The red, gooey substance slipped through the crack, swirling and forming a thin oval plate that was three feet tall and one foot wide.
CRACK—
Like punching through a bag of sand, a hand reached out from the other side of the portal, causing a great disturbance on the surface of the thin mystical door.
‘What is that?’ Zhar clicked his mandibles together, hissing loudly at the emerging hand. ‘Be alert and careful, we'll kill that human!’
Zhar wasn't the brightest, that he knew. However, his instincts were warning him to exterminate the person coming through the portal immediately. Not only that—
‘Zhar! Kill them!’
Helzar's urgent yells made Zhar lose his mind. With an eternal faith for his liege, Zhar would fulfill Helzar's wishes no matter how ridiculous or impossible.
‘Surround him, now!’ Zhar yelled, before rushing to the forefront by himself. That didn't last for long though, as the Spawns in his command flooded the floor behind him, marching loudly toward the red portal.
On the other hand, the unknown person struggled to get himself out of the red portal. He was grabbing the edge of the portal with his hand, and his entire shoulder was already through. It seems as though he was trying to push himself out, and it showed good results.
CRASH—!!
Accompanied with the sound of glass shattering into pieces, the person's head broke through the tough barrier between space.
“GASP—”
Taking a deep breath, Alex looked around, and his eyes widened, his heart pausing a beat and his soul running cold.
“SHIT!”
SHRRK—
Thousands of Spawns sprang toward his face, shoulder, and arm, their mandibles open wide and their mouths hissing like a war cry.
Alex punched the fragile portal, pulling hard on his other arm to pass through!
CRACK—SHATTER!
“ARGH!!” With a yell, Alex’s other arm was freed, just as a hail of Spawns rained down on him, blanketing him like a black net!
“GUH—GRRAAHH!!”
Alex's skin was immediately torn open, exposing his flesh to the tens of thousands of barbed legs of the Spawns crawling about. Within one second, Alex's skin looked as though he was stabbed by a knife hundreds of times, the blade melting small holes on his skin. The surface of his skin was like boiling water, constantly squirming about with thousands of Spawns crawling underneath them, with thousands more ready to enter!
If he didn't have protective equipment on his neck, he would've already been killed.
Through the mad pain, Alex kept his sanity and scribbled on his notebook with his pen.
[Get off]
SQUIRM—SPLASH!
Blood gushed out of his whole upper body when the blockade to his blood was forced out, giving Alex both the feeling of lethargy and infinite relief.
[Heal… fix me, quick. fast]
Alex wrote down, feeling his strength slipping from the palm of his hands by the second. Only a couple of seconds since they attacked, but the Spawns had burrowed deep into his flesh and gnawed at his bones, all while sucking on his blood without restraint.
After writing down those words, Alex felt vigor entering his mortally wounded body, his pale skin regaining color. The strain on his torso from being stuck in the portal for too long was becoming easier to bear, and his blurry vision returned to its original crisp and clear.
Seeing the incoming onslaught of Spawns, Alex didn't waste time writing a few words on his notebook.
[Kill all bugs]
Though the sentence was vague, the notebook and pen understood his intentions fully.
The air froze, and the cold showered down on both Alex and the Spawns, showing mercy to none. The Spawns slowed down rapidly, and a few weak ones dropped to the floor, dead. The remaining Spawns didn't give them a glance, however.
Those that died were old, their deaths were expected. However, Zhar felt a little angry at the death of the remaining Spawns close to his age.
‘Vengeance must be had, for the Swarm.’
Helzar said through his link with Helzar. Zhar didn't know why his lord was talking to him during battle, but it helped him regain control with his mind.
‘Spread out, bury under his skin and dig straight to his heart!’ Zhar yelled.
‘No, eat through his hands first,’ but Helzar said through their link a moment later, which Zhar was happy to follow. Zhar felt that it was a bit illogical, but he followed nonetheless.
‘The Lord has spoken, eat that human's hands!’
CLACK CLACK!
The sound of rain falling to the ground filled Alex's ears, even though there were clearly no rain drops falling from the sky. His focus was slipping, and he shouldn't have even cared about these details.
