[Operation: Amputate]
Date: March 7th , 2007
Time: 1900 hours
Sgt. Gary 'Roach' Sanderson
Bravo Team 141
Roach never considered himself a complicated man. A man of few words? Yes, but not a complicated man. He was given his orders and he accomplished them as best as he could, no muss, no fuss.
That was not the case anymore.
It had been more than five years since he and the rest of his squad were dragged into the hidden side of the world.
Five years since they killed that tribe of werewolves that were working for the terrorist cells in the middle east. By all accounts they should have all died. Those furry bastards had the strength to flip over a Humvee just as easily as they could keep pace with it.
But Task Force 141 was not made up of normal men and guns and high explosives proved once again to be to be the great equalizer of all things. In a span of time made of bullets, broken bones, and high explosives it was a miracle that the mission was completed without a single member lost.
But that was just the beginning as once they made it back to HQ, they weren't even given a moment to relax before they were all shuffled off to an empty room and introduced to Monarch.
The following PowerPoint really opened the squads' eyes to how big the world really was, and just how small we really were. Vampires, Angels, Devils, Gods and everything else that goes bump in the night was real and Humanity was very much seen as the weakest amongst all of them.
Those creatures that were once thought to be myth were born naturally inclined to magic, granting them greater physical and magical abilities and elongated lifespans even if they were also granted weaknesses along with it. Humans aren't born with such natural magical abilities, even if we are capable of using it, and as such are the weakest race even if we have no inherent weakness like many of the other races.
Funnily enough there was one benefit that humanity had over all others that elevated us from the lowest race, and it came in the form of massive scaled beasts that have been assaulting human civilizations since as far back as history books could go.
The kaiju were massive monsters that were no more intelligent than any other animal out there with the only difference being that they could exude fire and other bullshit while being capable of tearing through stone and steel like a knife through cardboard.
And humans were the only ones capable of effectively neutralizing them since any of those aforementioned mythical monsters got very sick if they stayed to close for too long and most people's magic just didn't cut it when the bigger ones were concerned.
That's why the Jeager program existed.
But just because the monsters need humans to take care of the kaiju for them didn't mean that many of them were willing to play ball, which lead to task forces such as his being sent out to neutralize threats of all kinds, from a kaiju herd rampaging to some vampire deciding to create a trafficking ring because he wanted fresh blood daily. All were judged and all met their end at the business end of a gun.
Now here he was. Five years and 17 missions later he was sitting in an APC with the rest of his squad heading back to the middle east for their latest assignment to combat the supernatural factions that thought that they could do whatever they wanted with the people that lived there.
"Oi Roach! You good back there lad?" The aged voice of Captain John Price called from the driver's seat up front. Captain Price was an older man who had been leading the taskforce since it was first put together and was a legend when he was apart of the SAS. The man had the absolute loyalty of every squad member, Roach included, and each one would volunteer to follow him into hell and back, no questions asked.
Roach taped the window of their vehicle and gives a thumbs up in response, a motion that the captain picked up from the rear view mirror.
"What exactly are we here for again old man?" The Scottish accented voice of John 'Soap' MacTavish asks from the shotgun seat. The second in command and Price's unnoficial successor for when he finally decided to retire to desk duty...doubtful as it maybe. "The window on our target is closing and we aren't getting any closer to their hide out."
"We're supposed to be meeting with the Yankees Soap." Lt. Simon 'Ghost' Riley spoke up without ever looking away from the gun he was polishing in his lap. A man of mystery that had been a part of Task Force 141 since the beginning and of the most hardcore bastards that Roach ever had the pleasure of knowing. With the amount of shit that he gets into Roach could almost believe the man was immortal or blessed by whatever asshole god out there finds him interesting. "HQ has us working with one of the teams from the American branch. Supposed to be important."
And wasn't that worrying. Their target this time around was a VIP that was kidnapped by a presumably ultimate class devil that had been sticking his nose around the area for quite some time. Normally this wouldn't be a cause for concern except that the wanker in question was drawing far too much attention with whatever they are doing and the nearby villages were getting antsy.
Large amounts of people mysteriously going missing, artifacts stolen, monsters pushed out of their homes leading to villages being attacked, and a spike in the number of kaiju attacks in the area where there were previously few.
All together it painted a very worrying picture from very sloppy artist.
Gaz and Griggs just snored in the background.
Conversations continued throughout the journey, mostly staying on the topic of the mission as review but occasionally drifting to something else, like the poor sons of bitches in Charlie team who were probably freezing their arses off in Siberia at the moment trying to hunt down some Russian snow beast.
But all things eventually come to an end.
"Eyes up lads. We're here." Captain Price commanded from the front as the vehicle rolled to a stop. The sky was painted a pretty purple that melded with the last bits of orange offered by the sun before it set below the horizon, making way for the moon and stars to make their appearance.
Out in front. Illuminated by the headlights sat a set of APCs identical to the one that Roach was in except surrounded individuals wearing the Monarch logo. Their bodies were completely covered in dark desert camo with no skin showing and the standard full helmet hiding their entire faces. The one in front wore the same uniform as the rest except for the markings signifying him as Captain. His back was straight and he didn't so much as move as Bravo team walked forward, merely standing there like a 190 cm statue.
As Bravo team exited their vehicle Roach could feel all the eyes settling on them, waiting for the first sign of trouble. It wasn't that there was disfunction within Monarch as all teams were perfectly willing to work with one another despite nationalities and jurisdiction, but on couldn't be too careful when the supernatural were involved. More than once an op had been compromised by an agent getting hypnotized or some sort of skin walker talking their place.
In meetings like this certain protocols were put in place just before contact and needed to be followed. Any deviation could mean the situation was compromised.
This time Price was to take the lead.
"Whiskey-Alpha-Sierra-Sierra-Uniform-Papa." Captain Price shouted as he marched forward, on hand resting on the grip of his sidearm while the other the strap of his tactical vest. All actions that were pre-ordained by command.
"Hotel-Echo-Lima-Lima-Oscar." The tall one standing in front supplied in return as he rolled his wrist and cracked the knuckles one by one on his left hand.
All Clear.
"I've gotta say it's a pleasure to finally meet you Captain Price." The tall man said. His posture relaxing just slightly yet still ready to move at a moment's notice. "I've heard a lot about you and Bravo Team. Your mission record is impressive."
Roach saw Price twitch as the man spoke, his body tensing and for good reason.
"I wasn't aware that anyone was allowed to view those records except top brass." Price asked in a testing voice and if the man felt any pressure from it he didn't show, instead he actually turned a bit apologetic.
"My apologies, I didn't mean to step on any toes. I just prefer to get to know who I and my men are potentially working with."
"However, that leaves the question of who we are working with. A Captain shouldn't be able to view such records without special clearance." Price asked as he eyed the man up and down. Now that he could get a closer look Roach began to notice that the Captain of the other group's uniform was slightly different compared to the rest, seemingly more personalized.
"I apologize. I never did introduce myself." He said sincerely as he reached for his helmet, pulling it off to reveal what had to be the handsomest man Roach had ever seen, being on equal levels if not more than many of the supernatural men that he had killed in the past. "I'm Captain Steve Rogers of Alpha Team."
Oh…Oh shit.
