"Mutants are generally classified into three classes: the nameless, the named, and the unnamed," one of the soldiers of the Libra squad explained as the team walked through the dark tunnels, heading for the exit.
Emerald remained behind, her case in one hand and her firearm in the other.
"Nameless are the weaker mutants, those that weren't deemed worthy of names. They are mutants that even normal mercenaries can take care of if they team up in twos and threes."
"Then there are the named monsters. These ones have been given names by the special squad. Their strength varies; some are as weak as sergeants of the special squad, while the strongest are mutants on par with a Major, making them have codenames."
"What? That's crazy!"
"Yeah, do you know how strong Majors are? Each of them gets codenames! They are threats to humanity!"
"It's true!" Emerald interjected, the squad looking back at her, waiting to hear her explanation.
"I killed one, a bloody bastard if you ask me. It was one hell of a fight, though. I barely even survived."
The atmosphere immediately became tense as the members imagined what would happen if such a monster suddenly attacked them. They all felt shivers up their spines, making sure to quicken their steps so they could leave the tunnels sooner.
"Captain, where do mutants come from?" one of the squad members asked.
"From the pillars," Emerald replied nonchalantly.
"Uh? What pillars?"
The members of the special squad looked towards their captain, beneath their helmets were furrowed brows and confused expressions as they wondered what their captain was talking about.
"Don't worry about it. Until you become a captain, you can't see them. This is the only classified information that we are all allowed to talk about…. You'll forget about it soon anyways…" Emerald sighed, muttering the last part.
"Years ago, pillars appeared all around the world. They release a black fluid, one that mutates biological things. Plants, animals, and even humans stupid enough to consume its fluids. The plants become unknown variants, the animals become mutants, and humans die."
"Why do humans die?"
"No one knows. But anyhow, these tunnels are all over Northvault and some lead to the empire. It's our duty to make sure the monsters don't advance past a certain place."
The members of the Libra squad nodded their heads in realization as they continued their walk out of the dark tunnels. The place became quiet, each member lost in their own thoughts. Unknown to them, they were already forgetting all about what their captain had just said.
Sigh… this is the fifteenth time I'm telling them this…. Maybe I should make a recording of it so they can listen to it wherever.
*Clank!*
A red light suddenly flashed through the air, heading straight for Emerald's head. She reacted in an instant, raising her case to block the attack.
The moment the red light came in contact with her case, it bounced off, unable to penetrate.
Emerald reacted immediately, firing multiple shots at the origin of the attack. A dark figure hurriedly retreated, the red light dancing about, cutting through the compressed bullets.
It was only then that the assailant's figure was revealed.
It was a human that didn't look like one. He had long robotic arms, the lower half of his face had jagged teeth like those of a mutant, and his whole body was extremely thin, like a mantis's legs.
The human was a mixture of robotic parts, human parts, and mutant parts, a thin line of jagged spikes trailing down his vertebrae column.
The red light earlier had been a blade, its body was pitch black, blending with the surroundings, only its edge, which shone an eerie red light, was visible.
"Hehe," the bizarre figure chuckled, his voice thin and grating on the ears as he spoke.
"How lucky, I stumbled upon members of the famous Bloodhounds!"
His speed is at my level, probably greater. And his weapon, what kind of technology is that? Emerald's eyes narrowed as she grabbed her case tightly, her eyes focused on the dark figure.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
"You can call me Mantis… I'm sure you met some of my children earlier. As for your second question, what? You think no one else knows about the pillars except the military?"
Emerald's eyes widened, a hint of fear flashing through her eyes. Meanwhile, the other members of the Libra squad remained on alert, their firearms pointed toward the assailant that called himself Mantis.
"Captain, what's he talking about? Which pillar and which children?"
"Leave!"
"What?" The members of the Libra squad were surprised by their captain's abrupt order, and it took a moment for them to react.
"I said leave! Hurry to base and send back reinforcements. Tell them I've encountered an unnamed mutant."
The soldiers were about to say something when Emerald suddenly yelled,
"Go!!"
They all immediately turned around and began running at full speed to the exit of the tunnel.
"Where do you think you are going?" A voice suddenly appeared beside the ears of the lieutenant at the forefront. It was like the whispers of the grim reaper, and following the whispers was a red light!
His eyes widened, and he immediately felt a shiver down his spine. A lieutenant running at full speed in Spartan armor was even faster than a hovercraft, and yet, this human mutant had covered the initial distance between him and the team and even more in the blink of an eye.
"Don't stop running!"
Another voice suddenly whispered in the lieutenant's ears, bringing him back to earth. He had truly felt like he died at that moment, and the instant he heard the familiar voice, he ran even faster.
*Clash!*
Emerald parried Mantis's attack, firing a few more rounds. Mantis looked at her with an irritated expression, then he suddenly smiled.
"Go on then, take out your weapons." Mantis chuckled with a mocking grin. Emerald's eyes narrowed as she smirked,
"You think you are worth it? My case alone is enough."
Mantis narrowed his eyes, the smug smirk on his face immediately vanishing.
"Fine… your funeral!"
"Come!" Emerald yelled, her helmet covering her face as both she and Mantis vanished from the spot, two streaks of red and gold clashing in the center and a shockwave following soon after.