A distant explosion thundered through the street, followed by the groan of metal tearing loose as part of the structure finally gave way. A rogue mechanical creature burst through the fractured wall, its weight dragging debris with it as it clawed its way free.

  Gabriel moved swiftly as the Dusk Hound. He hit the side of the fallen building at a sprint, vaulted once, and cleaved clean through the creature’s abdomen in a single, fluid motion. The scythe sang as it passed through, and he was already moving again before the machine finished collapsing. Shimmering red cards peeled off from his sleeve, slicing through the remains behind him to ensure it stayed down.

  His focus stayed on the path ahead. The objective was simple: confirm there were no civilians left in the sector. He’d already swept most of the area, dismantled the majority of the rogue machines, and secured the main routes.

  If Akio were here, this would take half the time.

  The thought surfaced briefly, then settled. Gabriel would much rather Akio be resting than forcing himself back into the field before he was ready. Besides, this was an easy mission—well within his ability to handle alone.

  He scaled the collapsed structure ahead of him, dark cloak snapping sharply in the wind as he crested the top. Below, the ground had given way into a wide, sunken cavity. This was the last sector. Gabriel leaned forward, peering into the pit to confirm it was clear.

  At the far end, he spotted movement.

  Several machine creatures circled someone at the bottom, their movements low and deliberate, like wolves sizing up wounded prey. One of them coiled, preparing to lunge.

  Gabriel was already in motion. He dropped from above and landed cleanly between the civilian and the creature. His scythe swept out in a broad arc, catching the lunging machine midair and splitting it apart before it could touch the ground. The others reacted too late. He flowed through the opening without hesitation, blade spinning as he cut down a second, then flipped forward and brought the scythe down through a third with precise, brutal efficiency.

  His free hand flicked outward. A fan of red cards shot through the air and detonated against the fourth machine, the burst of light stunning it in place. Gabriel closed the distance in a blink and finished it cleanly.

  Silence rushed back into the clearing.

  Gabriel straightened, barely winded, eyes sweeping the area out of habit. No remaining hostiles. Satisfied, he turned toward the civilian, already preparing to speak when he froze.

  Standing a short distance away was someone unmistakably familiar. A woman with light blond hair cut into a neat bob, a black ribbon tied at the side. Her stance was guarded, tense despite the danger having passed. Sharp violet eyes locked onto him, burning with suspicion and something closer to hatred.

  It was his roommate, Alyne.

  Gabriel felt his heart rate spike, though nothing in his posture betrayed it. Of all people. He was acutely aware of how much she despised the Dusk Hound. The sharp, familiar guilt lodged itself in his chest, the same one that surfaced every time he saw her.

  He assessed her quickly. No visible injuries, that was good. But the knot in his chest tightened when he saw the rest of her posture—arms crossed, weight shifted back, eyes sharp and already braced for conflict. Distrust radiated off her in waves.

  “I don’t need your help,” Alyne said, her voice clipped as her eyes narrowed further.

  Gabriel considered her for a brief moment. He searched for the right words, but his throat tightened against his will. He forced the reaction down, grateful when the familiar distortion of the voice modulator steadied his tone and gave him distance.

  “You cannot stay here, miss,” he said, professional and even.

  Her glare sharpened into something openly hostile. “Why would I trust a murderer like you?”

  The word cut deep, twisting like a knife in his chest. Gabriel gave no outward reaction. As much as he wanted to respect her refusal, the situation made that impossible. He folded his scythe back into its sheathed form, secured it at his belt, and stepped forward.

  Alyne moved back, already retreating.

  “Don’t—”

  Gabriel slipped one arm firmly around her waist and the other beneath her legs, lifting her with ease. Alyne immediately struck at his chest, shoved against his armor, kicked and twisted in his grip, trying to force her way free.

  “Put me down!” she snapped, fingers clawing for leverage.

  Gabriel held on securely, absorbing the blows as he turned his attention upward. The basin was steep. He calculated their combined weight, noting which sections of debris could bear them and which might give way. Both his hands were occupied, so if another machine appeared, he wouldn’t be able to draw his weapon.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  A sharp smack against the side of his head snapped his focus back.

  Before he could fully react, his head was shoved to the side. Alyne had braced her palm against his mask, trying to push him away by force. Gabriel adjusted his neck to absorb it, but his footing didn’t shift.

  “Let go,” she demanded, her voice filled with anger.

  He did not let go.

  Her push grew more insistent. “I said, let go.”

  Gabriel searched for a way to de-escalate the situation, already knowing it was unlikely to work. Her strikes were disruptive, but he couldn’t bring himself to be angry. In his mind, her hatred of the Dusk Hound was justified. He deserved every bit of this, but that didn’t change the reality of the situation.

  “I cannot do that, miss,” he said, steady and final.

  “I’d rather die,” Alyne snarled, shoving at his head again, “than ever accept help from criminal scum like you.”

  Gabriel adjusted his grip, firm enough to force her to re-center her weight. The moment her hand fell away from his mask, he straightened and moved, offering no response or acknowledgment.

  The sudden motion caught Alyne off guard. Her body went rigid as he landed against the side of the basin and immediately pushed upward, boots finding purchase along the fractured stone. He began the ascent without hesitation, movements smooth and deliberate.

