Chapter 81: Saint Hilarius Hospital (13)
She was watching death approach.
Waiting for the finishing blow.
But...
In a distant corner of the ruined laboratory, partially concealed behind a jagged mountain of pulverized concrete and twisted ventilation pipes, there was someone watching the execution unfold.
It was "Aiden."
Aiden, the notoriously thin and easily frightened young man with the cracked, round glasses.
The weak link of the team.
The employee who had eagerly joined the Magical Intelligence Division not out of a desire to protect Elysium from the shadows, or to become a legendary hero, but simply because he thought it was a safe, bureaucratic government job.
A job that provided an excellent pension plan, comprehensive health insurance, and a comfortable, air-conditioned office safely located within the golden sector.
He was not a fighter by nature.
He never had been.
He was the type of man who was afraid of his own shadow, who trembled uncontrollably at the mere sound of distant gunfire, and who would honestly cry if he accidentally cut his finger on a sharp edge.
He was currently curled up tightly like a frightened fetus behind the rubble, aggressively covering his mouth with both of his hands to prevent the pathetic, desperate sounds of his gasps and sobs from echoing in the silent chamber.
Tears were pouring continuously from his eyes like a hot waterfall, washing the thick gray dust off his dirty, pale cheeks and leaving muddy streaks down his face.
He saw Valisera fall.
He saw the arrogant, supposedly invincible superior he had been hiding behind all this time, the woman who could crush steel with a glance, completely broken and bleeding before his very eyes.
No... that can’t be... the commander can’t be defeated...
Aiden’s frantic mind screamed hysterically, unable to process the horrific reality.
If she dies... he will definitely tear me apart next...
he will find me hiding here and dissect me alive with those saws...
I don’t want to die... please... anyone... Kirion... Damian... Eva... Mom...
I don’t want to die here in this rotten basement!
Aiden looked down at his standard-issue submachine guns lying uselessly on the concrete beside him.
Their ammunition was entirely depleted from his earlier, panicked blind firing.
They were nothing more than expensive paperweights now.
He looked at his specialized holographic projection gloves, which were currently flickering unsteadily with a very faint, dying blue light.
Illusions won’t work... he realized with a sinking heart.
He saw right through Kaiser’s highly advanced illusion in a second...
he reads thermal signatures and literal heartbeats...
he’s a machine...
The Surgeon was now standing directly over the completely paralyzed and helpless Valisera.
The machine slowly, methodically raised its heavy mechanical arm, and the blazing white laser scalpel began descending directly toward her exposed chest.
At that exact, terrifying moment... something deep inside Aiden completely broke.
It was absolutely not courage.
It was not a sudden awakening of heroism.
It was not a cinematic, noble, or sacrificial decision meant to save his fallen comrade.
It was pure, unadulterated, animalistic terror.
The sheer, overwhelming panic stemming from the horrifying thought of being left entirely alone in this pitch-black darkness with that mechanical monster once Valisera was dead.
It was the ultimate fear of being the next specimen on the dissection table.
He believed, in the sheer stupidity of extreme desperation, that if he could somehow distract the monster for just a single, fleeting second, Valisera might miraculously be able to get up, crush it, and save them both.
He didn’t think clearly.
He acted entirely on the raw instinct of a coward violently cornered.
Aiden stood up from behind his makeshift concrete cover.
His thin legs were trembling so violently they felt like jelly.
His hot tears were heavily soaking the collar of his torn, dirt-stained shirt.
"H-hey! Y-you damned piece of scrap!"
Aiden screamed at the absolute top of his lungs.
It was a broken, high-pitched, almost childish scream, utterly devoid of any intimidation, completely filled with pure terror and crushing despair.
The Surgeon’s descending laser scalpel stopped instantly in midair, hovering mere millimeters away from Valisera’s bloodied chest as she weakly opened her crimson eyes in shock, looking toward the unexpected source of the pathetic sound.
The Surgeon slowly, mechanically turned its chassis.
Its single, glowing red laser lens immediately focused and locked onto Aiden, who stood at a safe distance, shaking violently like a drenched bird in a thunderstorm.
Aiden poured all the remaining, meager ether left in his weak body directly into his holographic gloves, causing them to hum loudly.
"Absolute Mirage Split!" he shrieked.
He didn’t attempt to create a highly complex, detailed illusion of another powerful person like Kaiser Dravion this time.
He knew that would fail.
Instead, he created twenty identical copies of himself!
Twenty fake "Aidens" instantly materialized, running wildly in every possible direction across the massive, ruined lab.
They were all screaming hysterically and crashing into walls, desperately trying to visually overwhelm and confuse the monster’s optical sensors with sheer volume.
Meanwhile, the real Aiden was already running frantically backward, stumbling toward the dark, narrow escape corridor leading out of the basement.
Run... just run...
it will quickly realize they are fakes and go back to finish killing her, and by then I will have completely escaped...
please God let me live...
I just want to go back to my safe apartment...
I want to live!
That was exactly what his selfish, terrified mind was screaming as his legs pumped furiously.
But the Surgeon was not a foolish, easily distracted creature.
The mechanical monster’s laser lens swept across the laboratory, scanning the entire area and all twenty targets in a fraction of a millisecond.
Illusions have no pulse.
Illusions do not secrete adrenaline into their bloodstream.
Illusions do not sweat the unmistakable, pungent scent of pure human fear.
"Secondary biological contamination successfully detected.
Escaping specimen identified.
Heart rate: 180 beats per minute.
Core body temperature elevated due to excessive fear secretions," the Surgeon’s cold, mechanical voice echoed.
It sounded exactly like a judge delivering a death sentence.
The Surgeon immediately abandoned the helpless Valisera lying bleeding on the ground, determining she was no longer an immediate flight risk.
Its five remaining spider-like legs bent deeply, and it violently launched itself forward like a heavy black cannon shell.
It blasted right through all the visual illusions, which instantly vanished and pixelated the moment the strong air current from the machine’s speed swept through them.
It rushed in a straight, terrifying line directly toward the dark corridor where Aiden was desperately running.
Aiden looked back over his shoulder and saw the massive mechanical nightmare flying through the air directly toward him, its weapons gleaming.
"Nooooo! Stay away from me! I’m not a hero! I’m not a fighter!" Aiden screamed in absolute horror.
In his blind panic, his clumsy feet tripped over a thick bundle of cut electrical wires exposed on the ground.
He fell incredibly hard face-first onto the concrete.
His round glasses completely shattered upon impact, shards of broken glass violently scattering around his widened eyes, cutting his cheek.
He frantically tried to crawl backward on his back, pushing aggressively against the dirty ground with his hands and feet, kicking his legs wildly as he watched the massive Surgeon slowly descend directly in front of him, its shadow completely blocking out the faint red emergency lights.
"Diagnosis: the intruder is currently suffering from a severe, acute panic attack.
Treatment plan: forced chemical sedation and immediate exploratory amputation," the Surgeon stated, raising a hydraulic arm.
"No! Please! Please don’t touch me!"
Aiden cried bitterly, bawling like a small, terrified child begging his executioner for mercy.
He clasped his dirty, bleeding hands together in a desperate, pathetic gesture of prayer.
"I’ll give you anything!
Take my entire salary!
Take all my money!
I just want to return to the Golden Sector!
I don’t want to die in this rotten, disgusting basement!
Mom... my mom is waiting for me...
please... Valisera!
Sia!
Damian!
Anyone!
Save me!"
He was screaming uncontrollably, his voice tearing hoarsely through the silent, oppressive laboratory walls.
It was the desperate, unfiltered scream of someone who loved his own life deeply, violently clinging to it with every fiber of his being, absolutely refusing to sacrifice it for anyone or anything.
There was absolutely no pride, no honor, and no dignity in his final words—only a raw, shattered, and utterly human survival instinct.