Chapter 54: Beginning of the End (2)

( Jason )

I stood at the entrance of some underground area. I don't think it's a parking lot, like when I fought the Queen Webspinner. Doesn't matter what this place is, only that he led me here.

I'm not an idiot. At least, I have a couple working brain cells. His actions were a little odd. Almost like he was trying to get me to follow him. That's why I have to be cautious around this sneaky rat bastard. Asshole has some tricks up his sleeve.

Why couldn't I sense him previously, even when he was right on top of us? And what's with that chameleon shit, letting him blend him with his surroundings?

Despite knowing all that, and the fact there might be traps in there, I still walked inside like the brave warrior I am!

"He must pay for what he has done. This piece of shit will feel what it's like to suffer unimaginable pain. Death is too much of a mercy for you." He not only killed Zach in front of me, but more importantly he attacked Lily?! I won't stand for it.

Shockingly and never would have seen it coming, it's pitch black in here. Of course, my vision basically makes it as bright as day. But holy hell, it's massive in this tunnel. Little too big in fact.

The height of the ceiling must have been what, 50ft high at the minimum? And the width was enough to fit seven semi-trucks in a row without difficulty.

This place definitely isn't simple. Maybe it's even a secret government facility where they experiment on aliens and probe them. But I don't really care for any of that right now. All I care about is finding that absolute sack of unicorn shit and capturing him alive.

Jogging down the seemingly never-ending tunnel, I kept on eye out for any traps. However, I didn't find any, so I guess I'm good? Hopefully I don't jinx myself. After a few more minutes, and not finding a single enemy, I finally reached the end and arrived in some massive room.

The ceiling height was extended to 200ft and there was an elevator in the middle of the room, dormant and powered down. This room was huge and seemed very… futuristic is the word I'd use. Like they're two or three decades ahead of everyone else.

But the thing that caught my attention, were the words on the wall.

"Orion? Holy shit..." See, Orion is the largest Pharmaceutical Company in the world, hands down and without any competition.

Their grubby little fingers extend to every single country on this planet, having contracts both military and civilian wise. Their net worth was something like ten trillion dollars. I don't know the exact number, but it's somewhere in that ball range. Pretty damn impressive I'd say.

However, there was some controversy surrounding them, with lots of weirdo conspiracy theorists that claim they were doing illegal human testing. Apparently, they were trying to play God by making serums to control people's minds and give them super powers.

These were also the same people who said they were creating The God Snake, Omega, to swallow the world and release us of all our sins. They even created a shoddy organization to stop them. Like I said, weirdos with a splash of nutjob mixed in.

Moving on, I looked around a little and spotted a couple of skeletons with lab coats on. Ripping a clipboard from one of their bony fingers, I tried to read past the blood stains. I'm not ashamed to admit I have absolutely no idea what kind of scientific nonsense is on here. 

Near as I can make out though, it seemed to be detailing the results of live animal testing of some drug called Hyper-Z. Apparently, it worked as intended and boosted their energy levels extensively, giving increased strength and speed.

Unfortunately, that's when the side-effects made themselves known. All the animals just kept gaining more and more energy. They bled from their eyes and ears before their heart couldn't take it anymore, giving up on life by killing itself. Every test subject died in agony.

"Hm, where did that fuck go?" I dropped the clipboard onto the ground. Fascinating stuff, but it'll have to wait until after I skin Scarface alive and place him in a pot of boiling water.

Obviously, the elevator doesn't work, but that's the only way he could have gone. None of the other hallways can accommodate his large size. Unless… he could shrink? Nah probably not.

Who knows? Maybe there really is a way to somehow shrink yourself? Well, I should check the most likely place first and go from there. Getting near the elevator, I looked up and down. There's nothing up above, which means this is the first floor.

Looking down however, it seemed like there was no end. A black hole that wanted to swallow me whole. On the side of the wall, I could see a few sets of large claw marks. Clearly, he went down the cool and awesome way.

No hesitation! I immediately jumped in and impaled both of my claws into the wall, creating a loud screeching sound that grated my ears to no end.

"Christ… how long is this elevator shaft?" Even after ten minutes of sliding, I still wasn't at the end. Fortunately, I could see the floor by now and knew I was almost there.

