[Psychokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 238

Astrid joined her mother, Jonathan, and the other forces underneath Sanctuary; the Sanctity Healer’s grounds. Underneath were the service tunnels for the entirety of the Upper District. It was used to quickly ferry goods from one side of the arc, to the other. Of course, it was also used for sewage, and other pipes required to help Rebirth run.

And to move such a large amount of equipment, food, and whatever else, the tunnels were expansive. Measuring thirty metres wide, and quadruple that above, it was why Astrid had the idea of turning it into a death trap.

The reason why they didn’t assault Sanctuary directly wasn’t just because of the Bishop. He was strong, of course, but it was the protective arrays across their base of operations that made it nigh impregnable. The only area that wasn’t protected was below.

After all, Rebirth’s metal was special. No ordinary attack could penetrate its plates. But Astrid didn’t have any ordinary Skills.

“Are you prepared?” Astrid asked, glancing at her mother and the other militant forces associated with the arc. Anger flickered in their eyes, but to Astrid, it manifested as a crimson aura hovering above their heads. She could discern their emotions.

Astrid, her mother, and the military would make it clear what betrayal meant for the last bastion of humanity. The lesson would be written in blood, with their lifeless bodies marking the path.

The shadows trembled at their backs and out walked Brett. He looked around, then spotted Astrid. He waved and jogged up to her, and said, “Great. I didn’t miss it.”

“Where’s the others?” Astrid asked. “I thought you were with Pauline?”

“Yeah I was,” Brett said. “She was a bit worried with everything going on, so the others decided to stay and comfort her.”

“But you’re not the comforting type?” Astrid asked.

“Hey, it’s not that,” Brett argued, pouting. “But my talents are better suited elsewhere, right? This situation calls for an expert assassin. The moment they fall, the Bishop will have a new smile carved into his throat.”

“That’s a morbid image,” Leena said.

“I’m a morbid man,” Brett replied, he paused, then said, “what does morbid mean?”

Leena chuckled. “It’s good to have you here.”

“It’s good to be here.”

Astrid looked at them both in suspicion, but her mother interjected, “Astrid, are you sure you can destroy the floor?”

Astrid smiled at the question. She placed her hand on the wall to the side, then activated Disintegration. She controlled it. In a circle around her hand, the size of a football, the wall instantly vanished.

“It will require a lot of effort to use it for the entire ceiling,” Astrid said, pointing to the ceiling. “But I’ll be able to do it. But–”

“But,” Brett interrupted. “How do we know that the Bishop will fall?”

“We don’t,” Eli said. “This is only to bypass the protective barrier around Sanctuary. The ground will fall, and the array with it. From there, we assault the grounds.”

“So what’s up with the fuck-you cannons?” Brett glanced at a group of two enormous cannons roughly fifty metres down the hall.

“We ought to give them a warm welcome,” Eli said. “It’s as you said, Brett. We will slaughter them before they know what’s happening.”

Jonathan shuffled closer to Astrid and whispered, “Now I know where you get it from.”

“Get what from?” Astrid said with a small smile.

“Your violence.”

“That’s my mother you’re talking about,” Kaylan said in his usual cold voice.

Astrid chuckled at the sight of Jonathan flinching.

Her mother gave the signal. It was time. Astrid stood under the marked spot and focused on her Internal Engine. Her mana surged to life. She had to be quick. Time was of the essence. No doubt the high levelled Sanctity Healers detected her mana in that instant.

Her mana was wild. It stirred up the surroundings. The paint on the walls and pipes chipped from the pressure. Jonathan stood back even further in shock.

Eli smiled as she watched Astrid. Even she couldn’t hold the surprise within her eyes. It was the power of Astrid’s Internal Engine. No-one had seen anything like it before.

Once Astrid’s mana was at its apex, she activated Disintegration. In an instant, the entire ceiling was removed, along with the supports holding it up. Astrid was quick to blink out of the way with her eye already in position.

The arc trembled, groaned, and then the earth above came crashing down. Screams followed. Dust surged throughout the tunnel, but Astrid blew it back up from where it came. Astrid used Psych Domain. Red hearts had fallen amongst the rubble.

Mana cannons fired their stored payload, blasting apart the rubble, and anyone that came with it. Fire lashed out, the rubble turning into molten rock. Any life was extinguished.

The shadows trembled. Brett disappeared. Astrid knew where he was going, and so did her mother. Eli followed half a second later. In a blur of movement, she was already up on the surface. The ground quaked, the arc’s metal groaning in protest.

Astrid followed. Brett and her mother were tearing into the Sanctity Healers. Those who resisted, anyway.

Brett was about to slice into a man in white robes, but he fell to his knees. He muttered words. He wasn’t with them. He was forced. The truth was unknown, but Brett knocked him unconscious with a snap movement.

He did that to me, Astrid remembered. It wasn’t a good feeling, being struck aback the head with a dagger.

Astrid looked at her surroundings. Sanctuary was an old world church. Patches of green gardens interspersed between gravel paths, all leading to a huge building made of sand granite. Grand pillars, all broken and of various sizes lined the paths. In the middle of that path, was Astrid, and the others. Behind, was the gateway of Sanctuary where the defences were installed.

She would have thought they would come up in the middle of the building, breaking through it, but that wasn’t the case.

Her mother stopped just beyond the pillars when a tall, powerful man walked out of the grandiose building. He was mostly bald, if not for the hair growing from one ear, to the back of his head, to the other ear. Despite the upper half looking generally unimposing, his body was anything but. Even through the draping ropes, Astrid saw the rippling muscles underneath. Despite being a healer, he put most warriors to shame.

“You have ruined my Sanctuary,” The Bishop said, seemingly unbothered. He hid both hands within his baggy sleeves.

“It was never yours to begin with,” Her mother said. White flames billowed around her legs, hiding them from sight. “You have sided with the enemy. Caused death. Is that the order of the Sanctity Healers?” Her voice held obvious wrath.

Astrid gazed upon the Sanctity Healers. At her mothers words, some were angry, wanting to take up arms and fight, but most were indignant as they stared daggers at their so-called leader. It seemed like the Bishop, or the Order, had forced them into inaction. Their calling was to heal. If they acted, perhaps the corruption would not have spread.

After all, their holy abilities had stopped it in the past.

“What we do is up to me,” The bishop said. Astrid watched as his mana container blazed to life, like fuel to a fire.

Then, a long black dagger pierced through his chest, slicing the robes. Red bloomed on his white robe like a flower ready to be harvested.

The Bishop frowned. His mana exploded. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight.