CRACK!
The ceiling gave way.
Concrete and twisted steel crashed onto the supermarket floor, sending survivors scrambling for cover.
Dust filled the air.
Children screamed.
Marcus raised his shotgun toward the hole above.
"Everyone back!"
A massive claw punched through the opening.
Unlike the Shadow Hounds, it wasn't covered in black muscle.
Its skin was pale gray, stretched tightly over a skeletal frame. Long limbs dangled unnaturally as it slowly lowered itself into the building.
It had no eyes.
No nose.
Only a mouth.
A mouth that split its entire face from ear to ear.
Rows of needle-like teeth clicked together as it sniffed the air.
A crimson status window floated above its head.
Night Stalker
Level 6
Rank: Uncommon
Liam's heart sank.
A crimson status window.
Not blue.
Not gray.
Different.
The Administrator window flickered.
Observation Activated
Night Stalker
Behavior: Hunts through sound and body heat.
Eyes: None.
Hearing: Extreme.
Stolen story; please report.
Weakness: Cervical spine.
Warning: More than one detected.
More than one.
Liam looked toward the hole.
Another pair of pale hands gripped the broken concrete.
Then another.
Then another.
At least six Night Stalkers crawled across the roof.
"They're coming through!" Rachel shouted.
The first monster dropped.
Before it even landed, Noah charged.
His sword flashed.
The blade cut across the creature's ribs.
The Night Stalker barely reacted.
Instead, its long arm whipped around.
BANG!
Noah flew into a shelf.
Wood shattered beneath the impact.
He hit the floor, gasping for air.
"So fast..." he groaned.
Emma thrust out both hands.
"Ice Lance!"
Three spears of ice shot upward.
One pierced a monster's shoulder.
Another shattered against its skull.
The third struck its chest.
The creature hissed...
But kept climbing down.
"It doesn't care!" Emma cried.
Marcus fired.
BOOM!
The shotgun blast tore through a Night Stalker's jaw.
The creature staggered.
Rachel seized the opportunity.
Her spear drove into the back of its neck.
The monster collapsed.
A blue glow surrounded Rachel.
Her eyes widened.
"I leveled up..."
But there was no time to celebrate.
The remaining Night Stalkers dropped into the supermarket.
Chaos erupted.
People ran between the aisles.
Cans crashed onto the floor.
Flashlights rolled beneath shelves.
A Night Stalker lunged toward a little girl hiding behind a checkout counter.
Liam didn't think.
He sprinted.
The fire axe whistled through the air.
THUD!
The blade buried itself in the creature's shoulder.
It turned toward him instantly.
Its mouth opened impossibly wide.
Then...
It screamed.
Not loudly.
Sharply.
Like broken glass scraping against metal.
Liam clapped his hands over his ears.
Pain exploded through his head.
Blood trickled from his left ear.
Around him, several survivors collapsed, crying out in agony.
The Administrator window appeared again.
Warning
Sonic Attack Detected
Administrator Mind Protection Active
Physical Damage Not Prevented
So it could protect his mind...
But not his body.
Good to know.
If he survived.
"Liam!"
Emma's voice cut through the ringing.
The Night Stalker was already moving.
Too fast.
Its claws shot toward his throat.
At the last possible second—
A spear punched through the monster's side.
Rachel.
She twisted the weapon.
"Now!"
Liam swung with everything he had.
The axe struck the back of the creature's neck.
CRACK!
The spine snapped.
The Night Stalker collapsed at his feet.
For a moment...
Everything seemed to stop.
Then the gray notification appeared.
Administrator Authority Increased
Current Authority: 5%
Requirement Met
Archive Function Unlocking...
Liam stared at the screen.
Five percent.
He'd reached it.
But before the Archive could open—
The entire supermarket shook.
Not from the Night Stalkers.
From something outside.
A deafening howl echoed through the city.
Every Night Stalker froze.
Every Shadow Hound outside answered.
The crimson crack in the sky pulsed once.
Then again.
As if responding to a heartbeat.
Far above...
A colossal silhouette slowly passed behind the rift.
It was so enormous that only part of its body was visible.
A claw.
A wing.
An eye larger than a skyscraper.
It wasn't entering Earth.
Not yet.
It was simply...
Looking in.
Liam felt an instinctive wave of dread.
Whatever that thing was...
Even the Alpha Wolf would be insignificant before it.
At that exact moment, the gray window finally finished loading.
Administrator Archive
Access Granted
Opening First Record...
A single sentence appeared.
"If you are reading this, then every Administrator before you has already fallen."
Liam's breathing stopped.
Someone...
Had left him a message.