At first glance, the newcomer who had just crashed onto earth looked like a humanoid reptile, with a roundish face and a body covered in brown scales. He even had a tail that whipped from side to side as he glared at the screaming and fleeing students with yellow slitted eyes. His maw opened to reveal rows of fangs.
But that wasn't the most surprising thing about him.
The humanoid reptilian was wearing metallic armor. Though his scaly arms were bare, all the more to allow him to make use of his gleaming claws, he was covered in an advanced black shell that curved over his shoulders, thighs and torso. No helmet, though, which was kind of missing the point of wearing protection (no, not that kind of protection, you sick dudes). There was a cannon slung over his back, attached to his armor by thick cables.
Honestly, he didn't look out of place in a sci-fi shooter game. I was just relieved that he seemed more indisposed to using his claws than the cannon on his back.
"W…what the hell is that thing?!"
I glanced over my shoulder and caught sight of Fu Er Dai pointing frantically at the monster. Already, I could hear insults from the comment section, demanding to know why I saved him. They were screaming at me, wondering why I didn't just let him die. After all, he tried to kill me…with a paper fan. He didn't deserve to live, or something like that. And now I was being labeled a passive beta loser with hero syndrome, and almost every reader was declaring that they would drop my story. Simply because I did the right thing.
Wow. Sometimes I couldn't help but lose faith in humanity.
Honestly, I actually saved Fu Er Dai without thinking. My body moved before I realized what I was doing, and this was the result. Also, I wasn't a nihilistic teenage edgelord who thought death and violence were the solution to everything. I wasn't that petty, nor was I a sociopath. Sure, I would defend myself if my life was threatened and even take the life of my enemy if absolutely necessary. But Fu Er Dai was a deluded moron who attacked me with a paper fan. He didn't require death…just psychiatric treatment and lots of therapy.
More practically, I was aware that the whole thing was being recorded and uploaded to social media. I wasn't shortsighted enough to leave Fu Er Dai for dead, only for me and my family to get into trouble later when his father blamed me for the death of his beloved son. At least this way, I could twist the narrative and make myself look like Fu Er Dai's savior. Might even get a reward and some good public relations if I was lucky.
Not that I had that motive when I tackled the dude. No, seriously, it wasn't as if I had the time to perform all these calculations when the Voice warned me of the attack coming from above.
Speaking of which, the humanoid reptilian was turning toward me with a malevolent sneer, a forked tongue darting out of his maw to lick a lipless mouth.
"Ah…"
Fu Er Dai's eyes rolled in their sockets and he flopped backward, foaming at the mouth. Apparently, the whole thing was too much for his simple mind to process.
Ignoring him, I began moving. Fu Er Dai was safer where I left him, especially since I suspected that the reptilian creature's target was me. The fact that the energy lance struck the spot where I was standing earlier was too much of a coincidence.
"Yes, you are the target. I suggest you use the structure to your left for cover."
The Voice again, speaking as coolly and monotonously as if this was nothing more than another training session. I rushed toward the campus building to my left, where all the classrooms were. The enemy snarled and lunged forward, his claws raking the air where I occupied a second ago.
"What the hell is that thing?!" I demanded as I rolled back to my feet and ducked behind the corner of the building, panting from the slight exertion.
"The Gay'neth-shar," the Voice replied calmly.
"…the what?"
"I believe the closest translation in your language is 'Saurians.' They are an alien species from the Zeta-Garmite Star Cluster who are hostile toward humanity."
"Okay, so he's a Saurian." That was a lot easier to say.
"But you are singled out because he has sensed your Soul Imprint…in the same way that we did. Thus, this particular Saurian's objective is to eliminate you."
"Eliminate me? Why? And what do you mean, Soul Imprint?"
This wasn't the time to be holding a conversation with a disembodied voice that only I could hear, but I couldn't panic. To panic was to play into the hands of the enemy and throw away any chance I had of surviving. No, I had to stay calm and assess the situation. Knowledge was power, and the more information I had, the better I could handle this current crisis.
Of course, that didn't mean I should stop moving. I continued to sprint, glad that I had kept up my daily run under the Voice's direction.
"Like us, he has identified you as a commander of the Holy Terran Empire."
Wow, that was convenient. I was half-expecting her to tell me that I was an Emperor of the Xyrin Empire, but that would probably cause copyright problems.
"Okay…options? I suppose it's inadvisable for me to face him in direct combat?"
"That is correct."
"So what do you advise me to do?" Surely there was a reason why she had trained me for the last six months. Otherwise, it would be a complete waste of time if I couldn't apply any of the combat techniques she taught me to practical use here, when it truly mattered.
"For now, shake him off your trail, Commander. Once he gives up pursuit, you can double back and ambush him with a surprise attack while his guard is down and his attention is focused elsewhere."
"I thought I'm his target? Why would he give up pursuit?" Was it an alien thing?
The Voice was silent for a moment, but she finally replied. "You're not his sole objective in coming here."
