As the gunfire subsided, the men entered through the blasted door. The stone was still hot and sizzling, almost scorching them, however, equipped with their All Cloak, it was no problem at all, the men couldn’t help marvel at how amazing this gear was. They then checked the hostages, numbering forty-four in total, all of whom were safe. Some were bruised and others grazed by bullets, but overall, everyone had survived.

“Are you here to save us? If so, we need to destroy the facility these lizards built underground. It seems to be some sort of gate that allows them to summon countless reinforcements. I also felt a huge energy fluctuation further down below, I am uncertain what it could be.” Said an old arcanist, his age evident in his features.

The rescued arcanists nodded to his words in agreement. Axel and the other men exchanged glances, and the men automatically reloaded their firearms in preparation for the upcoming tide.

“Would you like to come with us to expedite the process, or would you prefer to stay here?” he asked, wanting to know if these people had other plans in mind.

The arcanists all stood up. Despite their frail appearances, the fire in their eyes could not be quenched. This prompted Axel to let them join the group, while the men formed a circle around them, leaving no gaps in all directions as they descended.

As soon as they arrived, they were met with an eerie silence. There were no doors blocking them from entering the sixteenth floor, the only thing they could see was the huge circular metal structure which seemed to be a passage for these lizardmen to bring more reinforcements.

However, the men knew that this silence was a sign that dangers lay ahead. The old man broke out from the encirclement, wishing to speak with Axel, aware he was the leader.

“I remember when this portal-like structure was still—”

Before the old man could finish, a gust of wind suddenly passed through. His severed head flew, blood spraying across the cavern in a gruesome arc. As the soldiers saw the panicky expressions of the arcanists, they took the initiative to calm them down. Axel's instincts kicked in immediately.

“Men! Turn on your Bulwarks right now! Protect the arcanists! Form a defensive line around them! Keep them in the center! Everyone, unleash a hail of bullets in all directions! The enemy moves swiftly and strikes from the shadows!” he shouted, making sure the arcanists could cooperate with them.

“Sir, I confirmed a—”

Before the operative could finish his sentence, Axel watched in horror as his head flew across the room. The man's face beaming a bright smile, frozen in a moment of triumph over his discovery, swiftly transformed into a nightmarish image.

“Form up against the wall! The enemy can pierce through the All Cloak! Stay on high alert!” Axel shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.

“Change your ammunition to disintegrating rounds!”

The men opened fire in all directions, the huge cavern was assaulted with blinding lights as their plasma projectile whizzed while emanating heat. A cry of anguish pierced through the chaos as one soldier managed to wound the opposing operative.

Axel, taking the lead, caught sight of a massive creature towering at five meters. It resembled the creature that hid behind them and was killed by Sprayer One when he saved them while searching for Phoenix and the little arcanists.

With a cruel snigger, it brandished a two-meter-long blade. The material seemed to be unique as you can see it resembling the sea of stars and it changes color alongside it, making the lizardman very hard to spot.

In Axels mind, he never underestimated the technology of these lizardman, he knew they wouldn’t come this far if they couldn’t combat their gear, remembering the briefing given to them by the figure in black to always remember these gears weren’t lifelines, he knew these opposing operatives also came here armed and prepared.

As the creature appeared, it vanished as swiftly as a heartbeat. Unlike what they expected, there was no blood dripping from the injury it had received.

Axel glanced at Wong, who had his Pision drawn. He immediately made the decision to blast the whole are with their Pision, also destroying this structure in the process.

“Everyone, target the circular structure with your Pisions! Leave nothing intact! Reinforcements might arrive through that construct!”

The huechromixix operative, quick to discern the meaning of his language, locked onto Axel with intense focus. Axel’s battle instinct roared as he suddenly transformed his Winston into a sword, slicing diagonally with one swift motion.

“Clang!”

Sparks erupted as he was sent hurtling twenty meters into the air, nearly crashing into the cavern's ceiling. A sinister chuckle echoed through the chaos as the creature darted toward him. Grounded by his paratrooping experience, Axel regained his composure mid-fall. In a single fluid motion, he met the creature in a clash of steel against steel.

The other operatives, ready to support, aimed their weapons at the invisible foe but hesitated, unsure of hitting Axel in the fray.

“Clang!”

He was driven into the ceiling this time, but the All Cloak absorbed the brutal impact, safeguarding him from harm.

“Don’t hesitate to shoot! What are you all waiting for?!” He barked at the men, sensing their hesitation.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The huechromixix assassin landed with feline stealth, nearly undetectable amid the chaos. But as the Pisions unleashed their bombardment, the surroundings melted into molten stone and metal.

The huechromixix operative was no fool, it knew that engaging here meant exposure, and as chaos raged, it chose to retreat, aware that its cover was slipping away.

After a minute had passed, the huechromixix operative appeared to have retreated. The big question was, 'Where to?'

One of the soldiers of team Autumn lay dead on the ground, the squad leader, a grumpy looking young man took all the gears of his soldier. He then closed the eyes of his fallen comrade and disintegrated the body of his fellow man, knowing full well they’d meet again one day. He was a veteran of the Iraq War and knew time was tight and they had a mission to accomplish, he knew that his man wouldn’t be happy if they fail so he could only bottle up his grievances.

Axel and the other men could only let out a sigh, knowing full well this is how war is. They pressed on and decided to move more cautiously while making sure the arcanists put their backs against the wall as it cooled down. Suddenly, a young female voice could be heard, trying to suggest something.

“Brave sir. How about if we cool down the surroundings? Would that help you guys?” she asked with curious eyes.

