Staring out of the window on the first level, Raina watched the flat wasteland roll by, only broken up occasionally with the appearance of the dark crystalline spires that jutted from the earth. She had been excited to see the Broken Lands after Ciel had explained the basic makeup of Fracture to her. Now though, she struggled against boredom and wished she’d had the opportunity to see more of Asylum before they left. In the three days since arriving in Fracture, she had spent the majority of the time training with instructors of all sizes and shapes and running combat drills under Ciel’s supervision. She had even killed her first monster, some kind of goblinoid creature, and though the experience had been unpleasant, it had been much easier to kill than expected.
Despite all that, she still knew very little about Fracture or how she had come to this place. She had died. Of that, she was more or less certain. Given her experience upon arriving in Fracture, she reasoned that she had been summoned to another world after her death. She had read such stories in portal fantasy books and seen it in isekai anime. They hadn’t been her bread and butter but she remembered them well enough to equate her experiences. So far, she had arrived in a strange world, received a special power from something called a designation which was basically like an RPG class, and received magical items called Relics and special training from a man who might as well be an angel. Idly, she played with the Relic that Ciel had given her before they left for her first Remnant Gate as she pondered the nature of her predicament.
The band of brilliant white metal glinted in the oppressive rays of sunlight that fell upon the Spire Wasteland. The sun had been a strange sight for Raina when they’d first entered the Broken Lands. Not because she thought the sun itself was strange, but rather the transition from evening to day as they passed into the Spire Wasteland from Asylum. According to Ciel, outside of Asylum were several places called the Broken Lands and each of these strange landscapes had their own unique environmental factors like weather, temperature, and even their day-night cycle. These factors were completely independent of the conditions surrounding the land, so it was possible to cross from a place at peak daylight hours to one in the dark of night or a from a scalding desert with rolling dunes to a tundra trapped in permafrost. Such was the nature of Fracture or at least, so Ciel said. It was all so exciting and fascinating to her especially since she’d spent most of her life cooped up in a manor. Yet here she was, riding through a desolate wasteland with no notable features except for a bunch of eerie spires.
She pulled out the phone Ciel had given her. It wasn’t too unlike the ones she’d seen back on her world. Due to her condition, she’d been unable to handle most electronic devices; her nurse had handled those sorts of things. A smile curled onto her lips as she tapped the screen navigating the various menus. She didn’t need anyone’s help for such basic things anymore. Sadly, she was ultimately disappointed when she discovered there was no network connection and, thus, no chance of her taking a closer look at the Eidnet.
Ciel, who’d been maintaining a bit of small talk with Roa, waved at her as he walked upstairs. She sighed. And there goes any chance at having anyone to talk to.
A short time later, Raina jerked in surprise when the quiet of the wasteland journey was ruptured by a loud banging followed by a voice shouting, “We’ve got company!”
A commotion sounded from upstairs as several footsteps moved about the second level. Her startled heart raced and her breath came quick. Ripper, a particularly terrifying member of the team despite lacking a grisly monster appendage, bulled down the stairs with a wicked sword in his hand. Instinctively, she grasped her own blade which she’d laid next to her seat.
“Renner saw them there,” Ripper said pointing out the left window. Roa, who was driving the vehicle, squinted in that direction.
“Looks like Spiremen,” she said. She smiled and pressed a button on the front console next to the steering wheel. The vehicle started to vibrate followed by the sound of shifting machinery. “Let’s show them we are not easy prey.”
Another voice called down from the second level. “Boss, I’m going topside.”
At this point, Raina gazed out of the window to see what was coming. The view was obscured by dust thrown up by the vehicle’s wheels but she glimpsed several dark shapes approaching.
Then, the vibration stopped. Quiet calm overtook the entire bus sending goosebumps down Raina’s spine. She watched the shapes get closer and closer. The only sound she could hear was the rumble of engines. Her heart galloped in her chest as her mind drew taunt from the ever-growing moment of suspense. Finally, Roa pressed another button eliciting a soft beep.
Not two seconds later, the sound of heavy machinegun fire crashed through the quiet. Raina’s heart nearly stopped and her breathing picked up, adrenaline sharpening her senses. A shower of projectiles erupted from the side of their vehicle toward the encroaching Spiremen. Instead of normal bullets, she saw projectiles with trails of fire and lightning. The sound of gunfire echoed from above them as well along with what Raina swore were bolts of lightning. The sounds continued for nearly a minute then silence overtook vehicle once more.
Raina clutched her sword so hard her knuckles ached. Her gaze flickered from Roa and Ripper to the stairs. Where was Ciel?
