The Critical Shot
The Carapace Lord.
This monster was the controversial event boss that first appeared during the first anniversary event.
It was so long ago that I couldn't remember its attributes, but I recalled it had insanely high defense, making it something only teams with heavy firepower – especially those packed with top-tier single-target DPS – could take down.
Or at least, teams that had at least one anti-armor dealer.
But...
The Arclight Squad's only pure single-target dealer right now was their leader, Arva.
An ECHO with armor-break effects?
Of course we had none.
Sure, if their levels and specs were overwhelmingly superior, they could have brute-forced it, but unfortunately, they weren't quite there yet.
Not that I even knew if levels existed for them in the first place.
"Hah!"
Noah drew the monster's attention first.
Golden barriers flared to life as her fist slammed into its side.
But the creature's tough hide only screeched with friction, utterly unmoved.
[Kehhehe— ! What's this? That tickles?!]
While the monster laughed, Pomen aimed and unleashed her machine gun.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
Dozens of rounds poured toward the beast's carapace.
Boom! Bang—!
Followed by her launcher.
But most just sparked futilely and ricocheted away.
[Ow!!! Hot! Hot! Hot—!]
Still, it seemed enough to annoy it.
Visibly pissed, furious at Pomen's attacks, the monster swung a massive tentacle down toward the ECHO’s position.
"Light, protect us!"
Boom—!
Noah's shield of light blocked the blow in Pomen's place.
Dust clouds billowed from the successive clashes, obscuring the view.
Vmmm!
Arva's vibroblade pierced the monster's side with a metallic screech.
[Kree?!]
Blue blood sprayed out. Confirming the wound, the Carapace Lord lashed out at Arva with its arms and tentacles.
[Damn doll—! How dare you! How DARE you wound me?! I'll shove my cock in you and turn you into a bitch like your friends—!]
It was a barrage so fast it made me dizzy.
One tentacle broke through Arva's guard and seized her throat.
Boom!
"Arva—!"
Just before her body launched into the air and slammed down, Noah's barrier caught her like a cushion.
That had been close. Way too close.
No matter that she was an ECHO— a fall like that wouldn't leave even her unscathed.
...Is it because it's quasi-named-grade entity?
It was strong. Really strong.
On a whole other level from unique zombie variants like the Corpse Breeder.
Hard to say compared to the Hachishakusama, though. That one had looked no pushover to me either...
Anyway, our tactic was simple.
Noah tanked its attacks, Pomen harassed from range to split its focus, and Arva struck during the openings.
But...
Boom!
Bang!
Our firepower couldn't pierce its defense.
And it couldn't break our movements or Noah's barriers either. The battlefield ground into a tense stalemate.
[Ah, this is... annoying?]
Frustrated by its blocked attacks, it casually scooped up one of the discarded ECHO corpses like a toy.
Forcibly prying open her mouth, it rammed in its massive, grotesque cock.
[Haaang! Ahng! Aaaahng—!]
Sticky saliva and fluids mixed and dripped over Karen Blaze's cold skin, her vacant eyes staring blankly.
"...What the hell is it doing?"
"Focus. It could attack anytime."
Pomen blinked in confusion at its bizarre actions, but Arva cut her off coldly.
I grimaced, watching intently too.
[Krit! Kehhehehit!]
Not content with just thrusting, tentacles extended to wrap around Karen's corpse.
They expertly shredded her clothes and gear, then forced her legs apart to toy with her holes.
It's probably not trying to psych us out mentally...
Stopping mid-fight to defile a corpse?
Did it think we'd rage for a dead ECHO?
But a bad feeling told me it wasn't acting without purpose.
[Heut! Ung! Aaaaaahng!]
Moments later, after shaking its hips wildly, its body shuddered.
Thick white fluid gushed from every hole in Karen.
And then...
"My god..."
"Sh-She was dead, right?"
Karen Blaze of the Ironworks Squad convulsed, slowly rising to her feet.
Spewing semen from her empty eyes and all over her body.
And her gaze...
"Noah—! Block it!!!"
Locked onto us.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The lobby air, thick with musty dust and blood, split as Karen charged.
Shit, what was her deal again?
While Noah intercepted her, I frantically dredged up memories.
Ironworks ECHOs specialized in blacksmithing and crafting— they were rear-line support.
Did that mean they sucked in combat?
No.
But since she wasn't one I'd hand-picked, I had zero read on her weapons or style.
Looks close-range at a glance...
Drenched in viscous fluids, Karen pressed Noah hard— far faster and deadlier than any mass-produced ECHO, drawing on her old combat data.
