Chapter 100: Don’t mess with my people, with the Captain

Rhys was right to warn the others that people were going to try to stop them. They met the first round of E.A.G. members that were awake on the second floor.

Rhys had left the ones that were unconscious on all other floors where they had found them. He was all for rehabilitation, but…Kellen wasn’t here. No one else made any complaints, and some of the Guides had jerked away from the unconscious bodies.

Rhys didn’t have to think about feeling guilty after that. Half of these Guides were kids, younger than Charlie. Rhys knew his stance on this, and knew Kellen’s too. Given Kellen’s current temperament, he would be upset if Rhys did attempt to save them.

The E.A.G. members were no match for the two Espers at front, and especially those attempting to throw magic at Esper Blake’s shield. Their attacks bounced back and made it easy for Esper Jordan and Esper Douglas to clean up the trash. With their combined water and fire powers, there was no way that they couldn’t deal with them.

They were nothing in the face of the Nemesis Guild and Saturn Guild’s intensive training, especially when most of the Espers on his team had worked with Kellen personally. Rhys didn’t want to brag, but he knew that his Lieutenants and his more senior members of his Guild were ruthless when it came to training his people. He knew that Sergei was the same.

It was part of the reason he had Esper Jordan and Esper Douglas at the front.

The ground continued to tremble, continued to shake and groan as more and more giant worms came out of the damn woodworks and tried to ruin their extraction. Rhys had no idea that so many monsters were nearby. It was honestly very concerning for him.

He didn’t like the implication, but it wasn’t something he could ignore. When he got back, he was going to have to speak to everyone that there was a high chance that either a new power had manifested amongst the Espers when no one was watching, or they had some kind of bigger secret that they were hiding about how they were able to attract monsters.

Rhys didn’t like either option, but given that Carlos existed, it wasn’t impossible that some Espers were slipping through the damn cracks. Fuck. This was not something that Rhys wanted to be worried about right now.

Rhys had enough to worry about when it came to this extraction. Including the tenacity of the damn E.A.G. members. They kept coming. It was honestly alarming how many there were of them. Rhys could only hope that some of them had come from overseas, because if there were this many unknown Espers in his damn city?

Fuck, he was going to have to overhaul the whole system, without permission. Well, maybe he’d talk to Sergei and Sakura first. And pull Lieutenant Fisher into one of the Guilds. He’d give him a choice.

The ground continued to shake and tremble, and as they got closer to the ground level, the communication with comms got more urgent.

“Our two vans that we’ve kept parked here for the last three days are in danger. Two Espers have been dispatched to each to make sure that they don’t get crushed. Captain, uh, giant worms are bursting out of the adjoining buildings to the hideout.” Rhys cursed. Fuck.

“Send out the bigger flare. I don’t want this to affect the city more than it already has. I’m sure Sergei is on high alert. Do not let Kellen come here.” Rhys warned, serious. He knew that the man would attempt it.

“Yes sir.”

After that, it was a slog to continue going. The E.A.G. members were damn everywhere, everything was chaotic, and Rhys was keeping the building from collapsing around them. Rhys was glad that they had the team that they did since the support was a life saver. There was one incident where something flying cut someone’s cheek, but that was the worst damage to anyone inside of the barrier that Esper Blake created. She looked stricken when it happened, but Rhys thought she was holding up very well.

When they got to the first level, Rhys knew that the large group couldn’t be maintained. He was going to have to break this up if he wanted to keep everyone uninjured.

“Have the Espers outside come down from their posts. They are to make large distractions and help hide the Espers that are going to come out with the injured and weak Guides. Make sure that this happens. I’ll stay behind with Esper Car and we’ll make sure that the remaining Espers know that this is over.” Rhys told the comms and his own team.

He could feel the reluctance to leave him high amongst the Espers around him, but that only just made him smile. He’d be fine, he was more worried about the Espers he was sending off without them.

However, he’d caught a glimpse of one of the Esper’s futures, and it was them driving away with most of the Guides in their van. It was Esper Johnson, and he’d also had Esper Jordan with him. Rhys had confidence in his people, especially since he’d grilled them personally before he’d allowed them to work on their team. All of them had a chip on their shoulders about the E.A.G.

They would not betray him, especially Esper Jordan. He’d lost his sister to the E.A.G.s attacks on Guides overseas. The man would make sure the people got out safely.

Rhys and the group continued their way up, waiting for the signal from the comms team that the other Espers had come out of the woodworks to create a distraction. Rhys barely got confirmation that the group was attacking before a loud explosion filled their ears from outside. The E.A.G. members that had been trickling in, causing them to waste more time halted, and Rhys knew that they were there.

He’d chosen some rather destructive members for the watch team for this very reason.

