Chapter 162: Lifeless City (3)
Aura and the others had long since felt it, but at the core of the city was a pulsating mana, rhythmically undulating like a heartbeat.
Styx also shared Aura's sense of this mana and couldn't help but feel drawn towards it. He didn't know why, but it almost seemed to call out to him.
The black aircraft flying through the air were still circling the city in search of Aura and the others.
They used their keen senses to constantly avoid the patrols, but the latter seemed to have mana detecting sensors which always managed to locate their location.
"How annoying!" Illidiath complained as she grabbed one if The Void's Fourth Step helpers and vanished from the spot in a bout of extreme speed.
Immediately afterwards, a barrage of bullets tore through the dark alley, lighting it up in sparks and the scent of gunfire.
Aura also detected the attack and fled ahead of time, but the angels weren't so lucky.
"Blasphemous!" Adam cried aloud as he sent a giant blade of golden sword energy through the alley at a blistering speed that tore the bricks off the wall and left the aircraft no room to evade.
White feathers fluttered through the alley as one of the Fourth Step angels was torn the pieces by the surprise attack, several even piercing his head.
Adam and the other Fifth Step angel looked at their fallen comrade with sorrow before offering a quick prayer for safe passage and moving on.
Styx secretly wondered if the fallen angel would be trapped in the local river of souls and be reborn within the city. It was an interesting thought and highly possible. Heaven, which owned his soul, technically couldn't be reached whilst they were in this world.
"Why didn't you save him?" Adam asked Illidiath with an icy and hostile expression as Aura and herself reappeared. "He was within your reach, you could have easily dragged him out of the way too."
"I have no obligation to do so. Blame it on his misfortune," The busty violet-haired woman responded nonchalantly.
The aircraft appeared to be targeting Aura, Adam, the other six-winged angel, and Illidiath over the other Fourth Step helpers. It appeared to be due to the four of them being the only Fifth Step existences, and having exponentially more mana than the others.
"Let's hurry to the centre of this place and shut down the core of these aircraft," Adam snorted and faced away from Illidiath.
Aura was standing on the edge of one of the buildings which was close to collapsing when a giant tremor rocked the city.
Everyone was caught by surprise and stumbled as they lost their footing from the giant tremor.
Many buildings in the city collapsed whilst the residents fled to shelters and left market stalls and shops alike abandoned.
The building under Aura collapsed but she dropped down onto all fours and leapt off fire escapes and air conditioner unit props on the side of the buildings in the alley.
Those down below avoided falling bricks and also vertically escaped from the alley. They weren't in any danger from a building collapse, but being buried was still annoying.
The expedition team was covered in dust but Aura opens her mouth and sucked it all in, clearing the entire area and giving everyone a clear line of sight.
Large plumes of dust were rising up all over the city, whilst all the residents had vanished from sight and caused it to appear like a ghost town.
*ROARRRRR*
"That doesn't sound good," One of the Fourth Step helpers said whilst struggling to breathe from the power behind the roar.
Near the center of the city where there were a great number of skyscrapers, the earth rose and buildings collapsed as a hundred foot robotic giant climbed up from the ground.
It wasn't a robot such as one would pilot, but a humanoid construct with plated armor and an excessively complex structure. Its eyes glowed red along with its joints and deep within its chest, as if it has a raging sun inside of it powering it.
The Fifth Step members who could see mana though saw a gigantic mana furnace in its chest that served as its power source. That mana flowed through its body and powered its various weapons and defensive functions.
'And I thought this place had no mana, that enormous mecha has as much as Illidiath, who already has one foot into godhood,' Styx commented to himself as he shared Aura's sight.
"What in God is that?" Adam commented whilst furrowing his brow.
"...Bad news," Aura growled as her instincts made all her hairs stand straight.
The mechanical giant's crimson eyes rotated in its socket before locking onto the group's mana signatures.
It didn't care about the buildings nor any people hiding inside of them as it lumbered across the city in gigantic steps.
Aura and the others fled as fast as the Fourth Step helpers could keep up, but the giant robot was much faster than it appeared. With each step, the mana in its body would connected to the ground and pull it forward before returning the itself with near zero loss.
"We can't outrun this thing, so we will destroy it. I wanted to save mana, but my senses are telling me that holding back against this thing will cost my life," Illidiath spoke gravely as fantasy runes along with taut veins appeared on her limbs.
Two blood red horns also grew from the woman's head and curved backwards. To finish it off, small plates made from an unknown metal flew out from her clothes and assembled themselves on her body in an intricate armor.
"Hold on!" Aura called out to the woman as Styx commanded her to do so, but it was too late.
The armored Illidiath shattered the buildings around her into dust as she leapt from the ground faster than an asteroid colliding into a planet, such was the sheer power sent into the ground from her legs.
The shy shook and space fractured as she swung her fist down upon the robot. A giant image of her clenched fist broke out from the fractured space and also came crashing down on the behemoth.
It's red eyes brightened as multiple defensive living magic arrays lit up around its body.
