First Light of a New Age

Chapter 196: Cult of Endless Night

Unknown Location.

4th Year of the New Age, Thursday, 3rd Week, 10th Month of the Father.

WHIIIII! WHIIIII!

A few minutes after Maximo broke free from the facility and vanished into the wilderness, several Antelope A20 armored vehicles arrived at the entrance of the facility with mounted turrets locked into position.

The vehicles skidded to a stop outside the facility gates. Even before stepping out, the soldiers could clearly hear the alarms blaring loudly nonstop from deep within the structure, as if the building itself was screaming for help.

Heavy doors opened, and soldiers in black-and-yellow combat gear and sealed gas masks poured inside. The moment they crossed the threshold, they were paused by the scene laid out before them.

These men were members of the Chaos Revolt Unit, an elite force of the Cult of Endless Night whose strength and endurance rivaled Tier-1 Transcendents, warriors who stood just a step below Dark Apostles themselves.

"What in the world happened here?" one operative asked.

"The guards... they're dead? How?"

"Who's the one responsible for this?"

"Wait, are you saying surveillance and communications are completely down?"

"What about Professor George?"

Many of them couldn't contain themselves and many questions spilled out uncontrollably. Their confusions only grew as time passed. Listening to the live reporters coming from the other Guard Units downstairs, they couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Walking up to his captain, several members of the Elite unit reported in.

"Captain, Guard Unit 17 reports that George is confirmed dead and the 20th Security Unit has been completely annihilated. On top of that, two members from the 3rd Unit have been reported missing."

"What...?"

All of the operatives let out a breath of cold air and cold sweat ran down their backs. Was this all done by one person? But how was that possible? The thought felt absurd... and yet the evidence was right in front of them.

Solemnly looking at the scene, the captain spoke. "Has anyone identified the target?"

"Yes, sir."

"Go on."

"According to the reports, the target seems to be one of the test subjects that George was working on... from reports, he seems to be called subject 682."

"682?" The captain's eyes narrowed. "Wasn't that subject under the serum's effects? How did he escape? And how did he kill our people, who were blessed with immortality?"

The more questions the captain asked, the more he realized how serious the situation was. If the reports were true, then the target possessed a method capable of killing followers protected by the immortal blessing of chaos. Just the thought alone was enough to send a chill down his spine.

"What are our orders, captain?" someone asked.

The captain straightened. He hadn't earned his rank for no reason. Despite the situation, he was able to quickly recollect himself. Looking over his squad members, he ordered.

"Calm down. Don't panic," he said firmly. "From the looks of things, there only seems to be one target, and he is armed with explosive equipment or a weapon that can bypass our immortality. That's our working assumption."

Looking at the state of the upper levels, the captain continued.

"From the looks of things, the target seems to have already escaped into the forest... I want you all to notify the other units of the situation. Tell them to stay alert and assume hostile contact at any moment."