Having sent the mines ahead, Dante waited for the explosion to happen, observing the three heroes from behind the corner. The hero he had stabbed with Aqua Edge was still on the ground, with the other two hovering above him.
Volcan had designated him as a Level 1 Intermediate Genome, which convinced Dante that he was the one responsible for tracking. The one capable of phasing through walls was a Level 2 Prime, and the last one, likely their leader, was a Level 3 Advanced.
Dante wished that his resident AI could be faster at figuring out the abilities of their enemies in detail. The leader of the trio was the only one who had yet to show his, and because of that, the path to victory remained unclear.
It didn’t help that they had shut down their NIMs, preventing Volcan from frying their brains. That showed that they suspected him of being the Diver who snatched control over the hotel’s security, forcing them to be on guard against cyber attacks as well
’C’mon, it’s just a bubble.’ Dante thought to himself. ’Pop it already.’
Of course, the cloaked heroes weren’t stupid enough to fall for the same trick more than once. The instant they detected the mines, they scrambled to pick up their fallen comrade and hastily retreated.
Using Hydrokinesis, Dante gave the bubbles one more push and increased their speed. That finally forced the phaser to throw another knife, but that only caused the bubbles to bounce around. Dante ensured that they would keep going forward, and once enough distance was crossed, he activated the remote detonator.
A series of devastating explosions resounded, and the twenty-eighth floor trembled violently as a powerful gale blew through its corridors. Hiding behind the corner, Dante could only grin under the helmet of his aquatic armor.
Now that was a real explosion. Earlier, he made sure to limit the power of the bubbles, tricking the heroes into thinking they were relatively harmless. Nevertheless, Aqua Mines was a Level 3 ability. At their maximum power, each bubble was equivalent to a tank shell, and chaining several at the same time was nothing short of overkill.
That said, no matter how powerful the explosions were, it didn’t matter if the enemy could just phase through them.
Still watching from behind the wall, Dante saw that the three heroes were still in one piece. It made him wonder if taking out the tracker was the right choice. If he had targeted the phaser, things would have been over by now.
’Volcan, how do we deal with that thing?’
As he asked the question, Dante activated Mist Veil and Hydrokinesis to move the fog back in place. The corridor had absorbed the brunt of the explosions. The chandeliers on the ceiling were destroyed, leaving a big patch of it enveloped in darkness. The walls and floors were cracked, and he doors to some of the rooms were blown off. Despite it all, the three heroes remained unscathed, all thanks to the bastard who can pass through things.
[The only direct way to counter the ability to phase through solid matter is Type 8-6’s Gravity Distortion.]
’C’mon, Volcan, you seriously want me to put that on just to deal with a Level 2?’
[Unfortunately, that seems to be the only direct way.]
’And what are the indirect ways?’
[Wait until the ability is inactive, or find a way to force its deactivation.]
From what he had seen so far, Dante concluded that the Level 2 hero didn’t keep his ability active the entire time. It also didn’t react automatically, requiring him to focus on what he wanted to phase through things. If there is one thing he has yet to figure out, it would be why the bastard doesn’t fall through the floor when his power is active.
’Does he limit the phasing to-’
[Dante! They’re on the move.]
With his thoughts interrupted, Dante noticed that one of the cloaked heroes was currently running in his direction. The tag Volcan attached to him previously revealed that he was the team’s leader, Raven.
With visibility nonexistent now that the fog had filled the corridor once more, it was unclear what he was trying to achieve. But it didn’t really matter. Now that he had separated himself from the other two, he was open to whatever attack Dante threw at him.
Dante didn’t let his guard down. In fact, seeing the hero rush in his direction forced him to heighten his guard, suspecting that his opponent had something in store. He learned what it was a moment later when the hero flourished his cloak and scattered something in the air.
Before he could discern what the small objects were, they suddenly moved, all of them shooting forward like a rain of bullets. Dante jumped away from the corner he was hiding in, but his fear came true when the tiny objects made a sharp turn and followed after him.
The tiny objects weren’t following him. Instead, they split into three different groups, with each one heading down one of the three turns. Their speed left him no time to change into another armor, and by the time he thought of activating one of Type 2-3’s abilities, the salvo struck him head-on.
As he raised his arms to guard, Dante noticed that there was no impact, leaving him confused. Unsure if he was hit by any of the projectiles, he looked down intending to check himself, but at that moment, his entire body suddenly moved.
As if he had been yanked by a rope, his body shot into the air and flew in the direction the projectiles came from. He noticed the red silhouette of his enemy waiting for him at the intersection and instantly abandoned his attempt at understanding what was happening, activating Aqua Edge instead.
As water coalesced into a blade in his hands, Dante poised himself for an attack, watching as his opponent prepared a long weapon as well. They both swung at the same time, a sharp clang echoing from their clash, causing the surrounding fog to disperse.