The purple mist came to the escort team like a deluge. But then Tatsumi saw something that became the crucial detail for the battle.
The moment when the purple mist changed back to the physical form of the being was the moment they attacked the team. For example, the soldiers of the Cerulean Defense Force were forced into melee the moment the purple mist came to them.
It manifested in physical form before launching an attack, causing the soldier to defend himself forcefully. The soldier swung the military-grade dagger at the physical form, realizing that the mist could not be harmed.
It caused an injury in the manifested limb but soon the limb turned to purple mist, as if trying to recover from that injury.
‘The mist cannot be harmed but its physical manifestation can.’ Tatsumi thought while holding the hilt of the standard blade in one hand. The other hand grabbed the sheath of the blade, using it as a blunt object if necessary.
‘The problem is that it seemed to recover from the injury it sustained if they changed back into the mist form. Or is that limited and we just don’t see it due to the non-obvious sign? Oh, it looks like the injury consumes the life force of the purple mist, albeit a little.’
Tatsumi was still looking at the purple mist but this time, he tried to sense the existence of the thing that proved the thing’s life existed. Since he was using Ether as his transcendent energy source, he was also sensitive to the life force of any living being, although it was limited for now.
He then put the sheath in its place on his waist. Then the free hand grabbed the pistol on the other side of his waist and aimed at the physical form of the mist near him.
Bang!
A gunshot could be heard as Tatsumi had a good skill for shooting, since that was the experience he got from Memory Assimilation. His shot hit the intended target, causing the physical limb, which was actually formed like a bladed weapon, to bleed.
The limb was damaged to a small extent but it turned into purple mist. But the purple blood left did not turn into the mist like the limb and that gave Tatsumi an idea.
“Beware of the change in the purple mist! They turn into physical form when they launch an attack. Attack the limbs, damage or make it bleed!” Tatsumi gave the order immediately after confirming what he had seen.
He was trained to do this since he also had to experience another man’s life doing that.
The team heard his words because Tatsumi used his energy to spread his words. They then waited for the mist to turn into physical form before dealing some damage to them. Ame also discovered this and used it to her advantage.
The purple mist approached her from left and right but she was ready. Then the mist on the left manifested into physical form and Ame detected it due to her instinct and made a cut using her twin dagger.
The limbs were formed like the claw of the bird Ame had seen so she knew that it was used for restraining the prey. The limb was hit and even severed at its joint, and purple blood sprayed, but Ame had already moved.
Annoyance surged in her heart as she swung another attack at her right, causing the blade limb to be cracked and fragmented into pieces.
‘So it is true. Part of the bodies that became physical somehow cannot be extracted back into mist.’ Ame looked at the purple blood as well as fragments of the bone blade she had shattered.
Her combat skills were excellent since she had trained under her uncle who became her shadow guard for a certain reason. The problem was that the shadow guards were prevented from helping her this time due to direct orders from Kushina and Yamaguchi.
That was why the dangerous situation had to be handled personally by her. She had to prove herself in this place.
Tatsumi had already cut a manifested limb as he dodged the geyser of blood. Then the two met eyes and realized that they had taken care of their enemies.
“Good skill, Ame. I can see that you trained in it for some time.” Tatsumi said while swinging his blade to clean it out of the purple blood that flowed on its surface. He said that with a slight admiration.
“The same goes for you. You really trained for some time too. And thanks for the praise.” Ame replied.
Both of them then realized that they were on par in terms of martial skills alone. That was why they decided it was time for a bit of cooperation.
They got closer to each other and the purple mist followed. Then Tatsumi and Ame swung their weapons right beside each other’s heads. Tatsumi cut through the limbs that barely manifested, while Ame sliced through the limbs that halfway appeared.
Smiles appeared on their faces as they were in sync. It was a surprise for both of them.
“I didn’t think that this was possible. Are you secretly observing me for a long time?” Tatsumi said this as a joke. He knew Ame for a short time but he had valuable information as reference, adding the fact that she used twin daggers made him consider her style.
But he did not expect that his joke was actually…not really a joke.
“Emm…” Ame knew that was true. She had been observing him for some time so she knew at least some of the way Tatsumi thought. But she could not say it because the implication was…concerning.
Tatsumi was stunned but he did not mind it. It was inevitable that he would draw attention and if someone observed him, he had no way of preventing that. Furthermore, they were in the middle of a battle so time was precious.
“That’s for later, then. For now…let’s eliminate the infiltrators.” Tatsumi said before resuming his careful hack and slash. After thinning the purple mist, he moved to help the Reservist who was having a hard time adapting to the attack of the creatures.
