Chapter 26
18:45 pm, Beijing time
The Pentagon, Washington DC, United States
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency hurried down the halls of the Pentagon.
He took a few turns, stopping in front of an elevator. He brushed his ID card against the verification, and the lift came down quietly. Hurriedly stepping in, he pressed the button of the floor he needed to access, and the doors silently, yet swiftly, shut behind.
This must be reported immediately. If anything happens to them …
The lift decelerated, finally stopping at the needed floor, and the man rushed out as the doors opened. Quickly passing a few halls, he approached a set of double oak doors. Knocking on it, he pushed the doors open and quickly entered.
Inside, was the massive hall that the officer had been looking for: the National Military Command Center of the US Armed Forces. The gigantic wall-mounted screens glowed quietly, and the atmosphere was tense: high-ranking individuals were all working at their posts, trying to gather data on the problem they had just found out.
The officer pushed through a few passing individuals and quickly approached a man in his late sixties with whitening hair, but still processing a stern, commanding face. He was clad in a black uniform, and a small plate on his chest read: "Edward Smith, Secretary of Defense of the United States of America".
"Secretary Smith." The D/CIA panted.
The man helped him straighten, his expression of the utmost concern.
"So, it is true?"
"Y-yes, sir." The D/CIA held out a manila folder he was carrying. The Secretary quickly took it and flipped through, eventually pulling out several sheets of paper and looking through them. When he was done, the man looked nothing short of murderous.
"So, that Bluhtnebel bastard just STOLE our planes and handed them over to terrorists? And they used those to strike Muller's forces?"
"That's not the biggest worry, sir." The D/CIA pulled out another few documents and stuffed them into the man's hands. "THIS is. And we need to do something quick."
The Secretary of Defense grabbed the documents and began to read.
"At UTC 10:45, thirty-eight Bergamini-class frigates, thirty-two Ticonderoga-class cruisers & twenty-five Ford-class aircraft carriers, all bearing the South Korean flag, set out from Busan port in South Korea, crossing the Sea of Japan and stopping on the coastline of Oarai Town, East Ibaraki District, Ibaraki Prefecture. Their next move was to …" his voice trembled "… launch a full-scale attack on the IJN Zuikaku …" He looked up. "Isn't that Muller's school?"
He received a few nervous nods.
"Shit … SHIT!"
The Secretary of Defense slammed the papers down and wheeled around to the Chiefs of Staff of the Air Force & the Navy, both of which shivered a bit.
"GET YOUR TROOPS MOBILIZED AND SUPPORT MULLER'S TROOPS! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT BUT KEEP THAT KID SAFE! HE IS A RISING STAR OF UNLIMITED POTENTIAL; WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE SUCH AN ALLY!"
"Yes, sir!"
Edward Smith looked back down at the floor.
You'd better make it, Alberich Muller, Andrew Jenkins.
Meanwhile, onboard the IJN Zuikaku from Alberich's POV…
Everyone stared in shock at the brute, towering amidst the flames and yet completely unfazed. However, the brute evidently had no interest remaining stationery for long.
Breaking into a sprint, it charged … straight at me, but the problem is: I was still grimacing in pain. Swearing and flicking my hand, I sent the remaining zombies and tanks straight towards the brute, but to no avail: one swing from the brute's fists can send a squadron of zombies flying away in bits or bash an undead tank to splinters and scrap, and my magic was running low on fuel, I can tell.
However, all of a sudden-
"Alberich! Get out of there!"
I turned, and saw, to my great shock, Miho holding an RPG-32 in proper firing position. With a powerful roar, the RPG's warhead kicked off and flew straight for the giant, who was forced to stop mid-sprint to duck the powerful projectile. It slammed on the pavement and erupted in a ball of fire & smoke.
As the smoke dispersed, the brute turned towards the direction of the unexpected attack. At the same time, Miho loaded another rocket and fired again. But this time, the brute was ready: it grabbed the RPG's warhead by its tail, and with one squeeze, detonated the propulsion powder in the warhead's tail, sending the warhead flying up several stories high before starting to fall. Miho threw down the launcher and ran, but it was still too slow: the bomb slammed into the ground and exploded, flinging Miho onto her back. The brute, seizing the opportunity, swung its fist in a right hook. Miho had just enough time to brace herself (rather poorly) before the brute's fist landed. As I watched, the brute tossed Miho into the air, and with one punch, sent her flying into a building.
