Book 6: Chapter 24: Asura

“Shoot, kill him!” Karu pointed at Qin Lun at the warehouse entrance and shouted wildly.

“Rat-a-tat-tat!” Gunfire erupted throughout the warehouse. Two mechas that had been ready for action raised their autocannons. Two torrent-like streams of fire crossed and extended toward Qin Lun.

These mechas were not the exoskeleton engineering suits that Tang and Meimei had once piloted. They were real combat mechas. The Vulcan cannons they carried were Gauss-type weapons, and were among the few individual weapons that could threaten an Apostle.

“Swift Wind Step… Bone Shield…” Joey, who had taken control of the body, stretched out his tongue and licked his lips with bloodlust. His figure suddenly vanished from where he stood. The Swift Wind Step enhanced with Light Body Technique made him seem weightless as he rushed toward the two mechas along the wall. Three bone shields slowly revolved around his body.

The streams of fire from the Vulcan cannons traced an arc, chasing after Joey. The bullets, like a steel tide, left a trench-like dent on the warehouse’s armored plates, which were two meters thick.

“Ah… Ah…” The stray bullets, after ricocheting off the steel walls, mowed down a group of nearby Atlanteans. The crowd inside the warehouse panicked and scrambled to escape. For a moment, this actually reduced the intensity of the attacks on Joey. Even the pilots of the two mechas paused slightly, causing the streams of fire from their Vulcan cannons to hesitate for an instant.

“Good chance!” Joey, who had stepped onto the warehouse ceiling via the wall, had a sharp glint erupt in his eyes.

Although he hadn’t been directly hit by the main stream of Vulcan cannon fire, the stray bullets from these Gauss autocannons were still quite powerful. Two of the three Bone Shields around his body had already vanished.

But now, he had reached a position directly above the two mechas. He spread his arms and let his body fall freely. He flipped in mid-air and landed squarely riding on the shoulder of one mecha.

A fierce smile appeared at the corner of Joey’s mouth. The Dagger of Sin in his right hand stabbed like lightning into the gap at the mecha’s neck. He didn’t like using Burial of Light and Darkness, preferring instead close-quarters combat with the Dagger of Sin.

Although Qin Lun had always been improving Burial of Light and Darkness and his long-range attacks, as the Law Body improved and combat experience increased, Joey’s offensive capabilities had grown as well, not falling behind in the slightest.

As the Dagger of Sin was pulled out, a series of electrical sparks burst from the mecha’s neck. The mecha underneath Joey raised its arm to grab him. The other mecha across from them also reacted and began to turn the muzzle of its Vulcan cannon.

“Heh heh, too late!” Joey’s left hand, wearing the “Sacrifice” glove, spread its fingers wide and pressed against the breach in the mecha’s neck. With a shake of his arm, a cone-shaped, invisible shockwave was completely forced into the mecha’s body.

Sixth Tier air magic – Withering Impact!

“Boom!” A dull sound, like an exploding pressure cooker, came from within the mecha. Some of its less secure parts and armor pieces scattered in all directions, creating a mess in the surrounding area.

“Creak…” The four-meter-tall mecha swayed and staggered as if drunk.

Perhaps because the pilot inside had clamped down on the Vulcan cannon’s trigger as he died, the rotary Gauss cannon fired downward indiscriminately, sweeping all the nearby Atlanteans to the ground.

“Ah…” The crowd fled in terror, scattering in all directions. Those unfortunate enough not to escape in time were immediately headshot or cut in half by the streams of fire. The scene instantly became extremely bloody, with severed limbs and arms everywhere, and pools of blood mixed with mashed entrails.

“Rat-a-tat-tat!” Seeing this, the other mecha no longer worried about harming its fellow pilot. Its Vulcan cannon immediately roared with fury.

A mocking sneer appeared on Joey’s face. He retracted his left hand and gave it another shake. The Claw Chain on his arm deftly wrapped around the Vulcan cannon of the mecha beneath him.

He leaped down, turned in mid-air, and delivered a flying kick. Using the swaying of the mecha and his own body weight, he pulled the Vulcan cannon upward, aiming it squarely at the other mecha. Immediately, the two mechas shook violently under each other’s fierce assault, like two clumsy big bears dancing cheek-to-cheek.

“Bang!” Joey’s mecha was the first to give way, crashing to the ground with a loud noise and stirring up a thick cloud of dust on the warehouse floor.

The other mecha wasn’t faring well either. Although the armor on its surface withstood the Vulcan cannon fire from its opponent, electrical sparks flew all over its body, clearly indicating heavy damage. The hatch at the cockpit location was deeply dented, revealing countless cracked fissures.

As the smoke obscured their vision, the pilot inside the mecha dared not fire randomly anymore. His gaze fixed intently on the projected display screen, trying to locate Joey’s position.

Suddenly, the mecha’s display screen went completely dark, as if covered by a black cloth. Immediately after, fierce flames erupted from the cracked fissures of the cockpit, completely engulfing the pilot.

