Escape (2)

"Shivan! Are you okay?" Seeing his shaking hand, Chloe called out to him.

"Yep... I'm fine. I'll be fine in a minute or two." Shivan's lack of empathy was obvious.

"You're taking your first kill well. I guess you're like her, so that makes sense." Chloe muttered the last part under her breath.

"Yeah, Chloe had nightmares for weeks and barely spoke to anyone during that time." Alexia joked from across the room.

"And how did you take it?" Shivan asked Alexia who was still looting the bodies. 

"She was completely unaffected. It was just a walk in the park for her." Chloe smiled bitterly. 

After handing out the guns and ammo to everyone, Chloe packed some Luminafern in a bag she found nearby.

"You're taking it?" Alexia asked.

"Yup, it's useful and could make other drugs with these plants. They're precious." Chloe replied.

"I thought you didn't want the military to go after you." Alexia bantered.

"Well, we already are using these guns, who cares about taking some Luminafern." Chloe replied while laughing.

After ensuring they had taken everything they could, the trio tried to open the heavy door, but it was locked.

"Wait up. What are these guns?" Before they figured out a way to escape, Shivan wanted to inquire about the weapons he received.

"These are military-grade guns, a type of Magic Assist Weapons. MAWs for short. MAWs are weapons that assist in the control and usage of magic. The mithril weapons we have are just good conducting mana, they're nothing compared to actual MAWs.

Don't worry about the specific details. Just point at the opponent, imbue mana into the gun it'll fire a powerful bullet." Alexia explained while checking her weapon out.

She then pointed the gun at the wall and fired.

BOOM!!!

The wall immediately collapsed leaving a gaping hole.

'The guns weren't this powerful when they shot it.'

Seeing Shivan's confusion, Chloe spoke, "The more mana used in the guns, the more powerful the attack. The bullets also contain explosive powder that explodes with more force the more mana is used

Also when you fire, don't use too much mana or else you'll overload the weapon. That would cause a problem."

Understanding the explanation, Shivan quickly ran the to wall, stopping Alexia from leaving.

Check with his enhanced senses, he ensured nobody was nearby, and then signalled it was safe. His friends nodded as they let Shivan take the lead.

"We can't escape guns blazing. We need to conserve our mana." Chloe reminded Alexia and Shivan as they moved through the corridors. 

Their feet echoed as they ran through the metal base. The floor was practically a maze.

Along the way, Alexia destroyed every camera she could with a regular pistol.

As they were about to approach the elevators, Shivan used his hand to signal everyone to stop.

He felt the presence of guards that had hidden themselves, on the other side of the wall, ready to fire if they tried to enter the elevator.

'So that's where everyone is.' Shivan pondered silently. When they explored the floor, they discovered no other men that were guarding the place.

Instead of attacking individually, the guards planned to ambush the three when they least expected it.

Shivan admitted it was a good plan because they wouldn't be able to avoid the hellfire of bullets. Their only mistake was that they didn't account for Shivan's abilities.

Communicating what he saw to his allies, they nodded in understanding.

Just as Shivan was about to ask about what to do, Alexia whispered to the group. "Do you want to see a makeshift grenade?"

She started infusing an excessive amount of mana into her gun MAW. Shivan felt the gun shake as the gun started taking in more mana than it could handle.

The increasing mana caused the weapon to become more unstable. If the men behind the wall had the same mana sensitivity as mages, they would've recognised the danger.

When she felt like it was enough mana, she threw the gun towards the elevator.

The gun looked like it was falling in slow motion.

As the gun made contact with the floor...

KABOOOOOOM!!!

A massive explosion rang out as the shockwave from the blast caused massive destruction. The wave nearly hit the three as the vibrations could be felt throughout the entire floor.

After the smoke cleared out, all that was left were mangled bodies. Those who were still somehow alive were killed by Chloe immediately afterwards.

They picked the weapons that weren't damaged in the explosion and carried them with them.

But as a result of the explosion, the elevator door was damaged.

"Soooo, does anyone want to call the elevator?" Chloe questioned in a sarcastic tone.

"Nah, we'll get swarmed." Alexia responded and forcefully pulled open the door and entered the shaft. The elevator was above them and was going down. At this rate, they'd be squished.

But Alexia pointed her gun MAW up and fired her weapon at the elevator twice. 

The explosions caused the elevator to be left without its pulley systems as it came crashing down. Alexia quickly ran before she was crushed.

Inside the elevator were the dead bodies of those who were sent as backup. After ensuring they were dead and looting their bodies, they used the hole in the roof of the elevator left by Alexia's second attack and climbed on top of the elevator.

They started climbing the ladders on the side of the elevator shaft. Eventually, they reached the ground floor where they could escape.

Alexia was going to open the doors but Shivan quickly stopped her as he sensed men on the other side threatening to kill them as soon they opened the door.

They created a simple plan where Alexia would open the door a bit, so the other two could fire through those gaps.

As Alexia created a small gap, Chloe and Shivan fired their weapons at the men behind the elevator.

As soon as the dust cleared and they ensured there were no men left standing, they opened the door fully.

They exited the elevator and they heard some noises behind the wall at the end of the hall. There were more men in hiding but Shivan figured the three of them could probably deal with those.

But as they walked on the ground floor, Shivan got this uneasy feeling. 

Suddenly Alexia screamed "DUCK!" and Chloe and Shivan immediately dropped to the floor. 

An explosion occurred right next to them as they were sent in different directions. Shivan's left shoulder collided with the wall and a popping sound occurred.

Chloe who was shielded by Alexia remained mostly unaffected, while Alexia's clothes were burnt and her skin was charred. Her beanie fell off and her red hair became exposed. She was lying towards the wall unmoving.