Odyssey || ArknightsXPunishing: Gray Raven (OLD BOOK)

Chapter 34: Wraith

Ratingen, Germany

"You... I'll send you all in fucking hell!" The man growled at the soldiers in front of him. His jaw was clenched, and his teeth seethed with anger. Telltale signs of the dreaded Punishing Virus slowly showed on the surface of his frame. This made the soldiers grab on their weapons and take a step away from him, with most of them still naked.

In that instance, they fired their guns at him, filling the room with a cacophony of gunfire. Like a staccato of beating drums, their guns went on. Shell cartridges made a 'clinking' sound as it fell continuously on the ground. An endless amount muzzle flash was what Ayla could see from her position.

The men screamed profanity as they blindly fired their gun in front of them. Due to the excessive firing, smoke from the gunpowder hung like a thick blanket on the room. Coupled by the hazy snow from the outside, they made the inside zero visibility.

"Hah... idiots." The same anger laced voice called out from the smoke. The soldiers muttered questions as a foreign substance mixed with the fog. It was visible to the naked eye, with glowing red particles floating in the air. It was miniscule, but it was there.

One thing led to the other, and as soon as they sucked in air, they felt something different. It was coarse, like sand traveling down their nose and to their lungs. The last thing they saw before they started coughing was a tall silhouette passing through the smoke.

"The Punishing Virus...has its wonders..." The man said to no one in particular, almost poetic in a way. "It instantly kills a human when they contract it, but makes constructs like us suffer in a gruesome fashion... How laughable."

"Haghk...haghk.." All the soldiers almost simultaneously collapsed to their knees, dropping their weapons to the ground. They all held their hands to their throats, feeling something itchy and painful inside their bodies. Their chests rose and fell in a disorderly manner, with ribs breaking every time they breathe.

Ayla's eyes widened when she saw the tall man stopping beside her, his golden orbs staring at hers with guilt. She could see a huge amount of Punishing Virus readings coming from his frame, as well as another foreign energy. She questions herself if her mind was already a lost cause.

"These animals must've put you in a lot of pain and trauma..." He unsheathed a kriss knife on his boot and cut the chains on her arms like it was nothing. He also removes the lock clinging on her feet before extending his hand to her. She stared at his hand for a second, before reluctantly grabbing hold of it. He slowly helps her up to her feet, and guides her away from the choking men.

She hugs herself as they slowly walked past the writhing bodies. These were the men that violated her body, stole her humanity. And now, they were on the ground, coughing, gasping for air like dying animals. Oh how the tables have turned.

"Он ... помоги нам..." One of the soldiers pleaded, only to receive a powerful kick on his face. The sounds of his jaw and cheekbones breaking puts a grin on the tall man's face. Ayla held her breath as he sat her down near the window, before taking his coat off. He fetches out a white cloth from his bag, as well as a bottle of water.

"W-What is... happening to them?" Ayla asked in horror, seeing the men crawl on the ground as they coughed and vomited blood. Lots of blood. Their veins bulged on their skin, making them look like roots were seeping to their bodies.

"Don't think too much about them. They're just dying slowly, that's all." He replied in the most nonchalant tone she has ever heard of, and gently cups her chin. She felt her body shaking as her cold skin met his warm touch. He levels his eyes and meets her lifeless ones, before raising the cloth he held on his large hands.