Robert was certain he didn't misfire. He won't make the same mistake twice and let his target escape, not after knowing that he was deceived by him.
The bullet's trajectory didn't change either, he should be dead, Robert was sure.
But his target didn't die, 'How?'
It all happened in the blink of an eye, nothing more than three seconds. But during that time 'something' happened, he was sure.
Before Robert realized what strange powers his enemy used, he was blinded by obscure vision. It lasted only three whole seconds, But Robert felt his heart sinking.
'What kind of ability is this? '
After the moment of daze settling in his mind, his vision returned, like it was never gone. And when it did, Robert Didn't see his target, nor his sword. Instead, what he saw shocked him.
The trainees near the arena were lying on the ground, unconscious and helpless.
"What did he do to them?"
Some people were walking holding their heads, others were sitting up, both of them trembling after what happened.
It was like some blast happened at the place where the sword was and those who were near it felt a tremendous impact on their mind that left them unconscious.
"Is that an EMP blast?"
Close. but Not Quite.
What Kai used was what Zeff called, "Mana Blast". One of the Abilities of Seodt, the same one Kai used to escape from the trap room.
It made sense to Robert. The results were close to his hypothesis, if it was some kind of energy blast like a last-ditch effort to save himself, then he succeeded.
"looks like the enemy has come prepared," he said as got up on his feet.
Robert was a sniper, so he was the furthest from the impact, from the arena.
Blinded by sight was the least effect of Mana Blast, but even that was a scary experience for him.
Robert started to walk to ward the Arena.
What he was about to face now was a Human, not a monster, but he wasn't sure. It made his blood boil. Kai somehow touched his ego, which never happened before, by pulling this stunt on Area 6.
Tye unconscious trainees showed no sign of waking up, as he walked past their body. Like a sleeping spell has been cast, these guys appeared to be in a coma.
Robert wanted to make him pay for all this. For what he was feeling.
"If something happened to them, you better be prepared for what I'm gonna do once you come out of there."
After reaching the center of the Arena, Robert contained all his rage bulging inside him, ready to burst, and sat down.
He was waiting for him.
Waiting until Kai emerges from those stairs in the distance.
"I don't know what you want from the weaponry, but that thing only has one exit. And I'll be waiting for you here."
Positioning his gun and lying down, Robert was patiently waiting for the first person to appear in his scope.
"I won't let you live a third time."
***
On the other side of the entrance of Weaponry, Kai was coughing blood, the side effect of using the powers beyond what his body could handle.
"Keugh! cough!"
'It's painful. '
With his forehead almost touching the floor, a little stained in crimson, he was kneeling, trying to bear the pain in his stomach by holding it tightly using both of his hands.
All Kai wanted to think about was how painful the experience was to him, but his mind thought differently.
No matter how desperate the situation was, Kai never lost sight of his goal.
He was inside the Weaponry, and the euphoria of that achievement filled his mind.
His vision was growing blurry due to the blood loss, but he snapped out of it by shaking his head in a hurry.
'I'm so close, I can't tap out now of all times. not again. ' Kai thought as he picked himself up, little by little, bearing the pain. (He's referring to his condition in chapter 2)
Staggering through his reluctant stand, Kai took the first step forward, then another, and one more before starting to walk.
The cuts and wounds on Kai's face started to close up as they slowly started to regenerate using the surrounding mana.
'I won't be in my peak condition anytime soon, but still! This is better than nothing.'
With staggering steps, Kai went deeper inside the weaponry as the darkness in the chamber made him hesitate each time.
"Don't they have light in this place?"
["It doesn't make a difference to me."]
"No, It doesn't. But it'll save me the trouble of using night vision. I want to conserve my energy. It's not infinite, you know."]
The room was dimly lit, so it wasn't completely dark. But if Kai wanted to move quickly, he needed something better than this around him.
Kai placed his hands together and closed his eyes as he focused on his surroundings through his mind.
"!"
