Chapter 29

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"Carol?!" Zane looked at Zero in shock. "But how?" Zane tried to understand what Zero had told him, but he just couldn't understand. Or maybe he didn't want to understand?

"I don't know..." Zero shook his head, visibly distressed. All his pent-up feelings seemed to be bubbling out of him. Zero knew that there was no point in hiding it anymore, because everyone already suspected Carol. He had mentioned Asagi and Rika but hadn't said a word about Carol. Inwardly, Zero had hoped to get Carol without it being discovered. But the picture of the bar was too evident.

"She was always with us." Zane racked his brain. "She must have been infected!" Zane came up with an answer for himself. Zero, meanwhile, looked at the map desperately.

"It must have happened during the assassination." Zero agreed. "That's when they shot at her." He added in a justifying tone. "And then...", he hesitated. 

Zane patted Zero on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Even if that's true, it doesn't change the situation." Explained the operator. "She triggered a massive Rift, that's a fact."

"You don't understand." Zero tried to explain. "You don't know Carol, it's not her..."

"The instructions are clear. We have orders to capture the Infected, if we don't succeed, we are to eliminate them. I'm sorry." The operator interrupted Zero. "I'll pass the information on to the command, stay on standby."

"But...", Zane tried to support Zero, but the operator had already disappeared. He couldn't think of any arguments when he was interrupted by Nathan. 

"I'm afraid he's right, Zane." Nathan put his hand on his shoulder. 

Zane knew it. It didn't matter that the Infected was Carol. It didn't matter how Zero tried to explain it, whether she had become an Infected by choice or not. Carol had triggered a Rift, that was a fact. Nothing else mattered. To the world, Carol was nothing more than the next Infected to be eliminated. Only for Zero, Zane and a few others it meant much more.

"What do we do now?" Cara asked cautiously, breaking the silence that had spread throughout the transporter.

"We follow the orders." 736 replied soberly.

The transporter slowly approached the Mytic-Sector, over which the fifth Shelter ship had already positioned itself. The standby order tied their hands. Zane knew that Zero would rush to Carol immediately if he could, but he just stared at the map in thought.

"Zero..." Zane addressed him. "... we'll get her out of there." Zero looked at Zane scrutinizingly and nodded. Zane could see the desperation in Zero's eyes when the operator spoke up again.

"I have new orders for you. Team One and Three, together with the Shelter troops, will enter the Mytic-Sector and take care of the Infected." He began. "Your priority is to capture the Infected. But if it's not possible to capture them without triggering a Rift, the order is to finish them off." 

"But..." Zero began as the operator continued.

"Furthermore, you are excluded from this mission, Zero."

Zero froze.

"But why is that?" Zane objected.

"Zero is too emotionally involved. He poses a danger to the operation, which is why it was decided to exclude him." The auxiliary AI answered the question, whereupon Zane fell silent. Nathan also seemed to be thinking.

"Please let me go with you, maybe I can calm her down?" Zero pleaded with the operator, tears in his eyes.

"It's been decided, I'm sorry." Replied the operator hurriedly. There seemed to be no point in arguing. "That's why I have to ask you now." He looked at the team, his gaze seeming to fall on Zane and Nathan in particular. "Do you think you can handle this mission?"

They want me to go against Carol...? Zane realized in shock. He hadn't given it a second thought. The shock that the Infected was really Carol was too deep. Sweat beaded down his forehead as the red eyes from before came back to haunt him.

Zero's gaze immediately fell on Zane, and Nathan seemed to be waiting for Zane's decision as well.

"I..." Zane began, still in thought, his gaze fixed on Zero and Nathan.

"I know this is a tough decision, but we have to hurry. Team One has already agreed." The operator added as the transporter picked up speed.

"Zero..." Zane turned to him.

"Don't worry about it, Zane. She won't hurt you, it's still Carol." Zero said with an uncertain smile.

"I promise you Zero, nothing will happen to Carol!"

"Thank you," Zero nodded, the relief clearly visible on his face.

"You've made up your mind?" The operator addressed Zane again.

"Yes." Zane nodded resolutely. "We accept the mission."

"You will advance together with the Shelter troops, they have also sent two teams and several support units into the area. I have sent you the coordinates." The operator reported as the transporter approached the Mytic-Sector, behind which Zero's bar was located.

Only a few more minutes until they would reach the bar.

"How did she get there so quickly?" Zane wondered.

"She wants to go home." Zero said immediately.

"But she knew you were at the Guardian. Didn't she text you?" Zane added.

"No..." Zero shook his head. "I tried to contact her several times, but I didn't get a response." Zero explained.

"She was attacked, she probably panicked and ran away." Cara tried to find an explanation.

"I wonder if the Aku helped her." Nathan pondered as the pilot interrupted their thoughts.

"We're almost there. Get ready!"

The van was just passing a frigate that was firing steadily on the road below them when the aforementioned meeting place came into view. It was the department store where Zane had been with Zero and the others in the first few days. The van approached the roof of the department store, on which a large garden with houses was laid out. Shelter troops and other aid units were already standing on a paved square, seemingly waiting for Zane's team.

As soon as they arrived, a familiar face approached them.

"You're Team Three, aren't you?" Stephen greeted them. He looked as unmotivated as ever, but even he seemed to feel the tension.

"Seranis, Unit Three." Zane replied formally. "Good to see you Stephen."

"Likewise." Stephen smiled. "You've got us into a bit of a mess." He said as he accompanied Zane and his team to the others.

"Sorry." Zane laughed as the next familiar face came towards them. 

"Glad you're okay Zane." Kenlem greeted him. "Then we can get started." Without further ado, the briefing began.

Most of those present were Shelter members, but many soldiers, heavy auxiliaries, the ATBS team and Zane's old security team had also gathered.

"Everyone knows what this is about, so let's keep this short." Kenlem began in a serious tone. "Two special teams will approach the Infected's location and destroy the Akuryuma along with the other troops, while a special team from Shelter will apprehend the Infected. Two other teams will support us from the north. Your operator has informed you of the group distribution, and each team will be accompanied by a Shelter member."

"A Shelter member?" Zane wondered.

"Sir." One of the soldiers reported. "Will that stop the Rifts?" He asked. Everyone present wondered what good it would do to capture the Infected. Even Zane wasn't sure if it would have any effect on the Rifts.

Then one of the Shelter members took the floor and stood up to Kenlem.

"Unfortunately, fixing the Infected has no effect on the existing Rifts." He began to say in an unusually cheerful tone that confused everyone. "We're already working on closing the Rifts with the help of the great Architect. It shouldn't take much longer." He assured. "The capture of the Infected therefore serves the purpose of avoiding another outbreak." He underlined his statement with a hand gesture.

"So this is an evacuation mission?" Zane asked.

Zane knew what the Shelter member meant. Infected were hated and feared for their ability to trigger Rifts. But otherwise they weren't very different from humans. You could talk to them and they only triggered a Rift when they were in danger, as Zero had explained to him. Sora was the best example of this. So should they get to Carol, Zane saw no problem just taking her with them.

"In a manner of speaking." Nodded the Shelter member, looking at Zane with a piercing gaze. 

"Shouldn't we just destroy her?" Another of those present made a counterargument, thwarting Zane's attempt. Zane knew that Zero wasn't on the mission, but he was certainly listening. "That would prevent the danger of another Rift, wouldn't it?"

Unfortunately, the man who asked the question was right. For most, that seemed to be the more logical answer. Destroying the source would also prevent later Rifts. Murmurs of agreement echoed around the square.

