Interstellar: Exploring The Cosmos With My Anomaly System
Chapter 56: Folded steel

Chapter 56: Folded steel

"You want to know about modern warfare?" Celi pondered, looking at a determined Vagnis that stood before her. They were in the fields as always, working on the next big thing. The Ironmill shooting fumes into the sky as it devoured iron in its raging flames.

"That’s right," He nodded firmly, his gaze somewhat downcast as he spoke. "I’m interested, in the weapons of the people that humans use,"

"Ramen, The ironmill, the Pickaxe and more," He looked up, his face filled with a fierce determination, his brow furrowed over his gaze as he declared. "I want to know, I want to see it all for myself!"

There was a soft silence between them, the neowolf staring at him almost mechanically as she processed his words.

"We’re way too far behind to create such technology," Celi said bluntly, the words like a weight on Vagnis’s shoulders. His hands turned soft fists to let out his disappointment.

"Understood..." He muttered, turning to leave.

"However...there is something we can create. A weapon that has been created long before humanity’s venture into space." Celi spoke, the craftsman stopping in his tracks the minute she said it, he let out a shaky breath of relief, turning to look into the wolf’s hazy mechanical gaze.

"A blade crafted by the land of the rising sun, folded over and over until it met with perfection, a weapon that needs swiftness and precision..." She continued,

"Are you willing to settle with that?" Celi tilted her head to the side, as if judging his reaction, Vagnis grinned, his heart skipping a beat with excitement.

"Of course!"

_______________________________________________________________________

"It’s over!" Belk screamed, his blade twisting to cut at her neck. Freya gritted her teeth and spun her staff as fast as she could, the iron slamming against the curved blade, causing his blow to go off course.

The scientist landed by Vagnis, the craftsman cradling his now dislocated arm. Freya scoffed at their attempts to beat her.

"Vagnis..." Belk muttered, the Craftsman nodding before grabbing onto his dislocated joint, he gritted his teeth as hard as he could as he tried to pop it back in, bone crazed against the joint, his teeth pressed hard enough to crush diamonds as he finally put it back into place.

The boy panted as he stood up, the pain causing cold sweat to form on his brow as he gripped his blade once more.

"I’m good," He panted, already going ahead of him, his sudden movements catching Belk off guard.

"Hey I wasn’t ready!" the scientist snapped, chasing after Vagnis. Freya smiled as she struck at them, sending her staff down in an arc only for Vagnis to turn on his heel, taking a sharp turn and avoiding the attack entirely.

Belk tried to push further, striking with his blade only to be blocked, by the end of her weapon. The scientist received a devastating blow from her heel in his gut. He was sent back, the boy spinning on himself mid air before landing on his feet.

Freya’s eyes snapped behind her, Vagnis already arching his blade to hit her from behind. Her staff slam against his hand causing him to let go. He breathed sharply at the sudden blow. His katana skidded across the field.

She went in for another, firming her gasps to deliver a blow to his skull, hesitating to the sound of Belk’s footsteps, stepping out of the way, causing him to stumble to Vagnis’s side.

"Grab your sword..." The scientist instructed, bolting off to distract the warrior. They clashed as Vagnis grabbed the hilt of his blade, their weapons colliding once more, The Craftsman wrapped his hand around the hilt of his weapon, wasting no time to join in the fight once more.

Belk looked back, smiling to himself as his partner approached. With one mighty push he caused Freya to stagger backwards allowing Vagnis the opening. His blade was raised high as he tried to strike, the woman side stepping out of the way with ease, watching as the craftsman tumble forward, twisting his feet to make a quick recovery before darting in again.

She swung at him, the boy grinding his feet against the earth before pushing off, leaping over her strike and behind her. Belk ran back, his blade pointing at her from behind the two boys trapping her between them.

Freya’s chest heaved as she caught her breath, her sharp eyes flickering to the side—somehow sensing Belk’s presence behind her. The scientist stood poised, his curved blade raised, ready to drive forward the moment she faltered.

"Now!" Vagnis barked.

In an instant, both warriors lunged.

Freya reacted faster than thought. With a grunt of effort, she jammed her iron staff into the dirt, her muscles screaming as she used it to vault herself upward. Her core tightened, her legs swinging in a fluid arc—just as Vagnis closed in.

Too late.

Her foot snapped upward, cracking against his chin with brutal precision. The impact sent a shockwave through his skull, teeth clacking together as his vision blurred. He staggered, knees buckling, barely managing to stay upright through sheer will.

Freya’s feet hit the ground just as Belk’s blade flashed downward—a silver arc aimed straight for her neck.Clang!Her staff whipped up in a blur of iron, intercepting the strike with a force that sent sparks skittering through the air. The impact shuddered through Belk’s arms, his teeth gritting as his weapon recoiled.

