Every antipunk in the right hallway was now dead, partly because the Heartaches were quicker to take them out than Saint, even though he did manage to do a lot of damage, killing a couple dozen while distracting the rest for his teammates to finish them. However, once the Heartaches secured the hallway, they had to continue fighting as the stream of antipunks continued down the stairs, so they held off right at the top where the barrier used to be. They tossed some scrap and bodies down the staircase to buy themselves more time, but the enemy continued pushing despite their fallen comrades.

Cookie, Shade, Chappy, and Ace helped to defend as well, but Panda peeked through the left hallway to assess the situation before trying to get Saint to calm down and put his weapon down. He was still blinded by his bloodlust, almost accidentally hitting Nolyn and Pan when they ran by him. He was still full of energy for a second, but with Dominion draining all his strength, he couldn’t continue killing and dropped the sword as his arms became too weak to move. Dominion began losing its hot red color as soon as he stopped touching it, and while it was still tinted, it mostly returned to its original white, semi-transparent tone. But just like his sword, Saint showed some symptoms that went unnoticed at first until Zoey saw his face lose some color as well.

–What did you do? Are you okay? What happened?– Zoey asked anxiously as she approached Saint, trying to reach for a hug that he mindlessly received. He was more confused than anything as he saw the carnage and bodies he left, and even when his girlfriend was hugging him, he couldn’t take his eyes off what he did.

–I don’t know… I-I just saw them about to hurt you a-and I-...– Saint replied in a nervous and disoriented manner, losing all the anger rapidly, which left him docile and weak, even a little scared. Luckily, Zoey was able to make him look away from all the bodies nearby, and while she was also struggling to handle all the bloodshed, she got his full attention by holding his head close to her face to comfort him.

–You saved us… I thought you were gone and there wasn’t anything for us to do, but you actually came back a-and…– Zoey praised Saint with a joyous smile, getting a bit winded and teary-eyed by the excitement and relief of seeing him alive and well. Just like the others, some of his clothes had suffered minor burns, and he was covered in dust from the debris as well as blood, which thankfully wasn’t his. However, Saint didn’t look the same after his rampage, and despite Zoey’s immense gratitude and affection, his demeanor remained bleak and his stare became distant, even when he was looking directly at her.

–Yea, I guess…– Saint muttered unresponsively as he entered a state of deep reflection, with his gaze drifting off again, but this time, he was looking at Panda at the very back of the hallway before glancing at the destroyed diner at his side. He kept staring at the destroyed room, where he almost died but was somehow reborn with phenomenal power, but he didn’t look happy to have made it, not one bit. Zoey noticed his inner conflict, but instead of showing worry, she saw the bright side when she noticed the diner was clear.

–Well, we should escape through there now. That’s our only way to leave, right?– Zoey asked optimistically but a bit hesitantly now that Saint was zoning out, choosing to look at his sword on the ground, the diner, his bloody hands and arms, and anything but her. He kept looking away for a few seconds while Zoey continued holding his head, all while the Heartaches were gaining the advantage, pushing the antipunks back to the entrance, but it wasn’t for long.

Despite seemingly being in a trance, Saint remained very aware of his surroundings, so much so that he could hear all the gunfire from the other hallway, his friends arguing as they struggled to keep the enemy outside, and Panda cursing under his breath as his gun jammed, all at the same time. He couldn’t make much sense of it, but he realized the antipunks had blown up a large hole in the wall on the other side, and while he and Zoey didn’t seem to be in imminent danger, it was clear that he didn’t feel safe standing in the middle of the hallways surrounded by dozens of dead antipunks.

–Scott?– Zoey asked again after getting no response for a good while, growing desperate as he showed no emotion apart from an uneasy expression. But now that she was calling him by his name, Scott appeared to come back to his senses in an instant. Returning to reality, he turned to her and focused as his expression turned into a resolute stare before picking up his sword. He held Dominion tight while trying to scope his surroundings to face the threats around them, and after a bit of scrutiny, his mind cleared up and he resumed forming a plan.

–No… We need to keep them busy for a bit longer. They are going to try to surround us again, so we have to focus on drawing them away to be able to escape unscathed– Scott finally replied self-assuredly, now addressing both Zoey and the rest of the team, or at least the ones in the left hallway. Zoey was caught off guard by his sudden change in attitude, but she was relieved to see him motivated and steadfast again. He now sounded convinced, settling on his original plan, which he didn’t hesitate to share with the rest, who all clearly heard but didn’t know how to respond until Panda stepped in.