Captain Steve Rogers, a legend in Monarch equal to Vasco Strada's significance to the Church and one of Monarchs Special Assets. He was enlisted by Monarch during the second world war and was used as a test subject for human enhancement via kaiju cells. While the process was a success in turning him into a super human the creator of the formula, Dr. Abraham Erskine, was assassinated by a devil not long after with his research set ablaze and leaving Rogers as the sole product of the experiment. From there he joined the front lines and carved a path through the German defenses and decimated many of the super forces that were backing them and personally killed the last user of the True Longinus, some even say that he lifted Thor's hammer. If his life couldn't get anymore fucking bat shit insane, towards the end of the war during a mission he ended up frozen in ice after killing a Norse dragon that the Nazi's managed to bring under their control. It was only in the last decade and a half that he was rediscovered and volunteered to returned to active duty. He even had his signature shield on his back, the one crafted from one of those special Kaiju that show up. Kaiju that are abnormally powerful and require the Jeagers or the special assets to deal with yet were below the levels of the legendary titans. Recently people have referred to him as 'Captain America' behind his back because of the star on his shield and chest.
"It's good to meet you Captain." Of course, none of this effected Price whatsoever as he shook hands with the living legend. "If you're here then I can assume your compatriot is as well?"
As if he was waiting for that moment a tall man, only a bit shorter that Captain Rogers, stepped out of the shadows like some kind of wraith startling Roach and the rest of Bravo team. The man was radiating an intensity that matched Ghost's. Actually, the two of them seemed to be staring each other down.
Sergeant James 'Bucky' Barnes, the Winter Soldier and unofficial partner of Captain Rogers. A black ops specialist and Monarch Special Asset that was outfitted with special Kaiju armaments in the form of cybernetics, most notably the left arm, and repeatedly put into cryostasis by the Russians after his capture until he was required ten years ago. Rumor had it the Russians were attempting to create their own private anti Kaiju task force during the cold war only for it to fall through and be absorbed by Monarch decades later.
…And Soap said that those historical documents were useless to read. Well Roach showed him.
Captain Rogers just nodded, seemingly not surprised by the sudden appearance. "Alright, let's get down to business." He motioned to follow and Bravo Team complied without hesitation, trailing him as he led to the back of one of the transports and opened its doors, revealing a set of large cases.
With one arm Captain Rogers showcased his enhanced strength by pulling one of the heavy looking cases and set it down it down with a heavy thud. A swift input of codes and the hissing clicks of locks coming undone later and the case opened, revealing two folded uniforms.
They looked like a pair of full black body suits with white armored guards on the waist, shoulders, shoulder blades, wrists, and boots. A tactical harness was folded over the suit, ready to be worn and lined with ammo. Roach didn't miss the insignia on the shoulders of the suits being for Bravo team.
"Combat suits?" Griggs idly wondered as he pulled one of them out for inspection. On the back was a segmented metallic spine while the elbow and knee joints were a dark green that matched the chest.
"Third Generation combat suits to be precise." A voice with a serious tone spoke up and it took Roach a moment to realize that it came from Barnes. "Better synchronicity and higher specs. Stark outdid himself this time."
In so little words the man practically redefined the importance of the object in Soap's hands. Combat suits were the primary weapon of Monarch, allowing humans to exceed their parameters and fight on equal footing with the supernatural. Roach wasn't a scientist and didn't know the inner mechanics to how it operated but did know enough to know how powerful it was. The original Combat suits were created by Howard Stark in WWII and allowed humans to fight off all manner of kaiju and supernatural enemies. It worked by using kaiju muscles and cells as materials to allow humans to bypass the training and create a bastardized version of senjutsu and touki. It made a trained soldier resistant to all forms of magic and esoteric effects, boosted their physical abilities greatly, and even increase a persons healing capabilites by pulling energy from the surroundings via senjutsu.
There were two downsides however. The first was that it was still a basic variation of the two mystical arts, meaning that unless you were willing to learn and become an expert that was all that you could do.
The second was about synchronization. The suits operate by synchronizing with the user, the higher the percentage the more you can get out of the suit. The problem back then was that more than 90% of all users were stuck in the 15-20% range and were equal to low class devils.
It wasn't until Tony Stark, Howard's son, came about and developed the Second generation suit that Monarch elevated humanity up from the bottom rung. With a more streamlined approach and greater synchronicity the number of grunts stuck in the 15-20% range was whittled down from 90% to 55%.
Roach himself had an impressive 42% sync rate with his Second gen suit and was equal to a high tier middle class devil, high class if pushed to the limits. And he wasn't talking about those pampered high classes that were born with power but rather those veteran devils who had centuries of experience.
Sergeant Barnes is recorded to have a sync rate of 94% and fought two ten winged angels alone, one fallen and the other pure, capturing one and forcing the other to retreat. It cost him an arm and put him on deaths door but he still defeated two beings who could wipe out cities by himself.
"What can we expect from these?" Ghost asked as he eyed the suit in Griggs' hands. It was only because Roach knew him so well that he could spot the interest behind the man's shades.
"Reports say an increase of up to 10-15%. The amount decreases the higher your sync rate is though." Barnes explained like it was no big deal. For him it might not be if he didn't get anything out of it but a 10% increase in sync rate was a huge difference in the field.
"So why are you giving these to us?" Price asked, breaking Roach and the rest of Bravo team out of their inspections of the suit.
It was a good question. Why were they being given this? Now that he had a second to look around none of Alpha team or the security that came with them were wearing the Third gen suits, instead wearing the second gen suits.
"Because these are only prototypes." Captain Roger's hand fell on the lid of the case. "In the labs they perform exceptionally but there's a difference between stress tests in a sterile environment and out in the field. We are here now because we want Bravo team to wear these suits in an actual combat scenario. Now I know this is asking much but I want to ensure you that this is completely optional. We have been given orders to observe only so we aren't apart of your mission. These aren't field tested yet so no one will blame you for not wishing to jeopardize the mission with an unknown variable." His face was sincere, showing no judgment as he looked at the group of soldiers. Roach had met a variety of people in his military career and he fancied himself a good judge of character.
The man in front of him? The living legend that stories were told about? Right then he seemed more like a brother in arms rather than some desk jokey commanding officer.
"Captain Rogers I've only one thing to say," Price took out a cigar and lit it, drawing all attention to himself as he took a slow drag of the cancer stick, not that he could get cancer since its cure was found almost two decades ago. "You got one in a size large?"
-0-
Time: 1930 hours
Roach stretched his legs as he moved around in his new Combat suit, doing lunges, squats, and stretches to get more comfortable, especially in the crotch area as it really hugged the body. Bravo team had already gone through basic movements and Roach was pleased to see just how much a leap the new suit provided him and the rest of Bravo team. His sync rate had even improved by a whole 12%, pushing him to 54% output!
He was officially on par with a high class!
It might not seem like a large number but to Roach there was a clear difference between what he's capable of now and what he could do before. Now he just had to worry about pacing himself as the new suits supposedly had an increased chance of overheat from extended heavy use.
"I gotta say. This is much better than before." Gaz compliments as he shoves a boulder the size of a minivan around with one arm. "Feels like I could go on forever."
"Don't tire yourself out yet Gaz. We still have a mission." Price chides the man lightly as he walks forward in his new suit though Roach could see the smirk on his face. The boost in his sync must have been good as Roach recalled it was close to breaking into 60%.
