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Chapter 009: Into The Unknown: RUN!

  The Highly Classified Footage Video

  Sakamiya University - Inside The Dimension Rift

  Inside The Mysterious Building

  05:02 AM

  The enormous light-brown stone pillars began to split apart, the sound of cracking stone echoing like a drumbeat of doom. From within, something moved—something that struggled to break free, clawing its way out.

  The atmosphere turned deadly in an instant, like a switch had been flipped. The air grew thick with fear and suffocating tension. Without waiting for orders, the soldiers drawn their weapons, their primal instinct for survival had been triggered.

  Yet none of them could take a single step, their legs frozen in place. They were bound by a terror that gripped them like invisible chains, holding them captive. Even speaking became a struggle as many felt their teeth chattering uncontrollably.

  Paralyzed, they watched in stunned disbelief as the creatures within the pillars began to emerge—beings that defied logic, nightmarish beings unlike anything they had ever seen.

  The first broken shell revealed a large, worm-like creature, its grotesque form slowly emerging as it unfurled. Its appearance was monstrous—a scaly, segmented body that stretched and expanded like a massive limb covered in jagged armor.

  It had a mouth that looked like a giant sucker surrounded by rows of razor-sharp teeth, and two glowing red eyes that gleamed with an otherworldly light. Its body was a greenish blue, and it was covered with large spikes and protrusions. The hard scales covering much of the creature had a strange, metallic gleam, as if it was its armor.

  SHREEEEEEEEEEK..!!

  The earsplitting shriek of the first worm monster echoed throughout the room, piercing the air like a knife, filling the soldiers with a sense of dread and fear. It was a gut-wrenching sound, a combination of a shriek and a hiss so intense and powerful that it made everyone tremble violently.

  The next terrifying screech from another worm monster pierced the air, filling the soldiers with an instinctive, primal terror. As it revealed its jagged fangs and a wet, slimy tongue that wriggled wildly, its shriek reverberated, sending shockwaves through the entire room.

  SHREEEEEEEEEKSSSSHHH..!!

  The soldiers clutched their ears, desperate to block out the sound, but it was futile. Paralyzed by fear, they could only watch as the worm monsters fully emerged from their stone prisons, towering over them like ancient, otherworldly giants. The squad of twelve soldiers stood frozen in place, dwarfed by the creature's sheer size.

  It was colossal—three meters tall and equally wide, with jaws large enough to swallow a man whole. They couldn't comprehend the nightmare that stood before them. They had been trained for combat, for missions against human adversaries, not against alien monsters. This was beyond anything they could handle.

  "HEY, SNAP OUT OF IT, MAN! Don’t just stand there—GET READY TO DEFEND YOURSELF AND FIGHT!" shouted the seventh soldier as he nudged and shook his squad mate.

  His voice filled with a mixture of fear and desperation. He didn’t want to face this massive worm monster alone—he needed his comrade’s strength and resolve to survive this.. true nightmare.

  —

  As the seventh soldier shouted to his comrades, the fourth soldier, a woman, finally snapped out from her paralyzed state of terror. She quickly raised her SMG (submachine gun) and opened fire on the worm monster. But her efforts were in vain. The bullets merely dented and bounced off the creature's armored scales, doing no damage.

  "Argh! My SMG bullets aren't working! They don’t penetrate the worm monster's scales! What should we do, Sergeant? SERGEANT MAKOTO!?" she cried out, panic and confusion clear in her voice.

  Her desperate call seemed to break the others out of their stunned state, including Sergeant Makoto himself. This was the most dangerous encounter of their lives, and none of them knew how to handle it. Their wide, terror-stricken eyes turned to Sergeant Makoto, awaiting direction, while some couldn't stop their bodies from trembling uncontrollably.

  Sergeant Makoto and his team were now facing a life-threatening situation—their worst living nightmare.

  Suddenly, General Victor's voice crackled through Sergeant Makoto's radio, snapping them back to their grim reality.

  "RETREAT, SERGEANT MAKOTO! ABORT THE MISSION! EVACUATE YOUR SQUAD! FALL BACK! GET OUT OF THERE! NOW!!"

  General Victor’s shout momentarily halted the chaos, his urgent tone cutting through the tension in the air.

