Granola

Damien lamented over his decision earlier. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to choose a lab with a far higher difficulty. In fact, it might've just been a bad decision in general. And now, it seemed like he was facing the consequences for it.

Seeing the giant rushing towards him made his thoughts race. His mind branched out to think of several different things he could do at that moment. The first thing that came to mind was fighting it off, though that would obviously come with serious injuries as a consequence.

Another thought was to try and block it, but Damien doubted that using his katana to block would help him all that much against something that was clearly unbelievably strong. It felt like trying to block a truck that was barreling toward him.

The third thing that he thought of was trying his best to evade. Damien was fairly sure at this point he wouldn't be able to guarantee he could dodge the giant, meaning in the best case scenario, he was going to get clipped.

In the end, as Damien's thoughts flashed, he ended up settling on blocking. He held his katana out in front of him, one on the handle, and the other on the blade. His plan was to use the momentum from being hit to create some distance.

As for how well it would work, there was only one way to find out.

Yet, before he could enact this plan, he suddenly found his body thrown to the side, and it was by the last person he expected.

Adonis.

Damien couldn't help but feel this wasn't the best situation, as he was still on track to getting clipped by the giant. However, Adonis let out a roar before charging straight toward the monster like a complete madman, holding his katana out in front of him.

The giant did not stop its charge, rushing forth without questioning Adonis' strange antics.

With a bang, the two of them collided.

Adonis' momentum was quite impressive along with his bravery. However, it would turn out that while he was the strongest of the group, he did not come close to the giant's. His katana pierced into the giant's arm, but once it reached the hilt Adonis was forced back. He did everything he could to maintain his form, but it was as though he was trying to halt an unstoppable force.

He simply continued sliding backward as the giant rushed forth.

The giant's side slammed into Damien, knocking him back, but otherwise, he was fine. Though still, he gave Adonis a strange look. One that said what the hell are you doing?

Adonis grit his teeth to the point that it probably wasn't healthy for his gums. He continued to push back almost like his life depended on it, rather than trying anything else.

Damien narrowed his eyes and pulled out his pistol. He sucked in cold breath before aiming at the giant's head. Then, he began firing.

The first shot hit dead on, leaving a small bloody hole in its head, but there didn't seem to be any effect. Kairos continued to shoot, waiting a second between each to get a proper hold of the gun.

He continued to fire, and in the middle of it, Adonis' back slammed into the wall. His situation only seemed to be getting worse, as though it wasn't bad enough already.

Regardless, Damien continued to fire without losing his composure. Once he had fired five bullets, the giant seemed to slow down considerably, and no longer pushed against Adonis.

At this point, Adonis let out another roar and somehow ended up forcing the giant away, making it land on its back.

From there, Adonis leaped on top of its chest before driving his katana into the monster's head repeatedly. The giant continued to struggle, but it was clear its coordination had more or less disappeared. It attempted to reach for Adonis and crush him, but ended up grabbing onto its own leg.

Zenos had his sniper rifle in his hands, while Killian had pulled out his submachine gun. However, they quickly realized that it was unnecessary and put them away.

The giant's movements gradually began to slow, until it stopped moving altogether.

Once it was all over, Adonis began breathing heavily once more, using his katana to hold himself up. It looked like he was about to fall over at any moment. Damien stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Why the hell did you do all that when you're already injured? You should just let us handle it."

Adonis frowned.

"...If you want a job... done right... then you have to do it yourself."

Damien rolled his eyes.

"Well, that doesn't apply when you're a crippled mess. When did you even wake up?"

Adonis looked at him strangely.

"Huh?... I never fell asleep..."

Killian laughed.

"What the hell? You were snoring! Don't tell me you were faking those."

Adonis seemed confused.

"Oh... I didn't notice I fell asleep..."

Zenos let out a long sigh.

"Well, you should get some rest. Especially after doing all of that."

Adonis shook his head.

"There is still the rest of the lab to clear..."

