Chapter 10 – The Escape
The alarms were still screaming when the machine exploded.
Sparks burst across the white room, smoke filled the air, and the screens flickered violently.
Rex didn't hesitate.
He leapt off the chair, landing lightly, eyes already locked on the exit.
The guards rushed in.
Raphaël felt a jolt inside Rex's mind — a vibration, a fracture, a pulse of green light.
Split was awakening.
Not fully.
Not yet.
Raphaël stayed calm, analytical, watching every movement with icy precision.
*Three guards. Two armed. One unarmed.
Door behind them.
Camera in the corner.
Ventilation shaft above.
Rex can make it.
He just needs the right timing.*
The researcher screamed:
"Grab him! NOW!"
Rex moved.
He slid under the first guard's baton, missing the strike by a hair.
The guard swung at empty air — Rex was already behind him.
A sharp kick to the back of the knee.
The guard collapsed.
Raphaël analyzed.
Efficient. Precise. No wasted motion.
The second guard charged.
Rex grabbed a metal shard from the broken machine and threw it.
It struck the guard's visor with a loud crack.
The man staggered.
Rex didn't attack him.
He sprinted toward the door.
But the door slammed shut.
Emergency lockdown.
Raphaël felt Rex's frustration.
He expected that. He's already looking for another way.
The third guard lunged.
Rex twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon.
Rex caught it.
An electric baton.
He spun it in his hand.
Raphaël observed.
*He knows how to use it. He learned by watching the guards.
Universal Polyglot works even now…
I can read the signs, the codes, the warnings.
I can guide him.*
Raphaël activated his passive skill.
The labels on the machines became clear.
The security symbols too.
*Technical exit: left.
Ventilation system: above.
Old structure: weak points everywhere.*
The researcher backed away, terrified.
"Don't let him escape! He's dangerous!"
Raphaël's anger sharpened.
Dangerous?
You cage children.
You break them.
You created Split.
A crack of green light ran through his essence.
`
Split: Conditional activation reached.
Maximum hostility detected.
Activation: Imminent.
`
Raphaël stayed calm.
But his fury turned glacial.
---
Rex searches for a way out
Rex scanned the room.
The door was locked.
The guards were recovering.
The researcher was calling reinforcements.
Rex muttered:
"… There has to be another exit."
Raphaël analyzed instantly.
*The ventilation shaft.
Height: 2.5 meters.
Grate held by four screws.
Electric baton = perfect tool.*
Rex looked up.
He understood.
He ran toward the wall, pushed off it, jumped —
and slammed the baton into the grate.
The screws snapped.
The grate fell.
Rex grabbed the edge and pulled himself inside.
The guards shouted.
"Get him!"
Too late.
Rex disappeared into the metal tunnel.
---
Inside the vent
The shaft was narrow, dark, dusty.
Rex crawled fast, ignoring the cuts on his hands and knees.
Raphaël observed everything.
*Airflow…
Vibrations…
Likely building layout…
Exit: technical sector.*
A window appeared in Raphaël's mind.
`
Mental Overdrive: Available
Duration: 3 minutes
Drawback: Severe mental exhaustion
Activation: Requires possession of the host
`
Raphaël thought.
*If I take control now…
I can analyze the entire building.
Find the fastest escape route.
But Rex will collapse afterward.*
He stayed silent.
*Not yet.
Wait for the critical moment.*
Behind them, metal clanged.
The guards were entering the vent.
Rex sped up.
---
The fall
The vent shook.
A loud crack.
Then—
The metal gave way.
Rex fell.
He crashed into a dark room filled with crates and machinery.
A storage bay.
He stood up immediately, ignoring the pain.
Raphaël analyzed.
*No cameras.
No guards.
Side door leads to a corridor.
Good.*
Rex ran to the door.
It opened.
A long hallway stretched ahead.
Empty.
For now.
Raphaël felt Split pulse.
`
Activation: Now.
`
A green flash crossed Rex's mind.
Raphaël smiled inwardly.
The real escape was beginning.
---
The monster
Rex stepped into the hallway.
He barely took three steps before a deep growl echoed.
A reinforced door slid open.
A creature emerged.
Massive.
Muscular.
Gray skin.
Red eyes.
Claws like knives.
A Gorath Experimental Unit.
Raphaël recognized the name instantly thanks to Universal Polyglot.
*Modified creature.
High strength.
High endurance.
Aggressive instinct.
Extreme threat.*
Rex stepped back.
The monster roared.
Then charged.
Raphaël felt Split surge.
This was the moment.