The dust and rock was taking some time to settle properly as the Mech ejected its spent HEAT round from underneath the tank-rifle on its shoulder. Higan ensured the A.S.P would load its anti-personnel round for the next shot, which would take about half a minute to prepare. There wasn’t much to be done while he waited for the dust to settle properly and the round to load, so he swapped over to electric vision to see if anything was visible through the cloud. Earlier engagements had taught him thermal vision was unsuitable for chasing Slimy, unsurprisingly considering its cold blooded nature, so electric vision was all that was available for perceiving through the smoke and dust. 

There didn’t seem to be anything directly through the recently widened entry point that could be considered alive. At least, nothing that lit up the electric sensor. That left Higan with the question of whether the monster had passed through the great cavern he perceived ahead and moved on, or if it had found a way to avoid detection again. There was also a simpler solution, it may be that the solid rock that still stood on either side of the destroyed entry-way could be concealing the lurking form of the Magna Pater. In many ways that would be the worst case scenario, it would be difficult to react in time if it were waiting just beside the door. 

The more Higan thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Slimy was waiting for him on the other side. However, would it be to the left of the doorway, the right, or directly above? With its injuries that had thus far seemed to render it grounded, striking from above seemed unlikely. Unless it could stick to the solid rock walls, though the shaking eruption of the HEAT round would probably have destabilised it if that were the case. That left the right or left. Fortunately for Higan, his A.S.P could perceive up to 180 degrees, so on entering the room he would have peripheral vision of both sides of his Mech until he moved properly inside and a blind spot formed. Not only that, but he was equipped with two weapons, secondary and tertiary armaments, one on each of the Mech’s arms. In that way, he had the capacity to cover his corners while the cannon on the shoulder covered the front. So, he could cover three angles of attack on entering the room, should Slimy be awaiting him.

Tentatively, which would seem somewhat ridiculous from an outsider’s perspective, the Mech strode forward. The heavy clunking sound of the anti-personnel round loading echoed through the chamber as the fearsome form of the A.S.P stepped through the dust and rock strewn doorway, just about entering the cavern as both its arms were flung wide, outstretched in each direction. Higan’s senses went into overdrive as he prepared to unleash hell should anything pop up on his sensors. 

“Come on then Slimy, let’s dance!”