Everyone who is in the lines, focus their attention toward the screen in an instant. The anxiety and tension increase in this exact moment, as they heard a loud siren noise and scream from the stage near Jaxon was. Their attention shifted to there, this included Eric, and all other people who are on the stages.
Negi-chan’s avatar being to appear again in the screen, now the attention was split between the screen and the scene in the stage, and as she appear her voice turned cold, yet her tone remained cheerful.
“Oh no! It seems Recruit Elliot Raine has gone overexert his own limit. But don’t worry, everyone! The situation is under control! Safety first, after all! Nyaa~!”
The scream from the stage is getting louder, the recruit that lying down in the machine breaks it violently, the medics and priestess beside the machine quickly dodge the after effect of said action. The body of the recruit turns to this really dark blue color, soon the recruit body begin to under some sort of transformation, while transforming the recruit screams.
“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRHISEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” screeching loudly, it’s so loud that most of the people in the vicinity started to cover their ears. The chaos started to erupt from this, most people seems to be terrified, but none of them could move, because the facility is closed, and even if they want to move, their gaze are fixated on this creature and most of the people are afraid to even flitch a muscles. Eric’s breath caught in his throat.
“Well crap, this wasn’t in the contract” echoes in his mind.
The creature then fully transformed, the recruit turns into something like a man with unrecognizable head, it seems that the head was a mashing of some kind of crystal mixed together, the creature standing tall above the rest of all humans in here, with its hand stretching far and at the end of their arm is claws like hand, after it transform, the creature then open its mouth and screeching.
”█████████████████████“. And then begin rushing towards the priestess.
The creature charged forward toward the priestess. She stood firm, holding her ground. With her visor on, we couldn’t see her full expression, but her mouth was closed shut, her focus centered on the monster. As she braced herself, she moved her right arm, the sapphire pendant of her necklace flashing while the necklace slid out from inside her right sleeve. As soon as it was out, she grabbed the chains binding it, extending her index and middle fingers, sliding the chains almost to the tips. Then, she simultaneously swung the necklace in a circling motion. The necklace made a whooshing sound, as if it were swung with powerful force, and it rotated instantly.
Her movement was swift and precise. As the necklace rotated rapidly, she abruptly stopped her hand’s swing. For a split second, her hand was still, and then she pulled her hand back and, in quick succession, thrust it forward, grabbing the pendant of the necklace. The chains whipped and bound tightly in her hands. She clenched her hand around the pendant, the faint rustle of her fingers on the silver. Stepping her left foot back, she pulled her right arm slightly, her fingers tightening on the pendant. The almost imperceptible crk of her clenched fist faded, and as the silence settled, she made a slight forward movement. But then, the medic, in a blazing fast motion, stepped in front of her, blocking the creature’s attack and with brute force sending it staggering a considerable distance with only their bare hands. Then, the medic said to the priestess.
“I’m in charge here, so don’t need to make a move” they said to the priestess behind them while still focusing their attention to the creature.
The priestess nodded, then released the pendant from her grip. The pendant and chain fell, but she stopped them by placing her middle and index fingers on the chain again. She rotated it with her fingers, and as she did, her arm flipped upward, releasing and sending the necklace into the air. It then fell as the priestess opened her hand. The necklace fell not into her hand but into her open sleeve. She then moved her hand down and settled it in a horizontal position in front of her chest.
“I’ll be your backup” said the priestess, extending her hand toward the medic. As she made the gesture, a bright, ball-shaped light, emitting a blue glow, began forming in front of her hand.
The medic didn’t respond verbally but instead prepared themselves with a defensive stance. Their right leg stepped back, their left leg forward, and their hands were positioned in front of them, mimicking a fighter’s stance.
The creature, trying to stand again after being staggered by the medic, let out a loud, horrific scream as it rose. The sound vibrated in every direction, sending terror through the air, tearing through the quiet of the medical facility. The creature charged again with ferocious speed, its long arms stretching forward, its razor-sharp claws opening toward the medic and priestess. The speed of the movement created a shockwave. The medic braced themselves for the impact, while the priestess stood behind them.
On the recruit lines, Eric watched all of this unfold in horrified fascination. The creature’s movements were disturbingly swift, and its movements were quick despite its size. If it were me it charged, he thought, swallowing hard, I’d be dead.
The priestess, surprisingly composed, stood her ground. The ball-shaped light, emitting a blue glow, shone intensely as she shouted,
“Aztoim, protect us! Grant us power to defend ourselves of all that harmed us!” , as she shout her chant her voice echoes and vibrate through the building. A huge hexagonal like hologram shield started to appeared in the front of the medic, it appeared and line up in few succession, forming multiple layers of shield.
As her chant echoed, all other medics and priestesses in sight beside moved in harmony, forming a perimeter circling the creature. The officers at the front of each recruit line stepped forward to shield the recruits.
The creature kept charging despite seeing the shield that had appeared. Its massive form blurred in the swiftness of its motion. As it closed the distance, it began slashing at the shield, but the attack recoiled, and the creature was staggered by the aftereffect. Its intense eyes showed no sign of giving up as it immediately pushed forward to attack again. This time, it swung its claws furiously fast to break the shield. The attack sent multiple shockwaves across the room, and yet the shield still held strong.
Amidst all this, a man from the line charged forward, passing all the guarding medics and priestesses and jumping toward the creature. As the man was about to land near the creature, he performed a concise kicking strike to the back of its head, abruptly stopping its attack. The creature staggered and hit itself against the hexagonal shield. The medics who were protected by the shield were surprised to see this. The man recoiled from his kick and landed on the floor. His moves were not those of an amateur; they spoke of disciplined training. The creature fell and was momentarily stunned by the kick.
Jaxon, who was standing beside the Injection machine, calmly observing what is happening, he felt a was ready to take a stance and ready to defend himself if necessary, but looking at what just happened he wasn’t about to jump like that man into the scene.
“Let them handle it,” he thought, his gaze narrowed.
“I’ll have to survive first, to come to the moon.”
The creature stood again, enraged, and turned its attention from the medic to the man who had kicked its head. It lashed out with its claws, furious, glaring at the man. But the man was ready. He chuckled, rubbed his nostrils, and smirked. The man was tall and muscular, with a handsome physique and appearance. His hair was medium length, and he wore a dirty robe over a red t-shirt. His hands were protected by almost torn gloves, and he wore what seemed to be jogging pants. This man seemed to have the most out-of-place outfit of all the recruits in the medical facility; most people there wore formal to semi-casual clothes.
The creature and the man looked at each other, exchanged glares, and then, in the blink of an eye, moved simultaneously toward each other. A shockwave formed as they clashed, and the creature was pushed back. The man landed another blow on the creature.
Amidst everything happening, Negi-chan’s avatar reappeared on the screen. She made a “look out” gesture, her voice now curious but also cheerful. It seemed that despite everything that had just happened, Negi didn’t see this as an out-of-control situation. Seeing the man battling the creature, she shouted to him,
“Go, recruits! Show them your power and resolve!” As she shouted this, light sticks appeared, and she held them, cheering like a cheerleader.
“This is your chance to prove your worth! Nyaa~!” as she cheers to the man the cheerful songs started playing in the Background.
The song echoed in the facility. Some recruits were terrified, while others were baffled and muttered things like:
“Isn’t this her original song?”
“You mean this VTuber is just playing a song despite all this horrific stuff happening right now?!”
“A song like this is what we’re supposed to hear to lift our spirits! Truly, Negi-chan is my idol!!”
Many people in the lines questioned what was happening. The song was calming and fast-paced, giving the sensation that you could face anything in life and prevail. While the song played, everyone asked why it was playing, but now almost everyone just went along with it. Eric noticed a zapping sensation inside his head, was dumbfounded for a second, scoffed, and then just went along with it like everyone else.
Lena, seeing the man fighting the creature alone, was worried. She closed her eyes for a second and heard a voice echo in her mind,
“If you can, act. A small act is better than nothing”.
She then opened her eyes and moved from the back to the center where the creature was standing. She decided to act. She ran forward, shouting to draw the creature’s attention away from the man.
“Hey! Over here!” Lena shouted while running toward the creature.
The man on the center, notice this and then shout with a terrified expression
“Wait! NO!!“.
