Raid Crashers
This settlement was slightly different from other nearby towns. Not only was it slightly larger, but its population fluctuated depending on the season, as merchants and travelers stayed there for a few months as they gathered useful or valuable items from all across the southern wastes before leaving. This was possible due to the location of the settlement: South of the main city ruins, with the jungles to the west and the sea to the east, as well as one of the main roads of the wastes to the south.
But not all of its population left; there were locals that actually lived there. Raiding the settlement when the merchants were still there was impossible since they tend to hire protection. But there always was a bit of commerce between locals and merchants, and a local raider gang decided to strike right after the main groups of merchants left.
Chloe was struggling to run away, but the weight of the injured Stentlement inhabitant she was carrying was too much for a child like her, and the raiders were quickly closing in on them.
"Just leave me, kid!" shouted the wounded man.
"No way!" responded Chloe. That man and his wife had been kind enough to let her stay with them when she arrived in town. The blasts from the explosives had caused the elderly couple to get separated, and a piece of shrapnel had injured the old man. Chloe had managed to stop the bleeding, but helping an injured adult move was too much for her.
One raider had finally caught up to them. He kicked the old man aside and grabbed Chloe by her hair.
"Come here, you fucking bitch!" barked the bandit at the same time as he raised his rusty cleaver to strike the old man.
As the raider's cleaver gleamed menacingly in the light of the surrounding fires, fear surged through Chloe's young heart. She couldn't bear to witness the senseless violence about to befall the kind man who had shown her compassion. With a surge of determination, she summoned every ounce of strength within her.
Summoning a burst of adrenaline, Chloe lunged forward, her small frame colliding with the raider. Caught off guard, he stumbled backward, releasing his grip on her hair. Taking advantage of the momentary respite, Chloe swiftly reached for a nearby piece of debris—a broken pipe—and wielded it as a makeshift weapon.
The raider, recovering from the surprise attack, snarled angrily and charged toward Chloe, his cleaver slashing through the air. But Chloe's survival instincts kicked in, and she deftly evaded his wild swings. With each nimble dodge, she mustered her courage and struck back, delivering swift and precise blows with the metal pipe.
From the corner of her eye, Chloe caught sight of movement. Reinforcements were converging on the scene as more bandits emerged from the surrounding buildings and alleyways. The settlement, once a place of relative safety and camaraderie, was now under siege by a formidable gang of raiders.
Realizing the imminent danger, Chloe made a split-second decision. She couldn't single-handedly fend off the entire group of bandits while protecting the injured man. She needed help.
As Chloe braced herself for the impending clash, a figure emerged from the shadows, catching Chloe's attention. It was a handsome young man. He had gray hair and bloodshot eyes surrounded by strange scar-like markings that had a faint blue glow. He was wearing ragged clothes. In one of his hands was a knife, and in the other was a strange blade made of flesh and bone.
Nikto's eyes locked onto Chloe, and without hesitation, he darted towards her. His movements were swift and fluid, his superhuman speed carrying him effortlessly through the chaos of the settlement's streets. The bandits, caught off guard by his sudden appearance, momentarily faltered in their advance. With a swift motion, he dispatched two bandits who dared to approach, their bodies collapsing to the ground.
"Stay close, kid." Nikto's voice resonated with an air of calm authority, offering her a sense of security amidst the turmoil. His precognitive abilities allowed him glimpses into possible futures, granting him an advantage in combat. More bandits fell. Some were cut down with the knife. Others die from the poison of the living sword. And a few perished without Nikto even touching them.
After getting rid of the raiders, Nitko sheathed the knife, and his living sword retreated into his sleeve, latching itself to his arm. He grabbed the injured man and the young girl with one arm each. Enhancing his strength and speed, Nitko carried both of them, jumping from the roof of one hut to another, evading raiders, and swiftly moving through the maze-like alleys of the settlement.
After running for a bit, the group finally reached a safe spot on top of a nearby radio tower. Right after Nikto released Chloe, the young girl rushed to check on how the old man was doing.
"No, no, no, no," mumbled the girl.
"What's wrong?" asked Nikto while he looked around for threats.
Chloe turned around. She was crying. The tears carved clean paths on her dirt-smeared face. "He's dead..."
