(Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:11AM)

(Luke) Everyone stay alert!

The five adults and one old teenage girl looked around the darkened building in the dead of the morning.

All of their eyes peered at every corner that they laid eyes on, not leaving a single crop of dust out of their sight. The air around them making their lower backs let out an abundance of cold shivers, they all holstered their weapons as the trickling of metal filled the ambience.

Luke, the leader of the group, wielded a flashlight with his left hand. By clicking the button on the top end of the device, it emitted a high-beamed light that shone through the eeriness of the metal railings and stairs.

(Luke) It’s still dark out, so we all better work as a team.

(Jack) No probs. The only thing that we could work on is getting onto the second floor, right?

(Fred) But those stairs don’t look pretty stable…

(Luke) Don’t worry, you all get behind me. I have pretty good luck.

Motioning the five of them to form a line behind him, Luke cautioned his steps as he gently caressed the soles of his feet on the stone floor.

Having his uzi on his right hand, he then placed his left foot onto the first step of the metal-rusted staircase, the metal screaming from its dehydrated state. The strands of the back of his hair were still in a deep sleep, Luke let out a sigh of relief, his lungs pushing forth unneeded air that he trapped inside.

(Luke) Alright … please follow my lead…

Going through the steps like old-fashioned, the rest of the group held in their breaths as the screaming oxidized metal staircase sang out an epiphany. Jack, who stared straight at the wall to his right, let a bead of sweat roll down his right cheek as his eyes noticed a black movement from his peripheral vision.

(Jack) Not to alarm you guys, but I think I saw something earlier…

(Fred) W-What did the figure look like?

(Jack) No clue.

Luke straightened his back as he turned his head toward the others, as he witnessed everyone stiffening their bodies at Jack’s words. Clearing his throat, he gently stopped as he stood on top of the second stair that led to the second floor.

As the strands of the back of his hair soon began to stand up straight.

(Luke) Hey Jack … I don’t think you’re wrong.

(Jack) Really? Is there something out there?

(Luke) Yeah … wait …

Continuing to stand still, Luke heard the muffles of a reverb service bell circling the inside of his soul. Having his right uzi locked and loaded, he placed his finger on the side of the gun, his face starting to pour with sweat as he looked around the room.

Flashing the high-beamed flashlight with his left hand, Luke then let out a shiver from his upper back, the strands of the back of his hair continuing to only increase.

(Luke) … Let’s get to the top.

The muffled reverb service bell soon boomed inside of him, the noise from his soul causing him to not let a single breath from out of his mouth.

Looking toward his left, he saw straight in his eyes a little girl barreling straight toward him, his body immediately jumping forward.

Luke had both of his feet onto the metal flooring of the second floor as soon as the lich girl darted straight at the metal railing that held the six figures. Hitting the metal with the butt of her head, the metal started to shriek loudly as it caused everyone to stop and cover their ears from the noise.

Except for Luke.

(Luke) Get to the second—

As he had both of his feet onto the edge of the second floor, the sound of the oxidized staircase started to shriek like a screaming banshee. In a swift fast motion, the staircase below the five of them started to crumble into debris.

Luckily for Hope, she was in the back of Luke the entire time, as she managed to reach the second floor as soon as the stairs crumbled onto the ground.

(Luke) Guys!

The world in present motion, Luke saw the staircase topple onto the dirtied floor beneath him, and Hope, saw a cloud of small dust spreading outward.

Staring into the bottom of where everyone lay, Luke saw three figures coughing and lying on their backs, the three of them closing their eyes shut from the stinging dust. Noticing that there was one missing from the group, Luke looked all over the small dust in the dark of the morning until he noticed a strand of white—

(Fred) H-Help me!

Luke moved his head forward while tilting his head down to see that Fred was dangling from one of the rods that stuck out.

Widening his eyes, Luke extended his hand outward toward him. Grabbing a hold of Fred’s hand, Luke used all his strength to pull him up, his lean biceps and chest expanding with the harsh pull.

Having Fred onto the second floor, Luke and Hope together patted Fred on the back.

(Luke) You guys ok!?

Luke’s heels were right on the edge of the staircase that fell, causing concern amongst both Hope and Fred who tugged both of his shoulders. Unable to pull him back, he continued to stare at Jack, Johnny, and Elizabeth who slowly stood up from the dusted ground, all shaking their heads from the dust that got on them.

