Chapter 137: Free Fall

Time to Hunt[14]

Chapter 137: Free Fall

"OROCHIMARUUUU!"

A terrifying roar shook the corridor.

"...!"

My whole body tensed.

The roar was so powerful that even the metal panels on the walls had shaken.

I didn’t know exactly who had let out that roar behind me.

But I had no intention of finding out.

"FUCK!"

I ran with everything I had.

Despite the unbearable pain shooting up my left leg, I picked up speed.

Every time my feet hit the floor, it felt like something was being driven between my ribs.

But I didn’t stop.

The sounds behind me kept getting closer.

Heavy footsteps.

Clanging metal.

And distant shouts...

It was like death itself was chasing me.

Which wasn’t far from the truth.

"Haah... Haah..."

Another corridor.

Then another.

And then...

A door.

At the far end of the wide space ahead of me, I spotted a pair of large metal doors.

Above them was a small display panel.

An elevator!

Finally!

But my excitement died as I got closer.

The doors were shut.

And the light above them was off.

"Of course..."

I let out a pained laugh.

"I was an idiot for thinking it’d be that easy."

Bracing myself against the wall, I tried to catch my breath for a few seconds.

I could hear the sounds behind me.

I was out of time.

I gripped my sword with both hands.

Pushing through the pain in my ribs, I planted my feet firmly on the floor.

Azure Flame appeared along my sword.

But this time, I didn’t spread it over the whole blade.

I concentrated it into a thin, dense line along the cutting edge.

The blue flames compressed tighter and tighter.

A bright line formed along the edge of my sword, almost white.

The heat hit my face.

The muscles in my arms tensed.

I took a deep breath and swung my sword with everything I had.

KRAAAAAANG!

Azure Blade bit into the upper part of the door.

Then it sliced down, leaving a clean line behind.

The metal let out a horrible screech.

Blue sparks flew everywhere.

As my sword reached the bottom of the door, my body lurched forward.

"Kh... HAAH!"

The pain in my chest nearly brought me to my knees.

But I’d done it.

A long, deep cut ran through one of the doors.

Still, it wasn’t fully open.

"Damned thing!"

I shaped Umbrella’s armor on my arm into a narrow wedge, extended it, and pushed it into the cut.

Then I forced the two sides apart with everything I had.

CREEEEAK!

The metal slowly bent.

The cut edges began to separate.

A little more...

A little more!

"AAAAARGH!"

With one final push, I made an opening wide enough to fit through.

I threw myself inside without wasting another second.

A muffled groan escaped me as I hit the metal floor, pain shooting through my ribs.

"Gh... Fuck!"

But I immediately pushed myself upright.

It really was an elevator car.

Metal panels covered the walls. A red emergency light blinked in one corner.

To the right was a small control panel.

My eyes quickly scanned the buttons.

And I found what I was looking for.

?1

"There it is!"

I pressed the button with a trembling finger.

...

Nothing happened.

I pressed it again.

...

Still nothing.

"What?"

I started pressing it over and over.

"Come on... Come on..."

But the elevator wouldn’t move.

There was no sound from the motor, no sign of the doors even trying to close.

The panel was completely dead.

I stared blankly at it for a few seconds.

Then...

"SHIT!"

I slammed my fist into the button as hard as I could.

THUNK!

The panel’s plastic cover cracked.

But the elevator still wouldn’t work.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Just then, I heard footsteps outside.

"Here!"

"The door’s smashed!"

"THIS WAY!"

I whipped my head around.

I could see shadows moving at the far end of the corridor.

They’d be here in a few seconds.

"Damn it..."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat.

I looked up.

Then down.

Then back at the elevator’s control panel.

No use.

The power had been cut, or the elevator had been deliberately disabled.

I didn’t know which.

And honestly, I didn’t have time to find out.

But then I had a brilliant idea.

At least, it seemed brilliant to me.

I’d seen scenes like this in a few movies.

You know those scenes where the main character gets stuck in an elevator, then cuts the cable and drops down?

Or the ones where they smash through the floor and jump into the shaft...

Yeah.

One of those.

A stupid grin crossed my face for a moment.

"Heh..."

Then I realized what I was thinking.

"...I really have lost it."

I knew how stupid this idea was.

And I didn’t even know what was down there.

Maybe it was a drop of hundreds of meters.

Maybe I was about to jump straight into death’s arms.

But...

Death was behind me too.

And at least I might have a chance down there.

"All right."

I raised my sword.

"Since the elevator isn’t working..."

Azure Flame flared again.

"We’ll make our own way!"

I drove my sword into the elevator floor with all my strength.

KRAAANG!

The blade pierced the metal floor.

Then I dragged it sideways, carving a long cut.

Within seconds, I’d carved a wide rectangle into the floor beneath my feet.

I pulled my sword free.

Then I kicked it with my good leg, putting everything I had into it.

BOOOM!

The piece of metal broke free and fell.

And...

Disappeared.

"..."

I looked down.

The first thing I saw was darkness.

