CHAPTER 38: A STUMBLING START

Sergeant Fang whistled, not the only one that heard such a claim, "Y’know, if I heard anybody else say that, I’d tell them to lay off the bottle. You’ve killed a Fulminare with your bare hands, so I’m partial to trusting you."

"If you don’t trust him, then you might as well lay down your weapon and welcome the Fulminare in."

Joining the conversation was a figure clad in an all-black combat uniform, draped over by a trenchcoat decorated with an assortment of medals. A rather tall woman of platinum hair and sharp, emerald eyes, straddling the border of middle age; the air around her seemed cold and thin.

"General Faust, Ma’am!" Sergeant Fang immediately straightened himself out.

Every soldier in the lobby did the same, leaving the young man only a moment late in placing his hand over his heart to salute the higher-ranked person. He found himself face-to-face with the General, who studied him at the same height, meeting him eye-to-eye.

"So, you’re Seven? I’ve been waiting to see you in person for myself," General Faust claimed before pulling her gaze away.

He stood there as the watchful eyes of the woman studied him as though he were some kind of prized specimen.

"I see. You do have quite the body," the General noted before stepping back. "I am leading the operation to reclaim Sector Fifty. You’re vital to its success."

"I’ll do what I can to help—" Seven began to say.

General Faust spoke without any thought to interruption, pacing on the tiles of the lobby, "You’re heading to the resort—the main nest of the enemy. Are you aware of the primary threat you will be facing there?"

"Yeah, the aliens nesting in the Aurora Resort?" He answered.

"Partially correct," the General corrected, standing near the front desk. "We’ve obtained faint signals of something much larger within the resort."

The conversation was not heard by his ears alone; everybody else in his unit occupied the lobby, listening in.

"An unconfirmed entity...See to it that it’s dealt with," the General ordered.

"Right," he accepted.

Beside him, Haoyu stepped in, accompanied by a pair of humanoid drones, "If that’s all, I believe it’s time we head out. Well, I’ll be there in the form of my drones."

"’Bout time! I’ve been aching to test this thing out," Alexander impatiently cheered, flexing his mechanical suit.

Out into the night fallen streets of the "City of Second Chances", they ventured. Overlooked by skyscrapers claimed by extraterrestrial material, it felt like a clash of mankind versus the aliens that sought the world.

In the sky above, flying creatures that resembled square-headed squid floated through the air. The flash of missiles emitted through dusk, colliding with the lifeforms.

"Woah!" Seven reacted in surprise, witnessing the explosive cloud in the sky.

"UNED isn’t holding out. They’ve been at it for weeks—makes you think what’s so important about this sector," May wondered out loud.

The scenery of warfare between the United Nation’s military and the invaders didn’t seem to serve any direction for the unit.

There was something almost calming about the quietness of the streets themselves, only occupied now by abandoned cars.

"I’d be mindful of making too much noise," the silver-steel proxy of Haoyu advised, leading the way. "It’s hard to know where lifeforms may be stalking."

Seven looked around, finding Alexander and May by his side, Haoyu’s drone ahead, and Lily behind, missing one person.

"Where’s Shin?" He asked.

"Right here."

The monotone, almost tired answer came from several meters ahead at the edge of the intersection. Though he heard where Shin’s voice came from, it was only a moment later that he actually noticed his peer, who was hardly visible, nothing more than a silhouette drawn in the air.

"Camoflauge, right," Seven mumbled.

It was a surprisingly quiet path towards the resort, as the streets themselves were quiet, if not for the sounds of gunfire and explosions in the distant areas of the sector.

"So, what did the General mean earlier? Y’know, about there being something "bigger" in the resort," May wondered, looking down in thought before turning her gaze towards the one beside her.

Seven could only offer his best guess, "I imagine a really big alien, if I had to guess."

"Oh, oh, that’d be fun, wouldn’t it? Imagine the kind of mess it’d make after being blown to bits," Lily wondered with enthusiasm, skipping over the sidewalk as she looked up at him.

"I’m not going to imagine that," Seven declined.

"I’m not sure the General meant just a "really big alien", but maybe. I just have a feeling there’s something else to it," May furthered her worries.

The drone transmitting Haoyu’s words responded to the girl’s concern, "Whatever awaits us in the resort, we will approach with caution first. There is no need to barge in guns blazing–I am speaking specifically to you two–Alexander, Seven."

"Me?" Seven said in surprise.

"Me?!" Alexander also said in surprise, as if eternally offended.

"As it stands, the UNED forces have been combating the enemy forces within Sector Fifty for nearly a month, yet we will be the first contact within the resort," Haoyu continued while the robotic body moved, constantly surveying the street. "--Whatever they believe is in there, they waited for our unit to be the first to make contact."

"So, we’re the suicide team?" May asked, stepping over a fallen pole on the asphalt.

"We’re too valuable to mankind. Well, I am, along with Alexander and of course, Seven. I would grant Alexander a seventy-percent chance of surviving should our objective get out of hand. As I am here only in proxy, ninety percent, and Seven, ninety-eight percent. The rest of you would be more favored to die," Haoyu coldly calculated.

