Chapter 83: Operation Skybreak, part 8/11
<strong>POV Kido:</strong>
Dust swirled around as a hand shot out from an opening in the massive pile of rubble, followed swiftly by another. Grunting with effort and pain, a man with dark hair and a dust-covered suit pulled himself out, blood streaking down his face.
His ears rang, and his vision was a blurry mess. He almost cried as the bright daylight entered his eyes.
"Commissioner Kido, I presume," a voice articted with a melodious yet haughty timbre,pelling him to turn painfully toward its source.
An impably dressed woman stood a short distance away, seemingly untouched by the disaster that surrounded them. Her ck coat was pristine, and her dark hair flowed perfectly down her back without even a speck of dust stuck in it. She had a yful smile on her youthful face, entuated by piercing ruby-red eyes locked onto him.
<em>''Empire!'' </em>His hand instinctively moved to his waist, desperately grasping for his gun with trembling, blood-soaked fingers.
"For the Federation!" he yelled defiantly, managing to pull the trigger, but nothing happened except for a brief spark of light reflecting in her mocking, ruby gaze.
<em>''No! It can''t be her,''</em> the medals pinned on her shoulders, the dominating aura, those terrifying yet entrancing red eyes. It all pointed to one person in the entire Empire who fit that description.
Kido felt his legs give way as he realized the futility of resistance, copsing to the ground, the gun slipping from his fingers.
She spoke again, the words flowing elegantly from her lips: "I find myself torn, Commissioner. Should I thank you for hastening her evolution, or perhaps I should reprimand you for making her life harder?"
<em>''It must be truly her...''</em> As she gracefully approached, Kido could feel an icy grip of fear clenching his heart, the deathly cold aura she emitted freezing him to his core.
He knew that not all powers were created equal; some had humble beginnings with grand potential, while others had a remarkable onset but limited growth. The figure before him was an anomaly in this spectrum, possessing a frightening array of abilities, each horrifyingly powerful even on its own.
<em>''No wonder she is hereher power set is perfect for infiltration.''</em> Kido stayed silent, acknowledging inwardly that his journey had reached its final destination. He hated the thought of dying while leaving a case open, making him clench his fists and ignore the searing paining out of his cut palms.
"Why the fear, Commissioner? Do you genuinely believe fortune favored you?" Her voice broke his contemtive silence, a cruel smile curling on her lips as she gestured to the destruction around them.
There was nothing but rubble and dust; the previously awe-inspiring headquarters of theary guard was gone. He wasn''t stupid not to realize what the monster before him implied with her words.
"You have made me survive." He muttered silently.
A small metallic sphere appeared in the woman''s open hand, making Kido question where it came from.
"Exactly. I won''t be your executioner, Kido. This sphere contains her location. Gather your men, engage her in yourst fight, and foster her growth even more. I would say I''d be rooting for you, but we both know that wouldn''t be true."
Kido blinked, only to look around in confusion. The woman was gone; not even a trace was left behind her, only the piles of rubble and the silvery sphere on the ground, proving it wasn''t a hallucination.
<em>''As if one insane woman with superpowers wasn''t enough...''</em>
<strong>POV A Random Federation Soldier:</strong>
Eugene slowly climbed down the staircase, each step feeling like an entire mountain to him. Theposite greaves adorning his legs struck the concrete with a sequence of heavy thuds, resonating ominously in the pitch-dark surroundings. Despite the oppressive darkness, Eugene''s helmet endowed him with vision as clear as daylight.
He flinched as he stepped over his dead colleague, a hole melted through him by the imperial special units.
<em>''Fucking emperor''s dogs!''</em> This time he didn''t face some random gang or militia; he faced elite imperial soldiers, and each meter they pushed them cost him the lives of his fellow warriors of freedom.
The crackle of the radio pierced the eerie silence, and a voice strained with urgency ryed, "We have lost contact with the units attacking from the ground; advance with caution."
<em>''Damn!''</em> He cursed, hating his job, but he only gripped his gun tighter, knowing the Federation needed him!'' Behind him, the unified presence of his squad echoed, advancing, the dim glow of their visors instilling a fragment of courage to propel him forward, oneborious step at a time.
In a sudden onught of illumination, vibrant purple lights engulfed the staircase. The pulsating luminosity seared through the darkness, forcing his helmet''s filtration system to work overtime as his vision automatically dimmed to shield his eyes.
Panic surged, and a horrified realization struck him. "We are under attack!" Eugene''s voice shattered the tense silence, his words ring through the inte system.
He tried to move, but he couldn''t as if he were frozen. He pushed his finger toward the trigger while the muscles on his legs strained as he tried to take a step, but he didn''t even twitch.
More purple lights cut and passed by him, but there was no retaliation of blue. A dreaded silence fell upon the staircase, the foreboding darkness swallowing all traces of light, rendering him helplessly entrapped, as if encased within an unyielding block of concrete.
<em>''Are they all dead?''</em> A realization struck him, but he couldn''t confirm it as his body was still bound by the invisible ropes.
The rapid thud of heavy steps reverberated, growing progressively louder. From the depths of the staircase emerged two dark, armored figures, their imperial allegiance unmistakable as they nked a tinum-haired young girl with an eerie glow emanating from her eyes.
<em>''Wait, it is that mentally ill girl who everyone was looking for!''</em>