For such a large group, they were moving fairly quickly. According to Gull, they were to resume their search again once they got to the Lower District. Alice gazed at the fuzzy clouds splattered all over the blue sky. At least it didn't look like it would rain anytime soon. During the past few week they'd barely been able to rest at all, but Kar didn't look tired. The day they'd decided to leave was still fresh in her memory. Back then, all they could think of was getting to the Upper District.
"Now, we're about to save the world. That's what Frederick and Kar said... But what exactly are we saving it from?" Alice muttered to herself.
They had no idea if killing the Ringleader would rid them of Aberrations or not. Taking it for granted like that... She had mixed feelings about it. Alice shook her head, hoping that the sudden motion would help her empty her mind. She needed to stop being so pensive and pessimstic. They'd assembled a huge military force. They'd managed to get humans and Aberrations to cooperate. And, most importantly, Base Tau hadn't been attacked. That could only mean that their enemy wasn't onto them. No matter how she looked at it, they had the upper hand. It almost seemed too convenient.
Meanwhile, Fen was whistling as if he didn't have a care in the world. That, however, wasn't the case. He couldn't understand it himself, but it helped calm his nerves. Quite the strange coping mechanism. To his surprise, Ono and Ergo didn't look scared at all. Those two were huge cowards, after all. Well, he couldn't care less about them, but they needed to protect the wagon. Fen buried his hands deep in his pockets. He needed to think about so many things... Being a leader was too troublesome.
"Fen boy, we've got company," he suddenly heard Kirru's hoarse voice say. "Probably two or three Aberrations, judging by the smell. I can't tell if they're Garglings or not, but they're not far."
"Two or three, huh? Lead the way," Fen hissed through clenched teeth. "Ono, Ergo, we're going ahead. Four trainees, follow me. Two support weapons, two piercing, quickly."
Kirru got down on all fours and darted, followed by two furred Aberrations. Fen broke into a sprint without looking back, hoping the children had understood his order.
"Two Aberrations. One scaled, one feathered," Kirru said after a short while.
"Yeah, I can see them, too. It's been a while since I've last fought one of these things..."
Fen's weapon of choice was a war hammer, equipped with an unusually long spike on the other side of the hammer head. In spite of its versatility, it was especially slow, requiring a tremendous amount of force to swing it. Nonetheless, his war hammer was one of the few weapons that allowed soldiers to take out Aberrations by themselves. Its hammer head was perfect for peeling away the creatures' scales and fur, and he could easily finish them off using the spike. Still running, Fen readied his weapon and focused his attention on the scaled Aberration.
"Kirru, try to immobilize that feathered one, we'll kill the other," Fen yelled, making a lunge towards the creature.
His weapon was slow, that was true, but scaled Aberrations weren't exactly fast either. Fen's hammer collided with the scales covering the beast's belly. Gritting his teeth, the teacher jumped back. That one hit hadn't been enough. Back in the day, he could've relied on his teammates to finish the job, but that wasn't an option now. Those kids had absolutely no experience when it came to fighting Aberrations.
"Instructor Fen, watch out!" a girl shouted, just as the creature lifted its clawed hand.
The Aberration swung its massive claws at Fen, almost striking his face. He clenched his jaw as he dodged the sudden attack. In the next moment, the same girl grabbed Fen's arm, pulling him away from the creature. Another trainee dashed past them, thrusting his rapier towards the beast.
"With utmost respect, you can't do this alone, Instructor. Let us help. I promise we won't slow you down," the girl pleaded, breathing heavily.
Fen agreed without thinking twice. Maybe those kids lacked experience, but they clearly didn't lack courage. The other two trainees seemed to be helping Kirru incapacitate the feathered creature, too. Fen gripped his weapon firmly, narrowing his eyes. The rapier boy had managed to distract the scaled Aberration. Fen just needed to get a good hit in, preferably in the same place he'd smacked earlier.
Out of the corner of his eye, the boy noticed Fen charge in their direction. He instantly knew what the man wanted him to do. It was one of the most basic strategies to take down Aberrations. One person diverted its attention while others tried to damage it, potentially knocking it to the ground. The apprentice smirked, swinging his blade as if it were a machete. Keeping the creature from noticing Fen was his only goal.
"Take this!" the instructor cried, striking the back of its knee. "Hope you're ready to do this, kid."
Inhaling sharply, Fen swung his weapon again, aiming a bit higher. If the first hit hadn't been enough to make the creature lose its balance, the second one caused it to collapse. The scaled Aberration fell to its knees, still swinging its huge arms around. The boy met Fen's gaze. They needed the beast to fall on its back. The apprentice jumped, completely evading the rush of attacks. In a flash, he twisted the upper half of his body, using the momentum to land a kick to the creature's chest, causing it to finally fall over. Fen didn't waste another moment. He lifted the war hammer above his head. Letting out another battle cry, he brought the weapon down on the creature's belly, peeling away a small portion of the scales.
"My first kill!" the boy shouted, ramming his rapier into the Aberration's flesh.
"Great job," Fen congratulated him with a smile. "But the fight's not over yet. In fact, we've only just begun. You two have already done more than enough, though. You should get some rest."
"Well, I didn't actually get a chance to join in on the fun, you know?" The girl pouted. Despite her brave words, her knees were shaking. Fen had almost forgotten that it had been those guys' first time battling an Aberration.