Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday - Chapter 128

Chapter 128: Monster From Behind The Veil (I)

The monster let out an ear-piercing shriek as Rune’s attack hit it squarely in the chest, halting its advance toward the window.

The monster screeched, its black-scaled body twisting unnaturally as it stumbled back. And yet, it didn’t fall. Instead, it growled – a deep, hoarse sound that vibrated through the glass that was suddenly not as strong as it needed to be.

The creature’s glowing red eyes narrowed on Rune with a hatred that seemed almost sentient.

Grace grabbed the edge of the couch for balance, turning around in time to witness the scene. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the creature. It was grotesque, with jagged claws and twisted limbs unlike anything she had ever seen in this world – but she had seen creatures like it before.

In the previous timeline.

Davian was the first to recover from the initial shock. “That thing…” he whispered, his eyes fixed on the creature outside the window. “Grace, doesn’t it look like -?”

“The monsters,” Grace finished in a tight voice, knowing exactly what Davian was talking about as the two of them had lived through the same timeline. “The ones that attacked during the apocalypse.”

Right then, she felt a hand coming to rest on her arm, and if not for the fact that something within her recognized the person, she might have took out the hidden dagger and stabbed him to death right there and then.

Dr. Kian was clearly shaken, but he was trying his best to remain rational. “What is it?”

Before anyone could have spoken in response, the monster lunged again. Its sharp claws were aimed straight at the window. Rune raised his left hand and summoned another burst of energy before sending it toward the monster again.

The monster’s claws collided with the window, sending ripples of power through the room, but the glass held.

“Get back,” Rune directed in a sharp and commanding voice. His eyes didn’t leave the monster even for a second, nor did he loosened his hold on his power.

Since the other three couldn’t be of any help, they immediately did as they were told and moved back, taking shield behind the wall separating the living room and the hallway leading to the bedrooms. From there, they peeked to see what was going to happen next.

The creature snarled, its eyes following the trio until they disappeared from its sight. It was clearly angry, not only because its target had disappeared but also because an unexpected obstacle was standing in its path.

Its gaze returned to Rune and it pressed on the glass with its powers, erratically testing the glass for weaknesses. But even if there was any chance for it to break down that strong piece of glass, it wasn’t an option at the moment because Rune’s power was keeping the window safe.

And despite being aware of this fact, the creature wasn’t ready to give up, not when it was feeling that strong pull that had drawn it all the way from the veil to this very apartment building.

With all its might, it attacked the window again. But Rune was quick, he retaliated immediately. A powerful blast of light once again left his palm, passed through the window, and hit the creature. The attack managed to force the monster back a little, but that was all.

Not giving up, the creature charged again and Rune met it head-on. The clash of his energy and monster’s dark power sent shockwaves through the room, but it still didn’t manage to damage the window.

Grace’s heart was pounding wildly as she watched the fight unfold. She wanted to help, but didn’t know how. Knowing the best she could do in that moment was not to distract Rune, she remained hiding behind the wall.

On the other side, Rune was getting ready to unleash the final attack to take down the creature. For one last time, a blinding blast of green light escaped his palm, passed through the glass, and hit the creature right at its torso.

The creature let out a deafening screech before dissolving into black smoke. Within seconds, its form dissipated into the darkness of the night.

The silence that followed was deafening. Rune was standing motionless, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He looked slightly taken aback by the confrontation that just ended, not because he felt tired, but because he was feeling worried.

As the creature was finally gone and he got the time to pull himself together, he recalled just how terrified he was on his way to this apartment. How fast his heart was beating when he realized that the creature was coming for her.

As she returned into his thoughts, he immediately turned around and noticed her stepping out from her hiding place. Their gazes locked and he finally found himself relaxing, knowing that at least for the time being, she was safe.

“Is it gone?” Davian asked as he followed after Grace. His eyes were still looking outside while one of his hands was hovering right next to Grace’s, almost as if he was ready to pull her to protection if the monster suddenly returned.

“For now,” Rune answered, his voice barely above a whisper. And then, his expression shifted and turned unreadable.

Grace’s gaze ran around the living room and stopped on the floor-to-ceiling window. Merely a moment later, she found herself asking – “Is the glass strong enough to hold against their attacks?”

Her unexpected question was met with a deep silence as three pairs of eyes turned their full attention to her. She noticed the shakes of heads and the twitching of lips, clear indication that the men found her question not only unexpected but also amusing.

“What? It’s a serious question. We will need to prepare if these bulletproof glasses turned out to be useless against those creatures.” She defended herself, receiving some nods in response.

“Then you might need to start working. Though these glasses are really strong, they might not be able to withstand the attacks if a hoard of those monsters decided to attack.” Rune answered.

“Are there… more of those coming?”