ã€ŠBurning Phoenix - Arc 1ã€‹


 Arc 1 - Prologue

    What lay beyond the wreckage was silence. Creeping fires, hot dreaded sand, words indescribable as the scene unfolds.

    Throughout the wreckage, there was no form of life, no breath that laid waste upon the burnt corpses and metal that laid bare upon the dunes. There was no sound, only the whooshing winds of hot, lethal air that blew through the scarce region.

    Touch was scarce, hearing was ringing, the taste was gone, smelling was destroyed.

    No sign of life came through, no way of a soul or spirit rising from the ashes from the depths of despair¡ªno, there was the sound of metal thumping coming from one of the debris.

    The sound began to turn from thumping to knocking, knocking to thumping again, and then, a constant increase of loud banging. Banging that didn¡¯t stop, only ever increasing as each grain of sand swept by.

    Pretty soon, the banging stopped. But only for several seconds before a loud explosion came out of the metal shaft.

    The force of the explosion disrupted the sound of blowing sand, and the way the heavy metallic wall of debris that flew only splashed hot sand throughout the lethal dunes.

    And what came out of the metallic debris was one man.

    A man so burdened by luck that no one could have made it out just like he did. A man who went through hell and back to save those that needed saving. A man plagued by horrors beyond any man should go through.

    Was he a soldier? Was he a hero?

    Was he human?

    The man quickly took note of the devastation that was around him. Everything that was not metal was sand, dunes that reached as far as what human¡¯s horizon expected it to be. With nothing but sand, and with a heap of metallic debris that he crawled out of, how will he survive?

    Or rather, how will he prevail?

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    (??? thoughts) Just my luck¡­

    Loneliness and despair was all around the lethal sand dunes. Any normal person would feel horrid by the fact that sand was going to be the last thing that a person would lastly die on.

    But the man in question had a sense of purpose despite the odds against him.

    (??? thoughts) I guess this is how it begins¡­

    The man, with a plan, didn¡¯t panic, nor did he stay and hole up for better survival, but walked.

    If walking was all he could do, then walking is all he would do.

    Through the burning sand, he had a purpose, no matter the cost, he¡¯ll¡ª

    (??? thoughts) No matter what, I¡¯ll save everyone¡­

    And away he walked.

    No matter what he¡¯ll push forward. Even in hell, even in heaven, he¡¯ll keep moving in the present.

    And as he walked, a burning sandstorm became ever-growing in the direction that he was walking. Noting that whatever happens, he¡¯ll make it somehow no matter the cost.

    For as long as he lay breath he will never die, and for as long as he walked¡ª

    (??? thoughts) I will prevail¡­

    Closer and closer to the burning sandstorm at hand, his sense of loneliness only grows inch by inch, but his sense of despair only shrinks yard by yard.

    That¡¯s because he¡¯s a soldier¡ªno, he¡¯s a hero¡ªno, he¡¯s ¡­

    (??? thoughts) Cause I¡¯m¡­

    In an instant, the storm of burning sand engulfed him like a melancholic monster.

    And just like that, the man was never heard from again.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 1: Inside the Walls of The Fenix Penthouse

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 10:03AM)

    (Main Character) Hah!

    In an instant, a boy sprang up from bed, drenched with sweat that molted most of his blue pajamas. His face was pale, followed by the touch of his clammy hands that pressed his light skinned cheeks.

    (Main character thoughts) Was that a dream?

    The boy¡¯s body began to cool down as he looked around the room, noticing that he was still stuck in the same room as he always slept.

    Looking around, he glanced at the number of posters that plastered the walls around his room, as well as glancing at the drawers that were a little messy to begin with. He glanced at the video game console that was on the ground, trapped in wires and game controllers away from the room.

    (Main character thoughts) I hope Mom doesn¡¯t lecture me again¡­

    The boy then took a final look at the mirror that was opposite his bed, showcasing his reflection.

    While he tried to comb through his walnut hair, brown strands managed to spring up.

    Sighing, he pushed some of his bangs behind his right ear.

    (Main character thoughts) I wonder what time it is¡­

    The boy then picked up the alarm that was on the ground near his bed and noticed that the time was 10:05.

    (Main character thoughts) Oh no. I should probably¡ª

    The door to his room swung open, and what came barging into the room was a woman with sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt.

    (Main Character¡¯s mom) Luke! Why aren¡¯t you coming? Breakfast is ready!

    (Luke) groans ¡­I overslept.

    (Luke¡¯s mom) Hurry up before it gets cold.

    (Luke) sighs ¡­ fine.

    When changing out his pajamas, he was still recalling the horrible dream he had of the desert.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What was that dream anyway¡­Why today of all days?

    (Luke¡¯s mom) Luke, stop standing there and get dressed.

    (Luke) Sorry ¡­ hey mom, I have a question.

    (Luke¡¯s mom) Make it quick.

    (Luke) One of my friends wants to hang out with me today.

    Luke looked up at his mother whose arms were crossed with her lips pressing into a tight line...

    (Luke¡¯s mom) So, do you want to invite him over today?

    (Luke) He wants me to go over to his club.

    His mother let out a deep sigh, pushing a lock of her dark brown hair behind her large pointy ears.

    (Luke¡¯s mom) Luke, you know that¡¯s not going to happen.

    (Luke) But mom¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s mom) You know the rules, Luke.

    Luke groaned.

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    (Luke) Mom, Fred¡¯s my best friend, and I never went to his place, so why¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s mom) I¡¯ve told you, Luke! I don¡¯t make the rules! You can¡¯t go outside!

    (Luke¡¯s mom) You¡¯re not going and that¡¯s final!

    (Luke) Mom!

    (Luke¡¯s mom) I told you to not talk back to me!

    (???) Hey, what the hell is going on here?

    A man in his mid-40s came into the room with a fancy suit and a box of tissues. He was fairly tall and had a normal build, and he had messy blonde hair similar to Luke''s. Nothing distinguishable was within the man, clearly having a slim mustache and beard that suited a man his age.

    (Luke¡¯s dad) Mary, why so mad¡­Achoo! Want me to get you a cup of coffee?

    (Mary) No thanks, honey, I just lost my temper, that''s all¡­

    (Luke¡¯s dad) How about we take this conversation to the kitchen table? Breakfast is already ready. Make sure you get dressed Luke.

    Opening the big closet door, it opened to see many black shirts and black pants that the boy usually wears.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Guess I¡¯ll go with the usual¡­

    Soon as he was finished dressing up, he then met up with his mother and father at the breakfast table.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Light sprayed through the blinds of the windows as Luke walked into the kitchen. He felt a sudden urge to remove the blinds, but he knew he did not want another fuss from his mother.

    In the dimly lit kitchen, the utensils that the family ate with were all golden and metallic, and the plates were made with extra care. The cups were also glass silverware that seemed hand-crafted as well as handkerchiefs being used as replacements for napkins.

    (Luke¡¯s Dad) Mary, you have done it again! These bacon and eggs with white rice sure are delicious, but try to keep the oil down a little¡­

    Luke¡¯s dad was eating his freshly made breakfast that his wife made. Having a friendly smile upon his carefree face.

    (Luke¡¯s dad) So Luke, do you mind telling me what you said to your mother?

    (Luke) I just wanted to hang out with Fred, that¡¯s all¡­

    (Luke¡¯s dad) Why not just invite the fellow over then?

    (Luke) But dad, he wants me to come over to his place though.

    Luke¡¯s dad dropped his gold fork as he looked at him, his eyes narrowing.

    (Luke¡¯s dad) No. You won¡¯t be going.

    (Luke) D-Dad¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s dad) If your mother says no, and if I say no, then it¡¯s clear that you won¡¯t be going.

    The family remained silent for a moment before the father scooted his chair closer to Luke''s and leaned towards him.

    (Luke¡¯s dad) You¡¯ll understand what I¡¯m talking about, and besides¡­

    Luke¡¯s dad got up from his seat, not even finishing his plate. He then looked at Luke with a serious face that could make any kid remain silent.

    (Luke¡¯s dad) You¡¯re not ready¡­

    Luke¡¯s father then left the kitchen and put on his black coat and hat, clearly going to work for the day despite it being a Saturday.

    (Luke¡¯s dad) I¡¯ll be back early today, I hope you don¡¯t go anywhere Luke, for your own sake.

    (Mary) I¡¯ll keep an eye on him, Joseph. Do you really have to work on a Saturday?

    (Luke¡¯s dad) It¡¯s only for a little bit. Just need to plan out something¡­

    Opening the only door to the outside world, Joseph left the building, blowing his nose on the way out. Feeling like he was lost somehow, Luke looked down and shut his eyes.

    As for Mary¡­

    (Mary) Ow, I¡¯m going to use the restroom, I¡¯m still constipated from yesterday¡­

    Mary as well got up from her seat, barely finishing her breakfast. Since Joseph left, she also cleaned up his breakfast and hers but left Luke¡¯s breakfast alone since he still had a lot on his plate.

    (Mary) Please promise your dad you won¡¯t be going anywhere.

    Luke remained silent, not wanting to listen to his mother anymore, trying to block all the words and sounds that belittled him. Even though Mary was constipated, she decided to let Luke¡¯s behavior be.

    While ignoring his mom, he turned on the TV to look for anything fun to watch.

    (Mary) No matter how much you¡¯ll ignore me ¡­ You¡¯ll always be my son ¡­

    From there, Mary left towards the bathroom, trying to handle her stomach issues, while Luke watched from a boxed TV.

    Surfing the channels, looking through something pleasant to watch, it all looked boring for him at the moment.

    (Bunny Human News Reporter) Uh, more reports of kids going missing all around the Azazel subtropical region, some say that it is linked to a cartel named Los Cerdos de¡ª

    Luke changed the channel, looking through the History Channel.

    (Human Historian) In Khazuan Territory, there is clear evidence that the people there may not be the only ones¡ª

    Luke changed the channel again to the sci-fi channel, showcasing a human and dog human astronomist.

    (Human Astronomist) You know, Terra is a weird planet for us humans and beast humans.

    (Dog Human Astronomist) How so?

    (Human Astronomist) Well, for one thing, many evidence suggests that our planet may be artifi¡ª

    Luke then turned off the TV, not wanting to watch a bunch of conspiracy theorists that are playing the roles of journalists and scientists.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 2: The Masked Man

    Luke then went out to the balcony.

    Overlooking the city on the top floor, the wind whooshed the balcony of the penthouse with carefree morning air.

    He could hear the cars honking in the distance and see tiny dots of people walking. He could see the smaller buildings, street poles, and high-tech billboards. He could see the city¡¯s playground and imagine himself playing with Fred. But there¡¯s only so much he could imagine before feeling a pool of disappointment in his stomach.

    (Luke) Why can¡¯t I go out for once? I could handle myself. Nothing ever bad happens in Clastine¡­

    (???) Tell me about it, dude.

    Luke jerked his head back to see a man who wore all black.

