Climidocampus Awakens
I gave Bell a thumbs-up, then stood beside my master, gazing down at her feet. Sprawled there was the mercenary team leader who'd been smugly patting himself on the back for a job well done just moments ago. Now he was a mangled mess of blood, oil, and half-jellied preservative fluid, chopped into unrecognizable chunks. Staring at the unfiltered gore didn't turn my stomach—probably because my body was already expending every ounce of energy just to maintain homeostasis after that hacking assault. But the sight drove the point home: we were still right in the jaws of a massive enemy.
Realizing that sent a tingle up the back of my neck.
"Master, you don't think the escape vehicle's been hacked too, do you? Seeing how those mercs got wiped out in an instant, we can't exactly relax about the car."
"The getaway vehicle should be fine. It's the Techno-King of the Texas Free State's latest pride and joy, after all."
"Wait, that Techno-King...?"
"Even I, with my scant knowledge of such matters, have heard the name. Surely that alone quells your doubts?"
I never imagined that name would come up. The Techno-King: the man who donned a body of steel, reborn in Texas where he founded a tech empire and crowned himself emperor. Who'd have thought the day would come when our Mars-loving uncle would lend us a hand? Truly touching.
"Of course, he didn't get personally involved. He just sold us the prototype for a price."
"Still, if it's his gear, I can rest easy. We just need to hustle over there."
North American Federation vehicles practically required top-tier electronic warfare defenses as standard. You had to survive the free-for-all of local hackers and big-tech agents. Especially a cutting-edge model like this—untouchable on that front.
And to think he had connections reaching all the way to Texas. With time so short, it was basically an emergency airlift. What the hell were our rescuers after, anyway? We'd have to escape first to find out—
I froze. As we hurried along under my master's guidance, she suddenly halted, eyes fixed on the battle-ravaged old shopping district. Bell's face hardened with alert suspicion, staring the same way. Both of them had sensed something.
Their gazes locked on a vehicle that had been wrecked and abandoned before we even arrived. A massive armored truck plastered with fire-suppressant foam, the S.I.A. logo peeking through.
Then came a grotesque roar: a distorted male voice mixed with dolphin-like squeaks.
"Ah, shoot. Thought you'd slip right by, but you caught it, huh? Not bad. Haha... HAHAHAHA!!"
We three snapped our weapons toward the source. With a screech, the thick door of what we'd thought was a totaled trailer swung open. Black smoke billowed out like a dam bursting. From within, a massive silhouette slithered slowly into view—as if uncoiling a body that had been crammed inside.
"W-what the hell is that...?"
I stammered in shock. The sudden foe wasn't even human. It was some nightmarish form I'd never seen in my life.
****
Far beyond "unique," it had utterly shed any human shape. It felt more like a metal creature—a monster straight out of nightmare. Its rosegold face sported a long, ant-mandible snout. The torso was a elongated snake, synthetic rubber skin melting and dripping from burns. Dozens of metal tentacles and skeletal, bony arms twitched irritably, shoving aside truck wreckage.
My guardians reacted instantly to the ambush.
"That unidentified monster must be behind the hacking attack!"
"Hiding in there to stab us in the back? The cowardice!"
Taat!—Master kicked off the ground with shockwave-generating speed, surging forward. Bell vented electricity and steam from her exhausts, firing a crimson plasma beam. Smaller scale than before, but faster draw.
Kwaaaaaa!—
"Hm?"
But the thing didn't flinch at firepower that could've erased a squad. It responded with theatrical calm. Thin panels on its face fanned out like a peacock's tail, currents and magnetic fields weaving a barrier before it. Shockingly, Bell's plasma halted mid-air.
Susss... Shaaak!—
Meanwhile, Master ignored the enveloping currents, slicing tentacles as she closed in. The monster sharpened a cluster of tentacles into a spear-like arm for counterattack.
Sguk! Pasit!—
But every thrust was effortlessly severed by her greatsword. The creature then wrapped a pair of bony arms around the red plasma, molding it like dough into a sphere, and slurped it up through its long maw. Then it exhaled it back at Master like dragon's breath.
