Just as we step onto the 10th-floor hallway, a blood-curdling sound tears through the silent space.

  Oooooooo.... SKREEEEEEE....

  It sounds like an air raid siren from a war zone, but distorted, static-filled, and glitching like a corrupted audio file. The sound does not just ring in my ears; it rattles my very chest, making my insides churn.

  "Damn it," Nanao curses under his breath, his cat ears flattening tightly against his head. "It is summoning the horde. These Executioners have a psychic hive-mind."

  The moment his words end, the red light from outside the window suddenly vanishes.

  Dozens, no, at least a hundred black shadows have surrounded the Keio Plaza. They cling to the exterior of the building like mutated geckos, blocking every single window. Dozens of red eyes, as big as car headlights, stare inside simultaneously, ravenous and maddened. The stench of rotting corpses and rust is so thick the air feels solid.

  "Run!" Xiaolang roars.

  But it is too late.

  Without a word of warning, the giant black arms swing in unison and pull hard.

  CRASH!!! CRACK!!!

  The sound of concrete and steel snapping explodes like thunder right next to my ear. The entire 10th floor of the hotel, including the ceiling and the surrounding walls, is ripped open like someone tearing apart a cardboard box. Cold wind rushes in, sweeping everything away.

  I flail, looking toward the elevator shaft. It is gone. Only a deep, dark pit remains with severed cables dangling in the wind.

  "It is over..." I mutter, my face draining of all blood. "The door home... they destroyed it."

  "Do not panic!" Nanao’s voice rings out sharply, pulling me out of my paralysis. "Fly up! Get to safety! Staying here means death!"

  "Up we go, old man!" Xiaolang hoists the delirious man on my back. A burst of intense spiritual energy explodes beneath my feet.

  We shoot up into the pitch-black sky, leaving the ruins of the Keio Plaza behind, where the Executioners are diving in to tear apart what remains like a flock of starving vultures.

  The higher we fly, the more the view expands. And that is when I see the full picture of this place. A scene that will probably haunt me for all my future lives.

  World 4466. Beta Hell.

  Beneath my feet lies a desolate megalopolis stretching to the horizon. Ruined skyscrapers stand crooked like giant concrete tombstones piercing the starless sky. But the most terrifying thing is not the ruin, it is the life... or rather, the torment taking place.

  Everywhere in the city, giant Executioners walk slowly. They bend down, thrusting their long arms into buildings, into subway tunnels, rooting around like people digging through trash cans.

  From above, I see tiny dots... sinful souls in human form... fleeing in despair. They crawl into sewers and hide under bridges, but it is useless. The giants grab them as easily as snatching mice. Screams of agony echo up to the heavens, mixing with the manic kekeke laughter.

  I see an Executioner crush a handful of people in his hand, blood splattering everywhere, then he drops the pulverized remains to the ground. Just seconds later, those bodies twitch, regenerate, and continue running only to be caught again.

  "That is disgusting..." I groan, my stomach knotting. "It is over... how do we get back? We are stuck in this slaughterhouse..."

  "Calm down, kid," Xiaolang’s voice tries to sound optimistic, though I can feel my own heart beating wildly. "Why the long face? Let me open the Cloud-Hopper. We have the coordinates, opening a gate is a piece of cake."

  He raises his hand, beginning to draw a summoning circle in the air.

  ...Nothing happens. Just a few sparks of electricity fizzle and die out.

  "Motherf*cker," Nanao flies alongside us, shaking his phone frantically. "I have been trying for a while now. The connection is trash! If we cannot catch the signal from The Nexus server, we cannot open anything!"

  "Can we call for emergency rescue?" Xiaolang asks, his expression starting to tense up.

  "I told you it says 'Server Connection Lost'!" Nanao yells, shoving the static-filled phone screen into Xiaolang's face. "This dump of a world is completely isolated! No messages, no calls, no GPS!"

  That sentence kicks me right down to the bottom of the abyss. This time, I cannot even see the bottom. No elevator, no Cloud-Hopper, no communication. We are rats in a cage with giant cats waiting below.

  "Otherwise... we fly manually," Xiaolang suggests hesitantly. "Use our own power to tear through space, cross the chaotic hyperspace layers to the nearest universe with a better signal. It might take... a few weeks."

  "Huh? You guys can do that?" I stare wide-eyed.

  "Of course we can, we are Gods," Nanao replies, his voice weary. "But the problem is we cannot take a mortal. Your flesh and blood body and the one-armed guy's body would be crushed into dust by the hyperspace pressure in the first second. Plus, 'walking' like that without support equipment like the Cloud-Hopper or the Bifrost would take forever to get there."

  "So there is no way out?" I look around in despair.

  Suddenly, the sky in the distance goes dark.

  "What is that?"

  A giant, inky black mass of cloud, thick as tar, is rolling toward us at terrifying speed. But when I look closer, I realize it is not a cloud.

  There are thousands, tens of thousands of flying creatures. Humanoid monsters with bat wings, sharp claws, and naturally... that signature wide, grinning mouth.

