MMORPG: Rebirth as an Alchemist Chapter 904 Prelude to the Apocalypse 3

Heat stroke?

Roz wondered to himself, even though the mall's air conditioning was blasting at full power.

Things just weren't making sense.

Roz's focus shifted briefly, yet screams suddenly ripped through the atmosphere. Turning around in alarm, he watched in terror as the woman savagely tore into the neck of the staff who had checked on her well-being.

His pulse raced wildly in his chest while he stared at the nightmarish mutation unfolding right in front of him. Veins throbbed prominently across her skin, her eyes turned mosquito-like and swelled bigger with every passing moment, as her mouth stretched out into a razor-sharp, needle-shaped proboscis.

"What the . . ." Roz muttered, dread twisting deep in his gut.

He seized Lira's hand with a firm grip right away. "We need to escape this place. Immediately."

Roz tugged urgently at Lira, trying to get her to flee, yet she stood frozen in place, her face etched with bewilderment and panic.

Alarm surging through him, Roz glanced at her, his eyes bulging in disbelief.

Blood trickled from Lira's ears and nose, soaking into her mask. She pulled off her sunglasses, exposing the nightmare underneath—her eyes weeping crimson tears too.

"R-Roz . . . what's happening to me?" Lira's voice shook with terror and disorientation.

Shock rooted Roz to the spot, leaving him paralyzed and unable to process the monstrous change happening before him.

"I think . . . I think I'm not right . . ." Lira's statement cut short as she heaved up a torrent of blood mixed with viscous green slime.

Agony wracked her body as one eye burst forth grotesquely, swelling out of proportion. "R-Roz . . . run away . . . I can't . . . there's something inside my head . . . buzzing."

A piercing wail of torment escaped Lira, sending Roz reeling backward until he collapsed in horror, beholding the hideous alterations consuming her. Her eyes morphed into enormous fly-like orbs, dwarfing her skull, while her lips extended into pointed mosquito fangs.

"L-Lira . . ." Roz whispered, utterly dumbfounded by the appalling spectacle.

Reality crashed back when Lira bellowed one final warning for him to flee.

Scrambling upright, Roz bolted away in sheer fright, heart thundering.

He'd barely covered any ground before a force pounced from behind, impaling his skull with a nauseating crunch.

=======

"Hey Nikolai! Get down here for dinner!" Sumeri shouted up the stairs, met only by silence.

Sumeri gave a casual shrug and started laying out the takeout dishes on the table.

A few minutes ticked by with no sign of Nikolai descending.

"Nikolai, get down here now!" Sumeri bellowed once more, irritation building.

Silence stretched on, fraying her temper. "Playing that game without me again?" she grumbled irritably, marching up to his room with heavy steps.

Sumeri flung the door wide, set to berate her brother for blowing off her summons, but the sight inside choked her words.

Blood sprayed the floor, blended with slimy green goo, forming a macabre scene.

"What in the world, Nikolai?!" Sumeri's tone wavered between horror and worry as she crept inside, eyes darting wildly for her sibling.

When even his pod turned up empty, dread flooded her.

"Nikolai?!" she cried out desperately, bolting from the room with hammering heart.

Her panicked retreat slammed to a stop upon spotting an oddity clinging to the ceiling over the doorway.

Eyes flaring wide in revulsion, she gaped at the eerie, otherworldly beast. Its massive fly eyes and mosquito proboscis glared down, hanging spider-like, locked on her.

The freakish vision chilled her, but icy terror truly gripped when she realized it wore Nikolai's outfit.

"What the fuck–!"

Horror strangled Sumeri's scream as the monstrosity dove, its needle-mouth skewering her heart in a lethal thrust.

=======

Ragnar buried himself in laptop paperwork from his car's backseat, oblivious to the standstill traffic.

Deep in concentration, the gridlock escaped his notice until pointed out.

"Accident up ahead?" Ragnar inquired at last, slipping off his glasses to massage his throbbing temples.

"Apologies, sir—the jam looks set to drag on," answered the driver up front.

"Are there any alternate routes?" Ragnar asked, searching for an escape from the standstill traffic.

"All routes are congested right now," the driver replied, motioning to the GPS screen ahead.

Ragnar released a deep sigh and slumped back into his seat, accepting that he was trapped in yet another endless jam.

Feeling let down, he chose to kill time with some work, aiming to push forward and claim extra gaming hours tomorrow.

He turned his attention back to the laptop, diving into tasks once more, resolved to turn the delay into productivity.

Yet, piercing shrieks ripped through the air, snapping his focus and making him jolt upright in panic.

"What's going on?" Ragnar demanded, pulse quickening as a panicked horde surged toward them in sheer panic.

"I-I don't know, sir," the driver stuttered, his tone trembling.

In desperate flight, folks tripped over one another, some tumbling onto Ragnar's car, yet they ignored it all, rising quickly to dash away.

"What are they running from?" Ragnar muttered, his heartbeat thundering with rising dread.

"S-sir," the driver's voice shook as he gestured forward.

Ragnar's eyes followed the direction, and ice flooded his veins at the horrifying view. Mixed with the fleeing humans were bizarre, otherworldly beasts marching steadily closer.

In terror, Ragnar stared as the monsters grabbed runners and stabbed them with their elongated, sharp proboscises.

"What the hell!" Ragnar shouted, his eyes bulging in disbelief.

"S-sir, we need to leave!" the driver pleaded desperately, while Ragnar stayed paralyzed in fright.

Saying nothing more, the driver bolted from the vehicle, running for safety and stranding Ragnar by himself.

The beasts surrounded Ragnar's car, shattering glass and dragging out trapped souls, their hideous maws delivering deadly strikes.

When the monsters arrived at his vehicle, Ragnar knew he was cornered without any way out. Foot escape was now impossible.

Strangely calm amid the mayhem and looming death, Ragnar's shaky fingers punched in a phone number.

"Sylvia . . ." he murmured while the creatures poured in, their blackened claws groping through broken panes toward him.

"Hello? Ragnar? What's that? What's that noise? Are you okay, Ragnar?!" Sylvia's worried voice echoed from the line.

Ragnar clamped his mouth shut, thoughts whirling as he hunted for words to say.

"I . . ." he started, his tone a faint murmur.

Struggling for phrases he'd never dreamed of speaking, a massive needle-like spike plunged into his chest, crimson spraying over his phone.

As death overtook him, Ragnar stayed mute, his unvoiced emotions lingering in the eerie quiet of that final instant.