Raising My Trash Ability into a Broken SSS+ Rank Skill Chapter 637 First Tragedy

Shock seized Vritra and his companions as they beheld Butcher slicing open the woman's throat before flinging her onto the bridge.

The echo of his maniacal laughter lingered while the carriage sped off into the distance.

"That damn bastard!" Vritra snarled, then bellowed, "RUN!"

Ignoring the enveloping shadows and every peril, the team dashed ahead with all their might.

Halting near the fallen woman, Diana attempted to mend her wounds as Vritra swiftly cleared the pooling blood and stanched the flow.

"S-She's gone already..." Diana whispered, even in this doomsday world, how could a person's life hold so little value?

From afar, Butcher, still observing them, was stunned to spot so many stunning women among the group.

'Such a pity, curse it—I should've slain him right there, sigh,' Butcher regretted deeply, watching those lovely figures on the brink of doom.

Fury toward that man boiled even hotter within them, yet at this instant, escape was their sole priority or else—

'Hold on, has the mutant's snoring stopped?' Vritra's pulse raced as the realization hit him.

Not daring to look behind, he conjured a rope of blood that swiftly bound everyone's wrists together.

"We need to hurry—"

ROAARRRRRRR

A horrifying bellow thundered across the expanse, accompanied by the crack of shattering ice—the mutant had stirred!!

Brimming with fury, Vritra yanked the blood rope and bolted forward at maximum velocity.

Yet the mutant had caught the scent of blood and hunger gnawed at it fiercely.

Glancing over his shoulder, he at last glimpsed the enormous mutant. Its frame was gaunt, but those elongated claws on its limbs defied any resemblance to known creatures.

Perhaps some ocean beast that had twisted through mutation and crawled ashore, its form resembled a massive slab of flesh encased in ragged layers of skin.

BANG BANG

The mutant lashed out wildly with its limbs, roused from prolonged slumber and driven insane by famine.

One by one, the metal cables securing the suspension bridge gave way, its razor-sharp claws shearing off a huge section of the structure.

This beast was utterly horrifying; no matter Vritra's desperate efforts, he couldn't distance himself much before the bridge started to sway wildly.

Going solo wouldn't have been an issue, but hauling the others along while ensuring their protection hampered his pace severely.

BOOOM

At last, the bridge could bear no more, fracturing amid the towering mutant, hurling Vritra and the rest straight into the river below.

They crashed hard onto the icy layer, yet it proved thicker than anticipated.

Fissures spiderwebbed across the surface, but it endured.

"Don't stop—keep going!" Vritra leaped up, only for the colossal beast and a chunk of the bridge to plummet down right after.

BAANNNGGGG

The ice shattered at once, plunging all ten into the icy depths.

A swarm of mutated fish and water-dwelling mutants surged toward them, assailing both the humans and the giant intruder.

Choking and sputtering, the chill flooded their systems.

Desperately, they all strove to reach the surface, the blood rope mercifully holding them in proximity.

[Evomorph Activated!]

A surge of warmth coursed through Vritra abruptly, triggering a rapid transformation in his form.

In mere seconds, underwater breathing became possible, and agility coursed through him.

His vision sharpened too, adapting swiftly to the gloom, while the frigid temperatures lost their bite.

Urgency pounding in his chest, he tugged the blood rope to drag the group along.

SNAP

Yet inexplicably, the rope broke, and Vritra sensed a lethal mutant lurking nearby.

His heart hammered as he propelled himself through the water at top speed.

Seizing those nearest to him first, he burst the skulls of numerous mutant fish in the process.

Yennefer, leveraging her water and air powers, adapted fast and assessed the chaos, starting to aid her comrades.

Teresa formed a protective bubble around herself and conserved her air, peering about but seeing nothing.

Vritra darted forward, clasping Fiona and Diana's hands before hauling them upward.

From his blood, he shaped a buoyant platform and boosted them onto it.

Then he plunged back down.

Yennefer drew Vanessa and Teresa closer, shoving the pair onto the identical raft.

"Haa haa," she gasped for air, then dove back in.

Onest had somehow surfaced unaided, impervious to the aquatic threats.

Vritra headed for Yasmine and Shitless as Yennefer veered toward Maeve.

Suddenly, a lengthy, tentacle-like appendage emerged from the watery abyss, lunging straight at Yasmine.

'No!!' Vritra thrust powerfully, charging her way while unleashing blood-forged blades.

But the monster's hide was impenetrable; the projectiles barely scratched its surface.

Shitless clung to his last breaths, flailing limbs frantically to ascend.

He spotted the tentacle too. With a mighty twist, he shoved Yasmine clear.

The appendage coiled around his ankles and yanked him into the shadows.

Vritra's eyes widened in horror; he clutched Yasmine tight and fired a blood rope ahead.

Too slow—it wasn't enough; in a flash, Shitless vanished from view.

Surfacing, he lifted the dragoness just as Yennefer emerged.

He scanned the group and noted that, save for Shitless, all had made it aboard.

"Get up there—I'll return shortly." Vritra instructed, then submerged at full tilt.

"Hold on, husband—" Yennefer cried, but he was already out of reach.

She scaled the blood platform and assisted the others.

Vritra slaughtered scores of mutant fish, though gaining sin points barely registered amid the crisis.

Deeper he ventured, scouring the depths, yet no sign of Shitless appeared.

As depths increased, so did the mutant hordes, and the mounting pressure and chill began to wear on him.

Still, Vritra pressed on with the search, but Shitless was truly lost.

Enduring no longer, he ascended.

HUFF HUFF

Gasping deeply, he clambered onto the platform, thoughts in turmoil.

"W-Where's Monk Shitless?" Yasmine inquired, aware it was he who had rescued her in the nick of time.

"...I couldn't locate him." Vritra replied, his brow furrowed deeply, a grim dread coiling in his gut.

Though Shitless brought endless headaches, he and Onest stood as Vritra's closest allies, like true siblings.

He had led them here for growth, to keep pace, but now...

The massive mutant had sunk into the river and vanished, likely still alive.

"We... must press on." Vritra declared, yearning to search further but knowing it endangered all.

And Shitless could well be beyond saving.

The group's spirits plummeted; Yasmine bore the heaviest guilt, his sacrifice made for her.

For a brief spell, they lingered motionless, minds blank and hollow.

Yennefer channeled her air affinity to propel the blood platform onward, carrying them from the site.

Silence enveloped the brief remainder of their trek.

In so little time, a comrade lost—this stark reminder of an end-times world's brutality.

Plus the betrayal lurking in human souls; sorrow and wrath gripped them all.

Soon they reached solid ground; the once-chatty Shitless was absent, leaving a profound void in the team.

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