Chapter 4 - The Horror of Punishment-type scenarios
“Hey, could you please explain what's happening here?”
The blond boy who had been helping the wounded woman until recently quickly approached Adam, raising his arm as he called out to him, and causing him to jump slightly.
“I saw you talking to those guys after all this… Madness. Do you know where we are and why this is happening? I can barely understand what these people are saying, but I appreciate that they can care for Leila better than I can. For some reason, they seem to understand each other even though she doesn't know any English.”
Upon hearing this, Adam began to refine his theory about the language and why it was so inconsistent in this situation, however, he decided to set it aside for now. His focus at the moment needed to be on sharing information with the others to avoid any future problems, especially since they were going to a place that could potentially be much more dangerous. But before he could speak, another voice called out to them from the side, just as the Japanese girl approached them with some difficulty. It seemed that one of the armed men had given her a large jacket to shield herself from the cold, which seemed to comfort her greatly since all she was wearing was pajamas and slippers.
“Oi, wait! … I too! … Me can’t speak English very well, but I understand!”
The girl seemed quite upbeat despite the situation, which was rather unusual, but it was certainly reassuring to know that while she couldn't speak clearly with them, she could understand them, which made it much easier to explain everything he had found out. Sure enough, as they moved forward and the minutes passed, Adam began to comment on and explain every detail of what seemed to be happening and what they were facing.
“This is surreal… I was just returning home and then… But given what I've seen, I can't deny what's happening.”
This greatly shook the blondie, but, on the other hand, the girl beside them didn't seem scared or hopeless. Instead, after hearing everything, she just started hopping around, as if she were having fun.
“ついに！別の世界での冒険! これは夢の実現です!”
(TL: Finally! An adventure in another world, this is a dream come true!)
Although neither of the two young people understood what she said, they felt that something was off with her. After all, who would be happy in a situation like this? It was already surprising that neither of them had ended up like the woman named Leila, who, to be honest, had had the most normal reaction to this whole affair.
“You are smart one and you are good guy! You help her, nice to meet you, me name is Kazue Rima.”
Even in her broken English, the girl introduced herself by name and pointed out what she had picked up from both young people, which caused a reality check for the medical student... He hadn't thought about it until that moment, but it was true that he hadn't been the one to attend to those in need, something that couldn't be blamed on him as he was just a sophomore, right?
Well, not exactly, his mother's words were echoing in his head at that moment, "A good doctor is only measured by his ability to save lives; a patient should always take priority in any situation". That was the lesson Adam had most ingrained in his mind, yet it was also the one he struggled with the most. After all, having spent almost his entire life immersed in nothing but study, human contact was still a strange world for him.
“It’s nice to meet you both too, my name is Drake Shaw.”
The sudden introduction and response from the other young man snapped Adam out of his thoughts once again, and he quickly introduced himself while adjusting his glasses, which had almost fallen off from the surprise.
“Ah, yes… My name is Adam Scholar.”
Finally, the names of the entire original group were known, something that would facilitate immediate communication, at least in theory. But to his surprise, Adam found himself opening up more and more to the two newly acquainted individuals and was able to speak more calmly than he would have thought. However, their conversation ceased the moment they noticed the man with the scar on his face, Teo, opened his eyes and rose from where he had been sitting for hours on end. Was it time to set in motion the original idea of running? Adam had mentioned that the man claimed he could deal with the monsters trapped within the barrier of air, but at the same time, he couldn't help but think that those were just words to give more weight to his initial plan. Did he have any plans at all?
“Bien, he cargado lo suficiente, cuando estés listo sabes lo que tienes que hacer.”
(TL: Alright, I've charged up enough. When you're ready, you know what you have to do.)
Said the man to his partner, who rose as well without taking his eyes off his open book, sighing in resignation.
“I know. The shield will fall immediately the moment I cast the spell, and I won't be able to support you anymore. It will all depend on you.”
Li replied, settling in behind and clearing his throat.
“Everyone capable of shooting, be ready, these things will enter at my signal. Shoot everything you have and pray you can win even just a second more... READY?”
