Chapter 520
Chapter 520
They sprinted as fast as they could, but there was just no way they could keep up with the Kaiju. The gap between them and the enormous saurian beast ahead inevitably grew. Then Kaiju-Jake reached a large four-way intersection. He quickly looked around before taking a right and disappearing from sight.
“Goddammit,” Silvia rasped. “He doesn’t… slow down… at all…”
Breath coming out in ragged gasps, Silvia raced onward at full speed. Her team followed closely behind, breathing as heavily as she was. A few moments later, they finally slowed down. They all needed to take a breather.
After Catalina’s breathing calmed a bit, she looked at Silvia and said, “You don’t need to worry. Jake won’t double-cross us. He’ll honor our agreement whether we lend him a hand in killing the Titans or not.”
Silvia didn’t reply, but her face remained stubbornly set.
“He’s right, you know,” Catalina continued. “It’s better if he handles the last two Titans on his own. We’d only get in the way. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want to be crushed underfoot like a bug.”
“So you really think he’ll let us settle in New Hope after this is over?” Silvia asked. “Getting my people out of here to a safer place is all I want.”
Catalina gave her a smile. “I don’t see why he’d refuse to let you into New Hope. If he says it’s fine, there’s no reason not to believe him. Just like he said, he doesn’t mind us, humans, as long as we don’t interfere with his affairs.”
Silvia nodded without saying anything. As they got a bit closer to the four-way intersection, they heard sounds of battle. Silvia and Catalina exchanged a glance and picked up the pace. A few moments later, the team finally reached the intersection. When they turned onto the street where Jake had disappeared earlier, they saw that he hadn’t gone very far.
Half a block away, he was fighting a group of ravagespawn. The Kaiju had no trouble tearing them apart. Catalina wasn’t even sure why Jake bothered dealing with those smaller monsters. After all, their weak attacks didn’t seem to do any visible damage to the creature’s armored scales.
“Come on,” Silvia said excitedly. “That’s our chance to catch up to him.”
Kaiju-Jake finished off the remaining monsters. Catalina expected him to run off again, but he didn’t. Instead, he stepped toward the nearest ten-story building and leaned toward it. What happened next took them all aback.
The saurian beast opened its mouth wide. In the next moment, air seemed to be pulled into the creature’s enormous maw. The organic matter covering the building’s wall began to flake off, and quickly at that. Within several seconds, a large patch was cleared, revealing the inside of the nest.
Then several winged creatures emerged from the Kaiju’s mouth and flew into the nest, where they immediately attacked the core. Not long after that, a large lump appeared not far from the Kaiju. The swelling quickly grew, transforming into another Titan. Kaiju-Jake simply watched, patiently waiting for the process to complete.
Within a minute or so, the Titan was fully formed. Just like the previous one, it had insect-like features. The insectoid monster was somewhat smaller than the Kaiju. Its body was covered in dark armor plates layered like overlapping shields. Four long arms ended in hooked blades. A pair of glowing yellow eyes stared from a narrow head, and jagged spikes ran down its back. Its legs bent sharply like those of a giant predatory insect.
The Titan lunged at its opponent with surprising speed. Its blade-like arms slashed through the air. The Kaiju twisted aside. One strike missed completely, but another scraped across its shoulder. The impact echoed through the city. The Titan pressed the attack, striking again and again, forcing the Kaiju backward through the contaminated street. Chunks of Ravage growth exploded beneath their feet.
“Come on, Jake,” Catalina muttered.
The Kaiju suddenly surged forward. Its claws swept across the Titan’s chest. The insectoid beast staggered as deep gouges appeared across its armor. The Kaiju followed with another strike. And another, and another. The Titan raised its arms to block, armored chitinous plates grinding against powerful claws.
Catalina felt the vibrations through the ground beneath her feet as the battle raged on. The Titan hissed and drove one of its hooked limbs forward. The blade slammed into the Kaiju’s side, causing the saurian beast to recoil. The Titan seized the moment, crashing into its opponent with all its weight.
