Transcendent Gene
Chapter 108: Premonition [4]

Chapter 108: Premonition [4]

The blood dripping down his face was hard to ignore.

Every drop was formed beneath his eyelids before it forced its way out and made a slow trail down his face. The forward momentum Amaya carried pasted the bloody tears to his face and dried them, making the flaky, cracking trails painfully tangible.

Still, Gio did his best to ignore them.

At the very least, he knew there wouldn’t be any lasting damage to his eyes. Especially because he was so young, his body could be healed much easier.

Therefore, he could manhandle it without worry.

His eyes darted from side to side. He stopped reporting only traps and made use of the other information available to him.

He was able to see bullet trajectories. Every time an attacker moved, he could see it as well. If any of them swung their guns at one of the preoccupied team members, Gio made them aware.

To him, it was an overbearing sensation. He forcefully kept track of the entire battlefield and relayed commands at the same time, taxing his brain severely.

However, for those receiving his commands, it was the complete opposite.

It was as if the world became clear in their blurry eyes. They moved through what should have been a path filled with enemies, but it felt like they were continuously fighting smaller, more manageable battles while steadily progressing forward.

How was it possible for someone to give such accurate commands to not one or two, but seven different people?

They rushed, dodging explosions, lasers, bullets, and spikes of electricity that tried to kill them. They eliminated the enemies standing in their way and pushed through the chamber in under three minutes.

Naturally, they left many enemies behind in the process, but that could be managed.

As they rushed through the tunnel leading to the final chamber, Gio unhooked one of the grenades on his utility belt and threw it backwards.

He picked up two scatter grenades before leaving the zephyr. They were like firecrackers in that they sent a large number of small bursts in all directions. They were meant to distract enemies rather than cause damage, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do any damage.

More importantly...

Bang!

Crackle!

The grenade exploded, sending sparks flying everywhere. The entire width of the tunnel was covered in a carpet of sparking bursts that didn’t seem to end.

There were some pursuers caught in the burst, while most of them were stuck behind it.

They could walk through it if they wanted to, but the burns they’d accumulate weren’t small wounds.

It was enough to hold them back for some time. Rather than humans, only bullets and blasts of heated energy shot towards them. When Raymond extended his hand and created a wall of fire behind them, all of those were taken care of as well.

They were weapons made to deal with Sequencers, but it was only enough to, at most, put one on an equal level to them.

Weapons that could combat people of Amaya’s level existed in relatively larger quantities, but Raymond?

There was a reason why he was the Captain of the squad. Even as he defended their backs, he could still spare enough attention to both run at the same pace as everyone else and look at Gio.

"Your condition isn’t good," he said.

There was a distance to cover before they reached the final room. Once they were there, it was only a matter of getting out of the facility.

"It’s fine," Gio responded, thinking so.

"I can heal when we escape. My feeling is getting worse. If I’m not wrong..."

He shook his head. He wasn’t very superstitious, but he didn’t want to speak anything into existence.

"The point is, we have to go. You saw the difference back there. I have to keep going."

Gio could feel the crust on his face, but he couldn’t see his reflection.

He couldn’t see his pale skin and sunken cheeks. He was using up too much energy. Raymond knew that he needed to stop and let his body rest, but he also knew that they needed to escape quickly.

’It got worse.’

Objectively, there were more traps and more troops in the previous chamber. However, somehow, it felt like a far easier battle.

Gio was the only reason for this. If it was going to get worse again, Raymond couldn’t allow himself to stop Gio based on personal feelings alone.

"Fine. I’ll treat you like one of us. It’s different since you’re a kid, but if it’s this kind of damage, I can deal with it."

Raymond steeled his expression. The kilometers separating them from the exit turned into mere meters. The white light and killing intent marking the final chamber came into view.

"Gio..." Raymond said, his teeth gritted.

"Get us out of here."

There wasn’t anything else to say.

Once again, they charged into the chamber.

Once again, they faced the enemies within.

But it was different this time. The difference was marked by the existence of a single man.

He wore a full suit of what looked like a mixture between a spacesuit and battle armor. It was made of heavy metal plates and had a glass visor that left the person within’s face visible. The suit whirred mechanically with every movement, its various pieces clicking together like gears slowly shifting.

"Shit," Gio muttered.

"Captain, treat that guy as a Sequencer at your level who uses strength talents. I don’t know what kind of suit he’s wearing, but it definitely has weapons, and it’s definitely equipped to kill Sequencers."

As Gio spoke, the team split to the sides.

BOOOM!

A rocket slammed into the ground where they once stood and blew it to pieces. The debris flew in every direction. A chunk of rock barely missed Gio’s head as he ducked down and turned his attention to the man in the suit.

He’d only raised his arm. A cannon extended from his forearm and created an impact like that.

Raymond’s eyes were hard as he moved.

"How strong is the suit?"

"We have to find out right now," Gio said.

"Either that, or we risk it and get out of here as soon as possible."

The elevator was still in the corner. The glass that once separated it from the main chamber had already been shattered.

Raymond looked at it and nodded.

In the next second, flames filled the air.

VOOOOOM!

Raymond released his power. A pair of twin dragons made of fire cut through the air, charging towards the man in the suit.

He looked at them with a smug expression with no intention to dodge.

BOOOOM!

Flames went everywhere as they collided with their target. Raymond peered into them as he spoke.

"Everyone, get out. I’ll follow you once you’re safe."

It was a moment where most people would cry out in loyalty, saying they would stay behind with the Captain and help him defend the rear.

But this team was not like that. They had already established an absolute trust that others couldn’t understand.

Raymond’s subordinates weren’t the type to refuse his orders. The moment he told them to escape, they made their individual rushes for the exit.

Gio continued to do his job, warning them of any dangers they had to be aware of. However, Amaya reached the elevator first. Jason reached soon after, while Jax, Alice, and Natalia followed at their own paces.

Knowing they were safe enough, Gio kept his eyes on Raymond. He watched as the man turned into a roaring tsunami of flame. His body was hard to see within the inferno, but one thing was certain.

The number of shadows within was not one, but two.

Gio gritted his teeth as Amaya finished her manifestation. His eyes widened as his stomach was pushed back by a pair of wings that grew out of her waist.

And in the next moment, all he could see was darkness as they shot up into the shaft.

"Tch."

Everyone else was following in their own ways. While Amaya flew up the hole, Alice raised the earth itself as a much faster makeshift elevator. Natalia’s shadows carried her from wall to wall, allowing her to propel herself further. Jason and Jax both powerfully leapt from the ground and reached the ceiling, grabbing onto the smallest crevices in the wall and using them to climb like it was nothing.

Everyone was skilled, so when they had the chance to run, everyone was able to do so easily.

The problem was... Could Raymond do the same?