Aurora Over a Dead World

Chapter 30: Plan Change

"..." The wolf snarls at me as I analyze its body more closely. I know this is a wolf that underwent a mutation because it doesn’t emit vectors the way fear monsters do.

There are only a few ways animals can receive mutations. First, someone conducted experiments on them, generating mutations. Second, they had prolonged contact with materials that had altered vectors. Third, a monster with some kind of vector power did it. And fourth, a Kaira did it. Those are the only scenarios I know of where a common wolf would receive a mutation.

’Grotesque...’ Whoever or whatever caused this mutation did it in a grotesque way, and turned this wolf into something equivalent to a beast-class monster with an overall rating of 7. That means almost no human without vector powers stands a chance of defeating it, and a Kaira’s involvement is already necessary.

’Multiple eyes, multiple teeth... and absurd speed and physical strength, as well as the ability to destroy my prosthetics...’ While the wolf assesses me, I assess it.

’Intelligent too... it also has a strong ability to notice vectors shifting in the environment...’ Some are fairly neutral traits, but others point to important things.

’I’m still missing one specific sign... a clearer one that indicates what caused this...’ I finish my assessment as the wolf glances at Eirwen for a moment.

"If you turn your back on me, I’ll be offended," I say, using the wall to my right as a platform to boost my speed and launch myself into the air as I leap on top of him. Since I lost my right arm, I use my left arm to punch and drive the wolf into the ground.

He tries to get up, but since it’s obvious he still wants to attack Eirwen, I drop to the ground and ram my shoulder into his back before he can rise.

I quickly charge forward, pushing him and crashing through the wall ahead of us while he struggles, trying to stand. I keep going, shoving him as far as possible to put some distance between us.

"?!" An enormous mouth appears on his back, opening wide, and I barely avoid falling inside. I leap backward, dodging a bite as the wolf spins on the ground and regains his footing, using his claws to stop himself.

A massive set of claw marks is left on the floor, showing how sharp they are, but with that, this wolf gave himself away.

’Did he just alter his own biology?’ I run my hand through my hair and see blood. Powerful fear monsters tend to be "unique." There are many weak monsters that are nearly copies of each other.

But the stronger a monster is, the more unique it becomes. That’s why we don’t give race names to monsters, since there usually tends to be only one of each. And generally, their powers follow somewhat similar foundations while being highly unique to each one.

’The only monster that molds flesh that quickly, leaving behind scraps of meat and blood that I know of is... the Nightmare.’ Unfortunately, the Nightmare is also a monster that everyone with an important position in the government or the military knows is on the island.

’She was here... or still is... this just got way too dangerous...’ The threat has escalated. This is no longer an investigation and elimination of mere criminals.

"Nexus, send a warning to Astrid. I’ve found traces of a dangerous monster and I need personnel to investigate the area. Name: Nightmare. Registration Name: Mimic. Category: Demon. Overall Rating: Rating 9." I give Nexus the command to send out a warning about this as fast as possible.

"[I’ll do that immediately.]"

"Grrrhhhh!" The wolf snarls at me, understanding what I just did. That genuinely catches me off guard.

’He understood my command? How? Is he smart to that degree?’ Before I have time to analyze this, he lunges at me furiously. I dodge and kick him into a wall, hurling him straight through it.

’If the Nightmare was or is here... destroying the entire area is the best course...’

"Nexus, I’m going to destroy the whole factory complex. Guide Eirwen far away. Connect to the phone she has and tell her she needs to get out of here immediately." I’d rather avoid using an attack on such a large scale, since the bigger the attack, the higher the chance my power will hurt me badly.

But there’s an unmatched risk in leaving this place standing — not because there’s a possibility the Nightmare passed through here, but because she left this "guard dog." That means there’s something here she wants to protect for now.

On top of the slim chance she’s still here, either option is a massive public safety risk, and since I’m not strong enough to deal with that kind of risk, it’s better to just destroy everything at once to be safe.

"Grrrhhh!!! Aaauuuuuuu!!!" The wolf lets out a loud howl, and I feel the sound reverberating through my bones. It’s like a warning that travels for at least a few kilometers around us.