"Sorry Sir."
"Good." Price lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes and looked out into the distance. "Now our target is Eri Otakemaru, a VIP of the Yokai factions in Japan and a seven year old girl that was kidnapped by an ultimate class devil from a branch of the Bune pillar family. The wankers can apparently create horrors out of the flesh of corpse, an off shoot of traditional necromancy."
Roach could see the members of Bravo team tense at Price's words, and he would gladly admit that he did to. Necromancy was bad news and many that weren't death gods preferred to stay away from it for good reason.
"Intel says that the fucker and his peerage have been sighted with the VIP in the area as well as potentially being the cause of numerous missing persons cases in the area. Our mission is to go in and secure the VIP and put down the devil."
""SIR!""
Even if they weren't directly looking at each other Roach could practically see the smirk on Price's face from the way his cigar moved. "Good lads. Missions a go!"
Dirt was kicked up as a single unit Bravo team moved. Even as they limited themselves to 20% power, they were cutting the distance as if they were in a car. Their movements were fluid and efficient, leaping and maneuvering through the terrain like graceful predators.
Four kilometers (2.5 miles) were crossed in a little over two minutes, the suits proving to be far greater than they expected, allowing them to run just over 100 kilometers an hour (65 mph).
Quietly the team settled on a ridge that gave a nice view of the village their target was inhabiting. Through a set of binoculars, they shared they each got a look at the state the village was in. Worn buildings made of stone that looked like they were built decades ago with the only outlier being the mansion that sat at the peak of the hill. The sheer disparity between it and the surrounding buildings made it look like an eyesore with how gaudy it was, not even attempting to fit in with the local aesthetic.
Roach figured it would look more at home with the historical noble houses in France than in the villages of the middle east.
"That cocky shit isn't even trying to be subtle." Ghosts' comments and Roach agreed whole heartedly. Some parts of the supernatural truly lived up to their myths whether they were good, bad or just plain impractical.
"Yeah, well their penchant for luxury is going to bite them in the ass." Price stood up and removed the magazine from his carbine before slamming it back in. "Final equipment check lads then we head out."
Giving a nod Roach looks down at his gear and starts running inventory. He had his holy water grenades, his enchanted grenades, his kaiju grade knife, enchanted holy flash bangs, radio, spare ammo, side arm. Then he checked the most important piece of his equipment.
The Catalysts.
The catalyst were the parts of the equipment that allowed standard firearms to kill the monsters, both kaiju or supernatural. A standard low caliber bullet would at best fracture bone and cause some bleeding, killing only the weakest of supernatural creatures unless you manage to hit somewhere soft like the eyes. Anything higher required the kind of high caliber weaponry that would punch a hole through armor to kill and even that only went so far.
The catalyst however evened the playing field. It was some important part of the kaiju's biology that allowed them to do that borderline magic fuckery, from spewing fire, lightning, or whatever else they were able to, carved out and added to heavily modified weaponry. Add in some ground up kaiju bits into the metal that makes the bullets and some kind of science magic stuff happens that turns high caliber rounds into elemental or just plain forceful blasts with the kind of power that can tear apart kaiju and supernatural alike. And it all ran through the same power as the suits.
For Roach he preferred to start with the Acid variant. Lower penetrating and explosive power than others but its ability to destroy resistances and armor can't be beat. But since they were dealing with a devil that specialized in necromancy the Flame variant was the way to go.
"Clear."
"Clear!"
"Good to go."
"Ready."
"All good." Roach called out last as he stood at attention.
"All right. Let's get moving. Stick to the walls, and I want this done quietly." Captain Price commanded before dropping off the ridge and bounding over rocks with the kind of grace a gymnast half his age would have.
The rest of Bravo team followed after, moving in formation with weapons drawn. Now when in anywhere in the world that can be considered a populated settlement, no matter how much you try to stay out of sight, there is always a sort of 'nightlife' that teams have to maneuver around. Even in places like South America where the cartels have control and people are afraid to walk out at night there is always something.
Not here.
Roach felt his instincts flare at the complete silence of the village. There was nothing, no one walking the street or person drunk off their arse sleeping in a gutter, not even a light from inside any of the houses. There was obvious signs that people were active at some point but as of right this moment it might as well have been abandoned. There wasn't even any stray animals or rodents moving about, which by itself was worrying.
"I don't like this sir." Griggs, the lone American in Bravo team, commented as he scanned the roofs.
"Yeah, it's quiet." Gaz commented as he looked down an alleyway. Roach could already hear the line that was coming next. "Too quiet."
"Really? You have to go with the cliches right now?" Griggs complained as he side eyed Gaz.
Gaz just looked unrepentant. "What? It's a good cliché."
Roach was about to open his mouth to tell Gaz exactly how good of a cliché he thought it was but was beaten to the punch by Price.
"Quiet down you two." The Captain ordered and the two immediately ceased their chatter. "We don't want to alert anything. Gaz, run a detection sweep. I want to know if there's anything in this town, we should be aware of."
Nodding Gaz kneeled to the ground while the rest of us covered him and pulled something out of one of the pockets on his tactical vest and opened it. While none on the team were experienced magic users Roach and the rest knew enough to actively use magical artifacts in the field. The one Gaz was using was something they picked up after terminating a cabal of terrorist magicians. It allowed them to perform a sweep of an area and pick up sources of magic. It didn't tell them what the magic was only where, the best that it could do in regards to identification was showing the difference in magical power. It was up to the user to figure out if the source was just magical residue or an actual person so it was always a gamble.
"This entire place is saturated with magic." Gaz relayed as he studied the artifact.
"Multiple points?" Soap asked. "You think we have multiple hostiles in the area?"
Gaz shakes his head. "No, I mean this entire area is blanketed evenly with magic. There's no concentrated areas just an even level, not even people. My guess is that either we just stepped into a natural leyline or the targets have this entire village warded, probably with hypnosis and surveillance magic considering the place is empty. No one that enters to check the place out leaves."
Hypnosis was a common occurrence in regards to keeping the supernatural a secret and every field asset of Monarch receives special training to resist it which is added on top of the resistances that the combat suit grants.
"Why would they need to hypnotize an entire town?" Griggs asked the important question. "It can't just be so no one asked questions about the mansion."
"Whatever it is requires constant application and no witnesses at night." Ghost spoke up adding in his own theory. "Could be doing something to the villagers or some kind of nightly activity that they don't want seen."
"Whatever it is doesn't matter. It doesn't change the mission." Price interjects. "Let's move on out."
With practiced ease the group returns to formation and makes their way to the mansion that sat alone from the rest of the village. With each step they could feel the density of magic increase and how they passed through it like a knife through butter.
"Ghost and Griggs I want top floors searched, Soap and Gaz will take the front, Roach and I will search the rear entrance." Price relayed his orders through the comms and the teams break off to their infiltration points.
Once they reach the back entrance Roach immediately gets to work on bypassing the securities and picking the locks. It wasn't an advanced set of locks but there was a decent level of magical protection. Not that it would keep him out as he finished quickly.
"Locks open." Roach whispered.
Price nodded from the corner of Roach's vision. "Roof team?"
"We're a go." Ghost responded.
"Front team?"
"All clear." Soap gave the affirmative.
