chsdbacks Chapter 701: Shadows of Sponsorship & Endorsement (Part 5)
Chapter 701: Shadows of Sponsorship & Endorsement (Part 5)
Within a minute, the distant echoes of boots striking ancient stone became distinct.Not one pair but several.
Their voices followed soon after, yelling rapid orders through the underground passages in Persian, growing louder with every second until Don could distinguish individual footsteps from the overlapping rhythm.
He pressed himself against the wall just outside the chamber entrance, remaining perfectly still.
The torch stands lining the corridor offered little light, leaving much of the wall swallowed by darkness.
His attire blended almost completely with the shadows.
The first three guards rushed around the corner.
Their attention snapped immediately toward the body lying near the chamber housing the sarcophagus.
One crouched instinctively.
"There—!"
The other two hurried forward, stepping right past Don's position without ever looking toward the wall.
Don didn't move. Not yet.
The third man, however, slowed near the entrance.
His instincts told him something wasn't right.
His rifle lowered slightly as his head began turning toward the darkness beside the doorway.
Too late. Don exploded forward.
His left hand clamped around the man's throat before the guard could even inhale.
~THUMP~ The man's back slammed into the stone wall.
His eyes bulged, hands immediately clawing at Don's wrist while his rifle slipped from weakening fingers.
Don squeezed harder.
His plan had been simple. Crush the windpipe and snap the neck, then move on before anyone realized.
But—
One of the guards farther ahead turned back.
His eyes met Don's.
For one frozen second neither moved. Then terror flooded the man's face.
"Intruder!!" he screamed as his rifle came up almost instantly.
'Shit.' Don didn't dodge.
Instead, he twisted sideways while still holding the choking guard, using the man's body like a shield before hurling him forward with all his strength.
The nearly lifeless guard flew through the corridor as the rifle erupted.
~BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!~
Rounds tore into flesh instead of Don.
Each impact jerked the airborne corpse violently, spraying fragments of uniform as bullets punched through ribs, shoulders and stomach.
The shooter recoiled.
"Dammit—" The body crashed into him before he could finish.
~BOOM!~
Both men disappeared beneath the tumbling corpse.
The second guard near the entrance had already reacted.
His rifle swung toward Don and his finger tightened.
Don opened his hand as an invisible force gripped the weapon.
The barrel jerked violently to the side, making the guard's eyes widen.
His arms fought desperately to regain control but they didn't move.
"Wha—?!"
Then… the trigger broke anyway.
~BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!~
Every shot emptied into the guard struggling beneath the corpse.
The bullets struck at near point-blank range.
His body convulsed with every impact while blood burst across the corridor walls.
Fragments of stone even chipped away behind him, his screams lasted barely two seconds before turning into wet choking sounds.
The shooter stared in absolute horror at his own hands gripped on the weapon.
Smoke curled from the barrel.
"No..." He looked at his trembling fingers.
Then at his dying comrade. Then back toward Don.
His breathing became ragged. "I... I didn't—It was you-!!"
Don gave him no chance.
Telekinesis wrapped around the guard's vest, causing the man's boots to leave the floor.
"Ah—!"
He flew forward helplessly and his rifle slipped free as Don caught him by the neck.
The man's eyes locked onto Don's.
Don couldn't see any rage in them.
Only panic now. Pure, helpless panic.
He tried prying Don's fingers away, as well as kicking wildly
"No... please—"
~CRACK~
But he suffered the same fate as guards earlier. His neck twisted far beyond where it should and then his body went limp instantly.
Don let it fall onto the floor.
No additional blood.
He looked toward the last surviving guard. The one riddled by friendly fire, now struggling to even breathe.
His chest bubbled with each attempt. Blood filled his mouth faster than he could cough it out.
His eyes wandered until they settled on Don.
Confusion, pain and disbelief, all wrapped in one.
He had come expecting an intruder.
Instead, he'd watched his own friend slaughter him against his own will.
Don stepped beside him. The guard weakly reached upward.
Whether begging...
Or trying to fight...
Even he probably no longer knew.
~CRACK~
The movement stopped.
Don released him.
Three dead.The corridor became quiet again.
But the distant shouting deeper within the ruins remained.
He exhaled once.
He hadn't avoided excessive bloodshed out of mercy.
A corridor soaked ankle-deep in blood would just be easy to follow.
Broken necks left fewer traces.
Less evidence at least.
With that in mind he immediately broke into a sprint, his boots pounding through the ancient corridors.
He crossed one chamber.Then another.
Decorated walls flashed past him beneath flickering light, carvings depicting forgotten kings and impossible creatures disappearing just as quickly behind him.
The passage eventually widened.
The ceiling rose dramatically overhead until it vanished into darkness nearly fifteen meters above.
Massive stone pillars lined both sides of the corridor, each carved from a single block, their tops disappearing into elaborate arches supporting the immense ceiling.
Between every pair of pillars stood colossal statues recessed into the walls.
Ancient warriors.
None shorter than two meters.
Some approached three.
Their weathered faces watched silently over the corridor while centuries of dust rested upon their shoulders.
Far ahead, the hallway split.
One passage curved left.
Another continued right.
Don reached the junction without slowing and then turned left.
The new corridor mirrored the last. High ceiling, towering statues, with stone arches stretching overhead.
Another intersection waited farther ahead.
One more turn. Then the lift chamber.
Don hoped it was still without a guard presence as the main entrance certainly wasn't.
Even now he could hear it.
Dozens of boots, radio chatter and men shouting something in a language he didn't understand.
He leaned forward, preparing to accelerate again—
But then stopped with one foot hovering above the floor.
His enhanced hearing isolated something ahead.
Heavy footsteps.
Each impact landed with enough weight to send faint vibrations through the ancient floor.
~THOOM...
THOOM...
THOOM...~
They were fast, though nowhere near the speed of the guards approaching from behind him.
Simply… heavy.
Don narrowed his eyes toward the darkness beyond the next bend as a figure emerged.
He was huge, standing nearly well over two meters tall.
The man filled almost the entire width of the corridor.
A thick neck connected his broad shoulders to a square jaw partly hidden beneath a heavy beard.
His chest resembled a slab of reinforced concrete beneath layers of mixed military armor and tactical webbing.
Massive arms swung with each step, thicker than most men's thighs, veins bulging beneath dark skin weathered by countless battles.
His legs were slightly leaner by comparison, though still enormous enough to support the monstrous upper body.
Across his back rested a light machine gun alongside spare ammunition belts crossing his torso.
In one hand he carried an enormous curved blade nearly as long as Don's arm.
The weapon looked less like a sword and more like something designed for executions.
The instant his eyes found Don—
He stopped. Then his face twisted with fury.
"You dog!" he roared in Persian, his voice rolling through the corridor like distant thunder. "Who sent you?! Speak... or die!"
Despite demanding answers, his hand had already tightened around the massive blade.
He swung it downward without warning.
~BOOOOOOM!!~
The curved weapon smashed into the ancient floor, causing stone to explode.
Cracks spread several meters from the impact while a deep scar remained carved into the corridor itself.
The pillars trembled and the towering statues shook upon their pedestals.
Dust drifted from the high ceiling in soft waves while loose fragments of stone bounced across the floor.
Even the air seemed to vibrate from the sheer force behind that single strike.
Don's brows slowly furrowed. 'He's superhuman...'
Behind him—
The guards were getting closer.
Ahead—
The giant blocked the only remaining route to the lift.
For the first time since entering the underground complex...
There was nowhere left to run.