For a split second, his stance faltered—just enough for Freya to seize the advantage.With a deft twist of her wrists, she spun her staff in a tight circle, forcing his blade wide. The motion was effortless, honed by years of battle.

Belk stumbled back, off-balance, and Vagnis—still shaking off the daze from her kick—barely managed to yank him out of range before Freya could press the attack.The two warriors retreated, breathing hard, as Freya stood poised, her staff humming faintly from the clash.

The woman tore a piece of her cloth, her shoulder out in the wind, she wrapped it around her wounded hand, her gaze to the two.

Vagnis looked at Belk, his eyes carrying a silent message between them, Belk nodded, his hand digging into his pouch before handing something to his partner who then darted off ahead.

"Persistent aren’t we?!" She spat, shifting her stance ready to bring her staff down on him once more.

His boot dug into the dirt as he pivoted, the staff’s wind buffeting his face as it smashed into the ground where he’d stood. Soil erupted in a dusty geyser.

Freya’s eyes locked onto his blade hand - the subtle twitch of his wrist, the shift in his shoulders telegraphing his next cut.

’Dodge left? Parry? No - he’s expecting that.’ Her mind raced as it felt like time only slowed as the boy raised his blade to its pinnacle.

In that frozen instant, Belk’s sword flashed upward in a silver streak aimed to split her from hip to shoulder.

Freya gritted her teeth and snapped forward, Vagnis’s eyes widening as her hand twist around his shirt. The craftsman’s hand reached to grab at hers, canceling his strike completely only to be met with her forehead cracking against his nose in a sickening crunch.

His grip wavered as the boy staggered. His nose leaking a never ending stream of crimson.

Her eyes snapped to where Belk was, the boy long gone from sight. Her breath hitched in surprise, the sound of crackling flames echoing behind her,

She whirled toward the sound, and the world erupted in fire.Belk descended like a falling star, his katana wreathed in a tempest of orange and crimson.

The blade carved through the air, trailing embers in its wake, the heat so intense it rippled the very space between them. His eyes burned brighter than the steel—a wildfire of resolve, unbreakable, unstoppable.

Time slowed.

Freya’s staff came up—too late.The flaming edge kissed her cheek, searing flesh, before she barely twisted away.

The smell of scorched hair and molten metal filled her lungs as the ground at her feet exploded, kicked up in a shockwave of dirt and sparks. Belk landed in a crouch, flames licking up his arms, his blade still humming with the aftershock of the strike. He didn’t smile. Didn’t gloat.

He stood up fully, his eyes looking up at Fiona who now remained encased in vines, the ground torn from the a sigil wrapped around her wrist.

"How–" She goes to protest, her mind going back to the time Vagnis grabbed her mere moments ago. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Without wasting a beat, Belk charged in again, ready to finish it once and for all. He leaped forward, his eyes narrowed in focus and his breathing heavy as his blade descended once more.

Freya’s eyes widened in fear as the blade drew nearer and nearer. Vagnis watched on with a sigh of relief before it sank into terror.

"BELK, MOVE—!" Vagnis’ scream tore through the chaos as that ensued.

Belk barely registered the warning—his entire being focused on Freya’s exposed throat, his flaming katana a heartbeat from its mark—when the pressure hit.

A gust of wind howled like a dying beast, whipping dirt into a stinging haze. His hair lashed across his vision, but not enough to obscure the nightmare before him:

Godrick. Tanaka slung over one of his shoulders.

The titan’s arm was already in motion, pulled back like a drawn longbow, veins bulging beneath cracked skin. Every fiber of his being hummed with killing intent—a predator who’d waited decades for this strike.

Belk’s blood turned to ice.

The Craftsman darted forward, Vagnis’ hand clamped onto his collar, yanking him backward with desperate strength as Godrick’s fist obliterated the space where he’d stood.

And then it erupted.

A shockwave ripped across the battlefield, flattening grass in a perfect circle. Trees a hundred yards behind them splintered like twigs along with their equipment turning to ruin, reduced to matchwood in an instant. The very air screamed from the force, kicking up a dust storm that blotted out the sun.

Belk hit the ground rolling, Vagnis shielding him as debris rained down. When the dust cleared, Freya stood frozen—her earlier fear now dwarfed by primal terror.

Godrick exhaled, steam rising from his knuckles. "We have orders for the chief, and the scientist... I’m letting you go out of mercy—"

"Don’t be fools–"

The two watched helplessly as he tore down the vines that encased Freya,the two soon making their leave, Freya’s eyes glancing behind her, filled with annoyance and rage.

Belk rested his head between his legs, his eyes narrowing softly in exhaustion. Hands still shaking from fear.

"Fuck..."

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