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MAZE - Chapter 965 - Change the tide
🕑 Added 2024-11-09 22:55:39 +0000 UTC“Okay, everyone, I’m going to need your help,” Hera announced as she approached the slowly awakening Anaya. “Daskka, head back to the tent and spread some silver mist on the ground. White would be better, but I’m not sure if you can manage that. Viper and Crimson, stay behind me and make sure you’re not in Anaya’s line of sight when she looks at the tent. Use hidden frontal screens to stay out of view. Lurize, take the guy with the backpack and pull Vash aside. Ask him to make some lights inside the tent so Daskka’s mist has a shade of dark green—like the human toxin. He might not know the exact color we need, but you and Daskka can figure it out. Keep the human far enough away that Anaya can’t try to kill him.”
“What about me?” Livy asked as everyone received their orders.
Hera handed her tablet to the Leviathan. “Start the report. The Alliance will want to know what happened here.” Then, silently in her mind, she added, ‘Pretend you’re writing something important. When I give the signal, go to the tent and open the flap. Cover your mouth and nose with your arm and keep the flap open. Don’t block the entrance; we need her to see what’s inside.’
“Understood,” Livy nodded, and the group dispersed in different directions.
Hera moved confidently toward Anaya, her steps relaxed. As she got closer, she saw the woman trying to get up and quickly sent her blades to pin Anaya down. Sun and Eira formed an X above the assassin’s neck.
“You woke up sooner than I expected. I guess I took it too easy on you,” Hera sighed.
“Fuck you. I’ll make you pay for this, you monster!” Anaya snarled, her eyes blazing with fury.
“You and what army?” Hera smirked. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re the only one left. Your friends are gone.”
“They ran?” Anaya’s confusion was palpable.
“Not quite. I didn’t give them that chance. The Soldiers of Strength that came with you are dead. And your little friend with the toxin? He’s our prisoner now. Not that we even needed him,” Hera shrugged dismissively.
“What do you mean by that?” Anaya demanded, rage flaring in her eyes.
Hera crouched down in front of the assassin, sitting comfortably on her coiled tail. She shifted just enough to allow Anaya a clear view of the tent behind her, following Viper and Crimson’s subtle cues. “Nothing you need to know,” Hera said with a sly smile, and at that moment, she mentally signaled Livy.
Livy opened the tent flap, making a show of covering her mouth and nose. Hera pretended not to notice Anaya’s eyes flicking away from her to peer inside. Hera gave it a moment, letting the assassin process what she was seeing. Then, casually, the Empress patted her own shoulder, pushing away the last remnants of the toxin from her skin. It had been a calculated act—she kept the small amount on her body for this exact moment, a theatrical move to sell the deception. Even if it was making her itch like crazy.
The entire ruse was simple: make it look like they had already found a solution to the toxin. That there was no need to research or develop an antidote because Hera herself was the answer. The message was clear—the Empress could handle the toxins, even if others couldn’t.
“Now, you should really go,” Hera said nonchalantly, pulling Eira from the ground as Sun floated up beside her.
“You’re letting me go?” Anaya’s voice wavered between disbelief and fear.
“Yeah. We already have what we need,” Hera paused, glancing Anaya up and down with a look of disdain, “and you’re not worth the effort.”
“What?!” Anaya yelled as she struggled to her feet.
“I’m not going to repeat myself. You have one chance—either tuck your tail between your legs and run, or try something stupid and die. I couldn’t care less either way,” Hera turned her back on the assassin and began walking towards Livy. Twiggy and the rest of the court kept their eyes on Anaya, ready to react if she attacked.
Anaya took a step forward but hesitated, her eyes darting back to the tent. She saw the bodies inside—Soldiers of Strength, still in their masks, who had fought within the toxic cloud and still lost. There was no way she could win against that. But then, her gaze shifted to the Ophidianite Empress.
Information is more powerful than any weapon, Anaya thought. The snake woman had been foolish enough to let her escape with it. Running away wouldn’t be a complete waste.
“You’ll regret not killing me,” Anaya spat before bolting towards the tunnel, which was still a few hundred meters away.
“Buy a book of villain quotes! That one isn’t just a cliché, it’s bad,” Hera called after her as the assassin vanished into the night.
Moments later, Vash and Lurize returned, making sure the man and the backpack were secured.
“You let her go?” the harpy asked with a frown.
“Yeah. I’m setting a trap. Or something. I’m not sure what to call it. I’m trying to make her think that we at least have an answer to the toxins. If she goes back to the humans and says that we have a way to stop those attacks, maybe they won’t try anymore. Or at least they will come up with something new, and that will give us enough time to study the toxins and come up with an antidote.”
