Bang—!
A few minutes earlier.
Bang—!
'That Horror is getting more aggressive,' Gin pondered silently, gently running his fingers over the revolver, all the while observing the unfolding scenario beneath the tower.
The Horror relentlessly pounding its head against the tower walls grew increasingly agile and precise, showing no signs of respite. Its relentless assault only escalated, seemingly gaining speed with each relentless strike.
Gin gazed at the situation of the other Horrors.
'No movement. And I'm so hungry.'
The opportunity to buy time should have favored them, were it not for their empty stomachs. Additionally, the fact that their rest did not specifically alleviate the fatigue only added to the challenges they faced.
Bang—!
'Let's see…' Gin analyzed the group's situation. 'Aside from Ned and Mandy who suffered injuries along the way, everyone can fight pretty well. Oliver is the same.'
Gin looked at Trex and the other person left on Oliver's squad who goes by the name Emma, and spoke to them.
"Hey you, what's the name of your contracted Horrors and its abilities?"
The duo flinched as Gin's voice was directed toward them. They exchanged hesitant glances, silently mulling over his requests within the confines of their thoughts before finally offering their responses independently.
"I can't tell you its name nor its abilities."
"I have one contracted Horror and its name is Thusine. Its abilities are related to earth. The ability it gave me was Earth View and Effication."
"Thusine... Isn't that a very famous Horror?" Gin pondered internally before turning his attention to Ariana and Oliver, who wore expressions of inquiry as if his questions were glaringly evident.
Gin concluded that Emma held some hidden significance, a detail he promptly dismissed, given his familiarity with the Horror's abilities. Instead, he shifted his focus to Trex.
"I need to know everyone's abilities to perform a perfect synergy once this tower stops holding on." Gin paused, "If you don't, it's good. We can just use you as a fodder, right?"
Trex attempted to seek assistance for Oliver, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as everyone ignored him. In the current precarious situation, where understanding each person's capabilities could potentially tip the balance in their favor, keeping such information a secret seemed illogical.
Sensing Gin's unwavering determination, Trex bit his lip, unable to shake the belief that Gin would follow through on his words.
Finally surrendering, he spoke, "The name is Aubua. It's a newly formed contract, and I'm not sure if my abilities are useful, but it had something to do with misdirection."
'Aubua? Doesn't ring a bell. A new Horror perhaps—'
Bang—!
Abruptly, the tower they occupied shook violently, jolting them back to awareness. Startled, everyone swiftly armed themselves in response to the unexpected disturbance.
They quickly ran off to watch the situation which made their eyes widen.
"Huh!?"
The Horrors suddenly began retreating from the tower in a remarkably synchronized fashion, suggesting a premeditated strategy. It seemed they were regrouping, evidently preparing to charge once more when fully ready.
The hammerhead Horror, having exerted the most effort, flashed them a smug smile, specifically directed at Gin, Ariana, and Oliver, who instantly grasped the underlying message. It irked them, fueling a sense of irritation.
They have been duped.
Crack—!
"Run towards the third tower!"
Ignoring the warning, Emma, always the one to take the lead, sprinted towards the bridge connecting to the third bridge, driven solely by her feelings.
The nearest people to her were the twins, jolting as fast as they could since they were the slowest ones in the group.
Everyone followed right after.
"Your robes! Cover yourselves!" Gin gritted his teeth as he followed suit with the rest, angrily thinking inwardly, 'Hah! So that's what it did? The hammerhead is not meant to destroy the tower but to just damage it while the other Horrors are resting?'
At that moment, Gin recalled Ariana's earlier mention of Horrors, a revelation that still seemed perplexing and devoid of any logical explanation.
'Can dead creatures even rest?' Gin rethinks his previous thoughts while looking for possible direction in their situation.
'Right, it was weird for it not to use its force to completely dominate us in terms of power. And if I'm right that there is indeed one controlling these Horrors, it could only mean that they are the ones who needed a rest.'
Gin cast a glance at the second tower before shifting his gaze downward, where a horde of Horrors was now charging towards it.
A sense of impending doom hung in the air, and they hadn't even made it halfway through the third tower.
"Fuck…"
Bang—!
"Faster!"
Rumble—!
As they stepped onto the halfway point of the bridge, the second tower began to tremble ominously. Suddenly, its massive structure started collapsing, plummeting in the direction the group was heading.
Rumble—!
The supports of the bridge began to fall, causing the very platform they were standing on to crack and destabilize. The structural integrity of their route was rapidly deteriorating.
Compounding the issue, the imminent threat wasn't just the crumbling bridge. The second tower was poised to collide with the third tower intentionally, adding another layer of danger to their already precarious situation.
Adding to the mounting challenges, the Horrors below, having accomplished their task at the second tower, now redirected their attention towards the third tower, intensifying the threats closing in on the group.
