Grunting from physical strain, the two men, one dressed in a black trenchcoat and another in a militaristic uniform with a physical belt holding magazines each use both of their hands to pull on one larger hand from underneath the hissing circular hole in the floor composed of brown rubber tiles. They pull with all their strength, gradually managing to raise the being whose individual hands are substantially larger, the veins in the backhand near to the point of popping from sheer muscularity. The forearms are also wide, the same as the upper arms, the biceps exposed, sharply defined. Those biceps begin to curl, nearly dragging both of the men down if not for them managing to hold their footing to help pull the towering woman in the pink tank top, about seven feet in height with broad shoulders. She manages to throw herself onto the rubber floor as both men collapse with heavy panting, watching her stroll forward, her blonde pigtails waving from her heavy steps.

She surveys around the rubber room to find it being expanded, or rather the walls are melting to reveal other adjacent cells, all of them with the same rubber tiling along with two metal projectors on the far end, though none of them are in active use. Even with all these walls torn down to expand the space, it’s pretty tightly packed from the great abundance of other pirates, some of them murmuring although others shush them. She glances over to find the bald senile man in the brown overcoat who peculiarly fires brown bolts at the opaque rubber walls at the other end, every shot bursting out a thick samely colored slime textured like mucus that stretches over the walls. He has already done this for most of the walls, leaving one left on the far right side which he fires another brown bolt at, covering it up before turning around and approaching the man in the purple hakama to assure in his raspy voice quiet in a murmur, “It’d be ideal if we could just set the cell windows to opaque but this will do I think.”

The man in the hakama nods back, his arms crossed over his chest above the four sheathes hanging from his belt. He does however softly contemplate warily, “That is if they perceive through sight, whatever they are. But whatever we can do is good.”

Just then a man dressed in a heavy winter coat with large over-ear headphones raises both hands which suddenly emit a strange green blast of waves which spreads over the room, instinctively prompting the old man to stumble back only to feel no immediate effect from the wave other than noticing that the room now has those gentle green waves mostly faded yet presently resonating. The man in the winter coat explains after in a quiet voice, not whispering but rather his voice is naturally mellow: “There, that’ll keep our sound locked in this room. I mean they might be able to hear us, I don’t know.”

“Thank you Hurutu,” recognizes the swordsman with a firm nod, which the man in the heavy coat, Hurutu, nods back to. At the same time, surfacing from the floor is the young woman in the oversized white hoodie with long pink hair, being lifted by a golden mechanical tentacle from beneath the hole, orienting her upright before gently placing her on her feet which the senile man notices before beginning to pace towards her as the tentacle recoils back under the hole. Seconds later it surfaces again, this time wrapped around the woman with orange hair who does seem slightly uneasy about the alien-like metal tendrils around her exposed abdomen, though she lets it place her down in the room among the rest of the pirates; the first to greet her from amongst the crowd is the man in the black suit with blonde hair, nearly jumping in childlike joy at the reveal of her safety. He welcomes her with a hug as the old man murmurs to the woman with pink hair as the last rises from the hole, lifted by tentacles as well though these ones not wrapped around but rather attached to their golden metal back. The cyborg places herself on the floor after which the tentacles recoil into her back, letting her glance around the expanded cell which is still not the most spacious but at least sufficient for cover, a much needed rest from the chase. She approaches her two teammates who nod to her, all of them clearly shaken up given their nervous stances, though they find a degree of relaxation amongst each other in this brief peace.

That general silence is then broken up by the voice of Rezzo who everyone faces, finding him standing at the far end of the wall such that he’s visible to all those inside the cells. Those words that summon the attention of not only the pirates but their former invaders too are expressed in a bold announcement: “The prison car is still swarming with those creatures, and I imagine sooner or later they’ll find us, either that or we’ll need to get out of here eventually. Either way when we do, there’s no running away from them, the only direction left is towards. We need a strategy here, because I’d wager now we don’t have the numbers advantage.”

Sighing from the announcement, one of the pirates sitting in the corner, familiar due to the fancy suit with the long red medieval fur cape. In his right hand he holds a greatsword, or rather the hilt with only one half of the blade, instead rendering the weapon to more of a dagger given the length. He twiddles the greatsword in his hand as he sulks in a pessimistic tone, “You kidding, there’s nothing we can do to even one of them, I don’t think I saw a single one of those hellspawns go down. Not from a gun, not from powers, not from me. They’re…I don’t know what they are, they’re indestructible that’s what.”

A soft groan emits from Rezzo upon the depressive first answer, and in an attempt to show some faith he counters with a tone subtly more upbeat, “I’m sure they have some weakness we’ve yet to exploit, any enemy can be cut down if you just know the technique. They must have some sort of armoring or whatnot, but there has to be a way to penetrate it.”

“Unless it’s using an advanced shielding technology I can’t detect nor is susceptible to A-P, I don’t believe they’re droids,” hypothesizes the familiar electrically augmented voice of the cyborg.

That golden cyborg steps forward before appending, “They also weren’t neutralized with Anti-Exmatter energy so I doubt they’re Exhumans, although their bodies did react to it…it was strange but it didn’t seem to hinder them.”

“Ai okaey hew said yew could taulk?” suddenly taunts a man with a heavy Australian accent, standing amongst the crowd a few feet away who the cyborg focuses on along with the others in the room.

At the center of the spotlight, the man dressed in a blue wool coat with his hands in his pocket glances around and shrugs before stating rather egotistically, “Eet’s the Sea Hats who’re taulking, yew lucky yew evan listeneng.”

Instinctively, the cyborg takes a step towards the pirate with an aggressive stance as if preparing to argue, though she stops upon noticing Ekitai who gestures his hands down with a frown, communicating need for cooperation even if with uncooperative folk.

She does understand the message and clearly acknowledges it given that she takes a step back, though by the electric scoff she’s clearly irritated by the attitude she has to just sit through.

Next to her, the muscular pirate with the pink tank top suggests in a deep voice, “Well we can still trap them so we can stop them like that, if we wanted to we could just bury them into the mountain, it’s basically the same as killing them at that point.”

Rezzo does indeed listen to the woman, nodding contemplatively as he does indulge in the advice, however he shakes his head and ultimately reminds, “Sure we can bury them, but they’ll eventually climb their way out, it didn’t take long for them to do that already. And there’s more coming our way, trying to drill a hole for every one of them wouldn’t be feasible, right now we’re stuck on this mountain, we don’t want to bury ourselves in it.”

He places one hand under his chin and lowers his head, murmuring out loud in meditation: “There has to be a way to damage or even repel them, there has to be, we just need to find it.”

A muscular man dressed in a green shirt with the abdomen cropped out, revealing his refined six pack beneath light chest armor of the same green color, holds in his hand a firearm resembling a shotgun in both hands. His face is masked under what resembles a green space helmet almost, though the blue-tinted visor is entirely opaque, and his voice is naturally deep with the only distortions behind the natural muffle from under the helmet, the voice carried with the simple plan: “We just didn’t unload enough on them, enough shells and I’m sure one would fall. Happens when all we do is run away.”

Beside him is the short woman in a dark purple robe with a conical hat perhaps too large for her head given it’s nearly covering her face, though nonetheless she scoffs before asserting, “Please, I shot them with plenty of my Ripple spell, even without my staff if it can’t get through them your little toy won’t be able to.”

Turning to face the woman about two or three feet shorter than him, the man in the green shirt contends back in a quiet yet aggressive voice, “Fireworks are tricks but nothing hits like real lead.”

Another man approaches the two, this one dressed in a formal tuxedo, almost completely normal other than for the red bow tie on the white shirt, the samely colored cape strung on his back, and the iconic though questionably fashionable top hat. Upon approach he argues with a scowl above his long twisted mustache, revealing his right hand out of his left sleeve to expose three small white cards each with text that passively glows red, discontentedly arguing: “I threw quite some many of my Jokers at them and nothing, you must be a fool to think your primitive firearm would stand a better chance.”

