Maya could have tried to hide, but that would have put too many innocent people at risk. The men chasing her would mercilessly hurt or kill anyone who got in their way—just for the fun of it. Their golden cores made them even more dangerous, so there was no telling how much destruction and death they could unleash, and Maya didn't want anyone to suffer because of her.
That didn't mean she would give up without a fight. She would give up her life before letting herself fall into the hands of those monsters. But now there was someone in this world strong enough to help her. Alex's power flared like a searchlight to her power-enhanced senses, brighter than any other in this realm. She couldn't even begin to guess how strong he was.
She hoped he was powerful enough to help her beat the hunters, but she couldn't be sure. Even without the power of their golden cores, she knew that Nate carried an artifact with him. She didn't know which one, or what it could do, but even a golden core was vulnerable to such power. It was unlikely that this world had many magical weapons or artifacts, and its technology was no threat to a golden core warrior.
The one thing she knew for sure was that it was time to stop running. She turned to Alex. "I can hold them off, but you need to get out of here," she said. "You might be the only person on this plane who can stop them."
Alex smiled. "I've waited for you for too long to leave you now."
She frowned. What was he talking about? How could he have been waiting for her when she didn't even know she would be here? For a moment, she wondered if this was a trap. He could be working with the hunters.
She dismissed the idea immediately. He didn't feel dangerous to her. In fact, he felt like a friend. An old friend, she thought. He feels like someone I've known for years.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he said. "I promise. You're safe. I won't leave you now."
She was torn. How could he be so confident, so arrogant? He should be able to sense the men chasing her by now, but he didn't seem worried at all. Instead, he was utterly calm. Does he have an ace up his sleeve, she wondered, or is he just delusional?
She didn't have time to ask. She heard the thud of boots on the bridge behind her and knew that the men had caught up to her.
Tank was in front. "No more flying, little birdie?" he teased, leering at Maya. "I guess you can't keep running forever." He looked around, taking in the view of the river. "I figured you would find some place to hide, but this is all out in the open. Shame. I was looking forward to tearing this world apart to find you."
Denny smirked at her over his brother's shoulder. "Nowhere to run from here," he gloated. He stepped to his left while Tank moved to the right. They were flanking her, trying to pin her down, and she knew that they were trying to keep her distracted long enough for Nate to use his artifact.
They were going to try to keep her from using her golden core to fight them. If they could do that, then they could also keep her from using it to destroy herself. It was the last resort of any golden core warrior. Destroying it kept someone else from adding its power to their own, and she did not want these animals to have access to her power.
She tried to keep Tank and Denny in her eye-line, but her heart sank when she saw Orion take the third point in their formation.
"Get away from here," she hissed at Alex. "Don't get involved in this—it's too dangerous."
"These losers don't look so tough," he joked. "And this is my territory. You don't run from cockroaches in your own place; you exterminate them."
The hunters finally realized that Alex was a golden core warrior. Maya watched their expressions change as they understood that he wasn't a normal human. They were clearly trying to work out how much of a threat he could be. From their perspective, they were veteran warriors whose power was unmatched in a dozen realms. Golden core or not, their opponent was still just a man.
"Cockroaches," echoed Nate, joining his hunters. He watched Alex curiously. Anyone else would have turned and fled, so he decided that Alex was either stupid or insane. He would have to be to say something like that. "You somehow became a golden core warrior in this backwater world," he said. "This place is almost barren of spiritual energy, and you think you're some kind of hero? You're blinded by your own ego, kid. Go ahead and run along now, and we'll let you live."
"You were rude to my friend," Alex said with a grim smile. "So, you get what cockroaches get. You get squashed."
Orion was growing restless. He couldn't get a sense of Alex's power, but he was sure that the four of them were strong enough to keep him in line. He was ready to attack at Nate's signal when he felt the air around him change, as if it were being squeezed somehow.
Nate saw what was coming, but it was too late to order an attack. A golden sword appeared in the sky above them, hovering over Orion's head. Scared witless, Orion scrambled to respond. There was a flare of golden energy from his head as the power of his core surged. The sword Alex had manifested was made of his golden core. It was a display of boundless power that shocked even Maya.
Orion made a desperate attempt to counter the sword with a manifestation of his own core. He had more training and skill with the power of a golden core than Alex could possibly have. He knew how to refine the power of it in a way no human could, so now, he shaped his golden core around him into a sphere before the sword could cut him in half. He was sure that his training would easily match whatever brute strength this human could manage.
Maya watched nervously, but Alex just smirked and gestured with his hand. The sword slashed down and cut through Orion's core, shattering it like the shell of an egg. There was an explosion of golden energy that shook the bridge. The release of that much magical energy should have leveled a city block, but Alex had built a shield around the bridge as a precaution.
Aside from a light ringing in their ears, there was a silence on the bridge. Orion was in shock, and his eyes were wide, staring at nothing, as his mouth hung open. There was a long, stunned silence. Maya, Nate, and the brothers were all dumbfounded. Someone who could summon and use this kind of power in a realm like this one could rule entire worlds.
It should have been impossible to manifest weapons directly from a golden core like he just had. That kind of power had to be either a divine gift or a secret technique. But even if it was, it shouldn't have been enough to destroy another golden core. Orion would never have risked his own core if he had thought that the sword could destroy it.
Orion was still alive—his core had not been obliterated, but he was weaker than he had ever been. He had gambled on what had proven to be a weak hand.
Now he slumped to his knees in despair.