"DING. You have reached the 102nd floor. Please enjoy your viewing experience."
The elevator door opens to a scene of horror. Dried blood paints the floor in a grisly pattern, while rotting corpses are stacked onto one side of the viewing platform. Henrick simply frowns and scans the room for any sign of Eric.
"What the hell happened here?" Selene mutters, covering her nose at the acrid stench of spoiled meat. Father David retches at the morbid state of their surroundings, muttering prayers all the while.
Leo sniffs the air and sneezes at the potent smell of decomposing flesh, the poor boy unable to stop as the entire room reeks. He barks towards the middle of the room, capturing the soldier's attention.
Henrick looks to the middle of the room where a familiar little girl sits, tied up, gagged, and unmoving. "Elly!!" he shouts, dashing forward and ripping the bindings off. He checks on her vital signs and breathes out a sigh of relief that she's only unconscious.
Father David kneels next to them and places a hand on the little girl's forehead, a frown breaking out on his face. "She's pale and heating up." The soldier frowns and looks around wearily. "Probably from the shock of all this. Did she see what happened?"
The old man stumbles at the sight of the corpses and screams in terror. He collapses on the floor and latches onto Selene's leg, eyes closed in fear as he trembles severely while holding on tight.
"Please! I did what you wanted!! Don't kill me!!" the elder screams into the room, tears and snot pouring out. This prompts the others to manifest their abilities as they look around, bodies tense in preparation.
Henrick picks Elly up and places her in the elevator, pressing the 28th floor as he kneels down. "Come here boy." Leo approaches and sits next to Elly, as if he already knows what to do.
"Smart boy. Take good care of this girl, give her some licks too, just in case." The soldier steps back from the closing elevator doors and prepares for combat.
Silence dominates the viewing platform as Henrick experiences an intense feeling of dread. The sound of Father David praying and the old man screaming fades into the background as his bioelectric field unconsciously spreads once more.
Without warning, he unleashes a bolt of electricity at the old man, which is easily dodged. "Hahahaha! You're good!" Laughs the old man as he flips through the air like an acrobat.
His face contorts and shifts, bone audibly cracking, and muscles audibly ripping as the elder transforms into a heavy set man. His shoes slam hard into the floor, shaking the platform and rattling the glass windows as he grins.
With a flourish of his hands, he bows and speaks in an almost slimy voice. "I'm Eric. It's good to meet you all." His voice rings out, steady and clear, but laced with menace and something akin to hunger.
Before anyone can react, Father David bursts forward and slams an enhanced fist into Eric's gut. "You monster!!" he screams as a concussive wave forces Eric to stagger. Eric merely grunts and grabs David by the face. "You've got a mean right hook! Hahahaha!" the portly man laughs as the priest struggles in his hold.
Selene fires a bolt of magic that barely penetrates Eric's skin, but gives David an opening to kick off and escape his grasp. Henrick then roars as he slams his shoulder into the portly man, sending him skidding back into a glass window. The glass fractures but holds strong.
"Big motherfucker aren't you. I wonder how you'll taste when I eat you!" Eric says as he shakes his head and licks his lips, much to the discomfort of the group. Henrick freezes for a second, giving Eric a chance to kick him on the chest.
David widens his eyes when he witnesses the soldier fly across the viewing platform, slamming bodily into the elevator doors at the back of the room. With speed that one wouldn't expect from a man of his build, Eric takes off from the ground and flies towards David and Selene.
They dodge by a hairs breadth, but widen their eyes when the portly man continues flying towards a recovering Henrick. The soldier growls as he abruptly accelerates, electricity bursting from his body as the both of them collide.
BOOOM!
The air is displaced as the force of their collision shatters the ground underneath them, the glass windows fracturing at the sheer kinetic energy.
Henrick is once again sent flying away, his body screaming in agony as he slams hard onto the floor. "What is this guy made of?!" David shouts as he shields himself from the shockwave, a concussive blast ready to fire.
Eric spins through the air but catches himself a moment later. He dusts off imaginary dust from his shoulders and gives the group an infuriating smirk, his body undamaged.
"The first person I consumed had the ability to absorb and redirect kinetic energy. The harder you hit, the stronger I get!!" he says, muscles bulging and veins popping.