’Damn filthy mutt.’ He crashes through another wall, coming straight at me, but since I know his teeth can destroy my prosthetics, I don’t let him land a bite.

With my tail, I grab his throat and twist it with such brutality that his neck is spun 180°, but even then, he still tries to strike me with his paw.

His paw sprouts a mouth, but I manage to dodge by using his body as a lever to spin around. I kick the side of his head, completely decapitating him as blood bathes my body.

The blow isn’t pretty. Having damaged the neck first before tearing off the head created something far from a clean cut, leaving the flesh of the neck deformed and grotesque.

’This stinks... it’s strange...’ It doesn’t quite smell like blood. It’s a fetid stench, almost rotten.

’Maybe it’s different...’ The Nightmare is constantly seeking flesh to consume. Even monsters still have to respect vectors, which means that for the Nightmare to change shape and use her powers, she needs to expend actual flesh. So all the flesh she devours becomes a stockpile. I think this wolf does the same, but unlike the Nightmare, the flesh stored by the wolf must be rotting.

"You... are a damn copy of that bitch?" This infuriates me. It looks like an experiment to create something with the same powers, clearly an imperfect copy — flawed and incapable of regenerating, since the decapitated wolf gets up and all that happens is that the space where his neck used to be turns into a mouth instead of a new head.

"You’re way too arrogant, you stupid dog." I punch him just below the neck as he tries to bite me, lifting him into the air.

"Since you seem to understand me, don’t get so conceited just because you tore my arm off in an attack I had to defend to protect someone else. You’re so weak it’s ridiculous to even consider you beating me." My tail spins violently like a drill, piercing through his chest and heart.

I’m showered in blood and chunks of flesh — something common in the routine of a Kaira like me.

Then I push it to the side, opening up, beyond the hole, a hideously large gash that causes most of the wolf’s organs to fall out of his body. Surprisingly, he still manages to stay alive.

"..." The wolf, seeming to realize he won’t be able to harm me, starts trying to flee. He races toward a wall, spilling blood and entrails across the floor as he crashes through it, still managing to maintain incredible speed.

"[Zenith, Eirwen is now in a safe position. I managed to guide her out of the abandoned factory complex. She’s currently waiting on the street. She seems worried about you.]"

"Worried? Hahaha, that’s funny of you to say... but your timing is good." With that, I don’t even try to chase the wolf. I simply touch the air as if it were a veil and grip it tight.

’Easy... it’s like pulling a tablecloth... I just need to focus a little...’

I tighten my hands even more and then yank downward violently. The "sky" is pulled from top to bottom like an enormous solid wall crashing down over the entire region. Everything begins to be crushed by something that should have been intangible before.

The view of everything is heavily distorted by the movement of the sky as walls, ceiling, floor, metal structures — everything is violently compressed as if the sky were a massive hydraulic press, crushing both the wolf and the factory, and even the underground sectors, which are forced to collapse under the pressure.

In the end, all that remains is a piece of ceiling and wall above me, while everything around me has turned into a flattened, wavy plain of crushed metal, as if the fabric had hardened into ripples. With my spatial powers, I can confirm that the wolf died, reduced to a thin pulp of crushed flesh.

’Urgh...’ I feel a bit dizzy and notice a nosebleed. Because of the cold, I wasn’t in great condition already, so using an attack of that level was somewhat reckless.

"[Are you alright?]" Nexus asks, seeming to notice the bleeding even though I’m covered in blood.

"Yeah, yeah... how far out are they?"

"[A team was dispatched immediately. It’ll take five minutes since no one was on standby for this kind of emergency at the moment.]"

"...Tell Eirwen to wait on the street. She’ll need to give a statement, and I need to talk to her too..." I look at my destroyed arm. Fortunately, I just have to swap it for a new one, but it’s a little... sad.

’I’d had that prosthetic for several years now...’ It broke a few times, but usually, I just repaired it and replaced parts. Having it completely destroyed beyond repair means a full replacement.

’Yeah... I guess in the end, old things are always replaced...’