    (Luke) W- Who are you?! Where did you come from? Why are you here? W-When d-did you come here¡­

    Based on the man¡¯s voice Luke believed the voice belonged to a teenager.

    (???) Relax kid, I ain¡¯t going to hurt you. You seem pretty weak anyway though.

    (Luke) W-what?

    Luke was taken aback by how nonchalant the masked man was, as well as how much of a little jerk he was too.

    (???) I mean, you¡¯re a kid, so it¡¯s proven that you¡¯re weak. Like come on my dude, I¡¯ve seen tougher¡ªnah, I¡¯ve seen tougher girls stronger than you.

    (Luke) Can you please be quiet?

    (???) Haha, you can¡¯t even tell me to shut up, how much of a pushover are you man¡­

    The masked man kept on laughing while Luke huffed. Luke thought of him as a young adult, despite the man acting childish.

    (Luke) ¡­ Why are you even here?

    The masked man stops laughing and looks at Luke, shifting the tone from a childish and jerkish young adult to a more normal one that an adult would talk to a kid.

    (???) Personally kid, you don¡¯t want to know, but what I do have is a proposition for you.

    (Luke) A p-proposition?

    (???) Yeah, a proposition. I¡¯m surprised you know that word for a 12-year-old ¡­ Anyway, here¡¯s the thing, I have two choices you could take.

    (Luke) Oh ok¡­

    The man then kneeled on one knee, signaling that he was unarmed or didn¡¯t have anything cooped up in the oven. Looking at Luke directly, Luke noticed that the man¡¯s sunglasses that blocked his eyes were reflecting the sun''s rays at Luke.

    (???) Here¡¯s the first choice. You could simply lay back on this balcony, drink Copsi or Squirte, play on your Gamegirl console or whatnot, or¡­

    The man then stood up, revealing the absolute height of the man he was.

    (???) You could choose the second option, in which you could explore the city if you go out through that door.

    It was a black-or-white type of question. The choice between completely disobeying his parent''s promise of not going out and fulfilling his need for living, or just indulging in the betterments of luxury food, with survival not even a thought for him.

    Luke started sweating, his hands now clammy but not to the level when he woke up. He always obeys things that people ask him to do, even though he gets frustrated or a little angry when people make a fool of him.

    Was it his dream to go outside? Is he going to go outside and completely dismay his parents'' promise?

    (Luke) I ¡­ I don¡¯t know¡ª

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    (???) Bro, it¡¯s a simple yes or no question, do you want to get out of the penthouse or not?

    (Luke) I¡­

    He didn¡¯t want to lose his trust in his parents, but he was always living under their careful watch 24/7. Even the amount of money that his father brings him isn¡¯t enough to satisfy his needs, he doesn¡¯t mind the games, TV, or the abnormal bookshelf in his room, what he wanted was ¡­

    (Luke) I want ¡­

    His heart, trying to bring his motivations and words out, was being held back by his vocal chords that tried to chain him down.

    (Luke) I w¡ª

    (???) Are you ok bro?

    Luke began sweating even more, clearly in conflict within himself as he was fighting with his vocals to say those words. Luckily, Luke had some help.

    (???) For God¡¯s sake bro, hurry your indecisive pushover ass up! Are you going to live with your heart or with your shadow?

    A last push that Luke desperately needed, he said the words that he always wanted to say loud and clear.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (???) Well, that¡¯s settled then. Guess you got it in you after all¡­

    Before Luke¡¯s exploration, the masked man sighed in amusement at Luke''s answer, partially because the masked man helped him unclog his words in his throat.

    And upon hearing Luke¡¯s answer, the masked man leaned on the balcony ridge. In his pocket, he took out a lighter followed by a packet of cigarettes. Opening the packet, as well as opening his mask a little, the man put the cig into his mouth, before lighting it.

    (???) bleh, what the hell? How do people do this?!

    Luke had to hold back a chuckle from the masked man¡¯s display.

    (???) Screw that!

    The masked man, not looking back, threw the cigarette packet and lighter off the balcony, throwing it underhanded as if to try to impress the boy even more.

    The boy didn¡¯t budge, so the answer would be no.

    (???) Anyway, if you are going to go outside, then there¡¯s one thing that I should advise.

    (Luke) Advise?

    (???) It¡¯s really simple advice. Wanna hear it?

    Luke nodded. Putting his frame closer to the masked man, the man leaned into Luke¡¯s ear.

    (??? whispering) Whatever you do, don¡¯t go to the downtown district.

    Even when the man was masked, Luke could feel the way the man was staring at him.

    (Luke whispering) Why?

    (??? whispering) Trust me, dude.

    The masked man soon stood up.

    (???) Before you go, I want to give you this.

    The man looked through his pocket to find a black banana seed. Holding it in his hand, he gave it to Luke.

    (???) If you¡¯re ever in danger, make sure to eat it.

    (Luke) W-what is this?

    (???) A banana seed, why?

    Luke¡¯s nose scrunched as he looked at the man with unconvinced eyes..

    (Luke) What does it do?

    (???) You¡¯ll find out.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    As Mary got out of the bathroom, she was drenched with sweat from the turmoil that she endured in her fight with her stomach.

    (Mary) I think that¡¯s the last of my constipation¡­

    Mary then decided to check up on Luke, hoping to see if Luke was in a good mood for both mother and son to talk. She wanted to apologize and hoped that she could let him choose dinner for today as an apology.

    But Luke wasn¡¯t watching TV.

    (Mary) Luke! Are you in your room?

    Mary then went to Luke¡¯s bedroom to see that he wasn¡¯t there either. Her heart beating faster, she started to check the closets, the balcony, the kitchen cabinets, anywhere...

    (Mary) Luke! Come out now!

    After not finding Luke anywhere, Mary then noticed that the main door to the penthouse was unlocked.

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) Joseph locked it when he left¡­

    Mary¡¯s eyes widened.

    (Mary) LUKE!!

    Thus continued Mary¡¯s search for Luke.

    And thus begins Luke¡¯s exploration of the city.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 3: Inside The City of Innovation

    Despite the masked man¡¯s advice, Luke decided to be a little stubborn, mostly because he felt more confident within himself.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I think I¡¯m ready.

    Ready or not, Luke went exploring the downtown, trying to locate the place where his friend Fred lived. The complete opposite of what the masked man told him to do¡­

    Outside of the tower, sounds of people, cars, and street vendors painted the streets with growth and density.

    He always heard the joys of city life outside the penthouse. Noise that always drives him up a wedge in terms of knowing what it¡¯s like to see the city below.

    Now he¡¯s finally hearing the joy that he always longed for¡­

    Luke¡¯s eyes sparkled as he saw the high tech buildings and people that tower over him. For the first time in his life, he saw the grand scene of the city with his very eyes.

    As he gawked at the urban area, a certain species caught his eye.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Beast people!

    Walking through the streets was a diverse course of beast people carrying on with their daily lives.

    It wasn¡¯t magical for anyone, since everyone works and walks to the same work, no matter the type of beast human they are.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Not just Elves, but shark people and horse people too!

    With his eyes, he walked through numerous types of beast people, people that resemble humans. These types of humans usually have different characteristics than normal humans, given the type of hybrid they originated from.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Bunny people, dog people, cat people ¡­ so many beast people in one place!

    In city life, people walk toward their work, their amusement, their, etc, with possibilities that create infinite paths to infinite outcomes. At that moment, Luke all of a sudden felt small.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Now to find Fred¡¯s place, I believe he lived several blocks east of here. Most likely in the downtown district.

    The biggest city in the world...

    And Luke was just living on top of it¡­

    No matter what, if he grows up, he might soon be able to explore more, and who knows, maybe he¡¯ll have an awesome friend group that he could go on journeys with¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It sucks that Fred is my only friend, but who knows, maybe I¡¯ll have more friends to do fun things with. Maybe even have a girl¡ªhehe¡­

    Blushing and getting nervous at the thought of having a future girlfriend, Luke started rubbing the back of his hand as he thought of the future and what it might hold, but that didn¡¯t stop him from continuing to move forward.

    That was until he saw from his peripheral vision, a crazed man.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    The man wore a cardboard box, painted black, and it appeared that he didn¡¯t have any clothes underneath the box he was wearing, indicating that the box was the only bastion of hope to not ruin any man or woman¡¯s eyesight.

    (Crazy Man?) It¡¯s all a lie! It¡¯s all a lie!

    The crazed man was in the illegal grounds of a monument, trying to inform the public about something¡­

    (Crazy Man?) We¡¯re all going to die! No, I¡¯m going to die!

    Shouting more nonsense, the public and the rest of society didn¡¯t pay him any mind, putting the man into shooting even more craziness.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) This is the second time of the day I encountered another conspiracy weirdo¡­ I thought Clastine was the most innovative city in the world?

    (Crazy Man?) I want to live! Don¡¯t you all want to live? Run! Run! Run as far as you¡ª

    (Cop) Stop disturbing the peace!

    A cop then tackled and pinned the crazed man to the ground, subduing him by holding both his arms in place on the ground.

    (Cop) You again? Didn¡¯t my buddy release you from the station yesterday?

    (Crazy Man?) ¡­ I see now¡ª

    (Cop) You¡¯re coming with me.

    The cop that subdued him was a dog human, and he looked as if he was a recent cadet in the Clastine police force. Mostly everyone that had places to be ignored the scene, but Luke and a few pedestrians kept a close watch.

    As the cop led the crazed man into the back of a police car, the crazed man still kept preaching.

    (Crazy Man?) I see now! You¡¯re not going to be human! You won¡¯t even be dead! Please run! Run as far as you¡ª

    (Cop) Shut your mouth!

    The cop put duct tape over the man¡¯s mouth, forced the man into the back of the cruiser, and sped off to the police station. As the cop sped off, Luke overheard a couple of remarks on the cop and the crazed man.

    (Random pedestrian #1) Huh, crazy man.

    (Random pedestrian #2) Lord Heavens, I wouldn¡¯t put my child near that crazy man in a million years¡­

    (Random pedestrian #3) A dog-human cop, huh, what¡¯s next, a dog-human as president?

    (Random pedestrian #4) Hey, at least it ain¡¯t a shark-human, that¡¯s for sure!

    As many people remark on the little incident, Luke notices that the people follow two choices of dialogue. One was that they remarked on the crazy man, and the other was remarks about the dog-human cop.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Who was that crazed man anyway? Also¡­ why is everyone so shocked about a dog human being a cop¡­

    Luke continued with his little journey, but still, was there something that Luke didn¡¯t know?

    Probably something sinister lurking around any corner¡ª

    (???) Feast your eyes on this! Prepare for the amazing and magnificent yo-yo dance ballad! Come by, come by! This little demonstration will blow your heads away!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    A man, very tall with really red hair, barely in his 50s, was demonstrating the ways of the yo-yo.

    (???) You¡¯ll never see any magic tricks like what I¡¯m about to pull! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so come watch!

