BAB3 -Chapter 35

# Chapter 35: Bond of the Wild

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Fighting against a tide of hovercraft rushing toward the Blood Moon, Lexi and Kimi weaved through the air on their way back to the city.

Just as they reached the outskirts, Lexi’s mom sent her a message—she had already picked up the others, but urged them to come to the bunker anyway.

Something strange was happening in the city.

Lexi quickly set the autopilot to trace the edge of the city, where the traffic thinned out.

Even so, they could see flashes of chaos below. There were people brawling in the streets and Awakened using techniques with reckless abandon.

“What is this?” Kimi asked, her eyes narrowed as she watched a man launch a bolt of energy into a crowd. “It’s as if they’ve lost their minds.”

“No idea,” Lexi muttered, gripping her Cerulean Long Bow tighter. “Let’s see what my mom’s found out.”

As they neared the bunker, Lexi immediately spotted her mom’s handiwork down below.

A coordinated fleet of silver and blue humanoid robots was guiding civilians toward the main emergency shelters. Each bot formed protective barriers against stray attacks.

Lexi’s Auralis veered toward the concealed vacant lot and vanished from view. The ground split open, revealing the landing deck beneath a thick mana barrier.

The hovercraft descended smoothly, settling beside LuLu.

Beyond the ballistic glass door stood Talulah, furiously chewing on jerky, while her platinum hair was even more chaotic than usual.

If Lexi hadn’t already guessed things were bad, the sight of her mom stress-eating was confirmation enough.

She and Kimi jumped out of the Auralis and rushed inside.

“Alexis!” Talulah called, throwing her arms around Lexi in a tight hug, with her mouth full of meat.

After a quick squeeze, she led them down to her operations room, where the others were gathered.

“Greetings, Ms. Sable,” Kimi said politely as they walked.

“Oh, call me Talulah,” she smiled, somehow still chewing. “Lovely to meet you, Kimiko. I just wish it were under better circumstances.”

Inside the operations room, Lexi gave Aunt Gwen a quick hug while Kimi went to check on Amy and a very confused-looking Bethany.

“I’m glad you’re all okay,” Lexi said, scanning the room. “What the hell is going on?”

Talulah nodded and gestured into the air.

A detailed 3D map of the city appeared, hovering in the center of the room. Glowing miniatures of people moved through the streets, some fighting, others fleeing.

“I’ve uncovered a lot,” Talulah began. “Moments after the Blood Moon alarms triggered, a city-wide radio pulse went out. That’s when the attacks started—closest to the source and spreading outward.”

“The pulse originated away from large sect headquarters and major Awakened estates,” Remington added, leaning closer to the map. “It was timed to cause chaos only moments after defenders left the city.”

“Exactly,” Talulah pointed at him. “It only affected a specific subset—some non-Awakened citizens and lower-tiered Awakened with C-Rank Sphere Skills or below. All off-network.”

“Off the GRID Mesh?” Lexi asked.

Talulah nodded, then flicked her fingers to filter the display, isolating the attackers. “They’re using Framework tech.”

“Morwen Industries,” Aunt Gwen said, her voice harsh. “I knew nothing good could ever come of Anton taking over.”

“Anton’s in charge?” Lexi blinked in confusion. “How? He’s an idiot.”

“That’s its own rabbit hole,” Talulah cut in. “One, I’ve already fed information to the A.S.I.U. about. Not that it’s doing much—several of them are compromised currently.”

“Anyway,” she continued, “I think the pulse activated something in their NeuroSync implants. It spikes aggression and issues a directive.”

“A directive to do what?” Kimi asked.

Talulah zoomed into the city center. A massive crowd was funneling into the Morwen Building.

“They’re collecting people?” Amy asked, baffled.

High up on the model, several glowing miniatures suddenly blinked out.

“No,” Kimi whispered. “They’re harvesting them.”

Lexi clenched her fists. “This is disgusting. And Anton’s too dumb to plan this on his own.”

Bethany mumbled something across the room. Everyone turned to look. She froze.

“You know something?” Lexi asked gently.

“Alan,” Bethany said louder. “He was smart.. and cruel..” Her voice wavered.

Kimi nodded slowly. “Makes sense. With the Big 5 and elite sects tied up in the Blood Moon, Anton and Alan made a move for the city, sacrificing civilians to grow stronger before the defenders return.”