  He reached the first ledge and paused only long enough to judge the distance to the next. The basin yawned beneath them. Above, the exit was still a ways off, but close enough to commit.

  Alyne’s fingers caught in the fabric of his cloak near his shoulders, tugging hard. Gabriel ignored it. He leapt again, landed cleanly, and prepared for the next jump.

  Alyne tightened her grip and pulled again, harder this time. Gabriel adjusted his balance and pressed forward, touching down on another ledge before looking up.

  Just a few more leaps and they would be out.

  Gabriel shifted his weight, preparing to jump, when he was abruptly yanked down by a sharp, forceful pull at his collar. His head dipped with the motion, but he resisted it easily and looked down, unsurprised.

  Alyne had fisted the collar of his cloak in one hand, fury burning in her expression as she glared up at him.

  “Let. Go.”

  Gabriel exhaled slowly through his nose. He felt his patience thinning, a rare edge of irritation slipping through, but his voice remained even when he answered.

  “I cannot do that.”

  She cursed and thrashed again, tugging harder, elbowing his side as if sheer defiance might force him to comply.

  He was still weighing his options when his instincts flared.

  Gabriel’s gaze snapped sideways, and he spotted movement just beyond the edge of the basin’s shadow. A mechanical creature prowled low against the broken ground, its segmented body partially obscured by darkness. Its eyes glowed faintly as they locked onto them, posture coiling in preparation.

  He turned his attention back to Alyne.

  “Stop resisting,” Gabriel said, his voice low and final.

  Alyne answered by driving her elbow into him and yanking harder at his cloak. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  Gabriel shifted his stance, trying to compensate and steady them enough to make the next jump. Her continued struggle turned the motion dangerous, every second stretching tighter as he tracked the creature drawing closer in his peripheral vision.

  Tension coiled through him, compressing with each passing heartbeat. If he could just get her to stop struggling for one second—

  The creature lunged.

  Gabriel pivoted hard on instinct, twisting out of the way just as the creature tore past. He dropped, landing heavily on a lower ledge with a sharp jolt that rattled through his bones. He looked up in time to see the machine reorient mid movement, metal limbs scraping against stone as it sought a new angle of attack.

  Gabriel leapt again, boots striking a jut of debris just as the creature slammed into the space he’d vacated. The impact sent stone and metal cascading downward, the structure collapsing in on itself behind him.

  His mind raced even as his body moved. Alyne had gone still in his arms now—compliant, finally understanding the danger—but the problem remained. There was no safe way to draw his weapon without dropping her. No room to outmaneuver the creature in the narrow confines of the basin.

  He scanned upward, calculations snapping into place as his eyes landed on a higher ledge—precarious, overloaded with a massive slab of fractured debris. One solid push would be enough to send it tumbling down.

  Perfect.

  Gabriel moved without hesitation. With a single, decisive burst of strength, he launched himself upward, boots striking the slab just as it began to tip. The weight shifted immediately, stone groaning in protest as the massive chunk started to give way.

  He jumped off before it fell.

  Behind him, the mechanical creature snarled, limbs scrabbling for purchase as it slammed headfirst into the falling debris.

  CRACK.

  The impact reverberated violently through the basin.

  Gabriel landed on a higher ledge and turned carefully, peering back over his shoulder. Below, the massive slab lay embedded in the basin floor, the creature crushed beneath it, twisted and unmoving. He watched for several seconds, heart still hammering, until his assessment confirmed what he suspected.

  It was dead.

  Relief washed through him in a slow, grounding wave. He forced his breathing to steady, pulse gradually easing as the immediate danger passed. Only then did he become aware of how tightly he was holding Alyne.

  He looked down at her to see she was frozen, eyes fixed on the wreckage below, expression caught somewhere between shock and disbelief. Gabriel quickly checked her for injuries before lifting his gaze to their surroundings. Somehow during the chase, they had managed to clear the basin.

  He loosened his grip and gently set her down.

  Alyne swayed for a moment, blinking as if waking from a trance, before recognition snapped back into place. She slapped his hands away and straightened, eyes flashing as she glared up at him.

  “Don’t touch me.”

  Gabriel sighed inwardly, but remained professional. He straightened, smoothing his cloak as though the entire ordeal had been routine. In the distance, he could already hear approaching Sentari units coming to secure the area. Alyne would be safe with them. His job here was done.

  Gabriel turned and leapt away, disappearing into the fractured skyline. The wind tore at his cloak as the city rushed up to meet him, and with it came a flicker of weary, ill timed amusement.

  Great, can’t wait to see her tonight, he thought. She’s definitely going to be extra grumpy after this.

  Living together made it nearly impossible for Gabriel to avoid her. They shared a kitchen, passed each other in the hallway, and sometimes even sat across from one another at the table. The thought should have been absurd. Instead, it tightened something in his chest, settling with an unresolved weight he wasn’t ready to acknowledge.

  He sighed and pushed the feeling aside.

  That was way harder than it should’ve been.

  ─ ? NEXT CHAPTER POV ? ─

  Aira

  Alex Everett becomes a Progenitor, a mythical race thought extinct, and is empowered by more than just the System. Now, if only the universe can survive him.

  What to Expect: LitRPG System Apocalypse, Weak to Strong MC (sometimes OP), Smart Lead, Base Building, plenty of magic and sword fights, and No Harem. Daily chapter releases!

  A Progenitor never stops growing.