"All right. On my mark."
Roach stood up and clutched his carbine close to his body. His hand on the doorknob.
"Go."
With practiced motion Roach and Price moved as one and entered the building, the barrels of their guns snapping at attention as they checked every corner and crawl space in their sight. Roach could faintly hear the footsteps of the other teams as he cleared the second room and opened a door only to find an empty closet with an outline on the floor.
"We're clear." Roach heard Soap call out as he turned the corner. Other than him the entire ground team was standing together.
"We got nothing up here." Griggs called from the second floor as Ghost descended the staircase.
Price turned away from the other two. "You find anything Roach?"
"Possible basement." Roach simply replied. "Closet entrance."
"Fucking underground." Gaz cursed. No one said anything but the sentiment was shared. No one liked underground missions.
Without a word Roach led them back to the closet where he discovered the opening and lifted the section of the floor revealing low steps.
Price looked around, his face hard and his gaze like fire. It was a face Roach had only ever seen when shit was getting serious. In the privacy of his own mind, he referred to it as Price's Punisher face.
"Stay close and watch your corners. I want those sound suppressing enchantments on at all times."
""Yessir!""
Soap chose to take the lead and one by one Bravo team entered into the darkness. Their tactical visors activated allowing them see in the dark as if they were in a well-lit room.
With the clarity they were able to scan the area around them with ease, revealing not carved out walls but well-structured brick and actual fucking stone pillars used as support.
"Fuckers actually pimped out their secret lair?" Griggs scanned the ceiling for anything hidden. "What even is the point if this is supposed to be a temporary base?"
"Don't try to understand them Griggs. There's no point." Ghost groused.
Bravo team moved forwards through the subterranean tunnel, going deeper into the mountain with each step until they came across the first of many doors. With a few hands signals the squad assumed formation as Roach once again applied his infiltration skills and got the door open in record time.
Slowly Roach opened the door before surging in, gun in hand, with the rest of Bravo team on his tail. The team spread out quickly with weapons pointed at every possible target location only to untense when they realized that the room was empty.
But that didn't mean that they didn't seethe when they saw the contents of said room.
All along the walls were remnants of possible magical experiments and rituals. Ones that used humans as the test subjects.
Roach looked around with small amounts of horror and disgust, emotions that were drowned under a sea of cold fury.
A woman was splayed out with her ribcage opens like a fucked up version of the Vitruvian man.
A giant fleshy thing with the appearance of a horse was being dissected on the table with the only things indicating that it was once human being the elongated feet and hands instead of hooves.
There was even a skeleton in the corner with sigils carved in like artwork though with the size of it the only possible person it could belong to would be a child.
"Fucking hell look at this." Roach turned around to see Ghost looking at some papers. "Don't know why its written in Japanese but I think I get the gist, even if I am a little rusty."
"What'd you find Ghost?" Soap looked over the operator's shoulder and looked at the pages in his hands.
"Whatever they are doing here has to do with research into senjutsu. If I remember correctly its not something that devils can learn easily if at all. Touki is hard enough as is for them." Roach listens to Ghost shuffle through the papers as he speaks. "It looks like they are trying to apply natural senjutsu to a devil's body. Kinda like how some Yokai in Japan are just born able to use it."
"Any idea why?" Soap asked the question that was on everyone's mind, though Roach had a fairly good idea. Senjutsu was the corner stone of the combat suits functionality. If a devil managed to learn the art them there exists the possibility that they could possibly disrupt the suits functions.
Or worse, figure out how to wear one without dying.
"The reason why doesn't matter. I want everyone outside. We're moving on." Captain Price commanded with a cold tone as he walked out of the room.
Roach looked at the others and moved to follow after Price, the sound of shuffling feet the only sign they followed after.
One by one the members of Bravo team searched each of the many rooms. Some were just as bad as the first while others were only filled with supplies or other arrangements.
But all things come to an end as one of the magical lock's triggers, specifically the one that Soap is working on, and Roach could feel the pulse of magic coming out like a silent alarm.
"Bravo Team form up!" Price orders quickly and Roach is immediately within position, ready to open fire at a moment's notice.
Immediately the sounds of heavy repeating thumping fills the cavern as inhuman screeches echo.
"Suits open and guns hot lads. Show them no quarter!"
Roach gripped the stock on carbine as the sounds got closer and closer!
Like a wave they entered Roach's sight and he only had half a second to stare at the gross fleshy horrors as they stampeded towards Bravo team.
A half second before he rained empowered death upon the horde.
There was no one on Bravo team that was below a 40% sync rate and when you have six men with at minimum the equivalent of high class in firepower shooting down a narrow tunnel at mindless beasts there was only going to be one outcome.
"Contacts! They are swarming the right side!"
The cracks of gunpowder drowned out the cries of the horrors as metal laced with elements tore through rows of flesh like they were nothing.
"I'm reloading!"
The bodies of horrors piled up just as fast as they arrived.
"Grenade out! Burn you Bastards!"
"How many of these things are there!?"
"Who cares! Just don't stop shooting!"
"Soap! On your left!"
"I got them."
"Dammit they're getting closer!"
Minutes feel like an eternity as Roach pours on the heat to the encroaching horde. The things easily die as bullets tear through them. Lightning rounds hit fast and hard, piercing through one horror to carry on to the next, and the next and so on. Flame rounds explode, killing multiple in one shot.
Soon their numbers start to dwindle and Bravo team moves forward. Flesh and bone are crushed under boots as the remnants die off until the only ones left are the soldiers.
"A fucking way to soften us up." Soap grunts as he pulls his knife and takes the head off a horror.
Griggs scowls in disgust. "How many people do you think it took to make all these."
"I don't think any of us want to know that particular answer." Ghost kicks one of the larger horrors, one that had half its torso missing.
"Lets just get a move on." Soap ordered. "The sooner we complete our mission the sooner we can set this place a blaze."
Roach fully agreed with Soap's assessment. Whether it was human or animal Roach didn't want to know. He had all that he needed to know right in front of him and the opinion that formed from it was that the one who caused this needed a bullet through the skull just as badly as he needed a beer to drown these memories away.
"No time to loiter. This was obviously a distraction to keep us occupied." Price commanded. I want everyone double-timing it! We are now on a time limit!"
Roach cursed quietly. He hadn't even considered that it was merely a diversion, and as if the decided that they needed more incentive the hall began to twist and turn like some kind of demented jigsaw puzzle.
Roach bolted out of the way as a part of the ceiling came down where he was like a jack hammer.
"Enemy Contact!" Griggs shouted as he fired at the ceiling and Roach saw something move across the ceiling and away from Griggs' shot. His carbine snapped to where the thing was lurking and barked as a bullet was released from the barrel.
The walls screamed and blood began to pour from the crevices like that one scene in the Shining.
The hall warped and coiled like a writhing animal and soon Bravo team found themselves being shuffled around. Each on had to constantly jump and dash to avoid being crushed by stone.
"Out of the way!" A rough and unfamiliar voice shouted and Roach instinctively dodged as two blurs passed him.
Roach had no idea who they were but aimed his gun anyways. In a situation like this all unknowns were to be considered hostile and Roach was proven correct as on of them bull rushed straight into Gaz! The operator was quick though and managed to maneuver himself into a defensive position to lessen the damage even if he still went flying.
