Chapter 26: Tactical Convergence

Rachel smoothly jumped over the wave Selvaria created, using the wall to delay long enough to flip back to the floor; Anthony helped keep Zoe stable as many of the soldiers braced however they could. Scarlet remained on her blood disk, hovering slightly above them as she appraised the leviathan mythickin.

[Level Up - Level 5]

[1 Stat Point Added; 1 Available]

[1 Stat Modifier Added; 1 Available]

[1 Refinement Point Added; 1 Available]

[1 Branch Feat Added; 1 Available]

Everyone cursed while trying to recover as best they could as the turbulent—now decently drained—pool sloshed around, occasionally spilling over the edges again; Selvaria’s acrobatics had surprised them all, but it was impressive to Rachel that the woman could propel herself so quickly.

The sea dragon managed her completely dry, black and turquoise-highlighted hair while glancing between them. "So...there are more toad people, right? They are the bad guys? Oh, I leveled, too. Level 3, baby. I skipped a whole level; that guy must have been strong."

"They are," Rachel said, confirming both of her statements and pulling the woman’s smile; however, her head shifted to the left as she heard the aliens slow their pace. "Let’s recover for a bit... The others know their friend is dead; they’re probably going to take a more cautious approach—shit."

Zoe clasped onto Anthony’s wrist as he tried to pull away after supporting the girl, big eyes looking up at him—the legend’s makeup had come off. "What was your girlfriend’s name again?"

Rachel moved to pull the enthralled cat-girl off of Anthony as she tried to flirt, the man snarling at how annoying the cursed beauty mark was.

Selvaria and Scarlet watched the exchange in bewilderment—the leviathan apparently unaffected by the mark—as Anthony went to the Green Berets to get anything they might have to cover the mark below his eyes, which came in the form of smeared black face paint. On the plus side, the military stuff was water- and insect-proof.

Now that they had a moment to rest, Rachel chuckled while drawing Zoe back, protesting that she was charmed. "Right, right, you just want to help him out of his shirt so he doesn’t get sick," she snickered.

"Totally! No, you don’t get it—we don’t know how stuff affects legendkin, and don’t tell me you don’t want to see him shirtless—I know you do!"

Rachel felt embarrassed for the magically influenced girl, knowing she’d likely drop dead in the pool once she got her wits about her, and, sure enough, the moment the charm dissipated, the cat-girl was crying into her chest.

"I didn’t say that—it’s not my fault! No-ho-ho... I just want to die in a hole!"

"There, there...we all understand," Rachel soothed, knowing it must have been challenging to not be in control of your thoughts or emotions; it indeed was a devilish curse upon women, and luckily on a man that would happily remove it if he could. "You’re fine."

The soldiers swiftly branched out to cover every opening, including vents and pipes, as Mateo came over to get updates from her while she comforted the teenage girl.

"What are they doing?"

Rachel’s ears tilted to the left, eyes narrowing while Zoe collected herself and pulled away. "They are meeting on the third floor...near the library. Why?"

Mateo glanced at one of his men nearby, who was relaying critical information they talked about through the radio; it was a little tricky considering the echo in the ample space.

"They could be regrouping and studying the areas their comrade fought to better gauge what kind of threat we are. Their position also indicates they can track where their other members have been."

"They certainly could be," Rachel whispered, still listening to their movements, yet not one of them made a sound other than walking. "I think they can communicate in another way since they aren’t making any noises."

Oliver—the Special Forces man who had gone to check Vincent’s condition—hovered nearby, nodding and offering his own thoughts. "I’ve heard of animals that could communicate through smell or odor; toads also secrete toxins through their skin... Learned it on a late-night channel," he added at some of their looks.

"Keep reporting their movements," Mateo ordered her before moving to further set up defensive positions and areas to protect themselves against the aliens’ weapons; it showed Rachel the officer was becoming more comfortable relying on her, which was her hope, considering her civilian status.

The various military squads, from the Green Berets to the Coast Guard, were organized in a way so their backs could be covered; with how fast and unusual the aliens’ attack patterns were, they had to cover all angles.

Rachel complied, but there wasn’t much she could report as the toads hovered between the hallway she’d faced the alien in and the classroom where it had fought Scarlet’s blood; she had to curb her internal displeasure at being so helpless.

Selvaria walked forward to talk to Scarlet and Zoe, getting further acquainted with them and asking them surprisingly odd questions, given their situation, such as if the vespertine reaper liked to cosplay; some of the men chuckled at the topic, reasoning it was a way for the leviathan to break the ice, which could certainly be the case.

Rachel’s mind buzzed with speculations and realizations that came with her level. Anthony seemed to notice since he was already entering the meditative state; it was a luxury she couldn’t afford, since she was the only one who could keep the aliens under surveillance.

Mateo is right...they’re gathering information on how their teammate died rather than rushing right at us like mindless animals. I can practically see them examining the damage done to the walls by the needles and seeing the blood of their friend.

One turned to sand, following the same path as the first alien they’d met to the first floor, where it stopped to examine the severed arm, while the others surprisingly walked further down the hall to the classroom where the dead cult woman still lay.

She could hear the Coast Guard soldiers wanting to storm the area in force to finish the task quickly, but the issue was the toads were too mobile to engage in close proximity without preparation. Instead, they had to wait for them to attack—unfortunately, a new piece of information changed the name of the game.

Ears and head darting to the left, she heard another rustle of sand from the dorm room she’d heard them appear from earlier; another had appeared.

"Mateo!" His hard eyes snapped to her, with everyone else present except Anthony. "Another one came from the dorm I told you about; the Crystal the soldier mentioned may only allow a certain number of them through, or there may be some kind of restriction—at least, I hope there is. We need to destroy them."

The Lieutenant relayed the information, and, luckily, through the military radios and people finding them to call for help, the Coast Guard was quickly discovering the small satellite Crystals across the campus and surrounding neighborhoods; they’d marked four so far and were mobilizing to take them out. A fifth was soon uncovered in another pond by the glow.

The Green Berets’ vehicle unit outside was already jumping in their Hummer to reach the furthest one in the dorm, armed with C4 and, if necessary, an RPG to take out the room; Lt. Thompson ordered them to, in his words, blow the damn building up after Rachel confirmed she couldn’t hear anyone else hiding inside the place.

However, while everyone was mobilizing, Rachel’s attention was snatched by the toads upstairs as the fifth joined them, stealthily bypassing the mobilizing soldiers outside to join his comrades; they were now all congregating in the room with the strange symbols, written in blood, and a sudden thought crossed her mind.

What if the woman wasn’t leaving a message to us? Could she know their language? If those symbols were actually meant for them... It could be a warning about me; I’m the anomaly to the cult’s plan.

The military was already setting up focused explosives by the vents that could be detonated remotely, but Rachel was thinking of a new plan.

"Mateo... What if I told you I had a way to kill these aliens without anyone else dying?"

"Hmm." Eyes narrowing, the man glared in her direction. "By your tone, it’s not without its risks. What crazy plan are you thinking about?"

Taking a deep breath, Rachel hoisted herself up, wincing at the screams her muscles sent her; she was not in any shape to fight these creatures. She frowned, rotated her shoulders, and approached the group again, staring at Selvaria; the woman was hiding something.

"Selvaria, turn around."

"Huh? Why... Is there a secret code or something?" she asked with a forced grin. "I can go to the wall and look away..." Rachel spun her fingers around, making the girl sigh and comply. "It isn’t even bad; I’m totally invincible, I said!"