Walking down a corridor, Robert tried to concentrate his perception to catch anything unusual. Any signs that could explain what was happening with Demonologist right before he lost his mind to the insanity. Any hints to point at the reasons for such outcome. Alas, there was nothing, not even a sound. An ordinary corridor with painted walls, golden room numbers, and a few tall green plants at the end of the corridor near the window. Nothing else. No dirt, no traces of illegal drug dealers, no armed bandits – just a plain residential building with nothing to stand out, apart from tidiness. And that was even more disturbing than Robert previously thought.
It doesn’t make any sense… What is going on? Okay, here it is.
Stopping near the needed door, Rob glanced at the watch, noticing there was around a minute before the start. It took him several tries to find the exact building before counting the windows to figure out this specific apartment, but it was the first time when he actually managed to get here in time. The previous attempt was ruined when he began too early, getting noticed by the patrolling police car. However, this time he would get the answer. Firming his resolve, Robert knocked. And after waiting for a dozen seconds, he did it again. And again.
What the fuck? Okay, I have no time!
Pushing his obsidian steel on top of his skin, Rob conjured a pitch-black armor in an instant. At this point, it was almost an instinctive action, barely taking effort apart from a simple wish. However, the next ability wasn’t so easy to use, despite hours spent in training. Focusing on it, he caused an odd sensation that enveloped his body, almost overlapping with his conjured armor. Then Robert made a high step toward the door. In the next moment, he phased through it as if he was suddenly turned into a ghost for a fraction of a second.
Well, fortunately, this time I’ve got something useful…
In the end, Robert appeared to be right in an assumption that the gained ability wasn’t set in stone. His previous “intensive” dialogues with Doctor Green Junior and following questioning the scientist in the laboratory under the pet shop about the powers were still fresh in his memory. The explanation wasn’t complex – the omicron particles were in constant change, gaining different properties from any attempt of interaction. That was the main reason it was difficult to recreate them in a correct serum – the scientists had no idea what the base state of a power-giving ethereal substance was.
Therefore, consuming serums in previous loops, Rob managed to get the ability to speak with a specific type of ant, animate the creatures made from snow, quickly learn any language, and produce an infinite number of soap bubbles with his mouth and a "rear hole”. In short, completely useless superpowers in his particular circumstances. Luckily, this time was different. That’s why he was quite anxious not to ruin this attempt before understanding the real cause that would lead to the destructive ending.
The apartment met him with darkness. Despite this, Robert noticed two pairs of boots and scattered clothes on the floor. Otherwise, the place looked like it was meant for short-term rent with no personal belongings. Then he heard a laugh before someone spoke in a woman’s voice. It took several seconds of listening to find familiarity in his memory. Stepping forward, Rob glanced through the opened door toward the kitchen. The room was filled with food packages of some local cuisine and several bottles of wine, chaotically scattered on the main table.
It's quite obvious what is happening… But how the hell did it lead to the outrage?
Then, as if answering his silent question, the painful man’s scream resounded in the next room. Quickly launching himself forward, Rob almost blasted the door. The suddenness of his appearance halted everything for a moment, allowing Robert to catch sight at once. Not if there was a lot to look at. A small room had only a huge bed with a TV on the opposite wall. No other furniture or anything else, apart from two completely naked people. Precisely speaking, two well-known people, whose hidden relationships were not surprising in the slightest after so many loops to Robert.
“I hear them – the screams of the sinners, who are demanding fair treatment. The punishment for everyone, who failed to follow their true nature… To send those ugly souls to them, and if they refuse, they demand the action… the blood… the lives of those villains,” gripping his head, Demonologist was muttering in a half-conscious state while lying on the floor curled up like a newborn baby. Meanwhile, Sarah was pointing the gun at Robert. Her gaze was constantly returning to her lover, but she simply couldn’t ignore the presence of the pitch-black figure of the fugitive, who killed two local supers during his escape with efficient brutality.
“The purge is coming for all, who aren’t worthy!” This time the man’s voice sounded deep and otherworldly, as if the owner was a real demon, “And I will be its emissary!”
The last loud shout caused Sarah to look at her suffering boyfriend. This distraction was immediately used by Robert. Gripping the gun in a single lightning-fast motion, he squeezed, smashing it at once. Agent Bell screamed, turning her attention to Rob, but it was too late. Pulled by unstoppable force, she was tightly hugged before the pitch-black figure charged forward. At the last moment, she tried to release herself, but the villain felt like a metal block. She still noticed how her lover started to transform, enveloped in the familiar sphere before her captor broke through the wall, dropping down from the second floor with a loud bang. Leaving deep holes in the road from the landing, he instantly sprinted again.
