Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening-Chapter 69: Failed Mission (1)

’We’re dead!’ Jess exclaimed inwardly. ’What the hell...?!’

The tyrannical and overwhelming aura was beyond anything Jess had ever experienced, and she wasn’t alone in feeling that way.

Her adventurer companions were just as frozen in place, their eyes trembling within their sockets and hearts thumping, threatening to leap out of their chests.

The bloodthirsty monsters that had been raging to kill the adventurers moments ago were now frightened beyond measure.

Unfortunately for both the monsters and the adventurers, they were all locked in place, terror keeping them frozen.

BOOM...!!!

Another explosion erupted, this time from something blown away through the terrain, kicking dust and debris into the air for hundreds of meters before finally coming to a stop.

Everyone was curious to see what was happening. While they didn’t need to see the source of the deadly aura, they knew exactly what was responsible.

’It’s a demon!’ Everyone thought in absolute terror. Jess managed to turn her head toward the dust cloud.

’How did such a powerful demon get in here?!’ She swallowed hard, her instincts screaming at her to run as fast as she could. But she couldn’t move.

Suddenly, the aura pinning everyone and everything down lessened.

’!’

The monsters were the first to react, quickly abandoning everything, their tails tucked behind them as they made a run for it.

Though twisted into bloodthirsty and vicious creatures by the demon’s machinations, their instincts hadn’t been completely erased. They knew when death was coming for them.

"Move!" Crusher’s voice echoed in his companions’ ears. "That’s probably the other teams. We need to get out of here, right now!"

Without waiting for a response, Crusher pushed against his instincts and ran toward the dust cloud in the distance.

’Damn it!’ Jess cursed through gritted teeth, following behind the tigerkin. ’Leaving by myself would be suicide! The only chance is to stick together!’

Her thoughts were shared by the others, who chased after Crusher toward the scene. Unfortunately, not everyone thought the same way.

Some adventurers were too shaken to continue. They abandoned the group, not daring to look back as they made their way to the upper floors.

It was pandemonium—monsters fleeing and hiding while adventurers scattered in two different directions.

Crusher was the first to reach the large trench that had been carved into the ground. He waved his hand to clear the dust around him.

Looking toward the end of the trench, where it ended in a crater, he spotted a figure lying on his back, broken and bleeding.

The figure was barely visible through the dust, but as he got closer, Crusher recognized him.

"Commander Grid...?" Disbelief laced his voice, but he quickly recovered. "Oh, no. Commander!"

Crusher rushed into the crater, arriving at the sorry figure of the commander.

Commander Grid had completely lost his air of invincibility. In its place was a broken man missing his left arm—all the way to his shoulder.

The gear he had worn for the mission was in tatters, and wounds covered his body. Worse still was the purplish-dark mist rising from his wounds.

He was barely conscious, struggling to register anything around him.

’And he’s alone.’ Crusher gulped, already having an idea of what had happened to his team.

"Commander!" Another voice called out, filled with fear and panic.

Crusher turned his head to see Captain Reeder and Kennedy rushing over.

"Damn it!" Reeder cursed, kneeling by the commander. "Get the healers here!" He turned to Kennedy, who nodded and rushed off to call for the others.

Soon, Jess, Elyndra, and the others arrived—at least, those who had dared to come.

"Commander Grid, can you hear me?" Reeder shook him gently, hoping to get a response.

The commander stirred with a soft groan, followed by a cough as he turned to his side and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Commander... what happened?" Reeder swallowed the lump in his throat. He had a suspicion, but he was still in disbelief.

Commander Grid glanced at his subordinate, his eyes dull and almost lifeless. He could barely feel anything. Even the pain had faded.

"R-run..." The commander managed to utter before lying back down.

"Wha—?" Reeder couldn’t quite catch what the commander had said, but he didn’t have to.

’!’

The captain and the surrounding adventurers turned toward the other side, sensing the same suffocating pressure from before.

"Run!"

Out of nowhere, the commander sat up and shouted with everything he had.

The sheer desperation in his voice snapped everyone out of their daze, awakening an existential fear within them.

"Forget about me and run! You can’t win!"

With that final warning, the commander collapsed again, barely breathing. He was at the end of his rope. There was no way he could escape.

"Co-command—" Reeder was almost in tears. But before he could say anything, Kennedy appeared behind him, grabbing him under his arms.

"We have to go!" Kennedy yelled, glancing behind him with terror in his eyes. "We-we have to..." The man was trembling.

The moment the adventurers and knights spotted the approaching monstrosity in the distance—one that seemed to darken the very atmosphere—they bolted.

"It’s coming..."

A few hundred meters from where the trench began, a figure approached. With every step it took, the very air trembled.

The deadly aura the demon exuded grew more suffocating the closer it got.

Even from that distance, Kennedy could tell—the demon was huge, probably over three meters tall.

In the distance, Jess glanced back, and when she saw the demon approaching, her heart sank into the pit of her stomach.

As terrified as she was, she noticed something strange. The demon wasn’t going out of its way to stop them.

In fact, the oppressive aura pressing down on them was weaker than before. It was like...

’Like it wants us to escape...’ Jess realized. And she wasn’t the only one.

"Don’t think too much about it!" Crusher yelled. "That monster could change its mind at any time!"

At the back, Kennedy pulled Reeder along as they gradually made progress.

One last glance at the commander made it clear—he was drawing his last breath, if he hadn’t already.

’Ah... Commander. We failed...’ Reeder held back the tears that threatened to fall. ’The kingdom is doomed!’

As the captain wailed while being dragged away, the approaching demon suddenly let out a loud roar.

The roar shook the ground, creating powerful gusts of wind that sent trees swaying violently.

And the demonic aura it exuded intensified, threatening to cripple every living thing in its wake.

"YOU BETTER RUN, WEAKLINGS. HAHAHA..."

The demon’s laughter echoed across the floor, sending chills down everyone’s spine. Still, they kept moving, fighting against the terror threatening to consume them.

"TODAY IS THE DAY! HAHAHA...."