[1:30 am, outskirts of F.A.T.E headquarters]
A group of white coated investigators arrived at the scene holding their attachment units in hand. Two scanned the perimeter for signs of life as the other three readied themselves for a battle. One man stands proudly in front, a serious look on his face.
"Cap'n how long do you think this will take? I'm kinda hungry..." one of them asked the man.
The man turned around and was about to speak, but was interrupted by one of his squad members.
"It'll probably take only 5 minutes. We're all A tiers and HQ said it was only a base class 'fester'...." The arrogant investigator said, stretching as if he had no care in the world.
The captain turned to the man and slapped him lightly.
"Never take a 'fester' battle lightly. Even a so-called weak Fester can cause devastation..." the captain said sternly.
The investigator cradled his cheek before snickering at him.
"Geez just who do you think you are? Just cause you got General Sieg's approval you think you're better than me? Just a reminder, I'm the same age as you. Just cause you're a captain doesn't mean you get to boss me around... Or maybe you're just scared? Oh right, didn't your town get overrun with festers or something?" The arrogant investigator said, laughing to himself.
The captain clenched his fist but took a deep breath and calmed down.
"Yes Investigators Jacobs, my hometown did get overrun with festers, that's why I believe we must exterminate them all. So nobody else must suffer that kind of fate. I'll excuse your rudeness this time... But don't do it again" the captain said, walking away.
Jacobs turned back to the other squad members to try to get some support, but they all just shook their heads and ignored him.
"Damnit... That fucking big shot..." Jacobs said to himself.
The sound of signal beeping coming from one of the laptops alerted the entire squadron. In the distance, they saw a large beetle-like fester coming towards them. It flew straight past them, as if they weren't its targets. They all watched as the beetle headed straight towards the captain.
"Captain Ren!" An investigator wearing glasses called out to him.
The captain continued to walk, as if he was waiting for something. The beetle continued its charge, Ren was surely dead. In an instant, he turned his head and looked at the creature.
"Authority to open Attachment unit, verified" Ren said, clicking open his attachment unit.
The attachment unit morphed into the shape of a large battle axe, ready for battle. Ren swung once, splitting the creature in two. He flicked his weapon, removing the blood from it.
"... Fester terminated" Ren said, disengaging his weapon.
The other investigators watched starry-eyed at the sight of what they just witnessed. As if they were little kids watching their favourite superhero television show, they began singing Ren's praises.
"That was awesome..." a spiky haired investigator said.
Jacobs scoffed before leaving the group.
"What a fraud..." he said to himself.
Jacobs walked through the city feeling bitter. Not only was he embarrassed, but he was showed up on his first day. All he ever wanted was to be recognised by his peers... But maybe the way he approached it was wrong.
"No... It's all his fault... All this is my fault. If he wasn't there... I would..." Jacobs said.
As Jacobs continued to blame his misfortune on the captain, he heard a voice coming from the alleyway
"His.... Fault..." the voice said.
The Investigator interpreted the words as mockery, causing him to become furious.
"The hell did you say punk?!" Jacobs shouted into the alleyway.
It was hard to see, but a smile formed in the darkness.
"What the-" as if it were made out of paper, investigator Jacobs hand was stripped away from him in a single slash. Jacobs looked at his missing arm, the reality of the situation setting in. He was about to scream, but he stopped himself. His pride wouldn't let him. The creature in the shadows emerged, it was tall, lanky, it resembled a twig, yet just a single slash from its sharp claw was able to cut Jacobs arm off completely.
"You damn bastard, you think you're better than me?!" Jacobs said, clicking his attachment unit.
A pistol popped out from the case as Jacobs looked dead into its eye.
"I'm a fuckin B tier... You lanky bastard!" Jacobs shouted, shooting at it.
The bullet missed, the attempt merely startling the monster. But that was his plan. Jacobs used the short window of time to move deeper into the alley, giving him less space for movement, but increased his chances at hitting the beast. The fester chased after him, trying to hit him with its sharp claws.
