Welcome to the Future

"Ahh. I think it's—"

"Take this, Double Decker Dragon Punch!" shouted a brown-haired man with bizarre tattoos on his face. 

He grimaced as he faced a humongous arboreal creature armed with thorny roots on all sides. The creature towered over him like a celestial giant. 

Against it, he felt very much like an ant.

His face, poised with the visage of a brave and strong-willed warrior. The man clenched his fist, ready to unleash an attack of unimaginable proportions. 

How? 

He had no clue. But he would do it!

But suddenly…

*Thwack!*

A small hand smacked his head. "Hawk, you idiot! I told you it's over. Why do you never listen?"

The voice belonged to a tall lady draped in a dark cloak. 

She hissed at the man, delivering another swift slap. "And what's with this 'Double Decker Dragon Punch'? Can you please act like a sane individual for once? In case you forgot, we are on a deadly mission right now!"

Dodging the lady's vicious attacks, Hawk's confident grin twisted into a sad smile. "Okay. Okay. I get it, alright. Jeez, you can't even take a joke, Islae."

He gazed forward, towards the looming figure of the arboreal monster.

In truth, it was already dead.

The battle with the monster had been a particularly tough one. Five of their squad members had fallen before they could defeat the monster. 

'They were the replaceable ones, anyway. If anything, their death doesn't affect our squad depth.'

He shook his head as he thought of something. 'How annoying. The Order still refuses to supply our squad with excellent soldiers. We keep getting useless ones—deadbeats with nothing but their parent's medals to hang on to.'

When he looked ahead, he realized the monster's lifeless body collapsed to the ground, bringing forth a heavy gust of dust that blinded them temporarily. 

'Took it long enough. It's surprising that, even while dead, it could still retain its balance for many seconds. Monsters are really past our understanding, huh?'

Shielding the wind gust with his hand, Hawk pressed a button on the collar of his light armor. Instantly, thin blue lights shot out from the edges, and a light blue construct enveloped his face before taking the appearance of a highly advanced helmet.

As he walked further, he noticed his squad gathered around the corpse of the monster. 

"What's up?" He shouted.

The battle was over, and according to the scheming bet he initiated before, Gab was supposed to be on cleanup duties today.

  So why did they all cluster around the carcass?

"Hey, Hawk. You need to see this," Islae exclaimed. 

"What got you all–" Hawk's jaws hung in the air as he spotted the inner sections of the arboreal creatures.

The heart of the creature held ten wrung bodies slithered in a slimy substance. They appeared lifeless and rotten, with countless roots piercing all parts of his body.

Hawk's eyes froze as he noticed something unusual. 'One of them looks different from the rest.'

Suddenly, an experienced voice rang among the squad. 

"We might have a survivor. Islae, Hawk, let's go check. Roger, Gab, cover us for as long as you can."

Everyone turned to the tall squad leader. The brown-haired man had a moderately handsome face that was scarred on both sides. Yet his impressive aura was as enthralling as ever. 

This was Zayre, one of the most formidable men in the Janissaries Program. Despite being in his early thirties, he alone survived more perilous missions than a hundred agents combined, which earned him a fearsome nickname.

Zayre–the Unkillable!

Zayre jumped into the heart of the beast and examined the ten bodies. However, he paid more attention to the tenth one–the special one.

"Islae, what's the status?"

Islae produced a metallic silver rod as she bent closer to the tenth body. She whispered a command key and the technological engravings on the rod lit up. 

A holographic panel with complex data appeared in front of her. She placed the rod closer to the tenth body and hurriedly interpreted.

"No heart rate. Zero signs of mental activity. Cells display a strange phenomenon… albeit no major cellular activity. However, I detect traces of constant vital energy in its body. It appears the monster was feeding it… and feeding from it, but why? This doesn't match the data we have on Teresteres."

She turned to the hologram once more and pulled everything the database had on Teresteres.

Since the start of the mission, something kept bugging her—a constant nag at the irregularity of the squad's dilemma.

Mission #60191

The mission was to intercept a Terester's advancement into a Class-IV threat.

However, by the time they engaged the monster, they realized it already had the attributes of a Class-IV monster. 

Truly shocking!

Yet, it was clear as day that the monster had not completed its advancement. Various signs pointed to that.

Furthermore, this particular Terester displayed intelligence that didn't conform to its racial profile. It employed tactics capable of threatening the squad, even going so far as to successfully target the weak links of the squad. 

Looking at the ten bodies in its hearts, Islae's eyes narrowed. "Captain, I believe this Terester was a mutant. The mission was issued without this key information. If it were any random squad, they would have met their demise long ago. Damn!"

Zayre calmly nodded, and said, "Hawk, what's the status of the other nine?"

"All dead, Zayre. The deterioration of their bodies is picking up at an insane speed. It shouldn't be this fast. I don't know what to make of this," Hawk replied.

"Hmmm…" Zayre nodded as he gazed deeply at the ten bodies. 

*Screech!*

Suddenly, a loud scream interrupted them.

He frowned and said, "We don't have time. The monsters are starting to move."

He could already foresee the coming dangers. With the death of the major overlord of this region, chaos was sure to ensue.

Zayre ordered. "Islae, collect every data you can. Something tells me the board will be interested in this situation."

Then he turned to Hawk and said, "And Hawk…"

"Yes."

"... Grab the tenth body."

"What? Are you serious?"

.

.

.

.

.

Amidst the suppressive void, a slumbering consciousness awoke!

"Hawk, stop poking its nose."

"I don't know, Islae. I kinda like this feeling. Is this how grave robbers feel? I must be really perverted. Hehehe."

"'Hehehe', my ass! Get your hands off the body. The captain won't be thrilled if he sees you messing with it."

"Come on, I think we can all agree that Zayre is an ass. One day, I am going to give him a brutalizing, vengeful beating. Moreover, what's wrong with playing with a dead body? You know, apart from how creepy saying it out loud sounds."

"You are beyond saving, Hawk. Utterly degenerate to the core. I–"

"--Hey, Islae. Uhmm, I think–"

"What now?"

"It's alive!"

Suddenly, a pair of dark grey eyes peered up at the two figures looking down at him.

One of the figures grinned and said, "Hey kiddo, welcome to the future."