Chapter 517
Chapter 517
Catalina fired off a burst of fire at the four-legged, dog-like monster that was rushing toward her. The bolts of energy slammed into the ravagespawn, burning large holes through its body with satisfying ease. The monster stumbled and went tumbling end over end until it came to a halt a few feet in front of her. The creature lay on its side, dead, glowing holes dotting its body.
Catalina briefly glanced at the assault rifle in her hands with appreciation. The Spartans had lent her this weapon, along with a large pistol holstered at her hip. Without a shadow of a doubt, the weapons they were armed with were extremely powerful.
The Spartans were very lucky that Mad Mick had invented these guns for them. Without them, surviving in Dead City would have been far more difficult. Even with such firepower, their odds were far from ideal, but at least they had a fighting chance.
Their situation had deteriorated significantly after Mad Mick’s escape. Without his inventions and technical expertise, the Spartans had lost one of their greatest advantages. But it was the Commander’s own fault, of course. After his death, there was no longer any reason to keep the truth hidden, so Silvia had told Catalina everything. She now knew exactly what had happened between the Spartans and Mad Mick.
Catalina and several other people kept firing in different directions, fending off the ravagespawn that spawned nearby and tried to get to the group. Behind the defensive perimeter they had set up, the other members of the team continued concentrating their fire on the organic wall of the nest.
Their concentrated barrage burned through the fleshy barrier, opening a hole in its surface. They immediately shifted their aim to the edges, carving away more of the living mass and steadily widening the breach. The Ravage fought to regenerate the damaged section, but despite its efforts, the opening continued to grow.
At one point, when the weapons of the three teammates became overheated, they slung them across their shoulders and pulled their sidearms. They stepped away from the wall so three other people could replace them. The team kept working that way, taking turns. Three people worked on expanding the opening, and once their weapons overheated, three others replaced them so the work could continue without interruption. Because of the rotation, the Ravage had no opportunity to knit the damaged section of the wall back together.
At some point, it was Catalina’s turn to step away from the defensive line and start working on the wall along with two other people. She saw that the hole was already quite large. Still, it would be a couple more minutes before it was large enough to pass through. When her primary weapon became overheated, she stepped aside, and one of the people whose gun had cooled off stepped in to replace her.
Catalina pulled her sidearm and resumed firing on the swarm of monsters charging at them from every direction. There were lots and lots of monsters around them, but the team did an amazing job of keeping them at bay. The Spartans were surprisingly experienced and disciplined fighters. None showed a trace of panic or fear at the sight of so many ravagespawn around them.
A few minutes later, the task was complete. The hole was roughly rectangular, over six feet in height and wide enough for two people to pass through it.
“Get inside, everyone,” Silvia said. “Locate the core and destroy it.”
She didn’t have to say anything, as the group knew their roles and what needed to be done. And locating the core turned out to be much easier than Catalina had initially thought. She stepped through the opening and took a quick look around. All the internal walls separating the various rooms of the building were gone. And so were the ceilings separating the floors. The entire structure had been hollowed out into a single immense cavern.
The team quickly took care of several ravagespawn lurking within, and then they collectively looked upward as if on cue. Noticing them looking up, Catalina did the same. As she looked up, she saw something that looked like an organic mass suspended at the level of the fifth or sixth floor. Thick fleshy cords, each two or three feet wide, stretched from the inner walls of the nest to the organic object, holding it aloft at the center of the cavernous interior.
The object was incredibly large, and it vaguely resembled a heart. The organic thing pulsed visibly, obviously drawing mana from the air and pumping it through the cords into the nest walls with every beat. Catalina didn’t need to be told what it was. It was the core of the nest.
Unlike her, the team wasn’t surprised or disgusted by the sight. After all, it wasn’t the first time they had forced their way into a nest. The team immediately took up defensive positions. Some of them brought their guns up, aimed for the core, and opened fire. Brilliant energy bolts streaked through the darkness, illuminating the cavern before slamming into the core. Each impact blasted a large hole into the massive organ, making it convulse violently under the barrage.