Ame then finished with the purple mist that covered her as it retreated. In fact, the mist that covered the two retreated farther from them, knowing that there were two formidable presences. But it did not convey that information to the others yet.
Ame switched from her twin daggers to the pistols. She was proficient in many cold and hot weapons to be prepared for this occasion. She shot at the appearing manifestation of the Gling, shooting it right as they appeared and drew some blood that the Gling could not recover.
Tatsumi, on the other hand, was experimenting with the new style of fighting with both blade and pistol. He slashed those Gling who were near him while shooting the one in the distance.
“Thanks! Wait, you are that guy. Impressive. I think that even Class A doesn’t stand a chance against you.” One Reservist said.
“You overpraise me. This is just decent.” Tatsumi replied while timing his slash when another limb of the Gling manifested from the mist above him. He dodged while releasing a slash and shot simultaneously.
“And the girl that accompanies you, she is also great!” another Reservist replied. He was tense since this was his first battle in the field but unexpectedly, Tatsumi came to his aid. He saw that the two were good at reading the situation and adapting, just like what the teacher at the academy had said.
Ame was shooting the limbs that manifested among the soldiers, helping them relieve the pressure. The soldiers were trained and fared better but that was barely since they encountered something like this.
Tatsumi knew that the battle would not end soon since he felt the pressure coming from a distance. He looked at the place, which was slightly covered by the sandstorm and knew that the battle that could shake the ground happened there.
“Help each other in dealing with the purple mist creature,” Ame said with her clear voice, loud and could be heard by everyone there.
Hope and determination burned and swept them like a tide; they became more efficient in their move. They either shot the manifesting physical limbs or struck them with a sharp or blunt object.
This caused the purple mist to become thinner and the team noticed it.
“The mist has thinned considerably! Keep going!”
Tatsumi then climbed to the top of one armored vehicle to get a clear view of the surroundings. When he finally did that, he could see that the rest of the clear direction was filled with purple mist.
He sighed before saying, “This is going to be a battle of attrition. What a hassle.”
But he kept his focus on the overall situation of the battlefield. He helped those who were injured first and foremost, since they were taken by surprise and reacted a bit late.
He dragged them near the armored vehicles, as that was the area the escort team was trying to protect.
“Ame, cover for me, please!” Tatsumi shouted. Ame, who heard that, then acted immediately while he helped the injured to a safe place, filled with teammates.
By the time Tatsumi helped the seventeenth person out of the dangerous state, he finally had free time to further analyze the situation. Ame provided excellent cover by injuring the limbs that appear to take their opportunity to aim at the injured ones.
Tatsumi noticed this and acted first before the situation turned into a tragedy. The smell of blood from both sides made Tatsumi’s body react as well. He felt that his heart beat faster and his consciousness was perceiving the world in a slower motion.
Gunshots rang out in an irregular pattern while some of the soldiers tried to help the Reservists because they were the backbone of the team. Their accuracy was good since they were not interrupted by the purple mist. The purple mist now targeted the Reservists because they were the weakest link.
Tatsumi helped the Reservists, slashing anything that manifested in physical form. Ame was not far and also followed, scoring hit after hit with her pistol. She left the near threat to Tatsumi.
The team finally formed a circle that surrounded the armored vehicles, their back against it while facing the purple mist that came their way. Slash, bash, and shot were the responses they gave when encountering the physical manifestation of the purple mist.
The mist, which was initially thick, began to disperse slowly but surely. Tatsumi kept the condition of the purple mist in check to see every change that happened.
“Continue with the defense! Don’t break up!” Tatsumi shouted before he went in a certain direction. He went to the edge of the mist where there were few people. Ame decided to follow him since she realized that Tatsumi had some ideas.
‘With the team together in one place, the next thing the creatures would attack is…’ Tatsumi thought as several limbs appeared at the same time in front of him.
Tatsumi just had to slash in a certain way and timing and the limbs were severed while letting out another purple blood. Strangely, the blood did not dissipate, unlike the severed limbs. That was the reason why the battle took a long time for them.
But for the transcendent with the undead element, the battle could be decided in a few moves. Tatsumi still paid attention to the battle in the middle of the sandstorm. There were voices of guttural pain, along with the hissing and writhing from there.
Ame also had to deal with the appearing limbs in front of her. She had already switched back to her twin daggers and cut through the limbs without difficulty.
