Chapter 38 Broken grounds.

Chapter 38: Chapter 38 Broken grounds.

Purple light flickered through the dilapidated walls of the buildings surrounding them. It pulsed like a living heartbeat before splitting apart, giving way to a large opening that stretched wider and wider until a figure cautiously peeked through.

It was Luna.

Only her head appeared first as she carefully surveyed whatever lay ahead before making the decision to jump across. Her system had already given her a warning, but hearing about danger and seeing it with her own eyes were two completely different things.

She wanted a proper look.

New monsters?

Fine.

As long as they stayed far away from her, she had absolutely no intention of disturbing them. They could continue with whatever terrifying business they had while she minded hers.

That was the most important thing.

"Fuck... am I the only one feeling that chill?" Kai muttered as goosebumps spread across his skin. "Wasn’t the sun supposed to clear things away? Then how the hell is it still this cold?"

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

Based on everything they had experienced before, the blazing sun should have scorched away the freezing atmosphere by now. Yet the cold only seemed to deepen, creeping beneath their skin like invisible fingers.

Luna had long stopped trying to predict anything.

At first, she believed this world would follow the same sequence as her previous life.

She had been terribly wrong.

Trying to predict this apocalypse was no different from signing your own death warrant with a beautiful handwritten note.

The moment her feet finally found solid pavement, Rowan instantly grabbed her wrist and yanked her backward before she could take another step.

His movement was so sudden that Luna nearly stumbled into him.

After realizing she hadn’t triggered any trap or hidden danger, Rowan slowly loosened his grip.

Luna silently stared at the hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Sorry... but not sorry." Rowan didn’t let go immediately. "I was just protecting you. If that makes you hate me, then I don’t mind because this place is dangerous and you’re being reckless."

His scolding left Luna momentarily speechless.

Even Kai and Adrian couldn’t stop staring at Rowan.

Kai eventually snickered.

"What do you think is going on inside his head?" he whispered.

Adrian leaned closer before replying quietly.

"I think he’s catching feelings for her."

Kai blinked.

"And Luna?"

Adrian chuckled under his breath.

"She doesn’t have the slightest clue. Just look at her. She’s completely oblivious."

Despite the danger surrounding them, the thought almost made him laugh.

Unfortunately...

His empty stomach chose that exact moment to remind him of its existence.

His mouth watered as vivid images filled his head.

A steaming bowl of rich soup...

Freshly roasted turkey...

Tender meat practically melting apart the second it touched his tongue...

Before he realized it, a string of drool nearly escaped his mouth.

He quickly wiped it away.

Unfortunately...

Luna had already caught him.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Do you want to die?"

Adrian stiffened immediately.

"Get moving. No one should lag behind unless you want something lurking around here to carry you away. I’m pretty sure none of us wants to end up in the hands of whatever monsters are hiding in this place."

The warning worked like magic.

Adrian practically jumped forward in alarm.

She wasn’t wrong.

The deeper they ventured into the ruined district, the darker everything became.

Collapsed buildings leaned against one another.

Broken pillars littered the streets.

Chunks of concrete and shattered walls blocked countless pathways.

Even the sunlight struggled to pierce through the endless piles of destruction, leaving large sections buried beneath an eerie darkness.

It felt like the city itself had died.

The thought of monsters waiting somewhere inside those shadows was enough to keep everyone’s nerves stretched to the limit.

What bothered Adrian even more wasn’t just the possibility of monsters.

It was the fact that these weren’t zombies...

Nor were they those disgusting maggot creatures.

Every few hours something entirely new seemed to appear.

Were the monsters evolving?

Or were stronger creatures simply beginning to emerge?

At this point, even he had stopped trying to understand anything.

Without anyone saying a word, Rowan, Kai, and Adrian instinctively surrounded Luna, forming a loose protective circle as they slowly advanced deeper into the ruins.

Every pair of eyes searched the darkness.

Waiting.

Listening.

Prepared for anything to leap out at them.

The further they walked, the stranger the destruction became.

Bent utensils.

Twisted furniture.

Broken cabinets.

Household belongings were scattered across the streets as though an enormous force had ripped everything apart.

Nothing looked natural.

Rowan paused beside what appeared to be the remains of a large wooden cabinet.

The thick frame had been completely twisted inward as though someone had squeezed it like soft clay.

He frowned.

Kai leaned over his shoulder before immediately shivering.

