Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 6, Apocalypse Alice

Shin was surrounded by a multitude of enemies on all sides in the large chamber room he was in, yet they were not his immediate concern. It would take some time, but Shin could defeat all of those monsters with a few head shots of the Auto 9 in his left hand and a swing of the sword with the Gravity Blade in his right hand.

The only real threat that Shin saw was the overbearing Elite Skeleton Knight.

Shin: That Elite monster is no joke. Just standing there it makes me feel a bit nervous... I was hoping that I was free from this feeling of dread.

The large monster that Shin could only think of as an Elite made him feel a pressure of danger like no other. The one eyed Elite Skeleton Knight looked dirty like the other monsters from this distance, but Shin felt that it wouldn't be a good idea to judge it by its appearance. The spawned monster protecting the stairs leading down was still a skeleton type monster, yet it was far bigger than the others.

The normal Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton Spearman were at best seven feet tall and were on the skinny side, but the Elite Skeleton Knight was easily twenty feet tall with the width of three grown men. It possessed bones far thicker than the average skeleton, a full set of eastern oriented armor protecting its body, and lastly a long katana measuring at least half the creature’s size. Shin noted that the sword was already stained with someone's blood.

Shin had yet to see the enemy's full capabilities, but he felt real fear for the first time within the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. More so than the other monsters he had encountered, the Elite possessed more of the essence of the Labyrinth that put him on edge. It wasn't an absolute feeling of death like when he faced the Btoom Lord boss, but he knew that if let his guard down he would be killed all the same.

Shin: A true guardian of the Labyrinth given power to protect the girl from us. If I don't defeat him here he won't let me pass!

The large mass of monsters surrounding Shin raised their weapons and charged at him. They gave him no room to run away, so Shin jumped into the air with Instant Movement to escape. Shin didn't consider anyone other than the elite as an enemy, so he did not give them the respect of being faced directly. Shin just wanted to be rid of all of them so-

Shin: Disappear!

- *EXPLOSION*!!!

- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin dropped dozens of grenades infused with Ki Energy down at the enemies below while he was still midair. Shin had a limited number of grenades and a few BIM made by Saki that he didn't want to waste, but it was a priority to clear up the room of monsters before facing the Elite monster. Shin didn't bother with the messages of his rewards.

Shin smiled looking at his handy work, but that smiled didn't last long as found himself on the defensive. Like Shin, the Elite Skeleton Knight didn't have an eye for anyone else in the room and it ignored the death of its allies, stomping on them as he ran over towards Shin. The speed of the Elite Skeleton Knight was beyond anything Shin had seen so far and it all too quickly reached him while he was still in the air.

The Elite raised his sword and, with inhuman force, slashed at the defenseless Shin with its large and impeccably well-kept katana. Shin used Gravity Blade to block the blow, but without the support of the earth under his feet he was blown clear across the room, crashing into the far wall of the cave.

The Elite expected that Shin would die with smashed into a bloody human paste against the walls of the cave, much like all the others who had attempted to get by him. It was mistaken.

The Elite had underestimated Shin dearly. Shin’s magic armor coat negated most of the impact and almost as soon as he had crashed into the wall, Shin jumped back out into the open in a red flash towards the Elite Skeleton Knight. Shin's Kagune was released and at the same time he had entered into Unlocked Mode.

In the first Stage of the Genetic Constraint his bodily limits were removed and battle instincts surfaced in the mind. Shin instantly knew the method to lessen the damage of the Elite’s attack to a minimum and he knew his own condition better than any doctor could. His right arm was broken and wouldn't heal in time before the fight ended, but he still considered himself fortunate.

Shin: (The Lesser Fenrir Coat saves my life again. An Elite has well over ten times the strength of the average man and has a much larger body. I sincerely thank something better than this dimension's God that I'm in a Labyrinth/dungeon. All my stats have been increased to the highest degree possible due to the darkness. I would have taken more damage otherwise.)

Shin looked over to the Elite Skeleton Knight with his vacant eyes due to Unlocked Mode. He saw the monster rush at him in a rage, but he wasn't fooled. The Elite held some intelligence along with great power and would exploit any opening he showed. Not the level of an elite soldier, but the Elite was far from brainless (whether it had a brain in that skull or not is debatable).

Shin quickly went over the specs of his enemy in his mind. Power, speed, and skill level of the Elite flashed across his mind in the blink of an eye and he came up with a battle strategy that ensured victory. An Elite was indeed a tough opponent, yet very far from unbeatable.

Shin: The Auto 9 won't be too useful. His body is too tough. Just avoid his attacks and cut him down. Simple and to the point!

