Chapter 760: Uncertainty Brawl
“Also, they’re walking, talking anomalous warriors that are borderline indestructible and make it a point to laugh in the face of danger in a very a literal sense,” Zhen Liu lightly boasted. “I’m fairly certain they can handle whatever comes their way without my supervision…maybe.”
“Are you saying that to assure me or yourself?”
“Yes.”
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[What’s going on? Why am I simultaneously alerted and relaxed?]
[I don’t know, but it’s making me nervous and calm.]
[Group…up…wait…split…up…?]
Screamira, Frosttusk and Spring Brawler were perplexed as they could simultaneously feel the presence of something that felt like a cat being in the room as them, but at the same time, felt as if there was nobody else in the room.
Well, nobody else except for themselves and the gaggle of people they left unconscious on the floor.
What made the whole matter weirder though, was that they could sense an energy that was remarkably similar to their own, albeit, one that seemed to flicker between existence and non-existence at the same time.
[Hey, we’re the only oddities in reality on this vessel, right?,] Screamira asked.
[Pretty sure, yes,] Spring Brawler replied.
[Then what the fuck is going-]
[Shh…wait…]
Frosttusk motioned to hush both of his younger kaijin counterparts.
The age difference may have been a matter of days or weeks, but Frosttusk had that air to him that screamed, “wise old man”. In other words, when he spoke, the others listened.
[Going…to…try…something…]
*Vooo…*
The sound of a quiet vacuum humming began to fill the room as Frosttusk opened a a pair of his heat absorbing vents that were situated at the lower parts of his torso.
*Voooo…*
[Okay, what is this mammoth do-]
[Wait. Look.]
As time went on, and the vacuum kept whirring on, the room’s temperature began to drop lower and lower to the point that Screamira and Spring Brawler could see a subtle veil of mist beginning to form.
The oceanic route connecting Roaring Tide to Stampeding Bison was rather tropical in nature, meaning that the weather was usually warm and humid to the point of making the skin sticky.
Thanks to Frosttusk’s ability though, the humid air began to rapidly cool and condense until…
[Wait a minute…somebody is here!]
[Where?!]
[Over there!]
Screamira and Spring Brawler could make out the hazy outline of a humanoid figure carefully tiptoeing through the room…at least, what they believed to be the hazy outline of a humanoid figure.
If a normal stealth type aether warrior used their skills in the fog that Frosttusk created, they be exposed immediately due to how much air disturbance their very existence would cause while the faintest trace of aether could also be sensed as long as the kaijin knew what to look for. This figure however was different.
[What the hell?]
[Why am I having so much trouble sensing their presence? They’re walking right in front of me…right?]
As this outlined being proceeded to walk through the fog, the kaijin couldn’t help but notice how the being seemed to not disturb the fog made by Frosttusk in the slightest. It was as if every step the being took, caused it to move outside of reality for a brief moment.
The kaijin didn’t know what to make of this strange ability, but they did know they had to confront it.
On the plus side though, it appeared the being in question didn’t seem to realize that they had been exposed by Frosttusk’s fog, meaning they had the element of surprise on their side.
[Alright, looks like there is only one of these weird intruders, so that means the three of us can just -]
[Two…]
[Huh? Why two?]
[Have…to…maintain…fog…at… reasonable…level…otherwise…could…be…fatal…to…our…hostages…]
[Ah, shit…by that same logic, none of can use any aether arts because there could be collateral. Looks like we’re going to be relying on plain old martial arts then. Screamira, let’s go!]
[Aye!]
Under the assumption they had no time to lose, the two kaijin proceeded to rush at the outlined being in order to land the first blow as quickly as possible. Albeit, they rushed to attack this strange being in ways that were rather counterintuitive to their own fighting instincts.
Spring Brawler would normally stretch out his arms in order it punch his targets at a distance, but even he understood that doing so in such confined place would be trouble if he missed and punched through a wall by mistake. As such, he opted to reach upwards and grabbed a supporting beam on the ceiling instead.