“You’re one to call me a fool, clown,” the man in the green shirt snaps back, the conversation becoming quickly aggressive from all sides.

“All three of you, shut up,” Rezzo immediately extinguishes with a stern voice that indeed silences the three pirates, who all face him with straight postures, both the woman and tuxedo man having guilty frowns and grimaces respectively.

That’s when, amongst the dense crowd of refugees, a familiar gentle feminine voice speaks up, simply introducing herself with: “I uh…uhm…,” which manages to attract the attention of her two teammates as well as all the pirates around her and the swordsman dead ahead.

Stunned by how easily she managed to receive the spotlight with such a flimsy greeting, nervousness sweeps Kokei as her head lowers with a frown, clearly anxious to speak. Nonetheless she raises her head and voice to offer, “I think I might have an idea of how to affect them.”

“Oh god,” sneers one of the pirates on the other side of the cell, dressed in a long black hoodie with metal bracelets and shoulder armor, her green hair tied up in a bun. She mocks bluntly onwards, “First of all, why did we even let these bitches in with us, and second of all why don’t we lock them up before they try starting a fight in here?”

“I…,” tries to argue Kokei, however the nervousness of being surrounded by people, who clearly not only see little value in her thoughts but perhaps would find it abhorrent altogether, decay her statement.

Instead she returns her gaze to Rezzo before continuing as she clutches her left arm with her right hand, “I think at the very least, Exhumans should be able to hurt them.” She then anxiously corrects, “Or impact…effect…like their powers should work to an extent.”

Pushing off of the wall in intrigue to the statement or rather judgment, a British woman wearing orange goggles and a punk orange asymmetrical jacket with the stripe design of a safety vest in particular argues in a growl: “What, was this kid just looking at the floor the whole time? Did she not see all of us literally do that exact thing, and for none of it to do anything??”

Shaking her head promptly from the understanding of ambiguity in her statement, Kokei elaborates in a tone slightly becoming calmer: “No no I know, I know everyone was out there using their abilities but I guess like…I don’t really know to explain it but like it wasn’t enough.”

All the sudden many more pirates begin to march towards Kokei, a mob forming with grunts and growls amongst one shouting belligerently, “She’s insulting us isn’t she!? This sly twat is screwing with us!” and another scolding, “Are you kidding me, ‘wasn’t enough’ my ass,” and another, “She’s calling us weak! I was out there giving my all in those blitzes and this little twig’s really here calling us weak,” all over the relatively quiet sounds of scrummaging below.

Immediately Kokei’s eyes expand in horror and she staggers back, raising both hands forward in a surrendering gesture as she frantically tries clarifying, “Wait no I didn’t mean like that, it’s not strength that’s the issue I know you’re all strong that’s not what I’m saying, I’m trying to explain it but it’s like something else, like it’s about concentration I think, like it’s not deep enough.”

That clarification only serves to further enrage the crowd, more assimilating into the mob some of whom bellow, “Oh she’s calling us mindmins isn’t she? She’s calling us stupid??” another hollering, “So YOU’RE telling US how to use our powers now, wow okay this really is some big joke to you huh asshole?” More mock, “‘It’s not deep enough,’ this bitch yalling oh my god if you have nothing to say shut yourself,” all concurrently together mixed with that man with the top hat stepping forth to threaten, “If you’re so much better than us, how about we put our cards on the table and see who’ll drop blood first?” All these threats and hateful bellows become louder as the mob creeps closer to Kokei who continues stumbling back, horror over her face perhaps even more than when she was being chased by those inhuman monsters, those sneers drowning the sounds of the quiet thuds below. She can only step back so many times before her heel nearly falls into the hole she had climbed through earlier, forcing her to stand her ground as not to fall behind, restraining her to position to which her eyes instinctually light up and pink sparks flicker off her arms, an involuntary reaction that angers the mob further with one exclaiming snidely, “Holy shit does she really think she can solo all of us?” While Dana tries to step forward, the sheer number of the mod simply floods through her as they bump into her golden shoulders, leaving her bewildered on how to act as she felt wary of resorting to physical escalation especially given their dire situation.

However, her gaze turns towards her friend after hearing a loud boom like a lightning strike carrying the weight of a gunshot, pouring terror over Dana from her immediate tragic guess. She instinctively begins to push through the crowd, only for that same crowd to back away towards her, all of them stumbling in horror too which halts her in bewilderment.

Both hands covering her eyes, Kokei’s body locks up in fear, the likely suspect of the lightning given her own safety and yet strangely enough neither her hands nor arms are sparking or emitting arcs for that matter.

“ALL OF YOU,” boldly declares an unlikely woman’s voice from beside her, prompting Kokei to drop her arms slowly in befuddlement only to find that at her side stands Mary, her fist raised to the air with her two fingers curled out, sizzling with yellow sparks as she demands in a bellow: “SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

Like dogs being scolded after becoming inappropriately aggressive, the pirates who were seconds ago confidently ganging up all now stumble back, distancing themselves from the woman with long orange hair, cloudy mist also emitting from her fingers like the smoke of a gunshot. Even Kokei stumbles to the side from the shock of the surprising supporter, her eyes wide and her arms raised again in self defense. However her guard moves away from that woman and instead to the horde that was approaching her, only to find not a single one of them still advancing, not a single one of them resisting that order. Instead, they all seem terrified, even more than she was, guilt stricken like it was they were young children being scolded by their mother. Even Rezzo and Beagle behind the crowd were rather astonished by the demand, not particularly frightened like the rest of the crewmembers, but simply stunned.

Glaring down at her own crew, Mary aggressively berates with her finger aligned to her sight, pointing to each member of the mob: “If you so as much take one step forward so god help me please I will throw your ass out of this wall, I do not care what’s waiting for us down there. She’s the only one who stopped those demons before they bit my face off, which of course none of you saw, but now you’re all going to listen to her right now, you’re going to hear what she has to say or you can figure it all out down there alone with them.”

Given an ultimatum that wasn’t exactly balanced in benefits and drawbacks, all the pirates in the room silently make their choice by standing their ground, some of them even taking another guilt-stricken step backwards.

Releasing a heavy huffing sigh from the exertion to yell over the crowd, Mary gently turns her head to face Kokei to smile gently and offer, “The stage is all yours.”

The center of that spotlight given without asking, Kokei’s first reaction is to frantically glance around at the army in front of her, clearly still startled from what could’ve been another battle though one starting with her already backed to a corner. But after the sporadic survey, she finds that none of them show a hostile face, rather most of them bow their heads in shame and others try to show earnest interest whether it was genuine or a front to remain safe from the fire-head woman.

Regardless for once the room is silent, the crowd waiting patiently exclusively for Kokei who takes a deep breath to relax herself before explaining in a voice soberized: “I know all of you have been trying your best, I’ve been doing the same thing, and I was putting as much strength as I could on them and they didn’t even slow down. I get that it seems like no matter how much energy you put in there’s no difference, it doesn’t matter if you’re putting the power to push a cup or a mountain, it’s like they aren’t even being remotely affected by it. But just trying to push more out isn’t the solution, they’ll wait for us to drain ourselves and they’ll still be chasing us. Don’t take this the wrong way because I’m not trying to call any of you weak or saying any of you aren’t trying enough because I know you are, but I think our attacks are too shallow. I’m sorry I’m trying to find the words for it but it’s like we’re not concentrating enough, like we’re hitting them but we’re not punching them.”

In the crowd, the Australian man speaks up, his voice naturally rough though his aggression is clearly toned down, “I ain’t tryna’ push ye but I ain’t really seein’ what yer saiyan. I’m putin’ mah all into it, all mah focus, I’m tryna pierce those buggers, get mah fire real bundled up like a rocket and cut through their skin ye know what I saiyan?”

Nodding her head in acknowledgement to the statement difficult to interpret the words of, Kokei nonetheless empathizes softly though with more air to weigh her voice heavier: “I get what you mean, I guess I’m not really saying to concentrate and condense your physical attacks, it’s not even like the ability itself I’m saying needs depth.”