[Get me out, retreat]
Alex wrote down, and the surface of the red oval plate connecting the headquarters of the organization to the west continent madly pulsed, slowly enveloping Alex's body. His eyes were bloodshot, and his head was near to burst. His heart was beating weakly, and his blood was nearly dry.
‘RUN FASTER!’
Zhar yelled! Less than ten seconds had ticked by, and the Spawns were all in position to swarm Alex's vulnerable body. They all launched like arrows being fired from a bow, snapping their mandibles shut as soon as they were about to land on Alex's wrist. Tens of thousands of Spawns repeated the process, while Zhar was watching from below.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Alex's torso and head was already enveloped by the red portal, and his shoulders and arms were about to be swallowed too.
‘It’s okay, don't rush to your death,’ Helzar comforted Zhar. Both of them watched as Alex's was completely covered in the portal, before it began shrinking into a tiny dot, vanishing soon afterward.
The fresh air returned to the cold, trashed alleyway, and calm came with it. The Spawns gathered together, though they lost tens of thousands. Dust rained upon the swarm of Spawns, signaling the start of their retreat.
When the thick stream of Spawns came rushing down the nest tunnel, Helzar felt relieved. Calling Zhar to his side, he reassured the Spawn and told him to rest.
‘I never would've thought that Zhar would feel emotions,’ Helzar felt both joy and worry. A calculating machine was a great weapon, but a knife who can feel could be the knife that kills you.
‘At this rate, he might even evolve! If he does, it'll be great progress even if it's bittersweet.’
Even after so long, Helzar has yet to advance his body. His only salvation now was to harvest human souls, but even that was looking grim for him.
‘All the humans the Swarm met so far don't have a soul,’ Helzar sighed.
‘Those people from that organization who attacked Zhar earlier definitely possess souls, but I couldn't kill them when I had the chance,’ Helzar sighed. By now, he regretted leaving the headquarters of Chief's organization so hurriedly, not knowing that by digging out, he would be teleported to a random place in the world.
On the other hand, he knew that Alex would make a hasty retreat, and with the Spawn's speed, they'd be unable to stop it. That's why he tried disabling Alex instead.
‘I guess it doesn't matter anymore. While missing the opportunity to gain souls, I seized the opportunity to rapidly grow the Swarm!’
Through his link with the Motherbugs, the Swarm would grow by the hundreds of thousands after tonight, and the only way to stop them is to locate the humans who died silently inside their homes and burn their bodies!
‘Apart from that, I successfully created Spawns with functional wings,’ Helzar called out his latest creation. It was a three legged Spawn with a pair of three thin wings that were dark metallic blue in terms of color.
Helzar recalled Zhar beside him, having the latter lay down and show its back to him. The moment Zhar did, Helzar tore through his back, but Zhar made not even a slight twitch despite the pain.
‘You have a strong will,’ Helzar praised, digging out the wings from the newly created Spawn and implanting them into Zhar's back. It was crude and simple, but the original three-legged Spawns were miraculous themselves. Furthermore, the winged Spawn was created from the nest, giving it the same vitality as Zhar.
‘Soon, when your wings fully merge with your body, I want you to plant Motherbugs into more humans,’ Helzar whispered into Zhars ears, and the latter promised Helzar that it would be done perfectly.
‘Nothing is perfect, Zhar,’ Helzar said, leaving Zhar to recuperate. Meanwhile, Helzar modified the Motherbug to lay the eggs of the modified Spawns.
‘I enhanced the Motherbug’s ability to lay eggs a little bit, I shouldn't be asking for too much.’
Though he was confident that the Nest wouldn't explode, he was aware that it would become burdened and overworked. To counter this, Helzar has a few Spawns bring in the Bloodworms, surrounding the Nest with it. After bursting their skin open, the Nest silently bathed in the Bloodworm’s cool, blue blood.
Helzar had no idea if what he did would help, but he didn't think it would hurt to try.
With Helzar's command, the Nest began squirming its soft body, twitching as though it was being shocked by electricity. Similar to Zhar, Helzar found out not long ago that the Nest was gaining a bit of sentience, which is why he had been leaving it detached from his body lately. He wanted it to grow uninterrupted.
Squirm—
A full hour passed by, and the blood from the Bloodworms were sucked dry by the Nest. Afterward, the Nest stopped moving erratically, its surface moving in a rhythmic pulsating motion like the calm waves in the ocean.
