Chapter 99: Waves

“The main antenna is broken beyond repair. A pterodactyl ate it along with its mana cores,” the mechanic said.

“Can’t we use the emergency comm as a main antenna?” Lexus asked.

“No. The data transmission isn’t sufficient, and its mana efficiency is abysmal. We can transmit calls for only 20 to 30 minutes at most. We need to wait for a replacement.”

“It would take at least a day for a small plane to heli-drop the equipment,” Lexus replied.

“And we’re not the only ones experiencing this. These monsters have seriously upped their attack patterns. They’re no longer just brainless beasts,” the official complained.

“...” I clenched my fists. The report was finished, but I couldn’t send it. So frustrating.

I walked away silently from the conversation. Now that the oil rig was safe, the exiles had no choice but to live on Lexus’ yacht. Unlike the speedboat, the yacht was three or four times larger. They could theoretically live there for the rest of their lives—but with their current attitude, that was impossible.

As the wind blew, the sound of metal creaking echoed around me. Buzzing from metal welders rang in the distance as mechanics worked to repair the damaged oil rig.

“There are only 30 people at most on each oil rig. But now the Anathema are actively targeting them?” I asked Felicia. “Why aren’t they targeting sanctuary cities anymore?”

“Yes. This new behavior is quite an enigma. It didn’t happen in Umbra. There, the Anathema forced their way into sanctuary cities—either by land or through direct usurpation.”

As I gazed out to sea, savoring the lonely breeze so rare in sanctuary cities, I sensed a fluctuation in the distance. Space distorted, and dark mana seeped out. I stared, dazed, at the phenomenon until Felicia stirred. Her fur bristled as she spoke through our telepathic link. Her words carried urgency, as if she were screaming for all to know the danger looming over us.

“Emergency! An usurpation rift has been detected! All Guardians, move out!”

“Huh?” I blinked before realization hit me.

“That’s an usurpation rift. Gear up, Lily. A second wave is coming. Without RED, it would take mere moments for Anathema to pour out from that rift.”

The rift manifested—like a black hole, darkness formed and expanded. From it, various creatures emerged. So fast—it manifested and summoned Anathema in under a minute. Apart from pterodactyls and balloons, black octopuses oozed out of the rift. They clung to it—then another followed, and another—forming a bridge to the platform. I summoned my clones: two melee, two ranged.

Gunfire, magic, and Anathema roars shattered the serene sea. Yellow Bee and Freya darted out from the oil rig.

“AAH!! Another attack! Start the engine! Run!”

“Get back to the rig, you idiots! Where do you even think you’re running to?”

“Start the engine! We have to run while the Guardians at the rig hold them off!”

The exiles panicked. In their recklessness, they started the engine, untied the boat, and fled. One tried to stop them, thinking the rig was safer since there were guardians inside, but they didn’t listen. I had no time to care for them—more Anathema kept pouring from the rift.

“Father!” Freya jumped from the platform, but she missed the boat. Despite being A-rank and surviving the fall from the platform to the pier, Freya couldn’t catch up to the boat—it was already a hundred meters away.

“Idiot! The oil rig first! There are 20 people here!” Yellow Bee shouted. “There might be another one of those demons!”

Right on cue, more of them emerged. Ten this time.

“Fuck, Freya! Get back here! The oil rig might get destroyed! Everyone, get to the shelter just in case!”

After the ten demons, another one appeared. Its build was similar, but the ornate armor, the cloak flowing behind, the white-striped accents, and a single horn on its forehead—everything told me this one was a rank higher.

“Felicia?”

“Whatever you do, don’t face that demon alone. Even if you use your signature,” Felicia said.

“Okay.” I nodded. Unlike in New Mesa, I had no intention of sacrificing my life here. This oil rig wasn’t my home, and there were barely thirty people whom I didn’t know.

“Lily! I need the speedboat! My father is outside alone!”

I hesitated, but still sent a clone over to give her the boat. But the clone used the elevator. Unlike Freya, my clone wouldn’t survive the fall from the oil rig to the dock below. She had half the stats I had.

Freya was an A-rank, but that demon seemed to be of equal rank. She might win, but I doubted she could protect the oil rig while fighting him. In the worst-case scenario, I could teleport to the speedboat and save both myself and Freya.

The higher demon looked toward the fleeing yacht just as my clone summoned it. The noise from the yacht engine attracted his attention. As if doing me a favor, the demon formed a black orb and hurled it at the yacht.

“No!!!!”

The yacht exploded in a fiery blaze.

“Papa!!” Freya screamed at the inferno. Her cries were ignored, as we were too busy dealing with the approaching pterodactyls and the advancing demons.

“Freya! Get over here! I can’t handle these guys alone!”

Freya looked back at the platform. Abandoning all grace, she leapt onto the elevator steel supports, jumping from one to another until she reached the platform in seconds.

“Should I use my signature?”

“Please remember: once you use it, you won’t be able to again for two hours. The choice is yours. If you can coordinate with Freya and Yellow Bee, you might defeat them.”

“I understand. All for one and one for all!”

I summoned twelve clones and activated my signature, empowering all of them.

The demons landed on the platform.

“Rule of Five! Sting like a bee!” Yellow Bee’s body glowed, motes of white light emanating from his fists. He darted toward one demon, his figure flashing as his jab pierced through a demon knight. He flashed again and took down another the same way.

