Bloodbath

It had never occurred to the city planners that a city must be able to defend itself from threats on the inside instead of exclusively relying on weapons placed on the outside walls. Such a foolish mistake, the military strategist thought. If they had only placed weapons in each sector, then the citizens would have been protected and this bloodbath could have been avoided. The citizens of Batan were hiding in their basements and fleeing on the streets to escape the onslaught of the creatures. There were reports of at least 40 or even 50 creatures that were led by three humanoid creatures. The assault began hours ago at the border walls, but the soldiers were able to fend them off using the energy cannons placed along the walls. The walls are too high for creatures to jump over and too hardened and thick for them to break through. It was a perfect design, the strategist thought. At least that's what they thought when they built it. Flying creatures had never been observed near human settlements, so they were considered not to be a risk factor. But all this has changed now.

These creatures were different. They were coordinating with each other and were attacking strategic targets such as the weapon systems or the entry mechanisms with an unprecedented level of intelligence. This has never happened before. Some of the creatures were also able to use abilities, which was a terrifying sight since it caught the defense corps by surprise. Some of the creatures were able to fly or levitate while others had abilities that allowed them to move underground. Two large creatures were able to simply teleport behind the walls and started to massacre the civilians in the neighboring slums. Another large creature that resembled an elephant with an octopus head and dozens of large tentacles levitated above the walls and started to drop a liquid that immediately caught fire as it touched the ground and turned the fields into a sea of flames.

These abilities were horrifying and such a thing was unfathomable just a few hours ago. This city will fall, the strategist thought, of that he was certain. The leadership and the large corporations and families have already started the evacuation process and are nearing the opposite border of the city walls to escape through the airships.

Half of the soldiers and police force have already been killed or injured, but not a single creature has been harmed. The cannons are powerful, but they cannot kill a target they cannot hit. Their slowness was their critical flaw.

They had been complacent. They had been fending off creature attacks for centuries and had stopped investing in new innovations in weapon technology. The designs of the wall cannons are decades old, and they have only been maintained but never updated. Humanity has lost respect for the threat that the creatures pose, and that is their reminder. A reminder that might come too late.

A crackling sound came from the desk of the military strategist, "General Zage, hold them off for another 30 minutes. You will be rewarded for your services." The voice of the mayor echoed through the communication device.

General Zage did not answer. He could not answer.

He was a righteous man who would gladly sacrifice his life not for the people or prestige but for what he thought was the right thing to do. He had a moral compass like no other, and it got him the nickname 'General Moral'. He hated that name since they would always call him that when they were trying to hide their corruption or evil deeds. It was a way of ostracizing him rather than a compliment.

Now, the mayor wanted him to sacrifice the entire military force of the city, all 15,000 soldiers, just so that the elites, the aristocrats, and the politicians could flee the city. They don't care about the people, and they don't care about the sacrifices. They were just selfish.

General Zage was not a kind man and not a compassionate man, but he believed in the principle of karma. If you wrong the world, the world will wrong you. If you do right by the world, the world will do right by you. That was his way of making decisions. But, of course, he knew that karma does not protect him. Doing the right thing does not stop you from being ripped apart by tentacles or being burned alive by a sea of flames. But this is an extreme situation.

General Zage stood on top of one of the watch towers inside the city about 1 kilometer away from the walls. He could see clouds of smoke and dust following the creature's rampage. They were indiscriminately destroying buildings and killing anything that was in their way. Luckily, they did not seem to specifically kill all humans. Rather, they just wanted to destroy all buildings, and killing humans was a side effect of that. The only ones that were specifically targeted were those who fought.

He could see three humanoid creatures levitating above the walls, each a few hundred meters away from each other. Like generals, they were observing the battlefield and somehow controlling the movements of the 50 creatures that were on a rampage. It was only a matter of time before he would be killed as well. He had no intention of helping the mayor escape, but his actions made no difference anyway. He had no way of stopping the creatures even if it was just for a second.

His eyes became glassy, and he slowly picked up the communication device. He switched the controls to contact all military and police personnel in the city, "This is Officer Zage. We are abandoning the city defense operation, effective immediately. All military officers and police personnel are to lead the civilians to evacuate the city using the sewer systems. I will announce the evacuation through the emergency speaker system to the population. I repeat, leave your post and help all civilians evacuate through the sewer system."

Then he pressed more buttons on the device and turned on the emergency evacuation protocol procedure Nr. 3 which was once developed for the event of a biological or chemical military attack on the city. He then heard the voice recording echoing throughout the streets, commanding the civilians to escape in an orderly fashion. As he had pressed the button and the system turned on, a flying creature had begun its ascent towards the watch tower on which Zage was currently standing. Two large creatures were circling in from the ground and were running towards the tower's foundation in order to destroy it. He glanced at the creatures that were approaching him from all directions and briefly thought of a plan to escape, but nothing came to his mind. He was intelligent and always excelled at strategic decision making, but this operation had been a colossal failure. There was no way out. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sunlight for the last time as he noticed the flying creature casting a shadow over his eyelids.

