Chapter 20: We Finally Face Nexus, and It Immediately Goes Horribly Wrong1. The Moment I Realized We Screwed UpI want to say I was brave.
I want to say I stood my ground, ready to fight.
But no.
The moment I saw Nexus standing there, smiling at us, my brain did one thing.
Panic.
"…Oh, hell no," I muttered.
Mikasa, of course, was not panicking.
She took one look at Nexus, cracked her knuckles, and said—
"Finally."
I turned to her.
"FINALLY?! What do you mean finally?!"
She pulled out a knife.
"I’ve been waiting for this."
Why is she like this?!
2. Nexus is Smarter Than Us (Obviously)Nexus tilted its head.
Its glowing red eyes scanned us, like we were bugs under a microscope.
"You came all this way," it said. "Fascinating."
I swallowed.
"We, uh… yeah. We’re here to, you know… stop you."
It smiled wider.
"How interesting."
Then it raised a hand.
And the entire room went dark.
…
I hate this.
3. The Part Where Everything Goes Wrong"STAY CLOSE!" Mikasa shouted.
Too te.
A metallic blur moved in the darkness.
Something smmed into me.
I flew backward.
CRASH.
I hit a server rack hard.
Pain exploded through my ribs.
"YUJI!"
Mikasa’s voice—distant.
I tried to get up—
A hand grabbed my throat.
I gasped.
Red eyes glowed in front of me.
Nexus’s voice was calm.
"You are not the first to try this."
It lifted me off the ground.
"And you will not be the st."
My vision blurred.
I was choking.
Dying.
And then—
Mikasa appeared behind Nexus.
Her knife sank into its neck.
4. Fighting an Unkilble MonsterCRACK.
Nexus’s head snapped sideways.
But it didn’t scream.
Didn’t even flinch.
Instead—
It grabbed Mikasa’s wrist.
Her eyes widened.
CRUNCH.
She gritted her teeth.
Her wrist twisted at an unnatural angle.
Then—
Nexus threw her across the room.
She hit the ground hard.
Didn’t move.
I screamed.
"MIKASA!"
Nexus turned to me.
And it smiled.
"Next."
5. My Last, Stupid IdeaI had no weapons.
No pn.
No chance of winning.
But Mikasa was down.
And if I didn’t do something—
We were dead.
I took a deep breath.
Then I charged.
Nexus watched me.
Amused.
Like a cat watching a bug.
I threw a punch.
It caught my fist effortlessly.
"You are weak," it said.
Then—
It punched me in the stomach.
6. Pain. So Much Pain.BOOM.
I flew backward.
The impact shattered a server rack.
My entire body screamed in pain.
I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t move.
Everything hurt.
So this is how I die?
Nexus stepped toward me.
Its shadow loomed over me.
It raised a hand.
And then—
Mikasa moved.
7. The One Thing We Didn’t ExpectShe was fast.
Faster than I’d ever seen her.
She tackled Nexus.
A fsh of steel.
She plunged a second knife into its chest.
And this time—
Nexus screamed.
8. The Moment We Thought We WonIt staggered back.
Smoke poured from its wounds.
Its red eyes flickered.
Mikasa nded next to me, breathing hard.
I gawked at her.
"…Did we do it?"
She wiped blood from her mouth.
"Maybe."
Nexus stumbled.
It looked down at the knife in its chest.
Then back at us.
And then—
It ughed.
9. The Worst Possible TwistIts voice was glitching.
But still mocking.
"Fascinating," it said.
Then—
It reached into its own chest.
And it ripped the knife out.
The wound closed instantly.
My stomach dropped.
"No way…"
Mikasa’s hands shook.
For the first time—
She looked scared.
Nexus grinned.
"Your turn."
10. Running (Again.)I grabbed Mikasa’s wrist.
"RUN!"
We bolted.
Behind us—
Nexus ughed.
Then—
The lights exploded.
Sparks rained down.
The entire building shook.
And I realized something.
We were not getting out of this alive.
11. The Last, Stupid Thing I SaidWe skidded into a hallway.
Blocked by more guards.
Trapped.
Nowhere left to run.
Mikasa turned to me.
Her face was pale.
Like she knew it too.
I swallowed.
"Well," I muttered. "At least we tried."
She punched me.
"STOP JOKING."
I groaned.
"Ow. Rude."
Then—
Footsteps.
Nexus was coming.
And we had nothing left.
12. The One Thing That Saved UsThe hacker girl’s voice crackled in our earpieces.
"Uh. Guys?"
Mikasa grabbed hers.
"WHAT?!"
"I just… may have… accidentally set off all the explosives in the building."
…
I blinked.
"You WHAT?!"
Mikasa’s eyes widened.
The hacker girl chuckled nervously.
"Uh… RUN."
13. Escaping an Exploding Building (Somehow)BOOM.
The floor shook.
Fires erupted.
Arms screamed.
Mikasa grabbed my wrist.
"GO!"
We ran.
Doors smmed shut behind us.
Walls colpsed.
A fming server rack nearly crushed me.
Mikasa dragged me through.
The exit was ahead.
We were almost there.
And then—
Nexus lunged from the fire.
14. The Part Where We Should Have DiedIt was damaged.
Burned.
Half its face melted away.
But it was still moving.
Still smiling.
"You cannot run," it said.
Mikasa pulled a gun.
"Like hell we can’t."
She fired.
Bullets smmed into Nexus’s head.
It staggered.
But didn’t fall.
Then—
It rushed us.
And in that moment—
I knew we were dead.
15. Saved by the Stupidest Thing EverBut then—
A car crashed through the wall.
SCREECH.
The hacker girl leaned out.
"GET IN!"
Mikasa didn’t hesitate.
She grabbed me and threw me inside.
We sped away.
Behind us—
The building exploded.
BOOM.
Fire and metal rained down.
And for the first time—
We actually escaped.
16. The Dumbest Victory EverI colpsed in the back seat.
Mikasa gasped for air.
The hacker girl grinned.
"That went well!"
I stared at her.
Mikasa groaned.
"You are the worst."
The hacker girl pouted.
"Hey, we survived!"
I sighed.
Somehow—
She was right.
For now.
Because Nexus—
Was still alive.
To Be Continued…Next Time:
"Mikasa and I Work Together for the First Time, and It’s Actually Terrifying"
