Solo [Event] The Ambush

[Sjal]

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Winter 60, 124

[Morning]

A towering Futo male moved amidst the chaos of battle like a storm of energy. For all the work he'd done to restrain his power… he couldn't restrain himself now. His best friend had just fallen and his own life was in danger. He stared at those around him with a clouded rage. His dominion's magic coursed through him, devouring his calories as an incredibly rapid rate. How much longer could he last? It was hard to say. He didn't remember how he'd got here, and he didn't care.

A squad that Sjal had been part of had gotten the drop on a group of futo warriors who had been patrolling. Why? Because they were trying to sneak by and both parties had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. So much bloodshed could have been avoided… yet they had to fight.

Even with the element of surprise, it was no easy feat to kill the futo. People so fucking fat that they could absorb bullets with their body fat… so fat that even a clean slice from Sjal's sword wasn't enough to reach any vital organs. They'd only dropped the first futo by sheer luck – a rifleman had landed a good shot to the eye. The other futo… he was something else. He'd blocked every attack that had come at him.

The first figures he came across had no chance. The force of the smash he brought down on them was was great enough to send bodies through the air like ragdolls. He didn't hear their screams, didn't hear their attempts to defend themselves. He knew only that he needed to destroy, to obliterate everything in his path.

With each step he took, a depression was formed in the ground. That was how much goddamn force was exerted just from his steps. Someone…. Or something tried to stop him. In front of him a flash of light erupted, a futile attack in an effort to slow him down. Mr. Futo didn't flinch. He charged forward, and roared, shaking the air, and met the resistance head on. He grabbed his attacker with his massive hand and tossed them away like a broken doll. He didn't see their face, he didn't hear their cries. To him, they were merely another obstacle in the way, another of many things that'd been swept aside by his sheer brute strength.

The more he fought, the more his mind fell apart. The edges of the world faded to a haze of red and his vision blurred. His body moved, the punch, kick, and smash done on instinct, learnt over years in combat training, and pure raw untamed power. But something else was happening, something unnatural and plainly wrong… the man behind the power, the Futo who had once wanted to grow old with his 'best friend' and know peace was being taken away piece by piece.

He didn't remember why he was fighting. Was it to protect someone? To avenge something? The reasons didn't matter anymore. Only the battle bore itself now - it was the endless cycle of destruction that fueled him.

The movements of a group of figures in front of him were coordinated as they tried to surround him. Mr. Futo didn't hesitate. He let out an earth shattering roar, and he grew even larger. His fat expanded like a wave that thrust his opponents away like leaves scattered in a hurricane. His fists pounded the ground with such force it cracked and splintered beneath him, and he lunged at the nearest Huo who hadn't been able to retreat fast enough.

But more attackers came, and they were nothing to him. They were shadows, meaningless shadows, washed away by the tidal wave of his anger. His unheard of strength drove each strike like it was a well choreographed dance. But the destruction he brought forth did not elicit any joy, there was no satisfaction in the act.

He couldn't feel the heat of the bullets that skimmed his skin, or the impact of the sword slashes that Sjal made over and over again. His fury drowned out the memory of pain. The Futo's movements get more and more erratic during the battle. He was nothing, and perhaps he would never come to his senses. Then, suddenly, he was finally out of calories and at the mercy to those around him to do with as they wanted to.

"Fucking hell," Sjal said as she looked at the carnage. Only two Futo had died but a dozen of Huo had perished. It never ceased to amaze her just how destructive Futo could be.

"Fat bastards," someone said to her left. She turned to see a man with teary eyes. It always hurt to lose people during battle, especially when they weren't even expecting to fight.

"We couldn't have done it any better," Sjal said with a sigh. It was a lie – she could have used more aether… but she couldn't afford to. She needed to keep her reserves high to make sure that she could get herself, and any survivors, to safety. This was not a 'go on a rampage' kind of mission.

"We should have just let them pass," another man said with a growl.

A third stepped up. His name was Riku and he was the leader of the squad, and said, "No. If we did that, they would have spotted our tracks. We had to kill them."

"But what of all that noise? There's no way all that went unnoticed. They'll be sending someone to check that out for sure."

"There's nothing we can do about that but keep moving forwards. I wasn't expecting any of us to die… but the ones we lost were all green. They knew what protocol to take when fighting against futo and they all choked."

Sjal coughed and pointed. "We should get moving. No time to sit here and mope."

"But the bodies…"

"She shouldn't be using her aether for that. Once we complete our mission we might have time to circle back around and make off with the remains."

Sjal nodded – she liked her leader. The feeling wasn't mutual… using magic wasn't exactly a good thing in Jian, but she had ended up in one of the few places that tolerated her abilities. Riku was one of the more capable leaders she'd ever met and he had yet to fail a mission since she'd known him. She trusted him, even if he was kind of mean to her at times.

"Get an aerial view. If you see movement, report back."

Sjal nodded then floated into the air. She lifted just above the treetops and looked out towards their destination – a clearing. Why it was so important to get there wasn't clear to her. She was a pretty strong force of nature but they didn't fill her in on matters of intelligence. Why would they?

As she rose above the treetops, she could see smoke in the distance. Smoke? Had there been a fire? There was so much smoke that it was hard to even see the sun. She knew enough about flying to know that she didn't need to be flying through a bunch of smoke. She flew back down and said, "I see a lot of smoke. That's about it. Do you know anything about a fire?"

"Yes," Riku said with a wave of his hand. "Those are the front lines, and that's where we're ultimately headed. We went this way to inspect the flanks. We learned what we needed to – they are indeed committing enough manpower to keep this area secure. We will push a little more inwards to see if we can spot any more patrols. Then, regardless, we go to the front lines. Remember… this is a reconnaissance mission… even if we did have to fight."

His last sentence was spoken to the group as a whole. There were only a couple senior guys with them. This wasn't exactly the kind of mission that necessitated a ton of experienced manpower. Plus they had Sjal, who had been instructed to keep the seniors safe by any means necessary, even if it meant using up her reserves. Those that had fallen were necessary sacrifices and she had been instructed NOT to help them if it came down to it.

Despite her power, she was still just a kid. She didn't have the battle wisdom to handle a thousand different things going on at the same time. She had to blink hard to get out of her own thoughts and realize that everyone had started moving again. They snuck through the trees much better than she could manage, then again she wasn't used to stealth. She didn't even bother trying – she just blinked up to the tree branches and flickered onto the next one, etc. She would keep above them and keep an eye out for danger as they made an arc towards the front lines. It was almost time for the real fighting to start.

1500 WC