For one brief instant, Levi thought he was dead.
The shockwave from the explosion hurled him into the air, his body tumbling out of control as the entire world twisted into an upside-down vortex of fire and darkness. A scorching blast slammed into his back like an invisible giant's hand. He felt his combat uniform instantly crisp under the heat—and then it was as if his organs were violently squeezed out of place.
Time lost all meaning. He didn't know whether he was airborne for a second or a century.
Then his back struck something soft yet icy cold. The impact drove the breath from his lungs, darkness flooding his vision as he nearly blacked out.
He hit the snow like a sack of trash, rolling and sliding until he carved a long furrow through knee-deep drifts before finally coming to a stop.
Levi lay face-down in the snow, utterly unwilling to move.
His lungs felt like a torn bellows; every breath came with knife-like pain and the thick stench of burning. Snowflakes landed on his overheated face and melted instantly, yet he felt no cold at all. From the inside out, his body burned—heat generated by his healing factor as it desperately repaired his battered organs.
His head rang violently. The explosion had been far beyond what human ears could process, leaving behind nothing but a shrill, lingering whine—like thousands of cicadas screaming inside his skull.
Several long seconds passed before Levi dragged himself back from the edge of unconsciousness. He flexed his fingers experimentally. The healing factor had done its job—nothing seemed broken.
He propped himself up on one elbow and looked back.
What he saw stole his breath.
The once heavily fortified steel stronghold was now a colossal torch.
Centered on the power room, the blast had bloomed outward like a lotus of annihilation, tearing the upper half of the factory clean off. Twisted, burning steel beams and chunks of concrete were hurled hundreds of meters into the air, raining down across the valley like apocalyptic meteors trailing fire and smoke.
The entire valley was bathed in blinding orange light. A massive mushroom cloud of rolling smoke climbed slowly into the night sky, as if intent on swallowing it whole. The air reeked of tar, melted wiring, scorched plastic—and beneath it all, that same sickly sweet stench Levi had smelled underground.
Burned protein.
From that thing.
Now this, Levi thought dazedly, this is a real spectacle.
Compared to this raw, mountain-shaking destruction, every movie special effect he'd ever seen was laughably fake.
"Cough… everyone alive?"
Steve's voice came from nearby. He was coughing hard as he pushed himself up from the snow. His once pristine blue-white-red uniform was now smeared with soot and ash, his face blackened like a chimney sweep's—but his eyes still burned bright in the firelight.
"Not dead yet," Levi croaked.
From another direction came Logan's rough voice. He was half-buried in snow. He slammed a fist into the ground, letting out a low, furious growl.
"Damn it… what the hell was that thing?!"
Levi heard the frustration in it. For someone like Logan—a predator to the bone—facing an enemy his claws couldn't even scratch was worse than taking a bullet. It challenged his very existence.
Steve didn't answer right away. He stared at the burning ruins, his expression tangled with relief, rage—and something Levi had never seen on him before.
Deep concern.
"We move. Now," Steve said at last, turning back to them. His voice was calm but absolute. "That explosion's a beacon. Every Hydra unit and German patrol within fifty miles will be heading here. We rendezvous with Dugan immediately."
The mission.
The word snapped Levi out of his daze. They weren't here just to blow things up. They were here to rescue prisoners.
Levi shook his still-ringing head and stood.
"Which way, Captain?"
Steve unfolded a battered map, checked it by firelight, then pointed toward a ridgeline behind them. "Rally Point Three. Dugan will take the prisoners there."
"Move," Logan said shortly, already on his feet. He glanced at the faint white marks on his knuckles where his claws had struck metal, eyes hard and silent as he followed Steve.
They trudged through deep snow, breath heavy, no one speaking. The shadow of that monster weighed on all of them.
After about ten minutes, they crossed a ridge. The firelight vanished behind the mountain, plunging them back into darkness. Steve led them to a sheltered rock hollow and signaled a brief halt.
He sat against the stone, removed his helmet, and looked at them both.
"Report," he said. "Everything you noticed about that… thing."
Logan went first, dragging a hand through his hair. "Its skin—armor, whatever it is—is insane. My claws hit it like I was chopping a tank. Nothing but sparks." He grimaced. "And it's strong. Almost broke my arm just from the recoil."
Steve nodded and turned to Levi. "You heard the most. Anything unusual?"
Levi swallowed. "It didn't look like it was released on purpose. The scientists were panicking—more scared than we were. They opened the door to escape. That countdown might've been a sedative or termination protocol. It failed."
Steve was silent for a long moment.
"I blocked it head-on," he said slowly. "The force was pure impact. Like getting hit by a Tiger tank at full speed. Without the shield, my arm would be gone." He looked up, eyes dark. "And it was intelligent. It adapted instantly. Tested me. Changed tactics."
Levi's stomach sank.
Overwhelming strength. Near-invincible defense. Tactical intelligence.
"What was Hydra trying to build…?"
"Doesn't matter," Logan spat. "If I see it again, I'm ripping its heart out."
"There won't be an 'again,'" Levi said reflexively, half to convince himself. "That explosion—nothing survives that."
Steve shook his head. "In war, never assume. Until we see remains, we assume it's alive."
The words chilled the air.
Then—
"—bzzt—Thunderbird… Eagle's Nest calling…"
Dugan.
Steve snapped up the radio. "Eagle's Nest, this is Thunderbird! Status?"
"We did it!" Dugan's exhausted but elated voice crackled through. "All prisoners secured. And Jesus, Steve—what the hell did you blow up? We thought the mountain collapsed!"
Steve smiled at last. "Rally Point Three. We're en route."
The transmission ended.
Relief washed over them.
"Let's go," Steve said, helm back on. "We're bringing everyone home."
They moved out again.
But Levi suddenly stopped.
"Levi?" Steve turned.
Levi didn't answer. He slowly turned his head toward the distant ruins, ears straining.
Beneath the wind. Beneath the crackling fires.
A sound.
Slow. Heavy. Rhythmic.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Levi's blood ran cold.
Not an echo.
Not imagination.
A heartbeat.
That same massive heartbeat he'd heard underground.
Stronger than before.
Alive.
"It's… still alive," Levi whispered, voice hollow with dread.
"That monster… didn't die."
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