Northern Region of the Deadlands, Cerberus Outpost: 936, April 9th, Monday, 10:00 AM.
“More specter from the east, Lionheart.” Sovereign calmly reported.
Pressured by the constant assault of the specters, the lieutenant hastily led one finger to her earpiece while driving off the horde—aided by multiple Cerberus officers. “Scott, provide cover to the east!” she announced.
“Young miss!” Gaspard spoke through the speaker right after. “We have multiple injured in my position; may I request some assistance?”
“Tori, injured officers to the south!” Claire continued issuing orders.
Flanking the busy lieutenant with the aid of the fog, a specter leaped at her from the side, and tackled her to the ground—raising an arm and slamming its claws downwards with great force.
A well-placed shot to the joint of its arm however, was enough to chop off the creature’s arm and save her from a gruesome death. As the demon recoiled in pain, Claire responded with a strong kick to its chest to remove it from on top of her—standing back on her feet and putting an end to the fight with single a shot to its core.
“Behind you,” Sovereign’s tranquil voice warned her through the earpiece.
Putting all her trust in his words and her own instinct, the lieutenant leaped to the side into a roll—landing on her knees and noticing a large specter with its arm buried on the ground—the exact spot she just stood in a few seconds ago.
A bipedal specter with draconic appearance pulled its arm out from the scorched earth, baring its sharp fangs and slamming its spectral tail against the ground. The creature’s core was protected inside its chest under the thick layers of its scaly armored skin—the blades attached to its arms ignited in crimson flames.
“Keep an eye on that tail,” Sovereign warned.
“How do you—”
Before Claire could finish her sentence, the specter thrusted its tail forward towards her—aiming for her throat. Stepping to the side, the lieutenant was able to avoid a fatal injury and react with a few shots of her pistols.
Her bullets bounced off the demon’s skin however, leaving its sturdy scales intact. “Nothing new,” Claire clicked her tongue.
The specter charged her with a back swing of its arm, missing by a hair as the lieutenant ducked under its sharp blade—placing a powerful charged projectile on its chest. Unfazed by the attack however, the specter wrapped its tail around Claire’s ankle and forced her to the ground.
“Let go!” she attempted to free herself—discharging a barrage of bullets against its tail with one pistol, while trying to break its armored chest with the other.
With a heavy and intimidating growl, the demon lifted Claire with its tail and slammed her face first against the scorched earth. The lieutenant was able to protect herself with her arms however, but the force of the impact caused her to bounce against the floor. Not seizing on its assault, the demon lifted her by the ankle a second time and slammed her on the ground once more.
“Agh!” the lieutenant cried as her back hit the earth.
Thinking quickly, Claire called upon the spectral bike to free herself from the demon’s clutches—materializing behind the creature and crashing against its back. Although the motorcycle lacked the strength to break through its armor, the impact was enough to stagger the specter as it stumbled forward. This opportunity bought enough time for Claire to prepare a powerful shot in one of her pistols—rolling on her back to gain distance, and attain a better angle to shoot from.
“Die!” she stopped on her knees, discharging a potent ray of crimson light from the gun’s barrel—the sheer force of the impact pushing her slightly backwards.
Unable to react fast enough, the beam collided with the draconic creature and abolished its head entirely—leaving a headless specter stumbling around the place. With a loud groan and a quick breath, the lieutenant stood back on her feet while avoiding abrupt movements—holding her injured body with care.
“Watch it,” another warning from Sovereign came through the comms.
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Claire’s eyes opened wide as the headless creature lunged at her—its claws ready to torn her flesh into pieces. Saved by her motorcycle a second time however, she took a defensive stance and witnessed the demon spring its head forward into position—the smart creature had rolled its head backwards to avoid the lieutenant’s attack, saving its own life.
“That... is new...” she breathed with bared teeth.
“Your implementation of the gear is quite raw it seems...” Sovereign calmly addressed the situation. “Those are not average pistols you are wielding; they both carry extraordinary power that can deal with any foe and challenge.” he continued. “I don’t want you to use it... I want you to control it.”
“Control?” her militaristic mind wondered. Having trained and studied diligently for years, she learned every possible way to tackle a situation against a specter—ranging from the most efficient tactics to one-on-one encounters, all of it with gear provided by the academy or the company itself.
