parentshiftbook Chapter 1722: Arrival of Hell: Part-1
Chapter 1722: Arrival of Hell: Part-1
Jonathan Vale’s POV"Hmm... What a wonderful day to finally finish this story," I mumbled, stretching my arms before rolling my stiff fingers. I cracked my knuckles one by one, then rested both hands on the keyboard.
The cursor blinked patiently beneath the title ’Final Arc’, waiting for the final words of a journey that had taken years to write.
"Hmm... How should I end this...? Since the MC has to choose one girl... who would actually be the perfect one for him? Hmm..."
I leaned back in my chair, absentmindedly tapping a finger against the desk as different scenes played through my mind. Every heroine had her own charm, her own history with him.
Choosing one felt strangely harder than writing every battle and tragedy that had come before it.
Just then, my phone suddenly rang, shattering the silence and my deep thoughts.
Ring~Ring~
I glanced at the caller ID before letting out a small sigh.
"Oh? Why is this otaku calling now?"
The moment I answered, a deafening scream exploded through the speaker, making me instinctively pull the phone away from my ear.
"JOHN!! SOMETHING HAPPENED TO AETHER!!! I HEARD AN AMBULANCE SIREN, AND HE’S NOT PICKING UP HIS PHONE!!"
I winced, rubbing my aching ear.
"Can you stop screaming for one second?" I frowned.
"He might be watching TV or taking a shower. That’s probably why he isn’t answering."
"NO! I literally talked to him just a minute ago! He said he had just gotten a job, then all of a sudden I heard people shouting and a loud crash!
He sounded fine afterwards, but then... then he suddenly started laughing!
You know how he laughs when something ridiculous happens, right? Like that fucking laugh?
After that, I heard ambulance sirens... and then the call just stayed connected before it suddenly cut off.
HE’S NOT ANSWERING ANYMORE!!"
Damn loud!
I frowned as I pieced together everything he had just said.
"Wait... if he was still talking after the accident, then maybe he wasn’t the one who got hurt." I stood up from my chair, thinking aloud.
"Knowing Aether, he probably ran over to help the injured. You know what he’s like whenever someone needs help. The idiot doesn’t think twice before throwing himself into danger."
That sounded exactly like him.
I could already picture the scene in my head. A traffic accident. Injured people lying on the road. Without a moment of hesitation, Aether would rush straight into the middle of it as if his own safety didn’t matter.
It made perfect sense!
However,
"But... h-he told me to delete everything on his phone..." his voice trembled.
"You know what that means... right?"
The words hit me like a punch to the stomach.
My expression froze.
"...Shit."
Neither of us needed to explain it.
It was an unspoken rule between cultured men!
If someone suddenly told another person to erase everything on their phone... it wasn’t a joke!
It meant they believed they were about to die.
I slammed my laptop shut and grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair.
"Do you know where he was? Did he mention any location?"
"Yeah... he said he had just walked out of the company after finishing everything."
"Good. Send me the location immediately." I shoved my feet into my shoes without slowing down.
"I’m heading there right now. And call an ambulance too. Even if one is already there, tell them there might be another victim."
"...Okay."
The call ended.
I stuffed my phone into my pocket and rushed out of my apartment, locking the door without even checking twice.
There wasn’t a single second to waste.
Every passing moment could decide whether someone lived... or didn’t.
I sprinted into the parking lot and climbed onto my bike.
The cold metal felt strangely vibrating beneath my hands as I jammed my foot onto the starter.
VRRMMM!!
The engine roared to life, vibrating beneath me.
"Don’t you dare die on me, asshole," I muttered, though I wasn’t entirely sure whether I was talking to my bike... or to Aether.
The accelerator twisted beneath my grip, and the motorcycle shot out of the parking lot, tearing across the asphalt as the city blurred into streaks of light.
BEEP!
BEEP!
I kept leaning on the horn as I weaved between the tightly packed cars.
These assholes had completely clogged the road, leaving barely enough space for a bike to squeeze through.
It was as if they owned the entire street just because they had bought a few cars.
"Once I have enough money, I’ll buy one too," I muttered under my breath.
I switched on my right indicator, hoping to slip through another gap, but my hopes were crushed when I saw the entire road ahead had come to a complete standstill.
BEEP!
BEEEPPPP!!
Horns blared from every direction, creating a deafening wall of noise that echoed between the buildings.
"What the fuck is going on here?! Move your asses already!" I shouted in frustration.
It was pointless.
Everyone kept honking as if making more noise would somehow clear the traffic, yet not a single vehicle moved even an inch.
"Tsk... I can’t waste time here."
My eyes quickly scanned the surroundings before landing on the pavement running alongside the road.