I gaped. It took him over two minutes to defeat a demon knight earlier—now he only needed seconds? Did he use his signature?

He killed another , and then another. After four demon knights, he pulled back. The white motes of light disappeared.

“Yellow Bee’s signature skill seems to be a hyper buff with a brief window. Either he only gets five strikes, or it only lasts five seconds,” Felicia analyzed.

I had no time to dawdle. “Three girls each!”

There was no reply, but I knew they understood. Hoping Yellow Bee could finish the two knights while I occupied the other four, we launched our assault. Meanwhile, Freya fired a lightning bolt at the demon leader. He drew his greatsword, and the bolt slammed into it—completely ineffective.

The demon roared. With black orbs of magic swirling around him, he charged. Freya readied her staff. Another bolt formed as she rushed to meet him head-on.

“Die!”

Despite being a ranged fighter, Freya parried the greatsword with her staff. Her rank wasn’t just for show—there was barely any difference in their strength.

I turned my attention to my own predicament. I was merely a Rank D Guardian. Felicia said these knights were at least upper Rank C, so I should be able to manage them with my signature—but there were four of them.

“Tie them!”

“Shoot it!”

“I’ll hold one of them!”

My clones barked order after order. I let Felicia manage them as I faced the knight in front of me, flanked by a shotgun clone and a harpoon clone.

I swung my naginata—a light strike, just to test the waters. As expected, the knight held firm. His buckler deflected the blow with ease.

Don’t rush. We’re all here. My job is to buy time.

The knight lunged, swinging his sword downward. I parried the strike—it was heavy. I was pushed back, but I regained my stance and countered.

“Hold him! I’m going to tie him up!”

“I’m going to shoot his face.”

A clone leaped and fired point-blank at the demon’s head. The shotgun roared, the bullet slamming into the knight’s helmet and leaving a dent.

My stats weren’t enough to kill him in one shot, even at that range. All it did was dent his armor. I need stronger bullets.

The knight lunged again, but my other clone wasn’t idle. Harpoon in hand, she aimed at his leg—tripping him.

When he fell, I knew it was my chance. I swung down with all my strength. The knight parried with his blade, holding me off. My shotgun clone then unloaded her entire magazine into his face when his hand was occupied. This time, black blood spurted out—she had aimed for the opening in his helmet.

With one eye gone, the demon scrambled. That gave the harpoon wire time to entangle him further. I kept bashing him with my naginata while the clone reloaded her shotgun.

“He’s not dead! So tough!” I could hear my clones fighting nearby—they echoed my thoughts. Only his legs were bound; his arms were still free.

My harpoon clone dropped her weapon and leaped onto his sword arm, using her body to pin it down. With the dangerous blade restrained, the demon knight was helpless.

“Harpoon clone! I sense mana!”

Black orbs surrounded the demon knight. He might have been blind, but with my clone latched onto his arm, he knew where to strike.

Explosion after explosion rocked the platform. The oil rig was in tatters as the battle raged on. Freya and the demon leader exchanged powerful blows—each stray attack tearing parts of the rig apart in a fiery blast.

The pinned-down knight shot himself with magic and fired orbs haphazardly around him, escalating the damage. I felt phantom pain across my body—clones. Not one, but several clones had died as the demon launched his reckless attack. It was not only this clone that thought of the martial art jiujitsu pinning technique. Other clones tried it too with other demons.

That assault allowed the demon to free himself. His helmet and armor were in tatters.

“Just die already!” my shotgun clone yelled, unloading her magazine into his face for the second time. The ruined helmet broke off the demon, revealing a grotesque face—red flesh and fangs protruding from his mouth. The mouth opened like that of a lamprey, revealing more serrated teeth inside.

“Hah!” I swung my naginata. The reckless blast had weakened him. His attention was on my shotgun clone. This was my chance.
My strike cleaved his exposed head. His eyes glared at my shotgun clone, filled with hatred—until they dimmed as life left his body.

I looked around. The battle had reached its conclusion. Of the four demons, we had beaten three. I was about to engage the last one with my remaining clones when his head exploded—Yellow Bee rushed over, ending his life.

The sound of shattering glass drew our attention. A sword had pierced Freya’s stomach. My heart skipped a beat. She lost? An A-rank Guardian lost?

“Freya!” Yellow Bee rushed over as the demon leader smirked. Thinking that now that Freya had been defeated, the rest should be easy—or so he thought.

“I’m not dead yet, stupid,” Freya growled, gripping his hand. Her staff glowed brightly. White motes of light gathered at its tip, forming an orb of pure mana.

“Die, monster.”

The higher demon’s smirk vanished. His eyes widened in surprise at Freya’s resolve. He tried to pull away, but Freya’s other hand held him firm. The orb pointed at him. A blinding flash erupted. The roar of cannons deafened me.

When the dust settled, part of the oil rig had vanished—along with the higher demon. Freya lay on the floor, groaning as blood seeped out from her pink dress.

“Vials, vials. Don’t waste any,” a clone said as she manifested and collected essence from the corpses. She couldn’t read the mood.

“Felicia, did you give her permission?”

“The battle has concluded. The rift has closed, and all high-ranking anathema have been slain. There is no reason not to collect the essence.”

What an efficient cat. And a heartless one, too. Leaving my clones to their devices, I went to Freya with Yellow Bee.