"Last check." Wolf ordered as she checked the status of her Mana and weapons.
The others nodded as they did the same. They were all in the stair corridor leading to the third level. They were all positioned as planned, crouching so that they wouldn't be seen through the glass of the door.
"Breach."
Just as Wolf ordered, Black opened the door just enough for Rhino to kick it open. An unlucky Shreiker that had been next to the door ended up flying into the opposite wall with a screech. After a few rounds left his rifle, Rhino stomped into the corridor to the right with Crow taking the left.
More howls and gunfire filled the air as the rest followed behind. One by one, the rest began to kneel down on opposite sides and unleash an array of bolts at the charging Thralls.
"Got an unknown on the left!" Rhino shouted as he brought his shield up.
He let out a grunt as a tar covered vine smacked into the shield and forced him to take a step back. Shepherd barely dodged the end of the attack by ducking down before returning the fire.
『Class 10, type Fauna. Aim for the head of the plant.』
Caretaker spoke up as a plant looking being screamed at them. At the center of the blackened petals was a human skull missing its lower jaw. It's cries were cut short as a bolt pierced the skull, making it writhe around before falling into a black mess ontop of a Howling.
"Keep your shields up, fall back if your Mana gets to low!" Wolf ordered as she aimed above Shepherd's head to fire at the Howling.
"More coming on the right!"
"The medical bay on this level is down the right. Move as you clear the Thrall!"
As the order went out, the group began to walk and fire at down the right hallway. With Shepherd and Rhino joining the line, the group had a good shield wall to protect them from the oncoming spikes.
"Get the ones along the walls and ceiling first!"
"Reloading!"
"3 more Fauna behind. Push on!"
"Woah!" Deer cried out as a vine slipped between Raven and Wolf, wrapping around her foot and yanked her down onto her back.
Stomping on the vine, Raven slammed the edge of her shield down to cut both the vine and the floor inches from Deer's foot before it can pull her to far. Deer fired back in retaliation as she found her feet, managing to take out 1 while Raven and Wolf killed the others.
Loud thuds were heard further down the left hallway, making Wolf shudder at the familiar noise.
"Abomination, move it!"
Realizing the danger, the group immediately ran down the right hallway away from the monster. With the four at the front slinging their rifles they switched to melee to kill any Thrall they came across while the rest covered them.
"Polar!" Wolf shouted just as the Abomination came into view. Though it didn't have the chained corpse like the one before, it instead a door layered with a ribcage from various beings and a bear skull connected to what looked like a chain made up of spines.
Taking aim, Polar fired a large round at the Abomination's chest. Sensing the danger, the monster brought up it's shield to intercept the round. After disappearing in a cloud or orange and blue, a few Howlings took its place to rush at the group.
"Again!" Wolf ordered as she fired on them with Dragon.
Just as Polar finished his reload, the bear skull came flying from the smoke towards him. Given the distance, it should not have been possible for the weapon to reach, but Wolf moved to block it anyway.
Hitting her square in the center of her shield, Wolf was sent flying back past Polar and into Crow. The force sent them both into a few Thralls who got to close and went tumbling with them.
"Get them up!" Maine ordered as Polar fired another round at the Abomination.
Tan followed up by firing a few rounds at the misshapen monster as the smoke began to clear. Thankfully, the second blast destroyed the shield and some of the tar, allowing Tan to pierce the center of the chest within 3 shots.
"Get up, Wolf!" Rhino shouted as he pulled Wolf back towards the group by grabbing her shoulder.
Crow was not as lucky. Just as Shepherd reached him, a vine swept in to wrap around his neck and string him down the hall. Seeing the danger, Wolf yanked Rhino off and rushed after him while dropping her rifle.
Shepherd, Rhino and Black followed along while Brown and Maine covered. Wolf ran at full speed while cleaving away the Thralls with her sword. However, her rush was halted as another Abomination rounded the corner carrying a rib covered cleaver.
"Go!" Rhino shouted as he rushed past Wolf at the Abomination while raising his hammer with both hands.
Nodding, Wolf ran past the two just as they collided weapons and let out threatening roars at each other. Shepherd followed up by swinging his sword at the Abomination's leg. Though he cut through, it seemed only to anger it, bringing its cleaver down on the dog man. A growl left his throat as he was forced to his knee by the sheer force of the attack that was barely blocked by holding his shield up.
While Wolf cleaved through the Thralls one by one, her vision seemed to clear up. Though the pain in the back of her head should have been enough to make her stumble, she felt like she was fighting better than before. And then, a few voices spoke between her ears, making the world around her slow down.
John, you know this will only destabilize your subject. Why go through the risk?
Maned wolves not only rely on the darkness to hunt, but also their extraordinarily long legs to stalk and leap at prey. Though they are not the best at jumping, their height is nothing to scoff at.
Then why not use a Grey Wolf as Clara first suggested? You know she would have traded subjects with you.
This was my daughter's favorite animal, Will. With her love for this animal and their characteristics, I can already imagine its proficiency in utilizing both shadows and wind.
So be it. Do not come crying to me when this one busts like the others.
Please. She will not falter. After all, she is the very first out of all of our creations.
"Commander!"
A familiar voice awoke her from the trance she fell under, allowing her to notice the multiple Thralls baring down at her with open jaws and maws.
"Dark Thorn!" She shouted as she crouched down. Focusing her Mana, the shadows around her lifted from the ground and melded together, forming spikes that shot up to pierce the heads of the Thralls.
Her attention went back to Crow who had finally freed himself from the vine. Though he was struggling to stand due to lack of oxygen along with being barraged my an array of spike and vine attacks.
"Rush!" As the word left her maw, Wolf jumped up towards the ceiling with a flip. A burst of air found her feet on contact with the metal, allowing her to dive down towards Crow.
"Wind Wall!" Spinning herself onto the ground, the tip of her sword scratched the ground around the two to create a barrier made of rushing winds, sending the vines and spikes flying up into the ceiling instead.
"C-Coman-?"
"Behind!" She interrupted Crow and brought her shield up.
She covered the empty space of the wind wall just in time to intercept a few spikes flying past a Howling that collided with her shield. Bringing her sword down, she cleaved through the Thrall and slammed her shield into the remains and clear a path. Once more the Thrall took aim, but ended up being slammed into the wall by Rhinos hammer.
"Clear the rest!" Rhino yelled out to the others. Just as he shouted, an array of bolts flew past the three, piercing the last of the Thralls.
A sigh left Wolf's lips, the stress finally leaving her muscles and allowing her to fall to her knee. "Check the area and lock down the entrance to the fourth level. I want it 4 guards at all times at that door."
"Yes, Commander." The rest nodded before going their own ways.
"You shouldn't relax so easily Commander." Maine commented as she walked up.
"Something tells me that the ones on this level are dead. After I confirm what this feeling is, I'll explain to the rest. Just get started on waking the others here." Wolf took a sharp breath as she stood, but ignored the sudden pain and placed a hand on Maine's shoulder.
"Good work." She sighed once more before limping towards the medical bay on the floor.
Maine sighed softly as she checked on Wolf's condition with her HUD. On seeing the several injuries, along with the nose and ear bleeding, she immediately sent the information to Tan and went back to her duties.
"We've only known each other for less than a day, and she's almost died more than the rest of us." Maine sighed as she shook her head.