Dale (POV)

Rebecca summoned her worker ants to unseal the tunnel they had created to help Agni a few days ago. It took Dale several minutes to reach the surface by a cliff facing the Bay of Alaska. Finally, he summons Agni and activates his combat style to fuse with her armament form.

The phone in Dale’s right-hand flashes, covering him in an opaque sphere of light surrounding his body. It shatters and reveals a Dale covered in Lightweight Obsidian armor with a winged helmet over his head. The wings on his back stretch out to absorb the sun’s rays and convert them into Mana as they flap hard to launch him into the air.

Once Dale felt his Mana tank was full, he activated the Jet propulsion skill, creating mini jet engines under the wings. 

They are powered up with Mana to provide thrust until Mach one is achieved. The sonic boom it generated was accompanied by a fiery explosion that turned Dale into a meteor in the sky. 

The Shoebill Stork helmet and armor protect Dale from the elements and allows him to breathe even as he climbs to an altitude where oxygen is scarce. Memories of the VR flight simulator games surfaced as he took in the view of the scenery. However, none of them could capture the exhilaration and freedom he was experiencing.

This was the second time that Dale got to fuse with his monster and fly. On the first try, he struggled to control his wings. But once he sensed Agni’s mind was passively assisting him, he let her take over control and slowly grew accustomed to working with her. This allowed him to focus on his objectives and not worry about flapping his wings.

Before leaving the Bunker, Dale had memorized the direction and distance he had to fly through to reach the town of Rockville. Luckily it was close enough that Dale reached the outskirts of his target within ten minutes. 

The visor in his helmet had a zoom-in function that made it easy for Dale to watch from afar. Several soldiers in combat uniforms belonging to the Eurasian Federation held off against Beetle-shaped Ice-Bugs with automatic rifles, heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers. 

The Ice-Bug’s Exoskeleton kept regenerating the damaged sections by absorbing water from the Ice in their surroundings. It must have felt like the soldiers were battling against several Insect Zombies.

Only the incendiary grenades seemed to do enough damage to kill the Ice-Bugs before their armor could regenerate. But it didn’t look like the Federation soldiers had too many left.

“Federation? What are they doing in Alaska?”

A death cry from an Ice-Bug above Dale distracted him. 

“Ahh… I should focus on the battle right now.” 

Dead bodies of both humans and Ice-bugs littered the town around the mall. Dale had seen them on the holo-screens, but it failed to prepare him for the foul smell in the air and screams, which caused him to freeze up with indecision on whether it was a good idea to have come all this way to fight.

A storm brewing above the town rained down golf ball-sized hail that wrecked everything below. It seemed to have been created by an eight-foot-tall Butterfly Ice-Bug. Dale spotted the gleaming figure of the Bee Palladin chasing after it. Every time Zao came within five feet of the monster, it disappeared like a mirage and reappeared twenty meters away. 

Before Zao could chase after the Ice Butterfly again, it would summon the swarm to attack him. They launched several volleys of Ice based attacks at him, but his mastery over movement in the air helped him avoid the most powerful attacks from striking his body. The weaker ones were deflected by the armor, which was dense enough. 

Zao’s Paladin armor was cracked from the abuse it had withstood. Yet, simultaneously, the armor seemed to restore itself through some weird metal brazing method whenever Zao paused for several seconds to catch his breath and pick new targets.

Zao gave up on the Ice Butterfly controlling the hail storm and decided to go after the biggest Ice-Bugs instead. The ones that resembled Hercules Beetles couldn’t keep up with their opponent’s speed and maneuverability. So they roared and sprayed shards of Ice shards in every direction to keep Zao away from them. 

The largest among them concentrated Mana in front of its mouth and fired a beam that froze everything that came into contact with it. It targeted the mall where the townspeople took refuge. Two federation soldiers keeping the IceBugs away with their weapons had their limbs frozen solid and shattered into pieces.

Zao was enraged by this and made it his mission to dismember that Ice-Bug until it squealed for the mercy of death. Dale was a bit disgusted by the brutality of Zao’s fighting style, but he was glad that the man could keep all their attention on him.

Dale wanted to join the battle, but he knew Agni’s skills were not meant for close combat and required a lot of Mana to execute against many opponents. He had spent quite a bit of it to get here quickly and needed to recharge before joining the fray. 

Dale had to find a way to help out from afar to avoid getting swarmed like Zao and the others. Suddenly the tactics used by the Dive bomber planes in WW2 came to mind. So Dale looked into the sky and decided it was worth a try.

Dale activated his Jet Propulsion once more to climb up to ten thousand feet which is his limit. Then, he began converting all the solar rays into Mana through the Ruby crystals on his wings and armor. While he was charging up, he wondered how many fireballs he could summon since the skill description didn’t specify a limit.

