"How rude," the parasite chuckled, its twisted grin stretching unnaturally across its scaled face. "We are now both species capable of understanding... even communicating. Isn’t that beautiful?"
Julian narrowed his eyes, voice sharp as his blade. "You’re nothing but invasive filth. A plague that speaks."
In a flash of motion, he lunged.
But mid-swing, his body staggered, his limbs suddenly heavy, as though invisible chains gripped him down.
’Tch... What is this? A stun spell? No... it’s different. A gravity lock?’
The parasite struck with its claws, aiming to cleave through Julian’s chest. But even under the crushing force, Julian twisted, deflecting the blow with his obsidian sword. Sparks erupted from the clash.
"Oh?" the parasite purred. "You can move even within my gravity field? Fascinating."
Without warning, the creature’s jaw unhinged, revealing a glowing core inside its throat. With a shriek, it fired a beam of concentrated energy.
Julian dove to the side, the laser scorching past him and exploding against the wall behind, ripping through concrete like paper.
The parasite laughed, eyes glowing with delight. "Let’s have some fun, human!"
Elsewhere, Kevin pushed himself up, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His gaze locked on the monstrous humanoid towering above him.
"Julian was right..." he muttered, horror dawning on his face. "These things... they’ve become something else."
The mutated brute roared and charged again.
Kevin tried to reason, shouting, "Hey! Can you hear me!? Wake up!"
The creature didn’t respond, only swung a massive fist that Kevin narrowly dodged.
Kevin’s expression tightened. "Damn it... Is there no way to bring them back?"
The brute halted for a moment... then it spoke.
"Fight me, coward. I’m tired of you running."
Kevin’s breath caught. ’It talks?’
"Listen!" he tried again. "Don’t let it control you, this isn’t who you are!"
But the reply was cold. "Even if you scream, this body won’t answer. The brain... I’ve already eaten it."
Kevin’s face twisted in disbelief. "Liar."
To his horror, the creature tilted its head, and the skull split open slightly like a blooming flower. Inside, nestled where the brain should be, was a writhing parasite with a grotesque grin of needle-like teeth.
The skull closed again.
"Well?" it mocked. "Do you believe now?"
Kevin barely had time to raise a shield of light before the brute smashed him with a blow that sent him crashing across the floor.
"Too weak," the parasite-host spat.
The horde surged like a tidal wave of rot and death.
Flames erupted as Emma, her eyes glowing orange-red, raised both hands. "There’s no end to them!" she shouted, torrents of fire bursting forward from her palms, incinerating dozens of the undead.
"Keep the healers close! Don’t push forward!" Nia called out from behind, shielding her teammates with glowing barriers as she positioned herself near Reimon.
Clarissa’s eyes widened. "Celestia, behind you!"
Celestia turned, just in time to see a leaping zombie mid-air. But before it could land, it froze mid-flight, caught in an invisible grip.
Clarissa’s hand was outstretched, her telekinesis suspending the creature. With a flick, she slammed it against a wall, crushing its skull.
"Thanks," Celestia said, quickly creating her thread.
Veronica stood in the middle of the chaos, her staff glowing with radiant energy as waves of buffs surged across her allies.
"They keep spawning like cockroaches!" she growled.
From the flank, Zoe let out a growl, not human anymore but a hybrid beast, her body partially transformed. With elongated claws and sharpened senses, she tore through the undead with relentless fury.
"Annoying," she spat as she shredded another crawler with a brutal slash.
Aya, calm amid the chaos, knelt down and loaded her crossbow. Three specialized arrows snapped into place. With precise aim, she fired into a cluster of zombies. A moment later—BOOM!—the arrows detonated in a flash of light and gore.
Belle stood at the rear, her sniper rifle singing with every shot. Headshot after headshot.
"Kevin... I hope you’re okay," she whispered between trigger pulls.
Despite the flood of enemies, the group moved as a single unit, coordinated, fluid, deadly. Each strike opened space for another, each defense saved a life.
Julian gritted his teeth, sparks of electricity crackling around his limbs. In a sudden flash, he surged forward, his entire body wrapped in arcs of lightning. The gravity around him twisted and groaned as he narrowly escaped the pull of the gravitational zone.
"Impressive, human," the horned humanoid hissed, its crimson eyes narrowing. "Have you evolved like us?"
Julian’s blade sparked with thunder. "Don’t compare me to parasites like you."
SHHK! In a blur, he slashed downward, cleanly severing the creature’s arm.
But instead of screaming, the monster laughed, a low, guttural cackle. "Such a waste of effort."
