Surprisingly, the shockwave wasn’t that strong. Robert’s body was barely pushed backward. However, the heat was insane. The steel he was conjuring to protect himself, felt like directly from a furnace. Glowing with red light, it started to burn his body before he could realize it. The hasty unsummoning left Rob with q few awful marks on his forearm and opened a view of the devastating scenery. However, he had a mere second to observe before the need to move in an attempt to save his own life suppressed any curiosity he had. Still, it was enough to imprint an image in his mind.
The corridor was completely obliterated, turning the walls, the demons, and all surroundings into melted something. It was true to the verge of the explosion, while everything in the epicenter basically had disappeared, not leaving even an ash. It was simply erased from existence. The problem was that such an effect appeared to be very local. And if both Rob and John survived with small injuries, the same situation would happen with the demons who were on the other side of the corridor. And there were demons – a newly emerged group of four werewolves, accompanied by several imps.
“The outer layer of the ship is damaged. Attention, the outer layer of the ship is damaged. The corridor will be isolated. Proceed to a safe place with caution…”
The loud message woke both sides from stupor, pushing everyone into action. It was still ongoing when both Robert and John were hastily leaving the corridor. The demons immediately followed after them, jumping over the melted remnants of their kind. John tried to stop them with plasma projectiles, while the thick screen was sliding from the wall to cut off the damaged section, but there were too many enemies.
“Get on the lift! We will use an emergency ladder!”
Robert’s shout was met with Riley’s nod. The demon, who attempted to kill Roger was lying between training machines, while the man was holding the wound on his neck and breathing heavily. Billy got a nasty cut on his cheek but overall looked fine, despite unhidden worry painted on his face. Only the pink-haired girl wore the same serious expression, immediately sending a command through an odd device on her forearm to close the doors. That led Rob to return his attention to their own screen that was shutting awfully long. Just in time to see the wide-opened muzzle, who was going for a bite.
The thrust of the conjured spear had stopped the werewolf’s tracks, and two stoppers blocked its attempt to close the toothy maw. Shortening the distance with a swift step, Robert sent his fist with brass knuckles right into the opened neck of the demon. The punch almost pushed the enemy into the air, breaking something inside. However, Rob wasn’t able to finish it as incoming enemies made him jump back to avoid the wild swings of claws.
After a few nervous seconds of dodges, he found himself in the company of four werewolves and two imps, who managed to sneak into the gym before the screen finally closed. His single ally, John, had lost his rifle, which was bitten off by a Hound right in the moment of shooting the plasma projectile. The green ball still destroyed the enemy, and its headless corpse was lying right in front of a “newbie”, but the damage was done.
“Can they breakthrough it?” asked Robert, pointing with his gaze at a newly appeared thick metal wall, which cut them off from the source of the enemy’s reinforcements. At least he hoped so.
“Maybe, but if there is a gap in an outer layer, the difference in pressure between outer space and the ship will kill them in mere seconds, sucking the oxygen from their bodies, before they manage to achieve anything. In the end, even demons also need to breathe,” John shook his head.
“Good. Melee it is.”
That sounded like a signal, sending everyone into action. The demons launched their bodies into motion, swiftly covering the distance between the two sides. Not having the ability to worry about his ally and his chances of survival through the situation, Robert simply focused on approaching enemies. Moreover, the man near him didn’t look scared at all.
Conjuring the spear without a sharp end point, he pushed forward with all his strength, meeting the jumping werewolf in mid-air. Not aiming for the kill, Rob had put his weapon against the opponent’s shoulder. His force together with his own inertia of the demon made everything else. Not being able to pierce the skin, the hit had instantly dislocated the joint point of the werewolf’s arm, turning its swing into a clumsy strike. Not stopping on it, Robert sidestepped the wounded enemy, simultaneously changing his weapon into a hammer.
Grabbing the clawed palm and stretching it, he instantly made a hit into the elbow, momentarily crushing it. The Hound tried to roar in a mixture of anger and pain, but Robert was already pushing the unusable hand into its own ugly face. Pushed by his force, the claws had entered the demonic creature's opened maw, getting stuck inside. The following strike had propelled it even deeper, sending a choking demon on the floor. The moment later Rob had to duck under another wild swing.
