Merlin’s figure stepped into view. He emerged at the edge of the hole his Wyvern Soulkin had blasted into the flying ship. The Wyvern was badly wounded, and neither crashing through the deck and another floor nor the steel blades rammed into his body seemed to help in any way.

  Merlin located us, his lips parted in a curse, as his body transformed. Bat-like wings sprouted from his back as plates grew from his skin, covering the rest of his body. The rest of his skin turned grey, and horns grew from his nose and forehead.

  Daniel’s uncle resembled a heavily armored rhinoceros with bat wings as he leaped to the ground, killing intent oozing from him in waves. He landed between a pair of Bakurean, his impact triggering a shockwave. Energy tore through the Bakurean, rattling the two long enough for Merlin’s arm to shoot out. Heavy-plated fingers crackled as they coiled around a Bakurean’s neck, snapping it all too easily.

  A blade made of condensed ether materialized in his other hand as he slashed at the Bakurean, severing steel, flesh and bone in one go.

  Merlin tore through the masses with practiced ease. He unleashed another shockwave, and his eyes started glowing right before he turned into a blur. He zigzagged between a group of Bakurean, their bodies turning into fist-sized chunks as the powerhouse of the Zerog household passed by them.

  Dirk, his Wyvern, thrashed and killed two Bakurean, but not before more bony-winged creatures leaped into the fray. The brown Wyvern disappeared once Merlin reached his Soulkin and freed him from constant bombardment. Moments later, his bat wings and rhinoceros armor receded. Merlin’s eyes turned into slits, his pupils eerily dark except for a few brown specks. Leathery wings much larger than the bat wings formed, and muddy brown scales jutted from his skin, covering every inch of his body.

  Several Bakurean attacked him as his Soulfusion with Dirk came to be, but they didn’t even get close to hitting him. Some strikes came in contact with Merlin’s scaly defense; however, each hit was repaid with a killing blow. As for the inflicted damage… it did not look like the Bakurean’s attacks could penetrate the wyvern’s scales now that they enshrouded Merlin.

  Raw power radiated from his body. Merlin was no longer human. He was more, his presence scaring the Bakurean around him–or so it looked like at first. Sensing Merlin’s power, more and more Bakurean leaped into the hole, joining the chaos in the living quarters. The stream of Outsiders felt endless. It never ceased even as dozens of Bakurean, each as strong as a Peak Expert if not stronger, their pitch-black eyes snapping toward Merlin. They swarmed him like moths flying toward fire.

  Merlin responded in kind. His wings flashed, a white sheen condensing around the wyvern wing’s bones right before they carved through the enemies. The white sheen turned the bone parts of the wings into blades, severing appendages and cleaving through the Bakurean at a blinding speed. Merlin struck out as well, transforming the aggressive Outsiders into neatly cubed masses.

  He walked over to us, and his head yanked upward, scowling.

  “Adam!!” Daniel shouted suddenly, just as my gaze followed Merlin’s, catching a glimpse of something.

  Predator never deactivated, but there were times it overloaded with all the information it absorbed. This was one of such times as it tried to take in all the details of the chaos unfolding around me. All I caught was a flash and a large, four-armed Bakurean standing on the edge of the deck, his pitch-black eyes staring down the hole. He looked almost amused as a javelin zapped through the air.

  An explosion resounded, and the projectile accelerated once more, shooting past Merlin, the Bakurean, and the other potential targets as it embedded itself in my stomach.

  Nox’s exoskeleton formed around my abdomen and upper body in time, as did a thin layer of solidified soil, but the javelin tore through it all, draining my momentum instantaneously. My legs caved in as the impact pulled me backward, and I crashed onto the ground, the javelin jutting from my back and digging into the floor down below.

  I was pinned to the ground, pain and panic racing through my body.

  Daniel's shout rang beside me, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Another metallic gleam filled my vision, but it shot past me. Daniel left my periphery, pulled by a force I could only faintly make out. A moment later, parts of the crumbling flying ship toppled onto me. A piece of rubble struck my forehead, sending pangs of pain through my head. My vision blurred and blood ran down my face.

  Curses and other sounds echoed through the room all while the Elemental Phoenix worked on the javelin stuck in my abdomen. The pain faded as the phoenix fire swirled through me, and I managed to jerk upright when the javelin shaft clattered to the ground, molten bits trickling from the gaping hole in my abdomen.

  Fire leaked from the wound, which had to be tended to, but I wasn’t graced with the luxury of time. The four-armed Bakurean stood before me, black swirls locked onto me as it swung its sword at me.

  Nox reacted almost instantaneously, but the Elemental Phoenix was already fully in motion, conjuring and releasing a needle of azure, almost white fire at the Outsider. It pierced the Bakurean’s chest, where its heart ought to be, but the four-armed Outsider appeared merely surprised even as azure flames blossomed from its chest.