"Gaz!" Ghost opened fire on the two figures and Roach aimed his gun to lay down some fire on the two figures but the walls of the tunnel closed off behind them.
"Gaz! Ghost!" Captain Price shouted as he punched the malformed wall. The room shook from the strike and a massive portion of the wall caved in only for the damage to be undone as the wall transformed and massive spikes shot out, trying to skewer the Captain only to fail.
*Captain! Can you hear me! *
"Ghost! What's your status?!"
-0-
Simon 'Ghost' Riley fired off a shot at the two figures, which were obviously peerage members or lackeys of the devil, getting them away from Gaz. "We're caged with two hostiles Captain. Proceed without us. The mission takes precedence."
"Don't I get a say in this?!" Gaz got up quickly and moved out of the way as one of the devils fired a blast of magic at them.
"Shut up Gaz."
*Fine. But you two are to report to me after mission clear. Am I understood? *
"Crystal." The comm shut off and the two soldiers eyed their opponents. They were obviously devils based on the bat wings and with how they attacked Ghost probably figured they were a Rook and Bishop team.
"Fuck yeah! Good to see that your still alive! Weaklings are no fun!" The muscled on shouted as he raised his fists. Some kind of gauntlets spread over his arms and Ghost filled him away as a Sacred Gear user, which was on top of the high class magical energy that he was feeling from the partner.
"Lets just get this over with. The Young Master does not appreciate having his time wasted Rappa." The robbed one sighed to his companion. Ghost had a feeling that they might not like each other.
"Ah come on! This is my first real fight in months! Don't ruin this for me Tengai!"
Raising his gun as Gaz pulled out his knife and side arm, the two soldiers prepared themselves.
"Just like Brazil, eh Ghost?" Gaz chuckled as he aimed at center mass of the boxer devil Rappa.
"You and I remember Brazil very differently then."
Then as the burst of gunfire and the flash of spells went off the battle began.
-0-
The remains of Bravo team raced down the hall, avoiding the crashes of the walls and ceilings trying to crush them.
"This is getting really annoying." Soap growled as he tried to line up a shot at the thing that was making the hallway all wonky.
BANG! "At least we can see it." Griggs the optimist said after firing a shot only to hit a hastily made barrier. "Whatever it is must need to see us as well to use its knock off earth bending."
That was one thing that they could be thankful for, but that didn't stop the thing from trying to crush them.
Getting tired of this Roach came up with a plan. It was possibly a stupid plan but it would probably save them a lot of trouble.
"Holy Flashbangs on my mark in five." Roach called out and with only slight glances at each other the others grabbed their Holy grenades.
Roach lowered himself to the ground, the muscles in his legs tightening before the ground cracked from the force of his dash. A portion of the wall tried to block his path but he merely leaped over it and headed for the nearest wall, leveraging his momentum to run up it.
With its attention split the others poured on the heat as it tried to attack Roach and Bravo team at the same time. One pillar tried to crush him but Roach grabbed the edge and vaulted over it, rolling along its top before sprinting again.
On the five second mark Captain Price and Griggs threw their holy light flashbangs to the ceiling where the light filled the room. Whatever the thing was it was obviously unholy as it screeched and tried to wrap itself in a ball of layered stone.
A quick draw and slash from Roach's Kaiju grade combat knife cut through any stone that tried to block his path like a knife through water until he hacked his way to the ball the thing was hiding.
With focused effort the youngest Bravo member threw a punch that with the aid of the combat suit carried enough force to dent a tank. The stone gave way and a hole was made. Following the first a second fist came and entered the hole, except this one wasn't empty and was carrying the activated Holy water grenade.
A high pressure mist burst from the single opening, assaulting Roach's face with blessed mist followed by the screams of the demonic creature inside.
Fuck Yeah!
The room didn't share the excitement however as everything began to shake violently.
"I think you fucked him up a little to hard mate!" Soap called from below as Roach hung from the ceiling.
Roach was about to respond when he heard a whistle through the air and out of pure reflex dislodged himself from the ceiling and into a freefall.
"Tch. I missed."
From out of nowhere, as if they were just watching from the shadows three men walked into view.
One was a rather muscular bald man while the one next to him was a scrawny blonde. The third however was the weirdest as whoever it was wore a burlap sack over their face, though that didn't stop them from looking at Bravo team like they were some kinds of snack.
"Well they did kill Truno." The blonde one spoke without care, only giving conformation to Bravo team that Roach killed the geomancer.
Roach couldn't help but mentally scoff at them for giving intel away. Even dead the mere idea that there was no confirmation on the kill could be leveraged.
Roach could already tell these were reincarnated civilians, not actual fighters.
"Truno was a weakling." The bald one scoffed. "All he did was hide. The only value he had was in landscaping. I told the young master he was a waste of a familiar."
"They all look so yummy." The bagged one…slobbered? No seriously, Roach was looking at him and he was slobbering through his mask. "Nice meat~"
And the creep factor went up once more.
"Try not to eat too much Tabe." The blonde one spoke up to the now named Tabe. "The young master wants their bodies for study."
"Certainly, better stock than those villagers." Baldy scoffed and if he wasn't motivated before now Roach was pissed. Once again, they leaked info on their operations, and they admitted to using the village as resources.
Roach reached to pull his side arm out to just get it over with and kill one of them only to freeze when his holster was empty.
Where did it go?
BANG!
Roach moved out of the way as he heard the sound of gunfire only for an arm to appear in front of him, intercepting the bullet. Roach blinked and then looked at the arm to find Soap glaring. Roach followed the glare to find the blonde devil standing there HOLDING ROACH'S SIDEARM!
THAT MOTHER FUCKER!
"Now why did you have to go and do that? I could have had a head shot like in those video games."
He wouldn't. Without the combat suit to go with it the firearms are reverted to unnaturally heavy fire arms. The bullet would have bounced off Roach's helmet and at worst have given him a headache.
"They're stalling us." Soap commented. "Sending out small groups to keep us distracted."
"Oh, come on. Say something! I tried to shoot your friend. Aren't you mad?" The devil commented before dangling the side arm. "I've just stolen your toy. Don't you humans get upset when your toys are taken away?"
"Whatever they are stalling must be important." Price whispered. "Makes me want to burn it more."
"Then you go on ahead old man." Soap held his carbine tight as he swapped mags to a different catalyst. "I believe Griggs and I can occupy them."
Wait, are they suggesting that Roach fight an ultimate class devil? He can't be hearing that correctly.
"I expect to see you two after this Soap."
Roach looked between the three as Soap and Griggs prepared to go weapons hot. Why was Soap offering to stay behind? If anything, Roach should be staying behind rather than going with Price to kill the big bad.
"Get ready Roach. When they give the opening, we run for it." Price commanded. Now there was no way that Roach could object without looking like the ass of Bravo team.
Instead, he just gave a nod, hoping that he didn't show just how resigned he actually was.
Dammit now he couldn't get his sidearm back!
"Griggs prepare to lay down suppressive fire."
"Roger that."
"Meat. Meat! MEAT! MEAT!" The bagged devil seemed to have finally had enough as it rushed forward in a frenzy. Its movements were more akin to a flailing rabid animal than an actual person but it didn't stop him from crossing the distance quickly/ Just behind him is the bald guy who had grown some kind of crystalline armor while the blonde stayed back and charged his spell circles.