That was it. I unsheathed Vehementus and sprinted toward the brute. With one swing, I cleaved a lamppost the brute threw at me in half and covered the distance rapidly. I aimed for its legs, swung my sword-
Only to be hit by the behemoth's fist at the last moment. HARD.
Blood-colored spots danced in my vision as I was sent flying back. I hit a wall and crumpled down in a heap. With most of my strength, I looked down, only to see a huge, horrible gash ripped in the uniform right across my chest, with warm, dark red blood flowing out.
My eyesight grew hazy. I distantly heard someone calling for me. But I can't respond; I can't wave; I can't even choke as blood from a smaller wound on my forehead trickled down my face.
Gott verdammt.
That was my last thought before my mind slipped into oblivion.
Miho's POV…
Choking & staggering, Miho slowly got to her feet. Her arm felt numb, and her back was immensely sore from that impact, but somehow … she'd miraculously survived.
However, the brute was still present … and unrelenting.
As fast as lightning, a punching bag-sized, deathly pale hand shot out and picked Miho up & slammed her into the wall. Miho felt a burning sensation on her arm; turning to look, she was greeted with the sight of a bleeding gash on her forearm, dripping crimson.
The monster's grip was suffocating. She could slowly feel the oxygen in her lungs running short, depleting from panic-induced heart rate spikes and her own movements.
Her vision darkened slightly.
More.
More.
More …
Beep! Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-
KABOOM!
A sudden, violent jolt of the grip of Death made Miho open her eyes again. Through the haze in her eyes, she managed to make out a Soviet Countryhuman soldier clinging on the brute's head, with a sort of pickaxe in his right hand sunk into the fabric in the coat's collar, shimmering with crimson-red energy. The soldier wore a suit of advanced armor with a helmet that flashed with HUD displays and armor plating all across the body, and his left hand was gripping some kind of large-caliber laser weapon that looked seriously like a super-large railgun with smoke still curling out of the muzzle. A visible blackened spot was on the brute's back. The brute swung around, trying to throw the new attacker off, but the soldier held firm; then, he slung his weapon back, extended a set of fiery blades from the left-hand wrist, and with one powerful swing, cut 3 deep gashes in the brute's head.
With a growl, the brute threw Miho off the building and grabbed the robot with both hands. Swinging its arms, it hurled the soldier right into the building, and the figure disappeared in a cloud of dust and debris. Then, the monster turned back on Miho.
Cursing silently, Miho got up shakily and tried to move away, but it was no good: she was wounded, and the giant's steps are MUCH longer than hers at any rate.
Ah … damn it.
A minute ago, Alberich's perspective…
A volley of ringing echoes brought my mind back into the realm of consciousness.
I felt strange. I felt … burning hot, all over. And REALLY painful. The bleeding in my gut is still vicious, and the pain is no less searing. But now, there is a peculiar twitching and tugging sensation in my gut as well, and it was not comfortable – almost like someone was probing my wound's interior with a scalpel.
With a good portion of the strength I have left, I looked around weakly and found myself right inside the tank sheds amidst a pile of knocked-over crates. To my surprise, the Panzer VII Lowe of our team was just some 10 meters from me.
Slowly moving my head, I looked back in front of me –
And my eyes widened in shock and horror.
Approximately 500 meters away, I can barely make out the faint figure of Miho, staggering and clutching an arm weakly. Behind her, quickly closing in, is the giant outline of the biological monstrosity from before.
With my teeth clenched, I staggered up to my feet and towards the tank. It was the longest 10 meters I have endured so far: the wound flared up and bombarded my nerves with agony with every step, like the flesh was catching fire. Finally, I clambered up the tank and lowered myself awkwardly into the driver's hatch. I learned a little bit about our team vehicle's steering from Konrad during our spare-time chats, and I hope it will suffice.
I prayed –
And pushed down the levers with all my might.
Miho's perspective again …
Miho cursed as she staggered a bit more. She can hear the giant's feet pounding the deck behind her, but at this point, she really couldn't do anything. Running is absolutely out of the question, and …
THROOOOMMMMM!
But before either can react, a deafening roar of engines and machinery caught their attention. It was coming from the tank garages, now obscured by a wall of fire from a previous explosion. The giant turned and stared, while Miho just looked confusedly.
Then, through the smoke, the unmistakable shape of the Panzer VII Lowe thundered out, wheels turning, treads clicking and gun held high. It covered the distance rapidly, and slammed right into the giant, pushing it back a couple dozen meters. And standing half out of the driver's hatch, gritting his teeth into a scowl that can match the giant's glower, was none other than Alberich himself.