Noah's hesitant defense didn't help.
"Karen—! Snap out of it, please!"
Tears welled in her eyes each time her golden barriers blocked an attack.
The shields held firm, but her resolve visibly wavered.
Her gentle nature made striking down a former Ark-mate unimaginable.
Arva finally couldn't stand it and stepped forward.
"Get a grip, Noah—! That's not the Karen Blaze you knew! It's just that monster's disgusting toy!"
"But—!"
"No buts! You gonna let useless emotions put the Commander in danger?!"
Shoving the hesitant Noah aside, Arva gripped her blade.
She dodged Karen's ferocious lunges with dance-like precision, striking only at arm and leg joints.
Crunch! Crack!
Horrid sounds of shattering joints echoed as Karen crumpled limply.
[What? ...Broke already?]
"Attack—!"
With Karen neutralized, we resumed our volley against the beast.
But the stalemate dragged on.
The thing was crafty too.
It seemed like it'd used Karen to distract us for a backstab, but while she moved, it'd hunkered down with its shell moved forward.
Ah, catching its breath, huh.
If Arva had been slower? A recovered Carapace Lord ambushing while Karen tied us up— it made my spine shiver with a chill of dread.
[Ah, this is getting tedious.]
Irked at its puppet's destruction, it scooped up another broken corpse.
Blue uniform.
An ECHO in unfamiliar garb.
"That's...?"
"Palanica Squad ECHO."
"Palanica?"
No such squad name was in my memory.
I didn't know every detail of Echoes of Humanity - ECHO, but I'd memorized all released ECHOs and their squads.
Palanica wasn't among them.
"The Fleet Commander's bodyguard squad. Or was..."
[Keh—! This one guards humans?]
"What'd you do to the Fleet Commander?"
[What? Fucked him good, obviously. Screamed in ecstasy the whole time! Shook his hips nonstop— he loved my body that much!]
"......"
What was the Fleet Commander's name again?
Zhang Chen?
Liu Chen?
It was three syllables...
Whatever. He'd met a horrific end beyond words.
I silently mourned Ark 69's troll whose face I'd never seen.
The Carapace Lord repeated the same vile defilement on the corpse as with Karen.
"......Fuck."
"Lord have mercy."
The squad's faces twisted in disgust at the repeating horror.
Non-human or not, they weren't emotionless.
This nightmare would hit them hard somehow.
I too found it revolting.
What I did with ECHOs was mutual consent.
Hell, aside from Pomen throwing herself at me, I hadn't touched others— even mass-produced ones who'd do anything I said.
But this? One-sided violence. Desecration of the dead.
Watching that otherworldly hentai defilement stirred pure rage and loathing from deep inside.
Fuck, taste this then, you monster.
I was done watching.
That fury zeroed in on its most loathsome part— the massive cock mid-violation.
Suddenly, all noise faded. I was locked in; the only thing in the world was the monster and me.
"......"
Slow breath in.
The smell of gunpowder filling my lungs from the intense battle cleared my mind.
My shoulder moved instinctively.
White Tiger's stock nestled naturally, eye locked through sights on the distant writhing target.
No thoughts. No calculations.
The smell of gunpowder filling my lungs from the intense battle cleared my mind.
Only one thought occupied my mind.
I wished that bastard would stop desecrating the dead ECHO.
And at the end of the short exhale, I immediately pulled the trigger.
Bang!
[Kieeeek—!]
In unimaginable agony, the Shell Lord flung away the ECHO’s corpse it had been playing with and let out a horrific scream.
Clutching its severed member, it started to convulse on the spot.
[You dare... my cock! MY COCK!!! I'll rip yours out and plant it in me!!!]
Vicious malice poured my way.
Its hate-filled glare burned— then it fled into the shadows.
Arva's urgent gaze hit me.
"Commander, orders—!"
"...No. Stand down."
I wanted to pursue that abomination.
But chasing was pointless. The squad couldn't pierce that defense fully.
"......Understood."
Arva accepted it too.
Instead, we refocused on the objective.
"No corruption, thankfully."
Pomen used specialized gear to extract precious 'original gene' data from the fallen Karen Blaze and other ECHOs.
Three hauls.
Ironworks' Karen Blaze, one from Palanica Squad, and...
"Huh, this gene's new. How'd it end up here?"
"...Did the Carapace Lord have it?"
"Dunno. From another Ark maybe? Definitely not ours."
"Yeah, Ark 69 had zero community facilities. I’m sure."
We scored the ECHO gene info for a member of the Breadgarden Squad.