Zero was standing a little apart, but, as Zane suspected, he was aware of everything. He had joined an emergency medical team that was supposed to evacuate and care for the wounded if necessary. But at the moment he couldn't think about rescuing the wounded, because the man's words had reached him too. The man spoke for the majority, probably even for Zane. Zero was alone in his opinion. For everyone else, Infected were an evil that reminded them of the destruction and suffering of the Second Outbreak. An evil that was best eradicated. If it weren't for the danger of the Rifts, they would probably have been wiped out long ago.

Zero froze, cold sweat running down his back. Enraged, he began to clench his right fist.

"What will they do if the plan fails?"

Suddenly the murmur fell silent.

"If you don't manage to destroy the Infected, there's a good chance that they will trigger another Rift because of the attack." The Shelter member explained with a smile. "Therefore, the order is to prioritize the capture of the Infected until they become active." The mood had calmed down again when the Shelter member apologized to Kenlem. "On that note, forgive the intrusion." He bowed slightly to Kenlem, who seemed a little flustered.

"Be that as it may. The main difficulty is that the Aku are protecting the Infected. So you have to lure them as far away from the Infected as possible and destroy them so that the Shelter team can capture them." Kenlem reported. "We must also try to avoid any aggressive action near the Infected, so bombing it is not possible. So far it hasn't triggered a Rift, but any attack on it could change that, as has already been mentioned." He pointed at the Shelter member.

"So our job is to take out the Aku that are in the area." Analyzed Nathan.

"Exactly." Kenlem nodded. The tasks seemed clear to everyone. "In that case, get ready. We start in five minutes!" Kenlem broke up the meeting.

Zane immediately rushed to Zero.

"You heard?" Zane inquired.

"Yes." Nodded Zero.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of Carol." Zane smiled.

"Thanks...", replied Zero gloomily.

"Well, I have to go then. I'll let you know as soon as I know anything." Zane said goodbye when Zero stopped him.

"Zane... I'm sorry...", he began, "That I put this burden on you." He looked glumly at Zane.

"Don't worry, I promised," Zane gave him a thumbs up and hurried back to his team, who had been watching the conversation in the distance.

"Then we're just waiting for our new member." Zane looked around. He was excited to have a Shelter member with him, because it almost felt like he was with Shelter himself. But the tension in the soldiers' eyes was different. The situation was clear to everyone, the Rifts were still going on, even if fewer and fewer reports of new Rifts were appearing. Instead, the number of Infected had increased dramatically. Many of the bunkers seemed to have fallen victim to the Rifts.

"We were originally supposed to capture the Infected." Nathan said suddenly.

"You're right." Agreed 736 Nathan. "Shelter must have put pressure on the leadership to deny us the mission."

"They don't trust us to do it?" Cara wondered.

"I don't think so," said 736.

"I wonder how Shelter is going to capture... Carol... without attacking her?" Nathan wondered.

"They must have a special method." Zane mused as a group of people approached them.

"You're Team Three, right?" Someone from Shelter asked them. "May I introduce you to your new member?" He pointed to a girl next to him.

Zane recognized her immediately. It was the girl from Nyada that he had rescued back then.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Sera. Vice Commander of Pandera Unit 4-3." She bowed.

"Good luck." The Shelter member said goodbye and left Sera with Zane's team.

"Are we ready?" Asked 736.

"Let's get going." Zane nodded.

The transporters and ATBS took off and rushed towards the bar while Zero watched the takeoff. Meanwhile, the Anti-Akuryuma Unit's ATBS remained on standby to handle any exceptions.

"The frigates and hovercrafts will keep the Aku out of the area. So you can concentrate on the Aku in the target area." The operator explained to them.

"Understood." Nodded Zane, who looked towards the bar nervously.

"The regular troops and ATBS will draw the attention while we drop you off at the bar perimeter." The operator repeated the details of the mission. 

"That's where we'll shield the bar." Added 736.

"Exactly." Confirmed the operator.

"Will the regular troops be able to cope?" Cara worried. They had encountered an Aku before and their special team had had great difficulty with it.

"The frigates are supporting the troops and will destroy the Akuryuma. As soon as the Infected is secured, we'll bring out the big guns." The operator explained further. "Otherwise, the ATBS team is still on standby."

