Kill to evolve: A system that demands blood-Chapter 62: underground

Chapter 62

Deep beneath the facility, in a separate chamber lined with obsidian-black walls that seemed to breathe with every flicker of light, two figures stood before a massive screen.

One of them was cloaked entirely in dark gray, their face obscured by a reflective visor. The other? Pale. Thin. Eyeless. Their skin was stitched with runes that pulsed like veins.

They watched all of squad one team as they made their way into the trap.

"Squad One exceeded expectations," the pale one rasped, tilting their head. "Aldric used the Rule of Shared Pain. Ezren triggered two high-level Mind Locks in succession. And Subject that third guy who I don’t recognize yet...he evolved during the fight."

"That wasn’t just evolution," the cloaked figure said, voice like static. "He was like a monster created only for killing."

They turned in unison as a series of data logs scrolled across the wall. Bio-readouts. Combat overlays. System warnings.

"Should we activate Phase Two?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"No," the cloaked figure said. "Let them come deeper. They need to see what’s buried down here. It’s time they met their old friends, perfect reunion."

"Very wise of you master."

Back to Squad One

THUNK—THUNK—THUNK—

The door finished opening.

Darkness beyond. No torches. No tech. Just an empty corridor made of stone, not steel. And it looked so ancient.

They were all shocked, the door which they had passed to enter, the same place they had passed to come in had changed into something completely different.

"What kind of lab is this?" Colt muttered.

Ronan stepped forward first. The moment he crossed the threshold, his system pinged again.

System Alert: High-Risk Zone Entered.

System Response Disabled.

He froze.

"My system just... cut out."

Aldric’s face went pale. "Same."

Ezren blinked twice. "Mine too."

Everyone stared at the hallway in front of them.

Ronan sniffed the air. "No gas. No sound. But something’s alive down there."

"Maybe it’s another trap," Vex said, her voice tense.

Aldric stepped beside Ronan, fists clenched. "We don’t have a choice. If someone opened that door from the inside, then they’re watching us. Our only choice is to keep going, there’s no other way out of this .

This door was the only way they knew to get out of here.

"And why they waited until after the fight was over," Ezren said

No one said anything, they were all seemed tense.

They kept moving , down the corridor. One step at a time.

Twenty meters in, they passed old lights—bulbs that sparked once and died.

Fifty meters in, the hallway widened.

And then they found it.

A door. Not metal. Not electronic.

Stone.

Old, cracked, and carved with the same symbols that were stitched across on those men that Ronan and the others had fought earlier.

Ezren stopped cold.

"...I’ve seen this before."

Ronan turned. "Where?"

"So you don’t remember? Those bastards had this same pattern carved on them." Ezren replied, walking closer to the door and placing his hand on it. And to everyone’s surprise, it opened without resistance, like someone had let them in.

Inside...

There were rows of tanks, each one held a corpse.

Each corpse... was a harbinger from sentinel order. There was no mistaking from the uniform.

The were a dozen in total.

Their eyes were open. Their mouths agape. Their skin pale.

Frozen in time.

Colt took a step back. "Are those, similar to the ones you guys fought?"

"No," Aldric said. His voice dropped low. "That’s the original Squad One."

Everyone froze.

"But—" Vex started.

"They died. Years ago. We were told they vanished on a black ops mission. HQ said it was a clean wipe."

Aldric’s jaw clenched. "But HQ lied."

And then the lights flared.

All of them.

The tanks began to drain.

Override Protocol Initiated.

Welcome, esteemed guests. Simulation Reboot: Phase Two.

Ronan’s daggers reappeared without warning. His blood tense, heart racing with pure unfiltered excitement. Fuck he couldn’t resist, he was turning into something else, something always itching for battle, for power, for blood.

"I don’t like this." Someone muttered.

Ezren backed up. "That’s not a door we can close again."

"Too late," Aldric muttered.

One of the corpses opened its mouth.

And spoke.

"Welcome... to phase two."

The steel door groaned open, spilling white mist into the bloodstained chamber.

It wasn’t the toxic kind, just cold, too cold even.

Aldric’s body tensed. Ezren stepped forward, slow and cautious, arms loose by his sides, eyes narrow. Ronan said nothing, his expression dark. His senses flared, and deep inside, his system began humming like a restrained beast sniffing blood.

From the fog emerged a shadow.

Then another.

Seven in total.

Each one moved like silence itself, no footsteps, no breath, no sound. They wore simple dark uniforms with sentinel order badge stamped on them.

Every member braced themselves for the fight, but Aldric didn’t bark an order. He just raised a hand, a silent command to stay put. Because something was wrong.

These men weren’t charging.

They walked.

Casually.

Like they didn’t consider anyone in the room worth rushing for.

The tallest figure finally stepped forward, eyes a glowing, unholy shade of silver, hair snow-white but clipped short. His face was oddly serene. Aldric recognized him, but he knew that the soul of that man was long gone, he was someone else entirely now.

"Interesting," he said, his voice smooth, cultured... and hollow.

"You’re the ones who survived Phase One."

Ronan’s eyes narrowed. "Phase one of what?"

The man’s smile widened slightly. "Of their game. Not ours."

Ezren took a step back. "They’re not with the ones we fought."

"No," the white-haired man confirmed. "They’re dead. You passed their test."

He tilted his head.

"Now it’s time for ours."

Without warning, he vanished.

A blur of motion, no ability unleashed, No energy spike.

But just before he land a fatal attack on anyone, Ronan moved.

Clash.

His blade met a palm mid-air.

The white-haired man’s hand closed around the dagger, stopping it cold, as if it was made of rubber. The Force Echo Ronan activated didn’t trigger.

"Ah," the man said mildly, "adaptive weapon systems. Crude... but not enough to stop me."

He twisted his wrist and Ronan flew back. The impact of his fall cracked the wall.

His body skidded, but not broken. Not even bruised.

His system instantly healed the slight back injury that would have prevented him from fighting to the fullest.

Ronan stood up immediately and smiled.

"Okay...let’s try this again."

Behind the white-haired man, the other six fanned out.

Two of them flickered forward. One aimed straight for Ezren.

A flash of blue light.

"Mind Lock—"

But it didn’t connect.

The figure blinked past the field of influence like it wasn’t there, grabbed Ezren by the collar, and slammed him into the ground, hard enough to crater the reinforced alloy beneath them.

Ezren coughed blood—blinking, dazed.

These men were too damn fast, even faster than the other people they had fought before.

The second one hit Tyce in the ribs before he could fully summon his weapon.

He folded instantly.

Colt rushed forward, gun drawn—

But the third figure blurred, stepped into his space, and tapped his forehead.

Colt dropped unconscious without a sound.

Roan screamed, "Spread out!"

But they didn’t get the chance.

The air shimmered.

Another figure, this one female, stopped in front of Aldric. She had no emotion or malice in her expression.

She raised her hand and whispered, "Law of Collapse: Revert All External Rules."

Aldric’s Reality Warden field cracked—shattered.

His knees buckled as his system shut down from the overload. Blood exploded from his mouth, and he barely managed to stay upright.

She leaned closer.

"No more tricks."

Vex tried to unleash her flame field.

The fifth attacker ate it.

Literally absorbed it into his palm like it was heat from a candle.

"I like fire," he muttered.

Then punched Vex across the room.

Two more remained untouched. Observing.

One of them was typing something in mid-air, a system interface no one else could see.

The other?

He was just... watching Ronan.

Smiling.

Ronan flicked his wrists.

New blades formed—thicker, heavier. His breath slowed. A hum vibrated through his bones.

His system was speaking again.

System Override: Evolutionary Sync Confirmed.

Phase Two Unlocked: Predator State (Partial).

Warning: This form consumes mental stability.

"Don’t care," Ronan growled, not hesitating for a second that this form might actually make him go berserk.

As soon as raw energy flared to life, he launched himself forward.

Straight for the white-haired man.

He vanished mid-swing—Spatial displacement—then reappeared behind him.

Stab.

Blade struck flesh—

No.

It stopped on skin.

Didn’t pierce.

The man looked over his shoulder. "Still slow."

Then he twisted—

And for the first time, Ronan bled.

He flew sideways, crashing into the opposite wall so hard it buckled.

Aldric barked, "Pull back! Everyone—!"

"No," Ronan muttered.

He stood up again, blood trailing from his mouth, but already healing now.

His eyes burned red.

"Don’t you see? There’s no way out of this unless we defeat them.

Ezren dragged himself to one knee.

"Then we better end this fast," he coughed.

Because the seven weren’t done.

They were just warming up.