Blocking the next attack with his forearm, he created a steel helmet before headbutting the chest of the hellish relative of a wolf. Ignoring the impact, Robert repeated it again, finally hearing a cracking sound. Feeling an opportunity, he grabbed both palms and plunged them into the demon’s throat, using the same trick. The easiness of the piercing the tough skin made him really jealous. Ripping it from the body and basically beheading the enemy, he shoved the corpse to the side, when the periphery of his sight had shown a motion.
It was the Imp. Using Rob’s distraction, it waited for a perfect moment, before lunging onto his exposed back. The problem was that Robert couldn’t make it on time, and his steel protection wouldn’t work against the claws. He still tried, not willing to waste even a single chance. Conjuring the shield on his back, while turning around, he was readying himself for the incoming pain to endure before striking back.
It never came. Surprisingly, the Imp was intercepted by a long whip. Made from a dark metal, it had multiple tiny segments, which granted it flexibility. Still, the endpoint which tied around red skin monkey seemed to be too tough even for the claws to cut through. The demon attempted it but only managed to make a few wounds on itself, before was pulled back by the owner of the weapon. The scene took not even a second, flashing before Rob’s eyes, but he still got every single detail of it. Especially, the image of John, whose wrist was the source of the weapon. Its brother, the very same dark metal whip, was already shredding into pieces another werewolf. Cutting through the skin as if it were nothing, it left wide cuts all over the demonic body, splashing the purple blood everywhere.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Thanks,” muttering the gratitude, Rob had to dodge the attack from the last standing Hound. Then the next one. Looking for an opening, he shot a heavy punch between chaotic swings after several seconds of active moving. The short pause allowed him to charge forward. Grabbing the muzzle of the demon, he pushed it upwards before planting the enemy’s body into the nearest wall. The hunchbacked figure of the walking wolf had quite limited motion of its head, snapping its neck after the strong impact. It didn’t kill the creature, but effectively disabled it giving time to use a maul.
“You are not surprised,” John stated while watching how Robert was fishing other injured demons, cracking their skulls in one hit of an enormous weapon.
“Why would I? The newbie criminal who knows info about space rangers, while literally commenting it as an odd coincidence. Of course, I wasn’t sure about anything, but you were too calm in front of demons while being bare-handed. So, you definitely had something in your sleeve,” Rob shook his head and glanced at his towel. It was dirty, but luckily managed to stay in the same spot despite the fight.
“No matter how the high commanders can decrease the energy output of our cores, they can’t take away our training that is already imbuing in our nature. I see yours is on minimum, able only to create a matter, but nothing more. I was luckier – mine was put only on 25%. Snake-type. And you, I assume, are Rhino?”
“Something like that,” Rob answered without turning around.
“I guess, after our exile, everyone deserves the privacy. Still, glad to see a brother-ranger. As it says, once a space ranger – always a space ranger,” nodded John, not trying to satisfy his curiosity, “But taking into account the rarity of expulsion, I would say the saying is ancient.”
“Yep. I am not asking why you are here with those thieves,” Robert said, before heading to the ladder. Nothing in the gym seemed to be useful to take it with him.
“It is easy and not a secret. I had the same info about the item in the courier’s possession – nanomachine serum. Just wanted to return my powers back to avenge… No, it matters now,” John sighed, before following Rob. However, the moment Robert wanted to climb on the ladder, the former ranger exclaimed, “Hey, you are not going first!”
“Why?”
“First, you even don’t know what level you need. And second, more importantly, I don’t want to look at your ringing bells. Or do you think the towel can cover them from beneath?”
Seeing an awkward expression on Rob’s face, John pushed him away and started the climb. Robert looked down on his nude body, sighed, and simply followed. Fortunately, there were no unpleasant surprises on their way up. They reached the highest level in a minute before stepping out from the similar service room with stockpiles of snacks. The latter wasn’t missed by Rob, who still felt the remnants of lingering hunger and thirst after a long period of forced restraint. Gulping down a bottle of odd-colored soda, Rob pointed to the nearest door and asked.
