52 Chapter 52 - The True Enemy Hidden Behind The Thicket

(This chapter might look sudden. But this is already somewhat planned and I simply accelerate it because I realized I fked up.

So, supposedly. The Scientist that took the T-Virus serum would take revenge on Atlas, the council and J. Ironwood. But I forgot about it after chapter 14. I went on for a while until I opened back the list of Ideas and planned for this fic. I tried to fix it. But not possible unless I removed the Atlas Vs Vale war.

So, my sort of not-solution is to assume the Awakened Human did his part as the Outer God pawn and roped in people like White Fang, Raven and the Branwen tribe, basically most bad guys not affiliated directly to Salem. And what happens in this chapter is the continuation of that, assuming the Awakened Human did the prep work in the background while Adam is distracted by the Infected Grimms thinking those are the enemies he needs to defeat when it's actually not. Then the Outer God did its preparation, finally mustering enough strength to invade reality and seek revenge on Adam for killing its avatar, the Dragon Grimm.

It's a little convoluted but I tried my best to simplify it already.

Also, I have a terrible headache. Probably migraine or maybe not because migraine is supposed to feel very painful though I did feel the throbbing. Idk anymore and it still hurts. Too many problems Irl that I'm tempted in my moment of weakness, contemplating about hanging myself. Bruh. Idk why i thought of that but I'm not going for an isekai before I watch No Game No Life season 2.

Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy this chapter.)

While Adam led most of the military power of Vale out on another battle against the enemy, the Infected Grimms.

A secret group of people that had been waiting for an opportunity finally sprung up their plan.

"How is the preparation?" A person hidden under a thick cloak asked.

"It's done. We are waiting for the next instruction." A red haired Faunus wearing a white mask replied curtly.

"Hmn. You did a great job and I assure you that the justice you seeked will be obtained very soon, Mr Taurus of the White Fang." The man under the cloak replied with a playful tone.

Adam Taurus never liked this man one bit. However, if he can finally realize his wish and the wishes of other fellow White Fang members, it's just a small price to put up with this guy.

"Though, I have a question. If you didn't mind me asking… Do you not care about the other Faunus that live in the city?" The mysterious man asked out his curiosity.

"I don't." Adam said while clenching his fist, clearly not liking those Faunus. After all, they were domesticated by humans, brainwashed to forever live like cattle. We wouldn't bat an eye for those that refuse to fight for their freedom and embrace this shitty society.

"Good. Now I will know you are definitely capable. Now, I wouldn't waste more of your time. Do your part and I will do mine." The mysterious man said before turning around. "If you would excuse me, I have places to be. It's a wonderful cooperation, Mr Taurus."

Adam said nothing and walked away in the opposite direction. His eyes are burning with flame. After Cinder Fall disappeared overnight, his plan fell apart and the whole organization went into hiding with nothing they could do to further their goal. Until this mysterious man appeared that is.

The mysterious man offered many things. Weapons, Dust, mysterious medicine and many more.

The mysterious medicine is the most miraculous thing. After taking that drug, the whole White Fang becomes stronger overnight. Adam himself didn't take the drug because he suspected something fishy about it but he didn't care. He let his subordinates take the drug and with this, he had the tool. The tool to finally seize their equality by force. To make those humans recognize their mistakes and taste their own medicine.

All the suffering, discrimination and tragedy will finally be answered. By blood that will wash away the grief and suffering the Faunus had received as the victim.

———

"A tool will remain a tool huh?" The mysterious man mutters with a tone filled with amusement. "He realized he was used yet he agreed anyway. Truly, hatred makes people blind."

Standing on top of the Vale CCT tower, the mysterious man looks over the city and awaits for the signal.

"Now, Adam White. Ah. I admit you are a formidable foe. I never took you as a serious threat." The person places his hand over his heart and he can feel a shudder, the pain inflicted to him still stings even right now.

"I will never forget this pain. You will pay it back a hundredfold. I will not be satisfied with just a simple revenge. I will destroy everything you spend your sweat and blood building. Everything you ever cherished."

"Ha… kakahahaha! Ah, how long has it been since I last felt this much joy and excitement."

Just as he finished his typical villain speech, a series of explosions took place all across the city.

"Oh, it's time already." The mysterious man hummed and then tear open his cloak.

