Chapter 77: Where Hope Ends (1)

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Where Hope Ends (1) Three minutes. It hadn’t even been that long since the protector’s emergence, and most of the chosen in the crater had met their end. It was to be expected. Despite being chosen, most of them never ventured out of the base, enjoying the benefits they were offered. Having only fought basic grade zombies such as walkers and sprinters, they didn’t have the experience to take on something like the protector. One after another, they met their end at the hands of the protector. Their corpses littered the floor. How could they figure out a way to defeat such a creature on their own? After all, unlike Neha, they didn’t have the knowledge of the future. They needed guidance, but those above the crater didn’t offer any. "Help us! Please!" one of them yelled. It was a desperate plea. One that would even move a zombie, but not Neha. Min and a few others looked at her, wondering if they should help. Yet, Neha remained idle, not giving them any instructions. Their job was to take the protector out of the equation. She didn’t care about how many of them would survive or if anyone would survive at all. Those below were expendable. Unimportant for the future. Instead, her eyes were looking for something else. A strange presence that she couldn’t shake off. "Min, check the perimeter," she said. "Some uninvited guests might have wandered here." "What should I do with them?" he asked, looking around. Neha looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "It’s obvious, isn’t it?" Min sighed and nodded before zooming away. As for those below, they were filled with anger. They thought Neha valued them, when in reality, she was just toying with them. The thought made them want to climb back up and kill her first. However, that was the extent of their fantasies. They knew the protector would crush their heads before they even climbed back up. Neha knew that as well. That’s why their resentment didn’t affect her. Either they’d die after killing the protector, or they’d die before that. Their death was certain, whether they liked it or not. They did more damage than I thought. Neha nodded in appreciation of their sacrifice. The protector was strong, but it wasn’t invincible. It had nearly killed all one hundred chosen, but it was also covered in wounds. After squinting her eyes, she even made out a few holes on its back. Perhaps if they had had proper training and more experience, they could have killed the protector. But alas, the world didn’t work on what-ifs. "ROAR!" The protector let out another roar. This time, the chosen were prepared and quickly covered their ears. Unfortunately, it was a futile attempt. The zombie jumped on them, crushing the last of the chosen under its weight. "Prepare yourselves," Neha said, waving her hand at the rest of the chosen. "It’s time to end this." The chosen were skeptical after seeing what she had done to the rest. So, they didn’t move. After a minute, Neha rolled her eyes and jumped into the crater first. The rest exchanged glances before following her. They got into formation, standing behind Neha. "Let’s go!" one of them exclaimed, only to realize something was off. The protector had gone still. It didn’t attack them, just stood there. "What’s wrong with it?" one of the chosen asked, inching closer to Neha. They hoped Neha would have the answer to their question, as always. Yet, she didn’t speak a word. As for the protector, it lifted its head, slowly looking over them. It completely ignored the chosen standing in front and looked towards the other side. After all, a stronger threat had appeared. "Damn it!" Neha said through gritted teeth. "Why now of all times?" The presence she felt before... it was there. He was there. Thump. The chosen were focused on the protector when something fell into the crater. Something rolled and stopped after hitting Neha’s feet. She looked down, and her eyes widened in disbelief. It was a severed head. Alaric’s severed head. His eyes were still open, mouth twisted in an expression of shock. The rest of his face had been mangled, but the birthmark above the left eye was irrevocably his. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over them. Then more appeared next to it. A horde had appeared where they had been standing moments ago. The chosen looked behind and saw a man dressed immaculately in a suit staring back at them. For a moment, they thought he was a human, but the zombies next to him crushed that hope. "Blaze... how could you?" Neha cursed under her breath. Of all the things she expected Blaze to do, killing Alaric wasn’t on the list. With Alaric’s demise, her dream of becoming the first evolver also died. The saying, stuck between a rock and a hard place, came true for the chosen. On one side was Blaze with his horde, and on the other was the protector. The chosen couldn’t ignore either, yet they couldn’t afford to fight both of them. "What should we do?" "Where’s Min? He was supposed to warn us!" "Oh Lord, give me strength to vanquish these demons..." Mixed reactions flared among the chosen. Before they could do anything, the protector acted. It jumped over them, charging at Blaze as it hurled a fist at him. It seemed like it had a personal vendetta against him. Not like the chosen cared about it. They just welcomed the protector’s interference. As thanks for it attacking Blaze, they were free to retreat, or so they thought. Not waiting for Neha’s instructions, they ran for their lives. They were about to claw their way up when a black wisp of smoke covered one of them. A moment later, the man’s screams echoed as he was turned into a husk. The blackened body split open, and a skeleton crawled out of it, attacking the chosen next to it. Panic ensued among them as a woman appeared among them. One whose body was covered in strange black and golden markings. "Rejoice, humans! My master has bestowed a great honor upon you," Marrow announced. "Die and serve him for all eternity!" *** Meanwhile, on top of the crater, Blaze immediately summoned his tendrils to absorb the protector’s blow. However, the protector’s strength was much greater than he expected. As a result, Blaze was pushed several feet back. He managed to stop only after sticking his tendrils into the ground. Look at you, all muscular and strong. You should thank me, not lash out like this. "ROAR!" That was one hell of a thanks, David. Blaze scoffed, shaking his head.