Take down the Vessel.
1247 Words
“Ready your positions!” Gregor commanded, his voice firm. The team nodded, eyes locked on the Vessel floating calmly above them, her long black hair hiding her face.
Xavier braced his sniper. Click. He fired. The Vessel tilted her head lazily, dodging. Bang! Another shot—she weaved around it. Again, and again—each bullet missed by a hair.
“Good. Keep her distracted,” Gregor growled.
Meanwhile, the head girl slithered her bone-like tails along the ground like serpents. They shot up and coiled around the Vessel, binding her tightly. But the Vessel didn’t struggle—her head remained bowed, hair cascading over her face like a shroud.
Gregor exchanged a glance with Safiya. They dashed forward in unison, leaping with precision. Gregor’s twin-blade war fan slashed for the Vessel’s shoulder while Safiya aimed her rapier at her side.
THWACK! Both weapons connected, sending a shockwave through the black cube. Dust and shadow scattered. The head girl smirked.
“She’s done for… huh?”
Her eyes widened.
The Vessel slowly raised her head. Her hand lifted, fingers cracking, and she tore the tails binding her like paper. The shredded remains fell to the floor. All while she continued dodging Xavier’s bullets with nonchalant grace.
The head girl let out a sharp scream of pain. Gregor’s eyes snapped toward her. But in that split second of distraction, the Vessel grabbed Gregor’s sword blades with one hand—her hair swirling like ink in water—and snapped them with a deafening c***k.
A shockwave pulsed outward, the sword dematerializing in sparks.
Gregor and Safiya landed hard, retreating back to their original positions. Xavier cursed under his breath but kept firing, rounds ricocheting or missing as the Vessel danced.
“You alright?” Gregor barked at the head girl.
She staggered to her feet, her tails slowly reforming from black sludge. “Yeah… it’s healing.” She glared at him. “What about you? She broke your Vigor weapon.”
Gregor flexed his hands. “That doesn’t mean she’s won.” He cracked his neck, eyes blazing. “Let’s see if she can handle this.”
Suddenly, flames erupted beneath his feet, engulfing him in a swirling inferno. The cube’s interior turned orange and red, shadows flickering. Everyone squinted from the intense glare—except the Vessel, who stood in the center, her hair swaying but unmoved, her hidden eyes locked on Gregor.
---
Outside the Black Cube...
Panic spread among pupils and teachers crowding near the gates. They stared at the ominous black cube that pulsed at the school’s heart.
“Ugh! I’m trying to call home but the signal’s dead!” a senior boy complained.
“Yeah, same here.”
Murmurs and fear rippled through the crowd. Then—a siren. Police cars screeched to a halt, lights flashing. Officers spilled out.
“We got calls about explosions from the neighboring district—what the hell is that?!” one cop blurted, mouth agape at the giant black cube.
He shook himself. “Please—everyone! Stay calm and move away from the scene!”
The other officers herded the pupils and teachers through the main gates.
“Look—someone’s coming!” a girl shouted, pointing at a shape emerging from the smoke.
“It’s the assistant labor prefect!”
“Fei Fei!” Her friends pushed past the officers and ran to her, hugging her tightly. Tears flowed down dusty cheeks.
A police officer rushed over. “Hey—come on, it’s dangerous here. Let’s get you all clear.”
Her friends reluctantly broke the embrace, sniffling as they obeyed.
Feyi lingered, glancing back. Her brow furrowed.
“Kevin…?”
He wasn’t there.
Without warning, she spun and started back toward the school.
“Fei Fei! Where are you going?!” her friends called after her.
She ignored them, steps quickening.
A policeman grabbed her arm firmly. “Listen, the safe zone’s outside the school. Where do you think you’re going?”
“Let go—I can’t leave him alone in there!” Feyi struggled, tears welling.
“For God’s sake, kid—that’s what the firefighters are for! They’re almost here!” He tried to pull her back as she fought him, her friends watching helplessly, heads lowered.
---
Inside the Black Cube…
Xavier’s sniper cracked again and again. Sparks flew as bullets whizzed around the Vessel, who barely bothered to move, dodging like a ghost.
Gregor’s flames surged around him. He pulled all the fire inward, compressing it into a blazing sphere.
“I bet she can’t handle this…” he muttered.
Meanwhile, Safiya and the head girl coordinated their assault. Safiya raised her rapier high, the blade glowing. The head girl’s newly regenerated tails coiled and struck with precision.
Safiya lunged first, slashing at the Vessel’s head. But the Vessel twisted impossibly, spinning her entire body to avoid it. The head girl leaped, tails stabbing toward the Vessel’s back.
The Vessel grabbed the head girl’s face mid-air. With a single brutal movement, she slammed her into the ground hard enough to c***k the concrete, pinning her there. The head girl let out a muffled cry as the Vessel’s grip forced her head through layers of flooring.
Xavier fired a perfect headshot—but the Vessel snapped her hand up and caught the bullet an inch from her face, fingers smoking.
Safiya roared and brought her rapier down in a killing arc. The Vessel didn’t even glance—her free hand flicked, catching Safiya’s blade inches before it split her skull.
Safiya’s eyes widened in horror.
The Vessel released the head girl’s face and lunged toward Xavier with blinding speed. Safiya twisted in desperation, trying to follow, but her blade went wide and stabbed straight through the head girl’s shoulder.
The head girl screamed in pain.
Xavier dropped to the ground and rolled, firing wildly, but the Vessel was already on top of him.
Gregor appeared between them, eyes blazing with fury.
“You. Dare. Not. Fire Rupture!”
He thrust his arms forward, unleashing the compressed fireball with an ear-splitting roar. The flames enveloped the Vessel in a blinding explosion, rocketing her backward until she smashed against the edge of the cube. The fire erupted outward, shaking the cube’s entire structure and triggering a mini-quake outside.
The roaring flames slowly subsided, leaving smoke and a charred mark where she hit.
---
Xavier lowered his sniper, chest heaving. “Did we get it?”
Safiya helped the head girl to her feet.
“I’m so sorry…” she whispered.
The head girl shook her head weakly. “That’s not the problem. It’s… my face I’m worried about.”
Safiya’s eyes darted over the deep punctures from the Vessel’s fingers, still slowly regenerating. She forced a smile. “It’ll heal. Don’t worry.”
But then her face drained of color.
“Wait… is it… still alive?” the head girl asked, voice trembling.
Safiya swallowed hard, sweat beading on her brow. “Yes. But… that’s not the problem.”
Her voice cracked.
“It’s… it’s…” She pointed shakily across the cube.
Everyone turned.
There, sitting on a broken sink like a cinema chair, legs crossed, was Kevin—nonchalant as ever.
He was eating popcorn he’d apparently conjured from nowhere, eyes wide with amusement.
“Wow. Amazing effects. 10 out of 10. Carry on, guys!” he said, waving cheerfully.
Silence fell across the battered cube.
Gregor’s eye twitched.
- Writer