  Without further hesitation, Sergeant Makoto immediately gave the order, "EVERYONE, FALL BACK! RETREAT FOR…"

  But his command was abruptly cut off as a loud shriek from one of the worm monsters ripped through the air.

  SCREEEAAAAAAK..!!

  It was too late; the first worm monster had already closed in on one of the soldiers, Otani, who had ventured into the dark corner moments earlier. Its glowing red eyes locked onto him, filled with terrifying intent, as if preparing to pounce on its prey. The creature’s enormous mouth opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and it slowly descended toward Otani’s defenseless upper body, ready to consume him whole.

  “OTANIII..! NOOO..!” Two nearby soldiers screamed as they raised their rifles, firing in a desperate attempt to save their comrade.

  RATATATATATA! TINK! TINK! PLANK! PLANK!

  RATATATATATA! TZING! TAK! TZING! CHAK!

  They fired their rifles frantically, desperately trying to stop the monster. But their efforts were in vain. The bullets bounced off its armored scales, completely ineffective, just as the submachine gun rounds had been moments ago. The creature’s thick, armor-like hide absorbed every shot, leaving no sign of damage. The soldiers could only watch in horror as the beast devoured their helpless comrade.

  "HELP! AAARRGGHH..!" Otani's screams echoed through the room as his upper body was engulfed, the sickening crunch of flesh and bone reverberating as the creature’s teeth ripped into him with ease, as if he were being devoured by a tiger or shark. His final, desperate cries merged with the grotesque sounds of tearing flesh.

  The two soldiers beside Otani stood frozen, unable to save him as he was consumed alive. The scent of fresh blood filled the air, mingling with the sickening crunch of breaking bones. Within seconds, Otani’s entire body disappeared into the monster’s massive mouth, leaving nothing behind but the chilling memory of his final moments.

  "GODDAMN YOU! You motherfucker worm monsters!! AAAAARRGGHH..!" one of the soldiers watching from a distance cried out in rage and agony, unable to accept the tragic death of his comrade and friend. His anguished scream echoed through the chamber, filling the room with the sorrow of loss.

  The other soldiers, along with Sergeant Makoto, stood frozen in terror, their faces pale as sheets. They had watched helplessly from a distance as Otani was devoured alive. Their bodies trembled, their legs shaking as they couldn’t believe their friend had been eaten by one of the giant worm monsters.

  "AAAAAAAARGH! AAAAAAHHH..!" Another female soldier, paralyzed by fear, screamed uncontrollably. Her entire body shook violently as she fell to her knees, dropping her dual handguns onto the floor. With shock in her eyes, she hugged herself tightly, shaking her head, desperately trying to deny the horror unfolding before her.

  At that moment, Sergeant Makoto realized his responsibility for his team's safety—he had to act. He couldn’t let his entire squad be wiped out by these alien creatures.

  "HEY, YOU TWO, REGROUP! Everyone, we will perform the defensive retreat formation!" Sergeant Makoto ordered the two soldiers who had been closest to the dark corner to move back toward the team.

  "Don't worry. We’re getting out of here alive, TOGETHER!!" he shouted, attempting to encourage his remaining soldiers as they braced for the regrouping of their two comrades.

  Hearing Sergeant Makoto’s words, the soldiers snapped out of their daze, their expressions hardening. Though terror still gripped them, a renewed resolve sparked within. They weren’t going to give up—they would survive this nightmare. The female soldier who had fallen to her knees earlier took a deep breath, then slowly stood up, retrieving her handguns and cocking them with newfound determination.

  —

  As the two soldiers ran to regroup with Sergeant Makoto and the team, more cracking sounds echoed through the massive chamber. Giant pillars split apart, one after another, as monstrous worm-like creatures burst free from their rocky shells. Their red, glowing eyes fixed on the soldiers. Yet they remained still, as if waiting for all the brown pilars to broke—biding their time before launching a unified attack.

  “DEFENSIVE RETREAT FORMATION! Move toward the entrance! No grenades or explosives—wait for my command!” Sergeant Makoto ordered, directing his squad into a coordinated retreat as the two distant soldiers finally regrouped.

