Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

Chapter 192: Man In The Tape

Again, the television switched off right as the message was finished playing through the dusty speakers.

"Died? What's he talking about? Happiness through violence?" Finn questioned, looking down at the room filled with empty cans and discarded plastic.

"A figure of speech, maybe? Though we've both experienced death, haven't we? It's not too far-fetched to believe somebody else has done the same," Crow guessed.

The more this went on, following along the intended showcases of the mind of the sinister stranger, Finn felt himself becoming lightheaded. Walking through the scenery forged of the killer's memories, it forced him to connect with them, having to feel the very same things they felt.

'It's like I'm being forced to retrace his steps. The blood on his hands…I can feel them on my own–it's disgusting. I hate it,'

he thought.

Though Crow hardly seemed disturbed by any of it, Finn wanted to be done with it all as quickly as possible. He ventured down the corridor, finding one more room before the end of the hall.

It was a small chamber full of chains hanging from the ceiling, obscuring the television before it flickered to another tape.

"I don't know if I want to keep listening to this crap. The ramblings of a madman…It's pointless to hear him out," Finn said, wiping the sweat from his chin as he stared at the screen.

"I think there is value to be found in listening, even if it ends up being nonsense," Crow said with a curious smile. "After all, there's a reason for this, isn't there?"

"--" Finn neglected to respond.

The television buzzed before the tape finally loaded, this time showcasing fuzzy footage that looked unrecognizable to the previous scenery. It was a vast, dark place of black sand that stretched in every direction.

Screams emitted in the far distance within the recording, coming from all sorts of directions.

"What the hell is that place?" Finn mumbled.

Crow didn't answer, seeming focused to find that out as well, "Hmm…"

Finally, the emotionless voice played in the tape–

["

Eventually, I was caught. After forty years of bloodshed, they pinned me down. I took down twenty officers with me–a final scar to the world. I was executed without any discussion, and my name was erased from the record books. Apparently the government came together and decided my name was too much of a stain on humanity to be remembered. That made me smile.

After that, I found myself in this paradise…Hell.

"]

"Hell?" Finn repeated that last word.

"I'd say it was another figure of speech, but that footage–hm. If it really does exist, I suppose I know where I'm headed," Crow considered as his smile loosened momentarily.

"You don't seem too disappointed by that," Finn said, seeing the snowy-haired man's expression return to a pleased one.

Crow pushed the chains away, tapping his hand against the television as he chuckled, "Oh, I expected some sort of eternal punishment at the end of my life. That's only natural after the things I've done."

"You can understand that, but you can't stop yourself?" Finn asked.

Stay tuned to M V L

"Call me short-sighted, if you have to," Crow answered.

What awaited at the end of the gloomy corridor was a set of double doors. In the gap beneath the doors, he could see light bleeding in from behind. He only shared a partial glance to Crow before pressing his hand against the doors, carefully parting them.

Opening to what was on the other side, the static and buzzing of televisions filled his ears as he moved his feet slowly, one in front of the other.

"What…is this?" Finn questioned.

The room was built high like a tower, with countless televisions attached to the walls, some stuck on static screens, others playing hand-recorded footage. Every one of the T.Vs played what looked like the tape of a horrific act–stalking, murder, torture–things that would send somebody to the deepest gate of Hell.

"This is all of his work," Crow testified, looking up. "I had my fun here and there before the world became how it is now, but–hah, this one…Look at all of this. Hundreds? Thousands? All before this."

Seeing the tapes playing on the countless screens, their horrific nature, made Finn's stomach swirl as he held back his disgust. It was absolutely abhorrent just thinking about it.

"Somebody like this existed? This isn't a serial killer–it's complete genocide. He's a demon–maybe the damn devil himself," Finn remarked, repulsed by his findings.

What was a night he expected nothing from turned into an encounter that froze the blood in his veins. It was a step away from the terrors he'd faced; from the Furthest From God, to Sirius, to the Jabberwock–this was different.