Both monsters smashed through the side of a building. Fleshy fragments of Ravage Contamination erupted into the air. The Titan then leaped onto the Kaiju’s back. Its hooked limbs wrapped around its opponent as it stabbed downward repeatedly. The Kaiju roared. It stumbled through the street, slamming itself against buildings in an attempt to shake the creature loose.
The Titan held on, stabbing over and over again. Catalina’s stomach tightened.
“Is he losing?” one Spartan asked.
“Should we help him?” somebody else asked, looking at the others.
Nobody answered. Catalina noticed that every Spartan was clearly rooting for Jake. They might not like him very much, but they all understood he was their only ticket out of Dead City.
The Kaiju finally managed to shake its opponent loose. The Titan lost its balance for a split second. That was enough. The Kaiju whipped its massive tail around. The impact struck the Titan’s side like a wrecking ball. The insectoid beast was launched through the wall of a contaminated building. It crashed onto the street and rolled across the fleshy ground.
The Spartans erupted into cheers. But the fight wasn’t quite over yet. The Titan struggled to its feet. One of its arms hung broken. Its armor was cracked. Still, it was ready to continue. It charged at the Kaiju, and Jake met it head-on. The collision shook the entire block. The two giants wrestled among the towering ruins.
Then Jake finally gained the advantage. His claws locked around the Titan’s upper body. The insectoid beast fought desperately, striking and kicking, but couldn’t break free. The Kaiju drove it backward step by step. Then he slammed the Titan into a contaminated building so hard that the structure collapsed around them.
Before the Titan could recover, the Kaiju struck again. Its claws tore through the damaged chitin armor. The Titan shrieked, the sound echoing across Dead City. The Kaiju struck one final time, and the Titan’s legs gave out. Its enormous body crashed into the street, causing the ground to tremble.
Silence followed. The insectoid giant twitched once. Then it lay still. Catalina slowly released the breath she had been holding. Around her, the Spartans stared at the fallen Titan. Even Silvia allowed herself a small smile. Up ahead, the victorious Kaiju stood among the ruined buildings and tangled masses of Ravage Contamination.
“Only one Titan left, guys,” one of the Spartans said excitedly. “Only one left.”
Catalina noticed the Spartans around her exchanging smiles and hopeful glances. She immediately remembered the moment when her own people had broken into laughter and good cheer after word reached them that Jake had dealt with Los Demonios.
He had freed New Hope from the reign of terror imposed by the bandit organization, and now he was about to help the people of Dead City. The Spartans were now just one step away from freedom from this horrible place, and it was all thanks to Jake. He might look like a monster, but he clearly still clung to what remained of his human side and was willing to help those in need.
The Kaiju took a few steps toward them and lowered itself onto all fours, just like before. Then Jake detached himself from the creature’s huge head and jumped down to the ground.
He approached the Spartans and said to Silvia, “Only one more to go. As you can see, I don’t need your help at all. There’s no need for you to risk your people’s lives. Get back to your base. I’ll finish the job and then let you know when it’s safe for you to leave.”
Catalina thought Silvia was going to argue once more. But when she glanced at the Spartan leader, she realized from the look on her face that Silvia was finally about to concede. However, before she could utter a word, somebody exclaimed, “Guys, what the hell is that?”
Catalina saw one of the Spartans pointing upward. She followed the direction of the person’s finger and saw something terrifying.
Gliding through the sky was what looked like an airship. The thing was huge, much larger than Jake’s Kaiju. Even more terrifying than its sheer size was the fact that the airship looked alive. Its flesh was fused with various pieces of machinery, including engine pods and weaponry.
As the living airship floated through the air, it cast an enormous shadow across the city below. And it was moving in their direction.
All the Spartans looked terrified. None of them had ever seen anything like it before. She looked at Jake and saw that he was also staring up at the bio-ship, or whatever it was. Sure enough, Jake’s face was incapable of showing emotion, so it was impossible to tell what he might be thinking.
“Jake,” Catalina called. “Do you know what that thing is?”
“Yes,” Jake replied in a calm voice. “They came for me.”