Die A Fucking Legend: Neon Raven

Chapter 6: Stress and Recovery

All May can do is just stare at the demon before him. A large beast encrusted in rock. An impermeable, walking fortress. And its main defense measure, near invisible particles serving as landmines. Blue particles that blend into the background. On contact, it detonates with impressive force.

"May! Focus!" Talon yells, looking to him for leadership. But May can't focus. His mind wanders to the horrors of weeks prior. The day Howie came. It's all his mind can think about. He would spend nights scrolling through live video feeds of that demon appearing for only a single frame, leaving behind a wall of gunfire and explosions, accompanied by that horrid cacophony of noise. The millions left dead reduced to names on a list that you can scroll endlessly. What's the point of fighting when that exists?

Meanwhile, the demon approaches. With no guidance, May's flock is unable to make any progress. Moving forward is a death sentence, and doing nothing means the beast gets closer or is free to slap at them with its tremendous weight. Ilia floats nearby, thinking of a way to get in himself.

Talon gives up on May. "Fine, I'll take command. Momentum! Think you can survive one of those blasts?"

"One way to see." Momentum rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck. He walks straight up to one of the floating mines and lets it touch his skin. A massive, blue explosion rocks him. When the dust settles, he's missing an entire arm. "Fuck!" He yells out, his coat coursing with red energy, his eyes glowing.

"How do you like this!" He punches, sending a massive shockwave straight at the behemoth, triggering the other mines around it. The force sends the behemoth tilting backwards, but it doesn't scratch it. The behemoth reaches out with its massive, rocky arm and crushes Momentum. All that's left behind is an orb.

Momentum's death brings May back to reality. "Momentum!" He shouts, the hair across his body standing on edge. Meanwhile, Ilia comes soaring in, lance in hand. With Momentum clearing away all the mines, he has a shot to deal some real damage. That's when May notices the craggy plates shift, revealing vents across its body. "Oh no." May says to himself.

Talon's body heats up and she rushes towards Ilia, running up the side of a nearby building. "Ilia! Don't go in!" She shouts, leaping towards him. The demon spews out a new layer of landmines, right as Ilia approaches. Right before he's blown up, Talon jumps in front of him, knocking him away from the minefield, getting hit by a mine herself. She explodes. Ilia falls to the ground, knocked out from the blast.

"We need to run. I'll buy you time." Blade steps up, shouting for the demon's attention. May runs. He grabs the orbs of Momentum and Talon, absorbing them back into his arm, then goes for Ilia. "Ilia! Are you ok?" He asks. No response. May makes sure he's alive. Pulse is there, and he can feel his breath.

May looks back, watching Blade struggling to avoid the swings from the hulking beast. May grabs Ilia and lugs him over his shoulder and runs. His legs can barely support the weight of Ilia and he quickly slows to a crawl, heaving heavily.

Suddenly, Blade reappears. "Damn, that thing's tough." He curses, grabbing Ilia from May's hands. The two of them retreat until they can no longer hear the thundering stomps of the demon. May collapses from exhaustion, panting on his hands and knees. "Fuck! I really fucked it up!"

Blade places Ilia down gently. "Doesn't matter now. Right now, we need to focus, and come up with a plan. This thing is one of the most dangerous demons we've fought since that building. We have an opportunity to make things right next time, we just need to recuperate."

"I'm sorry Blade. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You don't have to tell me, I know. You're scared. Normal reaction."