Two months after Yeon’s death, Cerberus had formed an unstable pact with both companies—Hydra and Chimera. Despite earning a large number of units and resources through a desperate deal, the task of tracking hordes and anticipate their movements, as well locating possible positions for belfries was nothing but impossible to the heads of the three large entities.
Troop positioning, and construction of outposts had become more tasking and time consuming without accurate information of the Deadlands—leading to a large number of soldiers being deployed all around the gigantic rampart in order to prevent anything from leaving the zone. These issues did not escape the high members of such unstable alliance, which brought Arwen’s role as leader into question—having had his performance go into a steep decline over time.
A single faint light of hope would maintain the CEO’s place as head of Cerberus however, as its bright ray would remain loyal to the man despite the dire situation of the company.
Northeast Side of the Deadlands: 936, October 5th, Friday, 3:00 PM.
Showered in a fierce crimson, as the deafening sounds of military weaponry echoed across the region. A small area in the northeast side of the Deadlands became a deadly battlefield for the combined forces of Cerberus, Hydra, and Chimera as they fended off a horde of demons crawling their way out of a massive belfry at the center of their attack.
Officers hid behind the concrete barriers of their small outpost, discharging their rifles and mounted turrets against the approaching horde. Less fortunate ones remained scattered in the open field while trying to retreat towards the barricades, with many being dragged further into the shadows of the crimson fog by their feet—leaving nothing behind but their last desperate screams.
“This is impossible!” A soldier from Chimera cladded in magenta armor yelled as he continued shooting from behind cover, quickly pushed back from the shoulder by a larger officer wearing Cobalt combat gear—the colors of Hydra.
“Stop whining, is that all Chimera can offer?” Growled the man with a rough voice.
“Maybe you should leave this alliance. You people can only fight unarmed civilians it seems.” a smaller officer wearing the same cobalt armor taunted with a long rifle in hand as he stepped in to assist—timing his shots after cocking back the weapon’s handle. “We are real soldiers, and our weap—”
A sudden woosh from the wind interrupted the officer in the middle of his sentence, a startled gasp escaping both men next to him as they became petrified in a second. The Chimera soldier’s gaze followed the blue helmet rolling across the dirt with shaking legs, his chest puffing up and down with every panting breath he took—unable to take his eyes off the body of the now deceased Hydra officer as it plummeted to the dirt.
“Grah!” the large man of cobalt armor screamed in pain as a specter broke through the outpost defenses—slicing his helmet in half from above, and leaving a wide bloody mark at the center of his face—dropping to the ground by the heavy weight of the creature.
The demon leaped in front of its fallen victim, planting its foot on the man’s head before perforating his chest with a single thrust of its long and sharp claws—ending the soldier’s life in an instant. A gasp escaped the stunned Chimera officer, stumbling backwards and falling on his butt with terror displayed in his twitching eyes—glued to the muscular specter with a funnel-like open mouth that took its entire face, showcasing many inward bent teeth inside.
“W-what the hell!” screamed the man with fear, crawling back on his butt as the creature dropped on four legs before lunging at him. “Aaah!”
Just before the beast could reach him however, a powerful bang suddenly echoed nearby—drowning the man’s cries as it obliterated the monster’s skull into small chunks of black crystals. Its head gone after the ignition, the staggered demon stumbled backwards while trying to find its missing piece with both hands, met by the steel of a longsword that sliced its body in half from the waist. The creature crumbled into the dirt before having its chest pierced by the same blade, destroying its core in the process.
Before the horrid specter that now vanished into embers, stood a blonde man dressed in green tunic and trousers—proudly displaying his weapon while holding the stance of a warrior from the empire. “Shouldn’t be dropping your guard in a place such as this,” Eric told the Chimera officer—who shook still after witnessing the death of both soldiers from Hydra.
“Yo, that was my kill.” Scott told the noble through comms, maintaining a watchful eye from the distance with his rifle.
“You could be faster next time. Got eyes on the others?”
