Chapter 639: Chapter 639: Persistence (Part 9)

The trembling beneath Don’s feet became impossible to ignore.

It rolled through the street in uneven pulses now, strong enough to shift loose fragments of glass around his boots and send tiny ripples through the leaking fuel spreading away from the overturned truck.

His expression hardened immediately.

Don turned toward K-4 just as the man ripped the remaining door fully open and dragged Olynk halfway out of the crushed vehicle.

Olynk still looked dazed, blood running from one side of his head while his arm hung awkwardly against his chest.

Don crossed the distance quickly and grabbed K-4 by the shoulder.

The officer turned instantly.

Don pointed downward.

K-4 noticed the trembling almost immediately. His eyes narrowed as another vibration rolled beneath them, stronger than before.

He settled Olynk down against the side of the wreck faster after that, movements losing whatever caution remained.

Then his hands moved.

Fast.

—We need to get to higher ground.—

Don read the augmented translation without hesitation and nodded once.

No argument.

No delay.

He turned immediately toward Charles, crouched, then pulled him up across his shoulders.

Charles groaned faintly during the motion, injured wing twitching weakly against Don’s back before hanging again.

Don looked toward the nearest building.

Modest height.

Close enough.

Stable enough.

K-4 had only just started lifting Olynk fully when Don bent his knees and launched upward.

BOOM~!

The force cracked the pavement beneath his feet and blasted dust outward in a rough circle.

Wind surged behind him hard enough to rattle nearby debris and shove smoke aside as he shot several meters into the air before catching the side of the building.

K-4 reacted instantly from the gust alone.

He didn’t waste even a second watching.

Olynk was pulled tightly against him before K-4 mirrored the movement, leaping upward with frightening speed despite carrying extra weight.

THOOM~!

His hand slammed into the wall above Don’s position, fingers digging into fractured concrete as he climbed immediately afterward.

Both men moved rapidly upward.

Fatigue lingered.

Mentally more than physically.

Don could feel soreness crawling through his limbs now, especially across his shoulders and lower back after the crash.

His recovery remained absurdly fast compared to normal superhumans, but not instant. The explosive force from earlier had dulled slightly.

He could still move fast—still climb hard—but the edge from before had softened.

K-4 looked different.

The officer climbed with brutal consistency, every movement direct and controlled. No wasted effort. No visible hesitation. Even carrying Olynk, he still began pulling ahead little by little.

Concrete cracked beneath their grips while damaged sections of the building shed debris during the ascent.

KRK—TK—CRK~

Loose fragments bounced off lower ledges and shattered windows before falling into the streets below.

As they neared the rooftop edge, both men paused almost simultaneously.

Instinct.

Don turned left.

And saw them.

A horde.

Not as massive as the one near Ebon Crest.

Still far too large.

Bodies flooded through the streets between abandoned vehicles and ruined storefronts in thick waves, climbing over each other whenever the path narrowed.

Some sprinted unnaturally fast while others dragged broken limbs behind them, yet never stopped moving.

From this distance, it was impossible to tell how many carried abilities.

That uncertainty made it worse.

Don’s eyes narrowed.

To his right, K-4 looked across another section of the city and found a second horde approaching from a different direction.

Less dense. More spread out between alleyways and side roads.

Still dangerous enough.

Both men frowned before hauling themselves fully onto the rooftop.

The rooftop itself looked abandoned in a hurry. Broken furniture lay scattered near a rooftop seating area while laundry cables snapped loose overhead, fluttering weakly between damaged support poles.

One side of the roof had partially collapsed inward, exposing dark rooms beneath.

K-4 lowered Olynk carefully against a ventilation unit before turning back toward Don.

His hands moved again.

—We need to get higher and send our location to chopper exfil.—

Don followed the translation, then immediately looked toward the taller building nearby.

Then farther.

Several buildings ahead stood the tallest structure in the immediate area, its upper floors wrapped almost entirely in reflective glass walls.

Even damaged, the structure towered above everything surrounding it.

An idea formed instantly.

Don pointed toward it.

K-4 followed his line of sight, then nodded once.

No further explanation needed.

Don adjusted Charles across both shoulders and broke into a sprint immediately.

K-4 mirrored him after securing Olynk tighter against his side and throwing one final glance toward the approaching hordes below.

Then both men moved.

Fast.

Their boots hammered across the rooftop as they crossed the damaged surface in seconds before leaping toward the next structure.

THOOM~!

Concrete cracked beneath impact points every time they landed.

Air burst outward around them repeatedly as they cleared alleyways and climbed walls without slowing.

Don hit the next building first, one hand catching the edge before pulling himself upward while balancing Charles carefully across his shoulders.

K-4 landed lower but ascended much faster afterward, overtaking him within moments through sheer climbing speed.

The city stretched around them in ruined layers.

Smoke columns twisted upward from multiple districts while distant fires reflected against broken windows.

Entire sections of nearby roads had become clogged with wrecked vehicles and corpses, forcing the hordes below into narrower channels as they surged through the city.

Every so often Don glanced downward while climbing.

At first the hordes hadn’t noticed them.

They flooded into nearby structures instead, smashing through entrances and shattered windows in chaotic waves while others climbed over abandoned vehicles searching aimlessly for movement.

Don still couldn’t hear.

But a faint sensation had begun returning inside his ears now. Strange pressure. Tiny distortions deep inside his head that almost felt like healing trying to force itself forward.

Not enough yet.

K-4 stayed more focused on the climb itself.

He reached upward toward a damaged section near the next ledge—

Then the concrete bent.

CRK—KRRSHH~!

The support point tore free completely beneath his grip. A large section of fractured exterior broke loose from the building and dropped past them into open air.

K-4’s eyes widened slightly.

The debris crashed into the street below a second later.

BOOOOM~!

Dust exploded upward between abandoned vehicles as shattered concrete bounced across the road.

The reaction below was immediate.

The hordes surged toward the impact point violently.

Bodies slammed into each other in their rush, some tripping beneath the wave only to be crushed under the infected behind them.

Several collided hard enough to tumble across the pavement before scrambling upright again.

More poured into the street from side alleys and damaged buildings nearby, all converging toward the noise in dense chaotic movement.

Then they stopped.

Not fully.

But enough.

One of them, near the center, began looking upward.

Heads tilted unnaturally fast.

Eyes locked onto the climbing figures above.

Don felt it instantly.

Recognition.

The entire front section of the horde erupted into movement at once.

They screamed upward incoherently, mouths opening wide as broken vocalizations tore free while they rushed toward the building.

Some slammed directly into the outer wall without slowing before clawing upward desperately.

Others climbed over each other immediately, bodies piling together into writhing masses as they forced their way higher.

One lost its grip and fell backward into the crowd below.

The others trampled over it instantly.

More kept climbing.

Fast.

Very fast.

Don’s expression darkened immediately as he looked down at the wave surging upward beneath them.