In an instant, as if perfectly synchronized, the Horrors surged forward like a colossal wave, poised to crash upon the group with relentless force.
"We're not going to make it!"
Gin shouted, sensing that they were the only ones in danger of not reaching the third tower in time, with the collapsing bridge right on their heels.
Bang—!
"Alex!"
"I know!"
Alex, who just got in time at the third tower's platform, plucked a hair on his sister and clenched it before throwing it out towards the three who lagged behind them.
"Ah…"
Soon, all hell broke loose.
Rumble—!
The first causality of the chaos is the bridge itself, succumbing to the intense pressure and forces at play.
As the bridge collapsed, the trio found themselves plummeting alongside the wreckage. In a desperate move, Oliver retrieved the grimoire from his makeshift subspace, preparing to take action.
However, a colossal strand of hair extended towards them, creating a bizarre and unexpected lifeline.
With swift reflexes, Gin seized the strand of hair, securing a hold on it. He then reached back to grab Ariana, who, in turn, held onto Oliver, the latter having no choice but to rely on their support as his hands were occupied with the grimoire.
Together, they clung to the unexpected lifeline, suspended in the chaos.
"Fuck!"
Crashing over the walls of the third tower, the trio, still held by the strand of hair, managed to survive the fall. However, the impact was not without consequences, as the force of the collision caused a few bones within their bodies to break, leaving them battered and in pain.
The strand of hair, though keeping them alive, couldn't shield them from the physical toll of the harrowing descent.
Any sense of relief eluding them, the trio's eyes widened in shock as they witnessed the second tower collapsing, mere meters away from their precarious position. The threat continued, and the danger of the situation was far from over.
'So fucking fucked.'
Cursing silently to himself, Gin watched as the other two attempted to smash the tower walls, a task that even the formidable hammerhead Horror had struggled with earlier. The effort appeared futile, and the reality of their situation sank in.
Bang—!
The second tower crashed towards the third tower.
The second tower collapsed.
Thud—!
Adding to the chaos, the Horrors from below forcefully breached the third tower, triggering explosive firepower that set off a chain reaction, causing the tower itself to begin its descent. The situation grew increasingly dire with each passing moment.
After a tense few seconds, the third tower succumbed to the relentless forces and collapsed, further plunging the group into a perilous situation.
The world around them continued to crumble, leaving them in the midst of destruction and uncertainty.
…
The Horrors, like scavengers amidst the wreckage of the second and third towers, assembled to seek out specific survivors amid the chaos.
Relentlessly, they obliterated everything in their path, reducing structures to pulp or dust, ensuring that any potential survivors would not escape their demise. The aftermath echoed with the eerie silence of destruction.
In a specific area, a Horror with a slanted, distorted face and elongated limbs is methodically searched through the remains of its surroundings. Its grotesque presence added an unsettling dimension to the already chaotic aftermath of destruction.
It removed the debris and chunks of bricks that covered the whole place before turning it into pulp like what everyone was doing after checking.
In a sudden turn of events, the Horror reached out to inspect a large chunk of rubble, only to be met with the surprising sight of a revolver pointed directly at it. The unexpected defiance hinted at a potential resistance amid the wreckage.
"That distorted face is your head, isn't it?" Gin smirked, his left eye bloodied while he had a huge cut right in the middle of his chest, before continuing, "How convenient."
Bang—!
The head of the Horror was blown into pieces.
Undeterred by the Horror's momentary stagger, Gin pressed on, firing two more bullets with precision to bring an end to the creature's life. The echoes of gunfire reverberated amid the desolation, marking a brief respite in the relentless assault of the Horrors.
'My first kill…'
Looking around the chunk of rubbles he was under, Gin couldn't help but laugh in disbelief as he realized.
'I was thinking we could move to the third tower but I guess it's also futile to do it. The Horror is planning on taking down the three towers anyways.'
Gin immediately stood up from his place before leaving the piles of debris.
As the dust clouds continued to hang in the air, obscuring Gin's vision, his sixth sense provided a peculiar awareness.
Despite the visual hindrance, he sensed that not everyone had made it out, except for himself. The aftermath of destruction left an eerie uncertainty lingering in the air.
'Hahaha, I guess this is the end.' Gin mused inwardly, realizing he couldn't let those Horrors find the unconscious bodies of his team while he was available.
Gin's consciousness persisted solely because Ariana and Oliver shielded him, taking the brunt of the damage and directing most of the impact away from him. Their selfless protection became the reason why he remained the only one still conscious amid the aftermath of destruction.
He owed them one or else he would get flattened up by the same tower.
"I'll leave the rest to you guys," Gin muttered under his breath as he grabbed a flare on his side, and aimed it above the sky before shooting it.
Poof—!
Throwing the flare gun down, he grasped the two revolvers in his hands as he shouted.
"Fucking bastards!"
Gin licked the blood that had befallen his left eye as he shouted with glee.
"Come at me."