"Kill!"
Seeing the pack of monstrous dogs charging at him, Anirudh's eyes narrowed sharply. Gritting his teeth, he swung the fire axe in his hands fiercely toward the lead dog, which had already leapt into the air, aiming to take him down.
In the past, he wouldn't have risked his life for the group of people behind him, especially since many of them had tried to send him to his death back in the command building. He might have only focused on protecting Chandan. But now, things are different.
He wasn't fighting for those people; he was fighting to safeguard the vials of serum they carried—the future of humanity. If even these selfish individuals could choose to fight to the death for the serum, how could he justify retreating?
With a sickening squelch, the mutant dog's speed and ferocity proved no match for Anirudh's enhanced reflexes and strength. While these creatures were terror incarnate to ordinary people, Anirudh's superhuman reaction times rendered them vulnerable.
A bright flash of the axe cut through the darkness, and before the leaping dog could reach him, the fire axe cleaved its skull cleanly. The blade sliced through its hardened bone as though it were soft cheese, splitting the creature in half. Blood, organs, and brain matter spilled out in a grotesque spray, splattering the ground and even staining Anirudh's clothing.
The stench of blood filled the air, but Anirudh, a forensic pathologist accustomed to gore and having already slaughtered dozens of zombies, remained unfazed. As one dog fell, he quickly spun and delivered a powerful kick to another, sending it flying before it could pounce.
Bang! Bang!
As the second dog was launched into the air, two gunshots rang out. Chandan had fired, taking down the flying dog and another that had been sneaking up on Anirudh. Both collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"Well done!" Anirudh praised, his eyes lighting up. Chandan's marksmanship, already excellent, had been further honed by his newfound abilities. His enhanced reflexes made it possible to track and shoot even these agile creatures.
The others joined in. Lakshmipati and the security guards raised their weapons, unleashing a hail of bullets. Most of the guards wielded QBZ-95 assault rifles, their formidable firepower shredding through the mutant dogs' flesh. Three or four were immediately torn apart by the barrage, their bodies erupting in gory sprays before collapsing lifelessly.
Within moments, nearly all the mutant dogs were wiped out.
Not stopping there, the guards redirected their weapons toward the towering abomination controlling the dogs, their bullets tearing through the air toward the creature. However, to their horror, the beast's flesh, riddled with tumors, acted like a thick suit of armor. The bullets barely penetrated, lodging in its flesh without dealing critical damage.
Worse still, the gunfire seemed to infuriate the monster. With a guttural roar, it unleashed a chilling howl that echoed through the stormy night. The surrounding zombies, initially too frightened to approach, suddenly became emboldened, surging toward Anirudh and the others.
Simultaneously, more howls rang out from the distance. Shadowy figures—another pack of mutant dogs—charged through the rain, racing to reinforce the creature.
"Damn it!" Anirudh cursed, his pupils contracting.
The situation was dire. These new arrivals, once mingled with the zombie horde, would make it nearly impossible for the guards to hit their agile forms. If the dogs got close, only he and Chandan would have any chance of fighting them off.
"Chandan, we need to take down the big one!" Anirudh shouted, gripping his axe tightly. Leaping into action, he charged toward the towering monster.
"Got it!" Chandan replied, his expression serious as he followed Anirudh into the fray.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the compound, the hook-nosed man and his group had fought their way out of the zombie horde using the severed tongue and their stockpile of weapons. Reaching the football field, they glimpsed the helipad in the distance—their ticket to freedom.
A grin spread across the hook-nosed man's pale face as he turned to glance at Anirudh's group, now surrounded and fighting for their lives. A mixture of mockery and schadenfreude flickered in his eyes.
He didn't know why Anirudh had chosen another escape route, but it didn't matter. Soon, the man who had dared to oppose him would be dead, while he would emerge as the hero of this operation.
Just as his confidence peaked, a piercing sound shattered his thoughts—a sharp whistling through the air, almost imperceptible over the storm. Then, the rain seemed to pause above him momentarily, as if something massive had passed overhead.
With a loud thud, a towering, blood-red monstrosity landed before them. Its massive, skinless frame, rippling muscles, and grotesque claws screamed of death.
It was the Licker—a creature Anirudh had previously maimed by severing its tongue. Now, that tongue had regrown, thicker and deadlier than before, adorned with razor-sharp barbs. Combined with its muscular build and ferocious claws, the Licker resembled a demon straight out of hell.
The hook-nosed man froze in terror, as did his companions. As the Licker's beady red eyes fixated on the severed tongue in his hand, realization struck him like a thunderbolt. This grotesque creature was the owner of the severed tongue they had carried as a trophy.
"No… no…" The hook-nosed man stammered, recalling Anirudh's earlier words about the tongue's origin. Rage and fear consumed him as he realized he had been duped. "Anirudh, you son of a—!"
Before he could finish, the Licker's tongue lashed out like a spear, impaling his chest. Blood sprayed from his mouth as life drained from his eyes.
"Open fire!" someone screamed amidst the chaos.
Bullets tore through the air, peppering the Licker's body, but the creature's thick flesh shrugged off the assault. Infuriated, it used the hook-nosed man's corpse as a weapon, flinging it into the crowd.
As fate would have it, the corpse released a live grenade upon impact, triggering a devastating explosion. Shrapnel and flames tore through the group, killing or maiming most of them instantly.
The survivors barely had time to react before the Licker pounced, its claws and tongue wreaking havoc. Screams filled the air as the massacre began—a horrifying symphony of death in the rain-soaked night.
The screams, gunshots, and explosions coming from the football field made Anirudh realize that the Licker must have struck. Otherwise, with that group's firepower and the severed tongue in Hook Nose's possession, not even a horde of zombies could have stood against them.
