34 – The Worshipper

"No…." Ciara groaned and tried to crawl over to help me, but she was having trouble moving.

"You robots don't know your place." The spider monster let out a bitter chuckle. "You guys were supposed to be mere tools for us to use, but you neglected your nature and tried to exterminate us instead."

Even though I felt no pain, I knew my end was near. My eyes were filled with [Error] and [Failure] warnings.

"We will make this world better without the chaos of humans or robots." The monster squeezed me even tighter. My view began to be decorated with static like on old television.

"Let him go!!!" Suddenly Ciara ran and tackled the monster until they both fell.

I knocked to the ground and saw the two individuals rising simultaneously and exchanging fists. This time they were even. Their attacks could hit each other.

—

[Ciara]

Strengths: B ==> A

Dexterity: C ==> B

Agility: A- ==> S

Crafting: D

Defense: A- ==> S

—

I do not understand. Why did her stats increase significantly like that? Was this some kind of berserk mode?

The black parts of Ciara's bodysuit were now glowing red. Her energy shield bar also starts filling up faster. So despite getting punched in her face and stomach, she didn't seem affected.

Not only that, her attack movements are getting wilder. Her expression also became like that of a hungry beast.

"Ciara…" I tried to hover again. "Stop…. Enough…."

I noticed that her fists were bleeding. It seems her energy shield can't protect her from things like that.

"You crazy bitch!" The monster was about to shoot cobwebs again, but Ciara covered his mouth with her hand. A small explosion in the monster's mouth made the web cover his face.

"Arrrggghhhh!!!" The super soldier lifted his enemy and slammed him as hard as she could until it caused a crack in the floor.

With great difficulty, I was finally able to hover again, even though it was unstable and my vision was turning off many times.

Ciara sat on the monster's stomach, then beat her enemy's face like crazy.

"Die! Die! Die!!!" The super soldier became even more ruthless. Every punch she lands on the monster's face makes that creature even more helpless.

"Enough!!!" I caught her hand when she was about to do the umpteenth punch. She looked at me agape, then saw the monster's almost shapeless face. Instead of blood, a thick white liquid flowed from that creature.

"You don't have to torture yourself anymore," I whispered to her. "Look at your hands."

Slowly, the super soldier closed her eyes and took a breath. She got up and walked to a corner of the room to get her sword.

"You guys have failed!!!" The monster screamed, still lying helpless. "I don't know where you got the information about our giant eggs!!! But one thing is clear, preparations for their launch are complete!!! You won't have time to stop them!!!"

I froze, trying to digest the monster's words. "What? What do you mean?"

"Huh?" The monster slightly raised his head. "You didn't come here to prevent our eggs from launching?"

Ciara pointed her sword at the monster. "Try to explain properly to my master. Or I will slice your neck."

Instead of answering right away, that creature laughed. "Whether I explain it or not, you will still kill me. I don't care anymore. I am proud to be a part of something this big."

I approached him. "At the very least, explain the goal of those roots. What exactly are they? You know the answer, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't worship them."

"Answer him." Ciara brought the tip of her sword to the monster's neck. "I will do more than just kill you. You will suffer so much torment that…."

The super soldier hadn't finished talking, but the monster hastily pulled that woman's sword and stabbed his own neck. In a second, that creature slumped.

"Shit." I cursed, immediately connecting myself to the nearest computer terminal. This time I accessed the surveillance cameras outside, using the remaining energy in the building.

I also displayed what I saw on a screen so Ciara could watch it too.

Cracks appeared at several points outside the building. And not long after, an earthquake occurred.

Gigantic projectiles shot out from the cracks. They were almost as big as a three-story house.

"What shall we do, sir?" Ciara asked while continuing to stare at the screen.

This moment is indeed a bad thing. If we had known about it beforehand, we might have prevented it. However, we must realize that there are many big things that we cannot control.

I just hope one of those giant oval projectiles doesn't land on our house. That thing most likely contains a lot of spider monster eggs.

"We can only focus on our mission." I hissed. The functions in my body are getting worse. Some even die. I had to lower my body and do a bypass from the floor. "Wait."

"I'll stay on guard," Ciara responded while I started concentrating on locating the serum. I kept entering various keywords, even though my 'brain' function was getting slower.

Please, hold on, my body.

However, my body started to shut down. With what energy I have left, I tell Ciara what I got. "C-container D-26, in this lab…."

After that, I only saw darkness. No more labs environment, no more digital UI.