Chapter 36 Broken shield.

Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Broken shield.

Huge maggots with slimy, bloated bodies kept wriggling and crawling over the ground, their disgusting flesh pulsing with thick mucus that irked Luna to no end.

Rowan had dragged her behind one of the broken pillars inside the abandoned temple before squatting at its edge, using his broad body to shield them from the monstrous creatures that constantly searched for prey.

"How are we able to hide here while they keep passing by without noticing us?" Rowan whispered.

Luna glanced around before lowering her voice even further, making sure not a single sound escaped.

"It seems they’re blind. They only follow noise to track their prey. They’re similar to zombies, but unlike zombies, these things aren’t fast enough."

Both of them held their breaths as dozens of the hideous creatures crawled past their hiding place, their slimy bodies scraping against the cracked floor.

Time continued slipping away.

"Ethan is waiting for us. We have to move," Luna declared.

Before she could stand, Rowan grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.

"Can’t you see what we’re dealing with? Those things keep increasing in number. The zombies are breeding them, and the moment we leave this cover, they’ll hear us. Walking out now is suicide."

Once again, Rowan tried reasoning with her. He was surprisingly good at it. They all were. Every single one of them always tried to make her reconsider her reckless decisions.

Luna simply stared at him before making a face.

"Are you with me or not? Because if I decide to do this alone, I’ll walk out there myself, and nothing will happen."

She started to rise again.

Rowan instantly yanked her back, making her stumble before she landed against his chest.

"No matter how dangerous this is... I’d be damned if I let you face it alone."

His expression remained completely serious.

She could be a bitch sometimes.

No...

She was definitely one.

Yet she had slowly begun growing on him.

The days he had spent beside her made him realize she wasn’t the psychopath she always pretended to be. The world had simply forced her into becoming someone who expected betrayal before kindness.

Why remain soft when the world itself was filled with horrors capable of driving anyone insane?

"You recruited us," Rowan continued. "Like it or not, we’re staying until the very end."

He winked.

Goosebumps immediately spread across Luna’s arms.

She instinctively took two steps backward as though trying to distance herself from whatever strange feeling had suddenly appeared.

Her gaze instantly sharpened.

"If you’re expecting me to gush over that and hug you... well, bummer. You lost."

She quickly turned her face away to hide the grin threatening to escape.

She couldn’t keep lying to herself anymore.

Her heart was gradually opening up to the companions around her.

Only them.

Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—they were the only people she could tolerate.

Even if she kept building walls around herself, these stubborn idiots refused to leave her alone.

And...

She wasn’t exactly complaining.

No matter how comfortable solitude had once been, life with companions wasn’t nearly as boring as she had imagined.

Especially for someone who hated crowds and people as much as she did.

"I wasn’t expecting a hug..." Rowan muttered.

"...but if you’re offering."

He leaned closer, clearly intending to wrap his dirt-covered arms around her again.

Luna glared at him.

Why wasn’t he acting like the cold, cocky jerk she had first met?

Honestly, she preferred that version of him over whatever affectionate nonsense was beginning to gather inside his eyes.

"Don’t even think about it."

"I’m going to kill you."

Rowan hugged her anyway.

Right as the two continued bickering...

A low growl echoed behind them.

Luna groaned.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake..."

Couldn’t the universe allow one peaceful moment?

The enormous maggot lunged at her.

Its circular mouth stretched wide, revealing countless jagged teeth large enough to swallow her upper body whole.

Luna instantly shoved Rowan aside before springing backward.

At that exact moment, her translucent system panel appeared before her.

The reward section flashed brightly.

Her Apocalypse Coins...

Had skyrocketed.

From six hundred thousand...

To over nine hundred million.

A satisfied sigh escaped her lips.

"System."

"Get me body-neutralizing bullets."

"An impenetrable gun."

"And everlasting ammunition."

"I’ve got maggots and zombies to exterminate."

The system chimed.

Immediately, her balance began dropping at an alarming rate.

The numbers fell so quickly that Luna nearly choked. Another shopping that was getting ready to render her broke.

"That expensive?"

One bullet cost that much?

Then again...

This wasn’t an ordinary weapon.

She couldn’t complain.

A ripple appeared inside her supermarket space before the weapon was teleported directly into her waiting hand.

Meanwhile...

The maggots completely surrounded them.

Rowan’s eyes suddenly darkened.

Black smoke leaked from his pupils as his Beast Control Affinity erupted.

An invisible force spread across the area.

Every maggot froze.

Their movements became stiff before they slowly turned toward Rowan instead of Luna.

His affinity had forcefully seized control of their primitive minds.

With the creatures temporarily distracted, Luna finally had the opening she needed.

The instant the gun settled comfortably in her grip, she rushed forward.

