BANG!
Mendor's Barrier activated, and he was immediately thrown back as someone broke through the floor.
As soon as the floor broke, Mendor knew that it was either the Chief Zephyx Extractor or the Specter.
Mendor quickly regained his footing and aimed his sniper rifle forward.
However, as soon as he looked forward again, he saw the cold yellow eyes of a woman directly in front of him.
The Chief Zephyx Extractor!
Mendor tried to aim at her, but she was too close.
BANG!
Another attack hit Mendor, and he lost almost 50% of his Zephyx.
Steve and Cynthia wouldn't be able to get there in time, even if they realized what was going on.
The Chief Zephyx Extractor quickly shot after Mendor to destroy his Barrier.
If she managed to do that, she could put him under the influence of the Lord, which would hopefully open up a way to escape this situation.
Mendor tried his best, but the Chief Zephyx Extractor was on him again before he could do anything.
At that moment, light exploded out of the Chief Zephyx Extractor, and Mendor lost track of his surroundings.
BANG!
Mendor was hit again and flew backward.
He knew there wasn't much he could do, but he still tried to regain control over his body.
He pulled his rifle up and aimed forward.
Headless corpse.
Mendor's arms shook as his crosshair moved back and forth.
But there was nothing to shoot at!
The Chief Zephyx Extractor had turned into a headless corpse!
Mendor's hands jerked to the side, and the sniper rifle aimed at the person standing beside the headless corpse.
Mendor's arms shook more before he took a deep breath and lowered his rifle.
Nick just nodded at him neutrally.
Naturally, it hadn't been the Chief Zephyx Extractor who had released the light.
It had been Nick, who had been behind the Chief Zephyx Extractor.
Nick wanted to make sure that Mendor's perception wouldn't mess with his ability.
BANG!
Cynthia and Steve charged out of the Extractor shaft and looked around.
When they saw the corpse and Nick, they relaxed.
"Phase three complete," Nick said evenly.
Phase one had been to kill the most powerful members who were not currently inside the building.
Phase two had been the invasion and clearing of the first floor.
Phase three had been to lure out the Chief Zephyx Extractor and to let Nick and Mendor kill her.
Nick had reported that the rogue Specter was in the basement.
The first logical thing the Chief Zephyx Extractor would do after realizing that they were under attack would be to go to the Specter to see if it was still okay and to receive orders.
After that, the Chief Zephyx Extractor would wait for a chance to attack since she couldn't just flee.
The only way out was to manipulate Steve's squad and to let herself and the Specter get "suppressed" and then released again outside the city.
A lonely sniper in the middle of a big hall.
Wasn't that the best target?
Yet, that lonely sniper had only been bait.
According to the plan, the Chief Zephyx Extractor would attack Mendor.
She was more powerful than him but not powerful enough to destroy his entire Barrier with one attack.
As soon as Mendor was pushed back, Nick would join the battle and attack the Chief Zephyx Extractor.
Lastly, Mendor would kill her from a distance with a devastating shot.
Everything played out just as expected, except for the very last part.
"Phase three completed," Steve echoed.
Then, he turned around and charged into the Extractor shaft again with Cynthia.
They still needed to clear the building.
Mendor went back to watching over the staircases, and Nick entered the hole the Chief Zephyx Extractor had created.
Time passed.
Over the next 30 minutes, people were continually thrown out of the windows of the building.
All of the people were Extractors and were strong enough to survive such a fall.
Naturally, everyone who was thrown out of the building was also apprehended by the city guards.
After 40 minutes, all the floors were cleared.
Steve and Cynthia had found and eradicated all three team leads, who had all been Initial Experts.
Mendor had killed a couple more Peak Veterans, and the other two also dealt with a couple of them.
There were only two Peak Veterans left, but the team didn't know where they were.
It was possible that they were holed up in some Containment Units.
While Steve and Cynthia were checking through the locker rooms of the Containment Units, they didn't enter any of them.
