Chương 148: Chapter : 148

Ariff was not bothered by his failed attacks. The cyborg juggernaut simply started marching forward, his heavy metal boots stomping relentlessly on the catwalk. He raised his arms and started firing a mix of explosive bullets and lasers, filling the narrow corridor with an absolutely overwhelming amount of firepower. The battle intensified rapidly. The catwalk itself began to take heavy damage. The metal grating beneath their feet shook violently with every single explosion.

Support bolts popped out of the walls, pinging into the dark abyss below them. The railing on the left side completely collapsed, falling away into the deep, steamy darkness of the facility.

"We are running out of room!" Celia warned, her shield cracking slightly under the constant, heavy bombardment.

"We need to go on the offensive, but we cannot step out of cover without getting ripped to shreds!" Ira swung her water whips, managing to slice a clean cut across Ariff's metallic shoulder plate, but the cyborg didn't even flinch. He just kept walking forward, getting closer and closer. His red optical sensors glowed brightly through the thick steam. He was preparing to unleash a massive, close-range explosive blast that would easily shatter the fragile catwalk and send all four of them plummeting to their deaths.

Princess Iris gritted her teeth. She prepared to risk everything, stepping out from behind Ira to launch a desperate, high-speed thrust with her rapier. But just before Iris could make her move, the heavy metal door on the right side of the catwalk suddenly burst open.

"Get out of the way!" a loud, fiery voice screamed. Bursting through the side door were the stray members of their vanguards who had gotten separated during the initial infiltration. Laxmi came flying out first, her hands completely engulfed in roaring, bright orange flames. Right beside her was Zinia, looking bruised but highly motivated, and Zaima, Hestia's bitter, scowling Vice-Captain.

They took one look at the towering, heavily armed cyborg marching toward their Princesses, and they didn't hesitate for a single second.

"Burn, you ugly toaster!" Laxmi roared with a wild grin. She threw a massive, concentrated pillar of pure fire directly into the side of Ariff's metallic head. At the exact same moment, Zinia slammed her hands onto the wall, ripping a huge, jagged chunk of concrete out of the foundation and hurling it straight at the cyborg's mechanical legs. The sudden, explosive ambush from the side caught the juggernaut completely off guard.

Ariff stumbled sideways, his Gatling gun firing wildly into the ceiling as the heavy concrete smashed into his knees. The desperate, high-stakes fight on the shaking catwalk had just turned into an all-out brawl, and the two rival Royal units were finally fighting side-by-side. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

The giant, mutated centipede monster finally crashed to the metal floor. Its dozens of razor-sharp legs curled inward, twitching once before going completely still. The heavy, toxic air in the corridor was suddenly quiet, replaced only by the sound of heavy, exhausted breathing. Naomi did not waste a single second celebrating the victory. She didn't even bother wiping the sweat from her forehead or cleaning her daggers.

The absolute second the monster stopped moving, she spun around and sprinted toward the edge of the corridor. She dropped to her knees right next to the shattered metal railing. She leaned over the edge, staring down into the pitch-black, yawning abyss of the underground facility.

"Ken!" Naomi screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed down the massive, dark shaft, bouncing off the steel walls.

"Ken! Answer me!" There was no response. There was no goofy complaint about the dark, no loud yelling about wanting a snack. There was just total, terrifying silence. Naomi's hands gripped the broken, jagged edges of the metal railing so hard her knuckles turned entirely white. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. The messy, lazy, totally ridiculous guy who always complained about his shoelaces had just thrown himself directly into the path of a lethal stinger to save a teammate.

He had taken a massive hit, crashing through the railing and falling into the absolute dark.

"No, no, no," Naomi whispered, her voice cracking. She felt a cold, heavy block of panic settle deep in her stomach. She usually yelled at him. She usually dragged him by the collar of his shirt and scolded him for looking like a walking laundry pile. But she didn't hate him. Over the last few days, he had become the highly annoying, totally goofy friend she never knew she needed. He kept the team smiling. He kept them grounded. And now, he was gone.

Raja, the quiet engineer from the 9th Unit, rushed over to the edge of the pit. His hands were shaking as he pulled a small, glowing digital scanner from his heavy leather toolbelt. He aimed the device down the dark shaft, tapping the screen frantically.

"I... I am trying to get a reading," Raja stammered, wiping a bead of sweat from his nose.

"But the magical radiation down there is incredibly thick. It is completely scrambling my sensors. The shaft goes down for at least ten levels. I can't see the bottom." Elma slowly walked over to join them. The haughty, incredibly arrogant blonde servant from the 16th Unit looked totally different. Her pristine white and gold uniform was stained with dirt and monster blood, but she didn't even seem to notice. The proud, superior smirk she always wore was completely gone.

Her face was pale, and her hands were actually trembling. She stared down into the dark pit, her eyes wide with genuine shock.

"He pushed me," Elma whispered, her voice barely louder than a breath. She looked at Naomi, looking entirely shaken.

"That messy idiot pushed me out of the way. He doesn't even have a weapon. He doesn't know how to fight. Why would he do that? I have done nothing but insult him since the second we met." Naomi stood up. She didn't have time to deal with Elma's sudden guilt. The fierce, strict vanguard leader pushed her sadness down and replaced it with pure, burning determination.

"He did it because he is a better person than you are, Elma," Naomi snapped, her green eyes flashing with intense focus. She pointed down the hallway toward a heavy metal emergency door.

"He is not dead. I refuse to believe that idiot is dead. There has to be a stairwell at the end of this corridor. We are going down there, and we are finding him right now." Elma didn't argue. She just gave a stiff, nervous nod. All of her arrogant pride had been completely shattered by the reality of what Ken had just done for her. Naomi kicked the emergency door open, and the three of them sprinted down the rusty, twisting metal stairs. They moved as fast as their legs could carry them.

They skipped steps, completely ignoring the burning pain in their calves. Naomi's mind was racing. She kept picturing Ken's goofy smile. She kept remembering how he had whined about his expensive navy blue suit getting dirty just ten minutes ago.