    The man then danced magnificently with two yo-yos in each hand, signaling to Luke that the man harnessed the power of a yo-yo for as long as he could remember. Luke was curious and was in awe as the man continued to practice his ballad with the yo-yo.

    (???) You have fascinating eyes kid, watch as I make it to the climax of this ballad I harnessed for over many decades!

    Reaching the climax of the ballad, the red-haired man then used both yo-yos in each hand to create an ever-marvelous display of skill. As if the inertia and mass were almost perfect, the yo-yos moved in an almost unpredictable motion, moving at fastening speeds. Incredibly hard to keep track of with the naked eye, a key away was the almost zero knots or entanglements within the strings.

    It was almost impossible, how can someone that old pull a trick like that?

    And to top it off, the red-haired man was reaching his end of the ballad.

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    (???) Here, catch!

    The red-haired man threw one of his yo-yos which was in his right hand. Luke was shocked, and he instead just braced for the impact instead of moving out of the way or catching it. But luck was on Luke¡¯s side¡­

    Because as soon as the yo-yo looked like it was going to hit him, the red-haired man pulled it back, back to his right hand.

    (???) Just kidding!

    Finalizing his ballad, the red-haired man bowed, showcasing his small gratitude for Luke for watching his little ballad.

    (???) So what did you think of that kid?

    (Luke) That was cool!

    (???) You know it was cool! So uhh kid ¡­ where are your parents?

    Luke flinched as he began twiddling his thumbs.

    (Luke) There¡¯re ¡­ working?

    (???) Hmm working?

    (Luke) Y-yeah, mostly my dad though¡­

    (???) Don¡¯t mean to be rude, but is your father Joseph, Joseph Fenix?

    Luke¡¯s hands started to feel clammy, his head feeling hot, and his breathing a bit more heavier than usual.

    (???) Don¡¯t worry, your father is a good man. I used to work with him.

    (Luke) ¡­ y-you worked with my father?

    (???) Back in those days, I and a few others would do many jobs and such. It was grueling, yes, but it was fun¡­

    The red-haired man then starts sort of reminiscing upon the glory days.

    (???) Anyway, since you¡¯re Joseph¡¯s kid, I suppose that I could give you a little reward.

    (Luke) Oh, ok.

    (???) But, to get that reward, how about a little geography quiz huh? I mean, a kid like you should know more about the different countries and capitals, right? If you win, I could give you this mini yo-yo.

    The man then brought out a small yo-yo. The yo-yo was old and almost broken down, but it looked ¡­ too old¡­

    (Luke) uhm¡­

    (???) Come on, this is my prized possession! I mean, if you don¡¯t want it, I guess I don¡¯t have to give it away¡ª

    (Luke) Fine, I could do the challenge. But why do you want to give it away to me?

    (???) It¡¯s important, really important¡­

    The air changed from a normal and carefree attitude to that of something else¡­

    (???) Are you ready kid?

    Luke nods as he gets mentally ready for the upcoming little geography test. People need to know what country and region they are in, right?

    (???) The first question is an easy one. How many countries are there in the world?

    (Luke) I think there are 4 countries.

    (???) Name them.

    (Luke) Uhm ¡­ Ticia, Kepputha, Haxouburg, and Aizzonia?

    (???) Correct. Which sides of the world do these countries reside in?

    (Luke) Well ¡­ Ticia is the country to the east, which we are in. I think Kepputha is the country to the North. Uhm ¡­

    (???) You could do it, kid.

    (Luke) And ¡­ And ¡­ Haxouburg is the country to the south?

    (???) Yeah, and lastly?

    (Luke) Aizzonia is the country to the West.

    (???) I¡¯m shocked kid, you did well. But are you ready for a harder challenge?

    Luke flinched. It was to a point where Luke had to say something about it.

    (Luke) I¡¯m not the best in geography, so why make it¡ª

    (???) Can you name all the capitals?

    (Luke) But I barely know which regions the countries are in.

    (???) But can you name each capital though?

    Luke scratched his head.

    (Luke) O-ok¡­ Well ¡­ Clastine is the capital of Ticia, and ¡­

    (???) Also, explain the capital''s significance to the world as well.

    (Luke) It¡¯s the city of innovation and growth I think? And it¡¯s also built on flat land as well?

    (???) Correct, three more to go kid.

    (Luke) Uhm ¡­ Lagefor is the capital of Kepputha? And I think it is mostly used for business and government programs, but it¡¯s also really hilly too?

    (???) What about Haxouburg and Aizzonia?

    (Luke) Haxouburg ¡­ is Fron the capital?

    (???) ERRRRRR.

    The red-haired man¡¯s arms made an x sign, causing Luke to sigh with frustration.

    (???) Fron is the capital of Aizzonia kid. But ¡­ you know, here ¡­ I¡¯ll still give it to you.

    Despite losing, the red-haired man gave Luke the old broken-down yo-yo. Luke started to pout as his cheeks puffed up.

    (Luke) You don¡¯t need to pity me ¡­ I¡¯m not some special kid¡­

    (???) Well kid, you are, which means that I¡¯m still going to give you the yo-yo regardless.

    (Luke) But I lost!

    (???) I forgot to mention this, but you did win the first challenge, which meant you won the yo-yo. The second challenge was a means for me to show you a cool place of some sort.

    The man then put his yo-yos back into his black jacket. Checking the time, it revealed that the time was now ¡­

    (???) Huh, it¡¯s 11:35. Guess I should be getting going¡­

    The red-haired man then packed up his things and was about to head off into the alley. Before he set off¡ª

    (???) One last thing I want to give you¡­

    The red haired man then gave Luke a nod, signaling respect and appreciation one last time.

    (???) About your father. I know he¡¯s overprotective over you, but that¡¯s because he loves and cares for you. You should feel grateful that you have both a mother''s and father''s love¡­

    The red-haired man then walks away into the alley, allowing the darkness that loves him dearly to swallow him¡­

    And as Luke was walking away, he put his hand to his forehead, showcasing his confusion in all of this.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) How does he know my dad so well? I wonder what dad did before he met mom¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 11:50AM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It should just be around here¡­

    Luke managed to reach the heart of downtown, trying to find Fred¡¯s place, gripping the address with intensity.

    To his surprise, most of these buildings are more or less car shops or factory dumps, almost a ghetto for the city of innovation.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Does Fred live in a car shop? I mean, he always beats me in mechanical terminology¡­

    Luke looked around more, trying to find Fred¡¯s place, but the more he looked, the more his mind was scrambled with confusion and such.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Should I try asking around about this address? Maybe someone around the area will know where the place is.

    Luke then looked around to see some older teens, probably a gang of what appeared to be a bunch of elves, smoking and doing other dangerous substances he did not want to know about. Despite him feeling uncomfortable,Luke walked towards the group of high school gang elves that looked more or less relaxed.

    (Luke) Excuse me, do you know where this is?

    (Gang Elf #1) Sure fool, let me see it.

    One of the gang elves grabbed the note and looked to see the address and for some odd reason¡­

    (Gang Elf #1) Hahaha! Man, this kid is stupid!

    (Gang Elf #2) What, where¡¯s the location he is asking?

    (Gang Elf #1) Here take a look!

    One of the gang elves passed the note down to one another, and of course, all of them were dying laughing, mostly at Luke¡¯s naivety.

    (Gang Elf #3) How does this kid not know? What is he, a dumbass?

    (Gang Elf #2) You¡¯re a dumbass for even asking that fool! Bro¡¯s a special case of dumb!

    Luke started again to inhale slowly and exhale out through his nostrils, but he kept quiet.

    (Luke) ¡­ where is the location ¡­

    Speaking very timidly, Luke felt even more clammy within himself. Flushed red, the gang of elves was at least helpful despite being rude.

    (Gang Elf #1) Fool, it¡¯s that building over there. The place where a bunch of geek freaks play.

    (Gang Elf #2) Is the fool invited or something?

    Luke took note of the building where the hangout would be, and little Luke wanted to give thanks, despite being belittled by teenagers.

    (Luke) T-thanks for the help!

    Reaching the building, he noticed that it was indeed ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It is a car shop¡­

    Looking at the note the gang of elves returned to him, it is confirmed that the numbers to the side of the building there on the note. Opening the main door, he opened it up a little to shyly slip through so that no one would notice.

    But unfortunately for him, he was noticed as an abundance of people, mostly teens, had their eyes on Luke.

    And Luke didn¡¯t see Fred anywhere in the building full of people¡­

    (Luke) ¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 4: Robotics Competition

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 10:59AM)

    (Mary) Joseph! Joseph pick up!

    Running through the city in her black leggings and boots, Mary clutched her phone, waiting for Joseph to respond.

    (Mary) Come on, pick up! Please for the love of all holy¡ª

    (Joseph on the phone) H-hello? Mary is that you?

    (Mary) Joseph, it¡¯s Luke! Luke escaped from the penthouse!

    (Joseph on the phone) W-WHAT!?

    Mary starts to quiver, her hands shaking the phone the more she is on call with her husband.

    (Joseph on the phone) Damn it, Mary! How did you let him go?!

    (Mary) He must have escaped when I was in the bathroom! I¡¯m sorry. Please help me find him!

    (Joseph on the phone) Mary, go look for Luke! Please have your phone with you, I may have to call you back in a bit¡­

    (Mary) But will you help me find him¡ª

    (Joseph) Sorry Mary, but I have to go. Please look for him!

    As soon as both Mary and Joseph hung up their big block cellphones, Joseph let out a stressful sigh.

    (Joseph) sigh ¡­ I hope he didn¡¯t go to the downtown district¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 11:52AM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡­

    Now having a bunch of eyes on him, Luke was now the perfect center of attention for the group of geeks and nerds..

    Mostly because everyone in the building was in their late teens, and Luke suddenly felt small again.

    (Geek #1) Who invited him here?

    (Geek #2) Don¡¯t know, let¡¯s just continue planning this thing.

    Everyone just went along with what they were doing, ignoring Luke since they didn¡¯t think much of him.

    (???) Hey Luke! You made it!

    (Luke) Hey Fred!

    After an embarrassing introduction upon entering, he was finally greeted by his best friend Fred, finally reaching the destination that he wanted to go from the start.

    Fred was only a couple of inches taller than Luke, but both he and Luke were mostly skinny. Described as having normal ears and nose, the key difference that made him different was that Fred had silver hair. He usually wore a black miner helmet with goggles on top, as well as wearing yellow shirts and blue plants.

    Fred gave Luke a fistbump, a way to greet one another as they did in school.

    (Luke) Where were you? I thought you weren¡¯t here.

    (Fred) Sorry, I was constipated. Accidentally ate bad food¡­

    (Luke) Heh, that¡¯s definitely you¡­

    (Fred) So, what happened? How did you get here?

    (Luke) I just followed the address, that''s all.

    (Fred) Really? It usually takes me 25 to 30 minutes to walk to your penthouse. It took you an hour.

