Chapter 24: Change of plans
With his opponent's concentration broken.
Zinc had to act fast since the Locus General wasn't at first even aware that he was being followed.
Now that the enemy leader was aware of Zinc's presence.
The urgency of the situation called for a swift change of plans.
As the Locust General blustered, "You-"
Zinc didn't even think to give the Locust General time to complete his statement before he struck.
Moving with surprising swiftness striking out at the humongous insect with his open palm.
His palm emitted a light so blinding.
It immediately struck a powerful blow to the Locust General's chest.
Black gunk was oozing from a sizable hole in his chest.
The blow was enough to stun him temporarily but it was not enough to kill him.
It gave Charm ample time to run to Miss Francis' side and assist her.
Zinc's interference also gave her a temporary reprieve from Locust General's attention.
When the Locust General tried to take to the air, the boy struck again.
This time around it left the insect gasping for breath.
If he had been human he would have surely died.
To say the Giant Locust was shocked was less of an understatement.
More of an embarrassment for he felt like a fool for underestimating his prey.
So far the Locust General had not stumbled across any humans that could use spirit power and had thought them all weaklings.
This human boy was a force to be reckoned with.
Though his use of power was rustic and wasteful, it was easy to see the boy was self taught and lacking in proper training.
If taught how to use his powers wisely eventually the young man could even go on to rival the upper level demons in terms of spirit strength.
"Get him! Whoever delivers his head to me will get to rank up," shouted the Locust General.
Nothing mattered to demons more than power and getting stronger.
Now that the Locust General promised them spirit power at the end of the battle it only motivated them more for they had no reason to doubt his words.
The thrum of wings grew louder as the locust formed swarms from all directions and now they were zoning in on the threat that managed to injure their leader.
A maniacal cackle erupted from the wheezing chest of the Locust General.
As his minions forced Zinc back against the wall, he could feel the hard stone against the flat of his back.
Zinc was running low on spirit power by now.
He managed to zap another locust who rushed at him blindly before he totally ran out of power.
Sensing that the danger from Zinc had passed.
One of the locusts that was not as bulky as the Locust General but he also had a commanding presence got down in front of Zinc's face.
His bulging eyes were greedy and they glittered with avarice, he wanted to possess everything the Locust General had.
Backstabbing was the norm amongst demons.
Now that the Locust General had gone and gotten himself injured.
It provided his right hand man with ample opportunity.
He asked Zinc, "Are there any more spirit vessels like you on this island?"
When Zinc didn't respond, he slashed him with his right claw across Zinc's chest for his defiance.
He didn't scream or cry out which impressed the locusts.
They all watched as blood seeped out through the large welts of his now shredded black shirt.
Zinc wanted to ignore the pain, even as he felt the blood welling up.
"Go to hell," he spat at the insect.
"Playtime is over," the insect responded.
Just as he was to crack open the young man's skull, locusts nearby were dropping like flies all around them.
Spirit Warriors were running towards them, an intense battle ensued, claws were being raked through, blood splattered everywhere.
The younger insect lunged at Zinc again.
Thanks to the brief respite, Zinc's body had been given some time to recuperate.
Zinc managed to draw on his powers again.
Heated rage flared in Zinc's golden brown eyes.
He blasted the younger insect and it fell on top of the injured Locust General.
Who then used his body as a shield when the Spirit Warriors attacked in their direction.
Blackish liquid exploded all over the General.
Amused, he stared down at the twitching young locust that lay at his feet.
Before kicking the useless, naive fool out of the way.
"I never liked you anyways," muttered the Locust General.
He tossed his now dead shield aside and yelled to his underlings, "retreat!"
Zinc scanned the place frantically.
Not stopping until he laid eyes on Charm who was now cradling the still unconscious secretary Miss Francis.
With a painful grimace, he forced himself to stand.
The danger wasn't over yet even though he had exhausted his powers.
Zinc was not sure of what use he could be.
Still he was determined despite his exterior injuries, to be of help.
It didn't matter to Zinc that his shredded black shirt was now soaked through with blood; his eyes remained fixated on one direction only.
He shoved past, spirit warriors and humanoid locusts that were still fighting and made his way over to the young ladies.
"Charm?" it was Zinc's gentle voice.
Even though she barely heard it, there was a sense of familiarity about it that calmed Charm down and put her at ease.
"Are you okay?" His eyes raked over her body and he was relieved that other than a few cuts and scrapes she seemed fine for the most part.
"You should worry about yourself for a change," she winced, after she said it without thinking, knowing full well that Zinc got all that damage to his body protecting her.
She should be thanking Zinc but instead she found herself feeling aggravated that she had been of no use and had to rely on Zinc yet again.
It wasn't the first time she had seen him use power and now that today reconfirmed what had happened the day she almost drowned was not a figment of her imagination.
Zinc had some explaining to do, "Zinc, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
At first he hesitated, but was too exhausted to think about what Charm was hinting at, "I know," he replied. "We can talk about it some other time."
"Wounded over here," a spirit warrior called out to the healers.
He smiled down at them, "We are with the Spirit Defense Agency, or SDA for short. We've prepared for this day for a long time, just leave everything to us."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone