Chapter 17

How did you know?

Hearing?

Smell?

Or…

A huge arm that barely passed over my head roughly pounded the wall.

The vibration that could have turned me into minced meat if I had been a little late traveled up my body from the floor.

If I don’t run away quickly, I’ll die.

I summoned all my strength and pushed my body away with repulsion.

My body slid across the floor as if I had slipped on ice.

The rapidly widening distance.

But I couldn’t conclude that its speed was slow.

Because I didn’t have information on whether it could run or not.

So… now it was time for me to learn that information firsthand.

If I don’t learn, I’ll have to join the skeletons lying around here as family.

I don’t know if there’s an afterlife, but I didn’t want soldiers coming to pick me up.

“Damn… I can’t escape by running.”

It’s dark, so I can’t see well, but even though I’m moving faster than a normal person running, it’s barely keeping up. If I slow down even a little, my head will split open.

But once I get out of the bunker, I’ll manage somehow.

The second basement is wide, and it doesn’t seem like it can come up through the elevator shaft.

So… I’ll go as fast as I can.

I pushed my body as hard as I did when I escaped from the research institute.

A little more.

Just a little more.

Just a little…

My shoulders are stiff.

Have I reached my body’s limit?

I pressed the button while holding the flashlight.

Suddenly secured light source. Its eyes are degenerated, so as long as I don’t shine it directly, only I can secure the view.

The moment I confirmed my body had left the bunker, I forced myself up and started running.

The sound of my footsteps and heavy footsteps echoing through the parking lot.

I instinctively knelt down.

The chilling sound of something cutting through the air.

The moment the sound passed over my head, I used repulsion on my feet to jump as high as possible.

A high jump that only basketball players could do.

As soon as my hand touched the ceiling, I emitted gravity and clung to the ceiling like a spider, holding my breath.

“Don’t go…”

A chilling voice came from right below. I frowned at the stench but held my breath quietly.

How long did I hold out?

After what felt like an eternity, I was able to come down.

It’s really hard to hold on because of the military gear.

Pushing is manageable, but using gravity to cling is still very clumsy.

Repulsion is just about pushing hard, but gravity needs to be used delicately, or my skin might tear.

I moved carefully to the elevator without making a sound.

The stench piercing my nose was really unbearable.

It’s so bad that I can’t even smell properly anymore.

Once I get out of here, I’ll breathe fresh air right away. At least the air is clean in this world where environmental pollution is less.

Of course, even before possession, going to forests or mountains was great…

I sneaked into the hole where the elevator should be and looked up.

About 50 meters high.

Thinking about climbing with the military gear made me dizzy.

I’m already exhausted from running, so I can’t tell if I can climb in one go.

…But I have to do it.

I covered my nose with my sleeve, took a deep breath, and stuck my right foot to the wall. Then I stuck my left foot to the wall and started vertical walking.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Not fast, but a decent speed.

At this rate, I can escape.

Just as I was feeling relieved…

“Let’s become one…”

A bizarre voice came from right below. A bizarre voice echoing up the narrow space.

Goosebumps rose on my stiff back.

No way…

I turned on the flashlight and looked down.

“…Damn.”

Persistent bastard.

I started running up the elevator wall after confirming the monster climbing.

My body aches like hell, but if I don’t do this, I’ll definitely die.

“Damn, damn, damn, damn…!”

I’m not a horror game protagonist, why do I have to go through this chase!

I snuck into a place with monsters, so it’s natural, but this is too bad!

Chewing back the screams I couldn’t let out, I ran towards the faint light above.

My shoulders, back, and waist hurt like hell from the military gear, but that’s secondary.

Sweat pours down like rain.

But as if my efforts to survive weren’t in vain, the first-floor elevator entrance came into view. Once I get up…

Once I get up?

If that thing keeps chasing me, going up won’t mean anything!

I need to shake it off somehow!

I ran towards the first-floor elevator entrance while racking my brain.

That monster.

I need a way to kill it or trap it below.

But how?

I can’t guarantee that the items in the military gear can deal significant damage to it.

That thing is as big as a bear, so a fist-sized item won’t hurt it.

So… something that can hurt it.

For example… an elevator.

If I drop that, it won’t be able to withstand it.

Since there’s no elevator on the lowest floor, the second basement, maybe the elevator is stopped on the upper floors.

After making the decision, I threw off the military gear as soon as I reached the first floor and started climbing the elevator shaft again.

This side hasn’t collapsed, so moving with a light body isn’t too hard, thankfully.

Second floor.

Third floor.

Fourth floor.

Found it.

As soon as I spotted the awkwardly placed elevator, I squeezed through the gap into the tilted elevator.

The dark elevator with an open door.

Inside the cramped space was a corpse leaning against the wall.

Sorry, but I can’t pray for your soul with that noisy bastard below.

I immediately opened the elevator hatch and climbed up. The most noticeable thing was the cable supporting the elevator.

If I cut this, will it fall? Some are too rusty and broken, with only two barely holding on.

But do I have a way to cut it?

I jumped up and down as a test, but it only shook, showing no signs of falling.

This much won’t do.

“Sound… sound… me…”

Damn.

It’s already clinging.

I struggled to balance on the shaking elevator. It seemed to be holding onto the elevator floor.

This makes the plan I came up with useless.

…No.

It clinging means the elevator is under load.

I immediately grabbed the wire with my hand and started kicking the ceiling hard.

To let it know my location.

Fortunately, it reacted to my provocation.

“Lonely… let’s… become one!”

The elevator shook violently. It’s natural, struggling to climb up with a body that would exceed the elevator’s weight limit alone.

I held onto the wire tightly and endured on the shaking elevator.

I didn’t forget to keep kicking the ceiling.

How long did I kick the elevator? I suddenly felt my body tilting.

Is it now?

I immediately kicked off the elevator ceiling and clung to the wall.

And as soon as I clung to the wall, a sharp noise came.

“Done… damn it.”

I cursed as I watched the elevator slowly descending, contrary to my expectations. Is it stopping the descent with its body now?

If this keeps up, I might get caught by it when it descends.

…I have no choice but to gamble once more.

I took a deep breath and jumped towards the elevator, now half a floor down. A reckless fall.

I applied repulsion to my upper body and gravity to my feet.

And I started falling, accelerating in mid-air.

Faster, even faster!

My body collided with the elevator ceiling in an instant. The impact from above must have startled it, as it screamed.

And the sound started to fade.

“…Phew, damn.”

I sighed in relief, clinging to the wall using gravity.

It won’t be unharmed after falling with such a loud noise.

“…I’ll really rest when I get back.”

I can’t do this again.

I started descending towards where I had thrown the military gear.