Nuclear Warlock

*BOOM*

*BOOM *BOOM* *BOOM*

In the depths of the dark forest, in the forbidden sector of the city, explosions could be heard everywhere.

It was past midnight, yet every corner of the forest could be seen, illuminated by the fire which was spreading at a rapid speed.

"dammit"

"What the hell is happening?"

Jeffrey was harrying through the hallways, around all sorts of people were moving chaotically.

Guards, scientists, technicians….

This was the 013 Eclipse Core nuclear reactor; it was a top-secret government facility for researching nuclear energy, especially its use in combat.

Doctor Jeffrey Oppenheim was the head scientist of this facility and the leader of its various projects.

"What is happening? Who is attacking us? Is it the work of a terrorist group or what"

Jeffery was trying to communicate with the head of the security department while harrying to the deepest floor of the facility.

He was running with all his might, jumping on the flights of stairs as using the elevator in such circumstances was not an option.

"…doctor…ery…comunit…outsi..cut"

The communications device was working properly, Jeffery could only hear incoherent words.

 "It seems that there is significant damage to the facility, where is the national security force ??"

"They should have arrived by now. How can the government stand by and watch while the facility is being destroyed ??"

"I'll figure that out later, now my top priority is to shut down the main core, the Steller core"

"If it overheats, the consequences could be not imagined"

*heef* *heef*

Among the high-pitched alert sounds and the red flashing lights, he could hear his labored breathing, yet he kept running, he could not afford to stop.

Being a scientist, his job never required physical power and he was not a fan of sports, he rarely did any physical activity let alone run like that.

Never in his life had he run like this, he felt his lungs were about to explode.

Finally, he reached the 13th underground floor, none of the guards who were usually there could be seen.

He hurried towards the large metallic door which led to the core of the reactor.

He bent down on his knee trying to catch a breath while putting his right hand on the scanner.

*heef* *heef*

"I should have listened to John; a certain degree of fitness could always come in handy"

"I'll sign up for the gym tomorrow after we handle this crisis"

Jeffery never thought that tomorrow would never come, the possibility of the destruction of the facility never crossed his mind, it was a top nuclear governmental facility overseen by the president's office directly.

"Even though the national security forces were late, they should have arrived by now"

 "I'll just have to shut the central core for now"

Jeffery thought to himself while walking through the gate.

*clank*

The metallic door closed tightly.

*********************************

In the security department, guards could be seen running around with their weapons.

"Activate the anti-air force defense system"

They could see through the surveillance system the shadow of tens of helicopters in the night sky, they were showering the facility with missiles.

It was akin to a meteor shower through the night.

 The machine guns were firing toward the sky, the empty shells fell on the ground sounded like steel chains falling.

"We cannot handle this large number of enemies, where are the reinforcements ??"

The security guards aimed their weapons at the sky, shooting randomly, hoping to hit some of the helicopters, or at least disrupt their formation.

Even though this was a nuclear research facility, it was not a military facility, it was not built to handle such an attack, and there was neither equipment nor manpower to repel it.

The Eclipse Core nuclear reactor research facility was located near one of the country's main cities far away from the border, so any potential threats could be detected and dealt with even before getting close to the facility.

Let alone the fact no one would be stupid enough to attack directly as that meant going to total war.

From afar several lights were seen speeding through the forest, their hard metallic body crushed every object in their path, the sound of trees getting ripped apart could be clearly heard.

"It's the national defense forces !!! we are saved"

The guards were on the verge of collapse, they held on with all their might, but this was not the level of attack that they could handle.

The arrival of reinforcements restored hope, igniting their fighting spirit and raising their morals.

The Armored vehicles stopped in the front yard, the national defense forces symbol was clearly displayed on their sides, the silver star symbol was shining as if it was a real star.

Several people in special force uniforms got out of the vehicles, the sound of their boots shocked the ground.

"Finally!! They arrived at last !!"

"Help is here, we are saved !!"

The guards of the facility cheered; they ran towards the special forces as if reaching for their salivation.

No one noticed at this moment that the helicopters in the sky slowed their fire down, they went to a standby position.

"Quickly! Take out your weapons! let's destroy the enemies togath-"

One of the guards stood off in front of a man who seemed to be the captain, he was tall and well-built, he was wearing a golden ribbon on his shoulder different from the other soldiers indicating that he was one of the higher-ups.

*BANG*

Everything became silent suddenly, the shouting and the cheering of the guards stopped.

*THUD*

A body fell on the ground gently, fresh blood was oozing from the head of the man, he fell silently and gently.

The air itself froze, the only thing that could be heard was the flapping of the helicopter blades in the sky.

The guards could not even blank, their pupils were dilated, their eyes were bulging as if they could fall from their sockets at any moment.

The wind brushed by their bodies, gently flattering the surrounding trees; it was cold, very cold, but not as cold as their bodies.