She didn’t have long to wonder since a second later a dark crystal smashed against the window directly in front of her face. She exclaimed and fell backward onto the floor.
“Is this glass reinforced?” Raina asked as she got back to her feet, eyeing the window suspiciously from a distance. Their pursuers were much closer now though she noticed less than before.
“If it weren’t, you probably wouldn’t be talking newbie,” Roa said, cackling all the while. She pressed another button on the console and held it in place. “Renner, how’s it looking up there?”
After a brief pause, Renner’s voice emanated from the console. “I’m seeing seven. It looks like we took out three cars but it looks like one of the drivers survived and hopped onto another car. Sonsabitches used fucking crystal shields to block most of our fire. Each vehicle’s got a driver and one other rider, so we’re looking at fifteen Spiremen counting the survivor that’re going to be on our asses in thirty seconds. Mr. Ciel and the Tracer’s merc are with me, so we can probably lay down some sup—”
Renner cut off suddenly as several dozen dark crystals struck the side of the bus, causing it to swerve to the side from the amount of force. By some miracle, the glass held though Raina didn’t know if her nerves would.
Roa expertly righted the vehicle before pressing the same button again. “Renner?! Renner, are you—”
“He’s fine, Roa,” Ciel said. His words seemed to have an instant soothing effect on Roa and Raina couldn’t blame her since she felt the same way. Ciel spoke again, “I am going to reinforce the bus to avoid any permanent damage. If you’ll grant me a bit of selfishness, I want to greet our guests. Can I trust you and your team to handle the leftovers?”
The man’s voice was so calm and confident that Raina’s heart began to settle. It contrasted heavily with the previous gunfire and the roaring engines closing in on them. Roa and Ripper exchanged a look then the Aberrant team leader answered, “We’ll manage, sir.”
“Very good. Oh, and Raina, do your best, my dear,” he said cheerfully. Golden light enveloped the bus and something dropped from above. Raina moved to the window despite herself to get a better look. She saw something golden then a burst of wind expelled the dust obscuring her view. Her jaw dropped as Ciel strode toward the attackers. She also got a better look at the Spiremen vehicles.
They were designed to accommodate two-riders, one driver and a passenger, and sported a sturdy looking metallic chassis with four rugged wheels to each car. Raina didn’t know enough about vehicles, in general, to know whether she should call them ATVs or cars so she went with the latter. Each one had dark colored crystal slabs floating around them. Light flashed and she caught sight of Ciel tracing almost half a dozen symbols in the air. His entire body glowed with orange, gold, then red light as the symbols sank into his body. When the last symbol vanished into his body, Ciel moved.
Raina couldn’t believe her eyes. Perhaps, moved was the wrong word. He disappeared momentarily appearing again in front of the Spiremen much to both the surprise of his allies and the attackers themselves.
Several of the Spiremen reacted at once, each waving their hands in strange patterns. The crystal slabs broke into several pieces respectively. Each fragment rocketed towards Ciel who waited until the last moment to act. In a dizzying display of dexterity and agility, Ciel deflected each shard with his bare hands. Raina lost sight of his movements which were a blur to her eyes.
She heard Ripper say, “Boss, who the hell is that guy?”
“Our ticket to the big leagues if we play our cards right. So look alive,” she said as she brought the vehicle to a stop which nearly threw Raina off her feet.
She kept her bearings and saw Ciel trace another symbol in the air which flew toward one of the Spiremen vehicles. The driver dove out of the car as the symbol hit the metal frame. Unfortunately for the passenger, she wasn’t so quick and orange light flashed followed immediately by a small-scale explosion that tore the vehicle and its remaining rider apart. Four of the remaining cars surrounded Ciel who looked as serene as ever while two rocketed toward the team. A smaller volley of crystals slammed against the window again yet this time, they bounced harmlessly off the bus with a shimmer of golden light.
The two vehicles pulled to a stop nearly on top of them and Raina saw one of them had three riders, two inside the vehicle and one clinging to the back with his bare hands. Each Spiremen wore armor plated with the same dark crystal slabs they fired at the team. Unlike the others, the man holding onto the back of the one car had a spiked steel helmet adorned with more of the dark crystal. Raina counted five opponents. Since Ciel had mentioned Atlas didn’t have a combat designation, she figured they faced even odds.
Roa opened the doors and shouted, “Tear them apart!”
Ripper let out a battle cry so fearsome that it almost scared Raina’s soul out of her body. His sword activated and the blade revved like a chainsaw as he charged out of the vehicle with Roa at his heels.
Hands shaking, Raina drew her sword.
