The middle-aged guard looked absolutely horrific.
One of his arms was completely gone, while blood endlessly poured from a deep puncture wound through his throat.
Even his uniform had completely turned red.
Theo’s heartbeat skipped violently.
"What the hell happened?!"
David tried stepping forward again, yet nearly collapsed imdiately.
Tears filled the man’s eyes as his body trembled violently.
His lips moved slightly, desperately trying to say sothing.
But no sound ca out anymore.
Theo rushed towards him imdiately.
’’David!’’
Suddenly, the guard raised his remaining arm weakly.
Then pointed behind Theo.
Theo’s expression stiffened.
Following the direction instinctively, he caught sight of an ergency door near the back of the room.
’’What?’’
David’s knees finally gave out completely.
Thud!
His bloodied body slamd against the floor.
"DAVID!"
Theo imdiately crouched beside him, only for his expression to darken further.
David’s eyes had slowly drifted up, just staring at the ceiling.
’’David!’’ he called out loudly. ’’Co on, man! You can’t go like this!’’
David’s eyes refocused again, tears streaming down his face.
He grabbed hold of Theo with his remaining hand, clenching it tightly.
Then—
His body went limp.
Theo’s eyes widened completely.
"...David?"
No response ca.
He gritted his teeth and grabbed the man’s shoulders.
His grip slowly tightened.
"Co on, man..." he muttered, his breathing turning uneven again. "What about your family?"
The image of the little boy on the phone instantly flashed through his mind again.
"Your son’s still waiting for you..."
But his body remained motionless.
Theo forced his eyes closed for a second... before finally letting go of him.
’’Fuck...’’
For a brief mont, the entire room fell silent again.
Then Theo suddenly noticed sothing sticking slightly out of David’s jacket.
A folded piece of paper stained with blood.
Theo hesitated for a second before slowly pulling it out.
He gritted his teeth, knowing damn well what it was.
Even so... he still unfolded it.
’To Daniel’
’Keep working hard — Theo Lane.’
A single water droplet scribble marked the bottom of the page... but it was now soaked in blood.
Theo froze completely.
This was it...
He’d handed this to David on the last day of the tournant... for his son.
Instead of going ho to his family, this middle-aged man had stayed to protect him.
And died because of it.
Theo silently clenched the bloodstained paper tighter in his hand.
His chest tightened painfully.
"...Why?" he muttered hoarsely.
Why didn’t he just go ho?
Why risk this much just to point him towards the ergency exit?
Why... did all of this even happen?
Theo’s grip tightened even further, crumbling the paper together.
Then—
BOOOOOM!
The entire building suddenly trembled violently.
Dust fell from the ceiling while the lights flickered above him.
Theo’s eyes widened slightly, jumping up instinctively.
Another distant explosion echoed through the structure monts later.
"What the hell is going on outside?" he muttered, gritting his teeth.
He forcefully pushed his emotions aside, feeling the anxious sensation in his chest explode.
That’s when David’s final action resurfaced in his mind again.
’The ergency escape.’
Theo slowly turned to the smaller reinforced door near the back of the room.
Without hesitating, he moved forward.
’’I need to know,’’ he muttered quietly. ’’Why he pointed here.’’
Another distant explosion echoed sowhere outside monts later, causing the walls and floor to vibrate faintly.
Theo’s expression slowly stiffened.
Stopping in front of the ergency exit, he glanced at the switch to open it—
And flicked it instantly.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A quiet alarm rang out through the room.
Click!
The small door slowly shifted open.
A wave of cold air instantly rushed through, blasting Theo’s face.
As he stepped forward, a narrow tal staircase ca into view, stretching downward along the outer wall of the building like a fire escape.
The mont Theo stepped even closer—
He froze.
"...What the fuck..."
The city below... had turned into absolute hell.
It was still the middle of the night, yet Theo’s night vision made him see everything perfectly.
Blinding flashes continuously lit up the sky every few seconds, almost like artificial suns were exploding near the coastline.
Far in the distance, massive creatures towered over the ocean.
One resembled a serpent large enough to wrap around skyscrapers, while another looked like a gigantic electric eel swallowed by a large water bubble.
Several floating figures clashed against them high above the sea, releasing explosions powerful enough to shake the entire city.
The city’s barrier had fully activated.
A massive translucent do covered the skyline, flickering violently whenever attacks slamd against it from outside.
Theo’s gaze slowly lowered, his pupils shrinking.
It... wasn’t much better.
The streets were completely overrun.
Countless different kinds of creatures flooded through the city.
So crawled across buildings like insects, while others tore through cars and storefronts with brute force.
People scread as they ran through the streets below.
Entire groups desperately tried escaping through flooded roads while a few hunters fought to hold the monsters back.
Buildings everywhere around had already begun burning, sending thick black smoke into the sky.
BOOM!
Another explosion rang out near the shoreline.
The shockwave hit his building, trembling it even more violently compared to before.
Theo stumbled for a mont, then he snapped out of his daze and imdiately grabbed hold of the tal railings.
His breathing stalled as he looked at the collapsed city again.
’’T-this...?’’
It wasn’t possible.
He nearly couldn’t comprehend everything that was happening.
The barrier was still up... yet creatures sward the city?
Two massive creatures were fighting experts and holding them off?
’’A disaster...’’ he muttered, his grip tightening around the railing.
He tried to make sense of it as best he could.
CRACKLE!
For a split second, the entire city lit up in a deep purple color.
BOOM!
A massive thunderbolt struck down near the coastline.
Theo’s eyes widened.
One of the floating hunters had just been blasted straight through three separate buildings before vanishing into the smoke below.
"Fuck..."
Then—
Theo’s instincts suddenly scread at him.
Without even thinking, he threw himself backward.
CRASH!
Sothing slamd into the tal staircase where he’d been standing a split second earlier.
Theo shook his head and glanced ahead.
’’Ice?’’
His eyes narrowed, quickly finding the source of the attack.
A massive insect-like creature clung to the outer wall of the building.
Its body was covered in black shell-like armor while dozens of glowing blue eyes locked directly onto him.
Long claws dug deep into the concrete wall as saliva dripped from its jaws.
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