Broker

Chapter 157

Liberty felt the final teleportation come to an end and glanced down at the phone in her hand. The GPS said she was at the edge of the area that Halloway’s ability should be able to cover. She glanced down at the man hanging from his shirt in her grip, her eyes searching his pale, worn face. Blood streamed down his nose, ears, and eyes even as the coppery glow of her power continued to strengthen him. He smiled wildly at her, his eyes parting slightly, his mind warped under the pressure of dozens of sequential teleportations. She scoffed and dropped him to the ground, “Good work,” She grunted and strode away, her expression set and scowling.

Those idiots. She snarled, When I get my hands on them. She checked her phone again and saw the news reports. Her signal had been redirected and the battle was being streamed live. Carla Mint had taken over as acting Chairwoman and released Black Lotus. She felt a little of her power wane, a tiny bit, small numbers of her followers turning on her. I’ll kill them all and make a statement of my own. She bit out, drawing back some of the strength she had spread around the world and back into herself. She felt mighty again.

She let out a breath through her nostrils and continued her steady stalk forward, getting ready to pick up speed. That was when she felt a shift in the air. Her senses weren’t quite as in tune with the ebb and flow of ambient mana as Kant, but she could feel enough to know that a powerful ability had just activated nearby. She paused in her walk, her eyes flitting around. Her scowl deepened and she drew her sword. The power in the blade stayed dormant, the cold silver-blue edge gleaming a bit in the moonlight. She tilted it over and turned her head, “Come out,” She growled in a low voice.

There was a sudden flash of movement from within the trees ahead of her. A shape rocketing out of the treetops and hurtling into the air. She whipped her head up as the dark figure reared up in the sky, holding something over its head. Liberty’s eyes narrowed and she whipped her weapon to the side before holding it up to prepare to block. That was when she saw a flicker of blonde hair in the moonlight. Her eyes went wide. What? A scream of rage and fury fell down towards her as her sister came hurtling towards the ground, an enormous metal hammer gripped with both hands.

“Cassiopeia?” Liberty gasped as a pair of glowing blue eyes raced towards her, streaks of white light rippling off of her body. Her shock dissolved into an expression of scorn, And now you have the gall to attack me, you have spent far too much time in this place. She thought as her sister drew closer, It’s time to come home, brat. You’re all alone.

–

“Cass! Watch your back!” Alex shouted at her as she dove beneath a sweep of the dragon’s claws. She rolled to the side as a short volley of arrows hurtled through the spot she’d just been standing in. She clicked her tongue and tried to reacquire her target but the dragon had moved. The massive beast reeked in a way she couldn’t quite describe, like dead plants and rancid musk. Her lips curled down as the creature took a step back to try to fix its gaze on her and she whipped her weapon up and into its throat. The hard scales absorbed most of the blow but the force was enough to force its head back up.

She glanced towards Alex who was in the midst of whip-kicking away the dire elves that had climbed the long temple stairs and tried to turn her into a pincushion. “Thanks! Keep them off me, I can’t get its joints if I keep having to dodge!” She shouted as the dragon let out another terrible roar. It flapped its useless wings and tried to get some more distance from her and she charged forward, mace in hand. She had to be careful about how she did this. The two powers that Ishtar had gifted her with her investment were nothing like her core power and she didn’t need more questions when she used them.

She dove again, working her way through the dragon’s legs. It shifted its weight and moved out of reach of her again and again. It had amazing senses. I can’t use Shatter on just any part of its body, that’d be too obvious. The joints are a good target though. She thought, I also can’t get hurt too much, grace has a clear glow to it. She pursed her lips as the beast raised its entire body and pressed its clawed back legs into the steps beneath it to gain stability. Next came the green glow up its throat. Oh no you don’t!

She kicked off the ground with all the strength she could muster and brought her weapon up in a hard uppercut, slamming it into the creature’s jaw just as it opened its mouth to release that terrible breath weapon that had done so much damage to Lily. I hope she’s okay. Cass thought as she collided with the beast, knocking its head back and sending it flailing backwards. It let out a howl of fury and twisted its body to attempt to catch itself. As Cass descended from her leap she threw her weight forward into a spin, I’ll get you this time! 

