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2024-10-29 19:42:56There was ringing noise all over them alongside muffled cries and screams, gunshots can also be heard together with some indiscriminate shouting.
It felt like Chris’s head was turning at that moment, that even opening his eyes felt so painful. A smoke of dust was swirling in front of him the moment his blurry vision managed to focus once again.
Still collected and trying to remain calm he began feeling every part of his body for anything that hurt, all the while moving his eyes to see what was going on.
It seemed that the flash of light had caused a total panic for everyone, seeing several people running around past and by them. That was when he noticed that the dust around them was some kind of ash-like mist that seemed to cover the area where they were.
When Chris was sure that all was fine with his body he begins moving, slowly turning his head to check what had happened to his surroundings.
Cars were jumbled on the road, some people were wobbling in disarray trying to get out of their cars, others were still unconscious inside their vehicles. The loud shots were coming from somewhere that was too far to be seen.
The grey mist seemed to be blocking most of the sunlight but everything was still pretty much visible in close range.
Remembering his companion, Chris quickly turned to the man. Oliver was still knocked out of his seat.
“Pri-Private, Private!” Chris’s voice was hoarse and seemed almost inaudible. It felt like his throat was on fire due to its dryness making him stop from the pain.
The soldier groaned but was still passed out, he tried to tap him, not wanting to move the man’s body in case he had some unseen injury.
“Oliver, are you all right? Are you injured or anything?” Chris tries to wake him once more to no avail.
Though groggy and a bit dazed, he gets out of the vehicle, to survey the surrounding place in case there was anyone needing help.
“Anyone there?” He knocks on the glass window of the first car that he came across.
There were several others around them but all of them had their doors opened and abandoned. It was like the people in it got out in a hurry.
Things ranging from bags, phones, wallets, and shoes were scattered on the floor of some of them. Along with a few strange scratches on certain vehicles.
It was at that moment that he heard another shot echoed from afar, making him duck in panic. After that, he heard a loud and deep scream, together with a few more shots.
Not thinking twice about the danger, Chris carefully runs to where he presumed the sound came from. Wanting to check if anyone needed help or scarier, hurt. Slowly crouching from one car to another, wary as to what could be the cause of all the commotion. Chris continued to proceed though he was already shaking.
“Help, help me!” a scream reverberated from just a few feet away.
The sound of panic, helplessness, and desperation made Chris move faster as fear engulfed him in what could have possibly cause that. He only ended up stopping, when once again he heard those weird noises, though this time they were much more clear and audible.
"Hungry, must find food, I don’t want to die, queen, and where is the queen." Those were some of the words that kept ringing over and over again inside his head.
His brows furrowed as the voices kept repeating like some kind of orchestra. Sometimes, even being in harmony like they were singing.
It took him at least a few more minutes before he was able to get closer to where he thought the sounds came from. There was a gun on the ground but there was nobody around, he looks around, checking up on several of the cars that were there, but like the others, they were all empty.
It was only when he noticed the drops of blood on the pavement that Chris was once again alert of the dangers that were still lurking around him. The ashy mist seemed to have covered it from his view a while ago and was only visible when he managed to see it up close.
Grabbing a hold of the only weapon that he had which was an army knife that his father gifted him, the one thing that had always given him strength, during his whole training. It was also the only thing that seemed reasonable to use, as he didn’t have any combat-type ability, though he was considered to be a power user.
It was one of those rules that the army kept to keep them in check, as such power users like him were not issued any kind of weapon.
Treading carefully, Chris followed the path of the still wet trail of blood on the ground. Remaining wary of his surroundings, all the while trying to block off the noise that kept echoing inside of his head.
“Any...Anybody there?” he calls out after no longer finding any more trails.
He could not help but tremble in fear, feeling cold sweat running down his spine. He wanted to at least confirm if anyone was still alive somewhere within the mist.
“He...Help, please!” A raspy voice grumbled from just a few meters away.
Chris estimated that it came from somewhere quite close, approximately from just around the corner where a huge truck along with a bunch of cars seemed to have been huddled together. As if they were placed and stacked together.
Crouching, he approached the said pile as slowly and quietly as he can, keeping his weapon pointing upfront.
Chris was about to call out again for the man but then all of a sudden he ended up freezing in place when a huge shadow suddenly loomed over one of the vehicles.
The thing was on all four and seemed to look like a huge dog, but with some weird spikes on its back which seemed fairly odd for such a beast, but what truly stunned him was the two huge red orbs that glowed within the fog that seemed to be located within its eyes along with the sound of mushy gnawing and dripping sound.
