The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Commander Ajax vs The Abomination

—–A Few Minutes Before the Abomination Showed Up—–

Commander Ajax stood with a senior officer by his side, both watching the test unfold on the holographic display before them instead of the tablets they previously held.

They were in what looked like control room, below them were the personnel who made sure the AI didn’t go past a set limit since a mistake would cause a disaster for the cadets.

“This year’s cadets are performing exceptionally well,” the officer remarked, arms crossed as he observed the dwindling number of participants on the map. “Better than expected.”

Commander Ajax nodded but didn’t say anything, his focus fixed on certain teams.

The few that stood out.

Team 7 in particular, had displayed exceptional coordination and adaptability. They had handled multiple engagements with efficiency, avoided unnecessary conflicts, and strategically positioned themselves for success.

They had even taken out two seniors all on their own, one of which was considered a genius who only needed a miniscule amount of soul power to get to platinum rank.

Just then, the display flickered.

A brief distortion. A glitch.

The personnel below them noticed it as well, some typing furiously on their consoles while others exchanged worried glances.

Ajax’s sharp eyes caught the anomaly immediately. “What was that?”

One of the technicians spoke up, his voice laced with confusion. “Sir, there’s… an unknown entity in the simulation.”

“Unknown?” Ajax’s expression hardened as he muttered to himself ‘first the Hydra and now this?’.

The officer beside him leaned forward. “Explain.”

“We’re detecting a massive energy spike. Something just appeared in the simulation that wasn’t generated by the AI.”

Another flicker, then an alarm blared.

[Warning: Unauthorized Entity Detected.]

The holographic map adjusted, and a new marker appeared—a massive red blip at the edge of the battlefield.

One of the personnel swore under his breath. “That’s not one of our programmed primals.”

Commander Ajax clenched his jaw. “Then what the hell is it?”

Ajax’s gaze darkened as he stared at the screen.

The unknown entity was moving fast and it was heading straight for Team 7.

“Can you stop it” The officer asked.

“No Sir, whatever that is, its not connected to the code running the simulation” one of the technicians explained.

Without wasting a moment, commander Ajax started heading towards the training field/simulation room where the eliminated cadets waited.

The field was only an elevator ride away from the control room but by the time he arrived, the section where the simulation went on was covered by what looked like a green glowing forcefield.

The eliminated cadets were curiously watching the forcefield, murmuring amongst themselves.

Commander Ajax’s gaze swept across the field before locking one of the technicians who had come down with him. “What’s the status?”

The man stiffened under the commander’s gaze “Sir! A containment protocol has been activated. We didn’t trigger it—it just… appeared.”

First, the anomaly appeared in the simulation. Now, a forcefield had locked the area down.

Something—or someone—was interfering.

“Open it.” commander Ajax ordered in a firm tone.

The technician hesitated. “Sir, we don’t even know if we can—”

“I wasn’t asking.”

The technician swallowed hard and immediately turned to the control panel he brought down with him, his hands moving swiftly over the interface desperately trying to shut the forcefield off.

Seconds passed. The forcefield flickered slightly only for it to glow brightly once again.

“Sir,” the technician called out, visibly uneasy. “Whatever activated this barrier, it’s not responding to our overrides. We’re locked out.”

The commander narrowed his eyes at the technician, who felt sweat dripping down his brows, before turning back to the forcefield.

He then proceeded to walk towards it, stopping only when he was close enough.

He gave the forcefield a light tap, which sent ripples across it for a brief moment before it stabilized.

Ajax’s muscles tensed as he pulled his fist back. For a brief moment, the air around him stilled.

Then—

BOOM!

His fist struck the forcefield with crushing force. A shockwave rippled outward, distorting the space around it.

The cadets watching took a step back as a deafening crack echoed through the room.

The glowing barrier trembled. Veins of cracks spread across the entire forcefield.

And then—

SHATTER!

The entire forcefield collapsed in an instant, fragments of green energy disintegrating into the air like shattered glass.

A pulse of air blasted outward, rustling uniforms and sending a wave of pressure across the room.

The technician’s jaw dropped as he witnessed the scene. At first, it might seem like an ordinary show of strength but he knew better.

