Chapter 425: Operation Metro IV


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    At random, the walls would light up with flickering ads, while the air, thick with the smell of mold and old oil, would be filled with the sounds of machines, creaking as if on their deathbed.


    The tunnels themselves were long and twisted, their metal walls rusty and dirty. Every step they took echoed in them, due to how empty they were.


    Thankfully, the Academy had people set up bulbs along the way, though most of them were broken, whether on purpose or not they didn''t know, but what they did know was that they were creeped the fuck out.


    Kiera, while not as affected as the rest, had also felt a bit iffy.


    She led them carefully, her sharp blue eyes always scanning the darkness ahead.


    Jack, the first squadron leader, was directly behind her, moving in a tight formation with his squadron, while the rest of the toon followed behind, with Leo, then Sarah, then Hiro, and finally Evan, each leading their respective squadron.


    Leo, their now-experienced spotter, was in the middle for a reason, leaving his protection to others and giving his all, guiding them through the ruin while dodging every monster on the way.


    While they might seem like it, the tunnels weren''t empty; monsters of all kinds that thrived in the dark had taken over, either hidden within the walls, in in sight, or sleeping away, dormant, waiting for a spark to awaken them.


    Alongside them were the defensive systems of the metro itself.


    A few were still active, taking Leo some time to avoid.


    They went deeper and deeper into the heart of the heart, and it didn''t take them much longer to reach their desired location.


    It was a huge station, an open space with tforms stretching out into the dark and esctors leading to upper levels.


    The ceiling was high, held up by steel beams now covered in rust and hanging debris. The tracks below on either side were filled with dirty, still water from a long-forgotten flood. Old, broken trains sat still on the tracks. Some were turned over, others buried under rubble. The walls were covered in paintings and markings that were too faded and hard to make out. Next to those colors were forgotten things-abandoned bags, rusted vending machines, and broken benches.


    Everything there filled the toon with creepiness ever more, getting under their skin and increasing their internal rm meters.


    But they didn''t stop moving or even hesitate, seeing their confident leaders, friends, and squadron mates moving with purpose.


    Their job was to make camp and wait till tomorrow.


    Once tomorrow arrived, they were to kill all they could, halt the awakening, and protect the students, especially those who had no idea how dangerous this ce would really be. And the toon didn''t need to wait long to see the first glimpse of that danger.


    Leo, who had his HUD flicker with data, showing the positions of his squad members and highlighting any potential threats, suddenly identified a massive figure in the distance, and the scanner pinged.


    He immediately raised a hand, signaling the toon to stop.


    They did so without question while Kiera at the front silently looked ahead.


    There, around thirty meters next to an electrical control station, hidden behind copsed beams and rubble, stood a construct.


    It was sphere-shaped, hulking in size, almost reaching the roof, supported below by rtively small spider-like legs.


    The metallic beast was dormant, but its sensors were still active, sweeping the room in slow red arcs.


    [Hold position. Squad Leaders,e.]


    Kiera whispered into herm, her voice calm but firm.


    The squad leaders ryed the order in more depth to their squads, and the toon blended


    into walls of the ruin, hiding themselves on each side, leaving only the five to approach theirmander.


    Jake crouched beside Kiera, his eyes locked on the construct.


    [Are we taking it out?]


    Kiera nodded, her mind already working on a n.


    [Yes, it''ll go rogue like the rest tomorrow, we can''t use it as protection...]


    [True. But we need to do it as quickly as possible.]


    Looking behind her, Kiera gestured for those three to move.


    [Evan, Hiro, and Sarah will circle around to the left. Leo and I will take the right. Jack will stay here. We''ll hit it from all sides.]


    [Yes Commander!]


    The squad leaders moved while not showing a moment of hesitation.


    As Jacky prone on the ground, setting up his anti-material rifle, Evan and the other two moved silently along the left wall.


    Kiera led Leo, mirroring the trio''s movements on the right, both sessfully avoiding the construct''s sensors.


    When they sessfully closed in, Kiera pulled out her semi-automatic rifle, the HA-15, and swiftly fed it unique-looking bullets from the top.


    This gun suited her best as she preferred slower-firing rifles toplement her abilities. Then, after tightening the silencer and making sure it was correctly equipped, she raised her weapon, aiming atop the sphere, as that was where its head would pop out.


    The others followed suit, taking a stance with their weapons in hand, fully prepared to


    engage.


    Oblivious to their presence, the construct, continued its low-energy patrol, its sensors sweeping past them.


    Kiera waited until theser was directly in the middle, and then gave the signal, her voice echoing in all their minds:


    [Now!]