That was a mistake. During her third rotation she noticed it, the creature’s powerful tail whipping in her direction at terrible speed. Her eyes went wide, I forgot about the tail! She gasped as it collided with her, sending her to the ground like a falling stone and embedding her in the stone stairs. Her entire body creaked with pain and she felt something crack in her chest, the only thing that stopped it from killing her was the natural toughness she got from her innate ability. She coughed, scrambling to her feet as the creature turned around and raised its talons to skewer her.

Shit! She rolled to the side and the dragon let out a howl before hesitating in it’s descent. She glanced back and saw a copy of herself standing an equal distance from where she’d fallen but on the opposite side. Thank you, Snow. She thought and glanced up at the dragon that was looking between the two Cass’ in confusion. She didn’t waste the opportunity. She charged throwing her back into a swing at one of its legs. Her copy mimicked her movements, darting towards its other flank. The dragon threw its head back in a roar before snapping down to bite at the copy. Got you! She bit out and swung with all her might, activating Shatter.

CRRUNCH!

The blow, enhanced with her already tremendous physical strength, crashed into the dragon’s leg joint which exploded into a mist of blood and powdered bone. There was a heavy thud as the beast's left foot hit the ground, separated from the limb. She grinned, This isn’t so bad, might not even need-

SCCREEEEEEEEE!

The sound was deafening, she staggered as a shriek that made her legs weak and her head spin pierced the air. Her hand went numb and she dropped her weapon on instinct, reaching up to clutch at her ears as the dragon let out a pained sound. Nausea washed up her throat and it took everything not to collapse and puke her guts up. A verdant green light bloomed in front of her as she tried to get her body to move, the terrible sound pinning her to the spot. She forced her eyes open and watched as wood began to grow from the stump where the dragon’s leg had been separated from the limb, forming a false leg.

You have got to be kidding me! She thought through the pain. She looked past the beast towards the paused fight going on behind it. Even the dire elves and her comrades had been struck by the creature’s agony. Val, who had been in the midst of fighting off a group of sword wielding attackers who were trying to interfere with the fight had collapsed to a knee while two of the attackers had just fallen over. John was clutching his head just past him. She couldn’t see Snow, probably hiding to maximize her ability. Where’s Alex? She forced the muddled thoughts out, the pressure of the scream making it hard to think. Her vision swam a little. It’s still going? 

Her eyes tried to fix on the false leg that rested on the ground and she saw the dragon take a few steps, turning towards her. I can’t move! She thought as a pair of burning green eyes looked down at her, teeth bared, the sound pushing down even harder just before it ended abruptly. Her legs felt like jelly. The dragon lunged and she felt the back of her shirt get grabbed by a strong hand. She blinked and watched as the dragon’s jaws clamped down on the spot where she’d just been, bits of stone crumbling beneath its mighty bite. Her strength started to come back enough to glance towards her savior.

Alex let go of her shirt, scales grown over his ears. He was panting, his skin pale and a bit green. “I gotcha.”

She thought about what he’d said to her. Those cruel words that weren’t entirely false. He’d apologized, but she hadn’t really been able to work through them. Not because she hated him for it, but because she really didn’t feel like she belonged. Like she was a useful add-on. It wasn’t that she couldn’t forgive him for it, that was easy, he wasn’t wrong. She just didn’t know how to reconcile it all. He met her gaze and nodded to her, his eyes burning with resolve. He wasn’t backing down and he wasn’t going to let an ally die, no matter what.

She pressed her lips together as she felt the dragon turn its attention to them. She rolled her shoulder as it started to approach and she returned his nod. That one gesture from him was more genuine acceptance than she’d ever felt in her entire life from someone of her age. Sonya had taken her in, cared for her like a little sister. She didn’t quite know how the others felt, but she knew how at least one of them did. That was enough to know what she wanted and what Sonya had meant when they talked that night. That was more than enough. She grit her teeth as the dragon charged, jaws open, and dipped in deep. I am Ishtar’s hammer, I am the Mighty Asterion, and fuck it all, I’m going to be a hero too!

She bellowed out a roar that shook the stones beneath her feet. Each step forward of the dragon was met by one of her own as she slammed her hammer into the ground. She held out her hands as her body began to grow, expand, her muscles becoming denser, her eyes beginning to burn. Her hair grew longer and longer as her fingers reached up. She was seven feet, eight feet, nine feet, ten feet tall when her hands collided with the dragon’s jaws. She gripped them tightly with a snarl and bellowed back at it, horns sprouting from her head and curling brutally. She planted her feet. The massive beast that overshadowed her, just like her sister, I’m big now too!