Soon, my feet landed on the bottom of the shaft and I climbed unto the floor. It was extremely similar to the first one, only with 'minor' differences. Like, oh I don't know, the carved out hallway that just so happened to be only slightly taller than Scarface.

However, everything seemed to be a little more sophisticated down here. Whether it be the furniture, walls, doors, or other science nick nacks thrown across the floor haphazardly. There's even some trashed robots lying about, which was really cool honestly.

Ignoring the nerd shit, I walked through the infected-made 'doorway'.

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Meanwhile, as Jason explored the abandoned Orion secret facility, the Docks were in chaos. The hole created by Scarface allowed countless infected to rush in like a flood. Most of them included his own forces.

Because of all the noise, more and more were being drawn to this location, making the already collapsing defenders about to fall. Gunshots and explosions could be heard all throughout the entire camp as people tried their hardest to fight back.

Unfortunately, a good chunk of them weren't all too trained. Some hadn't dealt with the infected since the very beginning, as they arrived at the Docks when it was first being constructed. Because of this, their mental state was consumed by terror, bodies frozen as the infected lunged at them.

The tanks rolled out and fired at the largest groups along with the powerful special infected. But they were far from enough to turn the tide of battle in the short term. 

In another part of the camp, Tyrone had an assault rifle in hand and rushed to where all the fighting was. He couldn't just sit back and do nothing while hearing the screams. However, the sound of children crying drew his attention.

Up ahead and to his right, over a dozen people were trying their hardest to fight back against a group of common infected. They were no match for them and were getting torn apart, but they didn't run. Because behind them, were almost thirty children. The young ones hugged each other, tears flowing down their faces.

Without hesitation, Tyrone immediately ran as fast as he could towards them. When in range, he paused in place and raised his gun, aiming down the sights. He pulled the trigger and fired, already putting down a few of them.

Although he wasn't the best shot, he had been getting lessons from Bill all this time, so he was at least somewhat competent. He figured this sort of training was the best way to help out, as he never did like getting close up.

The sound made the infected snap to him and roar, charging towards him. With sweat going down his forehead, he tried calming himself down and steadying his aim. The sight of these horrifying terrors rushing for him, flesh still in their teeth, frightened him to his core.

The original group of twenty common infected were soon down to just three left. It wasn't just Tyrone that was firing at them but also the humans who protected the children. A few of them had guns and shot them in the back.

However, Tyrone soon ran out of ammo. He did have an addition magazine in his pocket, but they were already in front of him. The closest infected lunged straight at him, but he managed to dodge out of the way by rolling to the left.

The second infected came right up to him, only to receive the butt of a gun in his face, making him tumble over. However, Tyrone wasn't able to recover in time and was tackled to the ground by the last one.

Tyrone held the infected back with gritted teeth, veins bulging out of his forearms as he pushed against its throat with his gun. The infected snapped at his face, it's nails clawing Tyrone's chest open. Knowing he couldn't stay in this position for long, he roared out and managed to throw the infected off of him.

He was just in time as the other two tried jumping on top of him. Tyrone hurridely rolled out of the way and stood up, fishing the magazine out of his pocket. But then, he dropped it.

"Of course. Why expect anything different?" He groaned out and had no time to pick it up as the infected he threw previously charged at him.

Grabbing the assault rifle like a baseball bat, he smacked the infected upside the head as hard as he could, cracking it's head wide open. Done with that one for now, he saw the other two rush for him. 

Suddenly, five shots rang out beside him. The infected got shot in the chest and head, dropping to the ground dead. Looking over, Tyrone saw the previous people who were protecting the children. They had run up and saved him.

"Thank you for the help." He said, his breaths heavy as sweat dripped down his brow. Being so close to death had terrified him a bit. He was definitely a little exhausted physically as well.

"We should be thanking you. Without your help, we..." The woman speaking trailed off. It wasn't difficult to imagine what would have happened had he not helped.

The lady shook her head and sighed, peering at the dead bodies of her friends before speaking.

"Children! Say thank you to this kind man!" The group of thirty children were still crying, but much less than before. With sniffling noses and weak voices, only a few spoke.

