CHAPTER 47: CHAOS THROUGH THE CITY

Only when finding the square-shaped crater where the cube once was did he notice what was just a few steps in front of him–a corpse shrouded in blocky, black armor. He stared at it, feeling a vague familiarity with it, though only finding disgust at the sight of the humanoid left torn in half, leaving the asphalt drenched in blood.

A glance to the right found another body just like it, wearing the same armor, yet with a crushed neck that completely obliterated the metal exterior. From the bits of golden skin he could make out through the bloody sight, he could only reason them to be Fulminare, though that only left him with more questions.

’I can’t remember...What happened? I blacked out, but before that, after...There’s nothing but "black" when I try to recall it,’ he thought, rubbing his head anxiously.

For some reason he couldn’t explain, he tilted his head, gazing at the night sky above. There were no clouds present, yet a silhouette remained placed above–a shadow large enough to cast itself over the world.

He squinted, trying to study the large presence through the shroud of dusk, though only felt the fatigue his body was deeply entrenched in. A bit of a wobble nearly brought him to collapse before being caught, not by himself, but a helping hand.

"Gotcha."

"Oh," Seven lightly said, glancing over to find the tired-eyed, gloomy soldier beside him. "Shin. I was looking for you."

"Yeah, well, you found me," Shin said, lending his shoulder to his tired comrade.

Seven accepted the helping gesture, leaning on his friend as they walked together, "I’m a bit lost on the details here. Think I’ve got a concussion? Did you see what happened?"

"I’m not sure what I saw, man," Shin answered with a hesitant exhale. "No point in worrying about that, though. Our priority right now is getting the hell out of here."

"Sounds like a plan," Seven tiredly agreed, pondering the time spent in the desecrated sector. "We didn’t get anything here. Not this city, not that cube...We completely lost."

"I wouldn’t be so sure," Shin responded.

"What do you mean?" Seven asked, glancing at the soldier.

The baggy-eyed student of Bastian reached into the pocket of his baggy, camo pants, pulling out a pitch-black shard, left in a crescent shape. It was placed right into Seven’s hand, though more like forcibly handed off.

"What’s this? Wait, is it–" Seven said confusedly.

"A piece of that cube...The Fulminare, they lifted it off–took it right into space, I think. But, a bit of it fell off, just a small bit, but there it is. If they’re so interested in it, gotta be something special with it," Shin explained, wiping his nose as it lightly dripped.

"Hey, Shin, you’re bleeding," Seven pointed out, holding the shard towards him to take back.

Shin lightly shook his head, rejecting the fragment, "Hold onto it. You’re the superhuman, remember? Anyway, don’t worry about me–just a bit scuffed up from earlier still."

"Alright, if you say so," Seven hesitantly acknowledged with a nod.

Placing the nebulous piece into his pocket, he took a single stride through the street before hearing a thud against the ground right behind him. He quickly turned, finding Shin face down against the asphalt.

"Hey–Shin!" Seven called out, moving over.

There were only labored breaths as any sort of response as he turned the man back over. Blackened blood left Shin’s nose, ears, and lips, secreting like an ooze. No hope laid in waking his friend up, only hoisting the unconscious soldier onto his back.

"Alright, let’s get moving," Seven quietly huffed.

As he marched through the hollow streets of the city, he felt the weakening breaths against his friend, hurrying his pace. He was lost, disconnected from anything else but his own senses–Shin wasn’t responsive, neither Izo nor his communicators.

Aimlessly, he navigated the alleyways, hearing the murmurs and stomps of inhuman creatures both within the buildings and roaming the streets. While he sought to avoid confrontation, he couldn’t afford to drag his feet–not with the rapidly declining health of his friend.

"It’s gotta be close...This city is a maze," he mumbled in frustration, glancing down the alleys as he moved.

He caught a glimpse of a round, pink-skinned creature rummaging through the garbage, managing to accidentally make eye-contact with its singular ocular organ. From the gargled cry it let out that partially sounded like a burp, he knew that it was chasing right behind him.

The sound of wet slaps followed him, glancing back to find its gooey feet leaving a trail of slime behind it.

[Lifeform registered.] ["Devivi"]

[Classification: Medium Superhuman, Stage Three | Threat Level: Disaster Magnitude 3.2]

"Seriously?--" He mumbled impatiently.

There was no avoiding confrontation, leading him to spin around, setting his unconscious comrade down in the grimy alleyway. The blubberous alien stomped towards him, waving its arms as if inflated by air.

"Wubbaaa! Wubbaaa!" The pink-skinned blob shouted.

It towered over him by at least a meter, with a round body large enough that it scraped its jiggling stomach against the brick walls on either side of it. He squeezed the handle of his blade, summoning more strength than anticipated as his entire arm inflated–

[Genetic Evolution Activated: "Gorilla Limb"]

It was a surprise to be sure, though not one questioned as he swung the weapon with heightened strength, cleaving through the old material of the buildings and into the blob.

[EXP: +500] [7700/25000]

The creature was cut away before it could so much as try and touch him, though the effectiveness came at a slight detriment–it made too much noise. He could hear the cries and shouts of aliens stalking through the city, forcing him to move quickly.

Picking up his friend again, he hurried off, frantically looking around as he ventured into the open street.

’It’s chaos out here. It was quiet when we first got here, but I’m sure all the combat–it woke up the things lurking in this city. More and more, I’m seeing this place was more claimed than we thought,’ he realized, pacing over the asphalt.