She wrenched her arms to the right with a bellow and pulled with all her strength. A sound of gurgled confusion wrought its way up the dragon’s throat as she threw it to the ground, slamming it onto its side. Her muscles tensed and burned and she pulled again, slamming it down in the opposite direction. Again! Again! Again! She roared inside, letting those feelings of rage power her through as she bashed the dragons head against the ground over and over until a flash of green light made her blink and squint. She threw its head to the side and a blast of verdant light ripped through part of the staircase and swept across the city around the temple, annihilating anything it touched.

The blast stopped and the dragon pulled itself to its feet, shaking its head and stumbling a little. Despite all she’d done it was just pissed off. She caught her breath and took a step back as she met the creature’s eyes. She grabbed her hammer with one hand and its eyes burned at her with unshackled hatred. It spread its wings and threw its head back in another roar, that verdant glow burning on its flesh. Something sprouted from the tears in its wings. Thin strands of… Are those fungus fibers? Her eyes widened and she charged, No! Don’t you dare!

The fibers lashed out across the opening, knitting together and pulling the tears in its wings together and binding them. Alex darted in next to her, fangs growing in his mouth as his entire body was covered in scales. Both of them slammed into the hind legs of the big thing grabbing hold and trying to fix it to the ground. It tried to whip its legs as it restored its wings, attempting to dislodge them. She looked around. They needed someone to get rid of the damn wings somehow. John was the best choice but he was occupied covering Val and keeping the still dense horde of dire elves off of them as an illusory stretch of bladed terrain washed down the steps to hamper their advance. The things were endless, like the dungeon was spawning them every second.

Is that what Otis did? Did he uncap the- 

Her thoughts were broken by a wrenching sensation as her body was nearly thrown off the dragon’s leg. She slammed her hammer into the ground to act as an anchor. I can’t hold on forever!  She glanced at Alex who met her gaze, “Hang in there!” She shouted.

“That’s about all I’m doing!” Alex laughed despite the situation and tried to dig his sharpened fingers into the scales. “Damn thing is so tough! Why is this thing so strong?”

“Ties that bind, comrades, a union of strength.”

The words washed through her entire being. Ollie? I thought he was hiding with Snow. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the thin young man standing there at the top of the steps, his hands outstretched, his entire body shaking. Get inside you idiot! There’s too many! 

He met her gaze and clenched his outstretched hands into fists, bringing them together. A shock ran through her body. She felt something growing on her skin, it itched and felt disgusting but her body felt… harder, tougher, her bones tried to knit together as the cuts and scrapes across her skin started to close beneath thick golden scales. Scales? Then that’s Alex’s regeneration. That means- She whipped her head towards Alex who’s body began to expand, he threw his head back in a terrible rasping hiss as his arms pulled close to his body, he released the dragon’s leg only for a moment before he changed. 

A black scaled horned serpent as wide around as a sedan wrapped its way around the dragon’s leg before slithering up its side and weaving itself around the dragons neck and body, applying even more weight. The dragon struggled, flapping its restored wings but it just couldn’t move. Alex reared his massive head back and lashed out, biting down on the dragons throat and not letting go. She glanced back at Ollie in amazement only to see him go pale and collapse to his knees, sweat beading on his face. He looked stricken. Beneath him, a half dozen dire elves raced up towards him, Alex no longer there to block them.

Shit! We’ve got the dragon held now but- 

A field of illusory static washed down the steps in front of Ollie, causing the dire elves to hesitate as a small figure darted out to help Ollie to his feet. Cass turned her attention back on the dragon that was struggling to dislodge her. She gripped tighter. Get to the wings! I need to get to the wings! She thought, They’re gonna get past that illusion any moment, she thought desperately and pulled down with all her might, dragging the creature to a knee. How long can Val and John hold out? The dragon pulled back, snapping its leg out and throwing its body in a frantic flail to dislodge Alex’s new mass.

It was so strong. It was unfair. It was… purple?

She blinked.

Purple?

With an abruptness that left her breathless the dragon slammed into the ground under a tremendous force. She barely got out from beneath it in time as she staggered back. Wait- Greg?! 

The shriek of a bird of prey ripped through the air behind her at the same time as a golden flash came up from the base of the stairs. Two figures appeared on top of the dragons back simultaneously, both holding swords outstretched in a horizontal slash. Two mighty wings separating from their joints as Otis and Lily cut them clean off. 

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