BANG! BA-BA-BANG!
Soap and Griggs opened fire on the three devils, forcing them to evade and like the sound of a starting gun Roach took off at a dead spring down a part of the hall they were farthest from.
The blonde devil tried to open fir with his magic but Roach was too quick and evaded followed by returning fire. The thieving devil tried to put up a barrier but it shattered after being hit by a Fire variant bullet.
The crystal devil swings his arm, launching spikes in their direction but none even come close to the mark.
The attempts made to stop Roach and Price were ultimately fruitless as the two breaks through the ill set up defense and proceed onward with the sound of gunfire growing dimmer by the second.
"Bloody hell the plans falling apart and now its just down to the two of use Roach!" Captain Price shouts as the two of them sprint, neither winded in the slightest.
Well, it could be worse. The fact that they were still here and willing to fight probably meant their boss was still around and Roach gave good odds to that as devils weren't exactly known for their self-preservation instincts in his book.
The two of them skid to a stop as they come up to a large door at the end of the hall. Compared to the other doors it was obviously meant for something more important as it looked more like the front of a bank vault.
"Stand back Roach." Captain Price ordered as he stowed his gun and cracked his knuckles. Roach, knowing what was about to happen wisely retreated to what he thought was a safe distance as Price went full power on his combat suit.
In the corner of his visor Roach could see Price's sync rate spike until it reached a high 71%, a 12% increase much like his own. Something that would make what was about to come even more devastating.
After all, touki was far more than just mere body enhancement. There were techniques and skills that one could pick up if they were willing and Price was always willing to get one over on the enemy.
An aura condenses around the older man's fist as he takes a standard boxing pose. His body seemed to be coated in lightning as his muscles bulged and then he throws a heavy right hook at the door. The aura coated fist makes contact with the metal and for a brief moment there's a loud screeching sound, almost like two saws are being scraped together before the resistance finally gives and Price's fist caves the metal door like it was made of paper.
CRASH!
The vault door flies off its hinges and crashes a few feet away inside the room.
Price lets out a deep breath as the lightning dissipates and steam seems to eject out of some vents like the suit is expelling pressure from inside.
"Such noisy insects." A tired sigh comes from inside the room as Price and Roach enter with weapons drawn.
The room is brightly lit, an odd choice for a devil, and filled with different kinds of medical equipment and machines that looked like they would belong in a mad scientist's lab. Large tubes of some green liquid sat in a row against a wall, with bodies floating in them almost peacefully if it weren't for the tubes and such sticking out of them.
The speaker, who Roach recognized as the target sat next to what looked like an operating table. He was decently tall and rather lanky with short black hair and golden eyes. He wore a full suit with a feathered neckline and what looked like an old timey plague mask on his face, making him look like some kind of poofed up bird in Roach's opinion.
"Why must you humans make a mess of everything you touch." The devil drawled as he pulled on the gloves over his hands. His form was lazy yet his eyes seemed to glow with intensity.
"Chisavel Bune! Where is the girl!?" Price demanded as he trained his gun at the devil's face and the asshole had the audacity to sigh!
"I don't expect trash like you to understand the importance of my work but—"
BANG!
The bullet didn't make contact as a thick stone wall burst from the ground to intercept it halfway only to get destroyed.
"I won't ask again." Price growled.
The devil's brow twitched in annoyance as his fingers clenched before suddenly relaxing. "If your really so invested in her then she's right here. Go ahead Eri, no need to be rude. Tell the humans how much you like it here."
The devil motioned to the table next to him and Roach's eyes strayed slightly as the apparent lump that was laying on the table shifted and moved. Slowly, as if moving through water, a small body sat up and looked in the two soldier's directions. She was frighteningly pale, as if she had never seen the sun and with long snow white hair. On her forehead sat a single horn that was synonymous with the Oni race. All in all, while small Roach couldn't see a single physical thing wrong with her.
But just because she looked fine didn't mean she was. Roach had seen what trauma could do to a person and had seen good men lose the will to live.
It was not something that belonged in the red eyes of a child.
"I am fine." She spoke in Japanese but Roach understood her through the translation enchantments. Her tone was stilted and dull without a single inflection of emotion. "You may leave now."
"See." The devil leaned against the table. "She doesn't want to le—"
BANG!
A bullet impacted and shattered a hastily made barrier. The devil glared at him but Roach didn't care. He was going to put this fucker down and keep his wings as a trophy.
"You…humans." The Bune family member stressed the word like it was something hateful. "Always so arrogant. Always so disrespectful to your betters."
It seemed like that was the last of the devil's patience as magic circles flared to life, dozens of purple lights flashing in the air and in a single moment half the room exploded.
Knowing what was to come Roach's body exploded into action, drawing on the full power of the combat suit. Evading the magical blasts and outpacing the explosion to launch himself into one of the walls. One blast managed to hit him but the suits natural defenses stopped any damage other than some slight aches and disorientation that he pushed through,
The stone shattered under his feet as he impacted the wall and he wasted no time in accelerating, running on the wall as if gravity held no meaning.
Showing teamwork from years in the field together Roach and Price coordinated their attacks without any cues, only instinct and hard worn trust.
Despite how much they wanted to kill the bastard, the mission came first. The GIRL came first.
With a burst of speed Roach launched himself directly at the pillar devil after he was distracted by Price's suppressive fire. The man was like a comet coming down from heaven with how fast he went but the devil still noticed him closing the distance.
Roach was moving far to fast for the devil to actually land a shot so instead, with a wave of his hand, the demonic magic flowed through the room and the floor erupted into spikes!
The earthen spires erupted in such speeds and vast quantities that in Roach's position mid air he had no room to maneuver. The Sergeant could vaguely hear Price's shouts in his ears as he tried to get away, his body reacting with honed skill and survival instinct before the first spike struck him.
"Damn human."
The waved his arm and the entire area erupted in an explosion of demonic power, high enough to blast a hole through the mountain and opening it up to the outside world.
-0-
"ROACH!" Price roared as moonlight filled the room.
"Damn human made a mess." The devil sneered as he scratched his neck. "Everything they touch is so filthy."
BANG!
A hastily made wall erupts from the ground, sacrificing itself to stop the bullet but showering the devil in debris upon its destruction.
"You dirty—!"
BANG! B-B-BANG!
Price liberally pulled the trigger as he approached. The Bune devil tried to fire massive blasts of magic, blasts that had enough power to blow another hole in the mountain, but Price's bullets were faster. The kaiju enhanced projectiles tore through the gathered magic like they were nothing, turning the powerful blasts into a waste of energy.
When the ammo of his carbine ran dry, rather than reload he instead pulled out his sidearm and accelerated. His legs carried him across the room, far quicker than the ultimate class devil was able to react and punched him across the face.
The old soldier could practically feel the bone crunching beneath his fist as the devil rocketed through the air and cratering into a wall.
There was no quarter, no words spoken.
Price pulled the trigger without hesitation upon the devil, unloading four rounds. One struck the devil in the arm, the bullet piercing flesh and breaking bone while a second landed in the gut, tearing apart organs upon entry.
The last two were avoided as the Bune devil became lucid from the pain long enough to move bury himself in stone and crawl away.
