"Holy hell…what the fuck are those?!" Craig demanded.
"I…I don't know," Sheila whispered as she unconsciously took a step backward.
I silently observed them as they stepped out, nothing that they were definitely humanoid in shape. However, the hulking figures were beyond normal human size, with each of them reaching about two and a half meters in height.
Muscles bulged under their black bodysuit, and their faces were concealed behind skull-like masks, with the optical lenses flaring red. I could see vials of serums on their backs, pumping stimulants into their bodies. Their left hands ended in what seemed like claws, a gauntlet with thin sharp spikes curving out from each finger. In their right hands, they each held a huge gun.
They leered at us as they stepped out of their smog before letting loose an inhuman howl. They were clearly once human, but that was a long time ago. Man had taken them and operated on them, transforming them from humans into monsters whose minds were clearly drugged to think of nothing except killing.
"Ha ha ha ha! These are the berserk assassins from the Frenzor Sect! They have been specially engineered and enhanced by experimental surgical procedures, and are trained to wipe out entire populations by themselves! They are utterly ruthless and psychotic, former murderers and criminals mind-wiped and drugged into mindless hatred, to kill everyone and everything in their path!"
"…doesn't that mean you'll end up getting killed by them too?" I asked dryly.
"…eh?"
The Dark Church members realized I was right, especially when the two Frenzor Assassins turned toward them. In a swift stroke, the Assassins swiped at the Dark Church dudes. Despite bringing up their barriers, one of them lost their heads.
The two Frenzor Assassins began hammering and smashing against the barrier in a frenzied rage, causing the two remaining survivors to cower in fear. The Dark Church dude formerly in the middle was scrambling for his phone now, speaking into it.
"We need reinforcements! Time for you assassins to earn your pay! And control your berserkers! We don't want to get killed by them by mistake!"
Someone responded to him from the other side of the phone, and his eyes widened.
"Don't fuck with me…"
He never got to finish his sentence. The barrier cracked from the repeated blows, and the first Frenzor Assassin reached in to seize the silent Dark Church member by the throat with his claws-gauntlet. The guy gagged and clutching desperately, but the Frenzor Assassin began bludgeoning him with his huge gun.
Just one blow, and the guy's skull shattered into a spray of blood and brain matter from the sheer force.
"HIIIIIIIII!"
The former middle Dark Church dude screamed and backed away, only to find himself facing the grim, almost grinning skull-mask of the second Frenzor Assassin. He impaled the Dark Church employer through the chest and cut the poor guy apart, leaving not much of his body behind.
"Holy shit…" Craig murmured.
The two Frenzor Assassins began to turn toward us.
"Taurus!" I shouted.
The gigantic bull charged at the Frenzor Assassins without any hesitation. The lead Assassin emptied his huge pistol into Taurus, but the bullets merely pinged off the Constellation spirit's metallic armor. Not at all bothered by the ineffectiveness of his shots, the Assassin tossed his gun aside and took Taurus's charge head-on. The bull slammed into him, causing the Frenzor Assassin to skid backward. The Frenzor Assassin dug his feet into the ground, leaving a broken trail of concrete, but he eventually succeeded in halting his charge. Gripping Taurus's horns, he bellowed ferociously as he slammed Taurus's head down, but the large Constellation spirit remained impassive, the two of them locked in a stalemate.
"Taurus, Aldebaran!" I instructed. Taurus obeyed, lifting his head and unleashing a gout of flames from his jaws that washed over the Assassin. Despite the fiery hell Taurus bathed him in, the Assassin continued to pummel the giant bull, his system pumped with adrenaline and other combat drugs that boosted his physical strength further.
With a furious roar, he sliced open Taurus's neck, the portion not protected by armor plating. Taurus staggered, and the Assassin seized the chance to stab his claws further into Taurus's neck, digging in. The giant bull snarled and tried to crush him with a stomp, but the Assassin proved to be too agile. Using his lightning reflexes, he flipped himself up and over, avoiding being obliterated by Taurus's tremendous weight.
Unsheathing a sword from his back, he spun in the air before landing on top of Taurus. With a feral growl, he stabbed the sword into Taurus's unprotected neck. Blue mana flared to life, crackling into a destructive power field around the blade as he drove the sword deeper in.
Taurus bellowed and thrashed about desperately, trying to throw the guy off him. The Assassin hung on through sheer force of will, and then reached out with his clawed gauntlet to pierce another portion of Taurus's neck. Blood spurted from an arterial rupture, and Taurus slowly toppled over, fading from existence in a gradual manner.
By then, I had already prepared another soul beast. White Tiger materialized, lightning exploding from his body as he pounced on the offending Assassin. The berserker didn't even seem fazed by the devastating electricity, and merely parried White Tiger's crackling claws with his own neuro-gauntlet and sword.
"Richard! Watch out!"
I spun around, and just in time too. Craig and Sheila had been sent hurtling to the sides after the Frenzor Assassin barged through them. The both of them were bleeding and suffering serious injuries, but Dong Fang Yue Chu and Lily had arrived to reinforce them. Unfortunately, the Frenzor Assassin had batted them out of the way as well, and was on his way to finish them off…except that I happened to be the next closest target now that my friends were all flung to a distance.
"!!!"