  It leaned down and… sniffed the air.

  Something was odd, and this was confirmed when the Elemental Phoenix shuddered and retreated. Volix tried to conceal our connection, but there was a dangerous glint in the Bakurean’s eyes as it straightened its back once more. Bony wings spread out far and wide, cracking as they shifted and a terrifying screech resounded.

  Its unarmed claw shot forward, bone fingers coiling around my entire face with the strength to crush a normal Blessed’s skull. Pain assaulted me, but it was the panic that really got to me. Several figures, all Bakurean, swarmed toward me. They moved away from Merlin, ignored him, and lunged at me, their claws digging into my arms and chest.

  I was lifted from the ground and hurled onto the deck long before I realized what was happening. Merlin was somewhere nearby, hacking through the Outsiders. Several claws holding onto me had to let go, their attention split between me and Merlin. They hesitated, clearing a path.

  The bony fingers that were nearly crushing my skull released me as well. One moment the four-armed Bakurean was beside me, restraining me, and the next he stood before Merlin’s towering figure, wielding a sword in each hand. They became blurs as Merlin attacked with bladed wings and enchanted weapons, only to be blocked. The Bakurean was no weaker than Daniel’s uncle. If anything, it looked like his prowess was on a similar level –or he was still holding back. I couldn’t quite tell, and I didn’t have the time to worry about it.

  The deck was even more chaotic than the battlefield. Dozens of Soulkins fought in the sky around us, trying to eliminate the threat posed by dozens of Bakurean. The grotesque Outsiders were everywhere. I couldn’t tell how many there were, but there were too many. That much was painfully obvious. The flying ship was equipped with close to 1,000 of humanity’s greatest young adults. We were the best of the best, protected further by powerful Blessed such as Merlin Zerog and dozens of Instructors. Yet…

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Yet it looked like we were losing. Death was all around us –be they beasts, Blessed, or Bakurean –and I would be the next victim if the Bakurean around me kept digging their claws into me.

  You can’t pull back now, Volix. If you do, we’ll all die.

  I snapped, reaching out to the bond as I searched the Blessed’s bodies for Scott. He was not among them –a relief, although it didn’t last long as my attention was pulled back to yet another issue.

  The four-armed Bakurean did something that startled the Elemental Phoenix, drawing even more Bakurean toward me. Maybe it sensed the former Emperor, or there was something else about Volix that they wanted. Regardless, I had to do something.

  One of the Bakurean grabbed my hair and yanked me into the air. Another’s claws dug into my neck as it joined its brethren’s attempt to drag me upward. More followed, swarming like moths drawn to a campfire. The problem was that I was the fire –and I couldn’t kill them easily, not if the Elemental Phoenix was blocking the bond.

  It’s just not that easy without Volix. I can still do it!

  As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t that weak… but I was exhausted. My body screamed at me, the weave was held together only by phoenix fire, and I couldn’t move well with sharp bones digging into my arms and legs. The claws coiled around my neck weren’t very comfortable either.

  However, no matter how dangerous the Bakurean were, they did not kill me. Their blades dangled uselessly in their other claws. They could have killed me, yet they didn’t. Why?

  But was that really important right now?

  I could barely do anything, but I exploded in a fountain of light anyway. Volix had yet to respond to my demands, so I picked the next-best solution. As Mirage unraveled around me, I regained enough control to move. Several Bakurean released me, their screeches filling my ears.

  With one arm free, I retrieved a piece of jerky and a serum from the onyx ring and popped the jerky into my mouth. Emptying the serum in an instant, a small piece of jerky formed in my hands. That went into my mouth as well, filling me with energy.

  Soulfusion with Nox was already at its limit, the bond on the verge of tearing, leaving me with two options. I picked Aureus, triggered Soulfusion while apologizing to the resting Earthheart, and digested the jerky. My wounds healed, courtesy of the advanced healing serum, all while ether tore through me.

  I couldn’t quite tell if my body could take the energy of yet another jerky strip, but it had to.

  Scythes shot out from my lower back, followed by a noisy –and very bloodthirsty –Ferronox Mantis head. Nox acted as an extension of my body for a moment, his scythes lashing out to dig into the Bakurean clinging to my other arm.

  Staring into the empty space below, a screech echoed in my mind and Nox retreated, filling my head with images of the mantis falling to its death.

  Dying was the last thing I wanted to think about, so I conjured a blade and beheaded one of the Bakurean I had blinded. Once my other arm was free, I conjured a javelin made of compressed earth and hurled it at the Bakurean clinging to my legs.

