Hero Regresses with Villain System-Chapter 25: Reunion

Adam ran through the Temple, speeding past the hallways of forgotten species. He didn’t know if it was instinct, hearing, or some entity that gave him this sense of direction, but he knew he was going the right way all the same.

"Why is she screaming? How would she even get in here?" Adam thought as Natalie’s screams tore through the Temple once again.

There was a darker question on his mind, though. Why was she screaming? None of the hallways he was running through had been destroyed despite being far smaller than what he remembered the Kaiju to be.

Either it had shrunk or—

"No! No! No!"

Adam’s ears perked as Natalie’s screams rang through the Temple once again. This time, they were close. Very close.

Running through just one more hallway, he heard the soft voice of Henry asking, "H-hey! Uh... what’s wrong?"

In a calmer situation, his panicked awkwardness would be funny. However, Adam was certain that something horrible was happening.

"Puny human, it would be best if you get to them now."

No shit.

Adam rolled his eyes at Set, who was weirdly calm right now as it flew beside Adam. Then he growled, "Why the fuck do you think I’ve been running?"

Internally, he braced as he waited for the Football to change his body into some kind of weapon and slap him. Instead, the normally eccentric asshole was calm and reserved.

"That’s not what I mean. And please don’t talk. She listens. She listens to all."

She?

Turning to Set, who was still completely silent, he repeated, "She?"

The only answer he got was a subtle nod from Set.

...

A year of training wasn’t nearly enough to prepare Henry for this kind of situation. As Natalie lay on the ground, clutching her head with her hands and hyperventilating, she repeatedly screamed, "No!" over and over.

Just moments ago, they had both been so calm, certain that the others were fine. Now she was crumpled on the ground and hysterical. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"What do I do?"

Was there anything he could do? He had already tried to console her, but that was useless since he didn’t even know what the problem was.

Henry tensed as a small gust of air flowed through the room, tickling at his feet. The lights above started to flicker, like in one of those trashy horror movies.

Whoosh!

Feeling a sudden rush of heavy wind, Henry instinctively covered Natalie. Moments later, the lights flickered more and more as the wind grew even more aggressive.

"Not wind... it almost sounds like a howl," Henry thought, shuddering from such an idea.

If it was a howl, that meant there was some Kaiju here. Was that what frightened Natalie like this?

Even though it made sense, something caused Henry to shake his head. It was a plausible theory; in fact, it was the same theory. And yet he knew it was wrong.

Whatever was waiting for them in the endless dark couldn’t be considered a simple Kaiju.

As if to accentuate that idea, the wind rose in a crescendo as the lights finally turned completely off. Then, in the next instant, it was like everything returned to normal.

Even Natalie was quiet now.

"Oh, good. She shut up!"

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed as he heard that metallic voice. For some reason, it felt familiar.

However, when he turned his head to face it, he only saw some little toddler mecha perched on Adam’s shoulder.

Adam.

Even as the toddler glared at him, Henry let out a soft chuckle. If Adam was here, they had a decent chance of survival. After all, he was the only reason they survived the Endless White.

Without him walking through eternity in order to reach the Temple, Henry knew they would’ve died. Once again, it was a baseless, instinctual, and yet true theory.

Adam walked right next to him, although the leader ignored Henry. Of course, Natalie was of more importance here.

Removing his own defensive grasp on her, he watched as Adam reached out with his human hand and lifted her chin.

Looking into her eyes, Adam asked, "Why were you screaming?"

She looked at him with completely empty eyes for a second. The sight was deeply disturbing to Henry, who up until this point had really only ever seen her smile.

Then tears filled those empty eyes to the brim before overflowing in a torrential downpour. Sobbing, she did her best to keep from shaking but to no avail.

The toddler mecha beside Adam grew deeply agitated, constantly looking at the roof of the Temple. But why?

The lights were back on; they were safe.

"Natalie," Adam whispered, his voice surprisingly soft and gentle.

And, of course, where Henry had failed despite numerous attempts, Adam succeeded in a single one.

Finding calm in their leader’s voice, Natalie wiped the tears away before whispering, "Evan."

Panic gripped Henry as an image of Evan’s corpse infiltrated his mind. They had already lost Thea on this expedition...

He wasn’t going to lose another.

Therefore, he asked, "Evan? W-what about him? He’s fine, remember? Everybody is fine!"

Adam raised his bionic arm at Henry’s plea, instantly silencing him. Then he turned back to Natalie and asked, "What about Evan?"

This question caused Natalie to squeeze her eyes shut. She was squeezing so tightly that Henry was certain blood would come gushing out.

However, all that happened was a deadly whisper.

"Evan, Varek... the first wilting lady has them."

...

Ever since the first tendril had picked up whatever the fuck that person was, Evan lost his sanity more and more with every passing second.

Every 10 or 15 minutes, one of those long, black tendrils would lower itself from the darkness above and pick up one of these sleeping people. People that looked like dogs, snakes, cats, and all kinds of wild animals.

Even in the realm of the dead, Evan felt nothing but a cold isolation as he waited for his turn.

Because he knew the tendrils weren’t looking for these sleeping people. They were looking for him.

Although he couldn’t see any eyes peering at him from that endless darkness, he knew that they existed all the same. He knew that they wanted him.

Whatever it was, it was used to eating these sleeping aliens. And although they were a nutritious meal, after eternities of the same food, it had grown averse to them.

The being lurking in darkness wanted a new meal.

It wanted him.

And... it was going to have him.

Child...

Child...

There you are...

Evan felt the tightness of the tendril before he even began seeing it. He felt her voice crush his mind before he even began hearing it. And soon, he would feel her mouth close in on him before he could even begin escaping it.