Chereads / Silverlining / Chapter 22 - Trap

Chapter 22 - Trap

The monstrous cyborg unleashed a hurricane of fury, each blow a metal hammer aimed to crack Ciel open like a walnut. The cavernous heart of the lab thumped with the rhythm of their clashes, a brutal symphony echoing through the concrete veins. But Ciel, fights through the onslaught, his own counterstrikes precise.

His blades, shimmering like silver lightning, found chinks in the cyborg's armor, leaving searing scores.

 In one fleeting moment, a lucky shot landed square on the titan's core, sending it staggering like a drunken giant. 

Ciel seized the opening, not with brute force, but with a question that hung heavy in the air. "Why do you serve Fredrich? Don't you see what he's done to us?"

The cyborg's response was a hollow chant, devoid of the spark of life. "Fredrich," it droned, 

"gave us purpose, power. We are the next step, the inevitable upgrade. And any who block our path will be… terminated."

Ciel soared through the air, propelled by the force of the powerful cyborg's blow. As he descended way back into the chamber where Moxley and the group were anxiously awaiting.

"Ciel! You got this!" Moxley roared. The survivors echoed his cry, their voices rising in a ragged chorus of support,

Ciel pirouetting through a hailstorm of the cyborg's blows. Though its fists slammed like sledgehammers, Ciel, light on his artificial feet, weaved and ducked, each movement a blur of silver against rust. 

He countered with lightning-fast strikes, his enhanced reflexes letting him find chinks in the cyborg's armor, leaving jagged scars that spat steam.

But the cyborg, a juggernaut, quickly adapted. Its blows, at first clumsy and predictable, gained a sickening rhythm, forcing Ciel onto the defensive. 

The ground shuddered with each impact. The survivors, watching from their corner, their hearts hammered against their ribs like trapped birds.

Ciel needed an opening. His blade, a sliver of light slashing across the cyborg's chest, drawing a raw scream of twisted metal.

Another blow, and another, Ciel pressing his advantage, exploiting the wound like a predator finding its prey's soft underbelly.

But the cyborg, wounded but far from finished, roared back. Its fist, a battering ram of steel, caught Ciel square in the chest, sending him flying across the chamber. Pain, not physical but a deep throb in his core, pulsed through him. 

He hit the ground hard, coughing up a puff of synthetic smoke. 

"Finished, metal puppet?" Ciel mocked the cyborg

Ciel looked up at the towering monstrosity. He saw the survivors, their faces etched with fear and despair, and felt a surge of something hot and bright ignite within him. 

The echo of his human spirit, the spark of rebellion that even Dr. Fredrich's twisted plans couldn't extinguish.

Ciel surged to his feet. He focused all his energy, all his accumulated skill, into one final, desperate strike. His blade, charged with a blinding blue light, became a comet streaking across the dark chamber.

The cyborg, caught off guard by the sheer ferocity of the attack, raised its arm in a futile block. 

The blade sliced through steel like butter, cleaving through the cyborg's arm and showering the chamber with sparks. 

The blow, fueled by Ciel's will, echoed through the lab, a deafening clang that reverberated in the metallic heart of the creature.

The cyborg stumbled back, its systems failing, its eyes dimming. Then, with a shuddering groan, it collapsed, a lifeless heap of twisted metal at Ciel's feet.

Ciel stood in the silence, his chest heaving, the taste of victory metallic on his tongue. He looked at the survivors, their faces a mix of awe and relief.

Just as a sliver of victory peeked through the smoke and dust, the metallic heart of the lab twisted again. 

Three more cyborgs, menacing like steel nightmares, emerged from the shadows behind the group

Their cold lifeless eyes fixated on the survivors like hungry wolves.

Jake, unfortunate soul, didn't even have time to gasp. One of the cyborgs impales him through the skull with a single, brutal swipe. 

Moxley, witnessing the sickening scene, let out a scream that ripped through the metallic air. Another cyborg darted toward him, stabbing Moxley's leg.

Ciel's circuits screamed with alarm. Every instinct within his artificial mind roared defiance. He whirled towards the new threats, shielding the survivors with his own metallic body. 

The first cyborg, a behemoth with fists like sledgehammers, lunged at Martha, aiming to crush her. But Ciel was faster, his blade a silver blur that intercepted the blow.

The second cyborg, a whirlwind of blades, attacked from the back.

