Chapter 33
Gate To The Stars
Part 3
Day Six
Date: 06/01/01
Location: Zone 6
Destination: To the City Gate
Mission Duration: Day 6
Remaining Time: 14 Hours
Objective: Reach the City Gate
Subject Names: Thomas, Samira Ali, Amanda Jefferson
Native: Khorcha (Guide)
Previous Success Rate: 85%
Expected Success Rate: 70%
Failed Subjects: 250
Successful Subjects: 10
Success Percentage: 4%
Experiment Results: 96% Failure
Experiment Outcome: Termination
Next Stage: Initiated
Objective: Monitoring
Stage Duration: 30 Days
Days Count-Down: 29
The Devourer staggered back from my Qadab strike, its massive form writhing as a tremor rumbled through the battered street beneath us. A primal, guttural roar erupted from its throat—a sound that felt more like shock and disbelief than pure anger.
For the first time, we had actually gotten it to bleed. It was a small win, but it came at a cost almost immediately.
The Titan slammed its tail against the ground, and a shockwave blasted through the street, rolling toward me like a tidal wave. I braced my feet against the pavement, but even then, the force knocked me off balance, sending me staggering backward.
"THOMAS, MOVE!" Samira's voice pierced through the chaos.
I barely had time to look up before the monster's head snapped in my direction, its jaw gaping wide, throat vibrating like an echoed warning.
But instead of running, Samira charged right at it.
"Samira, what are you doing?!"
She didn't have time to answer. With incredible agility, she dodged to the side, barely slipping past the Devourer's snapping jaws, and quickly raised her scanner. It flickered with a kaleidoscope of colors, shifting through settings as if it was searching for something vital.
"ANALYSIS—FULL CAPACITY!" she commanded, exuding confidence.
The scanner lit up bright blue, illuminating the darkened street around us.
The Titan lunged again. Samira rolled gracefully under its massive shadow, so precise that it was hard to believe how small she looked compared to the creature.
Her scanner emitted a series of blue lines that swept over the underside of the beast.
Beep—
Beep—
Beeeeeeeeep!
Her eyes went wide with realization.
"Thomas! The plates aren't armor, they're just scars! They're hardened layers of tissue from its evolution, and the flesh beneath it is softer than it appears!"
"How soft?" I shouted, urgency clawing at my voice.
"Soft enough that your Qadab can smash through—just keep hitting the same spot!"
As if it understood her words, the Titan turned its colossal head, cracks forming in its face as though it was ready to consume her whole.
"Samira!" I yelled.
But she didn't budge.
With fierce resolve, she held her scanner aloft, determination shining in her eyes.
"Energy Pulse—MAX OUTPUT!!"
The device trembled violently in her grip.
ZEEEEE—KRAAAACK!!!!
A powerful beam of unstable energy shot forth, slamming into the Devourer's neck. I watched as the flesh rippled and singed from the impact, steam rising in a thick cloud.
The monster jerked back, but it responded with a speed that was terrifying. Its tail swung toward her like a freight train.
"Samira, LOOK OUT!"
She leapt just in time, but the shockwave from the swing caught her midair, hurling her against a concrete slab.
Groaning, she clutched her ribs but somehow managed to push herself back up.
"Damn it…" she gritted through her teeth, clearly in pain but refusing to give in.
The Devourer, sensing her movement, burrowed into the ground. Samira froze, whispering, "Don't… move…"
The tremors beneath her grew more intense.
I tried to rush to her side, but before I could take another step, the ground erupted.
KRA-WHOOOM!!!!
The Titan shot upward like an angry volcano, rock and dust raining down like a cursed storm. Samira was thrown into the air—spinning and helpless—before crashing hard on her side.
She didn't scream.
She didn't panic.
With sheer willpower, she forced her trembling arms to push her up again.
Her scanner buzzed wildly as she steadied herself. Without even looking at me she said, "Thomas… the more it shifts underground, the more unstable those plates get!" she shouted, each word costing her breath. "Movement weakens them from the inside!"
The Devourer hissed, its glowing veins pulsing with anger.
Samira narrowed her gaze, her fear replaced with something sharper.
