The group of four, slowly but surely moved towards the highest point, trudging through the high and dense snow. The wind, as the guardian of these lands, tried to drive them away, but their will was unbreakable.
"Are you sure this is where we need to go...? Maybe we should have hidden somewhere better? I'm certain they're already looking for us. No one's going to let four Phantoms go missing." Mark muttered, shielding his face with his hands from the snowfall.
Nera nodded.
"If we get to the top, our NEPs will most likely pick up a signal, then help will be sent to us immediately. At the very least, we'll be reported to nearby squads."
Katrin frowned.
"Come on, cut the crap. It's pretty obvious we're the only ones here! Something is going on in this area, but we don't know it, or we should have met someone by now!"
Mark waved his hand worriedly.
"Maybe we're just unlucky, or maybe there are always a few Phantoms in this area...?" Mark suggested with a confused expression.
Katrin sighed heavily as she glanced at Adam.
"What do you think? Aren't you tired of not saying anything?"
"Just keep moving forward. Whether it's a special situation here now or not it doesn't matter. Getting to the top and catching a signal is our best bet. The only thing that will save us is for help to arrive before nightfall, otherwise, this is where we'll die."
Adam's cold voice caused her to shiver. Katrin hadn't expected this at all from the newcomer, who was supposed to behave much like Mark, only a little more focused.
Katrin narrowed her eyes.
'I see... Something has obviously happened to him, it seems his path to becoming a Phantom is different from mine, but how...?' Katrin pondered with great grimace.
Phantoms might have superpowers, but after all, they were human and had the same emotions.
Katrin strived to become the best - it might seem that their goals with Adam were similar, because he too wanted to climb as high as possible in the pyramid of power, but it was not quite so.
For Katrin, the main goal was not to become objectively the best without comparison with anything but to make others worse than her. She had already accomplished a lot for her age, and a persona like Adam, made her worry.
Bam.
A massive club of snow fell down the slope as Adam reached the top of the cliff. The view before him was beautiful, peaceful yet frightening because there was nothing for miles around.
Snow, massive fir trees, and a heavy blizzard blocked the view beyond a certain point. It seemed that they were under a kind of dome, but something was visible through the blizzard - the sun going below the horizon.
Another half hour and the moon would rise instead of the sun.
Not a single night outside the walls of the Citadel was peaceful, only in this stronghold of humanity was it possible to feel safe.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
A few minutes passed as Adam's and Katrin's NEPs almost exploded from the influx of messages. Their Operators had finally gotten a signal and immediately took advantage of it.
'Adam! Can you hear me!?' Silvana exclaimed worriedly.
"Sure... Where am I, what is this place?" Adam looked around.
'Desolate Forest... It's very far from the Citadel, and there's no one near you right now. There's been a massive blizzard raging around Desolate Forest for days now, so the mission department has decided not to send Phantoms here yet.'
Adam frowned.
"Sounds like bad news, doesn't it?"
'Yes, but there are some good ones. The blizzard also scared away most of the monsters, so that's already helped you get here safely unharmed.' Silvana explained.
''Well... I doubt that particularly dangerous monsters are afraid of the blizzard, especially if they live here. Moreover, help will probably be delayed because of it, right?" Adam's gaze grew darker and his voice deeper.
After a brief pause, Silvana nodded.
'Correct. In fact, the moment your NEP got the signal, the fighter flew out of the fort. Help will arrive in about forty minutes, perhaps a few minutes longer.'
"What! Only one fighter! What the fuck!" Katrin exclaimed furiously, stomping the ground.
She hadn't overheard Adam and Silvana's conversation, for she had her Operator who had told her everything.
'Don't worry. One fighter will be more than enough since the most important thing is to get to you as soon as possible.'
"What about firepower? Even if help arrives in forty minutes, we'll still have to fight off the night monsters for ten minutes. We'll need to be rescued from their clutches." Adam frowned, realizing how difficult the situation was.
'Even though there will only be one Phantom per fighter, he can handle any opponent in Desolate Forest. After all, this is the same Phantom that saved you and the Fire Fox Squad from Prime Lizard.'
Adam's eyes went wide as a slight smile formed on his face.
"Fine, then we'll wait. I want to see what he can do again."
"Shit! Couldn't they have sent more aircraft?!" Katrin shouted irritably, kicking at the puffs of snow.
Nera looked at her menacingly.
"Calm down. What we need to do now is come up with a defense strategy. We're going to have to survive out here for ten whole minutes."
Katrin's face grew more serious as she nodded deeply. In any other situation, she might have said something caustic, but right now there was no room for jokes.
"Hmm? Ten minutes? We haven't encountered any monsters before then. Maybe we're just lucky." Mark suggested, scratching the back of his head.
"Don't be silly." Nera frowned, "This is going to be the hardest ten minutes of your life, so far!"
...
The sun had gone below the horizon, which for the inhabitants of the Citadel was a sign that they needed to go to bed to get up tomorrow awake, full of energy for productive work.
For some, it was the beginning of a fight for survival.
Ten minutes or 600 seconds is not much, is it? It's hardly enough time to eat breakfast, but everything is in comparison.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Many silhouettes emerged from under the snowdrifts with a loud crunch. Like shadows, they immediately scattered all over the area, some already attacking each other even though only ten seconds had passed.
The night monsters had been waiting for this moment, they had just woken up, so they only noticed that there were people here after thirty seconds, but that could hardly be called good news.
"They're coming! Just as planned, I'll start first, then I'll stand in support!" Katrin exclaimed intently, looking at several monsters running straight at them.
They were Frotocs - somewhat resembling giant bunnies, only with four eyes, sharp claws, and two outgrowths like ice blades arcing from their bodies from shoulders to back.
Despite their size and thick fur, they moved extremely fast and agile. Their jaws were ready to be the first to taste the delicious human flesh.
Whooooooooooooosh.
Katrin's eyes shone brightly as she touched the ground with her palm.
A multitude of green roots quickly came out, curling around the monsters' paws and stopping them at least temporarily.
Then, Katrin bounced back behind Mark and Adam, while Mark quickly fired electric arrows at the monsters' foreheads.
However, the arrows just bounced off their dense fur unable to penetrate the thick hide.
"Alright! Another 400 seconds, and we'll be saved!" Nera exclaimed, tightly clutching her hammer.
...
At this time, somewhere between the Citadel and Desolate Forest, a black airfighter swept through the air currents.
"Hey, how long until we arrive?" Damien asked, lifting his sleep mask, his legs draped over the table.
"By all calculations, in exactly 450 seconds." The pilot replied without taking his eyes off the path.
Damien was silent for a while. In fact, he was listening to what Beth - his Operator - was telling him.
"Nah, this is taking too long. Speed up, or they'll die." Damien waved his hand nonchalantly.
The pilot flinched.
"I can't... We're already flying at the limit."
"Are you sure? You can't even beat forty seconds?" Damien raised an eyebrow.
The pilot nodded.
Then, Damien stood up and walked over to the pilot, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"In that case, let's do this. When Desolate Forest is a hundred seconds away, launch a supersonic missile, I'll hitch a ride on it." Damien said in a calm voice.
The pilot's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"Mr. Damien this is too dangerous! This is pure insanity!"
"Yeah, for you." Damien nodded, then his gaze grew colder.
"Because if you refuse, I'll wring your neck right now. The Citadel doesn't need a military that isn't willing to risk saving the Phantoms."