Fragments

Ch.8 - Deathmatch pt.2

As the sun rose, the cold, lifeless exterior of Aegis's second station was slowly illuminated. Asuma was in her personal office, leaned back in a comfortable seat with her legs resting on the table before her. It was covered with papers, pens, a laptop with critically low battery power was covered with hand-held mirrors and lip cream… In spite of the messy appearance, the room was filled with the calming smell of cherry blossoms. Anyone who ever entered the office wondered if she even cared about her own life, everything always looked the same – like a mess. An emptied can of beer laid on the carpet underneath Asuma's seat, occasionally dripping yellow liquid on the soft, fluffy surface. The blinds were closed, which gave the room a high-strung atmosphere fitting for how Asuma felt. The Guardians' instructor sat there not out of laziness, but out of nervousness. Her arms were crossed and she occasionally bit her nails, blankly scowling at the opposing wall through her black sunglasses. "These missions are the worst… The fucking worst…" She never understood what her higher-ups thought, sending a bunch of inexperienced teens and young adults to life-threatening missions… Whenever she questioned the Guild's decision-making, she was always ridiculed and received a vague, phrasal response: "We need you as backup," "it's to train them efficiently…" Sometimes the only answer she got was silence. It felt so immoral… So crude. But she couldn't say anything. She couldn't do anything. This wasn't the first time it happened to her, which made the mixture of despair and anger she felt even more unbearable. She had gone through this before, and the catastrophic result of the previous recruits' first mission was why the current 7 were accepted. "I don't wish this job on anyone… Please… Stay alive."

Asuma's lamenting and the quiet, lonely atmosphere of the station were interrupted by the blaring of sirens and a robotic, feminine voice. Shortly after alerting everyone, it began listing what parts of the city were under attack in a monotonous voice.
A feeling of dread grew stronger and stronger the more sectors were mentioned.
9 simultaneous attacks loudly woke up the city's stations and Asuma nearly fell out of her chair from the sudden influx of announcements. After awkwardly flailing her arms and legs about so she wouldn't fall over in her seat, she got up in a hurry, grabbing her black katana and a pistol along the way. The hallways were already filled with soldiers clad in black and red by the time Asuma exited her office. All of them were armed to the teeth, rushing into the garages on the ground floor to depart as soon as possible. She followed them downwards, stopping by one of the few motorcycles stationed there. "Everyone, listen!" With a commanding voice, she instructed, like always. She lived in ceaseless repetition and hated it. "Secure the more populated areas first and don't leave anyone behind! Kill Reapers on sight and stay in teams of 2 or 3 people! I'll be going alone. Good luck and move out." She finished her brief instructions and the garages erupted with excitement. Personally, she never understood how someone could look forward to fighting Reapers, but those battling alongside Asuma always felt relieved to have the so-called "Strongest Guardian" by their side, which assisted her laid-back leadership quite a bit.
As she got on her bike and rode out, she could only hope and pray that her recruits were okay. She knew very well they wouldn't be exempt from this catastrophe.

Inside of the warehouse, which became increasingly more damaged as the battles went on, the situation was slowly tilting in Aegis's favour. Despite most being either injured or exhausted, they persisted and battled.
The horned soldier, who dueled against the quadrupedal Reaper, had numerous scratches and gashes all over her body as the creature slowly began hitting her. There was a massive tear on her shoulder, which bled heavily and was caused by the beast's last attack.
She can't fight for much longer, but she had the Reaper's ability figured out – the more it moves, the faster it becomes. In addition, it seemed to have innate regenerative capabilities. What pulsating flesh was exposed by her explosive bullets, skin and tissue slowly grew over as the battle went on, giving the beast inhumane endurance.
"Everyone, be careful!" She warned the rookie Guardians who immediately came to help after seeing her torn-up state. "It gets faster with each attack! Don't let your guard down!"