What revealed under the cloak turn out to be a woman?!

A woman with lustrous black hair that reached her waist, an hourglass body which accentuate her charm and boosted by a form fitting dress that split around her thighs and reveal a thicc and supple, milky white pair of thighs. On her chest is a pair of jiggly peaks that is neither big or small, just the perfect size. On her face is a cruel smile adorned her lips and a glowing red eyes with golden reptilian pupil and a pair of black slits that stared predatorily at the city below.

"Devour this city. Destroy it down to its foundation. Leave nothing but ashes and ruins behind to greet his victorious return. Hahahaha!" She laughed mirthfully, revealing her sadistic joy as she held her chin up and imagined what face he would make when he saw what's left of this city.

However, she wanted to continue to savor this occasion. A fly came to interrupt her.

"A crow? No, it has trace of magic." She saw a certain out of place avian creature flying above the city before diving down.

"This… Ah, I forgot there supposed to be a few ants capable of using magic. This one should be the doing of that headmaster guy… " She is recalling the memories of the parallel Remnants that she devoured. To be honest, none of those were memorable since none had ever give her trouble like this Remnant that have a pesky Otherworlder sent by the ####### to ruin her meal.

"Hmph, just an old fossil." She ignores them and continues watching as the city descends into chaos when Infected Grimms swarm up from the ancient sewer system under the city like an endless tide of water gushing out from underneath which she uses to smuggle the Infected Grimms in.

———

Vale being in the state of emergency is just an understatement. It's a complete pandemonium.

Just a moment ago, the citizens were going about their daily lives, going to work or doing their daily routine when the ground suddenly exploded and revealed a deep pit where Grimms- No, Infected Grimms crawl out the hole and attack everyone indiscriminately.

"Run!"

"Wahhh! Mama, help me!"

"Someone call the Hunter Guild!"

"Everyone please evacuate over here. Remain calm an- Ahh!"

No one is safe, the Vale police department were incapable of handling the threat. So does the Huntsmen because of the sheer numbers of Infected Grimms pouring out from the numerous holes all around Vale.

Agent in the Presidential Office tried her best to deploy the reserve Mechs to protect the people and create a safe zone for people to be evacuated. She also tried to contact her other body that is with Adam to inform him of the situation but no matter how she tried, she couldn't contact Adam or anyone outside of Vale.

"Something is jamming the communication." The realization dawned her.

It was hopeless. She was caught off guard. She never expected such situations would happen, never expected someone could jam the communication because such technology didn't exist in Remnant.

Agent could only muster what she has in her hand right now and stall enough time for Adam to return with the military. Although the chance they returned in time is slim.

———

In the battlefield, the battle was mostly done. What is left is to clean up the remaining Infected Grimms.

Agent sensed something odd, she lost connection to the rest of the Dummy Link out of the sudden. She swiftly informed Adam.

"Master, I suspect something is happening in Vale. I lost connection to the Original."

Adam who was leading the Servants and Cursed Children heard this message and frowned.

"What!" Adam stopped fighting and felt a bad premonition.

*Ding*

A System notification appeared out of nowhere and it's a Mission. The bad feelings intensified as he opened the System interface to see,

[Emergency Task]

[Outer God Revenge]

The Hordes of Infected Grimms outside of Vale had been a distraction meant to lead most of Vale's defenders away. The true goal of the Outer God had always been Vale. It's a retaliation and revenge for its prior defeat. It's the opening act to it all out invasion on Remnant.

Objective;

- Prevent Vale's destruction.

- At least 20% of the population survived. 93% remaining.

- Eliminate all Infected Grimms in the city.

- Defeat the Outer God. (Optional)

- Kill the Outer God. (Optional)

Reward: ???, ??? Ability.

*Crack*

Adam felt something snapped inside him after reading the information his System provided to him.

"Siegfried, how fast can you travel back to Vale?" Adam asked with a chilly voice.

"10 minutes top." Siegfried noted the shift of aura around his Master and sort of guessed a trouble was happening back at Vale.

"Jeanne, Jalter. Can you both keep up?"

"We can't boost our speed like Siegfried but our Rank-A Agility should be as fast." Jeanne replied and Jalter nodded too, curious about why Adam would urgently want to return out of the sudden.