She gently shoved Rowan backward, snapping him out of the dangerous trance his ability always forced him into.

"This..."

She smirked.

"...is where I come in."

Without another word...

She pulled the trigger.

BOOM!!

The bullet exploded like a miniature bomb the moment it struck.

Another shot.

BOOM!!

Another explosion followed.

Anything caught in its path was completely obliterated.

Walls collapsed.

Stone pillars shattered.

The earth itself cracked apart.

The destruction was far greater than Luna had expected.

Still...

As long as those disgusting abominations died...

She honestly didn’t give a damn.

This was survival.

Nobody had the luxury of worrying about property damage anymore.

She continued firing.

Each bullet tore through waves of maggots before detonating into violent explosions that reduced their bodies into burning chunks of flesh.

Rowan could only stare.

His mouth slowly fell open.

He couldn’t understand why she had received a weapon like that while he hadn’t gotten anything remotely similar.

As Luna continued shooting...

She suddenly heard faint cries.

They were coming from underground.

Blood slowly seeped through the broken cracks beneath her feet.

Her eyes widened.

Apparently...

Several survivors had hidden beneath the temple.

Unfortunately...

One of her explosive rounds had blasted through the floor above them.

The underground shelter collapsed.

Around ten terrified survivors scrambled out, coughing and screaming.

The moment they emerged...

The remaining maggots descended upon them.

"No!"

One man barely managed to scream before a massive creature clamped onto his skull.

Crunch!

His head disappeared.

Another woman tried running.

Several maggots wrapped themselves around her legs before burrowing beneath her skin.

She shrieked as her body was ripped apart from the inside.

One after another...

The survivors were overwhelmed.

Blood splashed across the ruined temple.

Pieces of flesh scattered everywhere.

Within moments...

Silence returned.

Luna watched everything happen.

Then...

She simply shrugged.

There wasn’t anything she could do.

Or perhaps...

There wasn’t anything she wanted to do.

As she turned away, something flickered behind one of the few standing pillars.

Her eyes narrowed.

A familiar boot peeked out from behind the stone.

Adrian.

"Over here!"

Kai’s voice echoed.

"Hurry! Get inside! The shield is about to collapse!"

Without hesitation, Luna and Rowan sprinted toward them.

A deafening crack suddenly thundered above.

Everyone instinctively looked upward.

The massive shield protecting the safe zone from the killer sun had begun breaking apart.

Another crack spread across its surface.

Then another.

A brilliant beam of golden light pierced through the darkness.

Anything touched by the light...

Simply ceased to exist.

People.

Buildings.

Monsters.

Everything instantly melted into pools of flesh.

The disgusting maggots didn’t even have time to scream before they dissolved into smoking piles of rotten meat.

Yet before anyone could celebrate...

A terrifying growl echoed from beyond the enormous wall separating the safe zone from the outside world.

Luna’s expression darkened.

"Move!"

The four of them jumped through the portal just before the collapsing shield completely gave way.

The world twisted around them.

Space folded.

Their bodies floated through an endless abyss before they finally stabilized.

Kai let out a long breath.

"Welcome back..."

Then he frowned.

"But... wasn’t that roar from beyond the wall? Isn’t that exactly where we’re heading?"

"I thought it was supposed to be safe."

Luna casually waved him off.

"As I said..."

"Trust my plan."

"I know exactly how we’re getting out alive."

She sniffed the air before wrinkling her nose.

"And honestly..."

"I seriously need a hot bubble bath."

"We all do."

"You guys stink."

The others immediately glanced down at themselves.

Their clothes were soaked with blood, slime, dust, and burnt flesh.

They looked—and smelled—absolutely horrible.

Even as they floated through the strange dimensional passage...

The screams of countless people continued echoing from behind them.

The shield...

Had finally fallen.

The former safe zone had become a death zone.

Within only a few hours, the obliterating sunlight would flood every remaining corner and erase every living thing unfortunate enough to still be trapped there.

A mechanical chime suddenly echoed.

[Target location reached.]

[Preparing descent to designated parameters.]

Another warning appeared almost instantly.

[Danger detected.]

[Four unidentified flying threats have crossed beyond the wall.]

[Estimated arrival... imminent.]

Everyone sighed in exhaustion.

Kai rubbed his face.

"I seriously can’t wait to get back home."

"This is exhausting."

"Can the apocalypse give us a single break?"

"Shit..."

Adrian silently nodded in agreement.

Even Rowan looked completely drained.

Only Luna remained calm.

She had expected this.

From the very beginning.

Which was exactly why she had already prepared a second plan.

Plan B.

She looked at the three men before speaking calmly.

"Whatever I tell you to do..."

"Do it immediately."

"Because we’re about to land."