Apocalypse: Building And Hoarding My Way Through.
Chapter 134: There Were No Warnings.

Chapter 134: There Were No Warnings.

Before anyone could react, Maya’s hand shot out. Her claws pierced Larry’s side, the toxic sharpness making him gasp as blood poured from the wound. He coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth as he struggled to push her away.

Ethan and Ryder’s eyes widened in horror as they watched Larry vomit mouthfuls of thick, black blood.

"Larry!" Ethan shouted, panic lacing his voice as he began running toward him. Ryder followed, but they both stopped abruptly when Larry raised a trembling hand to halt them.

"Stay back!" Larry cried, his voice strained and desperate. He coughed violently, fresh blood pouring from his mouth as he staggered. "Don’t... don’t come any closer. If you do, you’ll suffer the same fate as me."

Ethan and Ryder hesitated, their instincts screaming at them to help, but the sheer terror in Larry’s eyes made them freeze. His gaze shifted beyond them, locking onto Maya, who appeared to revel in the carnage. Her sharp, claw-like nails continue to dug into Larry’s abdomen as she tore at him with sadistic glee, intent on pulling out his intestines.

"I’m sorry..." Larry rasped, his pained eyes fixed on Maya. Blood trickled down his chin as his voice cracked with raw emotion. "For everything you went through... I’m sorry I couldn’t save you... even though I was there. I failed you." He coughed violently but he kept going, his words carrying the weight of regret. "But... I need you to know... I loved you. I’ll always love you, even though you’re a monster now... and you don’t recognize me anymore."

Larry coughed violently again, choking on his own blood. His voice grew weaker as he continued, "Please, Maya... go away. Leave before Scarlett and Kato return. It’s the only way to save yourself."

"We need to get out of here, now!" Ryder grabbed Ethan’s arm and tried to pull him away, his face pale with fear. "If you’re just going to stand there, I’ll leave you behind!"

Ethan resisted for a moment, his eyes locked on the horrifying scene, but Ryder’s desperate tugging finally snapped him out of it.

Maya’s expression didn’t falter as Larry finished his last words. Without hesitation, she plunged her fangs into his neck, ripping out flesh with savage precision.

"No!" Ethan screamed as Maya soon lifted her bloodied face, her cold, monstrous eyes locking onto the two of them.

"You can’t escape me," Maya hissed, her voice venomous. She smiled wickedly as Ethan and Ryder turned and bolted, sprinting for their lives.

Behind them, Larry’s body began to convulse violently, his human form contorting abnormally. His skin erupted with pores, and his nails elongated into deadly claws. Razor-sharp teeth jutted from his mouth, and an unholy growl escaped his throat. Maya’s smirk widened as she watched him complete his transformation before she herself shifted into her monstrous form.

The two monsters locked eyes for a brief moment before they charged after Ethan and Ryder.

Just as the creatures closed the distance, a deafening explosion echoed through the forest. The ground shook, throwing debris and dust high into the air. Trees splintered and toppled as the force of the blast sent Ethan and Ryder flying. They hit the ground hard, slamming into the trunk of a tree. Both groaned in pain, coughing up blood.

If it was a normal human and not an S ranked, then they would have been dead.

"What... what was that?" Ethan muttered, his voice weak and trembling, all while he was healing himself with his water element.

"I don’t know," Ryder replied, wiping dirt from his face. His eyes darted around, searching for Maya and Larry.

As the dust began to settle, two figures emerged from the haze but Ethan and Ryder couldn’t recognize them but they couldn’t help but think that it was both Maya and Larry.

"They’re not dead..." Ethan whispered, his body trembling. For a moment, he had believed the explosion might have destroyed the monsters, but his hope was fleeting.

However, as the figures came into view, Ethan realized they weren’t Maya and Larry. Instead, it was Scarlett and Kato.

"Hey, guys," Kato greeted, letting out a heavy sigh as he approached. Scarlett walked beside him, her face a mix of exhaustion and sorrow.

