Chapter 32: The Immortal Demon

As blood ran from her stomach, Nia quickly grabbed the clone’s arm. “GO! RUN!” She yelled at the others. Laura and Berus were too stiff from terror. “Come alone, children!” Reginald tried pushing them to move. But they wouldn’t budge, like their feet had been cemented to the ground.

The clone took his other hand and smacked Nia away, her body hitting against a tree before falling limp on the ground. “MAMA!!” Her kids shouted, wanting to run to her side, but Reginald stopped them. The clone chuckled, slowly moving toward the three. Reginald jumped in front of Laura and Berus, “Get out of here, children! I’ll try and hold him off!!” He lunged forward, the clone’s tail shot out, smacking Reginald. A crack sounded, the impact snapping Reginald’s neck, his body slamming to the ground. The children trembled in terror as the clone made his way toward them, their bodies once again frozen with fear.

He opened his mouth, ready to strike and tear them apart. “PAPA HELP!!!!!” Laura cried. Just as he was about to pounce, a sudden jolt of extreme pain jolted through his body. He took a few steps, his body trembling. The clone snarled, whipping around behind him and letting out a furious roar.

“There you two are.” He sneered, fully turning his body around and walking a few steps forward. As he did, long red tendrils began sprouting out from the center of his back. They branched out, taking the shape of five long, thin fingers on each side. More tendrils started connecting to each of these fingers, until they became full-formed bat wings. The clone looked at the sky, his lips curling into a murderous smirk, and his new wings took one huge flap, shooting him into the sky. He soared through the air, heading northwest. Right toward Europe. He snickered before bursting out with laughter.

After Laura and Berus were left behind, several guards came rushing to their location. Some gasped at the sight, and others rushed over to Nia. “She’s still breathing!” One shouted, “But just barely.” “Quickly, get her to the hospital!” Another shouted. One of them knelt in front of the kids. “Are you two alright? Come on, we have to get you out of here.” He picked them up, the faces still in terrified shock. They looked down at their mother, tears flooding their eyes. “Mama…” Berus whimpered.

Back at the complex, everyone gathered around a large table outside. Lamps lit the snowy night. Armin called for everyone’s attention, “Esteemed colleagues! Today marks a historic day! Not only will we have gained the means of ending this retched fungus, but we will take our first steps of ending this pointless conflict with the experiments!” The crowd applauded and cheered. General Davis rolled his eyes, “Only if this works.” He told General Weber. “Even if it does, we don’t know what these freaks will do after.” “Indeed,” Weber responded, “Tensions are too high. Baby steps, I suppose.”

Ferral walked out from the crowd and stood beside Armin. “This brilliant man is the one who helped make this cure possible! Armin shouted, “As such, it only seems fitting for him to do the first test!” He handed Ferral a beaker filled with a purple liquid. The two exchanged a quick smile before looking at the table, where a tray of the fungus was set out. Ferral’s hand hovered over the left side of the tray. He tilted the beaker and poured the liquid onto the fungi. Quickly, a sizzling sound came from it, and it began to shrivel. Turning black, the spores were unable to release. The front members of the crowd gasped in awe, seeing as the fungus instantly died.

They clapped and cheered, prompting the rest to join in. “I’ll be damned.” Davis remarked. “Unglaublich,” Weber added, “Truly remarkable.” Ferral and Armin stood amongst the crowd, feeling proud of their achievement. Ferral stuck out his fist at Armin, who was confused at first, but quickly smiled, and the two bumped fists.

However, their triumph wouldn’t last for long. A large silhouette flew above the clouds of central Berlin. The figure landed at the top of the Berlin Cathedral. The clone hung on the cross on the middle tower with his left hand, looking down at the people who passed by. His mouth watered, opening it and letting his tongue flick around enthusiastically. He took a deep breath, then threw his head back, letting out an even louder and more ear-piercing cry. The citizens covered their ears, looking up to see the large dark figure upon the cathedral. People pointed up, asking what was up there. Some began backing away in fear.

The screech traveled all the way to the complex. All the cheering abruptly ended when they heard the noise coming from the city. Everyone looked out, bewildered. “What the hell was that?” Leona asked, walking next to Ferral.