Before Nitko could comfort her, his precognition was activated again. In his vision, he saw a missile from a rocket launcher blowing them up. The damn raiders came prepared with big guns.
His reflexes and time perception were further enhanced by his bio-field control kicking in. Every single fraction of a second mattered. If he moved, he'd have no trouble dodging it, but what about the girl?
He grabbed Chloe in a bear hug, already seeing the rocket coming from the corner of his eye.
This was going to hurt.
The raider assault was even heavier on the opposite side of the settlement. Gang commanders riding large mutant beasts screamed orders at raiders armed with firearms and explosives. However, the loudest screams were coming from outside the settlement, behind the wasteland raiders.
A thunderous roar echoed through the air, drawing the attackers attention away from the embattled town. There, emerging from the smoke and debris, strode a colossal figure draped in a mighty power armor suit, exuding an aura of raw strength and brutality.
With each earth-shaking step, Magnus closed the distance between himself and the marauding raiders. His towering frame and the gleaming chainsaw sword clasped firmly in his gauntlet sent shivers down the spines of his foes.
The raiders, sensing an overwhelming threat, momentarily froze in their tracks as Magnus unleashed a deafening battle cry, cutting through the chaos with the force of a war drum. The sheer power of his roar invigorated the settlement's defenders, reigniting their fighting spirit.
However, the barbarian's battle cry was interrupted when he was rammed by the large, mutated steed of one of the commanders. After a few seconds of silence, the raiders began to laugh and shout insults at the power armor user's demise.
But boy, were they wrong.
Unrelenting machine gun fire pierced through the mutant beast, decimating the bandits that were laughing at him not even a second ago. Once the shooting stopped, the sound of a chainsaw revving echoed across the battlefield as Magnus was ripping the mutant animal that attacked him in two. The remaining raiders were frozen in fear at the sight of the now blood-covered, iron-clad juggernaut stepping on one of the halves of the mutant beast as he made his way towards them.
With a resounding swing of his chainsaw sword, Magnus plunged into the fray. The air became a symphony of destruction as the deadly teeth of the weapon tore through flesh and bone, its integrated machine gun unleashing a torrent of bullets that ripped through the ranks of the remaining raiders.
The raiders, once filled with arrogance, now quivered in fear as Magnus cleaved through their numbers, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake.
Clad in weathered armor that bore the scars of countless battles, Lin surveyed the turmoil from a distance. She had heard the clash of steel and the cries of battle, drawing her attention towards the settlement under siege. As she neared the settlement, Lin's senses honed in on the desperation and strife that permeated the air. With an innate understanding of the battle's ebb and flow, she calculated her entry point, choosing a vulnerable flank where the raiders had yet to gain a foothold.
With a burst of speed and precision, Lin lunged into the midst of the unsuspecting bandits. Her blade sang through the air, severing limbs and delivering fatal blows. She moved with lethal grace, each strike a testament to her mastery of combat.
The raiders, taken aback by the arrival of this fierce warrior, soon found themselves outmatched. Lin's agility and skill allowed her to evade their clumsy strikes, her blade finding its mark with ruthless efficiency.
The bandits, once full of bravado, now recoiled in fear, their ranks scattering before the unyielding onslaught.
As the dust settled and the echoes of battle faded, a tense silence enveloped the settlement. Lin, her muscles still taut from the recent clash, cast her gaze across the smoldering ruins. Her senses heightened, and she detected movement in the corner of her eye—an imposing figure clad in power armor emerged from the shadows.
Magnus, his own armor bearing the scars of recent combat, glared at Lin, his grip tightening on his chainsaw sword. He saw in her a potential threat to the settlement's safety—an intruder who had arrived during the chaos of the raid. Lin, too, saw in Magnus a potential enemy—a formidable adversary she yearned to test her skills against.
Their eyes locked in a moment of silent recognition, their instincts honed for battle. Lin's mind raced, evaluating Magnus as a potential challenge, his towering presence and powerful armor sparking her battle enthusiast's spirit.
The air felt heavy, and the tension there would be enough to overwhelm a normal person. Each warrior is ready to fight. Each oblivious to the genuine intentions of the other. Lin's thoughts raced, her inner thoughts a mix of anticipation and wariness.
"A warrior of immense strength, no doubt. If he is an enemy, then this shall be a battle to test my mettle," thought Lin. "But he feels different from those raiders."
