Chapter 192: Adapting

Adam’s scythe froze mid-guard.

“…Even with death affinity?”

The two identical creatures stood there, unbothered and a faint unease crept up Adam’s spine.

Then, everything stopped.

The chaos, the screams and the monsters that had been tearing through civilians… froze in place.

All at once and slowly, their heads turned toward Adam.

Every single one of them.

Even the corpses.

Their lifeless eyes rolled, locking onto him.

A chill crawled down his back.

“…What the hell—”

SPLRT!

A hand burst out from a monster’s face.

Blood and bone sprayed outward as fingers clawed through from the inside.

As it tore through the body and stepped out.

A chalk-white figure emerged, skin pale like bleached bone, its face smooth and blindfolded.

Adam’s pupils shrank.

“…Another one.”

SPLRT! SPLRT! SPLRT!

It happened again.

And again.

And again.

Heads ruptured across the street and corpses split open from every direction and more of them crawled out.

Adam’s grip tightened around the scythe.

As the realization slammed into place.

This was a reaction.

Like an immune system.

When a foreign body invades, the white blood cells swarm it and eradicate it.

Adam exhaled slowly.

“…So that’s what I am.”

His gaze swept across the growing horde of chalk-white creatures.

If I kill them…Do I damage the host?

His eyes flicked briefly to the ruined surroundings.

…And was coming here a mistake?

For the first time since arriving, doubt surfaced.

But it was only for a moment as the creatures moved.

Adam’s eyes sharpened.

The hesitation vanished.

“…Too late to second-guess now.”

He lowered his stance.

Scythe humming.

“…Come.”

And the horde crashed into him.

****

The horde crashed into him the moment he finished speaking, white figures surging from every direction without hesitation or sound. Adam moved instantly, scythe sweeping in a tight arc as he stepped forward, refusing to be surrounded. Even knowing death affinity wasn’t working, he didn’t slow down.

The bone scythe cut clean through the first two chalk men, splitting them apart with ease, yet their bodies showed no real reaction beyond the physical damage. Adam clicked his tongue, already shifting his stance as more closed in, their movements steady and relentless.

So death won’t finish them… fine.

He tightened his grip and pushed forward instead of retreating, relying on everything else he had. His force aura flared around him, invisible but heavy, wrapping his body in pressure that distorted the air slightly as he braced for impact.

A fist shot toward his face from the left, fast and precise, but Adam tilted his head just enough to avoid it. His hand snapped out, catching the arm mid-strike, and his aura surged, amplifying his strength before he drove a counterpunch straight forward.

The blow landed with a sharp crack, sending the chalk man flying sideways and crashing into two others behind it. Adam didn’t pause to confirm anything, already lowering his body and spinning, his leg sweeping low with boosted force that knocked multiple attackers off their feet.

Bodies hit the ground around him, creating a brief opening as several chalk men stumbled or lost balance. Adam’s eyes sharpened the moment he saw the gap, his thoughts aligning instantly as he shifted from fighting to movement without hesitation.

I don’t need to kill them.

I just need to reach her.

He stepped forward hard, lightning sparking faintly around his legs as he accelerated, his speed spiking for a brief burst. The scythe carved a path ahead of him, forcing back the nearest chalk men just enough to create space.

For a second, it worked.

He broke through the encirclement, slipping past the tightening formation before it could fully close again. The ground blurred under his feet as he pushed forward, ignoring the ones behind him and focusing only on the direction ahead.

But it didn’t end there.

More chalk men emerged.

From broken buildings.

From alleyways.

From beneath the ground itself as hands clawed upward and bodies pulled free.

Adam’s gaze hardened as he kept running, adjusting his path without slowing, weaving between obstacles while his aura pulsed to maintain momentum. The numbers weren’t dropping, and their movements were becoming more coordinated.

“…Tch. This just got more annoying.”

A figure dropped from above, aiming straight for his head, but Adam twisted mid-step, his scythe flashing upward in a quick counter that knocked it aside. He didn’t even watch it fall, already pushing forward again.

They weren’t trying to overwhelm him blindly anymore.

They were trying to block him.

Delay him.

Slow him down.

Adam’s eyes narrowed slightly as he read their intent, his expression turning colder with each step he took. If this really was an immune response, then it would keep escalating the longer he stayed here.

Then I just have to be faster than it can react.

His aura surged again, heavier this time, compressing around his legs as he leaned forward into a full sprint. Lightning flickered once more as he forced his body past its usual limits, breaking through another closing gap.

The city stretched ahead of him, but the path was far from clear, more white figures already shifting into position further down the street. Adam didn’t slow, didn’t hesitate, his grip tightening on the scythe as his eyes locked forward.

And the next wave rose to meet him.

****

Deep within the shelter, far from the collapsing streets outside, Remedy sat on the cold stone floor with the other survivors. Her posture was still, but her mind wasn’t, thoughts moving quickly as she tried to track time without any clear measure.

If Adam has arrived…

Then he’s already fighting them.

Her fingers tightened slightly against her lap as the realization settled deeper. The soul protectors wouldn’t ignore him. They would see him as a threat the moment he entered and move to eliminate him before he could reach her.

And unlike everything else—

They couldn’t be killed normally.

Even with death affinity, Adam wouldn’t be able to erase them completely. They weren’t separate entities in the true sense. They were extensions, fragments tied directly to her existence, shaped by something far beyond a single lifetime.

To destroy them… he’d have to destroy me.

Remedy’s gaze lowered slightly, her expression tightening for a brief moment before stabilizing again. That truth didn’t scare her as much as it should have. What mattered more was time, and how little of it they had left.

Five minutes.

If Adam didn’t reach her before then, the soul protectors wouldn’t even matter anymore. Something worse would happen, something she could already feel building beneath the surface, pressing against the limits of what this place could contain.

She stayed seated, unmoving, as the memory guided her outward actions since she couldn’t act directly outside of it. Her awareness stretched faintly, brushing against the edges of the shelter and everything within it.

Then, she felt it.

Multiple gazes locking onto her at once.

Remedy’s eyes lifted slowly as several survivors in the shelter turned their heads toward her in perfect sync. Their expressions were blank, but their focus was sharp, unnatural, and far too deliberate to be coincidence.

“…So it’s starting.”

****

Outside, Adam burst through another partial blockade, his aura flaring as he forced his body forward despite the constant pressure building around him. The chalk men were no longer just appearing randomly, they were learning and adapting to him.

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