The Grade 2 Aberrant (1)

Ping

A small notification appeared on the computer screen. The night data operator turned around in his seat. He looked at the data on the screen.

The fog concentration in sector C had dropped by a decent margin.

'Oh, it isn't anything special.' He thought to himself.

Then the operator swirled around in his seat. The room they were working in was bland, save for a small potted plant in the corner. The walls were grey and only a small window was in the corner. Working this job was boring, but he got paid well.

Several notifications like these have shown up in the years he has worked here. Every single time the cause of it wasn't a problem. So he was tempted to ignore it.

However, a little past midnight, there was a small deviation in the barrier that occurred. It wasn't dangerous, so he didn't raise an alarm at the time.

"Haa..." The operator sighed. "This is the first incident this year. Might as well do my job."

The guard spent some time writing a log in his daily report.

***

Death.

That was what was approaching. An aberrant with so much dark mana, that the four of them were unable to move.

"R..un...!" Arlo managed to stutter out.

Despite staying that, Arlo didn't move an inch. He couldn't. His body wasn't responding to his mind's commands.

Soon the aberrant that was the cause of this appeared. It resembled a bear but stood on two feet and was around 5m tall.

The aberrant didn't immediately attack the four. It stood tall, looking down at its helpless prey.

Suddenly, it slammed its hands down and a wave of rocks attacked them. At the last moment, Alexia and Shivan grabbed Chloe and Arlo respectively and hid behind a tree.

All the trees in the earth wave's path were mowed down. When the dust cleared, miraculously they were all unharmed.

Had a stray rock hit them, they would have died instantly. All that was left between the bear them was fallen trees.

The four of them finally got a look at the bear. It was a giant black bear, with an armour-like hide and a giant horn on its head. It was completely black, with some red on its claws, eyes and horn.

The aberrant was a Grade 2 Bhalvach. It was a threat that required an Ace to defeat or at the very least, a team of highly skilled and powerful elites. Though it was only a mid level Grade 2, it was not something the four could handle.

And they knew it. Without hesitation, they ran. Fast they ever did before. But their attempts to escape were futile. The Bhalvach wasn't going to let its prey leave so easily.

Within an instant, as if teleporting, it appeared next to Alexia. Alexia tried to swing her sword at it but was swatted away by its massive paw as if she were a fly.

Alexia managed to block the claws with her katana. However, the katana also snapped in half as she crashed deep into the forest tens of metres away.

Shivan tried to hit the Bhalvach with a shockwave, but it stood there unaffected.

Suddenly, Shivan ducked, feeling extreme danger. Less than a second later, a paw swiped through the space where his body had previously been. Had it connected, Shivan would no longer have a torso.

However, the shockwave of the attack threw Shivan off his branch and crashed into the ground.

Chloe and Arlo immediately shot their MAWs at the bear, but no damage was being dealt. It slowly approached them, staring down at the two. The aberrant was toying with them. 

From behind the Bhalvach, Alexia came swinging in on a vine, landing a devasting kick on the bear. But, like all the other attacks, the bear was unmoving like a boulder.

Alexia rubbed her foot in pain as landed on the ground next to Shivan. Shivan swore he heard a crack when the kick landed. He suspected that Alexia had fractured her leg.

In that split second the Bhalvach was focused on Alexia, Arlo fired his gun at the branch the aberrant was standing on, causing it to crash into the ground.

Just before Arlo could run, a large roar came from the aberrant. The aberrant viewed the humans he was targeting as inferior beings and was enjoying toying with them. Though it didn't have proper intelligence, it derived pleasure from watching its prey squirm.

But, the actions just now had pissed it off.

ROARRR!

The cry from the bear paralysed Arlo and Chloe in their places and they tripped and landed in the bushes.

A second later, a red ray of light appeared from the direction of the bear. The beam cut through all the trees in its path, vapourising them instantly.

Luckily, the ray missed all of them.

When the aberrant emerged, the horn was glowing, as steam was released. In its anger, it released its most powerful attack.

"Oh wow, it's got a laser attack," Alexia remarked sarcastically. "Of course it does."

Shivan was in awe. Alexia still had the composure to make jokes. Despite her tone, Alexia had a determined look in her eyes. She had resolved herself.

She went up to Chloe, who was dazed. The bear was unmoving, as it watched its prey in interest. Releasing the ray of light had larger calmed the bear down and its prior demenour returned. Seeing its prey not lose the will to fight was surprising to the aberrant.

"We can't outrun the aberrant," Alexia stated matter-of-factly. It wasn't a statement that needed to be said. They all knew the current situation.

"Someone needs to hold it off," Alexia spoke with resolve.

"How?" Chloe retorted while trying to stand up. She had the lowest output of the four of them, and an increased concentration of dark mana was getting to her. She was barely struggling to stay awake.

"I'll do it."

"Alexia, you'll be torn to shreds immediately," Arlo cried. "You won't even last a second."

"Yeah, I know," Alexia responded, wearing a smile. "But we have that."

"Alexa! No!" Chloe immediately knew what she was talking about.

"It's the only way." Alexia was unshaken. "I'll take a boost."

Alexia grabbed Chloe's bag and opened the side pocket. All but one of the vials of Lumidencent Boost were broken. All the others were shattered by the conflicts that occurred.

And inside the remaining vial, was the maximum concentration boost. Its vial wasn't broken because Chloe had placed it in a sturdier container beforehand.

"You'll die!" Chloe cried.

"We all will if we do nothing," Alexia replied calmly.

Before anyone could stop her, she placed the vial in a syringe and injected the Boost directly into her veins.

Chloe tried to stop her best friend from being self-sacrificing, but Alexia just knocked her out in response.

"Go. I'll hold it off." Alexia told two boys.

Arlo nodded in response. He discarded all the excess things he was holding and picked up Chloe's unconscious body.

While the other three made their escape, Alexia approached the Grade 2 aberrant alone with her half-broken katana.

"Thanks for waiting." Alexia faced the bear without any fear. "I didn't think you had pride." 

She even had the impression the bear was smiling.

Throughout the conversation, the aberrant just stood there, curiously. It just waited for the humans to do something. The aberrant found it exciting that its prey was trying to fight back all alone.

With a large roar, the Balvach initiated the duel.