Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

Every word he could push past his throat only served to increase the pressing anxiety, sharing it to his allies. Continuing to recall what he saw, the footage he had seen with his own eyes felt engraved into his memories.

"A man? A person? I thought the Arcana were all monsters," Jasper admitted.

"Believe me, he’s a monster…the worst of the worst. Somebody that should’ve never been born–no, he should’ve stayed dead," Finn shook his head, feeling his face becoming hot.

For some reason, he felt he had to say it, he had to give the name he saw before he had lost consciousness, the title he perceived the very last moment he looked upon the stain upon humanity.

Standing in the middle of the isolated hospital room as the vital machines quietly beeped, Finn relayed the name he had seen:

"I couldn’t find his name, all he was called was "

The Devil

."

Immediately as the title left his lips, the air shifted; it became more strained, chillier yet drawing a sweat from each of their bodies. A moment of silence stood between the three; from the looks in their eyes, Finn could tell they felt the ominous change as well, even if they didn’t quite comprehend what it was.

But, he knew–he understood the error he made the very next second he had made it.

’The name…Speaking that name–it’s the trigger. I brought him right to me–he’s in the hospital now, I feel it,’

he realized.

All of the lights began to flicker, spazzing out as the machines underwent the same trauma, leaving the room shrouded in darkness and silence.

"What happened…?" Charlotte quietly questioned.

Finn answered, "He’s here. We’re trapped in this place now…Shit."

"Trapped? The hell do you mean?" Jasper asked hurriedly.

There was no better explanation than just to point to the wall where the window was, which had now become veiled in a nighttime that shouldn’t exist outside.

"Try breaking it," Finn suggested.

The offer came with no wasted effort by the knight, who immediately rammed his fist against the window, only for it to bounce right off as though it was impenetrable.

"What the–?!" Jasper sharply reacted, stumbling back.

Charlotte gave it a try, spewing azure flames from her sword as she flashed at the wall, "--Nh!"

The blade managed to cut into the material, though it fixed itself just as quickly as it had been damaged.

"Shit…You weren’t kidding, were you, mate?" Jasper breathed out.

"Unfortunately not," Finn confirmed. "Doors leading outside won’t work, either. This entire hospital is now "his" domain–it can be changed as he sees fit."

The truth of it wasn’t devoid of any weaknesses he knew of, only bad news after bad news.

"Shit…Maybe we can contact Nikko from inside of here," Jasper reasoned.

Charlotte added in, "Yeah! It’s not just us here—there’s guards as well with the doctors and patients. It should be fine, Finn."

Though it was momentarily a relief to hear the hospital wasn’t empty, it turned to despair quickly in Finn’s mind. It only served to ignite the disgust within him, knowing the reality it meant.

"No…For this person, more people just means more will die. They’ll be slaughtered–all of them," Finn hesitantly admitted, from a place both of ration and fear.

"You can’t mean that…There’s others that can fight–we can fight. Nobody has to die," Charlotte reasoned from a place of hope.

Even as genuine the young woman was, Finn found himself unable to accept that line of thinking even for a moment, having first hand experience with what they faced, "I’m sorry, but that’s just not how it’ll go down."

"Mate, what the hell happened back there? You’re never exactly sunshine and rainbows, but I’ve never seen you

this

defeated," Jasper asked.

The looks from the only two friends he had left in the world sought to know just what it was he experienced, though he found it difficult to admit. Part of it was to protect their own resolve, though another part simply didn’t wish to speak of his own failure.

"I…" Finn spoke, finding the words. "I tried fighting that man. I couldn’t do a damn thing. It wasn’t even a minute until I was on the ground, holding my own guts in my hand."

"Finn…" Charlotte looked at him with eyes that seemed on the verge of tears just considering what he had experienced.

"I’m not saying we can’t fight, but it won’t be without him leaving scars. Against a killer like this, people will die–that’s just the way it is," Finn admitted.

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Amidst the words of advice he gave to his comrades, it was interrupted by blood-curdling screams that echoed from outside the room. Charlotte and Jasper were quick to burst out into the hallway without a second thought, without question seeking to help whoever was in trouble.

Finn, however, found himself not yet taking a step, even paring his lips with the intent to stop them. He stopped himself, questioning just what it was that was going through his mind.

["

I’ve never really considered myself brave, but I don’t think I’m a coward either. So, why am I so okay with countless people dying if I have the strength to prevent it? Even if it’s just a chance, just a one-percent chance to save a single life–it shouldn’t be a question. Life, especially in a world losing it so abundantly, is invaluable–it’s precious. Damian, you’re telling me this, aren’t you

?"]

It was a frustrating feeling he had to overcome as he pushed his way out of the room, stepping into the halls of the hospital. With the lights gone out, the pristine, white interior of the building now held an unsettling look.

He found Charlotte and Jasper standing in the hall, looking ahead silently as though something had frozen them stiff. Approaching with his daggers ready, Finn saw the sight that awaited down the corridor–

Blood stained the once pristine walls of the hospital, with bits and pieces of shredded staff left. There was a gap in the ceiling for the vents, where all that could be seen was the arm of a man dragging the severed torso of a male doctor into the ceiling.

’What the hell…is this person?’

Jasper questioned.

’Why…? Why would somebody do this?’

Charlotte thought.

While many atrocities had been witnessed by them, there was something distinctly different about this; something more sinister, acted by the hand of another person.

Finn forced himself to act, releasing his body from the grip of fear as he swiped his hand towards the arm extending from the ceiling vents–

["

Throwing Knife

"] [Mana: -100] [4300/4500]

He tossed the projectile for the blood-stained forearm, though it retracted into the ceiling along with the grotesque remnants of the doctor like a beast’s tail.

"Shit…!" Finn clicked his tongue in frustration.

While Charlotte had already begun to rush ahead in hopes of chasing after the killer only seen by his arm, Finn grabbed a hold of her wrist before she could go.

"Finn?!--" Charlotte looked back at him in a hurry.

"There’s no point in chasing him. Like I said, this whole place is now his territory to shift as he pleases," Finn explained. "If he wants to be elusive right now, then we won’t be able to catch him."

"Then how are we supposed to do anything?" Charlotte asked with a reluctant expression.

He let go of her hand, looking around at the corridor that had already experienced its share of death. It wasn’t any kind of coincidence that the first sight of [Nameless] was so close to where he was; he knew that–it was a taunt.

"Trust me…He’ll face us. All this thing cares about is killing–we aren’t an exception to that," Finn admitted.

"It doesn’t mean we should wait around. There’s still people here–can’t just watch them be butchered," Jasper reasoned.

"Yeah, I know–let’s go," Finn agreed.

It was down the hall, taking a turn that it almost felt like venturing into a different world entirely as the walls weren’t stained by blood. There were still members of the hospital staff present, though visibly concerned with what was going on.

A blonde-haired woman in scrubs looked towards them, "Hey! You three are the ones brought in by Nikko, right? Please, do something about this–we can’t get out!"

A male doctor with fuzzy, brown hair adjusted his glasses as he chimed in, "None of the elevators are operating, and the stairwell is a hazard. There’s something inside the building…"

It only took a quick glance at some of the rooms neighboring the hall to see there were patients resting in each, no doubt heightening the concern of the doctors. While the best odds of survival against [Nameless] came without taking other people into consideration, Finn knew that wasn’t a viable option.

"Come with us–just follow right behind," Charlotte offered.

Before he could say anything, the spellblade had already made a choice, though not knowing if it was right or wrong, he accepted it.