Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

Chapter 207: Dreamwalk To Survive

Finn grabbed a hold of the knight's hoodie, yanking him back as quickly as he could. In Jasper's view, the edge of the knife greeted his eyeball, coming just inches from giving him a more personal greeting.

As soon as the knight was pulled out of harm's way, Charlotte intercepted with a slash of her fire-engulfed blade.

["Crimson Crackle"]

The motion of the enchanted sword sent forth a brilliant arc that spewed with heat before igniting into a set of small explosions. All it did was force the killer to slide back, though right into the crosshairs of Nikko:

Compartments opened in the steel limbs of the sentry, firing off bullets with bright-blue tracers. For a moment, Finn ducked himself behind Jasper's shield, pulling Charlotte over as well, though none of the bullets came their way.

Each of the projectiles curved, perfectly following the knife-wielding man. The Devil moved with masterful swiftness, sliding beneath a shelf for the bullets to meet their end in the furniture.

"He put a damn hole in my shield, the bastard!" Jasper huffed, slapping his hand against the front of his skewered barricade.

"There's no point in trying to guard against that knife–avoid it or you'll get cut!" Finn informed them with a quick shout, continuing on the move.

He placed his trust in the sentry's bullets not hitting him, sprinting in to close off the path taken by the killer within the basement. The man was attempting to make a break for the exit; it was clear as day, though he didn't plan on letting him.

As the bullets failed to catch the killer, Finn got in front of him, having to ignore the exhaustion, the aching that screamed throughout his body.

'Kill him–right now, I need to kill him,' Finn decided, setting a cold gaze upon his target.

Pressing forward, he met the black-haired figure halfway. As the knife came his way, he didn't move from it, instead continuing to push forth as he pushed his dagger in return. He accepted it as the blade stabbed into the side of his stomach, slicing into his flesh as he returned the favor.

Using one hand to grab [Nameless'] shoulder, he held him firmly in place before slamming his dagger into his neck.

"Nnrk…!" Finn struggled.

A few inches into the man's throat, he intended to push it deeper before he felt the knife in his gut being tugged sharply. It wasn't a fault of his own will, instead finding control over his body overtaken by panic as that blade carved him as though he were nothing more than meat.

'I'm going to–' He thought, feeling his life be tugged away.

["Dreamwalking Initiated."]

Once more, the unruly ability awakened itself against his own will as his life laid on the verge of being extinguished. It freed him from the knife as he traveled through the infinite kaleidoscope.

Still, he wasn't sure just what his mind focused on, just where he'd end up going–

Before any tangible place could be placed beneath his feet, he found himself with the sinister man close enough that his breaths could be felt against his neck. Right up to his ear, that foul voice spoke:

"You're my favorite kind to hunt. The one that tries to save everybody without any regard for himself. That's why I'll save you for last while I butcher your friends. I'll have a beautiful sight waiting for you when you return from hiding."

Finn raised his dagger, attempting to plunge his blade into the killer's body, though there was nothing there by the time his body decided to move. At that moment, the Dreamwalking finally shifted to where it intended to bring him:

The interior of an establishment mostly built of furnished wood. There was a long counter with countless bottles of alcohol on display behind it. A nice, tranquil place, occupied by the ambience of music that sounded to be playing from a record player; jazz from the early twentieth century.

"A…bar?" Finn questioned, holding his wounded gut.

Going from the chaos of the hospital basement to the establishment that smelled of pine and fragrant smoke, he was left with a buzzing mind. With half-hearted steps that could result in a collapse at any moment, he stumbled his way to the counter, leaning against it.

'What the hell is going on with me…? I can't control it anymore–I can't stay in one spot…Is it because my body is past its limit? It's trying to automatically protect me? Screw that–I have to go back,' he resolved with heavy breaths.

As blood leaked from the hole in his abdomen, he covered it the best he could to stop the bleeding, sitting on the barstool as he tended to his wound.

Remembering that nefarious promise whispered into his ear, he withdrew from properly bandaging himself, only doing the bare minimum before readying himself–

'C'mon,' he urged.

["Dreamwalking Initiated."]

Through the fluctuations of reality once more, he traversed. At the forefront of his mind, he placed the hospital, though a fogginess hazed his thinking. For some reason, what surfaced on his mind was that bustling city, one that didn't belong to the world he knew, but one familiar to it–

'Why am I remembering that now…?' He questioned.

A blink cast away the influx of colors, presenting him with the scenery on his mind, fresh and experienced in person. Raindrops trickled down against his body, sliding down his skin as he looked up at the skyscrapers around him.

'This place…Why am I back here?' He questioned, placing his hand over his head.

That rainy city; the smell of smoke from cigarettes and gas expelling from the passing cars. The ambience of people chattering as they walked by, some carrying their umbrellas with a casual stride, others running as if late for work.

Glancing around, he looked for the strange man he'd met in the faraway city before, but there was no sign of him. Even at the rain-soaked bench, there was no sight to be found.

Either way, he wanted to return to his allies as soon as possible, bringing him to envision the basement again—

Nothing.

Attempting to conjure [Dreamwalking] spurred blood to squirt from his nose as he gasped. It felt like an axe had split his head down the middle, causing his vision to blur momentarily.

'I can't waste time here…I have to get back, but—shit, I can't Dreamwalk just yet?' He realized, gasping as he rubbed his face.

A second glance ahead found the street clear of any traffic, as though the hundreds of vehicles simply vanished. Across the asphalt, a building with an open door stood out like a spotlight in the night.

Without putting any further thought into it, he crossed the street, entering the establishment. As soon as his foot crossed the threshold, it felt as though everything flipped.

"Ah—?"

Though he clearly fell, the momentum carried him into stepping onto new ground. For a moment, he was left in shock at the fact he wasn't kissing the ground, glancing back to find the door gone.

In fact, the scenery itself didn't match the door he had come in from; a dimly-lit aquarium, only given light through the deep blue of the water that was held at bay by pristine glass.

Overhead, the call of a whale echoed as he witnessed the sheer mammoth of an aquatic creature pass over.

'What's going on with me…? It's completely unstable—I'm unstable. I just keep walking into other realities—what the hell is going on?' He questioned.

In the midst of an already stressful, threatening event as he worried for his friends, the unstable nature of his power drove his brain into overdrive. A thousand thoughts flooded a moment as he gripped his own hair, paying no mind to the dolphin that peered at him from the glass—

"Long time no see, Finn."

It was only as that monotone voice met his ears did he even register the presence of another person in that aquarium.

"Evanescent…?" Finn responded, lifting his head as he turned to the right.

That figure dressed in an archaic coat with a hat that cast a shadow over his pale face; there was no mistaking that anomalous appearance as if stricken out of time.

Beside him, the enigmatic man stood, watching the vast display of aquatic species, "You've been on quite the journey lately. Visiting so many places in such a short period of time."

"How do you know—" Finn attempted to question hastily.

The Evanescent promptly answered without pausing, "For a drifter like me, there's nothing else I can do but observe."

"I don't have time for this—I have to get back!" Finn shouted hastily, gripping his bleeding stomach.

"Is that right? Then I'll leave you to it, then—I'll see you again. Just a heads up, when you want to go somewhere specific, close your eyes and clear your mind, then think of it," the strange man advised him. "Right now, you're afraid of going back."

"Afraid?" Finn repeated.

Seeing as it seemed he was going everywhere but the hospital basement, it made sense; the fear engraved in his body. It wasn't outright terror of the enemy, but he began to be afraid of what he might find if he returned.