The Exoskeleton user looked around the room, his eyes widening in disbelief. The Gilt Rat members and the Black Hounds combined had a much larger number of fighters than the Bloodline group. They should have overwhelmed them easily. So how was it that nearly everyone in the media room had already been defeated? And more importantly, why weren’t more reinforcements pouring in?
Only now did he begin to realize that support had stopped arriving altogether. No footsteps rushing up the stairs, no shouting from the hallways, no backup at all. A creeping unease crawled up his spine.
My mind’s running wild... that can’t be the case, right? he thought, staring at the bodies scattered across the floor and the Bloodline members surrounding him.
"You!" he shouted suddenly, pointing at Joe. "You did this on purpose, didn’t you? No wonder you were running around everywhere from me! You were beating up all the members so you could outnumber me in this situation!"
Joe blinked, then slowly looked around at the scene. Bodies everywhere. The Bloodline group standing behind him. The Gilt Rats and Black Hounds sprawled out unconscious or groaning.
Wait a second... this was me? I was beating them up before the scientists’ guys came in. We had already pretty much evened out the numbers. And while I was moving, they were trying to attack me, so I was just getting rid of what was in front of me... and the situation turned out like this?
Although the Exoskeleton user believed Joe had planned everything, it was painfully clear to Joe that it had all been an accident. A chaotic, messy, completely unintentional accident.
Seeing the opening, the Bloodline group charged in.
The first member to reach the Exoskeleton user swung a baton down with full force. But the Gilt Rat fighter blocked the attack with his enhanced arm. Not only blocked it, he snapped the baton clean in half.
Then, with his other arm, he punched one Bloodline member straight in the stomach, lifting him off his feet. He spun and struck another, sending them both flying backward. Thankfully, they were wearing lightweight armor that absorbed some of the impact. Joe knew the strength behind those punches all too well. Without armor, those hits could easily kill a man.
"It doesn’t matter if I’m on my own or not," the Exoskeleton user said, grinning. "This is the perfect situation to gather data on how these perform in a group scenario rather than one-on-one!"
He raised both arms, ready for more.
To their credit, the Bloodline members didn’t back down. Even after their first attacks failed, they continued charging in, hoping to overwhelm him with numbers. They swung pipes, batons, and makeshift weapons, trying to find an opening.
A fist was about to smash into one of their faces, until a body suddenly stepped in front of it.
"YOU!" the man shouted when he saw who it was.
Joe.
The punch slammed into Joe’s raised hand. He managed to block some of the force, but not nearly enough. The blow still crashed through, smashing into his face and sending a searing wave of pain through his skull.
Gritting his teeth, Joe grabbed onto the Exoskeleton user’s arm with both hands.
"Hey, if there’s one thing I’m definitely good for, it’s taking hits," Joe said through clenched teeth. "And as a Ranger, it means I’m somewhat a boss of this group. So if I have to take a few hits for them, then so be it!"
He held on tight, refusing to let go even as the man wound up his other fist.
Joe moved his head frantically, trying to avoid another blow to the face. The punch slammed into his side instead. He felt a rib crack, felt it pierce inward. Pain exploded through his torso, but he didn’t loosen his grip.
I’ll heal from this. But the others... if they get hit like that, they could really die. Pain is temporary. Death is permanent.
The Exoskeleton user pulled his arm back again, ready to deliver another devastating strike.
But before he could swing, a bat slammed into the back of his head. The blow hit hard, and it wasn’t the only one. Immediately after, several Bloodline members struck his legs, attacking the unprotected parts of his body.
The Exoskeleton only covered his arms. Everything else was vulnerable. Getting hit at the back of the head blurred his vision. Getting hit in the legs sent him collapsing to his knees.
It was the opening they needed.
The Bloodline group swarmed him, striking again and again, pounding him relentlessly. They didn’t give him a chance to stand, breathe, or fight back. Every hit chipped away at his strength until finally,
Joe felt the man’s fingers weaken.
The Exoskeleton user collapsed onto the floor.
"Stop! Stop!" Joe shouted, raising his voice over the chaos.
The Bloodline members backed away, breathing heavily, weapons still raised just in case.
"Joe, are you sure?" one of them asked. "This guy, these guys, they’d kill us and you without a second thought. We need to make sure he’s dealt with."
But Joe wasn’t looking at the man.
He was crouched beside him, staring at the Exoskeleton arms.
"No, you idiots, I don’t care about the man," Joe said, inspecting the equipment with a frustrated groan. "His equipment... damn it. One of them is completely ruined and destroyed. Well... at least one of them still works."
The others were a bit afraid of the contraption that the enemy wielded, so it was natural for them to target so it couldn’t be used against them.
He sighed, clutching his cracked ribs, blood dripping down his cheek.
Even half-broken, the Exoskeleton arm might still be useful.
And Joe wasn’t about to let something like that go to waste.
****
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