Defeated once

Once the team was in the start of the lobby, Shinru was giving Ryu a shot, in the meantime the rest was resting on the mine cars waiting to go Ryu to recover himself

—You’re lucky, I was heading this way with another team and they only took a few of the antidotes —Shinru said.

—Thanks, Shinru —Ryu was patting as he was getting into a car.

—Don’t worry, it’s my job after all, are you sure you want to go back to the previous floor?

—Yeah, our mission didn’t finish, I can still go, by the time we get here, I assume I will get better —Ryu said.

—Don’t push yourself too much —Nazu said.

—Yasu, I should thank you for taking the lead, sorry for my incompetence, I’m very sorry.

—Ah, don’t worry about that, I just did what I thought was the best. I assume everyone thought the same but didn’t act at the moment.

—Yeah, that was a completely rare and risky plan, hitting that frog in their abdomen, but in the end, it worked, and you should be grateful for that —Sakura said.

—Yeah, it wasn’t bad, man —Midori said.

—We should discuss more of this once you come back, for now, if anyone sees Ryu struggling in the rest of the mission, I want you to return immediately, I will keep providing support in what I can.

—There’s still something we need to do before we leave —Ryu said —. Can you help me?

—Is your shield right? Sure, what do you think, Navigator? Should we scan the area?

—Huh… I can’t make you do that, but I should ask everyone in there, is someone opposed to the idea?

Nobody said a word, everyone was looking at each other nodding and they looked at the little window on the visor that was the call of the navigator.

—I understand, I would take full blame for whatever happens since now, be careful, start the tracking of sector F in the 1569th floor 432nd squad.

A loud yes was being made and everyone got out of the mine cars, Ryu started to walk with the rest of the team but it was noticeable that he was struggling a bit in walking. The team still proceeded forward, they went first with the directions that were made by the trackers earlier.

The trackers aside from providing vision and mapping the zone, they were able to detect entities, they weren’t called trackers for nothing. The whole zone was clear from the monster and before they noticed, the team reached the location where the shield was left behind.

Ryu took it and it shrunk once it was attached to his arm with the bracelet. The team then proceeded to move behind, putting trackers as they were walking from now and then again. The zone was getting smaller as they were walking, making them walk like the previous floors, until they hit a bunch of rocks.

Yasu hit it with his staff but it was not a hollow sound, they put the final tracker in there, once it was placed, they decided to get out of the shrunk space to move to the right now.

As they were walking around, Amano looked behind and everyone stopped.

—What is it, Amano? —Nazu asked.

—I felt… watched… maybe I’m a bit paranoid but… I have had this feeling since we saved Ryu.

Marin started looking around and got everyone to group up.

—We can do one thing, but it will cost us a bit. I can use one extra cargo on us to make a smokescreen and run to the trackers, then we will know if someone is watching us… —Marin whispered.

—Good idea, everyone, stay alert… —said Ryu.

Marin and the rest of the group started walking again and then she took off a box of his pistol and throw behind the team, then we started to run, and as soon as we entered the smoke a ton of footsteps were heard, about ten or more things were chasing us, we hit the wall and everyone got prepared to receive a lot of things but what appear was so much worse.

It was like a snake with no skin, with their veins throbbing and a toothless mouth that made not sound, he had a ton of eyes inside one bigger, but those eyes were not human, it was a combination of other animals and what was sounding as footsteps were a ton of arms and legs moving like worms in the center of the creature.

—An amalgamator!

—EVERYONE, DON’T LET THE AMALGAMATOR EAT YOU, THIS IS AN ENEMY OF HIGH RISK!

—WE ARE SENDING A TEAM TO HELP YOU OUT, I KNEW THIS WAS TOO DANGEROUS, HOLD IT TEAM 432!

The navigator sounded desperate and it was not for show.

In the training, they teach the team that there were a ton of foes that one should be careful of, one of them was the amalgamator, it absorbs you, and depending on what swallows it gets one of your attributes, normally is eyes, but sometimes it developed to be arms, legs and who know what else can manifest, it was a creature of constant evolution and devolution, once it got you, you can’t escape.

Everyone got prepared their weapons until the second level and started to run from the amalgamator, the amalgamator started to spin and look with all its eyes to someone, and that someone was Ryu, he was on his weakest state, and it was clear that he didn’t have the strength yet to fight the amalgamator.

They could do two things, fight the amalgamator or run, the two options were awful since the amalgamator is fast, and fighting it’s a risk.

The navigator was reaching someone that was not occupied, all the teams were having troubles or were already making their strategies, except for one.

The amalgamator was running towards Ryu, Ryu deployed his shield and everyone stopped.

—IDIOT! THAT WILL NOT SAVE YOU EVEN WITH THE ELEMENTAL STONE! —Midori said

—RUN! —Ryu yelled

The amalgamator was running fast and was about to hit Ryu, but an explosion occurred, one that sent the amalgamator towards the wall. Yasu was holding half of his staff from the tip, smoke was being left on the black part.

—Come on, this would not change anything.

—…

—Ryu?

Ryu wasn’t moving, he moved his eyes to the left and saw a Rackuin. Yasu clicked his tongue and held Ryu, fortunately his shield was already shrunk so he lifted him. Midori approached the two of them and held his shotgun thigh.

—Move, that thing went to the shrunk space, this may be unlucky for us, but it would take us time until the next team arrives.

—Midori… —Yasu said.

—NOW! —Midori yelled and everyone ran.

Nazu went with Ryu and held it with Yasu to make it easier.

—Not even you can dodge this, you damn frog.

The eyes of the Rackuin were turned red and before we were able to shoot his nails and the amalgamator stand up, Midori shot his shotgun with the three canyons, making the bullets and one explosion sending him flying across the room.

The floor part was where a shrunk space was torn apart, making rocks hitting the amalgamator and the Rackuin. Midori stood up and ran, the sound of rocks throwing invaded the entire floor, everyone was running towards the entrance and a mine car sound was approaching.

The team arrived at the main lobby and Shinru stood up now with a glove and the stone in the center.

—Shinru! —Yasu said.

—Get back, the team is about to reach, but it’s part of my job to take care of the squad when they are not in possibilities.

Shinru hold thigh his fist and the amalgamator was approaching them, Shinru ran towards it and punched it in the eye, and once he did that, the stone shone and hit the amalgamator with a powerful water shot, making it get back.

Just a few seconds passed after that and the mine car approach with full speed, the team that they send get down and run towards the amalgamator, one run with his machete making it purple, the other hold a morning star, making it spin with a speed that it was no longer visible, it was creating it’s on wind.

The other was a small creature holding big gloves, he hit them together and the spark made them cover it in rocks.

The team that they send were not other that the 101st squad, they went to the creature and finished the job before anyone notice, they come back and look at us, their visors were not visible for us, we could only see their helmets, they left without a word but they were already carrying bags, they not only fight and defeat the creature, they retrieve their parts too with so facility that it make the team 432 feel incredible inferior, no one spoke a word, they go up in the mine cars and went to the main lobby.