Back in the city, the clone stopped his chilling cry. He looked down again at everyone, grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly, his chest puffed out. More and more, larger and larger. He opened his mouth wide, and a large burst of spores came shooting out. It was like a geyser had erupted, filling the sky with black cloud. It began raining down, everyone screaming and running in panic. But the falling cloud was big enough to where it cover the entire city. As chaos erupted, several police officers in specialized masks crowded at the front of the cathedral.

The clone looked down at them, his beaming red eyes glowed in the dark night. They aimed their guns at the creature. He chuckled, jumping off the roof and gliding down toward them. They opened fire, riddling the clone with bullets. He cried in pain, veering to the left and falling into the river. The group ran and looked over the railing, unable to spot where he had gone. Then, he burst out of the water further down the river. Flapping in the air, all of the bullet wounds began to close up. He ran his hand down his chest, amazed at this discovery. Then, looking back at the officers, he wagged his finger smugly. They looked on in shock, some trying again to shoot him. He dived down, slashing his claws into the group.

Blood splattered the ground, and some of the officers fell to the ground after being sliced. He flew up into the air, then dived back down. The rest of the officers turned and ran off. The clone snatched two of them, gripping the tops of their head and pulling them up. He threw one of them through one of the windows of the cathedral, holding the other by his shoulders. “P-Please…” He pleaded through shaky breath. The clone opened his mouth and clamped down on the man’s throat, ripping into it before throwing him into the street. The other officers had scattered, but just before he could continue his spree, the whirling of a drone caught his attention.

“Found him, sir!” The guard shouted, pointing at the monitor. Armin and the generals ran up to the screen. “What in the lord’s name is that?!” Weber asked, horrified. Davis slammed his fist on the table, “I knew!” He turned around and pointed at Ferral and Leona. “It’s one of these freaks! They lured us into a false sense of security while sending one of their soldiers into the city!” Ferral scowled at him, “This isn’t our fault. We had nothing to do with this!” Davis smacked his hand on the screen, “He looks like one of you monsters! Explain that!” Armin tried to calm Davis down. “We don’t know who or what that is, I believe, Mr. Ferral. We’ll just have to go over and investigate.”

“That won’t be possible, sir.” The guard said. “Why not?” “The whole city is surrounded by the spores that the fungus gives off.” Everyone looked at him wide-eyed. Armin was baffled, “What? How?”

The clone flew forward, snatching the drone. He looked straight at the camera, laughing. Everyone’s attention turned back to the monitor. “I’ve found you.” He giggled, crushing the drone and flying off, heading straight toward the complex.

“Shit, he’s coming!” Leona growled, whipping her head around to look in the direction of the city. “Then we’ll have to be ready,” Ferral said, “We don’t know how strong this guy is, so let’s not hold back.” Leona nodded, and with a quick hmph, the two transformed into Super Full Power. They could see him getting closer, the two picking up his scent. They covered their nose in disgust. “He smells like a rotting body.” Leona cringed. Ferral coughed, “Just what is this guy?” As he got closer, the clone dug his feet sideways into the ground, slowing himself down.

He stopped only a few feet in front of them, staring joyfully at the group. Now, they could get a better look at this new foe. The wind blew frantically as the two parties stared off. Armin slowly walked beside Ferral to get a better look. He turned to the two, “Are you guys familiar with the manticore, by chance?” Ferral nodded, but Leona shook her head. “No, what is that?” She asked. Ferral took a step forward, “The manticore is a mythical creature from Persian mythology. It’s said to be a hybrid of various animals. The body of a lion, tail of a scorpion, wings of a bat, and the face of a man.”

Armin pointed, “And don’t you think this guy fits the bill?” “He’s definitely not any animal I know.” Ferral remarked. “Just who the hell are you?!” Leona demanded. The clone snickered, “I am the end of all life…” he squatted down, “Death.” It was what slipped through his wheezing, raspy voice, and he shot forward at the three.

His sights were on Ferral, cocking back his fist and throwing a high-speed punch. Ferral grabbed it, pulling the body toward him and kneeing the clone in the stomach. Leona socked him in the jaw, sending him flying to the side. Armin barely managed to jump out of the way before the clone crashed into him. “Armin, get out of here!” Ferral said. “It’s not safe!” Armin nodded, “Be careful, you two!” He ran off back to the complex. Leona stood beside Ferral, and the two locked onto the clone. He dragged his claws into the ground, stopping himself. He looked up at the two, spitting out blood, and grinned. “Stay on guard,” Ferral told Leona, “We still don’t know what this guy’s deal is.” “He’ll be dead before he gets the chance to tell us.” The two rushed at the clone.