Ethan immediately broke down in tears, stumbling into Kato’s arms. Though he harbored a deep resentment toward Kato, he was too overwhelmed to care. Scarlett, cradling little Hope against her chest, watched silently, her expression grim.

"Larry’s dead," Ethan sobbed, clinging to Kato. "Maya killed him... and she turned him into a monster. It’s all over." His voice cracked as fresh tears streamed down his face.

Ryder, sitting on the forest floor, shook his head in despair. "We should’ve killed her when we had the chance," he muttered bitterly. "If we had just taken her out, so many lives could’ve been saved. Instead, we let this happen..."

Scarlett sat down beside Ryder, her shoulders slumping. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she stared at the bloodstained ground.

Ryder continued, his voice heavy with regret. "This is our fault. We let her live, and now... now it’s too late."

Scarlett lowered her head, guilt clawing at her heart. She felt as though the weight of every death rested squarely on her shoulders.

"What happened to the formation, Scarlett?" Ethan finally asked, his voice quieter but no less insistent. His red-rimmed eyes bore into her. "Why did it fail?"

Scarlett opened her mouth to answer but faltered, her voice caught in her throat.

"It’s not her fault," Kato interjected, stepping in to explain. "The monsters’ domains are... complicated. Some are weaker, allowing us to maintain our powers in there and in other place, while others are stronger, cutting us off entirely. It’s like stepping into another world, a world where their rules apply, not ours."

He glanced at Scarlett before continuing, "The first domain we encountered was weak, so the formation worked even though we’re away from the forest. But this time..." He trailed off, letting out a weary sigh. "This time, the domain drained Scarlett completely. It severed her connection to our world. It also drained me too and now my powers is no more like that of an S ranked."

Scarlett clenched her fists, her mind racing with thoughts of what could have been. If only she had killed Maya when she’d had the chance...

"Didn’t you get any warnings then? Why didn’t the damn system warn you?" Ryder snapped, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and despair. His fists clenched at his sides as he glared at Scarlett and Kato. "If we’d known this was going to happen, we all would’ve followed you to the monster domain! At least then, even if you decided to keep Maya alive, the others wouldn’t have died because you’d have been here to protect them!"

Ryder’s expression was tight with barely contained grief, and though he tried to hold back his tears, his heart ached deeply for the innocent survivors who had lost their lives.

"Exactly! Didn’t you guys get any warnings? Ethan chimed in, his eyes burning with curiousity. "The system really didn’t give you any warnings hence the reason why you proceeded into the monster domain?"

"There were no warnings," Kato replied with a heavy sigh, his tone laced with frustration. "I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, the system is rigged against us. It’s designed to set us up for failure."

He then shifted his gaze toward Scarlett, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But there are ways to bend the system to our will. You just haven’t figured them out yet or maybe you’re too scared of making mistakes, too afraid of stepping out of line. So instead, you keep blindly following and respecting the system’s decisions."

Scarlett flinched at his words but didn’t respond immediately. Her guilt and sorrow were already suffocating, and Kato’s pointed comments only added to the weight on her shoulders.

After a moment, she managed to compose herself enough to ask, "Where’s Garvin and the others?" Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but there was a desperate edge to her tone. Her teary eyes searched Ethan and Ryder’s faces for an answer.

"They’re safe," Ryder said, his voice softening slightly. "Hunter saved them." He hesitated before continuing, his gaze dropping to the ground. "We had to buy a bus to get the other survivors out of here. Ethan, Larry, and I stayed behind to keep Maya occupied buying Hunter enough time to escape with the rest of the group."

Scarlett brow furrowed as she rose to her feet, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "Then why can’t I sense Hunter’s power?" she asked, scanning the surrounding area as though expecting to catch a trace of his presence. "No matter how far they’ve gone, they wouldn’t have gotten so far from the mountains yet. I should still be able to pick up Hunter’s scent as he’s a chosen member even if I can’t get the scent of the others."