Within the ruins of Vledstoin,
Ars, Edwin, and Sonya began moving deeper in. Large debris from collapsed buildings hampered their progress. The slippery ice made it easy for them to slip if they weren't careful.
The place was silent except for the howling wind, their footsteps, and the faint hum of their mechanical armor. Through the visor of his helmet, Edwin scanned every direction for potential danger, as did Ars and Sonya.
"Increase Burn armor performance to 90%! Use sensors to detect the surrounding area. Connect the armor to Snow Explorer!"
Edwin gave the order, and Ars and Sonya nodded and immediately increased their Burn Armor performance to 90%. A shrill buzzing sound could be heard for a moment, and the Burn crystals on their chests glowed brighter. Then, they connected their armor's communications to the Snow Explorer, where Nav and Lily were on guard.
Once the armor and the Snow Explorer were connected, they finally heard a familiar voice over the communications.
Bzzzzt... "Sir Edwin, Senior! Emergency! I'm detecting danger 700 meters from your location! That point is emitting extremely dense and cold freeze energy. Please be careful!" Bzzzt...
Nav's urgent words made Edwin, Ars, and Sonya wary. They looked at each other, understanding the situation.
"Thank you for the information, Nav. Now connect us to DAVNS!"
"Yes, sir!"
Nav activated the DAVNS (Drone Assisted Virtual Navigation System), a sophisticated navigation system that connected the reconnaissance drone to Edwin and his partner's armor. Through their visors, which had been switched to night vision mode, they could see everything from their perspective. They could see more clearly in the dark.
However, that wasn't the main feature. This system had many more uses. They could view a detailed virtual map of the Vledstoin ruins showing the condition of each area and previously unknown danger spots. They could also use the detection feature to find objects hidden behind walls. The system could also accurately analyze the condition of surrounding objects and provide danger and safety alerts for each object and area it analyzed. This system was more effective than the sensors built into their Burn armor.
Edwin looked ahead. His visor displayed digital text detailing the condition of each visible area and object. Despite the thick concrete and layer of snow covering them, he could see what lay beneath the ruins. Ahead, he spotted a creature hiding within the ruins of an apartment building.
"There! There's a winter creature. You see it, right?"
Edwin readied his rifle and aimed it at the ruins. Ars and Sonya did the same.
"Yes, I see it," Ars replied, his eyes focused on the apartment.
"Shall we lure him out?" Sonya asked.
"Let me do it," Edwin said.
He took something from a small bag at his waist. He took out a fist-sized grenade, unscrewed the pin, and threw it toward the apartment ruins where the creature was hiding. The grenade bounced repeatedly on the large debris until finally...
BOOM!
The grenade exploded, startling the creature hiding in the rubble. The creature became enraged and revealed its terrifying form. It resembled a giant spider the size of a horse with a white body, blue crystals embedded in its body, a human head with six glowing red eyes, and a mouth like a flower petal filled with hundreds of sharp teeth.
Kryaaaaaaahhhh!!!
The creature—the Winter Creature— groaned in a shrill voice. Its face showed anger, and a strong killing intent radiated from it. Edwin and his teammates were already on full alert and did not hesitate to attack.
"Fire!" Edwin exclaimed as he pulled the trigger on his rifle.
The three of them skillfully fired at the Winter Creature, aiming for its vital points. A hail of hot lead mixed with a special substance called the Burn Crystal created flaming projectiles that rained down continuously on the Winter Creature. The specially designed bullets managed to puncture the creature's head, legs, and tough body. The poor creature groaned in pain and collapsed in the cold snow.
"Just a Common-class Winter Creature. Not much of a threat to us," Sonya said with a sigh of relief.
"Let's continue walking. Stay alert, and don't let your guard down. We don't know what other creatures we'll encounter. Moreover, there's great danger ahead, as Nav informed us from the surveillance drone."
Edwin lowered his rifle and stepped forward to pick up the corpse of the winter creature they had defeated. Sonya and Ars followed, maintaining their vigilance. They walked a few steps, but nothing unusual happened.
However, the unexpected never announces its arrival.
The Winter Creature's corpse trembled violently. The crystals on its body glowed bright blue and flickered rapidly, accompanied by a repetitive, audible buzzing sound.
Edwin realized this. Reflexively, he pulled Sonya and Ars behind him and pointed his right hand toward the corpse of the Winter Creature. The corpse of the strangely behaving Winter Creature finally revealed its hidden danger, exploding with a force powerful enough to easily destroy a large building. Instead of a fireball, the explosion was a wave of cold that froze anything it touched.
"Burn Shield!"
With a resounding shout, Edwin created a Burn Shield—a transparent yellow barrier—that enveloped him and his two companions. The shield protected them from the icy blast caused by the Winter Creature they had killed. The heat from the Burn Shield blocked the blast of the cold wave that had nearly killed all three of them.
Edwin, Ars, and Sonya all displayed expressions of shock and immense relief at having survived the deadly incident. They stood still for a moment, trembling and breathing heavily as they tried to comprehend the unexpected situation that had suddenly occurred. Finally, Sonya uttered a few words through trembling lips.
"That was close. Thank you, Edwin. You saved us. I didn't even sense that the creature could explode. Your instincts are truly amazing!" Sonya said with a faint grin, masking her shock.
"I never expected something like this. A Common-class Winter creature self-exploding? I've never even heard of such a thing. Such an ability is usually only possible with Elite-class Winter creatures!"
Ars crossed his arms, his face filled with curiosity.
Meanwhile, Edwin remained silent, gazing at the area hit by the cold wave blast. The blast had turned the smooth snowy ground into a hard, slippery mess filled with slanted ice spikes.
Nav, who had remained silent since the winter creature appeared, finally spoke up.
Bzzzt... "Mr. Edwin, Senior! Are you all okay? The surveillance drone couldn't detect the freeze energy fluctuations emitted by the winter creature. I didn't predict that it would explode. I'm sorry!" Bzzzzt.
Edwin sighed, his expression returning to normal as if nothing had happened.
"This isn't your fault, Nav. Our DAVNS couldn't detect the freeze energy fluctuations from that creature either. We need to be more vigilant. It's possible the winter creature has evolved."
To be continued.