Chapter 216: A Viral Path

A ball of tornado which had three figures encircling it continued to receive the most devastating attacks from the Kraken. As such, the Four Winds of Hermes had positioned themselves close to a location where another battle occurred. 

Three exoskeletons were visibly fighting as they kept pressing on. They moved with high speed and were rushing towards another part of the Kraken. Up in front was a giant Exoskeleton that continued to recklessly dive in and challenge even Armors in melee combat. There was another exoskeleton next to it. This rampaging warrior could spin so fast that it could send an Exoskeleton flying in its hammer's single strike.

Behind it was another Exoskeleton that kept shooting the enemies upfront.

The Four Winds of Hermes moved in parallel to their movements. They even ensured that they would not intersect whenever the Exoskeleton would change directions.

The strategy worked as the number of enemies that they encountered decreased. As they continued to encircle this group of fighters, some of those who would have chased them turned and paid attention to the fighting. The Elites took command over the battle as most of the Exoskeletons whose pilots were alive kept a safe distance and offered ranged support. They could not draw closer as the lack of oxygen would have killed them.

"Alvin, retreat a bit and focus on the North side. You're getting too close to the Exoskeletons!" Austin ordered.

"Omricon, there's a troop right in the west, go ahead and attack them. That would lighten their load."

"Those guys are good! Man… I want to fight them!" Alvin exclaimed.

"The most impressive member is their shooter. He is very precise on who he attacks. If we were to fight him, he should be the first to go." Omricon was so impressed that he actually gave his opinion on the matter.

"Not if you can't get past that large tank of theirs! And that crazy spinning top is just as dangerous. How can the pilot move like that?" Alvin wondered.

"Focus!" Alvin berated.

"You're both wrong. You guys haven't been paying attention to another critical member of their quad squad." Omega smirked.

"Another one? The lightly armored one who keeps on hiding?"

"Yes. Alvin's our brain, I am the eyes. On that team, the shooters the brain, but that one their eye. He's the reason how our two groups have moved in synch with each other. He has been adapting to my movements." Omega explained.

The horde of undead robots continued to chase them. Soon, various Golems of different sizes were now the ones fighting them. The Winds of Hermes would clash with the Armor sized Golems while the Exoskeleton quad squad dealt with those with strong ranged attacks.

The battle started to turn more gruesome and troublesome for the team as a horde of enemies approached them.

"Winds of Hermes. On me." A command was made, and up above, a large ball of tornado was falling down.

The four winds retreated and merged with the larger one. The strong winds grew chaotic as winds moving on different directions chaotically joined. The Golem armors couldn't run properly on such winds, and most of the Golems retreated.

Dara's team took advantage of the appearance and immediately retreated towards another direction.

"Boss! You're wounded!" Alvin was stunned. In the middle of the merged tornado, the four stood and talked with their Boss.

"What happened, Boss? Ho-How?"

Hermes simply laughed.

"I wasn't strong enough." 

Those four simple words shocked the team.

"We'd have to be more careful. Minimize our engagement. Austin, I leave the planning with you. I don't know what's going on. Monsters are rising around us. Several of them could even kill us! We don't know who to trust. Do we believe that kid who said he's with the Progenitor? What if he's baiting us and brought here somehow? These are all a blur. Austin."

Everyone was startled. It was the first time that their Boss sounded so helpless.

The three winds turned to Austin.

"Boss? Wh-Why me?"

"The winds of time are changing. We can't remain the free spirits that we are. Right now, we have to make a choice. And though we always favored making our own choices, that time will sadly end. This battle is the beginning of a new era for the world. I took you guys into each wields a part of my strength. But I never took the final step. I still believed that there was me, and there was you four. But now, I can't afford to make this reckless choice. It's time for us to become the Winds of Jupiter itself. So I trust your decision. You are the brain in this team, after all." Hermes explained.

Austin was silent as he began to contemplate. The burden of responsibility fell upon him. 

Austin let out a deep sigh.

"We are the wind. We move wherever we please. A path may dictate our destination, a tunnel may determine our movement. But we've always done what we want. I panic and hesitate. But we have always made our choices based on what we do. I don't know what's the right choice. Do we believe this kid? Or do we betray them? It doesn't matter. We've always played things by ear. So what if a mountain blocks our path? We can always go around it! Let's just fight and play it by ear! It won't be any different than the usual fights we've had!" Austingave a courageous declaration.

