Elara moved through the narrow alleys of Asenus with practiced ease, her steps light and her senses on high alert.
The city was alive with its usual chaos, rchants shouting over one another, street vendors pushing their latest tech, and civilians going about their daily lives, blissfully unaware of the growing threat lurking beneath their feet.
She had spent years gathering intelligence, maneuvering through dangerous circles, and tonight was no different.
Lawrence’s warning still echoed in her mind. Zergs in the city center. High-level ones. That alone was enough to send a chill down her spine.
But there was sothing else, an eerie sensation creeping along the back of her neck.
She was being followed.
Her instincts scread at her, but she didn’t react imdiately. Instead, she slowed her pace, pretending to browse a nearby holoscreen advertisent.
The display flickered, broadcasting news updates and promotional feeds, but her attention was elsewhere.
Through the reflection on the glassy surface, she caught sight of the figures trailing behind her. Dressed in dark cloaks, blending into the crowd, yet moving with an undeniable purpose.
Assassins.
She almost scoffed. The Crown Prince had wasted no ti.
Elara exhaled through her nose, acting as if she hadn’t noticed.
The assassins kept a asured distance, clearly experienced enough not to make any reckless moves in broad daylight.
She had no doubt they’d strike the mont she entered a more secluded area. But that was exactly what she wanted.
Instead of heading toward the safe zones, she took a sudden turn into a less populated part of the city, the old district, where buildings were abandoned, and security was nearly nonexistent.
She weaved through ruined structures and flickering neon signs until she reached an alley so narrow that only one person could pass at a ti.
Then, she stopped.
The air was thick with silence.
And then...
The first attacker lunged.
Elara twisted to the side, dodging the blade aid at her neck. The second assassin ca from behind, but she was faster.
She ducked, swept her leg, and sent him crashing into a pile of debris. Three more erged from the shadows. She exhaled sharply. Tch. This is going to take ti.
One of them charged. Elara reacted instinctively, grabbing a loose steel pipe from the ground and using it to parry his strike.
Sparks flew as tal clashed against tal. She pivoted, using her montum to strike another assassin across the jaw.
But just as she was about to counter the next attack, sothing felt wrong. A deep, guttural growl echoed through the alleyway.
The assassins, despite their skill, hesitated. Their gazes flickered to the source of the sound, just beyond the alley, standing in the dim glow of a streetlamp.
A man.
Or at least, sothing pretending to be one.
Elara’s breath hitched.
He was tall, unnaturally thin, his limbs long and slightly twisted as if his bones had grown incorrectly.
His face was expressionless, skin pale, with veins too dark and prominent. But what unsettled her the most were his eyes, completely black, hollow, like an endless abyss.
And then he moved.
Fast.
One of the assassins barely had ti to react before the creature grabbed him by the throat. There was no struggle, no sound, just a sickening crunch as his neck snapped effortlessly.
The remaining assassins turned to run, but the creature was already upon them. It moved like a puppet with its strings cut, jerky yet horrifyingly precise.
Elara barely managed to leap back as it slashed through one of the n with elongated fingers that had morphed into sharp, claw-like appendages.
The assassin fell, lifeless.
This wasn’t normal. Even for a zerg.
Zergs were aggressive, yes, but they were still biological creatures with so level of predictability. But this… this was different.
It wasn’t attacking like a zerg.
It was hunting.
And worse, it was pretending to be human.
Elara gritted her teeth. She couldn’t waste ti. This thing had to die.
The remaining assassin, realizing he was dood, threw a smoke grenade and bolted in the opposite direction.
Elara took advantage of the distraction.
She activated the chain wrapped around her wrist, a high-power energy weapon capable of slicing through tal.
With a sharp flick of her wrist, the chain shot forward, wrapping around the creature’s neck.
The zerg stilled. Then, to her horror, it smiled. A grotesque, unnatural grin that stretched too wide across its face. Then it spoke. "Found you."
Elara’s heart nearly stopped.
The creature yanked the chain, pulling her forward with inhuman strength. She barely managed to adjust her footing before it swung its claws at her.
She twisted her body, dodging by re inches, but the sheer force of its movent sent her crashing into a nearby wall.
Her vision blurred. Blood trickled from her temple. The zerg lood over her, its head tilting as if studying her.
"You sll different," it murmured, voice distorted, as if multiple tones overlapped.
Elara clenched her jaw. She had to move. Before it could attack again, she reached for the small energy pistol strapped to her thigh.
The zerg lunged.
A single shot rang out. The plasma bolt struck the creature square in the chest. For a second, it stopped. Then, it laughed.
Elara’s stomach dropped. The wound sizzled but did not burn through its flesh.
"Won’t work," the creature taunted.
Elara cursed under her breath. Of course it wouldn’t. Level five zergs had built-in resistance to basic plasma weapons.
She needed sothing stronger, sothing with a concentrated energy core.
The zerg moved again, this ti too fast for her to dodge completely. Its claws raked across her shoulder, searing pain tearing through her nerves.
She bit back a scream, but she didn’t stop moving. Using her remaining strength, she twisted her body and wrapped the energy chain tighter around its neck.
And then, she activated overload mode. A surge of high-voltage electricity coursed through the chain, sending a powerful jolt into the creature.
It shrieked, convulsing violently. Elara didn’t let up. She pulled tighter, her muscles straining, until the zerg’s neck snapped.
The body fell limp. For a long mont, she just breathed. Then, as if to mock her victory...
The corpse twitched. And then, it started to get back up. Elara’s blood ran cold.
This thing wasn’t dying.
And she had no idea why.
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