He heard a loud screech and felt an impact ripple through his entire body that felt as if a bomb had gone off in mid-air. He fell backwards and to the ground. In shock, he opened his eyes and saw a headless flying creature crashing onto the roof of the watch tower just meters away from his feet. The multi-tons heavy creature had destroyed the entire ceiling of the building, and he could see his office on the floor below through the giant crater it had created. Zage was crouching on the ground and pushing himself against the walls of the tower's roof. He looked around to see what had happened. A creature was dead. But why?

Then he heard a voice from behind, "Are you the one in charge?" Zage quickly jerked his body around and stared at the person behind him. He was alone on this watch tower. It should be impossible for anyone to enter, and all the soldiers who had levitation units were deployed inside the city. On the walls, a man wearing a black track suit and a black rabbit mask was glaring at him. He could not see his face, but his eyes were piercing through him. "Yes," Zage answered with a crackling voice.

"I didn't want to get involved, but I hate seeing people die," the voice said with a relaxed tone. "Tell all the flying soldiers to come here right now."

"Why?" Zage stammered.

"So that I can kill all the creatures that follow them at once and don't need to chase them down," the man with the rabbit mask said as he jumped from the 16-story-high walls of the watch tower. Still deeply shocked by what had happened, General Zage rushed up and looked after the man who did not wear any levitating gear and had just jumped to his death, but when he looked down he saw no one. On the ground, he could only see the two creatures that had been running towards the tower. Both were dead. Their heads were lying far away from their bodies, and it did not even look like they could put up a fight. Then he looked back at the flying creature that had met the same fate and was bleeding its dark purple blood all over his office desk. Then he caught himself and considered the situation. He pressed a button on his communication device and placed it next to his mouth, "All flying corps and levitation units are to immediately rendezvous at watch tower 3. I repeat, all flying corps and levitation units are to immediately rendezvous at watch tower 3."

Zage was aware of the consequences of this command. Of the 15,000 soldiers in this city, about 500 were using levitation gear or similar flying devices, which meant that they would now all meet at this one tower. This also included the units that were currently helping the mayor and other elites leave the city. Military commands are absolute in the country of Motola, and not even the mayor can overrule the command of the highest ranking military officer in this city. Deserters are practically non-existent in this country since punishments are extremely hard. Not only would the deserter face consequences, but their families and acquaintances as well. This country was a proud military nation with an authoritarian government. The emperor himself was a military officer before he gained power, so the military has a special place in this nation's culture.

He put the device back into his pocket and looked into the distance. He could already see a few dozen soldiers flying in their direction, followed by at least 5 creatures as far as he could see. The creatures were always targeting the flying soldiers first since they must be as annoying to them as mosquitoes to humans with their constant firing. The 500 soldiers would gain their attention and drag all the 50 creatures to a single spot, and it would become hell on earth.

"I hope I did the right thing," Zage mumbled to himself. He had lost sight of the man, but he could feel a tremor on the ground. He walked to the west wall of the tower and looked down to see what caused the noises, but all he could make out was a large hole in the street that led to the military checkpoint in front of the tower. He was sure that this hole did not exist just a few minutes ago. Then the man in the mask emerged from the hole, holding an object in his hand. He then created a small disk in the air and dropped the object inside, which made it disappear instantly. Afterwards, he turned around and looked into the distance where the creatures followed a swarm of flying soldier units. Then the man suddenly disappeared and instantly reappeared hundreds of meters away right in front of a creature whose head was flying off just a moment later. He instantly moved from creature to creature and killed them quicker than Zage could even follow his movements.

As he was observing this spectacle, he heard the mayor's voice screaming through the communication device, threatening him for pulling back all the flying units. But Zage did not respond, and he did not even bother to listen carefully. The device was in his pocket where the voice drowned in the fabric of his pants. He was fascinated by the sight in front of him because he had never seen the death of a creature before. He had heard of cases where elite corps killed creatures, but he had never experienced it himself or even seen footage of it. It was a beautiful sight. To see the most terrifying existence in the world be decimated in the blink of an eye. It was poetry.

General Zage regained his composure and returned to his normal demeanor of cold and calculating precision. He picked up the communicator and said, "To all flying units, we are receiving support from a combat unit that is directly engaging the creatures. Seven creatures are already down. I repeat, seven creatures are down. Your role is to protect civilians and to not engage in any combat. The rendezvous point is still watch tower No. 3." He had transmitted the message to all military units and the police in the city since the role of hope in such a desperate situation was not to be underestimated. Killing seven creatures was unheard of, and it was a silver lining to all those who were running for their lives and shaking in fear.

Zage then pressed a button on the communicator and contacted the small 50-member-strong reconnaissance unit, which was equipped with long-distance vision devices. "Recon unit, report the number and position of the humanoid creatures."

He waited for a minute and was unsure if the unit was still alive or not. The military units had a staged hierarchy where the command is transferred to the last men even if everyone else dies. As long as one member is alive, he should get a response.