The clash of their weapons seemed imminent—a duel between two unstoppable forces on the cusp of eruption. However, before their standoff could escalate further, a seismic presence emanated from the opposite end of the town—a force so overwhelming it commanded their attention.
In that fleeting moment, as their swords remained at rest, their eyes met once more, a silent agreement forged in the crucible of uncertainty. Lin's fiery spirit and Magnus's unyielding resolve merged in a shared understanding—their battle could wait, for a far more formidable adversary awaited them.
Side by side, they traversed the settlement, making their way towards the source of that pressure.
As Lin and Magnus approached the source of the overwhelming presence, their anticipation turned to astonishment as they discovered a young girl at its epicenter, cradling a heavily injured, unconscious man. The girl's eyes glimmered with a wild intensity, her once-innocent demeanor consumed by a berserker rage. There was a thin membrane draped across her back, hanging loosely from her shoulders.
The membrane looked fragile. It had a milky white color with a veined texture reminiscent of blood vessels. It unfurled and expanded, resembling an amalgam between a cape, ragged and torn on the edges, and a pair of wings with an intricate network of veins pulsating within its structure. Its sickly grayish hue and translucent appearance only added to its otherworldly and ethereal nature.
With an incredible burst of speed, the living weapon lashed out at the two barbarians. The membrane unleashed a barrage of ferocious attacks; its movements were unpredictable and devastating. Lin and Magnus, skilled warriors in their own right, found themselves pushed to their limits as they desperately defended against the onslaught.
Even with her reflexes, Lin wasn't able to completely follow the attacks of the living weapon with her eyes. Instead, she reinforced her defense by focusing on her battle instincts and skills and predicting where it'd strike. She danced with the living weapon, her blade clashing against its ethereal form. Her movements were precise, her strikes calculated, but the sheer power of Chloe's unleashed weapon tested her resolve like never before.
Magnus, too, summoned every ounce of his strength and experience, his chainsaw sword hacking through the air with thunderous force. His power armor absorbed the brunt of the living weapon's assaults, but the strain on his physical stamina was evident. And even if it was a piece of pre-war equipment, his power armor would only be able to take so many attacks from that monstrosity.
The clash continued, with Lin and Magnus locked in an arduous struggle against the living weapon's relentless onslaught. The two warriors were slowly getting used to fighting alongside each other.
She deftly deflected the living weapon's attacks with a combination of parries and counters, her blade meeting the ethereal entity with impeccable timing. Lin's movements were a symphony of calculated agility, her footwork allowing her to evade the weapon's lashing strikes while keeping her own attacks relentless and swift.
Magnus, on the other hand, embraced his raw power, his mighty chainsaw sword whirring to life with a menacing growl. His massive frame served as an unyielding barrier against the onslaught of the living weapon. With each swing, his weapon carved through the air with thunderous force, the chainsaw teeth ripping into the ethereal substance.
His power armor absorbed the brunt of the living weapon's attacks, its plating withstanding the onslaught. Magnus responded with brute strength, each strike a testament to his indomitable resolve. He used his immense power to deliver bone-shattering blows, seeking to weaken and suppress the living weapon's relentless assaults.
Their unspoken understanding and seamless synergy allowed them to complement each other's movements effortlessly. They utilized a combination of defensive maneuvers and offensive strikes, each adapting their tactics to the ever-shifting nature of the living weapon's attacks. However, they knew that a battle of endurance would be their doom, as the membrane regenerated in seconds every time it was damaged. That is, when they managed to damage it, as its durability was also increasing and its attack patterns were becoming faster and more unpredictable.
Nikto's injuries weighed heavily on him, restricting his movements to mere whispers of what they once were. With each labored breath, he defied his physical limitations, his precognition guiding him through the chaotic dance with Chloe's living weapon.
Through the haze, Nikto's senses sharpened, his future sight allowing him to find the best path. He moved with calculated precision, but his damaged body was only barely responding to the imminent danger, evading the onslaught by the slimmest of margins.
Both barbarians saw the wasteland ronin stand up, their instincts telling them that this was their way to victory. Lin and Magnus, attuned to his struggle, synchronized their actions in a remarkable display of teamwork.