    In an instant, the entire station felt a tug of Aether as Leo began the attack, inwardly chanting


    his Aetheric Pulse.


    Jack came after with his Longshot, sting a hole through its middle.


    Before the construct could react, Kiera was next, firing five times, using re Shot, which infused her bullets with Aether and her chosen Elemental Acquisition, the fire element.


    Her bullets weren''t normal either, they were God''s Ammunition, containing sma charges that acted like mini-emps, highly effective against force shields.


    They tore through its shield and body, exploding inside, disabling many of its systems.


    The construct staggered, its sensors flickering wildly as its head finally popped up, a small cylinder with an eye in the middle.


    That eye began to flicker widely, charging itsser to attack, but before it could, Hiro sh Stepped, appearing atop the sphere in an instant.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    With a single swing, he severed its head cleanly from its body.


    As its head fell, the construct copsed to the ground, but they didn''t celebrate.


    They knew this type of construct was famous for its self-implosion.


    Leo activated his Aetheric Sihpon, draining its core before it imploded, and Evan rushed to the other side, jumping inside the construct through the holes Kiera had made. Inside, he was met with a chaotic mess of wires, gears, mechanisms, circuits, and flickering


    lights.


    Sparks flew from damagedponents, and the faint smell of burnt metal filled the confined


    space.


    The core chamber was at the center, glowing with an unstable red light.


    The Aether cores, four in total, were nestled within a protective casing, their energy


    fluctuating erratically as they neared the point of critical overload.


    Not needing to assess the situation, he already knew that if they weren''t contained, the


    resulting explosion could destroy an entire section of this station.


    With a deep breath, Evan focused up and summoned his Aetheric Bulwarks-two translucent horizontal shields that materialized on either side of the casing.


    The core chamber trembled as if replying to his actions, and the Aether within grew more


    unstable by the second.


    As the sound from his surroundings was sucked in, a whine resounded, reaching a fever pitch.


    He gritted his teeth, pouring nearly all of his Aether reserves into the shields, reinforcing them to the best of his ability.


    With the construct as the source, the ground shook violently, and for a moment, the whine


    disappeared and a deafening silence fell.


    ''...What?''


    Then a momentter, the cores erupted with a sh of blinding light.


    "Ugh..."


    The resulting implosion was muffled, the anomaly''s force contained within the Aetheric


    Bulwarks.


    They eventually cracked under the strain, unable to take on all that Aether, but besides that, nothing else happened.


    It was almost too quiet, anti-climactic, and the only sound that remained constant was his


    rough breathing.


    That was a good thing of course, as it had meant his sess.


    And when the light finally faded, Evan fell on his back, sweat pouring down his face.


    [...Core''s neutralized.]


    He sluggishly reported through hism, his voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing


    through his veins.


    [Good work. Do you need help getting out of there? Your stats are low.]


    Kiera''s voice came back, calm and clear.


    [Yes please.]


    Not needing to be told, Sarah was the first to enter, casting Zenith Replenish to refill his


    Aether reserves back up while Hiro dragged him along, struggling in the process as he was


    half his size.


    They gave onest look at the now-dead construct and made their way to Kiera, who was already standing before their men, motioning for them to move out.


    [Let''s get going. We need to find a secure location to set up camp; we''re already behind


    schedule.]


    As her toon took positions, she went back to the fallen construct, kneeled beside it, and


    took out her information-gathering device.


    It flickered in her hand as she waved it over the construct, analyzing the remains.


    Seconds passed and it beeped, causing her to show a smile.


    ''Look''s like there are no discrepancies here... At least one variable remained the same.''


    Satisfied, she stood and motioned for the others to follow.


    The toon moved quickly, navigating through the station until they found a small, secluded


    room hidden next to a tform''s exit.


    This ce wasn''t far from the ruin''s heart, and it was next to many tunnels that led to other tforms, a near-perfect ce to set up camp.


    [Jake, Leo, have your squads set up the perimeter.]


    Kiera ordered as she dropped her rucksack to the ground.


    [Sarah, Evan, Hiro, have yours start setting up the camp. We need to be ready to move at first


    light... Temr won''t wait for us.]


    [Roger that!]


    As the toon went to work, unpacking portable shelters, preparing ration packs, positioning


    motion sensors, and the like, Kiera sat down near the room''s entrance, her back against the


    wall, letting her gaze drift to the ceiling.


    She knew the real battle wasing with the morning light, where Temr would try their best to summon a terror outside their wildest imagination.


    Even now she got shivers from picturing it, but she stopped herself at that.


    For now, they had done all they could to prepare, and worrying about it further would only


    prolong the long night ahead.


    ''I just wish for most of my men to survive tomorrow...''