–That’s right… We must make sure our way is completely clear, or they will be able to catch up. Let’s hold out at the entrance and block this hallway first to see if we still have an opening to escape. Hopefully, they won’t try to block our exit again…– Panda agreed and ordered his squad, who were trying to make their way through the left hallway to push the antipunks out of the broken wall. With only a shield and a couple of swords, the rookies couldn’t do much to fight back, but it was when Panda stepped into the left hallway and began shooting at the ceiling that the enemy backed off. They were allowed to advance, but even though they could clear the hallway, there were a few major issues they couldn’t ignore.

–I can’t see if they are moving or not. They just keep coming!– Chappy shouted in desperation as he tried to peek over the wall of enemies in front of him. He was rather short, and since Cookie was leading the charge, his sight was blocked, and so was Ace, though he couldn’t see much since it was now quite dark outside. It was only Shade who managed to get a glimpse of the antipunk army outside and saw a few of them splitting up to approach from different directions.

–I think they are trying to find other ways to get in… They might be climbing the building– Shade confirmed, remaining calm but making Ace and Chappy panic with his callout as they tried to peek out the wall to confirm the claim for themselves, only to be scared off by some bullets nearly missing their faces.

–Alright, you stay here and scream if more enemies are coming from the diner. We’ll only escape once there is no one out there, understood?– Saint told Zoey with assertiveness, taking command in the absence of Panda, but she was stunned without knowing what to do for a moment. Even though he was in a hurry to help his friends, Saint stayed behind until he made sure she understood the plan, so he held her close while trying to encourage her, which only made her more nervous. But seeing as she had an essential role in the plan, she finally nodded and assumed position next to the diner, staying low to only peek as enemies were being drawn to all the noise in the hallway.

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Now that Zoey had a role, Saint ran to the other hallway to see what the situation was like, but was immediately startled by how chaotic it was compared to where he came from. While trying to rejoin the group, he watched Cookie manage to push forward and outweigh a large group of antipunks on his own with the shield. Since most of the enemies seemed malnourished and could barely carry more than their weapons, Cookie’s strength forced them to retreat, or at least push them back to the hole in the wall. He began shoving antipunks off the ledge while Ace and Shade cleared and blocked the rest of the hallway, but once he was in the line of sight of the army outside, he could only protect himself while trying to kick the hands of those who tried to climb up to their level.

With Cookie blocking the hole, Panda providing cover fire, and Saint running into battle again, the left hallway was completely secured. They met with the Heartaches at the intersection of the corridor to the entrance, but they couldn’t advance any further since half of all the antipunks were coming from the front. It wasn’t too troublesome to hold off, especially with Panda’s support and Cookie blocking all the incoming bullets from outside, forcing the enemy to get close to fight, only to be slaughtered by the rookies and Heartaches’ swords. But soon after gaining leverage, Cookie spotted a bigger threat. It was Trash, still alive and with all its members unharmed. They had managed to escape the furnace room before it exploded, and while they did seem exhausted, they were running past the crowd gathered outside the hole in the factory, leading their army through different directions, catching Cookie by surprise as he got a brief look at them.

–What?... How are they alive?– Cookie exclaimed in shock and frustration, as well as some disbelief since Trash only showed themselves for a second before they took cover out of sight at the sides of the hole. The rookies next to him couldn’t figure out who he was talking about, but Panda and Saint noticed immediately as they approached the wall to see that the antipunk army was still just as coordinated with their assault, meaning their leaders were still present.

–Those rats never die. We have to keep them outside, or they’ll definitely overwhelm us if they get in again…– Panda replied scornfully, restraining himself to keep his composure and continue giving orders to his squad, who certainly wanted to follow him but were starting to get overwhelmed by the antipunk forces, especially when the heavy weapons started to approach.

–They have those ballistae pointed right at us. We have to get out of here now!– Ace exclaimed as he stared right at the tip of a charged bolt being pointed at them from a long distance. The antipunks had ceased fire with their heavy artillery for a few minutes to let their infantry fight first, but their presence was still felt by the squad since they were ready to attack at any second. Even Shade felt threatened by him as he took cover behind Panda’s shield for a second, and that wouldn’t withstand a single attack from those machines. So, with the risk of being shot, the rookies tried to run off back to the corridor to try to push through, but Saint stopped them after thinking of another option.

