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And to that end, that big fortress in the middle of the city might’ve been their best bet.

After a while longer of letting his thoughts stew in his own mind, he decided to make clear his intentions to the others.

None argued with his reasoning, not even the reapers.

Now they just needed to find a way up there. A materialized platform would certainly do the trick, but that would also make quite the spectacle. Taj didn’t want to resort to that just yet. There had to be a method by which normal citizens could reach that palace.

Or maybe not.

Even as they began to near the base of the grand plateau on which their new objective sat, they still did not encounter a single soul. The overgrown streets had ample space for enormous crowds, yet they remained entirely empty.

It made him uneasy. Perhaps they really had evacuated. And if so, why? What in the world had happened here?

Finally, something caught his eye at the base of the massive plateau. A tunnel. It was narrower than the street but still large enough for vehicles to enter. Perhaps it would lead them to a lift or staircase, though he already wasn’t looking forward to making such a trek on foot. That had to be, what? Two hundred meters? He’d seen skyscrapers that weren’t as tall as this plateau.

Oh, man.

Nothing for it, though. They had to go.

Before they could reach the tunnel, however, Orolix’s urgent voice rang out publicly. ‘Behind us!’

Taj turned just in time to see a steaming, car-sized boulder clobber one of his companions. He didn’t have time to panic, either, because he could already see another one coming for him.

Rather than trying to dodge, he instantly dropped to the ground and slapped it with his right hand, materializing a metal slope for the boulder to launch off of.

Which it did. It sailed straight into the rock wall of the plateau behind them and bounced off, leaving only a scuff mark behind.

Taj had grown quite familiar with such boulders over the course of this long chase. It was composed of the element gallium, which had a low enough melting point that the boulder couldn’t hold its shape for long here in the Undercrust.

Which might’ve seemed like a good thing, but it made these fights extra messy the longer they drew out, with liquid gallium splashing all over the place.