- Last Night -
Hector crouched down beside O'Shea, his gaze following the line of the sniper rifle's barrel. The man was perched atop the rooftop, his eyes fixed on the scope of the weapon, scanning the one of the back alleys of the city below. "Do you see it?" Hector asked in a hushed tone, barely above a whisper, as if afraid to disturb the delicate balance of the moment.
"The Dark Lord is right," O'Shea exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement. He tore his gaze away from the scope and beamed at Hector. "We've found that bastard."
A grin spread across Hector's face and as he was about to eagerly took the scope from O'Shea. The man who owned the sniper rifle slapped Hector’s hand away.
“Dude,” O'Shea's irritation was palpable as he shot Hector a dirty look. "If you want to touch my baby, ask permission first."
Hector's face flushed with embarrassment as he quickly apologized and requested permission before handling O'Shea's equipment. Peering through the lens, Hector's heart raced with anticipation as he caught sight of the humanoid invader. The creature appeared to be rooted to the wall of a building, with tendrils of what looked like roots spreading throughout the surface like a web. With a determined nod, Hector tore his gaze away and rallied his teammates.
"We've found it," he announced, drawing a chorus of excited reactions from his comrades, especially Jess, whose grin spread from ear to ear. Aldo's eyes gleamed with fierce determination. The American-Italian looked ready to unleash his wrath on the being responsible for the chaos they had encountered.
"Go time?" Jess asked a playful curve to her lips showing that she, too, was eager to take action.
Hector's eyes scanned over his team, each member tense and ready for what was to come. "Check your equipment, and don't forget to run comms check," he instructed, his voice steady and firm. He went on to outline the pre-raid plan, going over each detail with precision.
Constance was tasked to survey their potential battle location. Her eyes furrowed as she scanned the area, she hummed as her intrinsic ability filled the air. The numbers appeared in her mind, triple the number of zombies they had encountered before. But it was the anomalies that caught her attention, large energy signatures that dwarfed those of the zombies. Her voice wavered slightly as she relayed the information to the team, a sense of dread settling in the pit of her stomach.
“Yea, it must be those ugly giant zombies,” O’Shea said.
“Estimated invader rank, Constance?” Hector asked.
“At most a mid-level delta,” Constance replied. Her rank estimation was based on the general data of invaders over the years that had been classified by the National Bureau of Heroes.
“If a dozen swarm at us while battling the humanoid, we’re going to get wrecked,” O’Shea said.
“O’Shea’s right,” Constance chimed. “Out of six of us, there are only four pure combatants, three in delta and one in gamma.”
All eyes fell on the only gamma-rank, Hector.
“Four isn’t enough to fight against this magnitude,” Constance said.
“Are you sure about this, Hector? We could just wait for the First Heroes,” Jess said. Everyone's eyes waited for the leader to respond.
Hector breathed out. “For a situation similar to Guadajalara, the First Heroes would have been notified and quickly deal with it, but judging the situation we’re in, we can’t really rely on them now,” Hector said. “If we let time goes on, the humanoid invader will grow stronger and by that time, we won’t be able to keep our lives. So trust me on this guys. We need to kill it while it’s still weak.”
"So what's the plan?" Timmy's soft voice broke the tense silence that had fallen over the group. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and Hector couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over him. It was good to have someone like Timmy around, always calm and collected in the face of danger.
“If Lil Timmy is in, then I’m not going to pussy it out,” O’Shea said. “You have my rifle, Lord Hector.” He grinned.
“And you have my rapier,” Aldo joined in, exchanging a smirking glance with O’Shea as he played along.
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“Ugh, what the hell are you boys playing around with?” Jess said. “We should be serious and—“
“It’s a Lord of the Rings reference,” Constance cut Jess off.
“A what?” Jess was confused.
"Save your breath, Constance," Aldo interrupted. "It takes a certain level of cultural refinement to truly appreciate the nuances of Lord of the Rings. Jess here is clearly lacking in that department, and she probably doesn’t even know why we started referencing Lord of the Ring in the first place.”
After knowing Ron’s full name, the duo O’Shea and Aldo had been talking about Lord of the Ring while heading to their destination.
Jess's face flushed with anger as she glared at Aldo. Her arms were tightly crossed, as if she was trying to hold back from attacking him. Her arms crossed underneath her breast. She was about to say a piece of her mind, but Hector beat her to it.
