Kato pointed the muzzle of his Plasma Caster at a Grunder headed towards his little sister. She had opted to fight in melee with the side-blade attached to her rifle, instead of standing back and shooting like he did. He squeezed the trigger as soon as he picked his target and the bolt melted into its temple.

This close to the lair, the other Grunders, the ones shaped like canines and ursines were more prevalent. There was blood on their jaws--fresh, red blood.

He pointed at three of them in succession and his bolts similarly ended their lives. His Facet of the Davar Heritage ensured that he would always hit where he aimed at as long as the target was within a hundred paces from him, provided they didn’t attempt to evade or block.

It was perfect for hitting idiotic enemies or still targets. He didn’t have much range, even compared to his elder brother much less Da, but he didn’t particularly care to follow in either of their footsteps anyway.

Still, watching over Yuriko was a bit of a chore. His headstrong younger sis with her notions of duty and honour would one day lead her into more trouble than she could handle so it was up to him and Marron to intervene. Preferably before it happened.

As it was, in his heart, he didn’t think Mum was wrong in pushing Yuriko to another track. Her Facet, her Heritage, wasn’t the Davar’s and who else would be better qualified to know how to develop it than those in the correct lineage? However, he couldn’t say no to those eyes. Those incredibly lustrous blue eyes that pierced the soul and tugged at his heartstrings.

He chuckled to himself while he took out a sixth Grunder. Yuriko and her boys knew enough not to charge into the fray without orders. They held the line in front of him, about five paces away. She resisted the urge to shoot her rifle; Kato knew she had enough Animus for a dozen shots but she would be able to use that same amount in melee for hours.

She didn’t notice it but the twins glanced at her every so often as did the other male volunteers who were in a clump to his right. Well, some of the women miners shot her an appreciative look, too. And some, a jealous one.

Still, this rabble knew well enough not to misstep around her. Judging from their age and the fact that the only technique they knew was Empowered Strike, these were people whose Heritage were more common than dirt. That or it was too suited to digging, administration, or some other aspect that didn’t give them an extra edge in battle.

Non-combative as Yuriko’s Facet was, it was still much better than a Facet that allowed someone to tell the precise weight of an object just by touching it. Or someone who can find just the correct spot in the rock to hit with a miner’s pick to break it down. That one wouldn’t even be useful even against the Stonetoise shells due to the interference a living being’s Field would have on Animus.

Kato felt at his reserves. He had about fifty lumens worth left, he judged, give or take ten more. He lowered his Plasma Caster and attached his side-blade to the barrel.

“Advance carefully,” he commanded, coming up beside his sister. He gestured at the miners to spread out on the side, “and cover each other.”

The Stonetoises wanted nothing to do with the fighting. They trundled away from Master Antiga who blasted a glaring light at the creatures’ eyes to discourage them from coming near. There were more caverns, shallow holes in the cliffside really, that were revealed when the behemoths moved away. Kato could see the quadruped Grunders hovering over human corpses.

“Chaos!” he cursed.

But he knew that even if they left as soon as the creatures had run away, it would have been too late for those poor sods. In the other caverns, live bodies were held down by simple virtue of the stony creatures lying on top of them. Older captives were deeper into the cave but Kato caught a glimpse of them as they walked down the hill. There was blood coming out of their ears and nostrils. Some were writhing but couldn’t really move while others were already catatonic.

The first wave of Grunders soon came upon them. Kato simply stabbed his weapon at the nearest one, determining the jugular vein as his target. His blade was coated with only a thin layer of Animus, Empowered Strike, and it unerringly veered into the target.

Snikt!

Clutching at its throat, the Grunder couldn’t avoid Kato’s boot as he kicked the creature away, stabbing at another while he was at it. Yuriko’s attacks were wider and they cut a good chunk out of the neck. Sometimes, she would stab into the sternum or the eye. The golden glow of her Animus on her weapon had a jagged edge and it always left a wider wound than usual. Kato shuddered at the sight.

Those pesky twins on the other hand, fended off the creatures using a combination of their spears, wielded two-handed, and their Facet. A quick look was enough for Kato to determine what kind of Heritage they had. It was more about force application but he was sure it was more than that.

The miners beat down the Grunders, two or three volunteers against a single one.

“Ahh!”

One of the Grunders had managed to latch on to a miner, a middle-aged woman, by grabbing onto the truncheon as soon as it got hit. The miner didn’t let go immediately and tried to wrest the weapon back. Those around her rained blow after blow on its head but most of them deflected against the growths on its skull.

Its maw opened and just as it was about to bite down, a plasma bolt went down its throat instead. Kato slashed another Grunder as it was about to make it around the twins.

Yuriko had several kills already though she was looking a little green around the ears. Kato nodded to himself. Her only combat experience was against the Wyldlings and their blood looked and smelled much different from these.

“Pull back,” he commanded.

They were so focused on the fight that they barely heard him, forcing him to repeat the command twice more. A glance to the sides showed his juniors at Agaza, Kale and Rorke, had things well in hand.

The presence of the Koinos and the fact that the Stonetoises didn’t engage meant that the battle, if it could truly be called that, more of a slaughter really, didn’t last too long. Still, Kato knew that without Master Antiga serving as both bait and deterrence, this would have been far more bloody.

