"Better eliminate them all," Niel said coldly, his voice as flat as the edge of a blade while he observed the soldiers blocking the path to their camp from a distance. There was no hatred in his tone, only indifference. To him, those men were nothing more than obstacles, just like any other problem that needed to be removed.
Fenrir Team was trapped. The military had taken up a strategic position on the only road leading to the base camp. If they wanted to return, they would have to face them or wait for them to leave. But Niel wasn't known for his patience.
"We can't just attack, Niel," Marcus responded, crossing his arms as he analyzed the situation. "They're here for the same reason we are. They detected the incident and arrived too late. They're looking for a survivor, probably the girl. They know what she is."
Niel looked at him without emotion, his lips curling into a cruel half-smile.
"Then they should have hurried. Now they're in the way."
Emily, who was holding the girl in her arms, intervened firmly:
"The priority is to get her to Umbra Division. We can't risk losing her because of your bloodlust, Niel."
Kai adjusted his rifle while keeping an eye on the soldiers.
"He's right. If we fight them, we might be starting something much bigger. We don't know how many more are behind them."
Lila nodded, though her expression showed tension.
"But we can't stay here indefinitely either. They've already detected us. Look how they're organized."
It was true. The soldiers were already in combat formation, moving with impressive coordination. Each of them seemed to know exactly where they should be, like perfectly synchronized gears. In comparison, Fenrir Team seemed chaotic. Niel didn't follow orders, Emily prioritized the girl, and the others tried to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Niel closed his eyes for a moment, focusing. He began channeling his Threshold Energy, and the soldiers, equipped with advanced technology, immediately detected the change in the atmosphere. One of them raised a hand, pointing toward Fenrir Team.
"Alert! Resonants detected!" shouted one of the military leaders.
Both sides took combat positions. Niel was the first to move.
With superhuman speed, Niel lunged toward the group of soldiers, his dagger vibrating with blue energy. His target was clear: kill one of them in a single strike. He leaped toward a soldier bearing the insignia of the United States, driving his weapon directly into the man's chest.
However, to his surprise, another soldier intercepted the attack with precise timing, pushing his comrade out of Niel's reach. Though they could barely keep up with the Resonant's movements, their training allowed them to react just in time.
"Maintain formation!" ordered one of the military leaders, his voice firm and authoritative.
Marcus, Kai, and Lila joined the fight, trying to support Niel. However, the soldiers proved to be a formidable force. Every attempt at an attack was countered with millimeter precision.
Kai fired his rifle at a Russian soldier, but the man managed to dodge the bullets with surprising agility. Lila threw a knife at another, but he blocked it with his shield before countering with a swift movement.
"These guys are better trained than we thought!" Kai shouted as he retreated to avoid a blow.
Niel growled, frustrated. He had underestimated his opponents. Though individually weaker, their coordination made every attack nearly impossible to complete.
After several minutes of intense fighting, Niel finally found an opening in one soldier's defense. With a quick movement, he tore apart a member of the military team, leaving a pool of blood on the ground.
"One down," he muttered coldly before launching himself toward another target.
Soon, Fenrir Team managed to kill three more soldiers, reducing the number of military personnel to eight. But just as it seemed they had the upper hand, a grotesque sound echoed through the air.
Fenrir Team stopped abruptly, their bodies tense.
"What the hell was that?" Lila asked, looking around worriedly.
"It can't be…" Emily whispered, hugging the girl tighter.
Niel frowned, recognizing the sound immediately.
"Aberrations," he said in a dark, almost excited tone. "Evolved creatures. During training, they explained that these existed, but I never thought I'd see them so soon."
From among the trees emerged six creatures that were completely different from anything they had faced before. Their bodies were covered in iridescent black scales, similar to those of an abyssal crustacean, but with humanoid faces obscured by masses of floating eyes that glowed with a sickly light. Their claws, thin and long like needles, emitted a metallic gleam under the moonlight. They moved with inhuman speed, surrounding both Fenrir Team and the remaining soldiers.
"This wasn't part of the plan," Marcus muttered, instinctively stepping back.
Niel, however, seemed thrilled. His eyes shone with feverish intensity as he watched the aberrations approach.
"Finally, a real challenge," he said with a sinister smile before charging at them.
The aberrations attacked simultaneously, surrounding Niel with quick and precise movements. One of them extended its claw toward him, but Niel managed to dodge it and counterattacked with his dagger. However, to his surprise, the weapon barely scratched the creature's scaly skin.
"What the hell?" he murmured, incredulous.
A second aberration lunged at him, its floating eyes fixed on his mind. Niel felt a sharp pain in his head, as if thousands of needles were piercing his brain. Fragmented images of his past began flooding his mind: memories of his childhood, the experiments, the voices in his head. He screamed in agony but managed to regain control and unleashed a blow charged with Threshold Energy at the creature. It recoiled but suffered no significant damage.