Upon hearing this, the men couldn’t help but look at her as if she were a rare treasure. Though the young lady was confident, she found herself blushing profusely under the weight of their awed gazes.

"Look alive, men! Stop staring at her like that! Haven’t you seen a woman before!? This is the Middle Ages! Remember your etiquette and grace! Make sure to raise your Bulwarks on your head!" Axel shouted, feeling a surge of annoyance as he noticed the men distracted by the arcanist.

He indicated the path that needed cooling, and the young lady, recognizing it as a simple task, nodded in agreement.

As they descended a sloping path leading to the seventeenth floor, the heavy scent of blood filled the air. Four men who were positioned at the back, consisting of three operatives and one arcanist, had their heads severed, now rolling down the path they were traversing.

One of the operatives, close to the bodies with severed heads, had his All Cloak torn at the neck, fortunately, it only nicked his skin, though the slash exposed his arteries. The man couldn’t help but fell a chill ran down through his spine.

Noticing this, Axel had remembered that these lizardman can copy any temperature accurately, however he cannot control other factors such as friction, mass and surface tension. Even though it might be immune to the heat, his traces will surely show when he stepped on a red-hot surface, even for just a miniscule amount, so he sprang into action and commanded.

" If anyone here is a thermal arcanist, intensify the heat in the area. Ensure the surroundings reach a temperature sufficient to turn the rocks red. Move!"

An arcanist who bore a striking resemblance to Phoenix stepped forward and nodded to him. Axel seeing this handsome blonde man couldn’t help but recall the face of the young mischievous lady, he even started to remember distracting thoughts of her. However, he quickly regained his composure and said to himself.

‘Focus, Axel. Clear your mind of any distractions. I’m on a mission right now.’

As he appeared distracted, the men remained unaware that the huechromixix assassin was lurking on the ceiling. Noticing Axel, the pillar of the team, in this moment of vulnerability, the assassin smiled slyly as it licked its blade, applying a coat of venom. This venom contained a deadlier variation of the Black Plague, one of many the huechromixix were immune to.

As it darted toward Axel, the creature caught sight of a smirk at the corner of the man’s mouth. It realized he muttered, ‘Got you’. Fueled by such confidence, the huechromixix operative abruptly altered its trajectory mid-jump.

However, when it landed and tried to lock eyes with its target, it was met with five bullets from Axels Winston, striking its head. The creature, now headless, attempted to regenerate its severed head, after all, it could still survive as long as its heart still pumps blood.

The men did not miss the opportunity, they peppered it down with disintegration rounds, blasting the creature to kingdom come. Axel told the men to stand down, as not to waste more ammunition.

Spring 01 whose eyes were bloodshot with unshed tears couldn’t help venting his frustration by punching his fist against the wall. He lost three members of his team in that small interlude, they were veterans of the World War Two, all British spies before coming here.

Their splendid performance helped the war end. They sabotaged multiple German nuclear research facilities in the cusp of creating nuclear weapons and sending all the research material to the allied forces, unsung heroes of their era.

Afterwards, they were given two choices, a luxurious retirement plan, in any country and any place or a vague choice where they would not serve Britain anymore but the whole of mankind.

At first, they were curious since the war had ended. Secondly, they were told that it is not mandatory to join, the information is not sensitive to the public and they can still choose the retirement plan if they wanted to.

The group of men couldn’t help but laugh at such a casual requirement, so they chose to have a look. However, their worldview was shattered as they witnessed the horrors of what humanity was truly facing, creatures so grotesque and inhumane that some of them started retching, they threw away the option of the perfect retirement and dived into the fray once more.

Axel, upon seeing this, couldn’t help but sympathize with the man, he knew what it felt losing comrades in the battlefield, even if he had lost so many of them, he was never numb to the sensation. He then gave a moment of respite to these weary soldiers.

As he looked around, he noticed the blade of the lizardman, he tried to poke it first, making sure it wouldn’t react violently to him, as he tried picking it up, he was shocked, the weapon was light as a feather. He even wondered what material was used in such a blade, he then stored it in his inventory as this might sell for a price.

Seeing the creature blasted to oblivion, the arcanist tended to their fallen comrade, they didn’t know how to bring back the dead like Fairy 001, so they chose to honor them by keeping their human core.

A couple minutes had passed, Axel told the men to begin gathering the equipment of their fallen comrades, each of them hoping that one day they would don that gear once more. The team then proceeded further underground to the seventeenth floor.

There, an obsidian door loomed before him, a monolith of jet-black metal that towered thirty meters into the air and stretched fifteen meters wide. Its surface was adorned with intricate carvings depicting human operatives battling the chrysalica horrors that lurked in the valley below. The carvings bore a striking resemblance to the signal jamming worm, it was also accompanied by monstrous entity composed of multiple wormlike creatures that looked similar to the ones that can invade the human body, only these were much larger. However, that was not the highlight of the depiction.

Instead, a group of seven cave dwellers stood transfixed, their varied statures and rugged builds were a testament to their diverse heritage. Two of them wore looks of stark fear, while two others appeared shocked by what they saw. Two more seemed poised to leap into action, ready to aid those brave warriors in their desperate fight against the monstrous invaders. And then there was the seventh cave dweller, lost in deep contemplation, his mind wrestling with the mysteries and horrors that surrounded him. All the soldiers couldn’t help looking at what was before them.

‘Was this how history played out behind the scenes?’ These were the thoughts that flashed through their minds.

[Mission Duration: 01:29:53 – Currently Ongoing]

[France Time – 23:30]