CHAPTER 43: NIGHTMARISH CITY

"—Hah," Seven exhaled, looking through the series of holes born of his fist.

[Detection of accelerated heart rate; altering serotonin levels to calm your brain.]

"You are a direct example of the boundless potential mankind possesses," without warning, the voice of the unreasonable Voyager played through the building’s intercoms again. "You have displayed that just now against Jericho–a man that has embraced gifts from worlds beyond."

Seven looked up at the ceiling, unknowing of just where the peculiar figure was, but shouting nonetheless, "I’m not going with you, so just get that through your head–or you’ll end him like your friend!--"

The words of advice he gave were met only by the floor beneath his feet giving out, taking all sense of stability away. He caught himself on a rusted bar that stuck out of the collapsed wall, hanging on as he peered below.

There was no semblance of the plaza floor now, completely caved in and giving way to something from the deepest reaches of hell; a mass of black tendrils from beneath the surface.

"What the hell is that...?" He mumbled.

[Primordial Lifeform Registered.] ["???"]

[[Classification: [////] | Threat Level: Disaster Magnitude 9.9+]

"It seems we’ve woken up our slumbering guest–try not to become its food, Seven. I believe a young man with your gifts should be capable of navigating out of the way of this situation, though. We will meet again soon enough," Mitra’s voice echoed through the plaza.

The entire building trembled beneath the presence of whatever lurked beneath it. As portions of the foundation began to crumble, he quickly moved, setting his sights across the store, where the floor had yet to give out.

He felt the bar he stood on begin to loosen from its spot in the wall before leaping off of it, feeling the open space beneath his boots before landing them on the other side.

’Can’t stay here—need to get out before it comes down on top of me,’ he hurriedly thought.

He paced across the second floor walkway, watching entire chunks of the ceiling collapse. Everything rumbled, shaking greatly as if the Earth itself was groaning. From beneath, he could see more of the ground splitting, giving way for the abyssal tendrils.

"Whenever you wanna wake up, I’d appreciate it, Izo!" He shouted while running, feeling the ground beneath his boots quiver.

The entire structure groaned, feeling the elevated flooring begin to tilt. He glanced back, witnessing the black limbs from below tearing away at the seams of the architecture. Each stride carried him several meters, moving at a superhuman pace as everything seemed to dismantle behind him, leaping off the second story back into the lobby.

The enigmatic limbs of the deep continued to pour in from below, pushing aside the tiles as the ground split. He ran towards what he could only hope was the entrance, witnessing the fountain ahead of his path be uprooted, sending water cascading down in every direction.

[Cardiovascular efficiency enhanced | Maintaining sprinting strength.]

He moved his feet with rapid steps as the haunting sounds of the mall’s decay echoed behind him, only looking at the boarded doors ahead. As he reached the sealed exit, he didn’t stop for a moment, leading with his fist as he blasted the wooden blockades out–

The moment he shattered the way open, he arrived outside with a sigh of relief, only to find his vision consumed by a twinkle in the sky. Looking up, he found a hundred more sparkles just like it, originating just beyond the clouds of the night sky.

Both the earpiece and the robot on his shoulder seemed to activate at the same time:

"//All soldiers, get to cover—! Find a basement, anything under the surface!//" The General’s hurried voice played into his ear.

Izo issued the same warning, "Seven, I’m getting reading of an enemy assault—an orbital strike, maybe dozens!"

["On March Fifteenth, 2030, the largest Fulminare bombardment thus far struck Sector Fifty."]

At that moment, it finally clicked for him–the oddities of the hold the invaders had on the city, and their reluctance to make a move until then. A complete bait–holding their cards until mankind brought out their most valuable assets.

The entire sky roared as dusk was overwhelmed by the shining objects that descended. At that same moment, every member of mankind’s defense force looked up at the same sky, the same dreadful sight that invoked total silence–

It was the end of the world; the last bastion of humanity’s strength would be wiped off the face of the Earth, alongside the entire sector. At the same moment, the lonesome soldier witnessed the asphalt split, concrete rupturing around him with the emergence of the abyssal presence.

["On March Fifteenth, 2030, [———] awakened within Sector Fifty."]

