Chapter 26- Building Collapse!
Asher felt his blood freezing cold as he felt the rocks falling around him as the building started tilting ever-so-slowly, threatening to fall at any second.
'We won't be able to make it!' He thought as he looked around with a pale expression.
"We need to jump out!" He announced to Rain who was slightly ahead of him.
"We're on the 7th floor! How are we supposed to jump?" Rain asked the obvious as she dodged a huge rock that fell in front of her.
'Ugh, think! Think, Asher!' He wrecked his brain trying to find a solution before he remembered something.
'Is there no other way?!' He hesitated, only for a second since ahead of them, he saw the floor starting to fall, ultimately closing their only way out.
'Dammit!!' Cursing his bad luck, Asher quickly channeled his mana and used the Zombiemancer skill.
"Don't react to anything and just follow what I will do. I have an idea!" He shouted.
"Just do it!"
Getting the green light from Rain, Asher summoned the only Zombie summon he had… The crusher.
When the monster appeared, Rain's eyes widened for a moment but she didn't say anything and simply listened to what Asher was about to say.
"He will take us out! Let him carry you!!"
"What?!"
Before Rain could even react properly, the Zombie scooped her up and put her its should before it lifted Asher too.
"Jump!" Asher ordered quickly as he took a glance behind him. Even though he wasted no second, the building was simply collapsing at an extremely fast speed.
Huge rocks rained down on them from every place. Luckily, the Zombie was able to protect them to a certain extent but that didn't mean that they were completely protected.
"Be careful!!" Asher yelled as he noticed a rock about to hit Rain's head. Instantly, he unsheathed his sword and hit the rock at the last second.
"Than-"
"You can thank me later! Braze yourself for the jump!" Asher said as he covered his face at the same moment as the Zombie charged through the glass window, breaking it into pieces. The three immediately found themselves in the air, behind a collapsing skyscraper.
"Woaaah!!"
The fall took a few seconds and Asher felt his heart stop for a second. He was never a fan of heights even in his previous life.
*BOOM*
The Zombie landed on the ground with a loud explosion, creating a small crater where the collision happened.
A second later, the building behind them fully collapsed as a huge cloud of smoke covered the whole place.
"Cough! Cough! Are you ok?" Asher asked as he tried to push the dust away.
"Yes, to a certain extent." Rain responded.
Then, the Zombie put them down gently and stood motionlessly.
"Thank you… uh, Bob!" Asher thought of a name for the Zombie that saved their asses and he could only think of Bob.
"Bob? No, wait. Isn't this the Zombie we killed the other day? Why is it here? Why did it help us?" Rain asked a series of questions with a confused expression.
"Sigh… My power is uh… I can control Zombies I kill." Asher said as he rubbed the back of his head with a sigh. He never expected he would have to actually reveal the truth this early on and to Rain nonetheless.
"You can control Zombies?"
"Of course with some restrictions, but that's the gist of it."
"I see. Interesting." Rain murmured as she examined the monster thoroughly.
"Such a power is something else. How did you even acquire it?"
"I want to know myself. But, it's my blessing and my curse at the same time." Asher replied with a mysterious tone as he smiled sadly.
He knew that Zombiemancer had to be related in some way to the fact that he can't be infected by Zombies. Deep down, he wished he never had that power in the first place. But, what happened had happened, he could only take advantage of this ability of his now.
"Still, I'm surprised you don't seem shocked." Asher said.
"Why should I be shocked?"
"Isn't that how a person should normally react to weird powers."
"I wouldn't say your powers are weird. They are unique. No one has the right to judge anyone's powers." Rain said with a dead-serious expression as she stared directly at Asher, not faltering for a second. The boy could see the determination and confidence basically oozing out of her eyes which made him tongue-tied. "Besides, thank you for saving me." She added.
"..."
Instead of keeping the awkward silence, Asher looked behind him. The boy could see the remains of the building as they slowly settle down completely.
'What made it collapse like that?' He asked himself silently.
Asher could remember the two distinct explosions that occurred right before the building started falling. The next detail he noticed was the nature of the explosions. They weren't coming from the building itself but from an external force.
'A bomb to be precise. That means… that something or someone did this.' The moment Asher reached that conclusion, his face darkened.
But, the question that poses itself is… Why would someone do this? Almost immediately, Asher's eyes went to the most possible answer.
"Do you know who they are?" He asked.
"Hm?"
"I meant the one responsible for making the building fall. Do you know who they are?"
Rain didn't respond immediately nor deny it. Instead, she looked at the remains of the skyscraper and then said.
"I think I have an idea. But, there is no need for you to concern yourself with the matter. We should leave." She said.
"... Yes, yes." Asher rolled his eyes and walked after her. "You can go back, Bob." Saying that, the Zombie disappeared from sight and returned to Asher.
"We should be careful since the culprits could still be around."
Asher took a look at his surroundings thoughtfully but didn't see or sense anyone. The place was submerged in eerie silence as usual.
"Well, let's just leave the area. We can talk about the possibilities later." After that, the two dashed away, leaving behind a trail of dust.
***
Meanwhile, somewhere else far away. A man walked inside a corridor. His face looked stern and his demeanor was brutish and yet also refined to a certain extent compared to the average person.
His steps were quiet and yet fast. When he reached his destination, that being a big door, he knocked slightly.
"Boss, it's me." He said.
"Come in." A voice responded quietly.
The man then opened the door and walked inside. The room was vast and yet also not overly big. To the left was a huge king-sized bed that had someone sleeping on it. Then, on the other side, a man sat on a comfy chair in front of a desk. He was seemingly preparing a cup of coffee as he pulled out the sugar container.
"We blew the building into the ground, Boss." The man said.
"I see." Murmuring quietly, the boss took a small spoon and started scooping sugar and putting it in the coffee. One spoon, two spoons, three spoons, four spoons… He kept adding sugar till it reached the ninth spoon. The coffee was turned into a pile of sugar mixed with some coffee.
"Did they die?" The boss asked as he mixed the sugar.
"They can't escape that explosion. I'm sure they died."
*Sip*
"I see…"
*Rustle*
At that moment, the bed rustled slightly as a silhouette rose from under the blanket, revealing the seductive figure of a gorgeous woman.
"Hmm…" The woman moaned slightly as she looked around.
This simple gesture made the man that entered the room look behind. However, at that moment, he realized his huge mistake.