These were Specters, and entering Containment Units without exactly knowing what a Specter was about could end horribly.
Analyzing all the Specters would happen when the battle was over and the city took hold of the building.
Eventually, the three of them gathered on the ground floor again.
"Phase four complete," Steve announced without activating his Barrier.
A moment later, Steve activated his Barrier and sent a signal.
Almost immediately, he received a signal from somewhere.
It was from Nick, and the signal meant that nothing had changed.
Naturally, Nick was tasked to guard the entrance to the rogue Fanatic.
He had to make sure that the Fanatic didn't escape.
Steve nodded and gestured for the team to enter the staircase.
Then, all three of them entered the staircase and traveled towards the underground floor.
As they traveled downwards, they became calmer.
Yes, the Specter was more powerful than any of the human enemies here, but it was also just a Specter.
They dealt with Specters all the time.
The only truly scary part was that they weren't entirely sure how powerful the Specter was.
They knew that it was a Fanatic, but the power difference between an Initial and a Peak Fanatic was gigantic.
When they reached the door leading to the big storage room, they stopped.
Nick had marked the door for them.
Once more, Steve activated his Barrier and sent the signal.
Nick's signal came back.
Feeling Nick's signal helped Steve calm down again.
Then, Steve opened the door.
Mendor and Cynthia stayed behind Steve and kept their weapons ready.
Yet, as soon as the door opened, Steve noticed something.
It was Nick!
But he wasn't alone.
There was also a small ball with six wings hovering beside him.
Immediately, everyone knew what this meant.
"Nick! Report!" Steve ordered aggressively as everyone aimed at the Specter.
According to the plan, Nick was supposed to stay hidden and check if anyone left the room.
He was not supposed to engage the Specter on his own.
Even more importantly, the Specter was supposed to be killed!
They were not supposed to negotiate with it or contain it!
Shirley declared the Specter deadly, and they were supposed to execute it!
So, why was Nick suddenly standing there, beside the Specter, in front of them?!
"It found me," Nick said. "My orders were not to engage, and I didn't engage."
Then, Nick pointed at the Zephyx Suppressor around one of the Specter's wings.
"It surrendered willingly, and I took it into custody," he explained.
Steve was enraged and glared at Nick.
"Cynthia, keep Nick in your sight," Steve ordered.
Cynthia grew more nervous, but she followed her orders.
Nick didn't seem to react.
"Mendor, shoot the Specter," Steve ordered.
After saying that, Steve glared at Nick, keeping his weapons ready.
Mendor aimed his rifle at the Specter.
"You sure you want to do this?" Nick asked calmly. "This is an Early Fanatic, you know? It also gives an impressive ability and is easy to work with."
Mendor hesitated.
"Shoot it!" Steve shouted as he glared at Nick. "The Specter has been classified as deadly and has to be killed!"
"Because we are not powerful enough to suppress it without putting our squad at risk," Nick argued. "Our squad is no longer at risk. Plans have to adapt to new circumstances, and wasting this Specter would be a big misstep."
Mendor didn't fire yet.
After a second, he looked at Steve. "Nick's words make sense. Are you sure we should kill the Specter?"
"Orders are orders!" Steve shouted aggressively. "We are on a mission! You can talk to me and criticize me all you want outside the mission, but during the mission, you have to follow orders!"
Mendor looked at Nick.
His gaze was uncertain.
All of this felt way too risky.
"Follow your orders!" Steve shouted at Mendor.
"You do it," Mendor answered. "If anyone attacks you, I will shoot them."
Cynthia's and Steve's eyes widened in shock.
They had not expected this answer.
Mendor was refusing to follow orders!
Sure, Nick had also done that, but he actually had a reason to do so, and he didn't straight up refuse to kill the Specter.
"Cynthia, kill it!" Steve ordered.
Cynthia took a deep breath.
Then, she lifted her guns and targeted the ball.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
She unleashed several shots.
DING! DING! DING!
All three of them were blocked.
But not by the Specter.