Chapter 05 The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

The building's roof caved in with a deafening crash, sending dust and debris shooting out in all directions. The shockwave cleared Aria off her feet, launching her into the rain-soaked street. She hit the ground hard, coughing and choking as the dust and rubble swirled in the air around her.

Her vision was blurred, her mind still struggling to catch up with what had just happened. Through the thick cloud of dust, she could make out something massive - something far larger than the Aegis mutant. As the dust began to settle, her heart froze.

A Valky.

One of the largest tier-three mutants, nearly the size of a tank mech, had crashed through the roof. The sheer weight of its massive body had collapsed the entire building, crushing the Aegis mutant beneath its bulk. Aria could see the remnants of the Aegis's mangled corpse, its black guts splattered across the rubble in a grotesque display of shattered flesh and bone.

The Valky stood there, its enormous body standing, rain bouncing off its leathery, hulking body. It let out a low, guttural roar, scanning the area with cold, predatory eyes.

Aria's breath caught in her throat. Her mind, still reeling from the cocktail of stimulants and the intense physical trauma she had just endured, struggled to process what was happening. The pain in her body was almost unbearable now, and she had no weapons left to fight this new, monstrous threat.

To make matters worse AI's warning message rang out.

"Warning: Tactical Suit charge at 12%. Integrity at 92%. Warning: Critical structural fractures were detected. Warning: Vallen Particle Reactor Core depleted.
Commencing Emergency Low-Power Recharge Cycle. Power cells depleted to a minimal operational charge.
Activating Recovery Protocol…
All non-essential systems are offline. Core protective shielding enabled. Pilot vitals are set to a stasis level to preserve remaining energy.
Alert: Tactical Suit entering Sleep Mode for rapid recharge. Estimated recharge: 68.3% per hour. Further action is not advised until recharge is complete.
The system will auto-engage emergency defense if external threats are detected."

One thing was clear: She had no chance of taking this thing down on her own.

Staggering to her feet, Aria knew she had only one option. Run.

The Valky, having crushed the Aegis without a second thought, turned its gaze toward her. Its massive feet shifted, the earth trembling beneath its weight as it moved toward her.

“Move,” she whispered to herself, forcing her broken body into action.

 “Move! God damn it! Move! Don't give up! Not now! Move!”

With every ounce of strength she had left, Aria sprinted into the pouring rain, her heart pounding in her chest as the Valky closed in behind her. The streets of the ruined city blurred around her, the storm raging as the monstrous creature's heavy footsteps echoed in pursuit.

Aria’s lungs burned with every breath, her legs moving on instinct as she sprinted through the rain-soaked streets of the ruined city. Behind her, the Valky, that massive tier-three mutant, stomped after her, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground. Every step the creature took sent vibrations through the earth, its guttural growl chasing her through the storm. The relentless rain blurred her vision, but she didn’t dare slow down - not with that thing so close.

She couldn’t fight it. There was no strategy left, no weapon in her arsenal. Her tactical suit's power reserves were critically low, and her knife was useless against something this massive. The stimulants that had kept her going were wearing off fast, leaving her body weak, drained, and aching with every pulse of her quickening heartbeat.

"Move, move, MOVE!" Aria screamed at herself as she pushed harder, racing through the narrow alleys and crumbled streets.

But even at her fastest, she couldn’t outrun the Valky. It was massive, and its strides covered ten meters with every step. Its breath was heavy and loud, and she could feel its presence growing closer every second.

She darted into a narrow alley between two half-destroyed buildings, hoping to lose the monster in the maze of ruins. Her feet splashed through the water pooling at the base of the rubble. The walls around her, barely standing, groaned ominously under the weight of the storm. But she didn't care about that right now - survival was the only thing that mattered.

Aria took a glance over her shoulder. The Valky’s massive bulk stood at the entrance of the alley, its monstrous form too large to fit through. For a split second, relief washed over her. Maybe she could escape. Maybe—

The creature roared in frustration, smashing through the side of the building with its giant fists, sending a cascade of rubble raining down. Brick and metal beams crumbled under its sheer power as it forced its way into the alley, reducing everything in its path to rubble. Aria stumbled, barely keeping her footing as the ground shook beneath her.

There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run that would buy her more than a few precious seconds.

A frantic, desperate thought crossed her mind. Could she outrun it? She sprinted toward a crumbled overpass in the distance, hoping to duck beneath it for cover. But even as she ran, she knew it wouldn’t be enough.

The Valky was closing in. She could hear it. Feel it. Every booming step rattled her bones, her heart pounding in sync with the monster’s approach.

Suddenly, the ground slipped beneath her feet. Aria stumbled, her foot catching on a piece of rubble, and she tumbled forward, slamming hard into the mud. The wind was knocked out of her, and her vision went blurry as the rain continued to pour down on her, mixing with the blood and grime caked on her face.

“No,” she gasped, struggling to get up as she pushed herself to her knees. The Valky was right behind her now, so close that she could feel the heat of its breath, smell the stench of its rotting flesh.

She turned her head just in time to see Valky's massive foot lift into the air, casting a shadow over her as it prepared to crush her where she knelt. This was the end.

In that awful, frozen moment, her whole life flashed before her: the brutal years in the military academy, the relentless drills, the sterile, gray walls of base camps. All the missions, the sacrifices, the endless years spent in military barracks and training academies. 

She had never known the warmth of a family, never had a home to return to, no joyful memories to comfort her. Everything had been for the fight. And Elias… her only true friend, the one person who made this godforsaken war bearable - he was gone. Her chest tightened as his face came to mind, his rare, quiet smile. And now… she would be gone too.

 She thought she’d become strong enough to protect, to make a difference. But in the end, it all led to this.

"Ah... This is it. All those missions, the countless battles - what had it been for? To die here, alone, crushed under a creature’s foot like an insect. I have failed. Damn it!"

There was no time to run, no chance to escape. Her tactical suit felt heavy and her body was at its limits.