Price scowled as he watched the stone of the room shift and warp until the man was spat out, bleeding from his wounds. His breathing was ragged as the kaiju laced bullets poisoned him from the inside out.
"Yoouuuu." The words came out like a hiss from a serpent. "You insolent…grrrggghhhh." Chisavel groaned as his body hunched over and the flesh started to writhe like a liquid until the tinkling of metal hit the floor.
The devil gasped in relief as the bullets were ejected from his body but Price didn't allow him such luxuries. As the devil was busy healing himself the Captian of Bravo team reloaded his weapons while swapping out the catalysts for the lightning rounds.
If the fire catalysts let the bullets blow apart thick stone walls, then the lightning rounds would tear through them and pierce the son of a bitch hiding behind them.
And such was proven true as the bullet tore through his shoulder.
"GRAAGGHH!" Chisavel cried in pain before dodging another round. The two entered a game of cat and mouse, both chasing after the other, unleashing everything in their attempt to strike down their target.
Chisavel's magic saturated the mountain and the entire room began to move and shift. Horrors created from the clan trait were birthed into the room space only to be killed almost as quickly.
Price on the other hand was fighting with a level of skill and lethality that was reminiscent of the heroes of legend. There was no room for the holy flashbangs, no room for holy water grenades, not with the child in such close vicinity.
So, he fought. Bullets tore through the horrors, punches and kicks crushed bone and flesh, The glinting metal of a knife sliced through the air and carved through flesh, blasts of magic and puppeteered stone were dodged by the barest of margins as he carved his way to the devil.
"You persistent rat!" Chisavel sneered as he scratched his neck red and raw as Price got closer to his position. Magic spread through the room once more, seeping into the horrors under his control. Flesh and bone melted into soup and flowed like a red river towards its master, drawing more and more as Price killed them until all were repurposed.
A wave of stone pushed Price back as he tried to approach but the soldier managed to punch through it with well placed shots, however it was enough of distract him and allow the devil to reposition himself back where he started, right next to the slip of a girl that remained untouched through the entire fight.
Price fired a shot but the flesh condensed around the devil's limb, taking the bullet like a fleshy barrier.
"Enough!" Chisavel shouted as blood and flesh continued to flow around his body like an armor. The devil's body grew and grew as flesh was added until finally, he stopped. His body was grotesque and fleshy, looking not at all like a proper animal and more like some kinda rejected kaiju. His lower body was fused into what looked like a mouth of some kind of bird faced creature with the torso of a man with dozens of mismatched arms. Where there should have been legs was instead a set of ribs and spinal cord that lengthened into a bony tail.
And through it all the devil never once let the girl out of his grasp.
"My work is important, revolutionary! It can change the stage of power the world over! I will not allow some short sighted insect to stop my crea—"
The devil ranted and raved as he lashed at everything. Long fleshy limbs whipped around like whips while the shorter ones blasted devil magic in all directions. A bolt even flew outside, striking a nearby mountain and causing a landslide that buried half of the uninhabited town.
But a boot to the face shut him up and launched him to the other side of the room.
"Roach!" Price shouted in disbelief as his subordinate stood there alive and well. There was damage to his body but it seemed that he could still move perfectly fine as he scooped up the VIP and leapt away before the devil could recover.
-0-
Roach was not doing so good. He was pretty sure that some of his ribs were bruised, just one of many he probably had all over his body.
Still, it could have been far worse.
When the spikes rushed up to meet him it was only fast reflexes and instinct that caused him to move his carbine in the way of the attack, protecting him from most of the damage to center mass and keeping his ribs from possibly breaking. As for the magical blast that opened the mountain, that was survivable thanks to the new combat suits enhanced resistances.
Still the suit was experimental so it was best not to push it.
Especially now that he had precious cargo.
"Roach! Glad to see you're alive." Price rushed over and Roach gave him a thumbs up. "How's the girl?"
Roach maneuvered the girl into a proper princess carry so that Price could see her and neither liked what they saw. Even being taken for a ride the little girl was practically lifeless to everything around her, barely reacting with glazed eyes.
"Shit." Price cursed. "She's worse than I thought."
"Can you hear me kid?!" Roach asked and while the girl turned to him, she made no other acknowledgement of his presence.
The sound of shifting rubble alerted the two of them of the danger they were still in.
"Shit. Alright give her to me, take my sidearm and turn around." Price ordered to Roach's confusion but the soldier complied as he was handed the handgun.
Turning around he felt Price start to mess with his gear until a small weight was placed on his back.
"ERRIIIIII!" A voice that promised pain and torment roared as the rubble exploded. Chisavel glared with a mad look in his eyes as dozens of arms sprouted, each one with a spell circle at the ready. "Give her BACK!"
Price practically dragged Roach into a run as the first blast was fired, pushing Roach towards the opening in the mountain. "Through the opening! NOW!"
Roach and Price moved like blurs as they darted and leapt out of the mountain with a massive devil hot on their tails. Their feet dug craters in the ground as they bounded around, avoiding blasts and erupting spires of earth.
The two of them made liberal use of their ammunition, tearing holes through the massive target only for the flesh to reknit itself back together again.
"Roach! Head to the exfil! I'll keep you covered!" Price shouted as he tried to draw the devil's attention.
Roach nodded and maneuvered down towards the half of the village that wasn't destroyed by a mountain slide and leapt into the pathways between each house, disappearing into the streets as the massive form of horror flesh landed in the middle of the village.
Its various arms blasted with reckless abandon, following after the two soldiers as they moved across the rooftops and through alleys at extreme speeds.
One of the arms grabbed the buildings surrounding the devil, single story structures with one room, and launched them at them like a missiles.
Price took aim and fired at the large projectiles, the enhanced bullets impacting and exploding on contact and turning the large constructs into smaller rocks that were much easier to avoid.
But even Price could not hit all of them in time and one was coming directly at Roach. On trained instinct Roach drew his knife and poured ki into the blade, causing it to ignite like a white flame. Through intense training, luck and his own talent Roach was able to develop an attack utilizing the energy the suit provided through a blade made of kaiju metal. A single slash through the air sent a white crescent flying to meet the stone construct, the two met and collided with no impact as the flying slash passed through the stone, cutting it in two and opening a path through the debris before dissipating.
At this point Roach was thinking that the devil had gone mad as he was no longer even trying to take the girl alive, and was instead leveling everything. No matter how much Roach moved or how many times Price tried to get his attention by blowing apart chunks of the fleshy armor, the devil wasn't rising to the bait. His attention stayed solely on Roach and the girl he was carrying on his back.
The back alleys quickly became a bad idea as explosions rocked the valley and large tendrils of flesh swept through the low story buildings, destroying them. Roach was forced to leap over one such tendril and start dashing from roof to roof.
Roach heard a soft moan
"Come on sweety you have to hang in there!" Roach tried to comfort the girl on his back as he fired back until his bullets inevitably ran dry. With a quiet curse he leapt back and holstered the firearm, and instead used the kaiju knife for defense. The touki empowered blade flashed through the air, leaving streaks of light as it cut through the extending tendrils like they were made of water. "We're here to get you back home, ok? Your mum and pops real worried about you!"
"Momma? Poppa?" The little girl mumbled and Roach felt his heart clench.