Jack, the first one to get up from the two, gave Luke a thumbs up.

(Jack) We’re good! You guys should go on ahead! We’ll catch up with you later!

(Luke) No! There’s gotta be a—

(Johnny) cough … It’s ok Luke! Cough cough … We’ll figure something out.

Shutting his mouth, Luke glanced down at the flashlight that he still had on his left hand. Pulling his left hand back a bit, he then tossed the device over toward Jack, who stared at Luke with slanted eyes.

Receiving the flashlight from Luke, he also gave Jack a simple nod.

(Luke) Good luck to you three!

Turning his body toward the other end of the building, Luke then inhaled an abundance of air inside of his lungs, trapping the air inside of him. Slowly, he began to let the air out of him, his nostrils flaring up as the much-needed trapped air got out from his system.

Looking at Hope who let out a wry smile, along with Fred who gave him a simple nod, Luke then made one step forward.

(Luke) Come on. We got to reach the control room.

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(Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:13AM)

(Jack) Where the hell is that lich girl? From what I can remember, Gemma didn’t look like that, and Jenny and Jerry did say that they encountered another lich…

Rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, his fingers scraped against the humid liquid that poured out.

Putting his bloodied hand down toward his side, his brain started to hammer the innards of his skull. Having his head pointed toward where Johnny and Elizabeth were barely standing, Jack put his right hand on his chest.

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(Jack) You guys need to be careful. We don’t know when that lich girl will attack—

Since Jack was plagued by bad luck, his eagle eyes caught a whiff of a fastening figure approaching to the left of him.

Jumping his entire body back a couple of feet, he pulled out his sniper rifle with both of his hands, the heavy rifle already pointed toward the lich. Already having his finger on the trigger, Jack then fired with no hesitation, the barrel of his gun emitting a colossal bang.

(Jack’s thoughts) Hope this teaches her a lesson!

The lich girl got on all fours as she managed to dodge the bullet with precision and ease. With the bullet landing on the wall that was way in the back of her, it created an echo loud enough to reach heaven and hell.

Gritting his teeth, Jack saw the bullet didn’t even hit its mark, leading to him pointing the sniper straight at the girl again.

(Johnny) Elizabeth! Let’s back him up!

(Elizabeth) Sure thing!

Johnny wielded a heavy machine gun that had a suppressor along the edge of the barrel, as the edge of the gun was right in between his armpit. As for Elizabeth, she carried nothing but an electric hammer with her.

For the hammer, the face of it was replaced by an all-wielding metal that contained an electromagnetic field that surrounded it. Along the throat of the metal tool, a wrap of electrical cords circulated the metal along the weapon, with the grip of the hammer being completely insulated with rubber.

(Elizabeth) I always wanted to try this! I never got to experiment with the ranchers!

(Johnny) W-What?!

Ignoring the two, Jack aimed his sights toward the wide-open lich girl, her body still and motionless as she had her feet gripped to the ground.

But that changed as the lich girl extended both of her hands outward, the shape of her fingers and knuckles changing into something completely different than other blessings or powers. As if her hand was being replaced, a metal object was slowly transforming and taking shape, the object pointing straight at the red-haired man.

All three, widening their eyes, took in the sight of both of the lich girls' hands with automatic pistols.

(Jack) Oh … Oh no …

Swaying his head back and forth, Jack took a step back and he then immediately fired another large bullet at the lich girl again.

Seeing the bullet coming straight at her, she narrowly dodged it by taking a step to the right of her, the bullet barely grazing her left cheek. Both of her hands were already pointed toward the three of them, the guns then automatically rapidly fired amongst them, causing the three to widen their eyes in surprise.

Finding a piece of metal several meters from where they were, Jack pointed his left hand toward it, allowing Elizabeth and Johnny to nod their heads. With an audible yell, his vocals battled and rang all against his throat as his pointer finger remained still.

(Jack) Shit! Take cover!

Pushing both their feet on the metal flooring, the couple managed to safely take cover behind the strong aluminum.

As for Jack…

(Jack’s thoughts) Ah!

Raising his left hand forward, his fingers extended outward as he began to fall downward onto the floor. Gritting his teeth, Jack laid the sniper rifle against his body, clutching his head like a turtle as the incoming bullets ricocheted throughout the building.

