and cause him to glare up at the sky. His gaze
didn’t wander at all as it pierces the distance between us, as if he knew where
I was the entire time.

“It has been some time
since one has been foolish enough to attack me. What is your name?” The
swordsman’s loud voice rustles the trees around him and forms ripples through
the swamp.

“Normally you would
introduce yourself before asking for someone else’s name. I didn’t think you
were very interested in me before.”

“That is correct, I am
not. But as you are about to die, I will grant you this single request. I am
Ladon.”

After speaking, Ladon
draws his sword in an instant and fires a shining green flash of swordlight
towards me in the sky. I barely react to the attack in time, but my speed
compensates for my late reaction and allows me to dive under the attack.

Ladon gives me no time to
regain my balance as another attack of swordlight follows up immediately after
the first. Even after barely avoiding the second attack, a third, fourth, and
even more come in a constant stream of attacks.

Strangely enough, there is
enough of a gap between each attack to allow me to dodge, almost as if the
enemy AI had planned for me to do so. It is only after dodging nearly ten of
the swordlight assaults that I notice I am suddenly nearing the ground. By
frantically avoiding all of Ladon’s attacks, I have unwittingly lost my flight
advantage.

The trees’ canopies blot
out most of the sky so the moonlight doesn’t reach the ground. Shallow water
reflects what little light that reaches it, the silvery glow barely allowing a
player to see. I use the small breaks between attacks to throw dire flames at
the trees nearby, creating pools of deep crimson flare to illuminate the area.
I end up wasting all my mana just lighting the area so I can fight effectively.
Looks like I will have to count on my melee skills only in this fight.

I feel frustrated at not
having an opportunity to get closer and attack, but I should at least be able
to hold out until the others come. By my estimation, it should take them around
ten minutes to arrive here on foot. My only concern is that Chronix may do
something unexpected and ruin everything.

***************************************************
***************************************************

- Fen -

Watching Lost fly into the
air and chase after the other inheritor candidate, I can’t help but feel
nervous. I stand rooted to the spot and don’t realize we are still being
pursued until Verde, that vixen, grabs my arm and starts to drag me away while
screaming at me to keep running. I instinctively started to condense a dagger
of ice to make her release me, but force restraint upon myself. Lost will be
unhappy if I attack Verde.

The group of men chasing
us are getting closer, and there are also more of the city guards in the area
closing in on us. I shake off Verde’s grip and start to flee down the closest
city street. It is still night time, so the flickering street lights illuminate
the roads.

I stop and let Verde catch
up before pointing in the direction we need to run, then I start moving again
at a speed she can keep up with. My hearing is much better than anyone else’s,
allowing me to hear the guards as they approach.

The man that attacked us a
few times in the past, Chronix, isn’t very far away from us either. Strange, I
know he should be able to catch up to us, or at least be much closer. I wonder
why he is holding back.

“Lost said that they are
at a swampy forested area to the east of the city, not too far from the gate,”
Verde whispers quietly, her eyes nervously trying to penetrate the darkness of
the alleys as if there is someone there.

I don’t wish to speak with
her, so I only nod my head in understanding. We need to reach Lost as soon as
possible; he doesn’t stand a chance against this inheritor candidate by
himself. Lost has done so much for me already, and I can’t allow him to be
killed by someone like that.

“There they are!”

Several guards come around
the corner in the distance and immediately shout into the night. I can hear
guards responding without delay and changing their patrol routes to intercept
us.

It is at this moment that
several strange men and women step out of the shadows between buildings and
intercept the guards. They are all extremely strong in their defense as they
hold large shields with which they block any attack and push the guards back. I
have no idea who these strange people are, but they must be idiots to voluntarily
fight the guards.

I change my planned
direction and lead the way with Verde following behind. I see her looking at
the men with a complex expression. I hope she stays with them so she will leave
Lost alone, but after only a moment of hesitation she chases after me.

We flee through a few
dark, narrow alleys to get the guards off our trail while we keep getting
closer to the eastern city gate.

At the east gate, there is
a group of seven guards standing ready to barricade any attempts to exit. Lost
and our foe have already made it through despite them so they all have their
swords drawn and are ready to try and cut us down if we get too close.

