For the first time since its cursed rebirth, the parasite felt something new.
Fear.
It tried to speak, choke out a plea, but Julian’s foot kept its jaw pinned.
"Submit," Julian whispered. "Bow to me... or die in agony."
The creature, broken and helpless, closed its eyes. It had no strength left to regenerate. No will to fight. It longed for death.
Just then, ding!
A translucent panel appeared before Julian’s eyes.
[Skill: Extraction – Active]
Target #$&£ajnwo is Dominated. Would you like to use [Extract]?
Julian didn’t hesitate.
[Yes]
A surge of dark energy entered his body, merging with his own. Gravity bent around him slightly, responding to his presence.
New skill acquired [Gravity]
The parasite twitched in pain, its power clearly being stolen away. Desperate, it tried to lash out, but Julian, emotionless, continued severing its limbs with calm, surgical cruelty.
Finally, the creature went still. Its eyes were empty. It had surrendered in spirit long before its body had stopped moving.
Julian removed his foot. "Thanks for the skill."
Then, with one final stroke—SLASH!—he cleaved its head clean in two.
The body collapsed, and dead.
The battle was finally over.
With the death of the parasite commander, the remaining zombies scattered like insects deprived of their queen. Without control, they were slow and uncoordinated, easy to wipe out.
One by one, the team regrouped, their weapons bloodied, armor scorched, but spirits intact.
"Area’s clear," Celestia confirmed.
Emma flared her pyrokinesis to cleanse the last twitching corpse. "Disgusting. I swear I’m going vegan after this."
"Same," muttered Zoe, swatting a splatter of gore from her cheek. "If I see meat again this month, I’m gonna scream."
Together, they pressed deeper into the nest. The air grew heavier. The walls, once mall corridors, were now unrecognizable, smothered in thick, pulsing flesh. Every inch was coated in organic matter, like the insides of a beast.
"Julian," Aya called out, "something’s ahead... a chamber."
They entered the core.
Dozens of cocoons lined the walls, pulsing, twitching, wet. Some held skeletons. Others held survivors, barely breathing. And some... were no longer human.
Their limbs had grown too long. Their skin was gray and taut, veins blackened. Their eyes were shut, but something moved beneath their eyelids. Mutated and Infected.
Kevin took a step forward, jaw clenched. "We have to save them."
"No," Julian said firmly. "Touching those cocoons could wake them."
"But they’re still alive!" Kevin insisted. "If we act now, we can pull them out before they fully turn. There has to be a cure, we can find one."
Julian’s eyes narrowed. "That’s not how this works. The parasites replace the human brain. These things... they’re no longer who they were. Even if they look human, they’re just shells."
Kevin stepped in front of a cocoon, defiant. "There has to be another way. We got powers, right? Miracles happen, we’ve seen them. Who’s to say we can’t bring them back too?"
Julian’s voice turned colder. "You really think the world gives out miracles? Grow up. I agreed to storm this nest your way, without bombing it from the sky. I gave you that. Now you want this too?"
Kevin didn’t budge. "Yes. I’m asking you to trust me again."
The room tensed.
Julian stared at him for a long moment. He saw the desperation in Kevin’s eyes, not foolishness, but idiotic. Maybe... too much of it.
He sighed. "Fine. But hear this. The moment anything moves, blinks, twitches, breathes funny, we kill it. No hesitation."
Kevin nodded. "Thank you."
Julian stepped back, sword at the ready. "Let’s hope your miracle is real."
Kevin’s group moved quickly, slicing open the grotesque cocoons one by one. The stench was unbearable, stale blood, decay, and the sickly-sweet scent of parasite resin, but they pressed on.
Some survivors gasped as fresh air hit their lungs. Others... were too far gone.
"Over here!" Kevin called out. He knelt beside a cocoon where a small child lay curled inside. She had pale skin, messy hair, and two faint horns protruding from her forehead. Her chest rose and fell.
"She’s breathing," Kevin whispered, carefully tearing the fleshy membrane open and pulling her into his arms. "It’s okay... you’re safe now."
The girl didn’t speak. Her head leaned on Kevin’s shoulder like a fragile doll.
After several minutes, the operation was complete. Survivors, confused, half-conscious, and frightened, gathered around, while Kevin stood and addressed his team.
"We’ll take them with us. No matter how long it takes... we’ll find a way to heal them."
Reimon nodded. "Copy that. I’ll open the gate."