  "Why does this mob have an air force too?!" I scream, feeling like my nerves are about to snap. "Where do we run now?!"

  "Run."

  Xiaolang growls the command through my clenched teeth, stripping away every ounce of his usual playfulness. My body, under the absolute control of the wolf god, instantly spins in mid-air and shoots forward like an arrow piercing the wind.

  As the distance closes, the true horror of that "air force" comes into sharp focus. They are not merely winged monsters. They are nightmares that have learned how to fly.

  Their bodies are pitch black, gaunt as skeletons dipped in liquid asphalt, with tattered bat wings beating rhythmically against the stagnant air. But the thing that makes my stomach churn is the head. It is human. Bald, with skin the color of decaying ash, and where eyes should be, there are only two hollow, abyssal sockets.

  "SCREEEECH!"

  The flock of monsters simultaneously unhinges their jaws.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Zip! Zip! Zip!

  Jets of crimson fluid erupt from their maws with the velocity of machine-gun fire.

  "They are literally spitting blood at us!" I scream, my voice cracking in terror.

  A streak of blood grazes my cheek, leaving behind a searing burn and a stench so metallic it tastes like rust. The projectile punches a massive hole through a concrete wall in the distance as if drilling through soft tofu. If that thing hits my body... I shudder, unable to finish the thought.

  "Hold on tight!" Xiaolang roars.

  My body flips, twisting and contorting in the air in ways that defy physics. Xiaolang pilots me through the dense net of blood bullets, moving with the grace of a dancer navigating a minefield.

  "Don't get greedy!" Nanao flies alongside us, erecting shields to deflect the barrage while swearing profusely. "You crazy dog, I know your paws are itching for a fight, but look at those numbers! Charge in there and you will turn into a sieve!"

  "I know! I am trying to run here!" Xiaolang snaps back, and I can feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

  I look around in desperation. The sky is completely blockaded. The ground is the domain of the giants. We are fish on a chopping block. Where can we possibly go?

  My gaze crashes into the crumbling skyscrapers surrounding us. Though they are rusty, dusty, and look ready to collapse at any moment, their structures still stand. A maze of reinforced concrete.

  "Xiaolang!" An idea sparks in my mind. "Get into the buildings! Find cover! We cannot outrun them in a straight line forever!"

  "Good idea!" Xiaolang replies. "But they are swarming like ants. With them on our tails like this, they will drag us out no matter where we hide!"

  "Can you take them all out at once?" I ask frantically. "Just stall them long enough for us to break their line of sight!"

  "With this many enemies, I need to use a Wide-Area Shadow Kill!" Xiaolang explains, his mental voice hurried. "To use that move, I need their shadows to be cast clearly on the ground. But look at this accursed weather! It is twilight, the light is dim and scattered. There are no shadows to strike from!"

  It is a damned world indeed. The ambient, low light is insufficient to create the sharp contrast needed for Shadow Skill.

  "About that..." Nanao's voice suddenly cuts in, strangely calm amidst the howling wind.

  "You have a way?" Xiaolang calls out.

  "The Law of Radiance," Nanao smirks, his calico whiskers twitching with smug satisfaction. "Old man Ariel taught it during the seminar last month. You were sleeping through all those sessions, were you not?"

  "Stop bickering, both of you!" I scream, my heart threatening to explode from my chest as a jet of blood singes my hair. "Please just do it quickly!"

  "Alright! Dive!" Nanao commands.

  Xiaolang asks no further questions. He immediately noses down, flying low and skimming just above the ground. The Executioners, seeing their prey lose altitude, shriek with delight and swarm down like a black cloud, blotting out the entire sky.

  "Get ready..." Nanao stops in mid-air, hovering directly above the mass of monsters. He takes a deep breath, spreads his arms wide, and his entire body erupts with blinding white energy.

  "RADIANT ILLUMINATION!"

  BOOM!

  It is as if someone just detonated a massive flashbang. A beam of light, brilliant and pure, explodes from Nanao, banishing the gloomy darkness of Beta Hell in an instant.

  The Executioners, creatures accustomed to the shadows, howl in agony, covering their hollow eye sockets with their hands. Their flight formation crumbles as they crash into one another with sickening thuds.

  But more importantly, under that searing light, the shadows of thousands of monsters are cast sharply, pitch-black and distinct, against the desolate ground.

  "I cannot hold it for long!" Nanao yells, his voice trembling with effort. "Do it now!"

  "My turn!"

  Xiaolang roars. He thrusts my hand toward the earth, toward the forest of shadows stretching out below.

  "Shadow Kill: Ten Thousand Strangling Hands!"!"

  The ground seems to boil. From those ink-black shadows, not one, but tens of thousands of dark hands shoot up simultaneously. They extend, elongated and grotesque, grabbing the ankles, wings, and necks of the shadow owners.

  And then... WRING!

  The sound of bones shattering echoes like rain drumming on a tin roof. Thousands of monsters are twisted by their own shadows in mid-air, wrung out like wet rags. Black blood sprays across the sky like macabre fireworks.