She stood, gripping her Scarlet Katana. “They must be stopped.”

Lexi rose beside her. “Let’s go take down a wannabe super villain.”

“I’ve wanted to have words with him ever since the Cosmos Dungeon Encroachment,” Kimi said with a snarl.

“Be safe, dears,” Aunt Gwen called.

“Take LuLu,” Talulah added.

Lexi and Kimi left for the Morwen Building after that—riding inside the chest cavity of a giant silver, pink, and blue robot.

***

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Barney was not having a good time.

The second wave hit like a goddamn avalanche, uglier, nastier, and harder to kill.

He’d had a chance to walk after the first wave bosses dropped. He really should’ve kicked back and let the heavy-hitters take care of things.

Wasn’t like he’d get any essence until the whole thing was over anyway.

But he stayed in the thick of it.

That kid was still out here, smashing through monsters with his freaking portable railgun, and Barney wasn’t about to look like a coward after needing a rescue.

Now he was hip-deep in monsters again, his stamina tapped, mana low, and a fresh wave of freaks sprinting his way.

Maybe fifteen minutes after the first wave went down, the smaller bastards started spawning again.

But soon after, four new types showed up—and Barney’s gut dropped like a goddamn stone.

The first were walking tanks. Big, ugly sons of bitches in black iron plates, stomping through Awakened like cardboard.

Didn’t dodge, didn’t block—just kept coming. You could blast them all day, and they’d keep marching, mad as hell you even tried.

**Taowu Thorin (S-Rank) Lv 40**: *Massive, armored juggernauts that crush anything between them and what they desire. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

Barney was leaving all of those for the blood suckers. The Bathory Group had took up shop in his quadrant. They were creepy as all hell—too pale, too pretty, too angular in the face.

But watching a giant mallet made of blood crash into one of those Thorin, he couldn’t deny that they were tough.

Then there were the tall, silent ghosties. Weirdo bastards in long black robes, bone-white masks like they were headed to some fancy murder party.

Didn’t make a damn sound.

You’d just be minding your business when your worst thoughts started whispering like they were crawling in through your skull. Guilt, shame, rage—whatever cracked your armor, they knew it.

**Taowu Horror (S-Rank) Lv 40**: *Silent, masked giants that reflect a victim’s darkest urges before striking without warning. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

Barney didn’t have too much trouble with those masked freaks, though. His darkest urges were already out on this battlefield.

They tried their whispery head games, but he just grunted through it and swung his mace harder.

They were glass cannons, and he was built for brawling.

Next were the twitchy little freaks that scuttled and screamed with voices that you knew. Moms, cousins, friends—whatever would make you hesitate, they used.

**Taowu Wretch (S-Rank) Lv 40**: *Twisted, twitching fiends that scream with stolen voices while clawing through steel and bone. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

Barney hated them the most. He made sure they got a few extra smashes from his dear Old Faithful.

His mace lit up with a smoky brown glow, and the spikes extended a full foot before impaling a Horror trying to creep up on his side.

He spat, then popped his last Mana Pill without breaking stride.

Finally, there were the spidery-limbed, scythe-armed psychos—jittery bastards with too many joints and not enough sense.

They skittered like broken puppets, making an awful chittering sound that crawled right down your spine.

**Taowu Harnoq (S-Rank) Lv 40**: *Barbed-limbed brutes that shred and disembowel with their razor-like forearms. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

Barney popped his last Restoration Pill and activated *Heavy Blow*, slamming his mace down hard, crushing three Wretches at once.

Panting as he glanced around at the unending tide, Barney knew one thing for damn sure—he was getting the hell off this battlefield.

*Screw that crazy kid and his goddamn dragon-thing.*

Barney had done his part.

***

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Eight figures floated in the sky high above the battlefield, with a clear vantage point of the battle below. Despite the warzone beneath them, they held a calm discussion.

The four heads of the Big 5 in attendance had gathered, each flanked by their co-heads or second-in-command.

Head of the Arges Group, Lucian Arges, broke the silence. “Diamond is missing,” he said, his voice rough as sandpaper.

Astrid Lapis, head of the Lapis Group, responded with a delicate shrug and a voice like tinkling bells. “We should count our blessings.”

Elizabeth Bathory, the slender, gothic head of the Bathory Group, tilted her head slightly. “While his methods may be unsavory, his duty to help protect the city remains,” she said with a posh tone.

