That's when Josh turned toward the Alter Tower. There had been a sudden surge of killing intent coming from that direction. How nice of their enemies to reveal themselves! 

"They're right there." He graciously pointed while grinning. 

"Move out!" Roderick didn't lose any time. The faster they defeated them, the less potential damage they would cause for sure. 

As they reached the Alter Tower, Josh showed slight confusion. The area around it was completely empty. The Tower looked exactly the same as it did the last time too. 

"False alarm?" Roderick asked. 

That's when Kasha began carefully inspecting the ground. "No, there were three people here for sure. They just removed most of their traces." 

Had they entered the Alter Tower? Were they laying in ambush nearby? What was happening? What was— that's when Josh felt that something was wrong. 

"RUN!" He screamed as he began running toward the exit. 

In theory, the only one that could order such a retreat was Roderick. But, all the soldiers down to the very last one went in motion instantly. There was no hesitation at all. They ran fast but orderly. 

That's when something big was sent flying their way. It was something alive, and that had been napping. Someone hurled a goddamn sloth at them! It dropped right behind them, angry at the rude awakening. 

The culprit could be seen exiting a state of invisibility nearby. It was an ugly-looking bald man with big tusks in his mouth. He could be seen laughing, mouth fully opened, showing them his yellowed teeth. 

"We're retreating! Let's get out of this forest!" Roderick shouted, finally giving the order. 

They were trying to put the most distance between the creature and them. But that's when the sloth behind them began yawning. The enemy covered his ears and readied himself while smiling. Meanwhile, most were completely panicking. 

There was one that kept her cool during the whole event. Kasha began making hand signs for some reason before throwing up blood and falling to her knees. Tons of green lights escaped her fingertips and flew right next to the creature. 

That's when a shocking scene appeared as multiple Kashas appeared one after the other. These were all doppelgangers! Each appeared so real that it probably wasn't an illusion. With the sloth's yawn, everyone flopped on the ground unmoving, including Josh. 

The rest could only rely on their luck. Thankfully the sloth began munching on these fakes. It did so happily initially but soon realized that something was wrong with them, for they didn't taste anything. It even increased its pace. 

The creature was about to kill the last one, but they could feel themselves being freed from the influence of the spell. 

But that's when the man disgustingly smiling arrived by their side. How could he already move?! His target was Josh! He went toward him, bypassing the kneeling Kasha, but that turned out to be a painful mistake. 

SLASH! 

Kasha's dagger entered deeply in the man's back, lodging itself in his heart. She began smiling fully but then frowned as she tried retreating. The man turned around, grabbed her, and slammed her heavily on the ground. 

BAM! 

CRACK! 

The sound of her broken bones was heard. Without even checking her condition, her assailant turned toward Josh as he chuckled. "Good intuition, kid, but you fucked up. Hehe." He had a sadistic smile. 

That's when Josh could feel himself getting picked up akin to a kitten. He made eye contact with Roderick, and they exchanged a small nod. Josh struggled like an acrobat, getting out of the grasp of his opponent. 

With a flip, he was behind the man's wide back. It was time for some revenge! It went: 

Pew Pew Pew Pew! So many energy bullets collided with his body, him grunting in pain with every one of them. His body became riddled with holes as his blood flowed like a fountain. 

That is when the enemy fell, defeated. He was already a dead man with injuries like these, but the Black Legion wouldn't take any chance. They gave him another serving of projectiles. Pew Pew Pew Pew! 

The outcome was supposed to be obvious, but then another guy appeared. He ran at full speed and threw himself right between his collapsing colleague and the onslaught. So what? They'd just kill this one and finish the other afterward. Easy, really. 

Pew pew pew pew!

All of their attacks connected, but the man didn't have a single scratch. How?! He was even in the process of picking up his ally. How could anyone be that resistant?! 

"Oh god, I think he's immune against energy attacks!" An ally screamed in disbelief. 

"Wait, this guy is that slimy bastard from Gene Corp!" One exclaimed in realization. 

"Oh no, look behind him." Another said despairingly. 

The man riddled with holes had healed completely. That was way too fast! One second he was on death's door, and the other he looked completely fine! He grabbed Josh with an iron grip and began running, staying behind the cover of his friend. 

"Stop that bastard!" Roderick called in anger. 

"Chase him!" one added. 

"We'll get him back no matter what!" One shouted as if a warcry. 

