The Banging Chime of the Annihilator rang out loud in the basement of the armory. The non-stop firing and the vibrations generated by the high-end machine gun left anyone in the vicinity scattered and gasping for breath.
Ratatatatata-
The multiple barrels were rolling with almost no intervals. Robert hid himself behind the first steel wall he saw. As did everyone else. At least tried to because most of them were dead, and the lucky ones didn't look in a good state.
Eyes Filled with rage, his nerves tightened, Robert saw himself helpless again. Just like three months ago. He saw no difference between the monster just behind him and those outside. Cruel and ruthless, both of them. He cursed under his breath and shook off the dizziness he felt moments ago.
He took out a bullet from his pocket. Loaded it into his Viper X-9. Holding it close to his chest, Robert waited for his chance to see an enemy head.
The barrage of fire continued. Zeff saw his Serpent getting lava red. The machine gun was still in the testing phase, no matter how advanced and destructive it was, its performance decreased after a single use.
The survivors, if any were seen, didn't look in a good state. Piled among the corpses, the lucky ones were either bleeding to death or dragging themselves on the floors. Both are punctured with various holes in their body, similar to the steel walls behind them.
Nothing less than an abomination of the battlefield, a prototype confidential for sixteen years, the Annihilator roared with lives at his mercy.
Six minutes later, Zeff's shoulders hurt with the recoil from the heavyweight on his hands, white steam flowed out of the empty barrel after the ammo ran out.
Robert knew no matter how powerful, enemies would show vulnerability after a big attack. He was waiting for a chance, a gap in Zeff's defenses even for a moment, to take position and counterattack.
Silence filled the chamber as the VX-900 ran out of bullets. Eerie and barren with fear.
Robert took his position without hesitation, wasting no time to point the barrel at his enemy's head, coming out of the shadows he was hiding.
"...!"
But Zeff was not there.
There was just a dead gun on the floor. No trace of presence.
'Where did he vanish off to now!?' Robert thought fiercely.
He looked around. But all he saw were fellow cadets, soldiers, and those he shared meals with. Quiet and pale, lifeless in their eyes.
Robert gritted his teeth. He missed him, he realized. Again.
Falling on his knees, his tears flowed out. Not out of sadness. But with fury.
His face, marked with injuries and blood coursing down his cheeks, bore an uncanny resemblance to tears tainted in crimson.
***
Zeff knew the only flaw he would face in his plan. The lack of ammo. He can't 'bust' his way out without constant backup. Whatever he found in the armory might possess crazy strength, but it could never last long enough to carry him out of this hell. The weight of most was impractical. It would only drag him.
And being honest, he couldn't figure out how to use any of them. Except for the gadgets he had a clear idea of how they work. Guns, for example.
So. he improvised.
"Now…" he signaled the fox on his shoulder.
Daksha jumped out, transforming bat-like wings on the back of its shoulder. Almost as if The scapula of the fox came out, the skin of the beast made way for wings and bones.
Like a bat, the flying fox took its position, flying right above until its head touched the ceiling an inch away. Daksha staggered with flight. It wasn't every day he would get the opportunity. And now, he regretted, he was running low on stamina after all that expenditure of precious magical energy. And without his medium, the pendant, any more pushing over his limit would be risky.
Too risky.
But What choice did he have?
'Listen fox,' Daksha recalled Zeff's orders. 'On my signal. I want you at the top of this area. When there, find the place with a large number of antennas clumped together.'
And when Daksha focused his visions. His constricted pupils gathered info from everywhere they could see, he saw it. The place with wired antennas, a large number of them scattered and clumped in different proportions.
'that's it.'
The Communication Hub. The backup system. Established for emergencies if the ones in the control room are destroyed. The same ones established 'order' in the base after Bucky took charge and focused on damage control.
Soldiers are nothing but harmless mobs when left without order. Especially the soldiers who are amid a chaotic battlefield. Surprise attacks. Infiltration. Relying on others for decisions you could make yourself sounds a bit foolish. But it made sense to follow your superiors.
But That's what humans do. Foolish mistakes.
'I can see it, master,' Daksha said, already beating his wings against the wind.
No matter how unbreakable an army base might seem. They were made by humans. Consequently, there were bound to be flaws in every design a man came up with. There was one MB-35. No matter how advanced, systematic, and complex, the base might seem to others, Zeff always had his ways of finding imperfections among the excellent.
The data center on Area Three was just a front, as he suspected, and the real brains inside the army skull was, on obvious terms, Area Six.
This place had what one might call, 'a power flux'. An energy generator of sorts. The life of MB-35.
If Zeff destroyed Area Six. He was sure this place would lose power, at the very least. At most, a self-district signal might go off killing them all instantly. But he had faith in his guts at times like these. If he can expect an outcome, something less suicidal, from the worst of what he 'woke up to', he would take it.
Unfortunately, his choices were limited.
Zeff prioritizes himself above all others. Even more so when he had pawns he had no problem using. Like Daksha.
Many people might lose their homes if the base is destroyed. But it didn't concern Zeff as much.
'Now, do it,' Zeff muttered under the smokey scent of gunpowder. 'use that dragon tooth and draw a teleportation circle.'
Daksha nodded as flew.
***
Ratat-
At the same time, Viru Nathan, an engineer hiding in the same place, saw a creature with wings plunging toward his way, shifting the winds. Nathan was protected by the polycarbonate walls of the data hub. He locked himself to his workplace as soon he saw the flairs blazing guns. He was a coward, he knew, but Nathan had his own world to worry about.
Without a family or loved ones, he found it hard to put an effort, other than money and computers, into something that benefited others. A common trait. But a repulsive one his colleagues struggled to cope with.
After the apocalypse, he poured all his money into getting a job in the military. And With his talents, he was accepted immediately.
"Damn it! what is that thing?" he yelled, stepping back from the walls (half transparent) that showed the image of a giant bat coming in his direction. Taking a step back, Nathan sprinted to find a safe hiding place from the approaching beast.
"...!"
The polycarbonate glass was shattered to pieces when Daksha forced his entry into the chamber with wired computers all over. The glass shards were reflecting the image of a peculiar monster as Daksha scanned around him in a hurry. Trying to find something.
Below one of the tables, Nathan was crouched in a small area. His personal vault. All he could make out in the dark place was the sound of footsteps.
There was hardly any light. But he could sense that the beast was doing something. He could sense from his honed instincts of a coward. The beast capable of ripping him in half was still around him, Not aware of his presence.
For the next five minutes, He did what he was best at. Lie low. Like a mob character in a story. Staying away from the spotlight.
He could still hear various sounds of scratching the floor. Nathan was sure that the weird beast was doing something to his office floor. The sound of grating tiles intensified. But he could form the courage to take a look.
The sound stopped.
Silence lingered afterward. 'Is it gone?' Nathan made a small silhouette of bravery to peek.
"!"
There was a glowing magic
Shocked by what he saw, He tightened his jaw, his hands on his mouth. Nathan brought all his non-existent will, to not scream.
A scene almost supernatural, glowing with various runes, there was an ethereal magic circle on the floor.
Above it, There was a man on the opposite side.
Bloodied and covered with scarred wounds, Zeff was standing above a scorched floor.
===
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