Battling all those Aberrations was nothing short of impossible. Een had gotten injured in the previous fight. They were about to go up against a Superior, two Garglings and two normal ones. Frankly, they didn't stand a chance. Plus, that creature was abnormally smart. But the fact that the others hadn't attacked yet meant that it had some sort of goal in mind. After all, it'd chosen to show its face.
"So, am I right in assuming you're not going to kill us right away?"
"Would that perhaps be more to your liking?" the Superior suggested, following its words with a meaningful grin. Karabell's body was tensed for battle, but he couldn't risk making a wrong move. For the first time in a long while, he didn't know what to do. The best course of action... Did they even have something like that? The creature had gotten its message across clearly. They had to fight.
"Simply charging headfirst like you did earlier won't do the trick," the Captain whispered, making sure that only Een would be able to hear him.
"I know. But they've given me more than enough time to come up with a strategy. Though it's nothing fancy. Captain, do you trust me?" Een asked, hoping that his fear wasn't clear on his face. He wasn't expecting an answer. Or, rather, he knew the answer already. He took a deep breath, steeling his resolve. If his idea didn't work... No, it had to work. "Superior," the soldier hissed, breaking into a sprint in the creature's direction.
Contrary to what he'd said Een wasn't heading for the Superior. He didn't seem to be targeting any one of them, in fact. Recovering from the initial shock, Karabell followed his lead. Een had gotten a head start, meaning that he was almost close enough to attack. But which creature was he planning to hit first? Karabell couldn't guess. But the Captain could clearly see that there wasn't any hint of doubt in his movements.
Een lifted his axe, ready to swing it with all his might. It didn't matter if he managed to hit any of the beasts or not. He just needed to create an opportunity for the Captain. They were dealing with a feathered Superior. As long as he prevented the other Aberrations from intervening, Karabell could take care of it by himself. Just as he begun his attack, a cold shiver ran down his spine. In the blink of an eye, two creatures had moved in front of the Superior, creating a defensive wall between his axe and the monster. His weapon slammed into the right side of the Aberration's torso and the impact caused it to stumble backwards slightly. He'd expected the Superior to dodge. He'd wanted it to, in fact.
Karabell noticed the sudden movement. He hadn't witnessed an Aberration trying to protect another in the past. But then again, he hadn't seen a talking Superior either. He couldn't let himself be caught off guard by such details. Een had managed to hit one of the beasts. As his superior, letting his efforts go to waste was unacceptable. Naturally, Karabell had come up with a plan of his own. Copying Een's movements from earlier, he planned to shift right past the Aberrations blocking their path and try to attack the Superior directly. It was a feathered one, so he did stand a chance to land a killing blow straight away. However, the creatures didn't give him a chance to test that idea. The rest of the Aberrations joined the first two in protecting the Superior, rendering any attempt to hurt it useless. Karabell winced. Those reflexes... Even if they wanted to defend the Superior, those creatures shouldn't have been intelligent enough to coordinate their movements like that.
"Did you perhaps think you'd kill me easily? I don't want to die either, you know? You're lucky my associates are quite well-mannered. Who knows what might've happened to you by now, were that not the case?" the Superior pleaded in a cocky voice.
It really knew how to get on their nerves. But getting angry over such shallow, devoid of any meaning words wasn't like them. Een inched over to Karabell, his hands shaking. His plan had failed. Both of them had failed. They had no chance of besting the Superior.
"And I didn't think you'd use those... associates of yours to defend yourself like that. Well, it's not like we managed to hurt them or anything," Karabell smiled. He'd finally gotten the general gist of it. Neither the normal Aberrations, nor the Superior had shown any intent of killing them, even after getting attacked. The closest they'd gotten to hurting them was that obnoxious passive-aggressiveness the Superior was so proudly displaying.
"I didn't think you'd try to murder me. I haven't done anything to you, have I? I'm not to be held responsible for whatever mischievous deeds the other Aberrations have done. I merely wanted to have a chat with you, Ress."
"How do you know that name?" Karabell asked harshly. Anger glinted in his eyes.
"How could I not know that name? Marno was an outstanding man, a scientist among scientists. I could talk about his genius all day. But I don't think we have that much time at our disposal. As I was saying, I came here merely to have a chat with the son of that person. I wanted to give you a humble piece of advice, but it seems like the situation escalated rather quickly. I shall take my leave. But first, the thing I came here for. We know you know," te creature's voice died down to a whisper as it said the last words.
Karabell caught a glimpse of the Superior as it started towards the staircase. He wanted to pursue the Superior. His desire to annihilate it was more powerful than ever. But they weren't strong enough to do that. One by one, the Aberrations left the rooftop, following their leader.
"Captain..." Een started, not sure what to say.
"It's alright. We'll talk about it when we find the others. First, though, we should rest here for a bit. So, there are Superiors like that. That thing was on a whole other level. No wonder the Agency's bases didn't stand a chance. The power to control the Aberrations so accurately."
Karabell stared at the sky. They'd managed to keep their promise. They'd gotten rid of the Superior. One way or another. And they were mostly unscathed. Normally, losing against Aberrations meant losing their lives. That strange encounter, however, had just shown them that losing came in many more shapes and forms than they'd originally thought. But Karabell lacked the energy to think about it.