Joshua Cray

It has been roughly two hours since we first started the raid on Alaska; the coms have been nothing but the good news, with constant reports of targets neutralized. My squad took out about ten insects. It was an impressive rate of monster extermination. However, the main objective still needed to be completed: the complete extermination of the insect in Alaska. We are resting near a waterfall before heading towards the central nest of the insects.

“This Colonel Vulpes, asking for updates on squads,” the Colonel said over the earpieces. 

“Squad B3 here is currently resting before making our way to the mountain range,” a deep voice responded.

“Squad C3 reporting we just finished neutralizing a wasp with one casualty,” a female voice responded. 

Before the fourth squad responded, a burst of energy came from a mountain range that sent a static buzz that forced everyone to throw their earpiece to the ground once it made contact with our position. I looked around to gauge the other's reactions. Most faces had wide eyes, except for the Colonel, who looked around, a smile no longer evident. 

“What was that?” A soldier asked, their voice shaking from the blast

“I don't know,” the colonel responded, her voice low as she slowly grabbed her spear from the riverside. 

There was a sinking feeling in my stomach as the reality of what happened set in. It wasn’t the fact that we lost communication, but the pessimistic thoughts welling back up as I heard rustling deep in the tree line. Channeling mana, the fatigue was immediately gone as the short burst of energy allowed me to keep track of the red eyes that looked at me from the spruce forests. 

“Guys, we need to mo-“ I tried saying, but dirt and leaves blew violently in our direction. I moved quickly out of the way, grabbing my sickles just to turn to the headless corpse of one of the poor squad members. Standing over his body was a humanoid beetle; his exoskeleton was black with slight tints of blue. His mandibles protruded forward like two long war spears, and his crimson eyes stared at us like a demon. Finally, the mana he radiates is sickening. This creature, or the monster, is either an A-class monster or, worse, a Disaster-class. With a sudden movement, he flashed to my face, leaving dust and an image, his hand in the shape of a needle. Within these split seconds, my entire life flashed, returning to my earliest memory, which was neither good nor bad, but I could do nothing besides accept my fate. Closing my eyes, I left the thoughts of my late finances to give me some form of happiness in this final moment. Still, there was pain or instant death from what I assumed was only a warm, acidic liquid splash on my nose. I opened my eyes to see a wave of light orange hair blowing in the wind and a dismembered insect leg on the ground. Colonel Vulpes had her spear in a defensive stance. Her suit encompassed in mana as she released her max output. She ordered something barely audible as the insect regenerated its missing limb.

“What did you say,” as I was about to release my max output

“RUN!” she shouted before the insect, engaged in a battle. Shock waves from their strikes tore up the ground and toppled some trees. I could barely follow them as their afterimage only showed me the previous attack. The sounds of her spear and the needle-like appendage of the insect became louder than the raging waterfall. They continued their fighting for another ten seconds before a figure was sent into the dense forest; the sounds of trees falling in the distance only made me more alert as I readied my sickles for a possible attack, but it was only Colonel Vulpes who was bleeding in her upper thigh, left shoulder, and to the right side of her abdomen. 

“I told you to run,” she said, her breath sporadic as she fell to one knee; I quickly rushed over to her and helped her stand.

“Well, you know me, I'm quite stubborn,” I joked, trying to carry her to the evacuation site. We knew this mission was a failure, and our new objective was survival. The other two squad members deserted us when that “thing” appeared. I don’t blame them, but my hero complex wouldn’t let me possibly leave the Colonel to die. We were not even one-tenth of our destination when I felt the same presence rapidly approaching us. With our limited time, I pushed the Colonel into a bush and barely blocked an attack from the monster. Which sent me back a few yards, but I couldn’t catch my breath immediately after another strike. Dodging underneath this one, I countered with a slash upwards to its joints; my sickle made contact with the exoskeleton, and a scraping sound like two pieces of metal rubbing against each other filled my right ear. I tried to send another strike but had to block a jab to my face; sparks flew off and into my eyes from the blocking, leaving me temporarily blind. I cursed myself for stopping instead of moving my head, but I heard metal on metal again. Finally regaining my vision, the Colonel again engaged with the beetle. However, blood poured out of her, and her movements were sluggish for each attack or dodge. 

