Oozing gunshots and deafening explosions can be heard from where he sat. His legs couldn't stop shaking at the horrific scene that was laid bare in before his eyes. The dancing of his fingers on the steering wheel seemed to be in rhythm with the beating of his heart. Sweat trickled nonstop down on his pale, ghastly face as time continued to pass by, not knowing what he should do.

It had been five minutes and the gunshots and explosions could still be heard. Die. With each shot he heard, Death seemed to be caressing his ear.

Weak. You don't deserve this. Bastard. Cheater. Rotten man. Murderer. Die. With every explosion, Death whispered a different word, aggravating the baffled feelings of anger, hope, sadness and loss he was feeling inside.

The sound was reminiscent of a grand orchestra playing a requiem. Each note he heard made him wish none of this was real. That even with his stupendous work, everything would be futile. That even after everything he has done, he just couldn't get what he most wanted in his life. That he couldn't see anymore her beautiful eyes. That he couldn't smell anymore her enchanting aroma. Hear her voice that even the Sirens of the ancient would be envious of. Feel the warmth of her soft embrace and taste her luscious red lips.

Boom!

This explosion had a different note. Fight, it said. The orchestra's requiem was disrupted and his mind was cleared of his crippling negative thoughts.

Surrender. Death whispered onto his ear but Haeckel was oblivious to it. Surrender! Death relentlessly dissuaded him from acting but Haeckel's resolution solidly stood firm.

Grabbing his binoculars, Ernst Haeckel checked the battlefield in front. From where he sat, he could see everything that was happening. Cars, trucks and vans were making its way out of the base. From behind it were modified SUV's armed with MG's and Sherman Tanks providing cover so that people could retreat. There were also Transcendents who were fighting using their abilities. While the bullets and shells manage to thin the horde, most of the Mutant Beasts were unaffected. The Transcendents were the one who packed a punch. If nobody provided cover, it would be inevitable that no one would survive the catastrophe.

Attacking the human base was a horde. For some reason, both the zombies and the beast were not killing each other as they usually would. They were even cooperating on their attack, with the zombies being the cannon fodder and Mutant Beasts being the main attacking force. The monsters were led by a stranger creature. Never before had Haeckel seen a strange monster like this. Most of its body was black save for some neon blue stripes. It resembled a sabertooth but it looked much more sinister. Every time it raised its paws, someone would surely be killed in a single clash.

Once, the monster was hit by a tank's shell yet it was as if no harm was done to it. It only glared at the tank and jumped at it. The tank suddenly exploded as the people inside performed a Kamikaze as the strange creature jumped on it. However, the sacrifice of the man did not seem to impede the action of the monster. It did not even leave any scratches.

Casualties were beginning to increase as the horde had already penetrated the human's defenses. The Transcendents were getting exhausted and were getting killed every now and then. There was even one Transcendent, who wielded the power of flames, self-destructed when he was ganged upon by a group of Mutant Beasts.

Surprisingly, none of them had not entertained the notion of retreat. They were hell bent on providing cover fire so that the scientists' group could successfully escape from this place.

VROOM!

Haeckel's Paramount Marauder roared as it accelerated towards the battlefield. It was loaded with shotguns, LMG's and MG's which can be shot just by pressing a button. By also pressing a button, these guns could be reloaded. This is thanks to the knowledge and technical skill of Haeckel.

As a normal human who had no powers, he found it tough living since the apocalypse. He had to scrape by, sometimes going on days without food. To survive, he had even crafted his own weapons. Most of it were bombs since he was a Chemist by profession. Using his self-made bombs, he broke into a few military barracks and police stations to get himself some armaments. Some of his weapons, he bought from others while some were taken from the people he had fought against. Looking back, he was lucky to survive up until this point as a lonewolf and an ordinary human.

At this point, there were only five Transcendents who were left alive. The militia had perished some time ago with the last dying from another suicide attack. The strange monster was now clashing with a dark haired woman. Her eyes had a cold glint which actually made her look like an Amazon. From afar, she looked beautiful. From up close, she looked even more beautiful.

Unlike the other Transcendents who were killed in a flash when battling this monster, she managed to stand her ground. Despite, multiple bouts, she remained alive which pissed off the monster. As they were battling, the number of Transcendents continue to go down. Four. Three.

Then, another Transcendent was killed by a Mutant Snake. "No!" This was Sabrina's closest friend since the apocalypse. She met her at the 1st Survivor Camp she stayed in and they never left each other's company. Some even thought that they were sisters due to the way they acted. In this momentary distraction, Sabrina's arm was cut off by the monster. It would have been her life if it weren't for her Vice-Commander pushing her in the nick of time. However, this act claimed the Vice-Commander's life.

The Vice-Commander actually liked Sabrina. If he didn't know that Sabrina had a husband, he would have pursued her. Despite knowing that he could have no chance, he still kept his love for her secretly thus the irrational act of trying to save Sabrina.

Haeckel was now only a few hundred meters away. He witnessed the series of deaths that occurred. Most of the guns he had equipped were torn. Both the passenger seats behind him were also torn and the body of the car had numerous dents. Seeing his wife in a pitiable state, he was fuming with anger and desperation. He decided to use his last trump card which he would have used later to escape the battlefield. But alas!

The monster was walking slowly towards Sabrina with mocking eyes. It raised its talons in an attempt to swipe her. Having lost all hope, Sabrina did not resist and closed her eyes. As she closed her eyes, she heard an engine that seemed to roar in anger. She opened her eyes and looked at the direction the sound came from. As her eyesight was already darkening, she could only see an outline of a man driving the jeep. He looked desperate but it didn't matter anymore, she was about to die anyway.

The monster's claws sliced Sabrina into pieces. "Nooooo!" Haeckel shouted angrily, sadly and hopelessly. His mind went blank and crashed the car onto the strange-monster.

With its eyes that still looked like it was mocking him, it used its tail to stab Haeckel on his chest. His blank mind was startled and when he opened his eyes, he saw a black thing with neon blue stripes protruding on his chest. Then, he looked at the monster and smiled. The monster felt something ominous was coming from this man.

There was a button that Haeckel had never used nor intended to use. It was just there. He never thought that one day he would use it.

Click

Haeckel had pushed the button. The monster was afraid of this man. It knew that the man was only an ordinary being since he could not feel any Essence coming from this man. However, the man was the scariest human that he had seen.

The monster wanted to escape from this place. But then he found out that the man clung onto its tail tightly. No ordinary human could hold its tail tight unless it was a Transcendent but this really was just an ordinary human being! As the ominous feeling got worse, in a bid to escape, the monster cut off its own tail. Blood sprayed all over Haeckel and the monster felt relieved. As the monster bent its legs, muscles were flexed so hard to run away-

KABOOM

Tzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt

System Loading...

Assimilating...

Human Blood Incompatible

Error!

System Troubleshooting...

Adapting...

Ting!

Devouring System confirmed

*** needed to activate

Hibernating...

"Uwahhh, uwahh" A baby was crying.

"Congratulations sir, it's a boy."

"Look Victoria, it's a boy." The man smiled

"Isn't he as handsome as you honey?"

"Oh, you jest. He's even more handsome. Let's name him Ernst. Ernst Haeckel."

Name: Ernst Haeckel

Age: 0

Status: Semi-Evolved

Ability:

-Mega Mind, Level 1