Chereads / The Fiend's Resurgence / Chapter 13 - Forbidden Arts and Mellow Bars

Chapter 13 - Forbidden Arts and Mellow Bars

CRASH!

After the initial booming, a deafening silence pervaded the previous rambunctious atmosphere on the aircraft with the exception of the crisp crackling of fire and the sparking of electricity.

Mandrew a.k.a. Ghost laid motionlessly on the floor, several crates burying down onto his body.

He squirmed slightly, his tightly closed eyes and knit brows writhing as he threw the crates off of him. Pushing himself up, he groaned as he held his aching back.

"Well, I'm in a better condition than what I expected after experiencing a plane crash. Guess my body is on a much different level than that of an ordinary human's now."

He gave his gear a quick check, seeing that it remained strongly intact.

"Very good material," he nodded approvingly.

Looking around, Captain Price, Roach, Wolverine, and Cyborg #0009 were in similar states as him.

Master Kenchiro was still sitting on a crate, his blade stabbed into the aircraft's floor for stability.

With a glint of wisdom in his eyes, he said, "This is a good learning experience for you guys."

Scorpion rose from the ground, spitting out a mouthful of dust as he continued grimly, "Would you look at that? I'm still fucking fine and dandy. My squad, is everyone okay?"

Including himself, Scorpion's squad totaled thirteen people.

"Sir!" Night Owl reported, "We've had one casualty."

"Dammit! Who'd we lose?!" he shouted out with clenched fists, oblivious that he was digging his own fingernails into his flesh, warm blood bubbling from the cuts.

"Secondary aviator, Pall died in the crash. His body was impaled straight through by debris of the aircraft; we've confirmed there's no pulse."

Night Owl spoke solemnly, handing over a dog tag. Scorpion received it sorrowfully, before addressing his squad.

"My squad: Oracle, Night Owl, Squall, Rogue Buckets, Bullseye, Cyclops, Havoc, Chance, Dagger, Smith, and Mailman. With one of our brothers—Pall—deceased, our squad count is now twelve."

"Considering our current situation, there's been a change in plan. Peyote Squad will be following along with Ghost Squad. We'll move with caution; I don't want any more of our brothers dying."

With their aircraft crashed, they found themselves caught in the "Strand" genre of scenarios. Of everyone here, Mailman had the highest possibility of survival with his vast experiences.

Master Kenchiro shot him a hearty smile, "I'm not against you joining us... but you'll have to forget about that debt."

"You—You really want to try this right now?"

Master Kenchiro nodded.

"Fine, fuck you and your debt. Peyote Squad, we join up with the Ghost Squad. We finish the mission and get out of this hellhole."

They gave a quick sweep of the aircraft, collecting all the supplies they could carry before leaving. Ghost followed along as they departed the crashed aircraft together.

Outside, Ghost took note of the vibrant surroundings.

There was green grass and a river off in the distance, sparkling with crystal-clear water. Like a mirror, Ghost felt his reflection might just be visible in it.

"I was expecting more of a desert." One of the soldiers, Bullseye, remarked.

"Guess we got lucky," another soldier, Chance, quipped.

"We're in the Nuristan Province of Afghanistan, did none of you read your briefings?" Scorpion shook his head in disappointment before continuing, "Master Kenchiro, where are we heading?"

"We're splitting up for now."

"Huh?"

Scorpion shot him a glance in confusion, while everyone else's eyes widened.

"Listen, I'm sure you're caught up on our mission's details, right?"

Scorpion nodded.

"We're heading to what is believed to be a 'Nuclear Facility.' We keep heading east from our current location, there's a large city. We head north from there and we can find a small town—as well as a bar known as the Thirsty Devil. There we can get some much-needed assistance."

"But why split up?" Scorpion shot him a look of skepticism.

"Heh. I have a TEDx talk to give, so don't take it personally, kid. I'll rendezvous with you at the Thirsty Devil."

