Lexicon: II

Shock n Awe

Location: Tanggapan Corp's Facility – Raidentea's Lab

The lab was dim, sterile, and cold, filled with the quiet hum of machinery that was only broken by the distant, distorted echoes of the facility's alarm. Raidentea stood calmly at the far end of the room, his eyes sharp with a glint of amusement, as if the intrusion of Bravo and Alpha Teams was merely an inconvenience, a minor disruption to his work.

Haya was the first to step forward, her katana glinting in the fluorescent light. Her gaze was locked onto Raidentea, her every muscle tense. Around her, the team fanned out, their weapons trained on the man they had chased across hell and back.

Kinan's voice was steady, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Raidentea, it's over. Step away from the console, and surrender."

Raidentea's lips twisted into a smirk, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the group. "Surrender? You truly think this is the end? My work isn't just contained in these walls. It's everywhere, in the very air you breathe, in the bones of the undead you've been slaughtering."

Hoshino's face twisted with disgust. "Your 'work' has destroyed everything it's touched. You've left nothing but death and suffering."

Raidentea's gaze settled on her, his smirk fading into a cool, calculated expression. "Death and suffering are merely the price of evolution, of creating a new order from the ashes of the old."

Before any of them could respond, he reached toward a series of switches on his console, his fingers moving with practiced ease. Alarms blared through the lab as containment pods on the walls began to hiss and slide open, releasing his creations one by one: rows of Numatists, each one towering, their bodies honed for speed, strength, and brutality.

Raidentea took a step back, his voice filled with a calm satisfaction. "Meet the pinnacle of my work. Numatists: elite, intelligent, designed to survive in a world that you, in your arrogance, have only destroyed."

With a cold glare, he added, "Let's see you survive them."

---

The first Numatist charged, its massive body blurring as it leapt toward Price. Price dodged, firing a series of controlled shots into its side, but the bullets barely slowed it, each one absorbed by its thick, reinforced skin. The Numatist snarled, its eyes gleaming with a cruel intelligence as it lunged at Price again, faster this time.

"Focus on weak points!" Price shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Eyes, joints—don't waste ammo on center mass!"

Snake and Kinan adjusted their aim, firing at the Numatists' limbs, targeting joints in hopes of slowing them down. But the creatures were fast, adapting to their movements with terrifying precision. One Numatist grabbed Kinan's rifle and twisted, snapping the weapon's barrel before swinging a clawed hand toward him.

Kinan ducked, drawing his knife and slicing at the creature's neck. The blade caught on its flesh, slicing through skin and muscle, but the Numatist barely reacted, only snarling as it advanced again.

Nearby, Haya and Hoshino fought side by side, each one covering the other's blind spots. Hoshino fired her shotgun at close range, aiming for the Numatists' eyes, each blast echoing through the lab. Haya moved with deadly precision, her katana a blur as she struck at any exposed flesh, her every movement fueled by a cold fury.

"These things don't go down easy!" Hoshino called, reloading quickly.

"Then we just have to hit harder," Haya replied, her gaze fixed on the creature lunging toward her.

She sidestepped, driving her katana through its neck and twisting, her blade slicing through tendons and bone. The Numatist staggered, its head lolling to the side before it crumpled to the floor.