Apocalypse with my SSS Harem Beauties-Chapter 196: Just Two

The sky continued to brighten as time passed, far beyond what any of them expected in this higher zone.

At first, it had only been a subtle shift. Something easy to ignore under the lingering haze of Ether that always clouded this zone.

But now the light had grown sharper and almost piercing, cutting through the mist in a way that didn’t feel natural at all in this zone. It spread unevenly across the sky as if something above had changed rather than the light itself.

They slowed their steps.

Ethan raised his arm, shielding his eyes as he looked up with a deep frown.

"What’s going on?" Ethan asked, squinting slightly. "Why is the sky so bright now?"

No one answered him. Not because they didn’t want to, but because none of them had any answer to give.

Victor narrowed his eyes as he stared upward for a moment longer before lowering his gaze again, his expression became solemn slightly.

"Maybe something else is changing again," he said. "At this point, I won’t be surprised if things just keep getting worse."

No one argued with him.

The silence that followed wasn’t disagreement. It was acceptance. They had already seen enough to know that nothing in this world stayed stable for long. Every day brought something new, and it was almost never anything good.

Myles didn’t look at the sky for long. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Lilian.

She met his eyes almost immediately, as if she had been expecting the question without it needing to be spoken.

Lilian gives him a small nod.

"Yes," she said calmly. "This is another change."

That was enough.

The others glanced at her, then slowly sighed. There was no panic or shock anymore, just a quiet understanding settling in their minds. Whatever this meant, it wouldn’t make things easier.

If anything, it would make everything worse.

But they were already used to that.

Myles let out a sigh then turned his attention back to the group. His expression remained calm in a way that cut through the unease around them.

"It’s just another day," he said. "As long as we stay careful, we’ll be fine."

George let out a dry chuckle from behind.

"Yeah," he said sarcastically. "Except now we’ve got more than monsters to worry about. There’s also that guy named Red and his entire army."

A few of them let out faint breaths at that.

Myles smirked slightly.

"It’s not like we’re helpless if we run into them," he said, his tone carrying clear confidence.

Then he turned and started walking forward, Lilian moving beside him without a word.

The others paused for a moment, exchanging glances.

"Did you hear that?" Clara muttered.

Victor let out a small chuckle, a faint grin forming on his face. "Yeah. He sounds pretty confident."

"That’s because he knows he can back it up," Daniel added quietly.

That was enough.

The tension in their chests eased just a little, replaced by steadier feelings. Not blind trust but belief built from everything they had already seen Myles and themselves had done.

Without another word, they moved to follow him.

Their pace quickened as they left the familiar path behind, heading toward a new area.

Not west again toward those burrowing creatures they had already encountered but somewhere different. Somewhere that might offer better returns because no matter how much EXP they had gained yesterday, none of them believed it would be enough for what was coming.

They needed more. They needed to grow faster.

It didn’t take long before the environment around them began to change.

The ground changed from the hardened concrete near the camp into something softer and darker. Thick roots spread across the surface like veins, twisting and overlapping in unnatural patterns. The air grew denser while carrying a damp scent that clung to their senses.

Then they saw a horde in front of them.

Dozens of figures moved ahead, clustered together in uneven formations. At first glance they looked human but that illusion broke the moment they took a closer look.

Their bodies had merged with plant-like growths. Thick vines wrapped around their limbs, bark-like textures covered patches of their skin, and jagged branches protruded from their backs and shoulders.

Some of them had faces partially overtaken by roots, making them distorted and stretched.

They weren’t standing still but moving about in slow and uneven steps, but could be coordinated enough to form a dangerous mass.

Ethan let out a low whistle. "That’s a different sight from those burrowers. I don’t know which one is worse, though."

Samantha narrowed her eyes, already reaching for her bow.

Then Ethan glanced toward Myles.

"Let us handle this, Myles," he said. "We’ve been training."

Samantha nodded beside him. "We want to test it."

Myles studied them for a moment. Then he gave a small nod.

"Alright. You can go."

That was all they needed.