The pitch-black limbs reached out from the cracks in the sector, rising into the sky, intercepting the outer-world missiles that descended. It felt like time reached a grinding halt as he simply stared up, witnessing the collision of the enigmatic strides of black and the alien bombardment.

Each of the annihilating missiles, packed with science capable of eradicating life, rendering the sector uninhabitable, were met by the black force. In the sky, each changed, from silver spears that shined with an azure light, to colorful rockets–

["On March Fifteenth, 2030, the largest Fulminare bombardment thus far struck Sector Fifty."]

["On March Fifteenth, 2030, the largest Fulminare [----] thus far struck Sector Fifty."]

["On March Fifteenth, 2030, the largest firework display thus far struck Sector Fifty."]

Great explosions of colorful sparks ignited the night sky, bringing joyful light over the harrowing scenery.

Seven kept looking up in utter confusion, "What...was that?"

A few blinks were needed to make certain his eyes didn’t deceive him, but it was the truth—a sky full of fireworks as if it were Independence Day.

"//Seven! Do you read me?!" The desperate voice of Haoyu buzzed into his earpiece.

"//–There’s a connection finally!" Alexander’s untamed words poured through.

The young man winced, nearly taking the communicator out from the sudden loudness in his ear, though was relieved immediately.

"I hear you," Seven responded, tapping on the mechanism in his ear. "I’m outside of a mall...Well, the remnants of it. What the hell just happened?"

"//That’s what I’d like to know as well. Is this some kind of signal made by the Fulminare? A set of flares?//" Haoyu questioned.

"I don’t know...I think they did intend to bomb us, but something changed—I’m not sure what, but something did," Seven responded, looking around.

Even if he escaped the crumbling mall, he found himself in an unfamiliar corner of the sector—alone.

"//Whatever the case, you need to return to base, pronto. I’m sorry, but we can’t afford sending any units to meet you halfway–you’ll need to make it back on your own. After that display of fireworks, it seems like this whole sector woke up–it’s going to get chaotic.//" The blunt words of Haoyu relayed.

"Got it," Seven said, tapping the earpiece, glancing at the robot on his shoulder. "I’m leaving the directions to you, Izo."

The artificial intelligence blinked, "I can connect to the cloud, finally! Alright, straight ahead; follow this road until you reach the cinema."

He followed the guidance of the small bot, traversing the empty street with his eyes and ears kept open. Rather than take his time with slow steps, he sprinted across the asphalt as the metal soles hammered the street with each stride.

[Enlarging lungs, enhancing ability to transmute oxygen.]

With efficient exhales, he didn’t tire even after running multiple miles, taking a quick left at the bot’s directions.

"Movement detected. Enemies incoming—" Izo warned.

Right at the robot’s advisory, the cracked asphalt rumbled. Seven scraped to a halt, watching as the two buildings across from one another shattered from the front.

Quick thinking led his body to flip backward as the rupturing threats crashed out onto the street. As his feet landed, the sight of colossal, pink-and-blue worms filled his vision.

[Lifeform registered.] ["Hajana Titan Worm"]

[Classification: Medium Superhuman, Stage Five | 5.8]

"Great," he exhaled, drawing the mechanical sword from his back.

While he readied himself to cut down the giant, limbless creatures, the moment he took a step forward—

"Rrrgh...!"

A sharp pain emanated from within his skull, drawing his hand to clutch his face in some effort to cope. It felt like an ice pick tapped against his skull from all angles, only increasing in intensity as his vision began to blur.

"Enemy attack incoming! Gotta move, Seven!" Izo hurriedly advised.

The rumbling beneath his feet was enough of a warning as he lifted his gaze in an attempt to defend himself, only to find the enormous, colorful bodies slithering towards him. There was no chance to evade, only shielding his body with his arms as the massive weight of the worm collided against him.

His feet left the ground, being whipped around by the unnatural form of the alien as he found himself ascending before crashing into the neighboring building. A gasp of air left his lips as he smashed through glass, finding himself within a decrepit office space.

"Nngh..." Seven quietly groaned.

"You seem out of it. Avoid direct confrontation if so–" Izo suggested from his shoulder.

"I’m fine," he dismissed.

’Something is wrong with my head–ever since I killed that alien, the Ergo...I’ll have Haoyu check it out later. For now, I have to make it back,’ the resolve cemented itself through his mind.