Chapter 9 : Welcome to Kar'goth 2

"RUN !!"

I yelled, but it was already too late for another Rifter close to me who got half his body separated from the rest.

I started running as fast as I could with the squad following me.

I was looking desperately around me to find a hiding spot, but I couldn't see anything big enough to take cover, nor could I see any enemies.

So I just continued running, unable to look back when I heard the sound of bones breaking, entrails tearing, flesh burning and blood squirting.

We were here for less than ten minutes and we already lost four of us without even knowing what attacked us or where the shots came from.

After running as fast as we could to the clearing border, we spotted some kind of big rock close to several plants that were as high and large as century-old trees.

We hurriedly took cover behind it, I wasn't so sure that it could protect us but it would at least give us a little bit of time to evaluate the situation.

I turned to look at those rifters following me like ducklings, before asking.

"You guys, can you speak ?"

A female human Rifter with a long rifle on her back and two energy swords hanging on her hips answered me.

"Yes."

"Did you see something while we were running?"

"Negative, but my Consciousness detected many energy surges, 5 kilometers away. We are also surrounded by many hostiles and unknown signatures."

"What is your name ?"

"B220-84"

"No, I mean your real name. You don't remember I guess ?"

"..."

"It's fine, from now on you'll be called Katarina. I don't want to waste time saying random numbers every time I talk to one of you."

"Roger."

Seeing these humans being so unresponsive, I had a little twinge in my heart. Even when a body exploded in front of them or when a rifter get cut in half, they didn't seem to feel anything.

I have to admit, the Scyllas did a great job ; those rifters look more like brainwashed slaves than humans.

"We don't have much time, we already lost four people, we don't know who attacked us, how they killed us so fast and more importantly their exact positions. The Scyllas sent us here to fight, but it is more likely they just sent us here to die. We should focus on surviving before thinking about fighting these frightening enemies."

All the rifters were looking at me, waiting for my orders. I knew they have been brainwashed, but I needed them to be able to act on their own and not to rely on me for everything, or else we won't last a day.

Before being able to tell them what to do, one of the six rifters from another race fell on the ground, with a hole right in the middle of his eyes.

Forget a day, we won't even last an hour.

"Run !

Follow me by keeping some distance between each of you to avoid collateral damage. I don't know how they do it, but our enemies seem to be able to track us and shots at us from a long distance so don't run straight and try to not be too predictable.

Go !"

After giving my orders, I started running again. My heart was beating so fast that I felt like dying. If I hadn't fused with the black matter, I think I would already be too exhausted to move a single muscle.

Compared to the other rifters, I was the slower and the weakest one. None of them showed signs of fatigue.

While running, I tried to find the best way to resolve this situation and survive without losing more people. But more importantly, to not die myself by something I can't even see.

'Gladia, I need your help. Do you have some kind of map, a detection system, or a similar skill ? I need to see our surroundings to find a place to hide.'

[Did you ever try to focus on your vision ?]

'Are you kidding me ?! I'm running for my life and you're asking me this ?'

[Do it instead of grumbling.]

'Fine, but don't forget that if I die, you die as well.'

[I know. I'm not asking you to do something randomly, did you never wonder why the other human rifters always had that kind of black helmet while your head just look like you had a hood made of black matter?

My guess is that after absorbing their host, their black matter started to utilize their body to their maximum potential and their black visor might be a way for them to enhance their sensory skills.]

'I see what you mean ; because I didn't get absorbed but I am the one who absorbed the black matter, I didn't awake its characteristics because I've never tried to do it...'

[Exactly. Turn right after fifty meters by the way, there is a natural cave and it might give us enough time to prepare a plan to escape this area.]

When we were about to reach the cave, we heard the loud sound of an explosion right in front of us.

It seemed that the ones chasing us have gotten impatient and decided to send someone, or something, to stop us before we could reach that cave.

After the smoke dissipated, in front of us was standing the most horrific monster I've ever seen.

Even during my worst nightmare, I would be unable to imagine something so disgusting ; compared to this monster even the giant ant was a top-notch beauty.