In her hands however—as Sovereign’s words sunk in—were two supernatural pieces of gear wielding the power of the specters themselves. Her time to contemplate the situation was limited however, as the demon charged her with its blades ready to slice her into ribbons.
“What will you do?” the man’s words echoed in her mind.
As the demon crossed its arm to the opposite shoulder—winding up its attack, Claire took a quick breath and pressed the triggers in her guns firmly—without releasing a single bullet, both pistols glowed with an intense crimson light in her hands.
The specter roared furiously as it swung its arm against the lieutenant’s neck. To the demon’s surprise however, its sturdy arm was deflected with ease by a small crimson energy blade—emerging from the barrel of one of Claire’s pistols. Locking the specter into a clash, the lieutenant swung upwards with her second bladed pistol—slicing the demon’s arm off at an angle.
Recoiling backwards at the painful cut, the monster recovered quickly from the attack and responded with a slash of its remaining arm. Maintaining their basic function as firearms, Claire discharged a rain of bullets against the demon’s chest—forcing it backwards in a stunned retreat. Injured and desperate to defend itself, the specter thrusted its tail towards the lieutenant and restrained her leg by the ankle once more.
“I won’t fall for that twice!” Claire stated while increasing the power input in one of her pistols—which magnified the blade’s length, and chopped off the creature’s tail with little effort.
The specter cried in pain, stomping backwards as a chunk of its tail dissipated on the floor. Continuing her assault, Claire crossed her arms into an ‘x’ and pressed both triggers on her pistols to enlarge their blades—plunging them into the creature’s chest with little effort.
Its core trapped in between the crimson blades, the specter became desperate to break free from the painful clutches of the spectral gear, calcinating its own hands with the gear’s heating energy.
“It’s over,” Claire uncrossed her arms and sliced the demon’s chest open—her crimson blades cutting through its sturdy armor like knife through butter.
The draconic monster fell to its knees, plummeting face to the floor as its body dissipated into embers. Their energy running low, Juno&Jupiter returned to their original state without their blades—the crimson light within them glowing faintly.
“That... changes things a little...” the lieutenant breathed, exhausted from the fight.
Sovereign chuckled in her ear, amused by her new found ability. “Not quite what I had in mind, but you always find a way to surprise me.” he claimed with a satisfied tone. “Well done, Lionheart.”
“How... do you know what’s happening?” the lieutenant replied while still mostly out of breath—her puzzled expression betraying her curiosity.
“Go on a date with me, and I might just tell you.” the playful CEO opened negotiations.
“I don’t want to know,” but his plans were shot down immediately with a cold response from the lieutenant. However, an unconscious smile formed in her lips as she offered a second reply. “Thanks, you were a great help.”
“Whenever you need m—”
Her signal was cut off suddenly however, leaving her perplexed at the sudden interruption. Spotting the sounds of hastily footsteps approaching her from behind, Claire was quick to turn and face the approaching figure rushing at her from within the fog. What came from within however...
“...!” Her eyes opened wide as the figure disappeared suddenly—leaving no trace behind. Catching a glimpse of movement to her flank, Claire aimed her pistols at the skull masked woman sprinting towards her. “Not a specter?” her mind screamed in confusion.
The assassin leaped at the stunned lieutenant in an instant, restraining the disoriented officer by the neck in between her thighs. In her relentless assault, Bianca allowed her upper body to fall with the gravity, proceeding to catch herself by pressing her palms against the ground—using the inertia of her movement to release Claire from her clutches and catapult her away into the scorched earth.
“Oof!” the lieutenant hit the ground on her back.
Injured, but not out of the fight yet, Claire forced herself on her feet and led one finger to her earpiece. Her arm felt heavier and heavier the highest she raised it however, her weakened hand unable to get a firm grip on her pistol—dropping to the ground as it slipped from her fingers. With an unstable body and quivering breaths, the lieutenant led her flinching eyes to an open wound in her ribs—a large cut caused by one of the assassin’s daggers.
“When... did you...?” her vision darkened as she dropped to her knees, gritting her teeth as she fought desperately to remain conscious. Before Claire could realize it however, she was already lying face down on the ground—the earpiece to her side with the concerned calls of Scott.
“Lieutenant? Lieutenant, respond!”
END OF CHAPTER