This gave Spring Brawler enough room to simply launch his kicks downward in a manner that he could easily retract them when needed without hitting anything but the floor if he missed.
Under these conditions, Spring Brawler proceeded to send a kick flying towards the outlined humanoid, noticing that there was no way for the humanoid to dodge unless they managed to side step.
Screamira, on the other hand, would’ve normally used one of her aether enhanced screams to start the fight, using it to either disorient or outright knock out the opponent. If they weren’t in the middle of a giant steamship, surrounded by bystanders, they would’ve done exactly that.
Instead, Screamira simply hopped between the unconscious people they had left strewn across the floor and proceeded to swing a wild haymaker at the outlined humanoid, noticing that there was no way for them to dodge it unless they backstepped.
For all intents and purposes, the outlined humanoid was caught between a rock and a hard place as a giant metal foot and an arm made of bone swung at them in a coordinated manner that made it hard for them to dodge without running into the path of either attack.
Which is why the being reacted in a manner that threw both of the kaijin off of their game.
*Clack!*
*Clang!*
[The hell?]
[Did they just block our attacks?!]
Before Screamira’s haymaker could land, the being managed to block it with a raised arm.
Before Spring Brawler ‘s kick could land, the being used her other arm to knock away the foot so that it harmlessly fly pass her head instead.
This was weird to the kaijin, because they had coated their attacks in a thin layer of [Chaos].
It wasn’t enough to outright kill anybody, but it was just enough that it could break through most aether based defenses with little to no issues.
So the fact that the two kaijin could clearly feel that their attacks were being blocked by some strange form of aether was enough to make the two of them a tiny bit worried.
[What the hell kind of-]
[Wait a minute! Look!]
Shortly after both of these attacks made contact and were blocked in the process, the identity of the being soon came into view.
Well, it’d be more accurate to say that their existence finally manifested.
A cat bloodliner woman with black and white fur, suddenly appeared in the kaijin’s field of vision, a surprised look plain on her face.
Evidently, it wasn’t just the kaijin that were shocked at this sudden turn of events.
[What the fuck? It wasn’t a cat I was sensing, but a cat bloodliner?!]
[Who cares?! She’s trying to disappear again!]
[Fuck!]
…
‘What the fuck? How did they see me? How did they touch me?!,’ Yin Yue thought in alarm as she felt her ability abruptly ending.
Over the many years she had used this strange ability of hers, not a single enemy warrior nor ally had ever been able to touch her, let alone notice her existence. So that the fact that there was someone or something out there that could do both had rocked her worldview entirely.
A part her wanted to know who it what these things were exactly, but she knew that it was probably idea to even ask that sort of thing. Especially when those aforementioned beings were gearing up for another attack on her person!
‘Shit!’
Unsure of what else to do, Yin Yue tried to activate her ability again.
Normally she’d only do this when her opponent or target wasn’t paying attention to her, but something in this moment told her to at least try to use her bloodline ability.
Rather, she had the feeling if she used a normal defensive aether art, she’d be screwed.
‘I can’t fight these guys, I just need to find my partner and bail!’
With this goal in mind, Yin Yue’s existence became uncertain, once more…
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“Besides, if anything was to go wrong, Nepherage and Jin Fang can handle it. One’s the responsible leader type and the other…well, she is remarkably handy in clandestine situations.”
“Yeah, why is that? She says she’s your maid/childhood/lover, and that’s it. But she gives off the vibe that she is…more dangerous than that.”
“Don’t know, never asked, and I’m afraid to.”
“Afraid to?”
“She’s the one who taught me how to fake a crime scene.”
“Oh. That’s not too-”
“And how to hide a body.”
“What the fuck?”
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“Why do I feel like someone is talking smack behind my back?”
“It’s probably nothing, milady.”