    (Luke) I just happened to walk into this crazy scene with a crazy man. Nothing particular about it though¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What was that man¡¯s goal anyway? Maybe he was just a conspiracy weirdo¡­

    (Luke) And then I got held up by some red-haired yo-yo master. He said he knew my dad well and we talked for quite a bit.

    (Fred) Ah, so that¡¯s why you¡¯re carrying that broken-down yo-yo. Can I see it?

    (Luke) Sure.

    Luke gave the old yo-yo to Fred, and for a moment, Fred¡¯s blue eyes gleamed.

    (Luke) I don¡¯t care if you keep it, I can¡¯t seem to find anything valuable with that thing.

    (Fred) I-I¡¯m not going to¡ª

    (???) Fred, you¡¯re probably going to keep it to yourself, so give it back to him.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Another boy, who looked to be 16, came over to check up on Fred. The boy looked to have brownish ginger hair, followed by a bunch of freckles that laid waste upon his cheeks. He had a big nose, normal lips, and squinted monolid eyes. His hair was styled short to moderate, with a cowlick on the back of his head. The color of his eyes was brown, and there were some spots of facial hair starting to pop out.

    (Luke) An elf!

    (???) Uh yeah I¡¯m an elf. What of it?

    As the elf was taken aback by the increase of Luke¡¯s voice, the elf took a couple steps back.

    (Fred) Don¡¯t worry, this is Luke¡¯s first time seeing an elf close up.

    (???) Oh, good to know¡­ anyway Fred, like I said, return the yo-yo.

    (Fred) Come on, when did I keep things to myself that I shouldn¡¯t have?

    (Luke) Come to think of it, you still haven¡¯t returned the movie CDs that I let you borrow.

    (Fred) I¡¯m ¡­ still not finished watching them¡­

    (???) Didn''t you already finish watching them a year ago?

    The ginger brownish-haired teen then looked at Luke.

    (???) My name is Stanley, or just call me Stan for short. Don¡¯t care.

    Luke was about to introduce himself back but Stan stopped him.

    (Stan) Don¡¯t worry about it, Fred told me all about you.

    (Luke) Wait. Fred told you all about me?

    (Stan) Yeah, man, he kept on telling me crazy stories about how you and he would mostly cause a lot of trouble in school. Mostly about how you and him would scare people away when both you and him were in chemistry.

    (Fred) That¡¯s mostly Luke, he¡¯s the one who starts most of the fires¡­

    (Luke) I just like exploring chemical bonds, that''s all.

    As the three boys continued talking in the doorway, a speaker, standing on top of the podium in the center of the building, made his presence. Turning on his megaphone, the booming noise of the megaphone¡¯s switch roars through the building, putting all planning to a halt.

    (Speaker) Attention everybody! The Robotics competition will commence at 4 PM, so make sure your robot is already built by at least 3:30.

    (Luke) What?! Fred, you never told me about this.

    (Fred) Don¡¯t worry Luke, it¡¯s just a competition.

    (Luke) But I don¡¯t want to make my parents worry that much¡­

    (Stan) I mean, your parents are going to kill you for just leaving right? At least make the most out of it.

    (Luke) Well ¡­ ok!

    The speaker then put the mic down a little to see that everyone was listening to him. Upon noticing that a few people were alone, as well as seeing Stan, Fred, and a newcomer joining in, he had to acknowledge the presence of teams and solos.

    (Speaker) And another thing. Teams can only choose one robot for the competition! Solos can receive help from other people as well! If you''re a solo who wants to be part of a team, come to the east side of the building!

    Then the speaker put down the megaphone, the speaker petting his pet baby wolf on top of his head.

    Luke, Fred, and Stan heard of the announcement and the three of them sort of agreed without speaking that they want to work on the robot together. As the clock started to strike at 12, the three boys head to their workstation, to come up with the best robot that the world has ever seen, but¡ª

    (Luke) I¡¯ve never built a robot before¡­

    (Fred) Don¡¯t worry, me and Stan will help you out with it. Careful though, Stan can be a little competitive in robot building, so he can be a little ¡­ What do you call it?

    (Luke) Passionate?

    (Fred) Yeah ¡­ really passionate¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 52 / 1:00PM)

    The clock struck 1, an hour into constructing the robot.

    Things were going quite well for the other teams and singles, most of them already knew what they were doing, as if they already had a plan on what type of defense their robot had, and how their offense would look like.

    As well as the fear factor that it will cause.

    But for Luke, Fred, and Stan though¡­ well¡­

    (Stan) Why the hell would you put yo-yos as freaking arms?

    (Fred) But yo-yos are cool.

    (Stan) For a freaking elementary schooler¡ªwell, you¡¯re barely a middle schooler so it makes sense!

    Stan and Fred butted heads, face to face, mostly because Fred decided to wing the idea that the robot should have yo-yos as arms.

    And Stan hated the idea¡­

    (Stan) You¡¯re going to ruin the robot!

    (Fred) As if the size was already going to ruin the robot!

    (Stan) Size does and will matter! It builds into the fear factor!

    Meanwhile, Stan built the robot to be the biggest robot out of the, trying to make it seem like a big shot compared to other robots.

    And Fred hated the idea¡­

    (Fred) The robot is going to be bodied!

    (Stan) You see the metal we''re using? The robot could tank it!

    (Fred) Hey Luke, what do you think?

    Both boys then looked towards Luke, their eyes glaring at him waiting for Luke¡¯s opinion on the given result coming to hand, but Luke was too busy making the legs of the robot.

    (Fred) Hey Luke. Luke. Luke¡ªhey!

    Fred tugged Luke¡¯s shoulder. Being pulled away from the zone, Luke¡¯s nostrils flared.

    (Luke) I was doing the legs¡­

    (Fred) This is important. Do you think yo-yos as arms would be a good idea?

    (Stan) More importantly, do you think size does matter for fear factor?

    Both boys¡¯ hands and faces were a little sweaty and red from the hard work and frustration that they were putting into the robot, and each boy started to sweat a drop since neither one of them wanted to take down their own interest¡ª

    (Luke) How about you guys do both?

    (Fred) Really?

    (Stan) That¡¯s your answer?

    (Luke) Or you guys could do neither ¡­ I¡¯m just trying to be moderate with your guys'' interests¡­

    Luke began putting his right hand on the right side of his face, his eye bang touching the tips of his knuckles. He started to inhale and exhale slowly yet again, this time more composed. Luke didn¡¯t care if he won, he just wanted to hang out with Fred and others, that¡¯s all he came here for.

    (Fred) Alright ¡­ alright ¡­ hey, Luke, I¡¯m curious, what have you been working on?

    (Luke) Well, I¡¯ve been working on the legs, and I think I have an interesting idea.

    (Stan) I mean, it can¡¯t be worse than yo-yo arms.

    (Luke) I¡¯ve decided to make the legs have an explosive kick when hitting a robot with its legs. By combining fulminated mercury inside its legs, and with a little switch, the fulminated mercury would come out and the robot would kick the mercury, causing it to explode. If the metal is hard and resilient, then I think it will put offense and fear points as well as defense points in terms of fighting ¡­ What do you guys think?

    (Fred and Stan) Never cook again¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 5: Then Came the Rain of Collapsing Debris---

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 2:00PM)

    (Stan) Stop trying to put the explosive kicks in! It¡¯s completely unnecessary!

    (Luke) But I did the math and it will work!

    (Stan) This explosive kick is completely unrealistic and even dangerous. What happens if shrapnel or sharp metal splatters and hits someone in the eye?

    The trio¡¯s robot was 40% done, with Stan bringing in many stacks of metal that could support its large frame. Combined with the arms being mostly rubber metal, its rubber was being tested upon by Fred, by moving up and down a rapid throwing yo-yo that thrusts out a heavy metal ball and back.

    As the clock reached the halfway point, they had another hour and a half to finish their robot, but there were still some discussions about the basis of their work.

    For one, every team or single was starting to wrap up the invention, and most of them were starting to work on decorations or little test runs for it to work properly in the fight.

    As for our main group¡­

    (Fred) The stupid size is making the controls much harder than they should be.

    (Stan) I could say the same for the yo-yo arms, it¡¯s way too clunky.

    Even though Fred and Stan managed to finally agree to do both their interests in the robot, it seemed as if their ideas were too advanced given the scraps and technology that they have¡­

    For Fred, the yo-yo arms didn¡¯t move fast enough, and as for Stan, he couldn¡¯t get the robot to move fast enough, making the robot move as if it was a drunken dinosaur¡­

    (Luke) I think we should put in something different for the legs.

    (Stan) It better not be the explosive kick idea¡­

    (Luke) Explosive kicks are cool though¡­

    (Stan) And dangerous.

    (Fred) And risky¡­

    (Luke) How about rocket legs?

    (Stan and Fred) ¡­ what?

    (Fred) How will rocket legs work in a fighting arena like this?

    (Stan) Yeah, I think you should just assemble the parts and not speak for a while¡­

    (Fred) Sorry Luke, but Stan¡¯s right¡­

    Luke began to pout hard as he is being treated like a golden boy again. He was being treated special by the red haired yo-yo man and now he¡¯s being treated like some sort of little kid. The more he thought about it, the more he started narrowing his eyes to both boys.

    To him, he got whatever he wanted, but he never put any effort into it. And for the first time that he wanted to put some sweat and skill into an area, his ideals were just too advanced for a robot competition.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) They¡¯ll see ¡­ they¡¯ll soon realize that rocket boots aren¡¯t a dream! I could put more effort into it if they would let me¡­

    Since he just wanted to have fun, he started to loosen up again quickly, subduing his feelings into his heart.

    But that was going to be easier said than done¡­

    As it was mentioned, the robot was not even moving that much, to begin with, clearly meaning that¡ª

    (Stan) Damn it. Uhm ¡­ Luke, can you assemble as much as the robot you can? Fred, can you improve the controls of the robot?

    (Fred) What about you? I hope you don¡¯t spend the time just going to the snack tray and eating all the potato chips¡­

    (Stan) What do you take me for, some kind of fatass?

    As Fred and Luke were assembling the robot, sure enough, Stan went to a nearby snack table, completely devouring half of the food in one go¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:00PM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Almost there¡­

    Fortunately for Luke, the three of them managed to barely keep up with the others. The robot looked solid in design and was sturdy enough to probably tank some damage.

    But the controls though¡­

    (Fred) Still needs a bit more fixing Stan. Do you want me to connect some of the red wires to the yellow ones?

    (Stan) The yellow wires are the ones that conduct AC through the controller.

    (Fred) But I¡¯m not good with AC¡­

    (Stan) sigh ¡­ wanna experiment with DC?

    (Fred) Definitely!

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) DC~DC~It makes it easy~

    Humming a little song that Fred does when doing anything related to DC power, it made Stan¡¯s ears perk up, clearly a little frustrated¡­

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) For god¡¯s sake!

    (Stan) Stop humming that stupid song!

    (Fred) sigh ¡­ fine ¡­

    Fred continued to work on the electrical current and wires that connect the power to the controller.

