Chương 145: Chapter : 145

His limbs elongated with a sickening cracking sound. His spine stretched, bursting through his security uniform. Dozens of long, razor-sharp, jagged legs ripped out of his sides, tearing through his skin like knives. Thick, dark, chitinous armor plating rapidly formed over his back, protecting his newly elongated body. His human face split open, revealing a grotesque, mandibles-snapping mouth dripping with highly corrosive, green venom. In less than ten seconds, the guard was entirely gone.

Standing in his place, taking up almost the entire width of the metallic corridor, was a massive, towering, centipede-like monster. It hissed loudly, raising the back half of its body into the air. At the very end of its long, segmented body was a massive, lethal stinger tail that dripped with toxic poison. Every drop of venom that hit the metal floor instantly melted a small hole through the steel grids.

"Okay, I am officially calling in sick today!" Ken yelled, scooting further back behind his crates and hugging his knees.

"That thing has way too many legs! It is mathematically unfair! Someone call a giant exterminator!"

"Fall back!" Naomi shouted, completely ignoring Ken's commentary. She dashed backward, pulling Raja with her to keep the engineer safe. The giant centipede monster surged forward. Its dozens of razor-sharp legs clicked terrifyingly against the metal floor, making a sound like a hundred knives tapping together. It swung its massive body, attempting to crush the team against the walls.

"I will handle this ugly bug!" Elma declared confidently. She leaped into the air, crossing her twin silver swords. She aimed a flawless, high-speed falling strike directly at the center of the monster's back. Her blades hit the dark, chitinous armor with a loud, ringing CLANG. Elma's eyes widened in pure shock. Her sharp swords didn't even leave a scratch on the shell. The monster's armor was as hard as solid diamond. The centipede shrieked and bucked its body upward, throwing Elma backward.

She landed gracefully on her feet, but she was visibly frustrated.

"Its shell is too thick!" Elma yelled, her pristine white uniform finally getting a smudge of dirt on the sleeve.

"Physical attacks are just bouncing right off!"

"Try this!" Raja shouted. The nervous engineer pulled a small, glowing red thermal detonator from his toolbelt. He clicked the timer and threw it perfectly under the monster's dozens of legs. BOOM! A wave of intense heat and fire filled the corridor. But when the smoke cleared, the centipede was still standing there, completely unbothered. The explosion had merely annoyed it.

"Are you kidding me?!" Naomi groaned, dodging a rapid flurry of stabs from the monster's front legs.

"It resists heat too? How are we supposed to crack that shell?!" From the safety of his hiding spot, Ken peeked his head out again. He watched the giant bug easily deflect their attacks, feeling completely relaxed. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Hey, guys! Have you tried aiming for the glowing green spots between its armor plates?" Ken shouted helpfully, pointing a finger like a coach on the sidelines.

"In all the video games I play, the glowing spots are always the weak points! Just hit the shiny parts! It is basic boss-fight logic!" Elma gritted her teeth so hard they almost cracked. She was already humiliated that her flawless attack had failed, and now she was being coached by the lazy idiot hiding behind a box.

"I know how to fight, you stupid slacker!" Elma shrieked, letting her massive ego completely blind her common sense. She desperately wanted to prove that she was the absolute best fighter in the hallway. She didn't want to coordinate with Naomi. She wanted the glory of the kill all to herself. Elma gripped her swords and dashed forward recklessly. She ignored the safety of a defensive stance, putting all of her speed into one final, highly risky jumping attack.

She aimed her blades directly at the glowing green joints near the monster's head, completely exposing her own body in the process.

"Elma, wait! Don't overextend!" Naomi yelled, reaching out to grab her, but the blonde girl was already in the air. The centipede monster was a mindless beast, but it possessed deadly, raw survival instincts. It saw the girl flying through the air, totally defenseless. The monster didn't try to block her swords. Instead, it instantly whipped the back half of its massive, segmented body around. The lethal, venom-dripping stinger tail shot forward like a sniper bullet.

It moved with terrifying, blinding speed, aiming directly at the center of Elma's exposed spine. Elma froze in mid-air. She saw the deadly stinger coming right at her. She couldn't twist away. She couldn't block it. Her eyes widened in absolute, paralyzing terror as she realized she had just made a fatal mistake. It was going to spear her right through the chest. Ken Eliot saw the tail move. He didn't have time to think.

He didn't have time to monologue internally about his secret power, and he didn't have time to carefully plan a magic spell. He just moved. With shocking, explosive speed, Ken completely abandoned his safe hiding spot. He kicked off the metal floor, launching his entire body through the air like a cannonball. He didn't look like a legendary, untouchable god. He looked like a desperate, frantic boy throwing himself into absolute danger. Ken slammed heavily into Elma's side while she was still in the air.

He shoved the haughty blonde girl violently out of the way. Elma crashed hard onto the metal floor grids, rolling safely out of the direct line of fire. But because he shoved her, Ken took her exact place in the air. WHAM! The massive, venomous stinger tail slammed directly into the center of Ken's chest. The sheer kinetic force of the blow was absolutely devastating. It sounded like a car crashing into a brick wall. Ken let out a loud, breathless gasp as the impact hit him.

He didn't get pierced by the stinger, but the raw, brutal momentum of the massive monster's tail launched him violently backward. He flew through the air like a ragdoll, completely out of control. He sailed right past Naomi and Raja, crashing heavily into the thin metal railing of an open, dark staircase gap at the edge of the corridor. The old, rusted railing snapped instantly under his weight. Ken tumbled backward over the edge.

For a split second, he looked at Naomi with wide, surprised eyes, and then he simply fell into the pitch-black abyss of the underground facility, completely vanishing from sight. The corridor went entirely silent for one single, horrifying heartbeat.

"KEN!" Naomi's scream was absolutely bloodcurdling. It was a sound of pure, unadulterated terror and heartbreak. It tore from her throat so loudly it echoed down the entire metal shaft. She dropped her daggers and scrambled toward the broken railing, her green eyes wide with total despair. She reached her hand out into the empty, dark air, but he was already gone.

"No, no, no!" Naomi cried, tears instantly flooding her face. She leaned over the edge, staring down into the endless dark pit. The lazy, annoying, goofy friend who always complained about his shoes had just sacrificed himself again. But this time, he had fallen into the absolute dark.