"HENRICK!!!"
Father David shouts as he manages to jump out of a window and perfectly time it so that he and Henrick would be clear of the falling tip. He tackles Henrick in the air towards a building but is about to fall short.
With a flex of his muscles, the priest shoots out a concussive blast from underneath his feet. Allowing him to double jump and make it, landing harshly on the roof.
Henrick skips and rolls like a ragdoll, arms splayed about as he finally stops. "Don't die on me, soldier!" David shouts as he gets up and starts shaking his companion.
"First...never...shake...second...stop." Henrick mutters weakly, raising an arm in an effort to stop the shaking. "Thank you, Lord, for giving this man a chance." the priest sighs and crosses himself.
Henrick coughs out some blood, shakily turning onto his belly and pushing himself up into a kneeling position. "We...have to get...down there." he says, rasping and wheezing as he looks at the hundreds of crushed corrupted.
Father David raises a brow in confusion. "Why?" Henrick decides to point at the thick dark purple mist, and the priest's eyes widen as he looks at the amount and at the tip of the Empire State.
Henrick staggers and slowly turns towards the roof entrance, but grunts in surprise when David supports him. "I've got you. Let's go." says the priest as they spend a painfully long time descending through the building.
They make it to the street and Henrick can immediately feel the healing effects of the dark purple mist. His gait becomes steadier and his pale face gains some colour as he absorbs as much as he can.
Debris and dust obscure the corrupted's vision of the duo, who stealthily make their way back to the Empire State Building. "This...is intense." says Father David, muscles rippling with newfound strength.
Henrick says nothing as he looks around and frowns when he finds what he's looking for. There in a debris field, is the tip of the Empire State Building. It's angled upwards and Eric's corpse hangs off of it, almost like a grim trophy of Henrick's triumph.
"He was a bad man, but that is a gruesome way to die." David says, rubbing his chest in fear. "He...wouldn't...die. Had to get ...creative." replies Henrick as he throws a rock on Eric's body, just in case.
Seeing that the monster is dead, Henrick turns back to the entrance of the Empire State once he's had his fill of the dark purple mist. "How...are we getting...in?" he asks, noting the rock wall still covering the entrance.
Father David slings Henrick's arm over his shoulder and grins. "We double jump." Henrick braces himself as the priest propels the both of them up towards a window.
They crash through but remain standing when they land this time. "I'm still jealous that you can do that." Henrick mutters under his breath, but there's no real malice behind it.
Henrick sits on the ground and catches his breath, his body still weary despite the subtle healing effects of the dark purple mist. "I feel like an exposed nerve. Everything hurts." he says, shakily massaging his legs.
Father David helps the soldier up and calls for the elevator. The priest stares at the numbers on top of the door, deep in contemplation about something.
Henrick notices and chuckles. "You're quite easy to read. I don't blame you for running. If you didn't, then I probably couldn't have killed Eric." he says, wincing and clutching at his ribs.
David stays silent, guilt written all over his face as the elevator doors open. The elevator ride is silent and awkward as Henrick does his best to convince the priest that he isn't at fault, to no avail.
Suddenly, the elevator shudders as they approach the 28th floor. The heat suddenly spikes, and Henrick can hear the bestial growling that only Leo could make.
"Let her go you piece of-urk!!" The duo can hear Alex's shout being cut off, along with the muffled scream of a woman. The elevator doors open to reveal Selene hiding behind a pillar, and Alex sprawled on the floor.
Henrick steps out and rolls laboriously on the floor as an earthen spike goes for his head. Father David shoots out a concussive blast that staggers the now revealed Dominic, but pulls back as he sees Veronica trapped in a pillar of earth.
"Ah!! Welcome back! Henrick, my fellow murderer." says Dominic, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he keeps sending earth spikes towards the soldier.
Selene uses his distraction to send out a bolt of magic that rips through his knee, forcing him to kneel in agony. "You bitch!!" he screams, his control over the earth wavering.
Enough for Veronica to engulf his face in an orb of water. Alex then rushes in and burns Dominic's body. "DIE!!! FOR KEVIN!!!" Alex screams, his flames completely burning off the earth user's skin as well as the orb of water.
