Chapter 13
Pain shot through Theo’s back, but he gritted his teeth and pushed himself up.
“Chubby, hurry up Shine’s urgent voice snapped him back to reality.
He lifted his head to see her restraining the Meteorborn Terra, her elongated arms wrapped tightly around its body, locking it in place. The creature thrashed violently, but Shine’s shifting limbs coiled around it like steel cables, preventing it from swinging its grotesque, abnormal limbs.
However, her grip revealed something crucial, the cracks in its bark-like skin. “Just keep hitting the fractured spots! Those are the weak points, dammit! I can’t hold it for long!” Shine snapped, her frustration bleeding through every word.
Theo shook off the pain and clenched his fists. This was his chance. With an energy burst, he lunged with clenched fist, and drove onto the weakened spots. A sickening crack followed as his enhanced strength shattered the hardened exterior, exposing raw, pulsating flesh beneath.
The Meteorborn Terra shrieked, its agonized wails echoing through the battlefield. It convulsed violently, but Shine’s grip held firm.
Theo didn’t stop. Even though his abilities were on cooldown, even though pain shot up his arms with every strike, he kept hammering at the fractured spots. His knuckles split, blood smearing against the creature’s bark-like skin, but he didn’t care.
He gritted his teeth. ‘Just a little more. It has to break p>
Theo didn’t waste a second and quickly leaped onto its back, gripping the uneven surface of its mutated form. His muscles burned as he climbed higher.
‘It’s the head.’ His eyes locked onto the fractured area, a weak spot pulsing with unnatural energy.
The Meteorborn Terra roared, bucking wildly, but Theo refused to let go. He dug his fingers into the jagged bark-like skin, using every ounce of strength to stay on.
“Shine, hold it steady!” he shouted over the chaos.
“I am holding it! Just finish the damn thing already!” Shine snapped, her elongated arms straining against the thrashing beast.
With a final push, Theo reached the weak point. He raised his fist, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through his arms.
And then, he struck.
The creature roared, flailing to throw him off, but Theo pressed forward. With a fierce yell, he slammed his fist into the side of its skull. The force sent cracks splintering across its head.
‘It’s not enough p>
[Ding! Kinetic Pulse on cooldown. Recharge in 5 seconds.] Ná´‡w É´ovel chaptá´‡rs are published on.net
‘Yes!’ he silently cheered since before the cooldown was 10 seconds.
Theo raised his arm again, this time focusing all his strength. His veins pulsed with raw energy as he struck down with everything he had.
CRACK!
The Meteorborn Terra’s movements halted. Its body twitched violently before it collapsed onto the floor with a heavy thud.
[Ding! Meteorborn Terra Eliminated p>
[Ding! Observer’s Insight activated p>
[Ding! +1000 EXP, +100 Gold Coins]
Theo took a shaky breath, stepping off the creature’s lifeless body. He glanced at his hands, still trembling, still covered in blood. He remained still, his fists clenched as the tension in the air refused to dissipate.
The destroyed hallway fell eerily silent. The wounded soldiers stared at him in stunned disbelief, including other Meteor Survivors.
“What… the hell was that?” one of them muttered. “He’s not human!” one of the soldiers shouted. “We must eliminate him and the others p>
Every soldier came into position and aimed their rifles at him and the rest of the Meteorborn Survivors.
“Seriously? Are you all nuts? If not for us, I’m sure you are all dead by now Sunshine grunted.
“Put down your weapons!” Commander Brix shouted.
“But Commander!” one of the soldiers complained.
“I said put down your weapon! We’ll escort them all to the ground floor!” Commander Brix firmly instructed.
Even as the soldiers lowered their rifles, their wary gazes lingered on him. He knew that look, it wasn’t gratitude. It was fear.
The Meteorborn Terra was dead at his hands, but instead of being seen as their savior, he was being regarded as a new kind of threat.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to ignore the unease creeping under his skin.
Sunshine clicked her tongue in irritation. “Unbelievable. We just saved your asses, and this is the thanks we get p>
A few soldiers looked guilty, but most remained rigid, their grips on their weapons tense.
Commander Brix didn’t address her frustration. Instead, he focused on Shine, pulling out a black tag and pressing it against her wrist.
Theo frowned. ‘A black tag? Why not gray like the rest of us p>
His gaze flickered between Shine and the Commander, but neither acknowledged his silent question.
“Please, just take us out of here,” one of the elderly Meteor Survivors pleaded.
“We’ll escort you out once we’ve completed a proper triage,” Commander Brix responded without looking up, his attention locked on the tablet in his hands.
Theo’s unease deepened. This wasn’t just an evacuation, it was a classification, and he couldn’t help but wonder what their basis for it was. Just recalling the words of the panicked soldier who had aimed his rifle at him a while ago made it clear, they saw him and the others as a threat.
‘Was it because of the Meteor Survivor who suddenly turned into a Meteorborn Terra after dying?’ he thought, his face paling. ‘Will I also turn into a monster once I die p>
He observed as one soldier approached him and removed the gray tag on him, replacing it with a black tag.
“What’s going on? What’s with them changing the color of tags?” a woman who still had a gray tag questioned.
“We’re going to brief you on the situation after we reach the ground floor,” Commander Brix answered briefly before instructing all soldiers to escort them back down.
He was in deep thought while Shine was stepping down the stairs behind him. “I guess we’re special! Like some superheroes with abilities for those in black tags!” she burst out at him without a care for their surroundings.
“Special, my ass. They look at us more like monsters!” a bald guy in front of him, who seemed only a few years older, spat annoyingly. He had also been changed from a gray tag to a black one.
“You have a point there, Baldy! But still, it’s a fact that we’re special. You also developed a special ability, right? That’s why you got changed to a black tag!” Shine exaggeratedly hummed, but the man simply ignored her.
“I don’t like you, Baldy,” she continued mumbling while Theo busied himself checking his new ability. ‘Observer’s Insight,’ he thought.
[Observer’s Insight (Basic)
Description: You have gained the ability to perceive limited details about others. The more you grow, the more secrets you unveil.
Current Level: 1
Would you like to analyze a target? (Y/N p>
‘Yes,’ he mused as he stared at the bald man walking in front of him.