I waited a few seconds for an opening to help the Colonel. While waiting, she partied a quick jab to her face, forcing the beetle to stubble, causing it to be off balance, so taking the opportunity, I blitzed the beetle. I could feel my very bones ache as I reached my maximum output limits, but I couldn't afford to let up as this monster could kill hundreds if not thousands. Two seconds later, I was within striking distance. I focused the mana on my right arm, which caused the muscle fibers to strain from the pressure. It didn’t matter if I could only kill this beast, I thought while swinging down a shockwave that tore through the forest as the same acidic blood spread out of the beast’s back. It screeched loud enough to shatter glass, which caused me to hesitate on a follow-up attack. Luckily, the colonel was ready and about to cut the beast’s head off with her spear. I quickly recollected myself and moved in for a pincer attack. 

“It’s useless, humans,” the beast clicked through its mandibles before a stinging and burning sensation shocked my brain. I stepped back from the beast, but the feeling overwhelmed my brain. This time, it was to the right side of my body where my lung was. 

“Such a primitive race, you think you can use mana like brutes. It’s an art form that must be shaped and formed by the user,” the beast spoke while rapidly healing its wounds. This is bullshit. I spent my life hunting and exterminating monsters just for this thing to recover. I quickly glanced at the colonel, who, at this point, was in worse shape than I was. Her eyebrows contorted into a concentrated frown as sweat and blood mixed into her suit. Her side still didn’t stop bleeding, and she was missing her left eye and arm. I had to get us out of here and have Jäger send a general. My mind raced for options as I tried to collect my breath, but due to the injury to my lung, I couldn’t get enough air. My vision slowly started to fade out while my body felt like lead. 

“Joshua, go warn Jäger about this and tell them to send a general,” the colonel gasped, barely able to keep herself awake. 

I wanted to argue with her, but we both knew she wouldn’t make it. I quickly sheathed my sickles and focused my remaining energy on running. Before I left, I gave the colonel a soft glance. No words were said, but I could tell by her she was going to die with no regrets, and with that, I was off. The sounds of the metal and flesh clashing again began, but it was short-lived, quickly cutting off like a broken record player. Tears started to flow down my face; I wondered if Lilith had sacrificed her life to give one of the ten survivors a chance to escape. That seemed like something she would do. Lilith had always thrown herself into danger to save someone, but I guess I’m no better. It took me about a minute to reach the evacuation site. There were five other Jäger officers; all had their suits torn and bloody. Their eyes were sunken, probably from watching their comrades' lives snatched from them by these beasts. 

We have to go now!” I shouted as I closed the distance from the forest to the water edges. As I got closer, I felt the same pressure as the beetle. I stopped and moved my head out of the way of its needle-like arms, but not unscathed. Before it could launch a follow-up attack, I kicked it in its abdomen, creating much-needed distance. 

“Go leave and show them this footage,” I told the survivors as I threw my body camera to the nearest one. Without hesitation, they hopped on the transport ship and quickly headed to the aircraft carrier, and with that, my fate was sealed. As I watched the boat cross the horizon, I could feel the tears flow down my face, and some of them fell into my mouth. It was salty with a hint of iron from the blood. I unsheathed my sickles and turned to the monster. Who just looked at me. I appreciated it allowing me to have my moment, but now was the time to go out swinging. The ocean breeze gave it this final bout movie-esque feel; I took as deep a breath as possible with my battered body, and with one step, we both were off. We attacked, dodged, and parried around the oceanfront. I took a jab to my shoulder, leaving a deep cut and probably destroying both the ligament and bone. I took a desperate swing with my remaining arm just for it to be countered and was Impaled. All the pain slowly faded as the sun's light got brighter; in the light, I could make out the shape of Lilith. 

Many people wonder what happens when you die if you could tell them. I’m sure someone else would avenge me. I could feel a slight smile for the last few seconds as I embraced Lilith again. 

“I’m here, my dear.”