"Good. Carry me and let's head to Vale immediately." Adam disengaged his armor to reduce his weight.

(Sounds illogical because the armor did not disappear but disassembled into Nanites. But overlook it for now. I'll explain in the future. Probably…)

Siegfried nods and about to swoop Adam into his arm in a princess carry but Adam stops him and rather be carried like a sack instead. Then they left immediately.

Adam had informed Agent of his decision and told her to wrap up everything as fast as possible and return to Vale as soon as possible.

Ten minutes later, Adam and his Servants arrived near the outermost wall surrounding Vale and saw nothing happening to Vale. Nothing is on fire or is there any attack taken place.

That is until they actually approached the wall. They hit an invisible barrier which prevented their entry and not even a full power slash from Siegfried can cause any damage.

"Let me try." Adam channeled his Semblance infused Aura before he punched the wall with intention to damage the barrier and it did. His Aura infused punch melted a hole large enough for them to fit in one by one.

Once inside, they reached the top of the wall and saw the real state of Vale under the illusion barrier. It's a complete chaos. Dark smoke rising up to the sky from all over the city, the sound of explosion can be heard all the way from here.

'Master! It's a relief that I can finally reach you.' Adam heard Agent's voice in his head. 'Master, please run away. Leave the city immediately. The enemy is targeting you. This is all a trap to lure you- *bzzt*" The communication was cut short.

"Agent? Agent! Fuck!" Adam instantly re-engage his suit and leaped off the wall as he continued on foot.

The three Servants, understanding the graveness of the situation decided to keep their silence for now and follow their Master.

———

The new mansion which Willow and the Cursed Children stayed is undoubtedly the most safest place in the city. The superhuman children aside, there is many active Huntsmen working there daily as instructors and teachers along with many students from Beacon.

"There is no end to them." A Huntsman noted grimly as an ocean of Zombified Beowolves outside the fence and wall of the mansion, trying to scale it and kill all living beings.

"Even so, we must keep fighting. There are civilians behind us and we must persevere until help arrives."

"Help? There is no one capable of helping us now. The military is out on an expedition and it would take half a day for them to return. We will be lucky if they are even aware of this situation right now."

Hearing this, many grip their weapon tighter. This was a set up. The timing is too convenient and the culprit isn't difficult to identify. Many saw the Faunus terrorist group dressed in white with a mask on their face killing indiscriminately and working together with the Infected Grimms.

Suddenly, one of the Huntsman felt someone tugging at his shirt. He turned around and saw their students, those girls a quarter his own age, armed with weapons and eyes flashed with determination.

"Please let us help. We also want to protect the city. We want to help our father!" They all requested with burning determination.

Before the Huntsman could answer, another wave of Zombified Beowolves broke through the wall and charged at them. One of the girls was hefting a warhammer twice her height and crushed the incoming Zombified Beowolf that was about to attack him. Then with a flick of her arm, the warhammer lifted from the ground and she swung it again as she crushed five more in a sweeping strike.

Those girls are stronger than even the Huntsman. Yet, he is simply unwilling to let these children experience such horror. But in light of their determination.

"Go ahead and do what you need to." The Huntsman relent and gained a new vigor.

It was because he failed his job to protect those he supposed to that these girls have to arm themselves to battle. He will lose all his dignity as a Huntsman if he were to be outdone by these girls' determination.

"Come on, we can't let these kids do all of our jobs. I still have my pride damnit!" Another Huntsman picks himself up from despair and charges into battle once more with a renewed vigor.

———

On another part of the scene.

"Hmn. So, you are the real one working behind the scenes. A robot, huh. This makes things complicated. You still have other bodies so killing you wouldn't work either." The Outer God mutters while stepping on Agent's detached head that stares defiantly at her.

"Ah~ I wanted to create a tragic story. To be killed by the person he loved and trusted the most or kill her with his own hands." She moaned with an intoxicated and sadistic face as she pleasure herself from the imagination. "I can imagine it, the look of despair and anguish on his face."

She stopped and looked at her own soft and slender finger stained by her own fluid as she licked it seductively. "Hmn, yes. That would be the perfect revenge." She said before looking at the head under her foot. "Until you ruined it, that is."

Agent had suffered critical damage and wouldn't last much longer as she desperately tried to perform her last ditch effort. Even if she was defeated that easily by her enemy, she will not go down without a fight.