‘It produced the Motherbug successfully!’ Helzar jumped, hurriedly rushing to attach the Nest back to his body.
‘The Nest isn't burdened at all! Spawns, bring in all the Bloodworms!,’ Helzar yelled out. Then, he modified the Motherbug once again, this time allowing it to produce Eater eggs, as well as Motherbug eggs!
‘I figured it out, I figured it out! The Nest is being overwhelmed because of the limited supply of energy in its body, but if it can get energy elsewhere, it won't be a problem at all!’ Helzar’s mind was madly whirling in joy, and somewhere in the middle, the detail about the Nest gaining a bit of sentience got lost.
If he were to come back in time and do what he did now then, the Nest would surely explode.
+++-+++-+++
[Breaking news! A new calamity has emerged! A fierce colony of millions dubbed by the internet as “The Swarm” has shown its face! With the earlier appearance of the other…]
“Wait, are those the termites from my apartment?” Jason squinted his eyes, watching the television with unblinking attention.
“What do you mean? Those aren't termites you dumb, those are alien bugs,” Jarred slapped his friend's back.
It's been a full month since Jason was interviewed by Alex, and he finally saw news about the “termites” he was looking for.
“Well, I thought they were termites alright,” Jason shook his head, with Jarred laughing to his side.
“Termites look way different from those monsters. Are you trying to make a story up because I met the Lava Ants a month ago?” Jarred raised his eyebrow, teasing his long time friend.
“No. I don't really care about that, but I've wanted to see these bugs again for a while now. Apparently, they're “The Swarm” now,” Jason shrugged.
“Whatever you say, man,” Jarred rolled his eyes. “Hey, how about we go for another round? It's getting hot and stuffy in here,” Jarred licked his lips, looking at Jason with a fiery gaze.
“Dude, that's just you. And I'm about to throw up, I'm gonna go take some fresh air,” Jason stood up, stunning his alcoholic friend.
“What? No, don't open the window… tch, kill joy,” Jarred groaned. He was in love with the smell of alcohol, and having someone who would tolerate his habits made him drink a lot more than he usually would, though he never got drunk. On the other hand, Jason's world was spiraling into rainbows, similar to the rainbow brewing up in his stomach.
‘If vomit was a rainbow as cartoons implied, I'd become a unicorn once all this junk comes out,’ Jason gulped, sweating heavily. His stomach was churning from the alcohol he drank, and he knew his execution via vomiting was near.
“You're such a bummer dude, just when I met my drinking buddy, you go and ruin the mood,” Jarred complained from behind him.
“Jarred, I'm not like you who drinks alcohol like drinking water, fuck,” Jason knelt down, holding his stomach in pain.
“Shit, I'll go to the bathroom,” Jason said limping toward his place of execution. Though he was laughing at him, Jarred helped him out.
“Man, didn't know you were weak to alcohol,” Jarred commented, rubbing Jason's stomach.
“Is the child ready to be born?” Jarred said in a deep voice, causing Jason to gag.
“Bleugh…”
“Hey! Shit, the bathroom’s still a long way ahead!”
“You fucking bastard… bleugh!”
+++-+++-+++
With his entire upper body wrapped in bandages, Alex walked forward as if nothing could get in his way. He was wearing a specially designed red uniform, woven together using the silk of a Hybrid Type Anomaly.
“The Swarm is becoming too much of a threat. We need to use bombs, big ones,” Jason said, arguing with the military officer in front of him.
“Agent Alex, you and your little organization are not even recognized by the government. You are not affiliated with any county either. What makes you think you are safe from my gun?” The military officer tapped his rifle.
Alex shrugged. “Even if you kill me, it won't help you. You don't know about the threat of the Anomalies.”
“There he goes rambling again, anomaly this and that,” the military officer scoffed. Looking at Alex with disdain and a scowl.
“Ignorant,” Alex sighed and took out a pen and a notebook. The military officer furrowed his brow, watching as Alex wrote the words “good bye” on the notebook.
“What…”
Blinking his eyes in confusion, the military officer was about to question Alex, the latter had disappeared.
“Sir, agent Alex has disappeared,” he said to his communication device, his previous haughty demeanor fading away as though it was never even there.