“Can you open it? May as well find some clothes,” John only smiled at that but still approached the door. A few seconds of manipulation on the device on his forearm made the screen hide in the wall, opening the view of the empty room. The following quick check-up finally rewarded Robert with green pants that barely reached the middle of his shin but were wide enough for his thighs. Nothing else managed to fit his frame, being too small in some places, like his neck. So, he used what he was sure he could – a bathrobe. No underpants, no shoes, unfortunately. It still took several minutes, which resulted in a visible anxiety in John’s eyes, ending to the end of Rob’s search on that point.
“You look fabulous,” his ally grinned at Robert’s appearance, but quickly returned his expression to a serious one, “Let's hurry up!”
The hast walk down the corridor brought them to the already opened door. The planning of the level was quite similar to that where Rob found him at first. The same main pathway with short branches. However, the single difference was exactly in the needed room. Placed instead of the hall with a panoramic view of an endless starry scene, it was really huge. Moreover, it also had the same observation point, solely meant for the eyes of a room owner. Its vast space wasn’t clearly divided into any smaller sections with walls, creating a feeling of freedom and enormity.
That was the reason why Robert didn’t notice the figures of thieves at once. Moreover, Roger was lying on the couch, while Billy was kneeling near him in an attempt to help with the injury. Obviously, it wasn’t going well as the young man was wearing a scared expression, constantly muttering prayers. Riley, on the other hand, was busy with a hidden safe in the far corner. The moment Rob and John had stepped inside, she finished the unlocking with a triumphal yell.
“Are you finished, sis? The old man doesn’t have much time,” Billy's worried voice sounded hoarse as the exhaustion from the unfolding events started to take its toll. Still, he was ignoring the marks from the burns on his face, fully focused on the dying man.
“Yes, all done. I’ve got the backup codes, so we can get out from here! There has to be a proper medical kit inside the escape pod. He will live… Oh, you are finally here. Took you long,” Riley replied with an overjoyed shout, before noticing newcomers and instantly switching her attitude back to the irritation.
“Fighting and dressing takes time,” Robert shrugged.
“Okay. Let’s move. There is a personal transportation platform here. We can head directly to the emergency bay with escape pods,” picking up her unlocking gear, scattered on the floor, she hastily ran to the coach, “Cue ball, take Roger. Newbie, help Billy and watch around. I will open the door!”
Cue ball? Because I am bald? Sounds like a childish insult. But still, insult. Whatever, girl. I can see through your tough mask that you are barely holding emotions. The man must be important to you.
“Why are you in charge?”
Ignoring Billy’s stupid question, John pulled the young man on the feet, before pushing him forward. Robert only started to bow down to pick up the injured man, whose improvised bandages on his neck were already painted red, when he heard the steps. They were not loud. They were not strange – nothing clicking, grinding, or anything else. No, they sounded ordinary. However, somehow each of them brought a feeling of dread. Emitting the power, they brought shivers down his spine.
Turning his head, Robert saw how a new type of demon emerged from the doors. Rough-skinned as if after the bath in an oven, the hellish creature had the same red tone and mostly looked like a human with a set of curvy horns, protruding from its forehead and going back. A burly tall figure was even bigger than Rob’s and had an addition in the form of bony scute on elbows and knees. The face wasn’t scary, having a third eye in the place of a nose bridge, while the latter was presented by two tiny holes. The unnaturally wide mouth with sharp teeth wasn’t surprising.
Still, just a look, at the demon wasn’t enough to make Rob feel fear. But it did. Completely ignoring his experience, it somehow bypassed his calmness, injecting a portion of horror. It took enormous effort and all his willpower for Robert just to stand up. His motion brought attention from the hellish descendant, creating a grin, filled with anticipation. Tilting its head to the side, it stretched its arm, pointing with an opened palm at Robert. Seeing a step from Rob, the creature chuckled, almost freezing everyone inside the room with gripping fear. The stupor was broken a moment later by John’s yell.
“It is a Jaeger! Run! Quickly!”