The Innkeeper
chapter-842

Luther's mind worked at full speed as he saw the massive tear in space. He had to report to the Innkeeper as quickly as possible, and then get to the tear before the massive creature slithering out of it completely emerged.

He channeled his energy into the card, ready to transmit the message, when a familiar aura pervaded the area, causing everyone to freeze. Even the Void Dweller, partially exited from the space rip, froze in deference to the aura.

But the weight of it was too much. The planet itself trembled and the skies wept with as agonizing moan as reality itself seemed on the verge of fracture. Immediately the aura withdrew and Luthor felt a brief, fleeting connection with the Innkeeper.

Clearly, even without knowing the situation the Innkeeper had tried to help, but the space here could not sustain his powers. It would be more lethal than helpful to them if he acted, even if only using the card as a conduit. Understanding that no immediate help would arrive, Luthor sent what little information he could.

He did not expect to be saved, so he was not really disappointed. Instead, he was grateful that the Innkeepers aura had at least slowed down the arrival of the Void Dweller, or their situation would be even worse.

"Z, you only have one move," Luthor instructed, as he silently initialized the one move that the Battalion had become especially renowned for. Though Luthor never officially gave the order, the members of the battalion were all too familiar with the process. Wordlessly and efficiently they played their part, merging together to form the Midnight Mech!

Active 2: Z, momentarily distracted by the strange connection he felt in the spatial cracks, gathered himself, took command of the mech, and directed its solemn gaze towards the emerging Void Dweller.

From within the gaping tear in the fabric of reality, the being was still emerging, its eyes aglow with an ancient, unearthly malevolence. It hovered on the precipice between fear and anger, its limited intelligence struggling between escaping the fearful aura it had felt, or emerging from its eternal prison.

Keeping in mind Luthor's instructions, not to mention spurred on by the fact that cracks were still spreading through space, the mech surged to life, a symphony of arcane symbols and pulsating energies swirling around it.

Within the mech, Z could wield much greater power. More importantly, he could wield the power of those who made up the mech in the first place. A surge of power coalesced into a purple, blazing sphere between its outstretched appendages, simmering with heat that even Luthor had never been able to manifest.

Sufficient build up would have allowed the mech to deliver an even more devastating blow, but there was no time to be had. With an earth-shattering roar, the mech unleashed a concentrated burst of purple flames, a radiant torrent of raw power. The unleashed beam surged forth, a dazzling display of beauty and devastation, intent on turning the Void Dweller to ash!

The Void Dweller itself, which had paused to allow its internal struggle, coiled as it suddenly felt a new approaching threat. Although the scale was nowhere near the potency of the previous aura, it was still a significant threat!

But its preparation was insufficient, and its evaluation of the threat was scant. When the purple flames crashed into the serpent like creature, not only did it push the creature back into the Void, but it enveloped its entire body!

In an eerie lament that echoed through both the void and reality, the creature quickly succumbed to the flames, turning into stardust and ash.

The sequence of events took only a few seconds, but the devastation caused by such raw power was not insignificant. Not only did the tear not close, it was beginning to grow wider under the influence of the ripples produced by the mech's attack.

The cracks in space were now spreading from the air to the ground, and seemed on the verge of spreading exponentially.

Either the enemy had not anticipated the repercussions of their actions, or they no longer needed to keep them alive! Whatever the case, they still had an issue on their hands.

Z braced himself before channeling the awesome power of the mech, and forcefully trying to use his spatial affinity. Due to the fact that countless other members of the battalion had the same affinity, plus the multiplied energy reserves of the mech, the influence Z could wield on space was much greater.

While he still could not do as he pleased, he could at least try to contain the disaster.

Under Z's efforts, a spatial ripple was released from the mech. But instead of destroying space as they usually did, the ripple seemed to absorb the energy of the tear, preventing it from spreading.

A few moments later, another ripple was released, and then another. Unbelievably, the massive tear began to retreat, and space began to heal itself.

"I'm sending help. Survive as long as possible," a familiar voice entered Luthor's ears. But since he was currently merged with the rest through the mech, they all heard the comforting words.

He was beaten and battered, and almost completely mentally drained, but hearing the Innkeeper's voice gave Z the little bit of strength he needed to continue his effort until the space tear was closed.

As soon as the tear was closed, however, he dismissed the mech. Ordinarily, using the mech was not so taxing on any one person since they all shared the burden. But in this instance, since he was forcefully exerting his affinity in such a fragile place, Z was especially exhausted.

The others looked drained, but Z fell to his knees as his consciousness waned in and out. A thin, firm hand quickly grabbed onto Z before he fell flat on his face, and helped him steady himself.

"Gather yourself, soldier," said Sandra, her voice filled in equal parts with both teasing and comfort. "We have our orders. We have to survive as long as possible. So no sleeping on the job."