"You really want to fight this out, HUH?!" Alberich snarled. Then he snapped at nobody and everybody in particular,
"WHAT'RE YOU LOOKING ON 'BOUT!? I CAN'T DRIVE AND SHOOT AT THE SAME TIME, SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
…
"Crap."
That was all Venus can think of as the huge mess unfolded.
It was safe to say the past few dozens of minutes had been the craziest in her life. Endless cacophonies of gunfire, heavy weapons, biology-defying monsters, and swarm upon swarm of enemy soldiers. It was mayhem in pure, unfiltered form. Then well … the tank-versus-giant shit happened.
Another explosion shook the ground near Venus's foot. Cursing, she chucked the now-depleted M16 she grabbed from a dead enemy and yanked the sleek glowing form of the Celestial Aurora Rifle off her shoulder. Digging into her belts, she pulled out a magazine for the rifle, a futuristic rectangular device holding 30 rechargeable energy cells, and slapped it into the rifle. Flipping off the safety knob, she swiftly extended the specialized holographic optics on top of the weapon as the integrated targeting computer began to light up and sensors activated. As Venus propped the rifle on the bonnet of the police car she was using as cover, several glowing lock-on triangles appeared in the optics, locking onto the enemies, and trajectory calculations, aiming assist and all kinds of stats followed suit. She shifted the weapon a little bit and aimed for a nearest enemy – a man with an AK-74 shooting at Alberich's tank.
"Da svidanya." Venus muttered. And she pulled the trigger.
With a sound between an electro-magnetic bleep and a roar, a bolt of bright gold energy burst from the tip of the rifle. It slammed into a pile of debris, but the high-powered laser beam merely smashed its way through before mercilessly hitting the attacker … and it was not a pretty sight.
In a flash and an explosion, the man's form exploded as the laser punched through and vaporized the tissue of the man's body. And as soon as the light appeared, it disappeared … leaving behind a corpse with a smoking hole in it.
Crap, that was AWESOME.
Venus grinned to herself.
"WHAT'RE YOU LOOKING ON 'BOUT!? I CAN'T DRIVE AND SHOOT AT THE SAME TIME, SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
A yell cut Venus out of her thoughts. She looked up a bit, and was immediately able to see the problem. The giant was so strong, not even Alberich's super-heavy tank was capable of fully knocking it down. Worse, the giant was fighting back: it had its arms pushing against the front of the tank, and rooted itself firmly into the ground to such an extent that not even the full force of the speeding Panzer VII Lowe knocked it over.
Venus stared for a moment, biting on her lip in nervousness. Then, she jumped up, slung her rifle back, and dashed for the tank. Dodging bursts of rifle fire, she leapt onto the top of the tilting tank gracefully, yanked open the side hatch and slid in.
"Well, sorry for butting in." Venus muttered as she landed in the gunner's seat.
"NO PROBLEM! Now hurry up and BLAST this Schiesse!" Alberich roared back, still pushing the steering levers with all his might.
Silently cursing, Venus looked at the breech of the gun. It was empty. She sighed, reached over and tried to lift a shell from the ammo rack –
But it didn't budge.
Unbeknownst to all, the magic Alberich and his friends had practiced left permanent strengthening effects on their bodies: now, each of them is over ten times as strong, fast, agile and sharp-sensed than before. Thus, Johann was able to load the Lowe's 155-mm main gun without breaking much of a sweat. But for Venus, who isn't magical yet and is new to the world, the gun's shell might as well have been a boulder.
"WTF are you doing up there?! SHOOT IT!" Alberich roared as the tank shuddered violently.
"The shells are too heavy!" Venus groaned back, still trying to lift one.
"Verdammt … VERDAMMT!"
… … …
Xu muttered a curse and scowled as he jetpack-ed down from the roof of a nearby building.
He had been really busy suppressing the enemies that were trying to overrun the place. And it had been going in their favor: the enemies had mostly been driven off the ship and back into the surrounding waters but … the big guy here is not giving in. He silently cursed his overconfidence when he only ordered in the People's Civil Guard, which is far less armed or trained than the proper Countryhumans armies.
Xu looked at the giant, who was currently wrestling with Alberich's tank, and started contemplating what to do with the current situation. Everybody's either scared shitless or having their own problems, so …
"Damn …. Guess I'll have to check this shit out myself."
Activating his jet engines, Xu soared across the field, punching an enemy sniper off a 5-story balcony mid-flight, and landed down atop the shuddering Panzer VII.
