The Industrialist

Nathan. Southern Wall, Axe Central City

***

He did not understand why gazing upon the towering city lights and the gigantic walls produced so much hatred within him, his blood boils, and his teeth grind with each other.

Especially as his sights had fallen on the floating Multifunctional Air Filters (MAFs). Even before he had become an enhanced being, he hated the MAF not because of its use, but because it was shrouded with politics and dirty plots.

They were built with a primary selfish purpose – fame, money, and control. All of this was because of one man. One selfish man.

"Levi!" He muttered.

He could not shake the feeling, those were the feelings he tried to suppress beneath his thoughts, his human thoughts. However, as he pushed himself farther from the Queen’s proximity, the Entity’s Instructions faded and his human thoughts reigned strong within.

His human thoughts became more profound now, noisier than ever before. With his sheer mental strength, he succumbed to it. Treated his human thoughts as his second adviser without their will of control, only his own.

If an Abominated Human surpassed the Entity and succumbed to its human thoughts, the Executors were summoned to annihilate the weak-minded officers of the Hive.

One Abominated Human who held the rank of Battalion Overlord, an Adjutant Overlord would succeed in the absence of his superior. But in the absence of the Overlords, Executors, a modified and strengthened level 4 Abominant, would command a Battalion with four Swarm Ensigns under them, controlling hundreds of Swarm Underlings (level 1 and level 2 Abominants).

And these Executors don’t regard the Swarm as brothers. They were bloodthirsty and sometimes mindless but effective in all-out-war scenarios.

Hence, his life held value amongst his brothers.

He shrugged the thought. His mind raced back to his main objective, to kill the oppressors who murdered Johnny and half of his battalion. Their faces were unrecognizable because of their gas masks; however, he could identify their smell.

Three targets but the boy was his priority, the one who killed his adjutant.

Luckily, being an Abominant had its perks. One of which was his heightened senses, including smell.

Cold slabs of stones and metals stood before him, separating him from his target. With only the monkey’s bare hands and claws, they could not climb against the hardened surface.

However, the wall’s design had crevices every after the edges of metallic slab and stone. The monkey’s claws could leverage the crevices and could be used for their climb.

But by the looks of it, it was an uneasy task. As planned, the abominated monkey (Blomordan) would carry Nathan on its back and climb about 500 meters high.

’I know it’s challenging but this is our mission,’ Nathan telepathically said to the Blomordan as the latter seemed to recoil upon the challenging responsibility in front of them.

’I promise you, once I reach the top. You can go back to our Queen. Replenish your strength. That’s an order,’ Nathan placed his palm towards the Monkey’s shoulder.

Its skin vibrated to answer.

His touch felt a connection from within the creatures as every one of them was linked with only one dominating essence, the Entity. The wishes of the Entity were then materialized by the limits of the Queen’s power.

Endowed with the powers vested by the Queen as Overlord, Nathan possessed authority among the Abominants under his command, even the level 3 Ensigns.

Although Blomordan only possessed a level 2 creation, climbing the walls was his only task and not any combative encounter.

He had seen Blomordans before devouring human beings, strong and violent without stop. However, he planned to infiltrate stealthily. Despite being a human before, he had little idea about the City’s defenses. He had never been to Axe Central for so long that he could not remember.

The volume and power of the police force within the walls presented a predicament for him. His covered appearance could fool many humans but it would raise suspicion.

As they drew closer to the walls, Nathan felt a sudden drop in his strength, his breathing had obvious respites. His limbs seemed to diminish their potential. Blomordan too, seemed to be weakened, groaned inwardly, and simultaneously decreased its pace.

The atmosphere? He thought of it the moment a different kind of air invaded his nostrils – cleaner and with very little contamination.

’Blomordan, the air is thin. But we can still survive. Let’s carry on.’ Nathan said. Blomordan moaned sheepishly in agreement.

Blomordan only complied despite its fanning state. By design, these creatures would sacrifice their lives to fulfill the Instructions. And Nathan had sealed such Instructions towards the creature.

A binding agreement between them that such an objective shall be achieved as long as the body lives.