Pubububvupbut!—
"Ngh!"
Plasma sprayed wide, vaporizing to superheated gas. Even she couldn't tank it; she leaped back, spinning mid-air.
Watching it all, the monster cackled—a sound like razor blades shredding eardrums. What followed was unexpectedly coherent, heightening the dissonance.
"So hasty! I waited quietly for you to show up, and you attack on sight? Rude much?"
It feigned offense, grumbling, then turned its three pairs of insectoid compound eyes on me.
"Greetings, dear Viscount Wentworth. Or should I say Earl of Straford William, now that you've inherited your father's title?"
"What the hell are you? I thought we'd cleared this area!"
"Should've introduced myself first. My codename is [Climidocampus]. To elaborate, I'm the Strategic Intelligence Division's secret weapon."
With self-intro done, it swiveled back to Master charging again. It fired electricity from bony arms while ripping off the truck door with tentacles, swinging it like a flyswatter.
Kwang! Seogeok!—
Ear-splitting impact and dust cloud. But she was already gone, severing the tentacle gripping the door. The cut end glowed orange from heat-melt.
"Ugh, seriously. No manners, total pain. This is why I hate dealing with superhumans. But!"
Master cleaved incoming tentacles, using them as footholds to vault toward Climidocampus's head. Its long snout belched sonic waves. She faltered briefly but pressed on, sword raised to decapitate.
Then disaster: her left prosthetic arm shattered.
Kwajik! Pas...
"What?!... Damn it!!"
Gripping the greatsword two-handed, her attack lost balance, blade whistling through empty air. The monster seized the opening, bony arms snatching her. Before she could react, it unleashed sonic blasts from its maw and massively amplified electricity from its limbs.
Wooongwoongwoong... Pajijijijijijijik!!!
"Kuhuh... Kek... Aaaah!!"
"Master!!"
She clenched her teeth, then let out pained groans. Her unknown defenses were useless up close against sustained point-blank barrage.
This was bad—really bad!
Turung!—
I snatched the EMP launcher from my back, aimed with targeting assist, and fired at its head. Bell, plasma ineffective, unleashed a barrage of gyrojet rounds to halt it.
But Climidocampus raised the truck door with tentacles, swatting my EMPs aside. Its electricity detonated Bell's incoming projectiles mid-air.
No attacks landing...?
"Stay back, young master! I'll handle it!"
Chachang! Kwaaaa!—
Bell deployed blades from her left arm, roaring. All limbs and joints vented full thrust, rocketing her forward.
"Yours is easier. My specialty—time for a learning ability update?"
Climidocampus's compound eyes dilated, tiny lights leaking from thousands of pores. Bell's flame-and-smoke trail wobbled; she nearly tumbled but recovered just in time.
Her boosters were glitching. Some vents smoked idly, others sputtered uneven flames. No reprieve—the monster raised another bony arm pair, zapping her.
Pajijijijijik!!!
Bell countered with full-body discharge. Sparks flew, scorching asphalt in a deadlock. Her output edged higher; she was pushing to repel it entirely.
But its eyes glowed again—sparks erupted across Bell's frame, smoke and embers rising. Power control hacked.
"Hah... hah... Coward...!"
"Specialty, not cowardice. Shall we end this?"
Pajijijik!—
Bell throttled down to dodge overload explosions. The standoff turned against her; she started yielding ground. Then tentacles whipped in. She parried several with blades and kicks, but more converged from all sides.
Impossible to block everything. Dropping the discharge meant instant electrocution.
Perfect checkmate. An image I didn't want to face flashed in my mind. My loyal bodyguard glanced my way, same thought.
"Sorry, young master... Ru-run aw—"
Turung!!!!
Metal-on-metal crash echoed. Bell, struck dead-on by tentacles, soared into a nearby building.
Kwaang!!
......
Thud.
I collapsed in numb shock. My blank mind output nothing, eyes blinking idiotically. The monster just sneered. Acton's sky filled with its madhouse laughter, like a lunatic ward overflowing.