I spun around and quickly summoned Gemini twin swords before the Assassin crashed into me, because I didn't have time to draw Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. The sheer force of his impact shattered my twin swords, and I was lucky not to get eviscerated by his clawed gauntlet.
Even so, the raw power of his charge seemed to have broken a rib or two, and I was hurled across the shelter space and into the other side of the chamber.
"Gah!"
Striking the concrete wall with so much force that I actually left a crater and a cobweb of cracks in it, I then slumped downward. Coughing out some blood, I struggled to my feet, only for a sharp pain to jolt through my chest.
"Damn it…what power…!"
Raising my head, I saw the soldiers and bodyguards in suits rushing in to deal with the Assassin. They were being massacred, with body parts flying all over the place, but they gave their lives to buy time for the civilians and wounded students to retreat.
"Fall back!" Harrison ordered as he helped Dong Fang Yue Chu to his feet. Alicia was also helping Lily up, while Theodore practically carried Craig and Sheila in each arm and hauled ass. "We're no match for those monsters!"
"Alicia!"
"Father!"
While helping Lily up, Alicia found herself reunited with her father, who hurried over to help us. He smiled wearily.
"I'm glad to see you all safe…though I must reprimand you later for your recklessness, foolish daughter. You should have left this to the professionals."
"Hey, they were pretty understaffed. They need all the help they can get!" Craig protested. Vincent Violet merely shook his head with a chuckle.
"Kids…I remember when I was still as young as you…" he straightened up. "Anyway, no time to argue. Let's get the hell out of here while we still can!"
Nobody was stupid enough to volunteer for the suicidal duty of stalling the Frenzor Assassins. The bodyguards were mostly dead now, slain to a man, but the soldiers were still holding their own, despite being bloodied. Fortunately, I had Black Tortoise and White Tiger moving in to intercept the second Frenzor Assassin, which greatly helped their chances of survival.
Though how long more they could survive, I had no idea…
The good news was that all the Dark Apes had been slain, and we didn't have to worry about them. While I was distracted by the Frenzor Assassin, the rest of my comrades had taken care of them.
Staggering to my feet, I stayed to watch the civilians head to safety. By a stroke of fortune, I ended up being flung all the way to the stairs, but I wasn't going to be the first to leave. Not because I was trying to be a hero, mind you, but because my Celestial Guardians were still fighting the Frenzor Assassins. If I moved out of range, they would disappear. I needed to be within about a hundred meters of them to maintain their existences.
Yeah, the commenters were raging about how troublesome and useless my summoning magic was, but that was how it was. Otherwise it would be too overpowered. It was only natural that such limitations existed. Many readers wanted an overpowered protagonist because they wanted to indulge in their self-insert, wish fulfilment activities, and get all pissed off when the protagonist couldn't steamroll his opponents.
Since when was reality so easy and convenient?
The civilians had broken into disparate groups, with the vast majority not caring and racing toward the stairs heedless of others. A couple had stopped to accompany Vincent Violet and my friends, kind souls who offered assistance to the injured students. But such compassionate adults were far and few in between. The rest ignored us and proceeded toward the stairs, prioritizing their own lives over others. Not that I blamed them, mind you. It was only human nature to want to survive.
But it was also human nature to help others in need, and I was heartened to see my friends receiving support from at least five or so adults in previously expensive but currently tattered suits. Those must be city council members. If the leaders of our city were concerned for the welfare of its children, then perhaps the human race still had hope after all.
"AAAAAAH!"
My attention was focused on the Frenzor Assassins and directing my two Celestial Guardians to occupy their attention (and maybe kill them, if possible) that I didn't notice a new threat heading down the stairs until it was too late. At the gruesome scream, I spun around and caught sight of a newcomer proceeding toward us, leaving the stairs chamber.
Like the Frenzor Assassins, she was dressed in a tight bodysuit, but she wasn't as heavily armed or huge as them. Instead, her dark green hair was tied into a ponytail, and in one hand she wielded two short daggers.
Plunging into the crowd of screaming and fleeing civilians, she slaughtered them indiscriminately with swift, clean strokes. The survivors immediately turned tail and fled back to the shelter, but stopped when they noticed the Frenzor Assassins drawing closer to our position, and the number of soldiers dwindling further. Even my Celestial Guardians were getting battered and almost torn apart.
"Another Assassin!" Vincent gasped as he threw out a hand to stop the students from advancing toward the stairs. "Everyone, retreat!"
Another civilian shrieked as she was cut down by the newcomer. Clicking my tongue, I summoned Gemini and dove at the Assassin. Her speed was so fast and blinding that I decided to use Gemini instead of the heavier, bigger and more unwieldy Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. If I had used my actual swords instead, I probably wouldn't be able to keep up with her movements.
"Oh?"
The Assassin turned toward me, a smirk curling her lips. She easily parried my first strike and knocked me back with a kick. I stumbled backward, but managed to just barely deflect her dagger with Pollux.
Unfortunately, the Assassin was too fast and cunning. She slashed at me with her other dagger, opening up a wound on my forearm. I staggered back and retaliated with a riposte from Castor, but she withdrew with a giggle.
Panting, I got ready to attack her again, but she merely tilted her head at me with a smile.
"There's no point fighting," she told me triumphantly. "My dagger is poisoned. It doesn't matter if you only suffered the shallowest of wounds or just a simple scratch. My venom has already gotten into your system. In ten seconds, your heart will stop."