"Finally... Here we are." Arnold mumbled as he took his hood off his face. He was well concealed by the trees. His presence was almost undetectable.

Alex and his company had failed to notice the predator behind them and led him straight to their hiding place. The place that has been serving as their safe haven for years, but now it was just a mousetrap and they were the mice. Arnold thought it would be difficult for him to stalk them. However, it proved to be an extremely easy task. The trees helped him track the bastards and finally, he was there.

​​

From the outside, the secret base appeared to be an abandoned storage barn, overrun by the forces of nature. Various kinds of vines and trees had surrounded it, making it almost impossible to find it out unless one knew exactly where the building was. Moreover, the building was also surrounded by carnivorous trees. Which Arnold thought to be only one of the many defence Devon might've installed.

"No wonder the drones couldn't find the base. It would be difficult to look through the thick canopy itself but the building had also been covered with flora." Arnold mumbled.

He also found something... Interesting. There were several rusty barrels of presumably noxious chemicals littered around the entrance, each labelled with a skull and crossbones. Maybe it was a defence tactic to keep out the monsters? Who knows? It's no secret that Devon is out of his mind. He might as well nuke himself for all Arnold know.

Tall weeds had grown between the stones and the fence was almost falling over, there was hardly any security. Arnold could see why nobody would care about what was above ground, especially because there was nobody else to question Devon. The lizardmen wouldn't care about Devon as long as he kept supplying them with weapons and there were no humans to cause him trouble either.

That was what Arnold could see above the ground. But the underground was entirely a different story.

Unbeknownst to him, there was a maze of titanium rooms, each either buzzing with computers or loaded with the latest in weaponry. Every inch of the place was recorded by security cameras and the staff wore electronic chips under their skin. These chips were used to track the people residing inside the base, but it wasn't it's only purpose.

At every entrance to the building, multiple weaponry were installed. Each operated by a dedicated AI. If anyone without a chip tried to force their way through, they'll be annihilated. The two Inhumans he killed, had these chips as well but Arnold unintentionally destroyed them while fighting them.

The only way in or out of the base was through the tunnel that led into the farther end of the lizardman territory. It was the only way out in case of an assault. The entrance was further guarded by hundreds of guards and monsters. It was as if Devon had thrown all of his cards at once. This place had better security than the damn Fort Knox and Area 51 combined. Also, the warehouse above might've looked like it could fall apart from the slightest blow of wind, but it too had been reinforced with titanium.

No wonder why Devon was still hiding inside and not running away. Why would he run out of the most secure place he had built? If the syndicate was to storm the building, Arnold doubted more than 10-12% would be able to make it to the warehouse alive. Hell, even his summons would have a hard time getting through the building.

Despite those facts, the more Arnold looked at the hideout the more excited he became. Why? Because this famed hideout was going to be his soon.

"They have to have some sort of surveillance devices installed throughout the area... That's no brainer." Arnold mumbled while looking for a camera and whatnot, "But, that's not an issue to me. I don't need to get in... Rather, I'll smoke them out. I didn't want to do this but it seems there's no choice."

Saying that he jumped down from the tree, landing with a loud thud. The next moment, a black portal appeared in front of the abandoned warehouse. Arnold didn't intend to hide anymore. He was there to kill the bastards who had caused nothing but trouble for him. He didn't care if they found him out or attack him, he was more than confident in his abilities to take care of anything and everything that comes charging out of the building.

But nothing in that building could be frightening than the creature which came out of his void of darkness...

***

Inside the hideout...

Devon was standing in the surveillance room. It was a huge chamber, the walls - half rock, half polished steel - lined with computer equipment, electronic meters, machines that blinked and flickered with a life of their own. It was staffed by forty or fifty people, some in white coats, others were in overalls, all wearing I-cards of different colours: red, yellow, blue, and green. Each of the colours marked their designation. Red was the lowest ranking operator while the ones wearing Greed I-cards over their neck represented the people whom Devon trusted the most.

Devon was overseeing the defence preparation when there was a loud thud followed by a shockwave. Everyone quickly grabbed on to whatever was closest to them. Those who failed to do so fell over like a bunch of dominoes.

"What's going on!?" Devon shrieked, looking at the operator closest to him, who looked as clueless as everyone else.

The operator quickly looked through his monitor. Changing the view from camera to camera until he finally found something.

"Sir, I'm not sure what it is but it appears to be some kind of monster has discovered the entrance."

"Then find out what the fck is that creature!"

The operators furiously began typing at their respective consoles. And soon they found out what was the cause of the shockwave. But they were about to wish they hadn't.

In front of them stood the biggest creature they had ever seen... A jaded dragon. The one whom her master called, Scylla.