“What will happen to her then?”
“…”
“And you… I guess.”
Smiling at Claire’s original question while leaning his back on the comfortable chair of his office, Sovereign rested one leg on top of the other before giving her a reply. “Nothing,” he calmly stated. “Once this is all over, Lucy will go back to normal as if nothing ever happened.”
“How can you be so sure?” asked the lieutenant, still unconvinced by the man’s confident words while playing with Lucy—who sat in her lap in front of Sovereign’s desk.
“Because I’ve been working on this for a very long time,” replied the young CEO. “And trust me… I mean a very… very long time.” The man bared his teeth with a devilish grin.
“I see…” Claire whispered to his claims as she smiled at Lucy in her lap, happily playing with the girl’s hands. “You never talk about it, but I assume my rank isn’t high enough for that type of information.”
“Well…” Sovereign scratched his cheek with a nervous smile. “I don’t want Ki-Joon breathing in my neck over it so I promised I’d keep it hidden until we are done.”
“Bad guy?”
“Yes,” Claire replied to Lucy’s question while shaking her hands. “Never listen to what he has to say, got it?”
“Yes!”
A frown formed in the young man’s face at the banter from both girls, who happily bonded at his expense. “You weren’t like this with me before…” he told Lucy, joking over the matter with a sad expression as he directed his attention back to the lieutenant. “What have you been teacher her while I’ve been busy?”
“Lucy needs a guide in her life, so I took it upon myself to make sure she knows the basics of a happy and healthy life.”
“I thought I was her guide.”
The lieutenant took her eyes off the smiling girl, and changed her focus towards the young man sitting at the other end of the wooden desk of the office. She scowled at him with half-parted lips, looking into the man’s casual expression with puzzled eyes.
“You?”
“Wh—yes, me… we met first.”
“You are a man.”
“There you go again…”
“Lucy needs someone she can related to, and that person is me.” Claire closed her eyes with pride during her statement, opening them back up to continue playing with the girl. “You did well I think, so don’t worry about it…” she finished her sentence, falling silent with contemplative eyes and a distant smile for a few seconds—an expression that did not go unnoticed by Sovereign.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Hm…”
“Lionheart?”
“It’s nothing,” Claire shook her head. “I just thought… Maybe I could take her to live with me.”
“Haa…” a long sigh escaped the man as he rested both arms on top of the desk. “You are getting way too greedy. What happened to the old sir, yes sir and stuff.”
“Hmph! I would’ve probably left the company if I knew it was being run by you.”
“Haha, I was only joking.”
Northern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 2:00 AM.
After Scott’s discovery during their advance towards the southern region of the Deadlands, most Cerberus units joined Bloodhound in collecting data from their surroundings, as none of their vehicle had manage to break through the dense crimson fog of the hellish zone—turning them into sitting ducks in the most dangerous area in the planet, an opportunity that its lurking demons took advantage of with glee.
All Cerberus’ units nearby fell pray to an ambush caused by the nearby specters, forced to pick up their weapons and engage them in battle. Although the size of the horde was considerably smaller than anything they’ve face during the previous years, the resilient beasts proved a challenging foe that kept the officers in their toes—shocked by the strength of such a small horde.
“Foley!” Eric shouted for help, attempting to fend off a single specter with repeated strikes of his sword.
The creature swung its long and sharp claws at him with animalistic movements, forcing the young noble to retreat step by step at its ceaseless attacks—though the brutal assault of the demon would promptly meet its abrupt end, as a fast projectile of hot steel found its way into its back, and shattered part of its armored body on impact. The piercing bullet forced the beast to stumble forward in a painful screech, but lacked the power to put an end to its wrath.
“I-its alive!?” Scott yelled in shock, taking his eye off the scope of his rifle as he observed the battle from the top of an armored truck.
Almost unscathed by the young sniper’s projectile, the specter directed its attention towards Scott and furiously charged against him, ignoring the young noble and the barrage of bullets delivered by nearby Cerberus officers—almost unstoppable as cut the distance between it and its pray.
Before the demon could propel itself against Bloodhound’s sniper however, Tori emerged from behind the truck with her taser gun already trained on the monster’s head—planting a piercing dart in the eye of the beast. The potent shot behind her weapon almost caused the young medic to lose her balance, but managed to balance herself with a quick step backwards.
Her shot would strike through despite her sloppy form, incrusting the gun’s dart in the demon’s eye, and delivering a shocking wave of electricity that paralyzed its body. “Scott, do it!” she told the mam, falling back behind the truck to treat a group of injured men and women from the company.
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“Here goes another one…” Scott whispered, cocking the bolt of his rifle to load in his next bullet.
After a few short calculations for the next shot, the young man inhaled deeply while keeping his sights trained on the specter’s chest—focusing solely on its glowing crimson light within. He exhaled softly through his lips, and calmly pressed the trigger to release the loaded bullet in his weapon—erupting from the barrel with a loud bang.
The beast’s chest burst open at impact with Scott’s projectile, peeling its armored skin like the paint of an old concrete wall. Scott pumped his fist in celebration at the sight of the injured demon, announcing his successful shot before loading the next bullet in the chamber.
“Woo! I never miss these!”
“Watch it, Foley!”
“Uh?”
Eric’s warning snapped Scott’s thoughts back into the fight, coming to the abrupt realization that the demon had yet to be defeated. The beast stomped its way towards him in a frantic rage, its movements becoming even more animalistic than before. Scott’s eyes widened as the monster ignore any other target around it, keeping its glowing crimson eyes focused solely on him.
“Gh!” the young sniper moved his eye back to the scope, but his broken focus prevent a him from obtaining a clear shot.
“I got you, Scott!” Tori jumped in once again, prepared to assist against the stubborn beast as pressed the trigger of her gun.
