Apocalypse Transmigration - The Card Captor System

Right after Oshu spoke with S-Borg, the Rizen Group’s fortress-like vehicle lurched forward, leaving the frontlines behind as it rumbled toward the Blood Altar.

Soldiers manning the barricades scrambled out of its path. The enormous tires crushed wood and metal with ease. The heavy machine barrelled ahead, picking up momentum by the second.

Across the battlefield, Zeltan struggled back to his feet. He clutched his bleeding chest, wincing from Valentine’s last attack, and cast a glance toward the frontlines.

Watching the rolling fortress close in on the Blood Altar filled him with a creeping sense of dread. He spread his wings, ready to take flight and intercept the machine.

But Valentine stepped right into his path, cutting off his escape.

”Not this time.”

She unleashed another barrage of strikes, forcing Zeltan to abandon his flight and raise his guard.

Unfazed by the chaos outside, the fortress bore down on the Blood Altar. Inside the armored hull, a crew of nearly thirty technicians worked in perfect sync to manage the complex vehicle.

One of the operators raised his voice over the engine’s roar.

”Prepare the guns and rocket launchers!”

”We’re going to rescue the Ape God!”

”When we get within twenty meters of the altar, we’ll launch the attack.”

”If we attack from any farther away, we risk hitting the Captain!”

The massive treads chewed through the dirt until they crossed the twenty-meter mark. The crew primed the weapons to fire.

But then—nothing. The weapon systems sat dead and unresponsive.

Confused murmurs filled the control room as the operators tapped their screens.

”What happened?”

”Why aren’t the weapons responding?”

Before they could run a diagnostic, the onboard AI blared to life.

[Weapons System Down.]

[Initiating Protocol Hail Mary in 10 seconds.]

A stark red countdown flashed across the main monitor.

[10...]

[9...]

With the numbers ticking down, the roof panels of the fortress slid apart. A lone shadow vaulted from the opening and hit the ground in a crouch.

Not far away, Oshu’s armor shifted and groaned, adjusting to fit his shrinking frame. Mechanical clicks echoed from the suit.

Then—

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

Thick, spherical metal plates unfolded from the suit. They snapped together in a blur of motion, sealing Oshu tight inside a massive iron globe.

Behind him, the armored hull of the fortress began to heat up. It turned a dull red. Then brighter, and brighter, until the steel glowed like molten lava.

[3...]

[2...]

[1...]

[0.]

The superheated vehicle fractured into several heavy segments. Propelled by the internal pressure, each flaming chunk rocketed toward a different pillar of the Blood Altar.

BOOOOOOM!!

A blinding shockwave swallowed the battlefield.

The deafening blast wiped the Blood Altar off the map, reducing the towering stone structure to a cloud of fine dust. The shockwave spared no one. Both Valentine and Zeltan were caught in the outward rush of force, tumbling backward through the dirt.

The explosion hit Oshu hard, too. His iron sphere took the brunt of the fiery impact, but it wasn’t enough. The globe launched across the ruined ground, rolling and bouncing until it cracked open. Oshu spilled out onto the earth, bleeding heavily.

Through the thick, gray smoke, a familiar shape stepped forward. The man with the mechanical arm limped toward the wreckage. Reaching Oshu, he hoisted the wounded man over his shoulder. Not sparing a single look backward, he dragged his injured leg and fled the battlefield.

A few dozen yards away, Valentine hacked up a mouthful of blood and wiped her chin. She shot a nasty glare at the retreating pair.

”Damn it.”

”If you’re going to pull off a stunt like that, at least warn your allies!”

”Tch... ungrateful bastards.”

Shaking off the dust, she locked her eyes back on Zeltan.

”I guess the thing you were counting on is buried underneath that rubble.”

She clenched her fist tight.

”Now it’s time for you to give up and go to hell.”

Valentine bridged the gap in a single bound. She drove her fist straight for his heart.

”Gregory Secret Technique—”

”DISINTEGRATION FIST!”

Zeltan’s eyes went wide. He scrambled to summon his own defense.

”Blood Coffin!”

A thick wave of crimson liquid surged up, trying to swallow Valentine whole. But the second her knuckles met the bloody wall—

BOOM!

The liquid shattered into a fine red mist. Valentine’s punch pushed right through it. She readied her follow-up strike—

ROOOOOAR!!

A deep, guttural howl ripped through the debris.

Valentine froze in her tracks. A giant, blood-red hand smashed upward from the buried ruins of the altar.