"Shelter is also working on containment and will protect the soldiers if possible." Sera also assured them.

"Thank you for your support." Zane nodded to Sera.

Hovercrafts were already patrolling the streets as the regular ATBS shot through the street canyons. It wasn't long before the first sounds of battle reached Zane's transporter.

"Are the bunkers safe?" Zane inquired.

"They've been evacuated as far as possible." The operator tried to allay Zane's concerns.

"Thank you." Zane replied.

"What about Team Two?" Zane asked his operator, when suddenly there were several loud bangs.

"What happened?" 736 asked the pilot.

"It hit one of the hovercrafts!" Reported the pilot. Two hovercrafts flew into the deployment zone with the transporters. One of them crashed, burning, before hitting the wall of a building with a thud and plummeting to the ground.

"What?" Zane asked in astonishment as their ship suddenly began to shake. Everyone held on tight. 736 reached for Cara, who was about to fall over.

"We've been hit! Hold on tight!" Shouted the pilot through the transporter, which was rapidly losing altitude. Warning messages lit up throughout the transporter. The pilot did his best to keep the plane in the air or at least bring it down safely. He scraped a building before approaching the ground. "Impact!" Shouted the pilot, before a huge rumble shook the transporter.

"Is everyone all right?" The operator asked right away, appearing on the trembling hologram.

"All good here." Reported Zane, turning to Sera. "Can you get up?" He held out his hand to her.

"Yes, thank you."

"I'm fine." Replied Cara.

"Everything's OK here." Nathan reported as well.

736 turned to the cockpit, the pilot remained silent.

"Is he okay?" Zane asked 736 afterwards when he heard a groan.

"He's hurt." Reported 736, pulling the injured pilot from his seat. His head was bleeding, but otherwise he looked healthy. 736 laid him on the floor in the hold.

"Let me take a look." Sera suddenly turned to them. She raised her hand over the pilot's wound and a magic circle appeared.

"Healing magic." Nathan said in astonishment.

The circle dissolved and the pilot's expression was already improving. "There, that should help for now. I've closed the wound." She stood up again.

"Thank you." Zane nodded to Sera.

"You're welcome." She smiled.

Cara yanked open the door behind which 736 stood with his gun drawn. 736 scanned the area through the open door.

"Safe." Reported 736, whereupon everyone got out of the transporter.

"Where did that come from?" Zane asked worriedly, trying to get his bearings.

"From the direction of the bar." Reported 736.

Zane followed 736's gaze and could see something hitting the shield of the Shelter ship, which had positioned itself directly above the bar. Earlier, the frigates and the Shelter ship had taken the Aku on the ground under fire, but now someone was firing back.

"How far are we from the scene?" Cara asked.

"Four blocks." Nathan looked at his map.

"What are we going to do with the pilot?" Zane wondered.

"I've already let them know. The medical team is coming to take care of him. They'll be there in four minutes." The operator explained.

"What about the pilot of the hovercraft?"

"The pilot has reported in, he's fine." The operator added.

"What about the shelling?" Asked 736.

"We have several reports of similar fire. We assume it's a new species of Akuryuma, like the ones that appeared in the Second Outbreak." Reported the operator. "Your shields should withstand a bombardment..."

"Should?" Zane looked at Nathan.

"...but you'd better stay off the open road until you're in the field."

"Roger that." Confirmed 736. "Are we ready to move out?" 736 turned to Zane, who looked hesitantly at the transporter.

"Platoon three, move out! We'd better hurry. Before Carol accidentally calls out something worse..." Zane started moving after checking on the pilot again and the five of them set off in the direction of the bar.

The group kept to the walls of the buildings to avoid potential fire and walked through the narrow alleyways between the buildings. They were getting closer to their original location when Sera asked Zane, "You didn't want to leave the pilot behind, right?"

Zane turned to her, she smiled kindly at him.