"W-What is the meaning of this-"

A guard asked with a shaking voice, his throat was dry, he could not even finish the sentence.

The symbol of the national security force was displayed, their uniforms, weapons, and equipment were clearly that of the national security department, even though he hoped that there was no way they could be imposters.

"There is no need to ask anything, there is no need for words as there is only one answer for this question and that answer is in front of you"

A flat voice devoid of emotions replied to him from underneath the special force mask.

The guards felt a chill in their spines; their faces were deathly pale.

"Fight bac-"

A stormy rain of bullets showered them before they could even move an inch, their bodies fell to the ground.

One of the guards was lucky or even unlucky, he sustained heavy injuries but did not die, he fell on his back with eyes facing the sky.

The helicopters slowly approached the ground, descending through the night.

There was one getting closer trying to land in the area close to him.

The tower spotlights were still moving, at that point one of the rays flashed on the side of the helicopter, illuminating it for a moment, a sliver star flashed for a split second through the night, as the ray of light moved, the last light in the guard's eye dimmed away, the darkness shrouded the helicopter.

 **************************************

Jeffery entered the main control room; the alarm sounds filled his ears with everything in front of him flashing with a red light.

This was the main control room, facing the core reactor directly in front of him, the thick reinforced special glass was not able to block the eerie green light emitting from the core.

A sphere of pure energy shining with a bright light akin to a green sun was suspended in the middle of the huge chamber using electromagnetic fields, surrounded by all sorts of complicated and advanced technological devices.

He underwent an iris scan, handprint scan and used the master key card to gain full access to the main AI-powered quantum computer which was controlling the whole base.

It was one of the few supercomputers in the world, capable of performing complex experiments and to some degree having its own will.

"NuroFusion welcomes Dr. Jeffery, full authorization granted"

A mechanical voice echoed inside the main room.

 "Shut down the main core!"

"Conformation would like to shut the main core reactor, once started the process cannot be stopped, the whole system needs to be restarted again to ignite the core"

"Yes!"

"Affirmative, the process of the main core started"

The door to the control room opened as Dr Jeffery was taking a deep breath sitting on the ground.

"Dr Jeffery"

A man wearing a neat suit entered slowly accompanied by several soldiers, with a slight smile on his face.

"Good to see you Alvan, have you dealt with the attackers?"

Jeffery knew that something was amiss, for Alvan Brooker, the newly appointed vice president himself to be here. It was out of place.

With his hand in the pocket of his lab coat, he was moving his hand in a certain way, giving orders to the NuroFusion system.

"Jeffery, my old friend, we built the project together"

"I still remember the first time I saw you at the nuclear power summit, at that time I was fascinated with your vast knowledge and ideas".

"You were bright as the nuclear core behind you"

"Alas your light is doomed to subside today, sharing the same fate with the core you built yourself, a truly befitting ending for you"

Jeffery looked Alvan in the eye "One word, why?"

"Jeffery, the council now sees you as a potential threat. You solely control this 013 Eclipse Core, all systems here were set by you, all cores here including the main core are under your direct control, not only that but your recent actions in refusing to cooperate with our other researchers were the last straw"

"You can only blame yourself; you should have accepted retirement instead of string trouble by making the whole facility appeal your retirement decision"

"It was at that moment that we knew that you were the one in control, and not us"

*Haaa*

Jeffery took another deep breath "To think that you would go to this length for a potential threat, the counsel is truly petty"

"Let alone, do you mean that if I retried, then I would be now in my villa, enjoying peace?"

"Yes, you would be in your villa, as for peace ...dead people also enjoy peace …. That's why they say rest in peace, aren't they?"

"But then all the workers, guards, and scientists here would not have died without knowing why"

 "you bastard!"

Jeffery shouted in a fit of anger, he took another deep breath to calm down, the last breath.

"You are right, I will show you why labeling me as a potential threat was not unreasonable, I will show you that I am truly the one who is in control!"

"NuroFusion, start self-destruction"

"What-"

*BOOM*

 ******************************************

Jeffrey finished all necessary commands with his hand while buying time during the conversation.

So, when he gave the order, the core exploded directly.

The Eclipse Core nuclear reactor had the most lethal nuclear power in existence powered by the most advanced AI computer, its destructive power was capable of erasing a country, yet Jeffery condensed the power to the facility and the surrounding forest only.

Everything exploded in a split second, everything was erased directly from existence, the only thing that was left was the extreme heat and flames lighting up the night sky.

It was 2 past midnight yet the whole country was lit up for a moment. The world was flooded with light and heat, as though morning had arrived in the dead of night.

Hundreds of kilometers away people left their homes, and they stood in the street watching the light.

"The sun has risen"

Someone said while looking at the fascinating light.

 It was truly a midnight sunrise.