Hermes was surprised at the sound of Austin. From the simple smile that he wore, it then started to grow larger.

The smile of the Four winds grew as they witnessed their Boss recovering his confidence.

"You're right!" Hermes laughed.

"Let's play things by ear! Where do you guys want to go? There's a lot of battles to choose from."

"I wanted to see what's inside the Kraken." Alvin laughed.

"That sounds like a good place to go! Let's do it!" Hermes chuckled.

The massive tornado that was flicking flew up in the air and was slowly transforming into a sizeable cone-shaped twister. But on the end of this twister was a sharp needle-like drill. It moved down and struck the Kraken.

The impact created a sizeable trembling sensation as it drilled through the metal plating of the Kraken.

Inside the Kraken depths, the critical entrance points of the hallways and paths of the Kraken were all guarded by soldiers, and constant monitoring about possible breaches was made. Yet strange deaths were occurring within the Kraken in rooms deep within. 

The command chain was in chaos because of the news that traitors had arrived in the Kraken.

Every team who guarded the pathways was nervous and was even warry with their own companions as more deaths have been concerned within the Kraken.

Suddenly, a group of three young soldiers emerged with battered and wounded figures.

Suddenly, a gunshot resounded. One of the three immediately fell backward as a powerful round blasted on its right shoulder.

"A traitor! Move back! One of those guards is a traitor!" The one who stumbled backward shouted as the woman, and the man pulled him immediately and hid at the corner.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire! Who shot him? I didn't give the orders!" The leader of the patrol cried out in anger.

"Sir! None of us had shot him!" One of the soldiers defended.

"None of you?! What the hell is my wound then! And what was that gunshot!?" The man cursed with an outraged voice.

"Don't waste your breath! All of them are traitors! Report to Commander that we've located a traitor!" The other man called to his wounded comrade.

The woman ducked out of the corner and shot at the soldiers.

The soldiers at the forefront of the squad immediately raised their Force Shields and blocked the attacks made by the woman. The weapon was a handgun that was part of the Exoskeletons' standard suits that the pilots could use if ever they evacuated their uniform. 

Suddenly, several gunshots could be heard on the end of the trio.

"They're here! We're surrounded!" The pained cry of the guy reacted as they sent several shots.

"Exoskeletons?!" The third person of the trio cried.

The leader of the platoon was alarmed.

"Retreat here! All soldiers! Hold your fire! If anyone shoots those three, I'll kill him myself!" The platoon leader made his choice.

"Don't believe them! They're one of the traitors!" The woman argued and warned his companion, who was about to move out of the corner.

But suddenly, the third person immediately ran and ignored the woman.

"I'm taking my chances! Don't shoot! Please!" The man cried as he made a desperate run and revealed himself to the platoon.

"Move! Get them!" The Platoon leader ordered as the shield bearers on the front immediately ran to cover the man.

The woman and the wounded man also ran out of the corner as several attacks were made. An explosion occurred, and the two made a desperate run.

The shield bearers ran in front of them and slowly retreated.

"Soldier! Report! What happened out there?"

"I will never tell you! One of you shot me! Among you is a traitor!" The man stubbornly refused.

"I believe that you're not a traitor, sir! But someone here is! Please! We need to report to the Commander! We found out how those Exoskeletons were acquired!" The woman gave a wary answer as she kept her gun aimed at various soldiers who kept pointing at her.

"Everyone! Stand down! Don't even aim your gun!" The platoon leader ordered angrily. He glanced at the soldiers around him. The gunshot echoed out from his back, but he couldn't tell who among his soldiers shot the first attack.

"Give your secondary to them!" The Platoon leader ordered three soldiers who promptly gave their secondary weapons.

"Here. In case other traitors would-"

BOOM!

Another explosion occurred near the direction where the three came from.

"Their coming! They are wearing Exoskeletons! Can you-"

"Don't worry. We can handle even Jet-powered ones. Go!" The platoon leader moved urged as he commanded his members to slowly huddle up and prepare for an attack.

As the three ran ahead, they gave a sigh of relief. As they entered the deeper parts of the Kraken, more guards noticed them. But since the soldiers that barricaded the entrance were alive, they didn't bother to confirm their identities. Everyone was running around performing whatever task they were assigned.

The trio continued to run, and with the chaos inside, they were actions inconspicuous.

"It actually worked." Stanley nodded his head.

