102 Fighting Brahman

The rumbling of a nonstop explosion could be felt through every section of the facility. Chris and Aya, who had been looking for the right way, followed the tremor as they had an idea of who caused it. The deeper they walked, the stronger the shaking got, almost like mini-earthquakes.

"It's him, isn't it?" asked Aya, feeling that the center of this tremor was the masked boy who called himself Killswitch.

"Possibly. Though I've never seen him this energetic."

"Say, you seem to know a lot about each other. What's your relationship with him?" asked Aya.

Chris didn't answer her question. He just smiled and kept walking forward. Who knows what would happen in the future if their relationship would be known. He wasn't the least worried that someone would use Edward to threaten him, it was the other way around.

As long as he threaded on this path, Edward was bound to made enemies here and there. Someone might use him, or maybe Claire to threaten Edward. That was not something he would forgive if it ever happened.

Knowing that Chris wouldn't give her the answer she wanted, Aya let go of the topic and talked about something else. She asked, "This thing, we're doing. Aren't you scared?"

"Of what? The part where we have to fight flesh-eating monsters? Or the part where we have to save humanity from extinction?"

Aya chuckled and replied, "Both."

Chris didn't answer immediately. He smiled and solemnly said, "At least now we had a chance to save a lot of people without losing so much."

A lightbulb appeared inside Aya's head, "I knew it. You're one of those S.T.A.R.S. right?"

"I was. But, how did you know?"

"There's no one who didn't know your name in our department. My job allowed me to take a peek at the reports you submit after that... you know..." replied Aya. She didn't want to continue in case she dug a deep trauma inside Chris's heart, but seeing that the man before him still appeared strong-willed, she continued, "It was the talk of the month in my departments. When I heard about the news, I thought it had something to do with what we're investigating right now. I didn't know that it was actually something much worse."

Chris recalled thay Aya mentioned that her department, M.I.S.T., was in charge of investigating cases of NMC attacks for the past three years. It made sense if she would also investigate the Raccoon City incident, thinking that it was another NMC invasion.

Chris replied, "It was. And still is if you think about it. I almost lost someone I cared about because of the choice I made."

"Why? Did he..." asked Aya while making a gesture of cutting her neck.

Chris who understood what she meant immediately corrected his answers, "No, it's not that. We just had some differences in how we viewed things back then. I chose my family rather than trying to save others in need. He called me a coward, and I couldn't say anything about it.

"And what's wrong with that?" replied Aya. She was genuinely confused.

"Huh? You know... I abandoned all those people and... Aren't you hearing what I've been talking about?"

"Yeah, I heard it loud and clear. You have to choose between responsibilities and duties, blah blah bla. Not all soldier would still be a soldier in the face of the one they loved. A father would still be a father to his child. A son would still be a son for their parents. You chose what you thought was right and who can't blame you? I would also choose my family over some strangers if I have one."

Chris didn't miss the last sentence she said, but he decided not to delve further on it as he replied, "But still, as he said. I was someone who worked for people's cause. He admired me because of that and I crushed his expectation."

"Okay, I don't know who is this person you're talking about, but I need to give him a lecture."

"Pfft... I don't think he'll listen though." smiled Chris, holding his laugh while being reminded how, back then, Claire would scold Edward even for the smallest of things. It was a good old day.

"We're almost there. I uhh..." Aya was flustered by Chris's smile. It was the first time she saw him smiling without Killswitch being around them, so she decided to focus on the task at hand.

They kept on walking side by side in silence. Though it was a little bit, the atmosphere between the two was closer than before.

===°°°°===

Inside the main reactor, the walls were starting to crack because of the constant explosion I produced. And in the middle of it was a humongous cocoon. Traces of burn and crack covered almost the entirety of the cocoon's surface.

'Fuck! Why is it so hard!?' I thought loudly inside my mind. Even after using <Pendant of the Weakened Heart> to reduce its Magic Defense, the damage I inflicted toward the cocoon was lower than I thought it would be. Blood started to drip from my nose. Ever since Paris, this was the first time my Mental Power was depleted into a negative state.

It must be noted that each time I used Firaga, it cost 50 MP/cast. The last few MP Potions I had were used on when I fought against the horde of NMCs under the well last night. I had nothing in stock left. I was tempted to use my reserved Stat Points to fully restore my MP, but I held it in as I hadn't decided which stats I was going to focus on next.

As if answering my prayers, the 30th fireball landed on the center of its body and it finally happened. Like a deflated balloon, the cocoon lost its firmness. A cry from inside the cocoon interrupted all of my swirling thought. It was an eerie and bizarre cry of a baby, a human baby to be exact.

"Kuagh!" it pierced through my sensitive eardrums, forcing me to cover my ears. The unconscious Eve was also affected by it, she squirmed in her sleep as if having a cruel and ominous nightmare.

"What the hell is happening!?" I yelled toward no one in particular.

As if answering my question, the cocoon started quivering, the mouth that swallowed Number 9 earlier started to widen as something tried to crawl out of it. Brahman was coming.