Outside of the outpost, as retreating became an impossible task to the surrounded officers of Hydra, Chimera and Cerberus. The specters surrounded a small platoon that defended itself with whatever strength and resources remained at their disposal, raining hell against their opponents in a desperate attempt to avoid a brutal death inside the hellish zone.
“I’m out!” a man cried out.
A woman wearing the magenta armor of Chimera slammed her rifle with one hand, realizing her ammunition had run empty as well. “Me too!”
“There’s no way…” a man said under his quivering breaths. “They said we could fight them… I’m not dying here!”
“Shut up, let’s stick together and we can win!” a solider from Cerberus tried to keep the situation under control, but her expression exhibited the same uncertainty as the rest of her companions.
“Look at that thing!” another officer chimed in, furiously throwing his arm to point at the enormous belfry waiting in the distance. “They all keep coming from there, and we can’t come even close to it!” the man’s voice broke half way through his sentence, his teary eyes demonstrating swollen red veins inside. “We are dead! They brought us all here to die!”
“Help! Help me!” a man dressed in white and gold interrupted the group’s argument with desperate cries, screaming in tears as he was dragged from the ankles by a pair of demonic hands—only kept inside the circle by another soldier from Cerberus who held him by the arm. “Don’t let go!”
“Ngh…” his helpers shook his head with furrowed brows as he gulped down hard, softening his grip on the man’s arm. “Sorry… it’s you or me…” he said.
“Please!”
Despite the hesitation in his eyes, the officer let go of the hopeless man’s arm and allowed the demons to take him away. The victim’s voice peeked at a high tone as he screamed with tears rolling down his face. A razor-sharp gust would slice the air nearby with a hissing sound however, splitting the fog around the area, and revealing a headless specter plummeting against the scorched earth before vanishing into embers.
“Ah! W-what—” the officer whimpered, raising his eyes towards the black armored princess that had just saved him from a gruesome and painful death. “You are…”
Eutychia sheathed her sword back in its scabbard—wrapped around her lower back. She turned to look behind over her shoulder, nodding at the soldier with scrunched brows. “Sorry we are late, there was some clean up to do in the back. Just do as the lady says, and you’ll be fine.”
“Lady…?”
“Everyone!” Tori emerged from within the fog, honking the horn of a military truck before stopping near the surrounded platoon. She was joined by a group of medics driving their own vehicles to assist in their retreat, breaking through the wall of demons thanks to the princess’ aid.
“Reinforcements?” a man from Chimera said in disbelief.
His doubts were quickly answered by a smirking woman wearing the white and gold of Cerberus, stepping next to him with a sigh of relief. “It’s Bloodhound…” she breathed.
“She’s here!” a fervent voice shouted passionately as to let the sky hear his voice clearly—grabbing the attention of everyone around him.
“It’s her!”
“She’s made it!”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“The lieutenant’s here!”
All Cerberus officers announced with pride and excitement, leaving both Chimera and Hydra’s soldiers puzzled as the medical team to provide their assistance. A powerful roar thundered furiously all over the battlefield from within the fog, announcing the arrival of Cerberus’ ace officer to all present.
Cutting distance between her and the belfry in mere seconds, Claire rode her spectral bike with ease while avoiding the demons leaping at her from all directions—keeping her attention solely on the gigantic tower as she passed through the small platoon, with some of them cheering at her arrival.
“Better finish this quick…” she muttered while pulling the handlebars to the side, evading the claws of a jumping specter as it leaped at her from the side.
“L-lieutenant!” a feminine voice called to her through comms, innocent yet somewhat mature. “I can see the footage through my screen, are you sure about this? Going in there on your own?”
“I will be fine, miss Ivanna.” Replied the lieutenant. “I’ll finish this operation in a minute, just make sure to report any changes on the mission.”
“Of course! Sorry if I sound nervous, but this is my first time doing something like this.”
“It’s fine, Claire out.”
