My Cuckhold System-Chapter 186: We Need Answers

As the body pieces were pulled together, a massive chunk of the collapsing ceiling fell.

CRASH!!!

It slammed directly onto the disk’s location, burying those pieces beneath tons of debris.

West let out a soft exhale.

"...That should slow you down."

Without wasting any more time, he grabbed his sword, turned and ran.

—

[ SKILL ACTIVATED: Radiant Acceleration ]

His body shot forward with a bright glow, turning the surroundings into a blur as everything dashed past him.

Behind him, the ruins collapsed faster with walls crumbling, ground splitting and entire sections falling apart.

West pushed harder, ignoring the pain and blood as another massive chunk missed him by inches while he ran.

"...Almost there."

What had once been a structured, albeit corrupted, underground world was now falling apart at an alarming rate.

At the surface, where the final level of the abandoned research facility was situated, the ground itself began to cave in.

Dust rose in thick clouds as concrete split and metal beams bent and snapped with ear-piercing screeches.

And at the center of it all, was the ruins entrance on the brink of shutting down.

Nina, Jax, Derek, Jared, and the others stood gathered around the collapsing entry point with tense looks.

Their eyes locked on the unstable opening below.

"...He won’t make it..." one of them muttered with a low shaky tone.

"He will," Jax shot back immediately, clenching his fists.

"But that collapse—"

"I said he will!"

Their voices overlapped as they waited around desperately, ignoring the fact that their surroundings were also being affected by the collapsing ruins.

Nina stood at the very edge with her hands trembling slightly. Her eyes never left the opening.

"West..." she whispered as the rumbling intensified.

Chunks of the surrounding structure began falling inward as the hole widened for a bit and then began shrinking.

"...Look!" Derek suddenly shouted.

Far in the distance, they spotted a figure moving at incredibly fast pace.

"West!"

His silhouette cut through the dust cloud as he dashed toward the collapsing exit.

Their faces were flooded with expressions of relief.

"He’s coming!"

"West!!!"

They all shouted at once with hopeful gazes.

Suddenly...

CRRRRRAAAASH!!!

The ground gave way completely and an entire section collapsed inward with a thunderous explosion of debris.

The entrance to the ruins was suddenly sealed shut under tons of concrete, steel, and rock as the rumbling continued for several more seconds before coming to a final stop.

Where the entrance to the ruins once stood, was now nothing but rubble.

"...No..." Nina eyes widened as her body began to tremble violently.

"...No... no no no..."

"He... he didn’t make it..." Jared muttered, stepping back slightly.

Jax’s fists clenched.

"...No..."

Nina staggered forward.

"WEST!!!"

Tears streamed down her face as she tried to rush toward the debris but Jax caught her.

"Stop!" he barked, holding her firmly.

"You’ll fall in!"

"Let me go!" she cried, struggling against him.

"Let me go! He’s—he’s still there—!"

Her voice broke completely.

"He can’t be... he can’t..."

Her body shook violently as she sobbed while the others looked on silently.

There was already one casualty but to add this one to the list? The one who stayed behind to make sure they all made it?

It left a heavy feeling on their chests even if they hadn’t known him for long.

A faint rumbling sound suddenly echoed at the far edge of the collapsed area.

No one took note as a small pile of debris shifted causing rubble to roll slightly because everyone felt that any disturbance in the environment was likely due to the collapse aftermath.

A shadow suddenly flickered and from within the darkness of the debris, a figure stepped out...

He phased out from the shadows like a ghost emerging from the void calmly with injuries all over his body.

He took a few steps forward before reaching out and tapping Nina lightly on the shoulder.

"...I’m fine."

Nina froze while slowly turning around.

"...West...?" Her tear-filled eyes widened in disbelief as she suddenly launched herself at him.

"WEST!!!"

She crashed into his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him as if afraid he’d disappear again.

"You idiot! Don’t do that! Don’t scare me like that!"

West chuckled softly, placing a hand on her head.

"I said I’m fine."

He gently patted her hair while behind them, the others stared.

"...How..." Jared muttered.

"...How the hell did he survive that?"

Derek shook his head slowly.

"...That collapse would’ve buried anyone..."

Jax let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

"...Of course he did..."

West had once again... defied expectations.

It was now over but not everything ended in relief...

A girl collapsed to her knees nearby with teary expression.

"So... its over?"

Beside her, another guy stood frozen, staring at the rubble with hollow eyes.

"He’s truly... gone..."

The girl’s name was Lila Vance and the boy beside her was Coren Hale.

They happened to be referring to the one who didn’t make it... whose head had been bitten off in the chaos below... Riven Cole.

Lila broke down completely with tears pouring down her face as she clutched her chest.

"He promised... he promised we’d all write our names in the awakened history books and climb the power ranking together..."

Coren looked away as his eyes turned red.

"...Damn it..."

West’s expression dimmed slightly but he didn’t say anything... there was nothing to say.

Loss was common in ruins and amongst awakeners but when it was someone you were close to... it certainly will hit different...

—

"...Just what is this place..." Derek muttered.

"What kind of research facility spawns something like that?"

"That creature..."

Jared shook his head.

"...Did they create it?"

No one had definite answers... only questions and unease because what exactly was their motive?

—

Lila suddenly stood up with grief filled eyes that burnt with determination.

"I’m not leaving empty-handed."

She moved quickly, heading toward what remained of the facility structures.

She broke into file cabinets, infiltrated nroken terminals and grabbed fragments of documents...

She began gathering whatever she could salvage while Coren followed silently.

"...We need answers."

Lila clenched her fists.

"...And when we find them..."

Her voice hardened.

"I’ll make sure those responsible for this... pay."