District 42-Chapter 278: Against time part 1

Ari was thinking deeply about that situation. It was troublesome enough to make him get scared. He was being faced with two different problems there that couldn’t be solved easily, and solve the two at the same time would be even more complicated.

’As you can see, that Healing Center is surrounded by the gas and will be invaded in 8 minutes. The other buildings are the same, but they are easier to get into, which will last just 5 minutes. Your Ridires will start to die in 3 minutes. Also, the gas around you will get you in less than 2 minutes.’

The Aesir had memorized that phrase right after he realized the seriousness of the situation. He was trying to analyze what he could do in that case to overcome it.

"So, it also means that the Frelsis will be dying soon, right? The Ridires won’t be the only ones dying in 3 minutes if that’s the case. Are you ok in losing so many troops, because I bet that our warriors will fight until the very end to go to Valhalla with honor!" That was a dumb question, he knew very well what kind of measures that Vanir possibly took.

However, there was another reason behind it. Ari needed to buy some more seconds to think. He was aware that the enemy was just joking around with him, but he surely wouldn’t be waiting in the same place while the Aesir thought about that matter.

"My comrades won’t fall for my gas, Aesir." He pointed to the plague mask he was wearing. "Because all of them are wearing one of these as well. While your Ridires get weak and sick because of my toxic gas, they will continue to fight at their peak. If they will perish or not will just depend on you and your actions."

That Vanir put this kind of psychological pressure on Ari’s mind to prevent him to fight well and to confuse him. It was nothing more than a tactical advantage over Ari to have an easier time killing him.

’Looking to this man, he doesn’t seem the type who fights in orthodox ways. I bet that he has some kind of trump or fighting style that is difficult to deal with. This toxic gas alone is something troublesome, so I keep imagining what kind of thing he has hidden under his sleeve.’

The Aesirs were aware of the existence of the Vanirs. They didn’t know a single characteristic of them, but they knew that those guys were the opposite power that the Frelsi created to match with the Aesirs. There were some rumors about their powers, and the most accepted one was that they were submitted to torturous experiments that changed their bodies and enabled them to use special technologies.

’This guy will be working mostly with poison and toxic substances, so I guess.’

While he was analyzing his eccentric enemy on top of the building, the Aesir also looked through the city to know what kind of thing he should do first.

’The Ridires, 3 minutes. The other citizens, 5 minutes. The Healing Center is mostly evacuated, but rooms are missing and they didn’t give preference to anyone, which means that Vick and Canute might be inside there as well.’

"Tic, tac, tic, tac. We lost one minute here already. Will you start to move or will I need to oblige you? In just one more minute the gas will reach you as well~" The guy seemed to be enjoying that time.

While surrounded by gas, Ari couldn’t move properly. That alone could add a huge advantage to the Vanir.

The Aesir gave up on just overthinking that matter. He needed to follow a linear order there. The first thing he would take care of was himself because he was the one most closer to get in trouble.

Ari began to run to another street getting away from the gas. His exoskeleton was already activated, which gave him a good boost.

’I need to think in four things at the same time. However, in this case, do a thing at a time would be counterproductive. I need to find ways to link every need I have and solve everything at once!’

He had a hard time running away from the gas. In every other turn, the streets would be filled with that toxic substance. It came like a fog of death that seemed to be alive and pursuing the Aesir.

All the time, the Vanir was on his tail, moving swiftly on top of the buildings.

For various times, the Aesir thought that he was sieged. Luckily, the streets of that specific city were like a maze, there was always a way to escape.

The gas seemed to travel through the streets and between the buildings faster as long as the chase continued. It seemed like a normal gas moving before but now was similar to a tsunami pursuing Ari.

’I have 45 seconds to help the Ridires before the gas reaches them. I need to be faster!’ Even though he didn’t train too much with the exoskeleton and knew that it would be harmful, he increased its level, going as fast as he could.

He got to the place where the Ridires were gathering together.

’Taking the pattern and the courses that this gas is doing, I could find out that the place would be here. After all, it is closing a siege, so the center of this perimeter is where the Ridires are stuck in!’

He was going to cross the last street to get into the center of that siege, but the gas appeared, quickly closing his way.

’No time to retrieve! Keep going!’ He closed his eyes and held his breath, even though his body was begging for oxygen.

The Aesir launched himself inside that mass of the unknown toxic substance.

He felt his skin burning just like he had thrown himself in lava. His hair seemed to be on fire. Strong nausea made him fall to the ground several times while he was running. To add to it, his bones seemed to become as thin as ice and about to break any time.

He could hear that his heart was getting weaker at each beat until it stopped for a second...

Ari just came back to his senses when he crossed that massive amount of gas. Looking back now, he noticed that the distance he needed to cover wasn’t so long, but it seemed that he needed to run 2 kilometers to get there.

’This thing... This thing is outrageous. It doesn’t affect our body just by smelling, it probably enters in our orifices and even our skin spores and affects us inside out.’ His heart began to beat normally after he took some deep breaths. Tears fell involuntarily from his eyes, which were probably bloodshot now.

His body kept trembling for a while. Ari needed to take a little break to get up again.

’If that’s the case, then what’s the matter of that plague mask? Is there something more added to it? I don’t think that his clothing was special in any way, even less the ones that the Frelsi were wearing. That mask must have some kind of mechanism to prevent them to be affected by the gas, I am sure. I just need to discover how it works.’

He thought about one way he could outsmart that guy, but it would need some investigation and close-distance combat. Those things demanded time, and time was something that the Aesir didn’t have.

He finally could catch up with the other Ridires, who were glad by seeing him. An Aesir was always a source of confidence for them. They felt safe near someone as powerful as Ari.

Inside the mind of the Aesir, four different big clocks were calculating the time, other tiny ones were in the background calculating some ordinary things. One of the big clocks was on zero, which meant that his time to be killed by the gas had ended, so he could overcome that one.

’In fifteen seconds the gas will close completely the siege. In 3 minutes it will start to enter the buildings and kill the citizens, and in 6 minutes it will affect the Healing Center. With these Ridires around here, we can save the citizens in 2 minutes and 50 seconds if we are fast enough and lucky. I can get to the Healing center in 1 minute and 32 seconds.’

The Aesir squinted his eye to the Vanir who was still running around joyfully. He put his grenade launcher on his back, snorting.

"You underestimated me before, but now that I took a grasp on your tricks, you will see who will be looking down on you in the end."

He turned to the Ridires. They were desperate because of the gas, but their eyes showed resolution. Those warriors still wanted to fight back and save the citizens.

"That’s the order: hunt Frelsis. You have one minute to get a lot of them. Let the citizens aside for now."