After that commotion was over, the Gray Raven squad continued with their mission objectives, but this time, they were close to Ren's side to protect him. Ren didn't think much of it and just rolled with it. As they walked side by side, they would perpetually scan the area like hawks and get defensive if a corrupted entity appeared, and not let Ren fight.
"Uhhhh, you know, you all don't have to necessarily be by my side all the time." Ren said with a sweat drop.
"N-no, yo-you're too reckless and easy-going, Ren, let us be here to protect you." Liv said firmly, even if she was nervous and occasionally stuttered around Ren, she cared about him.
"Just allow us to fight on your behalf, Commandant Ren, our frames are designed to fight against the corrupted." Lee said in his stoic voice.
"Mhm. We appreciate you protecting us and watching our backs, Ren, but our bodies can be repaired if they're heavily damaged. No matter how damaged we may be, there will still be a chance for us to be repaired or put on another frame as long as our M.I.N.D. is not damaged in any way. But we can't say the same thing for you, if you get mortally wounded, that would be the end of you! Just dead with no chance of coming back to life!" Lucia said in anxious fear of possibly losing Ren, just when they were starting to get close to him and accepting them as their commandant and friend.
Ren gaped behind his helmet when he saw the fear in Lucia's eyes, it brought warmth in his heart that he would be cared for. Just three days ago, they were hesitant, and even disagreed, to have him as a commandant to their team, yet now, they are by his side, worrying for him, not out of duty but as a part of the squad and friend.
Ren smiled behind his helmet and patted Lucia's head again to let her know he heard her and to comfort her. "Heh, okay, I won't endanger myself again. I won't be anymore because of you guys being with me, but promise me one thing, even if you have to protect me, don't forget to watch out for yourselves. I don't want to see any of you get hurt because of me, got it?"
The whole team smiled warmly, and so did Lee, cracking a smile though he hides it but Liv notices this and giggles.
"Because I don't want to lose another friend because of the corrupted and the Punishing Virus! Not again…" Ren said the last part with sadness and pain in his voice as he balled his fist in anger, they noticed this but didn't ask why. They respect his secrets and would wait for him to share them with.
---
They continued their march forward while also slaying low-ranked corrupted like ground monitors along the way. As they got closer to the forming red tide, the corrupted they faced became stronger and multiplied in number!
The team was fighting their way through the hordes of corrupted in their way, Lucia was slashing and piercing her opponents with her katana and energy blade she summoned to amped her power, Liv fired her Levi-Guns to the corrupted who had long ranged artilleries, and Lee would rain bullets on large masses of corrupted with his fast gunslinging, while Ren would cover his team's blind spots.
There were also the occasional infected constructs, their looks alone made the Gray Raven squad shiver and pity them. Because when a construct's mind is overruled by the punishing virus, their protection against the virus will be gone, becoming an infected. Once corrupted by the Punishing Virus, their synthetic skin will melt off, revealing their machine-like bodies due to the amount of heat their bodies release.
These corrupted constructs will become slaves of the virus, following its orders loyally, and these corrupted constructs still retain some of their fighting capabilities, thus making it difficult to subdue. Even if the odds were against them, the Gray Raven still fought through the corrupted.
"Ren, I got the route to the source of the Red Tide! In the northeast, there is a way through with less corrupted!" Liv reported after she got the result from her drones while she dodged a grapple from a corrupted construct and fired through its chest at point blank and rained a couple more lasers with her skill, Liv might be one of the kindest and passive constructs in the group but she won't let her kindness get in the way of the mission.
"Mph! Lee, Lucia! Let's clear a way through! Save your strengths and bullets!" Ren shouted as he stabbed a repairer through the chest and shot another to the head. Lee and Lucia nodded, acknowledging his command.
Lee held both his guns firmly and charged up a powerful double shot, and Lucia was getting on a dual sword stand while getting enveloped by a light red aura around her as her sword and blade were coated with this energy.
Lee fired his gun, and it ripped through the corrupted and Lucia followed after, with explosive speed, slicing through the corrupted like paper. After making themselves a path, Lucia unsummoned her blade and Lee holstered his guns and grabbed the case he dropped.
Ren grabbed one serum from his pouch and inserted it into the side of his helmet as its contents turned to vapor and were inhaled by Ren. "Excuse me, Liv, but please allow me to carry you."
