"He's alive!"
Almost overwhelmed with terror, Max and his companions violently jerked backwards, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the creepy, red-eyed body staring at them. James, who had crashed into the chests lying around, almost defied gravity.
Consequently, rifles were raised and directed at the metallic capsule. Max's heart thumped so loudly in his ears that he could barely hear the rough breathing coming from the others. Never had he been this shaken.
"W-Wh-What the hell?!"
"Max, I-I think we should get out of here while we still can."
"Agreed. Disturbing tombs like these never end well."
"Oh, so now you're frightened?!"
The words of his colleagues barely registered in Max's ears. From head to toe, he was covered in cold sweat. Taking multiple deep breaths to calm his breathing, Max waited for something to happen. Anything.
That body might have opened its eyes, but the person might not necessarily be alive. Maybe it was a final reflex acting out due to the magical energy saturating the throne room. Maybe it was an accident.
"Fuck…"
Unfortunately for him, the fear and possibility he had been denying came to fruition. Right before his eyes, the metallic box produced a soft hum, quaking slightly. It was undoubtedly opening.
"That's it. I'm out of here."
James muttered, promptly reaching the cable they had lowered into the throne room. With a click of his hook, he was shot upwards.
"What about the chests?" Julius glanced at Max, waiting for his input.
"Let's first survive this."
Max glanced at the others and nodded. One by one, the cohort retreated, shooting up the cable to the floor they had come from. As the leader, Max decided to go last. But when it got to Kenneth and Julius's turn to ascend, the inexplicable sound of something sliding off something echoed eerily.
Almost unconsciously, Kenneth and Julius gripped their rifles, turned around and took aim, flanking Max. For a moment, there was a ghostly silence. Everything turned so quiet that Max could hear the galloping heartbeats of his two companions. He unconsciously gulped and held his breath, agonizingly on high alert.
With James, Jessica and Sophia already out of the throne room, it was up to him, Kenneth and Julius to stop the awakening person should he pose a threat to them. Fortunately for him, the three who had ascended were smart enough to remain silent.
Then the defining moment arrived.
From the metallic capsule, two hands shot out first, gripping its sides. Max gulped seeing those massive hands. Even without making any contact whatsoever, he could tell they carried power.
"Hold…"
He muttered softly, careful not to raise his voice beyond the silence. The upper body of the king, or whoever he was, came up next, the greenish fluid sliding off his toned body like a stream.
When he opened his eyes, Max's heart skipped a beat as he took a step back. But he had at least maintained his control.
Before he could even recover from the terror those piercing red eyes instilled in him, Kenneth let out a defiant roar and opened fire. Julius quickly followed Kenneth in unleashing the concentrated energy rounds of his magic rifle.
Max silently cursed but made no attempt to stop his colleagues. His rifle was pressed firmly against his shoulder as he watched with bated breath. The condensed beams of energy shot out rapidly, tearing through the dais and capsule. In seconds, they buried the area in smoke.
After close to ten seconds of intense fire, Kenneth and Julius calmed down enough to halt, breathing heavily. They did not even glance at Max, wholly focused on the outcome of their intense fire.
When most of the smoke cleared, Max's eyes widened in horror. "Im-Impossible…"
The dais and wall had almost been reduced to rubble. The capsule, on the other hand, had remained mostly intact with barely any of its parts destroyed! But what truly sent cold dread down his spine were the red eyes that stared back at him with absolute indifference.
Ken and Julius's round of firing had barely left a hint of actual damage on the person's body. The man's body was bruised. But that was it! The person's respirator had been torn to shreds, but the person himself took almost no damage! Wait, was it even a person?!
"We need to leave. Now!"
Max's scream snapped the other two out of their shocked state. With extremely pale faces, Kenneth and Julius rushed to the cable while Max slowly backed away. At this point, his heart might as well be in his ears.
He could barely hear anything, and his legs wobbled beneath him. He was beyond terrified. What kind of monster in human skin had they stumbled upon? Briefly glancing over his shoulder, Max saw Kenneth and Julius fidgeting to get their hook clasped on the cable.
'Shit. Shit. Shit!'
They were wasting precious time! Suddenly, the red-eyed monster in human skin rose from his capsule, completely naked in all his glory. The man pulled off the broken respirator and threw it aside. Max opened fire without hesitation, screaming at the top of his lungs in an attempt to shake the terror that gripped his entire body.
The monster finally stepped out of the capsule. However, something unexpected happened. Moments after stepping out of the capsule, he fell over. Even so, Max did not relent, exhausting his magic ammunition without hesitation.
"Max!"
Before long, Max looked over his shoulder. Kenneth and Julius had managed to secure themselves, already rushing upwards. It was finally his turn. In a flash, Max reached the cable.
'Dammit!'
Like his companions, he fumbled with the hook, his hands trembling from the overwhelming dread. He looked over his shoulder, and his heart sank. The red-eyed monster in human skin was back on his feet!
"Forget the hook. Just grab the cable!"
Max almost facepalmed when he realised his foolishness. All he had to do was grab the cable, and his colleagues would pull him up. Releasing the rifle to his side, Max grabbed the cable with both hands and yanked.
As soon as he felt his body being pulled up, he turned to assess the monster's position. He cursed their bad luck. How had they stumbled on this nightmare? The monster seemed prepared to leap in his direction!