Day 19: The Midnight Assault (Revise Start)

Author's Note: Welcome mortals, I have returned from the realm of weebs after 10,000 years of rigorous anime grinding and battling with other weebs on anime forums. I have now become stronger. With my ascension to the rank of [Immortal Weeb God] as well as my vast gallery of hentais, nobody can defeat me now

Actually...I'm just kidding. I hope you guys are doing well, please enjoy this short chapter I made for you

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Inside the silence of the lab, Cinder took a deep breath

The Lady in Black, Salem, had left earlier looking for her son after casting what could be assumed as support magic. She doesn't know what kind of effects it will have, only that it's powerful enough to override every speck of Aura inside her and replace it with something....more powerful

She felt as if every muscle in her body is burning with restrained power. The others had reported that they also experienced the same feeling as well, stating that they felt stronger physical wise. In other words, they just received what would be called a 'buff' by video game standard

To have met someone who possessed such powers, they were lucky to have the woman as an ally, else things would be difficult to the children instead…

The sound of the radio being turned on pulled Cinder out of her internal thoughts. The girl was once more reminded that time is running out, now it was up for her to call the shots and start the siege

"Commander, everyone is waiting for your order" the Scout Division's captain said in a stoic voice through the other line

"Thank you, Hibana" Cinder nodded, despite knowing that the others won't see her do that anyway "Now, if everyone don't mind, I have something to say to you all"

Even though she can't hear them, the girl could feel the other captain's attention on her, waiting on her every word

"All of you here has been born into this world with...unfortunate circumstances" She drew a deep breath "Neglected by your parents, abandoned by your friends, despised by others around you"Her fist clenched tightly

"The world hate us, because we are different from them" She continued "They imprisoned you, experimented on you, hurt you in as many way as possible, and for what? Just because you have a different physiology from them?"

"That is unfair, but life is unfair. In the end, all we can do is to fight for ourselves, hoping that we won't be killed like our brethren, cast out and being chased until death like a wild animal"

Her voice become colder as she went on

"Yet, the chance has arrived. He has arrived. (Y/n) gave us the chance to liberate ourselves from this place, to free us from this world that binds us, it is in our best interest that we don't disappoint him"

"Comrades...Do you believe in destiny?"

The silence is enough of an answer to her

"Destiny, predestination, fate...I do not believe in those things. We are the masters of our own future, and the action we took today will decide how we end up tomorrow. It is your decision, and yours alone"

"With that said, I understand that some of you are scared, terrified even, of the things that will happen tonight" She softened "I won't sugarcoat it, blood will be shed, and some of which will be on our side. Therefore, if any of you has hesitation on your part, quit before it's too late"

It's worth it, Cinder decided. While someone quitting would heavily affect the force's general morale, the consequences would be far greater if it happens on the field instead. Indecisiveness and mercy is a must not when the stake is hot, as is the reality of a battle to the death. Hesitation. Is. Defeat

....

"Commander, is that all?" Thatcher's callous voice buzzed from the other side, sounding like he was disappointed

"We're not so immature as to think that there won't be casualties in this. However harsh it is, death is inevitable for everyone here. Rather than living the rest of your life as a pathetic experimental subject, why don't we rise one last time when (Y/n) had presented us the chance?"

"It's Victory or Valhalla" With finality in his voice, Thatcher finished his little speech through the radio

"Valhalla...Strange, you always struck me as an atheist, Thatcher"

"And I still am. Just because I'm an atheist doesn't mean I'm not a believer"

"So you don't believe in God?"

"No, but I believe in the Devil himself"

The others chuckled as they know who he's referring to. Yes, it would be fitting that God's counterpart would be their savior of all people

(Y/n) is the DevilAnd they...are the Devil's Legion

"Hibana"

"Yes"

The radio goes buzz buzz buzz

Her rifle goes clack clack clack

And the headquarter goes boom boom boom

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5 minutes ago

Dodging left and right, I desperately tried not to get hit by Reaper's relentless strikes as it passed by a few couple inches in front of me

Super fast regeneration will only help you so much, I learned that the hard way just thirty seconds ago

[Aura Burst]

I kicked the ground underneath me to jump up. One of the Reaper's projection intercepted me in mid-air with his blade drawn

[Instant Kill Mode Activated]

Six spider legs sprouted out from my back and blocked his attacks with ease

A second projection appeared behind me with his daggers. Has it been under normal circumstances, my exposed back would have make for a vulnerable target, especially when in aerial combat where I couldn't maneuver myself effectively. Knowing my opponent's lethality, it won't be a stretch to say that I'll be dead in one hit

Well, that's what he thought

[Liquify]

"What?" The clone certainly didn't expect to passed straight through me and impaled his fellow projection from the other side, judging from his voice

Pop. Goes the first clone as it ceased to exist

The unexpected momentum caused him to lost his balance mid-air. Using the chance, my spider limbs grabbed the clone and spider-slammed him into the ground

(A/n: For those of you who are wondering, Spider-Slam is definitely not a sex slang, at least not in the sense that I'm referring to)

CRASH

Pop. Goes the second clone as it crumbled

Now, where's the last one?