The creature, notice the sound coming from its back, and then turned around, it sees Lena, and then roared at her, not long after that the creature charged towards her, its claws outstretched again as it charging. Lena, despite her bravery, stumbled back, she forgot she cannot do anything to that monstrous creature in front of her, why she would do this, she asked herself within her mind in a split second as creature was charging, the fear is displayed on her face.
In that instant, Jaxon saw Lena running towards the creature from distance, his eyes widen as the creature charged towards Lena, he shifted the attention towards her, she stood there shaking in her feet, with fear on her face, the familiar face that he was sure denied before in the cubicle.
It was Another person…
It was not her…
It was not…
It was…
The way she stumbled, the fear in her eyes—it was a mirror of that terrible night.
“Julius… please…”_ Her voice echoed in his mind, a desperate plea.
The memories surged back, the guilt, the rage, the self-loathing.
“You failed her then. Are you going to fail her again?” The voice echoes, the feeling surged through him, the cable that attached to Jaxon and connected to the machine displayed something.
“Integration Complete”.
Jaxon’s breath hitched. “No.” He wouldn’t fail. Not this time.
“AGHHHHHHHHHH!!”, as he then surged forward, an instinctive growl rumbling coming out of his throat.
The movement created shockwaves around them. Within a split second, Jaxon intercepted the creature’s attack with his bare arms, preventing it from reaching Lena. He could feel his muscles hardening, a primal instinct awakening within him. Power surged through his body, and then he broke the clash with a punch that connected with the creature’s hand. The punch staggered the creature, and the force of their clash shook the very floor. Swiftly, from behind, came the man who had been facing the creature before, sending another kick to the creature’s belly and sending it even further away from Jaxon and Lena.
“Hey there,” the man said, his voice strained but steady.
“Trying to protect someone?” He was lean but wiry, with close-cropped dark hair and focused, intense eyes.
Jaxon, his focus entirely on the creature, didn’t respond.
“My name is Jin,” the man continued, a hint of admiration in his voice.
“Glad to make your acquaintance!” said the man happily towards Jaxon.
Lena, now behind Jaxon and Jin, looked on in a mixture of fear and gratitude.
“T-T-Thank you, if not for you both I would be…”
“No, need to thank us miss, we just doing what we supposed to do, helping someone that in needs!”
“Y-Yes…” as Lena nodded to the respond while still trembling and a shaking a little.
Jin, quickly, glanced at Lena and then advert his eyes back to the creature. The three now stands in the front of the creature as it rose back again, looking at them.
The other recruits, witnessing the fight, were on the verge of breaking the line formation. The officers on the front of their lines, however, remained impassive, their eyes fixed straight ahead, as if they were not caring to the chaos in sight.
A loudspeaker crackled to life. “Any recruit who breaks formation will be shot on sight!”.
The creature, now facing both Jaxon and Jin and Lena, roared in frustration. Eric, still frozen in place, just watch as the event unfold. He knew he should do something, maybe like that Jin guy, jumped forward and join the battle, but he couldn’t if he did, he’d be dead, the thought running on his mind. As the monster was about to make it stance to prepare attacking the trio again, Negi-chan’s that was singing song on the screen, stops her song, and then she shout.
“Wow! What a good display of teamwork! Jaxon, Jin, and Lena, you three are truly shining examples of courage and camaraderie!” She paused, her gaze seemingly fixed on Jaxon.
“And Jaxon, you’ve just demonstrated one of the amazing effects of the Vita-Serum! Enhanced physical abilities! Isn’t that inspiring, everyone? That could be you! But remember” her tone shifted slightly,
“Ahh! I Forgot to say this but remember the serum works best when you accept it. Resist, and… well, you could end up like that” She gestured towards the fallen creature.
“So just relax, just embrace the change, and let the serum do its magic!” She winked, making a pistol gesture with her hand, sparkling stars erupting from her fingertips.
“Everything is under control!”
