Chapter 43 - A Setback

Adam stares at the footage taken by the Prowlers and immediately freezes. This pod is tens… No, perhaps even a hundred times bigger than the previous one. It's as big as a building and Adam can vaguely see the outline of the monster inside, its six glowing red orbs spilling with malice and hatred stared at the Prowler before it howls. Its powerful howl bursts the pod and gushes out a flood of the incubation virus fluids.

The last footage seen by the Prowlers before it was destroyed was the majestic dragon, bigger than an Atlesian Airship. Its body is covered with thick bone white carapace, covering all of its scale like a suit of armor with red lines running along the carapace that pulsates as the dark red core on its heart, beating like one. Its jaw filled with rows upon rows of teeths like swords and split open all the way down its neck before it starred up as purple evil fire spilled out from its core and breathed out with a mighty roar. A pillar of purple flame pierce through the mountain and into the sky as if announcing its rebirth and the arrival of the Herald of the End.

*ROAARRR!*

The loud guttural roar of the dragon was heard all the way from the depth of the cave system to Adam's location, to the surface of the city and even Vale. Those who were nearby struck with a headache inducing shockwave and ringing that lingered on their ears.

The peak of Mountain Glenn collapsed as the 500 meters long dragon flew out with mighty flaps as its wings opened wide to its full span, exceeding its own lengths!

Adam recovered quickly unlike Tina who nearly passed out when the shockwave they endure in the cave system is much stronger than above. Not even a superhuman like her can resist, much less those on the ground.

"Agent! Order full retreat! Now! Put the city on maximum alert. We were too late. We should have noticed this earlier!" Adam tried his best, but no amount of venting can help as he knew this failure was because he had been too complacent.

He knew the existence of his enemy and yet he never thought of keeping tabs on it until everything was too late. He handed everything to Agent and let her do everything. The result is this.

He was…

"I was a fool…" Adam grips his fist and punches at the wall in frustration as he runs back to the ground with everyone as fast as possible.

When he arrived on the ground, the sky was dark. He could hear the roar echoing in the sky, smoke filled the air and blocked the sunlight. What he saw was a city engulfed in raging purple fire that melted even rock and steel.

Adam, still carrying Tina on his arm, turns to Agent and asks, "Where is the fleet? Where are the soldiers? Where's everyone?" Agent pursed her lips, hesitant to tell the truth. Not with his current state of mind. But Adam for once when it's not needed, is being too good at reading the expression and the body language that Agent made.

"No… Impossible… the fleet was destroyed?" The last word choked on his throat, strangling his voice as he utter in disbelief.

*ROAR!*

The dragon appeared again in the sky and it was roaring at an Airship. Adam look hopeful, thinking perhaps Agent was mistaken but the dragon flew toward the Airship, ignoring all the missiles and lasers that could barely put a scratch on its carapace and open up it's jaw wide down to its neck before crunching down on the Airship, tearing it in half and bathing it's wreckage in purple flame.

What survived from the attack was a few dropships that managed to fly out before the Airship crashed. The aircrafts containing the surviving crews evacuated and hastily flew back to Vale. Many other surviving gunships and dropships too are retreating. The battle was lost and the Agent issued the order to retreat.

A dropship soon arrived and the hatch door opened up as a team of soldiers urged everyone to board quickly. Adam was lifelessly guided into the aircraft by his team as it lifted off and joined the fleet of retreating aircrafts.

*Bzzt*

"The damn thing is hunting us down!" The pilots from the open comms reported.

*Bzzt*

"This is an order, soldier. The gunships will distract the dragon away while the dropships will carry everyone back to Vale."

*Bzzt*

"Roger!" Voice of multiple pilots replied back.

Adam heard everything but he was helpless to do anything. They were under prepared for this kind of threat. Lack intelligence and of course, lacking initiative. What counterattack? Each small victory they take, they will receive an even greater loss.

His guilt deepen when he heard several pilots dying as their voice echoed hauntingly through the open comms. How many died due to his mistakes?

Agent couldn't bear looking at Adam anymore. Even if he wears a mask to cover his expression. She knew him very well. He was blaming himself for everything.

Is he really in the wrong? Since the day she met him, he had been working hard to save this world. To stop this Outbreak. He rarely has time to spend on his leisure. Dedicating almost the entirety of his time to do something, anything that can improve their chance of victory.

How could Agent bear to see him blaming their defeat on himself?

They were in the dark, working with limited information, limited capability while their enemy remained illusive no matter what she tried to do to locate this Awakened Human. Not even after scattering hundreds and thousands of drones into the wilderness could locate this Awakened Human that always moved like it knew where her eyes were and avoided it like a ghost.

No, Agent will vehemently defended that her Master did the best he could given his situation.

After a long and silent ride, they returned to Vale. They departed with fleets of Airships but returned in fleet of small transport airships, it's clear to anyone with a working brain that something went wrong.

The people already panicked thinking there is something bad is happening. They are indeed correct as their Prime Minister immediately made an urgent statement to the public regarding what happened in Mount Glenn. Evacuation is happening immediately as people are send to other kingdom as refugees.

It's obvious there will be public outrage. People criticizing Adam for his failure. When they prosper, they praised him like a saint. But when they suffer, they condemned him like a criminal. Of course, not everyone is blaming him. Mostly the Huntsmens and intellectual people that realized the reason for his defeat.

An unusual Grimm which mutated. Who knows how long the Grimm had existed. Even a decade old Grimms can be a severe danger when they turn into Alpha Grimm. Who can gauge how dangerous this Grimm that existed possibly a millennia ago.

As for Adam, he had isolated himself in his room. His companions understand he needed some time alone to cope with the reality. They gave him some space.

———

Adam sat in his own room in darkness. Only a night lamp that illuminated the room with soft orange glow that is neither bright or dark.

His eyes look listlessly at the screen in front of him.

[Counterattack]

- Due to the increasing suspicious activities on Mount Glenn, you suspect the possibility of the Awakened Human is plotting something there and you have decided to conduct an operation to address this suspicious activity.

Objective;

Main - Investigate the destroyed settlement on Mount Glenn. (Complete)

Side - Eliminate all Infected in the area. (Complete)

Reward;

- CryNet Nanosuit

- System 2.0 Update

He look at the screen but didn't bother with it. He grip his hair in desperation. He didn't sign up for this!

Dragon? He need to defeat a goddamn dragon? Not even the Jupiter Cannon can do much except flaking it outer carapace and the dragon isn't shooting target to stay still and let him shoot all he want.

"What kind of bullshit is this? Answer me, System! How exactly am I going to defeat that thing?" Adam screamed at the unresponsive screen with anger.

This isn't a game. He can't just kite the dragon around and deplete it's health until the dragon dies. This is real life. Such game logic do not apply. Even if he could, how exactly is he going to outrun a 500 meter long dragon that can fly?

Receiving only silence, Adam felt helpless. He couldn't stop blaming himself. Had he spend more time to investigate and keep tab on his enemy, there is no way he can incubate the dragon right under his nose.

"No, keep blaming myself will fix nothing." Adam mutters. "That's right. There is something else I can do. The Interdimensional Contract. Maybe these is something out there that can solve this problem."

"Staying passive will change nothing." Adam regained his resolve and look at his recent reward.

CryNet Nanosuit? It's apparently an upgrade to his current ACE Suit. As for the System 2.0 Upgrade, perhaps that is why the System being unresponsive.

Adam select the Nanosuit and choose to wear it. But a weird notification appeared.

[Bind Nanosuit to Host?]

[The binding process is permanent to establish a symbiosis bond between Host and the suit.]

[YES/NO]

Adam figure the System wouldn't deliberately harm him for no reason and select YES.

Immediately the Nanosuit appeared on his body and clamp down on his skin. He felt the suit dig into his flesh, slowly and agonizingly bonding onto his body like a second skin. No, more accurately, the suit became his skin. The suit also dig into his neck and connects into his brain directly. Allowing direct interface between his brain and the mind, or rather, the processors inside the suit, granting him a computer like second brain.

Once the binding is done, all pain disappeared along with the suit. But he knew he is wearing the suit. It just that the suit have different modes and in disengaged mode, the suit shrink down and disguised as his own skin.

"This felt amazing." Adam were impressed as he look at his own hand which look human. But with a single thought, the Nanosuit emerged and cover his arm partially with CryFibril skin.

Not to mention, the Nanosuit performance is boosted by Aura which the System made compatible with as the suit consume his energy as power source.

After inspecting his new Nanosuit, Adam open his Interdimensional Contract menu.

"Staying depressed and mopping around will fix nothing." Adam said to himself.

Determined to fix this mess himself, he left a letter written about his disapperance before he take a deep breath and betting on his luck before press the button on the screen as vanished from his room.

"Adam I brought you something to e-" Winter open the door cheerfully, taking this chance to console hiss heart when he feel down. Only to see him vanished in a familiar method he did when doing Contracts.

*Clang!*

The tray she brought with her slipped and crashed to the floor feeling very unpleasant as she rushed to the table that have a letter and a pen illuminated under a night lamp.

"No…" Winter mutters as she frantically read the letter. "No! No! Why? Why would you leave me behind! Why!"

The commotions attracted the others and soon everyone learned Adam's disapperance.

—————

(I know the end is kinda stupid. Going alone and left everyone behind to fix this mess especially when time do not stop in Remnant and only slowed. But this is something I would see myself doing if I find myself in a big mess and trying to solve it as someone that didn't have much people around to rely on. Not very smart but I am trying to be realistic as I would do here instead of going maximum IQ move and solve everything like I'm a perfect guy or something.

Besides, I start to feel difficult to write with people around him and wanted some solo adventures.)

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