    (Fred) Just a bit of this, and a bit of that ¡­ and DC should be running through the controller.

    Luke decided to be the one to test whether or not Fred¡¯s attempt with different electrical current regulations worked. As Luke moved the robot around, a sign of fresh relief washed over the three boys.

    (Stan) Oh fu¡ªfinally it worked!

    The robot finally started to move as it should¡¯ve been moving in the boys'' minds. It moved its legs much more steadily and faster and its arms more agile and rapid.

    (Fred) Our robot is finally ready for battle!

    (Stan) About time! And Luke said he wanted to put on rocket boots for agility. This is enough agility for one robot¡­

    Luke decided to ignore Stan¡¯s comments about his previous ideas on the robot, but he was more happy that at least the robot was working normally.

    (Stan) If only Diego was here, the dude could win against a bear controlling a mouse.

    (Fred) Where was he exactly? Didn¡¯t he have to attend a family gathering at Haxouburg?

    (Stan) Yeah, just our luck huh¡­ anyway, we should now start decorating it. I think everyone is pretty much done with their robots except us¡­

    Looking around the building, Stan¡¯s observation was mostly true. Well, everyone was completed with the design and decorations of their robots, but obviously, some teams wanted to double-check things that would ensure greatness and success for their robot.

    With the pile of metal scraps and wires at the south side of the building, most of the teams wanted to use most of these scraps for better or for worse, and what better way to better their chances of victory if¡­

    It meant looking around at what other teams did¡­

    (Stan) I hope no one decides to build another mecha-sized robot¡­

    (Fred) I hope no one stole my yo-yo idea too¡­

    (Stan) I think no one would find the yo-yo idea brilliant.

    (Fred) You never know!

    Luckily for the group, no one was daring enough to copy the three of them, which guaranteed the fact that at most, they had a good chance for originality. But it would be funny if other groups thought the robot they built was too clunky¡­

    As for Luke¡­

    (Luke) There! I made some last-minute changes to the robot!

    (Stan) ¡­ What did you put?

    (Luke) Oh, you¡¯ll see¡­

    (Fred) sigh ¡­ if we lose this competition because of your stubbornness of rocket boots, I¡¯m permanently keeping all the DVDs that I borrowed from you.

    (Stan) If we lose¡­Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Stan then gets close to Luke, overlooking him with a towering complexity.

    (Stan) ¡­ you¡¯re going to make me lunch every day for a month¡­

    (Luke) ¡­ ok.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:30PM)

    (Speaker) Time¡¯s up! Everyone, bring your robots to the bench room near the arena. Make sure to sign in your robot, and I think we all have the names of our groups in the roster! The arena competition starts in 30 minutes!

    Speaking on the megaphone, the speaker timed up the building and decorating part of the competition, but at the cost of the speaker¡¯s pet baby wolf from howling on top of his head.

    Most of the teams and solos were bringing their robot to the waiting room, with groups filled with normal humans to some beast humans that worked on their little killing machines¡­

    As for the main group, how did the haul of the robot go per se?

    (Fred) This thing is too heavy.

    (Stan) Here, let me handle it.

    Stan decided to carry the big robot, its metallic structure cold and dark as his body was hot and sweaty.

    Other people brought with them their robots and such, with many different variants taking form.

    One group built a robot that resembled a spider, with its metal legs being used as weapons since the legs are attached with obsidian blades that could cut anything.

    Another group built a robot that could fly, its blades on top sturdy enough to levitate it off the ground, and it contained a homemade flamethrower to overheat the robot''s motor controls.

    Another group built ¡­ or copied a popular type of robot¡­

    (Random Geek #1) Hey, you copied Gary¡¯s robot!

    The robot was relatively normal, but what was different compared to others was that it was attached with a taser in the middle, like it was the robot''s stomach, capable of frying any metal parts within seconds.

    (Group builder of copied robot) Hey, you don¡¯t see Gary anywhere, don¡¯t you?

    Anyway, Fred and Luke were with Stan, trying to give whatever support since Stan is known to be strong.

    (Stan) You got to work out those arms man.

    (Fred) I know, but I don¡¯t have the time!

    (Stan) You just got to do pushups and situps, and you¡¯ll be good. I mostly just do light exercises and yet I got this body by doing it.

    (Fred) That¡¯s bull. I see you doing weights and heavy squats sometimes in the building.

    (Stan) Why were you spying? Fascinated?

    (Fred) No, I like girls.

    (Stan) Don¡¯t we all?

    As Stan and Fred talked for what seemed like quite a while, Luke just eavesdropped on the conversation that they had. Both of them seemed close, almost too close.

    (Luke) Hey, I got to ask, but when did you guys first meet?

    As Luke began to question the basis of Fred and Stans''s close bond with one another, it made Luke curious, since Fred was Luke¡¯s best friend and all.

    (Fred) Hmm ¡­ Stan should we tell him?

    (Stan) Are you sure? You know you don¡¯t like talking about it¡­

    (Fred) Yeah, but I feel more comfortable when you explain it though.

    (Stan) Sure ¡­ Luke, Fred didn¡¯t tell you this, but he¡¯s an orphan¡­

    (Luke) Wait, what?!

    Luke then felt a sudden whiplash of surprise and shock. Luke never met Fred¡¯s parents, but it still was an eye opener.

    (Luke) How are you able to afford to go to the Zirardge Technical Institute if you¡¯re an orphan with no parents?

    (Fred) Honestly, I don¡¯t know ¡­ but if I have to guess, I say they did an IQ test on me, and I think they just accepted me with open arms.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Just how smart is Fred anyway? I always beat him in most of the tests and exams, so what made him stand out?

    (Fred) I don¡¯t know my parents, and honestly, I don¡¯t care, cause Stan and his family took me in.

    (Stan) When I and my family first saw him, he was ¡­ malnourished ¡­ for a 6-year-old.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Malnourished? In the country of Ticia and¡ªno, in Clastine?

    (Stan) He was I think with another boy, too, and both were not good in terms of health. I don¡¯t know where they were living but, they looked too clean to be homeless at the time, so ¡­ me and my family didn¡¯t want to investigate down that hole you know.

    (Luke) Who was that other boy, if it¡¯s alright with you?

    (Stan) His name was Gary. And he¡¯s¡ª

    Just then, the main door to the main building opened up violently. What came out of the door was a boy who appeared to be 14.

    (Speaker) Gary! About time¡ªwait, what happened to your face?

    This time, the speaker didn¡¯t speak with a megaphone, indicating that the speaker knew the boy Gary enough to communicate through voice rather than machine.

    Gary¡¯s face flushed with rage. As his hands squeezed so much as if his knuckles might break, he yelled back at the speaker.

    (Gary) Some dude just dropped a lighter on my face from the Fenix Tower, I think from the tallest balcony!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Speaker) From the infamous Fenix tower? The mayor Joseph Fenix?

    As the room filled with geeks and nerds started to cause more noise than the construction from their robots about ten minutes ago, rumors and gossip started to spread in the room.

    (Random Geek #2) Who would do something like this?

    (Random Geek #3) To Gary of all people!

    (Random Geek #4) He¡¯s like the best robot mechanic in the shop!

    Gossip turns from frustration, as many people want to find out who did this to their precious and most popular robot builder¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡­

    Fred and Stan notice that Luke started to blush red hard, nervousness and guilt filled Luke as he knew how this happened¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) That masked man¡­ why did he have to do that¡­

    Fred stood next to Luke, near his ear enough to whisper.

    (Fred whispering) Hey Luke, it was you wasn¡¯t it¡­

    (Luke) Please don¡¯t tell¡­

    (Fred whispering) I¡¯ll try to help you get out of here¡­

    (Stan) Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Stan glued together the puzzle to see that Luke was the one that dropped the¡ªno, Luke didn¡¯t drop but obviously, Stan didn¡¯t know about the masked man, so it was safe to say¡­

    (Stan) Damn it Luke, why did you drop a freaking lighter from the tower?

    (Luke) It was ¡­ an accident¡­

    (Stan) Fred, get him out of here before things get ugly.

    Stan decided to block Fred and Luke so that Luke won¡¯t be seen. Both boys quietly sneaking off so that harm won¡¯t be bestowed upon Luke.

    (Fred) I know of a secret entrance you could escape from.

    Walking to the right side of the building, and quietly climbing a stack of wood, both Fred and Luke got on top that led to a metal opening. Upon seeing the exit, it made Luke¡­

    (Luke) This is a garbage chute¡­

    (Fred) If we take the main door, everyone will know.

    Unfortunately, geeks and nerds have ways to solve a problem, and the speaker managed to recall one name in the list of builders¡­

    (Speaker) Wait a minute, let me check the list of builders, I think I saw a kid with a last name Fenix¡­

    (Gary) It¡¯s a rare last name, so it must be him!

    The speaker checked the paper and sure enough, the speaker saw the group that built the giant robot with yo-yo arms and weird legs, the group that held Stanley King, Fred Claudrick, and most importantly¡­

    (Speaker) Aha, his name is Luke Fenix! Is there a Luke Fenix here?

    Everyone in the building was searching for a boy by the name of Luke Fenix, but fortunately, most nerds and geeks don¡¯t remember faces or names of people that they don¡¯t want to pointlessly remember. This might have gained Luke an advantage in terms of escaping, but the way Luke and Fred were positioned¡­

    (Random Geek#1) Why are those two boys on top of some wood?

    (Fred) Shit!

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come on¡­

    Now all the nerds and geeks had their eyes on both Fred and Luke, while Stan¡­

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Damn it Fred, you should¡¯ve taken the lower garbage chute, not the top one!

    Stan''s blockage of view wasn¡¯t helpful at all, mostly because he thought that Fred and Luke would take a different chute.

    But there maybe be still be a chance¡ª

    Nope, geeks are too smart for their own good¡­

    (Gary) Fred! Fred! Is that you!? Why are you up there!?

    (Fred) Uh ¡­

    (Gary) Wait a minute, is that the boy that you hang out with? Can it be him!?

    (Stan) Hold up, think about it. Why do you jump to the conclusion that it is Luke? Why would a 12 year old kid throw a lighter off the top balcony?

    (Gary) That¡¯s what I wanna know¡ªwait a minute, before I laid on the bench looking on top of the Fenix tower, I saw a little head peeking out of the top floor¡­

    Luke started to sweat even more as Gary piece together the wrong puzzle.

    (Gary) And the kid probably looked at me chilling and laying down, and probably for some sick prank, he ¡­ threw the goddamn lighter!

    Returning to his anger, he didn¡¯t let this chance of revenge slide.

    Being backed by the group of angry nerds, they were not walking like a mob, but like some sort of mafia group, wanting to look intimidating, but it was just ¡­ not intimidating at all ¡­

    Anyway, Gary and the speaker were the ones in front of the group, and Gary knew that Fred wasn¡¯t the one who did this, but the boy with light brown hair was shorter than Fred.