Eyes wide with terror, Chris ended up sweating, even more, teary-eyed from being unable to move a single step, knowing what those sounds meant especially after no longer hearing the screams and groan of the person who he was trying to find.
“Feed us oh queen, feed us!” A cold, deep, and stone-like sound resonated from the shadow.
All of a sudden Chris felt something like his insides were being pulled, along with his loss of breath, and with an immediate surge of weakness. And then there was once again, another flash of light, but this time he could feel the heat surge from it, along with what seemed to be an almost deafening sound before he felt his whole body levitate in mid-air like he did not weigh anything at all before once again being engulfed by total darkness, being pulled once more into a deep slumber.
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The Matriarch Chapter 6 Memories
He could still hear the ringing sound in his head, reverberating alongside blurry images of what seemed to be a large dog-like shadow above him. The only thing that seemed to be clear at that moment was the images of blood, lots of it, pooling, dripping, red liquid all around him. There was even a vivid part in his memory wherein he was looking at his arms, covered in it as he laid down the cold, hard pavement. A voice echoed behind his thoughts slowly waking him from the sudden depths of his dream-like memory. “Special private Cruz, sir, are you listening!” the man said once more, snapping his fingers in front of his eyes. Raising his head to see the white walls, tiled floors, and metal railings around him, along with the pungent smell of medicine and alcohol. That was the only time that he got back to reality, seeing the three uniformed men who were beside him. They were wearing a black sui
The Matriarch Chapter 7 Investigation
Sweat in his forehead, hands, even in his underarms just kept on trickling, even if he’s just staying still on his chair all the while surrounded by several white-haired men. He could not help but make quick glances at the stars decorated on the uniforms of the old men who were still discussing something with one another.Chris would hear murmurs and a bit of bantering along with one or two arguments here and there, it was like he was nonexistent at the moment though he was already surrounded by them.Everyone quickly straightened out when the doors that were behind the generals' table opened, in came another white-haired man, though his face was crinkled showing his age his posture was still quite firm and straight, walking with pure authority as he went to the chair that was situated in the middle of the room.All of the people there were instantly at their best, even the guards quickly stiffened just by the sigh
The Matriarch Chapter 8 Experiment
“Sir, exactly why are we here again?” Chris was unable to stop his voice from trembling as they were descending into the lowest floor of the underground base.“You’ll find out soldier,” the man wearing the white lab coat just said before remaining silent again.The sound of the whirring mechanism of the elevator and the man’s sudden quietness just made it even more terrifying for him, remembering what it meant to be on those lower floors.He literally jerked from the shock when the door finally opened, they were greeted by the sounds of hissing, ambers jumping from the metals being welded, the smell of alcohol, and the metallic smell.Soldiers were passing by one after another in haste, some were carrying weapons, others were pushing huge cages, along with them were scientists in white coats running around with their clipboards or tablets, discussing some things with one another i
The Matriarch Chapter 9 Cleared
Chris was still trembling as he stared blankly in front of him, the beam of light continued to move from one of his eyes to the other as hands kept pressing his lids to keep them open. Though he remained perfectly still and unresponsive due to the shock, he was still able to hear the argument and debate that was happening within the room as their voices boomed inside the tightly sealed tiled room.“Why did they react that way, they were of the same species,” Dr. Steinz grumbled as he continued to flipping from one page of the paper on his clipboard to another.“Maybe it's his affinity to the beast.” Dr. Gomez rubbed his chin as he continued to view his tablet, the sounds of beast screaming could be heard from it as the man kept replaying the video of the whole procedure that was done.“You think it has something to do with his wavelength?” Dr. Steinz then looked upon something on his d
The Matriarch Chapter 10 Group test
Several men had wide grins on their faces as they looked at Chris, making him very uncomfortable. Though he was remaining quiet at one side.“Sir Chris, Sir Chris!” A familiar jolly sound echoed through his ears making him lookup.He could not help but smile seeing the young man who was running towards him right now, though all of a sudden he felt worried realizing what was happening.“Private Oliver, what are you doing here?” He greeted.He somehow felt relieved finally having someone that he knows in that place, it made the uncomfortable stares much bearable and less noticeable. The young man seem
The Matriarch Chapter 11 Back up
“Your commanding officer seems to be quite the reliable man.” Chris could not remove his eyes from the man who was in charge of them.With every order that he makes and every word he says, every soldier in their platoon seems to respect and follow without any hesitations.They were currently jogging along the wide, concrete pathway that seemed to stretch out further, having only dim tunnel lights that were so far apart from each other, making it hard to see what was in front of them.“Who, the sergeant, sir?” Oliver asks with a smile, as he did not understand much of the question, being busy with breathing to keep up with the group.“
