Chapter 25 - Warning

"You desire vengeance, yet you fight peacefully. Your dreams are a question to which you do not have the answer. Humans want to know everything, to rule everything. Destroying everything in their path, they have ever pushed forward. Build a cage around them, and they'll try to break out of it. Take away their loved ones, and they'll come for your head. Ask them to stop, and they'll laugh in your face. Do you know what that means, Karabell Ress? Humanity cannot be controlled. It cannot be held captive. What do you see?" the emotionless voice inquired. Karabell couldn't see its owner. Actually, he couldn't see anything. He was surrounded by darkness, like he'd somehow ended up at the bottom of the ocean. But he wasn't drowning. "We're at a crossroads. This war has lasted for over two millennia. Ending it might prove impossible. Frederick Sel... protect Commander Frederick Sel at any cost. Neither of you can die. At last, we have the power to act. But you don't have much time. Frederick will flee to Base Tau. The battle... it's not too late. Have faith in your comrades. No matter what, you can't die."

Karabell awoke covered in a cold sweat. He gasped for air, trying to shake off the ominous feeling. His whole body was trembling. A nightmare... No, it hadn't been a dream. Who in the world had talked to him? Karabell had definitely heard that voice before. It'd mentioned being at a crossroads. He needed to make sure Frederick wouldn't die. What was up with that? Like that guy needed Karabell to protect him... He turned his device on. Almost midnight... The Captain came to a sudden realization. Those last words he'd heard before waking up. They'd been meant to be a warning.

"Everyone, wake up! Grab your weapons and follow me!" he yelled, jumping out of the bed. Just as he reached for his spear, a terrifying scream echoed throughout the base. He clenched his jaw. It'd come from the entrance, there was no mistake. Karabell darted along the hallway and up the stairs. An attack on Base Yuna... those things sure had gotten impatient.

"Seriously... What is this?" he muttered, a nervous smile flickering across his face. There had to be at least thirty Aberrations there. That base only had twenty soldiers or so or so, including his team. He watched helplessly as a Gargling threw an unlucky fighter against the ground, before stomping on him viciously. It wasn't too late. He had to fight. For such a large scale attack to occur, there had to be a Superior somewhere. Taking it out was imperative. Superiors were usually larger than other Aberrations, but that wasn't always the case.

After the first fighter died, all hell broke lose. The Garglings shrieked, charging towards the soldiers. Fighting so many creatures at once... They didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning.

"Stop spacing out!" Shono shouted, lunging at the closest monster. He'd already assessed the situation. Most of those guys had piercing weapons, completely useless against anything other than feathered Aberrations. Een's knee still hadn't made a complete recovery, so the man had convinced him not to come with them. Shono's brow furrowed. Could he really rely on those soldiers to kill so many creatures? But the Captain had already made the first move. They could win.

Karabell kept running, nimbly avoiding the creatures' attacks. Most of the Aberrations had gone after the others. However, there was still a pretty big group right in front of him. He needed to take down the Superior. But how could he do that alone? He didn't even know if his attacks would be effective against it. What was more, he needed to take care of it quickly. Karabell didn't know for how long those guys could fend off the Aberrations, even with his teammates' help.

"What is it?" the Captain roared, bringing his wrist close to his ear. "Are you sure? Alright, then I'll do that."

A smirk split Lyra's lips as she hung up. She nocked an arrow, licking her lips anxiously. Karabell had no choice but to believe in her. And she had no choice but to help him take down the Superior. Her arrows were no different from Karabell's spear. They couldn't damage the creatures directly. But one of Dante's friends had given her an idea the day before. Lyra climbed atop the abandoned house serving as Base Yuna's disguise. She tried surveying the battlefield, but it was too dark. Nevertheless, the one they were aiming for was most likely among the Aberrations Karabell was heading towards. She just needed to provide cover. She just needed to go for their eyes.

"They're not that far away. But it's so dark... No, I can do it," Lyra muttered, trying to encourage herself. If Karabell couldn't get to the Superior, they couldn't win. Lyra let go of the bowstring. The Aberration she'd shot didn't make a sound. Instead, it promptly started to freak out. "Not a Gargling. The best-case scenario is that I somehow manage to hit the Superior. But they all look exactly the same." Weren't Superiors supposed to be enormous? "Great. Now I'm talking to myself... Have I gone crazy?"

Alice stabbed the Gargling trying to get its hands on Shono, finishing it off. The creatures' attacks weren't coordinated. They were merely swinging their limbs around, hoping to hit them. Base Yuna's soldiers had also regained their fighting spirit. They simply had to make sure the creatures wouldn't go after Karabell. He was the only one who could take down those things' leader. Even so, there were simply too many enemies there...

Despite more and more Aberrations losing their sight because of Lyra's arrows, the others didn't react in any way. Something wasn't right. Karabell had noticed it too. Lyra breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her bow for a brief moment. Her job wasn't done. At least she'd taken care of every single Aberration in that group. But she had to lend Alice and Shono a hand, too.

Karabell's sprint came to a halt. Lyra had incapacitated the creatures he'd been targeting. They were all normal Aberrations, not even Garglings. Some of them had screeched. Others had fallen to the ground, writhing in pain.

"This is bad." Karabell's features tightened with fear. He looked around him once again. Lyra had definitely taken down all of those creatures.. So if the Superior wasn't there... "Then that means it's back at the entrance, blending in with the other Aberrations."

He raced towards his teammates, praying that he'd make it in time. He'd left them by themselves, thinking that he could take care of everything by himself. If Lyra hadn't been there to help... Karabell clenched his fists. He needed to hurry.