AA. 200

“Why the fuck is the intelligence so stingy?” Selia demanded. 

Team Forge covered half the sector, taking out hives and Cursed Ones and exploring over and underground areas. Yet they had only earned two points. Most of them had burned through a third of their energy stores but had nothing to show for it. They now stood on a tall watchtower, scanning their surroundings.

“We don't have much of a choice.” Zora sighed, glancing at the chaotic scene nearby. A battle had started ten minutes prior behind them in the direction of the second entry gate into the sector. “I know none of us want to backpedal, but if we clean up whatever is going on back there, it might score us a point, if not two. Any objections?”

Nil shook his head. “It's what I wanted to do from the start.” The crimson tail unconsciously swished behind him. Keeping it manifested was easier and faster than absorbing and reshaping the energy. It was challenging to maintain stealth when moving with Shawn and Zora, so he didn't mind that the crimson energy made him stand out in the dash. “Hit hard and fast. Then race to the beacon. If we don't find enough points along the way, we can hole up and wait for any other teams in the sector.”

“I don't see any reason why we shouldn't give it a try,” Shawn said. He appeared to have somewhat relaxed since the last sector, but the lack of points was also starting to get on his nerves.

“Great!” Nil exclaimed. “I sense several Cursed Energy signatures. There are either a pair of teams taking on a bunch of Cursed Ones or fighting Scourge Champions. We can take out two birds with one stone.”

“You're too chipper,” Zora said coldly. She groaned, massaging the back of her neck. Her low Might and lacking endurance were starting to show. It made sense why very few Cleansing teams had dedicated mages. Despite the rest periods, it eventually got too much for them. If not for Shawn aiding her travel, Nil doubted she would’ve made it past the second sector. “It's starting to get annoying.”

“Don't listen to her,” Selia said, putting an arm around Nil’s shoulder and leaning on him.  “I love it when you’re all pleasant, cheerful, and goofy. Zora is just grumpy and needs some chocolate.”

“I could really go for some chocolate right now.” Zora sighed, shoulders slumping. “Something nutty and milky would go down great.” She looked at Selia, eyes narrowing. “No double entendres, please.”

“I said nothing.” Selia grinned. 

“I swear I always get stuck with immature idiots,” Zora mumbled as they set off.

Shawn appeared amused, and his demeanor softened as the floating barrier took flight. Transport seemed to consume the bulk of his energy stores, and he primarily used his weapon in combat. Apparently, it was a lot more power-efficient. Shattering shields, though powerful, apparently consumed far too much energy. The weapon Andrew designed and built had utterly changed how Shawn fought, giving him the means to take on a long event like the Cleansing. His old fighting style would’ve left him too drained and tired to complete the latter longer sectors.

It didn’t take the party long to reach the source of chaos. A market square had become the center of a giant three-way battle. Void-controlled Cursed Ones, ordinary Cursed Ones, beasts, several Scourge Champions, and an independent team were all locked in a heated confrontation. Body parts littered the ground, and it appeared almost all groups had suffered significant casualties. 

“Holy shit!” Nil exclaimed. He pointed at the losing side. They were pushed into a corner. One of the five had already fallen, and another sat at the back, casting spells and clutching a giant wound on his side. It was bleeding out rapidly. One of the two people on the frontline had his attention. She tore through the sea of Cursed Beasts and Cursed Ones with six floating arms, all wielding beautifully shaped energy weapons. “That’s Iris! She’s on the other Nexus team.”

“Looks like Iris will have to surrender, or she is going to die a pretty brutal death,” Zora commented. “That’s two and a half Scourge teams.” She pointed at the forces on the roofs on the ground on the other side. They seemed to be egging on normal Cursed Ones while fighting the Void-controlled specimens. “We’ll walk away from this at least two points.”

“What?” Nil frowned. “We need to help them.”

“Why?” Shawn asked. “Why help them? They’re not from our world. Just competition. It would make sense—”

“Because Iris and I made a deal,” Nil interrupted. His patience was lacking. “The Nexus sent her and her people to do the same thing as us. We agreed that if we bump into each other, we’d work together to take on the Scourge.”

“And this is the same woman that tried to seduce you.” Shawn frowned, looking between Nil and Selia. “And you’re both okay with it?”

“She just wanted super Source babies.” Selia shrugged. “Can’t blame a girl for that, can we? At least she was upfront about it and not all sneaky or a creep.” The fight below took a turn when one of Iris’s companions disappeared in a flash. The opposing force gained ground, and the Scourge took out a pair of giant Void-controlled Cursed Ones. Nil had no doubts about who would come out on top without intervention. “There are far too many hostiles here. A temporary team-up might be a good idea.”

“I don’t like the look of this, but I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Zora said, glancing at the beacon in the distance. “But we need to think about what will happen if some of us get eliminated. Will the rest continue and try to win? What happens if we get into the top three? The progression points get shared, but will the person who gets knocked out get a share of the reward?”

“Most of us need ascension tokens,” Shawn said. “How about everyone gets at least one of those and an equal share of tokens and credits? Materials can be discussed later. There are spirit companion eggs and food too. It's not the time to figure all of that out now.”

“What about soul weapon seeds?” Zora asked. “I want one if the team gets one, regardless of how far we get or who wins.”

“I’m fine with that,” Shawn said.

Neither Nil or Selia had any thoughts on the matter. Saving Iris and taking out the Scourge teams took priority. “If the team makes it to the top three, everyone will be compensated regardless of how many of us make it to the three,” Nil said. “I’ll concede everything but Schema tokens and credits if we don’t get to second place. I’ll be out of Apocalypse Arena for good anyway. First place might not be out of reach, though. If we make it, none of us will be hurting for rewards, including anyone that gets knocked out now or later.”

