Chapter 68: Apocalypse 6
[BBC HUB]
[We have received deeply troubling reports tonight from Denvi Town in the Havenway District.
A team of heroes dispatched to contain and eliminate a rapidly growing horde of beasts has become trapped within a mysterious veil that manifested during the operation. Communication with the team was lost shortly after the phenomenon appeared, and all attempts to establish contact have so far failed.
At this time, the situation inside the veil remains completely unknown. The condition of the heroes, the status of the mission, and the nature of the anomaly itself are yet to be determined.
Emergency response teams and specialists are currently working around the clock to gather information. Meanwhile, the Hero Association has begun mobilizing additional heroes and support personnel to the area as concerns continue to mount.
Authorities are urging residents to remain calm and avoid the vicinity until further notice. More updates will be provided as information becomes available.]
The news had already spread beyond the veil, and everyone seemed interested in finding out what was going on—some out of worry, others out of sheer curiosity.
Meanwhile, inside the veil, walking down the empty street, in no time, Nicholas came across his first target.
These times they weren’t orcs, but Lizardmen. About five patroling the street like it was some camp.
Their scaly green skin glistened with an oily sheen under the sunlight.
Each of them was muscular, and they stood about two meters tall, equipped with crude spears, shields, and armor made from hardened leather.
Their reptilian eyes darted about, vertical pupils contracting and expanding as they searched for any signs of humans.
The X-Glasses chimed, and a description hovered in his vision, confirming their identity:
[Lizardmen: Lizardmen were humanoid reptiles with scaled skin, clawed limbs, powerful tails, and fierce, predatory features.]
Nicholas slipped his hands into his coat silently, grabbing hold of a dagger.
He took a deep breath, coiling power into his legs. He suddenly stomped his right foot heavily into the ground.
"Boom!"
The earth beneath his heel shattered, splintering outward in a spiderweb-shaped crack.
The force shot him forward like a bullet. The air around his body compressed, creating a vacuum trail in his wake as he crossed twenty meters in the blink of an eye.
The nearest Lizardman barely had time to hiss in alarm, its scaled throat vibrating as its jaws parted.
However, before the sound could fully escape its maw, Nicholas’s dagger thrust forward in a perfect line, the shaft blurring with speed while moonlight glinted along its edge.
The weapon pierced through the air, releasing a soft-pitched screech that echoed through the air as the sharp edges drove straight through the Lizardman’s chest like a pile driver.
"SQUELCH!"
Bright green blood erupted from the wound in a pressurized spray, splattering across Nicholas’s face and chest like toxic rain.
"Hssss—"
The creature’s eyes bulged, its forked tongue flicking out one final time as it hissed before it slumped backward, lifeless.
[Demiurge666: well, that ended fast]
[Aj_Saunders: Now we going assassin style! Awesome]
Nicholas quickly pulled out his baton expanding it into a rod as the remaining five turned toward him in alarm, their stone blades and iron shields raised as their tails thrashed. They were clearly agitated.
Nicholas clenched his rod tightly, feeling the vibration from the spear as he spun the weapon in his grip 360 degrees with fluid precision.
The air screeched as the rod’s body moved through the air like a whip as he attacked a second Lizardman.
"CRACK!"
The shaft connected with a Lizardman’s chest mid-lunge, the impact so violent that scales and flesh shook before caving in entirely.
The creature’s sternum caved inward with a sound like snapping branches, its internal organs rupturing from the force.
The Lizardman was sent flying backward like a broken doll, its limbs twisted at unnatural angles as it crashed through a small tree fifteen meters away.
Without pausing, Nicholas twisted his waist as he leaned toward his right heel. The ground shook from the force.
In that moment, he dodged a clumsy thrust from another Lizardman by leaning sideways, his spine almost parallel to the ground.
The enemy’s stone blade passed harmlessly over his head, the whoosh of displaced air ruffling Nicholas’s hair.
Simultaneously, Nicholas’s hands moved slipping into his pocket pulling out his dagger again, he drove forward, sweeping the dagger upwards.
The strike connected directly to the Lizardman’s throat, sweeping vertically from its belly to its jaws all the way to its head in a single clean cut.
The Lizardman’s head separated from its body, toppling backward as green blood fountained heavily to the ground, staining the ground in green viscous blood.
A third Lizardman launched itself at Nicholas from his blind spot.
Nicholas eyes flashed with instincts as he flung his dagger to the incoming lizardman, the dagger lodging into its skull, blood spraying out.
[Soulgeneral: Damn! Don’t even know if bro’s superman or batman anymore]
[....: I guess it’s both]
[Unknown56: He’s so good with the blade]
Julie was surprised, not only had Nicholas grown faster and more efficient, but he moved far more dangerously than he did before.
[BBC HUB requesting live access]
A large grin cut across Julie’s face, ’Took you long enough!’ she quickly accepted the request.
[You’re now being streamed on BBC]
[BBC Viewer 1: WAIT THAT’S PHANTOM?!]
[BBC Viewer 2: THIS IS THE GUY WHO FOUGHT NIGHT NINJA]
[BBC Viewer 3: Why is he carrying a coat during an apocalypse?]
[BBC Viewer 4: Somebody get this man a sponsorship deal]
’Keep bashing those monsters Phantom! We’re going to be popular!’ Julie’s eyes turned into literal sparkles as the numbers of her viewers climbed instantly.
Similarly, Nicholas received the notification he’d been waiting for.
{Ding!}
{+50 Charm points}
"Let’s keep going"
"Oh! Right right" Nicholas words snapped her out of her daze as she quickly followed him.
The two had encountered a few Lizardmen, but Nicholas quickly dismembered them before they could even blink.
’Tsk, he’s fighting too fast now. It’s no longer interesting’ Julie thought pouting her lips as she followed behind Nicholas, "You should take your time with the beast, what’s the haste?"
"I want to go home. And I can’t have my sister thinking I’m in trouble, if she’s watching this then I don’t want her to worry" Nicholas replied bluntly.
[Unknown56: Protecting the town ❌
Getting home before his sister worries ✅]
[SilverFox: Dude fought a giant lizard and his biggest concern is his sister.]
"I get it" Julie said letting out a disappointed sigh, but she suddenly felt Nicholas hands stop her from taking step forward.
She looked ahead seeing large webs blocking the path ahead, as thick as a rope.
Amidst the webs, they could see the chitinous shell of a massive spider.
"Ahhhh! It’s a Spider!!!!!" Julie jumped in fright all the hairs on her body standing tall.
Nicholas facepalmed, "I can see it already... You just had to wake it up"
"What?! I hate Spiders!"
"Quit yelling already" Nicholas snapped, causing Julie to close her mouth, fear still visible in her eyes as she looked at him with a pleadful gaze.
Nicholas turned his gaze back to the spider, and just then its eight massive eyes snapped open.
"Well," Nicholas muttered. "You woke it up." his eyes locked with the blaring red eyes of the spider.
