Bang.
Summer thrusted her gauntlets into the ground, pushing herself into the air to evade the boulder.
The massive piece of concrete smashed through the floorboards behind her, showering the interior of the building with brick fragments.
She landed on her feet and blurred forward, throwing a rapid combination of strikes at the floating monster. Every hit slammed uselessly against the shimmering purple shield.
Summer altered her angle, striking from the side and behind, but the kinetic barrier protected every inch of the creature.
No matter where she aimed, her iron gauntlets could not break through.
Bang.
An invisible wave struck her midair. She was yanked to the concrete, the sound of crushing bones echoing from her chest as the impact slammed her flat against the pavement.
Summer wiped the dark red blood off her lips with a trembling hand. It was so strong. She stared at the gaunt figure hovering above her, finally understanding how arrogant she had been.
She had believed her stats and her controlled horde made her invincible in this ruined city. She was wrong. She was still painfully weak.
Tears started streaming down her cheeks as her shoulders heaved up and down while she wept silently.
[Sigh. Little girl, that is a Peak-level Feral. Its core is almost concentrated. It can be called a One-Step Elite! Of course its strength will be higher... you dummy.]
Summer wiped the tears off her face, sniffling softly as she sat up in the dust.
’Oh...’
[And... you little idiot rushed at it for a fight. Do you want to die?]
’Hmph. That is because you did not communicate properly first,’ Summer argued back in her head, her raspy voice thick with emotion.
’What else was I supposed to do when you said "dump all free points into agility"? I thought if I caught it off guard, I could kill it easily. Ella taught me that.’
The twin sister had shared various basic combat tips with her back at the building. One of them was catching the enemy off guard, as unpredictability was a terrifying quality in a fighter.
[Oh my system gods. You are corrupted by humans!]
A smug smirk tugged at Summer’s mouth despite her wet cheeks as the Psychokinetic zombie moved toward her unhurriedly.
[It seems there is no other way. Little girl, I agree, I should have communicated better with you...]
Summer was alarmed by the sudden, solemn change in the system’s tone.
’What are you planning to do?’
[...I am sorry.]
’No...’
[Don’t worry, I am not going anywhere permanently...]
"I SAID NO!" she shouted aloud.
Her sudden scream rang across the ruined street. Even the approaching zombie froze in its tracks for a moment, looking at her in confusion while hovering three feet above the cracked pavement.
"Ah, not to you. You continue..." Summer muttered to the creature, wiping her nose with her sleeve.
[There is no other way. I will be asleep for some time. Just always stay on guard against humans, that’s all.]
’What are you...’ Summer felt an impending sense of doom. The thought of being left completely alone in her mind filled her with genuine panic.
She really could not stop herself from crying, which became loud and messy, with tears and snot covering her pale face.
The Psychokinetic zombie resumed its approach. Its gaunt hands stretched toward her head where her zombie core rested, its sharp black claws opening to pierce her skull.
The claws hovered an inch from her skin, but they did not touch her.
A massive force hit from the side. The zombie, which Summer had failed to move an inch with her full strength, was thrown through the air and blasted into the building opposite, smashing through two layers of brick walls before coming to a stop.
Summer looked up through her tear-blurred vision, gasping as a large shadow fell over her.
In the place where the Psychokinetic zombie had stood, there was now a huge abomination. It was a nine-foot-tall giant covered in thick, charcoal-colored hide.
Four massive, vein-popping arms hung from its wide torso, and a thick, jagged black horn protruded directly from the center of its skull.
Glowing amber eyes burned with intense power, replacing its former lifeless gaze.
Yet Summer had no problem identifying the monster standing above her.
It was One.
"One?" Summer asked, her mouth agape in absolute shock.
One bent his huge body down toward her, his heavy knees sinking slightly into the concrete. His amber eyes blinked slowly, and a small, clumsy smile played across his pale, mutated face.
One of his four large hands came down toward her. He clenched all his fingers, leaving only his pinky extended.
Still, the pinky finger was almost half the size of her face.
Gently, the tip of his huge finger wiped the tears and dirt from her cheek.
"No... cry," One managed out, his voice a deep, gravelly rumble that vibrated through the ground.
[How... how is this even possible?] The system cried out, its tone filled with shock. [He evolved on his own? How could a puppet evolve without its master’s approval? The little girl isn’t an Elite, so there is no way she triggered this. Then how?]
Screech.
The Psychokinetic zombie burst out of the rubble across the street, letting out an angry screech that hurt the ears of everyone nearby.
The high-pitched frequency shattered the remaining glass windows along the entire block.
Summer winced, holding her ears, until a huge body completely blocked her view. One bent himself forward, shielding her from the acoustic wave.
With his lower two arms, he ripped a massive section of a crushed sedan off the asphalt and hurled it violently across the intersection.
Bang.
The heavy piece of scrap metal slammed directly into the Boss Feral’s purple barrier, the sheer force making the creature crash backward into the dirt once more.
One turned around to stare down at Summer, his four arms hanging steady at his sides.
"What to do... master?" One asked plainly.
’Can he kill it?’ she asked inwardly.
[He can buy you some time.]
’I am not escaping alone.’
[Why? Summer, wake up. That is merely one of your subordinates. The moment it became your puppet, it had only one purpose: to be a shield for you.]
’He’s family...’ Summer stated firmly.
[This thought will kill you one day. You also considered those humans your family, didn’t you?]
Summer froze, the faces of four humans appearing in her mind.
[You expected them to stay with you, right?]
Summer pursed her lips...
[Did they? So, Summer, don’t expect anything. Don’t hope for anything. Don’t yearn for anything. Because... at the end of the day—]
The system couldn’t finish its words as the roar of modified engines echoed from the alley behind them. A heavily reinforced SUV battered its way through the debris, driven by a familiar face.
’Jacob?’
And a huge fireball came from behind the SUV, creating a massive wall of fire between Summer and the Psychokinetic zombie.
A figure suddenly leaped from the SUV, landing between her and One.
"Chubby cheeks, are you okay?" Ella shielded Summer as she bravely looked up at One, though her legs shivered.
"One?"