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Chapter 14: The Next Target
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The flames still burned in the ruined city. Smoke coiled into the sky, mixing with the acrid scent of destruction. The military had fallen, and Kael-X stood at the center of it all untouched, unshaken, and stronger than ever.
He flexed his fingers, watching the faint glow of Compound-X still pulsing through his veins. This wasn't just a temporary power-up.
It was a permanent evolution.
Kael-X tilted his head, listening to the silence around him. The humans had run. Some had tried to hide, but he could still hear their terrified, panicked heartbeats in the distance.
"Pathetic," he muttered.
With a single step, he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was standing at the very edge of the city, looking outward. Beyond the ruins, beyond the destruction, lay the rest of the world—untouched by his presence.
But not for long.
Kael-X narrowed his eyes. The power of Compound-X felt familiar, almost as if it was something from his home planet. Could it be that humans had discovered something connected to his origins?
Or worse…
Had someone from his old world already made it to Earth?
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A Secret Underground Facility – Unknown Location
Deep beneath the surface, miles away from the ruins Kael-X left behind, a group of scientists huddled together inside a dimly lit research lab.
"What the hell was that?" a soldier demanded, his hands slamming against the table. "We've fought aliens before, but nothing like this!"
"He's not just an alien," one scientist muttered, his face pale. "He's something... beyond that. We've analyzed his movement—he's faster than anything we've ever recorded."
"What about the Compound-X sample?" another scientist asked.
The lead researcher shook his head. "He absorbed it. Like it was made for him."
"We need to stop him!" a soldier barked.
"And how exactly do you propose we do that?" the lead scientist shot back. "Did you see what happened out there? He absorbed Compound-X like it was nothing! And now he's even stronger than before!"
The soldier clenched his jaw. "We still have Project Nexus."
Silence.
Every scientist turned toward him.
"You're insane," one of them muttered.
It's the only option."
The lead scientist exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "If we do this… there's no turning back."
The soldier crossed his arms. "There's already no turning back."
Silence.
Then the realization hit them all at once.
"What if it was?"
They turned to the large screen in the room, where Kael-X's burning red eyes stared back at them from a live satellite feed.
"If he wasn't created by us… then where did he come from?"
"Or worse… is there more of him?"
The soldier clenched his jaw. "We need to act now."
"But how? Normal bullets do nothing to him. We tried missiles. We tried energy weapons. He dodged them all before they even reached him!"
The lead scientist exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "There's only one option left."
The room fell into silence.
Then—
"Activate Project Nexus."
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Kael-X – On the Move
Kael-X moved like a phantom across the land, blurring past roads, rivers, mountains. His speed was beyond what Earth's physics should allow. Every step cracked the ground beneath him.
But he wasn't running without direction.
His senses locked onto something—a hidden signal.
The humans were up to something.
Kael-X smirked.
"Let them try."
Because no matter what they threw at him next, it wouldn't be enough.
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TO BE CONTINUED…
Now, let's move straight to Chapter 15!