BOOM!

Heavy stone slabs and dirt scattered like pebbles. A crimson figure clawed its way out from the wreckage. Towering in the dust, the beast locked its glowing red eyes on Valentine.

Zeltan took advantage of the distraction, leaping backward to put space between them. He narrowed his eyes, studying the newborn beast.

The sacrifice had failed. In its place stood nothing but a mindless monster.

A grim smile tugged at the corner of Zeltan’s mouth. Still... if this creature could crush this troublesome woman, half his mission was already done.

Valentine refused to give the beast an opening.

”Thunder Wrath!”

Lightning cracked from the dark clouds above.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Jagged bolts rained down, hammering into the red monster’s shoulders and chest.

Back at the defensive line, a heavily bandaged Adrian stood up in the back of a military jeep. He roared to his troops.

”This is the last foe!”

”Attack it with everything you’ve got!”

The surviving soldiers unleashed their entire arsenal.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A wall of lead, screaming missiles, and heavy rockets rained over the creature.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The torn battlefield drowned in a sea of fire and deafening explosions.

The barrage ended.

The battlefield fell into complete silence. For a long moment, nobody dared to move.

Valentine, Zeltan, Adrian, and the surrounding soldiers kept their eyes locked on the massive cloud of dust and debris. Chests tight, they held their breath.

Had they actually killed it?

The thick curtain of smoke drifted apart. A blood-red figure took shape within the ruins.

The soldiers’ faces went pale.

The monster was still standing.

Half of its head had been blown away, leaving a jagged crater where its skull belonged. Enormous holes riddled its chest and shoulders. One leg was gone entirely. Thick, dark blood poured from the countless wounds covering its body.

Yet...

It was alive.

Valentine narrowed her eyes.

”What the hell...”

Surviving an attack like that defied all reason.

Adrian’s face darkened with dread.

”Everyone, stay alert.”

Grips tightened on rifles and swords. No one wanted to assume the creature was finished.

The blood-red monster jerked its head up. Its single remaining eye peeled open.

Then—

ROOOOOOOAR!!

A deafening roar ripped from its throat, shaking the very earth beneath them. Several soldiers stumbled backward in terror.

Valentine braced herself, her expression growing grim. Then, she noticed a shift on the ground.

Blood was moving.

At first, it was just a tiny trickle. Then another. And another. Soon, countless crimson streams were flowing across the dirt, drawn toward the monster.

Zombie blood. Human blood. Alien blood.

The source didn’t matter. Every stray drop felt the same pull.

The fluid slithered across the ground like a nest of red snakes. It seeped through cracks in the earth, winding around destroyed vehicles, shattered concrete, and lifeless bodies. Even the blood pooling beneath the fallen soldiers began to crawl away from their corpses.

The surviving men and women stared in pure horror.

”What is happening?!”

”Why is the blood moving?!”

Valentine’s eyes went wide.

”Get back!”

But the warning came too late. The crimson streams surged toward the monster, whipping through the air.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The liquid crashed into its massive wounds. The shredded red flesh around the creature’s chest began to twist and writhe. Muscle fibers wove together. The gaping holes in its torso sealed shut. White bone pushed out from the ruined stump of its missing leg, followed seconds later by layers of fresh flesh wrapping around it.

The shattered side of its head rebuilt itself, closing the jagged crater in mere moments.

The monster was restoring its body at an impossible pace.

Valentine clenched her fists tight.

”So that’s its ability...”

The creature fed on the carnage around it. Every fallen body on the battlefield served as a fresh source of power.

Zeltan watched the gruesome display with a complicated look in his eyes. This twist caught even him off guard.

It can absorb blood from its surroundings...

He narrowed his eyes.

The Blood Altar failed to produce what I wanted. But perhaps...

A faint, cold smile crept onto his face.

Perhaps it created something even more useful.

The last of the beast’s wounds closed over. Its missing leg stood firm and whole. Its chest was flawless. The creeping streams across the battlefield finally ran dry.

Standing upright once more, the monster did not bear a single scratch.

It turned its head, sweeping its blood-red eyes across the broken landscape. The gaze stopped dead on Valentine. A low, rumbling growl vibrated in its throat.

Valentine’s face turned to stone.

”Come on, then.”

Crackling lightning began to dance and gather around her body.

”If you want to fight...”

She raised her glowing fist.

”I’ll tear you apart as many times as it takes.”

The monster roared in challenge.

And this time—

It charged.