*C59 - Marak Azathraal Appears!

E/d note: This will get covered in the afterthoughts, but I did use ChatGPT to help me form some of the action sequences in this original arc. If you are used to AI work, you might see some initial snippets of them but I did try to re-phrase as much as I could to make them feel natural and in my own way of writing, which arguably is actually pretty bad in English literature wise xD

'Inner dialogue/thoughts'

"Normal dialogue"

[System]

[Diary entries]

(Word count: 2,220)

~ A few minutes later, with Luke ~

The scene was pure chaos. The once lively street outside of LAX Jewellery had transformed into a battlefield. Roughly ten minutes had passed since the first creature rose, and now tens of them prowled the area.

Maybe it was a stroke of luck, or maybe the covenant was taking it easy on them, but the number of creatures at any point in time never seemed to go past a certain number in their field of fire. Whenever a creature fell, a new one would rise to take its' place.

Luke and Natasha stayed put at their vantage point, covering the STRIKE team in the jewellery store by taking out the creatures that got too close. The both of them kept firing their rifles, each shot successfully taking out their targets.

"Where's that f*ckin backup?! The military should have been here by now!" The voice of one of the captain of a STRIKE unit sounded on the radio comms.

Hearing this, Natasha furrowed her brows as she switched her comm frequency to the general one used for communications between the local police, contractors and the military. However, what she heard on the air had only increased her worries further.

"NOOOO-"

"GET TO THE MED-EVAC ZONE-"

"MARINES, HOLD YOUR LINE-"

"WE NEED IMMEDIATE REINFORCEMENTS AT POINT C-"

"SWITCH TO HE ROUNDS-"

"AARGH, AAAAARGGHHH-"

"IT'S NOT DEAD, THEY DON'T DIE! I'VE HIT IT A HUNDRED TIMES, THEY DON'T DIE!"

The general comm line was in a state of pandemonium far worse than what Natasha could have ever imagined. Multiple gunshots and screaming could be heard overlapping with orders between the ground team leaders.

Except for the STRIKE units, the rest of the coalition forces were not faring well. Trained for conventional threats, they struggled to adapt to the moving targets. Bullets sprayed wildly, hitting torsos and limbs but failing to stop the creatures. One by one, they were getting overrun, their screams piercing the chaos as they were torn apart by the relentless horde.

Thinking on her feet, Natasha took out a map and made a plea to Luke, "Luke, I know you said you won't use your abilities, but I need you to get to this location," Natasha pointed to an area on the map, "and get in touch with the military units. You need to help them out-"

Suddenly, both Natasha and Luke's senses were heightened to their fullest as they perceived the looming threat of imminent danger. The surrounding noise faded out into silence, leaving the pleas for assistance on air unanswered.

After a moment, a voice cut through the tension as Luke's eyes hardened, "We meet again, Luke Sullivan."

"Marak. . ." Luke said as he recognized the figure that walked into his line of sight.

Without hesitation, Natasha raised her rifle and shot towards Marak. However, the bullet had merely passed through Marak, the only damage it caused being that the figure of Marak fizzling out of existence.

'An illusion?!' Alarmed, Luke was internally racing through his memories. He did not remember writing Marak having said abilities. 'No, I don't remember giving him any specific abilities at all. System! What's going on?!' Luke internally commanded as he scanned his surroundings while utilizing the full experiences he had received in simulations.

Moreover, using his abilities, Luke could not feel any other figures aside from himself and Natasha that were currently on the rooftop they were in. This meant that either Marak had an ability that could mask his presence physically, or he was never near them to begin with.

[System response locked until Host clears Hidden Mission: Survive the Horde!]

'WHAT THE LIVING F*CK?!-' Luke's complaint was cut short as the earlier feeling of imminent danger came blaring back, signalling that Marak was around once again.

"Natasha Alianovna Romanova. You should be dead." Marak's voice appeared behind them, yet when Natasha and Luke turned around, they did not notice anything out of place.

"Well maybe not now, but you will be in the fu-"

"What do you want, Marak" Luke interrupted while simultaneously speaking internally, 'System, we are going to have a long talk after all this is done.'

"Straight to the point, as always." Marak began pacing as he began, "What I want has been the same since the day we first appeared back on our world, Luke. The awakening of our God."

Luke furrowed his brows as he heard Marak's unchanging purpose, "He doesn't exist in this reality Marak, and you know it." Although Luke said this aloud, he was unsure of the certainty of his statement. He had written Marak and the covenant as vaguely and mysteriously as possible since he had wanted to gradually strengthen Marak while Luke grew stronger himself.

However, the system had thrown a curveball at Luke. 'System for your sake, the True Demon God had seriously not existed nor will exist in this world! I had only written about him for the lore, not because I wanted to fight him!'

"I see, so you know about that too. Well then, it's pointless to keep the charades up. Whatever sent me here, it's cut me off from everything." Suddenly, Marak's voice grew colder, as anger seeped into his voice. "Everything that I worked on for decades, gone. Just like that."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're not the only one who lost everything, shithead!" Luke rebutted.

"Ever the witty one, aren't you?" Marak sneered while he walked towards the edge of the rooftop, facing the jewellery store, "Always with the quick response. But tell me, Luke, what good is your sharp tongue now?" As Marak spoke, the radio comms became audible as Luke and Natasha heard the chaos unfolding throughout the streets of Los Angeles.

"Maybe not much, but it's better than hiding yourself through an illusion. How about you come face me yourself and see what else I can do." Luke challenged as his eyes narrowed while he readied his weapon.

