Reborn: Apocalypse - Volume 2

A small, white skinned Abnormal walked into the ground floor . This close up, its body could be clearly seen .

Unlike regular Morenkai which had extremely thick skin, this Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai had veins that were faintly visible on its arms and legs . When its muscles bulged, it gained a horrifying appearance, a true monster in its own right . A faint Aura of white light drifted around this Morenkai, causing the air near it to s.h.i.+ver .

The Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai paused as it looked through the doorway, remaining still .

The moment Number 11 saw the Morenkai, he clenched his fists, his heart dropping .

"Not good . " Number 11 charged forward without hesitation . It didn"t matter whether or not this Morenkai was another form of the Emissary that had just killed himself .

The only thing that mattered was the fact that a Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai had found him and Number 14, when Number 14 was badly injured and exposed, a ripe target for the plucking .

The huge Werewolf barked out a command as he charged,

"Leila! Retreat upstairs with Number 14 and Kenneth, use his Gold Giant"s Gauntlet if you need to! If you can"t take him prisoner safely, leave him! I"ll lure the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai away!"

At the same time that this happened, Micheal"s corpse that was lying on the ground seemed to s.h.i.+ver . Abruptly, his smash head and broken bones vanished, the stains of blood that had covered the ground disappearing .

His body, however, remained in the same general spot, unmoving .

The change was very subtle and went completely unnoticed by everyone in the room .

After barking out his command, Number 11 didn"t wait . The warm light in his eyes flashed as he fully drew on everything he had, his body swelling and muscles bulging as he leapt forward .

BOOM
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THUD

In a split second, he reached the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai and punched it hard enough to send it tumbled back into the stairwell, preventing it from entering the room .

In that tiny, split second, however, Micheal could just barely make out the white arm of the Morenkai blurring . The creature made three distinctive motions, punching Number 11 3 times in the instant that the Werewolf attacked him .

The resulting blow flung Number 11 out of sight as he was sent soaring up the stairs and bounced off a wall, a few sickening crunches echoing out as multiple bones broke .

The Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai instantaneously followed, its movements like that of a predator as it sought to take out the target that was attacking it first . It hadn"t forgotten anyone down here, but instead had its own priorities . Morenkai would kill targets that were attacking them first, even if it meant foregoing an easy kill .

The sounds of melee combat echoed out loud, powerful roars and growls from Number 11 sweeping through the air . These growls gradually faded as Number 11 dragged the creature"s attention up the skysc.r.a.per, away from the ground floor .

"What the h.e.l.l is going on?" Leila finally lost her cool, her demure tone vanis.h.i.+ng as she watched Number 11 attack the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai and leave . She sounded unsure and worried, her earlier facade of confidence nowhere to be seen .

Just like that, she was left as the only person standing . She looked around with hesitation in her eyes, gazing at the downed figure of Number 14 .

She then bent down and picked up the Gold Giant"s Gauntlet that Commander Kenneth had dropped . It was a type of Artifact that enhanced one"s Strength stat, but was strenuous to use and could only be worn short term . The Commander had tried to put it on when he realized he was under attack, but didn"t make it in time .

"Number 14, sir, I-" She was in the middle of speaking as she took a few steps forward before her eyes widened in shock .

Instantly, she ducked down and tapped on her Spatial Ring, pulling out a sleek, silver gun . The air around her began to s.h.i.+ver as she began activating her-

Before she could finish doing anything, a metal fist grabbed her by the neck, causing her to freeze as her breathing was restricted . The Gold Giant"s Gauntlet and the silver gun she held were flung up into the air as she temporarily struggled before stopping, looking at her attacker in disbelief .

"Leila . How could you?" Commander Kenneth"s voice sounded dazed as he held the woman up by the neck, ready to crush it and kill her at a moment"s notice . The man"s body was trembling from exertion, a faint, poisonous air seeping out of his body as he gradually turned to steel .

"H-how did you recover?!" Leila gasped as she stared at him in horror .

"That would be because of me, my dear . "

A male voice echoed in the air as Micheal stood up, dusting himself off . He picked up all of his gear and weapons, still wearing the same suit he had been wearing before . The garment was ripped and torn, but it still covered his body .

"How?! How?!" Leila yelped out loud as her eyes darted to the side and stared at Micheal in horror . Her body trembled, but she was unable to move, Kenneth holding her in far too serious a grip .