"Oh?" I wanted to press for more details, but the snarling hiss of the Saurian behind me diverted my attention. I dove through an open window and rolled under a desk. Coming to a crouching position, I crawled under the tables and chairs before pressing my back against the wall. Closing my eyes, I held my breath and listened for the clacking noise that the Saurian's claws made against the ground as it strode forward.
It was difficult to make out its footsteps, as distinctive as it was, because there was still quite the chaos from the screaming and fleeing students, the pounding of their feet against gravel and concrete drowning out the tapping of the sickle-shaped claws. On the other hand, I hoped the din my fellow schoolmates were creating would mask the sound of my heartbeat and breathing.
Can it smell me? How sharp are its senses?
"Saurians don't have an advanced sense of smell, not like canids. They mostly rely on sight, and though their hearing is sharper than a human's, they wouldn't be able to hear your heartbeat or breathing from meters away. You will be fine as long as you remain unseen."
Great. I thanked the Voice inside my head, forcing myself to remain calm as I waited for the inevitable hiss of triumph when the Saurian found me. Thankfully, after several minutes passed, no such demise awaited. It also helped that I had plenty of desks and tables to use as cover in my game of hide-and-seek.
"You also have the home ground advantage, Commander," the Voice continued. "You know the terrain well, but the Saurian is in an unfamiliar environment. He will not be able to easily locate you. As long as you keep moving."
In other words, this was my chance. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my glasses up my nose and quietly crawled on all fours. My intention was to keep a low profile and minimize the chances of getting spotted. For some reason, I could hear heavy breathing. The Saurian? Or just my imagination?
I had just only managed to scramble out of the classroom and into the corridor when I heard glass shatter. There was a guttural roar as the Saurian leaped into the classroom, his hard scales protecting him from the sharp fragments that rained around him. With a clawed foot, he kicked a desk over and hissed a challenge.
Dumbass. I wasn't stupid enough to rise to the bait. I also wasn't dumb enough to remain within spitting range either, and so I silently crept through the corridor, poised to dive into the nearest classroom the moment the Saurian exited.
Though the surroundings were very familiar to me because I had spent the last three years or so traversing the interior, to the Saurian, the place was a labyrinth. Instead of a classroom, I opted to duck into the stairwell when my hunter eventually emerged, and he spent the next few moments searching the other classrooms fruitlessly, at times doubling back and revisiting the same spaces because he wasn't able to keep track of which classroom was which. I stifled my laughter as I went upstairs and slid into one of the clubrooms. The art room, where there were a bunch of mannequins and paintings.
And a window, just in case I needed to jump out. It wasn't ideal, this being the second story, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
Fortunately, the Saurian didn't even understand the concept of stairs. Perhaps he was more used to scaling steep surfaces with his claws or bounding upward with his stronger physiology, but he didn't bother with the stairs. Several minutes passed. They stretched out to thirty minutes. And then…
"Commander."
There was a sense of urgency in the normally monotonous and composed Voice that caused the bottom of my stomach to drop from panic.
"What's up? Are you all right?"
"For now, but not for long." Though the voice sounded calm, I noticed the strain. "The Saurian is now moving toward my position."
"Your position?" I blurted out disbelievingly. Then the pin dropped. "You're the other objective."
"That is correct." There was a slight pause. "Please make use of the opportunity to ambush the Saurian now that he is distracted. I cannot be allowed to fall into his hands. At the same time, it would be best if you can recover me."
She began transmitting her location, not in words but in thoughts…images and visuals. As if uploading a route into my head, which allowed me to suddenly know where the destination was. I was already moving before I realized it, but while I rushed out of the art clubroom and toward the stairs, I felt annoyance.
"Hang on…you're telling me you've been buried under my high school all this time, and you never told me? Why did you hide that fact from me? I could have retrieved you long ago!"
"That wasn't ideal," the Voice replied reluctantly. "It is still too soon for you to have access to ancient technological relics such as us. You are not ready to wield us yet. Unfortunately, our enemies have located my position faster than we anticipated. I have made a grave miscalculation. If possible, I would like to have you train for at least one more month, but this crisis has forced our hand."
"Huh? Ancient technological relics? You're an ancient tech relic?"
"Affirmative. We are all lost relics from an ancient technological empire that once dominated the galaxy, now scattered across the vast expanse of space after a cataclysmic war that broke the heavens. If humanity is to have any hope of regaining its lost glory, you must collect all of us and safeguard us from the enemies who would use us to destroy you…our creators."
Damn. For a moment, I almost felt overwhelmed by the revelation. To think the Voice had been concealing all this the whole time she was training me. I didn't know if I should feel offended. While I felt like I had been used, I understood her caution. If she had told me the truth from the very beginning, there was no guarantee that I would be able to resist the temptation and recovered whatever relic she was, and succumbed to the enticement of wielding her for my own personal motives.
As they said, power corrupts.
For now, though, it was imperative that I got to her before the Saurian. And my enemy had a head start.
Sighing heavily and cursing the hand I had just been dealt with, I picked up the pace.