Selvaria (POV)

The rising sun’s rays fall upon Selvaria. She is seated in the co-driver seat inside a frozen Food delivery truck driven by Mason. He rammed the vehicle through abandoned cars and ran over corpses of both Ice-Bug and humans without any discrimination. Selvaria had to use Cryo-Kinetic Construct skill and Unmeltable Ice skill to modify the front of the truck to protect the engine and windows. 

To sustain these Mana-based Skills, Selvaria had to stay in her combat style and crank up the air conditioning in the vehicle to the maximum. The freezing air made it difficult for Mason to drive, but when he activated his combat style, the armor and cape insulated him from the cold.

Every impact caused the entire truck to vibrate, but the modifications helped to keep the occupants safe. Selvaria had filled the cargo hold with enough snow to prevent her precious Seals and the other animals from getting hurt. 

Mason’s stomach was growling in pain from missing breakfast. The trip was supposed to have taken a few hours. Still, because of the horrible road conditions, they had to travel at a snail's pace until Selvaria decided to upgrade the vehicle’s ramming capabilities. 

Even then, they had to be careful to avoid the truck's tires getting damaged from the broken glass, bones, pointy bits of Ice-Bug corpses, and roads covered with enough blood to cause the tires to lose traction.

Mason and Selvarai expected the carnage was concentrated around the Pink Pillars, but the Ice-Bug swarms had flown over the highways in search of Humans to devour. Once in a while, Mason would spot survivors crying out for help, but Selvaria ordered him to ignore them and keep driving.

“We can’t help them all.”

Mason felt that was a bit cruel, but he knew she was just speaking reality. 

The beautiful landscape outside could not quell the worry on Mason’s face. His AI Butler kept playing video after video of the battles raging around the Pink Pillars and beyond. There had been reports of Ice-Bugs sending scouts and vanguard forces to attack the nearby cities, and one swarm even went as far as Alaska. 

The Union armies could not sustain the heavy losses from the Ice beam attacks that froze soldiers and weaponry. Only incendiary bombs seemed to hurt the Ice-Bugs. So they set Chicago on fire once the civilian evacuation was completed. However, the Bugs flew over the flames and dug below the earth to spread out. 

Since containment was no longer possible, the military decided that throwing lives away for it was not justifiable. So instead, they ordered a full retreat to protect the civilians until they reached the underground cities built during the last world war.

Mason grew tired from listening to endless evacuation orders and casualty reports. He decided to pick up a conversation with Selvaria, who had been lost in her thoughts while watching the scenery outside her side window.

Mason. “Any news from your brother or Vector?” 

Selvaria. “Nothing. Rad wouldn’t have gone to Mars without me, so he will be trying to find us.”

Mason. “Won’t high command figure out what’s going through our observation satellites?”

[I am sure the original is aware of the problem on Earth, but the safety of our forces on Mars will supersede all other concerns]

The Supreme AI’s voice came out of Selvaria’s phone.

Mason. “Would she let Rad…sorry, Vice Admiral Radion stay behind with the fifth fleet?”

[He has a special status… but the original would not let a fleet stay behind unless there is a security threat to our bases on the Moon]

Mason. “Has anyone on Vector reported the Monster app appearing on their phones?”

[Before D-day, I received no update from the original about the Monster App appearing in any Vector device other than the ones used by the two of you]

Mason. “So we have to hope one of our ships drops down to Earth and access the Monster App?”

[Unless Selvaria’s life is in danger of being extinguished, the original will not grant authorization to enter Earth’s atmosphere]

Mason. “It doesn’t look like the Federation, Union, and the Confederacy will have the resources to stop our fleets right now.”

[The status quo must be maintained to avoid a misunderstanding that could lead to war between Earth and the Moon]

Mason. “You let Selvaria and me come down here without any protest.”

Selvaria. “I created her, and I am the one who forbade any travel to Earth… apart from me and those who accompany me”.

Mason. “Of course you did! Rules for thee and not for me.”

Selvaria. “I am still your Admiral!”

Mason. “Sorry… I’ve been driving all night with no food or sleep. I don’t know how you are not cranky as well.”

Selvaria. “Having a cybernetic body helps, I guess.”

Mason. “How do you power it up?”

Selvaria. “My nanites break down biomatter, which is then processed through synthetic organs to convert into energy. So eating regular food can also keep me powered up.”

Mason. “But the last time we ate was over twelve hours ago. Shouldn't you be running out of energy?”