After these words, the open book he still held in his arms began to glow violently for the second time, just as before when the wind dome protecting them was activated. Similarly, the man's voice reverberated in the surroundings as if it had been highly amplified.
“[PHYSICA NAGURU]”
After these words, the dome enveloping them began to disintegrate rapidly, while everything outside returned to normal. The lingering crawling specters hurriedly rushed in at full speed through the openings that formed as the defense dissolved, while the grotesque feline beasts wasted no time and launched themselves like torpedoes toward the nearest people. However, as all of this occurred in just a fraction of a second, something happened to Teo's body. After those strange words were recited, a strange fire-like substance emerged from the pages of the mysterious book, promptly engulfing the man’s body and giving him a very similar appearance to being burned alive, except that in this case the flames were dancing on his skin without harming him.
“¡De eso estoy hablando!”
(TL: That's what I’m talking about!)
Stolen novel; please report.
Teo had a grin from ear to ear as he raised his weapons and fired the first shot... BAM! The projectiles this time exploded with a noise that rivaled dynamite blasts, and instead of shells impossible to follow with the eye, what he began to continuously unleash were incandescent spheres the size of beach balls.
Unlike his previous attacks, these did stop the first beast they hit, and while they weren't enough to destroy its body with a single shot, they did end up riddling it after four or five direct hits. It was something brutal that none of the other presents had ever seen in their lives. However, it was far from a perfect defense, as the seconds it took to get rid of the first one were enough for the other beasts to reach the armed survivors, who were futilely emptying their magazines on them.
“Waaaaahh!”
The spectral beasts and some of the creeping ghosts surged towards a few survivors, attacking them as if they were wild animals, while the rest abandoned their positions and began to run to escape from such a horrible scene. The cries of the poor victims were horrifying, but nobody turned to help them; everyone present had accepted that some would have to be sacrificed so that the rest could escape. It would be a miracle if at least a third of them could survive. However, to the astonishment of all, those seconds gained through such sacrifices turned into the light at the end of the tunnel.
The monsters savagely attacked their prey for brief moments, precious seconds that Teo took advantage of to aim and shoot at each of them. They didn't even realize what was harming them until it was too late. It was as if all their attention was solely focused on consuming their victims and nothing else. Thanks to this, after just over ten seconds and the loss of no fewer than six men from the survivor's squad, the area fell into complete silence as the last feral-type creature disintegrated.
“Let's move now! Only 40 seconds left and just 2 more charges!”
Li exclaimed, still with the luminous book open in his hands, something neither his companion nor Dimitri objected to. They finally gave the order to all those who were still alive to start running as fast as their legs would allow them. There was no time to lament or cry over the loss of the deceased. Adam returned to Drake's side at the position of the injured woman because, in her condition, it would have been impossible for her to keep up with them without falling behind. He helped to shoulder the burden of the injured woman alongside the blond boy.
“I got her, don’t worry.”
Though it might not have seemed so at first glance, Drake appeared to have enough physical condition to carry Leila, the lady, on his back and still run alongside the group, which was quite impressive for someone so young. However, this resilience was the minimum they would need as the seconds passed and their race took them deeper into the heart of the ruined city.
“Don't look back! Just keep running!”
As they advanced, more otherworldly creatures began to appear. Dimitri shouted for them to keep moving forward, even though every few moments one or more members of the group were killed suddenly. This time, not only did feral-types jump out of nowhere, but also long, skeletal arms emerged from beneath the ground, grasping at any unfortunate soul who had the misfortune of being caught. In addition, there were flying horrors resembling two-headed, four-winged vultures that dive-bombed their victims. Most of these were ignored and left behind as they feasted on their freshly captured prey, however, others were taken down by Teo, who continued for a while longer with those flames engulfing his body.