"Hmn… Maybe I should slaughter those girls instead. Hmn?" The Outer God sensed something was wrong and looked down at the head that smirked back at her but it was too late.

Agent use all her effort and manage to trigger her body's self-destruct function, causing the highest purity Lightning Dust chunk in her battery, larger than one used for a Dust missile's warhead to overload its discharge, causing a meltdown before it explodes violently, destroying the entire Presidential building.

Unfortunately, for Agent. The Outer God was unharmed and unamused by her futile attempt to drag her along to death.

"How dare that bitch! She ruined my dress and my hair!" She screamed angrily while looking at her tattered dress and most importantly, her hair that got singed.

"Hmph." With a wave of her hand, her hair and dress were restored to pristine states.

"You may deny me my victory. However, it's just a futile struggle." After all, what can these mortals do? They can never truly harm a God like her especially after she descends with her true body carrying all her power. "Struggle all you want and entertain me. The victor will be me anyway."

The Outer God conjured a purple flame and set the place on fire. Burning all traces and leaving nothing behind as a precaution.

When she returns to the street of Vale. She stroll across the city leisurely despite the people dying left and right. She in fact enjoys this destruction and chaos.

"Ahhhh! Help me! Somebody! He- Ahhughh!"

She saw a few men huddle up in a shop, barricading themselves but an Ursa tore the barricade apart and a Beowolf caught a victim which it dragged out to the street and instantly devoured by the Infected Grimms like a school of starving piranhas.

She stared remorselessly and even waited as a group of White Fang members arrived moments later with a cruel bloodthirsty smile as they helped the Infected Grimms break through the barricades to devour human and faunus hiding inside the shop while laughing gleefully and declaring this is their retribution for their sins against the Faunus-kind.

"Truly, only humans are capable of such cruelty against their own kind." She nodded and strolled off again to harvest more souls and nourish her own.

———

Upon arriving in the city, Adam truly saw how terrible it had become. People killed left and right. People screamed, begged in desperation for help but remained unanswered as beasts tore them apart with seemingly endless hunger. Those with strength to resist those beasts found themselves killed and betrayed by people in white dress and mask.

"This… how terrible… How could they do this to their own people." Jeanne felt heartbroken when she saw that what's attacking the city isn't just Infected Grimms but it was orchestrated by fellow men.

Jalter simply stared quietly and said nothing while Siegfried sported an unusually stern face as he grip his blade tighter.

Adam sprints off again under the effect of [Adrenaline Shot] and activates [Speed Mode] as he turns into a red blur and closes the distance in an instant between him and the White Fang members torturing the dying Huntsman.

Wordlessly he arrived next to them before they could react and caught one of them by the head and his right arm released a punch that crushed the head effortlessly, spraying blood on himself. With the red cloak of aura hanging around him and the blood, he looks like a demon coming straight from hell to drag these sinners down.

"Who the fuck ar- Kah!" Before the he could finish his words and aim his weapon on Adam, he punched again and it carve a hole through the White Fang member's chest and causing him to cough out a mouthful of blood in shock and gurgle incoherent words that Adam didn't bother to listen before he summon three operators using [Reinforcement].

Those operators wordlessly get to work clearing off the Infected Grimms nearby while Adam knelt down near the dying Huntsman.

"T-Thank you… please kill me. Let me die a human… please." The dying Huntsman begged but Adam didn't care what the Huntsman said and used his Medic skills to miraculously heal the man back to perfect health.

Without waiting to even listen to the Huntsman's word of gratitude, he summoned Hornet into his hand and ran deeper into the city, shooting and crushing more Zombified Grimms and White Fang members he encountered without mercy. No matter how they begged for mercy, Adam had none reserved for his enemies. Especially those who harmed the people he cared for as what awaits them is something worse than hell for his mercy had run dry. What replaced in his heart is a wrath that burns stronger than a thousand suns. Whether they are mindless monsters called Grimms, a pathetic terrorist group or gods. He will bathe in their blood and gore once he is done, utterly annihilate all traces of their existence. He will rip and tear until it is done. For he is done with this farce.

—————

(There are three things all wise men fear. The sea in a storm, a night with no moon and the anger of a gentle man.

—Patrick Rothfuss)

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