Biological Supercomputer System



Amber's corrosive fog was still clinging to some of the walls and streets of the city as Erik, June, Amber, Mira, Emily, and the three Chimaeric Demons entered the now-dead outpost.

Erik gave Amber a quick glance. She was clearly shaken, because she knew many of the people here died because of her. Mira, instead, was unperturbed. That might have been because of how the two women grew up, or what they did during these years, or it might even be a matter of personalities and beliefs. Erik didn't know that.

Emily was the only one among them who had a neutral expression. She was sorry for those who died, but not as shaken as Amber.

<She got accustomed to these things hastily... Well, not as quickly as I did. Damn, I still remember when I killed that Densoph three years ago...>

Only silence reigned around them. The stench of death permeated everything, and that was because of Amber, since her power just reduced every living creature into a puddle of goo.

As they made their way towards the center of the outpost, the true extent of the carnage that had just unfolded within the outpost became clear.

What remained of the corpses of soldiers and civilians alike littered the ground. They weren't the only ones.

Among them, what remained of the thaids that attacked this place could be found, along with the burnt-out husks of buildings and the skeletal remains of some dead leviathan thaid that had been killed by the blackguards or Amber.

Emily swallowed hard, her rifle hanging at her side. "This," she said. Her voice was strained; she had always known that Amber's powers were ridiculously powerful, but she couldn't fully understand how destructive they were. During battles, she often had to restrain herself because of friendly fire. But now that she had no such constraints, her full might was in view.

At that point, everyone was sure her ability would turn terrifying if she got over the 54 neural links mark.

Emily turned to look at her childhood friend, but Amber said nothing. However, her face was pale and drawn. She stared at the corpses, or better, what remained of them, with haunted eyes, her fists clenched tight at her sides, because she was the one responsible for what had just happened. Well, at least in part.

Mira glanced at the two women and shook her head. "It had to be done," she said. Mira spent enough time with the woman to understand what she was thinking.

"Those blackguards would have wiped us out given half a chance if they were in our shoes. We're fighting for our survival here. Why should we feel sorry for them?"

"I know that," Amber said, rounding on Mira. "But this... this is..." She trailed off, gesturing helplessly at the gruesome scene. Then, her eyes fell on the puddle of goo having civilian clothes inside.

"They didn't have to die."

"War is ugly," June said. "And Mira is right. We did what was necessary."

It was ironic. To save their people, they had to sacrifice some... a lot of them. Could this still be considered a victory? Could this be considered doing what they needed to achieve this goal?

Amber didn't know. Honestly speaking, no one among them did. What was certain, though, was that Frant's citizen died because of what they did.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Erik cleared his throat. "Alright, enough. June, take Amber, Mira, and the Chimaeric Demons and go check the armory. See if there's anything useful left. Emily and I will look for provisions."

June nodded. "Yes, Master." June motioned for the others to follow him towards the outpost's central compound.

The clone knew that Erik just wanted to know what was here and send people to claim whatever was inside.

Truth be told, Erik was also thinking about placing some Chimaeric Demon eggs here so that he could plant spies, or actually taking control of the place.

But as things were now, he suspected the blackguards were going to abandon this place once they learned they had been attacked.

<I can't help but want to see their faces when they find out it was me and not the thaids who destroyed the outpost.> Of course, what Erik did was siege a city with just 7 people. In truth, attacking this place should have been everything but easy.

The blackguards didn't expect such a situation, since only an army could have taken this place. <For now, they will only think it were the thaids. Amber's fog will leave some traces, but to link this to her and from her to me, it would take time, and I will be in Hin by that time.>

As they picked their way through the rubble-strewn streets, Emily fell into step beside Erik, her brow furrowed. "Erik... do you ever wonder if we're going too far? I mean, I get that this is war, but..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

Erik sighed. "I wonder that all the time," he said. "But we're in too deep to turn back now, and it's not like I have a choice. The blackguards are targeting me, and all I can do is try to end this as quickly as possible, by whatever means necessary. Why do you think we are going to Hin?"

Emily nodded, but said nothing. She didn't like what Erik said, but it wasn't like he was wrong. He really had no choice.

...

...

The group searched the place methodically, taking all the food they could find, but in truth, that was just in case some serious situation arose. The group could hunt, and with Erik bringing seeds with him, they couldn't starve even if they tried.

As they finished their sweep, Erik turned to Emily. "I need to check Vance's office to see if I can find anything useful on his computer. You go help June and the others. I'll catch up with

you later."

Emily hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Be careful," she said, before heading off towards the armoury.

Erik watched her go, then turned and made his way towards the command center.

<Hopefully, that guy's computer has a good deal of information. >

If he could somehow tap into the blackguard communications network, even if only for a moment, the intelligence gathered could prove immensely invaluable, potentially even more than he could currently anticipate. The data could offer insights and advantages that might turn the tide of the war in their favor.

No matter the obstacles or risks, he was determined to get the information he needed.

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