But he doesn't go further. Alex hesitates and freezes when the light grows dim in Dominic's eyes. Henrick sees this and approaches the fire user, disapproval evident in his stance.
"End it." the soldier commands with a hatred filled voice, Kevin's blank face still haunting his mind. Alex's hands shake as he steps back, the meaning clear to all.
Dominic smirks as he watches Alex pulling away, a scornful expression on his face. "Fucking coward." he says, but blanches when the soldier grabs his throat and squeezes.
"Wait, wait, wait-" CRACK! Henrick cleanly snaps Dominic's neck, leaving no room for discussion. Alex turns away and closes his eyes at the swift death. "Don't look away. This is our reality now."
Father David almost throws up, but manages to keep it in as he stares at Dominic's corpse. He crosses himself and mutters prayers for the deceased.
Veronica fully retches at the smell of burned human, throwing up what little food she had eaten. Selene stares coldly and kicks Dominic's leg to make sure he's dead, satisfied that he no longer moves.
Alex, on the other hand, clenches his jaw as he gathers the courage to look down at the body. He stares for a long while, fully committing every detail into his mind.
The fire user turns to Henrick, an unspoken question in his eyes. "Eric is dead. Probably being eaten by the corrupted as we speak." Henrick says, still clutching at his fractured ribs.
The silence is palpable as everyone breathes an internal sigh of relief. Though that relief is short lived, when the building shudders violently. Veronica is thrown off her feet and slams her head hard on the edge of a desk.
Henrick turns to Selene. "Where's Elly?!" Selene rushes to the pillar that she was hiding behind and picks the little girl up. The soldier breathes out a sigh of relief at her safety.
Veronica crumples in an unconscious heap, but no one has the time to be concerned as the building shudders violently once more. Henrick quickly makes his way to the window and widens his eyes when he sees the vast numbers of mutated beings down below.
Only now does he realise the full scope of what his battle with Eric attracted. Three Goliaths work in tandem to destroy the thick earth barrier at the front entrance, its durability seeming to have plummeted after Dominic's death.
"We all have to go. Now! This building is no longer safe." the soldier says, already heading to his group's office space and packing up his makeshift bed made of clothes. He carries Veronica in a Fireman's carry, and heads out.
The rest do the same, picking out important items from the deceased survivors' bags. With enough food to last them a few weeks, Alex leads them to the lobby floor and heads to an emergency exit at the back of the building.
The journey to the exit is silent, save for the rumbling of the structure from the Goliath strikes. "How was the fight with Eric?" Alex asks, mainly due to curiousity and partly due to how awkward the silence is to him.
David and Selene exchange looks, recalling the monstrous man and looking upon Henrick in a new light. The soldier doesn't say anything as they come upon a door leading to the outside world.
He uses his bio-electric field to check for any of the corrupted, and opens the door as he confirms there is none. "Annoyingly painful." is Henrick's answer as the group head onto the street.
Selene places a hand on Henrick's shoulder, a pleading look in her eyes. "Can we go back to Koreatown? I'd like to check on something." Henrick stares at her for a second and nods a few moments later.
The group spend an hour ducking under and behind cover, weary of further battles. Veronica regains consciousness and winces at the bump on her head. After I sitting that she's alright, Henrick places her on the ground.
Henrick leads his group in the stealthiest way possible back to 32nd street, amidst the intensifying thunderstorm. Narrowly avoiding several packs of the corrupted, and fighting through hurricane force winds. Selene takes the lead from there and heads back to the building that they fought the giant shadow cat in.
The interior is completely black, and it seems empty. Until violet slitted eyes open and stare at the group, curiousity and confusion in its depths. Leo sniffs the air and pants as he carefully steps closer, as if in greeting.
The shadows melt off the giant feline as if it was a part of the beast. It sniffs the air and growls at Henrick, David, Alex, and Veronica, but meows softly at Selene.
"Hey there, mama. How're you doing?" Selene softly says as she steps closer with a hand outstretched, softening her demeanor from its usual iciness. The feline lets out a purr, almost in triumph, as it steps out of the way to give the group a good look behind her.
Selene brings her hand to her mouth and gasps, while Veronica does the same. Henrick stares impassively while David and Alex smile gently.
"Congratulations!"
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END