Several volunteers were already nursing bruises and possible broken bones. There was nothing to be done about that; Regeneration Runestones weren’t cheap. If they weren’t adept with Recovery then it would take them far longer to return to full health.

The remaining Grunders, especially those who weren’t as bloodthirsty, had pulled back to their cavern. Master Antiga gathered the three Agaza students behind her and they stormed the central cavern. Kato told the volunteers to stay outside and watch out for stragglers. With Centurion Lleufer and Ensis outside, there shouldn’t be much that could threaten them.

Yuriko and the boys followed behind them, though Kato knew they wouldn’t be in much danger. The cave was barely large enough for two people to pass side by side. Master Antiga let Kale and Rorke lead them while she and Kato were behind. She conjured a ball of yellow light to float above her head, illuminating ten paces in front. The cavern was relatively straight. The Grunders fought back, of course, but Kale’s greatsword glowed crimson with his Animus while he cut them to bits with incredible ease.

‘A Facet that made his blows sharper?’ Kato wondered.

Since they weren’t in the same year group, Kato didn’t know the details about Kale’s abilities. Those were mostly kept private unless they were part of the team. Still, he could imagine the metal dulling with every blow. His own side-blade would need sharpening after this battle and he could imagine the same with Yuriko’s weapon and the twins’ spearheads.

It wasn’t long before all the Grunders were either dead or gone. It was nearly impossible to wipe them out since the larvae were so small and they aren’t found only on Stonetoise shells. But, this nest was done, for the next year or so anyway.

Master Antiga knelt beside one of the writhing captives. She held him down while pointing her glowing finger at his bleeding ear. A small thread of her Animus wormed its way into the orifice. The man screamed. He screamed and screamed until he had no breath left in his lungs, taking a gasping breath only to scream even more.

The sound echoed in the cave, making it worse. Kato winced but didn’t cover his ears, unlike the kids. At least Yuriko didn’t drop her Plasma Caster.

Finally, after a minute, Master Antiga pulled her hand away. The man’s ear leaked a disgusting yellow fluid that looked much like pus. The man’s breathing was ragged and it looked like he had lost consciousness.

“Bring all of those who haven’t grown any stone chitin behind the ear,” Antiga said.

By the time they were done, all of the recent captives were brought to Master Antiga. She took a quick triage and light-blasted a couple more.

“The rest of them haven’t been implanted yet.”

Yuriko leaned close to Kato and asked, “If Mater Antiga wasn’t here, how would they be removed?”

“With a long needle,” Kato said grimly. He felt her shudder against his arm.

“What about the rest?” she asked. There were a couple of humans who already had some of the stony skin growing on their faces.

“Too late for them.”

“You mean?” Her face paled even further if that was even possible. Her complexion had lost its normal tan during the week she had been comatose and it hadn’t returned.

“Put them out of their misery,” Master Antiga said, looking Yuriko in the eyes.

His sister glanced at the half-fused Grunder. Its chest was barely moving and its eyes stared vacantly. The fusion process lasted a day at the latest, but sometimes if the larva was particularly strong, the process would only last a tenth of the time.

Her hand was shaking as she kept glancing at the Grunder, at Master Antiga, and at him.

“Can you do it?” Kato asked quietly.

Yuriko stood there frozen long enough that Master Antiga sighed. She looked at the twins.

“Kill it.”

One of the twins, Kato wasn’t sure which one, shook his head and shivered. The other one, scrawnier, with slightly sunken cheeks, gripped his spear and walked resolutely forward. With a quick savage thrust, he stabbed the Grunder’s face. The body twitched and spasmed, and then, was still.

Yuriko’s hand flew to her mouth and she looked away.

The unconscious rescued miners were soon carried out by the volunteers, called by the other twin at Master Antiga’s command. The kids looked disheartened as they slowly made their way back to the miner’s camp, a stark contrast to the miners themselves. They were all smiles and back slaps, even as they carried the still knocked out miners.

By the time they got back to camp, it was close to sunset. From the devastation in camp, there was barely enough space for the miners to sleep in. Kato approached the driver and conductor.

“Are we staying here for the night?”

“We don’t have a choice,” the driver said. “Without sunlight, we’d run out of Animus pretty quick.”

“Can we sleep on board?”

“I don’t see why not. No accommodations here.” He wiped the sweat off his forehead. “I’ll keep the Tram open.”

After a simple dinner of sandwiches, Kato brought Yuriko back on board. The Tram wasn’t even close to its passenger capacity and by reclining the chairs, it made for a passable bed.

“How are you feeling?” Kato asked her. She had been silent and moody for the past few hours. He didn’t think she would take it so badly, having to kill another human. She didn’t even have to do it!

“I, I don’t know.”

“Yuri…more often than not, a Legion’s main opponents are other people,” Kato said stiffly. “Don’t hesitate next time.”

She stared back at him with reddened eyes before turning over to face the window. Kato held in a chuckle, quite sure that she’d lash out at him if he did. He reclined his seat completely back and slept. Tomorrow would be another long day of travel.