Anirudh felt a wave of relief.
Fortunately, he had diverted the disaster, throwing the severed tongue to Hook Nose. Otherwise, the ones being hunted would be him and his companions.
This thought, however, only flashed through his mind. The next moment, he focused all his attention on the twisted monster in front of him.
"Kill!"
Thanks to the enhanced speed granted by the Ancient Body Tempering Technique, Anirudh now moved like a human-shaped cheetah. In a flash, he covered a distance of over ten meters, charging straight at the twisted monster. He leaped into the air and swung his fire axe in a powerful arc, aiming directly for the creature's head.
Against something that resembled a zombie more than a human, the only way to deliver a fatal blow was to destroy its head!
Roar!
Despite its crazed appearance, the twisted monster reacted swiftly in battle. Facing Anirudh's airborne strike, it let out an enraged roar and swung its grotesque, tumor-covered right arm like a massive club, countering Anirudh's attack.
Bang!
Squelch!
The next instant, the fire axe in Anirudh's hands collided with the monster's enormous arm. The axe's sharp blade instantly sliced through the thick tumors, embedding itself deeply into the flesh. But soon, it struck the creature's dense bone, halting its progress entirely.
At the same time, a terrifying force erupted from the monster's massive arm, overwhelming Anirudh's resistance. The immense limb smashed past the axe and slammed into Anirudh's body.
At that moment, it felt as though Anirudh had been hit by a speeding car. A sharp pain erupted from his chest and arms as his body was flung backward. He tumbled through the air for about seven or eight meters before crashing heavily to the ground, coughing up blood.
In this clash of strength, he had completely lost to the twisted monster.
However, even as Anirudh was sent flying, his axe managed to tear off a large chunk of flesh from the monster's arm. Dark purple blood gushed from the wound, causing the creature to emit a furious, pained roar. It then staggered forward, its heavy steps closing the distance as it charged toward Anirudh, intent on smashing him to a pulp.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before the monster could reach its target, three gunshots rang out. The bullets struck the relatively intact right side of its face, bursting three bloody holes into its flesh and halting its advance.
Bang!
A fourth gunshot followed, hitting the creature's right eye. The eye burst open in an explosion of blood, jelly-like vitreous humor, and fragments, leaving the creature's face covered in gore.
Roar!
The creature bellowed in pain and rage. The four shots to its face—especially the one that destroyed its eye—had not only caused it excruciating agony but also enraged it to a frenzy.
Abandoning its pursuit of Anirudh, the twisted monster turned toward Chandan, who had been shooting from a distance. With a furious roar, it began charging at him instead, the hatred for the man who blinded it outweighing all else.
"Shit!"
Seeing the enraged monster heading his way, Chandan cursed and bolted, running as fast as he could while turning back to fire more shots. He aimed for the creature's remaining eye, hoping to completely blind it.
However, unlike its human-like right side, the left side of the creature's face was covered in thick tumors. The narrow slit that served as its eye was heavily shielded, and Chandan's shots failed to penetrate.
Worse, his actions only provoked the creature further. Fueled by rage, the monster moved faster and faster, quickly closing the distance between them.
But that wasn't the worst part.
As the twisted monster pursued Chandan, a pack of mutated dogs appeared. Instead of attacking Chandan's father and the others, the dogs targeted Chandan directly. Two of them circled ahead to cut off his escape route.
Within moments, the two dogs leaped at Chandan from opposite sides.
"Damn, I'm dead for sure!"
Caught between the mutated dogs and the charging monster, Chandan felt despair wash over him. But gritting his teeth, he raised his right hand and fired at the dog on his right.
Bang!
At such close range, Chandan's aim was flawless. The bullet pierced the dog's head, killing it instantly and sending its lifeless body crashing to the ground.
Simultaneously, Chandan swung his left hand at the other dog.
A wave of icy energy erupted from his fist, enveloping the dog in frost and instantly freezing it into an ice sculpture.
Once again, Chandan's ice-based abilities saved him.
However, though his abilities were powerful enough to kill the dog, Chandan lacked Anirudh's physical strength. The impact of the dog's lunge made him stumble, causing a brief pause in his movements.
"Die!"
The brief moment of hesitation was all the twisted monster needed. It closed the gap, swinging its massive, tumor-ridden arm like a hammer, aiming straight for Chandan's head.
"Crap!"
Feeling the pressure from the monster's incoming attack, Chandan realized he had no chance to dodge.
This was the end!
Whoosh—Boom!
But just as the monster's attack was about to land, a massive metal sculpture, weighing hundreds of pounds, hurtled through the air and smashed into the back of the creature's head.
The force of the impact sent a deafening crash reverberating through the area. The monster staggered, blood pouring from its head as the blow interrupted its attack. The ground shook from the impact of its redirected arm, narrowly missing Chandan.
"Chandan, run!"
Anirudh's voice rang out urgently.
"Got it!"
Snapping out of his daze, Chandan seized the opportunity and sprinted forward, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the monster.
Glancing back, he saw Anirudh—wounded but determined—lifting another metal sculpture. Summoning his strength, Anirudh hurled the sculpture at the monster.
Boom!
The second sculpture struck the monster's head, deepening its injuries and sending it reeling. Blood streamed from the gash, staining the ground beneath it.
"Now's our chance!"
Seeing the monster dazed and bleeding, Anirudh's eyes burned with resolve. Kicking aside a nearby mutated dog, he charged at the monster once again.
"Chandan, use your ice ability to slow it down! I'll finish it!"
"Understood!"
Despite the danger, Chandan didn't hesitate. Channeling his ice energy, he joined Anirudh in their desperate assault.
Together, they launched a ferocious attack on the twisted monster, determined to bring it down before it could recover.