"Heh... Close range is less effective in tight spaces, Festers really are dumb..." Jacobs said, continuing to shoot at the thing.
The beast's body was littered with bullet holes but it still continued its attacks. Still, Jacobs felt he had the upper hand.
"No matter what it does, I can just dodge. Heh, that's what you get for underestimating me you bastard!" Jacobs boasted.
The fester stopped for a moment, and seemed to convulse a bit. It fell to the ground and began writhing and groaning. It seemed to be pushing against itself, as if something was going to pop out of it. Jacobs guarded himself with his arm, awaiting an explosion. Instead, a creature pops out of the monster's back. The new fester looks similar to the previous ones except it's far more human looking... and dangerous. Its eyes adjust before turning to Jacobs.
"Thank you.... Your pride.... It's exhilarating" the fester said.
The fact it was speaking in complete sentences alarmed Jacobs, because from what he learned as a rookie, that only meant one thing.
"Y- you're.... You're a Hyper class fester...." Jacobs said, his demeanor completely shifting.
The fester smiled, the same smile from before. But far more sinister.
Suddenly they all heard a loud screaming coming from that direction. The signal from the laptop began blaring loudly. An investigator rushed to check what caused such a signal, only for his face to drown in terror.
"Hyper class fester... Detected" he said, dropping to his knees.
Ren clenched his fist before turning to his squad.
"All of you run and call for backup! It's too dangerous for all of you!" Ren said, quickly running towards the direction of the scream.
"But Captain Ren! You'll d-" but before the investigator could finish her sentence, Ren turned to her.
"Captain's orders... Run!" Ren shouted.
They all were stunned, but begrudgingly followed his orders. Ren ran towards the scream, seeing the Fester towering over Jacobs. Ren opened his attachment unit, quickly striking the creature. Its hard skin blocked the attack, but it seems to have at least caught the Fester's attention. It turns its attention towards Ren with a smile, but after a sniff, it makes an annoyed expression.
"You're no fun... You're not prideful like this man... I hate boring people!" The fester said as it began violently screeching and swinging about.
Its motion caused ripples in the air that were sharp enough to cut the skin. Ren quickly blocked the attacks by hiding behind his coat. The fester was confused, and angry too.
"Huh?! Why aren't you dead?!" The fester screamed, as if it was a child throwing a tantrum.
Ren used its angered state to his advantage, carrying Jacobs on his back before running away.
"Are you okay? That injury looks bad..." Ren said, concerned in his voice.
Jacobs gritted his teeth.
"Of course it's bad damnit I lost my arm!" He shouted, tightly gripping his wound.
"R- right... My bad... But you don't have to worry, backup is on the way. We just have to survive for a few more minut-" but before he could finish his sentence, the fester shot an air blast at the two. The force caused them both to fall, injuring the two. The two men laid on the ground defenseless, their bodies riddled with broken bones. Jacobs was about to shout at Ren for failing to protect them, but he was too weak to even make a snarky remark.
"What's the point... That "thing" outclasses us in every field.... Huh... hahaha... Looking back now, I have never actually done anything in my life. All my boasting, all my remarks... They were all empty. I had all that time... All that talent... Yet I didn't even use it for anything... Hahaha... This fucking sucks..." Jacobs said, sounding defeated.
Ren was silent for a moment, but then he pushed himself up. Even though it hurt, even though he could feel his bones rubbing against themselves in unnatural ways, even though he was screaming in pain, he stood up.
"H- hey.... what the hell...?!" Jacobs said, shocked.
"... Back when my town got overrun... I was in this same situation. I was powerless, I couldn't do anything against those things, but I fought on. I didn't care, even if I was weak, even if I was nothing compared to them, I wouldn't let those abominations take over my town! So I'll fight on! No matter how tough the situation, I'll fight on! I'll lay down my life to protect anyone!" Ren said with passion in his voice.
The captain's words struck Jacobs. It invigorated his soul, burned it bright. Jacobs lifted himself up and pointed his pistol at the fester.