“Let’s go then.”

Zora remained on the bell tower, which they used as their perch. She began her bombardment without further hesitation, targeting the ten Scourge Champions spread around the section of the ruined city. It got their attention straight away, and Selia slipped into the ground, making a beeline for the enemy’s hard-hitting ranged attackers. The party’s guardian stayed close to the mage, ensuring no monster or other threat got near her while cutting and carving a sludgy path through them.

Meanwhile, Nil dove into the fray, landing near Iris. After sending Meatball out to sow chaos, he shaped a pair of knuckle daggers, grew similar curved blades from the elbows, and maintained the draconic-looking Chaos tail in its base form. Adding a blade to the end might’ve worked in his favor, but it felt like overkill. The energy demands were high, but he had One With The Source. He no longer needed to rely on Absorb or Order to recover his energy. Every kill added more Cursed Energy to the environment. Nil welcomed it into his aether channels, circulated and purified it, and then used the remnants to fuel Expend and Toggled Supercharging.

Nil simultaneously empowered speed and toughness. It took a lot out of him, but he somehow kept the drain to a minimum, adjusting the additional infusion as and when necessary. He worked his way outward from Iris and her companions, cutting down all in his path, occasionally using Anti-Friction Lattice to reposition or just shoot through a crowd, slicing and disintegrating giant bits of all in his path. One With The Source helped him locate the enemies’ hearts more accurately. He sliced through them or opened giant wounds around them so his companions or Iris’ team could take them out. Meatball also provided valuable assistance, tripping up foes that tried to sneak up on him or snake their way to Iris’s injured friend.

As Nil fought, he felt more like a beast than a martial artist. The crimson lightning arcing off his energy weapons provided enough defence by keeping enemies at bay and him from getting surrounded. He only occasionally paused to strike foes, opting to rip or burn chunks out of them instead. It ensured he never had to slow or stop, leaving himself vulnerable to attacks from the rear or sides. 

There appeared to be confusion and hesitation amongst the cornered group when Team Forge initiated their attack. Nil didn’t blame them. They were surrounded; one of their members had died, and the other seemed to have suffered a mortal wound. Things looked bleak. Then, everything changed as a barrage of alien attacks commenced from seemingly nowhere. It took Iris a moment to realize who they were. 

The body ascension had slightly transformed Nil. His hair was messier—intentionally—and besides a minor stubble, he had no facial hair. It was a stark contrast to the, otherwise, tamed locks and trimmed facial hair he wore on Ashe Fall. The Source constructs also experienced rapid development thanks to Watcher’s scroll and his rapid mastery of Lightning Wrapping. Iris had spent several more months on Ashe Fall and then a while on her homeworld. A while had passed since she saw Nil.

I probably look like a completely different person.

“He’s a friend!” Iris yelled when she finally recognized Nil. “We got this. What do we say to death and surrender?”

“Not today!” Her companions replied. Only one put their heart in it. The individual in the backlines sounded weak from blood loss, while the other appeared terrified.

Iris charged forward, cutting a path through the enemy. Even though she and Nil weren’t familiar with each other’s recent developments, they were still familiar with each other’s style and tactics. They worked in near-perfect harmony, eliminating Cursed Ones regardless of whether they were possessed by the Void or not, the beasts that served them, and even a couple of careless Scourge champions.

Your team was partially responsible for the elimination of one Scourge World from the Cleansing and has earned 5 Schema Tokens and 500 Schema Credits.

Team Forge has scored 1 point and needs 2 more to make it through the gate.

Zora’s magic was perfectly suited for attacking multiple enemies at once. Because of the sheer volume of enemies and how densely they were populated, she could cut loose without fear of allies getting caught in the bombardment. She displayed a wider variety of combos, creating fiery tornados, localized lightning storms, and even miniature blizzards. The wide area spells limited the enemy’s movements and ensured no one got overrun.

Meanwhile, Selia took out two of the Scourge champions’ ranged attackers before they realized that Team Forge had a fourth member. The Schema failed to accurately interrupt their alien language. Nil heard the words ‘hunter’ and ‘sneak’ yelled out in warning. Then, the enemy forces regrouped, gathering in two clusters of threes.

Their retaliation was far from trivial. The enemy team forced Zora to focus more on defense and avoidance. She had to rely on her staff’s grappling hook function for the second time in the Cleansing, moving to a more favorable position, but then Shawn struggled to reach her, and Selia had to rush to her defense. Iris also lost her companions. The already injured lost too much blood to continue and surrendered. Another got surrounded and overwhelmed and surrendered before the enemy could end her. The last of them got overzealous and overconfident, attempting to assault a Scourge Champion trio directly. He took a Cursed Energy sword to a gut, and flames enveloped him. Nil didn’t get the chance to find out whether the man managed to surrender or was incinerated. Iris released an enraged battle cry and eliminated the perpetrator.

Team Forge has scored 1 point and needs 1 more to make it through the gate.

In the end, the mass of Cursed Ones proved too much. Team Forge was forced to retreat, and Iris fled with them. It wasn’t a failed endeavor. They had now successfully eliminated two Scourge worlds from the Cleansing. Now, only one remained.

No one on Team Forge was forced to surrender. However, Shawn had a severe burn to his upper back just under the left shoulder. Zora suffered a similar wound close to the hip, and Selia carried a shallow laceration awfully close to her throat. The enemy rogue also cut her hair down to shoulder length.