"Well... considering it’s an emergency, I think the police will understand."
Muttering that to myself, I carefully guided the bike onto the pavement before twisting the accelerator. The motorcycle surged forward, racing past the endless line of trapped vehicles.
BEEP!
BEEP!
Pedestrians jerked in surprise as my bike sped toward them. Some hurried out of the way while others glared at me.
"Sorry! Emergency!" I shouted over the engine while repeatedly pressing the horn.
Even from the pavement, I could see the traffic ahead hadn’t moved at all. Every lane was completely blocked. Drivers leaned on their horns with irritated expressions, yet none of them seemed interested in actually finding the cause.
"Idiots..." I chuckled bitterly as I continued forward.
Then something caught my attention as I went deeper into the path.
The pedestrians weren’t looking at the traffic anymore.
Every single one of them was staring upward.
Many had their phones raised, recording videos or taking pictures.
Even the drivers responsible for blocking the road had stepped out of their vehicles, their faces filled with confusion as they gazed at the sky.
"What’s going on...?"
Without slowing down, I instinctively lifted my gaze.
...
The breath caught in my throat.
High above the city, hidden behind the thick blanket of clouds, something enormous moved.
It wasn’t clear enough to make out its full shape, but long shadows resembling gigantic tentacles slowly shifted above the clouds. Whatever it was, its silhouette dwarfed entire buildings, stretching across the sky like a living nightmare.
"W... What the hell is...?"
The words barely escaped my lips.
My eyes remained locked on the impossible sight.
THUD!
The front wheel suddenly slammed into one of the concrete barriers placed along the pavement to stop motorcycles from riding there.
"Shit!"
The impact launched me off the bike before I could even react.
My body flew several meters through the air before crashing violently onto the ground.
CRACK!
"ARGH!!"
A sharp bolt of pain exploded through my shoulder as I rolled across the pavement. Gritting my teeth, I instinctively clutched the arm that felt as though it had shattered on impact.
"Thank... God..." I groaned through clenched teeth, breathing heavily.
"At least I wore a helmet..."
Around me, terrified screams suddenly erupted.
"OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT?!"
"IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD!!"
"RUN!! EVERYONE, RUN!!"
The panic spreading through the crowd made my heart skip a beat.
Ignoring the agony shooting through my body, I slowly raised my head.
And what I saw...
!!!
Sent an icy chill crawling through every bone in my body.
From within the clouds... something slowly emerged.
It wriggled as though it were forcing its way out of the sky itself. A humongous green mass streaked with patches of brown slithered downward, piercing through the clouds as they parted around it.
The sheer size of the thing made my mind refuse to process what my eyes were seeing.
I...
I wasn’t even sure what it was.
It looked...
Like the root of a tree.
A gigantic... living tree root?
My mind went completely blank.
"Nope."
I turned around and ran without another glance.
Whatever the hell that thing was, I wasn’t sticking around to find out.
I’d read enough horror novels to know one universal rule.
When something completely unknown appears...
You run first!
You ask questions later!!
Without wasting another second, I grabbed my bike and slammed my foot onto the kick starter.
CRRK!
...
Nothing.
The engine didn’t start.
"FUCK!!"
Of course.
Of fucking course it would choose now to die.
People had already abandoned their cars and were sprinting through the streets, screaming in absolute terror. Drivers leaned on their horns in blind panic, but none of the vehicles could move an inch inside the traffic jam.
"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!!"
I kicked the starter again and again.
"You piece of shit! Start already!"
THUUUDDDERRRRRR!!!
A thunderous impact shook the entire street.
The ground trembled beneath my feet as though something unimaginably heavy had slammed into the earth.
I didn’t look back.
Absolutely not!
I had watched enough movies to know exactly what happened to the idiots who froze in place just to stare at the monster or whatever shit behind them.
"Hell no!"
I slammed my foot down one last time.
VVRRROOOOMMMM!!!
"YES!"
The engine finally roared to life, and relief washed over me so intensely that I nearly laughed.
Without another thought, I twisted the throttle and shot forward along the pavement, weaving around fleeing pedestrians as fast as I could.
TTTTTRRRRRRR!!
Behind me came the horrifying sound of something enormous tearing through concrete and metal.
Cold sweat streamed down my face beneath the helmet.
My heartbeat pounded louder than the engine itself.
Faster.
Faster...
Faster....
I zigzagged through every opening I could find, desperately trying to stay ahead.
’W-What the fuck is happening?!’
The question echoed endlessly inside my head while the terrified screams of countless people filled the city behind me.
Every instinct screamed at me to look back.
Just one glance.
Just one.
See what was chasing me.
But I forced my eyes forward.
No!