On the soldiers' side, the situation was even worse. The aberrations attacked mercilessly, tearing the soldiers apart one by one. One of them pierced the chest of a Chinese soldier with its claws, extracting something intangible—his very will, it seemed. The man collapsed to the ground, trembling and screaming incoherently as his mind collapsed into a state of perpetual madness.
Another aberration lunged at an American soldier, driving its claws into his skull. An agonizing scream echoed through the air before the soldier's body crumpled, completely devoid of life. Blood spurted from the wounds, mixing with the viscous glow of the creature's scales.
"Retreat!" shouted one of the surviving leaders, but it was already too late. Only two soldiers, from New Philippines and Indonesia, managed to escape into the trees, leaving their comrades behind.
Niel continued fighting the aberrations, his body moving with superhuman speed. Finally, he managed to plunge his dagger into one of the floating eyes of one of the creatures. It let out a high-pitched shriek, its body convulsing as its mass of eyes disintegrated in an explosion of black light. Niel felt a strange warmth course through his body, and for a brief moment, his eyes shifted slightly, acquiring an electric blue hue before returning to normal. No one noticed.
"Niel, stop! You can't beat them!" Marcus shouted from a distance.
Kai and Lila also tried to convince him.
"It's madness! We need to retreat!" Kai added, firing at one of the aberrations without success.
Finally, after much effort, Niel accepted defeat and rejoined the rest of the team.
As Fenrir Team retreated, Niel looked back, his face filled with frustration.
"This isn't over," he said quietly, promising himself that someday he would face the aberrations again.
------------------
In a dark room illuminated only by the cold light of several touchscreens, a group of high-ranking military officials from different countries was gathered. The insignias on their uniforms gleamed under the dim light: United States, Russia, China, Japan, New Philippines, New Indonesia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and South Korea. Each represented their respective nations, but they all shared a common goal: to control and understand the phenomena related to the mist and the creatures.
Suddenly, an alarm echoed through the room. One of the officers quickly typed on his console and activated the speaker to receive the emergency call.
"Secure line established. Critical priority. Soldiers from New Philippines and Indonesia online," announced a robotic voice.
The broken voice of one of the soldiers emerged from the speaker, filled with tension and urgency:
"This is Sergeant Aditya Wijaya from New Philippines. We are in Kango. The incident occurred approximately an hour ago. The creatures… they weren't like the ones we had faced before. They were bigger, faster, and… their eyes… it was as if they could read our minds. They attacked without mercy. We lost contact with the entire team. Only two of us remain. We request immediate evacuation. Repeat: immediate evacuation."
The other soldier, Corporal Dewi Kartika from Indonesia, intervened with a trembling voice:
"We don't know what those things are. We've never seen them before. They tore our comrades apart right in front of us. Some… some didn't even die physically, but their minds… their minds collapsed. They were screaming nonsense. We can't stay here."
An American officer, a gray-haired general with a stern expression, spoke up:
"Understood. Coordinates received. An extraction team will be sent immediately. Stay in defensive positions until then. Over and out."
The call ended abruptly, leaving a heavy silence in the room. The high-ranking officers exchanged serious looks as they processed the information.
The American general slowly stood up, placing both hands on the central table.
"The aberrations are natural creatures of the mist. They are extremely rare and far more dangerous than the common creatures. What those soldiers described matches the classified files about Facility K-17."
A Russian officer, with a marked accent, nodded.
"Yes. Facility K-17 was built decades ago underground near Geneva. Its initial objective was to capture live aberrations for study. They had the help of Erebus, a secret organization whose goals were never clear. No one knows what they requested in return for their collaboration."
A Chinese officer, whose posture was as rigid as her tone of voice, added:
"Once they captured some aberrations, the experiments began. They tried to control them, understand their nature, and even replicate their abilities. But something went terribly wrong. According to the reports, the aberrations escaped containment and completely destroyed the facility. No one survived."
The Japanese officer, a younger man but equally calculating, interjected:
"It's important to note that the aberrations those soldiers saw in Kango are not the same ones that escaped from K-17. Those creatures probably still exist in the mist, as they always have. However, we need to investigate if there's any useful information left in the remains of K-17."
The French officer, with a thoughtful demeanor, responded:
"I'll send a specialized team to the ruins of K-17 to check if there's anything we might have overlooked. There has been recent activity in that area; some rats are investigating the mist. Plus, there may be valuable data in the archive systems that survived the destruction."
The Indonesian officer, whose face reflected concern, added:
"There's something else. We found fragmented files mentioning agents from Umbra Division present at K-17 on the day of its destruction. If they're involved, we need to know what they know. This can't be a coincidence."
The Filipino officer, with a somber expression, concluded:
"Whatever it is, we cannot allow these aberrations to keep spreading. If they manage to expand, it will be the end of any attempt to control the situation. We must act quickly. And if Umbra Division knows something, we need to obtain that information. By any means necessary."