BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

1129  The battle for Maynard Island (6)

"Where the fuck is he?"

"I don't know! I can't see him!"

"Vex, can you do something?"

But Vex couldn't, though; he wasn't stupid, and even if he directly couldn't, there was still something he could do: think. In fact, he had an idea.

"Terra, flood the area; we will use the water as—"

But Vex stopped mid-sentence because he saw it—a small cloud of dust heading in their direction.

"Shit."

He bent the space, and the three appeared on another part of the battlefield, safe from harm, at least for now.

"Why did you teleport us?"

"He was almost on us," Vex said.

Terra's eyes widened.

"Shit… If he is invisible, how the fuck can we fight him?"

"I told you already, use the water. We can fight only using the steps on water as a clue to his position. We did this many times already."

They could; they did it already. It was hard, but not impossible. Besides, it wasn't like when Erik moved they could see him clearly anyway, so the situation wasn't that different from before. Terra could use area attacks, and while Restro could not actually fight head-on against Erik, he could still help Terra by changing the substance of the earth or water he conjured.

"Do it fast!" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The blackguard didn't waste time.

Terra's eyes glowed bright blue as he used his power. The surrounding air became misty as water appeared. Soon, water flowed from his hands in a powerful stream. It quickly spread across the ground, making a thin, shiny layer.

The water was shallow—barely ankle-deep—but enough to help them locate Erik. Its calm surface rippled, clearly affected by the ongoing battle around them, but differently from how it would ripple if Erik was there.

Vex watched for signs of movement. "There!" he said, pointing to a spot where the water was being particularly disturbed despite no one being there.

<Shit, that motherfucker is already here!>

In truth, Vex teleported everything very far. Not outside the battlefield, of course, but enough for Erik to take at least a couple of minutes before he could find them. Yet he already did.

<Maybe it's because of the flood Terra made.>

He turned his head, realizing his friends were doing the same in Erik's direction, but slowly. Vex forgot he was keeping his brain crystal power up. <I'm the only one who realized it.>

Despite this, Terra and Restro reacted. Restro transformed his armor to create offensive spikes. Terra created another earth wall that Restro then turned into a strong metal alloy, but Erik had already moved. He reappeared behind Restro and unleashed a point-blank blast of icy wind. Since he couldn't kill the man unless he used a massive amount of mana, the best thing for him was to target the weak ring of the chain, Terra. He quickly went in front of the elementalist, who still had to register what was happening. No one could see Erik. The only way for them to fight was by using the steps he made on the water's surface.

The blackguards, though, were proficient fighters, and the three Vindicators were even more than the average member of their organization.

Realizing Erik was going to kill Terra, Vex froze time again. However, the amount of mana he was using to save Terra was astronomical. Within the frozen moment, he used his spatial manipulation brain crystal power to change both Terra's and Restro's positions. As the time freeze ended, Erik found himself suddenly hitting the empty air. <Fuck that guy!>

As difficult as the battle was for his opponent, it was for him. However, he also understood something: Levium was an exception. If they had someone who could make them fly and keep their distance from him, maybe he would have already lost given the powers the three had, but since they were fighting on the ground, Erik could take full advantage of his colossal strength and speed, or the skies, if he needed.

It didn't matter that the three were fairly powerful, and their physical stats weren't so different from his. He was still stronger.

However, what they missed compared to Uncle Benjamin, they made up with team play. Vex basically saved Terra's and Restro's asses multiple times, while the two combined their powers to attack with not only powerful attacks but also insidious ones.

Erik didn't know where the two had been teleported, but he immediately got attacked.

<Shit!>

A stream of what looked like flowing stones flew toward him. Erik barely dodged the attack, which ended up hitting the ground and creating a sort of mass. From it, massive jagged spikes jutted out.

Erik spun, narrowly avoiding a spike aimed at his head. <How the fuck do they know where I am and where to aim?>

In truth, it was thanks to the three incredible tactical abilities. Terra then used the tunnel-like structure created by the first attack to inject a powerful stream of water hurtling towards Erik. The tunnel itself acted like a sort of cannon, multiplying the strength and speed of the attack to unprecedented levels. Erik activated his Force Bastion; the force shield he created thanks to what remained of Nathaniel's power spared him from a gruesome death.

<There is no doubt I would be dead if I got it by that thing. Scary. These guys are scary.>

When they saw the water being deflected, Restro acted again and turned Terra's water into acid, while Terra himself decreased the jet's power.

The acid started being affected by gravity. "Shit!"

Erik barely jumped back in time to avoid the corrosive effects of the acid. But Vex didn't stay idle. That was a tactic the three frequently used during their fights. They attacked in such a way that the opponent could only jump back if he or she wanted to survive, and that was exactly where Vex appeared soon after.

The man wielded a sword. Though Erik was invisible, the splashes in the water and the location of his shield provided Vex with a general direction to aim. The man slashed and hid Erik squarely on the shoulder. "AAAAHGH!"

The Force Bastion held, but the blade still plunged into his shoulder.

Vex smirked behind the mask. The two had different thoughts in their minds, but both were full of murderous ones.