The toxic mist swirled around the bunker, seeping into every crack, clouding vision, and distorting shadows. The bio-weapon canister hissed at Eva's feet as she tightened her grip on her knife, her heartbeat hammering in her ears. Kruger had staggered—but he wasn't down.
Through the mist, his silhouette loomed, a titan of flesh and corruption. His mutated arm spasmed, its grotesque form struggling against the chemical reaction. He exhaled sharply, his breath turning to vapor as his enhanced metabolism fought to purge the toxin.
Then, a chuckle. Low, guttural, predatory.
Eva's stomach twisted.
Kruger's crimson eyes cut through the haze, locking onto her. "Impressive," he rumbled. "But if you think a little poison will end me, you're mistaken."
Eva didn't answer. Words wouldn't save her. Action would.
She moved—fast, weaving between rusted crates and broken steel beams, her knife poised for a precise strike. A normal soldier would be blind in this fog. But Kruger was no normal soldier.
The mutated general moved with inhuman speed, anticipating her trajectory. His arm lashed out like a whip—Eva barely ducked, feeling the wind of the strike as his claws shredded through a steel wall.
She rolled, coming up behind him, and drove her blade into the exposed flesh of his unmutated shoulder.
Kruger grunted—more annoyance than pain. His opposite hand snapped up like a vice, catching her wrist before she could twist the blade deeper.
His grip tightened. Bones creaked.
Eva's teeth clenched as she fought against his strength. "Still clinging to your humanity, Kruger?" she hissed. "Or is there even any left?"
Kruger's smirk was laced with something dark. "Humanity? That's a weakness you can't afford in this war."
With a brutal motion, he yanked her forward, slamming her into the bunker wall. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs. The knife slipped from her grasp.
Kruger loomed over her, pressing his weight down, his mutated arm twitching as if eager to consume. "You should've stayed dead," he murmured.
Eva's fingers scrambled across the floor, reaching—searching—until—
Her hand closed around something cold.
With every ounce of strength left in her battered body, she smashed the remaining bio-weapon canister directly into Kruger's chest.
The glass shattered. The toxin exploded in a concentrated burst.
Kruger roared—a sound that shook the bunker to its foundation. His body convulsed as the chemical reaction surged through his veins.
Eva kicked free, rolling to safety as the mutated general dropped to one knee, his breath ragged. His flesh was resisting—but even he wasn't immune forever.
Staggering to her feet, she turned and ran into the darkness of the bunker's lower levels.
Kruger, coughing, growling, grinned through the pain.
"This just got interesting."