Waterstrider

8th District, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Thirdmonth, 1634 PTS

The enforcer tore through the wall, causing the warehouse to shift on its foundation. The sound of grinding metal was drowned out by the yelling of the martial artists and the celan soldiers, and there was a momentary chaos as the well disciplined clan members waited for word from Ria or Taek, or any other source of authority.

“You started this, Celans! Soldiers of the Hadal Clan, show them the results of your training!” yelled Ria, quickly charging towards the enforcer who had opened the breach in the wall. Behind her, Taek looked over at Cyrus.

“Wait here, Riverfiend. We shall handle these barking dogs.”

With that said, he too leapt into the fray, body almost seemed to grow larger and bulkier as he channeled manifest miasma through his meridians.

The enforcer had fully entered the warehouse, crushing one of the merchant stalls beneath its oversized boot. Through the breach it had opened, several squads of Jobu and Korlove opened fire with fully automatic slug guns.

The martial artists turned into a flurry of movement as they activated their varying movement techniques. Some almost seemed to become transparent and etheral, as if they were not truly there, while others simply sped up or were launched into the air by forceful leaps. Their swords and other weapons were all quickly drawn as they tried to close the distance to the line of fire of the Heirs’ forces.

I held back, wanting to see more of the distribution of the Heirs’ forces. I lightly cycled formless miasma through my meridians, ready to activate my movement technique at any moment. The sword remained in my hand.

The enforcer itself began laying down fire from its slug cannons, but many of the bullets slowed and then fell from the air as if all momentum had been sapped out of them. It was then that I noticed a man in black and green robes was standing before it. I recognized him, then. I had bumped into him after first setting foot on the station. He had a placid expression on his weathered face, and a hand was outstretched towards the mechanical armor.

He spoke no words, but as a slash from one of the enforcer’s blades tore at him, a short blade appeared in his hand with a mere flourish. Light bloomed behind each swing of his blade as he parried the blow, forced to take a step back. I could see a green mist of genesis miasma stretching out around him sapping the speed of all that encroached within its domain. I didn't even have to inspect his soul to tell that he was someone who had nearly finished refining his spirit.

Ria and Taek paused their running to join the fight when the man appeared. Taek skidded as he halted his dash, tearing small ruts in the stone floor.

“Uncle!” shouted Ria, happily. Taek gave a polite bow.

“We will leave this one to you, Uncle.” The two of them tore off towards the breach, where a squadron of gunmen stood.

The spirit refiner tilted his head back to smile peacefully at the two before turning back to focus on the battle at hand. While he was defending himself well, he was still stuck on the backfoot due to the immense flurry of blows and gunfire the enforcer delivered upon him.

Suddenly, it struck me that it would be wise to move away from where the enforcer and spirit refiner were fighting. I turned back to get out of the area, idly checking to see if any expensive resources had been discarded by a fleeing merchant. No such luck. Even in their haste, most of it had been taken, and the rest was strewn around the floor closer to the exit, where the Hadal martial artists were frantically trying to avoid taking bullets from the gunmen.

The analysis paralysis was becoming a problem, so I swiftly made my choice. Miasma circulated throughout me as I initiated the water striding steps. I flowed my way seamlessly through the crowd of martial artists towards the hole in the sheet metal wall.

The soldiers of the Heirs shifted their aim towards me, but I could see their hands move, see how they were shifting the direction of the barrel. With my speed and the formless, flowing nature of my body’s motion, this was enough to dodge them all.

It was dark outside, the domelight having dimmed for the night. Unlike the powder firearms of the less advanced races, there was no burst of light when a celan slug gun was fired. A line of thirty weapons wielded by nineteen individuals fired at me. I was finding the ability of the Korlove to accurately wield multiple longarms at a time a gross hindrance.

Taek Hadal had made his way out before me, his body enlarged to the point that he almost looked like an albino Jobu. He held a saber in one hand, and with the other he crushed a Jobu’s weapon in his fist as he thundered his way through the lines of gunmen. Ria was nowhere to be seen, but occasionally one of the Heirs’ soldiers would scream or cry out, looking in odd directions as if seeing something that wasn’t there.

To the side I could see another enforcer, and I nearly paused in shock. I held back my exclamation and continued charging for a different squadron of soldiers. If I slew them, then perhaps the Hadal martial artists could distract the enforcer long enough for me to escape.

The idea made me think of Rachel, and I wished I had brought her with me, even if just to use her conduit for another convenient escape. Without it, I was left with far more difficult decisions to make.

Bullets whizzed past me as I just barely avoided their paths, drawing closer to the crowd of gunmen. I extended my blade, preparing to rain a Torrential Downpour of blows upon them.

Most of the mortal soldiers found themselves unable to react. I tore through them like a warm knife through butter, decimating their ranks and freeing the martial artists behind me to follow. I heard some of them cheer ‘Riverfiend!’ as if in exultation. The sound of their praise improved my ill mood somewhat, but I did not let it affect me.

