Maids VS Apocalypse
Chapter 128: Purple threads

Chapter 128: Purple threads

Tianmu looked over the hall. Everyone beside the Peace Keepers had collapsed. The brown-haired kid had unleashed his Soul Pressure in full force and caused even the few that had passed the selection to collapse.

"This is still acceptable." His long sleeves fluttered as he gestured for the enemy. "Reap their souls and offer them to our lord!"

The Red Hoods, twelve of them, rushed forth without a word. The edge of the podium was were they split, some going left while others went right. A few took to the air with a leap that surpassed anything humans were capable of.

"This is the worst..." Elya glanced at the civilians collapsed at her feet. "Old man, sorry but you gotta handle this yourself!"

"Alright, got it!"

Franco was already spinning his sickle by the side. Gunfire erupted at that moment and drew everyone’s attention to the young man at the center.

The raised barrel of an AR-15 trembled. Mark fought to keep his aim steady, his finger never leaving the trigger, his eyes on the enemies who had leaped above them. The few that met their target forced them to raise their Force Fields.

"Tsk!"

The AR-15 fell to the floor with a clack then vanished. A second on dropped into Mark’s arms and just as he was about to fire again chains wrapped around one of Red Hoods then bent and whipped to the side, smashing him to another enemy and sending both flying to the other end of the hall. One of them was the goon they wanted to avoid killing so distancing him from the battlefield was the best choice.

The chains tingled and retracted when Franco whipped with his arm again. The sickle came swinging at the Red Hoods who had just landed behind them and lunged forward. His weapon, a one-handed short sword, shot up in a flash and parried the chained weapon.

The white blade on Lara’s spear launched ethereal arcs at the enemies coming from the right, all of them horizontal to avoid any harm befalling the innocents on the floor.

Fighting an enemy while protecting something was a nightmare. Elya was about to equip her weapon when the robed man pulled his arm back then thrust his jian, turning into a blur and appearing right in front of her. Shockwaves scattered through the invisible wall the petite Peace Keeper held in place, causing her expression to twist into a grimace. She glared at the robed man and saw him condense a ball of azure flames, completely unfazed.

"Let’s see how long this barrier of yours can last."

Tianmu clutched the flames and swiped his right hand. Like water from a bucket, they pilled out and splashed against the invisible wall. Nothing burned but Elya’s expression turned grave. She could feel the drain on her Mind Power and a second later she leaped back.

A ball of azure flame chased her with the robed man following suit. She equipped her broad sword and coated it in the glow of her Force Field, swinging the flat part and bouncing the fire ball back at the pitcher like they were in a baseball game. Tianmu parried with his white jian, flashed forward and brought it down on the girl.

The Red Hoods closed the distance despite the hail of bullets, giving Mark more doubts about the viability of guns in an era where people could block them with a single thought. His opponents didn’t even raise the output of their Force Fields to the max as shown by the faint glow they enveloped their bodies.

He fixed the firearm with a glare when it stopped firing and was about to throw it. The Red Hoods took it as their opening and were about to accelerate when things suddenly went dark.

[You have defeated Neb’Alseth’s disciple (Apprentice)]

[+85 AP]

[You have defeated Neb’Alseth’s disciple (Apprentice)]

[+65 AP]

The wide eyes staring at Mark saw nothing and their owners fell where they stood. Lowering one’s Force Field was the right move when there was no danger to shield against. Aware of that, the youth had acted as though his ammo had run out to lure his enemies in then fired when the distance left them with no time to react.

Two headshots, two kills in a row. A third and fourth saw it happen and weren’t going to fall for it, but their determination amounted to nothing when a white crescent came at them from the side. One was too late to dodge while the other leaped just in time.

[Lara has defeated Neb’Alseth’s disciple (Apprentice)]

[+75 AP]

Lara stepped in front of her master and swung at the enemy whose sword glowed with a deep blue. The blades collided and the blow sent him flying higher, spinning and coming to a stop while facing down. He appeared to be crouching on something despite the ceiling being ways away. That’s when they noticed that a halo had formed over his head.

Mark aimed at him and was about to fire when he suddenly leaped from where he was, diving straight at him and his maid. The blades collided again. Lara sliced through the Force Field enhanced sword of the enemy who slammed into the floor the next instant and moved as if he had expected the outcome.

Like a spring he lunged toward the maid with his left hand stretched, and though she evaded he still managed to brush her dress. He balanced himself on one hand then pushed an instant before the white spearhead carved the spot where he landed. A single step should’ve been enough to catch up with him, but when she was about to take it Lara felt something tugging on her dress.

Purple threads sprouted from the floor and connected to the same spot on her maid uniform. The momentary confusion that struck her allowed the enemy to close in again. He sidestepped to evade her downward swing and while at it he tapped the spear’s shaft, her wrist, and her shoulder, rolled to evade again, and tapped the floor twice.

Each spot sprouted a thread that connected with the Lara spear and uniform. She quickly moved to sever them and the Red Hood was about to use that opening to touch her again when the barrel of a gun appeared in his face.

BLAM!

His head snapped to the side but without the glow of his Force Field, his head would’ve been blown like the rest of his hood. Mark pulled back the pump of his Remington and fired again, then again, then again. The Red Hood Rolled and dodged each one then hopped away to put more distance between them.

"Slippery bastard."

Storing the shotgun, Mark was about to switch back to a rifle when something flashed in the corner of his eye. Another Red Hood had a halo above his head. Glistering crystals took shape over his shoulder with specs of light gleaming at their center and their purpose came to mind despite it being the first time he saw them.

The light grew brighter and a beam burst out, cutting through the hall in an instant and blasting its target into the faraway wall. Lara only noticed the beam once it passed and her eyes tore open as she felt the chains of the contract tighten around her.

She was about to rush over when the first Red Hood tapped her right shoulder. He had used the momentary distraction to close in and when she turned to swing at him he flipped over her and tapped her left shoulder and arm.

Once the first bindings were set more openings showed themselves allowing for new threads to be added and her movements to be further restricted.

Far to the side, Mark slowly rose up to his feet. Though he raised the output of his Force Field, he hadn’t done so fast enough and the impact still sent him flying.

’Shit...’

His HP hadn’t dropped by much, but his MP had suffered. One hit was enough to shave more than half of it.

’Fucking... bastard...’

Light flashed in the distance and another beam zoomed toward him. If he hadn’t docked beforehand his head would have been blasted off.

He pressed the LT button on his imaginary controller and a test tube appeared in his palm. Its content was murkier than the one he gave Lara before. Scrambling to evade another beam he emptied the tube’s contents into his mouth then downed them in one swoop.

The taste assaulted his tongue and he almost threw it back out. He caught sight of Lara. She was struggling to release her bindings only for more to appear.

Elya clashed with the boss while Franco held back four of the Red Hoods on his own. The two he had tossed aside were already back on their feet and on their way to rejoin the battle, and the bastard trying to blast Mark with lasers was running toward him.

’Ah, I think I can see where this is going...’ His eyes wandered to the entrance at the other end of the hall. He hesitated then pressed the RT button on his controller. ’Guess it’s time to use this again...’