The Matriarch Chapter 12 The others
Several of the other soldiers move a few meters apart from them as Chris took on the lead this time, along with the sergeant and Oliver who was still starry-eyed while staring at the huge beast.“Sir, can I touch it?” He asks but his hand was already raised at it.Like an adorable obedient dog, the wolf-like beast just wagged its tail as they moved along the tunnel. It seem to be smiling as it sort of pranced while its tongue dangled out of its mouth.“Uhm, I...I guess,” Chris ended up saying.The young man didn’t even hesitate upon hearing that, he seemed like a little kid as soon as he grabb
The Matriarch Chapter 13 New world
“You think we will see those things that killed those people?” Oliver ask while they were treading another long pathway.Chris ended up feeling a chill run down his spine, remembering those bodies that they found a while ago. “I hope not, I still want to get back home in one piece,” he tries to laugh it off, not wanting to cause concern to the others that were following them.“Same here,” Oliver chuckled as he nodded. “By the way, sir Chris, I wasn’t able to ask you this but what exactly made you join the front lines? I mean, since your ability is still a bit unstable and unknown, wouldn’t it have been better to stay within the camp doing office work?” he states, remembering the jurisdictions of the army.
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Prologue An impending doom
Within the darkness, on a floating platform made of trees, vines, and krad carcasses, was Chris, sitting on a throne of spikes and bent trunk, along with the wriggling doctor. The roots of the fauna continued to grab hold of the now silent machinery, as it too remained helpless in the void.“We can breathe! Fascinating.”Steinz chuckled, as they were both able to remain alive, even within the emptiness of the space. A thing which was impossible. The chill prevailed, together with the silence, but it did not bother both of them, being protected by the makeshift vessel.“Let’s see you enjoy it when you get bored with the place.”Chris grumbles, sighing as he narrowed his gaze onto the infernal device. The object may have stopped, but he was certain its power remained.“I am positive we can find a way to kill boredom in someway.”The old geezer let out another cackle, enjoying his weightlessness, swimming within the nothingness like a serpentine fish. He used his webs as an anchor, makin
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Chapter 231 The matriarchs power
The skies began opening up, tornadoes appeared increasingly. It started wreaking havoc, along with the continued earthquakes.Chris witnessed it all, watching how the land was breaking because of the machine. He took in a deep breath, feeling the drudge in his chest, contemplating on his plan if it will work.He’d been starting there for an hour now, and all this time, he was having doubts because of the fear which was nudging inside of him.He was so far in his thoughts that he hardly notice the portal opening nearby. Out came Raynald, a healed up Oliver, and the others.All of them stunned to see him just standing there, unmoved by all the chaos, looking into the nothingness with lifeless eyes.“Matriarch, everything all right?”It was the sergeant who asked, being the only one bold enough to approach and check up on him.That wake him from his dreamlike state, sensing those familiar energies. He smiles, having those warm presence surrounding him.Them being there somehow jolted his
- The Matriarch
Chapter 230 The first
Chris stared above, watching that beautiful large planet in the sky. He smiles, unable to believe that they are going to collide with such a gorgeous thing.He turns his gaze to the pyramid, humming non-stop. Spike roots rot around it, barely touching the area. The golems which tried to go near the site all crumbled.Once again, he fires a shot. The beam deflects, ricocheting on the nearby tree.He clicks his tongue in frustration. The machine had created its own barrier. He could only find out after getting pushed back when he approached it.“Fascinating, isn’t it? My life’s work.”The gurgling voice states.Chris’s eyes rolled, huffing in irritation before turning to the now crawling geezer.The old man’s head popped out of the body of a large beetle larvae, web like mucus continued to flow out of him, three hands twitching with excitement.Even in his new form, the fellow remained pompous of his job, as it showed in how he gaze at the mechanism.“Yes, I would have commended you for
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Chapter 229 Merciful or Ruthless
After an hour of fighting, general Gently’s men started retreating, disappearing within the covers of the mist. The man himself withdrew into the veil of that thick, grayish cloud.The doctor’s lackeys cheered in triumph, having push back their enemy who tried to destroy their weapon. All of them letting out laughs, because even the monsters that were charging in had vanished.Chris watch as the group celebrated their victory and after a thorough observation, he confirmed his theory about them.Once they became complacent enough, he makes his move, stepping out of the guise of the fog calmly.“I knew you were still alive. Doctor Howard Steinz.”He states, narrowing his sights at the man who stood in the middle of them all.The geezer’s smile faded, frowning upon seeing him walk unfazed in front of all those men.The crowd was quick to gather, blocking themselves in defense of the elderly fellow.Those who had a barrier ability created a gigantic dome, protecting both the machine and t