A human who was without a trace of humanity.

"I almost feel put to shame. I hate to admit it, but I've been outclassed, through and through," Crow relinquished with a smile.

"Let's find a way out of here—I need to regroup with the others. This isn't something we can take on—" Finn said, looking around desperately.

Even though inside of his mind, he understood that he was trapped in the warped apartment, something made him anxious.

"Don't get cold feet now, dear Finn. He's been courteous enough to treat us like guests—so we must see it through," Crow excitedly said, calling his bone-made cleaver into his hand.

All of the televisions suddenly went black as though the power went out, bringing the overload of noise to a deafening silence.

Wump-wump. Wump-wump. Wump-wump.

Inside of his chest, he could feel his heart racing; in his ears, he could hear it. The absence of the artificial light in the worn down, rusty chamber welcomed the sinister presence in.

In the center of the dim room, from the largest, blank television that spanned multiple meters, "something" crawled out.

A man whose face was shrouded in the darkness, veiled by his messy, dark hair as he picked himself up like a puppeteered doll. He possesses an imposing stature, over two meters tall, built with freakish muscularity.

Yet, none of that mattered; Finn found himself frozen, breathing unevenly, his fingers trembling around his daggers as he looked towards the nameless force of evil.

'I can't breathe–what…is this? I shouldn't be this scared. I've put my life on the line more times than I can count…Why am I so scared?! It's unnatural–it's as though just breathing the same air as him is enough to send my heart into a panic,'

he thought.

All the nameless killer carried with him was a hunting knife, standing there with chilling confidence.

Finn readied himself, silently praying that Crow would actually be of help.

["

Sleuth Status

"]

[…]

Attempting to obtain any information on the hostile presence didn't give him anything. Not a name, class, or level—nothing.

He glanced at Crow for no more than a millisecond, hoping to affirm he will fight with him. In that brief pause of watching the stranger, he found the space between them torn away.

'—Ah?'

Finn thought.

That sinister presence was right in front of him, inducing an utter frost through his body. So deeply gripping his mind, the fear prevented him from activating a single skill, not even conceiving the thought before–

Squelch

.

A warmth filled him at his stomach before a visceral pain flared. There wasn't any time to focus on that one instance of pain as he looked down, finding the large knife leaving his stomach and stabbing into another point of his abdomen.

"Grrk!—"

Finn gasped out, swiping his dagger desperately as he forced the stranger to step back. The momentary retreat from the nameless killer caused the knife to be carelessly ripped out from his body, bringing a spillage of crimson from his stomach.

"Hfff…!" Finn breathed desperately, feeling his head spinning already from just a moment of blood loss.

["

Unbleeding

"] [9:59]

As a puddle had already spilled onto the metallic flooring, he forced his body to restrict all bleeding from his two wounds. Even though it was stopped, he could feel that the knife had skewered parts of him inside.

'Shit…It was so fast and aggressive—I couldn't react? No, my body just didn't even move,'

he thought.

As he focused up, he found himself being rushed again by the knife-wielding killer, though was intercepted by the hunter. Crow swiped his cleaver in front of the imposing man, missing by a large margin, though with a smile on his face.

"I can't have you dying on me so easily, Finn–" Crow remarked with a smile.

Amidst the hunter's own words, a counterattack came swiftly and without warning from the stranger as the knife struck at Crow's face. At the last possible moment, Crow moved his head, though only enough that the blade still dragged across his cheek, tearing through it.

Finn moved quickly to counter while the killer's focus was on Crow–

["

Blink Slash

"] [2:59]

He appeared right beside the imposing figure, slashing his blade at his neck. It made contact, though he found that it presented only a small cut, not nearly enough to prove fatal.

'What? It didn't go deeper than that–? His skin didn't feel that tough–no, it was my own strength. My body isn't responding properly,'

Finn realized.