  "Yes, Sir!" the ten soldiers replied, steeling themselves with a fierce determination to survive and protect one another. They braced themselves for a desperate escape.

  As the soldiers finished their formation, some worm monsters began surging forward, screeching their monstrous roars as they crawled toward the squad with high speed. The rest of their kind soon followed, echoing their eerie cries through the massive chamber.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  SCREEEAAAAAAK..! SCREEEEEE..!

  "NOW! TO THE ENTRANCE!" Sergeant Makoto's voice rang out, commanding and authoritative, as the squad initiated their retreat.

  The soldiers sprinted toward the entrance of the massive, football-field-sized room in a tight retreat formation. It sounded simple, but they first had to make it from the middle of the room to the exit, navigate various paths and descend through sloped hallways to reach the building’s main entrance on the first floor to escape. This was a race against time—and against death. Their hearts pounded, adrenaline surging through their veins.

  The creatures’ eyes glowed with an eerie, otherworldly red, casting a sinister light across the room. Their screams and screeches echoed ominously as they crawled rapidly toward the squad.

  Four soldiers positioned at the back of the formation ran backward, firing their weapons in alternating rifle-shotgun order to keep the monsters at distance.

  RATATATATATATA! TZING! TAK! TING! CHAK!

  BAM! Clack! Clack! BAM!

  The blasts of gunfire reverberated throughout the room. At the same time, the smell of gunpowder filled the air. But the worm monsters seemed unaffected by the rifle bullets and shotgun shots—they were unstoppable.

  —

  Even as they were being chased, somehow the soldiers managed to keep the worm monsters at bay with their barrage of bullets. But then, the two soldiers at the back of the formation looked at each other and nodded, realizing that the whole team wouldn’t survive if there is no one distracted the monsters and bought the others some time to escape. Both of them stopped running backward.

  One of them shouted to his friends, "GO, LEAVE THIS PLACE! We’ll hold these freakin' monsters!! GO NOW!!"

  "HEY! KURODA, OMURA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET BACK IN FORMATION!" Sergeant Makoto ordered the two soldiers, but deep down, he knew their intention—to sacrifice themselves.

  "NO! JUST GO, SERGEANT!” Kuroda shouted back, his voice resolute. “Please survive and escape! Do it for our beloved country, FOR JAPAN! Just don’t forget us—and destroy these monsters for good someday! NOW GO!" Kuroda shouted back with a determined expression.

  "NOOO! Don’t do it! I will never forgive you, come back here!" the female soldier who had earlier fallen into despair cried out loud, trying to go back and save her two friends. But she was grabbed by a comrade at the front of the formation and dragged along with the team.

  "Sergeant! Take these! Give them to our families!" Kuroda called out, throwing his and Omura’s dog tags toward Sergeant Makoto. With steady hands, Makoto caught the dog tags and carefully secured them in his tactical bag.

  "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY! Okay, we must go now!" Sergeant Makoto shouted before saluting the two who were about to sacrifice themselves for their country. He then ran alongside his team in the new retreat formation of nine remaining soldiers.

  The two self-sacrificing soldiers turned their backs to their comrades and pointed their rifles at the worm monsters, aiming at their glowing red eyes.

  Kuroda, an explosive expert, shouted, "Thanks for being with me, Omura. You’re braver than most—even for someone who only joined the Special Forces last year. Let’s give these damn monsters a lesson they’ll never forget!"

  "Haha, don’t mention it. If my sacrifice means protecting our people and country, then I’m more than happy to do it. FOR JAPAAAN..!" Omura, a junior Japan Special Forces soldier, shouted, his voice filled with emotion as he prepared to fight the monsters to his last breath.

  Hopefully, you can get out of here, my comrades… I’m glad to serve alongside all of you.. Kuroda thought as he steeled himself.

  Then, both of them opened fire continuously, not looking back, trying to stop the worm monsters from chasing their comrades. They pulled the triggers and held the firearms to their shoulders, blasting their bullets at the worm monsters and tossing a few grenades as the creatures closed in.

  RATATATA! TAKATATAK! BANK! CHAK! CHAKA! BANK! CHAK! Tzing! BOOM!