“That sounds like a stretch. There’s nothing saying that they wouldn’t just double down or try to attack everywhere at once. Was that really the only reason you let her go?” Vash pressed.
Hera looked at the harpy, noticing the worry in his expression, and let out a long sigh. “No, it’s not. I don’t know if you could tell, but I knew her. She was in my class when I graduated from the guild. She was still a bitch back then. But I don’t know. Killing someone I know is weird. Maybe we should have just captured her, but that also feels strange. I also can’t help but think that her reaction was a bit too extreme. Don’t get me wrong, she was always annoying, self-centered, and an awful person. But she never struck me as the type to murder innocents just for kicks. Maybe the mind control is getting stronger.”
“I honestly can’t say much about that. Killing someone you know sounds awful. But I do agree with you about the mind control. The humans always felt a bit like fanatics, but in these past few battles, they seem worse—almost as if they didn’t care about getting hurt as long as they completed the mission.”
“I didn’t get much of that, but you all have been here longer. Everything seems crazy to me.”
“Either way, what do we do now?” Vash looked around.
“I think you can drop the tent, and we go back to the camp. There’s probably something still going on there. When we get there, if we can’t pass the prisoner to someone, we’re going to have to handle it until we find someone to take care of that. I doubt the Alliance won’t want to talk with this guy,” Hera said, turning to the unconscious human.
Without Nimbus to carry them back, it took them a good 10 minutes of walking to reach the camp. They could have made better time, but it wasn’t easy dragging someone unconscious along. Not to mention, they were worried about jostling the backpack too much and triggering the release of the toxins again.
Once they got closer to the back line of the army, the reason for the lack of backup became clear. There was a massive barrier covering the entire camp. People were trying to break it with no success. It was likely the humans were responsible for this, meaning they’d need to kill the casters to release the spell.
Not wanting to risk their ‘prize,’ Vash created two new tents: one for housing the human and another exclusively for the backpack. Hera also kept one of her blades in each tent to sense what was going on without her presence.
At least the barrier didn’t block sounds, allowing them to communicate with the people inside. They were able to find a lieutenant who gave them a specific number to contact so they could arrange for an escort for the prisoner. Meanwhile, Milla had already reached out to the agency to find someone specialized in poisons and toxins to create an antidote or some countermeasure to the chemical attack.
The next couple of hours were mostly uneventful. Even if the battle was still ongoing, Vash and Hera had a different job—making sure the human wouldn’t escape and the backpack was safe. Eventually, the barrier around the camp collapsed, indicating that either the humans had given up or the Alliance managed to kill the casters. Not long after, Nimbus appeared, carrying the entirety of the Harmony Guardians.
“Hera, Vash!” Skyler gasped as she dismounted the griffon.
“Sky!” the harpy gasped and flew over to the elf. “Are you all okay? What happened?”
“We’re fine. After Nimbus came to get us, the humans erected that barrier. Then it became a hunt for not just the casters but the flags they were using as catalysts,” Skyler explained.
“Flags?” Hera asked.
“Like this one,” Flint produced a small red flag from his pocket. It was barely bigger than his hand.
“I don’t know why, but when you said flags, I thought it would be something bigger,” Hera frowned.
“It would have been a lot easier if it was. Finding those things was annoying as all hell,” Roan grumbled.
Next, Vash and Hera told them about what they did. Everyone had mixed feelings about Hera letting a human go, but they understood where she was coming from. Killing someone they knew would be hard, and they had to agree the Empress’s idea had some potential.
Another loud thunder echoed across the battlefield, likely created by Thor. Not long after, rally cries could be heard from the front lines, loud enough to reach the camp a few kilometers away. Information came soon after. Thor, together with a few other high-level Alliance members, dealt a crushing blow to the enemy. Now their chain of command was shattered. This was the chance the Alliance had to push back and kick the humans out of this Room.
But for the Harmony Guardians, a different type of order came. They were to continue protecting the prisoner and the backpack. Then, they would be on scouting duty, making sure no human was trying to dig toward one of the Cities again, as Hera had proven her capabilities in finding hidden movements.
For the next three days, the entirety of the Harmony Guardians stayed on the back lines—helping with the supply chain, healing those in need, crafting what the army needed, and ensuring the humans were not advancing toward the Cities.
By the end of the ordeal, the Alliance was able to recover the entire Room and was now pushing back, trying to reclaim some of the territory it had lost. But the Harmony Guardians had yet another mission. The agency had just contacted them with a plan—a plan that might finally turn the tide of the war in their favor.
Comments
Perizou
Soon™
Eric M
The war angle has been very interesting, but I miss the exploration part. New rooms, new dungeons, new guides, skills, etc.