"Huh? What? Wai-EH?!" Before Liv could answer, Ren already lifted her off her feet princess style and dashed out of there with speed comparable to Lucia. "Lucia! Lee! Follow me!" Ren shouted, snapping them from their sudden shock, and ran after him.
Liv held onto him tightly, but not too tightly, she was cautious with her strength because she could easily crush him like a watermelon. Liv swallowed down her embarrassment and nervousness about her situation and position, then started to direct where to go while they maintained this speed.
"Ren, turn right! … turn left! … go to that path! ..." Ren followed her directions while dodging corrupted and jumping over craters and holes. The Gray Ravens made their way at impressive speeds before stopping at an open area that had a large hole in the middle. At the bottom, there was a pool of red liquid swirling and making waves, with a floating black ball surrounded by something swirling around it as it bled out this red liquid.
Ren breathed in and out, catching his breath as he gently put down Liv on the ground. Liv then placed her hand on Ren's back and channeled some of her energy to her hand as it radiated healing particles, increasing Ren's stamina revitalization.
"Phew, thank you, Liv." Ren said gratefully, as he straightened up his posture and looked behind his approaching teammates.
"Ren, what was that just now? You just inserted something in your mask, and suddenly your speed increased, similar to that of an attack-type construct." Lucia said in awe and amazement, Ren smirked behind his mask, clearly enjoying the faces they made every time he did something out of the ordinary.
"Oh, that, that was a physical augmentation serum, as its name implies, it increases my physical prowess, like strength, speed, and reaction time, for a short duration. The only drawback, though, is that it consumes a lot of my stamina and burns through my fat. If I'm not too careful with this serum, it could leave me tired, dehydrated, and malnourished." Ren explained.
"I see, how long will this boost last?" Liv asked
"Hmm, 30 minutes at most, if I over exceed my physical limitation, it will be cut in half, so 15 minutes." Ren said while counting on his fingers, Liv was awed at the serum's effect and duration, it could become a vital point between life and death, though, the side effects worries her.
"Commandant Ren, the bombs are set to explode, we'll have a 3-minute window after we plant them till they explode." Lee said while he closed the cases and stood up while looking at Ren.
Ren nodded and grabbed one of the cases that Lee was carrying. He then looked back at Lucia and Liv. "We should plant it now and get out as fast as we can. Liv, do what you did earlier and locate a path for us, preferably with less corrupted. Lucia, keep the hetero creatures at bay while Lee and I plant the bombs, understood!?"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone answered and prepared themselves.
"Good, Gray Ravens! Let's go!" Ren said and pulled out his gun.
Ren, Lucia, and Lee sprinted towards the open hole while Liv sent out all of her drones to scan the area. Ren and Lee used the fallen pillars and support beams as steps for them to go down while firing shots at any aerial hetero creatures, they still looked the same as a normal aerial monitor but much bigger and more robust, since it's made out of hardened Punishing Virus, it was dark in color with some red lines in a circuit pattern.
Lucia would use the wall to run on and jump from side to side like a ninja while slashing down any more hetero creatures. Ren managed to impressively keep up with them, granted, he was still under the effect of the enhancement serum.
Ren then hopped off the fallen pillar to dodge incoming missiles from the aerial hetero creatures and landed on one of the aerial hetero creatures and pointed his gun at its center. 'If this is any other aerial monitor, its core is underneath here!'
Ren rapidly fired on the aerial hetero creature till his gun ran out of bullets. The aerial hetero creature started to whirl down as it tried to stabilize itself. Ren quickly holstered his gun and pulled out his blade, then stabbed it at the aerial hetero creature to steady himself as the aerial hetero creature crashed on the shallow area of the red tide.
Lee smirked at Ren's daring stunt. He then jumped after him to cover his back, landing next to Ren. As if a trap was activated, multiple hetero creatures came out from the red tide, rushing towards them, while those who were athletic jumped up, ready to attack from above. Lee was on edge and was ready to unload his bullet and throw Ren out of this ambush. Ren, on the other hand, only looked at the hetero creatures with a smirk.
"Lotus Flurry!!!" Just then, Lucia blitzed around the hetero creatures as if they were standing still and slashed them multiple times before katanas rained down on them. Lucia then reappeared right next to them as she brandished her sword.