Even perplexed by this somewhat contradictory statement, Mary tilts her head to the side and innocently inquires, “Wait…so what does-?”

Raising both open hands in front of her before her chest, her palms to her eyes, Kokei interprets her own jumbled sea of thoughts into a stream that she explains, “Like it’s not the manifesting of the power that’s the issue, it’s what comes before. When I use my power, it doesn’t feel like I’m actually shooting lightning off my body, I mean well it kinda is but like it’s not just that, there’s a step before. That first thought where you try drawing the power for your power, I’m not really seeking the lightning itself but it’s like I’m trying to seek what gives me that lightning. I guess most of the time I don’t really think about it because it’s like thinking when you walk, we just walk, or we run if we have to but we don’t think about like our individual muscles and the energy moving them, we just move our legs quicker. But when I tried to focus on that first step and I really tried to focus, not on the lightning but what fueled that lightning, I mean it wasn’t even like I was really putting more strength but it just worked. I’m sorry that analogy kind of sucked and I can’t think of one much better, it’s like the way you visualize your own power before you release it off your body.”

“That sounds familiar,” mentions the electrically synthesized voice of Dana who steps forward, but despite the impressive nature of her complex technologically artificial biology network, she admits the blunt fact, “I mean I’m not an Exhuman, but I feel like Meditat’s rambled about something of that sort, not about the fire he’s creating but where that fire comes from. He said focusing on that is how he makes those crystals, he isn’t trying to map out the exact material composition or the connection of various parts in a complex machine, actually he at least thinks that crystal is the easiest thing to make because he isn’t really thinking when he makes it. I know there’s been some research on that ‘first step,’ the inference is that it’s the pure Exmatter you’re drawing from your brain and that’s what’s manifesting your power when you shoot it. He’s admitted that trying to focus too hard when making most other creations doesn’t really change much other than the Exmatter concentration he’s reading from it, but that residue doesn’t have much of an effect on its application, but it’s still sort of interesting that it can be controlled.”

She lowers her head before softly confessing, “But then again his rambles didn’t really make a lot of sense back then, so I don’t know how useful that part is, and I think he kept forgetting I’m not an Exhuman so I can’t relate at all to what he’s saying.”

Her head raises from the abrupt snap of Kokei’s fingers as she points straight to her and exclaims enthusiastically, “Yeah, like that! I mean it’s not like my body is actually capable of just making up this lightning, I don’t really feel like my body is producing it but instead my mind is bringing it from somewhere. And I can feel that place for just a brief glimpse every time I charge up a swarm or even a single twinkle, and if I focus enough on it, I feel like I can control how that lightning is made even if I don’t really know how it is,” oblivious to the quiet footsteps below.

Huffing from the bizarre ramblings, the familiar man in the flight bomber jacket though no longer with his sunglasses grumbles, “Yeah I have no idea what nonsense you’re spewing, I’m sorry,” the grumble similar to another below although deeper with rasp, much quieter.

Beside him, the other pirate dressed in red overalls over an oversized gray shirt smiles widely before excitedly exclaiming, “Wait I think I get what you mean, it’s like there’s this weird kind of essence that I know is making my brick walls and then I’m channeling it forward! I mean it sounds really weird saying it out loud but I think I get it!”

“I mean I guess there is a feeling,” acknowledges the the woman in the colorful suit who was shooting bubbles earlier, that declaration causing the British woman with the orange goggles beside her to stumble back in surprise to the reveal, “It’s something I sort of stopped thinking about as I got older but…yeah I mean…there is something before I can even feel the bubbles really to be drawn out. I just figured that was like me just thinking or something but it’s…yeah huh I guess when you put it like that it makes a lot of sense.”

More murmurs begin to rise amongst the crew, not with tones of irritation but ones of fascination, exploring their own realizations as their comrades do the same, as despite none of their abilities being the same in what is conjured off their body, they all find themselves relating to the same sensation, one only now are they finding relevance in.

Watching this growing marvel, Kokei gazes around with content, no longer feeling like the target as instead now everyone is making their own discoveries and commenting to each other, some of them showing outward exhilaration to this sudden revelation. In her observation, she notices Mary beside her smiling softly, watching the same crowd. She then faces Dana and Ekitai who smiles at her from visible pride in her speech which infects her with her own smirk, a realization of confidence towards this menacing crowd, for while she was still against their beliefs and actions, there was an admirable cooperation she managed to foster.

A mixture of relief and hope envelops her as in the cell beneath the hole behind her, a faceless monster steps into view before raising its closed alien head, staring at the back of her hair to which its head slowly begins to unhinge to reveal the large mouth.

That warm smile of Ekitai’s quickly contorts into a horrified frown before he suddenly grabs Kokei with his left hand and yanks her forward simultaneously as he raises his right hand, gripping the handgun which is aimed for that very hole before firing a yellow radiating bolt, that gunshot alerting all the other pirates as well as Dana due to the abrupt commotion.

That yellow bolt does strike the monster, however the initial impact isn’t followed by any visible effect, but instead the monster lets out an unholy screech, and in seconds from all directions below there can be heard stampedes.

From elation to trepidation, all the pirates shuffle away from the hole before glancing around at the walls around them, walls initially concealing them from the outside, but now they also functioned to conceal the outside from them. A portion of the back wall though no longer conceals after Rezzo makes a rapid slashing motion towards it, resulting in both the brown slime being torn apart as well as the rubber wall behind to open a fairly large exit, at least taller than most of the crewmembers inside. He turns his attention to the occupants of the room while unsheathing his black-bladed katana which he points to the opening before bellowing the command: “EVACUATE,” as all the sudden the other three walls begin to tear apart too, though this time from the outside, the brown slime functioning as an additional layer of protection however the black claws cut through them too.

At once the refugee crowd mobilizes into a racing mob, navigating towards the exit that Rezzo leaps through. They slip through the narrow opening granted, though some of the larger brutes need to squeeze through given their sizes to be greater than that of the makeshift doorway. The murmurs of excitement have now transformed to anxious shouts and intense roars, leaving the room which is slowly being torn apart by an onslaught of monsters trying to rip through the walls. Stuck at the back of the line is Mary and the three Bellators, Ekitai among them firing a gray blue bolt at the rim of the hole, which ejects a blue foam that quickly seals the gap just before the monster under it can leap through, though it does manage to cling onto the foam as its claws can subtly be seen piercing through the material.

Knowing that seal is temporary, Ekitai turns towards the doorway and runs off along with the other three, only a few more pirates exiting now as the escape was swift, luckily with minimal traffic that would've been induced by miscooperation. As they run for the exit, whole tiles are ripped down on the other three walls, allowing monsters to crawl into the room, some of them standing on bridges but others hanging as though they had climbed up the cells. The ones who enter the room first roar after noticing the four leaving just in time, joining with the rest of the pirates before Ekitai seals the door once again with the mint green bolt, same as the one used outside.

Already there are colonies of creatures climbing up the translucent red cell walls, some of them on the lowest floor but others higher up. Many of those who creep around the floor, yet to begin their climb, raise their heads in notice to the flood coming from the highest level, expelling out of one of those walls and into the bridge from both sides. Upon noticing some of the flood throwing themselves off the bridge, not plummeting but instead propping themselves in the air through the use of backpacks emitting propulsive exhaust from the bottom which lets them sway from side to side in order to obtain better aim with the rifles in hand, those beasts screech before volleys of ballistic fire rain down on them.

The monsters show little more than irritation though before they sprint and leap onto the walls, climbing up with hasty jumps in congregation with the rest of the mob that covers the walls like an infestation, climbing against the hail of icicles from above although some are shot by bolts that cover them in a mucus that flashes red for a few seconds before exploding, blasting the walls they’re climbing on thus causing them to drop.