  RATATATATAT! WANG! Bank! Tzing! Zetiing! Chaka! Zipping! TZING! BOOM!

  "DIE, YOU BASTARD! AARGHH!" Kuroda shouted at the top of his lungs after reloading his rifle and firing again.

  "UURAAAAAA..! EAT THIS, MONSTERS!" Omura screamed, standing his ground and firing again after loading his last magazine.

  They threw their last grenades, pulling the pins as they hurled them.

  BOOOOOOOOMMM! BANG! BOOOM! BANG!

  But even their desperate attempts weren’t enough to slow down the monsters; the bullets and grenades only halted them for a few seconds before they resumed their relentless advance.

  —

  Out of bullets and grenades, they refused to flee. Instead, they strapped all of Kuroda's C4 explosives to their bodies, each clutching a detonator in their left hand. This was their final stand—a last act of defiance against the monsters, hoping to take them down in the blast. They were determined to fight until their dying breath.

  The two soldiers also drew their combat knives, gripping the handles tightly in their right hands. Though their knives were no match against the worm monsters in close combat, they braced themselves for what would surely be their last stand. They had already accepted that.. this was a battle they would not survive..

  “Hey Kuroda, do you have any regrets about joining this mission?” Omura asked, wanting to know if Kuroda held any second thoughts as they both faced their inevitable doom.

  “No, I’m proud to protect our country and die in the line of duty. This is a great honor for a Japanese soldier. But... I actually wanted to see my 5-year-old daughter grow up. Forgive me, Yumi. I love you so much, Rumi, my beloved wife.” Tears filled up in Kuroda's eyes, a bittersweet smile crossing his face as he pictured his family one last time.

  “I haven’t been able to make my mother happy yet, especially since my father passed away last year. She’ll be alone when I’m gone. But this… this is for the peace of our beloved country. I’m so sorry, Mom." Omura added, his voice choked with emotion, tears welling in his eyes as he thought of his mother and the promise he could never keep.

  SCREEEAAAAAAKSSS..! SCREEEEEESSS..!

  The horde of worm monsters surged toward them, moving fast. With unwavering spirits, the two soldiers prepared for their last stand. They would not let them pass!

  “I won’t let you pass, you damned monsters! We’ll DRAG YOU ALL TO HELL!” Kuroda shouted, steeling himself for the final attack.

  "You want to pass? You'll have to go through my dead body first, YOU FILTHY MONSTERS!" Omura yelled, taking his combat stance. He brandished his combat knife, making a defiant gesture as he glared at the advancing horde with fierce determination.

  Screees! Screeeeaaak!

  SCCCREEEESSSHHHH..!! SCCRRREEESSSH..!!

  "HEEYAAAAAA..!!" With a final cry, they charged, leaping into the swarm of monsters. Gripping their knives firmly in their right hands, while their left thumbs poised over the detonators.

  Please be safe, everyone. Tell my family, I’m.. so sorry…

  Kuroda’s final thoughts before he met his end.

  — — —

  Meanwhile..

  Sergeant Makoto still couldn’t believe that, in such a short time, he had lost one soldier and was on the verge of losing two more—both sacrificing themselves for the team and their country. He had never anticipated that his squad’s meticulous preparation and honed combat skills would prove futile against those terrifying creatures.

  The female soldier, who had tried desperately to stop Kuroda and Omura from sacrificing themselves to hold back the monsters, was still crying as she ran, her heart heavy with grief and helplessness. Her sobs echoing through the corridors.

  The faces of the remaining soldiers were pale with terror as they came to the grim realization: they were up against creatures from another dimension, forces that far beyond their capabilities.

  They didn’t stand a chance!

  As Sergeant Makoto and his remaining troops descended to the third floor, the screams of the sacrificing soldiers echoed throughout the building, followed shortly by a series of grenade explosions. The blasts caused a tremor in the building, and the team could only hope that their fallen comrades' sacrifices were not in vain.

  “Come on! Hurry up to the entrance. The building might not hold if more explosions go off above!” Sergeant Makoto shouted, urging his squad to move faster as they raced toward the first floor, still maintaining their retreat formation.