"We definitely don’t want to meet whatever did that," he muttered. "I don’t think we’d even be able to hurt something capable of crushing furniture like this."

The moment those words left his mouth...

Rowan slowly turned toward him.

Kai’s smile disappeared.

"...Uh oh."

He instinctively took one careful step backward.

"I desperately miss the silence you had back at the bunker," Rowan said flatly. "Honestly, I preferred that version of you because every word coming out of your mouth somehow makes things worse."

Kai awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"I was just saying..."

Before he could finish—

Luna suddenly spun around.

She pressed one finger against her soft lips.

"Shhh..."

The three men froze instantly.

Something was moving.

CRASH!

A loud collision echoed through the ruins.

Another followed.

Pieces of concrete tumbled from somewhere ahead while broken furniture scraped violently across the ground.

Whatever was approaching...

It was huge.

The sound grew closer.

Closer.

Closer.

"Shit... is that the—"

Before Kai could finish speaking, Rowan clamped a hand firmly over his mouth.

Absolutely not.

If Kai continued blurting things out, he’d attract every monster within several kilometers.

"Mmmph!"

Kai struggled uselessly beneath Rowan’s grip.

Then...

BOOM!

The earth violently trembled.

A massive footprint suddenly appeared only a short distance away, dust erupting into the air as cracks spread across the pavement.

Adrian nearly screamed.

He barely managed to stop himself at the last second.

His face had already turned pale.

"Damn..."

His voice came out as nothing more than a whisper.

"Those feet are gigantic..."

"Nah..." Kai mumbled behind Rowan’s hand. "We’re definitely dead meat."

Rowan immediately tightened his grip.

Not another word.

He wasn’t about to let Kai announce their location to whatever monster was wandering around.

After several tense seconds...

Luna slowly stepped toward the enormous footprint before crouching beside it.

She carefully examined every detail while her system silently scanned the surrounding area.

No threats.

Nothing.

Not a single warning appeared.

She frowned.

"Relax."

The others stared at her.

"I don’t think this belongs to a monster."

Three confused faces met her words.

"It looks... human."

Silence.

Luna reached out, tracing one of the enormous cracks surrounding the footprint.

"It feels more like something crashed into this place with unbelievable force."

She glanced around.

"The destruction also supports that theory."

Her eyes swept across the ruined buildings.

"It looks like there used to be a house standing here."

She pointed toward the surrounding debris.

"My guess? Whatever landed here completely flattened it."

Adrian looked at her as though she’d lost her mind.

"And you think that’s normal?" he asked incredulously.

He gestured toward the devastation surrounding them.

"These houses weren’t made of paper. Someone—or something—destroyed this place."

His expression darkened.

"We could be dealing with a creature that’s half human... or something far worse."

"No one knows anymore."

"After everything we’ve seen..."

He sighed heavily.

"Predicting anything in this apocalypse is impossible."

His words carried weight.

But Luna disliked one particular thing about them.

The doubt.

It irritated her.

Her system hadn’t detected any danger.

Not once.

If there truly was a monster nearby, her system would have warned her already.

"He has a point," Rowan added.

"This level of destruction doesn’t look normal."

"Something definitely happened here."

Luna scoffed softly.

Did they seriously think she was making random guesses?

If a monster had attacked here...

Where were the signs of battle?

Where were the blood trails?

Where were the claw marks?

Instead, all she saw was one enormous impact point.

Nothing more.

To her...

It looked exactly like someone had fallen from an incredible height and crashed into the ground with enough force to destroy everything nearby.

That was all.

Her system supported the same conclusion.

She trusted it more than anyone else.

"Then let’s find out."

Without warning, Luna pointed ahead.

A gigantic shadow slowly stretched across one of the remaining walls.

It continued growing larger.

And larger.

Until it swallowed nearly the entire building.

Its outline alone was enough to make anyone’s heart skip a beat.

"We’ve got to run!" Kai finally managed to free himself from Rowan’s grip. "Look at that thing! It’s getting bigger! I think the zombies found us!"

He barely took two steps before Luna swiftly grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him to a stop.

"Maybe stop jumping to conclusions for once."

She rolled her eyes.

"Calm down..."

Then she slowly lifted a finger.

"And actually look."

Everyone reluctantly raised their heads.

The massive shadow finally stepped into the open.

The moment its true appearance revealed itself...

Every single one of them stopped breathing.

Their mouths slowly fell open.

None of them could believe what they were seeing.