He broke our swords into pieces, and then we jumped back away from him. His energy was increasingly getting unstable. We didn’t have enough time to escape, and I had no idea how much power he would release.
There was only one thing I could do
In that fleeting moment, I turned around and hugged Sane tightly to my chest to shield him from the explosion. Still in the Solid State, I thought my enhanced healing might give both of us a chance to survive the explosion.
Sane tried to push me away, but I held him with all my strength. Then, Hira 125 exploded, releasing energy equivalent to 50 kilotons of TNT—far beyond anything I’d expected. At hyper-cognition, I realized then that no amount of regeneration could save me; I was about to be reduced to ash.
I felt the skin on my back tearing apart, and in that instant, my only hope was that Sane would survive. Suddenly, a protective coating formed over my skin. The blast’s force ripped through everything around us, hurling us hundreds of meters outward and carving a crater at the island’s center.
Opening my eyes, I was amazed, realizing I was still alive. The protective layer disappeared from my skin. By sheer luck, we survived Hira 125’s attack.
As I gathered my thoughts, I suddenly looked and realized I was naked—the explosion’s heat had incinerated our clothes—but I still held onto Sane. Trying to process what had happened, I felt something soft against my chest. I looked down and couldn’t believe my eyes: two bosoms pressing over my chest.
Sane lay unconscious. Thinking I might be hallucinating, I examined her closely. But I wasn’t dreaming. It was real! Sane was a woman!
It was astonishing—her face was breathtakingly beautiful, almost too serene for an assassin. Stunned, I quickly climbed off her.
Confusion overwhelmed me. I realized she must have had her own reasons for hiding her sex. I darted around, searching for something to cover her with. Spotting some nearby military gear, I dressed her quickly before the others arrived.
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As I did, I noticed scars etched across her body, silent evidence of the grueling path she’d endured. Sympathy stirred within me. Perhaps her past had shaped her into someone who relied solely on her own strength—a solitary existence I understood all too well.
“Cipher!” a voice shouted from behind. I turned to see William.
“Are you guys okay? How’s Sane?” He asked
I hastily pulled a mask over her face. “He’s fine, just unconscious! We’re both okay. Don’t worry about us!”
“What?” William exclaimed, “Why are you naked?”
It hit me then—I’d been so focused on finding clothes for Sane that I’d forgotten myself. Dmitry tossed me his jacket, and I wrapped it around my waist.
Zack grabbed our attention. “Guys, you need to see this!”
Maxwell stood at the heart of the crater. Now fully transformed into a monstrous form—had grown larger, his radiation potent enough to contaminate an entire city. We were Neogens, yet we’d barely survived the blast. Dr. Necro shielded himself with a radiation cloak.
As if doom itself had descended, the air shifted again. Hira 125 began absorbing nearby energy once more, chilling everything around us to an icy cold.
As the temperature dropped, so did our courage to face the monster. But William was more focused on something else.
“You bastard! This is your fault!” He grabbed Drake. “Why did you do it? Why did you kill Loid?”
Loid had been a calm, steady presence, his cool-headedness likely honed by his legal background. Despite our differences, months of living together had forged a bond of trust among us—vital for the battles ahead. Like a wolf pack, we’d learned to protect each other’s backs. Drake’s action—killing one of our own—shattered that unity.
No one objected as William struck Drake repeatedly. But the situation was spiraling out of control.
Given the danger we faced, I stepped in.
“William, calm down!” I stopped him, “This isn’t the time! I know he did something unforgivable, but we need to focus on escaping this island first. This monster, Hira 125—we can’t let it reach the mainland! We have to stop it right here and now!”
“He’s right!” Diego chimed in. “This thing’s getting exponentially stronger every second!”
William, grasping the urgency, released Drake. “Fine. We’ll deal with you back at base. First, we stop this thing. Everyone, we’ll attack it together!”
“No!” I interrupted. “Sane and I already tried that—we couldn’t even scratch it! We need another plan. Diego, any ideas?”
“We’d nearly died fighting the last two enemies; this one is even far more powerful. We won’t win this fight with brute strength.” Diego explained
“So you want us to run?” William posed. “That’s your plan? I’m not running!”
Billy suggested, “What if we push him into the water and drown him?”
“Drown him?” It seemed plausible at first, but the waters around the island were busy, and I wasn’t certain drowning would kill Hira. Worse, it could trigger a tsunami, endangering nearby cities.
“We can’t do that. It won’t work!” I deducted.
Diego sighed, studying Hira 125 closely.
“It’s not much, but the only way to beat him might be to use his own power against him,” He suggested, “something like thermal or radiation reflectors to redirect his energy back at him. It’s impractical here, but it’s our best shot.”
“Using his own power against him?” I pondered over his suggestion.
But before we could formulate a solid plan, the air shifted ominously, distinct from before. And then everyone froze, even William.
Hira 125’s eyes turned crimson, like Victor’s. And then he unleashed a deafening roar, sending red waves rippling across the island. The waves resonated with our bodies, sapping our strength like a jamming signal. I felt it trying to overwhelm me from within. Though I hated to admit it, only one thought emerged: ‘run away’.
Then, a voice echoed deep in my mind:
“Follow your instincts.” It whispered
Suddenly, I was pulled into a dark void within my consciousness. Panic surged as I tried to comprehend what was happening. I could still sense the outside world—Hira’s energy, my squad—but my mind was trapped in an abyss of nothingness.