The Great Era: Beginnings
Chapter 20

Nasition looked at Avalel from the displays of his battle headquarters. He can’t help but feel there was something wrong with him. Such calmness and composure in danger. Looking at the room below, filled with his soldiers controlling the drones, he smiled. There was no way Avalel can cut through the lines of his army, even if he were to show his full combat prowess. Confident of his power, he turned back to his crew and rested, fully sure of his victory and end for his enemy.

Avalel felt a surge of energy coursing through him, the feeling exactly the same when he had healed Kavlina. His vision began to alter, as gradually, he could see through the endless lines of drones and the mechanics of the machines itself. He found himself being slowly encased with plated armor covering his entire body. Now that he thought the transformation was complete, he tried to replace the Anapadeia, but it had simply vanished. Looking around, he found a figure that was equally horrifying and majestic.

The figure was also wearing armor with pale blue streaks coursing down it, but where there should be limbs, there were none. The arms from the elbow down had been replaced with two sharp blades with a bluish glow. The legs, however, had simply turned into two blades detached from the body. Four wings sprouted from the figure’s back, almost covering its entire body. The helmet’s crest was a dark blood red, and the silvery armor now shined from the reflection of the light.

The figure turned to Avalel. “Lel, what the Elyfesta are you?” They both gasped spontaneously. Avalel not only realized this was Kavlina, but that he was almost identical to her too. The only difference lay in the fact Avalel found the Arachma embedded in his chest, and that several dozen blades now hovered above him.

The prime form of a wielder of the Anapadeia has now been revealed to you, the voice spoke, the Anapadeia is now fused with you. The Anapadeia is you, and you are the Anapadeia. Your friend is also fused with it, so she will know what we’re talking about. Now fight with the power inside you, and unleash your potential to your enemies!

Avalel was simply flabbergasted. This is the Spirit form? The form never seen after Elethien? Wait… Elethien?

Yes. You finally know now, boy. This is your ancestor, the mother of all Achien monarchs, Elethien. Now go battle them and reclaim your rightful throne!

Avalel barely contained his smile. “You heard that, Kavlina?”

“You mean kill all of them, the sovereign command by none other than Elethien herself? Yes, I heard that.”

The ground rumbled. The Achien army had begun charging towards them now. The plasma cannon fired, the ball of plasma speeding towards their location.

“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” They both charged, the hail of blades raining on the drones.

Avalel brought his arm, which now was a blade, to the ball of plasma. A beam of energy shot out from the blade and shattered the ball into many smaller balls of plasma, harmlessly hitting the ground. Kavlina stabbed her blade into a drone and found it extending to further puncture several more. Realizing the situation, she spun herself, knocking down several dozen drones and decapitating them with the blades that were her legs.

“How about some training exercises?”

They both then sped up, zigzagging between the drones, landing soft blows on their necks, until both of them stabbed the ground with all their strength. Cracks emerged from the ground, and suddenly, explosions. Fire erupted from the ground and splotches of molten rock struck the drones, rendering them immobile. Soon, at least a few hundred of them collapsed, a heap of melted trash metal at Avalel and Kavlina’s feet.

Back in the headquarters, Nasition was furious. The 2,000 infantry that was supposed to be the spearhead were being cut down at a rate so rapid that now, the remaining drones cannot even form a 3-line ring around the plasma cannon. The defeated soldiers now rushed to another room, preparing to launch reinforcements straight from the capital.

“Fire the main cannon at 200% rate!” He barked at his subordinates, the crew of his moving fort.

“In all due respect, our great Common Leader, the fort would eventually burn itself and cause major malfunctions if we were to allow this. Plus, the particle accelerators cannot power up so fast without extra energy sources to fuel it,” a crew member reported.

“I don’t care if you seriously damage the fort! I only want you to fire as fast as you can to these little brats!”

“Yes, sire,” they all mumbled as they quickly got to work.