Before Julian’s eyes, the stump wriggled, flesh twisting grotesquely as bone and sinew regrew. Fingers pushed outward from new skin. Within seconds, the arm was fully restored.
"You see," the parasite grinned, flexing the new limb, "human bodies are fascinating. Such potential for regeneration... yet no will, no instinct to use it. Pitiful creatures, really."
Julian narrowed his eyes and pressed the attack, slicing and weaving, but the monster responded by conjuring several black orbs, spheres of crushing gravity. They hovered mid-air like miniature stars, distorting space, slowing Julian’s movements.
"Tch..." Julian leaped back, dodging another gravitational pull. Electricity crackled between his fingers as he formed three spheres of pure lightning.
"Let’s see how you like this."
He hurled them, crackling plasma bombs arcing through the air. They collided with the parasite’s spheres, sending bursts of energy crackling across the room.
The humanoid chuckled. "That tickles."
But Julian wasn’t done. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed a high-yield bomb toward the center of the parasite’s mass, charged with voltage.
BOOM!
The explosion tore through the chamber, amplified by the electrical surge. Smoke and debris filled the air as the parasite was thrown backward, crashing through concrete and steel.
Julian landed with a heavy breath, eyes scanning the wreckage.
"Still laughing now, freak?" he muttered.
Elsewhere in the chaos, Kevin stirred, groaning as he pushed himself up from the debris. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his breathing was heavy.
"Is there really no other way...?" he muttered.
The hulking parasitized humanoid loomed over him, its monstrous form snarling. "You’re weak, human. So fragile."
WHAM! Another blow struck Kevin, sending him crashing into a broken pillar. Dust scattered. Rubble fell.
But then—BOOOOM!—a violent explosion lit the far end of the complex. Kevin turned his head, eyes widening as he saw the shockwave and smoke ripple through the corridor. "Julian... using bombs inside the building?" he grinned weakly. "That reckless bastard..."
Kevin clenched his fists. "Everyone else is fighting... and here I am, still hesitating."
Then, something ignited within him.
Light gathered around his body, soft at first, then brighter. Tiny spheres of radiant energy floated around him like fireflies, growing into luminous blades that hovered mid-air, each humming with divine resonance.
He stood tall, glowing with purpose. "I’m sorry... for being late to save you all."
The monster snarled. "So, you’ve finally chosen to fight."
It lunged, but before its claw could strike, it froze.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
Blades of light descended in all directions, piercing through the air like heavenly javelins. They impaled the creature mid-charge, locking its limbs in place. The light buzzed with holy power, stunning the behemoth completely.
Kevin walked forward, glowing sword in hand, his eyes resolute. The monster struggled to release its skill, its muscles twitching unnaturally, but it was too late.
Kevin raised his blade. "May you rest in peace... wherever your soul truly belongs."
And in a burst of light—FWOOOSH!—he vanished, reappearing in a flash before the monster. With one swift, blinding strike, he cleaved through the abomination. The creature’s body disintegrated under the sheer force and purity of the slash—reduced to glowing ash that scattered in the air.
Silence followed.
Kevin stood still, his sword dissolving into light behind him, as the battlefield slowly breathed again.
Julian’s eyes sharpened like blades as he finally completed his analysis of the creature before him.
"The game’s over," he said coldly.
Without another word, he launched himself forward, electricity arcing around his limbs. The parasitic humanoid laughed mockingly as it tried to regenerate from the earlier explosion. "You’re bluffing," it growled, sinew reforming grotesquely.
Julian’s form flickered, then shadows surged around him. A sudden burst of darkness erupted at the enemy’s feet. Julian dashed in and slashed at the creature with precision.
But the gravitational pressure intensified again, his blade slowed, body dragged down mid-strike.
"You’re a fool to charge in without thinking!" the creature sneered.
Then—SHLUNK!
A blade pierced through its back.
"What—?! A... clone?"
The gravitational field collapsed.
Julian’s real body stepped out of the shadows, eyes glowing. "That’s what happens when you underestimate your opponent."
The creature growled, wobbling. "Impressive. But I still have regeneration!" It tried to rise, its back bubbling with renewed flesh. Its body levitated slightly as it charged up another laser beam from its maw.
But Julian was faster.
Lightning crackled, and in a split-second blur, he severed the creature’s arms and legs.
ZAAAK! ZAAK! ZAAK! ZAAK!
Then—CRUNCH! Julian stomped hard on its mouth before the laser could fire.
"You said your regeneration only works if the head remains intact, right?" he said, pressing down harder. "Then how about I keep carving off your limbs... over and over... until your mind breaks?"