"Looking for me?"

BANG BANG BANG BANG

4 bullets were sent at me, at the same time, from 4 different angles. Somehow, Reaper could bend his bullet's trajectory however he wish, almost like he had control over them. It's probably his most annoying attack thus far, seeing that I have to be constantly aware of the number of shots he fired

Seriously, does this guy have Sex Pistols or something?

Nevertheless, my spider legs automatically deflected them with ease. Looking around, I could not see him. Left and right, up and down, there's no trace of him. Try as hard as I might, i could not detect his presence

"....."

[Sixth Sense Activated]

I tilted my head to the right just in time to see his blade passed through the previous spot moments ago. Grabbing the blade, I threw him over my shoulder

[Web Generation]

Reaper was effectively pinned down in just a matter of seconds. Before he could react, I aimed both guns at the center of his forehead

"You are good, intruder, I'm going to give it to you" He said, his voice sounding hollow behind his mask "You are probably the best fighter I've seen in my career of being a Huntsman"

"Why thank you" I resisted the urge to scratch my head out of embarrassment. Truthfully, this is the first time someone has praised me before "The same can be said from my part, may i know your name?"

"It's Agent Reaper, code #R34P3R-6IX9IN"

Well, I guess being an agent has it's own pros and cons. The burden of not sharing your real names with others....

"And what is your name, intruder?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I kneel down so I was face-to-face with him

"If you're the Reaper...then I will be the Grim"

That's what you get for trying to hide your name from me.

I stood up and began walking away, when he called out to me again

"Intruder Grim, aren't you going to kill me?"

"That is the initial objective, yes. I changed my mind though" I replied without looking back

In any cases, I wouldn't hesitate in eating him alive. However, the duration of the battle had proven too long for me to just idle around. If I want to get out of this place I'll have to do it quick, there's no time to idle around before the Grimm children started swarming this place…

BOOM BOOM BOOM

.....Speak of the little devils and they will reply

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The headquarter's guard first reaction to the explosions is confusion

"Is this a drill?" They all wondered

Then they see Grimm children pouring out from the inner compound and deduced that no, this is not a drill

"MEN, GET TO YOUR STATION!" a commander yelled at his troops

"LOAD YOUR RIFLE!"

"THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"AIM FOR THE CHILDREN"

Panic, confusions, disbelief....they are all expected reaction. After all, it's not everyday that the compound would get attack from the inside. Following that logic, most of the outer wall's defense focus on countering threats from the outside in the belief that enemies will have to get through there first

That is their first mistake

"Guys, turn on your kinetic barrier!" As they rained down bullets against the children, one of them yelled

Multiple holographic barriers sprung up and blocked the bullets. The metal shells ricocheted back into the air, some hitting the soldiers themselves

This is the first stage of Cinder's plan: The Heavy Division will go first with kinetic shield equipped on them. Their mission is to take the blunt end of the hammer in order to defend all units behind, especially the Assault Division, in other words, they will be 'the tank'. The soldiers will no doubt try to move closer in response....

"GET DOWN THERE MEN, THEY CAN'T SHIELD AGAINST OUR BULLETS AT CLOSE RANGE!"

That is their second mistake

As waves after waves of Atlesian troops poured out from the outer entrance. The boy in the front gave a hand signals to the others

Simultaneously, they threw their shields to the side, revealing sharp bayonets in their other hand

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!!!!"

The frontliners rammed into the soldier's vanguard like Sledge's hammer to the wall. The force generated by the impact was enough to push them several meters back

The majority of them is still fine, albeit with some being heavily wounded. But the children was prepared for this outcome. They all abandoned their melee weapon and pulled out their shotguns

Now, it is considered a bad idea to shoot someone with a shotgun at point blank range, considering the damage would be localized compared to when one is shot at the distance of about 5-10 meters since there isn't that much area for the pellets to spread.