Ripping and tearing from Magnus Cutting and slashing from Lin. They were giving their best, pushing both themselves and their equipment to their limits to push back that aberration of a weapon.
As Nikto closed the distance, his voice, though strained, carried a firm yet compassionate tone. "Get a grip, kid," he said, before flicking Chloe's forehead. His words were laced with kindness.
Chloe, her wild eyes locking onto Nikto's gaze, momentarily hesitated as his voice cut through the chaotic storm that raged within her. The severity of his injuries and the genuine care in his voice resonated deep within her soul. Slowly, the frenetic energy that fueled her living weapon began to wane.
Nikto immediately passed out again.
Her small hands trembled as she reached for her fallen savior. Her living weapon wrapped itself around her body and disguised itself as scarring once again.
A fleeting moment of silence enveloped the battlefield as Chloe, her breathing ragged and her eyes still clouded with remnants of her berserker state, regained a semblance of control.
Two days had passed since the intense confrontation, and a newfound sense of calm had settled upon the town. The wounds inflicted by the bandit raid were slowly healing, both physically and emotionally.
Dr. Crane surveyed the settlement. Its inhabitants were slowly rebuilding the buildings, clearing the rubble, and paying their respects to the fallen.
The good doctor finally found Nitko in one of the tents used as temporary housing. The swordsman was covered in bandages, but he could move around without much issue.
"Excuse me," said Crane, entering the tent.
"Oh! You must be Doctor Crane!" said Nitko "I didn't think you'd be here so soon!"
"When you contacted me saying that there had been a raider attack and you had been injured, I tried to get here as fast as I could," said the neurologist. "But I'm relieved to see that everything is fine now."
The doctor took a seat and discussed their options. Nitko was going to be his bodyguard until they reached the Port of Steel.
"I have to admit," said the doctor, "your recovery is quite miraculous! And here I thought I needed to hire someone else after you described the extent of your injuries to me."
"I've been getting some nice treatment," answered Nikto. "Give me another day, and I'll be ready to honor our agreement."
"Excuse me..."
Their conversation was interrupted as Chloe, her youthful face marked with a resolute determination, approached them.
"Talking about the devil This is the girl that patched me up," said Nikto. "She's been patching everyone up, actually."
Chloe had been diligently tending to the wounded, her small frame carrying a weight of responsibility that belied her age. Doctor Crane's eyes softened as he regarded the girl.
"I see; it's always nice to meet a colleague!" said Crane with a smile. "I'm Charles Crane. But you can call me Dr. Crane if you like."
Chloe met Crane's gaze, her eyes flickering with a mix of gratitude and determination. Oh, I'm no doctor; I just couldn't stand by doing nothing... They took care of me when I arrived here, and it's only right that I return the favor."
"That's already admirable, young lady. If it weren't for you, maybe I'd be looking for a new bodyguard!" Crane stood up, leaving his bags in the tent.
"Well, since I'm already here and Nikto still needs to recover, I might as well look around and see how I can help!" said the doctor, rolling up his sleeves.
Nitko, Crane, and Chloe were eating at the inn the doctor was staying at. This time, they were joined by a tall man of imposing features and a beautiful woman with flowing black hair.
"I see," said Magnus, "so you are heading north."
"After seeing you help heal the townspeople, I get how valuable your skills are," added Lin. "Are you sure you're fine with just one guy as your bodyguard?"
Lin and Magnus had stuck around after the raid. They pestered Nitko for fights a few times, but Chloe told them not to bother her patients. Seeing a little girl refer to others as her patients made Crane laugh.
"It's not like I have the funds for extra muscle," said Crane.
"Well, we can travel together. As companions," said the tall barbarian, leaving the little girl alone, dealing with curses like that. It isn't right."
"Besides, I feel like sticking around you guys for a bit could prove really exciting," joked Lin before she started to wolf her meal down.
Nikto looked at the two barbarians discussing things with Crane before turning his attention to Chloe. She looked troubled.
"What's on your mind, kid?"
"Uhmm... I don't have the funds to pay you for protecting me."
"You healed me, though. I think that's enough."
"Maybe, but you helped me twice, and I've only healed you once!"
Nikto looked at her for a bit before flicking her forehead again.
"Ow, what's that for?" complained Chloe.
"Don't worry about money. You're free to tag along. Good company is enough pay for me, after all."