He’s on the mecha! That was the pilot’s final thought before he burst into a fireball under the impact of the 1500-scale Ring of Fire.

After eliminating the two mechas that posed the only threat to him, Joey stopped his killing spree. With an expressionless face, he pulled out the Adis Short Staff from his waist. One small fireball after another landed on the piles of food and weapons & ammunition stored in the warehouse.

This brief battle itself had already sparked numerous fires. Now, with the Fireball Spell adding fuel to the flames, the situation became uncontrollable. The entire warehouse was engulfed in a sea of fire.

“You… devil!” Just as Joey was about to leave, someone tightly grabbed his trouser leg.

“Oh, not dead yet?” Joey looked down and saw it was Karu, the High Priest of the Anka Tribe. The old man lay prone on the ground, his legs a bloody mess, probably injured during the recent fight.

“In the name of Atlan, I curse you to die a horrible death!” Karu’s aged face twisted fiercely. He opened his mouth and bit down hard on the muscle of Joey’s calf.

Joey frowned slightly. His right hand flipped, and the Dagger of Sin stabbed like lightning into the top of Karu’s skull. The old man’s eyes rolled back, and he slowly released his bite, falling to the ground dead.

“Why, why did you have to do this!” Tang rushed out from his hiding spot, charged toward Joey with clenched fists, tears already streaming down his face.

“Thud!” Joey’s left hand shook. The iron claw connected to the chain sank deep into Tang’s chest. With another pull, the black-haired young man knelt on the ground, clutching his heart.

“Tang!” A scream came from deep within the warehouse. Meimei scrambled over, stumbling and crawling, and supported the black-haired youth.

“Why…?” Tang lifted his head, reached a bloody hand toward Joey, a flicker of intense light in his dying eyes.

“You were destined to die. Neither I nor that guy could see a path to survival for you. Rather than becoming food and bait for those people, driven to kill each other…” Joey’s pupils contracted. He lowered his head slightly and muttered in a voice almost too low to hear, “Dying by my hand is the best release. At least you can die together, holding onto beautiful memories of your companion!”

The light in Tang’s eyes slowly faded. His bloody hand dropped, and his body went limp, collapsing into the blonde girl’s embrace.

“Tang…” The blonde girl’s heart-wrenching cry echoed through the warehouse as she shook the black-haired youth’s corpse frantically. “You can’t leave me alone, you can’t leave me all by myself…”

“Heaven for the dead, hell for the living!” Joey shook his head expressionlessly, the bloodlust in his eyes slowly fading. “Qin Lun, you can’t push all of this onto me this time. This is your sin. Your hands must also be stained with blood!”

Qin Lun slowly raised his head. The crimson in his eyes had cleared. He walked over to the blonde girl, squatted down in front of her, and a sincere smile surfaced on his face. “He’s already dead! Come on, I’ll send you to see him!”

“Slice!” The Dagger of Sin lightly traced across Meimei’s throat. A stream of hot blood spurted onto Qin Lun’s face, dyeing his smiling face a bloody red, making him look like a malicious asura from the deepest level of hell.

Looking at the utterly bewildered expression in the blonde girl’s eyes, Qin Lun gently laid her on the ground, letting her embrace the black-haired youth.

“Joey, you’re right. This is my sin!” Qin Lun lifted his head. The blood sliding into his mouth filled it with bitterness and a fishy taste.

“Blergh!” A spasm clenched Qin Lun’s heart. He bent over and vomited, his pale face full of pain.

…

Qin Lun walked out of the warehouse door with unsteady steps. Continuous explosions sounded from the warehouse behind him.

Even though the gate remained open, not a single Atlantean chose to walk out. They seemed to have suffered enough hardship, preferring to embrace each other and die together in this small warehouse rather than face the cruel world outside again.

Gazing at the blazing warehouse, Qin Lun’s face was somewhat pale. He murmured to himself, “Joey, was I wrong? Isn’t this the best release for them? But what else could I have done? No one ever taught me…”

Qin Lun slowly turned and walked toward a dark passageway. “Whether right or wrong, we can’t turn back anymore. It’s been like this for a long time, Joey. We can’t go back…”

…

A long time later, faint footsteps sounded from a long corridor far from the warehouse.

“Dammit, when I catch those natives hiding in the Fortress, I’ll skin them alive and pull out their tendons!” A short figure clad entirely in black sped through the passageway.

“Hmph, Black Rat, how do you know it’s not other Apostles causing trouble?” Another tall, slender figure with a white veil covering his face sneered coldly.

“Impossible. We came in before it was even dark. Besides us two Rogues who signed a cooperation contract, what other Apostle would dare come in alone? By then, there wasn’t much time left before nightfall!” the short black shadow said bitterly. “Silver Sail, did you find some traces?”

“No, nothing… Huh, what’s that awful smell ahead? Hurry up!” The slender figure’s movements created afterimages as he flashed forward. The pitch-dark passageway seemed to have no effect on him.

“This is…” The two arrived in front of the warehouse. With just one glance, they were both greatly shaken, staring wide-eyed at the infernal asura slaughterhouse before them.