He blocked both of their attacks, throwing a few of his own. The duo blocked and dodged each of his attacks, each one landing a blow on his body. He was sent sliding back, then flew into the air. Several long black spines began to open up along his tail, and he flicked it, shooting them out at the two. They quickly jumped out of the way of them. The clone swooped down, targeting Leona. She blocked his punch, being pushed back against the ground. She jumped out of the way, grabbing onto his tail. As Leona spun him around, more spines formed from the tail. A few stabbed into her hands, and Leona quickly threw him away.

He went straight to Ferral. Just before he could attack, the clone flapped his wing, moving him to the side. He slid on the ground, lunging at Ferral, but his attacks were predictable, and he was able to counter each one. Meanwhile, Leona looked at her hands, and a few of the spines littered her palms. She tried to take them out with her teeth, but they were barbed, so it was harder to get them out. She winced as she ripped each one from her hand.

Ferral delivered a powerful strike across the clone's face, then kicked him away. He flapped his wings, going into the air, and while he did, he shot another barrage of spines. Ferral dodged all but one, which stuck into his left thigh. He quickly ripped it out and continued after the clone. He flew through the air, going up and spinning, releasing another wave of spines. They went in every direction, but Ferral managed to dodge each one. “Get down here, coward!” He shouted. The clone grinned, soaring downward, landing on the ground, and sprinting at Ferral on all fours. He leaped, spinning around for a kick, but when Ferral blocked it, the strength of it caught him off guard.

He stumbled to the side, not getting a chance to secure his footing before the clone charged at him. Ferral put up his guard, but just before he was attacked, Leona rammed her shoulder into the clone. He flew back, dragging his claws in the ground. “He’s an annoying bastard, huh?” Leona looked at Ferral. “Yeah, and it looks like he’s started to get faster…stronger.” Leona scoffed, “Great, gotta deal with shit again.” Just before they started their attack, a searing hot pain shot through their entire body. The two screamed in pain, falling to their knees. “GAAAAH!!!” Ferral howled in pain. “THE FUCK IS THIS?!?!?!” Leona slammed her fist into the ground in agony.

The clone chuckled as he stood over them. “Poison.” He grinned, kicking Leona in the face, sending her flying back. He grabbed Ferral by the back of the collar, picking him up before socking him across the jaw. They struggle to get up, both panting heavily. “Come on!” Ferral hissed, “We have to get up!” The clone flew toward them, slamming into Ferral, knocking the wind out of him. As Ferral was dragged across the ground, the clone’s tail wrapped around his right ankle. It pulled him upside down, the clone slamming him into the ground several times. Spine impaled his lower leg before he was thrown to the side. Leona came rushing at the clone, but he dodged her attack, shooting more spines into her back and smacking her to the ground with his tail.

The two writhed in pain as the poison coursed through their veins. It felt as if someone was filling them with lava. The clone pinned Ferral to the ground, punching him repeatedly across the face. Each blow getting stronger and stronger. Leona stumbled up, shoving him off. He lunged, backhanding her back to the ground. He stomped on her ribs and slowly pushed down with more force. The bones began to crack. “hehehe….KAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” The clone laughed in joy. Just before he fully crushed her ribs, a bullet went through his arm. Then more started to impact his body.

He roared in the direction of the complex, seeing all the guards firing at him. Leona used this distraction to knock him off her. He stumbled for a moment, Ferral coming out of nowhere, clocking the clone in the face. Leona got up, the two out of breath. “COME ON!!!!” Ferral shouted, and the two used all their strength, pushing forward toward the clone. He couldn’t react fast enough to their speed. Leona sliced off his entire left arm, Ferral tearing off the right side of his ribs.

They tumbled on the ground, trying to stop themselves. Once they did, they turned around to see the severely injured clone. His eyes widened as he gasped in shock. The two smiled, thinking they were triumphant. Once everything went silent, a small chuckling started coming from the clone. They looked at him, confused. Their hearts sank as small tendrils began shooting from the wounds. The ones by his shoulder wrapped around themselves, forming a new arm, like nothing even happened. His side had also fully healed.

Everyone watched in horror, the clone flexed his newly formed arm. “Holy….” Leona started. “Fuck…” Ferral finished. Back at the complex, Armin put down his binoculars, his face full of dread. The only thing he could say:  “Oh my God…”