However, if you considered several factors into the equation, such as the damaged area and the type of caliber used, or a .36 buckshot in this case, things gets different

If you don't die from the shock of being shot at close range, you'll still die from over bleeding due to punctuation at vital area on the body

At this point, you know how it pretty much turned out for the poor soldiers

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

In a matter of seconds, the soldier's formation was utterly destroyed before they could even react. With the Grimm children shooting, stabbing and tearing their enemies apart in a festival of blood and gore

Ah, yes. Among the children selected by Cinder, the Heavy Division consists of mostly close-range fighter. Those with higher physical strengths are automatically paired into this group without hesitation. With the fact that they're part-Grimm and the strengthening magic Salem had cast on them, it will be no exaggeration to say that they're stronger than your average soldiers

Standing in front of the bloody massacre going on, nearby troops are petrified in fear. They are unable to do anything as they watched their comrades die screaming and bleeding in front of them, while the monsters are ripping their throats off

That....is their third mistake

In battles, hesitance means death, that is a mandatory lesson for those of similar profession to them. Perhaps it's due to a lack of experience, or their dulled sense of awareness after many years of guarding a place considered to be impenetrable by standard, most of the soldiers were unable to react in time before it's too late

Soon enough, the ground of the outer compound was filled with fresh blood of the fallen, most of which doesn't come from the children, but from corpses of the guards littered around them

Buzz

"Alright, tell your team to retreat to the back, the other Divisions will take care of them"

"Roger!"

As the Grimm started running back toward the inner compound, the petrified soldiers regained their senses and raised their gun toward the children's retreating back

BANG

The soldier's head bursted open, one by one, making the remaining one abandoned their weapon and ran back to the base with fright

Atop the roof of the inner compound, Glaz and his fellow snipers chuckled with smokes billowing out from the tips of their rifles

"Give it to a sniper to cover your back"

The retreat issued by Cinder wasn't out of fear or wariness, it's a tactical bait deliberately made to lure the soldiers inside, where the majority of the children will wait for them. It was a risky move, but knowing these soldier's intelligence, they'll most likely not realize that's a trap until it's too late

"Dokkaebi, you done there yet?"

"Hang on. Yes!" A girl cheered beside him as she stared down at her tablet "Alright, I've hacked into the mainframe and disabled the algorithms, the enemies won't be able to contact reinforcements now"

He chuckled and reloaded his rifle

Hook. Line. And Sinker

It feels good to be the hunter for once

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"So that is the plan, huh?"

Helen hummed gently as she observed the base from the cover of the forest

"I see, it makes sense"

"What makes sense exactly?" A cold voice whispered behind her. In response, Helen smiled

"That (Y/n) would targeted the headquarter out of all places, and why he would dispersed the pack just before doing so"

It is not the end like they'd thought, it was just the beginning of his great conquest

She wondered where he will strike next? Perhaps the SDC with their connections and wealth? Or the Mantle academy where he will recruit's the Kinddom's future elites into his forces? Or maybe...Menagerie

Yes...That is most likely. With their oppressed state right now, The faunus population is in a vulnerable situation. He most likely had seen the potential to lure them to his side with the promise of equality, just like what Tom Riddle have done with the Werewolves, and used this influence to further spread his fame in the underworld

How devious of him

"Now, I'm not the one to doubt my own daughter's claim, but" The man sighed "A person with such degree of intelligence....It's just unbelievable"

"How will you explain what he'd achieved, then"

"Dumb luck and a ton of coincidences, that's all he'd got"

"And what if you're wrong?"

"Then I'll gladly marry you to him" Avindale rolled his eyes in exasperation

Helen's lips twitched in amusement

Her father really knows how to make good jokes

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To say it was chaotic outside the headquarter would be a severe understatement

Men were lined up as the medics bandaged and treat their wounds. Agents stationed near the front were still trembling in fear from the shock they've just received. All in all, they were in pretty terrible shapes right now

Deciding it's time to make an announcement, the commander clapped his hands, catching everyone's attention

"Everyone listened up" He growled "Those monsters caught us by surprised, I'm going to admit that"

"Their assault has been sudden and quick, we had no time to react before our formation has been shredded to pieces. As a result, out of over 400 soldiers stationed here, no less than a quarter of us has been victims of unfortunate casualties"

"As if to make it worse, our communication with the outside world has been cut off, something which I'm sure is the work of those devils. I know there's a reason why they has to be locked up in the first place...."

"HOWEVER" He raised his voice in glee "Our brave and valiant efforts were not in vain. After being met with great resistance on our part, those damned monsters have to retreat in the face of our overwhelming strength, and are now huddled inside the inner compound, no doubt waiting for their death. It is only expected after all, no one can stand against us"

He puffed out his chest in pride

'.....But you didn't do anything....' the others solemnly thought

The commander seems to have forgotten the fact that contrary to them, the other side seems to suffered no casualties at all, that is a clear sign about the enemies's combat prowess

"As such, I've decided that we should launch an all-out attack on their current hideout. A swift and efficient assault that will wipe out the seed of evil from this world once and for all!" The commander spread out his arms "Tonight, we will gather all of our remaining forces and storm them while they are most vulnerable, victory is in our hands!"

