The Kharnidd had come for them, far sooner than anyone had expected. The Republicans hadn’t reached their hiding place, and the Kharnidd quickly diverted their forces to attack them as well. The humans screamed as they fired upward at the incoming Xenos, the Thralls descending upon them at a horrifying speed. The vicious monsters glowed in unison as they crashed headfirst into the Republicans, claws and jaws rending flesh and tearing at throats.

  In the meantime, Daniel and the others had manifested their Oceanglides and shot out of the ship like a small group of rockets. Surprised, another squad of Kharnidd diverted from the force descending upon the ship to chase them down. At the forefront of this group, Greater Thrall’s claws glowed brightly before the creature made an X-shaped swiping motion. An X made of blinding yellow light blasted through the water, heading right for Daniel. He was only saved by his active Domain, which gave him enough warning to narrowly dodge at the last second. It crashed into the sea floor with an enormous BOOM, provoking the Imperial Pioneers to swim even faster.

  Nevertheless, the Kharnidd were gaining on them. They were coming in at an advantageous angle, and whatever Capacity they were using to improve their speed was a powerful one. As the glowing legion closed the distance, the Greater Thrall’s claws glowed once again. The humans wouldn’t be able to dodge it now.

  Then, it felt something wrap around its arm.

  The Thrall barely had time to be surprised before it was yanked unceremoniously away from its prey. Since it was tied to its ten brothers, they were yanked along with it. The Kharnidd were all suddenly dragged into a close quarters battle with a different set of abominations.

  A large school of Abductor Leviathans had been following them this entire time, and one of their leaders roared a challenge as it dragged the Greater Thrall toward its jaws. The fiend’s eye glowed yellow as it prepared to stun its dangerous prey. The Kharnidd still possessed one free arm, however, and it fired off a point-blank slash of light right into the offending animal.

  Meanwhile, several Abductor Leviathans had also swam into the battle with the Republicans, which was rapidly turning into a free-for-all of churning seawater and blood. As Daniel drew nearer to the melee, a couple Leviathans tried to target his squad. The Pioneers quickly juked their incoming tendrils and peeled around the frenzy, heading for one of the caves in the wall. As Daniel passed the Republicans, he radioed on the open channel; “Anyone who wants to live can follow me!”

  Then he disappeared into the cave.

  …

  After the Imperial’s message, Emily heard her commanding officer radio over their private channels: “Do not listen to the Imperials! We cannot follow them! Stand your ground! We’ll win this!”

  She would have rolled her eyes if she weren’t so busy dodging the swipes of one of the humanoid Xenos. They wouldn’t be able to get to the surface fast enough. The men had been holding the line so far, and they’d been helped somewhat by the Leviathans, but they were outmatched by these strange Xenos.

  She shook her head. It was time to leave.

  Her whole-body glowing amethyst, Emily weaved and jumped her way through the wave of enemies. Any monster that tried to target her often found themselves only hitting afterimages. She wasn’t moving much faster than normal, but her moves began to take on a more ephemeral, bewitching quality. After a miraculous set of underwater acrobatics, Emily found herself on the outskirts of the skirmish. Right as her ability had begun to wear off, too. She quickly manifested her Oceanglide and swam to the cave the Imperials had gone into. Those men had been moving with a purpose, and she instinctively trusted that they knew what they were doing.

  …

  Soon after Emily’s escape, the Kharnidd that’d originally been chasing Daniel’s squad fought of the Abductor Leviathans. After sending the overgrown fish packing, the Thralls turned toward the cave their prey had run to. With a few powerful kicks, they followed.

  Further into the cave, Daniel and the others had reached their first obstacle. A small forest of Luxamar plants sprouted up from the cavern floor, touching its peak with their tips and preventing easy passage. Daniel dismissed his Oceanglide, since it made too much noise, and swam inside. The men behind him did the same. As a group, they were careful not to make a single sound.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The sudden quiet after that epic battle was spine chilling. The fear of a sudden attack or predatory surprise was palpable in the stillness. Every Pioneer held their breath, heart hammering in their ribs as they carefully yet swiftly negotiated the underwater jungle. Daniel heard every bubble and saw every movement, his Domain constantly running. At one point, he sensed a trio of predatory fish in front of them and cautiously maneuvered the group around them. Everyone breathed gratefully when they finally came to the other side of the forest. Daniel was just about to lead them further on when he heard a transmission: “Mayday, Mayday, I-“

  It was a woman’s voice, which was suddenly cut off. It’d come over the public channels, and Daniel could tell it was from the forest behind them. Thinking fast, he turned to the others, broadcasting: “Don’t stop. Keep moving.”

  Then, without further elaboration, he swam back to the forest.