“[PHYSICA NAGURU]”
For the third and last time, Li exclaimed the strange words that invoked that flaming aura, just as the effect of the second one he had cast on the way was fading. Out of the huge group, only seven remained in total, and Adam could thank his lucky stars to be among them. He could attest to the extraordinary fortune he and the other four had experienced. Both he and Kazue had narrowly avoided stepping on a false hedge from which three deathly arms emerged, and Drake had nearly stumbled during the last aerial attack, which allowed him to narrowly dodge by mere chance a charge from a small feral-type that had slipped through the rear.
“¡LLEGAMOS!”
(TL: We arrived!)
Teo exclaimed in relief the moment his eyes caught sight of the semi-buried door that the guiding arrow had shown them at the beginning. There were only a few steps left to go... But fate seemed to have other plans, and as if it were a cruel joke, letting them see their goal so close they could almost touch it, enormous claws of monumental size landed right in front of the group. Sharp fingers as large as automobiles scraped the area to reveal the creature to which they belonged: a massive spectral giant, larger than any building still standing, with luminescent red eyes, teeth protruding outward, and a pair of wings that gave it the appearance of a…
“De… De… Demon-Type!”
One of the poor survivors shouted at the top of their lungs, revealing that the titan was none other than the most dangerous type of ghost known in that world. Its mere presence was considered the worst disaster imaginable even in that post-apocalyptic world. The logic everyone had learned throughout their years of survival was that the best way to deal with such a specter was to shoot oneself the moment you saw one, even from afar. Unfortunately, it was now too late, no one managed to do anything, and Dimitri himself dropped his weapon to the ground after losing all hope in his eyes.
“Roaaaaaaaaar!”
The beast roared so loudly that the ground shook, but the true terror came with the effects that such a sound triggered on everyone present. Adam felt as if a horrible screech suddenly occurred inside his head, causing him to scream in pain as he fell to the ground while trying in vain to cover his ears. What on earth was happening? The pain and fear accumulated in his mind and body unnaturally, forcing him to use all the willpower he had to stay conscious.
“¡MALDITA SEA!”
(TL: Damn it all!)
Semi-conscious and partially blinded by the shock, Adam managed to hold on long enough for the effect to dissipate somewhat, enough to allow him to look up and see the entire group lying on the ground, completely unconscious. Everyone except Teo, who was panting violently and cursing vehemently while the last traces of the flames enveloping his body disappeared completely.
“¡MALDICIÓN, MALDICIÓN, MALDICIÓN!”
(TL: Goddammit, goddammit, goddammit!)
Unable to get up yet but feeling strength returning to his arms, the student attempted to rise while watching the man in front of him toss his revolvers to the ground, which curiously did not disappear. Instead, he stretched both arms forward. He remembered seeing him in that position twice before. Could it be possible that he was about to invoke those strange powers that controlled the "story"?
Without delay, a new window unfolded before him, accompanied by the female voice declaring its contents aloud.
⌠Notice: UR-class Plot device: “MacGuffin” has been used⌡
Immediately, a small box materialized in his hands, much to Teo's delight. He seemed so ecstatic about what had happened that he didn't notice something strange, something that only Adam could discern and that he didn't understand at all. A red letter “F” had appeared just above the man's head, which began to glitch as if it were experiencing static for a second or two, until finally, a symbol was added, transforming it into a black-colored "F-" before promptly disappearing.
“¡HA! NO IMPORTA LO QUE VENGA, TENGO LO QUE NECESITO AQUÍ EN ESTA… ¿Caja?”
(TL: Ha! It doesn't matter what comes next! I have what I need right here in this... Box?)
But his words were abruptly cut off as he realized something was amiss. It was as if all of a sudden the world’s lights had been extinguished, and he discovered himself lost amidst an abyss of complete darkness... He didn't understand what was happening so, in desperation, he tried to move his only free arm to open the box he had just materialized. However, his body didn't respond.
“¿Eh?... ¿Eh?...”
Teo was in a panic, unable to move and with teary eyes, having no idea what was about to happen to him. On the other hand, Adam had managed to get onto his knees. Still, his body was figuratively frozen, for before his eyes lay the motionless body of the veteran, and right in front of his nose stood a tall, slender figure, with long hair, white attire, and a humanoid appearance, leaning towards him, staring fixedly.