As she spoke, trails of light began to appear in the air around the creature. The lines shined white with a light blue outer glow, moving in a circular motion and forming circles. As the circles formed, flickers of light appeared in the center of each. Four circles were created. The light soon scattered, and the inner space within the circles turned black, speckled with numerous small white dots. Immediately, there was a metallic cranking sound coming from inside. Swiftly, a gust of wind, as if something had been launched from within, followed by continuous cranking metallic sounds. From the inside, it seemed long, connected chains were being ejected.
The top of the chains moved so fast it was a blur, whipping toward the creature’s body, wrapping around it, locking and binding it tightly. As it bound, the creature was snapped, frozen in place. The chains’ shackles could be heard ringing as the creature tried to move, but to no avail. The creature, now locked like it was a display in a lab, stumbled against the chain. It tried its best to move, a loud screech escaping its grotesque, crystal-laden head. For a moment, the creature had a terrified look in its eyes, a sudden fearful emotion, a gesture that seemed disturbingly familiar, almost human in its fear.
Before anyone could react, the screen flashed with stylized, idol-like text: “Fans! Assemble!”
Negi-chan called out, her voice now amplified and echoing through the room, “Alright, my lovelies! Time for a little clean-up!”
When she shout, an enormous circle started to form and then from the inner side shined burst of pink light. The screen flashed again, with Negi pointing her finger towards the creature
“Fans! Liberating!”
From the pink light, dozens of silhouettes emerged, and then a squad of soldiers stepped out. But these were not the same soldiers as the ones in the medical facility, nor did they resemble anything Eric and the others had seen when they arrived at the military base. The soldiers’ uniforms were stylized; they wore pink uniforms. Atop their heads were stylized fox ears, the same as the ones on Negi’s avatar. Their faces were concealed by black masks, the center of each displaying a furious fox expression. They moved with unnerving precision, charging forward toward the creature Negi had pointed out.
The creature, struggling to break free from the bindings, seemed to be growing weaker. Its movements no longer even shook the chains. As it struggled, it saw the newly emerged soldiers and turned its attention to them. As the soldiers approached, Negi, still on the screen, changed her clothes and the scene she was in. The scene now resembled an elite military office. Behind her was a grand-looking chair. She let her body fall into the chair, bumping against it and leaning back, her legs crossed. Black glasses appeared on her face, and she moved her head upward, as if looking down at the creature. Then, she gracefully moved her right hand upward, all fingers closed except for her index and middle fingers. As she did this, another circle appeared, and another chain whipped toward the creature, locking around its neck.
This time, the chain glowed red instead of blue, and the creature seemed to be in deep pain, its jaw fully open as if it wanted to scream, but no sound came out. The creature began to try furiously to break free from the chains, its movements chaotic, as if it were fighting for its life. The chains, however, still held strong. As it furiously shook its body, trying to break free from the bindings, it let out a distorted, inaudible screech, almost like a human scream, its eyes widening.
The soldiers advanced, their expressions hidden behind their masks, but their movements conveyed efficiency. One of the soldier, wielding a laser blade, approached the creature with the very fast movement. The creature react, its eyes wide with terror, it tried to back away, but the chain held it fast. The soldier raised their blade, and the creature flinched, a gesture of pure, primal fear.
The blade descended. Swurs!
The creature’s scream was cut short, replaced by a wet, gurgling sound. A soldier had severed one of the creature’s arms. The severed limb, still twitching, was pulled back by the chain. As the limb fell to the floor, blood spilled from the creature’s torso, bursting out like a fast-moving current. This caused the creature’s movements to become even more erratic. As this happened, the creature let out another scream, a sound disturbingly close to human grief.
The soldier carrying the blade continued forward, their laser blade dripping with the creature’s dark blue blood, which vaporized, creating a blue mist. The soldier then slashed the creature again, this time with deliberate slowness, cutting off its left leg. The chain retracted again as the leg was severed. Negi, visible on the screen, still looked at the creature, her head tilted upward slightly. With her glasses on, her expression couldn’t be clearly seen, but she was smirking, as if savoring the moment. The creature, its remaining arm and leg trembling, seemed to have no strength left to stand. It fell, but because it was locked by the chain around its neck, its head couldn’t fully descend. The creature now stopped moving chaotically, but its muscles still twitched. Its eyes, visible from below, were almost like a dead fish’s eyes. Not long after, it closed its eyes, as if accepting its fate.