“Psst. Verde, Fen,” a
gruff voice quietly sounds out from an alley next to us while we watch the
gate.

It turns out to be Gladox
and Sir Laurence, the two men who are currently travelling with us and always
have perverted gazes. They are hiding in the shadows while watching the gate
and the guards defending it.

“What?” Verde answers
beside me.

“We need to get out, I trust
Lost told you where to find him and that swordsman?”

“Yeah, but those guards
don’t look like they are going to leave the gate.”

“They won’t. We tried
luring them out, but they wouldn’t budge. They are determined to defend the
gate, and nothing but the gate.”

“What do we do then? Kill
them?”

I want to say that I
personally have no problem with killing them, but before I can get the chance
to speak my thoughts, another voice sounds in the alley.

“There’s no need to worry.
Our people will clear the guards away. We only need to break through.”

The voice belongs to
Chronix, who happens to approach our group at the most opportune time. I can
sense a considerable hostility from him, so I am more wary of his actions than
the others seem to be.

Gladox thinks about the
situation and is the first to reply, “Then please do. We need to get out of the
city as quickly as possible.”

“They will be here in a
minute and a half. You had best be prepared.”

Gladox seems to be at ease
with Chronix’s help, but I am not that naïve. I create an ice spear in the air
next to me and send it flying at his chest, aiming to pierce the heart. Chronix
only smiles at my attack, casually sidestepping and avoiding the spear with
very little margin for error.

The tall blonde man who
gives me a sense of danger doesn’t retaliate, only stepping back into the
shadows and disappearing. Even the sound of his footsteps quickly fades, as if
he is a ghost.

Just as Chronix said, a
small group of people arrive at the city gate a minute and a half later. The
people, heavily armored and wielding massive swords and maces, charge the
guards protecting the gate and swing their enormous weapons down upon them. The
guards respond well, standing firm and fortifying their positions, but such an
assault still takes up all of their attention.

Gladox is the first to
charge toward the gate, with Verde, Sir Laurence, and myself right behind. I
also see Chronix and five other people exit a dark alleyway and do the same,
but they are ahead of us and will reach it first.

Chronix and his people
manage to slip between gaps in the fight and get to the other side without
taking any damage. We do the same, running through the melee whilst avoiding
any stray attacks from the guards.

A sense of relief washes
over me as we exit the city. Very few guards will chase us now, and for the few
that will, they won’t search very far.

“Now, where are we
heading?” Chronix casually asks Gladox while giving a sly glance towards the
rest of us.

Sir Laurence is about to
warn Gladox not to say anything, as he hasn’t come across Chronix before and
doesn’t know our history, but he isn’t fast enough. Before he gets the chance,
Gladox says, “Lost and the swordsman are to the east, in a swampy forested
area. He is currently holding him back, but I don’t know how the fight is
going. We have to hurry.”

“Indeed, we do.”

Chronix signals to his men
and they set off to the east, leaving us behind. Gladox is surprised when Sir
Laurence grabs his arm and lets Chronix’s group run ahead. Sir Laurence quickly
explains that Chronix and his guild have been trying to kill Lost for quite a
while. Gladox frowns, looking at the backs of Chronix’s group as they continue
to run ahead.

“Then why did he help us?
If he wants Lost dead, he could have gotten in our way. Even getting us locked
up would have been easy for such a large force.”

Sir Laurence’s brow
furrows as he ponders deeply on the question before clapping his hands together
and saying, “He must want the tablet. He knows Lost wants the tablet enough to
steal it, so it must be valuable. We need to be careful of not only the
swordsman who has the tablet, but Chronix as well.”

Gladox and Verde nod their
assent, but I don’t believe there is anything to worry about. I fear the
inheritor candidate, but those other people can’t stop me.

“Fen, you go ahead,” Verde
says with a smile. “That way, you can get there before Chronix. Do you know
where to go?”

I nod my head curtly and
immediately sprint off to the east to find Lost. As long as I can get close, I
will know where they are.

***************************************************
***************************************************

- Lost -