Selvaria. “When you were looking for a truck, I found three men from Exo-Gene getting ready to slaughter all the animals.”

Mason. “And you turned them into fuel for your body?”

Selvaria nodded with a smile, while Mason shivered from the thought instead of the cold. His eyes focused on the skyline of Dallas that appeared in their view. Near the highway, he saw a billboard that said, ‘Welcome to Fort Worth.’

Mason. “We are almost there.”

Selvaria. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

Mason. “There are corpses of Humans and Ice-Bugs everywhere. Buildings have been turned into craters, and there are no signs of survivors. Should any of them feel right to you?”

Selvaria ignored his frustrated reply.

Selvaria. “Did a Pink Pillar fall near here?”

Mason. “Apart from the ones that dropped over California, Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C… None. Which means an Ice-Bug swarm flew here from one of them.”

Selvaria. “I wonder why they are spreading out so fast.”

Mason. “Probably hungry…”

Selvaria gave Mason an irritated look.

Mason. “I am serious! It must be difficult to find prey among humans with the weaponry to fight back. So they might be spreading out to find those who can’t fight back.”

Selvaria. “The military isn’t protecting the other cities?”

Mason. “They sent everything they had to stop the spread… that included all the reserves meant to protect the cities.”

Selvaria. “What about their airpower?”

Mason. “The Ice-Bug swarm created Ice storms that make it impossible for Fighter planes and attack helicopters to fly low to offer any support to ground troops. So they grounded all airpower apart from transport drones for evac.”

Selvaria. “Are there any survivors still reporting from Dallas?”

Mason. “A few Tamers inside Dallas had the same idea of using the stadium for protection-”

Suddenly two bodies fell onto their truck's hood, blood splatter covering the windshield.

These corpses weren’t entirely human. One had weird armor on, while the other looked part beast. 

Selvaria. “Tamers?”

Mason poked his head out the side window and looked up in shock. He retracted his head back into the truck and then looked at Selvaria.

Mason. “There is a swarm of Ice-bugs right above us.”

Selvaria. “How come we didn’t notice them?”

Mason. “They are flying really high up there.”

Selvaria. “Did any of them notice our truck?”

Several Ice beams fell from above, creating a wall of Ice right in front of their truck. Mason slammed the brakes, but it was too late to avoid a collision. The airbags on the dashboard and steering wheel cushioned the impact, but the animals in cargo were shocked by the sudden stop.

Selvaria’s two bunnies were among them, trying to calm the Seals down. But then a hole appeared in the roof of the cargo compartment. Locust-shaped Icebugs were ripping it apart to get inside.

One managed to squeeze through the crude hole. It was about to grab a Seal pup with the mandibles in its mouth, but it froze and got pulled back out. Selvaria had stabbed the back of its head with her Draconic Ice tail, dug her skeletal Ice wings into its body, and ripped it in half. 

“Stay away from my Seal family!” 

Selvaria’s eyes had turned a dark shade of scarlet Red. Her murderous gaze caused the closest Ice-Bugs to take a step back. She then charged at them and went insane with rage as her Draconic Ice Claws ripped some of the bugs in half. 

The swarm noticed the descendant of a Dragon butchering their brethren who landed on the truck. They swooped down to attack Selvaria enforce. However, a dozen javelins emerged from the abandoned cars on the road to intercept a quarter of their number as they gained speed and readied their ice attacks. 

Mason had used up all his Mana to activate his Dark Knight’s Lance skill twelve times. Once the javelins skewered their targets, a wild torrent of Mana refilled his tank, allowing him to bring out more projectiles. 

Some of the Javelins killed their victims but most siphoned away Mana which canceled their Ice attacks. Without Mana, the Ice-Bugs would be forced to fight at close range against the two Humans, which seemed like an act of suicide as both cutting up Ice-Bugs like a pro-Fruit Ninja.

The hive mind controlling the swarm had decided that both the Humans had to be taken out separately. So they broke into two groups, one after Mason and the other after Selvaria.

The Ice-Bugs that targeted Mason flew out of range of his Javelins and released their Ice attacks from afar. Mason could judge the angles of the incoming attacks with the superior echolocation his Vampire bat helmet provided. It allowed him to dodge the majority of the Ice Beams and Ice shards.

The attacks Mason couldn’t dodge were head-on with the spear in his hands. The shattered pieces were then absorbed by the Dark Knight’s Cloak. Though Mason managed to survive the attack, his stamina was running out. Absorbing Mana couldn’t refill that tank, so there was a limited time before he ran out of energy.