As if to prove his words, Eric allows Father David to attack him from behind. Henrick watches intently as the world slows down around him.
The concussive blast doesn't have a chance to explode outwards, the telltale ripple of concussive energy being absorbed into Eric's body. Henrick, however, notices that electrical energy still clung onto Eric and affecting him periodically.
Selene lets loose a battle cry as she uses the moment to hurl a magical spear at the portly man. The attack pierces through the air towards a wide eyed Eric. At the last second, he twists to the side, letting the spear pass harmlessly and shattering a window.
"He was hurt before by my bolts! Keep him busy!" Selene shouts to her companions, hands glowing as she condenses energy and forms it into a giant spear.
Eric scowls and lands, hands glowing purple as he unleashes a blast towards Selene. Father David steps in front of the blast and protects himself with a cocoon of concussive energy.
The purple blast somehow bypasses the cocoon and hits Father David. "Urgh, I feel so...weak..." says the priest as he gradually kneels in exhaustion, his face rapidly paling at the beam's effects.
"Hahahaha!! I'm gonna eat you first baldy!!" Eric screams as his eyes become purple and his mouth widens to inhuman proportions. A bolt of electricity slams into his face, however, interrupting his transformation.
Henrick enhances his fists with electricity and dashes straight at Eric. The portly man stops emitting the purple beam, allowing David to catch his breath, and shields himself with a transparent blue barrier.
The barrier shudders as the soldier starts aggressively pummeling it, electricity arcing off after every hit. "I figured you out, you fat bastard!" Henrick shouts as the barrier starts cracking.
A low kick. "You can only use one ability at a time." An overhead elbow. "You can't handle energy attacks." A straight punch. "You've never fought people that weren't scared of you!"
With a final blow, the barrier shatters and Eric staggers back. He's unable to dodge the follow up hook as it lands with a brutal CRACK onto his ribs, the strike exploding moments later with electrical energy.
Blood spurts out from Eric's mouth as he clutches his side in pain. "Y-you bastard!! I-I'll kill you!" Eric stutters as electricity wracks through his body, sending white hot agony through his nerves endings.
He takes to the air and glares down at the group, accelerating abruptly towards Selene who is only half done with her preparation. Another bolt of electricity slams into his face, halting his momentum.
Henrick moves with preternatural speed and leaps into the air, grappling with Eric instead of hitting him. They tumble towards the broken window and exit the viewing platform.
"I like your style! But I've got one more trick up my sleeve!" Immediately after those words, Eric's entire body starts shifting. Two grotesque arms sprout from his back, one glowing purple while the other glows blue.
His veins start turning a dark purple hue, oddly reminiscent of those on the corrupted. His eyes glow a malevolent purple as his mouth hangs low, elongated beyond belief.
Henrick widens his eyes but doesn't panic as he kicks off Eric's chest and leaps towards the 102nd floor viewing platform. The soldier lands with a roll and shouts. "Selene! Do it now!"
Selene unleashes a super bolt of magic onto Eric's transforming body, the bolt whistling through the air and erupting in a massive explosion as soon as it makes contact.
BOOOOOM!!
The explosion shatters the rest of the glass on the viewing platform, forcing David and Selene to shield themselves. Henrick simply stares at the explosion, realising that the dread he felt before hadn't gone away.
Once the dust settles, Henrick rolls out of the way as a four armed, purple skinned, monster barrels straight at him. It slams hard onto the floor of the viewing platform, fracturing it and causing the entire floor to become destabilised.
"AHHH. I feel so much better!" Eric says as he stands to his full height, towering over Henrick and his group. A transparent barrier forms over his body as purple waves pulse outwards, weakening everyone present. He floats into the air while the area around his body distorts with stored kinetic energy.
Henrick frowns severely as he coats his entire body in electricity, pushing the voltage higher than he's ever gone before. A thunderstorm starts gathering outside, and looks to be even worse than the last one.
A flash of purple lightning paints Eric's twisted visage in an even more sinister light. The transformed man licks his lips as his eyes upturn at Henrick, while the soldier clenches his fist and admonishes himself.
"I should've kept my mouth shut."
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END