Chapter 145: City Under Attack
The living room fell back into a heavy, tense silence. Daisy remained seated next to Elenor, staring at Bella, who kept her head bowed. Elenor noticed the stiffness in Daisy and the visible nerves coming from Bella. Finally, "Clap," she snapped her hands together, causing both Daisy and Bella to look up at her.
"Enough of this. Let’s go get something to eat first," Elenor said, standing up.
"No thank you, Auntie. I need to head back to the hospital," Bella replied.
"Oh, are you going for another check-up on your arm?" Elenor asked.
Bella shook her head. She reached into her bag, pulled something out, and set it on the table. Naturally, Elenor, Daisy, Martha, Diana, Dulcia, and Rika all leaned in to see what she had put down. Their eyes widened when they saw it was an ultrasound photo. All eyes immediately shot back to Bella.
"Huh... you’re pregnant, Bel?" Rika asked, completely bewildered.
Bella didn’t say a word. She just nodded, her head still hanging low. Rika instantly turned to face her friend.
"Who’s the father? You don’t even have a partner, do you?" Rika asked, gripping Bella’s shoulders.
"I... I went to a bar a month ago. It was just a one-night stand, a split-second decision while I was drunk," Bella answered in a faint voice.
"Good grief, Bel! I told you to stop making trouble, and now what is this?" Rika shouted, looking at her friend in total frustration.
Daisy could only lean back in resignation, shaking her head as she watched Bella. Even Elenor sat back down, staring at her as if she were seeing a stranger. Then, Martha stepped forward.
"Well, it’s already happened, hasn’t it? So, what’s your plan for the future?" Martha asked.
"Finish school, then find a job... I intend to raise this baby," Bella said, stroking her stomach.
"Alright then. That means you have a plan. Now you have to be disciplined enough to follow through with it, understand? And does the father know you’re carrying his child?" Martha asked.
"He doesn’t know, Auntie," Bella said.
"But you do know him, right?" Martha pressed.
"Um... I know him, Auntie... we had met a few times before," Bella answered.
"You have to tell him. Don’t let a child be born without a father, understood?" Martha said firmly.
Bella didn’t answer, but she nodded in understanding. She stood up and retrieved the photo from the coffee table.
"I’m sorry to everyone for the intrusion. I’ll be going now," Bella said, taking her leave.
"Wait a second. Eat first. I’ll go get you something, just stay here," Daisy countered, standing up.
"But... I don’t want to int—"
"Sit down and be quiet. I’m feeding you not for your sake, but for the child in your womb. So wait right here," Daisy said firmly, cutting Bella off.
Daisy walked straight out to the backyard, while Elenor reached out to grab Bella’s shoulders and guided her back into her seat. Rika glared at Bella, looking absolutely livid, as if she were ready to swallow her friend whole. Once outside, Daisy went right up to Dennis, who was sitting at the table.
"Honey, can I talk to you for a second?" Daisy asked.
"Oh... okay," Dennis replied, standing up.
They moved away from the table, and Daisy pulled Dennis down by the shoulder to whisper in his ear. Dennis’s eyes went wide as he heard what she had to say.
"What? Bella is preg—"
Before Dennis could finish shouting in shock, Daisy clamped her hand over his mouth to shut him up.
"Sssh... stop yelling! What if the others hear you?" Daisy whispered.
Dennis nodded to show he understood, then glanced over at his friends, who were still chatting away, oblivious to his outburst. He turned back to Daisy.
"How did that happen? Who’s the father?" Dennis whispered.
"How should I know? Besides, I don’t want to know. Now help me out—let’s grab her some food," Daisy answered.
"Okay, okay," Dennis replied, still trying to process everything he had just heard.
Dennis went to the grill and picked up two steaks and a slider, placing them on a plate. He then headed inside with Daisy, who had grabbed some mac and cheese and coleslaw. Seeing Dennis enter, Dulcia immediately stood up and took the plate from him with a wink. Dennis caught a glimpse of Bella, who looked like a mess with her head hanging low, before he turned around and headed back outside.
"There’s always something," Dennis said in his head as he walked toward the table.