"That's right!" Roach's leg snapped out and absolutely demolished the stone pillars that were surrounding them as his knife cut through the magical blasts, but it wasn't enough! The earth moved and the valley began to swirl and condense, coming right at them from all side!
He cut and moved and moved and cut! Stone punched into his side; bone attached to a fleshy whip carved a gash on his forehead. The longer he stayed the more the landscape around him turned against him and closed in on him! They were like rats in a cage and the only opening was the hole above letting in the light of the moon.
"You're Mineeeee~" The sleezy voice of the devil called from above as his mass seemed to lean in through the only opening in the cage of stone and flesh. A single massive arm reached down from above like the hand of a deity, there to crush him against the earth like an insect! Roach leapt backwards as it impacted the ground with the force of a bomb.
Dammit! Roach cursed in his head as he tried to find an opening, but he wasn't fast enough to outpace the earth manipulating magics and fleshy limbs in total. But he wouldn't give up! He refused to let this be the end of his and this girl's story!
With will and determination he cut the incoming tendrils to pieces. There was no way he could cut through the cage that was surrounding them, it was far to thick and would regenerate to quickly not even mentioning the attacks that would be aimed at his back.
So, the only way of escape was through!
He leapt at the hand, knife swinging in a mad dance as he severed the fingers on the giant limb. He used the last of his holy water grenades and holy flashbangs, throwing them liberally to do as much damage as possible.
As he climbed the limb flesh arms grew from its surface and clawed at him like drowning men and Roach cut through them as they came but it didn't seem to be enough! For every one that he cut two more grew and latched on to him. The more he tried to free himself the more that he became restrained. His feet sunk into the bloody mass like thick mud, slowing him down further.
But he wouldn't stop! He refused to stop!"
'Keep moving! Keep cutting!' Roach's breathing evened out as energy filled his muscles, his body falling into instinct as his mind entered a battle trance. 'Hesitate and die! Overthink and Die! Just Keep Moving Forward!'
Roach wasn't the only one fighting as the girl on his back felt through the life force surrounding the soldier's body. His soul was laid bare and she could read him like an open book, not shown through words or pictures but through emotion and intention, as such was her prodigal skill in senjutsu, and from those feelings a small spark of life bloomed inside her.
Not wanting that feeling to go she reached out and touched the soul of the man with her senjutsu, providing what help she could.
Roach's life force, connected and empowered by the suit, reached back and a connection was created.
Power exploded from the suit in an instant.
A sync rate of 54% jumped straight to 88%!
Roach slashed and everything around him exploded from the wind coming off his swing.
The devil looked utterly baffled as Roach's body exploded with ki like a beacon.
The bones in the massive limb broke like they were made of Styrofoam as Roach took off like a rocket. His speed had increased exponentially to the point that along with the intense touki surrounding him he looked like a shooting star.
The raging devil panicked and tried to pull away but Roach was already climbing the massive arm like it was a stairway.
The devil moved and Roach felt the massive limb sway before accelerating straight into the stone wall!
"AARRGGGHH!" Roach roared as his knife flashed, the blade aimed below. Flesh impacted the wall, causig an avalanche but the flesh bridge Roach was using was not apart of it. The knife had done work in it, cutting the limb into multiple pieces, separating it from the mass Chisavel had gathered. And without the devil to control them those slabs of meat made the perfect staircase!
Roach was like lightning as he moved through the air. Tendrils once again formed and tried to bury Roach from sheer numbers but this time they proved pointless. The touki empowered blade carved them to pieces as Roach closed the distance.
"D-Dammit!" Chisavel tried to retreat, pulling himself out of the opening of the earth prison only for the area next to his real body to explode. The devil cursed as he raised the limb that roach severed and converted the muscles to bone and launching a volley at the Captain.
"Insects. Pest! All of them are such DAMN ANNOYANCES!" Chisavel raised the one arm he had to the sky and it morphed and bloomed like a demented flower, splitting into hundreds of hands with magic circles. "I'll just destroy it all and reconstruct their corpses!"
Magical spells fall like rain and in seconds the entire town is engulfed in numerous explosions.
But a single roar rises above them all as the burning white form of Roach rockets out of the top of the earth prison and flies at Chisavel at blistering speeds!
The flesh flower condenses and aims down, the spell circles all gathering mana for one large attack. The resistances of the combat suit were more formidable the higher the sync rate but the full might of an ultimate class devil was not to be underestimated and Roach had only just reached that level of power. The magical energy spiked rapidly, forming a single blast of power that would have leveled the area along with the surrounding mountains.
Would have if something hadn't flown through the sky, faster than sound, tearing through the limb with such force that it created a massive hole though it and the mountain behind it, leaving the fleshy mass hanging by a meaty thread.
Chisavel was so stunned by the sudden interruption that he didn't even notice how close Roach got until it was to late.
Fleshy serpents with teeth made of bone lunged out as Chisavel panicked but none were effective in stopping Roach as they were quickly cut too pieces!
"No! NOOO!" The devil tried to escape by encaseing himself in a cocoon of his own flesh crafting but he was to slow.
Chisavel's flesh, which was enhanced by years of research of his family trait to improve the body beyond its normal capability, was cut cleanly through as Roach swung his knife, the kaiju metal blazing white like an inferno creating a ring of flames in its wake.
There was no cry of pain, no shouts of victory, only the roaring collapse as blood and bone, once held together by magic, falls apart in clumps of visceral gore. Chisavel's corpse disintegrates piece by piece as it falls, the kaiju metal doing its part to break the magically inclined body apart.
Perfect timing as Roach's body could no longer support the intensive increase in power as he collapsed in free fall. The suit overheating and entering into lockdown as the soldier lost consciousness.
"Roach!" Price called out as he leapt to Roach's aid, catching him mid air while being careful not to harm the girl strapped to his back as he landed on one of the only buildings that wasn't destroyed rather than the sea of blood floating around everything. "Oi, Roach! Roach! Shit we're gonna need a medivac for this."
-0-
From atop a nearby mountain
"Nice hit Buck. Tore right through him." Capt. Steve Rogers complimented as he watched Price secure Roach and the little girl in his arms before landing in a more secure area. The man was no doubt worried about his other subordinates as well but Steve knew they were okay as the suits were monitoring their vitals and none were in a state of exertion or serious injury.
Steve turns back to Bucky who was standing there with an absolutely massive canon under his arms. Honestly the thing belonged more on a tank or a battleship than being carried around by a person.
But that was the beauty of the combat suit. Where other people wouldn't be able to even lift the damn thing Bucky was able to fire it with the assistance of a bipod to keep him steady.
"Not much praise considering how big of a target he made himself." Bucky scoffed as he took off the visor over his eyes that connected to the targeting system. "Besides, a low ultimate like that would have been dead before he knew it if either of us went down there."
"Definitely but this wasn't about us." Steve says as he watches the helicopter pass by to pick up Bravo team. "This was a test on the suits and if Bravo team was ready to hit the big leagues and as far as I'm concerned, they passed with flying colors, especially that young man that was wielding that knife like a pro."
"Maybe, but command is still gonna give you an earful for messing with the trials." Bucky teases, making Steve wince at the paperwork he was likely going to have to file. But it was ultimately worth it, so long as those boys come home."
"…I'm still not helping you fill out the paperwork."
"Come on Bucky! Be a friend!"
"Nope!"
"Bucky!"