He ended his speech in a dramatic manner

'....Why is this idiot our commander again?' At this point the soldiers just decided to give up on their leader's bullshit and resigned to their miserable fate

"Sir, if I may" The captain spoke up with a sigh "I think it would be best if we reserved some of our numbers on defending the outer wall in case of another attack from the outside, it's not likely to happen, but it's our duty to ensure safety of the headquarter at all times"

"The assault squad should be linked with a contact channel to better coordinates themselves, we cannot take risks with these kind of unknown enemies, no matter how harmless or vulnerable they appeared to be"

" Additionally, we ourselves should also establish communication with our strike team in order to observe the situation and make better preparations for it when-"

"Preparation for what, Captain?" The commander interjected harshly, a tint of furious red on his portly face in response to what he assumed as insubordination from his own troops

"If I may be frank, sir" He gulped "I fear this may be an ambush"

....

There was silence in the room, before-

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" He cackled "You worry too much, man. There's no way they can anticipate my unpredictable plan. I understand, however, and will make sure we are well-equipped to deal with those monsters, lest they caught us by surprise"

"But trust me, what's the worst thing that could happen to us?"

'....'

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The chilly night wind brushed through my hide, causing me to shiver in cold

It has been a long night, but I've finally done it

I. Have. Escape!

"Hurray!" I pumped my fist into the air "I'm free, baby!"

....Wait

I looked around with confusion

Why is no one here?

Following the simple logic of defending such an important facility as AHA Headquarter, one would think that there has to be hundred of guards, armed and ready to face any intruders coming their way. Yet no one is present. This is just plain weird

Oh well, it's better this way I guess. Granted I couldn't eat anyone, but I wouldn't want to attract attention to myself either

With that thought in my head, I walked away from the Headquarter, relieved that it's finally over......

..............Or at least that's what I thought

"It's a beautiful night outside...."

Ashen white hair. Pale skin. Black robe. The woman's crimson eyes bore into my soul as she stood just in front of the gate, effectively blocking my only exit out of this place

Salem. There can be no doubt about that

*sigh*

fuck my life….

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Thatcher sighed from the ceiling as he observed the soldiers outside trying to breach the door, while he himself is trying to resist the urge to blast them with his shotgun

Shouldn't they have realized something is wrong right now?! He screamed in his mind. What kind of soldier would let themselves be fooled by these kind of tricks

Judging from the lack of defense and anti-breaching devices placed near the entrance, even a normal person would suspect an ambush. Yet, these soldiers, who have had years of experience guarding the most secured place in Atlas, is acting like they have no idea what a trap is

But he guess this will make his job easier. After all, Cinder had specifically told them that the objective is to bait and switch. Their goal is not to defend the checkpoint, no, if that's the case then they would have just leave it all to Jaeger, Ela or, god forbid, Tachanka, to take care of the breachers

The mission of the Assault Division isn't to make sure that no one gets in, it's to make sure no one gets out

BOOM

"They're in" He whispered through the radio, which gave a light buzz in response

"Report" Cinder's voice replied from the other side, sounding excited

"The enemies consists of about 60..80...120 soldiers. About half of them are equipped with heavy armor, the others in the back seems to carry rifle. In addition, there are also..."

He scowled

"Unmanned robots"

"GPS Gadgets"

"Fooking laser sights"

'Who would have thought....'

"Good, all according to plan, then" She sound pleased "Thatcher, I believe you know what to do?"

"Of course" He smiled under his mask "We're gonna give em' hell"

The radio emit a laughing sound from the other side, before it cut off, leaving him and his squad in the silence that come afterward

"Captain, I think that's everyone" His second-in-command, Buck said

"Press the switch" He ordered

The beeping sound of a button being clicked could be heard. Immediately, the gates behind the soldiers slammed shut, remaining unmoving even when they turned around and tried to pried it open

Thatcher grabbed the grenade by his waist and motioned to his team to get ready

"On the count to three...."

(A/n: For those who are familiar with Thatcher's gadgets in the game, you know what's about to go down)

Deciding that it's useless, the soldiers maintained their formation and started walking forward. The red beam of their laser sights glowed brightly in the darkness, giving away their position even without the use of night vision goggles

The fighting drones walked behind them, ready to give support when needed. That's a mistake, over-reliance on technology will only lead to disastrous consequences. The more crutches you have, the more it hurts when someone kicked it out under you

If there's one thing he know, it's that a simple six-inch knife will never lose reception no matter the circumstances

"Three...."