"Ren! Lee! That was a stupid thing to do! You two just put yourselves in the middle of enemy territory!" Lucia was angry at their stupidity, but Ren was just calm and relaxed, with just a single pat on the head, he managed to calm down a feral Lucia. Lee, who was already used to Ren's way of subduing their captain, just sighed and stood up, observing their surroundings. Hetero creatures were starting to be made, though the blade from Lucia's earlier attack seemed to slow it down.
"Lee, start the bombs before any more hetero creatures come after us. I don't know if I have enough bullets for them." Ren said while gazing at the hetero creatures reforming underneath the red tide.
Lee nodded, he knelt and started to type in passwords at high speed. Ren breathed out in his mask as a warning symbol popped out at the side of his screen, he grabbed another serum from his pouch, but this time it was an anti-punishing virus serum, he then inserted it at the side of his mask and breathed in the vapor.
"How are we going to go up now? We can't stay here for long, or we don't have any land to stand on." Lucia said in a grim tone, looking down on the hetero creature they were standing on as it slowly crumbled, returning to the red tide.
They were too far down, and there were only limited spaces to step on, Lucia could escape because of her frame's design and capabilities, but what about Ren and Lee? Lee could jump 5 times higher than a human, but it would still fall short, especially at some of the high gaps. She couldn't carry the two of them, and she can't reach the other in time if she returns, meaning she must abandon one.
Lucia's mind ran multiple plans ending in multiple scenarios, and each one of them means sacrificing one for the other. The construct side of her wanted to follow protocol and save the commandant, but her human consciousness wanted to save Lee instead, he was her friend and comrade for a long time, but she also can't leave Ren behind because she looked at him as a friend too.
She looked down at a crouched Lee and they both exchanged looks that conveyed a lot of words, they didn't need to verbally say anything as the years of serving with one another have deepened their understanding with one another. Lee closed his eyes and nodded with a little smile, understanding what she must do.
Lucia clenched her fist hard and bit her lip, the mental struggle managed to put a strain on her M.I.N.D. that it started to deviate, she was fighting her program and protocol for the sake of her friends. She was then snapped out of it by two firm hands on her shoulder giving it a comforting squeeze, she looked up and it was Ren, he was worried because of her M.I.N.D. deviation.
"Ren?" Lucia said meekly.
"Mhm, calm down Lucia, don't worry, okay… We'll get out of here, all of us, I promise." Ren said while also looking back at Lee to say he was serious about it.
"Really?! Can you get all of us out of here? Do you have a plan? Can I help?" Lucia sounded desperate, pleading even. Ren looked down on her with softness in his eyes, even if Lucia couldn't see it, Ren knew that Lucia was technically still a kid.
Ren nodded with confidence that it made Lucia smile in relief, and Ren saw it up close that it warmed his heart.
"Mhm, we can get out of here when Lee sets off the bomb. Lee, is it ready?" Ren asked, and Lee nodded.
"Yes, it's ready, I'll just press this button here and it starts the timer. I'm curious though, how are you going to get us out of here?" Lee asked, to which Ren just smirked. He then propped up his left hand, and they noticed the bulkiness of this forearm armor.
He aimed his hand upward and steadied his breathing. A disturbance in the red tide began to put waves on the pool as the hetero creatures manifested. When Ren verified his mark, a barbed arrow was fired upwards tethered to a long metal cable, the arrow managed to pierce through a concrete wall and its barbs secured its place.
"Lee, start the bombs!" Ren said, and Lee followed. He pressed the buttons on the cases and threw them near the core. The cases made a splashing sound as they landed and sank underneath. "Good, Lee, Lucia, hold on to me tightly."
Lee only put one hand on Ren's shoulder, but the way his hand was designed, it was enough for him.
"Just carry Lee, I can-ah?!" Lucia was about to refute him, but Ren just pulled her close by the waist and firmly held her tight, and Lucia just wrapped her arms around him by reflex. Ren tugged on the tether, and the mechanics of his forearm grappling hook activated, and it started to roll in the metal cord.
The strength of the cord managed to hold their combined weight, and they were ascending fast. Some of the formed aerial hetero creatures tried to catch up and attack, but they were then gunned down by Lee. Because of the speed they were going up they were flung upward and landed with a superhero pose.
"Ren, Lee, Lucia!" Liv called out for them from a blasted wall, they all then quickly ran out of there and escaped before any other hetero creatures came out.