Ultima Ratio

Chapter 86: Usque Ad Finem

"Plan Bravo," Akira ordered over their close-range comms. "Maneuver Gulliver."

When Akira jumped to her feet, Elodie and Navin followed suit from behind a table to her right. While they relentlessly fired at Garza, Jivan slipped around the outside of their defensive table and down the left edge of the lab; Makana mirrored their movements on the right side.

Akira shouldn't have been surprised when their shots failed to make Garza flinch the slightest. The blasts of light seemingly absorbed into his body, just as they had done with the Connoisseur outside Intermarium. But they thought they had prepared for that technology—with Victor's guidance, at least. Either he betrayed them, or Garza had greatly surpassed his expectations.

Nevertheless, they continued, giving Jivan and Makana enough time to round Garza's back and fire shots from there. Of course, those also failed to have any effect aside from making Garza slowly turn around, enveloped in a heavenly glow of radioactive lasers.

"Now," Akira hissed over the comms.

At her order, Sam popped up from behind the table, lobbing handfuls of miniature grenades in Garza's direction before ducking for cover; on the right side of the room, Izzy did the same. After three seconds, Akira crouched down; a beat later, a flash of light squeezed through her clenched eyelids, and a low rumble shook her bones.

With any luck, at least one of Jivan's explosives would have had some effect on Garza. If not that, then they could only hope the contents, Elodie's altered version of the gas from Madagascar, would make him just as lethargic as it had made Victor during their earlier tests.

But when Akira opened her eyes and checked her earpiece's sensors, Garza was right where they left him, untouched and unwavering.

Jivan scoffed over the comms. "Whatever's shielding him is more annoying than scary. Navin?"

"Unknown source," Navin muttered, then met Akira's gaze from behind the adjacent table. "I'll find it."

Akira nodded. She didn't doubt it.

Thankfully, Quyen was back on her feet, and she didn't waste time targeting Garza once more with her cannon. At the same time, Danya's eyes were on Akira, and after squeezing her hand once, Danya jumped to her feet and began her approach towards Garza.

Akira sprang up as well, but she remained behind the table as she fired a barrage of shots that merged with Quyen's, covering Danya's impending attack. While Garza's defenses seemed impenetrable, the least they could do was limit his visibility.

But as soon as they let up their shots and Danya threw a punch worthy of breaking the mountain around them, Garza merely smirked—right before Danya's fist hit the middle of his chest.

And nothing happened. That is, until Garza's hand lifted, and a gun emerged from his sleeves.

Akira fired as soon as she saw the dull silver weapon; unfortunately, her shot simply absorbed into his hand. Navin fired at the same time; luckily, his shot hit, sending the gun clattering harmlessly to the side.

The interference bought Danya just enough time to scramble backwards, but Garza didn't seem to notice. Instead, his blank stare was focused on his gun lying on the pristine white floors. When he finally moved again, it was to turn a perturbed glare at Navin.

"That wasn't very nice," Garza muttered.

That time, Akira saw where the shockwave came from. Because when Garza lifted the remaining half of his left arm, the end was directed straight at Navin, along with the table Elodie crouched behind.

"It's his crown!" Navin yelled as he continued to fire, the rumble beneath his voice akin to the growls of rage from his rampage in Italy. "The shield is coming from—!"