Dale activated the skill Fireball Barrage, which created a dozen couch bag-sized fireballs around him. He used it again, which led to another dozen fireballs appearing without canceling the first set. Dale repeated the skill activation until fifty were amassed. Unfortunately, the strain on his mind was beginning to blur his vision, so he had to be satisfied with the current limit.

These Fireballs would orbit around him until he selected a target for them to attack. Dale sensed his Mana tank was filled to the brim, so he folded his wings and dropped towards the battle below. 

The fifty fireballs followed behind Dale and matched his speed. The helmet’s visor highlighted the Ice-bug targets in his vision until fifty were selected as targets for his attack. 

Until now, Zao and the other combatants were too busy fighting for their lives to pay attention to the oddity in the stormy sky. But as it grew bigger and closer, everyone with functioning eyes took in the sight of a small black meteor dispersing fireballs in every direction.

Dale pulled out of the dive after all the fireballs left him to seek out their victims. He activated his Jet Propulsion skill to take him back to ten thousand feet in the air.

Like heat-seeking missiles, the fireballs chased after the Ice-bugs until they made physical contact or hit something else that got in the way. Half targeted the swarm around Zao, and the rest went after the ones attacking the Federation soldiers on the mall’s roof. 

Most Ice-Bugs exploded on impact with the fireballs, but those that survived were wrapped in flames that wouldn’t die out. The Ice Butterfly that controlled the hail storm was one of these poor bastards whose wings were covered in flames as it screamed in agony.

Its teleportation-like skill failed to activate against a fireball, making it easy for Zao to deliver a death blow through its freakish head. As soon as it was dead, the hail storm disappeared, and the Ice-Bug swarm was now unable to regenerate damaged Ice armor.

The Federation soldiers noticed this and unleashed firepower on every Icebug around the mall. The swarm began to panic and flew away from the mall to regroup with those battling Zao. However, another barrage of fireballs fell from the sky.

This time there were only twenty-five, but it was enough to shift their focus away from Zao. The survivors decided that they had to take out the source of the fireballs and climbed into the sky to chase after Dale, who had dropped low enough to be within range of their attacks.

Before the remaining Ice-Bug swarm could launch their attacks, they were blinded and deafened by Dale’s Flashbang skill.

Taking advantage of their disoriented state, Zao bore through their bodies with his twin drill lances. The mutilated husks of the swarm fell to the earth and splattered like bugs on a speeding car’s windshield. 

Once Zao confirmed that there weren’t any enemies still left alive, he slowly hovered towards Dale, who had several fireballs orbiting around him. The Bumblebee-like helmet retracted to reveal his face, studying Dale’s armor and wings.

“Comrade! I must thank you for joining the battle and taking down the Butterfly that was healing its brethren.”

Dale unsummoned the fireballs that were floating around him and removed his helmet.

“I haven’t been in a battle before. But I am glad that my attacks helped you all in the end.”

Zao was surprised by that.

“You were born to be a fighter if you possess incredible abilities like a Phoenix… Ah! Where are my manners? I am Zao Han Fan, a scion of the House of Hong and Martial Arts Master of Dual Blades.”

Dale was surprised by Zao’s introduction and struggled to share his own.

“Dale… Sander. I don’t have a famous family background like you. As for what I am good at... I guess I am  the master of the art of babysitting.”

“Babysitting?”

“My current job is to look after kids for important people.”

“Oh…”

Well, this was awkward. Dale rebuked himself for sharing that bit.

“Every art is important no matter how odd it is. Are you from this area?”

“You could say that.”

Dale didn’t want to divulge too many details about the Bunker or its location.

“Is there any medical facility nearby?”

“Are you injured?”

“Two of my comrades were severely injured by the Ice beam attack. They will need surgery and advanced medicine to live.”

“Let me have a look at them.”

“You are a Doctor too?” 

“Kinda.”

Zao looked relieved.

“Then follow me!”

Dale flew down with Zao to the mall’s roof, where the Federation soldiers patching themselves up with advanced first-aid kits. Zao asked one of the men where the injured were taken to in Mandarin. The soldier replied in Russian, and the two could converse without a problem. After finishing their discussion, Zao urged Dale to follow him into the mall.

“How can you talk to each other like that without a common language.”

“We have translator implants which solve that issue.”

“Isn’t that Vector tech?”

“Most of their scientists were originally from the Federation territory. We found this tech in their belongings that they left behind before they colonized the Moon.”

“Speaking of the Federation. Why are you all here in Union Territory?” 

“We were sent to Washington DC on a diplomatic delegation with your leaders before the Pink Pillars fell. Our purpose was to deescalate hostile tensions in a secret location, but the Ice-Bug swarm attacked your leaders on the way to the meeting.”