"Uhm... yeah..." Zane looked forward again. His face had turned a little red. "I don't like leaving anyone behind... someone paid for it last time...", Zane remembered back. Ben and Zero appeared in his mind.

"Two o'clock...!" Reported 736, who had taken over the vanguard. "Several Infected sighted."

"No sighting of the shooter?" Nathan asked.

"Negative. Waiting for orders."

"How much farther to the scene?" Zane asked.

"Two blocks." Replied the operator.

That means four more blocks until we reach the bar... Zane thought.

"Should we attack already?" Cara wondered.

"Aren't we too far away to attract the Aku?" Nathan added.

"It should be enough." Sera suddenly remarked. "If we attack them now, it should draw enough attention to us to allow the special forces to deploy."

"She's right. The longer we wait, the more Akuryuma will gather here." The operator agreed with her.

"Understood. Prepare to attack." Zane announced as he saw something running along the wall behind them in the corner of his eye. "Take cover!"

The group jumped out of the alley; gunshots could be heard. The group investigated the dark alley they had just jumped out of. The shadows of the building walls and the evening light made it very difficult to see. The Infected were attracted by the commotion and began to rush towards them as something else emerged from the alley.

"CRSSSSSSSAAA!" A nearly five-meter long Akuryuma stood before them. Its razor-sharp teeth and black skin gleamed in the light. The creature appeared to be built very simply. Unlike Deadra, it had no distinctive spikes or anything similar. But compared to the Akuryuma they had encountered before, this one clearly had machine-like parts in its body. Not only that, but there seemed to be two long tubes attached to its waist that resembled rifles.

"Looks like we have our shooter." Remarked 736 as the Infected drew ever closer.

"Their attention too." Added Cara.

The next moment, the Aku was already leaping towards the group, which scattered to the winds.

"Cara, 36, take care of the Infected. Nathan and I will take the Aku." Zane ordered without further ado.

"Understood." Replied Cara, who immediately turned to the Infected.

While still in flight, Zane fired a few ice spikes at the Aku, who didn't even seem to bother to dodge. They simply bounced off the black skin and shattered. In return, the two guns at its hip began to take aim at Zane.

"Zane!" Nathan shouted as the shots were already flying towards him. Two bullets, dragging a purple trail, sped towards Zane and smashed into a shield. At the same time, Nathan shot a stream of water at the Aku, but it dodged. The Aku jumped onto the wall of a house, rammed its claws into it and held on. Zane landed on the ground, his shield lit up by the activation and was clearly damaged. Cracks and even small holes had formed.

"I'll help you!" Sera suddenly jumped out of her cover. She immediately raised her hand in the direction of the Aku, who was already leveling his guns. A glowing magic circle appeared, from which beams of light shot towards the Aku in the next moment.

The beams shattered the wall of the house and the position where the Aku was standing, but he dodged upwards.

"Are you alright?" Sera ran to Zane worriedly. 

"Damn, those bullets are strong!" Zane looked after the Aku, who seemed to be getting ready again.

"Watch out, that's a category three Akuryuma." Sera remarked.

"Look out!" Nathan shouted as continuous fire rained down on them from the Akuryuma's guns. Everyone immediately jumped to the side as a vehicle that happened to be standing nearby was torn to shreds by the bullets. Each of the bullets tore a hole almost a meter wide into the vehicle, which was destroyed beyond recognition after a few hits. Zane and the others ran away from the fire that followed them before taking cover behind a building, whereupon the shelling stopped.

"Crap." Zane cursed, pressing his back against the wall of the building.

"I don't even want to imagine what it was like during the Second Outbreak..." Nathan said, exhausted. "What are we going to do Zane?"

"I don't know. We can't withstand the bombardment, but if we wait too long, it'll go after Cara and 36..."

"If you get it down from there and it stops for a moment, maybe I can take it out with my gun." A spear of some kind suddenly appeared in Sera's hand.