Its body was 5 meters tall and more than 10 meters long, his lower body looked like several horses that had been cut in half and then put together to form a kind of centipede made of flesh and bone.

On its abdomen, several tentacles came out of small holes the size of our gauntlets and were wriggling as if each one of them were hungry for blood.

The monster had nothing resembling a head, however, multiple protrusions all along its body contained what appeared to be sharp, upward-pointing teeth.

"Ready for combat ! We don't need to fight it but to escape, do not forget !"

All the rifters took out their weapons, 2 rows were formed. One with rifles, and one with energy blades.

I myself was at the front, I didn't use the rifle beforehand so I didn't want to risk fighting while using a weapon that could stop working at any time.

On the other hand, the energy blade wasn't hard to use. I just had to think about the length of the blade, and after a buzzing sound, it appeared.

Each blade had a different size but all of them had a sky blue dazzling color. They were emitting a sound that reminded me of the laser sabers from some popular movies back on earth, but I didn't have the time to remember their name.

"The front units will keep those tentacles at bay while the riflemen will shoot at its main body. Do not commit yourself, just try to dodge its attack as best as you can !

Every five seconds I want two of you to run in this direction"

I pointed my fingers to the cave right next to us.

"Just go in and wait inside. If nobody comes after 25seconds, you'll have to escape and survive on your own. Understood ?"

All the remaining rifters nodded.

The creature in front of them, although thirsty for blood, seemed to take its time to savor its meal.

"FIRE!"

After giving the order, all the riflemen behind me shot the upper half body of the creature.

As I expected, the shots didn't leave a scratch on its skin, as if the beam itself was useless against this kind of being.

However, it gave us momentum and when the monster, which seemed rather dumb, turned its body to face the riflemen, we all dashed forward and tried to cut its tentacles with our sword.

Fortunately for us, compared to our rifles those energy swords were effective and we could cut a few of them. What we didn't know, however, was that those tentacles were not the most dangerous part of this monster.

Feeling the danger coming, I tried to warn the rifters.

"BE CAREFU..."

But it was too late, in what seemed to be only an instant, three of the rifters close to me dropped dead on the ground, with spikes planted in their whole bodies.

From the holes left by these spikes, I could see the broken bones and the blood vessels continuing to pump blood.

At first, I thought the protuberances on the back of the monster were a kind of external mouth and teeth, but I was a fool to use logic trying to understand such a being inside an unknown dimension.

Those teeth were in fact high-velocity projectiles, and they flew so fast we couldn't see nor dodge them.

"How much of you are still here ?"

I asked those behind me when I saw two rifters running and blending in the cave a bit earlier.

"Four, leader."

"Two of you start running now, the others stick with me. We will distract the monster once more and once we're done, I want you to give it your all to rush the cave as fast as possible"

"Roger."

After thinking for a bit, I decided to try something if the monster decide to use its projectile attack.

I know it was stupid to stay here until the end when instead I could have left first and escaped on my own, but something inside of me refused to let these rifters die for nothing.

I knew some of us will probably die during the last diversion, but I couldn't accept letting them give their lives in vain.

Shall I die, I would do by fighting.

"GO !"

When I shouted, one rifter behind me shot with his refile again but this time he aimed for the holes where the tentacles were coming from, and surprisingly the monster reacted. It was probably its weak point and I was glad to see a rifter finally acting on his own without needing me to tell him what to do.

I rushed forward with another rifter who stood close to me, and without needing to talk we both focused the same target : the little holes on his upper half.

I expected the monster to shoot its spikes before we get close but apparently, the pain from the rifle shot going through the hole destabilized it.

We slashed madly at the tentacles, and when I saw the monster starting to lower himself to shoot its spikes I yelled.

"RUN, NOW!"

Before he can hit us, I wanted to try something.

It was something completely ridiculous that I shouldn't think trying, even more in a life and death situation, but my instinct told me to bet on it.

I closed my eyes, focused all of my thoughts, and readied my mind until I could think so fast that the outside world felt like slowing down. I concentrated all of my willpower into my empty hand which was the left one, and I imagined this void energy the monolith talked about.

