Authors Note: A story set in the same universe as the original work, but it will not be following any of the original cast from Black Bullet. Instead, this story will take place on the other side of the world, in America, following the life of a young, up and coming promoter as he struggles to find himself and the reason why he became a promoter in the first place. Completely all OC so if you're looking for works that involve the characters from the original source, this is probably not for you.


100th & 101st

A young man strapped with firearms, wearing a baseball cap, and holding a silver suitcase in his right arm casually approached a dying streetlamp. He placed his free hand on the pole and looked up at the faint but persistent light. Yawning, he set down the suitcase and began to stretch his arms. He pulled out his phone, checked it momentarily and then kneeled down, opening his suitcase. Inside it were the parts to assemble a sniper rifle, along with ammunition and what appeared to be square objects of some sort. He quickly worked at assembling it, and in the distance gusts of wind began to develop towards his direction.

With the rifle readied and loaded, the young man set it upon his suitcase, angling it up into the sky. He looked at his phone once more and pressed in his right earbud before putting it back into his pocket. Apart from the occasional gust of wind, nothing moved as he laid sprawled out, finger on the trigger of his rifle and eye against the scope, for nearly an hour. Suddenly, the wind picked up incredible speed and force, and his cap was blown off eastward. It was in that moment he fired, and in that moment, a piercing shriek from above broke the silence of the night.

Taking one more quick glance at the sky, the young man grabbed the suitcase and jumped out of the street lamp's light. He waited, and before even minutes could pass, a large, insect monster crashed into the spot he had just been in. Momentum took the creature some dozen meters skidding across the concrete. A faint, yet large trail of purple ooze followed it. As it came to a stop, the sound of glass shattering was heard throughout the soundless city. The delicate light that tried so unyieldingly to brighten this hopeless city had finally been extinguished.

With a sigh of relief, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. No matter how many times he did this, how many he killed, it was always a nerve-racking experience. With his work finished, he threw the suitcase over his back and turned away from the Gastrea corpse. As he started walking, he could feel a slight sensation gathering below his feet. He stopped in his tracks and furrowed his brow in apparent frustration. The ground around him began to shake violently without warning. Suddenly, from behind him, rock and dust shot out from the ground. He turned and jumped far back. The dust cleared away from the air, yet nothing was there behind it. Looking down, the young man noticed that the ground where he had just been standing was missing. He approached the sudden hole cautiously, wary of feeling another vibration from the ground. He reached the hole without sensing any, at least not anywhere near him. Peering down at the hole, he saw two red dots deep below. The dots disappeared and then reappeared like a blink, and then he knew. He turned to run but the creature that had hidden itself in that hole shot back out of the Earth, and the wind that its ascent created knocked him onto his stomach.

"Shit!" He scrambled to get back to his feet but before he was even able to take three steps he was knocked back again by another wave of air. The large, worm-like, insect that just popped out of the ground had burrowed another hole where the young man was just laying down. But what he hadn't noticed through the dust that kicked up was that its tail end was still above ground. Slicing through the dust, it slammed into the ground some inches from where he sat. Seeing the creature's lower end so up close he realized it was no worm; claws about the size of an average human were growing from the sides of its plate-like body.

"A fucking centipede Gastrea?!" Shouted out the young man in disbelief. But he had no time to be shocked, it had already completely disappeared back into the Earth and was about to pop out again underneath him. He took off sprinting at full speed until he was a considerable distance away from the insect. Hiding behind what was left of the wall of a house, he peeked over it to see if the Gastrea was following him. Instead, he saw the centipede-like creature simply swaying from side to side, confused as to where he had gone. He loosened up, glad that for the time being he was safe. Still, he kept an eye on the Gastrea so it wouldn't disappear from his sight.

"How am I going to kill to this thing…" he thought out loud, "From the looks of the plates on its body, I don't think varanium bullets will get through, and even if they do, how many damn rounds do I have to waste on that thing?" Desperate to find a solution, he took his eyes off the Gastrea for a moment and undid the lock on his suitcase. His eyes and attitude perked up when he saw it, bombs packed with varanium. He chanced another look at the Gastrea, and what he saw sent his temporary happy mood packing, well, it was more like what he didn't see. The Gastrea was gone, and he was starting to faintly feel the slight vibrations of it burrowing underground. In a panic, he pushed the activation cylinder on the bombs and set them all to explode in twenty-five seconds. Although he'd prefer not to do this, he had no choice but to leave his suitcase behind with the bombs, he needed to be light as possible while he ran away. He cursed, knowing now it was all or nothing. With blazing speed and adrenaline coursing through his veins, he sprinted as fast and as far as he could away from the explosives and the incoming Gastrea. As he ran, an odd feeling of nostalgia went over him, and despite his current situation, he couldn't help but grin like a kid.

After nearly a hundred meters, he heard the Gastrea rising up, swallowing whole the ground, suitcase, and bombs from where he had just been. The young man gulped nervously hoping his plan would work. Now all he had to do was wait. The centipede, obviously confused again, swayed in place as it tried to discern where it's prey had gone, unaware of what was potentially about to happen.

8… 7… 6… 5… He placed his hands over his ears... 2... 1… BOOM!

A flash, an echoing shriek, and a ear shattering blast nearly disorientated the young man as he looked on at the explosive display. The upper half of the Gastrea flew into the night sky and then came smashing into the ground on some rubble. Its lower half erratically slithered out from the Earth, blood and organs gushing out, until it finally ceased to squirm.

The young man stood completely motionless with a shocked expression on his face, trying to take in everything that had just happened to him. Then, a wide smile formed on his lips and he shouted with the last of his vigor, "FUUCK YEAAH!" Feeling drained and breathless, he allowed himself to collapse onto his back, gazing up at that still barren night sky. The young man pulled out his phone once more and made a call.

"Nico Emery reporting to Headquarters. Two level two Gastrea needing to be disposed of in the South Boston area. Also requesting pick-up at the sight of the scene, sending coordinates now."