Eryndor Prime was no longer a city.
It was a battlefield.
The Frenzies spilled from every corner—shattering windows, bursting out of homes, crawling from underground tunnels and sewers. Families were torn apart before the squad's eyes—brothers stabbing brothers, fathers dragging children into alleys with fanatic grins.
The Marines fought hard, but the tide was endless.
⸻
The Madness in Flesh
One UNE squad stormed a neighborhood street—only to be ambushed as Frenzies dropped from rooftops, blades glinting, rifles barking. They moved with terrifying precision, their tactics mirroring UNE drills.
Another platoon was ripped apart as grotesque summoned monsters tore through their mechs, claws shearing armor like paper.
A Marine's scream rang out:
"THEY'RE USING CONCEPTUAL TACTICS! OUR HELMETS CAN'T KEEP UP!"
Across the avenue, a Frenzy soldier raised his hand—
Conceptual Tactic: Contradiction Lock.
Half a UNE squad froze in confusion as their own fire redirected back into their ranks. Screams followed.
⸻
UNE Desperation
Mechs thundered forward, blasting with QC plasma cannons, but Frenzy squads blink-stepped across the battlefield, climbing onto their frames like insects. They tore through armor plating with savage strength, forcing the machines down.
A UNE comms officer screamed over the open channel, his voice crackling through every Marine's helmet:
"This is Echo Command! Frenzies are overwhelming us—our mechs are down! Infantry wiped out in Sector 9, 14, 27—everywhere! We need backup NOW! Do you copy?! WE NEED BACKUP!"
Explosions echoed across the skyline as entire blocks crumbled into flame.
⸻
The Squad in the Chaos
Jin's squad fought shoulder-to-shoulder, rifles spitting fire. Raul blink-stepped across an alley to cover Marco, who was dragging civilians away. Jerome blasted a Frenzy at point-blank, his face twisted in rage. Min-seo's visor glowed as he calculated every shot with ice-cold precision.
And Asura...
Asura tore forward like a storm, weaving between Frenzies, his rifle cracking precise bursts. Even bleeding, even battered, his presence cut through the madness like a blade.
But even he knew—this was only survival, not victory.
⸻
Closing Beat
The UNE was being pushed back. Entire sectors of Eryndor Prime were already lost.
Above the screams, above the gunfire, above the roar of monsters and mechs—
the Frenzies' voices carried, laughing, chanting like a hymn:
"CHAOS IS FREEDOM! FREEDOM IS DEATH! EMBRACE THE FRENZY! AHAHAHAHA!"
The city burned.
And for the first time, the UNE wondered—
was this a war they couldn't win?
-
Jin ducked behind the bus again, his rifle shaking in his hands. His visor locked on another van—Frenzies dragging three men inside, their screams muffled by blows.
He froze.
"Why... why only men?" he muttered under his breath.
Then it hit him. A memory.
⸻
The Flashback
He was back in a classroom years ago, sitting with other kids on Novara. The teacher's voice echoed in his mind:
"The Frenzy Nihilist Organization does not recruit at random. They target men—adult, adolescent, even boys. They believe men are weapons to be broken and reforged. They take them alive whenever possible. Not to ransom. Not for prisoners. But to convert."
He remembered the teacher's eyes, hard and cold.
"Those taken... are never seen again. They are remade. Indoctrinated. Conditioned through torture, madness until their minds shatter. Until nothing is left but a Frenzy."
At the time, Jin thought it was an exaggeration.
But now, watching men dragged screaming into black vans—he knew it was real.
⸻
Back to Reality
"DAMN IT!" Jin shouted, slamming his fist against the bus.
Jerome's face went pale, realizing the same thing. "They're... they're trying to turn them."
Raul's voice shook with fury. "That's why these freaks laugh while dying—they've already been broken! Already brainwashed!"
Asura narrowed his eyes, watching another group of Frenzies drag a man into the shadows. His voice was calm, but heavy:
"Which means every man they take... is another soldier we'll face tomorrow."
⸻
Closing Beat
The squad fell silent for a breath, the horror sinking in.
This wasn't just an invasion.
This was recruitment by chaos.
And if UNE didn't stop them here, Eryndor Prime wouldn't just lose lives—
it would lose entire generations of men.
-
While Jin and his squad fought to protect civilians, across the burning city another war raged.
Reaper. Hunter. Hudson.
Legends of the UNE. Veterans who had fought Typonis. Soldiers who had walked into cosmic horrors and survived.
But here, on the streets of Eryndor Prime—they were drowning.
⸻
The FNO Elites Appear
From the smoke emerged Frenzy elites. Their armor was darker, heavier than the standard frenzy troops—etched with glowing red lines across the chest, helmets humming with a faint, distorted static.
And then they moved—
faster than the eye could track, laughing as their hands ripped through reality itself.
"CONCEPTUAL: EXISTENCE ERASURE."
The words rang like a curse.
UNE Marines screamed as they vanished—bodies, armor, even their presence erased in an instant, leaving only burning silhouettes on the walls.
⸻
The Struggle
Reaper blink-stepped, slamming one elite to the ground with a precise strike, but another appeared at his flank—forcing him back with an erasure slash that barely missed.
Hudson shouted, firing his AR-90k at point-blank into a Frenzy's visor—only for the enemy to laugh, twist, and counter with a blade of raw concept.
Hunter vaulted off rubble, using Air Step to engage two at once, but even his strikes met with mocking laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA! STRONGER! SHOW US STRONGER! YOUR EXISTENCE IS JUST AS FRAGILE!"
Every word came with more attacks, more screams as UNE soldiers blinked out of reality around them.
⸻
Reaper's Limits
Reaper's visor glowed bright blue as he activated Echo Tactic, predicting one strike, then Contradiction Lock, redirecting another. His cloak whipped as he parried slash after slash.
But there were too many.
Three elites attacked in sync—one behind, one in front, one from above. For the first time in years, Reaper was cornered.
His voice came through the comms, sharp but heavy:
"Command, this is Reaper. We're taking massive casualties. FNO elites are using high-tier conceptual tactics—including existence erasure. I repeat—EXISTENCE ERASURE. We cannot hold this line alone. We need immediate reinforcement—NOW!"
⸻
Closing Beat
Behind him, hundreds of UNE soldiers screamed as more Frenzies erased them from the battlefield. Tanks crumbled. Mechs collapsed.
And for the first time in decades—
the UNE's most feared veterans felt the sting of being overwhelmed.
The Frenzy Nihilist Organization wasn't just another faction.
They were humanity's mirror.
And they were winning.
———————————————
To be continued...