Chapter 1547 (1/2)

Randidly was slightly leery at first, knowing that this strange Commandant Keckle would be staying on the Rally Station to watch over him. On the one hand, he appreciated an extra line of defense to deter Velio Dunn after that brief clash; that tattooed man had shown Randidly how little he could do in a direct fight against a powerful monster of the Nexus.

Randidly had sensed that truth when he faced the greedy Commandant Wick, but Velio Dunn’s attack had revealed just how foolish Randidly had been.

On the other hand, Randidly also worried that Military High Command would begin to look a little too closely at the structure of his training array. Perhaps, like the Engraving Guild of the Nexus, they would be interested in the various runes that he had learned through Neveah studying the tomb left by Yyxtrix on Expira.

However, it quickly became apparent that Randidly was overthinking the issue: in the day after the debacle caused by Dunn, the Commandant was busy replacing all of the killed and broken Drill Sergeants so that the troops would be trained on time. Due to the rapid nature of the changes, Randidly sniffed the hint of some inter military politics in the new appointees. Still, that really wasn’t any of his business. His job as Head Drill Sergeant primarily concerned the elite squad.

It was enough that Commandant Keckle seemed focused on other issues.

Randidly made some quiet inquiries and received the official report from Lady Iellaya regarding the death toll: 17 Drill Sergeants were considered to have been lost in the attack. Fifteen were killed outright, while two had their images destroyed. Further, a little less than three thousand of the recruits had been seriously maimed in the rapid destruction of the Rally Station. A few of the Commandants were floating the idea of having a second wave of recruits trained, but there was nothing definitive yet.

Due to Randidly’s quick actions with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil, he had managed to move his recruits before the Velio’s image had ripped through the underground tunnels. There were a few minor injuries, but they rapidly healed due to the recruits' powerful bodies. Really, the only true damage suffered was…

Randidly grimaced down at his Philsopher’s Key that he spun across his fingers as he sat in a comfortable chair. The Fatepiece hadn’t been rendered completely useless, but creating a portal now took about five minutes of concentrated effort that left Randidly with a buzzing headache. He sensed that the Fatepiece was slowly healing itself, but for the foreseeable future, it would be an inconvenience.

Remembering the attack Dunn had unleashed when he actually gripped his sword made Randidly shiver. Still, it wasn’t like it was all bad… that’s one more piece of evidence for where I sit in the Nexus hierarchy. Plus Sulfur has been torturing himself due to the fact I wasn’t able to wear him for the attack. So he’s practically begged that I help shift his form to match to the Grim Chimera’s form…

Beyond any of these petty benefits, there was another large reason for celebration right now, two days after the Velio Dunn attack. Randidly’s heart was warm, even if he was currently on strict orders to rest.

“Are you cold?” A sharp-eyed Vualla asked a Randidly as she spotted his shiver from across the apartment. She quickly produced a blanket from her interspatial ring and draped it across him. Randidly’s mouth twitched as he spotted a bloodstain on the rather threadbare blanket that Vualla had offered him; it seemed that like Randidly, Vualla didn’t spend any effort collecting material positions. Seemingly oblivious to Randidly’s thoughts, Vualla continued to speak.”Is there anything else you need? I’m not extremely skilled in any domestic arts, but I want you to recover as quickly as possible.”

“I’m really fine,” Randidly pointed out. “If you wanted to spar, I’m prepared. It’s just my Fatepiece that’s still a bit shaken up.”

She had shown up suddenly, using her credentials as a member of the Xyrt Brigade to get onto the Rally Station. She had even somehow managed to capture some of the raw Nether from the Fifth Cohort, bringing it to Randidly as a gift, because she understood how he wanted to study Nether.

Her expression had instantly shifted when she had found him and examined his state. Even if there were no visible wounds, Vualla had taken in his turbulent emotions and instantly understood that something had happened. They had been apart, but their connection had snapped back into place instantly. There was an implicit resonance between them that was partially the exchanged Aether and Nether and partially something primal. Through that bridge, Vualla had glimpsed a bit of the circumstance.

Through that same bridge, Randidly saw Vualla’s honest response. And surging from the depths of her soul, Randidly had briefly witnessed a baleful force of annihilation. With his newfound attentiveness to emotion, he could feel the sharp teeth of her rage snap at this world.

Strangely, it was one of the most touching displays he had ever seen.