I turned my attention toward the entrance door. My ears picked up the sound of footsteps by the door where I came from earlier. It was Chris and Aya. They were appalled by the situation inside the reactor. It was full of debris and fire, mainly centered around the cocoon.

"What... is that?" muttered Chris, both he and Aya covered their ears as they also heard the ear-piercing cries of Brahman.

"Oh, Chris, you're right on time. We're just about to get started." I greeted, waving my hand.

"Yeah, I can see that," said Chris, looking between me and the cocoon of Brahman. His expression was one with relief, knowing I was fine.

"Umph…"

Aya heard a moan of a girl nearby, her eyes moved to her left. Next to the entrance, she saw a little girl, unconscious, leaning by the wall. She crouched to check on her, but she was stunned when she saw the little girl's face. It resembled her so much that it frightened Aya as she fell on her butt.

Knowing what was she thinking, I leaped to their side and introduced her, "Aya, this is Eve. If you already did what I told you to do earlier, you must have known her identity by now."

Aya couldn't respond to my question properly. She just nodded with a blank stare, her eyes were glued to Eve. She knew about little Eve's existence and how she was 'made', just like I did. It truly was an inhuman project.

When I asked her and Chris to search and destroy the research data and information gathered inside this facility, she should have found recordings about Eve's existence and how she was made through cloning her DNA. I needed to ask her later about it. I might find the reason why Eve was a bit different compared to the one in the game.

"We have one more thing to do, straighten yourself up," I instructed her as I turned toward Chris. My right arm shone brightly as the Oni Gauntlet appeared. After I summoned Blackbeard, I continued, "Cover me from up here, things will get ugly really fast."

Chris nodded and took out his weapon as well, an M15. He said, "Leave it to me, you do you, don't bother with anything."

Aya also regained herself and took out an MP-5 before standing beside him. She clapped her own cheek to wake herself from daydreaming.

"If I do that, I'm afraid everything would be reduced to the dust, including me," I replied, smiling, even though they couldn't see through my mask.

Interrupting our small chatting, Brahman suddenly appeared from the cocoon. His upper body parts looked like a gigantic obese baby from a single glance. Like a newborn that hadn't fully grow, we could see his red veins under his thick bulge of flesh. He didn't have legs as his lower body parts resembled those of a snail. He had two tails that looked like a half worm half leech. From his shoulder sometimes green poisonous gasses leaked outside.

It landed on the platform under the bridge. Although his size was smaller than the cocoon where it came from, his head could still reach the bridge we were standing on.

Soon, Brahman's cry turned sinister, turning from the cry of an innocent baby, into crooked laughter of a devil.

"Waaaa! Waaaa! Waaag! Gaaaa! Kahahaha!!"

After I silently cast Reinforce on both of their weapons including mine, I jumped down to the platform and stood face to face with Brahman. I felt a bit of a sting inside my brain, but it wasn't unbearable.

Unlike the ANMCs I had been fighting so far, killing Brahman wasn't a walk in the park. He was armed with various biological weapons with varied abilities.

I used all of my senses to the maximum capacity. I could sense Brahman's minuscule movement the including the movement of the air surrounding me. Every single detail.

'Focus... Focus... Focus....'

Recalling my knowledge about this boss, I believed the core would be behind his exposed ribcage. He would use his core to attack as well, so I don't need to worry about not finding it. The problem was his attacks. All of them were AOE strikes.

While Brahman was still observing his surroundings, I dashed sideways with a full speed, circling Brahman's huge body. There was not enough space to move, but it wasn't much of a problem, yet. I aimed Blackbeard and fired it without any care.

Bam! Bam!

Reload.

Bam! Bam!

I aimed at his shoulders. They could produce a toxic mist that would immediately fill this room in an instant. Though I had no problem as I had my mask with me, the other would not fare pretty well. I must disable it as fast as possible for my last attack.

The abrupt attack caused Brahman to fume with anger. It was hard to turn his huge body, combined with the slug lower body parts, he became an easy target. His shoulder started disintegrating into dust as I dodge his counter-attack occasionally.

As Brahman's aggro was focused on me, I shouted toward the bridge, "Now!"

With my instruction as the trigger, Chris and Aya started attacking. Their target was Brahman's head and then the core once it appeared. My current task was disabling Brahman's movement and various attacks while looking for the best chance to deliver fatal damages.

Brahman utilized his tails whenever I was behind him, preventing me to get close to him. Even if I could, a close-range attack would be suicide in this early stage of the fight. The reason soon appeared before me.

Brahman's head started to shine bright, and a second later a wave of yellow light burst out of his head, sending blasting everything around him. As I was much further away from the blast, there was almost no damage. But if I was even a meter closer to him, that blast would have thrown me to the wall while burning my skin.

I covered my head using my arms. Radar Sense picked up Brahman's next move. During the blast, he was able to turn around. And now, I was right in front of him.

His long tails followed up with an attack, both of them swiped like scissors from each side. I flung two handguns back into the holster before spreading my hands apart, and then the two tails slammed against my palm.

The metal sheet below my feet was crumpled as the pressure flowed through my muscles and bones. Though my arm was numbed by the pain, I still forced moved my hands toward my waist. On each end of the tails was some kind of hollow tube. It was pulsing, delivering another attack.

