The helicopters swiftly approached Tokhtamysh. The one carrying the nuclear specialist and the CBRN team broke formation, hovering directly over the village to release a precisely calibrated depleted uranium (DU) bomb.
The other helicopters maintained a safe distance, their crews donning biochemical masks to avoid inhaling uranium oxide dust—a futile attempt at mitigating the inevitable radiation sickness.
"Depleted uranium isn't harmful"? That was the U.S. government's lie.
U-238 was radioactive—just less so than the U-235 used in atomic bombs.
The DU explosion sent a smaller mushroom cloud into the sky. When the smoke cleared, only corpses remained in the village.
Prester John's followers—annihilated.
But he himself stood unharmed amidst the ruins, his half-mechanical face tilted skyward in fury.
Then—
A gigantic white bone spear, shaped like a crucifix, erupted from his skull and shot upward like a missile, piercing the Black Hawk that had dropped the bomb. The helicopter spiraled down in flames, crashing into the distant mountains.
A collective gasp rippled through the remaining crews.
Even suppressed to Tier-4, Prester John was a force of nature.
Barbie turned to Luo Shu. "Containment expert—your turn. Jianjia, go with him. The rest of us will attempt rescue at the crash site."
Prester John didn't linger. He marched south, toward Kashmir—where ambient Hume levels would unleash his full Tier-5 power.
Peter's helicopters circled ahead, dropping Luo Shu and Jianjia on the king's projected path.
The Problem
Alone with Jianjia, Luo Shu cut to the chase:
"Achilles' Heel handles reality benders. Got a plan?"
She shook her head. "He's Keter. There is no reliable method. That's your job, 'containment expert.'"
"Even Barbie doesn't know?"
Jianjia's eyes narrowed. "You think she orchestrated this? She's been at Olympus since leaving Area-14."
Damn, women's intuition.
As an Anomalous Ally, Jianjia couldn't lie to him without breaking their bond. So either:
Barbie acted without her team's knowledge (unlikely).
This was a genuine crisis, exploited by Barbie.
Conclusion: No help from Achilles' Heel. Improvise.
Jianjia squeezed his arm. "I can quintuple ambient Hume—reducing his power output by 80%. No more bone spears."
Their comms crackled. Barbie's voice:
"Target 1,000 meters out. Request any equipment or support."
How generous.
Luo Shu smirked. I'll take a "Barbie disposal unit."
But he already had a plan.