Breaking point

Zeff would've loved to say he alone was enough to fight the soldiers blocking his way. But he, although recovered enough from his fight with Leo, can't afford another fight.

His healing powers were barely keeping his internal organs from breaking down. The only reason he didn't feel pain was because he cut off his neuro-receptors in his time in the armory, after the fight, it became too much for him. His mental state was a mess.

Zeff could play a few tricks like going invisible for now. But his magical energy was running out. He was drained both physically and mentally.

'Damn it, shithead! You'll pay for making me deal with your problems,' he internally cursed Kai.

There was no other choice. It was, once again, do or die for him; nothing unusual from his daily activities but a huge pain in the ass nonetheless.

Robert, on the other hand, knew Zeff was playing his game right now. He knew every nook and cranny of MB-35. He was expected to memorize everything when he joined.

He wanted to strike the iron while it's hot. If the criminal escapes today, there was no way for him to get back his revenge. And considering how long it would take, not to mention Zeff might be getting stronger. The next time they meet, they might not be on even grounds.

Robert knew Zeff would be in no way alright after coming this deep into a military facility. Not if he's alone.

He must be exhausted and he wanted to exploit this chance and strike him when he is at his weakest.

'He is hiding,' Robert thought.

The tunnel was so dark he was able to see thanks to the night-vision provided by the glasses in the suit. But he was sure Zeff was near. He was acting on instinct—something he never questioned.

Zeff still hadn't recovered all his energy. So to keep the invisibility cloak he was wearing active, he needed a lot. It drains his energy too. Kai can't use most of what Zeff can of his powers that's why he had such a hard time infiltrating. But Zeff wouldn't help him even if he could unless he was forced to.

The invisibility cloak takes more than magical energy to keep active, so Zeff wanted to use it only until he was sure not to fight his way through.

And staying still was wasting a lot of time. Robert was blocking his way with some weapons he had never seen before. It seemed it could get ugly soon.

'If that's the case, I need to finish this fight soon,' Zeff thought, deactivating the invisibility cloak. The reason for this is simple. Although there are seemingly powerful abilities in his arsenal like Seodt and such, the restriction on Zeff's abilities is severe. One of them, the one he hated the most, was not being capable of using two at once. He has many powers but he can't use more than one at a time.

If he wants to fight, the cloak was the worst choice and delay could be his death in the middle of battle, so to make up for it—Zeff activated his powers in the order of microseconds, faster than the eye could see.

And before Robert's vision could pick it up, Zeff forced his magical powers into his hand and formed a fist. A surge of energy exuded from his body, breaking the calm atmosphere around.

He put strength into his legs and leaped fast to Robert's position.

'Take out the leader first,' Zeff thought. It was a lesson he lerned when he was working as operative for Spades.

Take care of the head and the body falls apart. A rule Zeff knew quite effective in quick and unexpected battle. If he's going to be playing on his enemies' rules on their ground, striking first has always been his strategy.

And just as Robert noticed someone running towards him, it was too late.

Zeff's fist dug deep into Robert's face, breaking his masked armor and destroying his glasses. Robert's vision became blurred as he fell down by the back of his head.

A sharp pain shot through his nose. It was so intense he didn't notice his jaw was being dislocated slowly.

The rest of the soldiers reacted too slowly to notice the incoming attack. As Robert fell down with a man standing in front of them like he came out of thin air. His demonstration of monstrous strength as soon as Robert called out to him gave them goosebumps.

The idea of such a man standing next to them made them flinch, slowly filling their minds with fear, looking at the state Robert was in.

Everyone, startled , took a step back, holding their weapons tighter and daring not to fire, fearing they might be next. All eyes were on him now.

They were all in shock. Making it the most ideal situation to wipe them all out.

But Zeff didn't move from Robert. He stood where he was, unfazed. He didn't pursue his momentum and stopped attacking after the first strike.

'Dammit! I'm reaching my limit,' Zeff thought, staring down at Robert who was barely conscious. 'I put too much strength on the first strike.'

Zeff's body was, although perfectly still in the healing process, in simple terms - a wrecked house. It was his habit to put all his strength on the first strike that he didn't consider the aftereffects. Why would he? That's not his body. So he never held back when he was in the 'seat'.

No matter how much he wanted to kill everyone in his surroundings and move, he couldn't.

Silence lingered.

Blood was dripping down from inside his fist. The pain was nothing to scoff at, but it was something he could get used to after all this time. The numbness in his mind was wearing him out.

His mind craved rest and a nice hot bath but reality denied it. Surrounded by enemies, he can't hesitate or slow down even for a second. With his body in such a state there was no way he could make it alone.

But he was not alone.

"Damn fox! Get me outta here!" he screamed. He hated asking for help. Everyone but himself has always an obstacle in his mind. But life weighed heavier than pride.

A pair of silvery white eyes opened around him. Daksha was waiting in the dark to pounce on his enemies while he distracted them. The roar of a beast filled the ears of soldiers as it crept from behind them.

"No wai—" one of the soldiers said before his upper body was bit off by ginormous fangs flashed behind him. Blood splattered everywhere as his lower body fell to the ground. Limp and dead.

From then on, it was a one-sided massacre.

Everything was planned before. Although his body giving up on him was unexpected, he had Daksha attack the exact moment the soldiers were caught off guard.

No one knew where the monster came from and before they could fight back they were already at the mercy of Daksha's sharp claws.

***

"Stop this right now!!" Crimson shouted to Koul, pulling him back by his arms before both of them disappeared into the smoke covering Area Four.

The soldiers stopped firing at the sudden turn of events. Someone awakened with the abilities of fire was in front of them now. Probably their leader.

Bucky, the lieutenant at the front row motioned his soldiers to hold the fire. 'If we're not careful, the fight could drag in innocent civilians,' he thought.

They were in Area Four. And looking at the current state of it, covered in who-knows-what gas, it was dangerous to act without caution. Worst case scenario, it might be explosive substance and could blow up at any moment.

'We have to avoid that at all cost.'

Bucky learned all the secrets regarding their base the day he earned his title as lieutenant. He vowed in the name of his country, like all his predecessors did, that he would use that knowledge only to the benefit of his nation or, in the otherwise case, take it to his grave.

And as much as he inspired his soldiers to fight for the innocent people trapped in the base due to cruel invaders, in a less pleasing sense of his motive, he was actually looking after himself the most. His only family and his sister.

If the bombs deep in Area Four are activated, nowhere in the entire New York is a safe place. The only place where he still held power and authority. This place cannot fall. He can't let it!

"Pull back!" he shouted. "Pull back, right now!"

Since the enemy putting up smoke in the entire area was unexpected, they had to tread their next steps. As the highest commanding officer, Bucky can't let his men walk into a trap. Much less into triggering an explosion even the invaders might not be aware of.

If he wasn't careful, they could all die. However, only he, as believed, knew the truth.

***

If you find any mistakes in the chapter please let me know in the comments below so I can fix them as soon as possible.