Shadow of the Abyss

Amidst the cluster of ash and dirt clouding the air, Riena was the first to react as she pushed Altair, sensing the hairs on her neck stand on end. Her actions were calm as a beam of light whipped past the boy's head, searing the tips of his brows and cheeks. He rolled through the bushes, a chill storming his mind.

His stomach dipped as he saw a machine, a drone of sorts, reveal itself. Hovering in the skies with the help of two winged repulsors, smoke shimmering off the barrel of the cannon. Altair expression paled as two more MK-290 drones made their appearance.

"What the hell is that?" Reina barked, whipping out 'Ice' while Altair summoned his grimoire.

"They look like the MK-290. Drones that were made for surveillance and scouting. They're capable of killing a Tri-circle Soldier with that cannon, so don't let it hit you. The Aros family must be using it for security: I guess they figured having anything stronger for such a weak dungeon wasn't necessary." He said, pondering if they could break through its metal frame.

"I'll take two. You—"

"No." Altair hastily commanded. "These bastards are scouts there fast. It'll take two of us just to kill one if we can penetrate its metal shell. Three is… coming here was a bad idea." He cursed as sweat trailed his cheek. " Raina, don't ever stop moving. Let's hope the AI isn't that intelligent."

'AI?" she thought but said nothing. Such a machine was already out of the bounds of Riena's understanding. She had never seen such a thing but knew danger when she felt it. All she knew was the forest.

Releasing a string of beeps and boops, a single MK-290 rushed toward Altair. Its frame was like a blur in which light could not refract. It made the concept of sound seem like a dream as it shattered the first barrier. It arrived directly in front of Altair; the cannon, a blaze with mana, prepared to fire when suddenly two other beams of light flashed towards the young Prince.

[Shadow Cage]

Channeling the spell through the grimoire with predetermined foresight. A flash of black light sprang from beneath Altair's feet. Everything caught within the shadows stood frozen as tendrils of darkness wrapped around everything, be it the beams of light inches from his skull or the drone itself. They were bound by the boy's spell.

Caught by shadows that trailed up the light as though it were a physical manifestation.

Altair moved to save his life when Riena reacted, cleaving 'Ice' down with all her Mana blazing off the surface of her skin. She howled as a thrashing sound erupted.

"KEEP AT IT!!!!" Altair howled, seeing Riena's blade barely pierce the metal frame. She lifted the blade one last time and swung it down with all she had, opening the drone. At the same time, the Young Prince maintained his attention on the two other drones. Apprehension waned over his mind, awaiting Shadow Cage to end.

"Its shell is open." Reina roared, through a forehead wet with sweat. Altair appeared ready to strike again, but against all reason, he tackled her down as two beams of light ripped through his Cage, shredding the darkness to nothing.

"What are—"

"Two Seconds. That's how long it holds," He whispered, rolling as beams struck the ground. The duo raced to their feet, using the forest around them to the best of their ability. They ducked and weaved, dodging like wild monkeys swinging from tree to tree with wild abandonment.

The winds howled with the fearsome debris, followed by ash, stinging Altair's eyes, disrupting his vision. However, reason told him not to move, not to stray from the path he was on.

Sweat oozed from the young Prince as he suddenly saw from the corner of his eye the third Drone rise from the ground, bearing a gruesome gash over its frame, with a few cracks over the flight system.

"Riena, I'm going to stop everyone again. Aim for the wings. We need them out of the air. If we can disrupt their mobility, this battle is ours." Altair phrased, and without waiting for Riena to confirm, he dipped toward the damaged drone.

'These drones' primary mission should be to defend against intruders. The loss of a single drone could mean a significant loss in stability." The Prince quickly thought. "The Injured MK-290 is not beyond fixing. Meaning…" He glanced at the Drones hovering above him and grinned as they whipped towards him like a blur of prismatic light.

The Prince grinned evilly, pausing inches away as the Grinomor hovering near him lit up. "Meaning you'll try to save your comrade in times of danger against a boy without a Magical Circle.

"You're predictable. Shadow Cage!"

Darkness sprang from the void, trapping the drones all of a sudden. Altair felt every strand of hair on his neck stand on end. His heart skipped a beat, and against his own will, he fell to his knee. His instants overwhelmed his mind as a scarlet semi-arc, so foul the grass and trees withed beneath its aura.

[Infernal Rage (F)]

Attribute: Nephilim, Blood

Effect: Stat Boost 2.5x

Cost: 30% Lifeforce

Description: Through the Blood of the Nephilim, call forth the Wrath of Heaven and Hell to sever the agents of Yahweh and Lucifer. Beneath the Will of the Nephilim, all shall burn beneath their rage.

Altair whirled to his feet, nearly buckling as the arc of transcendent light carved its way through the wings of the three Drones in but an instant: Shards of metal dropped like a house of cards as she appeared. Her once ashen blue hair was now an infinite sea of crimson, with eyes to match.

In a flash, she swung her azure blade stained with a scarlet sin that carved through the metal as though it were hot butter. And yet Riena wasn't done. Her sword flared like the edge of a storm, shredding the metal into scraps before Altair's very eyes.

The boy had never seen anything like it. But he could feel it. The rage bled from every orifice the girl had before the scarlet haze vanished around her, returning her to a righteous state. She smiled at him just barely before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her face planted itself into the ground.

"What? What the hell?" He muttered, only to notice a pool of blood gathering around Riena's wrist. Startled, he lunged towards her, only to see a deep vertical gash trailing up her wrist.

Altair recognized the wound as something his mother told him was called a Blood Art. Techniques used to call upon the ancestral power everyone's blood carried in every generation. Tenebrae had warned about the dangers of Blood Arts, stating that all of them came with a heavy price.

If one were lucky or powerful enough, the Blood Art would merely call for their blood, but in many cases, it would call for hundreds of bloodlines, sometimes based on age, sex, or mental and physical purity.

He clicked his tongue, "You're so careless." He tore his sleeve to dress her wound the best he could before placing her on his back. "Now the big question: do we go in or head back."

The Prince scratched his head as he stared at the entrance to the forest ahead and grunted. "Should I head in, or should I leave? We barely survived." he judged for a bit, glancing at the scraps, and made for the entrance with a heavy heart: Retreat wasn't an option.