Sliding across the scorched earth of the Deadlands, the lieutenant promptly arrived at the gates of the massive belfry raising high into the crimson sky—making her way inside with no further resistance from the demons. She rode through the obscure obsidian rooms of the tower, illuminating her path with the lights of the bike. Despite the numerous beasts attempting to prevent her advance, Claire maintained a fast enough pace to clear her path forward with the assistance of her bike, and a specter of her own—a crimson demon with a horned head.
“I can’t believe you are capable of controlling such creatures…” Ivanna’s voice spoke through the comms—taking Claire’s attention as she continued to ride towards further up the spiraling stairs.
“Hm?”
“Oh, sorry! I didn’t know this was on!”
Having dropped her guard for a second, a lurking specter took the opportunity to strike from above as it jumped down from the ceiling against its distracted pray. Spotting the blinking red light of her gear however, Claire reacted to the creature’s ambush by leaning her chest on the motorcycle before forcefully pulling back. Her bike responded by jumping in the air while turning upside down, lifting both wheels from the floor to point them at the ceiling.
Having performed her trick successfully, the bike’s position caused the specter to be met by the spectral bike’s obsidian wheels—which hammered the monster’s head, and hurled it away against a wall with a broken skull. Continuing the motion of her spectral bike, the lieutenant landed safely on the floor, and resumed her race across the belfry.
“Focusing on the mission would be a better idea,” she calmy expressed to Ivanna in the comms.
“I know, I’m sorry…”
Uninterrupted in her valiant approach, Claire entered a large room filled with the crimson energy of the specters all around—running over the walls, floor, and ceiling through its bulky pulsating veins. At the center of it, rested a large sphere that fueled the demons and itself—all while being protected inside a strange obsidian pillar, transferring its energy through crimson veins.
“There…” Claire said under her breath.
“This is… really terrifying actually.” Commented Ivanna through the earpiece. “Good luck, lieutenant.”
From within the pillar, as the crimson energy of the core gave form to a large and muscular figure. A specter of reptilian appearance emerged from within the spherical object in an attempt to protect itself, pressing its fingers into clenched fists with a salivating mouth. The creature sharpened the blades surfacing from inside its forearms by brushing them against each other, licking one of its glowing crimson eyes with a slimmer and large black tongue.
“You again?” said the lieutenant, allowing the spectral bike to make its exit as she summoned Juno&Jupiter into her hands.
“That thing looks dangerous… can I do anything from here?” Ivanna offered—receiving a calm answer from Claire.
“I should be fine, how is everyone outside?”
Charging the lieutenant with an abrupt frontal assault, the specter attempted to separate her head from the body with a horizontal swing against her neck. Reacting quickly, Claire summoned her motorcycle once again to tackle the reptile away—leaving the field for a second time to allow its owner a counterattack, who exploited the opening in the knocked down demon.
Twirling one pistol in hand, the lieutenant pointed her gun at the specter before showering its body with crimson projectiles. Each bullet from Jupiter erupted on impact with the monster’s body, forcing painful screeches from the beast as it convulsed with every explosion blasting its chest and limbs. Having no intention of being defeated however, the demon rolled away from Claire’s shots before hiding itself behind its blades—which managed to withstand her bullets.
While each collision against its arms forced it to step back, the reptilian monster pressed against each shot from the lieutenant before breaking into a sprint—deflecting her final shot with a swing of its blade.
“…!” the lieutenant scrunched her brows while bending her knees at her recovered opponent—now moving into the offensive instead.
The specter jumped in the air with both arms raised above its head, slamming them down in an attempt to rip the body of its foe in half from head to toe. Claire would respond just in time to leap away from its attack however, rolling sideways across the floor before stopping in one knee—watching as the demon crashed both arms in the ground, lifting fragments of obsidian on impact.
Not satisfied yet, the reptile would immediately rush against her with both arms crossed. Perceiving no response from its pray, the beast would separate its arms with a single motion of an x-shaped attack—slashing at the lieutenant’s shoulders. The demon was able to complete the motion of its strike, and its crimson eyes settled in the fierce ambers of Claire while kneeling in front of her from a close distance—both fighters glaring at each other from mere inches away.