Nathan grabbed on the Blomordan’s fur on his upper back. The Abominated Monkey did not budge even after Nathan fully rode on the beast.

Then Blomordan climbed.

Claws against stone crevices. The climb gave the monkey utter difficulty in finding strong leverages to ascend further. Even with the creature’s main skill, climbing, with its bulging forearms disproportionate to its body, were naturally augmented to support such skill, had given the beast a challenge.

Nathan felt it too, the filtered air. His half-human body overcame the harmful air, however, the beast he perched on impeded.

500 meters up halfway, Nathan felt the beasts scarring his lungs. He knew this as the beast communicated through its bodily responses.

’Hang in there,’ He empathized.

After punishing minutes, they arrived at the edge of the top of the wall. However, the top perimeter had laser fences on; three horizontal bars spaced on top of each other, mantled with fatal light energy.

The lasers were designed to fend off mindless Abominants that aspired to climb over the walls without regard for the glowing tubes, however, Nathan was smart.

Blomordan was compelled to jump over the laser fence with Nathan still on its back. The monkey’s soles clashed against a smooth slab wallwalk as it landed.

The silhouette of towers on the side of the walls was far enough that maintain their stealth entry. Alarms had not been activated yet.

Within the confines of the wall, sprawled a vast glowing city. Multi-colored and boorish at its center, and darkened grey on its outskirts. Nathan could not fathom its size, his eyes failed to catch on the city’s edges, only a faint horizon of towering structures, fingering the dark overcast.

Floating equipment with large discernable fans hovered the city, the MAF. A stream gust of greyish particles, discernible from his vantage point, was vacuumed towards the floating equipment.

Nathan cursed inwardly upon seeing the monstrosity.

Unsure how the hatred had grown within his subconsciousness upon witnessing the MAF, somehow, a horrifying incident happened when he was human.

Only the feeling remained, and no rationale behind it.

’You can climb down now,’ Ordered Nathan to the creature.

The creature followed and jumped back over the fences, and its body melted with the darkness.

Assessing his position, he could not climb down. Elevators could be present in the watch towers and these watch towers comprised hostile robotic police and mounted weapons.

Their numbers were unknown.

Expectedly, roving robotic police marched towards his position. Outrunning them would raise suspicion and alarm.

Six of them.

He then placed the gas mask on to obscure his face and buttoned his vest to cover his inhuman skin.

"Freeze citizen!" A robotic voice loomed from one of them. A laser gun’s nozzle pointed in his direction. "You violate PD Executive Memorandum no. 132. We require you to submit yourself for GLD Judicial investigation right away."

Nathan raised his hands, palms facing them.

"I am called for Maintenance Order here in Southern Wall," Nathan responded. "You can confirm details with my Supervisor." Explore more stories at NovelBin.Côm

"Protocol suggests, your defense will be accepted in the GLD Judicial office." The robotic police approached him, with a cuff in one hand and a gun in the other.

Nathan assessed that the best way to escape was through them. Tension wires connected to the supply lines were connected down to the power substations below would serve as his safe access to the ground.

He was surprised with the knowledge. Might be because his scientific acumen as a scientist before provided him with the stock information.

As the robotic police approached at arm’s length, Nathan choked its neck and squeezed, popping the head away from its body.

The other five robotic police behind it engaged and fired their lasers. On defensive, Nathan held on to the headless robot close to his body. And every waking second, the risk of alarming the whole police imposed the end of his journey.

Some lasers grazed his shoulders, his arms, and his thighs, luckily missing his critical parts.

Immediately, he threw the headless robot towards its five counterparts. They clattered as metallic bodies collided.

In a split second, Nathan darted towards the disarrayed robotic police and delivered their immediate demise with only his bare hands. Nathan knew their weak spots; their heads or their hearts just like humans.

For less than ten heartbeats, he silenced six robotic police. However, his wounds by the lasers stung as heat burned his flesh. Black blood emerged from the open wounds of his knuckles as he punched through metal.

He was weakened by the atmosphere.

Now, the only predicament that stood in his way was his target’s location.