Just then, from the stunned crowd of recruits, a single voice pierced the tension. “ALELALEALEALEALEAAAAAAA!” shouts Eric from the line.
Eric then have his face flushed crimson, clapped a hand over his mouth. He had no idea why he’d shouted that, no idea where that strange, almost random yell had come from. He wish he could disappear after what he just did.
Negi-chan lifted her glasses, momentarily surprised, and leaned forward, looking around to see who had screamed. Her gaze landed on Eric. A small smile played on her lips, and she gave him a playful wink before leaning back again. This time, she sat straight, her legs still crossed, her attention focusing again to the scene.
The soldiers were unfazed by Eric’s scream. The soldier who had held the laser blade earlier plunged it into the creature’s chest. The creature’s body convulsed, a final, shuddering gasp escaping its lips. Its head lolled to the side, still chained and suspended by the neck. As Eric watched, the creature’s head glitched for a split second, revealing a glimpse of something disturbingly like a human face beneath the grotesque crystal head.
The remaining soldiers closed in on the creature, pulling out their own laser blades. They surrounded it, their movements precise and harmonized. All of them then charged, slashing and tearing the creature apart, ripping its flesh continuously for several seconds. The creature’s body, now little more than a mangled mess, twitched and spasmed as the soldiers continued their gruesome work. Dark blue blood sprayed in every direction, painting the floor of the medical facility. Some of the blood also appeared to have a grotesque crimson color mixed in. The air filled with the sickening stench of burnt flesh and the metallic tang of blood, mixed with something else… something sickly sweet and faintly…
The recruits, forced to witness the event unfolded before their eyes, many were recoiled in horror. Some covered their mouths, stifling vomit. Others simply stared, their eyes wide with fear that this is the battle or the environment they may or will face later in the battlefield.
As quickly as it began, it ended. The creature, now unrecognizable, was reduced to nothing but a sludge of flesh and blood on the floor. All the chains retracted back to wherever they had come from. The pink-clad soldiers stood silently for a moment, their weapons vaporizing the creature’s blood, creating, once again, a dark blue mist around them. Then, with a synchronized movement, they turned off their laser swords and bowed toward Negi-chan.
Negi, on the screen, seeing this, stood up with a cheerful attitude again. The screen zoomed in on her eyes as she winked and said,
“Thank you, my dears!” The scene behind her and her outfit then switched back to the previous casual one.
The circles reappeared and swallowed the soldiers whole. After that, all the circles vanished. The medical facility was eerily silent. The only sound was the breathing of every single recruit. The air hung heavy with the stench of death.
Negi-chan’s avatar remained on the screen, her expression calm and cheerful once more.
“Like I said, right? Everything is under control. Nyaa~!” She winked again.
Jaxon, Jin, and Lena stared at the scene, their faces a mixture of shock and disbelief. The other recruits were equally stunned, their mutters and whispers filling the void.
“What… what was that?”
“Pink soldiers? With fox ears?”
“Did… did they just…?”
“That’s… that’s insane.”
“I thought this was a military operation, not a circus.”
“They just… tore them apart…”
“I’m never sleeping again.”
“Is that… is that serum safe?”
“I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“What the hell did I just sign up for?”
“I want my mom.”
The murmuring continued, a mix of fear, confusion, and disgust. The recruits were clearly horrified by what they had witnessed—the sheer strangeness of the situation and the implications of the serum’s power. Eric, meanwhile, was still trying to process his own outburst, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.
The aftermath was swift and clinical. A clean-up crew, clad in biohazard suits, arrived to clean the mess. They moved like machines, their actions precise and silent. The gruesome remains vanished in what seemed like an impossibly short time. The lingering stench of death was also gone in an instant after the clean-up crew sprayed the air with powerful disinfectants. While all this happened, the priestesses and medics who had surrounded the creature went back to their positions around the injection machines, moving so casually as if nothing had happened. After the floor and the scene had been sanitized, the clean-up crew moved in harmony and left the facility through the back room.
“Alright, recruits! Let’s get back on track! The injection phase will now continue” as Negi-chan said on the screen cheering, her tone was upbeat, with not even a mention of the horrific scene that had just occurred.