"Reinforce!"

Slash! Slash!

1/4th of the tails were severed by my Shadow Blade. Brahman roared in pain. Some kind of white thick slimy liquids were sprayed here and there as the tails flailed. It wasn't blood. Again... it wasn't blood.

He began his next attack. His ribcage was spreading out, revealing a huge yellow ball that took the entire space of his chest. It started charging, the light around him was bent and absorbed inside the core.

"Hold on to something!" I warned Aya and Chris who was still shooting on Brahman's head.

They cease their attacks and held the railing tightly. Because of the long casting, I could move away and evade the attack without any problem. However, I underestimated the scale of the attack.

A huge beam of light devastated everything in front of Brahman. Everything in a line in front of Brahman was melting. I gulped at the idea of me being in the crosshair of the attack.

'Would I also melt like that steel?' I thought.

Crack! Crack!

Like a spider web, the crack I caused on the wall when I spammed Firaga earlier started spreading. Brahman's Core Beam accelerated the destruction of the reactor. Though the same could be said with Brahman as well.

Before the ribcage closed, I instructed Regina, "5 Stat Points to Intelligence."

It restored my MP to the fullest.

I then muttered, "Flow Motion."

A single-use of FlowMotion used all of my maximum MP, but in return, time was put onto a near stop for 10 seconds. Without wasting any time, I dashed toward Brahman's core while drawing my Shadow Blade knife.

Shook! Shook!

The two swords were stuck halfway, I reinforced my gloves and muttered, "Piston Punch!"

Bam! Bam!

The impact pushed the two swords further inside, crack could be seen spreading so slow like a still frame. While ignoring the pain reverberating inside my brain, I cast Firaga twice and sent it flying toward the core. Before impact, I already used <Pendant of The Weakened Heart> on the core as well. I still avoid using Reinforce on the pendant. Blood started dripping from my nose, filling the mask. I pushed myself too far again.

And so, time returned to normal.

BOOM!

<+5.000.000 EXP>

Along with those notifications, a train of notifications appeared blocking my views. I fell on my back, laying on the cold metallic floor.

Even though my body turned limp, my exhaustion from before had completely disappeared once my body was covered with the light from leveling up. Even my negative state MP had been recovered to the fullest again.

'This is really a cheat system. Too bad, now that the Quest has ended, I couldn't gain more EXP.'

I skimmed through the notification without reading all of them properly.

'I'll read all of them later.'

<Congratulations! You have completed the Chain Quest, Mitochondria Crisis, by defeating Brahman!>

...

'Huh? Telekinesis? Gem Regalia? Wait a minute! A Regalia? Is it THAT Regalia!?'

As my urge to check the Inbox suddenly spiked. However, Chris's calling interrupted my curiosity.

"E— I mean... Killswitch! You good!"

"I never feel so alive!" I replied in good spirit. Though the quest had ended, I just received two great rewards to improve my armaments. I wanted to scream at top of my lungs. My excitement was at the maximum limit right now.

Too bad... I couldn't get the chance to cheer on myself.

'Huh? What's that?' I questioned myself.

As I was laying on my back, I looked toward Chris and Aya who were looking down at me. My sight moved toward something further behind him. The reactor we were currently in had glasses window/roof, so we could see everything in the sky.

It was a bright morning sky. And I saw stars, multiple of them. And they were moving... toward us.

My eyes bulged in shock as I remembered what it was. In the game, it happened before the fight against Brahman. However, because the timetable was much faster than expected, it only arrived now. The cocoon that could only be destroyed after using countless Firaga, couldn't even stand firm after one of those starlights hit it.

"RUN!" I yelled.

There was not enough time. I only had 3 seconds at most. I stood and jumped onto the bridge.

3...

I pushed Chris and Aya toward the other end of the bridge.

2...

I turned around and saw Eve who was slowly regaining her consciousness.

1...

I leaped onto her and covered her with my body.

0...

===°°°°===

A bit further away from Dryfield.

A creature that resembled a huge manta ray flew above the sky of the Mojave desert. On top of it, stood an old man in a white robe. In his hands, a staff much bigger than him stood menacingly.

It was old man Spencer.

He watched over the morning sky as stars of light dropped from outer space. It was the special ballistic missile that was intended to fight against nuclear attacks. Its devastating destructive nature could instantly annihilate everything in a radius of 50-100 meters around its target.

Although the radius was small, it could be fired multiple times. Or... until everything was completely erased from the surface of the earth.

"How beautiful," he mumbled.

The countless starlights soon landed on Dryfield. Like a blooming flower, the small town was reduced to smithereens. He could see a single truck escaping far away, a little bit later, and that truck's owner along with his dog would have been gone as well.

Ignoring the ant, he switched his views toward the Shelter beneath him. His eyes glimmered as he could feel it.

"Ready yourself, soldiers. Bring me the child."

Under the manta ray, hanging upside down, we're Spencer's handmade Genmas. Lights flickered on their hands as various weapons appeared. Shield, hammer, sword, katana, etc.

"Go..." ordered, Spencer.

One by one, they started falling on top of the Shelter's main reactor.

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