Chapter 433
Chapter 433
Catalina stumbled, colliding with Jake’s back as they hurried down the stairs. The farther down the stairs they descended, the worse the visibility became, making it harder for her to see where they were going. She tightened her grip on his shoulder, relying on that single point of contact to guide her through the darkness.
Jake was aware of her difficulty in descending in near darkness. She was struggling to keep her footing, but he knew they couldn’t slow down. The monsters were still after them. He could clearly hear the sound of pounding footsteps behind them. He hoped they wouldn’t follow them into the subway, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case.
It didn’t take them long to reach the platform. It was completely dark there, the air stale and unmoving. Jake briefly paused, scanning his surroundings. The platform stretched across the center of the vast space, flanked by two yawning tunnels leading into blackness.
Catalina bumped into him again, startled, not immediately realizing he’d come to a halt.
“It’s pitch black here,” she whispered, breathless. “I can’t see a thing, Jake!”
“Don’t worry,” he said through the electrolarynx, the voice coming from the device mechanical and emotionless. “I can see everything.”
Her grip on his shoulder tightened, desperate. It was her only lifeline in the suffocating darkness. Without that contact, she knew she’d be swallowed whole by the void.
“Are you sure you can see well?” she asked. “Because I can’t even see you, and you’re right in front of me!”
His body was totally black, allowing him to disappear in dark places without much trouble, blending in with the darkness.
Jake didn’t reply. He was listening.
It didn’t take long for him to pick up the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs. The monsters had followed them in after all. The subway was no sanctuary from the ravagespawn. Even though the interior of the subway wasn’t covered in organic matter, they descended without the slightest hesitation.
Jake grabbed Catalina by the hand and quickly led her to the far end of the platform. Stepping around her, he gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him, then guided her back until her back pressed against the cold wall.
“Jake, what’s going on?” she asked, her voice trembling. The total darkness and the fact that she couldn’t see what was happening around her sent a chill of fear through her.
“Stay here,” he said. “Those monsters followed us here. I’m gonna take care of them. Just stay put. You’ll be safe here.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he was no longer listening. He turned away and started to move off.
“Jake, wait,” she gasped, her hand shooting out to catch him, but he was already beyond her reach, her fingers closing on empty air.
“Don’t worry,” he called back. “It’ll be fine.”
“How many are there? Are you sure you can take them out by yourself?”
But he’d already tucked the device away, so he couldn’t reply. Her voice held an edge of nervousness. She was alone now, stranded in the suffocating darkness. He only hoped she would stay where she was, far from the battle that was about to unfold.
When he reached the center of the platform, the monsters began to spill onto it. Most were humanoid, but instead of arms, they had pincers, curved blades, tentacles, and other types of appendages. Among the humanoid monsters were several that moved on all fours. Some were insectoid, scuttling on numerous multi-jointed legs.
As the monsters swarmed onto the platform, he saw that only a few of their pursuers had followed them into the subway. The rest had clearly abandoned the chase. It was definitely a good thing, as he wouldn’t have to face wave after wave of freshly spawned abominations.
Morphing his hands into his favorite weapons, he charged at the monster pack with a fierce determination. With a swift, brutal motion, he delivered a powerful blow to the first monster in line, his smashfist transforming its head into a mess. Despite the horrific injury, the monster was still alive, its body twitching in shock.
But before it could recover, he swung his other arm, which was transformed into a chainsaw. The rotating blade bit into the creature’s shoulder at an angle, the jagged teeth gnawing through its tough exterior with a sickening sound. He continued dragging the whirring blade across the monster’s body, nearly cleaving it in two before yanking the chainsaw free with a spray of dark blood.
The two halves of the monster, now barely connected by a few strands of flesh, collapsed to the ground in a heap, the life finally extinguished from its eyes.
He then pivoted to confront a dog-like monster. The creature’s jaws gaped wide, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth poised to rip into him. With a swift motion, Jake conjured a shardflare in his palm, the magical energy crackling within the object.
As the monster lunged, he shoved the shardflare into its open maw. He immediately dashed to the side. A split second later, the mana-infused explosive detonated with a muffled boom. The dog-like monster’s head exploded like an overripe melon, sending pieces of flesh flying every which way.
For several more minutes, Jake carved his way through the monstrous pack. Although these creatures were powerful and high-level, it didn’t take much effort for him to slay them all. As soon as the last one collapsed to the ground, two familiar system messages flashed through his mind.
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Multiple Enemies Killed. +67,345 XP
XP: 238,755 / 214,500
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Level Up. 171 → 172
+5 SP
XP: 24,255 / 221,100
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He’d leveled up from 170 to 171 at some point during their run through Dead City, and now he leveled up again, which gave him a total of ten skill points. While Dead City might appear terrifying to humans, for him, it was an excellent source of experience. He was determined to spend more time here, racking up levels.
He felt an itch to check his stats, hoping some of his skills were ready to ascend to the next rank and gain new upgrades using the skill points he’d earned. Yet, for now, he forced himself to set that excitement aside, as there were more urgent matters demanding his attention.
“Jake, is everything alright?” Catalina’s tense voice cut through the air. During the fight, she’d been completely silent. But now that the sounds of battle had finally faded, she was desperate to know whether Jake had emerged victorious… or if the silence meant something far worse.
Jake didn’t immediately reply, though. For a moment, he simply listened. No more sounds came from the stairs, no footsteps, no snarls, meaning no more monsters were coming. Satisfied, he turned toward Catalina.
She remained frozen in place exactly where he’d left her, rigid and unmoving. At some point during the fight, she had drawn her energy pistol. She was holding it in front of her, pointing at the darkness ahead.
He started toward her.