The aftermath of the battle left the valley in ruins. Dust and debris drifted through the air as the ground trembled. From beneath the shattered earth, an enormous monster emerged.
The exhausted fighters, barely able to lift their weapons.
Before anyone could react, the monster opened its mouth and fired a sudden blast.
The explosion sent bodies flying.
As the dust settled, Bjorn coughed hard and wiped dirt from his face, struggling to push himself up.
"Is everyone alright?" he called out.
Some contestants groaned and slowly forced themselves to their feet.
Ash coughed, holding his side.
"Yeah... we got out the way just in time."
The monster growled again, charging another blast. The ground shook violently from the impact.
Nearby, Agnar was trapped beneath some rubble.
He gritted his teeth, pushing heavy stones off his body one by one. His tracker had a little crack, glowing faintly, and his old injuries pulsed with pain.
He lifted his head, vision blurred.
In the distance, streaks of blue light cut through the smoke. The others were already fighting.
A hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him.
"Hey! Hey! Are you okay?!"
Agnar gasped for air, coughed hard. He forced himself up, clutching his ribs, the same one he injured earlier.
"I'm... okay," he muttered. "Thank you."
Barely able to stand, he grabbed his rifle and forced himself forward.
"Hey wait! You're seriously injured!" someone shouted after him.
Agnar didn't stop.
He leapt from boulder to tree, chasing the sounds of battle. Then a sharp pain exploded in his head, forcing him to freeze on a high branch.
He had reached the battlefield.
Right in front of him, everyone fired relentlessly, pinning the monster down. Ash blasted its head repeatedly, forcing its eyes shut. Bjron fired precise shots into its joints, stopping it from rising.
Dark-pink charges sparked across Faye's suit as she leapt into the air to fire a thunderous blast.
"Go, Faye!" the others shouted.
She aimed at the monster's chest.
Then the monster opened its eyes.
Its mouth widened.
Agnar's heart stopped.
He saw it not happening, but already happened.
A vision.
Faye's body vaporized.
Her falling form swallowed whole.
"NO!" Agnar screamed.
Everything went white.
He snapped back to reality, panting hard, gripping the tree branch as sweat poured down his face.
"It happened again..." he whispered. " A vision... just like when the monster first appeared."
A massive explosion ripped across the valley, shaking the tree violently. Agnar looked toward it, and hurriedly made his way to the scene.
In the control room, alarms blared.
"Why is a Class S monster here?!" an analyst shouted.
"It wasn't supposed to be released! Shut the gate! Shut the gate!" another yelled.
The examiner stared at the screen with tight eyes.
An analyst whispering, "They're all going to die."
"This is bad… this monster is meant for elite Exterminators. Not trainees."
"But the trial is already running if we interfere, we risk killing them all," someone said.
The examiner clenched his fist.
"Then... we pray they survive."
The monster slammed a claw into the ground, releasing a violent shockwave.
Everyone jumped away.
Everyone except one.
Faye slipped on rubble, losing her footing.
The shockwave rushed straight toward her.
Her eyes widened.
"No!" Someone screamed.
Agnar burst forward.
He grabbed her and leapt, twisting mid-air to shield her with his body. They hit the ground hard.
Faye stared at him in shock.
"You... saved me."
"Sorry I'm late," Agnar said, struggling to breathe.
Ash rushed over, eyes wide.
"Agnar?! Didn't even see you swoop in..."
Under his breath, he muttered, Did he get faster?
The monster roared again and fired a massive beam, tearing through the battlefield.
A scream echoed.
"AH!"
Someone clutched the space where their arm used to be.
Bjron opened fire, buying precious seconds.
Xedra leapt onto the back of the monster, stabbing a massive tooth deep between its scales. The beast shrieked and slammed into the ground.
Everyone saw the opening.
A speaker crackled.
"Contestants, we're deploying cables to immobilize the monster," the examiner announced.
A compartment opened nearby.
They exchanged a look. No words needed.
Ash grabbed the cables, lighting bursting from his legs as he wrapped all four limbs in seconds. Bjorn and xedra activated their suits, muscles tightening as they fastened the cables. Others held on with everything they had.
The monster roaded and thrashed violently.
Agnar fired nonstop to keep it pinned.
Faye floated upward, pink energy building around her. Her eyes glowed.
In the control room, numbers climbed.
150%... 175%... 200%...
She aimed at the monster's head.
Agnar's heart skipped and his whole body froze.
The vision flashed again.
Faye dying.
He looked up just as the monster lunged.
Faye's eyes widened.
"This is..."
Everything went dark then a sudden reflection of light caught her attention. Instinctively she blocked, the force knocking her out of the killing line.
A massive purple beam erupted from the monster's mouth and shot into the sky.
She spun downward. Bjorn dashed under her and caught her.
Everyone turned toward the source of the beam.
Agnar stood there, rifle smoking, breathing heavily.
Xedra smirked.
"Well, well... this just got interesting. "
The monster snapped the cables and swung its tail, knocking everyone nearby off their feet.
Faye stared at Agnar, shaken.
"How... did he anticipate that?"
Her thoughts blurred until Bjorn tapped her shoulder.
