Location: Mid-Shaft Descent – 10:17 AM
The lift shuddered again, as if it were fighting against the weight of the world.
Aiko's breath came in ragged gasps, her fingers digging into the rusted walls as she braced herself. "They're right behind us!" she yelled. "We need to move—NOW!"
Ryoji's eyes were fixed upward, watching the ceiling with lethal intent. "Stay down," he growled, unsheathing his blades.
Another violent jolt. The lift lurched again, sending all of them stumbling as something big slammed into the top.
The ceiling buckled.
Then, through the warped metal, claws—massive claws—slashed downward with terrifying speed, narrowly missing Aiko's face. The screech of steel on steel was enough to drive anyone mad.
The creature was already on top.
One of the failed ghosts—its eyes burning a violent crimson, its twisted limbs spread wide, and its flesh—if you could even call it flesh—held together by metal and wire.
"Get down!" Miura shouted, diving to the floor just as Ryoji's blade struck upward, cutting through the creature's talons.
It screeched, throwing itself back and tearing through the ceiling in a burst of sparks and dust.
"Damn it!" Ryoji cursed, blood dripping from his side, where one of the creature's claws had nicked him.
Aiko looked to Miura. "What are they? How are they alive?"
Miura wiped blood from her lip, eyes wide. "They're not. Not truly. These things—they were supposed to die. But somehow, Division Zero kept them alive—changed them." Her voice was filled with a kind of horror that Aiko had never heard before.
"They're the ghosts of people they never should have touched," Ryoji said, his tone dark, grim. "And they won't stop until they kill us."
With a roar, the creature's hand reappeared through the ceiling, aiming to tear through again.
"Not today!" Miura shouted, pulling a grenade from her belt and tossing it directly at the creature's exposed claw.
The explosion rocked the lift, sending the creature howling into the air.
The lift plummeted again, jerking and rattling as it raced downward, rattling its inhabitants with every floor they fell.
Keisuke's voice came through the comms, strained but urgent. "This lift isn't gonna hold much longer. You're close to the core junction. I'm opening a path for you—but you need to move quickly. The structural integrity of the area ahead is collapsing."
"Can we trust it?" Aiko asked, voice sharp.
Keisuke's reply was almost immediate, "You don't have a choice."
Division Zero – 10:18 AM
Location: Director's Control Room
The Director stood alone in the control room, staring at the vast array of monitors displaying feeds from every corner of the facility. His eyes glinted with a quiet madness, a mix of pride and anticipation.
"All systems are activating," one of his aides said nervously, her voice betraying the unease they all felt.
He didn't look at her.
His gaze was fixed on the central terminal, where a set of calculations ran, rapidly accelerating. Each pulse brought them closer to something irreversible.
"The failed projects are awakening," he murmured under his breath, lips curling into a smile. "It's almost time."
He stepped toward a holographic display, his hand sweeping across the glowing interface.
On the screen, the monster he'd set free roared, its form flashing across the blue grid.
The Director's eyes narrowed as a single line of code flashed on the monitor.
Subject: RAZIEL—active.
And then, he gave the command.
"Bring him to life."
Sublevel Junction – Reactor Core – 10:20 AM
The lift finally screeched to a halt, metal grinding and sparks flying as it slammed into the base of the shaft. The impact sent Aiko stumbling forward, catching herself against the wall just as Ryoji shoved her behind him.
They all looked at the entrance ahead—a large, rusted door that had once been the heart of the facility's energy core.
Keisuke's voice crackled through. "You're there. The path should open in three… two… one…"
The door shuddered, grinding open with a loud clank. As it slid apart, a cold, sterile air swept over them—different from the suffocating heat and decay of the tunnels they'd left behind. The faintest scent of ozone and burnt metal filled their lungs.
But the sight that greeted them was more terrifying than any of the failed projects they had faced.
At the heart of the room, inside a vast, mechanical chamber, was a massive, glass containment unit. The container was lined with deep cracks, pulses of red light racing across it like veins. And within…
Something shifted.
Ryoji's eyes narrowed. "That's it. That's what they were hiding."
"Is it alive?" Aiko asked, voice barely above a whisper.
"I think it's worse than alive," Miura answered, her eyes full of dread.
The container began to hum.
And as the hum grew louder, the glass cracked open, spilling a burst of hot, sour air. The entire room trembled, as though it, too, feared what it held.
And then, from the containment chamber, it emerged.
A being made entirely of blackened skin, veins of glowing red power coursing through its monstrous limbs. Its body was humanoid, but far too large—its head adorned with a metal crown, its face hidden behind a broken mask. The energy it radiated felt ancient, monstrous, godlike.
And as it took its first steps, every piece of the chamber shattered.
It turned toward them.
Miura's voice broke, shaken. "That's—that's RAZIEL."
And it saw them.
The last thing Aiko heard before the room went black was the thing's voice.
A voice that was as old as time itself.
"I am the one they created to burn this world."
To Be Continued in Chapter 80.....