  "Run!"

  Seizing the moment while the monsters are reduced to a twisted mess, Xiaolang dives straight through the shattered window of a nearby office skyscraper. Nanao turns into a beam of light and shoots in right behind us.

  We tumble across the dusty floor, gasping for air, while outside, the pained shrieks of the monster swarm still echo through the ruined city.

  We drag ourselves into a room buried deep within the labyrinthine corridors of the high-rise. Rows of dusty desks, monitors with shattered screens, and rotting paperwork litter the floor. However, instead of the cold, clinical white of fluorescent lamps, the room is drowning in an eerie red glow. It flickers from dying bulbs overhead, casting dancing, ghostly shadows against the peeling walls.

  As soon as we step into this temporary safe zone, Xiaolang, who is still possessing my body, gently lays the injured man down on a tattered sofa in the corner. The man has already passed out cold, his face pale and bloodless, his breathing weak as a candle in the wind. The stump of his severed arm is still oozing blood, soaking a large patch of the fabric.

  "Get the gear out," Nanao commands. His voice is tired but firm. The calico cat god sits on the edge of a desk, his tail drooping low, his fur matted with dust and grime.

  "Yeah, yeah," Xiaolang replies using my mouth. He controls my hand to reach into my jacket pocket, accessing the mini-dimensional space, and pulls out a small silver metal case engraved with the Tiger Head crest of the Security Team.

  He opens the case, retrieves a bottle of emerald green spray, and sprays it directly onto the man's stump.

  I squeeze my eyes shut inside my own mind, bracing myself for a gruesome sight. But it doesn't happen.

  A pleasant herbal scent fills the air. When I peek open my eyes, my jaw nearly hits the floor.

  The bleeding stops instantly. But the crazier part is that the flesh at the wound starts to bubble and froth. Then, it grows. Bones, tendons, muscles, and blood vessels knit together at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a fast-forwarded video. In less than a minute, a brand new arm with healthy pink skin is complete.

  "What... what the hell is this?" I stammer, touching my own face to make sure I am not hallucinating. "Is this divine first aid tech? Regrowing limbs like a lizard?"

  "Don't look like such a country bumpkin, kid," Nanao flicks his cat ear, a small fang peeking out as he smirks. "These are Divine Stem Cells. Even if someone is cut in half, as long as their soul hasn't dissipated, we can stitch them back together. That is, provided this stupid dog doesn't forget to bring the standard Security Team first aid kit."

  Saying this, Nanao beckons me closer. He uses a bit of ointment from the kit to dab the long scratch on my cheek, the result of dodging that blood bullet earlier. A cooling sensation seeps into my flesh, and the stinging pain vanishes completely.

  Once the first aid is done, exhaustion hits us like a tidal wave.

  Nanao drags himself to the door. He uses his sharp claws to carve a few ancient runes into the doorframe, muttering a low incantation. A thin, transparent energy membrane vibrates for a second before fading into invisibility.

  "Done," he sighs, his cat ears flattening in relaxation. "I have used the Sealing technique to completely lock down this space. Now, even their ancestors wouldn't be able to sniff us out."

  The room falls into absolute silence. The howling of the monsters outside seems to be cut off entirely.

  "Phew... I'm coming out," Xiaolang's voice echoes in my head.

  A stream of cold air escapes my chest. The shadow of the grey wolf separates from me, slowly condensing back into his true form.

  Xiaolang stretches, shaking his ash-grey fur to rid it of dust. He opens his long snout to let out a massive yawn, exposing glistening white teeth, then flops down onto the floor, leaning his back against the wall.

  "That hit the spot!" the wolf god exclaims.

  In contrast to him, I collapse immediately.

  "Ouch..."

  My limbs feel strange. They are heavy as lead. I try to lift my arm, but it feels like I am controlling someone else's body. My reflexes are sluggish, and my joints ache.

  "Just side effects," Xiaolang grins, scratching his wolf ear. "Your body just had to perform way past the limits of a normal human. Rest a bit and you will get used to it."

  So, the three of us, a temporarily paralyzed high school student, a lazy cat, and a hyperactive wolf, each occupy a corner of the room. We pull out our spectral phones in a state of hopelessness.

  I slide my numb finger across the screen. Offline apps like notes, the calculator, or pre-installed games still run smoothly. But the connection bar to The Nexus is marked with a glaring red cross. GodMap only shows our current location as a tiny dot in an infinite blackness.

  "Hey guys..." I ask softly, breaking the silence. "Do you think Itsuki-sama... seeing that we haven't responded for so long, will come look for us?"

  Nanao, who is busy licking the fur on the back of his hand, pauses. His golden cat eyes dim with gloom.

  "Look for us? How?"

  "The elevator is smashed to bits by those monsters. Even if Itsuki wants to come, there is no way in."

  He lowers his eyes, his voice dropping to a low rumble.

  "Furthermore, the signal here is severely jammed. I fear... he won't even know where we have ended up."