Ethan moved first.

His twin pistols came up smoothly. His stance steady as his gaze locked onto the nearest targets. There was no hesitation.

He pulled the trigger. Shots rang out in rapid succession.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Each shot landed cleanly.

The mutated heads snapped back one after another as bullets pierced through them with precise accuracy. He didn’t take time to aim for long now. His arms moved fluidly, adjusting with each shot as if his body already knew where the next target would be.

One after another, the monsters died. No wasted bullets.

Samantha moved right after.

She drew three arrows at once, her fingers steady as she pulled the string back.

Then she released them at once.

The arrows shot forward. But instead of flying straight, they curved in the air, bending around obstacles and adjusting their paths unnaturally and hit three different targets.

Three clean hits.

Before the bodies even hit the ground, she had already drawn again. This time a single arrow. But her wrist shifted slightly as she released it.

The arrow arced sharply to the side, curving around a moving monster before piercing straight through its skull from an impossible angle.

The others stared.

"That’s insane, Sam!" Victor muttered under his breath.

Ethan continued firing without pause. His shots become faster, sharper, and more controlled with each shot.

Samantha matched his rhythm perfectly, her arrows bending and splitting through the battlefield with precision that didn’t seem human anymore.

In front of them, the horde began to collapse in quick succession.

George watched the scene unfold with a wide grin slowly forming on his face. He shifted his grip on his hammer but didn’t move forward, clearly in no rush to join the fight.

"You know," he said casually, his tone light, almost amused, "why don’t we just let those two handle everything?"

A few of the others glanced at him.

George tilted his head slightly toward Ethan and Samantha, who were still tearing through the horde without slowing down.

"We just wait here, then collect the shards after they’re done. Sounds efficient to me," he continued, his grin widening.

Ethan heard that.

Even in the middle of firing, his head turned slightly toward George, a snort escaping him as he pulled the trigger again without missing a beat.

"Honestly?" Ethan said, a hint of excitement slipping into his voice. "I don’t mind."

Bang!

Another clean shot.

A creature’s head snapped back violently before its body crumpled.

"This is actually pretty fun."

Samantha didn’t even look back, but a faint smile curved on her lips as she drew another set of arrows.

"I feel the same here," she said, her voice calm but clearly enjoying herself.

She shot another arrows.

The arrows split through the air, curving in different directions before striking their targets with precise accuracy. Three more creatures dropped instantly.

"I’ve been waiting to try this properly."

Another arrow followed immediately after, bending unnaturally mid flight before piercing straight through the eye of a creature.

The battlefield in front of them turned into a one-sided slaughter just because these two.

Myles watched for a moment, then let out a small breath, the corner of his lips lifting slightly.

"Alright," he said, his tone relaxed. "We will let them have their fun."

A quiet chuckle followed.

Behind him, the others relaxed slightly as well as they watched Ethan and Samantha dominate the battlefield almost effortlessly.

—

From a distance, high above the twisted terrain, another group stood in silence.

A tall structure rose at the edge of the zone, its original form barely recognizable because the concrete walls had fused with foreign architecture of jagged dark stone.

The building looked like it had been forcefully merged with something from another world.

At the very top, Michael and his group watched. Their eyes were fixed on the battlefield.

What they were witnessing now didn’t feel like a normal fight. It felt one-sided.

Ethan’s gunfire echoed faintly even from this distance, sharp and consistent, each shot followed by another body dropping. Samantha’s arrows curved through the air like they were alive, bending and adjusting as if guided by something beyond simple skill.

Dozens of monsters died fast and only two people were responsible for it.

Rafe’s jaw tightened slightly, his usual relaxed posture gone as his eyes narrowed.

"That’s just their ranged fighters," he muttered quietly.

No one responded because they all understood what he meant.

If this was what their backline could do then what about the rest?

How strong are they really?

The question lingered in all of their minds.

Michael’s expression darkened. "This is bad..."

A faint tension built in his jaw as his thoughts turned more restless. The unease in his chest grew heavier.

—