She didn't wait for his response. Three new Nemeses had broken through the lines.
She took down one. Saito eliminated the second with a shot to the chest.
The third was charging at her.
A shadow passed.
Elias.
His blade sliced through the air in a horizontal motion. The Nemesis's head left its shoulders before its body hit the ground.
He didn't stop.
Another was charging from the left. Elias pivoted on his heel, the sword describing a low arc. The monster's front legs were severed clean. It collapsed howling. Elias passed by without a glance, plunging the blade into its nape as he walked.
Two Nemeses at once. One in front, the other on the right flank. Elias ducked under the first's claws, his sword rising in a brutal uppercut that opened the creature's belly. He stepped forward, using the gutted body as a shield against the second's charge. The claws embedded in the carcass. Elias circled, slashed the hamstrings. The Nemesis crumpled. The blade sank into its skull.
Mara counted. Seven dead in fifteen seconds.
'How...'
"Shield at 60%!" Briggs yelled. Blood was trickling from his nose. "They're gonna break through!"
The big one was coming.
The alpha Nemesis, the one with the bony crest, had carved a path through the swarming mass of its kin. It reared up before the shield, its ten feet of height casting a massive shadow. Its thick scales gleamed with a metallic sheen.
It struck.
Just a punch, simple. Its massive forepaw slammed down on the energy barrier.
The shield cracked. A luminous fissure spread from the impact point like a spiderweb.
"Shit!" Briggs spat, dropping to one knee, his generator emitting an alarming hiss.
The alpha struck again. And again. Each blow widened the cracks.
Saito aimed at the head. Fired. The plasma ricocheted off the skull scales in a shower of sparks.
"The scales are too thick!" he yelled.
Elias sighed.
Then, he moved.
In the blink of an eye, he was right behind the weakening part of the shield.
The colossus forced its way through, followed by about thirty surviving Ravagers.
The big guy targeted Elias directly, who was waiting for them.
The subordinates charged first.
Ten in a compact wave.
He darted into the midst, blade whirling. Precise cuts: tendons severed, eyes gouged, throats slit. Five fell in seconds. The others stumbled over the bodies.
Another group.
Elias jumped onto a corpse for height, slashing downward as he landed, severing crests and napes.
The numbers dropped fast. Twenty. Fifteen. Ten.
Saito picked off the stragglers on the periphery, his powerful shots piercing multiple scales at once when they lined up.
The Alpha, furious, swept a massive claw, pulverizing its own dead to clear the path. It charged, maw wide open.
Elias slid to the side. The jaws snapped on empty air. Then, he ran up along the flank, blade trailing a line of sparks on the reinforced scales.
The colossus reared, tail whipping. Elias leaped over it, landing on the broad back. He gripped the dorsal spikes with one hand.
The beast bucked, roared, rolled to crush him. Elias slipped a free hand under his collar. Pulled out the ballpoint pen.
He aimed at the furious yellow eye, exposed in the rage.
Jabbed it. Deep. All the way in.
The big guy stiffened.
A strangled bellow. Massive convulsions. It collapsed in an earthquake, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
Elias jumped off before the final impact, landing in a crouch.
Around him, the last Nemeses—just a handful—hesitated, then charged in desperation.
Elias picked up his sword that had fallen during the jump, vibrated it active again. Four strikes. Four bodies.
The violet rift slowly shrank, its edges closing like a healing wound.
Elias walked to the giant. He placed a foot on its head, grabbed the pen, and pulled it out with a small wet sound. He wiped the tip on the black scale, recapped it, and slipped it back into his jacket's breast pocket.
Then, he headed toward their vehicle, his uniform spattered with black blood, splatters up to his hair. His short sword, deactivated, was already back in its sheath.
Briggs deactivated the shield, the dome fading in a crackle. He sat down heavily, exhausted.
Saito calmly stowed his rifle.
Finn emerged from behind the vehicle, pale, staring at the carnage: hundreds of bodies strewn about, black blood forming glistening pools.
Mara lowered her weapon, breathing hard, watching Elias approach.
He rolled up his sleeve, looked at his watch—an old silver pocket watch. He checked it, snapped it shut with a click.
"Eight minutes twenty-seven. I was slow at the end."
He looked up at Mara, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
"Any comments?"
Mara was frozen. Weapon lowered, she stared at the man before her. He looked as relaxed as when they'd arrived, but she'd just seen him turn an office tool into a deadly weapon and take down dozens of Class B creatures with the nonchalance of a man swatting bugs.
"You're gonna talk to me about containment protocol, right?"
Mara opened her mouth. Closed it. No words came.
Elias shrugged. He headed to the vehicle, passing close to her.
"Briggs, call cleanup. Saito, good shots. Finn... go get some air, you're green."
He slid into the vehicle's passenger seat, reclining it back.
Mara stood there, planted amid the Nemesis bodies.
'Am I dreaming, or did we just contain a Class B rift in under an hour?'
Briggs approached. He had a wide grin. "Not bad, huh? The Mercer style."
"The Mercer style?" Mara repeated.
"Yeah. He hates exerting himself. So he ends fights as fast as possible. That's how he does it." Briggs looked at the captain asleep in the vehicle. "He says any energy wasted unnecessarily is a crime."
Mara shook her head, still in shock. She looked at Briggs already calling HQ, then Finn stumbling away, hand over his mouth. Saito methodically disassembling his rifle, impassive as always.
"The Mercer style," she muttered, eyeing the vehicle where their captain had already fallen asleep.
She approached, yanked open the door. Elias had his eyes closed, arms crossed, looking perfectly relaxed.
"We don't sleep after massacring an entire horde."
"That's exactly the best time," he replied without opening his eyes. "No more adrenaline. Body relaxed. Perfect for a nap."
"You're covered in alien blood up to your hair."
"Detail."
Mara gritted her teeth. She grabbed her tablet, scrolled through the mission data. The sensors had recorded every second. Average response time per enemy: 0.3 seconds. Accuracy rate: 98.7%. Zero injuries in the team.
'That's... perfect.'
"Captain."
"Hmmm?"
"You used a pen."
"So?"
"You have a sword."
Elias opened one eye. "The blade was already out. The pen was in my pocket. Matter of movement economy."
"You killed a Class B+ Nemesis with a pen."
Elias sat up slightly, yawning. "Listen, O'Connell. A sharp object thrown at the right speed, with the right angle, in the right spot—" He tapped his forehead. "—is as effective as a sword. The weapon's just a vector. What matters is the intent."
"That's barroom philosophy."
"It's efficiency." He closed his eyes again. "You think I'm gonna waste ether on a sword when I can just... aim right?"
Mara opened her mouth to protest, but Briggs interrupted.
"Vice-Cap! The Commander wants to talk to you."