[color=f7941d]“Time is now 12 hours. It is highly suggested to return.”[/color]

The monotonous voice of a glowing orb somehow managed to pierce through the chaotic sounds of the battle in the underground cavern. A messy brawl would have been more accurate to describe the situation though as a lone figure stood tall amongst the horde of creatures that sought to dog pile him. All manners of cries from high-pitched screeches to deep rumbling roars filled the air as the approached, but Raule responded only with the sound of his blows as they pulped his enemies. [color=0072bc]“Suggestion noted,”[/color] he muttered rather sardonically as he tore half a dozen infested in half with a kick. 

[i][color=0072bc]'These things are fucking persistent,’[/color][/i] he thought bitterly as the halves twitched violently even as he charged past them and tore into the remaining horde. At least they were fragile, far more so than they had been in life, and the sheer force behind his strikes were enough to shred the infected to pieces. The spores that drifted from their torn bodies found no purchase on Raule either, the Void eradicating any trace that so much as tried to worm its way into his body. A wave of all-consuming blackness radiated out from him and dozens stumbled back as the Void erased the surface traces of the infection. And then the world was lit aflame, the dead material lighting up easily as firebombs detonated all around him. The noise changed to panicked cries as the infected instinctively fled from the cleansing flames, and Raule stood amidst the charred corpses unperturbed by the smoke filling his lungs with a thoughtful look. 

In the end he had chosen to pursue the infection deeper and to its source. It was more tedious than difficult as the main danger these creatures posed was completely ineffective against him. Their numbers made progress a slow crawl as he was literally forced to rip through thousands of bodies, flinging parts and mutilating the infected like some mad blender. At times he fought while his eyesight was clouded by smoke and fires danced him at every moment, so thick was the ground with infected that they would have bogged him down had he not burned them. It was literally the worst grind he had to deal with in all his years at the Academy and this wasn’t even something that had been forced onto him by the school. No, it was just something he’d come across while waiting for his final year to start. 

So it was with some vengeful satisfaction that he watched the wall of tendrils blast apart when an explosive crammed infected slammed into it like a projectile. As the plants withered and fell to the ground he climbed through and winced at the spore filled air. It was little more than an annoyance, but at this moment Raule had fairly little patience for anything. The bright vine wrapped core pulsed brightly as he came into contact with the spores, the infection vectors disappearing the moment they touched him. Evidently it realized the foreign presence had reached it and the chamber seemed to shudder as vines began to uncoil from the very floor.

[color=0072bc]“Oh hell no you don’t,”[/color] he muttered as he grasped what was left of the explosives he’d been provided and hurled it straight at the infection’s source. Perhaps a bit overkill, given there was still enough inside to apparently immolate an entire high-rise, but as mentioned, Raule wasn’t in a very “give a shit” mood. He bolted the moment the projectile was out of his hands which proved to be a very good idea as he didn’t quite manage to hop the remains of the gate that had protected the core’s chamber.

More of the blast threw him right out and he hit the ground hard, tumbling to a halt after a few moments. He didn’t even need to turn around to understand a fire storm was raging on behind him as the heat and light made that quite clear enough. “Really?” The word was spoken with a sense of disbelief and annoyance as he felt the ground tremble under his feet and a bit of dust rain upon him from above. Apparently with the core’s death and its system of vines, its entire lair was about to destabilize. [color=0072bc]“Fuck me,”[/color] he muttered before he began to bolt for the surface, the Watcher’s soft glow illuminating his path for him. 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[color=f7941d]“Good to see you made it out. Thought things were looking bad when we started getting some heavy seismic readings.” [/color]

Raule paused in trying to catch his breath as he looked up into the man’s eyes before looking back away and taking a few more deep breaths. [color=0072bc]“Yeah… thought the whole damn thing… was going to collapse on my head.”[/color] He took a final deep breath before he straightened his posture and met the man’s gaze. [color=0072bc]“Anyways, things should calm down now. There’s probably still a number of infected, but if they should die off on their own in a few days or so without the core to maintain them.”[/color]

[color=f7941d]"We appreciate the effort you put in. It was bad enough trying to contain them, can’t imagine how we would have cleaned out the lair on our own.”[/color]

[color=0072bc]“Well it’s my job as much as it is yours.” [/color]

The words seemed to sit well with the man and he cracked a smile as he nodded. [color=f7941d]“Good words kid. You sure you don’t want to stick around, I’m sure nobody’s got an issue with that after what you pulled off.”[/color]

To that Raule had to shake his head. [color=0072bc]“Academy wants its fifth years back by now. There’s probably a griffon flying around up there wondering why it can’t find its passenger. Makes them terribly sad and disappointed.”[/color] The man seemed to chuckle at the imagery before he held out a hand.

[color=f7941d]“In that case, it’s been a real pleasure to have you around. Hopefully we’ll meet again.”[/color]

[color=0072bc]“Indeed Major. Farewell for now.”[/color] He gave the officer a firm handshake, slipping off his clawed gloves to do so before he turned to the east where the Academy lay. Refitting the piece of equipment, he gave some of the gathered soldiers a wave before he kicked himself into a full run. The buildings blurred past him as he accelerated towards max speed, fully aware of the massive wall that surrounded the entire complex. The ground cracked and fragmented under his feet when he pushed off it, and he just barely managed to clear the fortification; his claws actually carved small furrows in the material with a shower of sparks. 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Surprisingly, his run to the Academy came to a halt only a few kilometers away from the military base. A loud cry from above had him skid to a stop, leaving a small trail of ripped up earth, and he looked up expectantly. Unsurprisingly, his expectations proved correct as he saw the griffon dive bomb towards him. It was a bit hard to tell, but the creature might have looked a bit angry. [color=0072bc]“Well damn…”[/color] he muttered as he braced for impact.