Chapter 366
The stormwing darted to the side as Jake and the three humans opened fire, unleashing a barrage of bullets. Some of the shots went wide, while others found their mark, puncturing small holes in the creature’s tough exoskeleton.
Green blood oozed from the bullet holes, but the strange mutant was still alive and full of energy. It soared in circles around the roof of the building, making it difficult for the team to track its rapid movement.
“Damn, can’t keep up with it!” Felix yelled to the others as he reloaded his assault rifle, having just emptied the entire magazine into thin air. “Anyone have a spell to slow the bastard down?”
Nobody replied: they had all run out of spells a while ago. For a minute or so, the stormwing continued to circle the team, gliding through the air as they tried to track it with their weapons, muzzles flaring. Occasionally, a shot connected, leaving a pockmark on its tough carapace, but aside from that, it suffered no real damage.
The stormwing suddenly came to a motionless hover in one spot, its dragonfly-like wings a blur of motion as they held the creature in place. It stared down at the team for a moment, but just as the four of them took aim at the stationary creature, it activated one of its special abilities.
The stormwing unleashed a powerful gust of wind that slammed into them. Kira and Rajan lost their balance and fell to the ground, while Felix, being the heaviest of the three, managed to remain standing.
As for Jake, he wasn’t affected at all. Though he appeared human on the outside, it was merely a disguise, which was why he could still use his abilities.
His boots, which seemed to be made of material, were actually composed of his own flesh, capable of secreting an adhesive substance. The sticky goo seeping from the pores on his soles anchored him firmly in place, the powerful wind notwithstanding.
Kira’s scream of panic pierced the air. Jake quickly glanced over his shoulder and saw her being swept across the rooftop by the wind. Being lighter than the other three team members, she was pulled farther away.
Rajan managed to get to his feet and hunched over, stumbling after Kira as she extended her arm forward toward him. He leaned down, trying to grab her hand, but the wind suddenly surged with renewed vigor, knocking him down and causing him to fall face-first to the ground.
With each foot planted firmly against the rooftop, Felix trudged after Kira, each step a struggle against the raging wind. He reached her when she was halfway across the roof and crouched down, seizing Kira’s outstretched hand to stop her from being carried away.
Meanwhile, Rajan tried to rise again but was immediately knocked back to the ground. At that point, he gave up, likely opting to ride out the ferocious winds.
Jake was the only one still on his feet, held firmly in place by Adhesive Secretion. He pumped another round into the chamber and aimed at the creature that hovered motionlessly in front of him. The boom of his weapon briefly drowned out the vicious whistle of the wind. The explosive slug struck one of the creature’s wings, severely damaging it.
Instantly, the winds vanished without a trace, and the creature began to spiral downward. However, just before it could hit the rooftop, the stormwing regained control of its body. It soared back up into the air, but Jake saw that it was moving noticeably more slowly than before.
His three temporary allies got to their feet. After retrieving their weapons, they shifted their attention to the winged creature. Sure enough, they noticed it was moving slower than before.
“Great shot, Mute!” Felix called out to Jake. “The bastard can’t move quickly anymore. This is our chance to finish it off. Let’s give it all we’ve got, everyone!”
The three humans aimed their weapons at the winged creature, tracking its movements, and opened fire, unleashing a devastating barrage. The stormwing was unable to dodge the incoming fire any longer, its body jerking as rounds drilled into it, green blood spraying every which way.
The creature let out a high-pitched scream. Initially, it sounded like a cry of agony, but the volume rapidly escalated, and Jake realized it was actually making use of another of its special abilities.
The three humans couldn’t take it any longer. They stopped firing and pressed their palms to their ears, expressions of agony frozen on their faces. Jake was the only one completely unaffected by the earsplitting scream the stormwing emitted.
As he glanced at the three humans, he saw Kira and Rajan completely consumed by the pain they suffered, not noticing anything around them.
As for Felix, although he was wracked by the same pain and discomfort, he managed to notice that Jake was completely unaffected. A look of surprise crossed his face as he wondered why Jake wasn’t impacted by the creature’s scream.
Felix knew that while Aaron couldn’t speak, he wasn’t deaf, so he should have been affected by the stormwing’s ability just like the others. Felix was obviously going to interrogate him after this fight. Assuming he made it through, of course.
Jake shifted his attention back to the stormwing. He took careful aim and fired. Just a fraction of a second before he pulled the trigger, the creature dashed to the side, as if sensing that he had aimed at its head. Jake missed, but at least his shot forced the creature to move, disrupting its piercing scream.
Apparently, the stormwing couldn’t emit another scream so soon after ending the previous one, as no more cries pierced the air. Jake glanced at the three humans. They had taken their hands from their ears and were no longer in pain. However, the confused expressions on their faces suggested their ears were still ringing.
Before the three humans could fully recover, the stormwing unleashed its third special ability. Numerous small portals swirled open in the air above the roof, all around it.
In the next instant, a swarm of dangerous-looking winged creatures emerged from the portals. They resembled hornets on steroids, each one the size of a baseball. The sheer number of them generated an almost deafening buzz.
For a moment, the swarm hovered motionlessly above the team, then they locked onto their targets and dived like missiles.