Looking upon his left leg, his eyes caught a whiff of a hole that ripped through his pants…

As a gush of liquid tickled on his left leg, the sticky substance stuck onto his jeans.

(Jack’s thoughts) That damn bitch! She shot me, didn’t she!?

Unable to put any hand on the open gushing wound on his left leg, Jack gasped for air as he tried to push his way toward the others.

Fortunately for Jack though, the bullets stopped their firing as soon as he reached the aluminum cover. Widening their eyes, both Elizabeth and Johnny had their hands on Jack’s shoulders, tilting their heads at the display of tremendous luck.

(Johnny) How did you make it here without getting shot three to four times!?

(Jack) Ah! … Luck is a rollercoaster for me…

Making a hissing sound with the butt of his teeth, Jack tilted his head up to see both Johnny and Elizabeth’s faces slanted and tilted.

Elizabeth, who made a cheerful face, put her right hand on Jack’s forehead. Noticing that his forehead was burning her palms, she rubbed the end of it as his eyes began to flicker repeatedly.

(Johnny) Please be easy on him, he isn’t going to like it.

(Elizabeth) But I have to do it!

(Johnny) sighs …

Johnny turned his attention on the slightly flustered Jack, as Jack’s face reddened by the touch of a cat-human that caressed her nails on his pale skin. Letting go of her shoulder, Johnny folded his arms, followed by making a nonchalant face that made his lips unable to curve one bit.

(Johnny) It isn’t as peaceful as it looks.

(Jack) What do you mean—

(Elizabeth) Veil Delirium.

A puff of a single white cloud formed along the edge of her palm, its adorableness making Jack sparkle his eyes at the tiny non-livable creature. Lighting up a smile, his teeth were slightly shone through the cracks of his mouth, his entire body in a state of relaxation despite the gushing wound from his leg.

So in a way, the cloud was nothing more than just a simple adorable pet…

(Jack’s thoughts) Huh. Why did Johnny tell me it wasn’t going to be peaceful—

The tiny adorable cloud then went inside Jack’s mouth.

Forcing its way in, the miniature gas passed through his tongue, making its way down toward the windpipe that managed to block his way of breathing. Flailing both of his arms and legs, both Elizabeth and Johnny took a step back as they let Jack go through the “healing”.

(Johnny) Poor dude.

(Elizabeth) Unfortunately, the leg will take longer since it’s the farthest body part from the mouth.

Standing up, she put both of her hands onto her hips, arching her stomach and waist to the right as she tilted her head to the left. Letting out a bright smile, she stuck out her pointer finger outward.

As for Johnny, he let out a cold hard shiver upon his upper back to lower back, scrunching up his face as he looked at the wailing Jack.

(Elizabeth) Don’t worry Jack, we’ll take care of that lich girl. You just let that cloud do its work ok?

His lungs and mouth were occupied by the cloud, the only thing he could muster was an extended thrust with his right hand. Pointing his thumb upward, it trembled greatly under the rolled-up eyes and gagged sounds that emitted from his throat.

Flaring her nostrils outward, Elizabeth extended her hand outward too, her fist enclosed as she stuck out her thumb similar to Jack’s.

(Johnny) Now to deal with that lich…

Both of them noticed that the lich girl was just standing still as they soon left the cover they huddled up in. Her heels glued to the metal that she stood beneath her feet, the girl extended both of her hands out, and the weapons that she had that replaced her hands were gone.

Letting out a huge gulp from both of their throats, the couple wielded their weapons followed by their fingers creaking the grips they held onto.

(Mia) I suppose you two want to fight me with weapons, but I see the girl isn’t just a fighter with weapons.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as she glared at the lich girl in front of her.

Having both of her arms extended outward, the lich girl then made a cold frown upon her lips. In an instant, her hands began to morph like slime. As the skin from what was her hands began to solidify, Johnny’s eyes widened when he saw steel.

(Johnny) Get your blessing ready Ellie! She’s going to shoot!

(Elizabeth) Alright!

Alarmed at the two assault rifles pointing at them, Elizabeth spread both her feet apart as she put both of her hands up in the air.