"T-Thank you..." Hearing them and seeing their trembling forms broke Tyrone's heart. At the same time however, it filled him with happiness. He was glad he risked his life to save them.

Bending down, he grabbed the magazine and reloaded his gun.

"Do you have somewhere safe to send them?" The woman nodded, but had a solemn look.

"Yes, we'll be heading for the cargo ship. But I don't know how we're going to make it. There's so few of us left and so many infected around." The original group of people protecting the children went from nearly two dozen, to only five left. 

Tyrone thought for a few seconds before smiling. 

"Don't worry, I'll help you out as best I can. Let me go get someone though before we leave." The woman was stunned and thanked him immediately with joy.

"Who are you going to get?" She asked with confusion. Tyrone chuckled at her question.

"A grumpy old man."

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Alice's group had arrived at the Docks but didn't stay long. They tried following Jason and Scarface's trail and eventually reached the ruined truck, the one Scarface crashed into after getting dropkicked. However, there was nothing else to follow up on at first glance.

"Alright, let's split up into groups and see if we can find something." Lily said as Trixie roared out her orders, the 2500 infected getting to work swiftly.

Off to the side, Asura's three heads all spoke at once. There was no concern in his voice.

"What of the Docks? Should we save them?" Alice immediately shook her head. 

"Fuck no! Screw them, all I care about is Jason." Her tone was harsh and devoid of any sympathy or empathy.

She knew what was going on, with all those innocent people dying and being torn apart brutally. She had taken a little peek inside and seen the death and destruction for herself. However, she didn't care at all. To her, there wasn't a reason to care.

As everyone got to work, Asura smiled coldly.

'Everything is going well. Zach's death, the Docks destruction. These should finally push him to the edge!' In all of his eyes, a gaze of worship appeared as he thought about Jason's reaction.

He couldn't wait for his new Master to finally accept his true self, evolving into pure perfection. Even if he had to sacrifice his life, Asura would make sure Jason would become what he was meant to be.

"And then we will march across the land, consuming all in our path. Only he can do this, transform us all into our perfect selves! Our Messiah!" A fanatical grin appeared on all of his faces, like that of a brainwashed cultist.

However, when looking at Athena, he became emotionless. His eyes had hidden killing intent that appeared, but then vanished in an instant. 

'Will she stand in his way? He is not powerful enough to tame her yet. Maybe we should lead them away...' Asura was confident enough about finding Jason and Scarface's trail.

But he didn't know if Athena would be blind to his majesty, not able to see the greatest within him.

"We can't take that chance-" Suddenly, Alice's excited voice spoke up.

"Over here! I found something!"

"...Fuck."

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Jason walked slowly through the large, but dead silent hallway. On both sides were doors that led to either other hallways themselves, or ruined rooms. Taking a peek inside revealed skeletons and dried blood everywhere. The furniture was knocked around and the glass shattered.

In truth, the scene was a little scary. It was just him and his thoughts, his only companions were the skeletons that didn't have an easy death. He was very interested in this place though, so he made a note to return here after torturing Scarface and finding Alice.

'Maybe this could be a base for me to conduct my experiments!' He liked the look and atmosphere of this place, especially with how futuristic it seemed. Also, it was in line with what a Supervillain would have as a Lair.

Suddenly, a mocking voice echoed throughout the hallway. It bounced off the walls, making him unable to find the origin.

"I have been watching you... for quite a while now. I've seen your transformation myself. Going from a pitiful weakling, to a slightly stronger worm."

"Watching me? Such a creep. Do you get off on peeping on another man's naked form? Yuck!" Jason teased, but it was as if Scarface didn't hear him.

"When was it I wonder? When you stopped looking at them like a friend, as a comrade! And instead treated them as pets?" Jason grit his teeth, hatred overflowing from his very pores.

"Is that why you are so upset? Because I killed your human dog in front of you? It's not that you care right? It's the humiliation behind it. Haha!" His wild laughter grated Jason's ears. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he couldn't.

There was truth in those words. He himself had noticed it long ago. The more he consumed and the stronger he became, the less humanity seemed to dwell within him. Flashes of murderous rage would threaten to overtake him whenever he saw a healthy individual. Something inside begged for him to infect and turn them.