Seeing this, a grin appeared on Marak's lips, "In due time, Luke. Our battles have yet to conclude. It would be a shame for you to die here. I do hope that you survive this, for I won't be holding them back any longer."

Sensing the shift in Marak's tone, Luke felt a chill run down his spine. Suddenly, multiple roars echoed around them, reverberating through the air with a menacing intensity.

Natasha, who had been standing beside Luke throughout the entire exchange, widened her eyes as she turned towards Luke, "Those roars. . . They're everywhere." She whispered, fear edging into her voice.

Luke tightened his grip on his weapon, his senses on high alert. "He's unleashing them all at once. We need to alert the rest of the forces."

Marak slowly faded from their view, his grin widening, "Enjoy your little reunion, and I hope you appreciate our little greeting. Do not disappoint me this time, Luke."

As Marak's threat hung in the air, the roars grew louder as the gunshots and screaming all around them grew louder and more frantic.

"Luke, you need to help the rest of the forces," Natasha began urgently, "From the looks of it, the creatures seem to be making their way in a general direction to this jewellery store specifically, only attacking when being attacked on or those in their way. We can't let the rest of the horde reach here."

"Head to this area," Natasha pointed to an area on the map, "This is the route for the largest military reinforcement that were sent to assist us. Link up with them and bring them here. With their added firepower and numbers, maybe we'll live through this." Natasha concluded in a grave tone.

Nodding his head, Luke ran in the opposite direction as he suddenly jumped from the rooftop. On the contrary, Natasha was not prepared for Luke's actions and panicked when she saw him jumping off, "LUKE!"

~ With Natasha ~

Rushing to the ledge Luke jumped from, Natasha sighed in relief when she saw that Luke had somehow safely landed onto the floor. Additionally, she saw that Luke had already began taking out the creatures methodically, showcasing his years of experience and countless engagements he had with the covenant in his world.

Seeing that Luke had begun taking a more proactive approach in the battle, Natasha soon followed suit as she made her way down to engage in her own battles. However, she stopped when she saw that some of the creatures had made their way into the building that she was on.

'The jewellery store is on the other side of the street, so why did they enter this building? Unless. . . They entered under Marak's orders.' Knowing that an encounter was unavoidable, Natasha took a deep breath as she steeled herself for the battle ahead.

Descending from the rooftop, Natasha moved swiftly but cautiously, her senses on high alert. The stairwell was dimly lit, shadows casting eerie shapes on the walls. Natasha gripped her rifle tightly, her finger hovering just above the trigger as she could hear the distant roars and screams.

Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the stairwell. Natasha paused, her heart pounded in her chest as she slowly descended another step. Feeling their presence nearby, her eyes scanned the darkness for any signs of the creatures.

Without warning, a creature lunged at her while she was passing through a door leading to one of the floors. Reacting instinctively, Natasha dodged and took aim at one of the eyeballs that stuck out of its body. While the creature was reeling in pain, Natasha repositioned herself and took the fatal shot to the base of its nape. The creature dropped to the ground with a thud, but she knew there would be more.

As Natasha reached the next floor, she saw several creatures clawing at the walls. Natasha could have closed and locked the door to that floor, but she did not want to leave a chance to be caught off guard by these creatures. Seeing that they had not noticed her yet, Natasha, in a show of marksmanship, dual-wielded her pistol and rifle as she fired at the unsuspecting creatures, killing them one by one.

This continued until Natasha had reached the ground floor. Natasha could see the exit ahead, but several creatures stood between her and the exit. Steadying her breath, Natasha's hands moved with practiced ease as she reloaded her rifle with AP rounds. With a determined expression, she charged forward.

The creatures reacted to her presence, lunging at her with frightening speed. Natasha's rifle snapped up, as she aimed for the exposed neck of the creatures, hoping that the AP rounds would be able to penetrate the neck and through the eyes at the base of the nape. Fortunately for her, her plan had worked.

However, in close quarters, their numbers were still overwhelming for Natasha as she ducked and weaved, avoiding their attacks with swift and agile movements. The sound of gunfire echoed through the enclosed area, mingling with the roars and growls of the creatures. Utilizing her years of training and experience, Natasha finally reached the exit, finishing off the last creature that stood against her.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Natasha tuned into the radio comms to listen in on the events taking place with the different teams. Thankfully, it seemed that Luke had manage to reach a few of the teams in time, providing much needed reinforcements.

Exiting the building, Natasha emerged into the chaos outside. Taking a quick scan of her surroundings, Natasha was left in disbelief and terror as she saw the remains of multiple police officers and individual contractors on the streets, while her team still held their line at the jewellery, albeit just barely.

Just as a large group of creatures were about to converge at the jewellery store, gunfire suddenly rained down on the streets as a military helicopter flew by. "About f*cking time we got air support! Let's show these bastards how it's done!" A rallying cry echoed through the STRIKE unit's radio comms, as Natasha felt a second wave of relief seeing that they now had air support.

With renewed determination, Natasha joined the fray, her rifle blazing as she fought to protect their position. Each shot was fired accurately, causing the creatures to fall down one after the another.

The day was far from over, and the battle for their lives had only just begun.

- End of Chapter 59 -

Next time in *C60 - Battle for Los Angeles!

The convoy's position was becoming increasingly precarious. The creatures, as if sensing the weakening defences, grew bolder, their attacks filled with more ferocity.

E/d note: Next chapter will mainly focus on the military side of the battle, and not Luke or Natasha.

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