The Mana Sense.
So far, Mana sense was an ability that could only be harnessed by the Monsters in the apocalypse. Until now anyway.
Three months have passed since the apocalypse. And it was enough time to change a man in a world turned upside down. The Past of Kai remains unknown only because he does not have anyone to talk to.
He doesn't need eyes or ears, or any of the other senses for that matter when he knows better than anyone what is around him.
The weaponry was just as he imagined it. Just another big room, with lots of corners, few corridors, and many sections dividing the finished prototypes.
There were armored cars, a big fighter jet at the center, and so many guns, one different from the next one.
A red and black suit of armor got his attention, mainly because it was questionably similar to what was used in a movie, but that's just it. Kai kept walking until he finally reached it.
His destination.
"Is this it?"
The small door in front of him looked no bigger than the 4 lockers put together in college.
["No doubt about it. That's it."] Zeff replied.
The door in front of him had a nameplate on it.
And it said, S. Y. L. P. H. I. E.
"If it's just a fingerprint and retina scan of the commander. I can get access." Kai said placing his palm on the digital screen beside the door.
There was a warning notice below it.
Warning: Highly classified. All personnel except the commander are denied access. Any breach is brought into question and punished accordingly.
Opening the door, when Kai just was about to enter, Zeff commented.
["You have my appreciation for making it this far. But as soon as you are done with what you want to do, I'm taking over."]
"..." Kai remained silent for a few seconds, and he said, "...Fine." going through another door. The Last door he has to worry about.
Zeff rejoiced as he smiled inwardly.
***
At the same time, back in the command center, Bucky was running furiously through the overhead-lit metallic corridor in a hurry.
Bucky had comms in his hand, placed close to his mouth, "This is squad one, the commander is missing. We're heading to their last known location and report any findings. Moving out now. Over."
A few minutes ago, after the incident in the trap room, Bucky put his mind and body into full gear.
"Sir Leo is missing?"
This surprised Bucky. On top of all the trouble the base was in, this was the last thing he wanted to hear.
'Where did he go now at a time like this? Does he know the gravity of our situation? I can't imagine him losing to anyone, it means he's doing this on purpose.' Bucky Thought.
As he kept running, the thoughts in his mind raced, 'This means I'm the only one left in charge. Sh*t, I have to find Zeff! And soon. '
Every camera in the base became his eyes, looking for his sister.
But it seems Zeff evaded all his eyes somehow. Clever, but not for long, he supposed. He didn't know what the enemy was using, creeping in like a ghost out of nowhere.
Bucky searched every place the camera couldn't reach, the so-called ' loopholes in security', commanding every squad on high alert.
'I don't care where you are, you're not getting away.' he thought. 'I'll chase you to the depths of hell if I have to. '
Bucky often got scolded by his sister that he was too easygoing and a careless lieutenant. But that was only half true. When he gets serious, he could become one of the most dangerous soldiers out there.
Before the apocalypse, he was part of the special ops until, due to classified reasons, he was transferred to MB-35 as a lieutenant under Leo.
Bucky's hot-headed ego got a lot more subdued after that, but not anymore. This is definitely not the time to pull any punches.
'If I want to face a Class 5 criminal on equal grounds, I have to go all out without holding back.' he thought.
"Squad one to lieutenant, the commander's office is empty, AWOL confirmed, sir."
"Dammit." Bucky clicked his tongue. 'If this is some kind of joke, Sir Leo, you picked the wrong time to pull it.'
Then he received another message on his comms.
"Command center to lieutenant! Sir, we have spotted the infiltrator. Zeff is in Area 3."
Bucky stopped, his thoughts neutral.
The image of his sister came to his mind.
He placed his communicator at hand close to his mouth, "Tell me that b*stard's location."
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AN: *Sorry for the late chapter today, but I'm writing three chapters this saturday to make up.
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*If you find any mistakes in the chapter, comment below so I can fix them as soon as possible.