“Guess it’s all or nothing! Activate Dark Knight’s Rage!”

Mason concentrates Mana into a Metal orb the size of a bowling ball in front of his chest. It is shot out toward the swarm as if fired from a cannon. When it was about to reach the hive, it exploded and released metal shrapnel to everything in front of it. 

The devastating attack wipes out the majority of the swarm, with the one furthest away from the center being the only survivors. Mason took care of these stragglers with his Javelins. Giving no room for them to escape.

Meanwhile, Selvaria has unleashed Kuraokami’s Rage on the swarm whenever they tried to overwhelm her with superior numbers. Though they were Ice Bugs, the blast managed to freeze their wings for several seconds. Which was enough time for Selvaria to wipe out each wave with her Draconic tail, claws, and skeletal wings. 

Her Mana pool was constantly replenished whenever the long-range ice attacks made contact with her body. Unfortunately, the Ice-Bugs didn’t realize that their elemental abilities were actually helping her power up instead of hurting her.

Like a tornado, every bug that came near her was eviscerated in quick succession. Once half their number was gone, the rest decided it was no use to keep fighting and released a cry that sounded like a call to retreat.

Selvaria. “You think I will let you fly away?”

Selvaria activates her Cryokinetic constructs skill and uses up all of her mana to create a massive Gatling Gun. It quickly rotates and releases a hail of bullets made of Ice at the swarm. 

The attack does not damage their Ice-Armor, but it does hurt their wings which causes the swarm to fall to the ground. Some died from the impact, while a few managed a soft landing. Now that they are grounded, there is no choice but to fight for their survival.

Selvaria had run out of Mana, so she had to cancel her combat style. She then pulled out her modified Mauser C96 from her coat and fired her last clip of hollow points into the heads of each bug. 

Only one Ice-Bug remained by the time she ran out of bullets. This one was clearly traumatized by what it had just experienced. Its body was shaking violently, and it began crying out in pain.

Selvaria. “I will have to take you out the old-fashioned way.”

The nanites in Selvaria’s bloodstream pour out of the wrist of her right hand and transform into a short blade. She slowly approached the last bug, still crying in pain.

Selvaria was about to deliver a finishing blow when the Ice-Bug stopped screaming and began growing in size. Its body molted several times as it transformed from a four-foot-tall Locust into a nine-foot-tall praying Mantis. 

The transformation happened so fast that Selvaria was taken by surprise. She couldn’t believe the Ice-Bug had just evolved right in front of her. Then, without pause, the Ice Mantis raised its upper limbs that resembled curved scimitars made of Ice. 

Mason was fifteen feet away but helpless as the Ice Mantis slashed down and separated both legs and the right arm from Selvaria’s body. Then the Mantis quickly lowered its head to take a bite out of her head, but Selvaria created another blade with her nanites and stabbed it into the Mantis’s head with her remaining arm.

The Ice-Mantis lets out a cry of agony as it bites down hard on Selvaria’s head. Both of them are frozen as blood flows out of their wounds. Mason slowly walks up to them and notices that neither is alive. 

The two genetically enhanced bunnies jump out from the hole in the cargo hold and dash to Selvaria’s body. Their ears folded back in sadness when they realized their Master and friend were no more. Sensing the battle was over, the Seals and the other animals emerged out of the truck and took in the carnage around them.

When they noticed that their protector was dead, they let out mournful cries. Mason gently separated Selvaria’s body from the grasp of the Ice-Mantis’s corpse. He could not process that the one who claimed Vector's pseudo immortal Right hand had died.

Mason gathered the severed limbs and discovered Selvaria’s phone had dropped out of her coat before the Ice Mantis evolved. He placed the phone over her body, and suddenly it lit up.

[Not detecting any heartbeat… activating resurrection protocol!]

The nanites within the spilled blood and those used in creating short blades began assimilating back into Selvaria’s body. Tendrils emerged from her wounds which grabbed the corpse of the Ice-Mantis and began breaking its biomatter down. 

Mason. “What the hell is happening?”

As the tendrils absorbed the Mantis’s corpse, the wounds on Selvaria’s body slowly healed. Then, new tendrils emerged out of the stumps. They grabbed the separated limbs and attempted to reconnect them back into place. 

[Resurrection will take five hours… please watch over the body and let nothing interfere]