Ciel fought back, his enhanced reflexes letting him dodge the onslaught like a wisp of smoke. But the third, a brute with fists like battering rams, seized the opportunity.

It launched a devastating kick, connecting with Ciel's chest with the force of a freight train. The impact sent him flying across the chamber, his circuits overloaded with pain.

Moxley, despite the searing agony in his leg, he fired his shotgun, the blast catching one of the cyborgs off guard. 

The distraction gave Ciel precious seconds to recover. He scrambled to his feet.

The cyborgs, a pack of metallic wolves, circled him, their movements synchronized and deadly. Blades clashed, sparks showering the chamber like a celestial rain. 

Ciel fought with the fury of a cornered beast, his every move a desperate fight between offense and defense. But the odds were stacked against him. The cyborgs, fueled by overwhelming strength, were pushing him to the brink. 

His circuits cried out in protest, his energy reserves dwindling with each desperate parry, each desperate counter.

Despite Ciel's extraordinary combat skills, the sheer strength and coordination of the cyborg trio tested Ciel's limits.

Amidst the chaos, Ciel's focus stayed laser-sharp. He studied his attackers like a hawk, dissecting their every twitch and lunge. 

The third cyborg, eyes molten with red light, aimed a bone-crushing kick at Ciel's core. The blow landed with a gut-wrenching thud, but Ciel, with reflexes faster than thought, absorbed the impact.

Ciel retaliated. His fists, blurring into silver streaks, found chinks in the cyborgs' armor, exploiting exposed wires and faulty joints. One by one, he landed precise blows, like a skilled surgeon excising tumors of violence.

Sensing the tide turning, Ciel unleashed a hidden weapon. With a surge of energy, new upgraded blades of blinding blue light erupted from his arms, humming with raw power. 

He launched a counteroffensive, slicing through the cyborgs' defenses with deadly precision. One by one, they fell, their lifeless forms collapsing like broken toys.

Ciel stood victorious, the defeated cyborgs lying motionless

Martha's face shone with unshed tears, her eyes a well of grief. Moxley, his jaw clenched tight, stared at the lifeless form with a mix of anger and despair. Even Ciel, though his circuits whirred with synthetic feelings, understood the weight of loss that choked the air.

"He was just a kid," Martha's voice broke, the words catching in her throat. "He didn't deserve this."

Moxley, fists clenched like iron, growled, "We can't let this happen again. Fredrich's gotta pay. We need to hunt him down, we can't let more people die"

Ciel met their gaze with unflinching resolve. "I'll fight with everything I've got to keep you safe. Fredrich's madness will end real soon."

Martha, wiping a tear that escaped, looked at Ciel, her voice a mixture of hope and uncertainty. "But how? He's like a ghost, slipping through our fingers. We need a plan, Ciel. We can't keep charging into the dark."

Martha cleaned and bandaged Moxley's leg wound.

Moxley winced. The sight of his bloodied leg, a grim reminder of their fight.

"Thanks, Martha," Moxley said, trying to offer a small smile. "I've had worse, but this... it's just another reminder of what we're up against."

Martha's eyes sought Ciel's. "Can you track him, Ciel? You're our only hope of seeing this through."

"My systems can analyze through data, surveillance, every scrap of information we have," Ciel replied. "We'll build a picture of his possible hiding places, then finally track his movements"

The leader of the survivors, his weathered face etched with worry. "What about Lucius? That guy's been through enough, disappearing at Fredrich's hands like that."

Ciel's luminous eyes flickered in thought. "I haven't detected any trace of him within Dr. Fredrich's network," he admitted. "No surveillance records, no location pings. It's as if he's vanished into thin air."

Martha, her voice hushed with concern, chimed in, "Maybe Fredrich took him somewhere beyond our reach."

Ciel responded "Fredrich may be cunning, but his reach has limits. We just need to find the cracks"

Moxley's voice tinged with frustration. "But what if it's another trap? Another way for Fredrich to bleed us dry, one by one?"

Ciel's gaze met Moxley's. "Then we'll fight. We'll fight until our circuits scream and our gears grind to dust. Lucius is one of us, and we don't leave our own behind. We fight for him, for Jake, for every life Fredrich has stolen. We fight because we have to."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the group. The loss of Jake hung heavy in the air, but it also fueled their determination to fight back, to honor his memory by saving Lucius and stopping Fredrich

Moxley, now with a bandaged leg, stood up and clenched his fists. "Let's get moving then"