"What on earth are these things?!Are these actually...humans?!"Ryan exclaimed in utter disbelief,his mind teetering on the edge of self -doubt about his mental state.However,Colson's urgent shout swiftly yanked him back to the harsh reality.
"Head to Warehouse No.7!There's something left by Master there..."
Before he could fully articulate his words,the Whitney family's scavengers,with their menacing iron claws,pierced through the tin wall right in front of the two of them.
"Don't tell me—these things—are human beings?!And!Where the heck are you off to?!What in the world is Warehouse No.7?!Hey!Hold on for me!!!"
As Ryan watched Colson dash out at breakneck speed,running away without so much as a backward glance,he was on the verge of asking what exactly was stowed away in Warehouse No.7.But one look at those eerie,half -human,half -ghost creatures made his decision for him:he'd trust Colson.
These monsters,a grotesque blend of man and machine,were truly hair -raising.
Ryan snatched up the charm wrench lying on the workbench.With all his might,he swung it at the nearest monstrosity.Seizing the moment to break through the encirclement,he managed,by a stroke of luck,to bolt out just as quickly.
Paying no heed to the inhuman shriek that trailed behind him,he could only pump his legs and run for his life.
Behind him,the monster struck by the wrench,its gears no longer in sync,its mechanical half suddenly ground to a halt.Even the area around its heart erupted in a geyser of engine oil.
"Error...Error...Error...Machine No.13has malfunctioned.Machine No.13has malfunctioned!It requires immediate destruction,immediate destruction..."
Ryan clamped his hands over his ears in a desperate bid to block out the voices that seemed to herald his doom.He could do nothing but quicken his pace,his heart pounding in his chest like a war drum.
"Hey!Brother!Use this!"
Colson seemingly materialized out of thin air from some obscure corner.While sprinting,he hurled a...modified steam pistol towards Ryan.
"You rascal!!!"
Ryan grumbled his dissatisfaction,but without a moment's hesitation,he pulled the trigger.
He'd intended to fire a single shot,only to watch in stunned amazement as the gun,adorned with a profusion of charms,unleashed a searing,dazzling...flame?!
He froze in his tracks,dumbfounded.Gazing at the monsters writhing in the inferno,their anguished screams and roars were eerily human -like.
Struck dumb with horror,he could only gape at their pain -contorted faces and listen to the crackling symphony of overheated machinery.
"They are the imprisoned souls.May God shower His blessings and mercy upon them!"
A veil of pity draped over Colson's features,yet his hands moved with relentless speed.He fired shot after shot at those wretched creatures,like a man possessed,until the last Whitney family scavenger crumbled into a charred heap of blackened gears.
"Hey!Cease!Please,stop!!!You've truly crossed the line!!!"
Ryan stared at the figure before him in sheer disbelief as he methodically eradicated every last one of these living,half -human beings.Gripped by panic,Ryan stumbled backward,his mind reeling with doubt about the very motives of the person standing before him.
"Master decreed that we must eliminate them all,not sparing a single soul.Those who are not of our ilk are bound to harbor treacherous intentions."
Colson suddenly crumpled to his knees,and from his mechanical eye,several glistening drops of "engine oil"—an odd semblance of sorrow—trickled down his cheek.
'Hey~!Brother!Have you even bothered to take a good look at yourself?Listen closely to the words spilling from your lips!What possible distinction is there between you and them?!The very area around your eyes is a mesh of gears!!!'
Ryan raged inwardly,his mind a maelstrom of frustration.Convinced that he'd been thoroughly duped,he was adrift in a sea of uncertainty,no longer knowing whom to place his trust in.
Just as he teetered on the brink of despair,grappling with how to regain his bearings,the minute hand of the pocket watch nestled in his palm crept ever so slowly towards the Roman numeral eleven.
"Master,you once confided in me that only by turning back the hands of time would you grace my presence once more.The machine capable of reversing time lies upon the altar in Warehouse No.7.And to set this contraption in motion...what we need above all else is the blood of a foreigner."
Colson's voice trembled with a potent mix of emotion and grief.His face a mask of sorrow,yet the words that escaped his lips sent a chill coursing down Ryan's spine.
Tick~Tick~Tick~
The second hand continued its unyielding march,an unrelenting reminder of the passing moments.Catching a glimpse of the time,which had inexorably reached 23:57,Ryan could only inch backward,his every step measured and cautious.
"Hey!Brother!Do you really think you stand a chance of slipping away?!"
Colson shot to his feet in an instant,producing a length of rope from who -knows -where.His artificial eye fixed on Ryan with a predatory glint,sizing him up like a hapless lamb awaiting the slaughter.
"Stop!Hey!Get this straight,I'm armed too."
Feigning composure,Ryan hoisted the steam pistol in his hand.Locked in a tense,unwavering stare with Colson,he pulled the trigger without hesitation.But in that split second,a knot of dread formed in the pit of his stomach.
Could it be that,after all this,the steam pistol...held but a single bullet?
His eyes bored into his opponent's,his fingers whitening from the sheer force of his grip.
The instant he pulled the trigger with resolute determination.
The anticipated gunshot and recoil never materialized.In that deafening silence,he could distinctly hear the trigger mechanism click as it slid smoothly to its limit,emitting a soft yet jarring "click"that seemed to echo in the void.
Ryan felt as though a sledgehammer had slammed into his chest,shattering his hopes.All he could register was the incessant ticking of the second hand,a merciless reminder of his impending fate.
"Hey,my dear brother!It's time to bid you farewell."
A crafty smile played upon Colson's lips,his eyes narrowing to slits.The way he regarded Ryan was nothing short of that of a hunter eyeing his quarry.
'It's beyond absurd!Why can't I break free from this nightmare?!All I ever desired was to journey back in time and unearth the vestiges left behind by my great -grandfather.What kind of...blasted hypnosis is this?!Xiao Yuji!!If I ever manage to wake up,you'll be the first one to answer for this!!!'
Ryan seethed inwardly,his mind a tempest of anger and frustration.
Helplessly,he watched as Colson raised his pistol,his own heart pounding so violently that he could feel it in his throat.
Bang!
In perfect cadence with the unceasing ticking of the second hand.
The searing flame,like a bolt of malevolent lightning,struck his heart dead -on,tearing through his chest as if it were paper.
Tick~Tick~Tick~
Bang!!!
Thud...
The sound of a body hitting the ground reverberated through the stillness.
Then,the pocket watch,which had been clutched tightly in Ryan's grasp,its hour hand,minute hand,and second hand converged simultaneously,all pointing towards the fateful 12o'clock mark.
...