Observing the minor hindrance posed given that those fallen beasts simply get up and resume on intact walls, Ekitai raises his head to find that the bridges around the cells across are already swarming with monsters on each level including those also on the highest floor, capable of springing off the bridge with enough strength that they nearly fling themselves to where the survivors are still mobilizing. In the air in front of the bridge there begins a materialization of an array of bricks that slide together, attached with strips of concrete, forming a barrier that forbids that first wave, held up by the man in the overalls. He stumbles back though as bricks simply crumble off the wall from the black claws, leaving holes as if the material was drywall for the aliens to crawl through, approaching that man before his friend in the bomber jacket grabs his arm to drag him along with the rest of the evacuation along the bridge.

At the head of the line run both Beagle and Rezzo, leading the group down the bridge, Beagle firing blue blasts from his fists at the overpass across to try targeting the monsters on the other side, same as the many other pirates firing barrages of pebbles amongst ballistic bullets, none of which make a single contortion on the bodies which continue to jump over the bridges, the monsters only capable of short ranged attacks thus meaning they cannot injure from a distance, though their invulnerability makes the closing of such distance rather easy. Most of those beasts are caught by barriers manifesting from light, huge red medieval shields and great golden religious crosses, attempting to deter them though simple contact drains those barriers as they flicker in quick death. A golden dart is launched further from the back into the bridge, erupting a small explosion that blasts apart the floor, dropping portions of the horde which influences the secondary strategy to try destroying the ground that the mob runs across. Lights of purple and oranges fire in a line like a row of cannons along a ship, chiseling away at the pirate’s own home for the sake of degrading the surface providing their enemies stability, carving holes that at least restrain those monsters from getting higher ground to jump from.

The bridge the refugees run along is finite and eventually they reach a corner where the two leads turn to the right to run along the shorter face, given that the chunks of cells are only two units wide. Nevertheless they continue, unable to slow down without halting the crew, however the brief strip forward is ripped apart from below by an infestation of emergent claws, slicing through the wooden metal until the entire bodies can continue crawling up before tossing itself onto the bridge in front of the hole, therefore cutting off the linear escape. Beside Rezzo steps forward the Australian man who places both hands on his cheeks before blowing forward, releasing a concentrated breath of fire like a laser that consumes those monsters. However as the fire quickly dissipates given the lack of flammable material composing the walls and floor, it’s revealed that similarly so the alien skin of the monsters aren’t affected, for none of their legs have given out. More savages continue to crawl to the top floor, crawling around the bridge even closer to the group, forcing the leads to stop thereby halting the entire evacuation who are still being chased from the pouncers across the prison, caught at the corner where they have to defend against two fronts given that more beasts are climbing up the bridges of the adjacent block, some of them prematurely throwing themselves over just to join in the climb under the bridge the group now finds themselves trapped on.

Beagle glances between the many fronts before all the sudden black claws rip out of the cell wall beside him, causing him to subtly dash away. More pirates take notice that the wall right beside them is being quickly torn apart, cornering them from every angle as the group at the back defends against savages that have reached the bridge further back, sprinting towards them and only being held back by walls of ice and crystallized salt that need constant reinforcement as they’re simply ran through with little resistance.

Desperate for another route, Beagle and Rezzo both frantically observe their fronts, unable to move along the bridge due to the two hordes, throw themselves over due to the beasts on the bridges across, or retreat back into the cells as those beside them are already swarmed. All they can do is stand their ground, firing all they can even if none of it so much brushes a single monster back.

All down the line the crew comes to this horrific understanding, the pirates’ brash confidence has been stripped down to terror, swarmed from every angle and even as they hastily throw glowing cards or cast purple orbs, they all just snap and wisp through their targets some of whom grab onto the edge of the bridge they’re on, beginning to pull themselves up with the distance effectively closed. In the back of the group, the Bellators rain volleys of rainbow bolts, a greater prominence of gold, yet their pursuers don’t budge. Kokei steps towards the siege and unleashes a swarm of pink lightning, covering the beasts who do stop for a second, but continue marching on regardless of how hard she tries to pressure them, clenching her teeth, tensing her arms, trying her hardest to tap back into the state of mind she used before. She takes a cautious step back beside Dana and Ekitai, the latter of whom decides instead to melt the floor in front of them with acidic green shots which does degrade the surface their enemy walks along, dropping a few though more simply climb up the newly formed ledge with no injury despite grabbing onto the bright acidic surfaces. Those shots only further enclose the back, leaving Kokei no more room to advance forward nor any of the others including the man in the blazer firing his rifle on them, of course to no avail given that the savages march their way up to the group, close enough for one to raise their arms to make a swing on Ekitai.

Fearfully Ekitai stumbles backwards, though that open space is taken by Mary who dashes from behind, a mixture of desperation yet bold motivation sparking yellow in her eyes like the lightning that surges off her hands and extends in the formation of her bo staff which she slams into that monster’s neck, not necessarily driving all her body’s strength into it but rather a different strength, as right before contact those yellow eyes brighten nearly to a white flare, carrying over to the sparks that compose the staff, such that those sparks collide with the beast’s neck which discharges an array of arcs that propels the monster backwards, causing it to slam into its own who also fall back through the hole.

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As those flaring eyes dim back to orange, Mary’s jaw drops in astonishment to her own actions as Ekitai does the same, and the two face each other in a brief exchange of realization. She then smiles before taking in a deep breath and exclaiming over the gunfire: “I GOT IT!”

Many other pirates along the bridge glance over to the back after hearing the announcement, murmuring and shouting to one another though all their words are unintelligible in the chaos, furthermore their attention is quickly returned to the beasts charging them who they resume fire on. One of the pirates attacking back is the one manifesting an array of pebbles, small rocks that in honesty do not appear as threatening of a projectile even for normal targets, and yet those rocks oddly brighten with a subtle white outline before they’re flung in another barrage.

This pebble barrage targeted at the leaping siege from the bridges across do once again hit the savages, but unlike before this causes the monsters to lose their momentum as they instead are knocked backwards before falling to the ground.

Able to witness this successful barrage, more pirates shout in astonishment, many of whom are Exhumans struggling to make effective use of their power, though a dose of motivation drives them to resume trying, the man with the top hat trying again to throw his deck of cards that manifests in hand, but this time he first takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, not trying to simply strike back but instead more deeply concentrate on his strikes before administering them. He begins the throwing, each card now imbued with a gentle white outline too, and these ones too on contact cause the monsters to be flung backwards even if slightly, but enough to deter them. Beside him, the short woman hurdles more purple orbs albeit distinctly brighter with her hands, which on contact release an explosive gas that knocks back not only the monster that hit the orb but those around it, further pressing back the offense.

Noticing the strange cheers from a moment that felt so dreadful, both Beagle and Rezzo glance back to find the many hordes being thrown backwards from their advance. Before they can properly admire their crew, their focus is returned forward as the beasts in front of them march the final few feet to arm’s length, leading to Beagle raising his glowing fists and Rezzo grabbing his hilts with both hands though they understand neither of their attacks would likely fend off the mob. Between them however steps another pirate dressed in a dark green trench coat who rolls his arms like a barrel, a strange motion like a dance move, though that motion generates a powerful windy current like a contained tornado around his arms. That tornado is then released forward with both arms extending out, causing the widening tornado to blow into the imminently approaching mob, their bodies being picked up in the whitish gray winds and carried back nearly all the other past the far edge.

Astounded by the save, Rezzo freezes for a few seconds before letting go of his hilts, nodding his head and thanking, “Good work Yagma,” before turning his head back to the rest of the crew who are continuing to battle against the horde, now able to press back the major fronts. He is reminded however of the other as a huge portion of the wall beside him tears open to expose a monster that reaches for him before that monster is blasted back in a flaming breath exhaled by the Australian, those fires brighter with white glints. He sighs with a content smile until he hears Rezzo declare to the whole room: “THEY’RE IN THE WALLS, WE NEED TO GET TO THE FLOOR NOW! HELP EACH OTHER!” He then turns to the man in the green trench coat and nods before throwing himself off the bridge, straight for the floor multiple stories down, a drop that could be fatal to the human body. His trust pays off though as a wide whirl of winds picks him up, steadying his fall and the fall of many other pirates who leap in after him.

