Versus an Echo

The Echo that got its appendage cut off was raising a loud cry from beyond the shutters, obviously in pain. Silence returned a short while later.

*BAM!*

A powerful attack hit the shutters, causing them to deform immediately. Yinuo turned to Melody, a frown on her face, and asked. "Isn't this supposed to be sturdy?!"

"I-I'm not sure...! The barrier's not activating!" Melody replied in panic, running for the computer in the room, bringing up the status of the barrier. "Oh no! The power supply for the barrier was cut!"

"Fuck!"

Yinuo was in a bad mood. Not only was she not in tip-top shape, but her cultivation was merely on the 2nd stage of the Qi Refinement stage. The Echoes are roughly around the Golden Core stage, so it'll be hard to fight them face-to-face.

"No, it looks like I have no choice but to fight!"

Yinuo realized that the shutter wouldn't last much longer as it started releasing scary creaking sounds. Cracks appeared as the metal strips were deformed. Yinuo lifted the metal bar in her hand, holding it above her head and pointing horizontally forward, while her left hand was placed in front of her in a "sword" hand sign.

*CREAK!* *CRACK!*

At last, the barrier couldn't hold on any longer. A powerful blow caused the shutter's parts to fly around dangerously, embedding against the wall on the other side.

"Kyaaah!" Melody ducked, covering her head in fear.

Yinuo, seeing that the Echo's tentacle had breached the barricade, took a few steps forward and swung the bar forward and down.

*CRUMPLE!* *PISSSSHH!*

With her attack, what remained of the shutter shattered to the floor. However, along with it, another tentacle got smashed into a paste, scattering purple blood all over the entrance.

"Fucking monster! Let's take this outside!"

Yinuo took another step, sending a kick toward the monster's abdomen, causing it to take a few steps back. She didn't delay and rushed after it, the metal pipe poised and ready to strike.

As she got out, she finally saw her enemy fully. It was a purplish-black, grotesque creature, like a mix of a man and an octopus. It had four large tentacles, simulating arms and legs, and six more that looked like its hair as it was connected to the monster's head. A pair of sharp red eyes glowed with anger as it looked over at Yinuo approaching it.

 Yinuo noticed that two of the hair-like tentacles were destroyed and that purple blood was still dripping out of the wounds.

*SCREEEEE!*

With an angry roar, the Echo started to approach. The way it moved was just as disgusting as the appearance of its body. Using the tentacles on its head, it was pulling itself forward, leaving a trail of icky black goo behind. Yinuo frowned, not wanting anything to do with that slimy material.

"...!"

As the distance between them shortened, the Echo waved some of its tentacles at Yinuo. And as luck would have it, they were slower than she expected! Ducking below the attack, Yinuo closed the rest of the distance in a couple of steps.

"You have so much energy, but you're clueless about how to use it!" Yinuo blurted as she swung the metal bar against the monster's leg.

*TING!*

However, the monster's body was tougher than it looked. Its legs were harder than its head tentacles! Yinuo didn't even take a second to realize this, and she quickly changed the way she attacked.

*TAP!*

With the tip of the bar, she hit the center of the monster's abdomen, or more like the center joining the four main appendages. As she did, the impact spread all over its body, bypassing the tough surface and wreaking havoc inside it.

As proof of how effective the attack was, the left-hand tentacle of the Echo fell off. The monster was stunned after receiving an unprecedented amount of damage, giving Yinuo another chance to attack. Mustering all her Qi to strengthen her muscles, she then smashed the metal bar on top of the enemy's head.

*SPLAT!*

Just like Jello hit with a hammer, the head exploded in a very dynamic way. The core of the Echo, the crystal inside it, which appeared as its eyes, was smashed together with its head. From the damage, the tentacles stiffened for an instant before going wild.

Yinuo dodged the random attack, taking a couple of steps back as she evaded. After she got out of range, she watched as the Echo struggled, rampaging in place, until the tentacles lost momentum and stopped, barely even twitching now.

"..."

She didn't lower her guard at all, keeping an eye on the unmoving enemy until all signs of life faded from it. Just as she was about to sigh in relief, she suddenly felt cold, an unprecedented killing intent aiming for her.

"Sh—!!!"

Before she could even curse, a powerful explosion landed at the position she was in a moment before and sent her flying further from the hangar.

"Quinlan!" Melody, seeing Yinuo get sent flying by the attack, peeked out of the open shutter with a face full of worry.

As she did, she also saw the three new Echoes that flew down. Her face turned blue from fright, but rather than for her own life, she was more worried about Yinuo, who was out there.

"Kuh!"

Yinuo tried to stand up, but the explosion messed up her sense of balance. With difficulty, she managed to raise her body, but that's as much as she could do with her current state. It was fortunate that she dodged a direct hit from the attack; if not, then her body would've been broken in several places already.

'But this situation isn't good!'

She was dizzy and unable to move properly. If the Echoes attacked her in this state, then death is the only thing waiting for her. 'This fucking cursed peaceful world!'

Just as she saw the Echoes move, about to launch another sound-based attack, a shadow fell from above.

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

A deafening roar was followed by a series of flashes piercing through the enemies. An instant was all that was needed for the three Echoes to become full of holes. Yinuo was flabbergasted and soon recovered enough senses to turn to look above, at the source of the subsonic rain of fire.

There, flying in the air, was a Doppel. Its body was painted blue and silver, a symbol of the Ragrain College of Robotics' Defense Force. The Gatling gun in its hands roared nonstop, clearing the place of the pesky Echoes.

"Student, are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?!"

The next instant, a group of medics in white, wearing helmets and hazmat suits, approached. Seeing that Yinuo was full of scratches, they immediately loaded her on a stretcher and carried her away. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Melody talking to a few more of the white-robed medics.

"..."

One problem remained, however. That is, the sub-quest didn't appear to have been completed. An even bigger headache was approaching.