  The javelin tip lodged into the Outsider’s neck but didn’t kill it. However, I still had full control of my Major Fire Aspect. While incomparable to true phoenix fire, it burned hot enough to melt the Bakurean as the flames washed over him.

  One moment I was dangling in the air with several Bakurean holding onto me, and the next I was plummeting downward, the flying ship dozens of meters to the side.

  A scream escaped my throat as I plummeted toward the ground thousands of meters below. Nox’s fears of falling to his death lingered in the back of my mind and flared to life –multiplied by an order of magnitude.

  I reached out to the Soulfusion with Aureus.

  Sorry, buddy, but I really need you right now. I apologized for interrupting his rest and recovery once more. Two pairs of translucent wings sprouted from my back, veins gleaming like rainbows as ether circulated through them.

  Unlike Merlin’s wings, mine were not leathery. They were not wyvern wings. Aureus had the wings of a dragonfly, just larger. A lot larger. They spread out over ten meters behind me and slowed my fall. One flap, and I soared back into the air. Aureus’ wings were not strong enough to carry the several-ton-heavy Earthheart, but I was much lighter. For someone like me, his wings were perfect.

  “Oh shit.”

  My hair stood on end as I soared through the sky, skidding to the side as the wings shifted with every motion. My mind went into overdrive, trying to contain the wings and learn how to use them, but they flapped when I only wanted to glide, pushing me back toward the dazzled Bakurean.

  Swinging my blade at one of the Outsiders, I let the momentum do the goliath amount of work, splitting my enemy in half. I rejoined the battle, wings shifting as I headed toward the flying ship, but more Bakurean appeared around me.

  An avian beast crashed into me, steel blades stuck in its body. Freezing mist flooded the vicinity, icing over a pair of wings, but the Bakurean hardly seemed to care. Their blades continued hacking into the beast as well as the Blessed who joined the battle in the sky.

  Dozens of corpses fell from above, most belonging to the Bakurean as more and more powerful Blessed joined the fight, but I was not one of the fortunate souls. I could barely keep up with the Bakurean, my strongest advantage forfeited –the element of surprise. Blinding was no longer feasible, especially with Mirage drained. I couldn’t even go invisible at this moment, nor was Paralyze of any use.

  Only Nullblade, Soulfusion, and the Major Fire Aspect remained functional. Even then, they only worked because Predator was active, aiding me constantly in battle.

  But my body was worn out, and the glistening arrows piercing my wings and shoulder certainly did not help. My danger sense flared from all around me, but I failed to detect the arrows before it was too late. They tore through my wings.

  The wings dematerialized as I terminated Soulfusion, afraid they wouldn’t heal if they sustained any more damage. Hence, I was in freefall once more, my curses swallowed by the winds.

  Several Bakurean followed me, their wings flapping as they closed in. Killing intent surged outward, promising more trouble, and all I did was watch.

  Watch as winged Blessed glanced my way, guilt flashing in their eyes even as the remaining Bakurean attacked them and the avian Soulkins fiercely. Even if they had wanted to help, they couldn’t. They were barely strong enough to protect themselves.

  I watched and waited as my eyes drifted to the flying ship. Then I turned to the ground as I continued to fall, heat rising in my chest to brush the coldness of the altitude aside. Several thousand meters still separated me from the ground, but it was only a matter of minutes before I would become paste. Still, I waited even as the flying ship continued along its path.

  A claw to my face forced me to look aside. I twisted barely in time to evade the brunt of the attack.

  My body wouldn’t listen as I tried to lift my sword. Not even Nullblade or any of my other traits activated despite my attempts. Ether continued surging through my body, wreaking havoc, and all I had left was the Major Fire Aspect and a few seconds of Soulfusion with Volix –if the Elemental Phoenix stopped his nonsense.

  The Bakurean shot toward me, not caring about their well-being in the slightest. They didn’t even notice the blazing swords conjuring above them and only reacted when the fiery manifestations descended, impaling the Outsiders. They were not dead. They were far from dead, but their wings took the brunt of the impact.

  Explosions erupted around me, shifting my position mid-air instantly, and the Bakurean shot past me. They tried to shift, their wings cracking, but more conjurations streaked toward them, severing their chance of survival, for all intents and purposes. They fell toward the ground, their lives forfeited, unable to do anything to survive. Or so I hoped. It was my only chance at survival.

  My screams were devoured by the winds around me, fears blooming in my chest as the distance to the ground diminished rapidly. Meanwhile, the flying ship continued on its path, sinking ever so slowly.

  Is that smoke? Something dark formed at the edges of my vision where the ship was, only to turn back, screaming at the Elemental Phoenix, forcefully igniting our bond as a forest of towering trees unfolded beneath me.

  I better survive this shit! I cursed as phoenix wings coalesced behind me.