In terms of physical strength, Leila was one of the weaker A Rankers . Her specialties lay in using her poison attacks and her ability to manipulate energy, as well as her cunning and investigative mind . She had a Defensive Artifact, but she was well aware that it wouldn"t be able to stop a close-range blow from Kenneth if he crushed her throat .

Commander Kenneth was equally shocked . He had seen Micheal die when he was in a helpless stupor, still recovering from the Malwa Poison Energy .

The two pills Micheal had secretly thrown Kenneth were known as Cleaning Body Pills . They were tools Micheal had purchased from the Shop for a flat 3,000 Points each . Each one focused on refres.h.i.+ng one"s inner strength, their Ki, boosting their energy levels .

Kenneth had used that to boost his strength just above what was needed to throw off the Malwa Poison Energy . Doing so left him partially exhausted and drained, but in decent enough health .

The only reason he was able to get away with this was because Leila"s attention was directed elsewhere . If she had been actively focusing on repressing him, the two pills would"ve proven ineffective .

It all seemed like a perfect coincidence, something that could"ve happened by happenstance at first glance . But if one looked closely, they might see the guiding hand of a seasoned expert, planning for every eventuality .

"Good job, Commander Kenneth . " Micheal nodded at him . The Commander nodded back, still slightly dazed . Despite the fact that he was still gathering his bearings, he held a death grip on Leila"s throat, his eyes cold .

Micheal adjusted his ripped up suit before walking over, his Ashari Blade held loosely in his hand, an inch above the ground . He stopped right in front of the downed Number 14, glancing at him .

Number 14 was in bad shape . His face was pale behind his mask and his body shaking, the trauma and injuries he"d suffered sending his body into shock . He looked rather pitiful .

Micheal stared down at him for a moment, his heart pensive .

"Has he even done anything evil yet, ignoring my interference?" He frowned internally, struggling slightly with the implications of killing someone for a crime they would commit in the future .

The Nightrunner Numbers hadn"t planned on killing anyone here .

If a high ranking Commander of Arcadia had been captured, the Nightrunners would use that member as a tool to trade with Arcadia for rare Artifacts or prisoners that Arcadia held . There was stiff compet.i.tion between the two powers, but not yet open war . They certainly hadn"t planned on killing him .

Their Nest feeding program was initially only focused on murdering criminals and their ilk . It was only later on that it developed into one that targeted innocents, though it was possible Kenneth would be held prisoner long enough to suffer that fate .

Micheal"s interference had thrown a wrench into their plans .

"Kidnapping innocents is still an evil thing to do and they were certainly willing to kill me just for defending myself . " He reached the conclusion after half a second"s thought, nodding his head slowly .

"In the future, you"ll support and defend an abhorrent thing . I"ll likely have to kill you then, anyway . " Micheal solved his own moral dilemma . It wasn"t a perfect solution and perhaps, ethically or morally, he was in the wrong to some degree, but he ignored that with a callousness that had been built up over years of tough, grueling experience .

The survival of his race was far more important than his own moral quibbles .

As soon as he reached that conclusion, he dropped his arm down like a missile as his Ashari Blade piercing forward .

SHKKK

"Ulp!"

Micheal stabbed Number 14 through the heart, his Defensive Artifact unable to activate in his weakened state .

"What?! No!" Leila let out a ragged scream as she saw this, her voice filling with fear as she watched the brutal execution and realized something . If Micheal was willing to kill someone as influential and powerful as Number 14…

The Steel Kraken struggled for a few seconds, his body twitching as he gasped out loud, before the light in his eyes dimmed . Blood pooled from beneath his body as he faded into the dark embrace of death .

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—-Points Obtained—-

Points 31,882

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An anticlimactic, short ending to one of the strongest experts in the First Layer, a legendary fighter that had earned the respect and fear of many .

Micheal killed his first Supreme A Ranker .

He gained a huge number of Points, far more than any other Ranker he had killed . It was more even than a Golden Morenkai could possibly give, though Number 14 had been a far more dangerous target .

Micheal flicked aside the notification as he steeled himself, knowing his job was far from done .

He bent down and scooped up Number 14"s Spatial Ring before he moved on, one that was the same Tier was his own, transferring everything that was in it into his Spatial Ring .

He then pulled his blade out of Number 14"s chest and turned his attention over to the stunned pair to his right . His eyes zeroed in on Leila .

He began to walk towards them .

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