Her sparking dart pierced the open chest of the creature with ease, and once again shocked its body with a powerful wave of electricity. Unlike last time however, the specter simply pushed through the electrifying sparks that crawled all over it, and continued its charge against the young man.
“No way!” Scott yelled before shooting at the seemingly unstoppable creature, which avoided the large bullet with a fast jump to the side—startling him even further. “What!”
Tori quickly attempted to load another dart in her taser, her legs and hands shaking as she tried to beat the speed of the demon. Though despite her best attempt to assist, the indominable specter forced itself through every possible line of defense before lunging directly at Scott—snapping its mouth open to reveal its black and pointy teeth.
“Scott!”
Reacting as fast as he could, the young sniper tossed his rifle aside and jumped off the roof of the truck—avoiding a painful death at the hands of the beast. He dropped to the ground with his chest, and fortunately missed the wounded bodies of the injured troops that Tori had gathered.
The furious creature landed safely nearby however, and slowly stomped its way towards him with an intimidating growl—like a hungry alligator about to crush its pray in a single bite. Scott crawled away from the angered demon, but met the large wheel of the truck during his escape—caught between it and the specter. With its victim too scared to move, the specter dropped in four legs and rapidly charged the man with a screeching roar.
“Help!” Scott helplessly screamed as the monster approached, unable to move his frightened gaze away from the demon’s glowing crimson eyes.
Before he could lose all hope of surviving such a dire situation, a third contender would join the battle just in time to save his life, running over the specter like a violent speedy train that demolished everything in its path. It all happened in the split of a second, drawing a gasp from Scott’s lips as the demon simply disappeared from his sight almost instantly.
“Wha… What happened…”
“That was close…” a familiar spoke nearby, bringing a wide smile to the man’s face.
“Lieutenant!”
Having broken through the fog and the Deadlands illusions, Claire stood in front of Scott while extending one arm towards him—having joined the fight just in time to repel the remaining specters that tormented Cerberus’ units. Tori quickly arrived to check on the situation, sighing deeply with relief at seeing her friend still in one piece.
“Scott, you are alright…”
“I won’t lie…” Scott said. “I actually thought it was over for a sec there…”
“Not while I’m around,” Claire pated the man in his shoulder with a smile. “But things are much worse than we originally thought…”
“Indeed,” Eric joined the group as he emerged from behind the truck. “I knew you’d find your way back.”
“W-we should help the others…” Tori interrupted the moment, directing her pleading eyes towards Claire. “Lieutenant, these specters are stronger than the others we’ve faced.”
“It’s under control,” stated Claire, which raised a few eyebrows among her team.
Their conversation would be interrupted by a loud warning from a nearby group of Cerberus’ officers however, informing them of the large demon that approached them from the side. Eric drew his sword in a quick motion, while Tori and Scott moved closer to Claire—who unlike the others, showed no signs of concern.
The enormous monster finally emerged in front of the group, an intimidating height and body structure that rivaled even a gladean knight. The two horns in its head curved backwards, and its crimson armored body displayed a large stream of energy running through its features—glowing fiercely with an amber light.
“Ah…” Eric gasped at the sight of the powerful beast, stepping back to join Scott and Tori as he too glued himself to the lieutenant. “I should’ve known…”
Claire placed both hands on her hips, and proudly looked up into the specter’s eyes with a smile. “Thanks again... I wouldn’t have made it in time without you.” She casually spoke to the demon, leaving all but her team dumbfounded at such a casual attitude towards the intimidating monster.
The specter offered a short bow, and simply excused itself from the battlefield without a single word—dissipating into embers that drifted around Claire before disappearing into the crimson fog. All members of Bloodhound dropped their shoulders with a long sigh, thankful for the swift culmination of the battle that almost took out one of their members.
Eric softly punched Scott in the shoulder before offering a thumbs up, a gesture he returned by pushing the bridge of his glasses—lighting up the lenses with a bright light as he smirked proudly. There was a loud murmur among the troops around them however, as rumors about the ace of Cerberus controlling the demons themselves had spread wide—confirmed by the interference of such a powerful specter she treated in a friendly manner.
The whispers ended quickly as the soldiers were put to assist the wounded, and return to their scouting duties in order to prevent a second ambush. Making sure the situation was back under control, Claire stepped in front of her group as they rested close to each other—still in high alert after the fight against the small horde.
“Is everyone doing well?” she told them, to Bloodhound nodded in response. “Great, just be more careful next time. Specially you, Scott.”
“Y-yes, ma’am, haha…” the young sniper replied with a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.
“Sorry I couldn’t help much...” Tori said with furrowed brows. “I was not expecting my darts to not work.”
“Usually I would blame your incompetence, Foley…” Eric said, quickly interrupted by Scott himself.
“Thanks, man…”
“But I’m sure you noticed it too,” the young noble moved his eyes towards Claire, meeting her amber eyes with a serious gaze.
The lieutenant nodded in confirmation, already in track with the noble’s claims. “They are definitely stronger than before,” she said. “There are no belfries around either… such a small group shouldn’t have been this much trouble.”
“Should we retreat?” Tori asked.
Claire clenched her jaw and lowered her head, beginning to assess the situation while resting her chin one fist. Bloodhound waited patiently for her response, but the complicated circumstance they were thrown into was simply too much for her to resolve on her own. The lieutenant shook her head at Tori’s suggestion, choosing to gather all units possible for a briefing on how to proceed.
“No,” she said. “Let’s gather everyone in one area where we won’t be ambushed by specters. After that I…” she pressed her lips and furrowed her brows before finishing her sentence, struck by a somewhat recent memory that she had no intentions of relieving at the time. “I need to get in contact with headquarters, and talk to the boss for a moment…”
END OF CHAPTER