"Gee, thanks for the assessment," May raised an eyebrow, glaring at the back of the shiny, steel head of the drone.

"Seventy percent? That’s pretty high," Alexander accepted, nodding.

"That’s only to say that the upper brass believes at the very least, half our unit would survive," Haoyu clarified. "--Hold that thought."

At the same moment the engineer froze, the robot on Seven’s shoulder blinked, immediately issuing a warning, "Hostile detected! Time to get alert, Mr. Seven!"

"Just Seven is fine!" He responded, spinning around just as the side of the abandoned grocery store they were passing rumbled.

Right at the edge of the quiet block, the storefront erupted, throwing pale bricks in every direction along with a hail of glass. He placed himself in front of the others, joined by Alexander.

What unveiled itself stood thrice the height of their tallest, formed of midnight thread-like flesh, constantly shifting while maintaining a shape like that of a man. It had no face, only a vacant, lightless hole in its head.

[Lifeform registered.] ["Ergo"]

[Classification: High Superhuman, Stage One | Threat Level: Disaster Magnitude 6.8]

The information guided to his brain through his system immediately set his internal alarm off, shouting to the others with him, "This thing–it’s on the level of a Fulminare! Stay back!"

No warning was needed as the entity waved its twisted, threaded arm in the air, stirring an unseen force that fluctuated through the wind. The singular gesture tore the concrete slabs of the sidewalk, uprooting the poles and cans as it was all thrown back.

Seven felt a weight against his body, having to plant himself down as not to be blown back. For Alexander, the suit he wore audibly adjusted to the force, though the others weren’t so fortunate-

"Gah...!" May yelled, being thrown back.

"Waaa–!" Lily yelped, almost a mix of shock and genuine joy at the experience as her small body was flung like a ragdoll.

Facing the lifeform, Seven drew the mechanically-powered sword from his back, pushing off his right foot to close the distance. He set to cut apart the knee of the creature that was at his own height, swiping the blade through it.

To his surprise, there was complete ease as he watched its fiber-like flesh part, though it immediately began to reconnect.

’It’s reforming?’ He thought.

"Watch out, Boss!" Izo’s voice emitted from his shoulder.

Without needing to look up, he jumped back, witnessing the ergo’s balled-up fist flatten the asphalt. As it lifted its fingerless hand, the air trembled; vibrations hummed an ominous melody, blaring louder and louder.

With the raise of its arm, Seven witnessed it again; a contortion of wind, this time ripping right towards him. He threw himself to the side as the asphalt was torn up in a straight line in his direction.

"It’s utilizing some kind of invisible force! Keep your distance–!" Haoyu’s voice emitted hastily.

Gunfire filled the streets from May’s high-caliber rifle and Haoyu’s built-in firepower, yet none of the projectiles reached the alien. Seven stood there, at the other side of the street on the creature’s right, seeing the bullets simply hovering in place, just inches from its abnormal flesh.

As he squinted, he saw it; the projectiles were quivering, as if held by a grip.

"Stop...Stop shooting!" He shouted, looking to his left, waving off his comrades.

He braced himself to sprint in to intercept, though he found himself with a sinking feeling in his stomach. The moment his companions halted their assault, the caught bullets stopped completely in the air before—

An ear-piercing whistle, like wind being sucked into the vacant hole in the lifeform’s head. Time grinded to a snail’s pace as he could only observe, helpless to the otherworldly concepts at work.

The threaded entity’s body flexed, its flesh pulsating before–they fired; all at once, every bullet was repelled with twice the initial force. Like railguns breaking the sound barrier, the shrapnel ripped through the abandoned streets.

He braced himself, holding his arms in front of his face as he flexed his entire body. Even with his hardened skin that had adapted to tremendous force, the velocity behind the bullets rang his skeleton.

"Ghh–"

[Reinforcing body in response to physical drama.]

It was a moment late, seeing as the repelled gunfire had passed through, leaving the intersection veiled in dust. He looked at his forearms, now littered with holes in his suit, though only bloodied marks were made skin deep.

’I’m fine, but the others–’ The thought emerged in his mind.

His ears were still ringing as he swung his head side-to-side, looking for his comrades. In the obscuring dust, like mist on a winter night, it was difficult to see anything. Through the veil, he paced over the fragmented street, finding a pair of silhouettes.

As he hurried over, he found Shin knelt by the petite, pink-haired girl, holding his hand against her side as crimson fluid gushed out.

"Nnngah...!" Lily let out in pain.

"Hold on, just hold on–crap...!" Shin panicked, wearing stress on his usually calm face.

"Shin? Lily? Is she hurt—" Seven said, quickly moving himself over.

It wasn’t a question that needed an answer, as drawing closer only revealed the holes left in the girl’s abdomen.

"She’s bleeding a lot—I gotta get her outta here!" Shin shouted. "This is a mess. Can’t see shit—the others, Seven—find them!"

"Right, yeah...Get Lily out back to the camp!" Seven said, facing the fog of dust.