Damien rolled his eyes.

"Yes. And we can get to it after you've recovered somewhat."

Adonis fell silent for a few moments Before giving a small nod.

"...Alright."

He limped to get to a place that was relatively clean and not covered in monster blood before collapsing. Almost immediately, snoring sounds came from his general location.

Damien let out a sigh.

"Well. Looks like we got through another room."

Zenos clicked his tongue.

"You really didn't have to do it that way."

Damien shrugged his shoulders.

"You're right, but I felt you needed a little encouragement."

Zenos' eyebrow twitched.

"I don't see how that could possibly be seen as encouragement."

Damien coughed.

"Well, it sure got the adrenaline pumping, didn't it?"

Zenos looked at Damien like he was an idiot.

Probably because he kinda was.

Killian laughed hysterically.

"You know, my first impression of you, Damien, wasn't all that good. But now, I see you're an absolutely crazy mother fucker just like me!"

Damien shrugged his shoulders.

"Honestly, the pain is getting to me a little and messing up my judgment."

Killian smirked.

"Well, I prefer you this way. It seems like your judgment is probably going to get messed up even more the longer we go."

Damien smiled bitterly.

"I guess so."

Zenos took a deep breath.

"You aren't going to do that again, right?"

Damien shook his head.

"Nah. But if you start moping around like that then I can't guarantee I won't pull anything else."

The corner of Zenos' lip twitched.

"Alright then. Remind me not to act up like that."

Damien looked around the room, taking it all in for a moment.

"Hey, don't you think this place kinda looks like a cafeteria or something?"

Both Zenos and Killian looked around as well. The room was filled with various benches and tables, but they were all folded up in a corner. There was also what looked like a fridge, but it was open and also empty.

Zenos gave a small nod.

"It does look like a cafeteria, but why does that even matter?"

Damien blinked a few times.

"...Maybe there will be something left over to eat."

Killian scratched the side of his head.

"Um, even if there is anything leftover, won't it be expired like, years ago? This place looks old as hell."

Damien sighed.

"I mean, it probably won't taste good, but maybe there's some food that still lasts enough to eat after all these years. We are kinda desperate for food, you know?"

Zenos frowned.

"I guess we could try to look, even if it's basically pointless. We should probably take a little break anyway."

With that, the three of them began searching the room. There were a few cabinets for them to search through and also a pantry. They opened through all of them, but for the most part, they were empty. Most of what they found was dust or dirt that was scattered around within.

But eventually, Killian pulled something out of one of the obscure cabinets.

"Wait, I think I found something."

Both Damien and Zenos walked over. Zenos scratched the side of his head.

"Huh, there really was something? But it's probably not edible."

Damien narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?"

It was a little hard to make out as the box was scratched away, almost like it was weathered away.

Killian lifted the box up and looked at it from various angles.

"It looks old as hell, but it's also probably untouched."

Damien shrugged his shoulders.

"Might as well open it up."

After nodding, Killian peeled off the top, revealing the inside. It was packed to the brim with many bars with foil wrappers. All of them looked intact, which was a good sign. After a moment of thought, he broke open the foil of one, then frowned.

"Oh god. No wonder these are still here..."

Zenos peeked over his shoulder.

"Are they spoiled?"

Killian shook his head.

"No, they are almond-flavored granola bars. Only absolute psychopaths eat those."

Zenos took a few seconds to gather the words.

"Well, you're not wrong in saying that flavor is terrible. I'm not sure why companies even make those."

Damien chuckled.

"Maybe it's a good thing for us. Since none of these creatures wanted it, we can take the whole box."

Killian frowned.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna eat that. They taste bad enough already. If they are expired..."

Damien blinked a few times.

"Hand it over here then."

Killian very willingly handed over the granola bar, and Damien grabbed it with conviction. However, when he looked at it, he couldn't help but hesitate.

Because these strange granola bars really did taste terrible even when they weren't expired.