A maelstrom of dust and fragments of obliterated concrete spiraled in frenzied clouds, swallowing the entire room in a tempest wrought by invisible surges of kinetic energy. It appeared as though the lobby had transformed into a massive cauldron, with a giant spoon violently stirring its contents.
Bursts of vivid blue illuminated the chaos, the searing flashes from the army's plasma rifles piercing through the swirling murk. The ceaseless thunder of planetary guard machine guns resonated with primal fury, creating a symphony of destruction that echoed amidst the impenetrable clouds.
The young girl advanced through the lobby, marching straight toward the reception desk, her figure concealed within the protective shroud of dust. Only her eyes shone within it like twin stars, burning with a fierce luminescence.
The floating guns moving with her occasionally glimmered, reflecting the bright shine of the plasma explosions.
'Twelve.' She quickly counted all the remaining enemies.
Suspended at her flanks, the floating rifles turned fluidly, their barrels lighting up with intense, bright flashes as they unleashed a relentless barrage of projectiles into the swirling cloud of dust and debris.
'Ten.' She nodded as she felt the two foes collapse to the ground.
A cocktail of shock and anger surged within her. She was stunned at the newfound application of her firepower and infuriated at the delayed realization of this technique.
'I can carry the firepower of an entire squad with me. Why didn't I come up with this sooner? It would have made so many fights easier.'
Her senses expanded once more as she felt the three living humans covering the corner of the corridor behind the reception desk.
'Taking cover? That will not help you.'
With a flick of her wrist, the floating guns realigned once more and zoomed past her into the corridor with soldiers, vanishing in the dust clouds, guided by the precise strings of her kinetic force, as if she had a dozen invisible, prolonging hands.
Bright flares of light erupted in the shroud before her, followed by the dull thuds of bodies meeting the ground.
'Seven.'
A gruff voice crackled in her ear through the intercom, interrupting the roar of the bullets hitting the walls behind her. "Enemies have landed on the roof; we're holding the staircase but losing ground,"
'Damn, I need to wrap this up.' She knew the time was expensive, with each second and moment wasted in the lobby making the situation on the roof worse and worse.
Abandoning her cautious, methodical advance, Tia launched forward and leaped over the reception desk, shooting through the corridor behind it, deeper and deeper into the building.
The ash and dust whirled past her in violent vortexes as she passed the dead Federation soldiers like a human arrow.
Bright blue plasma bolts streaked toward her mirrored in the shimmer of enemy visors caught in her sharp, predatory gaze.
'Four before me.' She could feel the hardness of their armor, marking them as the heavily armored soldiers she once faced.
Her mind was already moving on its own, deflecting the orbs into the walls and unleashing blinding explosions that melted through the concrete as if it were thin paper.
Along with waves of sweltering heat that licked at her form, a shower of broken concrete rained down. Yet her demeanor remained unflinchingly stoic, her eyes blazing with predatory intensity.
The corridor cracked, and the floor and walls shattered as the hardened shockwave of kinetic force burst into flames, cascading down corridors and melting and shattering everything in its path.
Caught in the furious maelstrom, the four soldiers were hurled backward with bone-jarring force. They collided with the wall, a symphony of crunching armor and anguished cries filling the air as they became one with the burning maelstrom that swallowed the corridor.
Yet they still twitched, their armored forms rising from the flames, their glowing eyes piercing through the fire, smoke, and dust.
'I forgot how sturdy the armored ones are...' Tia cursed while she aimed her floating guns, her mind already pressing the triggers with urgency as she already felt three more quickly approaching.
Suddenly, the purple luminous beams pulsed for a split second through the air with a sound like tearing fabric. In the short pulse, the rays tore through the torsos of the burning soldiers, leaving gaping maws that revealed the melted walls and blazing inferno behind the soldiers.
'Particle rays.' She immediately recognized the weapon chosen by the Empire. If the Federation used explosive and volatile plasma weapons, then the Empire sacrificed the explosiveness of plasma for the accuracy and piercing power of particle rays.
Beep!
<<<<<<>>>>>>
Sub-Objective Completed:
Objective --> Repel the assault from the floor level before they can reach the second floor.
Addition to the final pool --> 1 x EP; 1 x Free Body Modification Coupon
Instant Rewards --> +10% progression to all Esper skills
<<<<<<>>>>>>
With a wave of her hand, the flames and dust clouds cleared and dispersed, revealing the three black-armored imperial soldiers advancing down the corridor, their purple visors menacingly scanning the surroundings. Their armors were marred with burn marks, and their capes were torn asunder, leaving behind a few strips of purple fabric.
As her senses expanded, she breathed down—there was no one left, only her and the three imperial soldiers. Her breath finally slowed down as she leaned against the wall for a moment of respite.
'So the last three were allies.'
"I thought you had pulled back." Her melodious voice rang across the devastated corridor, contrasting with the sheer destruction around her.
"Commander, we have heard the battle and decided to attack from behind."
The words struck her—she was always a lone warrior, making her unused to any form of coordination, 'I should work on this.'
Tia shrugged her shoulders, her short break ending, 'Now, to the roof. If I hurry up, maybe I can also finish the second objective.'