Green vines, thick as power poles began to pierce through the building around them and Rhys knew that they were in a time limit. He checked the location of the closest van, knowing it was only two blocks away but that was two blocks without cover. Rhys knew what he had to do.

“Everyone, move! Now! We’ve got your back and Esper Blake, do not drop your shield! Everyone else, protect the Guides and the Lieutenant!” Rhys barely waited for confirmation before he blew the doors off of the entrance himself, bursting out into the street to see the chaos with his own eyes.

Vines and plants covered the area, back up having clearly arrived.

A glowing eyed, pissed off Miro hovered in the air thanks to the support of a periwinkle-eyed A Class Esper from the Nemesis Guild. His hands were outstretched, his face contorted with anger and rage as his babies went to work on the area below him. Fire burst from the hands of other Espers, chunks of buildings floating as the Nemesis Guild got to work. Their telekinetics’ pissed and angry, and they were using the broken parts that Miro’s plants broke off to attack the E.A.G. forces with.

Rhys was honestly rather impressed at the scene before him. A sense of pride filled him as he watched the Espers work as a team. Most of them were not hooked up to comms, shouting out to the others like a united force. It shouldn’t make Rhys as proud as he was, but truly, it was a moving moment.

Even as the E.A.G. raced around beneath them, screaming in pain and terror the people they had abandoned or attacked fought back. Rhys had a feeling it was probably pretty therapeutic for them, especially Miro.

They had messed with the wrong Lieutenant, honestly.

The rest of the team descended on Rhys and the others, forming a tight circle as they focused on protecting Esper Blake, the Guides, and Gunther who had a haphazard jacket tossed over him to hide his identity. It didn’t really work, but Rhys appreciated the thought. It wasn’t even a Saturn Guild jacket, so it was even cuter that they had tried.

Rhys felt Esper Car join him at this side, the two of them looking over the chaos before them. Giant worms were wrecking the buildings beside them, and Rhys finally had enough.

“I’m releasing the building.” Rhys told the comms, and the Esper next to him. The Esper blinked, then nodded, preparing himself.

“Should we go to the other side of the street, Captain?” Esper Car asked, like they had time to do so. Rhys chuckled.

“Jump, Esper Car.” Rhys told him as he let go.

The ground shook, trembled, and the group who had been inside with Rhys finally realised how much Rhys had been holding up. The whole block began to crumble, and the E.A.G. members that couldn’t jump, fly, or anything of that sort began to fall into the holes that the giant worms had made below. The dirt shifting, the roads breaking. Buildings began to crumble and more screams began to fill the air. Rhys was disappointed that the E.A.G. members who could fly and jump weren’t saving their companions, but then again, that was common for a terrorist group.

Unity wasn’t exactly what they were preaching.

Rhys made sure that the path that his people were taking was safe, but that was it. Everything else began to crumble and Rhys looked towards Esper Car, the man who shared the same powers as his Captain, and smirked.

“I hope you don’t like worms all that much. We need to deal with them by killing them quickly. My guess is that there are about 20 in the area, maybe more under the dirt.” Rhys told him. Esper Car swallowed.

“Understood, sir.”

“Worry about decapitating them, I’ll make sure our people are safe.” Rhys told him and Esper Car nodded. He grew serious and Rhys watched as he went to work. Rhys scanned the area, looking for the one that stood out. The one who had hidden themselves amongst the others. The one responsible for this hellhole, and found her.

Rhys didn’t know her gender before this, just knew that the one whose gaze glowed an eerie and unsettling mixture between pink and green didn’t belong. Her short blonde hair floated with the strength of the powers she was using, and her face was contorted with effort.

Rhys didn’t hold back for a second.

One second, he was at Esper Car’s side, the next, he was at hers. His hand closed around her throat, tight, unyielding. He didn’t stop until he felt her slump in his arms. Catching her, Rhys felt nothing as he carried her in his arms, grimly turning towards Miro.

“Miro!” Rhys called up to the man as suddenly, the monsters around them started losing control. Rhys didn’t like the implication. He hated it. It took Miro a few seconds to realise who was speaking to him, the plants probably too loud in his ears.

“Captain!” He called, motioning for the Esper with him to carry him down. “What do you need?” He asked.

“We’ve got this area covered. Thank you for coming. I need you to rush this creature to Sakura. Right now. Both of you, too. Tie her up.” Rhys told him and Miro’s gaze narrowed, his nostrils flaring as his glasses fogged.

“It’s her?” He asked, his arms shaking. Rhys watched him calmly.

“It could be. For now, treat her carefully. I want to know what’s in her head.” Rhys told him. Miro nodded, snapping his fingers and suddenly she was taken from his arms. She was wrapped in vines, more like a cocoon than anything else, and Rhys knew that everything was going to be okay. “I’ll deal with the worms. You have your orders.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep