Kyle swore as the mosquito evaded him once again, floating high into the air much faster than it had any right to. He braced himself for what came next, and the wave of pain and imbalance hit him as the insect released its sonic attack. Now that he was focused on it, Auric Perception allowed him to detect a wave of mana accompanying the attack. It was subtle, fast, and powerful. Even against a normal D Grade, Kyle could see cumulative damage building and causing major issues.
Fortunately, Kyle’s ADAPTIVE REGENERATION finally had its time to shine. The skill wasn’t terribly different from how it was before, with the exception that it became more effective against specific types of damage, healing faster while also building in layers of resistance as it repaired the injury. This was the eighth time he’d been struck by the sonic wave, and by now the effect was really beginning to show itself. In just a moment the dizziness and pain passed, the whole experience muted.
Still, Kyle swore as he once again charged towards the mosquito. While he would almost assuredly become immune to the attack with time, the same couldn’t be said of the people he’d brought to the shuttle. Blessedly, there were no new fatalities yet, but it wasn’t long in coming. Even though he could force the insect back from the prone figures, the consistent bombardment with these sonic waves was dangerous. It might not kill as fast as being pierced by the proboscis, but if too many more hit the extraction team there wouldn’t be any survivors left.
The most frustrating part was that Kyle didn’t have many solutions to it. The damn thing was quick, and seemed to be able to react to changes in his mana as well as track him with its oversized compound eyes. It was able to get out of Kyle’s attack range with relative ease, and had a method to counter much more effectively. The sonic attack virtually ignored STORM SHELTER, which is something Skippy would have loved to see if he was here.
Even worse, it didn’t seem to want to engage Kyle. It would blast them all, then try to bite into one of the expedition members farthest away wherever he was standing. The whole situation was incredibly frustrating.
“C.H.A.D.D., any thoughts here?”
[I RECOMMEND SMASHING THE BUG, DR. MAYHEW. DOUBLY SO, AS MOSQUITOES ARE KNOWN FOR BEING VECTORS OF DISEASE.]
“That’s the plan, if I can ever get close enough to it.”
Kyle grit his teeth as the mosquito ascended, releasing another blast of sound.
[YOU COULD THROW ME AT IT?] C.H.A.D.D. suggested. [I’VE ALREADY PROVEN TO BE QUITE EFFECTIVE AT SMASHING BUGS, AFTER ALL.]
Grunting as he dashed to ward the mosquito away from a fallen expedition member, Kyle growled at the drone.
“I think this one’s out of your weight class.”
[I’M QUITE CONFIDENT I COULD SMASH ITS NOSE, DR. MAYHEW]
He was about to fire back at the drone, as an idea came to him.
“Do you think you could get it angry with a blast of pheromones?”
There was silence for a moment, and Kyle winced in pain again before he heard the response.
[I BELIEVE IT COULD BE POSSIBLE, DR. MAYHEW. THOUGH A WIDE SPECTRUM APPLICATION WOULD BE UNWISE. THERE ARE LIKELY ENOUGH OTHER INSECTS IN THE AREA THAT WOULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE.]
Kyle nodded in agreement. That’s out. Still, the wheels were turning in his mind. He reached into a pocket in his pack, holding onto the last of his stink bug grenades. He wasn’t sure if mosquitoes could smell or not. Heck, it might not even be bothered by the gas. On the other hand, he was running out of options. Kyle tossed the orb at the mosquito, then activated HASTE.
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As predicted, the insect floated above him as he approached. Kyle’s swing was different this time, arcing up from the ground itself. The baton caught the flimsy shell of the stink bomb, releasing a spray of noxious gas into the air. Seemingly surprised to be shrouded in the gas, the mosquito tumbled back, trying to get its bearings. Kyle closed in on the creature, left hand stretched out to attempt and land a strike with RESONANCE.
The mosquito reacted with a frantic burst of speed, and his hand barely grazed a wingtip. Still, it was enough. The mana flow inside the creature’s wings was intense, and as Kyle’s mana connected he could feel they were also the source of the powerful sonic attack. With a hasty effort, the wing Kyle touched warped and snapped, leaving the mosquito imbalanced. It tried to fly up out of the way, but it wasn’t able to compensate for the damage.
It haphazardly spun in the air as it tried to get its bearings, and Kyle closed in once again, looking to end it. The mosquito, appearing to realize its predicament, stopped trying to fly away. Instead, it lunged at Kyle. The sheath of its proboscis pulled back, revealing six needles aimed for his heart. While his armor would likely have been sufficient to stop it, Kyle didn’t need to take the chance.
STORM SHELTER exploded to life, shattering four of the needles and bending the other two. The mosquito rocked back from the impact, which gave Kyle the opening he needed. His hand descended on the creature’s head, and one more surge with RESONANCE ended it. Unsurprisingly, red energy began to condense around the fallen creature, forming a small crimson gem.
[MAY I, DR. MAYHEW?]
“Sure, C.H.A.D.D.”
He lowered the pack towards the essence and watched as it was absorbed through the chitin armor and into the drone. A quick look at his nav bracelet told him that they still had about an hour until evacuation, and he got to work.
Kyle went from person to person, combining his personal experience recovering from the damage with his diagnostic training to channel healing energy into the fallen expedition members. The supersonic vibrations had primarily caused damage to the inner ear, with the vibrations also having caused tissue damage. Without C.H.A.D.D. online to offer specific guidance, he followed the model of the recovery his body took.
First, he channeled energy into the heads of the victims, repairing ruptures and allowing HEAL to work through the entire area. Then he moved to the chests, stabilizing organs that had been damaged by the vibrations and smoothing out the heartbeats of his patients. Fortunately, every member he saved was human, otherwise he wouldn’t have known exactly how to help.
While they’d likely need more treatment when they got back to the flagship, before long the entire group had regained consciousness and at least some mobility. Kiera was one of the first people he treated, and after passing along a message to the flagship, she was staring in horror at the body of the fallen mosquito.
“What the hell is that thing?”
“It was a dangerous predator, and now it’s dead.”
Kyle’s voice came out a little flat, still looking at the man he’d failed to save. The deaths of the crew on the shuttle were gruesome, but he knew he couldn’t have done anything to change that outcome. Here, if he had just been faster, paid more attention, there was a chance that the fallen man could have survived. Even after everything he’d been through, he hated losing patients.
With about ten minutes left until the evacuation shuttle arrived, C.H.A.D.D. awoke.
[THIS WAS INTERESTING, DR. MAYHEW. IT APPEARS THAT I WON’T BE ABLE TO-]
“Not now, C.H.A.D.D.!” The last thing Kyle wanted was to get more unnecessary questions about his circumstances, much less to raise suspicion about the drone.
[AH, YES. QUITE RIGHT. WE WILL DISCUSS THE INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS LATER.]
Kyle looked about, groaning internally at the drone’s attempt at subtlety. Fortunately, if anybody had been paying attention they weren’t showing it. Instead, the group was milling around, many simply huddling together as they waited. At least the rain stopped.
Keira had passed along what had happened to Chester, and the retrieval team knew that they’d be rescuing far fewer than they’d hoped. There was a solemn air, and Kyle was content to wait in silence. At least he would have been, if the ground didn’t start rumbling. Kyle jumped to his feet, drawing his weapon. Part of him hoped it was ants, or some other swarm of creatures he could lead away. His Auric Perception told him otherwise, as the rust-colored monstrosity scuttled into the clearing made by the crashed shuttle. The Endless had come to finish what it started.