"I'm... I'm no longer going to live a stagnant life... I... I... I'll be the best investigator this world has ever seen!" Jacobs shouted.
The passion in Jacobs eyes caused Ren to smile. The look in his eyes reminded Ren of himself in some ways. He was excited to see what kind of man Jacobs will turn into....
"Let's do this captai-" but in an instant, Jacobs head was chopped clean off. As sudden as the downpour of rain, the smile on Ren's face was wiped away as the dismembered head of investigator Jacobs rolled to his feet. Seeing this sight, the fester couldn't help but start laughing. It was laughing so loud, as if it had just heard the funniest joke from a comedian.
"Isn't it so funny?! He was so enthusiastic, yet one swipe cut his head clean off! Hahahahha!!" The fester laughed.
The laughter from the fester, the death of one of his men, the faint smell of garbage mixed with rain water... They all made Ren sick.
"I shouldn't expect much from a fester... But your behavior is disgusting. Taking a life, and then laughing. What a pitiful existence you all live... This world... This world doesn't need your kind." Ren said, clutching his attachment unit.
The fester merely continued to smile as it looked at him.
"Humans are so funny... You try to impose your values onto everything that opposes you... And yet we're the monsters... Although, I do like being called a monster!" The fester said, smiling even wider than before.
Ren looked up at the cloudy sky, feeling the rain hit his face. He begins laughing as the fester just watches.
"You've gone insane haven't you? Hahaha humans are so easy to break" the fester said, mocking him.
"Insane? Oh no I'm more than sane. I'm the sanest man I know actually! Hahaha! Half of my bones are broken.... I'm tired as hell... I think I have some internal bleeding too... But even then... I'll crush you..." Ren said, laughing.
The Fester's demeanor changes as it begins gritting its teeth.
"Don't underestimate me... You're just a damn human!" The fester said before lunging at Ren.
Ren dodged the attack before smacking it with the blunt end of his weapon. The fester was sent backwards, giving Ren some distance from it. But he didn't have time to rest as the fester got up quickly and launched projectile slashes at him using its claws. Ren cut them using his axe, but it was merely a distraction by the monster. It jumped up and struck from above. Ren was forced to use the handle of his axe to block the attack, but it wasn't enough to hold the fester back. The axe snapped in half, letting the attack connect. Although the damage was mitigated thanks to his axe, a large wound opened across his chest. Ren fell forward, but caught himself just before he could fall. The fester sneered.
"You're already good as dead... Just give up human..." the fester said.
"Never... I'll never give up... Not until.... Not until every single one of you are gone..." Ren said, barely clinging on to life.
The fester made a disgusted look before raising its claw. It smiled one final time, as if to say it was satisfied with the battle. But as it swiped down, its hand was sliced off.
"Ouch... That must hurt huh?" A voice said.
The fester turned behind and saw a figure wearing a suit of armour with a fox motif. The figure cracked their knuckles before making a finger gun at the fester.
"Bang" the figure said, even making the recoil motion.
In a blink the Fester's upper half was completely destroyed. No sound, no spectacular visuals, not even a cheesy finishing movie name. It was just gone. The individual walked towards the half dead captain while shaking their head. They put their hand over Ren's chest which emitted a soft bluish glow. Ren's wounds began closing up, but his serious injuries were still left untreated. But at this rate, he'll live to see another day.
"Tsk tsk tsk. What did I tell you about going overboard?" They said, putting their hand on their hips.
Ren looked up at the individual, and once he had realised who they were, his face turned into that of disappointment.
"General sieg.... Why did they have to call you of all people for backup...." ren said, sighing deeply.
General Sieg picked up an axe wedged into the ground, sliding a component downwards, causing it to turn back into an attachment unit case as well as causing the armour to disappear. Once it finished fading away, Sieg untied his hair and let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally out of that stuffy suit... heheh what's wrong, are you embarrassed to be saved by your father now?" He said, smirking.