She had an idea.
A plan.
And when Samira had a plan? She was a force to reckon with.
"Okay… alright… come on…" she murmured, edging toward its side.
The Titan lunged again, its jaws snapping down exactly where she had just stood. But Samira was quick, slipping past the attack and firing another Energy Pulse right into one of the gaps in its plate.
ZEEE—THRASHHH!!
A chunk of hardened tissue erupted, no longer fully shielded.
Without missing a beat, Samira slammed her scanner into a nearby piece of debris, twisting it to utilize her Repair skill on the fly.
"What are you—" I started to ask.
But before I could finish, the scanner morphed slightly—the lower grip extending into a makeshift handle.
She had transformed it into a blunt-impact weapon.
"You want soft tissue?" she growled, striding toward the gaping wound. "I'll give you soft tissue!"
With all her might, she swung the modified scanner. THUD!! The Titan roared, thrashing in fury. Its tail lashed out. SLAM!!
It clipped Samira's side, launching her across the ground. She rolled several meters before coming to a stop.
"Samira!" I cried, my voice cracking in worry.
She coughed raggedly but managed to push herself up, barely holding back the pain.
"I… I'm fine… just need… to breathe…" she gasped, but when she looked up at the beast, I could see the fire in her eyes.
"Come here, damn it… look at me!" she shouted defiantly.
And the Devourer did.
Its whole form turned toward her, drawn in by her fearless challenge.
Samira raised her scanner again while still shaking, yet unwavering.
"Energy Pulse—short burst!"
ZAP!!
A flash of energy erupted from her scanner, striking the ground just in front of her as a deliberate distraction.
The Titan charged at the vibrating point,
but Samira was already on the move, sliding beneath its neck just as it lunged.
She pressed the scanner firmly against the exposed tissue she had previously weakened.
"ANALYSIS—OVERLOAD!"
The device sparked violently.
Her eyes widened with pain, but she held on.
The scanner made a screeching sound like it was screaming, the Titan wailed even louder, as the weakened tissue burst outward, spraying glowing fluid everywhere.
The Devourer struggled to keep its massive frame upright for the first time.
Samira dropped to her knees, panting heavily.
"Thomas… finish it…"
But shaking my head, I stepped beside her as the Devourer righted itself, still teetering.
"No," I insisted. "We need to finish it together."
I instinctively stepped forward, positioning myself between Samira and the Devourer as it dragged its enormous body upright once more. The Titan's movements were slower now—less precise—but they were packed with a reckless kind of violence. It definitely wasn't backing down.
No, it felt desperate.
Its tail slammed against the ground, cracking the concrete and hurling debris into the air like it was nothing. I raised my arm to shield my face just as a chunk of rock grazed my shoulder, sending a sharp jolt of pain shooting down my spine.
Before I could even catch my breath, something zipped past me, too fast.
"Amanda—?" I started to call out, but she didn't respond.
Amanda pushed off the wrecked vehicle that had been her cover, her injured arm hanging limply at her side, blood trickling down her sleeve. Her face was pale, her jaw tight, but her eyes…
They held a new fire.
She took one shaky step forward.
Then another.
"Amanda, get back!" I yelled. "You can't take another hit!"
But she didn't even glance in my direction.
No, her focus was locked on the Titan.
"I'm sick of running," she said, her voice steady despite everything.
The Devourer reacted immediately.
Its head whipped around to her, sensing the vibrations of her voice. The cracks along its neck flared to life, pulsing in time with its agitation as it coiled, ready to strike.
I felt the System stir again. My vision blurred.
{ANALYZE: ACTIVE}
Amanda Jefferson — Status: Unstable
Adrenal Response: Extreme
Pain Suppression: Abnormal
Then something flickered.
{NEW CONDITION DETECTED}
But before I could process what it meant, the Titan lunged.
"AMANDA, MOVE!!"
She didn't hesitate.
Instead, she stepped forward.
The Titan's head crashed down where she'd just been standing, its jaw obliterating the ground in a deafening explosion of stone and dust. Amanda skidded across the debris but barely kept her balance as the shockwave pushed her aside.
She caught her breath, but then—
She screamed.