Without question, pirates rain from above, throwing themselves over the bridge, some in a narrow escape of monsters breaking out of the walls to snag them. While the whirlwinds produced by that one pirate manages to help slow the falling of a few comrades, the group is far too large, requiring many others to form their own solutions as large golden rings are manifested by the ground which crewmates fall through before bouncing up like a trampoline whereas some pirates manage to do their own landings either by simply managing to drop the full height without injury or decelerating with their own jetpacks or propulsors equipped on their large exoskeletal mech armors.

They are immediately occupied by the previously deterred beasts though who are already on the ground as more monsters begin crawling from the bridges above, moving down towards the relocated crew, leaving little recovery time.

Landing on the veiny pink beanbag, Ekitai throws himself to his feet as Kokei tapers her fall with pink lightning emitting off her hands and feet; Dana simply lands hard on the ground with no damage to her metal hide, and Mary similarly abruptly drops with just a thin cloudy layer deployed under her soles to pad the fall. They are quick to prepare themselves as once again they are surrounded from nearly all directions, monsters charging from already having been on ground but also more looming over the bridges, staring straight at the crew through their gaping, hungry mouths.

It is true that the monsters have surrounded the refugees, as while there were already beasts on the same level as them, not only is there more ground for them to bunch up given that they aren’t sharing a narrow bridge, but the demons not on the same floor aren’t working to climb their way up but instead now tower over with the high ground. On both blocks there are monsters on all bridges glaring over, those who were previously climbing now standing on a surface, all of them retaining their higher position. While they wouldn’t be able to attack from those bridges given their limited range, their height advantage is still valid, and especially with multiple higher levels of these monsters there was an expectancy for an imminent storm as those clouds are surrounding.

However at the same time, the group has managed to position themselves in an area not as restrained, allowing for them to cover each other’s back and form more of a circle than a line, perhaps surrounded but simultaneously capable of aiming at all those around them. They naturally build a formation of several rings, the outermost ring occupied by brutes or others who are built for close combat given their equipment of blades or raised fists, with the inner rings composed of either crewmates armed with physical firearms or raising their hands to guide supernatural manifestations. This formation perhaps has been practiced before during the crew’s long life, but surprisingly the three outsiders integrate well, all of them slightly more inward given their range proficiency though the gunslinger is further back given that he would be less equipped at handling close combatants.

And so when the horde all pounces for the center, enclosing the room in a dome of darkness composed of those many bodies screeching with arms flailing, the resistant bombardment is far greater, the entire prison lighting up from that center, pushing outwards against that enclosing dome. Ballistic gunfire propelled with small explosions like bullets or larger rockets, lasers both in the form of rapid discreet bolts and heavy consistent beams, physical projectiles like throwing axes and cards, natural conjurings like fireballs and boulders, and projectiles harder to explain such as purple vortexes and dancing paper-like streamers of water; a myriad of firepower is unleashed in all directions. On first contact, bodies already lose their original trajectories, either being tossed backwards or simply losing their momentum, but regardless that dome is pushed back out from where it came.

In truth, not every shot was genuinely pressing against the horde, as for one the majority of the laserfire and ballistic shots don’t have a perceived effect as it seems traditional fire wouldn’t be adequate in repulsion. Not only that, but not all Exhuman manifestations have equal effects, with some arrows made of fire only being absorbed into the bodies among rays of concentrated sound waves, as it seems not all of the Exhuman pirates have achieved the threshold of concentration needed.

Even then, the Exhumans shooting those arrows with hand motions resembling the use of a bow or those screaming loud enough to emit those sound waves do not give up, but instead they push themselves harder and deeper, the success of their comrades spearheaded by one of their leaders invigorating them with the motivation to keep trying. More Exhumans tap into their needed potential as indicated by the subtle additional brightness of their attacks like the red lasers from one’s eyes becoming a brighter shade, and while that means that the dwindling number of those who’ve yet to reach their potential gradually become outliers seemingly struggling to match with their allies, this fact does not disway them. In fact in this heated moment, after the earlier bickering amongst genuine criminals who would still likely be deserving to be detained in cells like the ones around them, they do show true camaraderie both in their combative collaboration but also their chaining encouragement that propels each other to strive for greater power until those sound waves have a noticeable whitish hue and those flaming arrows have become more luminous, the sound waves now propelling the struckith beasts backwards into the walls as the arrows stop their pounces.

After the prolonged dread of being unable to even make a mark on their advancement, a wave of relief comes to Rezzo–standing at the outermost layer– in seeing that at last they’re capable of holding the horde back. That initial relief is underhanded though by the disappointing discovery that despite the attacks clearly affecting the monsters, none of it appears permanent, in that none of the monsters have visible injuries like gaping wounds or broken limbs. Furthermore, while some do drop on the ground and remain limp for a few moments, all of them inevitably crawl back up to their feet, proving that while this new solution is a vast upgrade, it has yet to reach maximum desirability.

What this means is that while at first this standoff feels victorious in that pouncers are being pushed back and those on the ground are unable to reach even the outermost ring of fighters, this standoff is at a standstill.

Worse of all, Rezzo notices that towards the direction of the way they came, more beasts are charging through for reinforcements, absolutely incrementing the number of enemies since there isn’t any permanent decrementation occurring. Eventually they’d be overrun especially in this spot still rather tight, and so after coming to this understanding, Rezzo raises his blade in the air before declaring, “MORE ARE ON THE WAY AND WE HAVEN’T MADE ANY LETHAL HITS, WE NEED TO MOVE! FOLLOW ME AND PRESS FIRE!”

He then charges not along the central lane but instead towards the long wall angled away from the open door, running between the adjacent block and the one past that. At once all the pirates follow, first the ones near the same point at the edge, but it takes only a few seconds for all of them to mobilize including the three Bellators who manage this time to join the herd earlier, able to make their way closer to the front.

Some monsters still pounce from the higher bridges as others run along the block to get a better angle for a drop, though at this point the majority of the beasts are on the ground, screeching disgustingly as they sprint and claw at the crew who fires back, tripping the front line though other beasts simply crawl over each other to retain speed even if it means stepping over each other’s heads. Those who fall only remain on the ground for a few seconds before beginning to crawl back up, albeit some of them immediately drop after being trampled by the wave behind them, leaving them prolonged on the floor.

Those that trample over the first wave are then shot at by a heavy barrage of spherical cannonballs with flaming fuses sticking out of them, which on impact explode with whitish flames that blast those ones back, only to also be trampled by the third wave.

Around the corner Rezzo races, beginning to run down the long hall next to the center in the direction of the doorway, still between two rows of cell blocks. He runs further out away from the block now to his right as beasts begin diving from it, though some of them are caught on the golden cross laid flat, a shape that has a longer side solid for stopping the row of jumpers as indeed some are caught where they struggle to cut through it as if the material is suddenly harder to them. There is however a lack of substantial width which allows for some to pass through, one of the first on the ground making a quick dash for Rezzo past the rest of the crowd, all except for Mary who manages to manifest her staff and slash the monster’s head with it, pushing it back to then be caught in the hellfire of lasers and rockets perhaps to an excessive extent, perhaps a personal grudge against those who nearly slashed at the old king’s best friend. At least the bombardment holds them down same with the one pushing back the tail which Ekitai glances towards while still running forward, firing blue and orange shots higher in the air as Dana’s shoulders both have mortar cannons that autonomously launch rounds into the air though let her keep focus on the path onwards.

After a quick backward glance to confirm that nobody’s been left behind, Rezzo faces forward only to find that at the far end of the car there emerges the mob, seeming to have detected the pirate’s alternate path with the objective to now cut them off. The mob is also far larger than the one fought earlier as the reinforcements gained were none to be scoffed at, quickly flooding the hall between rows, all of them sprinting wildly, not using a traditional running form but instead flinging their arms mindlessly with focus only on their legs, slouched forward as if there wasn’t a skeleton to be postured properly. They at least are still far off since both groups are near the opposite long ends of the car, but since both parties are approaching each other, collision is still imminent.

There are still more divers from the bridges above that some pirates must remain focused on, firing flaming arrows and barrages of rocks while the tail continues to keep back their pursuers, however more pirates push forward to reach closer to the lead where they can then take aim on the flood ahead. A twelve foot mechanical battle mech with surprisingly fast running speeds raises the large guns attached to the arms, being aimed by the pilot behind the scratched transparent window shield who wears large headphones over her ears, firing a barrage of small rockets along with rapid laserfire to deal suppressive fire at the very least. Along her side is the man in the midnight cloak whose hands begin emitting purple plasmic tendrils that cluster over his palms which spiral into the formation of vortexes that he then throws one at a time, the right before the left, which fly like disks down the car. On the other side is a man in a black dress shirt with similarly colored pants who lifts up a wooden violin in one hand and violin bow in the other before beginning to aggressively play a quick, dramatic melody, with every note firing a vibrational ray off the strings that dances to its played frequency.

Beasts on the other side are hit by the vibrational rays as well as the purple vortexes, though those vortexes explode with intense blasts that knock out a wider radius at once. At the same time, the missile barrage is shifted away from direct hits and instead strikes the cells beside it, blowing up chunks of the prison walls which in turn rains rubble down on the monsters, burying them with a cloud of dust concealing them for a few moments before they emerge out of it, still sprinting at the same speed.

Reaching the end of the block, the pirates approach an intersection about in the center between them and the charging horde, as while there is another intersection ahead, that one is soon to be passed by the flood in which case it’d likely be unavailable. Knowing this was the last chance to make a divergence before straight collision, Rezzo glances to the right in search for returning to the center lane between the blocks, only to find that passage immediately clogged by a rush of monsters pouring in from that center lane, as that mob straight ahead isn’t in fact the full set of reinforcements but rather they split in an attempt to flank and corner. This suddenly revealed tactic shuts down Rezzo’s primary goal and furthermore places the whole crew within drastically closer proximity to the beasts given that this flank is significantly closer, requiring quick action which he takes by turning left and sprinting down the other way, approaching the wall away from the center. All the pirates follow the evasive maneuver, turning the corner to follow down to the edge, many of them shifting priorities now to the flank given how many more there are as while it’s not quite the number as the first set it is still vastly more than the other groups.

Due to the uncomfortable proximity to the new group, most pirates focus more on movement than retaliation, only firing a few gunshots or breathing a few rays of flames before turning around and running off. These efforts do in fact push back the flank although not significantly due to the lack of heavy concentration, for once again some of these supernatural attacks lack the necessary strength to significantly affect the creatures, leading to a majority of them still at top speed, about to reach the corner at the same time as half the pirates do which would result in an interception that may cut off half the refugees.

Already Rezzo and the rest of the Sea Hat leaders were too far, only able to continue moving forwards as the latter half of the crew begin to shout and shriek in terror upon realizing that they may not make it across, for even if they just stopped to concentrate fire on this flank, that’d provide enough time for the main set of reinforcements to reach them, leaving them without any solid options to push through.

Among the crew near the cutoff line are the three outsiders, Ekitai turning his head back to the pirates behind him in morbid realization, his jaw dropping as he too was unsure of how to help carry the rest to safety. Similarly Dana glances in all directions before roaring warningly, “WATCH OUT,” both of her shoulder mortars pivoting up at the cell walls beside the flank before firing several rounds, blowing up chunks of the walls to release debris in hopes to bury the surprise attack. The debris does succeed at least in cutting off a portion of the group, however many of them manage to pass the walls and enter the open intersection, preparing to swipe as their faces unhinge further, ready to strike.

A storm of pink lightning dances off of Kokei’s body as she throws both arms in the direction of the escaped mob, directing a swarm of arcs around that remainder who abruptly freeze in place, and with smooth movements of raising and throwing her arms she directs the swarm to raise the frozen horde about a story off the ground before they’re all thrusted far backwards past the debris wall, pushing back that second set completely.

While the other set remains charging head on which Kokei glances to through her flaring eyes, her attention is brought to her side by Ekitai who nudges his head before turning the corner, reminding her that movement is critical above all else. She obliges and turns along with Dana and the rest of the crew, all of them making the full turn and following into the row along the edge, beating that first set of reinforcements in the race just as a missile bombardment blasts the cell walls and drops rubble over the intersection, blocking access to pursue.

Past the rubble barrier, the crew clumps up in front of the next row of cells, though unlike the one they ran past, there are no gaps between blocks but instead cells line along the whole wall. Without a simple route forward in this direction, the head of the group comes to a stop and hastily shifts his gaze between both ends of the hall, letting the refugees clump up together after the second half had been nearly separated. Everyone together once again especially without direction, they form more of a circular cluster rather than a line, awaiting on Rezzo, momentarily safe though the constant sea of screeches and roars tell that such safety isn’t absolute. Beside him is Beagle, but emerging from the crowd approaches Mary whom Beagle turns to with relief, followed by the three Bellators, the visibly oldest of whom Rezzo nods to. The two old comrades stand beside each other and begin taking in their options, given little time to do so as those scurrying footsteps rumble the wooden floor they stand on.

Furthermore even without the immediate sight of monsters, the two proposed directions along the hall are difficult to choose between as neither are particularly desirable: one of them leading to the huge crystal wall that is, at least to the refugees, invincible whereas the other side contains the doorway from where all the monsters are pouring into. Either they can move in the direction of an unmovable barrier or straight at where the mob would be, options that Rezzo stresses over. Worsening this ultimatum, Ekitai nudges Rezzo’s shoulder to alert him to the direction towards the entry as the other pirates raise their heads to the same area, the collective interest emanating from the floods of beasts emerging around the two corners ahead. Many of them turn chaotic too, throwing themselves forward, rolling on the floor before scrambling to pick themselves back up, resulting in groups of them slamming into each other and piling before struggling to detangle from each other. Even with the constant piling and trampling of each other, they move at a racing speed, screeching with their arms flailing, especially with the sheer number pouring in from those two openings.

Instinctively many pirates open fire down that direction, commanding small tornadoes down that path along with darts in various shapes from cards, spears, arrows, and ice-blue fireballs. The immediate contact slows down the front lines, staggering beasts which cause those behind to trample each other yet again, keeping them at bay even though more pile without any being permanently neutralized.

In this brief retaliation, Rezzo turns around and begins to sprint in the other direction for the crystal wall which the pirates around him turn to face in compliance, for that option appears to be the only presentable one, yet he stops upon witnessing crowds of those savages flood in from that side as well, the beasts that had been cut off or staggered earlier now wrapping around the other corners to again attempt a flank, but while this group is noticeably smaller than the other given that it’s composed mostly of stragglers, it is vastly larger than the earlier flank by multiple factors. It only takes a few seconds for the width of that entire side of the hall to become flooded with the beasts, scrambling over each other in an ever growing horde, the full sum of those they’ve already fought now congregated to a greater force that is still too large to feasibly push through.

Simultaneous as Rezzo takes a step back, more pirates march forth to launch fire on this second front out of defense, another barrage composed of flaming human skulls that blow up on impact, rapid shards of a special glass that, on direct hit, absorbs into the body which produces a pair of identical shards that ricochet out to hit another two, and swarms of firefly-like creatures that surround and batter their opponents until collapse. Every second more pirates choose a front to fend off against, holding back the two floods, though there are a decent quantity of pirates who awkwardly stand without being able to join as they’re instead equipped with short ranged weapons like swords or a man whose knuckles extend long daggers dripping with green poison. The concentration into two floods allows for the horde to bunch up greater than ever, so despite how hard the resistance is against them, which is fairly effective given that the front lines keep collapsing, every second those fronts inch closer and closer. Again, this was a temporary solution where attempted sustenance would lead to a slaughter, a concern visible on Rezzo’s face who struggles to find a solution while standing between the allies firing blue beams and golden rockets. Beside him too, Ekitai notices this indecisiveness, and he takes in his surroundings with a quick survey which does remind him that all the cell walls aren’t intact, as some have been fully deactivated, likely being the ones that were previously detaining Dana’s team, though others have been broken into as told by the partial breaches with rubble nearby. Beside the mob, one of those breaches is particularly familiar to him as the one made by the leader using the bodies of two pirates, one of them placing a brick wall far into the horde which causes some of the beasts to crash into it before they start tearing it down.