    (Gary) Get down here now!

    (Random Geek #3) How about forcing him down?

    (Random Geek #4) Drag his butt off that wood!

    Gary then ran towards Fred and Luke, trying to ignore Fred¡¯s and Stan¡¯s attempts to calm him down. As Gary ran towards the two of them, only focusing on exacting revenge on Luke, Stan also had to prevent the situation from getting any worse.

    As far as Luke could see, Gary¡¯s face was covered in blood, mostly from his nose, and it seemed as if his nose was beyond repair¡­

    (Gary) As payback for my broken nose, how about I smash your face huh?

    (Fred) Stop Gary! It¡¯s an accident!

    (Stan) Gary! Control yourself!

    Gary managed to climb the wood and managed to reach the top where Luke and Fred were. Ignoring Fred completely, Gary saw a tearful and fearful face on Luke¡¯s face.

    But as soon as Gary came any closer, Stan was able to reach the wood onto the top, and he put himself between Luke and Gary.

    (Stan) Calm down¡­

    (Gary) Out of my way Stan!

    Gary tried to move Stan, but Gary was more overweight than sturdy, so his pushes weren¡¯t strong compared to the immovable Stan.

    (Gary) I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re the best fighter in this club, I won¡¯t back down fighting¡ª

    Then came light¡­

    In an inexplicable turn of events, a flash of light came from the outside roof windows of the building, causing everyone to turn and look towards the roof. Their eyes were in confusion and fear as to why there was a sudden cause of bright light in the middle of the afternoon. The light is probably brighter¡ª

    Then the sound came¡­

    A shockwave, from hell itself, burst its way into the building, causing the building to collapse upon itself¡­

    It was so quick ¡­ Everything happened so quickly, because of Luke¡ª

    Then came the rain of collapsing debris¡ª

 Arc 1 - Chapter 6: Not Looking Back

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:06PM)

    A mother''s love has no bounds¡­

    No matter how torturous a search can get, a mother¡¯s will is like a will forged out of iron¡­

    Iron so thick that it can block all hate, crush all evil, and lastly¡­

    (Mary) Have you seen my son Luke?! He has light brown hair and he is barely a middle schooler! Have you seen any boy¡ª

    Iron so brittle that if it were to bend, it would be shattered into thousands of pieces¡­

    As Mary stopped a nearby stranger, for the hundredth time.

    (Random stranger #1) Look ma¡¯am, this is a big city. How am I supposed to know what your kid looks like?

    (Mary) Please take a look at this picture! Do you have any way this kid went?!

    (Random stranger #2) Ma¡¯am, I was just listening with my walk-man to work. Sorry lady, but please let me listen to Metallic in peace¡­

    As the stranger brushes off against her, Mary¡¯s shoulders start to slump, her hands holding her face. It had been almost 4 hours since she kept looking for Luke, and there was still no sign of him.

    She knows that Luke wanted to explore downtown, or rather, try to hang out with his best friend Fred, but for some reason, she couldn¡¯t find him¡­

    (Mary) All these idiots listening to Michael Jackdaughter and Princess, too busy in their world¡­

    Mary then continued to run around the city, looking for any clues that she may be able to find Luke.

    But the small and thin buildings combined with the density of the downtown center made Mary sweat a couple of drops down her face, partially because ¡­

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) Joseph told me that he¡¯ll call me in a bit right around this time. God, please help me find Luke¡ª

    Unfortunately, Joseph decided to call, at the worst time for Mary¡­

    Mary brought out her big bulky phone from her pocket and brought it up to her ear (pants pockets are abnormally large).

    (Joseph on the phone) Mary, did you find Luke?

    Mary started to tear and whimper a little as she still couldn¡¯t track down Luke. Unable to say the words that burned the bridge between her heart and vocals, she couldn¡¯t utter a word.

    (Joseph on the phone) M-Mary? Mary? Are you there? Hey, say something!

    Joseph¡¯s loud voice caused Mary to flinch, bringing her back to reality. Even though her voice and face were quivering with fear and hopelessness, her heart managed to cross the vocals.

    (Mary) J-Joseph ¡­ I ¡­ I ¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­

    Mary started to break into tears, but Joseph remained calm and cool despite the overall pressure and stress that he had in his voice.

    (Joseph on the phone) Listen, Mary, I know this may be hard, but ¡­ meet me west at the end of the city¡­

    (Mary) W-what? What are you saying? Joseph. Joseph!

    For a 180, Mary went from breaking down in tears to being overly furious.

    (Mary) Luke is still out there! Do you want your only son to be lost in the big city? I¡¯m doing my part in searching for our son, but why aren¡¯t you?! No ¡­ I¡¯m not meeting up with you¡­

    (Joseph on the phone) Don¡¯t do this on your own Mary! You need me¡ª

    Mary then angrily hung up the phone, putting the cell phone back into her pocket, not wanting to pick up the phone anytime soon.

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯ll find my son even if it kills me¡­

    As Joseph was hung up, all his frustration and anger exploded out from within him.

    (Joseph) FUCK!!

    He then flipped over an office table in the heat of the moment, objects like pencils, papers, and many other office supplies scattered all over the room.

    Enraged, he kept kicking the table legs that held the metallic table in place. Even if his kicking did nothing to the table itself, one of the legs was dented and almost broken¡­

    To hold a table, 4 legs support the top¡­

    Several workers noticed the sudden outburst of their mayor, the once calm and collected mayor that positively solved any issue. The workers then quietly stared at the mayor, hoping that Joseph came back to his usual normal self.

    (Government worker #1) Sir, do you need some fresh air?

    (Joseph) ¡­ get my limo ready ¡­

    (Government worker #1) For what sir?

    (Joseph) ¡­ I¡¯m going to the heart of the city.

    Melancholy, Joseph walked out of the room, sliding his sleeves up and adjusting his suit¡­

    (Joseph) Why can¡¯t people keep my promises¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:47PM)

    How long was he out?

    How long did he remain unconscious¡ª

    No, he wasn¡¯t unconscious, but rather¡­

    (Luke) grunts ¡­ ow, where ¡­

    Nothing but darkness and dust, Luke was enclosed in something. He had to remember what just happened.

    (Luke) Wait, am I  ¡­ stuck ¡­ how did I ¡­ get trapped ¡­ What happened?

    Previously.

    When Gary was about to pick a fight with Stan, a sudden flash of bright light shined the roof of the building. And then came the shockwave, then a second later, the debris.

    But what happened to the others?

    Just as the raining debris fell on them, the kids on top of the wood were free from the raining hell of metal ¡­ but they weren''t safe with the encasement¡­

    (Luke) If I, Fred, Stan, and ¡­ Gary were on top of the wood, then where ¡­Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Did his friends and rival go?

    (Luke) Fred! Stan! Where are you guys?

    Still trapped, but yet not crushed, he yelled more to see if his friends made it.

    (Luke) Anyone! Say something!

    He kept looking around, but no one said anything, not even a breath exhaled¡­

    (Luke) shaking his head ¡­ N-no. they¡¯re not dead, they''re not dead, they''re not ¡­

    Shaking his head even more, he struggled as he tried to wiggle his way out, but to no avail, he felt the pressure of the debris still trapping him.

    But a miracle appeared for Luke because he felt the debris begin to lighten. The lightening of the mass began to decrease more and more, and sure enough, he was free from the weight that pinned him down. He looked up to see who his rescuer was.

    (Luke) S-Stan! Fred! And ¡­ hey Gary.

    Luke gave Stan and Fred a big hug, as thanks for saving him. Stan didn¡¯t return the hug, but just let Luke do what Luke wanted to do.

    As for Gary, even though Gary subdued his anger to help Luke, Luke still held a little grudge, so he kept quiet.

    But that hug was cut short.

    (Stan) Hey, we need to get out of here.

    (Fred) But what about our friends¡ª

    Just then, the wall that separated them from the main building came crashing down. As the four boys looked upon what lay bare on the main building floor, it was ¡­

    (Stan) Oh my god¡­

    (Gary) No¡­ no ¡­ no¡­

    (Fred) gasps

    (Luke) Is that¡­

    The rest of the group of nerds and geeks, all of Gary¡¯s followers, Stan¡¯s friends, Fred¡¯s role models, and Luke¡¯s enemies, were all ¡­

    Dead, pelted by metal shrapnel and sharp metal.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Damn it all!

    Gary starts crying uncontrollably, as the nerds who looked up to him were all dead right before him. As Gary cries, Fred takes several steps backwards to give himself room to bend himself in all fours. His body swelling with sweat and odor, his mouth and stomach moving on his own as they torture his throat with the acidic juice that came forth from Fred¡¯s mouth.

    For Luke, his eyes widened with shock and horror, in denial that something like this happened, as he looked up to the roof¡ª

    Speaking of the roof ¡­ there was no roof ¡­

    And why was there something¡ª

    (Stan) W-what ¡­ is that?

    The four boys saw with helplessness and despair as the sight in front of them was unrealistic and impossible to comprehend. It was enough to completely change the dramatic scene that unfolded with the deaths of club members.

    It was ¡­

    (Stan) A monster?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Taller than half of the buildings, the monster was a force to the eye''s proposal to glance.

    (Fred) That thing ¡­ has got to be 200 meters at least ¡­

    (Luke) All that fire¡­

    As Fred recovered from his spewing session, he estimated the height by just a simple glance.

    The monster had so much flame to it, that it looked like it was spewing out solar storms as if a sun would do.

    Its appearance was gigantic, and it had devilish horns, orange icy eyes, long hair, slender arms and legs, and a slim waist ¡­

    (Stan) That chest ¡­ it looks more feminine than masculine¡­

    (Gary) W-who cares! That thing ¡­ that thing ¡­

    Gary¡¯s whole body shook with fear as he saw the devil¡¯s wife himself.

    (Gary) T-that thing killed our friends!

    And the monster looked down at all the civilians and onlookers that watched in utter despair and shock.

    Like cattle, the monster started to move, and sure enough, screams and shouts were heard from far away.

    (Stan) Everyone run!

    Stan directed them to run away, with no other option but just to tuck their tail and cower as the monster started moving.

    But Gary was hesitant.

    (Gary) But what about our friends? What about our friends'' families? What would they think¡ª

    (Stan) I¡¯m sorry Gary, but we have to go!

    Stan held a firm grip on Gary¡¯s arm, making Gary run as much as his chubby body could work.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Why is this happening? Why us of all people¡­

    Luke looked back, and the monster stopped as if it was ¡­ enjoying the chaos that she inflicted¡­

    (Fred) Luke, just run! It¡¯s never a good idea to look back while running!

    But Luke continued to look back, and sure enough, the monster suddenly used its fiery right hand to grab a piece of a metal building. Almost like a kid playing with Play-Doh, the monster then threw a barrage of burning hot debris and metal onto anyone unlucky.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Screams and shouting that sounded like banshees and wraiths filled the entire city.

