Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 511: Extra 3
In spites of being besieged by cryptids for months, the citizens of the megacity of Lousiana were beyond ecstatic. Especially those who knew about the presence of the two holy rank hunters in the city, but even those who weren't aware of their presence were happy since a new colonel in the army was appointed to its defense.
It may have not seemed like much considering how dire their situation was. Without the ability to hunt cryptids, the flux reserves of the city were already dwindling and the cost of batteries skyrocketed. If before the titan cryptid emerged driving a car was considered a luxury, now that refilling batteries was beyond expensive made so that only a handful of people were able to drive a vehicle.
Things had gotten to a point where some citizens were already falling due to sickness caused indirectly by the lack of power, but now they had a new colonel things could only get better.
The day Cassandra arrived lots of things improved for the average citizen, but not so much to the wealthy ones. She raised all sort of restrictions, from water consumption to the use of electricity and she also instated a military enforced curfew to make sure people would follow the new rules.
The first wealthy family to make the mistake of defying Cassandra's authoritative ruling was the Lafayette family who owned the most important production line in the city. They made anything that needed to be crafted with alloy, ranging from building materials to even tools and weapons.
They voiced their complaints publicly and continued their unconsidered use of energy, thinking they were entitled to do so just because they had the money to buy the batteries and they didn't even bother hiding it in order to encourage other wealthy families to do the same.
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'What's the worst they could do to us? give us a fine?' Those were the last public words the head of the Lafayette family said in a press conference without knowing that after that night, not a single member of their family would survive.
Merciless, cold and swift, Colonel sword truly honored her name and put order in a city bound to fall into chaos. Her rush action not only discouraged others from rebelling against the army, but also enforced her rules buying enough time for the city to somewhat recover from its flux deficit.
It didn't take long for the citizens to realize that, albeit cruel, her strict ruling was the only thing that saved the city and soon enough the citizens revered her. This also applied to soldiers under her command, who respected her beyond what words could describe.
She was fair, honest and incredibly efficient in her work. She had the genuine love and adoration from millions of people, yet the one person she liked didn't return the feeling.
"So, how did it go?" Lieutenant Iris, the only person in the city who Cassandra considered as a friend, asked with an intrigued look and Cassandra blushed up to her ears which Iris took as confirmation "Of course it went well, who would be stupid enough to reject our beloved colonel..."
Being rejected by Uriel after she dressed and put on make up just for him was the single most humiliating moment in Cassandra's life. All she wanted was to leave that in the past and act as if nothing happened, but Iris wasn't letting go.
"It went well. He's now a volunteer in the army ranked as a Lieutenant." Cassandra replied trying to sound professional, but her mind voice was way more honest and Iris got suspicious.
"I see..." Iris replied despite her doubts. Soon after she acquired her trait that allowed her to communicate using telepathy, she learned that just because she was able to listen to the inner voice of people didn't mean that it was right to meddle in people's minds.
She wasn't a mindreader, but the next best thing. Her trait was very useful for long distance communication and the army held her trait in high regards, so much so that she was being considered for promotion as a captain.
"Colonel Cassandra, are you feeling well? Do you have a fever?" Another lieutenant asked as soon as she noticed the bright color of her face.
"Of course she's fine! There's no sickness in this world that could possibly affect our perfect Colonel!" Tallyman rebuked, not knowing how wrong he was.
The sickness Cassandra suffered was a very common one, but it was documented to be potentially dangerous. It started as a very mild fever and increased heart rate, but the symptoms could vary from person to person. It wasn't a sickness of the body or of the mind, but of the soul, it was love.
She suffered from a very acute case of unrequited love.
***
Shortly after the mist hit the north gate of the Texas megacity the revenants showed their face and even though the rangers posted on the wall were already expecting them, it didn't keep some of them from falling into their trap.
Some rangers threw themselves off from the wall to reunite with their loved ones following the voices they thought they would never hear before, while others did the same for an entirely different reason.
At the top of the wall, the insulating properties did little to reduce the immense flux pressure and death seemed like the only way to find any relief from it. Every second they breathed the flux infused air was painful, to the point where death didn't even scare them anymore.
This wasn't the case for neither Charlie nor Truesight, who kept commanding the rangers to grab their guns and fire them at the nasty cryptids at the feet of the wall. The wall trembled and shook violently whenever it was hit by the traits of those who came back from the grave, but it did little to no damage to the colossal structure that kept the city safe for so long.
With each revenant they managed to bring down, the fog would become less dense for a few moments which gave them a brief respite, but a respite nonetheless.
Truesight made the most of his renowned aim and thanks to his trait he was able to dispose of the weaker revenants with a single shot, while Charlie focused her sniper rifle on the stronger ones, but the cryptids never stopped increasing in number to the point where aim meant nothing.
It didn't matter where did they point their guns, as long as they were pointed towards the mist the bullet would reach a mark. The citizens living in the megacity were too many for the government to count, but they amounted to nothing when compared to those who passed away in the past and now formed the titan's army.
Things were bad, but they took a turn for the worst when the revenants began their counterstrike and lime colored projectiles of all sorts came flying at those who stood atop the wall. Row after row of rangers were taken down with a single attack, making it impossible to efficiently take turns to attack anymore.
Explosives and traits did work on the enemy, just as the mounted turrets on the wall, but they came in such great numbers and regenerated so fast they couldn't keep up.
"Stand your ground!" Truesight shouted.
"I'm trying!" Charlie replied.
"I'm speaking to them you idiot..." Truesight managed to say before an incandescent rock pierced through his chest, leaving a green tail of light that continued on its way until it crashed on a building.
Truesight body had yet to reach the ground when the few remaining rangers abandoned their post leaving behind their weapons and batteries.
"Ranger Truesight!" Charlie called his name, but the man didn't reply. She stood in a daze watching his bright red blood flow in gushes until she couldn't control herself anymore and knelt in front of him.
From a distance, it may have seemed like she was mourning the passing of her friend, but things weren't as simple as that. Each drop of blood reminded her the power she acquired when she became a vampire and she felt tempted to try the blood in spites of knowing that after the nosferatu was killed she wasn't a vampire anymore.
She lightly tapped the blood on the floor and poked her tongue out as the foul smell of blood tickled her nostrils. It didn't look appetizing in anyway nor was she enthusiastic about the smell, but she still couldn't keep herself from licking her hand.
"Tastes like pennies." She uttered.
"You fucking... weirdo." Truesight scoffed, somewhat startling the woman who thought him dead.
Just when Charlie thought that, besides whatever nutrients were in the little blood she managed to drink she wouldn't get anything else, something strange happened. It wasn't quite the same as the first time she drank blood after becoming a nosferatu vampire, but it was just as empowering.
Her body shivered uncontrollably and her hands trembled as the blood's nasty flavor turned back into the arousing intoxicating flavor she remembered from before turning back into a human. The sole difference being that now, instead of a hybrid vampire under the control of Mark, she became a vampire in her own right and didn't have a sire.
"Keep quiet, this will only sting a little." Charlie said as she walked on all fours towards the helpless Truesight whose last sight was Charlie's fangs growing as she drew closer.