Chapter 17: Chapter 18. Against the odds
The instant Kyoji's hand clasped around a spike on the mutant's tongue, he was yanked skyward. The creature was retracting its tongue with incredible force. Kyoji almost lost his grip, the force threatening to rip him away, but he held on with everything he had. His life literally depended on it.
The mutant's tongue stretched a good twenty meters, but its retraction was lightning fast, taking only a second to deposit Kyoji near the creature's gaping maw. He was about to be swallowed whole.
Seeing the impending doom, Kyoji released his grip on the spike. Using the momentum of his ascent, he delivered a powerful kick to the tongue, propelling himself higher into the sky.
A deafening roar erupted from the mutant below. Hundreds of feets above, Kyoji felt the impact of the roar – a powerful gust of wind that nearly knocked him out of the air. But it was what happened next that truly sent chills down his spine.
The mutant exploded.
A terrifying wave of energy pulsed outwards, engulfing the entire temple. The battle that raged at the other corner of the temple screeched to a halt as if someone had hit a pause button. Every eye widened in horror, their owners frozen in place.
They didn't need words to understand what had just happened. One of the mutants, right there in the midst of their desperate fight, had ascended. It was now a Corrupted mutant. The thought sent a wave of terror through the remaining fighters, their faces mirroring the horror in each other's eyes. This wasn't just bad, it was catastrophic.
"Damn it! This is a disaster!" Major Gareth choked out, his voice ragged with fear.
"Fuck!" Miss Anna echoed, her usual composure shattered. The situation had taken a horrific turn.
"Where are the damn reinforcements? When are they getting here?"
Major Gareth shook his head, his face grim...
"Not anytime soon. We have five 'Corrupted' running rampant throughout the shelter, not to mention countless lesser ones. The reinforcements are pinned down. We're on our own."
"Fuck!" Anna swore again, her voice laced with despair.
It was clear that neither she nor Major Gareth were in any shape to face another Corrupted level mutant. They were already stretched thin dealing with the fiery one and its horde.
The temple lay in ruins around them. Countless lives had been lost, and countless more were severely injured, unable to fight. The healers were beyond their limits, their energy reserves dwindling with every passing moment. They were desperately trying to save as many as possible, but the sheer number of wounded was overwhelming.
The battle had reached a terrifying stalemate. Both sides were hurting, but the arrival of a second Corrupted mutant tipped the scales in favor of the enemy.
As for the fiery Corrupted mutant and its minions, they were far from finished. If anything, the surge of energy from their comrade's ascension had invigorated them, fueling their bloodlust. They continued their assault with renewed ferocity.
Hope was a flickering candle in the wind, threatening to be extinguished at any moment. All they could do now was pray for a miracle.
Speaking of miracles…
Kyoji, still suspended in the air after the explosion, was paralyzed by a wave of primal terror. Mutants exuded an aura, a palpable wave of fear designed to cripple their enemies. Had the ascending mutant not retracted its aura during its breakthrough, Kyoji and Frederick wouldn't have dared to approach, let alone attack.
But now, it was fully unleashed. The terrifying power of the newly ascended Corrupted washed over him, amplified by the creature's unrestrained aura. Kyoji's body locked up, his mind screaming in terror. He was completely at its mercy.
"Damn it!... Damn it all!" Kyoji cursed, his heart pounding as he assessed his dire situation. Fear threatened to consume him, but he knew succumbing to it would mean certain death.
He clenched his jaw, biting down hard on his tongue. A jolt of pain shot through him, momentarily clearing his head. It was a brutal tactic, but it worked. He bit down harder, the pain intensifying until he tasted blood. It was agony, the kind no sixteen-year-old should endure, but Kyoji had faced worse in his previous life. Still, the pain was undeniable, his tongue throbbing and bleeding.
Ignoring it, Kyoji used the momentum of his descent to twist his body in mid-air. He focused all his strength into his right foot, preparing for a final, desperate attack. The upward momentum he'd gained from kicking off the mutant's tongue was gone. He was falling, plummeting thirty feet back towards the monstrous creature.
The wind whipped at his face, but Kyoji remained laser-focused on his target. As he neared the creature, he swung his right foot with all his might, aiming for the mutant's eye – the one with the spear still embedded in it.
The plan was audacious, but simple. The spear was lodged halfway into the mutant's eye. If Kyoji could generate enough force with his kick, he could drive it the rest of the way in, delivering a fatal blow.
But achieving that was easier said than done. He needed pinpoint accuracy and immense power. The mutant's head was a moving target, covered in spiked tentacles. Thankfully, the creature was in the final stages of its transformation and seemed oblivious to Kyoji's presence, like a human ignoring an ant. Still, the other challenges remained.
As Kyoji's foot moved towards the metal end of the spear, he silently prayed that the mutant wouldn't move. For a moment, time seemed to stop. Then, with a sickening crunch, his foot met its target.
The spear plunged deeper.
Pui!
Warm liquid splashed across Kyoji's face. Blood.
He'd done it. He'd actually done it.
It was a brutal strike, one that would undoubtedly prove fatal. It had been a desperate gamble, a last resort fueled by adrenaline and instinct. But it had paid off.
His moment of triumph was short-lived. The mutant, feeling the spear pierce its brain, let out an earth-shattering roar. One of its tentacles lashed out, catching Kyoji squarely in the chest.
He was flung through the air like a ragdoll, the sound of his own bones snapping echoing in his ears. He crashed against the hard ground, tumbling over and over before coming to a stop. Pain engulfed him, but he was too weak to even cry out. His body was unresponsive, his life force ebbing away.
'So, this is it…again,' he thought, his vision fading.
'At least I went out fighting,' he mused, a faint smile touching his lips as darkness closed in.
[Your FE has increased]
A shimmering rune flashed before his eyes as consciousness slipped away.
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[A/N_ I'll be back to releasing 2 or 3 chapters a day starting tomorrow. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy!]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
I_Love_Ramen
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone