The Atlantian System: Creation

To the lead Gremlin in the stairwell, it looked like invisible hands had grabbed the two comrades in front of him and slapped them together, leathery foreheads banging into each other like rag dolls in the hands of an uncoordinated toddler.

The two Gremlins squeaked and groaned as they floated as one mass a few inches above the hot rooftop before they were sent flying into the stairwell wall.

With a savage twist of her hands, Leta pulled back and smacked them into the wall again before chucking them away. Untethered by her telekinesis, the pair somersaulted with a hiss of pain over the pebbled ground, the tiny rocks scrapping their crocodile-like skin raw.

Frantically, the Gremlins looked around for the cause until one finally spotted Leta’s head peaking around the stairwell corner. It shrieked, pointing at her to get the other’s attention. Its attempt was short-lived as Leta’s hands gestured to the creature and the Gremlin suddenly found its face being pushed into the ground as she mentally dragged the monster across the rooftop like cheese to a grater.

By then, the others had taken notice as well. The sound of bat wings flapping resonated like wet rags being flung about as the Gremlins pushed to get their miniature bodies airborne to launch an attack against the human woman.

She had to admit that in the air, they were formidable.

At first glance, their tiny wings looked like they wouldn’t have been able to lift their weight, short-statured as they were. However, the speed at which the little appendages began to move was so fast that they seemed to disappear from their backs altogether.

The moment their clawed feet were off the ground, they launched themselves at her, their wide yellow eyes locked as their jaws dropped open to reveal sharp, thin teeth.

With a flick of her wrist, Leta pulled the one she had been scrapping against the roof towards her and used the creature as a fly swatter, knocking the Gremlin in front of her out of the air and sending them head first into the wall.

The next was on her almost instantly, causing Leta to drop her mental hold on the beast to get her gauntlet up in time to avoid her eye getting clawed out.

Before it could do more than latch its sharp nails to her arm, Leta clenched her fist and covered her arms in snaps of static electricity, causing the monster to screech in surprise before she punched it with one metal-covered fist.

The feel of bones cracking under her brass knuckles and the smell of dark blood squirting from its slit nostrils was oddly satisfying. Leta caught herself grinning as she followed up with another punch to the beast’s chest that, while not coordinated and smooth as the strike of a professional fighter, was nevertheless effective.

Sparks of electricity clung to the creature as it went flying, though it was quickly replaced by another Gremlin flying at her, this holding a wrench that it brandished like a crude club.

The Gremlins circled the air above her, diving down when they spotted an opening to try to swipe at her face or head. Each time, she could quickly push them aside with Magician’s Hand or punch them away, but they were getting crafty.

Two dove at her in a coordinated attack, aiming to latch onto her arms and immobilize her long enough for the others to go in for a kill.

Leta ducked in time for the creatures to careen into each other midair like two cartoon henchmen. She wasted no time pulling out the boot dagger while falling into her squat. Her blade raised as she popped back up to stab the monsters above her, trying to separate themselves.

Her strike was wild but met flesh as the tip dug into a creature’s thigh, dark blood that was more brown than red streaming in the air as the little beast howled in pain before flapping out of range.

The Gremlins hissed at the sight of the steel weapon, their serpentine eyes narrowing as they snarled, circling like sharks around her at the scent of blood in the air.

“Not today, fucker.” Leta growled back. She didn’t know where this bravado was coming from and guessed that after three days of nearly dying from one thing or another, the fear of death and the unknown had slowly been chiseled down until all that was left was a firm determination to persevere.

One had tried to circle out of her peripheral to catch her by surprise and was quickly met by the tip of her dagger cutting through its abdomen as easily as a hot knife through butter.

It gurgled in shock, sharp nails trying to find purchase on her gauntlets as if to hold on to life with everything it had left.

It was not enough.

Its body dropped to the ground lifeless as Leta swung around to punch another Gremlin that had tried to use the same trick as this one, though this one left with a broken face instead of being completely dead.

Leta glanced and counted five remaining Gremlins, the lead Gremlin and the second hiding in the stairwell joining the fight.

‘Where is that seventh one?’

A whistling in the air was the only warning before a bolt shaft emerged between the shoulder blades of one of the circling Gremlins, the creature’s body locking in pain as it dropped from the sky like a rock.

The creatures turned to see what new trouble had arrived, only for a second Gremlin to be struck by a bolt right through its nostrils and promptly fall dead as Hayato reloaded his crossbow.

The three remaining creatures barked as two Leta recognized as the pair she’d smashed together at the beginning of the fight launched themselves at the Assassin.

One was dead before it realized what had happened, its wings propelling it to incredible speeds but not fast enough to dodge a bolt to the eye.

Hayato dropped the crossbow and pulled out a sickle and chain weapon. Leta recognized it as a kusarigama.

The Gremlin drew up short, flapping its wings as the sickle blade flew towards it and nearly decapitated the creature midair.

While Hayato was busy, Leta used Magician’s Hand to grab the last Gremlin from the air and smashed its face into the ground like she was trying to hit a nail with a hammer.

The poor creature didn’t stand a chance as her fingers twitched, sending the beast up and down, up and down, as its head turned into a blood stump.

Satisfied that it was well and truly dead, Leta let it slip from her mental grasp and turned to see if Hayato needed help.

He didn’t.

The sickle flew past the Gremlin, making it think for a second that it had dodged the attack, only for Hayato to pull the chain back as if he were trying to control a rabid dog. Like a boomerang, the sickle was pulled back, but the little beast was in its path this time.

It never saw the blade coming before it cut into its back and severed the Gremlin completely through the middle, the two halves of its body falling with a wet spat to the floor.

Hayato expertly gathered his weapon and looked over the battlefield with a keen eye.

“Where’s the seventh one?”

Leta shrugged, “Don’t know. They probably left one down below to try and fix what they could from there.”

He nodded as he whipped the blood from his sickle’s blade before tucking it out of sight. With a simple “Follow” and a head gesture, he motioned for them to head to the building’s roof entrance.