With a heavy groan of hydraulics, the blast door at the far end of the chamber began to lift.
But just as the gate opened—
Julian moved like a blur of shadows and lightning, his blade drawn and pointed straight at Kevin.
The others reacted instantly, weapons raised, powers flaring. "Julian?!"
But before anyone could act, Julian’s sword pierced behind Kevin, straight into a twisted mutant zombie that had been inches from striking him.
The creature dropped, and dead.
Julian yanked his sword free, blood spraying behind him. "Stay alert. We’re not safe yet."
Kevin barely had time to nod when he heard a faint cough.
The little girl in his arms stirred.
Then, without warning, she smiled.
But it wasn’t innocent. Her grin stretched far too wide. Her jaw dislocated, opening like a monstrous maw as tendrils shot out from her throat and latched onto the nearest unconscious mutants.
Crunch.
She devoured them whole.
One by one, she consumed every remaining mutant zombie with terrifying speed, her tiny body writhing, inflating, growing more grotesque by the second.
"Holy hell—!" Reimon backed away, reaching for his weapons.
Julian’s voice boomed, "Kill it. NOW. Maximum firepower!"
Flashes of energy lit up the chamber. Ice, fire, psychic blades, and ballistic rounds rained down on the creature, but it was too late.
The girl-zombie had finished feeding.
She turned to them with glowing crimson eyes, her bloated body trembling... then suddenly—
She shrunk, returning to her childlike size, blood dripping from her lips. She licked them clean, satisfied.
And then... she ran.
Not toward the team, but toward the open gate.
"Reimon! Close the gate!" Julian roared. "NOW!"
But the child moved too fast.
Before the steel could lower, she slipped through the opening and vanished into the outside world.
Julian dashed forward, lightning-charged and [boost] legs propelling him, but it was too late.
The team rushed after her into the ruined cityscape beyond. The girl was already far ahead, standing atop a broken streetlamp, arms folded like royalty.
"Thanks for the meal... Kevin," she said sweetly, her voice now layered with something inhuman.
And then, she disappeared into the shadows.
Kevin fell to his knees. "What have I done..."
Julian stared at the gate, fists clenched. "We just unleashed something worse than a plague."
Julian’s hand shot forward, seizing Kevin by the collar and yanking him close, his eyes burning with fury. "What did you do?! You should’ve chased heryour speed is supposed to surpass light itself!"
Kevin froze, mouth slightly open.
"Hey, stop," Reimon said, stepping forward, his aura starting to ripple with tension.
"Yeah, chill—this won’t help!" Belle added, pulling gently at Julian’s arm. Nia moved beside her, ready to restrain him if needed.
Kevin’s voice trembled. "I... I didn’t know."
"You didn’t know?" Julian’s voice was cold and sharp as a blade. "Look at what you released. That thing, she’s not human. She’s a predator wearing a child’s skin. And now she’s out there."
Kevin swallowed hard, but his eyes still held conviction. "I was only trying to do what I thought was right..."
Julian’s glare deepened, teeth clenched. "Your version of ’right’ might just end the world."
And then—
A sound shook the sky.
A massive echo, like the ancient cry of something divine, or monstrous. The very air seemed to vibrate with its presence.
Everyone fell silent.
"...What the hell was that?" Aya whispered.
Reimon’s eyes widened as he looked toward the clouds. "...This is what I meant, big bro. This is what I saw last week..."
The clouds above parted, not from wind, but from displacement.
From movement.
And then they saw it.
A whale.
A gigantic whale, larger than any aircraft or creature known to man, swimming through the sky as though it were a vast ocean. Its skin shimmered with translucent, pulsing light. Trails of mist followed in its wake, like jetstreams. And its eyes—
—its eyes were immense, unblinking orbs of wisdom and apathy, gazing down at humanity as though they were nothing more than ants crawling over dust.
Belle stumbled backward. "Wh-what... what is that thing...?"
Veronica’s mouth parted slowly, her voice distant. "...That’s unreal..."
Emma stared up, her voice flat. "That doesn’t make any sense..."
Julian’s breath was caught in his throat.
Celestia placed a hand on his arm, steady but firm. "Julian. We need to fall back. Process what just happened. We don’t even know what we saw."
Julian finally let go of Kevin’s collar, shoving him back slightly. He exhaled hard, chest heaving with anger.
"Enough with your hero games," he muttered. "You have no idea what you’ve unleashed."