Pitch-black darkness with no end in sight, the kind that seemed to grow deeper the longer you stared into it.

Even the sound of the falling piece of metal had quickly faded away.

One second passed.

Two.

Three...

I slowly frowned.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

Just before four seconds had passed...

CLANG!

A metallic crash echoed up from the depths of the elevator shaft.

A long hum followed.

"..."

I swallowed.

Wasn’t this...

A little too deep?

I stared into the shaft for a few seconds.

Then I heard voices behind me.

"HE’S INSIDE!"

"GET READY TO FIRE!"

I turned my head.

The silhouettes of armed men had appeared behind the mangled elevator doors.

"Oh, fuck."

I was out of time to think.

I gripped my sword tightly.

I activated Azure Flame again.

As the blue flames cast light into the darkness, I took a deep breath.

"All right..."

I wet my lips.

"I hope this works."

And let myself drop.

WHOOOOSH!

Wind suddenly roared in my ears.

My stomach lurched into my throat.

As I plunged into the darkness, I instinctively drew my sword closer to my chest.

"AAAAAHHH!"

Damn it!

This was so much scarier than I’d expected!

I could see my surroundings in the light of the blue flames.

Metal walls seemed to race upward on either side of me.

Thick cables.

Rails.

Steel supports.

And below...

Nothing!

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

The wind battered my face.

I was falling faster with every second.

Faster and faster.

A few seconds later, I extended my sword to the side.

But just then, a horrible pain shot through my ribs.

"GHH!"

I nearly dropped the sword.

No!

Not now!

I gritted my teeth.

I concentrated Azure Flame at the tip of my sword.

The moment I spotted the metal floor below in the firelight, my eyes widened.

It was getting closer.

Way too fast!

"DAMN IT!"

Without hesitating, I drove my sword into the wall on my right.

KRRRRAAAAAAA!

My sword sank into the metal.

My whole body jerked violently.

"AAAAARGHH!"

My right arm was pulled so hard it felt like it was about to be torn off.

My vision darkened from the pain in my ribs.

But I didn’t let go of the sword.

The blade, coated in Azure Flame, dragged down the wall, carving a long gash through it.

Sparks struck my face and armor.

My fall was beginning to slow.

But not quickly enough.

The floor was still approaching at a terrifying speed.

"STOP..."

I gritted my teeth.

"I SAID STOP!"

I thickened Umbrella around my right arm and put more force behind the sword.

As the metal wall tore apart, my blade caught on a support beam.

BOOOOM!

My whole body stopped dead.

"GHA—!"

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

White spots danced in front of my eyes.

A horrible pain spread up my arms to my shoulders.

But...

I’d stopped.

"Haah... Haah..."

I hung there with my sword embedded in the wall.

I looked down.

The floor was only a few meters below me now.

"..."

For a few seconds, I said nothing.

Then I tipped my head back.

"Heh..."

A muffled laugh rose from my throat.

"I did it..."

I really had done it.

At least I wasn’t dead yet. Right now, even that was a pretty big achievement.

I carefully pulled my sword out of the wall.

I lowered myself the last few meters, using Umbrella’s armor for support.

The moment my feet touched the floor, pain shot up my left leg and I dropped to my knees.

"KHAAA!"

I clutched my chest with one hand.

I couldn’t breathe.

It felt like one of my broken ribs had stabbed into my lung.

For a while, all I could do was gasp unevenly through my mouth.

"Haah... Haaah..."

Damn it...

I can’t keep going like this.

Even walking was getting difficult.

But...

I was here.

I raised my head.

Another pair of metal doors stood directly across from the elevator shaft.

The small display beside them showed a single number in the flickering red light.

?1

A tired smile crossed my face.

"Finally..."

I braced my sword against the floor and pushed myself to my feet.

Then I approached the doors with heavy steps.

I could still hear sounds from the upper floors.

But for now, there was a lot of distance between us.

That had bought me a little time.

I stopped in front of the doors.

I slid Azure Blade into the seam between them.

Then, putting my whole weight behind it, I twisted the sword sideways.

CREEEEAK!

The metal doors slowly began to part.

Cold air hit my face through the gap.

Unlike the other floors, this one was strangely quiet.

No doctors talking. No familiar hum of machinery.

Only a muffled vibration from deep within, repeating at regular intervals...

THUMP...

THUMP...

THUMP...

I stopped moving for a moment.

That sound...

Was it a machine?

Or something else?

"..."

I shook my head.

There was no point thinking about it right now.

I put a little more force into my sword.

The doors finally opened wide enough for me to fit through.

I drew Umbrella back around my arm and tightened my grip on my sword.

Then I looked into the darkness.

If the doctor had told the truth, the lab’s control center was on this floor.

And if I was lucky...

I might find something that could turn this whole place into hell.

A smile slowly formed on my lips.

"All right, you sons of bitches..."

I took a step.

"Let’s see what happens when I pull the plug on this shithole."

And with that...

I took my first step onto level minus one.