Apocalypse: Building And Hoarding My Way Through.
Chapter 99: Let’s Move.

Chapter 99: Let’s Move.

"Scarlett?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the growls and wails of the retreating monsters. His heart raced, hope flickering to life amidst the terror. "Could she have returned?"

As the light intensified, Kato’s eyes began to water, but he refused to look away. He squinted, his vision blurred by tears, desperate to see through the blinding radiance. The monsters, meanwhile, stumbled about in pure agony, their guttural growls growing weaker with each passing moment.

Finally, their horror forms exploded like living bombs, showering the cave in their vile, blackened fluids. Startled, Kato instinctively raised his other arm to shield his face from the onslaught.

The air grew thick with the sickening stench of monster gore, a smell so overpowering that Kato’s stomach churned violently. Louise, gagged before doubling over, unable to contain the wave of nausea. Both of them retched, their bodies rebelling against the noxious fumes that clung to the cavern walls.

And then, as abruptly as it began, the light vanished.

A heavy, oppressive silence blanketed the cave. The absence of sound was deafening, as if the world itself had held its breath. Kato blinked rapidly, his eyes straining to adjust to the sudden darkness. Slowly, the contours of the cave began to take shape, dim shadows sharpening into focus.

That’s when he saw it.

Standing in the center of the carnage was a figure, tall, imposing, and utterly inhuman. Kato’s breath caught in his throat, his pulse thundering in his ears as he stared at the creature before him. His heart froze with recognition. It was Scarlett.

But she was no longer the woman he once knew, the woman he had fought beside. The thing before him was a twisted mockery of her former self, a monster in every sense of the word.

Her eyes, glowing a searing crimson, burned with an unholy light that pierced through the gloom. Her skin had turned an unnatural, deathly pallor, stretched taut over her sharp, angular bones. Spindly, elongated limbs jutted from her body, ending in razor-sharp claws that shimmered menacingly in the dim light. Each claw was tipped with what looked like venomous barbs, designed to tear and poison simultaneously.

Her face was a nightmare. Her jaw had stretched unnaturally wide, her lips curling back to reveal rows upon rows of jagged, yellowed sharp razor teeth. Acidic saliva dripped from them, sizzling against the rocky ground with an audible hiss. From her forehead, two massive horns spiraled upward, their surfaces gnarled and blackened like petrified shadows.

Even Louise couldn’t believe his eyes as he swallowed hard. Having experienced Scarlett monster form before, the way she loses control and doesn’t recognize anybody when she’s in her monster form sent fear down his spine. He couldn’t help but to think that even though, Scarlett defeated the other monsters, she’s going to kill them too.

Scarlett tilted her head slightly, her glowing eyes narrowing as she raised one of her clawed hands to examine it

’I’ve awakened,’ Scarlett thought, her voice echoing within her own mind, warped by the chaos coursing through her.

She turned her gaze downward, focusing on her elongated, talon-like fingers. Her vision, tinged in crimson, made the world appear bathed in blood.

Suddenly, a metallic ding resonated within her mind.

{Congratulations on attaining the SSS rank, host.}

’I did it!’ Scarlett rejoiced internally, a surge of triumph flooding her mind. The fact that she could remember her monstrous form and still recognize herself was proof enough she had awakened the SSS-ranked skill.

Loading host information...

STATS:

Name: Scarlett Jerkins

Species: Human, Monster

Spirit: 100

Physical: 100

Agility: 100

Defense: 100

Health: 100

Intelligence: 100

SKILLS:

Affinity: Water, Fire, Earth

Title: Queen of Monsters

Overall Rank: SSS

{New powers awakened with your SSS rank.}

{Monster Manipulation: Host can now summon and control various monster species to aid in combat or other tasks. Communicate with monsters, understanding their thoughts and emotions. Enhance their abilities to make them stronger and more resilient.}

{Enhanced Physical Traits: Host now has traordinary strength, speed, agility, and durability. Regenerative abilities to heal rapidly from injuries. Adaptation to extreme environments such as high temperatures, toxic gases, or crushing pressures.}

{Energy Manipulation: Host can use magical energy to cast powerful spells, physical energy to enhance abilities or unleash energy blasts, and life force energy to heal or drain life from others.}

{Shapeshifting: Host can now transform into various monster forms with unique abilities or into human/creature forms to adapt to situations.}

{Dual Systems Integration: As host caused her own death, Echo 3 has merged with Echo 2. All resources from Echo 2 are intact, granting the host full access to both systems, summonable at will.}

’Good!’ Scarlett uttered under her breath with a smirk plastered on her face.