"OK. I have an idea." Zane began to explain.

The Aku looked towards the building complex where Zane and the others had fled. Energy seemed to flow into the guns as the Aku studied the surroundings. Some distance away, it saw Cara and 736 struggling with the Infected, more and more going down. Not much longer and they would be wiped out. The Aku turned to face the two. Its rifle was already aimed at 736 when Zane ran out from behind the building and fired his pistol at the Aku. The bullet reached the Aku, who was hanging several meters up on the wall of the building, but it simply bounced off its skin. Immediately, the Aku's guns pointed at Zane and began firing.

"Let's go!" Zane smashed his palms against the ground and several pillars of ice shot upwards before coalescing into a single massive wall of ice in front of him, which shot towards the bullets. The two collided, shards of ice and bullets flying through the air. The hail of bullets hit the wall of ice and shredded parts of it, but it immediately grew back. It seemed as if Zane could withstand the constant fire, but slowly the hail of bullets seemed to be winning against the ice, as the huge ice pillar that Zane had built up in front of him was diminishing in size and one of the smaller pillars that fed the wall was already collapsing.

Sera was still standing behind the wall and looking at Zane, who visibly was finding it difficult to stand so close to the wall.

"I'm not done yet!" Zane shouted, and the ice began to grow stronger again as the Aku momentarily stopped the continuous fire from one of the cannons. The next moment, a massive shot blasted out of the barrel and smashed through the ice wall as if it were nothing. Zane drew back his shoulder before the bullet whizzed just past his face and smashed into the ground behind him. Zane lashed out with his arm, spinning around and accelerating the ice before launching it at the Aku. The latter had also stopped firing continuously with the other rifle, probably in preparation for another shot.

In the next moment, the second rifle fired at Zane and raced towards the ice spike that had formed and was heading towards the Aku.

"Go!" Zane shouted in the direction of the Aku as Nathan emerged from the opposite rooftop and leapt towards the Aku. Nathan reached out with his hands and in the next moment a huge amount of water shot out of the magic circle between his palms. The masses of water hit the Aku, which became entangled in the wall. The Aku seemed to be able to withstand the amount of water, but the wall it was holding on to gave way and plunged down with it in the waterspout. The Aku landed on the street in front of Zane with the debris from the wall. Immediately, something stirred in the debris that had come down with the Aku and the Aku stood in front of Zane unharmed. Shortly afterwards, Sera ran out from behind Zane, spear in hand, and threw it at the Aku with all her might. The Aku in turn saw this and was about to move when it realized that both its claws and rifles were frozen. Zane had fired another ice spell towards the Aku immediately on impact, immobilizing it.

The spear flew inexorably towards the Aku and rammed itself into its right shoulder. The Aku screamed in agony and its tail whipped against the ground, causing the ice to shatter. The Aku immediately jumped back, its right arm hanging lifelessly at its side.

"I missed the core!" Bemoaned Sera as Nathan slithered back to them on an ice pile that Zane had created.

"We took out the Infected, what's the situation?" Cara and 736 rejoined them.

"We're still at it." Zane replied, keeping an eye on the Aku. He grabbed the spear and pulled it out of his shoulder. The Aku threw the spear aside in a rage and turned its weapons on the group. Zane and Nathan immediately fired their spells at the Aku, which collided with its bullets. A mist of water and ice shot into the air, which Zane immediately used for his next spell and a huge icicle shot towards the Aku. The bullets hit the icicle, but they bounced off its surface before the icicle hit the Aku, which headed for the building behind it with the icicle.

"What a density!" Sera marveled at the icicle that had withstood the fire. The Aku, meanwhile, pointed its rifle at the icicle that threatened to pierce its chest and fired. The icicle shattered into a thousand pieces before the Aku used the explosion to catapult itself away.