  When they reached the first floor, they heard another scream, soon drowned out by a powerful series of C4 explosions, which sent massive tremors inside the building. The intense tremors caused several soldiers to stumble and fell on the floor, losing their balance as the floor shook beneath them. Some reached out, grabbing each other or anything stable nearby to keep from falling as the building trembled like it was in the throes of a massive earthquake.

  Then, loud cracking sounds echoed from the walls, windows, and other structural supports as the building shook more intensely.

  “Quick, we have to keep moving! This building can't hold out much longer!” one of the soldiers shouted, warning his comrades to run as fast as they could to get out of the crumbling building. The soldiers quickly helped each other to stand and gathering their strength to sprint again.

  “Abandon the retreat formation! Run faster to the entrance! NOW MOVE!” Sergeant Makoto ordered, breaking the formation to focus on getting everyone out alive, as the collapsing building now was their most immediate threat.

  The massive, strange building couldn’t withstand the chain of explosions caused by the earlier grenades, followed by the devastating blast from the C4 set off by the two fallen soldiers. It began to crumble, just as the squad neared the exit. No longer maintaining a defensive formation, they raced desperately toward the entrance.

  Ceilings, walls, and corridors cracked and began to disintegrate.

  CRAACCKK! CRAAAASSSHHH! PRAANGG!

  The building grew increasingly unstable, with floors starting to crack and break apart. Windows shattered, and chunks of debris rained down around them, shattering on the ground. Cracks spread along the walls as the entire structure shook violently. Time seemed to slow as they sprinted desperately toward the exit, just less than ten meters ahead

  And… they managed to burst through the building entrance just as the structure began to collapse, sending heavy debris smashing down onto the entrance doors.

  If… they had been just a few seconds slower, they might not made it out in time.

  Sergeant Makoto led his remaining team members forward, urging them to keep running, to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the collapsing building. The deafening sounds of destruction echoed behind them.

  “KEEP RUNNING! FASTER! GET AWAY FROM IT! THE BUILDING IS COLLAPSING!” Sergeant Makoto shouted, his voice commanding, spurring the squad to pick up their pace and escape the disintegrating structure.

  CRAAAAAAKKK!

  BRAAAAAKKKK!

  BRUK! BRUK!

  Large stones, debris, dust, and dirt spewed from the rapidly disintegrating building, just behind Sergeant Makoto’s squad. They sprinted as fast as they could, trying to escape the impact zone of the collapsing structure.

  “RUUUUUNN..!” The remaining soldiers screamed, shouting in desperation as they dodged falling debris and chunks of rubble hurtling through the air behind them.

  The collapsing building caused massive tremors and a chaotic commotion, filling the air with thick dust and smaller fragments of rubble. The worm-like monsters, who had been hit by the C4 explosions, were certainly being struck by the heavy debris and boulders as well, hopefully crushed and destroyed under the immense weight.

  Hopefully for good..

  Soon, the entire area was blanketed in a thick cloud of dust and smoke from the building’s collapse. When Sergeant Makoto and the remaining squad finally got far enough away, they stopped running, coughing and sneezing as the dust hung heavily in the air.

  The sound of collapsing stone and screeching metal continued to echo through the battlefield like a distant thunderstorm. The echoes of destruction were haunting, grim reminders of just how narrowly they had escaped the deadly collapse.

  Makoto looked back toward the ruined building, his eyes narrowing fiercely amidst the choking dust. All that remained was a silhouette of devastation—a crater of ruins, rubble, and steel.

  They had survived, 9 soldiers remaining—barely saved.

  For now.

  * * * *

  Inside the Conference Room

  Sakamiya University – Second Floor

  The silence in the room was deafening.

  All eyes—high-ranking military officers, government officials, police senior officers, scientists, and select VIPs—remained fixed on the large central monitor. The top-secret video footage still played, raw and unedited.

  Haruto sat quietly near the end of the long table, watching with clenched fists. A heavy chill crawled down his spine.

  General Victor lost 11 elite soldiers inside that Rift…

  3 are already down. Does that mean the other 8 will…?

  No... No way…

  Thought Haruto as his eyes widened slightly, his pulse rising as he continued watching. This video was far from over.

  The nightmare… has only just begun.

  — — — — —

  Ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated.

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