I Found a Forbidden SSS-Rank Nanosuit After Being Abandoned

Zion's eyes narrowed, listening to Uriel's message.

'I have to finish these off fast,' he thought, alarmed. 'Before they swarm through the alleyway.'

He gripped the Deathcrawler's tail tightly with his scaled hand and yanked it hard.

Glancing behind him, he could see another tail flying towards him.

Without hesitation, he spun the first Deathcrawler by its tail, slamming its body straight into its friend's sharp tail.

As green blood sputtered on its face, the third Deathcrawler looked confused, not understanding how its friend had ended up on its tail.

Zion quickly jumped over the dead Deathcrawler, stabbing his sword towards the confused one.

It had no time to react as Zion's blade pierced through its back.

Standing up, Zion looked behind him.

'Two more to go.'

In the distance, he could hear the screeching of Deathcrawlers getting louder and louder.

Dashing forward, Zion swung his blade towards one of the remaining Deathcrawlers.

The Deathcrawler responded immediately, jumping forward while spinning its metal spine to the front.

Zion's sword cut deep into the spine, but didn't manage to cut all the way through.

'It's stuck,' he thought, glancing over his shoulder to see another tail coming for him.

He raised his other arm to block it, but he didn't manage to block it completely.

The tail bounced off his arm, and before he knew it, a sharp sting hit his collarbone.

Gripping the tail firmly, he pulled the Deathcrawler close to him.

Zion kicked hard, his foot slamming deep into the Deathcrawler until its tail snapped off from the impact.

At the same time, he finally managed to pull his blade free from the other one's spine.

It couldn't move anymore though, the deep wound in its spine completely severing most of its nerves.

[59 enemies remaining,] Uriel's voice echoed through his head. [Host is advised to retreat.]

"Retreat?" Zion said, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Not yet."

He could see the horde of Deathcrawlers approaching through the narrow pathway, but that wasn't the only path they had chosen.

Zion could see some climbing on top of buildings, jumping through windows—he could even hear some that had circled around the walls to attack him from behind.

Yet, he did not want to retreat.

'Despite the slight miscalculation with their screeches, most of them are still gathered in front of me.'

Raising his left arm towards the narrow passage, his muscles began to tense.

'I need to time this well,' he thought, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the horde of Deathcrawlers approaching through the passageway.

He felt energy run through his body, flowing towards his forearm.

''Tss,'' he gritted his teeth, feeling the heat gather and burn beneath his skin.

Despite the pain, he waited for the Deathcrawlers to get closer.

He stared into the eyes of the tens of creatures clawing through the narrow passage, not blinking once as he waited.

[Host is advised to release energy now!] Uriel's voice echoed through his ear.

Zion ignored the warning, narrowing his eyes as the Deathcrawlers got within 70 feet of him.

'Almost,' he thought, time slowing down around him.

As the first one jumped up and swung its tail dagger towards him—Zion let go.

A flash of blue light shot from his arm, tearing through the alleyway like a space cannon.

The closest Deathcrawlers were obliterated from impact, their bodies turning to ash before they even hit the ground. The shockwave crushed the ones behind them, pieces of metal and green blood flying through the air.

Zion flew a few feet back, crashing into a metal fence from the sheer force of the blast.

His ears rang, blood leaking out of them from the monstrous roar the railgun had released.

Pushing himself up, he stared in shock at the obliterated alleyway.

'Is a near full-powered blast really this strong?' he thought.

Glancing down at his arm, he could see the red grooves and steam rising from them, but he could only feel a slight sting thanks to his adrenaline taking over.

[26 enemies remaining,] Uriel's voice echoed through his head. [Warning, suit's energy levels dropped to 63%.]

'Shit,' he thought, quickly scanning around him for the other Deathcrawlers.

Luckily for Zion, he wasn't the only one who froze after seeing such a massive beam.

The remaining Deathcrawlers stared at him with fear in their eyes—some even had green blood leaking out of their ears themselves.

'I should take advantage of their confusion,' Zion thought, his blade pushing through his knuckles again as he stared at the Deathcrawlers.

He stumbled forward, before breaking out into a sprint to the nearest Deathcrawler.

Still frozen in shock, Zion managed to easily jab his blade through its throat.

Spinning around, he immediately dashed towards the next one, being a few feet away from it.

This Deathcrawler did not sit still.

It saw what Zion did to its friend and turned to run the moment he rushed towards it.

'I'm not chasing after that one,' Zion thought, frowning before searching for another one.

But as he turned around, he saw each and every Deathcrawler around him start to turn and run away at full speed.

"What the…"

The same creatures that had been swarming him moments ago were now fleeing at full speed.

He took a slow step forward, his blade still out, but the monsters didn't even look back.

"What the hell…" Zion muttered under his breath, watching them flee deep into the ruins of the city.

[They detected a mass casualty event,] Uriel said silently. [Their instincts forced them to leave.]

"I see…"

[Host shouldn't let his guard down,] Uriel continued. [With time, they'll forget all about what happened here.]

Zion nodded slowly, pulling his blade back into his arm.

He exhaled sharply, glancing at the map. "Let's finish this."

Moving carefully through the rubble, the thick smell of blood and metal stuck to the air, making him frown in disgust.

Uriel's marker led him deep into the city. Eventually, Zion came to a stop in front of a large crater near the center of the town.

[The pod is down there,] Uriel said.

Zion narrowed his eyes. All he could see was a hole leading deep into the ground.

"Uriel," he started slowly. "I don't think that's normal… is it?"

[…] Uriel didn't respond immediately.

[Negative, host.]