'I knew it…' Styx helplessly said to himself as he saw this.
Illiadith wasn't the strongest here in raw physical strength, even outstripping Aura as if there were an enormous gorge in between their levels of strength.
The robot collapsed to its knees as a cataclysmic shockwave spread out from the collision, but it had no been damaged in the slightest.
Aura squatted on all fours as the shockwave passed through her, the others also taking their own measures to brace for the aftermath of the attack.
All that remained from the attach was a gigantic crater the size of a suburb, any people hiding within it already returning to the pseudo river of souls. Styx had thought the robot had collapsed to its knees at first, but it had just been hammered into the ground up to its knees, like a wooden stake.
It merely pulled its legs up from the ground and locked on to the attacker.
It's counterattack was even fierce that its defense. Lightning coated its body and plumes of steam escaped its joints before it moved as fast as lighting itself.
First it drew back its fist and the next moment, its arm was fully extended.
Even Aura only heard the sonic boom without seeing it move. Lightning snaked across the ground and Illidiath, was send flying across the city like a railgun, her armor broken and body tattered.
Traces of lightning still sparked from around her body, hampering her efforts to recover.
Around the giant, humans who, unlike the ordinary citizens, were brimming with the mana of a Fifth Step powerhouse, appeared and stood in the air. They wore strange uniforms of a form of ancient police that Styx recognized to have been used in the eastern countries in the early fifteenth century.
This was alongside a western 21st century city, and a hyper advanced science fiction robot that was the culmination of both pinnacles of science and magic.
Styx actually found this quite jarring, as if cultures and eras from various parts of human civilization from his original world had clashed and been merged together.
"Intruders, stop resisting and surrender!" One man called out in English, now known as the common human tongue.
Adam and the other Fifth Step six-winged angel vanished from where they stood and turned into beams of golden light, their sword and spear stuck just as fast, causing a mind piercing ringing sound to echo across the city like holy hymns.
Adam's sword send gigantic sword auras one after another, whilst the other angel's spear sent piercing thorns of light towards the enemies.
"Hmph!" The defenders snorted and instantly moved.
They couldn't outrun the attacks, which were as fast as light itself, but their automated defenses blocked most of them. Some broke through and damaged their bodies, but just like any other Fifth Step existence which were more mana based lifeforms than flesh and blood, they automatically healed the damage and retaliated.
Illidiath had overcome the anti-healing force from the lightning and returned to the battlefield, manipulating the field of gravity to catch the enemy off guard and gain the advantage.
The giant robot also struck back with attacks that were nearly impossible to dodge. It also cast spears of lightning that encompassed entire areas.
The city defenders didn't appear to care for the destruction of the surroundings or the death of any citizens hiding, which Styx understood.
This city was essentially a giant terrarium. Anybody who died would have their soul recycled through the river of souls and born as a new life, whilst the entire city was fake and could simply be rebuilt by robot constructors.
What could be lost was mana though, which every attack was expending.
The Fifth Step defenders flashed about with staves and spears, slicing or casting terrifyingly powerful magic. One thing to note was that they were far better than Aura and the others at handling mana, which twined around their fingers like threads, moving along with them as they controlled it to the utmost perfection.
Aura, under Styx's command, send the Fourth Step helpers into Phantasmagoria in order to prevent them from becoming collateral deaths. She then dashed around on all fours and attacked too. Phantasmal wolf heads appeared and tried to eat the enemy, but she was incapable of breaking through their auto-defense.
'Aura, focus on your strengths, gluttony. You have both Sin of Gluttony and World Devourer skills. What they fear the most is losing their mana. Consume that.'
The wolf girl was struck by multiple attacks and sent crashing into the ground, forming a crater within the crater. She coughed blood and looked at her left arm which was several meters away from the rest of her body.
Pain racked her body from the enemies skills which prevented her from healing and constantly ate at her soul. Not used to such pain or being in such a difficult scenario, her instincts overpowered her conscious mind and reverted her closer back to her beastly nature.
Grimacing, her face contorted and jaw expanded whilst still maintaining her human form, albeit becoming more beastly, or even monstrous. Her muscles inflated before becoming taut whilst her teeth turned into razor sharp canines that seemed to reflect a bloody light.
Her nails turned into equally dangerous looking claws that split anything that touched indiscriminately.
Her hair grew more wild while her ear enlarged. If this was any other time, Styx would have deeply enjoyed teasing her with famous questions that were previously directed at the big bad wolf from the tale of red riding hood, but her was currently too concerned for her.
'...Aura?' Styx asked nervously as he felt the chaotic state of her mind currently.
"AWUUUUUUU!!!"
The wolf-girl, now more
"...This is the problem with Monster Lords," Illidiath grumbled with a look of annoyance on her blood-marred face. "They lose control far too easily."
Aura dashed through the city, jumping across roofs and off the walls of buildings before launching herself into the sky once more. This was different from before not only in speed, but she was planning on consuming the enemy rather than destroying them.