“Okay guys, enough arguing, and here’s the plan…”
* * *
“Last check, is everyone in position,” Hector said. He stood on a roof a couple of blocks from the humanoid invader. He was there alongside Aldo.
One by one, the team confirmed that they were in position, their voices crackling over the comms like static.
O'Shea positioned the farthest away, peering through the scope of his rifle, his eyes fixed on the immobile head of the humanoid invader. The creature was frozen in place as if trapped in some kind of suspended animation. It was like a cocoon state, preparing to come out in its true form.
O'Shea's breath caught in his throat as he prepared to take the shot, his fingers tightening around the trigger. In his right ear, the comms buzzed with activity, while in his left, a hauntingly beautiful classical melody played softly through his AirPod. The Mozart-ish music was a habit of his, a way to calm his nerves before taking a shot. With his heart pounding in his chest, O'Shea aligned the crosshairs of his rifle perfectly on the target. His muscles tensed and he pulled the trigger, the sound of the shot echoing across the rooftop.
The bullet went through the forehead then a second later, the whole humanoid started to alight in a great orange flame, brightening the night.
“Barrier,” Hector commanded. Timmy, who sat in a room with Constance by his side, knelt down and clasped his hands together. The air around him shimmered as he channeled his energy into a barrier, which erupted from his body and spanned outwards until it encased a small space around the burning humanoid invader.
“Go,” Hector said. He wasted no time, leaping from the rooftop with Aldo close behind him. They sailed through the air, the wind whipping past their faces and before they knew it, they were already right above the burning humanoid invader.
Hector's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the burning invader before him, his sword beginning to glow with a pale whitish-yellow light. His ability was Enhanced Sword Cutting, and he had evolved into its current state, a state where the general consensus dubbed it as Saiyan-Light. He felt the immense power coursing through him. With a swift and practiced motion, he swung his sword, the force of the blade amplified by the pull of gravity. The Saiyan-Light enveloped the sword as it sliced through the burning invader like a hot knife through butter.
Hector's lips parted in a low growl as he commanded the sword to cleave, and the blade continued its deadly path until his feet found purchase on the solid asphalt below.
Aldo's rapier moved in a blur as he channeled his ability, the Speed Surge Type: Sword. His entire arm was a blur as he unleashed a technique he had dubbed "Torrential Pierce." With the edge of his rapier now a flurry of motion, Aldo landed a precise blow on the humanoid invader's head. The force of the attack caused the invader's head to explode into chunks and little pieces, spraying everything in the back alley.
“Is it done?” Jess’ voice echoed in their ears. She was on standby close to the entrance of the back alley, waiting to intercept any incoming zombies that might surge when the flame started to erupt. Although the barrier was enough to stop the zombies, they couldn’t say sure about those giant masses of zombies walking around near their proximity.
Hector's words were short and to the point. "It's done." He stood beneath the towering humanoid invader, its headless body now collapsing in on itself. The flames licked hungrily at the wreckage, consuming everything in their path, including the gnarled roots that had once twisted around the building. Aldo stood beside him, still in awe at the success of their blitzkrieg plan. The rush of adrenaline was still coursing through his veins as he watched the destruction unfold before his eyes.
Hector made the right call. This humanoid invader should be dealt with swiftly before it could unleash devastation upon the innocent. Hector exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Relief washed over him like a wave, leaving his muscles slack.
But even in this moment of triumph, his mind drifted back to his hometown of Guadalajara. The memories of that fateful day, when his family was lost in the destruction caused by a similar invader, still haunted him. He was out dealing with another portal invader and when came home there was no home left for him. Although this victory was not a true revenge for what he had lost, there was some comfort in knowing that he had defeated a similar invader that had ravaged his home. It was a small victory, but one that he clung to nonetheless.
“Guys, the zombies are still walking around here,” Jess said. “Are you sure you killed it, Hector?”
“I’m sure,” Hector said. “Those zombies are probably not linked with the humanoid invader and thus still able to function on their own. But at least we quelled the biggest threat and with the communication line had been restored we could call back up to deal with the rest of the zombies.”
But right as his voice ended, Constance’s voice came out through the comms. “Guys, it still—“
Her voice cut off abruptly. Before Hector could say a word, the visible barrier that had surrounded them was now fading away, dissolving into nothingness like smoke. In that instant, he knew something was wrong.
Timmy’s ear-piercing scream wailed through the night and everyone's hearts dropped.