"Zz… We need help."
"Zz… Some damn psychopaths are chasing us. They've hurt my friends and one has died."
Roooaaaarrr!!!
Jonathan's group fell silent when they heard that powerful roar. None of them were naïve enough to believe it was from an animal. Even a bear couldn't produce a sound like that; besides, they had been expecting something like this.
"Zz… Where are you located?" Jonathan waited for an answer, but nothing came from the other side of the radio.
At that moment, Jonathan's eyes lit up when a mission was issued.
"[Mission in progress…
Class: Hunt and elimination
Type: Mixed
Request: Eliminate what hides in this block beyond the human eye, regardless of the consequences.
Reward: Mysterious ability…]"
Knowing they had reached the area where a demonically summoned creature might be right now, Jonathan immediately raised the group's alert level and requested immediate support.
"Do we keep moving forward?" Alexander was prepared for any drastic decision.
"We can't let those people die; the information they might have could be useful to us." Jonathan responded, this time taking the initiative to lead the way.
"If we follow where the path came from, we should turn slightly to the right."
"Sir, I've detected traces of dark energy, and everything indicates it's a beast summoned by humans." A man explained as he held a handheld computer and reviewed the incoming data.
Jonathan was looking at the ground, and after some time he ordered, "Billy, I'll leave the tracking to you."
"Understood!" Billy went ahead with only light gear to observe the path before them. He was a tracker soldier; his main task was to prevent his team from being ambushed by the enemy—and that implied risking his own life.
Wednesday was watching how the entire forest was silent and said, "Deploy drones. We need to get images of what's around us."
After confirming they were in the red zone, everyone began working to be ready in case they needed to face whatever had roared in the darkness.
Jonathan let everyone move down while he went ahead so Billy would have some support up front in case he encountered the enemy head-on.
After Billy returned, he reported that he had found footprints. Experts analyzed these prints and did not rule out that they belonged to other people.
These tracks were disordered, unlike the ones they had been leaving on their path, so they assumed whoever left them had been running—and seemingly in a hurry.
"Running like that could only leave him injured if he fell. There's no other reason for someone to run this way." Billy spoke briefly, giving his accurate and cautious point.
Following the tracks in the opposite direction, they reached a hill, and that's where the footprints came from.
Jonathan raised his hand to stop his group, looked towards the farthest part of the clearings, and noticed an unidentified creature moving back and forth.
Crack!
"Target found. Marked." Everyone immediately aimed their rifles, using intelligent scopes to mark the target and log it as an enemy.
Once the scopes locked on, they analyzed the figure's size, main characteristics, and every detail composing it to determine if it was the same beast or another one.
"Zz… Sir, we've identified many ancient runes that signal a portal."
Jonathan closed his eyes to think, waited for the drones to also gather information, and after being ready he said, "We can't wait for reinforcements."
Wednesday was preparing like everyone else; they were always ready as long as the orders came.
"Listen carefully. Everything except ourselves is the enemy, so you are authorized to fire at will. Eliminate the enemy, use high-caliber rounds, and establish a perimeter with landmines." Jonathan said as he looked at that enormous monster moving at great speed.
To eliminate creatures like these—bigger than what they were used to—it was important to assess the battlefield and prepare traps beforehand.
Preparation was fundamental, so once everyone took their positions, Jonathan waited for the beast to reveal its full figure.
"Zz… All teams in position!"
"Zz… Understood!"
Everyone blessed themselves; what they were about to face, after all, was something ten times bigger than any other creature.