{Congratulations once again, host.}

Scarlett’s monstrous body began to change. Her wish to regain her human form triggered the transformation, and slowly, her features softened, her claws receded, and her crimson vision faded. Before long, she stood as the woman she once was...human.

Her heart ached as she turned to Kato, who was still on his knees, struggling to use his weakened water element to extract the poison from his body. His face was pale, his breaths shallow, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness.

Scarlett closed the distance between them in an instant. Dropping to her knees, she placed her hands on him, her elemental energy flaring to life. She summoned water infused with fire, creating a purifying energy to neutralize the poison.

"I’m sorry I took so long!" Scarlett whispered, tears streaming down her face despite her effort to hold them back.

The salty droplets shimmered in the dim light, and Scarlett quickly wiped them away, knowing that her tears would definitely attract more monsters. With steely determination, she focused entirely on Kato, her powers weaving together in delicate precision.

Kato’s face slowly regained its color, his strength returning as the poison dissipated. His gaze locked onto Scarlett’s tear-streaked face.

"S-Scarlett?" he croaked, his voice weak but tinged with relief. "Thank goodness you’re finally here."

"I’m here, Kato," Scarlett whispered back, her voice trembling. "I’m so sorry I took so long."

Kato tried to stand, his legs wobbling beneath him. "Let’s get out of here first," he muttered. "If this could happened to us... I can’t imagine what’s happened to Garvin and the rest. They might...."

’No,’ Scarlett thought to herself, willing her heart to calm its racing. ’If Garvin is dead, then I wouldn’t be alive either.’

Aloud, she said with quiet urgency, "We need to leave now. This cave won’t hold much longer."

Without waiting, she moved to Louise, who lay unconscious nearby. Scarlett then used her powers in healing him temporarily after which she hoisted him onto her back with ease, her enhanced strength making the task trivial. Then she turned to Kato.

"I’ll carry you too. You’re still weak."

"I can walk by myself." Kato uttered with a smirk.

"You’re too weak to walk as you’ve lost so much blood," Scarlett said firmly, silencing his objections and helped him by carrying him on her other shoulder.

Witt Louise and Kato carried on her back firmly, Scarlett made her way through the collapsing cave, the sound of crumbling rock and falling debris filled the air. Her sharp senses guided her, dodging jagged stalactites and leaping over sudden fissures with precision.

"Hold on tight!" she shouted above the din.

Kato and Louise clung to her as Scarlett’s pace quickened. The glimmer of light ahead spurred her onward, and with a final burst of speed, she emerged from the cave into the open night before the cave could collapse.

Under the silvery glow of the moon, Scarlett gently set Kato and Louise down, her chest heaving as she scanned their surroundings.

"We did it!" Louise murmured under his breath. "We are alive."

"Yes we are." Kato chimed in, panting heavily for breath.

"Where’s that motherfucker Austin?" Louise rasped, panting heavily. The fresh air was already helping his body recover.

"You think he’d stay?" Kato replied with a smirk, though his voice was tinged with bitterness. "He probably left, knowing we’d all die in there. He’s off doing something ’more important,’ I’m sure."

Kato suddenly extended his hand, casting a spell on his severed arm. Before Louise’s astonished eyes, a new arm began to grow, the flesh knitting together seamlessly.

"You can regenerate?" Louise muttered, his voice a mix of awe and disbelief.

Kato grinned. "Feeding on humans has its advantages. I felt weak in the cave, but now that I’m out, my powers are back."

"Okay, okay," Louise said, shaking his head as he staggered to his feet. "We need to find Garvin and the others. Even if they’re alive, they won’t stay that way if we keep standing here."

Scarlett nodded, her expression resolute. "Let’s move."

Without hesitation, she turned toward the forest where Ayra had taken Garvin, Ethan, Larry, and Maya. With Kato and Louise close behind, she led the way, her heart heavy with worry yet determined to see them all through the night.