–No, wait. We can’t know for sure if we can escape…– Saint stated demandingly, catching the rookies’ attention, though none of them seemed open to listening.

–We should just run and fight them off if they get in the way… We hold out for a bit and then go through the diner, right?– Ace argued anxiously, with Chappy and even Shade agreeing silently. But as Panda and Cookie were busy covering the hole in the wall, Saint stepped up to lead his friends and explain his plan in hopes of getting them on board.

–No, we can't risk that… We can leave, but we need our way out to be completely clear. We first need to check if they aren’t waiting for us, and then look for what direction to go to… I know how to distract them, but I can’t go alone…– Saint replied in a self-assured manner but was a bit apprehensive, not inspiring much confidence in his friends as they were losing their patience and wanted to leave. But his resolution did make them reconsider and believe partly in what he was plotting. They continued doubting until checking with Panda, who couldn’t talk but nodded firmly to give the order, and that’s when they started showing more support for the plan.

–I’ll go with you…– Ace affirmed with more determination, followed up by Chappy, who at first nodded reluctantly but then was fully in, mainly due to pressure as he didn’t have much to do.

–Me too, but what’s the plan?– Chappy added, showing more curiosity for Saint’s idea, which the latter hesitated to elaborate on, even showing some fear to say it. But as they both urged him to explain before committing, Saint didn’t think about his response too much and was straightforward.

–We are going up there to draw their attention for as long as possible and get a view of where to run to. That’s it…– Saint responded concisely, keeping his composure but trying not to show his anxiety to act on the plan as he turned to the door leading to the stairs next to him. Just telling his plan out loud made him nervous, but he managed to keep his cool, though Ace and Chappy weren’t pleased by the idea despite him sugarcoating it.

–B-but… We are going to be exposed…– Chappy stammered in disbelief, looking around for reassurance from Panda or Cookie again, who were no longer paying attention as the antipunks were trying to charge at them. Even Ace and Shade seemed reluctant to go to the roof, though the latter just distanced himself from the others since he was still thinking it through. But before they could come to a concession, they were interrupted by the Heartaches shouting at the stairs as they were starting to back away.

–More enemies coming, keep them away from the stairs!– Agnus ordered her squad, but they were slowly crumbling under the pressure of blocking the antipunks from multiple directions as they split up to cover and defend both hallways in an attempt to prevent them from crowding the corridor. But since they were greatly outnumbered by the enemy, they quickly lost their ground and had to fall back to the same level of the barriers, so their warning called for the rookies to make their move.

–Doesn’t matter, we have to act quick– Saint responded as he opened the door to the stairs to put his plan in motion after waiting for Chappy to make up his mind. But as his hesitation didn’t leave, Saint pretty much forced him to come with him to the roof as he and Ace tried dragging him by the arm. Chappy kept resisting and got physical, trying to push them off to stay with the rest, but it wasn't until Panda noticed that his squad was arguing that he imposed his authority.

–You two, get on it now. Clear any rats trying to get to the roof but be careful if you encounter Trash…– Panda ordered impatiently before turning back and continuing to shoot the horde of antipunks. Now Chappy had no other choice but to follow Saint, and while he seemed a bit uncertain, he was mostly confused by Panda’s order.

–Wait, are they actually called Trash?– Chappy asked himself, but he was completely ignored as Ace brought him to the door while Saint stayed behind and took a brief moment to check on Shade.

–Shade, I suppose you can stay here and help Panda, right?– Saint asked in a rather commanding manner but not as pressuring, which still concerned Ace and Chappy. But instead of a negative reaction, Shade was surprisingly cool about getting orders from Saint and listened closely.

–Just let us know when we can escape. Good luck with that…– Shade replied with a firm nod, adopting a focused but passive demeanor and surprising Ace and Chappy with his sudden politeness. Though there was still a hint of indifference and dismissiveness, as long as there was trust, Saint didn’t bother with any petty arguing and focused on getting to the roof.

–You too… Let’s go– Saint returned the gesture but wasted no time, as he seemed to prefer saving the gratitude and camaraderie for after it was all over. He proceeded to run straight to the stairs, where Ace followed right after, but Chappy lagged for a moment to second-guess his decision.

–Oh man, what did I sign up for?– Chappy asked himself in disappointment and stress, but he ended up leaving his fear behind as he reluctantly followed both Ace and Saint up the stairs until they reached the roof, where it seemed like there were already enemies waiting for them.

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