Eva did have one thing going for her: she could blink. And she liberally used that ability to dodge volleys of acid or anything that got near her. Surprisingly, not much acid actually went her way. The city hall building was one of the taller buildings, and the clocktower on top taller still, but Genoa was fairly certain that it was still within range.
In addition, she had Arachne’s legs. If nothing else, they were quite adept at catapulting her from one place to another.
Given that she lacked the blood to create one of those powerful shields she had used back in the real world, she should probably thank Arachne for saving her life.
If only that same person–that same
Genoa spun. Her two-handed sword trailed behind her. Two separate dog-type bugs lost their upper limbs. She tilted the iron weapon down slightly, sticking it straight into the skull of a third. Momentum slowed by the limbs and the chitin, her blade stopped halfway through the creature
A rushing dog-bug forced Genoa to blink backwards. The teeth of one of the things she had just disarmed were far too close for comfort.
White hot plasma landed just beneath the rushing dog. It exploded outwards, sending pieces of the dog flying overhead.
And, it conveniently freed Genoa’s attentions so that she could focus on the dog at her backside.
She’d have to remember to thank Eva later. Even just another simple nod in her direction.
Her focus made up most of the hilt of her sword. Swinging it around, a pillar of earth erupted directly underneath the insect. The thing was launched up into the air.
Genoa ignored it in favor of two other fresh combatants approaching her. From prior experience, she knew that launched bug would have broken the rest of its limbs. Assuming the fall failed to kill the thing outright.
Genoa dashed forward, dragging her blade along the ground. She momentarily resized it, shortening the length. Once the length hit the sweet spot, excess kinetic energy acted as a spring, cleaving it straight up through the body.
At the apex of her swing, Genoa pushed out the metal. The length and end weight of her sword doubled in an instant. Using that weight, Genoa brought the sword down right between the eyes of the second beast.
Immediate area clear, Genoa took a moment to catch her breath. It was a good thing she had sparred so much with Arachne. Their fights had provided plenty of opportunity to sharpen up after having been retired for several years.
Not that Genoa would have considered herself out of shape prior to their daily spars. Just a little rusty.
Catching sight of a shadow from one of the giant beetles moving over her, Genoa blinked straight upwards.
The primary target swapped positions to be directly underfoot. Several feet separated her and the beetle. Several rapidly shrinking feet.
Her entire body’s weight was focused on the tip of her sword as gravity brought her back down. A full half of her sword plunged between armored plates at the beast’s neck. Given that the sword was as tall as she was, a good chunk of it was probably sticking through to the other side.
Before the beetle could do anything, whether that be dying or trying to knock her off, Genoa gripped her sword’s hilt and jumped off. Again, gravity gave her an assist as she swung down beneath the beetle’s head.
The six-foot sword pivoted in place. As soon as Genoa’s feet touched the ground directly under where she had been standing, the head popped off the body with a squelch. Ichorous blood exploded around her. Only a quick reapplication of her shield kept Genoa dry.
She blinked out from beneath the beetle’s torso before it had a chance to collapse on top of her.
“Is it just me,” Eva said at her side, panting slightly, “or are these things tougher than before?”
Genoa scanned the town before answering, updating her mental model of the battlefield.
It wasn’t looking good. Arachne’s forces had systematically destroyed most of the buildings. Very few wooden buildings were left. Some brick buildings were more or less intact. The city hall that she had blinked up to for one. The bank, the metal water tower, the jail, and a train station were a few of the others.
A few of the bus-sized beetles managed to get close to the city hall on occasion. Never for long, but Genoa had needed to patch up more than one hole in the building. Several outcroppings of spiked pillars were keeping most of the smaller bugs at bay.
Losing their height advantage would be somewhat devastating. Not irrecoverable; Genoa could burrow–something that none of Arachne’s swarm had demonstrated the capacity for thus far–but being trapped underground did not sound too appealing.
There were still so many bugs. They crawled over each other. It looked like an ocean made of black carapace.
Luckily, there were no more of the giant beetles in the immediate vicinity. Genoa used the reprieve to dig a few sinkholes and crush anything that fell inside.