Now that they were inside the sandstorm, they could unleash their true battle prowess. The team created a balance in the battle but the most intense battle was definitely between the team leader and the creatures who decided to form a physical body.
It was because the first time the creatures encountered the team leader, they wanted to overwhelm him with the mist. But the moment the team leader let out his undead element, the mist hissed in pain as part of the mist was directly erased from their bodies of mist.
“You want this so badly, right? Then come and fight me!” The team leader swung the suitcase in his left hand as if taunting the creatures to get it. As if responding to that, the physical form of the mist creatures then lunged at him.
But the team leader just swung his scythe at the creatures. Even if they outnumbered him three to one, he did not hesitate to act and attacked the three of them. The team leader felt the pressure similar to his own from the three, realizing that they were actually the enemy’s transcendents.
He swung his scythe, mirroring the rhythm of the creatures’ attack, as if dancing and handling the scythe like a prop. Undead element surged as the creatures’ limbs were infected. They also felt the pain of the corrosion of the undead element so they expressed their instinct.
It also served as their motivation as they went back and attacked the team leader.
‘Three transcendent equal to the Core Formation Realm Transcendent of ours…I think this is a good challenge for me!’ the team leader thought while cleverly using the scythe as a hook, halting one of the creatures’ limbs as he slashed and caused the limbs to fall off while he deflected another attack by blocking the sharp claws with the blade.
The exchange of moves happened fast enough that the ordinary people could only perceive it as a blur of movement. But the roar and the hiss that the creatures let out showed the situation.
Dozens of moves had been exchanged but the three creatures did not even gain an advantage. No, instead they were the ones who were being pushed.
The creatures realized that the individual in front of them was actually someone who could end them if they were alone. Even if they ganged up on him, it would not end with their victory. That was why…
‘Hmm…they are having difficulty with the mission I gave them. Fine, let’s lend them a hand.’ The Queen realized that the matter of retrieving the item did not go smoothly but rather faced an unexpected challenge.
So, the Queen decided to take the matter into her own hands. She directly controlled the Glings using her Hive Mind connection. This was a special ability of the Queen and could change the tide of battle.
Even though it was limited to once per day but this was a powerful asset that she had and now was the suitable time for it.
‘There is only this one transcendent around here. They should’ve done it the moment they sensed the escorts!’ The Queen clicked her tongue as she realized that she had the perfect target.
Rather than targeting the item, she should target the escort team. They did not have anyone else to protect, and the transcendent would surely protect them too.
So she controlled the three Glings to become mist and target the escort team. The team leader realized that something was off the moment he saw the mist move toward the team.
“Damn it! Something changed that caused them to act like this.” With a regretful tone, he moved to the escort team while carrying the mission item.
Tatsumi who was at the edge of the purple mist that covered the area around the team, was surprised to see that another purple mist was going in his direction from the sandstorm.
But what surprised him was the power of the mist creatures as well as his instinct to get away from the creatures as far as possible!
Then the mist creatures manifested in physical form and attacked Tatsumi all at once. Tatsumi used his blade to defend himself by using the wide blade as a protection to block the attack. He was pushed back and even hit the armored vehicles while Ame had already attacked the creatures’ limbs.
But she realized that there was not even a faint mark left on the joint, meaning her attack did not work against the creatures. She decided to gain some distance and shoot them.
But then another attack was coming toward her. Ame realized that she could not dodge this.
Before the attack reached her, Tatsumi had already moved his body and deflected the attack using his blade while returning a slash, despite not injuring the creature.
Then the creatures roared as the team leader came and engaged them. But clearly, the focus of the creatures, which was equal to the Core Formation Realm Transcendent, was the team.
Ame felt that her hands were trembling, while Tatsumi felt that his hand felt numb. He realized why their attack did not work and knew that the opponent was toying with them.
But it also gave them the opportunity to live and to turn the tables. The team leader exchanged moves with the creatures but this time, he was forced to control his movement as well as the energy output.
If the undead element hit anyone of the escort team, it could be disastrous for them. That was why he was at a great disadvantage here. The three creatures controlled by the Queen used this very opportunity to attack the transcendent.
“Fall back, you two. Looks like our opponent decided to be smart.” The team leader said solemnly, his face serious. He was seriously looking at the movement of the creatures in front of him and knew that it was like fighting multiple experts at the same time.
Tatsumi and Ame nodded, realizing that they were becoming a burden if they stayed there. So they retreated to a safe distance even though the creatures wanted to intercept them.
The team leader did not let them and their fight happened near the team.