Using Time Stagnation to give herself an advantage, she activated both Sin of Gluttony and World Devourer. Even in this state of mind, Styx's command was engraved in the deepest recesses of her soul.
Her mouth opened wide as the entire world appeared to be pulled into it. Aura swallowed everything without discrimination. Stone, air, space and even time were being sucked into her mouth to be consumed.
Her gluttony was so powerful that nobody could escape its pull, much like that of a black hole. The other side's Fifth Step city defenders were able to hold on, but they weren't able to escape from the pulling force.
"Shit, what is this creature? Attack, attack it more!"
"My mana, it's eating my mana!!"
The entire force panicked at this point, feeling their mana be sucked from their body.
Slowly but surely, the entire world around them was being consumed by Aura. If this were a secret or other pocket dimension, she would be able to gain a large and immediate boost in strength due to all the natural energy in the air, but this world was dead in heart and soul.
Aura could only swallow so much with one bite, but a small portion of the city and crater had undoubtedly vanished into her maws.
Adam, the other angel and Illidiath had also been forced to defend themselves from the irresistable pull of Aura's Sin of Gluttony despite their higher level.
"What a monster…" Adam commented with some wariness towards the still berserk Monster Lord.
Aura wasn't done with just one mouthful. The city defenders attacked her, but she dodged as much as she can. As the robot struck, Aura sacrificed another arm as she jumped onto it and ran up its enormous arm. Her arms regrew very quickly this time as she approached the core of the robot.
It tried to crush her like she was a mosquito on its body, but she evaded the hands every time. It also covered its body in lightning, slowing down her progress as she twisted and turned to avoid the snakes of lightning. All it would take was for her to be momentarily stunned for the robot and defenders to tear her to pieces.
Following her beastly instincts, she managed to avoid everything and jumped across its chest. The metal, which had beforehand defended against everything that was thrown at it, had an enormous part of the chest armor vanish as if a phantasmal pair of teeth had taken a large bite out of it.
"Kill this monster!"
Aura sucked out as much of the mana of the robot before the other defenders attacked her from every direction and sent her flying again.
The following battle did not go as well for Aura and the others. More and more destruction happened to the city as the battle progressed.
The city defenders adapted to the attacker's tactics faster than the other way around, causing them to isolate Aura and prevent her from consuming more of their mana, only half of which was left. The greatest hindrances to the wolf girl, angels, and whatever Illidiath was, were each other.
They all had to defend themselves when Aura sucked in more of the world into her stomach, whilst they had never trained to fight together, meaning they had poor synergy from the beginning.
Aura was bloody and her clothes tattered, much like the others. She panted with her eyes droopy. Everyone was running low on mana with no means of restoring it. Once their mana ran out, they would become helpless, perhaps collapsing entirely.
"Styx said... to retreat," Aura said between panting breaths to the others before dragging them into her Phantasmagoria.
This was a fantasy realm that was more or less detached from the physical one like the realms where the main body of Heaven and The Void resided. Styx had learned this before, but the heart of every major faction was placed behind multiple seemingly impenetrable safeguards, usually within their own private or boundless realm.
There were other factions within the heaven realm, but the sky there was infinite due to the nature of how these realms worked.
Aura couldn't break through the city wall in Phantasmagoria, just like when entering, but she safely brought them all to the wall before escaping under the pursuit of the city defenders.
Strangely, the city defenders refused to go beyond the wall and looked at Aura with pure malice. Her consuming their mana appeared to have thoroughly offended them.
Adam and Illidiath weren't the only ones unhappy to retreat. Styx also felt a calling from the core of the city that he simply couldn't ignore. Despite that, it seemed he would not be able to reach it anytime soon.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Wolfick
Wolfick Here I am!
Aside from my current procrastination habits, I have been a bit busy recently. I was working all weekend (not the weekend gone, but the one before it), whilst last weekend was also quite busy.
I also got engrossed in FFF-class trashhero, which was a great read tbh. I still paid my author for the artwork though. I may update the cover at one point with it. I have Book 1 artwork, book 2 is still in progress.
I also have terrible news!! (for me, not you)
In the past month, the Fractal Design Node 804 pc case, which I have been wanting for my server I am planning to build, has been sold out of every single shop! Every one of them! Where is my crying emoji...
Well, I still haven't found a solution, but there isn't really any same size equivalent with the same, or near, amount of 3.5" drive bays!
The timeline in the book will start progressing faster shortly as we reach reach the final climax. The ending is a little open, mainly for the possibility of a future continuation, but it is not set in stone.
I have also been questioning putting it on sale. I have artwork for volume 1 to use, all paid for etc, but it is an issue of the adult content in the book.
I can put it in the adult section of amazon, but that is known as adult hell because you do not come up on any search results, no recommedations from other books etc... I could just not tick that box, but I fear it may prove detrimental for my account overall, and any other books for sale.
Such is my delimma, and the main reason why I have put off putting it up for sale this entire time.
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