Ekitai’s gaze revolves behind himself to one of the closer cells past the cluster of refugees, surprised to find that there already is one that has a circular gap broken through it, but furthermore right past on the rubber tiled walls would be another breach though it’s covered by the embedded sky bridge that still sustains the blue-tinted energy pressure shielding. Past that translucent shielding is the view of the snowy mountain top, distant black roots below the gray cloudy sky. While the roots do remind that the outdoors still isn’t safe, as that was why the group escaped to the train to begin with, this constrained space was becoming a greater issue, and now that they’re capable of resisting there is no longer as much of a concern with open space. A plan formulated, he turns to Rezzo and brushes his shoulder, pulling the swordsman’s attention before he shouts, “FOLLOW ME OUTSIDE, WE’LL BE SAFER THERE.” That idea is met with an anxious stare, however his attention is momentarily pulled towards shouting beside him from a pirate crying: “KEEP THEM OFF!” before deploying another burst of glass shards, however these ones stop only fifteen feet out before clumping together in the formation of a solid barrier, seconds before the monsters reach it and begin clawing.

On the other side, more pirates switch strategies with golden crosses appearing among small rocky hills growing out of the ground, the speed of the mobs becoming overwhelming to shoot against.

On a ticking clock, Rezzo sighs and nods to Ekitai before roaring, “WE’RE MOVING OUTSIDE, WE’LL HAVE MORE ON US SO EXHUMANS NEED TO FOCUS ON OFFENSE, ALL OTHERS SUPPORT THEM!” He turns and sprints for the open breach, leading the pirates, the first of whom to follow being those unable to currently fight, letting the crew currently engaging continue holding the two hordes off for as long as needed.

At the head of the evacuation, Rezzo is first to run through the shielded seal, escaping back out to the outdoors away from the confines of the golden home, though the exit is elevated over the ground thus sending him into a fall which he rolls to recover from. Behind him joins Ekitai who also jumps and rolls to his feet, following in the B-line sprint forwards, making it easiest for the crew to stream out. More continue following out, the first set able to slip through the seal as they’re more or less the size of a human, however that seal’s size isn’t adequate in all cases as a far larger breach about thrice the original’s size is forcefully made by a huge brute figure about eleven feet in height with broad shoulders, vibrant purple skin and long white hair, though the body oddly slides inside another man only about six and a half feet tall, dressed in a black coat and black beret as that brute doesn’t seem to be a pirate but rather an ability of one. While the man would’ve been able to get through the original bridge no longer present as that seal has been destroyed with the wall, the greater opening allows for larger comrades like those in the twelve-foot mech suits to jump out, their landings causing small craters in the snow.

At a fairly quick rate, the whole group evacuates out the hole, the last one, slightly chubby with a red shirt not large enough to cover his stomach flabs, throwing himself out before sneezing at the edge of the breach, releasing a shot that explodes snot all over the wall thereby forming a seal that may be slightly repugnant but proves effective as it halts the converging hordes crowding inside the cell.

All of the pirates now outside, Rezzo sighs with relief though Ekitai’s focus is forward where he aims his handgun, as all the sudden now the many black roots still present above the ground begin to release more hellspawns who crawl out of the surface at all angles, tossing themselves aimlessly to the ground. A break of only a few seconds has already passed with the first shot being from Ekitai, though he’s aware of his own weapon’s ineffectiveness, using that shot more as a guide for the rest of the pirates to follow with volleys that do make significant impact, catching the beasts on their fall which causes them to linger on the floor for longer than the rest of the swarm who do make a safe landing and quickly rise to their feet before charging straight.

In just a few seconds, this next wave overtakes the prison one’s in size given that all of the many roots release monsters at a hasty rate, however it’s also over a far wider field, no longer constraining the pirates to tight corners but instead allowing more room as they spread out to an elastic formation. The battle continues in the mountains, the sky mostly cloudy though with a few gaps that allow for visibility of the blue sky, one of those gaps permitting sight of the cyan sun still reigning over the field. That sky does seem to have darkened since the group retreated inside despite the sun not having lowered, though the change isn’t as substantial and there’s far more pressing matters in front of them.

The alliance’s formation spreads out generally into a circle once again but one moving forward, colorful ammunition firing from that circle towards the single-toned enemies, the battlefield quickly delving to chaos with the formation of rocky spikes forcefully raising hordes as others are pulled into the air by small black holes with distinct orange disks, not fully consuming any the monsters but clumping them together in the air. The mobs still approach quickly given the sheer volume of them and the angles they come at, as there aren’t only two or three fronts but rather about ten off the bat, no longer locked to a narrow stream but now able to spread out thus widening the angles that need to be covered.

On the ground past the colossal golden train, the magician throws his cards in quick succession beside a short woman with long pointed ears wielding a long wooden stick that she uses to focus giant balls of dark purplish energy which fling out like a mortar all below a levitating woman in a black robe whose hands are facing down to the crew, emitting a gentle light effect that forms a plane over them which ripples like a lake. Along that rim at the front lines is a man in a dark purple cloak who dashes towards the monsters, both of his hands emitting thick mist in the shape of blades which he slashes at the skin, not causing visible cuts but staggering them before they collapse to the ground. Beside him is another who similarly focuses on intimate action, this one without a shirt despite the cold environment, throwing quick jabs that aren’t far enough to hit their targets but instead projects ghostly constructs shaped as fists though double the size which do indeed punch the monsters in their giant gaping faces.

More pirates with these intimate fighting styles join the fray, one in white robes utilizing complex martial arts with hands trailing tendrils of forest green light among many others, and while they do in fact drop many bodies, their proximity with the beasts puts them in danger. In attempt to keep them protected, the woman wearing headphones inside the mechanical armor tries to provide suppressive fire with her ballistic barrages aimed to the ground, forming cavities beneath the monsters’ feet to sink them, which does indeed lessen the number close to those allies however it attracts more monsters to her which she notices on her other side. She instinctively opens fire on this new group, however none of her shots hinder them as they instead leap towards her translucent window shield which she protects with her right arm. That arm, despite being made of heavy metal as an impressive machine, becomes the target of the beasts who’ve landed on it, biting on the metal and ripping chunks out with ease. More monsters crawl over her arm to gnaw through it, causing stress as the pilot begins shrieking in terror, unsure of how to hold back the crowd. Her body then suddenly falls through the ground, or rather through an oval-shaped hole that has an orange glowing outline.

Behind her original position among friendly lines is a floating oval construct with a blue glowing outline the same shape as the hole which the mechanical armor falls through, first the legs and then the torso, the arms being the last given that it was raised higher in the air though the forearm is ripped off right before it can enter the portal that closes promptly, preventing the monsters from entering through. The mech stumbles on the ground, turning to its side to find the ally in the orange pants and white tank top who nods to her in assurance before facing the crowd that has swarmed over the severed mechanical arm, glancing around in perplexion to the vanished victim, though their survey lands them sight of the Exhumans now stranded deep into the enemy zone, starting to get overwhelmed especially as the gathering that swarmed the mech now charges at them.

Charging at this crowd is a taller man, or at least a humanoid though his shirtless upper body reveals thick gray skin like a shark with a similarly pointed head and fin sticking out the back, his black beady eyes concentrated on the horde as he flings his arms wildly at them, producing gusts of wind that spiral in the formation of controlled tornadoes that autonomously move deeper into the crowd, sweeping them off their feet as they’re dragged further back. He swipes his arms more times, producing more tornadoes that push away the mobs drowning his crew, some of whom turn back and show gratitude with nods or thumbs ups.