I could feel the whisper of the dantian in my heart, telling me that I was drawing them to their deaths. I had far too much experience in ignoring that feeling. I tamped it down as I swung my sword, reaping with each blow the lives of more Korlove and Jobu.

I had killed ten of them by the time the second enforcer finally arrived near enough to threaten me, the endless stream of iron slugs it was firing now obstructing my movement.

“Surrender and you will be spared, thief!” called a mechanical sounding voice muffled by the enforcer’s heavy frame. I sneered in response, turning for a moment to point my blade at it.

“My will and my heart allow no surrender!” I called back.

It is a funny thing, the importance of a martial artist’s heart. At the lower stages, the impact of a weak or strong heart is negligible, but by the core formation stage a faltering heart risks nurturing a heart demon within itself.

Despite their name, such demons are merely evidence of a mind and soul on the verge of fracturing. One must face their demons to overcome them, tempering their heart and soul. Altering, there are some sanguine paths that temper the demon into a vessel to improve the conduit between body and soul, growing greatly in power in exchange for their sanity.

The worst result was those who succumbed to their demons.

For such reasons, a martial artist would always pay attention to the voice of their heart, wary of the danger posed by one’s traumas and insecurities. When the time came to face one’s demons, it was best for that demon to be as weak as possible.

My eyes roamed the battlefield, searching for the best direction to take. Barriers of flickering orange light had been lined up along the railing, presumably in an attempt to prevent me from diving below as I had before.

They had no way of knowing that I would not be able to do so this time.

Though I had decimated a squad of celan soldiers, there remained an enforcer inside the warehouse behind me as well as the one facing me right now. Who knew whether there was another one around as well.

Behind the enforcer I could see the wall of light extending around, blocking off all exits. I could not see what was going on at the entrance one floor lower in the stack, but I imagined something similar had been set up. It did not strike me as worth the effort of fighting my way down there just to fall into a trap.

That left one option. If I worked with the Hadal’s forces to defeat the enforcer, perhaps we could make enough space on the battlefield for me to break through the barrier.

The enforcer charged at me, and I dove back, choosing to stall for time. While I had damaged the enforcer last time, that was at the cost of heavy wounds. This time, the presence of the Hadal Clan gave me more options, and I intended to make use of them.

“Keep him busy for a bit longer, my brother will soon be able to assist you,” spoke the wind in my ears.

Over the past week I had grown accustomed to a woman’s voice whispering into my ears, but unlike how Rachel’s voice seemed as if she was right behind me, Ria’s seemed like she was far away, and the sound somehow traveled to me anyway.

I was unable to pressure the enforcer at all, and nor could I close the distance and engage it in melee unless it were to allow me to do so. All I could do is dodge the wavering fields of fire from the various automatic firearms emerging from the machine.

In any other battle, The enforcer would have known we were at a stalemate and chosen a more opportune target for itself. In this case however, I was the primary target, and the enforcer’s most important mission was, I imagined, to capture or kill me.

This was my advantage.

I dodged to the side, letting another wave of bullets pass through the location I had just been. I leapt at the side of the warehouse, my feet making contact with the sheet metal wall as I jumped back off at full speed.

The weaker martial artists emerged from the breach beside me in a wave, finally able to pass through now that so many of the gunmen had been culled. Ignoring the enforcer, as it was far outside of their league, they charged for the remaining soldiers.

There were fewer of the martial artists than I had seen inside, and I imagined that some must have already been caught by the gunfire as they forced their way outside.

“It’s all your fault,” whispered my heart. “No matter where you go, it will always happen again.”

I fought my emotions, channeling my pain into my footwork as I continued to stall the enforcer. How long had it been? Seconds, minutes? In the heat of battle, it was hard to discern.

“Good job, Riverfiend.” whispered Ria, “We’re here.”

I heard the tremors of the footsteps of a large man approach, and from the corner of my eyes I could see Taek charging in, growing larger and larger as more muscle fibers snaked up his legs and arms. He was like a charging bull angling its horns for the kill.

I steadied my sword. Alone, I stood little chance. But backed up by two other martial masters of my realm, we had a chance. We would be destroying this enforcer tonight.

Riverfiends: [A phylum of monstrous creatures native to Canvas, Riverfiends were created by the ascendant Toval, and are the apex predators of the waterways on the continent of Bounty. They are long and fast, able to dart out of the water at high speeds, attacking prey with spikes on their fins that they use to impale the prey to be dragged into the water and eaten. There are a variety of species of Riverfiend, of which most are dangerous even to martial artists. They are sometimes used in media as a symbol of mettle and ferocity, depicted as diving out of their waters in search of battle. There is a famous myth about a Seiyal warrior named Khito who had great power due to possessing the 'blood of the riverfiend.']