The lock hissed.
Clara stepped back as the final bolt disengaged with a metallic click, a faint release of cold air escaping from the sealed weapons case. Her hands were shaking slightly as she saw the contents of the case.
Clara (softly): "It—it's open. T-This model is from the pre-lockdown series, the mechanism was predictable so I managed to bypass it…"
Before anyone else could move, Sera stepped forward her eyes fixed on the weapon like she was being called by it.
The VX-07 Pulse-Lance sat nestled in its case neatly, matte black with veins of bioluminescence pulsing across its power coils. The glowing energy core registered 28% charge.
She reached out… then gripped the weapon and pulled it free with practiced motion—far more confident than she really was.
The gun hummed to life.
Kael: "Uh… Sera… do you know how to use that?"
Sera (flustered, hugging the rifle closer to her chest): "Hmph. Of course I do. I'm not some clueless civilian—I was the top of my year in tactical simulations!"
She turned away slightly, just enough to hide the small flush creeping up her neck. The rifle was too heavy, and its interface flickered with targeting glyphs she didn't entirely understand, but she refused to let that show.
Sera (muttering to herself): "Just… Aim correctly ..… it's not that different from airsoft training, right…?"
Clara blinked. "Sera… you played airsoft?"
Sera (defensive): "N-Not for fun! It was for strategy drills! As a student council president, I needed to set an example, okay?!"
The VX-07's charge display beeped softly as it synced to her biometric profile.
Asha: "Weapon calibration complete. Subject Seraphina Valerius—moderate affinity with ranged weaponry. Confidence levels exceed actual experience. Recommend mild supervision."
Kael (grinning slightly): "Asha says you might need a bit of practice."
Sera (whipping around): "Tell your creepy voice-in-the-head AI that I don't need babysitting! I can handle this weapon just fine."
But her grip tightened. She held the rifle closer—hugging it tightly. For just a moment, there was a flicker in her eyes.
Sera (quietly, to herself): "I'm not going to be useless I can also protect you guys…."
Then, without another word, she turned and moved away toward the hallway, the plasma rifle cradled like it belonged to her all along—even if she was still figuring out how to use it.
The corridor trembled as metal shrieked—a sound like a hundred knives being dragged across iron screamed through the air, clawing at their ears, reverberating off the rusted steel walls until it felt like the Vault was bleeding.
The air hung heavy with the stench of decay—rotting flesh and industrial chemicals—clinging to their lungs like a shroud.
Everyone froze, their breaths shallow, hearts hammering in their chests, the silence after the shriek is more deafening than the sound itself.
Kael's eyes snapped upward, his pupils dilating in the dim light, sweat beading on his brow as he strained to pierce the darkness cloaking the ceiling. The shadows above seemed to writhe, alive with menace.
A faint drip echoed—a liquid hitting metal—then a soft, wet rustle, like flesh unsticking, like a spider uncoiling after pretending to be still.
Asha (a low warning, her voice is a cold thread through his neural feed): "Ceiling anomaly detected—center mass drop and now approaching."
The silhouette twisted, unnatural, before a sickening *crack-pop-crack*** split the air—its limbs unfolding from impossible angles, its arms bent backwards at the elbows, knees inverted like some twisted marionette.
Then it fell.
The Crawler dropped into their midst with a sickening thud, its weight buckling the grated floor, sending a jolt through their boots.
Its pale, corpse-slick skin stretched tight around a body that should never have moved, veins visible beneath the translucent flesh like black rivers. Tattered remnants of a jumpsuit clung to it like shredded bandages, the faded Vault-Tec logo smeared with dark liquid, a mockery of its human past. But it was the chest that stole their breath—their sanity.
Its torso had split itself wide, torn open into a second mouth that gaped hungrily with rows of bone-forged fangs. The maw twitched, drooling a thick, black saliva that hit the floor with a hiss, melting steel with an acrid stench that burned their nostrils.
Clara let out a strangled squeak, stumbling back, breath hitching as her toolkit fell with a clatter. Her hands flailed, grasping at nothing, her orange hair plastered to her sweat-soaked face, her brown eyes wide with terror. Her chest heaved, her voice lost to a choked gasp as she stared into the Crawler's dead, milky eyes.
Sera:Rosa (forcing a shaky grin, voice tight):
"O-Okay, yeah… this thing's way past ugly. I vote we shoot first and ask nothing later…"
When she saw the creature's splintering chest and heard the bone-grinding sound that filled the hallway, her normally playful demeanor faltered.
Sera (sharp, commanding):
"Clara—get back!"
Her voice broke like a whip. As the monster drew closer to Clara, she was terrified and immobile. Her eyes narrowed but flickered in fear as she raised the VX-07 Pulse-Lance, her hands and feet betraying her with a slight shudder that illuminated the beads of sweat on her silver hair with its green glow.
