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019 - The Swords of Damocles
🕑 Added 2024-10-13 20:59:19 +0000 UTCNing Shan Leapt forward, swerving left and right as he tried to evade whatever was thrown at him. Even with his enhanced vision, he couldn't clearly see the projectiles, only the aftermath as plumes of dust rose into the air and loud noises crashed around them. If not for the wind rushing past his face, he would think the machine had placed explosives on the ground beforehand.
Ning Shan reached the drone in less than five seconds, barely escaping with his life. Sweat poured out of his pore as, even for him, this seemed much too reckless to attempt. He could clearly see the deep holes in the ground from the impact. He shivered, knowing his body couldn't endure a single one.
He leapt into the air, reaching the drone's height in a single breath, yet it made no indication of dodging. He cocked back his hand, the lightning dancing upon his fist, before unleashing the strike, aiming straight at the red dot that stood in the middle of the floating ball.
His fist ripped through the air, almost creating a shock wave as it threatened to break the sound barrier, only to be stopped by a surface so hard but soft at the same time, absorbing much of the impact. The strike he had put his all into turned into nothing but a whimper.
Ning Shan watched incredulously as metal, stone, and concrete stood in his path, hovering a few inches before the machine, protecting it. As for how it came to be, he only saw the spherical drone glow slightly before the surrounding rubble rose at breakneck speed but stopped just as abruptly in front of it.
“A Pin-Point Gravity Generator?" Sera shouted to the sky.
She watched in horror as Ning Shan fell back down to the earth from his failed attempt before being suddenly hit by the kickback as the makeshift shield was blown apart. The sharpened shards rained back on him. Fortunately, they didn't possess the destructive might of the machine's prior attempts at taking his life. He only received some minor cuts as he protected his vitals with his arms, then hit the ground, diving beneath nearby rubble as he sought cover.
“What's that thing's weakness?" Ning Shan shouted back, somewhat irate, as he needed to keep on the move.
The machine never let him out of its sight, trying again and again to find its mark and end his life. Still, one thing had changed. He could now see the means it used to attack him. Metal and stone rose in the air before being crushed into uniform balls, then sharpened as they spun on their axis. Without much warning, they were swiftly accelerated in his direction.
“It uses gravity as a rail gun?!” she shrieked as she buried her head into her hands.
“Stop denying reality and answer me!" Ning Shan spat back but soon ignored her as he knew she was useless. She made no indication of struggling as if she knew her life was already forfeit. He clicked his tongue and carefully watched the unknown automaton in front of him. He knew he could only rely on himself to find a flaw in its design.
There was only a single detail that struck him: the red dot on its surface, which seemed to always follow him as if to keep him in its sight. This seemed the most probable method it used to find his position, enabling it to find him even when he hid behind an opaque surface.
His brain raced at insane speed, trying to think of a plan, yet none yielded more than poor results when he simulated them in his mind. At best, he only had a thirty percent chance of prevailing, albeit with severe wounds, while the alternative was death. He briefly considered a strategic retreat yet couldn't bring himself to do so a second time on the same day. The memory of that shame was still fresh in his mind.
It was only then that he found something that completely changed his perspective. As if almost unconsciously, Sera had built herself a fort for her own protection using the metal remnants of the collapsed building. Although architecturally devoid of any substance, it was still a marvel to behold, as it took her almost no time to construct. The reason for this was apparent.
Even as Ning Shan circled the perimeter of the battlefield, Sera picked long steel I-beams, quickly raising them above her head before planting them into the ground, creating a makeshift steel shield between her and the drone. Although flimsy-looking, it offered much more protection than nothing. Still, something seemed incongruent with the laws of physics. She wielded those metal beams much too strangely, almost as if they possessed no weight of their own.
“How can you do the same as that thing?" Ning Shan said as he rushed toward her, hiding behind the shield as he held both of her thin shoulders, causing her no shortage of surprise but also nervousness. She could only stammer something almost incomprehensible as the blows rained on the steel shield, slightly bending it more with every hit.
It only took a few for the fort to collapse on itself, yet Ning Shan was already long gone alongside Sera, tightly held over his shoulder as he ran upon the uneven battlefield. However, this time, he had a decent plan. Even if he were to fail, the damages to himself would be minimal.
He quickly explained it to her, only for Sera's eyes to open wide. She vigorously shook her head, yet Ning Shan's gaze gave her no chance to object. The eerie smile on his face couldn't help but give her shivers, and she could only resolve herself to her fate. She only gave a timid nod, yet a slight flame appeared in her eyes. While Ning Shan's plan was foolhardy at best, she couldn't help but agree this was their best chance to prevail.
While still over Ning Shan's shoulder, Sera picked up two long I-beams, one in each hand, before being thrown upwards into the sky so hard she almost disappeared from sight. As expected, the machine paid her no mind. The red eye on its surface was locked onto Ning Shan, watching his every move.
