Villainous 26 Defense

Sofie, a pet.i.te girl who acted as the personal a.s.sistant 'Zoe' in order to covertly ferry information out of the estate, swung a long chain with a spiked metallic sphere attached to the end. The chain snaked expertly around the neck of an enormous Six-Winged Crane, the metal sphere smashing into its head and gouging one of its eyes. She shook back a heavy mane of curly blonde hair and turned her mismatched eyes to the next victim.

Shrieking in pain, the injured crane staggered and fell, flailing its many wings to try and deal damage before a swift figure wreathed in shadow slipped through its attacks and severed its throat. The shadow, Hilda, flicked blood from her light azure blade and scowled at the sky - her figure was completely masked, silhouette shifting continuously from second to second in height and build.

Countless flying beasts blocked the stars with flapping wings and writhing bodies, angry screeching filling the air as they beat against a shimmering dome that crackled with energy. Small fry like the Six-Winged Crane were sneaking through gaps appearing periodically in the barrier, and it wouldn't be long before the defensive array shattered under the force of constant indiscriminate attacks.

"Trying to disguise it as a minor beast tide?" Hilda's voice was hoa.r.s.e and low like the threatening rumble of a wild beast, a snarling pitch that often made people's skin crawl when they weren't used to hearing it.

"That's troublesome," a bland voice crackled over the communicators each person wore in their ear. Secure in the bunker, Hans was surrounded by dozens of floating holographic screens, fingers a blur as they typed rapidly on a long holographic keyboard. Light from the screens glinted off large heavy eyegla.s.ses, the only remarkable feature of an otherwise mundane young man.

With dark circles under brown eyes, a short ma.s.s of greasy brown hair, narrow slumped shoulders and pale freckled skin, Hans carried the demeanor of an exhausted university student rather than an intelligence agent working under a secret organization. "There won't be any commanders to interrogate. I hate when the enemy's clever... Defensive barrier's at 12%. Status on the artillery?"

An enormous muscular man with striking scarlet skin and fluffy orange hair twirled several delicate tools between meaty fingers. Beneath Kurt's surprisingly exquisite touch, panels of smooth metal and crystal circuitry combined to form a large turret. Several such turrets stood in place at the edges of the domed barrier, waiting for the defenses to fall before they showcased their might.

"60% of the main turrets are fully operational! Secondary turrets are online and waiting for enemies to get in range. If we can't hold the line until Boss gets here, I'll eat my own foot!" Kurt grinned, a wide mouth with rows of sharp teeth insinuating he might not be joking about the remark.

"Scans are showing some beasts above Rank 3 in the pseudo-tide."

"I take it back. I don't want to eat my foot."

"Just your words, apparently." Hilda smirked, cutting down a stealthy Black-Crested Hummingbird before it could attack Sofie from behind. "How many above Rank 3, Hans?"

"Four, though we can't dismiss the possibility of tigers dressed as pigs in the bunch. Keeping this many beasts on task without an on-site commander means there's a contracted Beast King hiding somewhere close calling the shots. Defensive barrier's down to 8%, folks."

All four of Faust's subordinates were in Rank 3. Crossing Ranks to defeat a stronger beast was difficult but not impossible provided the beast wasn't sapient. Creatures capable of reasoning were infinitely more difficult to fight than beasts relying on pure instinct, if the strong beasts hiding in the pseudo-tide were sapient they'd be in trouble.

More and more beasts tore through the cracking barrier, forcing their way in with beaks and claws. Kurt's face dripped sweat as he pushed his hands to the limit, a.s.sembling turret after turret while his two allies protected his back.

"Someone's well aware of our strength. This fake beast tide is way overkill to deal with a few Rank 1 researchers like we were all supposed to be." Sofie scowled, her cute face twisting into an expression of disgust. She swung her weapon with more force than necessary, slamming the spiked metal ball into an unsuspecting Green Mist Bat that burst into a cloud of gore on impact.

Hilda gave a thumbs up, flashing a grin. "Brutal."