The others pulled out their guns as he started counting backward, taking deep breaths in order to calm their nerves

"Two..."

Buck quietly loaded his shotgun-rifle, watching the soldiers slowly approaching their hidden position

"One..."

He gripped his trusty knife in his arm, the knife which (Y/n) himself had given him

'Oh great Devil, please give us the strength for this one hunt'

"Zero...."

In a swift motion, he tossed the grenade in his hand into the midst of their formation, effectively maximizing it's range to the fullest

"Hey, what is this?" One of the soldiers noticed the mini gadgets as it landed on the floor

"Oh wait, it's a grenade"

The effect was instantaneous. The EMP grenade sizzled, before it bursted out into an electrical field that disabled all devices within it's reach. And by all devices there includes the drones, which deactivated themselves as the electrical field washed over them, the night vision goggles, which goes dark the moment after that, and of course....

"AHHH, MY LASER SIGHTS!!!"

"GO!" Thatcher ordered his subordinates

The area they were on has no light. With no night vision goggle, those human soldiers had no mean of defending against an attack from them who all had the ability to perfectly see in the dark by default because of their Grimm physiology

This had, of course, been a very effective strategy against the human army in the Revolution, utilized by the Faunus. The assault on the castle of Fort led by general Lagune is a prime example of just how bad an idea it is to fight them in such conditions

Who said history is boring?

They all leaped down from the ceiling, like assassins performing a leap of faith in the midst of night, their blades unsheathed and ready to stain with blood

The children needs to be quick, they have only 10 seconds to take down no less than a hundred foes before their equipment came back again, at which point they'll lose their environmental advantage

Guns blazed. Blood spattered. Screams echoed. Chaos ensued in the darkness. 10...9...8...7...6...5.... more seconds passed as more and more soldier fell to the ground. The body counts just stack higher by the moments. When 7 seconds had passed, nearly half of their numbers had dwindled to nothing more than corpses

The remaining soldiers are quick to react after the initial shock, forming a defensive ring around their allies to cover them while the others tried to re-activate their devices

"Buck" He nodded and changed his rifle to shotgun mode

The Skeleton Key, also known as a SK-42, is an underbarrel shotgun mounted under his gun which has one of, if not the highest destruction potential among other shotguns, with the ability to easily break though non-reinforced surface, or in this case, human flesh

And it's also semi-automatic. A fucking automatic shotgun

On the bright side, at least it got the job done

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Just as the electrical devices come back, the last of the soldiers also fell down with gaping holes in his chest, his face an expression of confusion and surprise. For their part, there is no apparent casualties apart from minor shot wounds, something which their healing factor can easily take care of

He sighed under his mask. Now here's the tricky part

When the EMP's effect wear off, they will all have to run away as far as possible. The reason?

With a humming noises, the previously knocked out combat drones reactivated themselves. They slowly stood up, towering over the small children like intimidating goliaths. A wave of red light washed over them as the automatons scanned their surrounding

[Scanning nearby environment complete. Ally: None. Neutral: 12]

It raised their guns at them upon scanning the weapon in their arms

[Weapons detected from Neutral unit. Neutral status has been changed to Hostile. Initiate Termination process]

"Run" Thatcher calmly ordered his subordinates "Our bullet won't do anything to them"

They all nodded in response and simultaneously ran to the opposite direction. Behind the retreating children, the robots also started to move

"HURRY UP"

They broke up into a full-on sprint as the robots started started shooting at them with the machine gun on their shoulders. Their giant legs easily covered the large distance between them in a matter of seconds

It's only thanks to the children's natural agility that they managed to outrun them and avoid the hail of bullets at the same time

'This is all part of the plan' He thought dryly 'All part of the plan'

Just at the other end of the hallway there stands a lone figure, their silhouette illuminate in the moonlight just outside the window

It was a boy wearing heavy armor and carrying an LMG by his side. However, his most interesting feature would be the green helmet on his head, with a slit at where his eyes are supposed to be. Their faces all brighten up as they realized who that is

TachankaThe helmet-wearing boy calmly set his LMG to the ground and pulled it up. Loading the gun with a disk-shaped magazine, he waved at the approaching children

"Good job everyone" He praised them "Just let me take care of the rest"

"We're counting on you, cyka" One of them replied as they ran and hid behind him, observing the robots running toward them "Are you sure you can take them down?"

"Don't worry, I have the Lord's blessing with me"