Her palms opened flat onto the ceiling above. Feeling as if her body was starting to get lighter, Elizabeth’s palms soon started to tremble under the coldness of what shot out from her body.

Which was a giant black cloud that covered the top end of the first floor.

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Light sparked out of the black giant cloud that made the top of the first floor call itself home.

Hearing the mini shockwaves of thunder, Elizabeth let out a small smirk from the right corner of her lips, arching her back as she pointed her hand right at the lich girl. Her pointer finger digging into the lich with her vision, caused the girl herself to scrunch up her face.

(Elizabeth) Go Cloudy! Take her down!

As if it was following her command, the giant cloud slowly trailed its way toward the lich girl who stood still.

The lich girl’s bare feet smacked against the dirtied floor of the building, her hands still having her assault rifles on standby. The rifles lit up the entire room around them, causing Johnny and Elizabeth to sprint toward another cover.

(Johnny’s thoughts) Damn it! I can’t fight when she shoots like that!

Both of them close together, Johnny had his pointer finger on the trigger of the suppressor machine gun, as both of his hands were occupied by the weight of it.

Pulling the trigger, many bullets sprouted out of the barrel of the gun, leading to the lich girl jumping onto the top end of a drawer in the room. Having both of her feet on the top, she then crouched down, her weapons still firing.

Taking cover behind a pillar of metal that protected them from the incoming bullets, Elizabeth still watched as her black cloud tried to get to the lich girl, but the girl was just too fast.

Gritting her teeth, Elizabeth then took out her hand again, her pointer finger already directing itself straight at the cloud. Turning her finger downwards, the cloud began to descend towards the lich.

(Mia’s thoughts) Attacking me with that? It’s far too slow to be called a weapon, nothing more than a hubris blessing.

Stopping in her tracks, the soles of her feet began to scrape against the metal, with some white pigment of skin leaving her foot. Scrunching up her face, her yellow and rotten teeth sprouted out as she clenched both of her jaws shut.

Aiming down her right hand was her rifle, and her right eye caught a whiff of a small gap where Johnny’s left arm was.

(Mia’s thoughts) But still, he hasn’t done much anyhow…

As Johnny had his body protecting Elizabeth with all of his might, he slowly turned his head toward the glance of the lich girl shooting at them.

(Johnny) What—

His left arm soon started to create pain that resembled if someone was crushing it with the wheels of a heavy truck.

The light from the two assault rifles that traversed the air lit up the darkened building as Johnny and Elizabeth both closed their eyes. Unable to mutter a voice, Johnny clenched his jaw shut as drool started to stream out from the corners of his mouth, hitting the metallic floor followed by his breath convulsing.

With the barrage of bullets stopping, the lich girl perked her ears up as she heard the sounds of a petrified shrill coming from the direction of where she shot.

Letting go of his suppressor machine gun, the heavy weapon clanked the metal off the floor with a loud thump. His eyes shut off from the rest of the world, and the vocals inside of him tore each other apart as his body let out shivers from both his chest and stomach.

(Elizabeth) Johnny!

Immediately forming a small cloud from the outer ends of her right palm, she decided to place her right hand in front of his mouth instead of next to him. The same way as what happened to Jack, the cloud forced its way into the windpipe and throat of Johnny, trying to reach the battered area.

Not even able to wail his arms and legs, the pain of his left arm alone overpowered the pain of the cloud from entering inside of his body.

Laying the shrieking man on the dirty floor, her hands continued to caress the layers of fabric that he wore. Her face darkening in the darkness of the early morning, she moved her hand underneath his chin.

(Elizabeth’s thoughts) Thank you for protecting me … like you always do.

Pulling back her hand toward her, she turned to see that the lich girl was aiming both of her assault rifles at her.

Bending down, saliva bubbles burst from her mouth as she showcased her sharp teeth. Her eyes turned bloodshot red, and her nostrils flared.

(Elizabeth) You … you …

The slow giant black cloud that emitted small lightning from within itself then suddenly stopped on top of the girl.

Tilting her head upward, the girl jumped backward as she tried to avoid the deadly black cloud. Beads of sweat dripping down from both temples of the lich girl’s face, she pushed her heels off of the metallic ground beneath her.

While Elizabeth slammed her right fist to the ground, causing the cloud to be dropped down in a flash.

(Elizabeth) You’re dead!