41 VERMEHLO VILLAGE

Forty minutes. That's all they had to gear up, go to their transport vehicle and make it to their drop off point.

Rex's initial thoughts were simple.

"Unless we have a jet, forty minutes is not happening."

They had a jet.

And not just any jet. They had a Cloud-Eater Freight Jet. For global travel at high speeds.

It took twenty minutes of running through the jungles to reach it but that didn't matter at all. Even with its cloaking technology, he could see it in the early morning dark.

It looked like two jets jammed together like lego pieces with its four sets of wings and two tail flaps. It's sleek black body was only interrupted by the existence of man operable rail guns on the two front wings shielded by a high octane glass bubble.

The thrusters were like the open mouths of mechanized giants or steel entrance gates into hell with the way the purple and red fire raged as it fed on nos and mana based engine stimulants.

"You're drooling, handsome." Lyra said as she walked past him and into the jet through the open ramp at its back.

Rex adjusted his gear and followed after the others.

Inside was even more impressive.

At the north end, near the cockpit, holographic technology stuffed a black glass table covered by maps and layouts. Further back, training dummies and sparring pads took up the floor. On its left and right stood a med bay and weapons depot. At the back, as the ramp came up behind him, he realized it was a basketball court.

"Mission debrief and pregame. Now." Captain Camo said as he lumbered over to the table near the cockpit.

Rex followed with the others.

"Beatriz, activate autopilot on Vermehlo Village." Captain Camo said.

Glass veins running through the jets wiring and flooring blinked. An automated voice followed, "Understood, Captain."

The jet engines roared in mechanized whispers as they sat at the table.

"Arrival on Verhmelo Village in T Minus Five minutes."

"You sure it's Verhmelo, Cap?" Lyra asked as she twisted her hair around her finger.

"It's always Verhmelo. They watched a Vampire Demi-god come into existence on their lands. They still worship him. They practically welcome the virus whenever there's an outbreak since they think it's a sign from their blood god." Captain Camo said while he passed out ear pieces for everyone to put in.

Rex kept his cool. Back in the bloodwoods, they had a V-Negative outbreak once, but it was because of the gangs dogfighting. One side thought turning their dogs into vampiric hell-hounds would give them the upper hand and make them rich. All it did was create a midnight massacre— starting with every gang member in the sewers dogfighting.

Rex had never been so thankful for his preference to sleep on rooftops.

"With that being said…." Captain Camo continued, "We're taking the light BT's."

"Bt's?" Rex questioned.

"Blood toxifier. It doesn't circulate. We inject it in bite zones so if we go down at least we take one with us." Lyra explained.

"Keep up, baldy." Isadora mumbled as she downed an apple juice.

"The rest of your kit is up to your discretion aside from vision assistance." Captain Camo said, "Now here is the drop point." He pulled free a map and pointed to the center.

"We're dropping in the center?" Rex asked. The village was about as large as a small city.

"It's the point with the most uninterrupted sunlight. And that's our greatest weapon. Fittingly, it's where their church of blood is. We have two goals. The first one is to find the contamination pit. Vermehlo Village natives practice blood sacrifices. They either have human, animal or monster blood with tainted mana in that pit. We need to burn it and then clean up the rest."

Rex nodded.

"From here we'll split into groups of twos. There's a cave on the north and south ends of the village less than two clicks in each direction. Once the sun comes up, the infected will naturally try to flee there. We have to ash them before then. Me and Isadora will go north. Lyra…."

"I've got the charmer." Lyra finished as she looked Rex's way.

Captain Camo rolled his oversized shoulder beneath his poncho. His dark thick mustache ruffled as he grunted, "Rex. I read your trainee report. You have a high level survivability Inheritence ability relating to fire."

"Correct." Rex said.

"You're also a proficient close combat fighter among your peers."

Rex nodded.

Chpt Camo raised his transformed arm and pointed at him with a scaled finger tipped by a black claw, "If I see you try and fist fight one of these bastards, I'm going to shoot you myself."

"Wh—"

"Don't risk it. Don't get a big head. They're fast, hungry and they swarm. Fire, bullets, blades and brains. That's it. Do you understand me, Specialist?"

Rex nodded.

"What's the eta on the jungle-monkey unit?" Lyra asked.

Cpt Camo moved the maps off the and tapped the dark glass surface. Suddenly it showed itself as a screen. A topographical map of the ground below. Red dots blinked as they traveled across the expanse.

"About the same as us. They had a head start."

As if on que, the jet slowed.

"Drop point approaching."

Everyone got up. Cpt Camo ran to the ammunition bay and began throwing black backpacks.

"Ever used a parachute?" Lyra asked.

Rex shook his head. The only time he would've needed one was when he was divebombing a world serpent as a living ball of fire.

"Just pull it as soon as you're out." Lyra put hers on.

Rex followed as they watched Cpt Camo and Isadora run out the lowered ramp and free fall. They followed after.

The air was cold and loud in Rex's sensitive ears. As he fell, he let more of his panther form come to the surface while pulling his chute.

Instead of the usual big loud flapping net rising up above him, it was a focused spread of spongy leather that fit on him like a wing suit originating from the backpack.

He glided as his eyes glowed and went slitted like a cat.

The world below gained new detail.

The village was massive with dirt and sandstone tower complexes. Torches and great structures loomed at block edges. Massive flower decorations glowed in the night.

It was from that glow that he could see the splatter of blood on the nearby walls.

Rex dove faster and closed in on the center of the village.

He landed on the church spire. Lyra landed soon after. In the dark, they felt alone on top of the world.

They drew their weapons in silence and ventured into the church.