As soon as the main structure of the nest began taking damage, numerous swellings grew on the walls, each transforming into a monster. They developed much faster than the ravagespawn in the streets. Within seconds, fully transformed monsters detached from the walls and charged at the Spartans.
But the group was ready. While some of the team kept up a steady fire on the core, the rest aimed for the monsters. Catalina had never admitted it to anyone, but the thought of entering a nest had always terrified her. Sure, she had volunteered to go with Silvia’s team, but while she put on a brave front, internally she was terrified. However, seeing how effectively the group was operating, she no longer felt afraid. They were all very calm, a trait that came only with experience. They were disciplined and skilled. They worked like a single well-oiled machine. She felt safe with these people.
The team kept working. While some of them dealt damage to the core, the rest kept the monsters at bay, not letting any of them get within striking range. Any ravagespawn that possessed ranged attacks were immediately taken care of. Despite their best efforts, the monsters couldn’t do anything to prevent the core of the nest from being destroyed.
A couple of people stood at the makeshift entrance, taking care of ravagespawn that attempted to get inside from the street. The hole was gradually knitting itself back together, and at some point it became too small for any monsters to get through. After that, the two people joined those battling the monsters inside.
A moment later, the hole was completely sealed shut. Catalina noticed that, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of fear. They were now completely trapped inside the nest. Would they be fine? What if they needed to make a quick getaway? With their only way out now gone, they wouldn’t be able to do so. If they made some mistake, if they panicked, or if their weapons failed, the ravagespawn would immediately take advantage and overwhelm them in moments. Without a way out, the team would be doomed.
However, Catalina forced herself to shake off those thoughts and concentrate on helping the Spartans fight the ravagespawn. None of her teammates seemed one bit concerned about the fact that their only way out was now sealed shut. Instead, they remained fully focused on their respective roles. The monsters dropped dead like flies, and the core was being peppered with holes. Every time an energy bolt slammed into the organ, it shuddered violently.
For Catalina, the battle felt like it lasted for hours, though only a few minutes passed. Then the core suddenly began to tremble, and the team looked away, shielding their heads with their arms.
A moment later, the core exploded, sending pieces of flesh flying in every direction. After that, the organic walls of the nest began to wither and fall apart. The organic mass flaked away, quickly disintegrating into dust. However, the Spartans never let their attention lapse for even a second. They immediately turned their focus back to the remaining ravagespawn.
Only after the remaining monsters were dealt with did the team allow themselves a moment to catch their breath. Catalina felt like congratulating them on their success, but she bit her tongue. She noticed that none of them smiled or looked even slightly triumphant. She immediately realized why.
The point of destroying the core was to summon a Titan. By that point, it should have finished developing and had to be awaiting them just outside the lair now. That was why the team still looked grim and focused. They all knew that destroying the core was the easy part. Slaying a Titan, on the other hand, was where the hardest part began.
The nest around them quickly disintegrated. A hole broke open not far from where they had entered, and Silvia shouted, “Move out! Stay sharp. Time to finish this.”
She was the first to slip through the quickly widening opening, closely followed by several others. When it was Catalina’s turn, she quickly stepped through the hole in the wall and looked around.
Sure enough, she immediately spotted a Titan standing to their left, not far from the nest they had just exited. The beast was five stories tall and generally looked like a reptile that moved on its hind legs. The monster looked absolutely terrifying. It had two eyes that were solid blue, and they reminded her of Jake. He had similarly colored eyes.
Before she could give it any more thought, however, she heard Silvia curse behind her.
“Oh crap.”
When Catalina looked back, she saw that Silvia wasn’t looking at the huge reptile-like monster at all. Instead, she was staring at the opposite side of the street, where another monster several stories tall towered over them. This one looked even more terrifying than the first.
The team was sandwiched between the two Titans.
“What the hell?” Catalina gasped. “Why are there two of them?”
Silvia didn’t reply, but from the look on her face, Catalina realized the Spartan leader was just as baffled as she was.