Of course, as she now sat on his lap in his apartment, Vualla ignored Randidly’s claims that he was prepared to spar. She settled sideways across Randidly’s blanket-covered lap, sliding her arms naturally around his neck. During her time training with the Xyrt Brigade, she had let her hair grow out. Her azure curls flowed down over her shoulders to the middle of her back like a sedate stream. Her clear azure eyes were locked onto Randidly’s emerald ones as she seemed to measure him.

Through her eyes, Randidly could sense how much fury she possessed. Fury toward the Nexus for destroying so many lives and the fickle nature of this world that Randidly had almost been destroyed the day before she would have seen him. Randidly’s heart began to beat faster and his features softened.

“I know,” Vualla said quietly. She leaned forward and laid her forehead against Randidly’s shoulder. When she released a deep sigh of exhaustion, Randidly felt her warm breath on his throat. “I know that you managed to survive this time. We are just… too far away from our goal. I don’t want to lose you. Not now that I’ve finally found… you. Across space and time.”

Randidly meant to reach up and pat Vualla’s head, but he abruptly realized his left arm was still melted to nothing inside the collapsed tunnel of the Rally Station. He had begun making a new blueprint with Neveah, but that would take a few more days before they used their polished Engraving abilities. So he grimaced and used his other hand to reach up and squeeze Vualla’s shoulder.

For a few seconds, he simply savored how warm she was. They could worry about the impending crisis later. For now, they simply reminded each other of their connection. As their proximity continued, the fidelity of their connection increased.

Without quite knowing how he was so certain, Randidly knew what Vualla wanted. He squeezed her shoulder and then brought his fingers across to her chin and nudged her upward. And when she relaxed and looked up to meet his gaze, Randidly kissed her.

Her lips were soft, but what he mostly noticed were her hands. They were clamped around his shoulders, squeezing as though she was deathly afraid of letting go, even for a second. Their kiss shifted, Vualla angling her body a bit away from Randidly.

His hand went back to her shoulder and squeezed as their kiss grew more intense. I’m here.

Her hands remained tight on his shoulders as she pressed herself against him. You might not want to, but they might make us leave one day.

On an unspoken cue, they began removing the obstacles between them. Vualla ripped her threadbare blanket to pieces with obvious glee. At this moment, in this ostentatious penthouse apartment, they had each other within arms reach; the experience was heady.

Both were so filled with fire that despite their desires to linger near each, they would return to the dangers of the Nexus. They would not compromise on their goals. So these precious chances couldn’t be missed.

For a while after that, Randidly didn’t think about anything at all.

*****

Lady Iellaya’s eyes blazed as she thrust her right arm forward. Her black feathers were flared outward as her limb unleashed a tide of darkness at the chest of Dmitri Qiolo. Apep, the Peregrine Serpent, spread its wings will all of the smothering power of a torrential downpour that bordered on sleet. Qiolo’s image was extinguished by that gushing wave of force. In its wake, there were only scales and black feathers and swirling darkness remaining in the surroundings.

Despite the fact that his image was destroyed, Qiolo quickly recovered. Perhaps because of his history of being crushed, he was surprisingly resourceful in bad situations. He sprang sideways, narrowly avoiding the rustling charge of Lady Iellaya’s image. Then he planted his feet and raised his arms. A naked iron blade seemed to flicker life above him. Qiolo seized the implement and dashed forward, heading to strike at Lady Iellaya.

She shook her head, almost sadly. The offensive Peregrine Serpent that had flashed past Qiolo vanished and then reappeared, its body curled tightly around Lady Iellaya in a defensive posture. Its eyes gleamed in the darkness. Grimacing, Qiolo tried to roll to the side but he could not avoid the serpent’s tail from that distance. He was smashed back, drowned in a wave of raven feathers that clung to him, weakening him further.

He crashed against the ground but rolled right back onto his feet. He spun the sword adeptly and cut his way through the flow of feathers. Yet small amounts of inky darkness began to stain his limbs.

Just as Lady Iellaya smiled sweetly and prepared to finish the test, Qiolo raised his arms in surrender. The serpent hissed in her ear that she should strike and devour this weakling anyway, but Lady Iellaya ignored that voice. The image she had received from the Class Randidly made for her, despite being quite powerful, was ultimately short-sighted in its decisions. But she couldn’t suppress the unwilling rumble of her stomach, as though she missed a meal.