“If I may,” Emanuel Vermilion cut in, “we have it on good authority that Virgil Diamond and his retinue left the city a day ago, and have yet to return.”

Ilona Bathory, Bathory Group second-in-command, narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been tracking him? For what reason?”

“It has come to my attention that he has an unhealthy interest in one of my students,” Emanuel answered nonchalantly. We’ve simply been ensuring that he doesn’t do anything regrettable.”

Astrid glanced down. “The boy down there tossing around psionic techniques?” she asked, a chuckle bubbling up in her throat. “I bet he was quite upset to learn of him.”

“None of that matters,” Lucian interrupted stiffly. “Where is Diamond now, and will he be returning soon?”

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that,” Emanuel said. “I didn’t have anyone follow him into the Wilds. There was no reason.”

“Do you think he knew this was coming?” Vesper Lapis, Co-Head of the Lapis Group, asked, her brow raised.

“Doubtful,” Obadiah Vermilion answered. “From what I know of Virgil Diamond, he is many things, but a coward is not one of them.”

“Suspicious,” Elizabeth added, “but as long as everyone here picks up the slack, it will not matter in the end.”

“Agreed,” Obadiah said with finality.

“Before we conclude,” Florin Arges began, “I would like to discuss what we’ve all learned about the plot currently unfolding within the city.”

***

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Xay spotted Vice Headmistress Blake, Shifu Wu, Instructor Grant, and a few other Cosmos Academy staff entering the fray near Chad and Rox.

Vice Headmistress Blake tapped a crystalline staff to the ground, summoning hundreds of glass golems that charged in alongside Chad’s mana beasts.

Light, crystal shards, lightning, frost, and lava spewed forward, melting carapaces and shriveling husks by the dozen.

Rox launched into another cyclone, while Shifu Wu followed close behind with Heavenly Phoenix Style, talismans of wind, metal, and lightning swirling around her like a storm.

Nothing survived long in their wake. The two of them moved like dual hurricanes, far enough apart to not clash, but close enough to feed off each other’s speed and ferocity.

Xay couldn’t even tell what Instructor Grant was doing. He moved like a greased shadow, and every monster in his wake simply fell apart.

The second wave monsters had hit hard, but powerful Awakened were holding the line.

Xay moved to join them. He descended near Tyra, and her face lit up the moment she saw him.

“Are you gonna do the thing?” she asked, practically bouncing with excitement.

“Yeah,” he grinned. “Let’s.”

They had been so busy, so caught up in everything else, that this was actually going to be their very first time.

Xay pulled Tyra in by the small of her back and kissed her deeply.

A vortex of teal wind, rain, and lightning whirled around them.

Tyra radiated a blinding light that shifted through every shade of teal, beginning with the deepest black and cycling to the brightest white.

***Activate Sphere Skill** - Arsenal Forge?*

Xay activated his skill, and Tyra moaned softly, shuddering as the glowing lights around her coalesced.

He reached out and drew an eight-foot translucent staff from her chest.

The black center hummed with a tingling sensation, while the shaft swirled through shades of teal and aquamarine like storm-tossed glass.

**Arsenal Weapon Fighting Style Detected: Golden Monkey Style Kung Fu.**

***Golden Monkey Style Kung Fu** - A wild, acrobatic, and unpredictable form of martial arts that mimics the playful movements of monkeys.*

**Arsenal Weapon Ability Detected: Flash Frenzy.**

***Flash Frenzy** - Unleash arcs of chain lightning with every strike.*

Teal lightning raced along the length of the staff. Xay swiped it downward, and cords of lightning leapt off, sizzling one monster before arcing to several others nearby.

“It’s so pretty,” Tyra squealed, practically vibrating in place.

“Yeah,” Xay said, popping his neck. “Let’s see what it can do.”

He activated *Elemental Force Ward*, *Martial Burst Engine*, and *Psychic Blink* all at once. In a flash, he reappeared in the middle of the battlefield, and got to work.

Xay became a storm.

Striking with Southern Dragon Style and evading with Golden Monkey Style, he smashed heads, chests, and legs with mounting speed and escalating force.

Teal lightning cracked from his staff with every impact, stunning the monsters behind his target and allowing his stacks to build even faster.

He blurred through forms, each blow accompanied by a concussive burst of force.