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Chapter 228 Decisive Battle
Above them, the cloud ridden sky sparked and roared, as the unrivaled beings clashed with each other.Behind them, booms of cannons and rattling of machine guns continued, and in front, debris would fall off from the top, while flashes of different colored lights would appear, together with the sounds of explosions.Chris remained still, staring at the two individuals flying in the air while cooking up a plan inside his head.“Matriarch, you think it was wise to use him?”It was Finny, fidgeting from the pressure in the atmosphere.Both superpowers kept releasing an immense trace of energy, reaching down below.It continued to make them sense the overpowering presence, causing the unbearable sensation of staying there, since they still got that fear of the danger being close by.“Zero can handle himself.”He mutters the name they gave him, confident that the being is strong enough to take on his opponent.The only trouble they had was the stray beam falling down, blowing up a portion
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Chapter 227 Special weapon
Chris narrowed his eyes, feeling every bit of his body trembled in anticipation. His adrenaline was trashing about, his hearts continued to pump uncontrollably fast.The amount of aura the man was releasing was as he had expected, inciting a higher excitement in him.A grin formed inside his mask, unable to hide the sheer joy he was experiencing from relief.“Get him out of here.”He orders, not removing his eyes on the guy.From having witnessed the battle with Oliver unfold a moment ago, he was now used to his speed, so he realized how much effort he needed to exert to stop him.Though he stood straight, his fingers were twitching, alert to take out his weapon if the fellow tried to move from his place.A portal opened beside the wounded youngster, letting out Harold, Raynald, Finny, and Marco. All four were wearing masks, hiding their identity from the guy.The double S class stayed in a steady battle pose, weary of beginning an attack after that. Especially because his wound conti
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Chapter 226 To be the strongest
The force that Oliver released blasted away all five mercenaries.The others caught the effects of his sudden surge, because of the wind blowing from him from the pressure.The double S class, Carl, who grinned lasciviously while looking down on the events as it unfolded, also mesmerized by the dazzling display.Oliver’s armor completely changed. It now glistened with a blinding white light, the design on each piece that he wore became more intricate.“What did he do?”Nikolai, the serpentine user, was gritting his teeth, trying to keep himself steady.The pressure being thrown at them made it difficult to move. It’s weight pushing them down to the ground.When everything settled, they all sensed an impending gap in their levels, just by looking at the youth.Oliver can feel the power surging through every vein in his body, increasing all his senses.It was as if it turned him invincible at the moment, having an overflowing amount of energy, along with becoming so light on his feet.W
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Chapter 225 A decisive gamble
Oliver’s heart raced, each time someone turns his way, his blood rushing as he continued moving in the mist's guise. His every motion stayed silent, quick, and fluid.He pauses when he reaches the summit, as the clearing no longer provided any kind of protection. It was where the opening yet did not have any area to hide.He takes a few huffs of breath, shutting his eyes to muster his courage, readying himself for what he is about to do.Once done, he did not hesitate to take a step forward, having put all his mind into it. In seconds, he dashes about five meters into the clearing, but his momentum was not enough to reach the gap.“It’s the sniffer!”One soldier got a glimpse of him, gaining the attention of the others. All those that were in reserve promptly rush to the site.But he had already broken through the force field, slamming his shield right into it without a problem.He uses the sudden pause as a leverage to shift his movement, turning to his side to head towards the pyram
- The Matriarch
Chapter 224 A single man's risk
Flames, flashes of light, and debris mixed into the mist. There was barely nothing to see there because of it.Screams of terror, despair, and anger filled the air, along with the explosions and shots now and then.Deep within the middle of it all, Oliver was pulling his father to the safety of a nearby mound that he saw. Away from all the beams, bullets, and other stuff that were flying around.“Come on, dad.”He urges, as his old man could no longer move, groaning with each motion because of the wound on his legs.They froze in place, hearing a loud clicking sound behind. Instinctively, he let out a shield, blocking a claw in the nick of time.He winced, receiving the brunt and weight of the force, his bones cracking, forcing him to bend his knee to weaken its pressure.Huge mandibles began munching on his defense, attacking to break through it, while its scythe claws pulled at him. All he could do was tug at it, drawing its attention to hide his father from those large, dark, insec