Suddenly, a massive shadow swept over everything, plunging the area into darkness. Dennis looked up and was shocked to see that the display, which was supposed to show broad daylight, was now projecting a view outside the dome—revealing the silhouette of a colossal creature. "Uooong," the city alarm blared, and a government emergency broadcast echoed through the air.
According to the city officials, a colossal crawler named Roach Gigas was attacking the city. From behind the dome, countless flashes of gunfire could be seen directed at the giant crawler, forcing it to retreat.
"Huh... w-what?" Dennis asked, staring upward.
But even under heavy fire and despite being pushed back momentarily from the shock, the crawler lunged forward again. "Boom!" Its massive hands slammed against the dome, sending a violent tremor through the entire city. Dennis felt it rattle his very bones. He looked up again—now the crawler’s face was pressed close, peering in so clearly it was unmistakable. It looked like a cockroach’s head with huge, bulging eyes, but it had a human-like mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth attached to a muscular, humanoid body. Gary, Jason, Olivia, and Kimberly rushed over to Dennis.
"This is bad, bro," Jason said.
"Hey... look at that!" Ivan shouted from near the table, pointing up.
They squinted their eyes and were struck with horror. There, perched on the monster’s shoulders, were jagged fragments of Onyx City—looking completely pulverized. Their jaws dropped in disbelief, and their bodies began to tremble.
"This is... bad," Gary muttered.
"What are we going to do? Are we all going to die?" Olivia screamed in a panic.
"Calm down, honey," Gary said, trying to soothe his wife.
While they stood there frozen, suddenly, "Boom!" Something like a comet slammed into the crawler’s head. The force knocked it back, away from the city dome, and the creature let out a scream so loud it was deafening. An explosion flared right where its head had been struck. Dennis squinted, catching sight of a man shrouded in massive, glowing energy pummeling the giant crawler’s skull.
"Who is that?" Dennis wondered in his head.
Suddenly, an interface appeared in front of Dennis. His eyes widened as he watched the footage playing on the screen—a display only he could see. It showed a man in a suit, with blonde hair and looking to be in his thirties, wielding a spear and a rifle. He smashed into the crawler’s head with explosive force and began fighting the massive beast all by himself. With incredible agility, he dodged the crawler’s swiping hands and, "Boom," delivered a mid-air spin kick to its head, triggering yet another explosion.
"Who is he, Sami?" Dennis asked in his head.
[He is just like you, Master. He also hails from the same world you came from.]
Another interface popped up in front of Dennis, displaying the profile of the man fighting above.
*******************************************
Name : Ray M.
Race : High Human.
Class : Magic Spear God.
Power : ∞ (Infinite)
Health : ∞ / ∞
Stamina : ∞ / ∞
Magic : ∞ / ∞
*******************************************
"Huh... Ray M?" Dennis asked.
[You will be just like him once you reach the highest stage, Master. He also possesses a system like yours... namely me, though it is not literally me by his side.]
"So that’s how it is," Dennis muttered in his head.
Dennis swallowed hard. He saw all of his friends watching, then turned to see Daisy, Dulcia, and Diana watching as well. William, Elenor, Martha, Rika, and even Bella—who seemed to have come back outside—were all staring upward. He looked back at Ray, who was locked in combat with the Roach Gigas above them. The Roach Gigas, a creature that lacked a rank because no one had ever been able to defeat it, looked completely overwhelmed by Ray. Ray soared through the air like a swirling comet, relentlessly battering the monster.
Something like a flickering flame ignited inside Dennis. He clenched his fists, his eyes never wavering from the battle above. The thought struck him: if Ray M wasn’t there and that giant monster attacked again, his city would be leveled and his entire family would be killed. Suddenly, the cute face of Destiny and the images of his seven wives flashed through his mind. He steeled his resolve.
"Sami, if I use the dimensional training room, can I reach his level?" Dennis asked.
[Of course you can, Master.]
"Good. It looks like I need to start training right now to become like that. Having such a comfortable life made me forget just how dangerous this world really is," Dennis muttered firmly in his head.