Chapter 54 - Attacking

Kirru narrowed its eyes. That smell... Something was off about it. There were a lot of Aberrations, so the scaled Superior couldn't quite tell them apart. Without a doubt, there were a bunch of Garglings, but there was something else there. A Superior? Lily, Krun and the rest of its subordinates were feeling the same way. Why had Karabell told them to fight? More importantly, why were the enemies attacking them head-on? They could've easily drawn them into an ambush. Even if those Aberrations outnumbered them, that kind of direct attack was never a good idea. Then again, Karabell had decided to play along with it.

"Fen, have those kids ready on stand-by. We'll try to kill as many as we can and immobilize the rest. You can help if you want, but it's way too dangerous for the apprentices. I really don't like that foul smell. I'm not sure, but there might be one or two Superiors mixed in with the rest. Such a large number of Aberrations is a bad news as is." Kirru drew in a long breath, clenching its fists. "The kids'll be our reinforcements."

"That's actually a great idea. So let's make quick work of them," Een suddenly said, putting his hand on Fen's shoulder.

Fen let out an embarrassed chuckle. How had Een gotten so close without any of them noticing? He couldn't let the pressure get to him. Making such stupid mistakes during the upcoming battle would spell out their doom. Fen asked Een what he meant by that.

"It's simple, really," he started, steadily staring at the man. "Squad Ress will assist Squad A, that's it. Well, not all of us. Frederick is still exhausted, and Annie will have to look after Kei. Everyone else will join the battle Captain's orders. We'll be your reinforcements." He winked as and slapped Een's back.

Kirru couldn't help but think that Karabell had completely lost his mind. They were the ones who would fight the Aberrations' boss. The Superior appreciated his good intentions, but that plan was too careless. But Kirru couldn't get distracted either. Even if Fen was Squad A's leader, he couldn't exactly tell the Aberrations what to do. That was Kirru's duty.

The fact that their enemies hadn't made their move yet was terribly concerning. Fen swallowed hard, trying to keep calm. He felt anxiety welling up inside him... And each second that passed only made it worse. They'd gotten so close already, so why weren't those cursed creatures doing anything? Fen bit his lower lip. The Aberrations were clearly plotting something. Their formation seemed full of openings. But Aberrations were tremendously powerful on their own... They had no need for an effective battle formation. Left with no other choice, Fen broke into a sprint, praying that he wouldn't die a fool's death. What was wrong with him? He was practically begging the creatures to slaughter him.

"Kirru, take those guys with you and follow me," he shouted over his shoulder.

The hostile Aberrations sprung to life as if Fen had flipped some sort of switch. A deafening screech echoed through the air. There were way more Garglings than they'd expected, Fen could tell that much. As he closed in on the enemies, a sudden realization struck him. Targeting any one Aberration was almost impossible. They were outnumbered, which meant that each and every one of them had to take on at least two enemies at once, if not more. There was no way they could win...

Without thinking, Fen swung his weapon in a fruitless attempt to hit a feathered Aberration's leg. The creature jumped back, barring its fangs at him. The fighter didn't flinch. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Fen leaped to the side, clenching his jaw. The scaled Aberration's attack had barely missed him. Despite himself, he smiled. Their chances or winning were slim, but not nonexistent. The Aberrations couldn't all attack at once. Otherwise, they risked injuring themselves. He sincerely doubted they cared about such things, but the Superiors commanding them weren't that stupid.

"What're you doing?" Kirru cried, ramming its shoulder into one of the attackers. "Charging in like that... You don't cease to amaze me. Though this might be just what we needed." The superior pointed towards the rest of their formation. "Karabell and the others are on their way. We just need to hold out until they get here, Fen boy."

The man scoffed a chuckle. It was easy for Kirru to say that, but he was just a mere human. Well, at least the children had listened to him. Fen lifted his weapon, promising himself that they wouldn't go down without a fight.

Kirru grabbed the scaled Aberration's hands before headbutting it. Slaughtering so many Aberrations was out of the question. First of all, they had to incapacitate every single one of the enemies. It was possible for Aberrations to kill other Aberrations... But it took too much time. In order to make sure they wouldn't regenerate, they had to rip the creatures' body to shreds. Eventually, the beast would die. Killing all those Anerrations by themselves was simply an impossible task. That was where the Captain and his team came in. As long as Kirru's subordinates knocked the Aberrations down, those guys could take care of them in a flash. Kirru caught its breath sharply, kneeing the lesser Aberration in its stomach. That thing was surprisingly weak. The Superior kicked at the creature's legs, finally causing it to lose its balance and fall. Kirru glanced at the instructor. Fen was having a hard time dodging the Aberrations' attacks.

"What's taking those guys so long?" Kirru roared, grinding its teeth together.

Just then, the Superior noticed someone dash towards them. Alice drew her weapon, sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her. Without a second thought, Kirru curled its hand into a fist and punched the creature's stomach repeatedly. It took a total of three hits to scatter the creature's scales. Alice mercilessly plunged her sword into the Aberration's gut. Kirru heaved a sigh of relief.

"Sorry we couldn't get here faster. Don't worry about Fen," Alice added, noticing the Superior's concerned look. "Kar and Shono ran to his rescue. Een is fighting alongside some of your Aberrations. Lyra and Gull are next to the trainees, providing cover and assessing the situation, respectively. Everything's fine."

"Where's Squad B? We need everyone here!"

"Keeping watch for now. Kar's orders. Oh, it looks like the trainees got sick of waiting. We should help, too," Alice said before darting in their direction.

Kirru was getting sick of it as well. Karabell's orders... Was following orders all those guys were capable of? What was keeping watch going to do? Killing the Aberrations took priority. Despite that, things weren't looking that bad. They hadn't been wiped out immediately like Kirru had expected.