Befitting von Juju-Chan ================================================================================ Kapitel 16: ------------ How came they were that fast? Loki could sense them even clearer now... there was no way he would mistake this aura for something else: Those were the Chitauri. Probably scouts only, but still they could become a serious problem. He was unsure whether they did sense him as well but he had no intention to wait until he could figure this out. “Is there another exit, old man?” Loki knew it was probably not the wisest move to believe anything this guy told him but it was obvious he could not just simply step out of the front door and expect to go unnoticed. The old man gestured towards the room Loki had slept in. “There is another way out, which will bring you onto the path towards the bright stars. Following this road will bring you out of the cocoons area within a few days.” Sounded like a plan, the only plan Loki had right now. “Alright.” He gave the man one last, warning glance. If there was one thing he would not take lightly, it would be being betrayed. Nobody betrayed the god of lies without paying dearly for it. Then he rushed to the back and found a small opening, a sad excuse for a window he guessed, and jumped out of it. It took him but a second to figure out which way to go... the bright star Thenaree had mentioned was in plain sight and for a moment he wondered whether they did have a concept of cardinal directions. There was no time to keep wondering, so he chose to keep running instead. He did not bother to look around, all he needed to know he could sense anyway: They were close and they got closer and closer with a speed that was far beyond what he had known them to be capable of. At this rate he would have to fight them. Damn it, he had hoped to get out of this without a fight, but at least he could head back into the woods where he wasn't in plain sight all the time. Attacking them from ambush would be the most convenient thing to do. He ran and ran but he could sense them as they were drawing nearer, not even losing his trail for a second. That could only mean they sensed him as well. Perfect. When he finally entered the woods, he felt a sudden relieve that made him wonder. He was far from being safe but somehow the strange atmosphere surrounding him gave him strength even though he still did not trust this environment at all. Quickly he picked a hiding spot, his dagger at the ready, concentrating some of his magic in his other hand. With a bit of luck he would be able to finish them off before they got a chance to attack him. Given they sent their usual fighters it would be rather easy like this... they were sturdy when they attacked from the front but they had one disadvantage: They were cumbersome and unable to cope with fast blows. He had observed this during their fight in Midgard and even though he had been discontented by this observation back then, it played into his hands now. There they were... three of them. Two of them were the standard melee units he knew but there was one unit he could not recall... smaller, looking different from the others. It did not carry any arms. This would probably be the one he had to deal with last, after he had ended the other two. It was a matter of seconds now... and then he stiffened and turned around. There was something flying towards him, a light of lilac and blue... he barely made his jump in time and felt how the light grazed his leg. A burning sensation of melting skin and flesh spread from where he had been touched by the light and turning around he faced three more of the Chitauri. At least he supposed they were Chitauri since they somehow resembled a mixture between humanoid and insect. No armor, no arms... and all three of them holding balls of this strange light in their hand. It wasn't magic exactly, this he would have been able to feel, it would have corresponded with his own powers... but it didn't. There was no emitted energy whatsoever but it kept on working within his wound, this he could tell. It corroded some more of his flesh and caused a kind of pain he previously hadn't known. He had to focus, his adversaries outnumbered him by far and there was simply no time to allow anything to distract him. Two melee units, four unknown units. The melee units would have to go first so they wouldn't bother him and since they were easy to overwhelm, he would start there. The other ones... he would have to see how he would snuff them out afterwards. And once he was done with those creatures, he would have to take a closer look at the wound on his leg because it was obvious the magic was starting to weave itself right into his flesh, eating and melting it away bit by bit. Loki did not hesitate to leap forwards, against the two fighters, conjuring a light shield of energy around himself, hoping it would keep off any magical attacks aimed at him for the time being. Even though his leg started to bother him, he killed the first one with ease, slashing the small unprotected part of his throat with a well-aimed thrust. It sank down onto its knees, bleeding out and unable to do him any harm – that left one more. He turned and suddenly found himself lying on the ground, his shield broken. It had blocked an attack on him but the sheer energy had damaged it beyond renewal, he had to let it go to conjure another one, this time one with more energy that would hopefully withstand more than one strike whilst he eliminated the other melee unit. And to do so, he had to get past the strange one that had accompanied the two. He took a breath and dashed forwards only to collide with something. He hadn't even felt this thing had summoned a wall that protected its counterpart. Loki allowed himself to consider his situation for a second as he was stepping back. It would probably be the best to get rid of those other ones as soon as possible since there were some more energy-missiles aimed at him and it proved to be everything but easy to evade an attack from three sides – but he dealt with it with his shield only brushed. And when his eyes followed the movement of one of these missiles, he noticed something. It was just for the blink of an eye but the thing's wall did flicker and vanished when the energy hit it and its conjurer became kind of … stiff? Motionless anyway and it dawned to Loki that this could be a chance for him. Was it possible that those things were weak against their own energy? It was a strange thought since usually being capable to exploit a special sort of energy also meant one adapted to it to a certain degree which led to a higher tolerance of said energy even if it was used against oneself. However, those things did not seem to be ordinary in any way so it was worth a try, wasn't it? It was risky but well, so was doing nothing with the delicate distinction that he could only lose if he gave up right away. Sometimes it was a good thing he always had been a sore loser, he mused, and for the first time in aeons he felt true bellicosity, something typically reserved for the actual warriors of Asgard... like his brother. Oh, how Thor would have enjoyed being outmatched by such strong opponents and right now Loki understood why: It was a gamble one could either win or die whilst trying. And he had no intention to opt for the latter. It was a mere blink of an eye later that he could hear the almost silent hiss of another attack aimed at himself. He stood and waited until the very last second before he jumped out of the way, barely avoiding a second missile as he was too focused on what he had to do: As soon as the missile broke the shield of the single one, he shot one of his fastest spells against it to hold up a small crack which he used as a guide for his dagger. Even in motion his aim was unrivaled and the dagger buried itself deep into the things temple. And then the air around it started to change, as if it was soaking in its surrounding with his whole being, ripping apart the melee unit that had taken cover behind it. The hot breeze of a shock wave forced Loki backwards and then the thing was gone, leaving behind only the subtle traces of the unit it had torn to shreds, the stumps of its feet and something resembling a hand... everything else of both of them had vanished. Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)