A moment later a muted roar followed through the newly created hole, and then the building exploded, ruined with a constantly growing sphere that flashed with malicious red light. Increasing in size in no time, it quickly reached the size of the house just to turn into a portal, leading to super’s version of Hell. And its self-proclaimed emissary was already making its way into the human world. The huge and ugly dragon’s head was first to appear, gripping the hearts of the observers with overwhelming fear.
“Sarah!” The villain shouted in her ear, breaking the simultaneously mesmerizing and terrifying picture, that was unfolding in front of Agent Bell’s eyes, who was struggling to process the suddenness of the event, too captivated by the whole thing. It immediately caused her attempt to retaliate when she tried to hit the pitch-black figure, who was easily carrying her through the street.
“Release me!”
“Okay,” The villain spoke, creating a hole around his mouth. Fighting against inertia and barely stopping his crazy run, he rudely shoved her behind the nearest car, hiding the woman from the sight of the gigantic creature, "Just in case he will search for you.” Pressing her against the road to prevent any escape, the man eyed the monstrosity that produced another deafening roar, shattering all windows in the area.
“What the fuck do you want?” Finally catching that something strange was going on, Sarah asked, stopping any resistance. There was no hint of shyness because of her nudity. Instead, Robert saw the return of the calculating bitch, who made his life quite miserable for a long time.
Perfect, that is exactly what I need!
“In short, I am a time traveler, who tries to save the city. No, I’ve tried to warn you many times, but you never believe me, thinking I am a crazy murderer. That’s why I escaped, and no, I couldn’t avoid killing – I’ve tried it too. So, to the main thing - the dragon will be nuked in several minutes, taking the whole city to the radioactive grave. Currently, I am trying to figure out the cause of everything. Was there anything strange in the past several months? Any villain with mental powers? Anything that can help me to prevent this from happening?” Not making any pauses between the words and sentences, Rob’s speech sounded like an old and unoiled machine gun – so fast, rattling, and chaotic it was.
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“What?” Sarah’s mind paused, overloaded with the information, situation, and rampaging dragon down the street, “But makes sense after that alien invasion warning... Damn it!”
“Yeah, but we don’t have much time. By the way, the Broom or any superheroes you have can’t stop him, so focus on telling me how to avoid this mess in the first place. What did you do when I came?”
“We were having sex… Or just starting… First fucking time in the past month, because the freaks like you don’t give us time at all! You and those morons from the military!” Sarah shouted in irritation, once again showing her true self under the cold mask of a confident and serious senior agent she liked to wear.
“Then I don’t get it… Was the emotional rise a cause? Was he a virgin or what?” Robert asked, completely dumbfounded, “I admit you are quite a beauty, but nothing truly different from what every teenager has seen in adult movies.”
“No! It wasn’t our first date in the slightest… Everything was normal like always. On the contrary, he even felt stronger, healthier, and less exhausted from consecutive missions. I even thought we could make it official, despite the potential troubles from my boss or others…,” Sarah replied with a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. In the next, however, she had them wide open, noticing the enormous snake’s eyes looking directly at her. And the gigantic creature wasn’t only looking but also taking a breath. From her terrified expression, Robert understood everything at once, despite missing sight. Gripping the woman by her shoulders, Rob threw her simultaneously to the side and upward, aiming at the window on the top floor. Then the flame came.
Shutting down all gaps in his armor and thus cutting himself from the world around, Robert focused on the destructive layer to disperse the intensive heat that tried to melt his metallic body. In a few seconds, the thought about using his phasing ability came, but the fire was already dying out. Therefore, focusing on his sensation, Robert noted the absence of any fluctuation on his destructive layer. Only after that did he finally create tiny holes for his eyes to see, simultaneously turning toward the building.
“Sarah, are you…,” His question followed the flame’s example, being forcefully cut off as there was no need to wait for an answer. The whole street looked like a used vax candle. Deformed, it was radiating the heat, having quite a few remnant flames burning the leftovers of what was previously a residential area. The asphalt was partly turned into a liquid, trying to trap Robert with its vicious grip. The extent of the devasting damage didn’t end here as even the insides of the buildings weren’t spared, turning into black ovens with fire.
However, before Robert managed to curse, a huge shadow covered the skies, turning the day into night for a second. Experiencing the same attack before, Rob reacted instantly. Contracting his legs, he pushed himself into a high jump, simultaneously phasing through the approaching lizard’s paw. Unfortunately, his temporary superpower was limited in duration, giving him at most only one short second in an incorporeal form. It wasn’t enough to leave the demonic flesh of the enormous monstrosity. Still, Robert was ready, summoning his melting layer for help.