Dale wanted to ask what the President’s status was, but it didn’t seem like Zao had that answer.

“You were at the Capitol? Then how did you end up here?”

“We were trying to fly back to Federation territory through Alaska. But the Ice-Bugs chased after our transport drone and forced us to crash land near this town.”

Zao guided Dale into the mall, where at least a thousand locals were taking refuge. Inside one of the expensive apparel brand stores, Dale found a thirty-year-old Indian man and a young Russian boy in his late teenage years lying on the floor, groaning in pain. They both had lost limbs to the Ice beam attack. The blood around the stumps appears frozen, preventing blood from pouring out.

 Zao kneeled beside the Russian youth, the most injured of the two.

“Sergei! I brought a Doctor with me. Let him examine you and Soma.”

“I doubt he can do anything for us in this state.” 

“Give him a chance!”

Dale kneeled down and inspected the damage on Soma and Sergei’s bodies. At the same time, they studied Dale’s black armor, ruby crystals, and the enormous wings on his back. 

“Anyone can tell we need surgery and prosthetics.” 

Soma grumbled as he massaged the area where his blood had frozen.

“I have a skill that might work. All I need is for you two to remain still and not panic.”

Dale placed his hands on their chests, activating the ‘Holy flames’ skill. Purple flames spread out and engulfed their bodies.

Soma and Sergei screamed in fear as Zao stood dumbfounded. 

“You are burning them alive! They are…” Zao paused when he noticed that his comrades lost limbs were beginning to regrow. Not only that, but the other wounds sealed up, the frozen blood became warm, and vitality returned to their faces.

“Stop screaming! The fire can’t hurt you!” Dale reassured as he deactivated the skill, causing the purple flames to disappear. Sergei and Soma had no burn marks on their bodies or clothes. They slowly stood up without a problem and inspected their new limbs.

“How did you get this kind of healing power?” Zao asked Dale.

“Praying to the Fire and Sun Gods paid off.”

Soma immediately clasped his hands in Namaste. 

“I can’t thank you enough for restoring my body. If you ever need my help, never hesitate to ask.”

Sergei followed suit, kneeling on his right leg and looking at Dale. 

“I will never forget this kindness. You will have me as your comrade for life.”

Zao then performed a deep bow to Dale and spoke while looking down.

“I don’t know why the Monster app gave you this power. But you have earned respect, admiration, and friendship from the Federation’s great houses.”

“Great Houses?”

Zao straightened up and pointed at Soma. 

“Soma Nathan belongs to the House of Bharat. They represent India in the Federation.”

Then he pointed at Sergei.

“Sergei Krasnatov belongs to the House of Rus. They represent Russia in the Federation.”

Then Zao pointed at himself.

“The House of Hong represents all of China in the Federation.”

“The three of you are like royal Princes?”

His question caused the trio to laugh.

“They don’t teach about Federation Hierarchy in Union schools?”

“Sergei and I are the only sons. Soma is the only son-in-law in their house.” 

“Our fathers are the ones in power. So helping us is helping them.”

“I see. I would have healed you guys regardless of status, you know.”

“If we didn’t share who we are with you, it would disgrace our families."

“I understand… well, it doesn’t look like there are more Icebugs in the area. So I will take my leave now.”

“Leave? Why?” Zao asked in surprise.

“I must head back home before the sun goes down. My skills are solar powered, so I will be useless at night.”

Zao, Sergei, and Soma were surprised by that. Sergei quickly moved to stop Dale from leaving.

“We owe you a lot, but we need help to find a way to get back to the Federation. Can you help us with that?”

Dale. “There should be some transport drones in the town.”

Soma. “That was the first thing we went around searching for after we crashed. There is none. It seems most of the province evacuated when the Pink Pillars fell. The old folk they left behind say there is a military bunker in Seward that they might be hiding in. If Federation soldiers show up at their doorstep, I doubt they would hand over a transport drone powerful enough to get us back to the Federation.”

Dale. “Can’t you contact your people through the Monster App and get them to send transport?”

Zao. “Our families are not answering… no one took the Monster app seriously apart from the three of us in our houses. The Generals got the hang of the Monster App in the last few hours, but they weren’t willing to spare any transport drones for us.”

Sergei. “There is a good chance that the swarm will return here in more significant numbers. So before that happens, we must find some Bunker at the very least.”

Dale wanted to say that he couldn’t be of any help, but his heart was against saying that.

The President had tasked Dale, Mash, and Rebecca to protect his twins and keep the location of the bunker safe at all costs, but the world had changed overnight, and there was no sign that the President was alive. 

Right now, saving souls and gathering friends are essential for survival. 

Dale. “Seward is a bit far from here, but my Bunker should be within walking distance. So you can come with me, and we will try to figure out how to get you and your soldiers back home.”