Chapter 60: Chapter 11.3: Hero The steel door slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the narrow corridor, a final, definitive barrier between him and the people he was determined to protect. Jin didn’t look back. He didn’t need to. He could feel the pack’s collective focus lock onto him, a clear weight in the air that prickled his skin and raised the hairs on his neck. He was the bait, and the hunt had begun.
His feet pounded against the grated metal floor, a steady rhythm that matched the frantic beating of his own heart. The corridor was a canyon of darkness, broken only by the flickering red emergency lights that painted everything in strokes of blood and shadow. The air was cold, recycled, and carried the faint, acrid scent of ozone and something else... something ancient and predatory. The scuttling sounds behind him were a symphony of nightmares, chittering tide that seemed to grow with every passing second.
’They have to follow me. Sera, Clara, and Rosa need time.’ The thought was a mantra, a shield against the rising tide of fear. He wasn’t just running; he was leading them on a chase, drawing their attention away from the command center, away from the cryo-pods, away from everything that he cared about. Every step he took away from them was a step they could take towards their objective.
The first three Crawlers were on him in seconds, their movements a blur of claws and gnashing teeth. They were gaunt things, their skin stretched taut over elongated limbs, their movements a horrifying fusion of human and insectile hunger. But where another might have panicked, a strange calm settled over Jin. This was his element. The chaos, the danger, the dance of life and death.
’Predator Instinct flared, a ghostly overlay of their attack paths appearing in his mind’s eye a split second before they moved. His PER of 17.00, enhanced by the skill, gave him a crucial edge, turning the world into a tapestry of lethal intent he could read as easily as a book.’
’"Biometric analysis indicates a state of heightened focus rather than panic,"’ Asha noted clinically in his mind. ’"Your heart rate is elevated but stable. Your cortisol levels are optimal for combat performance. Try not to ruin it by doing something foolish."’
The first lunged, its claws extended for his throat, a move of brutal simplicity. Jin dropped low, the principles of ’Kensei Kōryū’ echoing in his muscles even without the blade. He slid under the attack, the reinforced fabric of his uniform scraping against the grated floor, while his hand drew the Kageyoshi. The steel sang as it left the scabbard, a clear, pure note that cut through the screeching of the approaching horde. He didn’t rise into a block; he flowed into the ’Utsusemi no Kata’—the Cicada Form. It was a technique of evasion, of allowing an attack to pass through the space where one had been. The Crawler’s claws sliced through empty air, and in that same instant, Jin rose from his crouch, the sword a silver arc in the gloom. The 15% accuracy bonus from his ’Melee Weapon Mastery’ guided the strike perfectly, and the 15% bonus to weak point identification from his ’Mutated Fauna Combat Basics’ skill showed him the exact spot where the creature’s neck vertebrae were most vulnerable. The Kageyoshi sheared through them with a wet, final sound.
Before the body could fall, Jin was already moving. He used the falling corpse as a shield, pivoting around it as the second Crawler lunged. He met its charge not with strength, but with the redirection of the ’Kawa no Kata’—the River Form. He deflected its momentum, guiding its claws into the third Crawler, which was rushing in from the side. The two creatures tangled in a heap of thrashing limbs, and Jin dispatched them both with two swift, precise thrusts, the Kageyoshi finding their hearts with unerring accuracy.
He didn’t wait to see them fall. He was already moving, a shadow darting down the maintenance shafts. His route wasn’t random; it was a calculated path toward a specific junction he’d noted on the map—a place where multiple tunnels converged. A choke point. A place to make a stand. The shaft was a claustrophobic tube of corrugated metal, the sound of his breathing and the scuttling of his pursuers magnified in the enclosed space. The horde behind him was a living thing, a single organism of many parts, and its hunger was a physical force pushing him forward.
The shaft opened into a wider junction, a circular hub where six maintenance tunnels met, their dark mouths like portals to a deeper hell. The air was colder here, and the only light came from flickering emergency panels that cast long, dancing shadows.
