Kill to evolve: A system that demands blood
Chapter 54: Eradicators

Chapter 54: Eradicators

Chapter 54

The next day, all of squad one members were all gathered in the briefing hall. The room smelled like sweat and metal.

Same faces from yesterday after they had parted ways, but the energy today was different, tighter.

You could feel it in the way people stood around, shifting their weight, arms crossed, talking in low voices but keeping an eye on the door. It had been a while since they all went on a proper mission, so they were all tense and exited about it.

Ronan leaned against the wall, hands shoved deep into his pockets, silent as usual. He kinda missed being with the previous squad, at least he had gotten used to having them around, now he had to start over, but right now...he was more interested in keeping to himself, not taking the risk of hurting or accidentally killing anyone.

He scanned the surroundings, trying to read everyone. He had to mark those who had evil intentions against him, the ones he should be careful of during the mission.

Some of the others were still cracking jokes.

"Another babysitting mission?" One guy muttered from a bench few meters away from Ronan, kicking his boot against the floor. "Bet it’s another clean-up job."

Ezren stretched with a lazy groan. "Hope not. If they woke me up this early for a rat hunt, I’m gonna lose my shit."

"Maybe it’s your retirement party," said a woman with silver hair tied up in a messy knot, grinning at him.

Ezren flipped her off without even turning around.

Someone else chuckled.

A little tension bled out of the room, but not much. Everyone knew it,whatever today was, it wasn’t routine.

The doors finally slid open.

Aldric walked in, same sharp stride, same face like he chewed nails for breakfast. He didn’t say a word at first, just let the door hiss shut behind him before facing the room.

"You all remember the squad that died recently, right?"

The room stiffened and everyone instantly tensed.

Ronan had only heard about it after he joined sentinel order, the story had already spread like wildfire by then. A whole squad had vanished during what was supposed to be a low-risk assignment. Weeks later, their bodies were dumped like trash right outside the Sentinel’s front gate.

Signs of torture, burn marks, broken bones, words carved into their skin.

"THE SYSTEM ERA MUST END."

You didn’t just forget something like that. Even if you hadn’t been there.

Aldric let the silence sit heavy for a second before continuing.

"Since then, we’ve been digging. Quietly and carefully. HQ finally found something."

He stepped aside and tapped a handheld. A 3D map flickered into life, hovering above the center table, a sprawl of ruins and underground tunnels.

"The people responsible call themselves the Eradicators."

Murmurs started up immediately. Sharp, confused.

"Eradicators?" someone repeated. "Sounds like a bad movie villain name."

Aldric ignored the comment. "Their goal is simple. End the system era. Wipe out every trace of it."

Someone near the front, Rhea, tall with close-cropped hair raised an eyebrow. "So... just a bunch of pissed-off normal humans?"

"No." Aldric’s voice dropped. "They’re enhanced."

The murmurs cut off.

He waited, letting it sink in.

"They used labs, genetic modification, tech enhancements. Not mana, not systems, but Science."

The word hung there like a bad smell.

Ronan felt his jaw clench before he even realized it. His fingers curled slightly into fists inside his pockets.

Manufactured monsters.

It reminded him too much of that bastard, science modification. Just how much more of such fucked up people existed. His stomach churned at the thought.

Someone from the side let out a sharp laugh. "Wait, wait, wait—" It was Tyce, flipping his combat knife lazily between his fingers. "Let me get this straight. They’re bitching about powers corrupting humanity, but then they go soup themselves up in a lab?"

"Sounds real noble," Ezren said dryly. "Nothing says ’pure ideals’ like injecting yourself with black market enhancements."

A few chuckles broke the tension, but nobody looked relaxed.

"Doesn’t that make them just as bad?" Rhea asked, frowning. "If not worse?"

"They don’t see it that way," Aldric said simply. "And it doesn’t matter. Their location’s been confirmed."

That got everyone’s attention.

The map zoomed in on a crumbling industrial zone out in the Wastes, long-abandoned factories, half-sunken into the earth.

Aldric’s mouth twitched into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

"And guess what? Squad One gets the honor."

Roan gave a low whistle. "We capture them?"

Aldric shook his head. "No, we obliterate them. HQ wants them wiped out. Completely. No survivors,no evidence."

"Finally," Ezren said, grinning like he’d been starving for a fight.

"We’re dropping in hard and fast," Aldric said, eyes sweeping the room. "Don’t play with your food. Get it done. Fast, loud and final."

He started outlining entry points, weak spots, patrols, and fallback routes, but Ronan barely heard the rest.

He stared at the map, watching the lines shift and glow, and that ugly feeling kept coiling tighter in his gut.

These Eradicators... they weren’t some far-off monsters.

They were too close to something he already knew.

He wondered how much worse these ones would be from the last ones he fought. He had the strong feeling that this mission wasn’t as simple as they all thought.

Someone bumped his shoulder lightly—Ezren again, that cocky grin still plastered across his face.

"Rookie’s first real bloodbath," he said under his breath. "You ready?"

Ronan didn’t answer.

"Common, I Know you’re excited. There’s no need to hide it... we’ve all be here." Ezren added.

"What do you want from me?" Ronan finally turned to him with a cold emotionless expression. His mana cackled slightly, a sign that he wasn’t in a good mood.

Ezren tensed, he could sense it...that dark evil aura. His taunting smile disappeared and was instantly replaced with a deadly gaze. "watch it rookie, don’t push your luck." He said coldly.

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