    (Cat human male) Daddy will always be with you. Daddy will always be with you. Daddy will always be with you¡ª

    The cat human in question held something light in his arms as he ran. A little cat human girl, most likely an elementary schooler, looked as if she was cold as ice, her eyes losing the spark of humanity, as if her father¡­

    Was carrying the already dead remains of his daughter¡­

    (Regular human child) Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!

    Another elementary schooler, this time a boy, happened to stand near a pile of debris that looked as if it crashed onto the pavement, but something was off about the pavement.

    A pool of blood spread all over the debris, and the way the kid kept on crying for his mother ¡­

    Scenarios like this happened all over the city, and Luke and the others only catch glimpses of these unfolding.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to die ¡­ I don¡¯t want to die ¡­ I don¡¯t want to die ¡­

    Luke kept thinking to himself, in that he didn¡¯t want to end up being bridal carried by his friends, or being crushed beneath burning debris.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to¡ªno, we¡¯re all going to live. I will be getting us all out of here¡­

    Stan¡¯s goal of making sure Luke, Fred, and even Gary lived to see another day was one that Stan will not fail. Not wanting guilt to puncture his future, he wanted to have success in trying to live a normal life after this ¡­

    But this is just too crazy.

    (Gary) I can¡¯t run anymore. Maybe I¡¯ll¡ª

    (Stan) Don¡¯t give the fuck up! If we take a break for one second, we¡¯re all dead!

    (Fred) Even I ¡­ pants ¡­ can¡¯t ¡­ pants ¡­ run¡ª

    (Stan) Damn it you guys. Just keep running!

    As the boys ran, the monster unleashed hot metal scrap that seared the recently smokey sky.

    Unfortunately, one of the fiery debris that was thrown managed to hit right next to the location where the boys were running¡­

    (Luke) Aaah!

    All four boys tumbled down, tinnitus again ringing the insides of their ears.

    (Fred) panting deeply

    (Stan) aah, everyone get up! Fred, cough out the smoke!

    Fred was unlucky enough to inhale dangerous burning dust into his lungs. He didn¡¯t have the stamina since the dust was probably the burning monster''s ash and smoke.

    Fred still was panting deeply, obviously, he was in no condition to run at all¡­

    (Stan) Fine, have it your way!

    Stan then gave Fred a piggyback, and luckily for Stan, Fred was pretty light to carry. Since Stan had so much adrenaline, he was keeping up to the pace with Gary.

    (Stan) Where¡¯s Luke?

    (Gary) I thought he was with you?

    (Stan) Luke! Luke!

    A choice to make, Stan could either look for Luke or go on to save both Fred and Gary.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Why?! Why?! Why?! Do I have to make a choice? Why me of all people!?

    Stan stood for a couple of seconds, pulling his hair with both hands as he didn¡¯t know what the correct choice was. If he saved Luke, he would not be full of regret later in life, but if he abandoned Luke ¡­

    (Stan) I¡¯m sorry Luke ¡­

    Stan continued running forward with Fred barely conscious on his back and Gary clinging to shared breaths of smokey oxygen¡­

    (Stan) I hope you at least make it out alive¡­

    Completely abandoning his short term goal, Stan had no choice but to submit to the cruel reality.

    From there, the three boys ran, not looking back.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 7: Genesis

    Luke¡¯s vision began to wander as he lay on the pavement, his sight betraying him with every object that was far or close to him.

    But as his vision was blurred, he still saw his friends carry on without him.

    (Luke) Hey, wait! Come back!

    Luke tried to run towards them, pushing whatever stamina and strength was left inside his body. The soon toxic air started to mess up his way of breathing, causing him to cough.

    (Luke) Wait!

    But the three boys still ran with their tails tucked between their legs, the fear of death the monster brings to the sky and earth causing insanity amongst the normalest of people.

    Now alone, smoke was continuing to build up as the streets were filled with heavy flaming debris that the flaming monster threw.

    Luke needed to run as far as he could, but the boys were way too far ahead.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I could catch up ¡­ I could ¡­

    Pulling even more strength in his run towards his friends, he braced the heaviness and pain that he inhaled as he ran. Trying to reach whatever freedom or peace after this would be better said than done as who knows what will happen.

    But the monster had other plans, because¡ª

    The monster threw more flaming shrapnel onto the rest of the city¡­

    And Luke saw from his peripheral vision that another flaming ball of debris was coming his way.

    Luckily, Luke saw a police station to take cover in, hoping that he could shelter from the incoming debris.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come on, please work legs¡­

    Luke began to barely sprint towards the nearby police station to take cover from the raining debris, and he managed to barely barge into the building as the flaming debris hit the street in back of him.

    The flaming smoke and dust caused the street to be unbreathable, meaning that Luke had no choice but to take a break from all the running. Luke looked all around him, seeing that some cabinets weren¡¯t opened at all.

    (Lukes¡¯ thoughts) I thought this place could¡¯ve been raided by now¡­

    As Luke began questioning the lack of presence of people in the station, he smelt a foul smell coming from the back of the building.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why does it smell like a dead body?

    Luke began to gag as the smell got worse and worse, and he heard the sounds of footsteps tapping the concrete floor from the jail cells. Where he stood, a strange man wearing a black cardboard box came out of the said jail cells.

    This was the crazed man who was taken to the police station by the police officer that Luke saw in that crazy incident. Of course, the crazed man didn¡¯t notice Luke at the time of the incident, but something was off about the man.

    The man dragged a body with one hand, and the body had a blue uniform with a radio patch on the right of its body, which meant ¡­

    (Crazy Man) They should¡¯ve listened. They should¡¯ve listened!

    The man continued to drag the police officer¡¯s body, and it was obvious that blood was oozing from the cop''s throat and chest¡­

    (Crazy Man) I¡¯m going to die! We¡¯re all going to die!

    And as the crazy man was feeling hopeless and insane as his craziness led him to dangerous outcomes, he noticed a 12-year-old boy with light brown hair.

    (Crazy Man) Wait ¡­ wait ¡­

    The crazy man walked closer to Luke, still dragging the body of the dead cop in his right hand.

    Luke, now scared that this man was not normal, was talking to him like normal. Luke¡¯s body began to shiver at the fact that this man could potentially kill Luke at any second given the circumstances¡ª

    (Crazy Man) What''s your name? Please! Tell me your name!

    (Luke) ¡­ I-I-I-I-It¡¯s L-L-L-Luke F-F-Fenix¡­

    Frightened by what the cardboard box man would do, Luke waited for any action that the man might take. The more Luke studied him, the more insane and crazy the man looked, but in that single moment, the crazy man gave Luke a warm smile, as if he was at peace.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    (Crazy Man) yes ¡­ Yes. Yes! A boy¡ªno, a soldier¡ªno ¡­ a hero! You¡¯re the only one, the only one that could stop this. Yes, I see! You do put an end to all this conflict and climaxes. I can¡¯t wait for the day that you, Luke Fenix, can finally¡ª

    The crazy man then took many steps back onto the secretary''s desk, as if he knew that something bad was coming his way¡­

    (Crazy Man) Start this Genesis¡­

    The crazy man stretched out both his arms and closed his eyes, and in a twisted way, a sudden gush of flaming debris hit the roof of the police station, making a huge hole in the police station.

    As soon as the man was at peace, his entire body was evaporated by the scorching heat of burning metal.

    There was no sign or evidence of the crazy man being there, as if he wasn¡¯t there to begin with.

    Meanwhile, the shockwave of burning dust caused Luke to fall back out of the police station.

    Feeling the impact of the burning gust, his throat began to burn even more, and his eyes screamed with irritation and agony from the bits of ash that got into his eyelids.

    Begging for water and moisture, he laid on the ground, agonizing as the street was surprisingly empty as mostly everyone was running through the main street. His mouth tasting bitter, he coughed up as much dust as he could, trying to get all the gunk out from his lungs.

    As he was back on the street, Luke was lucky that the previous incoming debris that struck managed to subside the lethal air, but Luke continued to cough in agony as he curled up like a ball.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I just wanted to go outside the house for the first time! I just wanted to hangout with people for a change! I just wanted ¡­

    But as he was opening his eyes, he noticed that someone was coming out of the police station¡­

    It was one of the cops that took the crazy man in, also the one that was killed by the man as well.

    Yet something looked completely different from the way the cop looked. It walked normally yeah, and it looked as if it acted cognitively normal from a standpoint, meaning that it acted human.

    Yet it didn¡¯t look human ¡­ because it was way too pale for any human as if it was dead¡­

    As the cop walked closer to Luke, it began to sort of hum with a low-pitched tone, looking downward, with Luke not seeing the cop''s face at all.

    And then it looked towards Luke¡ª

    In an instant, dreaded and unimaginable fear shook Luke, more than anything the fiery monster did¡­

    From what Luke saw, the cop¡¯s face ¡­ it had no eyes and no nose, its eye sockets filled with black tar that replaced fresh red blood.

    Most scaringly, this creature started to run towards Luke, not limping at all.

    But the creature was glitching¡­ like a computer¡ª

    Then the cop spoke¡­ with a voice filled with everlasting pain and agony.

    (Cop???) Save us!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:59PM)

    Even when a city is at the mercy of the devil¡¯s hand, a mother¡¯s love will not break¡­

    Even when people scatter to save themselves, a mother¡¯s purpose is to scatter with their cherished children.

    Even when death seems to creep up on every corner¡­

    Or if death itself takes hold of their cherished ch-¡ª

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s alive! He¡¯s alive! He¡¯s alive! He¡¯s not dying! He won¡¯t die! He won¡¯t¡ª

    A paranoid Mary ran through the debris-ridden streets that the fiery monster laid waste upon. Causing anyone to flee with utmost fear and sorrow.

    But for Mary, she knew that whatever happened to her she wouldn''t mind, but ¡­

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s not dying! He¡¯s not dying! He¡¯s not dying! He¡¯s not dying! He won¡¯t die! He won¡¯t die! Won¡¯t die! Won¡¯t die¡ª

    As Mary crazily eyed her surroundings as she ran through the crumbled streets and buildings that were mostly damaged by the boiling metal debris, she noticed that three boys were running in her direction.

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) Are those boys? They look ¡­ they look like Luke¡¯s age!

    Mary then sprinted, with a tiny bit of hope that they might at least see a kid that looked like Luke. As she got closer, her eyes noticed a familiar boy with silver hair and a miner hat on the back of a gingery orange-haired kid.

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s Fred!

    (Mary) Fred! Fred!

    As Mary continued sprinting towards them, she waved her hands to signal them to get their attention.

    Sadly, Fred appeared to be asleep, and Stan looked as if he was not willing to stop for anything. But for Gary, he used Mary as a way to catch his breath from all the running.

    (Gary) panting and squeezing¡­ stop Stan ¡­ panting and squeezing¡­ This woman knows Fred.

    As Gary kept on painting and squeezing with exhaustion and pain, Stan looked at Mary and was hesitant on talking to her.

    (Stan) I¡¯m sorry Gary but we have to keep running.

