Within a door tagged ’Holocaust Sector Lab 9’...
The whirring sound of machinery could be heard, coming from forklift-like machines that picked up bodies from cylindrical pods, filled with blue serums.
Creatures, missing one body part or another, were being heaved from the pods by these forklifts and kept in huge cones whose height lowered to the size of a football once they were successfully stored.
"They said the base is under attack from an unknown powerful group."
"Yes. I can hear some weird explosions too."
"I’m curious how strong the invading organization is if they can make the base swiftly order an abandonment."
Murmurs could be heard here and there.
"Silence, all of you. More work, less talk!" a man who stood close to the door of the lab barked out loud at the lab workers handling the creatures.
"These specimens are Secretive L.V 3 Complexity Organisms. No harm unless designated must happen to them, so make sure to handle them very well!"
The man is a stark contrast to the others, as while everyone else in the room wore lab coats, he was the only one wearing a combat suit.
Surrounding him were various other scientists who had tablet-like devices in their hands, going around the lab.
’Tch, those Anomaly bastards. Talk of a bad time to strike...’ he muttered angrily under his breath.
’Hopefully, the boss holds them out long enough for us to evacuate the majority of the living specimens at least.’
’There’s also the dungeon prisoners that are still yet to be transported... and that sleeping dude in Floor Zero.’
’Tch. There’s still so much to do...’
Leo thought to himself, his fingers moving to his eyebrows and rubbing them.
He was never someone who loved impromptu rushes, and the mere thought of the responsibility placed on his neck right now was enough to give him a headache.
But then, the rubbing paused—
He could faintly hear it.
The sound of something tumultuous beneath his feet.
’Did those idiots lose control of a sentient body part?’
He turned towards the exit to check out what was happening, but stopped when—
The sound is getting louder and louder.
When he looked at the ground, he noticed it suddenly beginning to reverberate,
"No... Something... something is blasting through the floors!" The realization hit him, and just a second later—
Luo snapped his head behind him in shock, only to be faced with the scene of some of the forklifts having been sent flying into the air, the shocked gasps of the scientists who rode them, and most of all, the new figure: A humanoid looking purple-tattooed monster coated in abnormaly huge purple veins.
The gravitational force acted, pulling them all back to the ground as everyone in the room watched the monster land on the hard floor, sending another deep reverberation.
"What... what is that?" one of the scientists muttered in shock.
But Leo was already three steps into thinking.
The most notable feature of this new entrance, apart from the thick veins all over him, was the shimmering purple tattoos, hidden beneath another halo of flaming blue.
The blue tattoo released a strange aura that caused most of the sleeping beast-like specimens in the pods to stir from their rest.
"Wait... those purple tattoos..." He muttered beneath his breath.
’It’s him. It’s the slumbering dude from Floor Zero!’
’He woke up!?’ he thought in shock.
But he was forced to recoil from the shock when the demonic whisper echoed through the room.
"I... S... H... A..."
The world around him was of a red hue like crimson blood covering his gaze, and within this crimson were the standing blue-haloes.
But through it all, he could feel it—
That familiar heartbeat.
It led to the name escaping his lips, and a moment later, his neck turned to the side.
Then he took a step forward—
A mini-explosion followed as the floor gave way, and he tore through this world of red.
On his way, he was faced with one of the blue-haloed beings, but it never occurred to him to dodge out of its way.
He ran straight through him, and horror appeared on the faces of the lab scientists when they watched the purple monster collide with the lead scientist, blowing him into a red mush of blood that splattered through the room, staining the rest in a color of red.
The lead scientist—their leader not only in intelligence but in strength—had been run through and exploded into mush upon contact with the purple monster.
The rest needed no words before screams of horror filled the room, and the scientists immediately rushed toward the exit.
"Nobody leaves!" Luo screamed out the order.
But it fell on deaf ears.
The terrified lab scientists rushed out toward him, pushing him aside as they all raced out of the room.
They had just watched their lead professor get blown apart like balloon mush by a purple monster radiating murderous intent and an unknown power level—and they were expected to stay in the room?
Ten seconds later, there was only Leo in the room.
A part of him felt the urge to run as he stared at the exit, but in the end, when the image of a particular man flashed in his head...
He had no choice but to instead chase after Ryuk, his body rippling forth with incredible energy.
’The Boss Orders Must Be Completed!’
Ryuk could feel the growing connection as he moved through the various pods, and soon enough, he was before a particular pod.
One thrice as big as the others, filled with a blank serum that blinded his gaze from whatever was stored within—but he could say for sure.
Immediately, his claw reached out, slamming against the pod.
It only left a crack, but after three more strikes, the metal gave way as his hands reached into the helm and he pulled it apart.
The Dark serum came flying out, raining on him, leading to sizzling sounds, but he cared not for it—his gaze turning to the creature held within the pod.
A one-headed beast, which had two of its necks seemingly having been cleanly shaved off.
Its wings were no more, making it resemble a serpentine creature compared to a draconic one—but Ryuk was sure of it.
When he arrived before her, her eyes slowly opened, and as he stepped forward, her maw moved.