Shin was in a head on charge towards the Elite Skeleton Knight, but moved to the side swiftly with Instant Movement to narrowly avoid the ruthless axe-like slash. The attack missed, yet the force of the slash almost blew Shin away with wind pressure alone.

The Elite, following up with another attack, took another swing of its heavy sword at Shin in a downward slash. Shin used his scarlet red Kagune tentacles to deflect the slash away as he stepped back, yet the Elite showed off its immense strength as the sword buried itself into the cave floor.

The next attack all too quickly followed the last. Shin jumped back and used Instant Movement to escape the slash and moved to the elite's unguarded back with another step of instant movement. Gravity Blade's increased weight, magic, Ki Energy, and the Na Ring's force field melded together as one slashing at the Elite Skeleton Knight's unguarded back. Like a hot knife through butter, the night sky sword Gravity blade effortlessly cut through the tough armor and thick bones of the Elite.

Shin: Effective, but not enough. One more will do!

The Elite took massive damage and thwt did not go unnoticed by Shin. Shin was ready to finish off the Elite, but he immediately retreated to avoid the Elite Skeleton Guard coming back around to attack in a spinning slash. The elite staggered due to the great damage Shin inflicted, but he was still able to move. Shin even saw that the elite was slowly regenerating. This was his first time seeing a monster of the Labyrinth with such a characteristic.

Shin: (Can't let him recover. Even if I have gotten used to it a little, Unlock Mode takes a toll on the body, and so I don't want to use it for long.)

Shin was about to move in with Instant Movement to finish Elite Skeleton Guard off, but he stopped in place before he could take a step forward. His instincts screamed that he was in danger and he was frozen in place with apprehension. The scattered surviving monsters of the chamber from Shin's grenade attack began to surround him at that moment. A small army of monsters was about to tear him limb from limb, yet they weren't even reflected in his eyes at that moment.

Fully trusting his instincts Shin ducked down flat to the floor. The skeleton and zombies were about stab Shin to death with their weapons, yet before they could draw close enough to do so, a blue light representing death flew through the air at a neck breaking speed and cut all those who dared to keep standing in two. The upper halfves of their bodies disintegrated into ashes.

In shock at the damage that was caused by just one attack Shin looked over back at the Elite Skeleton Knight and saw that its blade was glowing an ominous blue. The sense of danger began to resurface as the light of the enemy's katana grew stronger by the second.

Shin: A laser beam slash!? Are you Ichigo!?

As Shin complained, another wide laser beam was about to be released from the Elite Skeleton Guard, yet the elite slipped on something unseen, allowing Shin to avoid the laser that went off course carving away a path that was several feet away from him. Shin knew a chance when he saw one, and he ran up to deliver the final blow. The Elite, despite its mistake, was ready to meet Shin head on. Before they were close enough to clash, they both froze up at a new presence.

The new presence within the large chamber released an intense bloodlust that left everyone in that space instinctively fearing for their lives. Not even the undead were immune. It was as if a monster had made its appearance and was about to devour them... Yet Shin with Gravity Blade in hand smiled and renewed his attack without concern of the danger.

Shin: Better late than ever my love!

Aqua: Who's your love fool?!

Descending from one of the upper entrances to the chamber and pouncing on top of the Elite Skeleton Knight was Aqua, the red haired veteran of Team Japan.

Aqua's right hand formed a fist and three blades of Adamantium, now ablaze in an orange flame-like energy sliced and crushed the head of the elite in one blow. Then following up, leaving behind a pitch black arc in its wake across the Elite's chest, was Shin’s Gravity Blade in a one-handed slash.

Shin: Three hundred Times Gravity Slash!

- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

The Flaming orange claws of Aqua and pitch-black blade of Shin together slew the Elite monster where it stood. What remained of the Elite Skeleton Knight was cut in two right down the middle, and then like all the other defeated monsters spawned by the Labyrinth to protect the Diseased Girl... the body returned to nothing as if it never existed.

Shin sighed in relief now that the battle was over and withdrew from Unlocked Mode. The pain was still there, but by now he could remain somewhat calm and not let the pain overwhelm him.

Shin: Aqua, I'm glad to-

Aqua: Not yet Shin, there are still a few monsters here and there. Let's clear the room before we talk.

Shin: Fine, but you are ruining our reunion of lovers. Aren't you ashamed as my girlfriend and wife to be?

Aqua: If you can joke then you can fight!

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- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Five minutes later Shin and Aqua had cleared up the room of the remaining monsters.