Then there was Zach and the rest of them. Did he truly care for them? Perhaps, or perhaps not. But if he did, it was more like an owner to their pet. Over time, it only got worse and worse. The human part of him just, slipped away.

However, Jason didn't see anything wrong with that. So what if he wasn't human anymore? He was apart of something much greater. They were weak and flimsy. But he was powerful and flexible. Able to adapt and evolve to any situation given time.

'I should just replace them with my own superior race. They don't deserve to live anymore, do they?' Black veins appeared on every part of his body as his thoughts became more and more deranged. His mind was dominated by the need to spread the virus, His Virus, across the world.

'It's for their own good. And if they don't want it? They can join the others in my stomach. In the end, won't we all be together anyway?'

His own body began to change, the human features shifting. Every weapon on his body came out at once, including his Spiked Armor. Unconsciously, he tried to both create new ones and combine the existing weapons.

Suddenly, Scarface spoke up again, breaking him out of his daze. Everything went back to normal. But his body had changed a bit, being more inhuman than last time.

"Keep moving ahead. That is where I will be waiting for you. No tricks, no schemes. Just you and me in a death match. But unlike last time, you will not get away by the skin of your teeth! You cockroach!"

Jason could hear the venom dripping from his words. Being called a cockroach made his rage spike to unseen levels, making him growl like an animal. Without hesitation, he rushed ahead as fast as possible, everything turning into a blur due to his speed. But he paused hearing a human voice.

"Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!" Jason was going to leave them behind, but decided to check it out. They were right here after all.

Entering into the room, he immediately saw the three dozen people tied down with ropes. Seeing that, he stopped in place and moved no further. Although he doesn't claim to be intelligent, he was no fool. In his mind, this was a trap designed for him. As for Scarface's words about no tricks or schemes?

"Why the fuck would I listen to an enemy. Especially a sneaky asshole like him." The people who thought they were about to be saved became confused. They had no idea what this crazy man was talking about.

"Hey! Can you give us a hand here? In a bit of a pickle!" The one speaking just so happened to be Kit.

He couldn't see their savior due to how dark it was, but the tone of his voice was human. At least, he thinks. It was a little too deep and... strange, but he paid no mind to those details.

However, even after a few seconds of waiting, the strange man didn't walk forward or speak. Just as he was about to say something, the man beat him to it.

"Such nonsense. I should just kill them and be done with it. Why even care about these filthy things?" His low muttering echoed throughout the room, sending a chill down everyone's spine. Kill them?

"What the fuck are you saying?! You can't do this! Aren't we all human?! We need to stick together!"

Kit screamed out. He didn't want to die, not before finding the one who killed his girlfriend! Besides, most of the people here were innocent and didn't deserve death.

Jason frowned hearing that, finding his voice to be annoying. Without stepping closer, he accurately shot a bone spike into each of their foreheads. As soon as they died with regrets, Jason seemed to sense something and hurriedly jumped back.

The corpses of the humans inside all blew up at once, sending him flying through the wall of the opposite room. The hallway rumbled and shook massively, almost as if an earthquake hit the place.

Jason stood up and tore off his ruined clothes, making him naked now. Due to his quick thinking, he suffered little damage besides the clothing he wore. Looking over, he saw the room was in flames and completely destroyed. A few body parts had flown out and into the hallway, including the burned head of Kit.

He picked up the lifeless head and sneered.

"Such a weak thing like you deserves life? Did you really think you could get me with this? Huh Scarface?" His arms turned into tendrils and consumed it within a second. However, when Kit's memories flooded his head, he laughed mockingly.

"How ironic. I killed your slut of a girlfriend and now you? Ah, the world and it's infinite mysteries!" He chuckled once more before moving on, throwing this encounter out of his mind and focusing on the goal ahead.

He ran down the hallway once more and after a few more minutes, eventually reached an extremely wide open arena. Seeing it, Jason immediately thought of the Roman Colosseum. Clearly, he could see this place was built by Orion. For what purpose he had no idea.

In the stands, hundreds of infected stood there. Most of them were Night Hunters, with trace amounts of other special and common infected. In the middle of the Colosseum was Scarface, standing there with a horrific grin to his face.

"Are you ready to die? Cockroach?"