Before any more words could be exchanged, he flashed off into the distance, vanishing from sight.

Standing idly by, Ghost was just about to speak up when Cyborg #0009's robotic voice intruded, "I've received further orders: Ghost Squad is to move into the closest city alone,—separate from Peyote Squad. We will also rendezvous at the Thirsty Devil."

"I—What the fuck have I gotten myself into? Fucking brilliant!" Scorpion spat angrily, "Peyote Squad, on me! Let's get moving!"

Their squad stormed off, leaving Ghost Squad behind on their own.

Captain Price shook his head with Roach and Wolverine joining in agreement. Just when they thought they'd have some reasonable support, they were ordered to split up!

"Well," Ghost started, "I guess we better get moving too. We can follow the river while heading east."

The others firmly agreed, before they once again checked over their equipment.

Their smoky grey uniforms were looking smooth and their supply of ammunition was vast. Each one of them had a Beretta M9 holstered on their waist and an M16A4 assault rifle strapped on their back in preparation of self defense should the need arise.

Ghost was hoping for an easy mission, but at the same time, he wasn't opposed to showing off his new skills.

"Everything is in check."

Ghost nodded approvingly as they set off, each of their steps resounding with heavy booms thanks to their heavily-fortified sky-shattering physiques reminiscent to that of ancient gladiators only spoken of in mythological stories.

Like vicious beasts, their stamina was endless and their prowess was to be feared.

Hours passed by as they ventured alongside the crystal clear river, the sun just overhead as it prepared to switch places with the moon. And finally! They spotted what appeared to be lights off in the distance, their illuminations revealing various structures.

Cyborg #0009 who had been quiet since issuing their missions suddenly spoke up.

"There's the city, but it's dangerous. Almost everyone is armed with a weapon, so you must tread with caution."

"Don't you mean 'we?'" Ghost asked.

"We will meet again later when the time is right." Cyborg #0009 shook its head as its body suddenly crackled before cloaking itself in invisibility.

Now, their squad was down to Ghost, Roach, Wolverine, and Captain Price.

"I guess it's up to us four now."

Ghost exchanged glances with the others, receiving nods in return as Captain Price exclaimed, "Bravo Six, Going Dark."

At his words, their helmets suddenly shot out what appeared to be a holographic sight, giving them night vision. Paired with their advanced sight from the genetically modifying Super Soldier Formula, night was as clear as day.

Aside from night vision, there was a built-in thermal targeting function should the need arise.

With a fluent pace, they approached the brightly lit city, but something felt wrong.

It was quiet... too quiet....

This place was so quiet that their heavy footsteps would be a dead giveaway, but thankfully Master Kenchiro had taught them a special "forbidden" art—The Devil's Ballet.

With graceful movements, the squad of macho men swung their bodies with tiptoed steps, traveling at an even faster pace with an utmost silence.

In fact, there were two armed men in the distance who caught sight of these invading macho men, but they were awestruck at the sight of their mesmerizing movements and divine postures! So awestruck, they even forgot how to breathe as their faces went purple and they fell to the ground with a loud thud—they were both dead.

There was a reason "The Devil's Ballet" was classified as a forbidden art, and this was only stage 1, nicknamed "Ivaan's Tingies of Stone."

The foundation of this ability were their toes, and Ivaan has the strongest of them all, even being able to go out in the freezing cold barefoot. This prompted Master Kenchiro to name the first part of this ability off of him.

And the second part? Their movements could kill with an instant mesmerization, similarly to how Medusa could turn people to stone with a single glance.

There was a major drawback, and that was the energy cost. Forbidden Arts were tiring, but thankfully they prepared a stockpile of Mellow Bars—chocolate bars filled with a melon cream—which were absolutely packed with nutrients!

"We're here!" Mandrew exclaimed, letting out a deep breath of exhaustion as he quickly unwrapped a Mellow Bar, munching it down in gluttony.