Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 191: Rush To The Shelter
Cold and violent wind slammed into Adam’s face, as his eyes snapped open and the world flipped, with the sky above and the ground below.
Adam was falling, fast.
He twisted mid-air, muscles tightening as instinct took over and as he looked up he saw nothing.
The window was no longer there.
Instead it was just empty sky.
His heart skipped.
But a sharp breath cut through his chest. There was no time to worry about that now.
Adam forced himself to focus. His body rotated again, eyes scanning below.
Before his gaze landed on the tall buildings.
But one stood out, a skyscraper, just within reach if he played this right.
His green eyes sharpened.
And in the next instant he activated Bone Generation.
A massive bone pillar burst out from the side of the building at a sharp angle, tearing through concrete like it was paper.
Chunks of debris scattered into the air and the pillar rose to meet him.
Adam adjusted his body mid-fall, calculating angles, distance and timing.
Then...
Force Aura.
Power surged through him.
The crushing force of the fall weakened and although it was not gone, it was reduced to the absolute limit he could handle.
This is going to hurt.
He aligned himself.
And as he got closer the impact finally arrived.
His feet struck the bone pillar, then he moved into a sharp roll, momentum carried him forward as he slammed onto the rooftop.
Face-first.
The air was knocked from his lungs.
Pain exploded through his body and for a second, he didn’t move.
Only a groan came out from his mouth.
Adam pushed himself up slowly, one hand braced against the ground.
"...This better be worth it."
He exhaled, brushing dust off his clothes.
His body still ached, but he was alive.
That was enough.
Adam straightened.
Then he looked around as his eyes widened and shock flooded his face as the scene before him finally came into view.
****
Adam froze at the sight of corpses everywhere.
The streets were flooded with them, men, women and children strewn across broken stone like discarded dolls. Blood painted the ground. Smoke curled into the sky. In the distance, people screamed as monsters tore through the sector.
Some ran while others hid.
Most didn’t make it.
Adam’s eyes sharpened.
A rift breach.
The realization hit instantly.
"...Is this one of Rem’s memories?" he muttered.
His gaze swept the chaos again, jaw tightening. "From when she was young..."
He exhaled once, steadying himself.
"I need to find her."
He already knew one thing, Connect wouldn’t work here. This was a soul-space. Using connect would just blind him again.
"...Guess I’m doing this the old-fashioned way."
Lightning crackled across his body as he activated Rapid Charge, in the next moment his body blurred.
A thunderclap echoed as he vanished from the rooftop and reappeared mid-descent, sprinting down the side of the building as if gravity didn’t exist. Sparks trailed behind him, each step kicking off the wall like a launchpad.
The moment he hit the ground running, there was no hesitation or slowing down.
Adam’s mind worked fast.
A rift disaster... wealthy background...
Rem wasn’t as wealthy as she was now, but she had been well-off. That meant one thing.
"She will be close to the shelter..."
Wealthy families always secured houses close to emergency shelters.
Because it was safer due to faster access.
Adam adjusted his direction instantly.
His speed surged.
The streets blurred past him.
There was death on all sides. A woman dragged by a beast. A child screaming. A man crushed beneath collapsing debris.
But Adam didn’t stop because they weren’t real. This was a memory and all this had already happened.
Plus getting distracted here meant failure.
And failure meant...
He cut the thought off.
Finding Rem was all that mattered.
But as he moved, something stirred in his chest.
An unwanted memory of his own past.
Their house had been too far from the shelter, a clear line drawn by status.
Adam’s expression darkened.
His mother’s face flickered in his mind but he shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"Not now."
His speed spiked again.
The lightning roared louder and he shot down the street like a living bolt.
But suddenly.
BOOM!
A beam of light tore through the air.
Right where he was. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Adam’s body reacted before his mind caught up.
His body twisted and slid across the ground, boots carving deep lines into the street as he came to a sharp stop and for half a second there was silence.
Then, Adam slowly raised his head.
"...Tch."
His eyes locked forward.
Standing in the middle of the shattered street was a figure.
It had halk-white skin a black blindfold wrapped tightly across its eyes and a single cloth tied around its waist, fluttering slightly in the aftermath of its landing.
Beneath it was a crater.
Cracked stone spread outward like a spiderweb from the impact point.
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
Lightning crackled faintly around him and his stance lowered.
Something was wrong here.
****
The creature stood still and blindfolded.
Yet, Adam felt it staring straight at him.
A slow chill crept up his spine.
"...Creepy."
Bone shifted in his hand.
And a scythe formed, it was white jagged and humming faintly with death affinity.
Judgement wasn’t available.
So this would have to do.
The creature stepped out of the crater.
As it took one unhurried step.
Then another.
Like it already knew the outcome.
Adam frowned.
"...Move."
His voice dropped.
"I’m not here for you."
The creature didn’t respond and just kept walking.
Adam clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Fine."
He vanished and appeared right in front of it and the scythe carved forward in a clean arc.
SHHHK!
The blade cut through the creature effortlessly, from shoulder to waist and the body split in two.
But in the next instant two identical creatures stood where one had been.
Adam froze for half a beat.
"...What?"
His grip tightened on the scythe as both creatures tilted their heads slightly, as if observing him.
"...Even with death affinity?"
His voice dropped, sharp with disbelief.
