Hardshell

**Dev. Status** | Conceptual

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## Tactical Analysis

* **(Title 1):** (Overview)

* **(Title 2):** (Secondary)

* **(Title 3):** (Miscellaneous capabilities)

* **(Title 4):** (Upgraded nature)

## Operational History

Yui let out an agonizing scream as the thing's claw-liked fist slashed open her bowels, eventually she went silent as it ripped out her innards and reduced to matter that it consumed.

Filo ordered her squad, and the Blackshirts under them, to fire everything on that thing, in the hopes of avenging their fallen friend, but not even her grenades were able to crack its **hard shell**, in fact it barely seemed fazed as it turned the mass of red flesh "head" towards them just as they emptied their rounds, all that remained of Yui was her equipment and clothing, before the spikes on its back retracted into its body and it crouched as if preparing to pounce.

One of the Blackshirts squeaked as he, and everyone else, slowly backed away as it lay there, until another limb erupted on top of it in a gout of steam, a dome-like mass of flesh surrounded by holes.

Filo's combat instinct took over.

"TAKE COVER!" was all she could yell as she, and her surviving Imperial Guards, took cover behind the various crates. At the same time, the Blackshirts panicked and tried to run, only for the Hardshell to release a barrage of spikes, each tethered to a red string of cells, and Filo witnessed as her two Blackshirt squads were pierced by the spike. The unlucky ones who somehow survived could only stare in shock before the spikes reeled them in, followed by agonizing screams as their body began to melt and steam like liquid, reduced to an organic slurry while their equipment and clothing clattered on the ground.

Filo's common sense began yelling at her to retreat with her remaining friends as nothing could stop that thing, yet her devotion to her beloved Naofumi drowned out her cowardice. Master Naofumi ordered her to hold the line, and she would do so! Even if it meant-

The crackling of her communicator broke her thoughts, followed by a familiar, beloved, voice.

"All forces pull back to the center! ASAP!"

She knew it! She knew her master would come to save them!

Filo, and what remained of her squad, wasted no time and ran, closing the door behind them to slow it down. But even with a headstart, the beast tore through the door in seconds and gave chase, slowly catching up. Filo would hear through her communicator as other forces within the facility followed Naofumi's order, some of them made it, but most of them would fall to the creatures, each scream of panic turned to agony made it harder to rein in her emotions, and a few times she would a glance back, she would see it getting closer and grabbed a member of her squad, their screams echoed through the hall followed by the hiss of liquid turning to steam.

Eldhardt was the first, a lashing tentacle severed his torso from his waist before its vines ripped out his organs. Emilia followed as it took a a large piece of rubble and threw it, severing the entire right side of her body, she had a few seconds to crawl and beg them to not leave her. Kazuma was "lucky" when he tripped in that the thing chose to smash his head underfoot, sprouting tendrils on its back to grab his corpse continued forward.

Soon the exit was within sight, soon she and Shea would escape, but as she looked back she saw that Shea was still far away, and the beast was on her tail. And as the beast drew closer Filo's hand began to shake as it reached for the controls, her mind desperately begging for Shea to outrun it. But she almost reached her Filo's fear overtook her and she locked the door and ran.

The face of Shea's expression, as it went from hopeful to despair, would forever haunt her vision, and her banging on the door and begging her to open the door as it turned to panicked crying then a scream as it consumed her, her last words begging for her master to save her, will forever remind her cowardice. But after a short ride, and a moment of calm, Filo would see her master.

"Filo, report."

"The things have already breached the outer perimeter, more than half our forces are dead, and those things keep multiplying! We can't hold out master!"

"And what of our nobles?"

"No casualties, every one of us has given our lives to ensure they made it to the evacuation zone."

"Good. Then I'll evacuate with the others and have these creatures pile into the center, after which we'll bombard this facility."

"Genius master! But how would we draw them in?"

Naofumi turned around and smiled, he already had a plan. Master always knew the answer.

"Oh, it's very simple."

Filo straightened to listen to his plan, the fear she felt fading away, so long as she was with her beloved master she'd make it through, and see these beasts die for her fallen comrade. Her smile soon turned to shock and she fell from a shock of intense pain. Looking at herself she saw a bullet hole in her stomach, and master Naofumi holding a pistol, his smile turned into a psychotic grin.

"You and the rest of the tubemen will be the bait." Naofumi fired two more shots, aimed at Filo's feet.

"Got to make sure you don't run."

Filo could only stare as Naofumi walked passed her towards the elevator. And when the shock wore off she could only try to crawl to him in vain.

"M-master?"

"Normally I’d just detonate that collar, but from what I heard these things prefer their meals to be fresh."

The elevator door closed, leaving Filo alone in the control room. Soon she would see as the facility locking down, trapping her and the rest of the Guards (except the nobles), and the screens showed as every guard was torn apart by these creatures, and heard them calling for their master, begging for their life, or simply taking their own life.

Hot, bitter, tears began falling as Filo witnessed her comrades get slaughtered, being food to these things, her mind unable to comprehend how master Naofumi betrayed her. When she heard something climbing up to her area, and her heart practically stopped as she saw the beast she ran away from, its faceless "head" staring at her and it advanced.

Pulling her grenade launcher to her side she shot at it, but it simply walked towards her and grabbed her forearm, and with a swing of its other limb severed it clean off before absorbing it.

Panicking, and mad with pain, Filo tried to kick it back, only for it to grab her left leg and ripped it clean off. Screaming in panic and agonising pain she pulled her bayonet in her remaining arm and tried to slash it, but it simply grabbed her hand, then enveloped her entire arm and ripped it clean from her shoulder, and lifted Filo by her head.

Staring at that thing's "face", blinded by pain and bleeding out, Filo could only cry as she mentally begged for someone, anyone, to save her, her remaining leg kicking at it in vain. The Hardshell "face" then opened a mouth (or did it make a mouth) and produced a mass of tentacles that stabbed into her stomach and began consuming her. Filo would spend the last few seconds of her life screaming in unimaginable pain, begging for someone to save her until eventually her head was turned into more Vorgaxan cells, and all that was left of her was her equipment.

Only after her death, and every Vorgaxa was trapped within the facility, did the Nobles within their evacuation airship ordered multiple Carolinium bombs to be dropped until the facility was nothing but a crater. Naofumi looking towards what's left with sorrow for the lives lost.

It'll cost a fortune to replace the equipment he bought for his Imperial Guards and a new batch of tubemen soldiers, regretting that he didn't take the equipment of that guard he shot before leaving. Fortunately, as the headmaster of Shieldbearer Academy, he can always get a new batch of the best Imperial Guards/comfort women.

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