"Of course, it did! Don't underestimate your lies. With a little help from my sounds, we can easily bypass most guards."

Stanley wasn't shot. Sammy used a powerful repelling sound explosion that caused him to realistically stumble back to make it appear realistic. As he stumbled, Stanley used a hidden blade in his palm to wound his shoulder. Sammy used his sound to create a muffled gunshot near their area, making the troops believe that they were really shot.

"It's real. We really did acquire a portion of the Boss's skill!" Roselyn couldn't believe it.

The trio had made several fantastic lies that allowed them to infiltrate deep in the Kraken. Yet none of those they met even asked them to prove their identities because of the chaos. They also used other Exoskeleton soldiers patrolling within the Kraken to kill some of the other soldiers they met and caused more confusion and alerting traitors' identities.

"We have to hurry! It's good that those teleporting ninjas aren't going for the Commanders. They seem to be looking for the room with the Progenitor's seed."

"It's sad how even people like them dance in the arms of our bosses." Stanley shook his head.

"Don't be sad, Stan. If we develop our lies, we can make other people dance on our palms."

"I don't feel like that's a good thing."

"Really? Do you not see it, Stanley? I plan to grab hold of all those handsome, dashing, and charming actors on TV! Our lies can lead them to our beds! You can make those KPOP artists that you adore fall for you, you know? We not only have the method to deceive, but we also have the strength to achieve!"

Stanley was shocked.

Sammy was all the more stunned.

"Hey! Daydream later! We have to hurry up!" Sammy cursed.

"Of all the people to Unlock and train, they choose teenagers in puberty!"

Roselyn giggled, but Stanley had fallen deep into a state of excellent strategical planning. The plans he was making as they ran only he would know. 

"Hey, kid! Snap out of it! That damned wolf is coming, and you still dare to wet dream!" Sammy called out angrily.

"You said Richie's fighting a vampire, now there are werewolves?" Roselyn asked in confusion.

"We were amazed as well. We already detected his presence on the way here. He didn't engage us because he couldn't afford to. I mean, with all that's happening in the Kraken, he wouldn't dare waste time. But if he gets here, he'll definitely try to force his way in. And if he does get in here, we'd probably die." 

"Who is he?"

"I heard from my Boss that Cliff and some of the Dragon's Fang fought him. He's Amir Mann."

"That guy? I heard of him, but he's a werewolf?!"

"Cliff did say that his nails and claws could cut through steel," Stanley recalled.

"Don't underestimate the Overcomer's rage. After meeting Cliff, he got fooled and defeated. He chased a figure who he thought was Cliff but soon became your Boss. How many times was he deceived when he chased him? That rage and frustration. He must have succeeded in a reckless experiment that made him that way."

The two were stunned.

"Could you deduce how he got his Path?"

"Very simple. What were the origins of these werewolf tales? Do you know?"

"No."

"The accepted theory is that a certain viral disease may have caused the then superstitious world to make these stories back in the Middle ages."

"A viral disease?"

"Rabies. People who got rabies exhibited strange medical conditions. Given how superstitious life was back then, people would find those who had rabies as those possessed by something evil. Anyway, His body ought to have developed something similar to Meng. If Meng has cancer, and that woman that my boss is fighting has Leukemia, then this man has Rabies, and he got Unlocked. I deduce that his Path should be along that line. A viral Path."

The two continued to carry the bewildered expression.

"Rabies created a Path?"

"You've seen your superiors. I heard the Tyrant Empress got her Path from being extremely vain and self-centered. Who knows what mysteries the Unlocking could create? Maybe being a cuckold would even develop a Path."

"What?"

"Never mind. Let's focus. Let's first set a trap for those ninjas. If something big happens in this area of the Kraken, it will give us an easier shot at meeting the Commanders." Sammy then began to give a detailed explanation for his plans.

A certain distance from the Kraken, a figure had been running on the air. It had been circling the Kraken for some time. Waiting for the right moment. But for some odd reason, wherever it would go, a massive battle would be on the very front of the direction he intended to attack.

The figure ran like a wolf. He used his hands and legs to run. He had fur all over his skin, and except for some clothing that continued to emit a strange distortion around him, he looked like a feral wolf. For some unknown reason, the water under him wouldn't give in and allow him to sink. 

The wolf continued to run around and slowly approached the Kraken. It then smelled something that made the rage in his heart appear once more. With a terrifying howl, he rushed towards the Kraken in top speed.