— Evacuation Begins —
Killer spoke out to the group, stating they all must move before any unwanted problem comes. Everybody in the room agreed.
Immediately, Hakimi spoke into the microphone of the base to tell everybody to pack up and move into the teleportation gate, to be transferred to a safer area. He repeated the words three more times before he also joined, packing his needed equipment.
---
— Twelve Hours Later —
More than 12 hours had passed.
Now, some heroes from the Association, accompanied by soldiers and the students from Ascenders, could be seen in front of the gate of the base.
One of the soldiers met Lexy as he informed her they had to burst into the base since they couldn't open the gate.
One of the students stated how bored she felt, before Delta shushed her, explaining how they got an alert for immediate backup and they were completely late. Another student chimed in, explaining how it wasn't their fault that locating the area was hard.
---
— The Gate Breaks Open —
Suddenly, they all heard a big bang coming from the broken gate.
Immediately, soldiers moved in, scouting the base. One of the soldiers stood frozen on the spot as he took in the sight of the sheer horror in the base.
Lexy walked forward as she asked out loud,
"What in the world happened here?"
The entire base was covered with bodies.
The students stood in shock as medics moved in, trying to find any surviving personnel.
Delta moved in with the heroes as he informed the students not to go far away from his sight, as whatever caused this might still be around.
---
— The Horrors Revealed —
The soldiers and heroes returned to the entrance of the base as they went through what they had found.
Bunny spotted something in the outskirts of the base. She informed everybody, and the heroes joined her, moving to the location.
As Bunny closed in, she felt as if someone familiar had been here before.
She reached what she spotted.
Bunny got close and realized it was a body.
Lexy and the medics examined the corpse and identified it as the captain of the base—Gunther. They looked closely, seeing how he had been skinned while still alive.
Slowly, one of the nurses spoke, stating that whoever did this hadn't allowed Gunther a peaceful death. His stomach had also been cut open, and his organs thrown out.
Elsewhere, soldiers discovered another dead body—that of a soldier who had been castrated before being repeatedly stabbed.
Everyone began to wonder what kind of people could carry out such horrifying acts.
---
— The Shadows of the Past Battle —
Moments passed, and now Bunny stood in the gathering room, taking in the sight of countless bullet casings scattered around—but no bodies.
She asked Bella to use her powers to reveal what had happened.
Reluctant but eventually agreeing, Bella activated her ability, casting shadow images that replayed the brutal battle that took place in the room.
Other heroes and soldiers soon arrived, watching in silence as the shadows revealed a fierce and savage confrontation.
After witnessing the entire display, they all realized just how insane the battle had been.
---
— Empty Prisons —
They moved next to the control room in search of any useful information—but found nothing.
Lexy grew frustrated, pacing back and forth as she struggled to find even the smallest clue.
They continued to the hallway, where they found a few dead bodies preserved in ice—frozen in what looked like a deliberate pattern.
Delta and a group of heroes arrived, informing Lexy that the prison cells meant to contain Slay Beasts were all empty. The beasts were gone, and every prison door was wide open.
---
— A Grim Discovery —
A realization struck Lexy. She immediately stood up, took a picture of the ice, and sent it back to headquarters.
After a moment, the people at headquarters confirmed that the ice matched the same unique structure as one they had in their records.
The students in the room began to grow uneasy.
Raider, a senior student at Ascenders, finally spoke up, stating that whoever did this could belong to one of the major criminal organizations.
Lexy nodded grimly.
"I just hope," she said, her voice low, "this doesn't become something we can't handle."