He shot forward, closing the distance to the nearest operative in a heartbeat. His electrified fist punched straight through the man's chest, erging from the other side in a spray of blood and viscera. With a savage twist, he tore the lifeless body off his arm and hurled it into another operative, sending both crashing into the wall.
The remaining operatives backed away, fear evident in their movents. One raised what looked like a modified beast weapon—a cannon grafted with organic components that pulsed with sickly green light.
"Die, military dog!" the operative scread, firing the weapon.
A stream of corrosive acid shot toward Lucas. He raised his hand, generating a wall of intensely charged particles that intercepted the acid mid-air. The liquid sizzled against the electrical barrier, evaporating instantly.
"Is that all?" Lucas asked coldly.
The operative barely had ti to register shock before Lucas was upon him. One hand closed around the man's throat, electricity coursing directly into his nervous system. The operative convulsed violently, blood vessels rupturing beneath his skin, eyes bulging as they filled with blood.
Lucas dropped the corpse and turned to face the last two operatives, who were now backing away in terror.
"P-please," one begged, dropping his weapon. "We surrender—"
Lucas's hand shot out, lightning arcing from his fingertips. The bolt struck the operative's head, exploding it in a shower of bone and brain matter. The final operative turned to run, but Lucas appeared in front of him, moving faster than thought.
"This is war," Lucas said quietly. "There are no surrenders."
With chanical precision, he drove his fist through the man's sternum, electricity cooking the operative from inside out. He could feel the heart spasming against his knuckles before it burst from the electrical overload.
As the final body hit the floor, Lucas turned back toward the commander, who had been watching the slaughter with an unreadable expression.
"Is this it?! Is this all you can offer?!! And to think we spent the last weeks after discovering of you people's existence scared of what was to co. Your people die easily," Lucas said, blood dripping from his hand as he advanced.
The commander's eyes narrowed. "They're foot soldiers. Expendable. As are your classmates to the Ark military."
"We're nothing alike," Lucas snarled. "We're fighting to save humanity."
"So are we." The commander's red energy intensified. "Just not the way your masters want."
He charged forward with renewed strength, dark chi condensing around his fists. Lucas t him head-on, their energies colliding in a catastrophic explosion that blew out walls on both sides of the corridor. The structure groaned around them, support beams bending under stress they were never designed to withstand.
The commander landed a punch that sent Lucas crashing through three consecutive walls, erging in what appeared to be a storage area filled with equipnt. Before he could regain his footing, the commander was there, following up with a kick that connected with Lucas's ribs.
Pain flared, but Lucas channeled it into focus. He caught the commander's leg before he could withdraw it, electricity surging down his arm and into the man's body. The commander convulsed as thousands of volts tore through him, but his dark chi rose to counter it, forming a protective barrier around his vital organs.
Lucas didn't relent. He increased the voltage, pushing more power through the connection. The commander's barrier began to flicker, weakening under the sustained assault.
"You can't match this output," Lucas said through gritted teeth, pouring more of his soul energy into the attack. "No one can."
The commander's face contorted with effort as he fought to maintain his defenses. "It doesn't matter if I fall," he gasped. "There are others... stronger than . The Purge will continue."
"Not if I have anything to say about it."
Lucas released the commander's leg only to drive both fists into the man's chest. The impact sent him flying upward, crashing through the ceiling and back into the main dock hall. Lucas followed, electric propulsion carrying him through the hole.
They erged into the vast space of the submarine dock once more, the commander landing hard on the tal walkway that ran along the edge of the water basin. Lucas descended slowly, hovering above him, blue lightning cascading from his body in waves.
"It's over," Lucas declared. "Whatever you were planning dies here."
The commander struggled to his feet, dark chi flickering around him like a fla about to be extinguished. Blood ran freely from multiple wounds, and his breathing ca in ragged gasps. But still, he smiled.
"You think killing changes anything? The Purge has cells everywhere. On the Ark. In the military. Even in your precious Academy Twelve."
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "Yes, we know of your operatives. But as far as the ark goes, you are lying,"
The ark was humanity's peak. It was hard to conceive the notion that a disease like the purge would enter such a vast, powerful system.
"Am I?" The commander's smile widened. "How do you think we knew about Noah Eclipse? About the submarine bay? About you? About everything the military represents?!!!"
Doubt flickered across Lucas's face, but only for an instant. "It doesn't matter. I'll stop all of you."
The commander laughed, a wet sound as blood bubbled from his lips. "So arrogant. So certain. Just like they made you to be."
"I've heard enough," Lucas said. He extended his hand, electricity gathering at his fingertips.
"Wait!" The commander raised his hand. "Don't you want to know what we've discovered? About the Void energy? About what it really is?"
Lucas hesitated.
"The military is lying to all of you," the commander continued. "The Harbingers didn't co to destroy us. They ca because of what's beneath the surface. What the void energy is revealing—"
"ENOUGH!" Lucas roared, patience exhausted.
He shot forward, closing the distance in a microsecond. His hand closed around the commander's throat, lifting him off the ground. Blue electricity crackled between his fingers as he stared into the man's red-tinged eyes.
"This ends now."
The commander's lips curled into a final, defiant smile. "It's already begun."
Lucas's free hand pressed against the commander's chest, directly over his heart. Electricity gathered there, concentrated into its purest, most destructive form—plasma.
"For Noah," Lucas whispered. "For everyone you've hurt."
He released the charge.
The plasma bolt tore through the commander's body, superheating blood and tissue instantaneously. The man's chest cavity exploded outward from the internal pressure, ribs shattering as organs vaporized. The plasma continued its path of destruction, burning through flesh and bone with contemptuous ease.
The commander's eyes widened in shock, the red glow fading as life left them. His body convulsed once, twice—then went limp in Lucas's grip.
Lucas released him, letting the corpse fall to the walkway with a heavy thud. Blood pooled beneath it, steaming from the intense heat of the plasma discharge.
Silence fell over the dock. The only sound was the gentle lapping of water against the submarine hull and the crackle of electricity still emanating from Lucas's hovering form.
Slowly, the blue glow began to fade. The lightning arcing around him diminished, retreating back into his body as the Soul Form ebbed away. Lucas's feet touched the ground, and he staggered, suddenly exhausted beyond asure. Every muscle scread in protest as the superhuman energy that had sustained him dissipated.
He looked down at the commander's ruined corpse, feeling neither satisfaction nor remorse—only a bone-deep weariness.
"Had to be done," he muttered to himself, turning away from the grisly sight.
His uniform hung in tatters around him, scorched and torn from the battle. Blood—both his and his enemies'—stained what remained. Every step sent fresh pain shooting through his body as he made his way toward the exit.
Lucas paused at the doorway, looking back at the destruction they'd wrought. The dock facility lay in ruins—concrete shattered, steel beams bent and broken, bodies scattered across multiple levels.
"I hope you're alive, Noah," he whispered, leaning heavily against the doorfra. If there was one thing Lucas held out, it was hope. He didn't quite realize it but all this wreckage. All this destruction apart from self preservation ca knowing that he'd led Noah to certain death when he decided they should split up. But he held out hope nonetheless.
"Co on Eclipse, be alright. Pull off one of those freaking bizarre surprises, man. Because there's sothing bigger happening here than we realized."
With those words, Lucas Grey—S Class Alpha, pride of Academy Twelve, and whether he liked to admit it or not, one of humanity's greatest weapons against the Harbingers—limped away from the battlefield, victorious but far from unscathed.
The warning the commander had tried to deliver echoed in his mind, a puzzle piece he couldn't yet place.
But one thing was certain—this was only the beginning.
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