"Hey! You alright? That must've been scary."
She nodded.
"We need your firepower. Can you still fight?"
She took a deep breath, then hardened her expression.
"...Yeah."
"Alright then." Bjorn smiled. "Let's finish this."
Ash, Bjorn, Xedra, Faye, and Agnar stood together. For the first time, all five faced the monster as a team.
They charged forward.
Ash
Lightning burst behind him as he zipped left and right, firing rapid shots that kept the monster distracted.
Bjorn
Every bullet from Bjorn hit a weak point eyes, joints, soft tissue.
Xedra
Xedra threw a piece of tooth from a monsters corpse just like a knife to pierce deeper inside the monster's skin.
Faye
Her suit glowed dark-pink. She aimed and shot a beam that cut deep into the monster's shoulder.
And Agnar
Agnar saw flashes of the monster's attacks before they happened.
A tail whip
A laser beam
A claw strike
He dodged each one perfectly, guiding others out of danger.
"Agnar, how are you doing that?!" Ash yelled.
"I don't know!" Agnar shouted back. "It just… happens!"
The monster's chest glowed again. A huge blast was coming.
Agnar saw a flash
A future image of everyone dying.
He gasped and clenched his teeth.
"I can't let that happen!"
His suit sync shot up:
95% → 99% → 100%
Energy cracked around him.
"Everyone! Aim at the chest!" Agnar screamed.
They aimed.
The monster charged its beam
And all five fired together.
A massive explosion lit the valley. Dust and flames shot upward. Heat washed over them like a wave. The shockwave was felt even outside the facility.
The monster roared,
cracked
and finally fell.
Silence followed.
They had won.
A load cheer broke out from the contestants.
"It's finally over," someone with tears in their eyes while falling to their knees.
The steel doors opened. Medics rushed in. The examiner stepped onto the battlefield, jacket blowing from the wind of the explosion.
He looked at the remaining standing contestants.
Bloodied. Exhausted. Barely holding themselves together.
"You all did good," he said. "I never pictured you all winning. You've passed the Raiders Exam."
Agnar almost collapsed. Ash caught him.
"You were awesome out there, man," Ash said, smiling.
Faye looked at Agnar with curiosity.
Bjorn nodded.
Xedra sighed and walked towards the door. "Where's the canteen?"
A medic frowned. "Sir, you need treatment!"
Xedra ignored him. "There's nothing good 'ol rice and egg-tomato stew can't fix..."
The examiner and a few scouts examined the battlefield. Extractors harvested monster parts before incinerating their corpses.
He knelt down on one knee, touching the ground looking for clues.
His communicator buzzed.
"Talk to me."
"Sir, cage C-5 was sabotaged," the scout reported.
Silence.
"...I see. Report everything once we're back. It's risky sending details over comms."
"Roger."
The line went dead.
A cold sensation crept up his spine, something the examiner has felt before... bloodlust. Strong. Malicious.
He activated his scanning interface, eyes glowing as he searched the horizon.
He stared into the distance waiting to sense the bloodlust again.
"Sir? Is everything alright?" a guard asked.
The examiner exhaled. "Yeah... it's nothing."
"There's a call for you."
He took the phone.
"Yes?"
A playful but mature voice replied, "Shouldn't you ask who it is first?"
"There's only one person who'd sense that energy surge from that distance."
The person on the other end of the line smiled, "I take it that you know why I'm calling?"
"We were sabotaged."
"Unfortunate... especially after what has been going on. You'll look into it?"
"Yes... sir."
"Don't call me sir. You know I hate that."
The line went dead.
At the hospital.
Agnar woke up in a white room. His body felt heavy, wrapped in bandages. Machines beeped softly.
Ash sat by his bed eating snacks. "You're up! Finally."
Ash's arms were wrapped in bandages, he was in regular clothes. He had been cleared 2 days ago.
Faye stood by the window, arms crossed. Her posture straightened as she heard what Ash said.
"How long was I out?" Agnar asked.
"Four days. Doctor said you had it bad out of everybody," he threw a chip up in the air and caught it with his mouth.
"He said you were lucky to be alive after fighting with those injuries."
Agnar flinched, grabbing his head.
"Why does my head hurt? Ash what did you do to me while I was asleep, you idiot?!" he yelled.
"Careful," Faye said softly. "The doctor said you shouldn't stress yourself."
Ash and agnar looked at her and looked at each other with their mouths opened.
"This is the most we've heard you speak," ash said," Agnar nodded with a goofy look.
Her cheeks turned red. "Idiots."
"I never got to thank you for saving me back there... Thank you."
Agnar looked at her briefly and stared at the ceiling. "I just did what I had to."
"Saying that doesn't make you cool," Ash teased.
"Shut up, moron."
Faye covered her mouth and laughed.
Ash and Agnar joined her laughing.
Bjorn walked in with a fruit basket. "Hospital food sucks. Eat this." Placing the fruit basket on the bed side stand.
"Glad to have you back, kid."
Agnar smiled slightly.
"Tomorrow's the day," Faye said, staring out the window.
Agnar looked at the sunset, eyes narrowing.
"Yeah."