Spinning low, he swept the legs out from under a hulking brute, vaulted into the air, and brought the staff down in a flash of electric judgment.

Found lacking, the monster detonated into ash and shredded bone.

A pack of smaller, skittering creatures surged at him from behind, but Xay whipped the staff around with *Supreme Psychokinesis*, unleashing Psi Lightning in tandem and dropping the entire line.

His Jetnir Orbs swarmed in wide circles, wreathed in silver-white flame. They drilled through everything they touched.

Twisting low, Xay surged forward with a crack of thunder, ramming the staff through the chest of one of those warped, belly-mouthed things.

It convulsed, mouth stretching unnaturally wide before erupting in a fountain of gore that sizzled harmlessly against his *Elemental Force Ward*.

He didn’t stop. Every movement fed into his rhythm—strike, vault, spin, kick, release, burn. The battlefield around him became a theater of light and ruin.

Xay tore through the horde, his fourth cognitive thread locked on *Dao Meditation*.

His speed and strength kept climbing—until it became too much. It felt like he’d chugged multiple energy drinks, adrenaline, and raw lightning.

He was shattering monsters on contact, but his body was slipping out of his control.

Still, like Rox, he had his own method of breaking momentum.

Teleporting a few feet into the air, Xay took the deepest breath of his life. Cycling his mana and spiraling his vital energy, he opened his mouth and roared.

His aura surged, forming the ten-foot visage of a dragon’s maw as *Roar of the Dragon God* exploded outward.

A visceral sonic shockwave ripped across the battlefield, carving a deep furrow in the ground.

Every monster within a hundred feet ahead either died instantly or recoiled in primal, instinctual terror.

“Hot damn, Pretty Boy!”

Xay thought he might’ve heard Auntie Leah shouting, but he ignored it.

As more twisted monsters poured into the space he’d just cleared, new notifications overlaid his vision.

**Threshold Reached. Bloodline Talent Unlocked: Arsenal Weapon Limit Break.**

**Arsenal Weapon Limit Break Ability Detected: Primal Titan.**

***Primal Titan** - Summon a titanic avatar of nature’s primal forces. Temporarily consumes Arsenal Weapon. 3-day cooldown.*

“Huh.” Xay paused for a second.

That was very different from his other Limit Breaks.

He glanced back at Tyra, who was watching him intently. She could feel the Limit Break unlock.

Shrugging, Xay popped a Mana Pill and activated the ability.

The Aquamarine Staff in his hand dissolved into swirling mist that immediately sank into the ground.

The terrain ahead shuddered, heaved, then erupted. A geyser of dirt shot into the air, and a dark cloud began to form overhead.

Harsh winds kicked up, spinning around the plume of dirt and forming a massive ball.

Trees, grass, and loam from the surrounding forest were pulled in as torrential rain and jagged bolts of lightning hammered down upon the swirling mass.

The ball of nature twisted and elongated. Four legs formed, then a tail, then a long, deer-like head crowned with enormous antlers.

The Titan landed, shaking the battlefield with its sheer presence. Howling winds shaped themselves into wide, owl-like wings on its back, and teal lightning crackled through its massive antlers.

It stood at least fifty feet tall, with a wingspan twice that. The antlers were nearly as large, branching into sixty jagged points.

Its entire body was forged from shifting dirt, swirling water, and raging winds.

The Titan opened its mouth and let loose a bellow that sounded like a fusion of crashing waves, distant thunder, and grinding landslides.

Every monster nearby was flattened into pulp.

Then it lowered its head. Teal lightning thickened across its antlers and blasted outward, vaporizing hundreds of monsters in a single pulse.

It stepped forward, and the world seemed to part around it. Nature flowed through the Titan as if it were one with it.

No monster was granted the same mercy.

“Holy shit,” Xay was stunned. “Big-massive wild animal.”

Tyra cackled like a mad woman as she shot through the air, landing on the Titan’s back. Willow wasn’t far behind.

Tyra ran up its spine, hugging close to its neck before screaming, “Kill them all!”

The Titan complied gleefully.

It charged forward, tearing through the enemy spawns like the literal natural disaster that it was.

Xay heard cheers rising behind him as he watched Tyra and the Titan rampage across the field.

“Lexi’s absolutely gonna lose it when she hears about this,” he laughed, shaking his head.