Not out of fear.
But pure fury.
Grabbing a piece of twisted metal from the wreckage—a heavy, jagged beam—she swung it with her remaining arm just as the Titan lifted its head.
The impact rang out like a bell.
CLANG!!
The metal bent, but it hit one of the weakened plates that Samira had damaged earlier. The Devourer recoiled, hissing as its massive form writhed in pain.
Amanda stumbled back, clutching her shoulder, but she didn't drop her weapon.
My HUD screen flickered again.
{NEW SKILL ACQUIRED}
{Skill Name: ————}
{Classification: Physical / Reactive}
The text vanished before I could read more.""What…?" I murmured. Was that a new skill she'd just awakened?
Amanda took a sharp breath, and then charged again.
This time, she moved with purpose.
Her steps were heavier, more grounded. Each footfall sent a deliberate vibration through the shattered street, almost like she was syncing herself with the ground rather than fighting against it.
The Devourer sensed her coming and swung its tail.
She ducked under it.
Just barely.
The tail smashed into the ground behind her, pulverizing the pavement, but Amanda was already inside its reach, too close for it to reposition completely.
She drove the metal beam upward into the soft underside of its neck.
CRUNCH!!
The Titan screamed loudly a raw scream grinding wail that tore through the air like thunder.
Amanda was hurled backward by the recoil, hitting the ground hard. She rolled once, twice, and then came to a stop, breathing heavily.
For a terrifying moment, she lay still.
"Amanda…" I whispered, my heart racing.
But then her fingers twitched.
She pushed herself up onto one knee.
Her whole body was shaking.
Blood dripped from her chin.
And then she smiled.
"Yeah…" she murmured, barely audible. "That hurt you, didn't it?"
The Titan thrashed, its movements becoming erratic. It slammed its head into a nearby wall, sending bits of stone raining down around it.
My Analyze function flared up again.
{STRUCTURAL INSTABILITY: INCREASING}
{TARGET AGGRESSION: ERRATIC}
Amanda struggled to rise, tossing aside the bent beam and grabbing her crystal club, the one she hadn't used much until now. The crystal in it flickered faintly, responding to something beyond my sight.
She tightened her grip.
Her knuckles went white.
"I don't know what's happening to me," she admitted, her voice trembling. "But I refuse to let it take anyone else."
The Devourer charged again.
And Amanda stood her ground.
She swung the club like a professional in my eyes at least, not wildly or desperately, but with pure intention.
The crystal flared to life.
BOOM!!
A shockwave erupted on impact, crashing into the Titan's damaged flank and forcing it sideways. The force knocked Amanda off her feet, but she rolled with it, recovering in a crouch.
My vision is filled with broken System text.
{SKILL EVOLUTION IN PROGRESS}
{Trigger Condition: Emotional Threshold Exceeded}
The Titan reared back, its body shuddering violently as the accumulated damage finally started to take a toll. Cracks spiderwebbed across its plates not stone this time, but flesh tearing beneath the hardened layers.
Amanda advanced once more, dragging her injured arm behind her.
She shouldn't have been able to move.
But somehow, she did.
With both hands, she hoisted the crystal club—clenching her teeth, anger radiating from her eyes—and brought it down with every ounce of strength she had left.
"STAY DOWN!!"
The blow struck precisely on one of the exposed gaps Samira had created earlier.
The Devourer convulsed, collapsing, its massive body shaking the ground beneath us in a thunderous crash.
Silence followed.
Not a moment of victory.
But an opportunity.
Amanda fell to one knee, gasping for breath, the club slipping from her fingers.
I rushed to her side, catching her before she could fully topple over.
"You did it," I said, my heart racing. "You really"
She shook her head, breathless.
"No… we did," she replied, glancing past me to Samira... the trembling Titan... to Khorcha finally stepping forward, spear steadied.
The Devourer was still alive.
But now, it was wounded. Vulnerable. And surrounded.
For the first time throughout this battle, I felt one undeniable truth:
It could die.
And we were the ones destined to bring it down.
A/N
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please comment and tell me what do you think that needs to be change, when it comes to fight scene I am doing my best so I am open to any suggestions.