'Huh? I can understand this abomination?'

During Noah's previous harrowing encounter with an abomination in the Hollowed Depths, the twisted entity spoke, but Noah was unable to comprehend what it was saying.

Noah was well aware that the only reason he had survived the assault of that abomination, was due to sheer luck. It had paralyzed Noah's mind, making him utterly helpless. The abomination simply never anticipated having to fight Steve, who was already dead and thus immune to mental attacks.

"We're not monsters! We're just trying to get home."

If there was even the slightest chance to communicate with this abomination and avoid a confrontation, Noah had to take it.

"L... lies! Filthy... deceiving... mo... monsters."

Noah suddenly heard the metallic clanking of chains. Swiftly, he directed the beam of his omni device's flashlight, towards the source of the sound – there she was.

Standing atop the tracks, the abomination was wrapped in chains, but her actual form was impossible to discern. Part of it was due to the dimness of the underground tunnel. However, even with the illumination of his flashlight, no matter how hard Noah focused his eyes upon her, all he could perceive was elusive darkness.

Every fiber of Noah's being screamed at him to flee, yet he fought to maintain composure. If simply running away in the opposite direction was a viable option, the tunnel wouldn't be adorned with the macabre display of rows upon rows of hanging corpses.

"I swear we're not monsters, and we mean you no harm. Please, I'm just trying to get back to my home."

The abomination unleashed another furious shriek, causing Noah to instinctively take a step back.

"You... think... you... yourself... clever...?" The abomination's voice was far more venomous, now. "You... think... you... are... the... fi... first... mon... monster... to... try... and... deceive... me?"

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"I'm not-"

"I... the... only one! The... only one... left... to protect..." The abomination's speech was becoming more impassioned and frantic. "Soldiers... abandoned... us..."

Noah recalled the armored vehicles cluttering the highway leading to the city.

"Wont... let... you... harm... the... people..."

Abominations were Touched that have gone mad with the power coursing through their body. Noah thought that he had pieced together the likely scenario that had transpired here. This abomination was a woman who had lived during the merging of the worlds, the Great Fall.

Back then, Touched individuals were scarce and not as formidable as their modern counterparts, who had benefited from years of experience and centuries of accumulated knowledge. The first generation of Touched grappled with powers they did not understand, while the world around them was collapsing.

'The skeletons at the station, were those the people she had protected?'

The military withdrew, but some people stayed behind, left to fend for themselves.

'How long had she fought on her own, before succumbing to madness?'

The abomination didn't even seem to be aware that everyone in the city had passed away, long ago. She had subjugated the hordes of monsters, up top. Having them funnel victims to her lair.

Recalling that there were also human remains hanging in the tunnel, Noah assumed that she must have lost the ability to differentiate between people and monsters, at some point.

'Although, with a werehuman and my skeletons, we aren't exactly the most human looking group around.'

Noah was beginning to view the abomination more as a tragic woman, a victim, as opposed to a terrifying, twisted and powerful monstrosity.

"Listen, I know that- Huh?"

While talking, Noah realized that he could no longer see the abomination. Frantically, he scanned the dark tunnel with his flashlight only to freeze in terror as he turned around, coming face to face with her.

"No, wait!"

The abomination swung a chain at Noah's side with such force that it shattered upon impact, its links scattering through the tunnel as Noah was thrown forcefully into a wall.

Noah struggled to form words, but with his lungs emptied of air due to the impact, all that escaped his lips was blood, as he tightly gripped his broken ribs.

Immediately, Noah's skeletons had sprung into action. Steve positioned himself protectively between Noah and the abomination, his skeletal hands tightly clutching his Greatsword.

Claws and the three skeletal apes lunged at the abomination, however, by then, she was already gone.

The glowing, green eye sockets of the undead minions surveyed their surroundings, as a hand, almost indistinguishable from the darkness enveloping the tunnel, had clutched the skull of one of the apes, and squeezed.

The skull cracked and shattered as the skeleton collapsed on the ground into a pile of bones. The shimmering glow within it, evaporating away.