Chapter 101: The Red Plumes

Then a shadow passed over him. His instincts screamed. He threw himself backward just as two enormous birds plunged from the sky. Their wings spread nearly four meters across, and their blue feathers flashed beneath the dim red light. Long tails streamed behind them, each feather marked with an eye-shaped pattern that glowed an eerie crimson. Mutant peacocks. They had probably escaped from the Museum area during the battle between the King-rank creatures.

The first bird swept past the window, its talons scraping the outer wall. The second twisted in midair and fixed its glowing eyes on Ethan. He barely had time to react. “Trouble.” He raised his hand and unleashed Spatial Cut. An invisible blade tore through the air toward the first peacock’s wing. The bird snapped its tail open. Red light spread across the patterned feathers, forming a curved barrier around its body.

Clang.

The spatial attack struck the barrier with a metallic impact. The red shield rippled but held. His eyes narrowed. Before he could follow up, the second peacock opened its beak. A concentrated red beam erupted from its mouth. He threw himself toward the neighboring building. The beam struck the floor where he had been standing.

Boom.

Concrete exploded. The floor cracked apart, and chunks of masonry shot through the air. A cloud of dust swallowed the window as the remaining section of the slab collapsed into the room below. He pushed off with both feet and leaped across the gap. He landed hard on the neighboring rooftop, rolled over his shoulder, and came up in a crouch. The red beam followed him. He immediately activated Space Fissure. A black crack opened in the air between him and the attack. The beam vanished into the spatial tear.

For a brief moment the rooftop fell silent. Then the two peacocks appeared above the opposite building, circling him with their wings spread wide. Their glowing tail feathers reflected in his eyes. He slowly straightened. They’ve become stronger. He remembered seeing mutant birds around the Museum, but these two were clearly more dangerous than ordinary mutants. Their attacks were faster, their defensive barriers more stable, and their coordination suggested they had already learned how to hunt together.

The first peacock swooped down from the left. The second followed from the right. He retreated toward the center of the rooftop, refusing to let them corner him near the edge. He ducked beneath a sweep of talons, then sidestepped as the second bird fired another beam. The attack tore through a ventilation unit behind him. Metal burst apart. He used the moment to sprint toward the rooftop access structure, forcing the birds to adjust their angles. They followed relentlessly.

One descended low enough that its claws scraped across the roof. He leaped over them, landed beside a concrete support column, and immediately changed direction. Another red beam streaked past his shoulder. The intense heat grazed his arm, splitting a fresh line through his bandages and drawing a warm drop of blood. Damn it. If I keep running, they’ll eventually wear me down. He had to break their formation.

He stopped retreating. As the left peacock dived toward him, he turned sharply and charged straight at it. The bird seemed surprised by the sudden change. Its wings spread wider as it attempted to brake, but he was already within striking distance. He gripped his sword and channeled Spatial Cut along its edge. The blade shimmered with a faint distortion. He swung horizontally. The attack struck the peacock’s wing before its defensive barrier could fully form. A sharp tearing sound cut through the air. Half of the wing was severed. The bird screamed. Its body tilted violently, and it plummeted toward the street, beating its remaining wing desperately in an attempt to regain balance. It struck the side of a building before crashing onto a lower rooftop.

He barely had time to register the hit before the second peacock erupted into action. Every eye-shaped marking on its tail lit up. The bird spread its magnificent feathers, and dozens of red points of light appeared across them. His expression changed. The lights brightened simultaneously. A storm of red beams shot toward him. He immediately expanded Space Fissure. The black rift widened before his body, stretching across his field of vision like a tear in reality. The first beam disappeared into it. Then the second. Then a dozen more. The air around the fissure twisted violently as it swallowed the incoming attacks. Red light flashed across the black surface, illuminating the distorted space within.

The pressure was greater than he expected. His arm trembled as he maintained the ability. The peacock continued firing, pouring more energy into its attack. Cracks spread across the rooftop beneath his feet as the force of the bombardment shook the building. He clenched his teeth. Come on. The last few beams vanished into the fissure. For a fraction of a second the peacock’s tail dimmed. Its attack had paused. That was all he needed.

He released the Space Fissure and surged forward. The peacock tried to lift itself into the air, but he had already thrown his sword. The weapon spun through the air. The bird twisted its body, attempting to bring its glowing tail around to block the attack. Too slow. The sword struck its eye. A piercing shriek erupted from its throat. Its wings beat wildly, sending loose feathers scattering across the rooftop. The massive bird slammed into the side of the building, its body scraping down the wall before crashing onto the street below.

Silence followed. Ethan remained still for several seconds, watching for any sign of movement. When none came, he finally released the breath he had been holding. He had won, but the fight had consumed more energy than he wanted. He retrieved his sword and made his way down to the street. The first peacock lay on a lower rooftop, badly injured and unable to fly. He finished it before extracting its Core. The second had landed beside a wrecked car. He crouched beside the corpse and retrieved another blue Core from its skull. Both Cores went into his Survival Space.

He wiped his sword clean. He could not afford to waste any more time. The noise from the fight might already have attracted nearby mutants, and the two elephants were still somewhere along the main road. He activated teleportation three times in succession, moving away from the area and leaving the ruined buildings behind.

The remaining journey was no easier. He spotted a pack of mutant hyenas scavenging around an overturned bus and detoured through a narrow alley to avoid them. Farther along, several giant spiders had stretched thick strands of silk between two buildings, creating a web that blocked the entire street. One of the spiders noticed him. Its body, nearly as large as a motorcycle, shifted toward the alley entrance. Several eyes reflected the faint light, and its front legs rose from the ground.

He immediately retreated. A strand of thick silk shot toward him, catching the hem of his jacket and sticking to the brick wall with disturbing strength. He gave a sharp tug, but it held fast. He did not wait to see what else the creature could do; he used teleportation to tear free from the fabric’s grip and reappeared several streets away.

By the time the first pale light of dawn crept over the horizon, he had finally reached the outer perimeter of Riverview Heights. The residential complex looked strangely peaceful from a distance. Rows of apartment buildings stood behind the perimeter wall, windows dark, courtyards overgrown with weeds. A few abandoned vehicles remained near the entrance. He scanned the area carefully before teleporting directly to the apartment where Debbie and the others had been staying. He knocked lightly.

For several seconds nothing happened. Then a cautious voice came from inside.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Ethan.”

The lock clicked. The door opened a narrow distance, revealing Debbie standing behind it with Nina in her arms. Her expression was tense, and she seemed ready to close the door again at the slightest sign of danger. Then she recognized him.

“Ethan?”

She opened the door fully. Relief washed over her face, followed almost immediately by alarm when she noticed the blood seeping through the fresh bandages beneath his torn shirt. “What happened to you?” She pulled him inside before he could answer, quickly shutting and locking the door behind him.

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!