"It's trying to get away!" Cara shouted and they all took up the chase. The Aku, which had once again clung to the wall of a house, was hit by a water hammer which washed it into the depths. They surrounded the Aku immediately, who looked around restlessly between Zane's team, seemingly focusing on Sera and her Gauntlet. Its arm was hanging by only a few tendons and the gaping wound underneath was bleeding profusely. One of the rifles was badly damaged and had probably been damaged by the Aku's attack on the icicle. Around the blood, space began to distort as they heard a noise coming from the direction of the bar.

"Have they started yet?" Zane wondered.

"What's that singing?" Nathan asked.

There was something plaintive about the beautiful singing coming from the direction of the bar. The Aku turned in the direction of the singing, when the next moment it emitted an electronic, artificial sound of its own.

"Stop it!" Sera began to panic as the distortions suddenly grew stronger. Immediately, everyone fired at the Aku. Bullets and magic pummeled him, but Akuryuma were already pouring out of the distortions.

"Retreat!" Zane commanded immediately and everyone took a distance from the charging Aku. 736 and Cara fired as they moved away from them. The Original Aku had disappeared into the smoke and between the Raptors charging down the street.

"I'm sorry, that was my mistake." Sera apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Zane replied as they landed on a crossroad a few meters away from the Aku. A huge thud followed. "What's going on now?" Zane immediately turned to the street from which the sound came as an ATBS of the fourth team came shooting out of a building. A massive Akuryuma had rammed it through the building, pushing it on and on before they crashed into the opposite building with a huge bang. The Aku let out a tremendous scream. Dust and debris flew through the area.

The Aku looked like an enlarged version of the raptors, only a lot beefier and with spikes and armor plates protecting it.

"Zane watch out!" Nathan warned him as some raptors headed straight for Zane.

A higher density probably helps... Zane threw his hands on the ground and icicles shot out, impaling the raptors. But the Aku onslaught would not end. Cara and 736 continued to fire, with Sera supporting them with a rifle that her bracelet had generated. However, for every Aku they managed to take down, another one appeared.

"We need backup!" 736 reported to the operator, when suddenly his rifle was shot. "Shit!" He cursed as the pieces of his rifle flew in all directions.

"36 pull back!" Zane shouted as a raptor reached 736. The latter lashed out and kicked the raptor in the skull, sending it flying.

"Look out!" Shouted 736 as Zane turned around.

The Akuryuma with the guns they had fought earlier was suddenly standing behind Zane and Sera. It had snuck around the group in the commotion and was heading straight for Sera and Zane.

Zane grabbed Sera with his left hand and threw her towards the others. Still rotating, he activated a spell in his right hand as the Akuryuma drew ever closer, its left claw aimed at Zane. Nathan fired a jet of water, but the Aku fired its rifle at it and the jet of water burst. The Aku was about to reach Zane when the green circle on Zane's right hand began to glow and a gust of wind blew the Aku away.

"Watch out!" Sera shouted to Zane, who had landed near Cara.

Zane turned around, only to see a raptor leap towards him in the corner of his eye. Zane immediately activated another spell when he suddenly heard a shot and the next moment, he saw the splinters of that shield. The Akuryuma he had catapulted away had destroyed his shield with a single shot. Zane panicked, it took a while for his shield to rebuild, plus he had already projected the required energy into the spell in his hand. But while Zane thought for a split second, the raptor came closer and closer. When Zane finally regained his full concentration, it was too late and his spell could no longer reach the Akuryuma. Zane saw the Aku's claws getting closer and closer as a glow flickered in his eyes and the Akuryuma suddenly disappeared.

A black blade sliced through the asphalt as if it were made of butter, before curving upwards in the next moment, guided by the bearer's hand. The blade raced towards the Akuryuma from below, which only caught sight of it in the corner of its eye before it sliced across its chest, hurling the Aku several meters away and leaving it lying lifeless on the ground.

"Zero!?" Zane looked at his friend in astonishment.

"Hey. Sorry, I couldn't wait any longer." Zero stood in front of Zane with his huge blade, which he held by the hilt attached to the back of his sword.