"Sir, all three humanoids are levitating over the border wall. They appear to be communicating with each other," the soldier said.

"Good. Keep observing them and report when their position or actions change. Report on the creatures remaining in the city," Zage said as he observed how the masked man continued his blitzkrieg and had now killed 23 creatures in total. Including the creatures that were underground and in the air, there must be at least two dozen more.

Then the communicator made a crackling sound and the voice said, "We can observe 21 creatures approaching tower No. 3 from different directions. Five of them are flying, the rest are on the ground. We cannot exclude the possibility that underground creatures are hiding inside the city."

"Keep observing the creatures and report if you identify a creature that is not heading for tower No. 3. The recon unit is to spread out throughout the entire city with immediate effect. Cast a broad net to have complete visibility. How many members are remaining?" Zage said calmly.

"Understood. 45 members, sir. I report that two of the humanoid creatures have just left the scene. They have departed from the border wall and are flying towards the neighboring mountain range. It seems that they are retreating. One of the humanoids is approaching tower No. 3, sir," the voice said, accompanied by strong wind noises as the soldier was getting into a better position.

"Observe the humanoid and report when it should become visible from the tower." Zage placed the communicator back into his pocket and searched for the masked man who was moving so abruptly that he was hard to track. His movement appeared like teleportation, but it looked like a type that he had never seen before because it seemed to be connected to propulsion that gave him momentum with every jump.

Zage stood at the tower and counted the corpses of the creatures. He could see at least 34 dead bodies, and he was sure that some were not visible from his angle. About 150 soldiers had arrived at the tower and were hovering in the air and occupying a large sphere with a diameter of multiple hundred meters. He could see no more creatures in the area, and he could not hear any reports from the recon unit. But he did not want to feel safe yet. There was still a humanoid creature that was seemingly on the way to the tower. He could not see the masked man anymore, but the humanoid had just entered his visual field and was hovering over a roof approximately 600 meters away. It did not move and looked ahead without any reactions to the soldiers in its proximity.

Then he saw a flash appear right next to the humanoid and saw the masked man kicking with a flying knee straight towards the creature's head. It got hit directly and fell backwards, then disappeared instantly. Zage had lost sight of it, but then spotted it a few hundred meters above as it was using some strange ability to rain down meteor-like fireballs at the masked man. Like cannonballs, the meteors were crashing into the ground and destroyed everything in their path. Stone houses melted and trees caught on fire immediately. But the masked man was not being hit. He kept disappearing and reappearing in random patterns just to appear right behind the humanoid and kick it in the head. The man was not only fast, but he also displayed a beautiful style of combat that he had never seen before. It almost looked like he was toying with the humanoid like a cat that was fighting with a mouse to amuse itself. To Zage, it almost seemed like the masked man was talking to the creature as he was fighting it. But that must have been his imagination.

After the exchange had been going on for about 4 minutes, the humanoid turned around and attempted to leave, but as soon as it had tried to escape, the masked man appeared behind it and placed his hands on its back, which seemed to dissolve the humanoid's torso so that its lower body fell to the ground while its upper body was being held in place by the man. Then the man disappeared.

Zage could not believe what had happened. Just an hour ago, the situation was hopeless, but now it appeared as if the situation was under control. To him, it was a miracle. He checked in with the different units to get a sense of the status of the civilian population and the number of casualties. He reverted the evacuation and told all citizens to hide in the sewers until he gave the signal that it was safe to return above ground. He then ordered the recon units to search for surviving creatures as well as any other threats that might be present in the city.

The ground units, he ordered to search the city and also to ensure that all the dead creatures are indeed dead while recovering their Sym crystals. One entire unit was tasked with recovering the humanoid creature's remains since it was a high-priority target that can help them combat future threats. To his surprise, the units reported that none of the creatures had Sym crystals in or around their bodies, which likely meant that the masked man had not only killed them quickly but had also been able to rapidly recover the crystals in the same motion.

"Sir, we have a visual of the masked man. He is in the east quarter of the city and has just created a large hole in the ground. It appears as if he had found and killed an underground creature," the recon officer said.

"Report all of his movements to me," Zage said with a curious look on his face.

"Understood. He has disappeared. He was heading towards the south of the city in the direction of the old town, and then he must have used a teleportation ability. He is gone, sir. I will report if a unit sees him," the soldier reported.

General Zage was unsure what the masked man was planning. Since he was wearing a rabbit mask, he was sure that he was not affiliated with any military unit or foreign government. Since he was hiding his identity, he must not be interested in communicating any further. But he wanted to help, so much his words had given away. He clearly was not a threat, but he also was not confirmed to be an ally just yet.

But Zage was relieved. Not only had they survived the worst assault this country had ever seen, but they had also recovered the corpses of 50 creatures and even a humanoid, which is the first time one has been killed and recovered. While it was not deserved, he would gain great rewards for this feat.

Then Zage placed the communicator near his mouth and, with a smile, said, "Mayor, the city has been secured. You can return to your office and be a good example for the citizens."