“If you lose this battle, I will make sure to have all of you executed!” Nasition then shouted to the loudspeaker, “All armored and available reinforcement divisions, prepare for combat!”

Avalel was having the time of his life. He had never felt such satisfaction in cutting down the drones, and he felt he was always yearning for more. They were now narrowing the distance between them and the fort, and they had finally cut down their first artillery unit.

A siren, and the drones fled from Avalel and Kavlina. Avalel tried to pursue them, but realized he and Kavlina had now made a mistake. In the short time of battle, the artillery batteries, the plasma cannon, and the fort had steadily retreated, luring them in. Now, they were completely surrounded by the army, and projectiles including bombs and missiles began to drop down from the planes above.

Looking above, Avalel saw several fighter squadrons diving down, their guns fixed on the trapped pair. That’s it! He began planning a route, imagining himself jumping on every fighter. Nasition was smart, but he had underestimated Avalel’s skill in combat.

A voice came into his head. You want me to go up or you? The voice was distinctly Kavlina’s, and when Avalel turned in surprise to her, her mouth went up in a slight curve.

Telepathy?

Kavlina nodded. Do you want to go up or not? I know your plan.

Yes. Avalel pushed his “legs” to the ground and darted up to the nearest fighter. Crouched low on the fighter, he raised his hand up as thousands of tiny blades the size of a needle exited his body, surrounding him like a swarm of wasps. At the slightest movement of his hand, the blades punctured the metal of the fighter, and Avalel jumped to the next, the blades following him after their kill. In mere seconds, Avalel had decimated the attacking squadron with the little blades, his path marked by a clear trail of light. Now, he dived towards the plasma cannon, the blades now extending his arm into a lance.

Meanwhile, Kavlina made a drive towards the plasma cannon. Although she cannot compare with speed in relation to Avalel, she was much more agile and flexible. With the Anapadeia’s powers in her, she effortlessly dodged every bullet, every photon beam, every strike that her enemies attempted to inflict on her. Her legs now blades, she spun like a vicious hurricane, cutting down any who even dared to come near her. When enemies converged on all sides, she simply evaded their attacks and decapitated them without them having a slightest idea where the attack came from.

As more and more of his soldiers are shocked in defeat, their motions paused, Nasition can’t help but feel horrified at the monsters he was facing. The reinforcements still haven’t arrived, but he was already sustaining heavy losses. Looking at the displays, he was dismayed at how many had suddenly lost their signal, indicating their defeat. The advanced equipment had already estimated their next moves, but when they had finally finished their estimation, the two had already cut through that path. The main gun cannot even get a clear view to fire, and the plasma cannons are just there, stationary with no idea where to fire.

Just then, a crew member came to Nasition. “Sire, I got somethi… ”

“Don’t you see I’m busy here? Get back to your station!” Nasition barked.

“Sire, what I was trying to say was th… ”

“Get out!”

“We could fire at the settlement if we cannot aim for the two rebels.” the person said.

Nasition paused. “What do you mean?”

“We know the two have great unprecedented speeds for mere mortals… ”

“Not unprecedented, but carry on.”

“So if we fire our artillery and plasma cannons on the settlement instead of the two, not only will we not waste fuel and resources, we can divert their attention to the settlement. Once they’re distracted, they will rush to attempt to block the blasts. All we have to do is to fire all our guns, aiming at the end of the blasts’ trajectories.”

Nasition clapped. “That is a great idea! You, my good fellow, are a genius! I apologize for being disrespectful of you earlier. Now go back to your station and I will issue the orders.”

“Thank you, great Common Leader,” the person replied. Nasition immediately went to the loudspeaker. “All units, aim at the Thillish settlement!”

The Achien army began to turn their attention away from Avalel and Kavlina. With the reinforcements finally arriving, their guns all aimed at the mostly destroyed Thillish settlement. Looking at the displays and saw that the army was ready, Nasition gave his orders. “Fire at will!”