Grey: Monsters

Her eyes lowered as she looked at the hole drilled into her chest. Blood had soaked her clothes. She glanced at the Nephilim just before the light left her eyes, and with a thud, she dropped dead on the floor.

"This one will make a good specimen. I hope I didn't destroy her uterus," the Nephilim spoke, glancing at us before pointing its finger at Saiya.

At that moment, I knew: if I didn't transform, we'd all die here.

I kicked forward, transforming in mid-motion and appearing in front of Saiya. My hand exploded into pieces, hit by the invisible bullet it had shot from its finger.

Aaargggh!

I lunged at it, grabbing its hand and snapping its finger. I turned back glancing at Saiya. She was still in shock, frozen on the ground.

I reverted my face.

"Run back to the site!"

She didn't move, still paralyzed.

"I said, get out of here, damn it!"

"Y-Y-Yes!"

She scrambled to her feet and ran off.

I grabbed the Nephilim by the neck. Even though it was bigger, I managed to slam it into a building, still holding its broken finger.

"Now I've got your finger, big guy–"

Multiple holes opened across its body, and the tubes on its head and back made a vacuum sound as they sucked in air.

'Ryuma, protect your head.'

"What–?"

Multiple invisible bullets ripped through my body, shredding it to pieces. I was barely fast enough to cover my head with both arms, but even they blew apart.

'Those are vacuum bullets. He makes them by compressing the air and releasing it out of his body. Ryuma, we need to run.'

Even though we haven't been together for a long time, this is the first time B has ever suggested retreating. How strong is this guy if even B is scared of him?

"I have a question to ask you," it spoke.

"..."

"Your silence means submission. I'll proceed with my question: Human or Xcri, which are you?"

Xcri? What the hell is he talking about?

'B, any idea what he's saying?'

'...'

'B! Say something!'

"Why do you stay silent? I don't know how to address you, and I am overwhelmed with curiosity. If you are human, why do you take our appearance? If you are Xcri-ki, who is your master? Why do you fight against me to protect a human? I'm curious to know. Speak..."

My injuries had healed up, and I stood on my feet.

"I'll answer your question if you agree to leave afterward."

"It's unfortunate. I cannot oblige to such demands. I need to retrieve materials for research."

It pointed to the dead body soaked in its own blood.

"Research? What do you mean?"

"It seems you have forgotten that I was the one asking questions. State which side you are on."

The way this was going, a fight was unavoidable.

"Very well. Since you refuse to answer any of my questions, I see no issue. But I must collect research materials—and you're included."

It appeared in front of me, placing its finger on my head.

'Run, Ryuma!'

I tilted my head just in time, and the building behind me shattered to pieces.

"Are you serious?"

That could've been my head. I grabbed it by the waist and slammed it into the ground, but it grabbed my neck and hurled me away. We both got to our knees. It pointed its finger at my face, and I shot three tentacle blades, slicing its hand off. It regrew within nanoseconds and shot a vacuum bullet into my chest, sending me flying.

"There were four KIs dispatched that day. Two went missing, and only two reported back. The speculation is that you are one of the two who never returned." It walked up to me, grabbing my neck. "Another curiosity is: why is a human in control, and not the KI, I'm curious?"

"I have no fucking idea what the hell you're talking about. But one thing I know for sure—I'm fucking human!" I threw a fist at its face, sending it flying miles away.

***

At the construction site, Leonard walked up to the control room bus. He flipped the door open and entered.

"What's happening?"

"We have no idea."

"Then what about the explosions?"

"We got a message about a Nephilim encounter, but our sensors are showing nothing–"

"What the hell is this?"

One of them exclaimed, staring at his screen. His colleague and Leonard rushed over to see.

"It's picking up heat waves—three hundred and eighty aqueons!"

He gripped his chair tightly.

"Th-Th-That's Grade A Nephilim!" another said.

"And that's just from one of them."

"How many are there?"

"Two. Each one over three hundred fifty aqueons."

Leonard marched out of the bus and pressed on his headset.

"All units, retreat immediately. Core extraction operation is terminated. Retreat at once."

***

The fight was going nowhere, and if anything, it was going against me. It was strong, and its regeneration was faster. If I wanted to escape, I could do it easily. But considering everyone else, no one could take on this monster. I had to defeat it here and now because there's no way in hell I'm letting it get to the construction site.