Looking back wouldn’t make me faster.
It would only make me dead.
I twisted the throttle even harder.
The tearing sound behind me grew closer.
Closer.
Close enough that I could actually feel it.
The bike vibrated violently beneath me.
The road trembled.
The air itself seemed to shake, as though something colossal was bearing down on me, ready to swallow everything in its path.
"Come on... come on... COME ON!!"
I shouted from inside my helmet as I twisted the throttle to its absolute limit. Fuel surged through the engine, the motorcycle trembling under the sudden burst of power before letting out one furious roar.
VVVRRRROOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!
Just then, a group of people suddenly rushed out from a narrow alley without even looking at the road.
"WATCH OUT!!"
THUD!!
SSSRRRCCCHHHHH!!!
Everything happened too quickly for me to react. My motorcycle crashed straight into them, and one of the pedestrians was launched several meters through the air before smashing violently against a concrete wall. Blood splattered across the surface as my bike instantly lost its balance, throwing me onto the road while the motorcycle continued sliding beside me with a shower of sparks.
"ARRRGGHHH!!"
An agonising scream escaped my throat as my body scraped across the rough asphalt. The burning pain shooting through my left leg was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
I could actually feel my skin being ripped away against the road, each layer peeling off as though someone were dragging a blade across my flesh. My helmet repeatedly slammed against the ground while my vision spun wildly, leaving me completely helpless as my body continued sliding forward.
By the time both the motorcycle and I finally came to a stop, I was barely able to think through the overwhelming pain flooding every nerve in my body. My ears rang violently, and for several seconds I couldn’t even understand where I was or what had just happened.
Then I heard it again.
TTTTTRRRRR...
That horrifying tearing sound hadn’t stopped.
Instead, it was getting closer.
Much closer!
My face instantly turned pale as pure instinct forced me into action. Gritting my teeth so hard that I could taste blood, I shoved the heavy motorcycle off my body before desperately trying to stand.
My entire body trembled from the pain.
"Come on... move..."
I forced myself onto one foot, only for my injured leg to collapse beneath me almost immediately.
THUD!
I slammed back onto the asphalt, and another wave of unbearable pain surged through my body. Blood continued pouring from my shredded leg, staining the road beneath me while my muscles refused to respond, no matter how desperately I tried to force them to move. Every attempt to crawl forward ended in failure, and with each passing second, the terrifying sound behind me grew even closer.
A bitter smile slowly formed on my face as reality finally settled in.
"...So this is how it ends."
I didn’t even have the courage to turn around anymore. Whatever was behind me had already destroyed half the city just by moving, and there was no chance someone like me could escape it in this condition.
All I could do was clench my fists, shut my eyes, and... wait for the inevitable.
I waited for the impact that would crush me.
I waited for the pain that would end everything.
I waited for death itself.
Yet...
Nothing happened.
TRR--!
The terrifying tearing sound that had been chasing me suddenly disappeared, leaving behind an eerie silence that felt even more unsettling than the chaos from before. Several seconds passed without anything touching me, making me wonder whether I had already died without realising it.
"ouch!"
The sharp pain pulsing through my leg immediately proved otherwise.
Very slowly, I forced my eyes open again, and a weak laugh escaped my lips when I realised I was still lying in the middle of the road exactly where I had fallen.
"Ah... haha..."
"I... I’m still alive."
A small wave of relief washed over me, and for the briefest moment, I thought I had somehow survived.
"S-Someone!! Please help me!!"
A terrified scream echoed from somewhere behind me, causing every muscle in my body to stiffen. My heartbeat accelerated once again as I gathered every ounce of courage I had left before slowly turning my head toward the source of the voice.
The moment my eyes finally saw what was behind me, every trace of relief vanished.
"...Oh my God."
Only then did I truly understand the kind of horror I had somehow escaped.
For nearly a hundred kilometres in every direction, there was nothing left but absolute devastation. The land itself had been violently ripped apart, leaving behind enormous craters and jagged cliffs where thriving cities and towns had once stood.
Countless chunks of earth had been shattered into countless fragments as the colossal roots tore through the landscape with overwhelming force, reducing everything in their path to rubble and dust.
The gigantic roots continued to writhe like living creatures, relentlessly burrowing deeper into the planet while splitting the ground apart with deafening cracks. Those unfortunate enough to remain on the surface and a few barely standing buildings screamed in terror as the collapsing earth swallowed them whole, dragging their desperate bodies into the endless darkness.
"..."
I... I didn’t even know how to put what I was seeing into words. My mind had gone completely blank as it desperately searched for something, anything, that could describe the nightmare unfolding before my eyes. If there was only one word that could truly do justice to the scene standing before me, then it would be...
Hell!