’He knew they were here before he saw them. The silence was too heavy l. It was the silence of a predator that has cornered its prey and is savoring the final moments.’
’[DANGER: Ambush Point Detected]’
’[Multiple Threat Vectors: 6 Passages]’
’[Recommended Action: Do Not Stop]’
But it was too late. They’d been waiting.
From each tunnel, eerie shapes emerged, their pale forms coalescing out of the darkness. It wasn’t a disorganized mob; it was a hunting pack, their movements eerily synchronized. They had herded him. Cornered him.
’"Jin, this is a killing field,"’ Asha warned, her voice losing its usual clinical edge. ’"They’ve anticipated your route. This is a beta pack, meant to test you, weakening you for the Alpha."’
Jin’s eyes weren’t on the Crawlers. He’s scanning the room. At the rusted support struts, the conduits running along the ceiling, the large, cylindrical junction box where the main power lines converged. It was old, corroded, and looked one good hit away from catastrophic failure.
’[STR Check Available: Structural Weak Point Detected]’
’[Required: STR 20+ to compromise support beam]’
’[Your STR: 20.00 - Success Possible]’
The first Crawler came straight at him. Jin didn’t meet it head-on. He flowed into the ’Kagerō no Kata’—the Shadow Form. His movements became a blur of feints and misdirection, a confusing move that left the creature swinging at empty air. He used its own momentum against it, sidestepping and placing a foot in its path, sending it tumbling into two of its packmates. The brief disruption was all he needed.
"RAAAAAAHHHHH!" He didn’t roar in defiance, but in focus, a kiai that centered his spirit and power. He planted his feet, muscles coiling like springs. He executed a single, perfect vertical cut from the ’Tengū no Kata’—the Heavenly Wing Form. The Kageyoshi struck the rusted support beam with pinpoint accuracy.
The metal screamed, bent, and then—
BAM!
The whole junction gave way. Tons of metal and piping crashed down, taking out three Crawlers instantly and blocking three of the six tunnels. Jin dove through the only remaining exit, the shockwave of the collapse throwing him forward.
’[Environmental Kill Bonus: +50 EXP]’
’Skill Progress: Athletics - Basic Strength Feats → 35%’
He hit the ground and rolled, coming up in a crouch, his body aching from the impact. He was in a long, winding maintenance corridor now, a gauntlet of flickering lights and oppressive shadows. The collapse had bought him a moment, but the sounds from behind him redoubled, a furious screeching of metal and claws as the remaining Crawlers began to dig through the debris.
He didn’t have much time. He had to keep moving, had to thin their numbers, and had to make every second count for the girls.
The next few minutes were a blur of desperate motion. The corridor was a nightmare of intersecting paths. Crawlers poured from side vents following him, dropped from ceiling panels with a metallic screech, and scrambled up from floor grates like spiders.
A Crawler dropped from the ceiling directly in his path. There was no time to think, only to react.
’Emergency Evasion.’
Jin’s body dissolved. He became a ghost, a fleeting afterimage that shot past the creature. The Crawler’s claws sliced through empty air, and Jin reappeared five meters away, gasping for breath, the three-second invincibility already fading. The skill had saved his life, but now the cooldown timer was counting down in his HUD. A long, dangerous minute until he could use it again.
He pressed on, his lungs burning. Two more Crawlers scrambled from a side tunnel, moving low to the ground. He fell into the ’Sazanami no Kata’—the Ripple Form. The Kageyoshi became a wave of steel, a series of flowing horizontal cuts that created a deadly barrier. The -20% stamina consumption from his ’Kensei Kōryū’ skill was the only thing keeping him from collapsing, but even so, he could feel the burn.
𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 [-10 Stamina]
[Stamina: 440/450]
He parried a lunging Crawler, the shriek of metal on metal grating on his nerves, and riposted with a thrust that pierced its eye. Another one grabbed his arm from behind, its claws sinking into his reinforced sleeve. He didn’t struggle; he used its grip, pivoting and slamming it bodily into the wall with a sickening crunch.
[-15 HP from claw impact before armor absorbed the rest]
[HP: 435/450]