The deafening landing, the roar of anger and pain from the sudden appearance of the bug inside its body, the attempt to pull out the annoying human – everything went beyond Rob’s attention as he was too preoccupied with phasing again, slowly making his way upward. The constant shaking made the task hard. Moreover, not only was he moving but the dragon was trying to get rid of him by trashing the surroundings and tearing its flesh. Robert almost fell out from the gigantic body after the “hellish emissary” jumped to the side exactly at the instant when Rob was phasing. He barely managed to turn off his ability, getting stuck with his legs in the last fraction of the second, but otherwise hanging out like some kind of louse on the skin. Hitting the red scales with his forehead after the devastating landing, Robert instantly phased again, avoiding being squashed by the incoming limb that easily could squash a building.
In the end, after a few minutes of struggle, he finally reached the enormous and ugly head of the transformed super. At this point, the dragon had to direct his attention toward other “bugs”, who were trying to hurt him. Unfortunately, their attempts also applied to Rob as when the plasma missile hit the eye of the monstrosity, he barely managed to dive in time to avoid the fate of being turned into ashes. Still, the created sphere penetrated the flesh, evaporating it at once, and painting the world in a whitish red. In the next moment, Robert found himself in a deep hole made in the dragon's skull. The latter was already regenerating, quickly closing what seemed to be a lethal world, but Robert still managed to catch a glimpse of the surroundings.
A dozen helicopters with different weaponry were flying around, but only a pair had familiar missiles in their arsenal. Several supers in bright costumes occupied the nearest roofs, trying to do something against the enormous monster. The super in pink techno suit was in the midst of charging her main laser, aiming at intact eyes. Some of her colleagues were on the ground, looking like small dots from the height. However, the biggest impact on Robert made the scene of the flattened city with two huge craters in the place of landing. The level of destruction was even bigger than before, turning everything into the apocalyptic aftermath of an all-out war with no winners.
What am I doing here? I just need to get away before the nuclear strike… Fuck, no, no time… Oh, that guy with katanas from the Tower had a similar power – like a ghost state… Focus, Robert, for the fucking sake! It’s not the time for being distracted by some bullshit!
Turning his head around in a search, Robert found the direction of the dragon’s brain before standing up. The regeneration almost trapped him by this moment, but melting with contact, it had to release its sticky grip. The next moment Rob shot forward, phasing through the meat wall. Reaching the center of the head, he paused before focusing on the layer. This time he pushed everything he got into the creation of thousands of Energy Blasts, disintegrating everything that got in contact. And from his contact, it was the brain of the enormous creature. The latter immediately roared with pain, trying to get the “living burner” out of his head. However, it seemed it was the same weak spot even for the bigger version of the demonic monster. Moreover, Rob started to swing his arms chaotically, intensifying the sensation.
The following drop to the ground was thunderous, causing another earthquake. Not that Robert could see it, being stuck inside. It never lessened the feeling, when the abrupt stop tried to smash his metallic inner organs against the tough outer shell. Somehow Rob managed to keep his abilities from stopping, continuing to damage Demonologist. For a few seconds he even thought that it was it, the end of the damned world, but then the nuclear strike came. It felt like a lightning strike that pierced everything, connecting directly to his nervous system just to cause the pain. Even his dull senses couldn’t decrease the intensity of the feeling when his body started to disappear. It was like the real god decided to wipe him from existence, shattering his previously resilient body with just a simple snap.
It took less than a fraction of an instant to be reduced to the reactor core. A few more before the force shield fell, broken by the intensity of the destructive force. Then the inner sphere followed, exposing his inner energy to the world. However, the counter stream appeared to be enough to repel the outer force, reaching the equilibrium with an initial burst, but slowly losing the battle an instant later. Luckily, this was the moment when the world decided to reset, making the nuclear strike vanish at once. Still, Rob continued his fight for his life.
Uncontrollable energy was hard to tame, sending disintegrative waves into the surroundings. It led to several consecutive restarts when one of them cut off the power source from the time machine or turned the high-tech equipment into a colander. Then all his concentration was directed toward survival. Robert didn’t know how long it took him to stabilize his core as time lost track when he was rebuilding his central part, literally patching each tiny gap manually. In the end, dropping down from the portal and ignoring the comments from the scientist, Rob was too exhausted to do anything. He just lay there like a broken machine, whose lazy thoughts were barely able to move as if there was no energy left in the main battery.
I hate that dragon… and nukes… and this shitty realm!