  …

  Emily dismissed her Oceanglide and went into the forest. She’d noted the plants’ special properties beforehand just like the Imperials had. After a decent bit of swimming, she was suddenly scared half to death by the appearance of a sharklike face right in front of her. It wasn’t a Kharnidd, but rather a mid-sized predator that snapped at her as it passed by. Blood thundering in her ears and fighting back a scream, Emily danced backward to avoid the attack. But the predator was already moving on, apparently uninterested in human prey.

  Emily took a shallow breath and prepared to move on. Then, she felt motion behind her. Chancing a glance backward, she saw the predator swimming full speed back in her direction. She barely had time to feel confusion or fear before she saw the Kharnidd coming up behind it.

  The cold hand of death brushed the back of Emily’s neck as she activated her ability. She danced away, knowing all the while that her efforts were futile. The Kharnidd was a class above her and leagues ahead in speed. Her ability tended to be weaker in enclosed spaces as well. The only reason it didn’t catch her immediately was that it let out a loud hiss upon seeing her. Naturally, it was immediately attacked by the Luxamar plants surrounding it.

  Still, these were only minor impediments to the beast as it sliced and diced its way through the forest, bearing down on her with a menacing inevitability. When it closed the distance, she was forced to try a last-ditch effort. While dodging claw strikes, which devastated the plant life around her, Emily radioed for help: “Mayday, Mayday, I-“

  She was cut off as the creature backhanded her across the head. It was only a glancing strike, thanks to a last second tilt of her neck, but it still shattered her helmet and sent her careening into the rock wall. Dazed, she only barely managed to evade the creature’s follow up kick, which shattered the wall behind her. The following few seconds were a haze of fear and violence, of gouged out rock and diced up plants. The Luxamar were Emily’s friends, keeping her alive for a few more desperate heartbeats, right up until they weren’t. One of the smaller ones turned ‘traitor’, latching around her ankle and pulling her to the ground. She’d been making some noise of her own, after all.

  Emily looked up to see the Kharnidd’s foot crashing down on her midsection, pinning her and shattering her ribs. The wind came right out of her mouth in a stream of bubbles and the corners of her vision darkened as her head snapped back and collided with the ground: “Sorry Cecillia. I tried my best.”

  Emily’s melancholic final thoughts were devoted to her best friend. It was for her sake that she was in this mess in the first place, but Emily’s thoughts were recriminating. They were simply sorry she hadn’t been good enough. Hadn’t been strong enough.

  Then, her whole world turned white.

  White fire, in the form of a flaming lance, took the offending Kharnidd straight in the chest. In a burst of energy that seared the back of her eyes, the Xenos was killed instantly, the spear piercing it completely. The force was so great that it was carried away, replaced by a new figure.

  Blinking hazily, Emily looked up at the back of a tall silhouette in white and gold armor. More flashes of white light followed, followed by the screams of dying Xenos. She fought to stay conscious, but something in her insides had given way from that attack. Her arm wouldn’t listen to her. Her attempts to give herself a stimulant were futile. Emily’s last memory was watching the armored man turn around and march toward her. She relaxed a bit.

  Maybe he had a stim.

  …

  Daniel killed the Delta Class Kharnidd with just one thrust of his spear. It was so easy thanks to his own personal growth. The armor’s stats layered on top of his, and they were buffed by his Delta Class attributes. Not to mention the fact that Integrated Technologies grew with their users, meaning that the stat buffs he got from the Protocol had been improved by his advancement to Epsilon. Even the battery life had been improved. All this combined meant that he’d made short work of the enemy. His Secondary Armaments had torn through the Epsilon Class Kharnidd like they were made of straw.

  Now, Daniel approached the woman and de-activated the Makiel Protocol. He hadn’t saved her for purely altruistic reasons. Daniel had wanted to get rid of the Kharnidd following them, and he’d used helping her as the perfect excuse to break away from his squad. That said, he still wanted to help. Which brought him to the more immediate point. No stim in the world was going to save this woman.

  At a glance, Daniel could see that her insides had been pulverized. She’d passed out and was bleeding out of both sides of her mouth. She wasn’t breathing. Both lungs had probably collapsed. Her pulse was weak and fading. Stimulants were far from omnipotent in their healing power, and Daniel wasn’t aware of any that were able to bring people back from this kind of damage. Fortunately, Danile had something better than a stim. He typed in another hotkey, and activated the fourth and final ability the Archangel System could use without calling upon a Protocol:

  “Manifesting Manicae Medici”

  In the blink of an eye, his hands sported gauntlets of white, trimmed elegantly with gold. The palms sported strange auric symbols that glowed when he pointed them at the sleeping woman. White fire billowed outward, enveloping her and sinking into her body. It knit her wounds together from the inside out, repairing organs and stitching bone back together. Daniel dismissed the gauntlets once he saw her breathing healthily. She didn’t open her eyes right away, so Daniel gathered her into a fireman’s carry and swam off.

  He was not looking forward to explaining this one.