Mutation Abyss-Chapter 51: Meteorborn Sapborn

Lexa’s reply was steady and unwavering. "Like I said, our priority is saving survivors and taking down infectees. That hasn’t changed."

The group fell silent for a moment, the weight of Lexa’s words settling over them. They all knew what it meant. Defying a direct order from the Supreme Commander wasn’t something taken lightly. But this wasn’t the first time Lexa had prioritized her values over protocol.

Zeke crossed his arms, his tone cautious. "If we let him go, and someone finds out... it won’t just be you in trouble, Lexa. We’ll all be held accountable."

"I know," Lexa said, glancing at each of them. "That’s why I’m not asking you to lie or cover for me. I’m telling you now, if we encounter him, we will observe. If he’s a threat, we act. But if he’s saving lives and not harming anyone, we don’t engage. Clear?"

Mira nodded without hesitation. "Clear."

"Same here," Dax muttered, though a flicker of doubt remained in his eyes. "But what if the Supreme Commander finds out we held back?"

"Then I’ll take the fall," Lexa replied simply. "I’ve made peace with that."

Lior finally spoke, his voice quiet but steady. "I trust your judgment, Commander. If he’s really not a threat, then maybe he deserves a chance."

Karyle let out a sigh. "Guess we’re doing this your way then. Again."

Lexa offered a faint smile. "Thanks for trusting me. We move in twenty. Gear up and stay sharp."

As the team dispersed to prepare, Lexa lingered by the window of their vehicle, her eyes scanning the distant ruins of the high school campus.

One unauthorized meteor survivor. Forty-three lives saved.

She didn’t know who he was, or what drove him to risk everything, but if he kept helping survivors the way he did in H3, she wasn’t going to be the one to drag him down in chains.

Not yet.

*****

Back at All Days High School Campus

[System Notification: MB Infectees Eliminated - 10]

They crawled out from classrooms, vents, and broken corners, drawn to movement. Theo took them down fast, one after the other. Silent, sharp, and clean. He didn’t waste any time or energy.

He found some dead MB Infectees on the ground, already too hit on their head.

"Looks like the survivors went all up?" he murmured as he checked the last classroom.

Blood stains. Broken desks. A child’s shoe. But again, no people. No one left to save.

Theo headed for the stairs.

He ascended the creaking stairwell. Thick roots curled down from the walls like veins, and the air smelled of rot and damp earth. Fungal patches pulsed with a faint, sickly glow under his feet.

Activating Observer’s Insight, he focused ahead.

[Target Detected: Meteorborn Sapborn (MSapborn)]

He stepped cautiously into the hallway. The vines here were denser, spreading out from a single classroom door left half open. Strange, wet sounds echoed from within.

Theo moved forward inside the classroom. The second his boot touched a soft patch of fungus near the door -

CRACK.

The vines shot out.

The creature had once been human, with its face still eerily intact, now pinned to the wall and wrapped in pulsing, vein-like roots. But its body had transformed. Bark-like flesh covered its limbs, and fungal caps clustered over its shoulders like growths feeding on decay. Thick, root-like tendrils extended from its spine, burrowing deep into the cracked floor beneath it.

It only growled, a low, guttural, wet sound that vibrated through the air.

WHIP!

A vine cracked through the air, slamming where Theo had just stood.

He rolled sideways, dirt and dust rising around him as another tendril smashed into the floor.

Chunks of tile flew past his face.

[Ability Activated: Granite Skin - Stoneborn Variant]

[Physical Defense +70%, Duration: 60 Seconds]

Theo’s skin darkened, shifting into a stone-like texture. He felt the instant weight and strength of the Stoneborn ability surge through his limbs.

The Sapborn lunged again, shrieking.

CRASH!

A thick vine slammed into his side but this time, Theo didn’t flinch.

The impact skidded him back a few feet, but Granite Skin absorbed the hit. Cracks formed across his stone armor, but he stayed standing.

[Ability Activated: Seismic Counter - Stoneborn Variant]

[Status: Charged]

Theo narrowed his eyes. The moment the next vine came swinging toward his chest, he braced himself.

BOOM!

The tendril struck him directly, then instantly, the ground beneath the Sapborn shattered.

[Seismic Counter Activated]

[Effect: Shockwave Pulse, Area of Effect: 5 meters]

A powerful shockwave erupted outward from Theo’s feet. The floor cracked and exploded upward in jagged waves of stone and dust. The Sapborn screeched as its roots were torn free from the ground.

Theo didn’t stop. He charged in while the creature staggered, roots flailing and thrashing.

He leapt and drove his axe, reinforced with Stoneborn energy, straight into the Sapborn’s exposed head.

SLASH!

CRACK!

The creature spasmed violently, limbs twitching and fungal growths bursting with black mist.

It let out one final, gurgling growl before collapsing back against the wall, vines twitching... then falling still.

[Ding! Main Quest: Roots of Decay - Complete]

[+500 EXP, +50 Gold Coins, +Rootbane Resistance Trait, + Basic Loot Crate]

[Bonus Reward: Rare Material - Fungal Sample]

Theo stood still for a second, letting his breath steady as the stone armor on his body cracked and crumbled away, fading with the timer.

Theo quickly turned toward the exit. More MB Infectees were closing in. Without hesitation, he moved, silent, fast, and lethal.

CRACK!

He slammed a charging MB Infectee against the wall, crushing its head with raw force. Another lunged from the side, screeching, he spun and drove his blade through its head, yanking it free as the body hit the ground.

He moved swiftly through the corridor, cutting down two more along the way. Their twisted forms collapsed behind him as he made it to the other side of the stairs.

The second floor was cleared. Still no survivors. The building was too quiet now, the silence heavy except for distant growls above him. Something was waiting on the upper floor.

Then-

"HELP! HELP!"

Theo froze. Screams. Real ones. Young voices. Students.

They were coming from the third floor. He didn’t hesitate.

His boots pounded against the stairs as he ascended faster...

Theo reached the final step leading to the third floor when his radio crackled to life.

KZZZT-

A distorted voice came through his earpiece.

"Theo, we have a problem," Commander Brix said, his tone sharp and urgent.

"AMSO’s unit just entered the campus. It’s a surprise deployment. Get out right now."