The forcefield was made entirely of energy, which meant that without using the consoles to turn it off, it was basically impossible to.

But the commander just punched through the forcefield as if it was nothing but glass.

Without another word, he stepped forward, toward the simulation field and team 7. He moved as fast as he could, which left a boom behind him.

A couple of seconds later, he arrived at the scene of the fight but was surprised to see that the fight was almost over with team 7 as the winner.

Even if they had the number advantage, as gold rank tamers, it should have been impossible for them to take a platinum-tier primal.

Before he could relax, a crack appeared in the space around the team.

The primal reappeared, it looked different with new glowing veins pulsed along its carapace.

It jumped towards the team aiming to cut them down with its massive scythes but commander Ajax moved faster.

With a defining boom, he threw a punch at the primal before it could reach team 7. The primal was sent flying into one of the buildings.

“Hope I’m not too late,” he asked as he rolled his shoulders”you did good cadets, but step back now.”

“I’ll handle this.” Team 7 followed his command and moved back as the abomination started recovering from the attack.

Roar!!

The abomination angrily roared at Ajax, its glowing veins pulsing brightly as it pulled itself from the rubble. Its once-shattered limbs due to the commander’s attack had already started regenerating, the fractures sealing with unnatural speed.

The sight alone would have been enough to shake even a seasoned fighter. But Ajax?

He simply exhaled.

The commander tilted his head slightly, cracking his neck. “I could’ve sworn that attack would do it, guess I’m getting rusty”

The abomination screeched in response, then lunged.

Unlike before, its speed had increased dramatically. Its body blurred as it crossed the distance in an instant, its scythes aiming straight for Ajax’s torso.

It swung its scythes, aiming to cleave the commander in two, but its blades sliced through nothing but empty air.

Ajax was already gone, when suddenly—

BOOM!

A thunderous impact followed as Ajax’s fist collided with the abomination’s head, slamming it back into the crater it had crawled out of.

The sheer force of the strike sent deep cracks spiderwebbing across the ground.

The cadets could only watch in stunned silence.

“Is..is that even possible?” Clara asked, jaws dropped as she watched the the commander dominate the abomination with nothing but his fist.

Ajax watched as the abomination convulsed, its body shifting and its veins pulsing brighter.

Whatever it was trying to do—evolve, regenerate, or something worse—he wasn’t going to let it happen.

BOOM!

In an instant, Ajax vanished from his spot, reappearing above the abomination. Before it could even react, his fist came crashing down like a meteor.

CRACK!

The ground beneath the creature buckled from the impact, forming a deep crater. The abomination screeched in agony, multiple of its bones stuck out of its skin as its regeneration desperately tried to keep up with the attacks.

But commander wasn’t done yet.

He grabbed one of its scythe-like limbs, twisting it effortlessly before tearing it off like it was nothing more than paper.

The creature barely had time to react before the commander’s knee slammed into its head, sending it straight into the air.

In the blink of an eye, he was above it again.

“Let’s get this over with” the commander muttered as he pulled his fist back.

Then, with a final punch which caused the space around his fist to tremble, Ajax sent the abomination crashing back down, its body embedding deep into the ruins below.

The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield, causing dust and debris to rise. The ground trembled as cracks spread outward like a web.

Silence followed.

The abomination twitched once… then stopped. Its glowing veins flickered weakly before fading entirely.

It was dead.

Ajax landed smoothly, rolling his shoulders as if he had just finished a light workout. “That’s that.”

Behind him, Team 7 was frozen, staring in stunned silence.

“Are you alright?” The commander turned and asked, his tone was not as scary as it usually was.

“Yes sir” Reid replied and the team nodded.

Ajax nodded at their response, his expression remained neutral as if he had nothing more to say.

“You did well cadets” he praised, which shocked most of the eliminated seniors and technicians “the test is over”.

As soon as that was said, the buildings around them started crumbling into pixels and the original field took form.

“NOW GET INTO POSITIONS” Commander Ajax reverted to his normal tone, causing all the cadets to immediately line up.

Reid and his team did the same as they waited for the commander’s next words.