But the Crawler moved first.
With a hiss, it launched forward. It pounced with a blur of motion. Its limbs clacked against the metal floor like a chitin sound.
Its chest-mouth yawned wider, the fangs flexing as if tasting the air, its dead gaze locked on Clara with a hunger. Its razor claws forward ready to strike.
The breath caught in Kael's throat. Time froze. The angle of its leap, the path of its claws, the impending death hurtling toward her—he saw it all in a heartbeat. His vision tunneled on Clara's frail body as his pulse roared in his ears, drowning out the outside world.
And he didn't think and just moved forward towards her
Kael (roared): "Claraaaaa—get downnnn!"
As his body rushed forward, his voice ripped from his chest, raw and desperate. He slammed into Clara, knocking them both to the ground as his shoulder struck her with bone-jarring force. A whisper of death brushed Kael's arm, tearing the sleeve of his jumpsuit as the Crawler's claws toe through the air where she had been standing.
[SKILL ACTIVATED – Instinct Surge Lv. 1]
+30% Strength | +30% Agility | +30% Perception (Duration: 10 seconds)
Neural delay reduced. Reflex channeling engaged. Target tracking: ACTIVE.
Combat Focus State: ON.
The metal buckled inward with a groan, gouged with deep claw scars that briefly sparked with static as the Crawler struck the reinforced wall, sending out a shockwave that vibrated their bones. As though roused by the violence, the fungal veins pulsed more rapidly.
[Instinct Surge Active – 07.2s Remaining]
Enemy momentum: Overextended. Rear flank exposed. Counterattack window detected.
Kael didn't pause.
He twisted mid-fall, planting his foot and using the increased momentum coursing through his veins as soon as Clara's soft gasp struck the floor beneath him. Blood roared in his ears, but his instincts screamed louder.
> [Melee Weapon Proficiency: +10% Accuracy (During Instinct Surge)]
[Desperate Strike – Off Cooldown]
Kael's hand gripped the bleeding pipe more tightly. The Crawler's hideous limbs were trembling from the missed blow, and its claws were still embedded in the wall. With blood and bile seeping between rows of sharp bone-fangs, its torso-mouth screamed open once more in outrage.
Kael shifted like a shadow escaping its restraint.
Kael (voice low, fierce):
"You… don't touch her."
He surged forward in a blur, pipe raised high.
[Combat Art – Desperate Strike – ACTIVATED]
Critical Window: 72%
Impact Vector: Vertical Crush – Target Weak Point (Jointed Spine)
The pipe struck the base of the Crawler's twisted spine with the force of a ceiling collapsing. The sound of the CRACK was overwhelming. The creature emitted a metallic, keening screech that made Kael's teeth tense, and a burst of black ichor sprayed from the impact..
> [Critical Hit!]
Target mobility reduced: -55%
Stagger inflicted – 3.0s vulnerability
Weapon Durability: 28%
Kael landed hard, sliding past Clara's prone form. He immediately spun around, pipe ready again despite the sharp pain flaring in his shoulder.
Kael tightly hugs Clara, and a sharp sting running down his arm. Clara's breath ragged against his ear, a high-pitched whimper that befitted someone on the verge of shock. Her warmth served as a temporary buffer against the chilling fear that surrounded them as her hands gripped his chest and dug into his jumpsuit.
Kael (breathless, frantic): "You okay?! Clara, talk to me!"
Desperate to find a sign that she was still with him, he looked into her eyes as his voice broke.
Clara (stammering): "I-I-I… Kael—I—"
Her words stumbled over one another, her brown eyes glistening with unshed tears, her breath coming in shallow gasps, and her mind on the verge of falling apart as the crawler moved again.
The Crawler jerked wildly against the wall. Kael's pipe had made a sharp dent in its spine, and thick strands of black ichor oozed from the spot. Its lower back was partially paralyzed and hung at an odd angle.
Its body was trying to remember how to function despite being broken, and every movement was jerky and erratic. A wet wheeze escaped from its gaping chest-maw and twisted throat as its head jerked with insect-like spasms.
The crawler peeled itself off the wall and began to move slowly. Its pale flesh unsticked from the gouged steel, leaving behind smears of black ichor and a wet, sucking sound.
Its split mouth opened, drooling dark saliva that hissed like acid against the floor plating. decay mixed with the smell of burning metal. Its inverted limbs clicked as it moved and repositioned, its chest-mouth flexing as though it was eager to taste Kael's flesh, its milky eyes staring at him.
Kael raised his pipe like it was Excalibur and shoved Clara behind him. His jaw clenched until it hurt, and he forced the tremble out of his voice despite his shaking hands and sweat-slick metal.
Kael (jaw tight): "What the hell—what is that thing?!"