"Alberich! What the hell are you doing?! SHOOT IT!" Xu yelled, kicking on the turret roof.
"HELP HER LIFT THE FUCKING SHELL! I CAN'T GET OUT OF MY POST!" Alberich's strained voice responded from inside.
"操他妈的" (Fuck) Xu muttered.
And with a graceful leap, Xu jumped atop the tank's turret, kicked open the hatch and slipped in. Extending an arm, he grabbed the 155mm round, lifted it and stuffed it into the loading breech. A metallic click told him the shell is loaded in place.
"NOW!"
Venus spun the cannon until the giant's head is locked dead in the crosshairs.
"This may hurt a little."
And she pulled the trigger.
Outside, the girls' perspective …
"FIRE! Fire at will!"
Miho winced as the voice of Admiral Karl's voice thundered above the cacophony of firearms, followed by another series of bangs from his Desert Eagle.
The situation here is a mess. The standard enemy units have mostly been defeated (she even managed to blow up one of those huge water-worm-like beings herself with an AT grenade) but the brute here is somehow not giving way at all. Worse, right after Xu vanished into the tank, it somehow threw up an ethereal shield of some sort around, and all their weapons, be it M4A2s or Javelins or even the Countryhumans' energy weaponry, isn't doing jack shit to it.
But suddenly …
BOOM.
The deafening roar of the Lowe's 155mm gun shook the crowd, and suddenly the brightly-glowing shield flickered and died. Lowering their still-smoldering weapons, they looked …
And saw the brute. DEAD. Its head had been blown clean off, and the Lowe is tilted on its side right next to its corpse with busted left crawlers. And as the smoke drifted up, the tank's hatches creaked open, and an exceptionally-battered Alberich, Xu and another girl – Miho distantly remembered her as one of the girls who Alberich introduced as his old classmates – climbed out.
Miho smiled, and was about to walk up to Alberich when suddenly she froze. A blood-red streak suddenly slashed across her vision, followed by a storm of stabbing agony ravaging through her body. She dropped the gun she was holding, keeled over and sank to the floor, the cries of alarm from her classmates drowned out in the pain surge threatening to rip apart her sanity. As she wrestled with the feeling, Miho was even more terrified when, out of the blue, she started to senselessly feel a terrifying urge.
THE URGE TO KILL.
Meanwhile, Alberich …
I cursed as I hauled my broken body out of the tilting Panzer VII. My body hurt all over like never before, and I was so fatigued I want to sleep as badly as a crystal meth addict needed his drugs. Stumbling, I was barely able to discern Admiral Karl yelling and waving at me from a distance, and a few Countryhuman medics rushing up to me.
I smiled weakly, released the grip on my Luger pistol and tried to reach out –
-WHEN IT HIT.
A massive, inexplicable, unprecedented wave of malice, bloodlust and primitive rage smashed into me like a tidal wave. My mind screamed and flailed under the relentless bombardment, and I fell to my knees as mental pain …
Wait.
It's not JUST mental.
The wound on my abdomen is now a blackened, oozing mess, with semi-coagulated blood and blackened flesh smearing over the wound like a revolting scab. Black sticky fluids and yellow pus oozed out of orifices and tumors and swells and boils, while a foul acrid smell of blood, rotten corpse and the reek of sulfur hit my nostrils.
My mind flickered … strained … and vanished under a sea of hatred and bloodlust.
And I remembered no more.
Meanwhile …
Xu frowned as he looked at Alberich, who was stumbling next to him.
The others may not sense it, but Xu's hyper-vigilance picked something shifting in Alberich's personal aura. It's as if his life signature is blackening, being blotted out by –
"BLAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH"
A sudden noise snapped Xu out of his thoughts. Jumping back and drawing his sword, he saw, to his shock, Alberich keeled over on the floor, spitting out blackened tar-like blood from his mouth and heaving violently. At the same time, the girl named Miho suddenly staggered and fell down and started puking as well.
"What the -?!"
It was just then Xu noticed the giant, gaping, blackened, festering wounds in them.
Oh shit shit shit shit SHIT- !
"LOOK OUT!" a scream of alert came as the bodies of Alberich and Miho jerked back in an inhuman, twisted way and warped roars and screams escaped their mouths.
Alberich was the first to stop.
And he stood up.
And looked at the crowd.
His eyes … were red with bulging blood veins, malice and bloodlust.
"Oh SHIT."