Once they were finished, the two met up by the stairs leading further down the Labyrinth. Shin arrived first and took his first glance down the dark stairwell. Shin felt more danger and death, stronger than what he had experienced from the Labyrinth so far. Shin was certain that this stairway would lead him closer to the Diseased Girl of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth that they must defeat to survive another day.

Aqua: Shin, are you okay?

Shin: Yeah, it's just this Labyrinth is all. This Labyrinth is made up of death, danger, blood, and sadness all mixed together rather than just magic power, and I can't ignore it. This feeling is too sensitive. If it continues, I'll probably go crazy from fear before any of the monsters get me.

Aqua: You are not calm enough, Shin. When you encounter unexplainable things like magic or the supernatural, the first thing isn’t to panic, but try to understand them. What's scary about a magic that burns you from the inside out? What's scary about a ghost that can appear out of thin air and kill you with one touch? Just think of them as a poison that kill you from the inside out, or that there is an assassin armed with an invisibility cloaking device. Do that and they are not so scary, right?

Shin: No, no, no that's still plenty scary, Aqua. Still, I get your point. Just take the mystery out of it and deal with it head on without getting scared.

Aqua: Exactly. Also, don't underestimate the power that you hold, Shin. You're the strongest after me on the team and you are a man worthy of being Team Japan's leader. You’re strong enough to break through a challenge of this level, but if you can't get it together when you need to, then you’re just a weakling who can only wait to die. That Elite monster didn't almost kill you because it was stronger than you. It was because you were overwhelmed by the fear of death and the unknown. Don't ever forget you’re someone who lived through the zombie apocalypse of H.O.T.D, the insane bombs battles of BTOOOM and that you had overcome Saki's death. Apocalypse Alice isn't where you are meant to fall, so relax a little and just do the best that you can and then some. Just like always.

Shin: ...Thank you, Aqua. I feel much better.

Aqua: You’re welcome.

Shin: I'll feel better if you had hugged me when you said that though. Just a little bit of intimacy and I'll be as good as new! Ready to face the Diseased Girl by myself if necessary!

Aqua: Now you’re too relaxed! There really is no helping you, is there? Well, if we can survive this death trap we can do more than just hug if you want.

Shin: Really!? Then let's hurry up and explore the Labyrinth, find our comrades and Kill the Girl to Save the World for more than a hug! (What a simple fellow I am. If all it take is a kiss or something like that for me to feel this way, to risk my life against an almost absolute death, then I doubt I could have ever stayed faithful to one girl if another pursued me. Well, this fits with my harem goal.) I'm ready when you are Aqua!

Aqua: ...

Shin: Also, didn't you promise me that if I survived my third mission you'll go swimming with me?

Aqua: Ah! I did say something like that, didn't I? Why? We already went swimming in the real world. It was even at the beach. Why do you still care?

Shin: Who can get enough of you wearing a swimsuit? Not me. We also have to try a few combination of one pieces, bikinis and-

Aqua: Enough!

Aqua simply ignored Shin from that point on and and walked away, not revealing her flushed face as she was slightly happy. Shin not knowing this was afraid that he said too much and Aqua was angry at him. Shin went after Aqua, but then he noticed that she had stopped walking away from him and was looking down at something. From where he was he could see a red stain on the cave floor.

Shin: What are you looking at, Aqua?

Aqua: Nothing really. Remember how that last attack missed you? I saw that while I was waiting for my chance to attack and remembered how that Elite monster slipped on something towards the end. Neither of us had the time back then to know why or care as we had to kill the Elite, so I was just checking it out. I just never expected there to be a body is all.

Shin: Body?

During the fight with the elite Shin did recall it slipping as it stepped on something, but he never saw a body. In Shin's defense the Elite was such a strong presence and there were countless other spawned monsters in the room as well, so he could have easily missed a corpse or two in all the chaos.

Aqua would have said something if it was the dead body of one of their comrades, so it wasn't someone she knew. All the students and teachers within the school ground were swallowed up by the Labyrinth, so there were plenty of people, or victims, who could have died, and so Aqua couldn't know them all. Shin only gave Aqua and the others a description of Hero Team members after all.

Now curious, Shin walked over to Aqua to check the body and when he saw it... He was taken back. All the remained of the corpse was the upper half of the body, while the legs were stomped on into an unrecognizable mess that left a bloody stain on the floor.

It was a corpse Shin recognized.

It was not one of his important comrades.

It wasn't the body of any of the New Players.

It also wasn't the corpse of any of the members of Hero Team, although it was indeed a character from the light novel of Apocalypse Alice.

It was the body that he recognized as the home room teacher of Class 5, Honjou Tsukasa.

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Authors Note:

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Proofread by Hoebagger