They almost reached the slime bastard when the sloth finally appeared. It began attacking them, forcing them to a halt. For some reason, it was ignoring the guy right next to it. Why?! 

"You dumb sloth! He's the one that threw you here." One screamed in anger. 

"It's no use. Evade it and keep running!" Another pragmatic one replied. 

"Yes, just pass next to it and—" A man that underestimated the creature was cleaved in half. 

"Make a big circle around it. This thing is overpowered!" One screamed. 

That's how began an intense pursuit, with the enemies having the lead because of that dumb monster. Josh nodded one last time at Roderick before he disappeared from their vision. 

Just as they were about to catch up, the enemies gave victorious smiles. That's when the entire area between them lit up before exploding. There was the light, the sound, and then the burning smell. 

BOOM! 

Fire rained down, and all Hell broke loose. It was akin to a nightmare with sloths rising from the soil and the vegetation. They had been slumbering for so long that they had almost begun fusing with the landscape. 

"How the fuck are we supposed to pass that?!" One cried out in despair.

It was already too late. Right now, the creatures were still groggy, but in a few seconds, they would die. They could barely deal with one of these monsters! A single yawn would be enough to send them all to the afterlife with VIP access. 

"Fuck! Retreat!" Roderick gave the order.

He would normally never leave a man behind, but he would sacrifice all the brave soldiers behind him if he continued. He bit his lip in anger but still brought them toward safety. 

All instantly obeyed except Kasha. No, she began slowly limping toward the sloths fearlessly. She had a blank look in her eyes, and she kept her gaze fixed toward the horizon where Josh had disappeared. 

"We need to leave now!" Roderick forcefully grabbed her. 

"I can't abandon him! No way I will—!" She pleaded only to be interrupted. 

"HELL NO! Josh made me promise to bring you to safety should anything happen to him. I will honor my word. You need to be alive to save him! You're in no condition to fight!" He screamed at her before explaining. 

As he forcefully dragged the now screaming Kasha, he felt his heart ache. Had circumstances been different, he would have been the first to rush forward, but he couldn't. He had to consider all of their lives. 

At first, she struggled. She flailed her limbs around, trying to free herself in her weak state, but Roderick remained firm. She could only scream in desperation until her voice turned hoarse. Afterward, she began sobbing softly. 

Their return to base was a depressing one. They entered the energy walls they had left there, their head low and their shoulders even lower.

They had run away, and they had lost the man that had become the soul of their army. The enemies were still at large, and they had probably obtained the sloths' blood a long time ago. This was a colossal failure. 

Then came a voice tinged with surprise and hope: 

"Ah! The communications are working again! We can get reinforcements!" One soldier shouted.

That Made Kasha's eyes lit up as she rushed to listen to Roderick calling the MTA for help. He spoke loud and clear in his transmitter: "We need reinforcements ASAP! The enemies have breached our defenses and kidnapped one of ours! Send—"

"Not possible!" Came a stressed voice at the other end. 

"What?! Why?! What the heck are the guilds doing?! I'll call Draconic and sort this out myself!" Kasha screamed without missing a beat. 

"Explain yourself! The matter here is vital!" Roderick shouted too. But then he froze as the reply came. Every sentence was delivered with the intensity and speed of a machine gun. 

"Arcadia has been sabotaged by terrorists and fell down. Ouroboros has been robbed and torched. The whole Metropolis is under the effect of violence-inducing drugs. Now even fucking low-level Climbers are trying to kill everyone they see. Everything is on fire, and Metropolis-H may be attacking us at any moment now! I gotta go!" 

What the heck was happening?! As they heard that, the Black Legion members were shellshocked. The enemies were too strong for them, and no reinforcement at all would come. They could only remain cooped inside their defenses and hope for a miracle. 

How long before either Gene Corp or an army of angry sloths came out of the forest? 

"I'll find him," Kasha uttered in a disturbingly cold tone. 

"Fine, but don't get caught no matter what, and don't die. I don't know what they want with him, but they won't kill him just yet. We'll need you for the rescue plan." Roderick hammered in that she couldn't be reckless no matter what. 

She nodded. Her gaze was iron, and her steps were way too steady for someone in her condition. How much pain was she ignoring right now? 

*Sigh* What was up with the world nowadays?

Creator's Thought

Even I have to admit that the vitality of the Gene Corp officials was simply perverse. The slime guy could literally take on any energy attack without damage while the other could regenerate even limbs. The only saving grace was that their offensive power was relatively bad. Still, they could use 100% of it without bothering about defense.