While the woman in the mechanical armor shows some distress after moving focus to her destroyed arm, leaving only the upper arm with exposed metal wires lightly sparkling, she does shift priorities back to the horde as she lifts her left arm which is still intact and begins firing down with it, reinforced by the short catgirl who carries a minigun seemingly heavier than herself and about her height, though capable of keeping it steadily as it fires rapid bullets in a roar almost as loud as hers.

By the center rim of the circle stands Rezzo and Ekitai, though the advancement has slowed down now that they’re surrounded by a denser press. They don’t stand at the front either, instead allowing the Exhuman bandits to push as unfortunately neither of the two original crewmates have the capacity of delivering true damage. They instead support their allies, Ekitai deploying walls and slime traps that function as minor inconveniences for the monsters but at least provide about a second or so delay. Similarly, Dana keeps her eyeless gaze towards Mary who presses deeper into the crowd, dashing between groupings and jabbing them with lightning daggers to the neck, causing their bodies to flash with sparks before falling to the ground. She moves expertly, leaping over entire heaps of monsters, bursting small puffs of smoke at least to cover herself for a safe dash away, throwing smaller lightning knives at further beasts while she’s at it. She does incrementally push deeper in however, concerning Dana who tries to support her by following albeit apprehensively, both of her shoulders carrying cannons as before but now there’s five tentacles off her back that fire their own guns, moving autonomously to try catching the monsters attempting to crowd over Mary. She continues to follow as two more tentacles emerge from her back for greater control as needed, both of her arms functioning as conal cannons which she aims forward. Below both arms she also grows a second pair, not tentacles but rather duplications of those arms given the humanoid shapes. The hands are already transformed into longer guns like snipers which fire concentrated bolts at the monsters’ feet, all four able to focus in different directions, her firepower great although the deeper she gets the harder it is to push back against an enemy she still can’t effectively neutralize.

In fact she’s caught up focusing on so many crowds that at first it’s only her tentacles taking notice of the two beasts chasing her, trying to fire down on them but to no avail. She turns her head just seconds before one tries leaping at her to which she instinctively dives backwards, causing that one to overshoot and land past her, though this results in her behind surrounded as while she tries to shoot at both monsters with two hands each, none of those shots slow down their intimidating marches beneath the darkening sky. She desperately glances over to Mary only to find her still further out, unable to notice the loss of support as her focus is strained too heavily on the monsters around her. Even worse, more monsters take note of the support’s perilous state, leaving Mary and instead approaching Dana who glances to them before swapping between the two proximate marching monsters as she lays on the ground, unable to get back up in time for an escape. All of her tentacles focus fire on the distantly approaching crowd as her arms focus on the immediate threats, not stopping her volleys, but her anxious head turns tells of her panic, both monsters not slowing down but rather unhinging their menacing mouths until the one that had overshot is suddenly struck through that open mouth by a long spear made of hardened crimson blood, causing it to drop backwards.

Dana abruptly stops firing and turns her head to the other monster just before a barrage of icicles shoot straight into its back, causing it to fall on its knees before its side, leaving Dana out of harm’s way to stare forward in astoundment.

That astoundment grows as the fall of that second monster allows visibility of the three women sprinting towards her: the South Asian in the heavy knight armor dragging behind due to her greater weight, struggling to keep pace with the one in purple overalls whose hands are still exuding cold mist, led by the one wearing the white jacket with red spikes along the sleeves over her black crop top, her scarlet hair waving in the wind in a similar shade to the blood raising out of her palms in the formation of a pair of knives which she throws towards Dana who instinctively raises her arms in defense, though both knives fly right over her.

They instead strike two of the approaching monsters, causing them to drop as more fall from rapidly fired icicles, leaving Dana space to crawl backwards, allowing the two fighters to run past her to fend off the attack until the third reaches their side, able to deploy her large shield made of red light that the monsters are caught up on, trying to claw through the barrier before getting shot by blue and red projectiles.

Now that deterrence is easier through the use of the shield, Ruby ceases the fight to turn her attention to Dana, extending her arm to her to which Dana reverts one cannon arm to return her five fingers which she uses to grab onto Ruby’s hand. Ruby tries pulling Dana, though noticeably struggles from the sheer weight of the unlikely ally, however she’s helped by Manka who also grabs Dana’s forearm to pull her up to her feet as Bea shoots the last assaulter down.

Once again standing, Dana nods to both of them, relieved to be saved at a moment when it seemed she’d be overran in silence, though her focus returns to Mary who’s now further out alone before being reinforced from above by Beagle who dashes in the air to support her, firing concentrated blue beams down on the ground.

Now that she’s back on her feet and with allies that can help push into these deeper territories, Dana sprints back towards Mary’s direction up ahead, her front protected by the red shield as Manka follows beside her, providing a layer of defense as Ruby and Bea form a path with an offensive composed of shoot blood spears and icicles, knowing Beagle alone would likely still struggle when so many more monsters have since emerged, more continuing from the roots.

Noticing that advancement beginning to splinter off beside him, Ekitai returns focus to fire ahead, facing off against the greatest concentration of monsters as they’re the ones being birthed from the titanic tree onward, towering over the darkening sky. More savages pour out of the branches, adding greater pressure onto the Exhumans he’s supporting, who were initially marching forward but come to a stop and instead start taking small steps back. Ekitai and Rezzo do the same with some concern to the backtracking as the bandits in front of them struggle more, throwing rings of orange luminescence which have rotating signs along the edges that on impact do blast the creatures away but with so many pouring in there’s less significance to each impact.

They screech and roar in a manner that’s simultaneously ear piercing yet heart rumbling, a truly inhuman army that couldn’t have been from even hell but rather a worse underworld. No matter how many times they’re blasted back, they still rise up and chase their prey, their numbers just growing absolutely at a staggering pace that has no sign of decelerating. In fact the Exhumans begin focusing more on defense, one of them placing new orange rings though larger and facing forward, not throwing them but summoning them in front, functioning as shields that the monsters try to bite through as the other Exhuman grows large rocks from the ground that form walls, closing off potential advancement for the crew in a desperate bid to prevent advancement from the enemy. Even then, the monsters that run around the circle shield just begin climbing the rock walls, causing those Exhumans to stumble further back in fear, and as a result both Ekitai and Rezzo do, the former of whom attempts to aid in the shielding by firing bolts that raise more walls though they’re teared through with ease. They all begin to stumble backwards with uncertainty on how to press on, being overrun as their solid defenses still had a limited capacity that would only be outdone eventually by a horde growing with seemingly no end. Monsters crawl over the rock walls and begin to march down the ramp, making their way into the crew’s front which continues to backtrack, all except for a single fighter who instead runs past Ekitai, her long pink hair waving in the wind as her short yet nimble body sparks with pink lightning.

She raises both hands forward to guide swarms of lightning from her arms onto the monsters that have already crawled over the wall, who are picked off the ground before being intensely flung backwards as she then runs up along that rock wall and bounds off the edge, propelling herself in the air with her own lightning giving her an arching trajectory as the lightning from her feet reach the region of monsters about to scale the wall, dragging them up into the air as well, forming a large cluster of beasts all mashing together in front of the warrior whose body lights up the sky as her right arm begins arching back, the fist surging with thick electricity so much to the point where it’s nearly glowing.

With her left arm forward to guide the swarm, holding them in front of her, Kokei lets out a bellow as she summons power through those flaring eyes, power wrapping around her fists like a storming gauntlet; as the sky starts to blacken similar to the cyan supersun behind her, the air becomes a pink lightshow all centering around the fist that is then thrown in a punch straight for one of the monster’s face, and on contact that monster screeches in audible pain as it’s thrusted backwards, that overwhelming energy chaining out to the other beasts in the levitating cluster who squeal as their veins begin flashing white once again, though this time in an alerting flicker, pushed backwards in the opposite direction of the warrior’s hair and sleeves as she gracefully releases another executive strike.