"The Little Things"

The decisive battle

They set off to work, placing the incense in the right places and painting the seals on the stone ground. It was cold, but there wasn't any snow or wind, and Shen Wei soon discovered that they were protected by a large energy dome. He looked at Zhao, who was finishing yet another seal and talking non-stop to a tree. He was explaining the plan they came up with as if he was debriefing his people. "...was too draining that time, so I guess a couple of smaller ones will do. Seal up everything, let him just come up here. We'll deal with the rest." He looked up at Shen Wei. "I'm almost done, you?" After seeing the nod, he got up and took a water bottle from a backpack. He washed his hands. "That's all we can do for now. Let's go back to the entrance and contact the others."

The minute they were out in the open, the satellite phone started ringing.

"What? We're..." he froze and looked at Shen Wei, listening.

"Boss, this is bad! There were multiple attacks in the city, at least in ten different locations. Da Qing ordered everyone to go and help the Bureau! Hong Jie is leading the Yashou. CongBo and I managed to block some more portals. We are trying to close the rest! Are you coming back?"

Zhao swore. "You do your job, we'll do ours. Keep safe." he hung up. "We're on our own. He's made a move on the city."

"Do you want to..."

"No, Da Qing will keep them safe. We need to hurry to our positions. He'll be here any moment."

"You think that the city is just a distraction," realized the professor.

"Yeah, he wants to get to the promised source of power. Let's greet him warmly inside."

They ran up, feeling how the tunnel was opening before them only to close behind the moment they passed. Both men were nearing the top of the mountain when they heard a low, angry rumble.

"He's here," Zhao barked, looking back at Shen Wei. The man was finishing the sigil on his palm and looked up, strong determination painted on his face. They both reached the top and ran in the opposite directions. Yunlan previously lit half of the incense cones, and now a white smoke was hovering above their heads. Their plan was simple. First, seal the powers, then kill the rebel.

They felt the air shift suddenly, a heavy pressure appeared, and the rebel walked all the way up to the mountain top accompanied by three others. They looked more beast than human-like, but there was intelligence in their eyes. Zhao readied his pistol and fired multiple times. The dark energy bullets hit one of the creatures, and it vanished in a puff of smoke. He shot again, at the same time noticing that Black Envoy successfully managed to disperse the second one. Yunlan ducked as a wave of energy rushed his way. Dodging the long claws of the last creature, he saw that Shen Wei's blade was futilely hitting a solid barrier of darkness. The rebel held it with one hand while reaching out with the other. There was something round and gleaming in it.

"Duck!" Zhao shouted, seeing that the bandit was throwing it to the ground. He jumped to the left and barely missed another attack from the beast.

The round object hit the ground, and there was an explosion of power. The entire surface of the mountain cracked, the blow sending Zhao to the mountain's edge. Only the strong barrier prevented him from falling off. He blinked fast and shook his head, fighting for the world to stop spinning. The ringing in his ears made all the other sounds unrecognizable. He looked at the cracked floor with wide eyes, realizing with horror that all the seals were destroyed. He searched around for his gun frantically.

Meanwhile, Shen Wei managed to block most of the impact with a shield of his own and jumped back. He risked a glance towards Yunlan and breathed in relief seeing him move. Then he charged. Without warning, the rebel moved to the side, and a beast's clawed hand sprung out. Not being able to change direction, Shen Wei braced himself for the blow. Suddenly a thick root darted from the ground and deflected the attack. It retreated as quickly as it appeared, and Black Envoy slashed the remaining creature. It wailed and disappeared. The rebel attacked, his hands suddenly changing into long talons. His body re-shaping itself, growing. Shen Wei dodged, but his own attacks were being parried now with ease. The rebel snarled.