Chapter 10- Scorched Earth
Walking to the window, Rein peeked outside at the battle occurring beneath them. He could see the chaos erupting as the horde of Undead attacked the soldiers from every angle. He could see countless people being bitten and taken down.
The tanks tried to retreat, but the Undead had already climbed over them and started hitting and kicking them. A few would not have caused a problem, but as dozens and dozens piled on the tanks, it hindered their movement.
It was a one-sided massacre. The soldiers didn't have a chance against it. They weren't strong or fast enough.
"Oh, my lord!!! What is happening down there?" Teo peeked from behind Rein as his eyes widened.
"Nature is playing a bit rough," Rein replied with a stoic look before he turned around to start walking. "We will leave from the emergency exit doors. "We won't need to come across that horde."
"Yes, sir!"
As they started walking through the floor, Rein kept an eye on what was happening down there. He was certain that the battle wouldn't last long, with either the soldiers succeeding to retreat or being wiped out. There was no other outcome.
'The number of Undead will now increase… Great.' He sighed. 'But, hopefully, this area has the biggest cluster. If I come across another horde on the way, it will be difficult to maneuver around.'
Whether he liked it or not, fighting that many Undead was a suicide attempt. He was far from strong enough to do that.
'The most I could deal with is a group of 6, maybe 7. With One-Man Army, that number might increase, but not by much. After all, all I have is one single mistake, and I'm done for."
With that in mind, Rein had to continue taking less-populated paths toward the next destination.
As the two were walking, Rein's eyes wandered to the battlefield again, and then, his eyes caught something in the distance. Small dots flying in the air. Rein squinted his eyes before he realized what they were.
'Fighter jets.' He frowned. 'Are they here for support?' He asked himself. These things have been flying above the city for a while now. However, never did Rein see more than 5 flying together. Counting those dots… They were 12.
"..." Rein took a second to understand before his eyes widened as the realization dawned on him.
"We need to move…" He muttered.
"Huh? Did you say something, sir?"
"I said we need to move. Now!" Then, without waiting, Rein picked Teo up over his shoulder and started running as fast as he could.
"Woah!!! What is happening?!"
"Shut up. We are going to die, you idiot." He said. 'Shit, shit, shit. Are they seriously going scorched earth immediately?! Why the hell even send these troops then?!' Rein clenched his teeth as he watched the aircrafts approach the battlefield. Missiles are loaded on the underside of their frame, ready to be launched.
Dozens and dozens of these missiles were aimed at the area of the battle.
Rein increased his speed even more as he started rushing down the stairs, leaping over several of them with each step. Meanwhile, Teo cried for his dear life as he held on. He didn't comprehend what was even happening.
'I don't have enough time to get down to the bottom floor!' Rein cursed inwardly.
Almost at the exact same moment, outside the building, the jets reached the area. The pilots within them put their hands on the triggers, their faces dead serious and pale.
"Ready to launch in 3… 2… 1…" They said before…
*CLICK*
Dozens of missiles were launched at the same time, flying toward the open plaza. Their size didn't seem large. But… The destruction they were about to cause was unlike anything that city had ever seen.
*BOOOOOOOOM*
A large explosion erupted in the plaza. It was so large that the shockwave instantly shattered all the glass and blasted all the buildings in the vicinity as a large inferno of fire and smoke wiped everything off the face of the earth.
The wave of energy slammed into the agency headquarters violently, the glass shattered into pieces, and the building swayed visibly.
"Woah!!!"
Rein lost balance as he fell off the stairs, rolling down several times before he slammed against the wall. Teo also fell next to him as he cried in pain.
"Shit…" Rein cursed as he stood up and looked around him. A wave of heat slammed into him, threatening to burn his skin off.
"Are you alive, Teo?" Rein asked as he stared around him. 'This building won't handle another hit… Shit, it's already cracking.'
"I'm… alive…" Teo said as he tried to stand up. "Ah! I hurt my arm!"
"No time to complain. We need to go."
"What is even happening?"
"I said we need to go bef-"
*CLICK*
Rein's senses went off as he felt something. Looking up, he saw the jets flying over their heads again before…
"Duck down!!"
The second explosion erupted, even more violent than the first one. The entire building shook from its core as the cracks spread further and the ceiling started to collapse above their heads.
Rein fell again from the impact as he felt the temperatures rise to abnormal degrees. Quickly, he stood up again as he picked Teo and started trying to descend.
'It doesn't help when you're injured. Shit.' He mused. Moving down, he tried to dodge the falling rocks as he headed toward the exit.
Then, the third wave of missiles hit… This time, they were far closer to the building.
The walls completely gave out.
"Sir!!!"
"Shut up," Rein said as he jumped over the rails and continued running. The walls all around him started descending at a rapid pace. Using his sharp senses, Rein dodged the possible rocks.
'The exit!'
From within the destruction, Rein saw the doors that led outside. However, right when he was about to reach the entrance, one of the walls gave out as a chunk of rock and fell toward Rein.
He couldn't dodge it, and with it being so close, he couldn't stop either.
Rein didn't think for a second; everything seemed to stop as his entire body reacted on its own.
The purple halo formed around his body as his hand moved forward. Using Gravity Manipulation, he tried to push the rock back, even for a second. He knew his ability was still far too weak to handle something that heavy, but if he could only stop it enough to pass…
The moment the skill was applied to the rock, Rein felt as if a ton fell on his arm, threatening to crush it to pieces.
'Ugh!' He clenched his teeth through the pain as he pushed his hand even further. The rock was coated in the halo, and for a split second, it floated in the air.
[Gravity Manipulation has leveled up!]
A notification popped into his head as Rein dashed forward.
*BANG*
Barely dodging the rock, he passed through as he kicked the door open and jumped outside. At the same time, the entrance was closed with all the debris, while the rest of the building continued to fall.