Chapter 92: The Battle for Survival
The chamber erupted into chaos as the cybernetic horrors broke free from their stasis pods. Wires and mechanical limbs twitched erratically as the grotesque experiments reanimated, their soulless eyes locking onto Raizen's team.
"Here they come!" Joran shouted, opening fire as the nearest creature lunged with unnatural speed.
Raizen pivoted, dodging a clawed hand that nearly tore through his armor. His energy blade hummed, slicing through the first abomination with a clean, brutal arc. Sparks and blood mixed in the air as the creature let out a shrill, robotic scream before collapsing.
But for every one that fell, three more took its place.
"They're swarming!" Kain barked, unloading his plasma rifle into the oncoming tide. The energy blasts tore into the cybernetic husks, but they barely slowed.
Raizen gritted his teeth as another lunged from above, its metallic claws raking toward his face. He activated Draconic Step, his body vanishing in a golden blur before reappearing behind it. With a swift downward slash, his blade cleaved through its spinal column, sending it crashing to the floor.
Liana, working furiously at the nearest control panel, cursed. "The security system is still partially active! If I can override it, I might be able to lock them in!"
Raizen nodded. "Do it—fast!"
The creatures adapted quickly, their movements becoming more fluid as they learned from Raizen's attacks. One of them suddenly transformed its arm into a jagged blade, slashing through Joran's side armor.
Joran grunted, stumbling back. "Bastard cut deep!"
Raizen's golden eyes burned, and for a brief moment, his Draconic Aura erupted in full force. The pressure in the room shifted, the sheer weight of his presence forcing the creatures to hesitate.
He didn't waste the opportunity.
His body blurred forward, energy blade glowing brighter than ever, and he unleashed a flurry of precision strikes, disassembling the nearest creatures in mere seconds.Their mechanical limbs fell to the floor, twitching.
"Liana?!"
"Almost there!" she yelled, fingers flying across the holographic display. "Just keep them off me!"
Raizen and Kain formed a defensive perimeter, cutting down the cybernetic horrors one after another. But the horde showed no signs of stopping.
Liana's console beeped. "Got it! Engaging lockdown!"
The doors slammed shut behind them, trapping the remaining abominations inside. A loud, mechanical hiss echoed through the shipyard as containment gas flooded the chamber, freezing the creatures in place.
Silence fell.
Joran slumped against the wall, panting. "That… was way too close."
Raizen surveyed the wreckage. Their bodies were battered, but they had survived. His eyes flicked to Liana. "We need to find the shipyard's command core. Whatever was running these things—it might still be active."
Kain wiped the blood from his brow. "If it's still alive, I say we kill it before it makes more of these things."
Raizen nodded. "Then let's move."
With the battle won, they pressed deeper into the station, toward whatever dark secret still lay hidden within.