Chapter 27

"You better listen to me if y'all want to live," Harley states as he jumps off from the back of his giant friend. He may sound to be joking but he is the strategist of their squad, and if he says to listen to him, they shall listen to him. And with an inaudible sound, his feet land on the ground as if he weighs as light as a feather.

"Do not separate from the group as possible as you can, got that?" Emperor Scorpion reminds the team. As early as the situation is, they must have the upper hand to make things quick and everything shall be in their favor. Well, that would only be possible if they overpower their squad enemy.

"Roger that!" The four members respond and with that, they are now face to face with the SABER squad. Their eyes are pure black, a sign that they truly are under control by the fallen angel, Alice, and they hold no hint of their past human life. No single scratch has marked them, they are probably well kept during their imprisonment in the realm of the abyssal demons with the sole purpose of using them against the warriors of the Land of Dawn. A wise and devious move, indeed.

Layla raises her malefic gun with both hands, her right hand holding onto the trigger and the other supports the front of her weapon for better aim.

"Malefic bomb," she states, her voice is hoarse and deep, sounding like a demon. With no hesitation at all, she pulls the trigger and from her gun comes out a ball of destruction, looking like a shining crystal, directed at the VENOM squad who manage to dodge it by spreading out. Layla's shot causes a rather huge explosion, killing the other demons. Yet it isn't strong enough to permanently keep the VENOM away from each other. They once again join together with Gusion on the lead and his daggers are shot towards the SABER. If one of them is shot, it could be the end for that target.

A smirk curves on the edge of his lips when he catches his first target, Saber the Regulator of the team as well as the squad leader, when his dagger has hit him, even though it is just a mere scratch.  Mastering light elements and speed and combat, Gusion lunges at Saber in lightning speed, activating his Sword spike skill wherein he could appear behind the target that his dagger had left a mark on. Such skill of his could not be stopped in any way, thus, if not wise enough, it would be a dead end.

Appearing behind the automated Saber, it could have been an advantage for Gusion to execute a fatal attack yet Saber is fast enough to shift his position, facing him forward, and swings his sword towards him instead. Instead of dodging the attack, Gusion tightens his grip on his two daggers held at each of his hands and crosses them together, blocking Saber's sword.

Saber pushes his sword forward, their weapons screeching against each other as he hovers over the VENOM leader. Gusion grits his teeth for if they remain at such position, he would receive a serious wound.

And to break such advantage, Gusion lifts his foot to a kick on the side of his enemy yet Saber pushes himself away, dodging his attack and keeping their distance far enough.

"You have to do better than that," Saber states, his voice is the same as Layla's, deep and demon-like.

"As you wish," is the the simple response of the Emperor Scorpion. He must admit, Saber's skills did not weaken, instead he became much better than before.

But it is no reason for Gusion to feel down. It is a reason for him to enjoy their fight and test their strength to see just how good they are to become a medium of  Nero Ton's obsession.

Despite the distance between them, Saber releases two whirling short swords directly towards Gusion who does not consider it as a serious attack for he simply blocks them with his daggers. But instead of falling on the ground, the short swords circulate around Saber as if creating a barrier. He charges forward in just a blink of an eye which the Emperor Scorpion has not expected. His unguarded self is a weakness that Saber has taken advantage of, knocking Gusion into the air. Saber tightens his grip on his weapon, swinging it upwards, directed at him and targeting his throat that would end his life in just one hit.

Yet Saber has not foreseen the interference of his enemy's lackey. When his sword lands on Gusion's bare skin, a barrier has protected him and manages to survive from his almost end game. It is a wonder to the SABER leader, how could such thing happen? He has never seen  a warrior that could actually attach herself inside another warrior.

Not only that, when Gusion summons his daggers glowing yet a darker shade of green, he attacks Saber by shooting his four daggers in his direction. He could move on his own as if the puppet has not taken control over him completely. With Angela giving assistance to Enperor Scorpion, it is a disadvantage for SABER leader.

While the two are on par, the SABER's breacher and the VENOM's spearhead are also on a neck-to-neck fight. Layla sets her dark-colored eyes on Hanabi with her malefic gun ready to fire yet again. 

"Target locked," Layla states and her finger pulls the trigger of her weapon, sending an energy ball that is of different power of destruction compared to the malefic bomb she shot before, it is has a stronger power. Yet its level of power would be useless with Hanabi's agility especially that she knows how to use her spider-like limbs, it is just a piece of cake for her to dodge Layla's attacks. She could jump from one place to another and could even swiftly slide on the ground.

But it is not just her who is agile, Layla as well. Not because she misses her target for the first time, it means that she will give up. It gives her more urge to shoot Hanabi and blast her off, giving her the thrill to make her blood shower over her. But every energy ball she shoots, it only hits the other demons, making them shriek and bellow as they get pulverized, creating craters all over the place. Yet her primary target is just dodging them as if teasing her.

Layla is getting annoyed, her forehead creasing that her eyebrows almost meet at the center of her forehead. She grits her teeth and aims at Hanabi again, narrowing her sight on her.

"Open fire," she states with no emotion at all, simply bland, and as Nephila runs towards her direction, she smirks before firing her ultimate shot, an energy cannon. Her right foot gives her support from behind while her left helps her hand in keeping her weapon steady. Her ultimate shot is faster than her previous attacks and even with the agility, Hanabi won't be able to dodge.

Pulling the trigger, the blinding cannon startles Hanabi. The beam is not just approaching fast, it seems to be coming after her as if to devour her whole. As she runs straight to the direction of Layla, she could have been killed if Harley has not appeared beside her and transports her at a safer place.

"The war just started and you are running into your own death," he mumbles as his hat floats back on his head. His skill that can transport him from one place to another is something that Harley is proud of, his so-called Space Escape.

"Thank you," is simply what Hanabi has said before turning her back and once again charges towards Layla. The VENOM mage almost slaps his face as he watches her run yet there is no time to dilly-dally during this large scale war. With Hanabi on the lead and her focus is fixed on Layla, she fails to notice the presence of Cyclops the Exploder, the mage of the SABER squad.

"Target sighted! Target sighted!" he exclaims in excitement. And with one push of his hand, he summons a gigantic magic sphere filled filled with his automated power. With that attack from behind, Hanabi is also facing another destructive bomb from Layla.

Yet Harley would never let them gang up on her. And just like before, he activates his Space Escape, transporting himself on Hanabi's whereabout and escaping the attacks of the Breacher and Exploder.

Despite that successful evasion of death, Harley and Hanabi have not evaded the explosion caused by their enemy. The impact is too powerful that during the explosion, both the VENOM's spearhead and strategist are thrown to the sides, rolling on the dusty ground. 

The two have not yet recovered from that but another problem has dawned on them.

"I... I cannot move," Hanabi grunts as she struggles to stand but her body feels like a heavy lead that she cannot move even an inch. Her eyes settle on Harley, his hat removed, and just like her, he is also immobilized.

"This is one hell of a magic you got, one-eyed stupid midget," Harley grumbles. Though he is trying to summon magic through incantation, he fails to do so for Cyclops' magic cancels it.

"Target locked! Target locked!" Cyclops is yet again exclaiming upon his success in capturing the two with his starlit hourglass that no one can escape from. With their vulnerability shown, Layla shifts her position, aiming her malefic gun at them, and she did not waver in firing yet another energy cannon.

And far ahead, Johnson is at full speed and if the two remains on the ground, well, it would be a road kill with a blast. Probably one of the worst ways to die.

Will this be the end of Nephila and Octopus?

And with so much uncertainty, will Nero Ton be able to retrieve the SABER squad now that the VENOM squad has outright betrayed him?