The Titan crouched low, its elongated limbs digging into the cracked pavement, muscles coiling like a predator ready to strike. Across from it, the Pale Swarm chittered and screeched, their grotesque, humanoid bodies twitching with hunger.
Leon tightened his grip on his machete. "Okay, so… do we run, or do we die here?"
The Titan lunged first. Its massive claws cleaved through the first wave of Swarm, sending limbs and ichor spraying across the ruins. The Swarm retaliated, climbing onto its back, biting, clawing, and trying to overwhelm the beast.
Reaper wiped blood from his mouth. "Holy shit. We're not the main course anymore."
Evelyn's mind raced. The Titan was evolving at a terrifying rate, but it had never encountered a force like the Pale Swarm. If they played this right, they could let these monsters destroy each other—or at least weaken the Titan enough for them to escape.
Lucas pulled out a smoke grenade. "If we're getting out, now's the time."
He tossed it. The canister clattered against the pavement, hissing thick gray fog that swallowed the battlefield.
"Move!" Evelyn yelled.
They sprinted through the dense smog, weaving between abandoned vehicles and collapsed structures. Behind them, the Titan roared in fury, smashing Swarm creatures against the ruined buildings, sending shockwaves through the ground.
Mia chanced a glance back. "That thing's gonna tear through them."
Leon huffed, barely keeping up. "Good. Let it."
Suddenly, a Swarm creature burst from the fog, launching itself at Reaper. Its jaw unhinged unnaturally, rows of needle-like teeth reaching for his throat.
Reaper fired point-blank, blowing half its skull away. He kicked the twitching body off his boot. "Not today, you ugly bastard."
They emerged from the smoke onto a collapsed highway overpass. Below, the Titan tore through the Swarm, but it was clear it wasn't invincible. The creatures had latched onto its back, burrowing into its flesh, trying to consume it from the inside.
Evelyn's stomach twisted. "It's losing."
Then, the Titan did something horrifying.
Its entire body convulsed, muscles expanding grotesquely as spiked tendrils erupted from its spine. The tendrils whipped around violently, impaling multiple Swarm creatures at once.
Leon clenched his fists. "This thing doesn't die… it adapts."
The Titan lifted its head, blood-soaked tongue whipping through the air. Its glowing red eyes locked onto them.
"Shit," Lucas muttered. "It knows we're still here."
Before anyone could react, the Titan launched itself toward the overpass.
The entire structure shook violently as it clung to the crumbling concrete, its claws digging deep.
Reaper stumbled. "Not good. Not good at all."
The Titan roared, muscles bulging as it prepared to strike.