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Last Embryo Volume 1 Chapter 2 Part 6

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Editor: Weasalopes

There was no time for hesitation, because the crawling Minotaur was gradually destroying more and more of the entrance, so Homura removed the cover protecting the cabinet, entered the code, and placed his hand on the lever.

「Please, just let this work!!!!」

With a heavy sound, he yanked the lever down. At that moment, a dull sound like a hammer hitting the concrete floor was heard all around the school. Understanding that everything went exactly the way he wanted, Homura turned his back at the Minotaur and ran towards the laboratory with every ounce of strength he had left. Seeing his prey getting away from him, the Minotaur roared with a voice filled with hatred, and started clawing its way forward even more aggressively. After all, chasing the fleeing humans was one of its habits. Strengthening his belief that the decision he made was the correct one, Homura went towards the hallway that connected one school building to the other.

He thought that the beast was going to catch up to him right away, but it looks like the injuries on its legs were still pretty effective, them being the reason why it had to crawl towards him with its hands alone, just like an oversized centipede. It kept crawling forward, shortening the distance between them… but the moment it reached the hallway Homura just went through… an iron bulkhead fell right on top of its neck.

「G E E E Y A A A A……..?!!!!!!」

The scream that left the Minotaur’s horrible mouth was not the one of pain, but rather of shock and surprise at what has happened to it. And just as it thrust its arm forward to reach into the classroom Homura ran into, another bulkhead pierced its neck again, isolating the classroom in the process.

「Hahaha, cleaved right into it! How about that, you bull bastard?! A critical hit by a 500mm special bulkhead guillotine to the neck! Even you won’t be able to get out of it that easily!」

Raising his fist in a gesture of victory, Homura escaped the classroom through the emergency exit located next to the emergency shutter that only opened from the inside before the exit would be sealed off by another bulkhead.

In a span of a minute or so, the entire school building had become isolated from the outside world by a barrier of steel bulkheads.

「This is… curious. I didn’t know our school… had such a security system…」

Briefly regaining her consciousness, Ayato muttered in hazed amazement when she saw the school turning into a literal steel and iron fortress.

「Right? Not many people know this, but along the nanomachines, the Hoei Laboratory also conducts secret research on microbes and viruses such as smallpox. What you see now are the protective measures against a potential biohazard outbreak that might result from that research.」

Just like Homura said, that system was not meant to combat natural disasters, but to contain the damages caused by man-made ones to a bare minimum. No one in their wildest dreams would probably think that this system was one day going to be used as a coffin for the legendary Minotaur.

Since Ayato regained consciousness, Homura put her back on the ground, lending her his shoulder just in case she wasn’t able to stand on her own.

「Now, if we can just get to the 3^rd Research Center, I will be able to give you an emergency treatment. Then I will get you an ambulance and take you to the hospital, and then… then we can have our little talk about what exactly happened here, okay?」

「…. Okay, but… but what about Suzuka? I… I don’t see her anywhere…」

「Like I said before, more than once, she’s going to be fine. I shouldn’t have kept that from you and I am sorry for that, but unlike a fake like me, that girl is a natural born Psychic. Even if, by some unfortunate miracle she was still at the school right now, no harm would come to her. Moreover, we would probably be the ones holding her back…」

Then, the ground beneath them shook violently once again, followed by a roar of the gathering storm clouds and a flash of blinding light that robbed Homura of his sight and stopped all of his thinking processes for a solid second.

However, instead of lightning, it would be more appropriate to call the thing that descended from the heavens a flash wave of heat energy that eradicated all of the rain and wind in an instant, leaving the surroundings completely silent. Also, whatever that light just now was, it pierced through the entire 500mm armor that created the Minotaur’s iron coffin as if it was cotton candy before it ended up pierced into the ground.

「…………..!??」

Everything in its immediate surroundings was burning, and the ground was riddled with deeply-running cracks and fissures. Witnessing such a supernatural event happening right in front of him, Homura was unable to utter even a single word. Piercing through specially composed armor plating designed to stop not only bacteria and viruses but also bullets from firearms, tank’s and ship’s cannons and even missiles of the fighter jets was crazy enough, but, believe it or not, that was not the craziest thing that happened.

The craziest thing was the storm clouds gathering around the pulsating light protruding out of the ground as if they possessed a will of their own, until they covered it in its entirety, taking the form of a giant battle axe. Its radiance was so overwhelming and deadly that Homura’s eyes – so widened in shock that they could pop out of their sockets at any moment – were fixated on it and refused to look at anything else.

The axe itself didn’t have any ornaments or decorations on it, save for a lone ruby inserted into its center that held the both sides of the blades together. Judging by its size, it was definitely something that wasn’t meant for any mortal being to handle. Even if the several of the strongest people on the planet tried to lift it, it probably wouldn’t even budge an inch. But as large and crude as it was, the blades still shone brightly as if they were imbued with the rays of the sun itself, perfectly distinguishable even in the sea of flames that was slowly spreading inside of the school building. Homura instinctively knew that this weapon was all sorts of bad news, deadlier and more threatening than the Minotaur and the storm combined together.

Minotaur walked out of the flames and raised this battle axe – which emitted enough divine energy to send chills and cold sweat down his spine – high into the air. Looking at it now, it was far beyond the level of just being strong. Its power must have increased at least severalfold, and all of the injuries that have been inflicted upon its leg closed and healed in the blink of an eye.

Knowing that there was no way for him to run away from such a monster, Homura did the only thing his fear-paralyzed body was able to do, and stood in front of the unconscious Ayato in order to shield her from the danger. It was a brave act, but also the one that didn’t faze the Minotaur one bit. It was an apex predator, stronger than any other beast could ever hope to be. With the power it was wielding, there was no need for it to show any mercy, even to the prey that was completely defenseless. It slowly bend its body, and then dashed forward, stronger and faster than any missile.

Glaring right at the edge of the battle axe that was coming towards him from high above, Saigo Homura prepared himself for death.