"NOOOOOOO!"
The commander screamed.
His face turned ugly.
"Commander! Do I turn back!?!"
The driver roared.
His heart thumped in fear.
The commander's mind raced.
But it was already too late.
Shluck!
Fangs sank into flesh.
The flesh of subject Alpha.
The commander's will steeled.
He only had one option.
"Continue! Don't turn back!"
He ordered resolutely.
His heart hung heavy. It ached.
Ached at the loss.
If Alpha had joined their side, it would have been an enormous help.
But now, he lost him.
They had no resources to save him.
No bullets, no strength, no will to fight.
Stopping now means annihilation of the entire group.
The commander fixated his gaze forward.
The demons slowed, attracted by Alpha.
Quickly, Alpha disappeared back into the night.
The military got rid of the demons.
...
"Bastards..."
Alpha muttered as the lights of the military vehicles grew distant.
Red blood splashed from his body.
Demons feasted on him, tearing chunks of his flesh at a time.
The pain surged through his entire being.
His body spasmed as demons tore nerves with their fangs.
But the wounds rapidly healed.
The Salamander genes.
After all, he was the peak of human engineering.
A result of their twisted experiments.
Alpha bore horrendous pain.
The pain of constantly being shredded to pieces and torn apart. Again and again.
But this pain was nothing compared to what he went through in the laboratory.
Still, he turned into a food machine for the demons.
"Damn humans..."
He shed no tears.
Just pure anger and thirst for revenge.
His eyes turned red. Capilars burst. Blood oozed.
He crawled forward. Desperately.
The bear claws grabbed the rubble.
Futile.
The demons pinned him down.
He knew.
This was his end.
His healing had a limit.
The more the demons tore him, the more he healed.
But every time he healed, his body grew thinner.
As if nutrients and vitality sucked out of his body.
Regret flashed in his eyes.
"UAGHHHHHH..."
His unwilling roar rang.
His face turned ugly, covered in blood - ghoulish.
Unwilling. He was extremely unwilling.
'I regret it!'
His teeth gnashed.
'I REGRET IT!'
Memories flashed before his eyes.
Memories of the time he spent in the tube.
Staring at the outside world through the glass, soaking in luminous liquid.
The longing for the outside world. His desire to die. The desire for revenge.
He remembered them all vividly.
'Delta...'
His eyes hung heavy.
He had no strength.
His body had dried up, looking like a moomy.
The blurry image of a woman flashed in his mind.
'I'm sorry, Delta...I can't fulfil my promise.'
Memories replayed.
A memory of a woman walking to his tube and gently placing her palm on it.
'You escaped...I'm glad,'
The load on his heart lessened.
'I couldn't avenge us...I hope you can still happily live in this destroyed world.'
But his eyes weighed down.
The body relaxed.
He accepted his fate.
The demons tore him.
Swish!
Suddenly, his muscles tensed up.
His claws moved.
The eyes snapped open.
Crack!
Bone-breaking sounds filled the air.
A strange light flashed in his eyes.
Light of realization. Hope.
His body twitched in strange ways.
Crack!
His limbs bend, turning animal.
The claws and feet turned into paws.
His skin turned smoother, violet.
Bit by bit, the demons backed away from him.
Under the darkness of the night, a figure stood among the demons.
A heavily injured figure.
A demon hound identical to every other.
But the eyes were not red; they were human.
They shone with a strange light.
The demon was thinner compared to others, but slowly healed.
Blood dripped from the mouth.
The metallic taste is still fresh in his mouth.
Alpha transformed into a demon.
Shrliiik!
A tentacle demon screamed.
The demons slowly retreated.
No one noticed the intruder - Alpha.
He had transformed entirely, even hiding his human scent.
But as the group moved, Alpha walked in the opposite direction.
A lonely figure walked under the sky.
Low growls rang. The fangs gnashed, and the eyes shone with determination.
The lonely back carried immense weight.
The weight of vengeance.
Vengeance on humanity.
.
.
.
The military vehicles drove away.
The demons backed.
And Vincent slept peacefully in bed. Clueless. Drugged.
But as things calmed down, a heaviness descended onto the city.
The gloomy tower stood in the center.
A dark reminder of the new era.
The future of humanity looked gloomy.
But time didn't discriminate.
The hours passed.
Dawn slowly approached.
...
The military vehicles slowly made their way out of the city, heading back to the base.
Exhaustion caught up to them.
The soldiers had fallen asleep.
Only the commander and the drivers still battled the sleepiness.
They hadn't slept in days. It was catching up to them.
But a silent joy descended into their hearts.
A joy-giving strength to the drivers to hold on.
This journey was coming to an end.
The familiar rot filled the air.
A corpse wall became visible in the distance.
Yet the soldiers couldn't be happier to see this tragedy.
.
.
.
As dawn approached, Vicnet slowly opened his eyes.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
He jumped.
"Huff-huff..."
His chest moved, his heart raced. He panted.
Sweat drenched his back.
His entire body trembled.
Memories haunted his dreams, but he quickly suppressed his wild emotions.
He already came to terms with himself.
He'll use his strength to protect everyone he can.
That's the least he could do.
"Status Window,"
He called forth.
[Name: Vincent]
[Race: Human (Carrier of the zombie virus)]
[Race: Progenitor (Conditional)] - [Time remaining: 29 days 4:39:27]
[Level: 3] - [Exp: 158/300]
[Stats:]
[Strenght: 8]
[Stamina: 14.3]
[Agility: 12:1]
[Perception: 10]
[Mana: 50/50]
[Skills: (Contract); (Command); (Probe)]
Vincent heaved a sigh of relief.
'There are 29 days left,'
His heart trembled at the thought of turning into the Progenitor again.
The feeling, the sensations. The monster he becomes. He never wants to experience it again.
Heaviness descended onto his heart as another problem came to mind.
"Quests,"
He willed.
Another status window appeared before his eyes.
[Main Quest: Level-Up Apocalypse]
[Requirements:]
[100 corpses] - [0/100]
[10 awakened corpses] - [0/10]
[1000 iron ores] - [0/1000]
[Reward: (Zombie Virus Level-Up)]
[Penalty for failure: Death]
[Time limit: 37 days 7:38:19]
Vincent's blood froze.
His heart stopped.
'Death?'
His vision trembled.
Once again, he came to a crossroads.
Morality? Or survival?
Self-sacrifice? Or Selfishness?
...
Vincent's mind froze.
But while he slowly came to terms with reality, the military vehicles reached the military base.
The tube with subject Beta protruded from the trunk.
The laboratory equipment dangled.
They arrived at last.
The mission was a success.
Soldiers celebrated.
They survived and could finally rest.
But as the commander stepped out, his expression grew darker.
Even more work awaited him.
More questions. More answers he needed to seek.
Who ordered those experiments?