“Lieutenant!” Ivanna’s startled voice rang in the comms.
Claire bravely met the specter’s gaze however, its rough growl resonating in her ears from a close distance. Both arms of the beast dropped motionless to the floor as they were torn apart from its body, dispersing into embers immediately after. In the lieutenant’s hands—as she kept them crossed in front of her chest, both Juno and Jupiter exhibited their own crimson blades with a crystal-like appearance—which cleaved the monster’s arms off with relative ease.
“Goodnight,” she told the staggered beast.
With an earsplitting and terrifying screech, the demon snapped its jaws open to envelop Claire’s entire head inside it, forcing its mouth shut in a rapid motion to try and shred her upper body with a single bite. Unfortunately for the creature, both its head and chest would burst open as two projectiles pierced through it with ease—forcing its lifeless husk to plummet backwards and vanish into embers.
“Alright, that should be enough.” Claire smirked in satisfaction before blowing the smoke emanating from the barrel of her pistols, leading one finger to her earpiece right after. “Ivanna, I will destroy the core now. Make sure no units are nearby.”
“Of course! Excellent work, lieutenant!”
Not wasting time in finishing the job, Claire pressed the trigger in both pistols to charge as much energy within them as possible. The air became agitated around her, and another specter began to form from the black pillar—indicating the core’s desperation as more demons joined the assault through the room’s door, frantically charging Claire from behind.
Releasing an enormous beam of crimson light however, the lieutenant would put an end to the belfry in a single shot as the ray absorbed everything in its path—melting the core inside and ripping a large hole in the tower’s wall. The destruction of their energy source brought all demons around into a petrified state, becoming nothing but dust as they dropped to the floor.
With no time to celebrate however, the lieutenant called upon the spectral bike for a third time as the belfry began to crumble in on itself. She remained unconcerned by the rumbling that struck the area, already aware of an escape route as she jumped through massive hole in the wall—immediately hopping out of the tower with her motorcycle, and riding the wall downwards in a straight angle.
“Miss Ivanna?”
“Y-yes! What can I help you with?”
“I asked about the situation a few minutes ago, what’s everyone’s status?”
“Oh… r-right! Lady Eutychia has fended off the horde with Bloodhound’s help, and Tori has successfully led the survivors to safety as well.” She sighed with relief before proceeding. “That means mission success, right?”
“Right. Thank you, miss Ivanna.”
“Not a problem!”
With the sturdy black rubble of the belfry following behind, the lieutenant accelerated her roaring motorcycle as it continued to thunder furiously across the wall—eventually reaching the floor with a smooth transition into the scorched earth, helping Claire ride away into safety. The tower would eventually vanish into embers, leaving nothing but crimson particles behind, and putting an end to the invading horde of demons.
Riding into the damaged outpost, Claire was met by not only her team, but by a round of applause from the remaining Cerberus officers left alive in the area. The other companies were reluctant to participate however, avoiding their frustrated gazes from the victorious welcome she received from the grateful officers.
The lieutenant walked across the gloomy outpost, glancing at the injured men and women being treated on the floor while others rested their tired body’s. Spotting Scott and Eric, she casually approached the pair before chiming into their small conversation.
“Everyone alright?” the lieutenant asked with a smile, noticing no serious wounds in either of them.
“Yep,” replied Scott—pushing his glasses up to light up the lenses with a bright light. “It was all me of course, Eric just helped a tiny bit. No need to praise though.”
“Hmph!” scoffed the noble while crossing his arms, remaining calm at the man’s absurd claims. “I protected people at the front while you hid yourself in some roof. I would call my actions more than just helping a tiny bit, as they are worthy of a warrior from the empire.”
“Well, I killed more specters than you did.” Retorted the man in glasses.
“Did you now?”
“I did.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Enough, both of you.” Interrupted Claire, sighing while whipping the sweat from her forehead. “Let’s head back home after we are done helping here, things have become quite difficult lately.” She attempted to smile, but her eyebrows instinctively furrowed at a single thought running inside her head.
END OF CHAPTER