I knew that it was very unlikely to make it work, that I would probably die in the next few seconds before I can do anything.

But despite losing my wife, my people, my planet, If those recent days gave me something I could rely on ; it was luck.

At the very moment I went into my sea of consciousness, I felt the dark matter scattered all around.

It wasn't me, but it was still me.

It was weird.

This was like if a stranger being was now a part of you.

The more the day passed, the more I could feel my link with both Gladia and the dark matter getting stronger.

I couldn't communicate with it, but I could feel it and it somehow understood what I wanted, as just after establishing a mental link with the black matter I started to feel my whole body vibrating, and an intense coldness invading my left arm.

Even if it took only a few seconds outside of my consciousness, I was already at my limit and I couldn't handle any longer the energy I felt passing through my whole being into my left hand. That's how powerful this energy is, I'm unable to keep it for more than a mere second.

I opened my eyes and I did let everything go.

I didn't have the time to see if I failed or succeeded before a loud noise rang out, shaking the ground, vibrating the air, and producing an intense flash that blinded the whole area for a while.

When my sight came back, I couldn't believe what I did. The monster that seemed to be invincible a few minutes ago, was now a lifeless corpse with a giant circular hole that disintegrated a large part of his body.

As if a mini black hole appeared and disappeared in less than a millisecond, and obliterated everything at the place I aimed for, even down to the air particles themselves.

I didn't wait longer and I used all the remaining forces I could muster to run into the cave.

At the front, I saw two corpses lying and I didn't need to guess who they were.

From the injuries on their body, they died from the previous monster projectiles attack. I don't know if they were about to go inside or if they, for some reason, went out of the cave but now, they were gone.

Pierced to death until we couldn't differentiate their limbs flesh from their intestines.

I passed their corpses, and I hoped the other rifters had the time to get inside. I hoped they were still alive.

[Jun, your vital signs are alarming...]

'You don't need to tell me, I feel like the moment I lose focus my body will let me down. Without the black matter help, I would be dead for a long time already...'

[Who would have known that you really could use void energy ? I still can't believe it...]

'Explanations will have to wait. Gladia, are the rifters deeper in the cave ? I know I told them to escape after 25 seconds but it would have been nice if they waited for me after I saved their life'

Before Gladia could answer me, I saw 2 sky blue blades appearing in the dark.

[See ? Maybe they aren't fully brainwashed like the Scyllas thought after all.]

I couldn't refute her. I told them to leave after 25 seconds, and even tho I hoped they were waiting for me, in case I died I would have preferred if they escaped as soon as possible.

They disobeyed my orders, but they did it to wait for me. How could I blame them ?

"Leader, we ar..."

"No need. How many of you are still alive ?"

"Four. Five you included."

'Gladia, how much time passed since we got teleported here ?'

[One hour, two minutes, forty seconds.]

"Ahahah, so in the end, we survived the first hour !!"

"Leader ?.."

"Listen, all four of you. We have been abducted to our people, to our homeland, our families, our life. You might not remember your previous life, but today the Scylla made not one, but two mistakes !

They thought we wouldn't survive more than a hour, and we did.

They thought they could brainwash you so you can obey any orders without thinking by yourselves, and you didn't.

Remember this day well, all of you.

I don't know your names yet, not even your numbers, but from now on I won't let them decide our path..."

[Jun, your heart rate is increasing, catch your breath and calm down !]

"I won't let them use us like if we were their mere toys !

I know that for now, you can not understand what I say and my words can't reach you.

But do not worry, we are now the very last of our kinds and I would no longer allow any of you to die at my hands.

I've seen enough corpses, enough of our people dying... So hear my order.

You'll have to follow it until the end :"

[Jun, you need to stop now ! Your metabolism is acting weird, this is probably the consequen...]

Without giving any attention to Gladia, I told the remaining rifters.

"DO. NOT. DIE."

After these words escaped my mouth, I couldn't keep standing and lost the little force I still had.

A thick red mist got ejected from my body and I lost consciousness.