Picking up speed, Ning Shan rushed toward its position, barely avoiding the projectile rain coming his way. A few even ripped into his skin, making him bleed, yet no signs of pain appeared on his face, only a deep resolve as if victory was within his grasp.
Lightning coated the exterior of his fist as he struck the hovering ball of metal, yet he was thwarted once again by a wall of rubble hovering midair, blocking his path. The stone and steel shield shattered into smaller pieces but remained a barrier preventing him from reaching his target.
Then, two steel pillars fell from the sky, aimed straight at the construct like two giant swords plunging toward the earth. While its reaction speed was quick, the machine was still taken by surprise, barely able to construct a makeshift shield to block the impact.
In a split second, the red eye aimed at the sky, glowing further as the gaps between the plate of its exterior amour began to pulse rapidly before a beam of scorching heat was emitted from its eye.
The flimsy stone shield was shattered almost immediately, and the two steel pillars plunging further toward the automaton were soon completely atomized by the red beam. The beam reached into the sky, illuminating the night before disappearing into the cosmos.
Only then did the shock wave the pillars had created as they broke the sound barrier arrive, shattering their surroundings through the force of compressed air. Having used most of its energy repelling the two giant swords, the machine was pushed back toward the ground, its armour creaking as it desperately tried to suppress the force of the atmosphere that pressed on it. Tiny cracks appeared on its surface, yet they were negligible at best.
The world trembled, and a lingering heat remained around the machine, yet the battle wasn't over. Looking to the sky, it could only see a small-framed individual slowly falling back to the ground as if a leaf was being carried by the wind. Sera opened her arms and legs wide, using her baggy clothes as a makeshift parachute, slowly gliding back down to the surface.
The machine began to power for a second strike, finally realizing the threat she represented, yet it had made a fatal mistake. Using this lapse in attention during the clash, Ning Shan rushed below the hovering sphere, using its body as a barrier to protect himself from the shock wave. While he hadn't mitigated it entirely, most had been dispersed away from him.
He anchored himself into the ground, awaiting the opportune moment as the machine was pushed back toward him. He retrieved the large rifle he had commandeered some time ago and planted its butt into the ground, aiming upwards. He offered a slight smile and then pulled the trigger.
Lightning arced from his fingertips as the power enveloped the weapon's barrel. Having seen first-hand how the machine had used gravity to accelerate the projectile, he thought to himself, "Why not do the same using magnetism?"
As he pulled the trigger, the metal bullet accelerated way past the speed it would typically exit the barrel, shattering it in the process. Shard exploded everywhere, yet Ning Shan had already predicted as such, using one of his arms to at least protect his head.
The bullet sped upward just as the metal sphere was pushed back down. Unable to defend itself, the two collided, and the lightning-laced bullet ripped straight through the machine's armours, shattering the electronic components within before emerging from the other side. Yet all that remained of the bullet was a rain of metallic dust.
The red glow faded before extinguishing completely as the machine became inert. It fell from the sky like a stone, tumbling to the ground a metre next to Ning Shan. He turned and eyed the machine, his guard still up until he saw a red powder slowly condense into a crystal, hovering next to the metallic husk.
Ning Shan frowned as the red crystal slowly hovered over to him before being absorbed by the red-ringed planet in his core. However, before he could ponder the implications of the corpse that remained for the first time, a cry was heard overhead.
“Help! I can’t hold it anymore!”
Sera began falling ever faster as if gravity had only just regained its hold on her. The wind of her fall threatened to pry her mask away, yet she held it with both hands, watching the ground rapidly close in.
With a sigh, Ning Shan rose to his feet and, with a single leap, went to join her midair, using his own body to slow her fall. Fortunately, she hadn't picked up enough speed to kill them both, and they were able to safely fall back to the ground before they completely lost control.
"An Interesting skill," Ning Shan said as his feet touched the ground, feeling much lighter than before, even while carrying another person. "Used correctly, it might be a game changer."
"It's not as great as you think," She replied, heaving and puffing as she tried to catch her breath. Ning Shan could feel the dampness of her body even through the multiple layers she wore. "I can only change the gravity affecting my own body or something I touch. There are also restrictions on the weight of the object I can affect. Those two steel beams were almost beyond my limit."
She collapsed to the ground just as soon as Ning Shan let her go, laying on her back with her eyes closed. Despite desperately trying, she couldn't lower her heart rate no matter how many breaths she took. It was almost too much for her mask to filter.
"You did good," Ning Shan said as he sat beside her, feeling somewhat weary. The battle had done a number on his dust reserves, and he would need some time to recover. However, time was exactly what he lacked.
“Impressive... I didn’t expect the both of you to survive, much less dispatch this drone. Unfortunately, this ends here.”
Ning Shan's body stiffened almost immediately as he heard the voice. He turned to the side only to see a most unwelcome sight. Although it was to be expected, he wished it wasn't so soon. It was Sera's former captors, the men they had left behind some time ago. Although their numbers had dwindled, their weaponry had changed substantially.
