Carnage

The team was taking the elevator to the depths, while the team was descending, Ryu was talking to them.

—We were going to have the initial positions that we had when we started the training.

—How long can your shield be extended? —Midori asked.

—It could cover at least half of the hallway, but I can cover everyone if they start to jump above us.

Everyone was watching the numbers getting down, this time the elevator put the number 550, twenty more floors that yesterday.

—They sure work fast —said Midori.

—Seems like it —said Ryu.

Everyone got out and got in the miner cars again, the same man in white welcomed us but everybody ignored him and only said the destination, the 1432 floor, it was time to get into the action.

The team was able to see more of the metallic walls before they hit the dusty ones, the collectors were working day and night, everyone had a job and it was never resting. They arrived at a location with red walls, the heat on the visors said they were at 40 degrees centigrade, they were about to leave when they were stopped by the man in white.

—Wait, the chief got something for you all, they are not as strong and have the same type, but in a clean-up mission, you will need these.

The man in white put his hand on the mine car and took a box and opened it in front of the team, in there, there were a total of seven gray stones.

—Elemental stones? —Yasu said

—Just basic ones, it would only make your equipment stronger and harder, maybe it would be overkill but better be sorry than dead.

—Thanks… uhm… —Amano said.

—Kita, Kita Shinru

—Thanks, Mister Shinru, we will use them. Are you going to be okay here?

—Yeah, don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay, the heat will not affect thanks to these suits, and the miner car has his own defensive mechanism, and if I need help, you seven are here to provide backup.

—We are not your babysitters, Shinru —said Midori.

—Don’t get me wrong, I’m the one who knows how to handle this thing, if not for me, or any of the other pilots, you would be lost in the depths.

—Stopped trying to search a fight for everything, Midori, let’s move on —said Nazu

Midori didn’t say anything. Everyone in the team took the stone and in a part of their weapons a small compartment opened, having the exact length of the stone. Once they put the stone in the compartment, the weapons glow up in a thin gray.

Everyone held his positions and started to move forward. It took a few minutes to finish tracking sector A, no foes to deal with and easy tracking, when they started sector B, they were welcomed by a gigantic place, it didn’t go straightforward, but with separate long tunnels.

—Do we separate? —asked Amano.

—No, it may be slow but let’s explore every single tunnel. And don’t take a step more, throw something into it before we start mapping the zone.

—Here, Kid, throw this.

Midori took a slug and threw it to Amano, Amano caught it and whispered.

—I’m not a kid…

Amano threw the slug in the middle of the zone and the anomalies didn’t wait long, from the ceiling what seemed like a giant bat got down, Marin was about to shoot it but Ryu stopped her.

—What? It was a clear shot.

—We don’t know how many of these are in there, that was a Pireba, if it traps one of us, we will have problems trying to recover somebody.

—That’s right, Ryu —the navigator talked —. Pirebas, that’s going to be a problem, they are sensitive to sound, but they are blind, you should move slowly and point with your flashlights.

—Understood —Ryu said —Yasu, Amano, to the left and right.

Both Amano and Yasu nod and when they started to enter the zone, Amano and Yasu went to the left and right they illuminated the space as they walked slowly, the place was infested with Pirebas, six resting on top, six on the walls and six resting on the floor, a total of eighteen Pirebas was in the zone.

Everyone was holding his breath and trying not to make as much sound as possible, they retreated slowly and began to breathe more frequently.

—How are we going to pass them? —said Sakura.

—I’m thinking about it —said Ryu.

—This is quite the problem, you can probably take seven or ten at the time but the other eight are the problem, and if something goes wrong it would take one of you —said the navigator.

—You said your shield could deploy half of the hallway, right? —Amano said.

Ryu nodded and Amano pointed his finger to the ceiling.

—Then you need to cover the top half.

Ryu observed the hallway and started to nod.

—That could work, I think I know what you have in mind, Amano. But we still need someone to make for bait.

—I’ll do it.

Midori stand up.

—Are you sure? —Ryu asked.

—I see what you have in mind, Kid, not bad, I can take a shot and then shoot another one to push myself out, this elemental stone makes the knockback of this beauty insane.

—Be careful then.

Amano sighed and nodded. Everyone got in a group and they started talking about the plan, at the end, they consulted the navigator and he took a bit to respond.

—Is a bit crazy, but I’ll allow it, to commence the butchery of Pirebas!

—Yes!

Midori ran to the zone while Amano and Yasu were on both sides, they both activated the secondary effects or their weapons, Yasu having his saws spinning and Amano his blade. Ryu behind Marin who was lying down on the floor holding his pistols, Nazu was holding her twinblade along with Sakura in the middle of everyone watching how Midori was running.

Midori shot his shotgun and the shot was powerful, he got stunned by his own weapon for a few seconds, making a Pireba scream and the others too, a crying that would instantly make someone deaf if it was not for the armor.

—NOW! —Midori screamed.

He runs and dive backward while shooting another shot, making himself go flying across the hallway, he crosses his arms and slides at the hallway leaving his shotgun at the side of Nazu.

Ryu threw his shield, making it bounce on the walls and opening in front of Yasu and Amano, a few Pirebas hit themselves in the shield but others were passing below it, Yasu and Amano didn’t allow it. They butchered the Pirebas that were trying to enter, making them be cut in half or be attached in their weapons, making them spin and splitting a purple across their entire armors.

But that wasn’t enough, they could handle for two or four at the time, Marin took the shot at the Pireba, having a perfect aim in their bodies, Nazu was there just to finish what Marin left along with Sakura.

The plan was a complete success, and a single Pireba was able to fool everyone.

—Careful! —Nazu said.

She was about to run into the Pireba that evaded her and Sakura but the ones that were on the front weren’t finished.

—Don’t worry, Marin, keep providing backup to the others, I will handle this —Ryu said.

Ryu saw the Pireba with his eyes and was ready to catch it, a beast with fangs, a completely black body and a large tongue, having bat wings with pointy endings and claws, who knows how much damage will be done to the armor of the collectors.

The shotgun went flying across the room and the Pireba run into Ryu, Ryu took the arm of the Pireba and hold its head to hit it in the wall, he then kicked the abdomen of the beast and left them agonizing, the head of the went flying as the shot of the shotgun was shot by Midori walking in the back.

Ryu approached his shield and took it, making all the purple fluids fly into the zone and then making his shield small again. The hallway was made a mess along with the armors, everything was covered in purple fluids and they were slowly being melted by the heat of the room.

—Go back to the mine driver to clean the armor and weapons, I will notify him so he is ready, well squad 432nd.

Everyone nodded and before they went back they entered the zone to see if there was something hiding, and it was, a Pireba was at the end of the zone trying to escape, Sakura shot his blade, making the Pireba being impaled in the wall by the head.

They all returned after Sakura extracted the blade from the wall to Shinru to wash up the liquids, and the clean-up of sector B-0 was done.