Chains Of Pride

Ciren and Quintox were floating through the woods, each watching each other's backs, and searching for any remnants of the enemy forces.

"Hey Ciren, how do you think Lady Rikona figured we'd be able to handle the people coming out here?" Quintox asked.

"How should I know? She only said that these guys can only see a couple of sheep and two lions, and that they will send out the b.a.r.e minimum for that," she stated, shrugging her shoulders as she explained.

She could remember how a few days ago, when Lady Rikona took her and 8 other Taliums, Quintox included, aside. and explained what she needed them to do.

They were charged with staying behind and making sure that the team the association sent after them were crippled.

Ciren displayed a hesitant expression when she heard this. How was she and three other Taliums supposed to be able to stop a team from the same association that imprisoned them before?

"Listen to me guys, you are so much stronger than you give yourselves credit for."

Those words and the unwavering confidence that Lady Rikona displayed when she looked at them bolstered their own.

"Hey, you're Ciren right? Don't worry, I can tell you're nervous, but don't worry, your Blood Origin will grant you the power you need. Never doubt it, plus you have a team relying on you as well, right?."

"Wow!, Lady Rikona knows my name!" She quickly nodded in confirmation with a wide grin on her face. When Ciren heard this, she felt much better. Quintox was her good friend, they grew close as they ate, trained and had fun together.

"Ciren, those 15 taliums that we fought didn't seem all that strong did they?" Quintox brought up the fight they had before.

"It's not that they weren't strong, it's just that we tapped into our potential after we stepped into the realm of a Genesis, even moreso now that we're unshackled from the Association." Ciren paused at this and then changed the subject.

"What I'm more worried about is the fat man and his team who escaped, they wounded one of our own with a weird weapon. We eliminated most of the soldiers the Association sent, but the weapon he used was strange. Luckily, it only shot him through the arm, but it still managed to cause a lot of damage."

Quintox was a bit troubled by the implications of this as well. After all, they were under the impression that apart from another Talium, nothing else could damage a Genesis when they were being careful.

This revelation cast a dark shadow over the Taliums present, they wanted to inform Rikona as soon as they could, afraid that such a weapon could cause an unexpected accident to take place.

However, it didn't make sense to contact them with some half-assed information so they wanted to find some operatives that were still alive and interrogate them.

…

"Captain Asshole we can't hold the-"

Slap!!

Captain Hawsolé couldn't help but roar at the soldier in rage when he heard this, "I warned you, now say it right!" His voice was only overshadowed by the slap he levied on the poor man.

They were currently hiding, most of their platoon was already wiped out and only a handful remained, and to the Captain's dismay, Oren was one of them.

How could they have known that just 9 taliums alone were enough to rout the entire raid operation. The 9 Taliums alone were of the bullet deflecting strength, so the briefing was wrong, there weren't 2 monsters, there were nine and they practically r.a.p.ed (combat-wise) the 15 high Taliums they brought along with them.

"S-sorry Captain, I'm just saying that we lost contact with the other teams for a while, and I don't think we can keep hiding for long, so how are we going to get to the extraction point?" Oren asked, rubbing his face that was still red from the slap he received.

Captain Hawsolé sighed when he heard this question. He saw his team a fraction of what it was when they first arrived.

The Taliums were able to find out where they were, and their first intention was to take on and kidnap the 15 High Taliums they brought along.

That alone turned everything to hell, a gunfight ensued and well, no one told them not to bring a gun to a Talium fight.

The gun shots drew the other team that were preparing to retreat and head back to HQ.

By the time they made it over, they saw the team with the high Taliums easily being handled by the other 9 but were unable to form even the most basic form of a resistance.

The one thing that surprised the Captain the most was the factor that allowed them to escape. It was not one of those monotonous high Taliums, but a special operative, a fat one at that, with a weird looking weapon.

When he fired it, the recoil alone nearly threw the fat man off balance, the shot only managed hit the arm of the Talium he aimed at, but the damage it inflicted was a godsend.

They used the opportunity to escape, but not after losing a lot of their men in the process via the Talium's retaliation.

He shook his head clear of these thoughts for now. His men were tired and their mind exhausted from being on alert from being on the run for so long.

"Alright guys we'll continue for a while and then we'll settle down for the day. I think we're far away enough so we can get our bearings straight and head get back to the extraction point.

"Uhm Captain Hawsolé?"

"Hear that Oren?! That, is how you pronounce my nam- Oh, damn it!" Turning around to answer the operative that called out to him, he saw two Taliums soundlessly following them, while apparently taking in the scenery.

"Wait guys, maybe they're not Taliums, they could be civilians that simply got lost and are looking for help?" Oren stated.

Captain Hawsolé gawked at the soldier, "The fu- OH MY GOD!! Yes! Yes! Oren you are right, absolutely right! Because them floating a foot off the ground is the civilian thing to do. Oh! We mustn't forget to check if they are able to make our brains explode by staring at us, why don't you look into that!"

The Captain nearly vomited blood at Oren's suggestion and even Quintox and Ciren almost felt sorry for him.

"Uhm, if I may interject," halting the Captain's tirade was Ciren.

"We can certainly do this easy, as I'm not a big fan of mass slaughter, however, I do take my safety and all threats under consideration. Now why don't you lower those guns since you know they're not gonna work?" She asked.

Even though they didn't see the strange weapon the fat man had among them, there was nothing wrong with any chances. In addition, staring down the barrel of around a dozen guns was not a comfortable feeling.

The Captain looked in their eyes, and he could see the occasional flashing light. These girls, as innocent as they may appear, will kill them without a second thought if they resisted.

"L-Lower you guns men," the Captain surrendered. Unlike the other Captains, the lives of his men mattered to him.

The clatter of the weapons allowed the girls to relax somewhat. Especially after they all knelt down with their hands on their heads.

Seeing the men kneeling down in front of her made Ciren feel oddly satisfied. However, she quickly suppressed this feeling, she was there the day Rikona went through the fall. She glanced to the side sneaking a peek at Ciren, the last thing she wanted to be was something that would hurt her own friend.

"W-What do you want from us?" The Captain asked.

Quintox smiled coldly when she heard this, "As long as you answer our questions , you may be able to live through this."

The small group felt a chill run down their spine when they saw the younger girl's smile.

Ciren took the opportunity to ask them in a menacing tone, "Tell us everything you know about the weapon that the walking Mt Fuji used to harm our comrade."