Lukas' hand was already moving before he'd even realized what he'd just met eyes with.
He instinctively fired a [Death Bolt] directly at the Automaton above the door, then yanked his arm back inside and slammed the door shut.
"What the fuck?" He heard Akira swore as the beast hit the ground directly outside the door.
He immediately moved to the window to check.
"Did it work?" Melody asked, crowding beside him. The others took their places around them.
Lukas stared at the window. The Automaton had fallen, but it was already pulling itself upright, the thin pale skin across its body darkening and flaking away where the necrosis had touched it.
Patches fell from its arms and chest in grey fragments, revealing the gears and clockwork beneath, but the ticking continued without interruption.
"The rot is eating the skin," Akira said, watching through the glass, "but the Automatons are actually made of metal, not flesh."