"Someone did their homework on us and I don't like it!" Sofie smashed another enemy that broke through the defensive barrier, uncaring of the blood and viscera clinging to her previously adorable outfit. "We've been outdone by enemy spies, it's embarra.s.sing!"

"Or one of us betrayed everyone else and sold out our secrets. Did you finally snap, Hans?"

"Hilda. Do you believe I'll kill you for that?"

"I believe you'll try, little man. As for success, well... Eat your vegetables, and maybe someday you'll grow big and strong."

"Go to h.e.l.l!"

Hilda cackled, her azure sword piercing deep into the skull of of another Six-Winged Crane. She retrieved her weapon with a flourish, a splatter of blood following the path of the blade and splashing onto the ground in an arc. Her every movement combined brutality with elegance, savagery with artistry. In contrast was Sofie's flurry of tiny rage swinging a spiked metal ball on a chain with seeming abandon, yet somehow never hitting her allies or their turrets.

"Defensive barrier's at 4%, cutting it awful close. Kurt?"

Kurt slammed a panel on the turret shut, wiping sweat off his wide brow. "Up and running, we're good to go!"

An invisible weight seemed to lift off everyone's shoulders. Hilda visibly sighed in relief, and even Hans in the bunker clenched his fists in victory.

"Alright, pull back to the bunker! Hilda can stay outside."

"Bite me!" Hilda snarled, sheathing her sword so she could grab Sofie around the waist, sprinting toward the bunker's door despite the smaller girl's angry protests and threats. Kurt was a step ahead, holding the door open for the smaller ladies before following them inside and locking the heavy metal door.

The bunker was disguised as a research station by illusory arrays which had long collapsed under the a.s.sault of the pseudo-tide. Without illusions it became an imposing round fortress of smooth grey metal with shock turrets sending out blue sparks on the roof. A third of the s.p.a.ce inside was a living area with bunk beds, a stocked kitchen, lavatory and bathroom. Another third was occupied by machinery and devices of all kinds, some of which only Kurt knew the purpose of. The rest of the s.p.a.ce was basically a war room with Hans and his holographic screens at the center, surrounded by a semi-circular table covered in crystal tablets and paper maps.

Hans flicked his wrists and a few large screens appeared around the war room, showing the situation outside. Hilda dropped Sofie into one chair, then sat just out of the smaller girl's arm reach. The shadows obscuring Hilda's form melted away over the course of several breaths, revealing a tall, thin girl with a face mostly obscured by her curtain of long black hair. She had large furry ears at the sides of her head, a mouthful of long sharp teeth, neon green eyes, and a long thin fluffy tail whipping back and forth in the air behind her.

Kurt groaned as he sank onto a stool, shaking his large hands. "I haven't a.s.sembled anything so fast in years! My hands are numb..."

"You're out of practice, big guy." Sofie's tone was petulant, her chin propped in her hand. "If you'd have been any slower, we'd have died! Just you wait until Boss finds out."

Color drained from Kurt's scarlet face, leaving him a greyish-pink husk of a man. "Oh no. Oh no, I'm doomed."

"He's been in a good mood lately, you might not die." Sofie shrugged, then glanced at the closest screen.

The defensive barrier shattered, sparkles of light dissolving into the dark night. Beasts screeched with excitement and surged forward, only to meet the line of large turrets waiting to pierce their bodies with a barrage of special Rank 4 bullets reserved for the biggest emergencies. The first few waves crumpled, leaving a pile of bodies high enough to form a macabre wall at the turret perimeter.

Those beasts who pa.s.sed the large turrets found themselves welcomed by smaller turrets popping out of the ground to shoot bombs in their faces that exploded into clouds of b.l.o.o.d.y shrapnel, tearing through the wings of the target's nearest allies.

Should any creatures survive the two waves of turrets, they'd find themselves fried by the shock turrets on top of the bunker, blue lightning chaining from enemy to enemy and charring their bodies black.

The brunt of the sudden attack was lessened by the large turrets - the shock turrets didn't have enough energy stored to fry an entire pseudo-tide. Without the large turrets culling the beasts the bunker would have been overrun in moments! Hans sighed in relief, clutching a mug of tepid coffee in his trembling hands. "We made it in time."