Chapter 178

  After old him there was nobody in the security trol room and that the door must simply have malfuned, Kus rexed. Still, he remained vigint, keeping his eyes locked on the door, anticipating Ned’s return.

  A few seds passed. Then a few more. Kus began to realize something was off. What was taking Ned so long? It shouldn’t have taken him so long to simply check the touchpad. None of them were even allowed to ehe security trol room without a valid reason. If there was nobody inside, why the hell hadn’t Ned e out yet?

  Something was definitely nht. His instincts told him to stay put, but at the same time, he knew he had to check what was going on. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure of what course of a to take. In the end, his sense of duty overpowered his instinct for caution. He began walking down the corridor toward the open door of the security trol room.

  No sound came from inside, and it made him nervous. Something didn’t add up. Had Kus been more social, he might have called out to o ask if everything was alright. But being the quiet type, he simply tio walk silently down the corridor. He pricked up his ears for any sound, but all that he could hear was total sile felt as though Ned had simply vanished after entering the security trol room.

  Thehought of calling out to him finally occurred to Kus. He opened his mouth, only to discover how dry his lips had bee. This strauation was really grating on his nerves. He licked his lips to moisten them and opened his mouth. Just as he was about to call out Ned’s name, something burst from the security trol room.

  At first, he couldn’t even prehend what he was seeing. The creature that had just dashed out of the room moved so quickly that, in the first moment of seeing it, all he could dis of its pletely b was a mass of numerous tentacles unduting through the air.

  In an instant, the monster pivoted toward him with astonishing speed, and Kus suddenly realized the creature was humanoid, with two legs and two arms. However, that was where any resembo a human being ended. From the back of the monster protruded numerous loacles. Most of them were slender and delicate, but among them, he noticed a few that looked signifitly stronger and muenag, with double-edged bdes glinting at their tips.

  The creature’s face was its most terrifyiure. It had twe, unblinking eyes—solid blue with no irises or pupils. The monster’s face was slightly elongated, resembling a snout, and its massive jaed open, exposing rows of razor-sharp, jagged teeth. The monster’s face was smeared with blood.

  Ned’s blood, Kus realized, as chilling fingers of terrhtened around his heart.

  The hellish monster charged down the corridor toward him. He couldn’t help but wi the sight of the nightmarish creature barreling toward him with incredible speed. What surprised him even more was that, despite its frightening speed, the creature moved with barely a sound as it closed in on him.

  All the weeks of surviving in this dangerous, mutant-ied world failed to prepare Kus for this moment. The sight of the obsidian-bck monstrosity, with its emotionless blue eyes fixed on him and a writhing mass of tentacles trailing behind, sprinting toward him in near silence, sent pure terror c through him. He stumbled backward instinctively, but his fear rendered him clumsy—one foot caught oher, and he lost his bance. He filed his arms to steady himself but failed. He felt himself falling backward, and a sed ter, he colpsed to the floor with a solid thud.

  Half a sed ter, the obsidian-bck monstrosity was on top of him. Kus managed not to lose his assault rifle as he fell, gripping it tightly in his hands. However, before he could aim it at the looming mohe hellish creature pounced down on him. It leaned in closer, and Kus’s heart raced as he caught sight of its gaping jaws, poised to tear into him. Overwhelmed by sheer terror, Kus instinctively lifted his assault rifle, holding it horizontally in front of him as he desperately tried to shield his face from the nightmarish bck teeth that loomed close.

  In the moment, the creature’s teeth cmped down on the on. Creaking noises echoed as the tips of the monster’s teeth sank deeply into the metal. The noises grew louder as the monster kept up the pressure, its teeth drilling deeper into the on. Then, in the sed, it suddenly broke apart into several jagged pieces.

  Kus was utterly defenseless now. He fully expected the creature sitting on top of him to take a bite. However, the monster didn’t do that. Kus didn’t waste even a fra of a sed to ponder why. Instead, he reached along his body with one hand and pulled a sidearm from its holster on his hip.

  Even though the monster’s eyes were fixed on Kus’s, it somehow noticed him raise the pistol. Before he could point it at the creature and fire, a tentacle shot out and yahe sidearm from his grip, nearly breaking his wrist in the process. The pistol dropped nearby, but the creature didn’t allow him to reach for it. Multiple tendrils ed around his arms and torso, restraining him.

  Kus opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, aendril coiled firmly around his neck, cutting off any sound. He was now pletely restrained and could hardly move. He could only wonder why the monster hadn’t killed him yet. Suddenly, he noticed a bded tentacle slithering through the air, heading straight for him.

  He khat was it. He was going to die, but there was nothing he could do but accept his fate. Yet he refused to succumb without a fight. He tile, even though he was fully aware that breaking free was impossible. Then he felt the bde thrust into his chest, embedding itself between his ribs. He tio fight against his restraints, his wide eyes locked onto the horrifying face of the monster looming above him.

  When the monster pulled its bded tentacle from his chest, blood spilled out in abundance. With every passing sed, he felt his strength waning. Once he was too weak to fight back, the creature unwound its tendrils aacles from his body. Through the dim haze clouding his vision, Kus watched as the monster rose to its feet and turned away.

  Without an him, the creature bolted down the corridor toward the stairs leading to the first floor. Then something strange happened. Kus saw the tendrils protruding from the monster’s back fall off one by one. By the time the monster reached the end of the corridor, all the tendrils had detached from its body. They y on the floor, quickly withering and turning into small piles of dust.

  The monster now had only three bded tentacles sprouting from its back. Instead of desding the stairs like an ordinary human being would, it performed a pletely ued maneuver. It leaped toward one wall and g to it, gripping the surface with the tips of its fingers and toes. As it began to move, its body structure appeared to ge slightly—or perhaps it was just his fading mind pying tricks on him. The creature crawled along the wall, resembling a giant i rather than a humanoid figure. Suddenly, the monster and its three bded tentacles became invisible. However, Kus could still make out a distortion in the air as the monster moved.

  The creature vanished from sight as it crawled dowaircase. Kus khat his time was running out, but before he succumbed, he was determio warn his rades on the first floor about the deadly threat moving toward them. The world around him quickly faded into darkness as his life drained from him. Summoning the st reserves of his strength, he reached for the sidearm lying nearby.

  The tips of his fingers barely brushed against the on, which y frustratingly just out of reach. Kus extended his arm, straining toward the sidearm, but couldn’t quite grasp it. He had grown so weak from blood loss that he found himself uo shift his body even slightly. Stretg his arm toward the pistol was the only a he could manage.

  He frantically cwed at the metal grip of his sidearm, trying in vain to pull it closer. Then, with a sudden burst of remaining strength, he shifted his body just a little closer to the on. Finally, his fingers ed around the grip of the pistol, and a triumphant smile flickered across his lips.

  He ed his index finger around the trigger and squeezed. But as it turned out, he didn’t have the strength to apply enough pressure for the pistol to fire. That final effort to reposition his body had siphoned off the st of his energy, leaving him unable even to pull the trigger.

  Kus wao chuckle at the irony of his situation, but he cked the strength even for that. Suddenly, his body stiffened. He took one final breath, and his eyes gzed over, staring bnkly at one spot on the ceiling. The grip of his sidearm remained in his palm, but his fingers had released their hold.