“We know, we saw him vanish. Report back to the office,” the voice replied.
“Understood.”
Meanwhile, Alex was watching the two talk. When the military officer left the room, he stepped forward, his body reappearing for others to see.
“So they are taking the Anomalies seriously, that's good. Hey,” Alex looked toward the CCTV camera watching him. “Beware, the Anomalies are hard to predict and even harder to fight using conventional means. Some are unaffected by physical attacks, while some eat bullets for breakfast.”
After saying his parting words, Alex opened a red portal in which he entered with practiced ease.
“So he can open portals,” on the other hand, the people observing him through the CCTV were frowning.
“This just got a whole lot more complicated if he can appear anywhere he wants,” one of them commented.
“No, no. We don't know his limits yet, maybe he can only use the portal once a day,” another one said.
“It's best to assume the worst and prepare for the worst,” one added, making the rest nod their heads.
Meanwhile, in a small school, Helzar's Swarm silently surrounded the building. They had long amassed millions of Spawns, and all of them had wings.
‘Remember, go straight for their necks and kill them as quickly as possible. Leave the Motherbugs on the corpses before continuing the killing spree!” Zhar commander, spreading his wings.
SHA!
All the Spawns did the same, making a loud and audible noise.
‘FORWARD!’
BUZZZ!!!
+++-+++-+++
Screams echoed in the hallways.
The classrooms had become traps, forcing anyone who hid inside to wait for their deaths as the never-ending Swarm entered through the door and windows.
“HELP! SOMEONE!”
Calling for help was in vain, merely serving as an outlet to waste precious energy, lowering their already slim chances of survival.
The hundreds of students and dozens of teachers ran about, all carrying some sort of weapon to kill the flying Spawns.
“There's too many!” A teacher yelled. She was the vice principal of the school, the principal was already dead, eaten by the Swarm while he slept in his office.
“Don't worry, survive for as long as you can and wait for the police! I already called for help!”
Another teacher yelled, though his voice was drowned by the wails of the students. Looking ahead, a scene straight from hell was playing in front of them.
The Spawns worked nonstop, even through exhaustion. They targeted the neck, making most of the students wrap something around their necks. However, such an act only forced the Spawns to look elsewhere to harvest their lives.
With their necks and most of their bodies covered in clothing, the Spawns would instead swarm their target's head, going inside their nose, mouths, and ears, while digging through their eyes to eat through their brains.
One Spawn or even a dozen was bearable, although painful, they can easily be killed with a slap. However, as more and more Spawns got together, the only fate left was to die.
“Dear god…” A religious student started praying, but the divine beings he worshiped didn't care enough to bat an eye.
“Hey, hey, it's going to be alright, okay?” In one corner of the school, a mother hid with her daughter. They hid in the worst spot imaginable, the bathroom, and the mother knew that. Hence why she was trying her best to comfort her child, despite having yelled at her only moments ago.
She was called to the school because her daughter was misbehaving, making her fly into rage. Now, she was glad that she was with her daughter during these troubled times.
“I'll go get you some juice, okay? Okay? Hey, look at…”
“Mama… behind you,” her daughter pointed behind her, making her look back. There, she saw a swarm of Spawns flying toward them like a thick fog of black!
“Shit, Allysa, go and run! RUN!” She grabbed her daughter's hand, yanking her from the ground and throwing her away. Then, she ran toward the swarm of Spawns with a fire extinguisher in hand.
“MAMA!!!”
Unfortunately for her, she didn't even get to use it as the swarm sliced through her exposed neck, killing her in an instant as her head rolled down on the ground.
“No… no… please!” Falling to her back, Allysa begged, tears welling up in her sky-blue eyes. “Please! Save me, please…”
She cried, but her death was inevitable. The only mercy the Swarm could give her was a painless death.
‘Zhar,’ Helzar called out to Zhar through their telepathic link. With how far Zhar was from Helzar, Helzar could only link with Zhar and no one else.
‘Go and bring me that child's head. She has what I'm looking for.’
‘Understood, my lord.’
Zhar wasted no time locating Allysa’s corpse, and led a few hundred thousand Spawns to bring it back to Helzar.
Unbeknownst to the world, the end was just beginning.