    (Mary) Please wait! Have you seen Luke?! Please tell me you¡¯ve seen Luke!

    (Stan) L-Luke? ¡­ We lost track of him a few minutes ago ¡­

    Feeling guilty that he left behind Luke, he looked ashamed and regretted that he had to leave Fred¡¯s best friend behind. Fred was mostly asleep when Luke disappeared, but what happens when Fred wakes up and notices that Luke isn¡¯t with them?

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m so sorry ¡­ I was just trying to help the others survive ¡­

    Mary didn¡¯t like the answer that she heard coming from Stan¡¯s mouth, and she walked closer to him, eyes as cold as glaciers.

    (Mary) What do you mean you left him behind?

    (Stan) There was a flaming ball of debris that crashed onto us, and we lost sight of Luke ¡­ and ¡­ we couldn¡¯t stop for one second because ¡­ I¡¯m sorry ¡­

    Stan put his head down, his eyes tearing up from the regret he felt.. Despite any mother losing control of their emotions over this explanation, Mary instead spoke with a stone cold face to Stan.

    (Mary) Get out of the city. I¡¯ll find Luke ¡­

    Mary then tosses her huge phone off to Stan, in case Stan needs to call anyone for help if the scenario needed.

    (Mary) He¡¯s close by huh, then I¡¯ll just have to run for a few more minutes¡­

    Her boots collided through the broken cobblestone as she left the three friends.

    She stared up into the high buildings that surround all of her, her face glaring as the sun bares down her face.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 8: Live for me

    (Cop???) Save us!

    The cop then got on top of Luke, as if the cop didn¡¯t have a mind of its own¡­

    The cop¡¯s mouth drooled the same black tar that filled the void for eyes and blood.

    Scared to death, Luke didn¡¯t do anything but try to hold the alive but dead cop as much as he could. He tried to push the cop off by using what little strength Luke had with him, but it was no use. The cop¡¯s strength was abnormal, either that or Luke was just weak¡­

    Either way, the cop slowly moved its way towards Luke''s face, opening its mouth to bare its yellow and black teeth with venomous fangs. With nothing but black tar, the mouth smelled like both a deadly combo of rotten eggs and spoiled milk, or rather, the creature smelled as if it was rotting, to begin with¡­

    And was this creature a zombie because of its abhorrent smell?

    Or was it a vampire for baring its deadly fangs?

    But just as Luke¡¯s face was about to be early dinner for the cop, a miracle came for the boy in the nick of time.

    A woman, who appeared to have dark brown hair in a ponytail, kicked the creature off Luke with incredible force. The wind jumped as the woman¡¯s kick was strong enough to probably kill a normal person, but this was no ordinary woman¡­

    It was Luke¡¯s mother¡­

    But Mary was not finished with the creature yet, because as soon as it managed to take in Mary¡¯s kick, it looked as if it didn¡¯t make a dent. To combat this creature, Mary took out from her waist a butcher knife. Positioning herself, she bent her knees so that she was able to launch herself forward, with enough speed and velocity of that of an incoming bullet.

    Charging forward, she tucked in the knife like a football, and with enough force, she pushed the knife into the creature from where it sood. With harsh ease, she forcingly pushes the knife into the creature''s heart, black tar oozing out of the creature.

    As if it was its way of dying, the creature then started to glitch and spaz out like some sort of machine, its body twitching impossibly as the creature started to decay into black ash ¡­

    And this victory was given to no one other than Mary.

    (Mary) Luke! Luke!

    Putting the knife back into her huge pocket, Mary then gave Luke a tightening hug that almost took Luke¡¯s breath away. As if mother and son were finally reunited, their struggle for survival was guaranteed. But as soon as Mary broke away from the hug, Luke¡¯s heart winced when he saw his mother¡¯s expression.

    (Mary) Why did you run!? Why did you run away!? Just why!

    Mary then pulled both Luke¡¯s ears extremely hard. Her fingers pinching tightly at the corners, causing Luke to close his eyes of the pain.

    (Luke) Ow! But Mom¡ª

    (Mary) No buts! ¡­ At least you''re safe, that¡¯s all that matters ¡­

    Letting go of Luke¡¯s ears, Mary started to feel warm and relaxed as she gave Luke another hug.

    Luke returned the hug given by his mom.

    (Luke) Mom ¡­ we have to go ¡­

    (Mary) Alright, follow me.

    Both mother and son then left, but just as the two headed off, a man wearing a black mask with a black jacket appeared out of the shadows, looking down at the area where the creature vaporized into ash.

    (???) I guess I don¡¯t have any choice then huh¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Luke) Mom, where are we going?

    (Mary) We¡¯re going to the evacuation boats that will lead us out of the city.

    (Luke) But aren¡¯t the boats too slow though?

    (Mary) Just follow me!

    Mary was gripping Luke¡¯s hand so tight, that Luke had to wince himself from the pain as both were running towards the boat station.

    (Mary) As long as they let you in, that¡¯s all fine with me¡­

    (Luke) But what about Dad?

    (Mary) I don¡¯t know ¡­ but don¡¯t worry, your dad ¡­ is strong.

    As they continued running and ignoring all the almost destroyed buildings caused by the boiling metal debris from above, Luke was about to pass out from exhaustion as the sky was now filled to the brim with lethal air. Mary noticed the lack of fresh air, but that didn¡¯t stop her.

    (Mary) Luke dear, let me give you a piggyback.

    (Luke) But mom, you look tired too¡­

    (Mary) I¡¯ve been through much worse.

    As Mary hoisted Luke on her back, she checked the time.

    (Mary) 4:15, the boats leave at 4:30¡­

    (Luke) And the station is only several minutes away, combined with the amount of people too¡­

    (Mary) You¡¯ll make it, I promise you that.

    As the fiery monster from behind continued rampaging the city, more and more casualties and debris kept on rising, causing more chaos and destruction in its wake. Unlucky souls that got caught up in the barrage of debris were covered in pools of blood, with most of their heads crushed off, showing bits of brain and goo as the more Mary ran.

    As for Luke, he was lucky enough to not be killed in such a horrible situation, hoping that both he and his mother make it out of this¡­

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) I won¡¯t let you get into any harm¡­ No matter what happens ¡­

    Setting a fire within her heart, she won¡¯t ever let that goal go, no matter what happens¡­

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) You¡¯ll have a chance of living¡­Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    As the mother and son duo continued to run for several minutes, they noticed a bunch of people gathering at a station, which meant¡­

    (Luke) The station!

    Mary¡¯s grip tightened around Luke¡¯s hands even more, as the road to Luke¡¯s safety reached more and more within her grasp.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Random citizen #1) Please take my kids! At least them!

    (Random citizen #2) I just want to be with my daughter! A father should look after her only daughter, please!

    (Random citizen #3) I have money! I have money! I¡¯m rich! Please take this! All of this! Just let me go on board!

    Many more comments regarding the space of the boats came into play. The boat was massive, with enough space to fit more than a hundred people, but a crowd was piling up outside the station, trying to get their kids or small ones in first before them.

    (Conductor) Please, kids, come first! Please bring your children first, they¡¯re priority number one!

    Stating that kids and even teens are the first ones to be on board the boats, made Mary feel calm and content as Luke would be able to be on board first. But what about the women?

    (Conductor) Since this is a different era, and considering we see both women and men as equals, we have decided to let both women and men into the ship at the same time!

    Another bombshell¡­

    Now Mary has to fight her way to the ship, while Luke prays for his mother''s success¡­

    But ever since her fight with the creature, it made Mary appear more to what meets the eye. She is strong, almost too strong for her good, so who or what trained her to kick with enough force to probably kill someone from head trauma?

    Just as she and Luke were about to be with the crowd¡­

    (Random citizen #4) Debris!

    Another barrage of fiery debris came crashing down, this time aiming at the station, but the debris didn¡¯t even land near them.

    Instead, the debris crashed at a nearby building that overlooked the building, and because of the acceleration of the debris itself¡­

    (Random citizen #5) The top of the building is coming down!

    Unfortunately, since both Luke and Mary weren¡¯t with the crowd, where were they standing exactly?

    They were both standing right in front ¡­

    (Random citizen #6) Look out!

    Mary noticed the building ahead of Luke, and she tried to sprint with Luke to dodge the incoming stones and payment from the building. But Luke was hesitant and oblivious to the situation, or rather Luke was too slow compared to her, so Mary¡­

    Threw Luke with enough force¡ª

    (Luke) MOM!!

    Then the debris fell¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    The debris caused a major dust storm to prevail all around the station, causing nothing but coughs and sneezing throughout the hundreds of passengers waiting for the boat. But nothing compared to the dust level of where Luke and Mary once stood.

    As the dust started to clear, Luke was covered head to toe with normal dust rather than fiery dust, but the dust wasn¡¯t important¡­

    (Luke) Mom! Mom!

    Luke tried to search for his mom amongst the rubble, trying his very best to get at least some of the weight off of his mother. Even though his efforts of strength weren¡¯t working, he still tried to pry his way to rescue her¡­

    (Luke) Mom! Please! Mom! Say something!

    He wanted to hear her voice, he wanted her to feel a vibration, he wanted¡­

    His mother to be alive¡­

    (Luke) No! Please no!

    The more he struggled to get the debris, the harder he tried. His hands showed scrapes, splinters, and major cuts, but he continued digging. Pretty soon, his arms started to slow down, despite his attempts to push on through.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t stop! Don¡¯t stop! Why are you stopping!? Why am I stopping!? Work! Work! Work! Work!

    Now feeling as if his arms and hands were working against him, he then slammed the debris with his bare hands, creating a meek thud as his boyish hands were starting to crack.

    (Luke) Why! Why! We were so close! She was so close! Why! I didn¡¯t get to say¡ª

    Then came the noise of a thudding sound¡­

    (Luke) Huh? ¡­ M-Mom?!

    Luke, arms and hands bruised, battered, and scraped, was able to harness some adrenaline and used whatever strength he put into his hands and arms. The cuts and scrapes deeply agonized him, but he clenched through the pain, his teeth showcasing his resolve.

    (Luke) Mom!

    The more he clawed his way into the debris, the more his strength started to come back, as if hope was aiding his adrenaline¡­

    Inch by inch, the rubble started to vibrate more heavily, and pretty soon, he started to hear a voice coming from the inside.

    (Mary¡¯s muffled voice) L-Luke! Are you there?!

    (Luke) Mom! I¡¯m coming to get you!

    And in an instant, Luke¡¯s way of clawing inch by inch finally paid off. From the rubble, Mary¡¯s head emerged, and her dusted eyes saw Luke from the other side face to face, her face filled with relief as she saw that her throw was strong enough for Luke to not be crushed by the debris.

    (Luke) M-Mom! How do I get you out!? Should I ask for help?! I¡¯ll go get help!

    Luke was fast with his dialogue and wanted someone stronger to help get his mother out of the debris since Luke already wasted his arms and hands on clawing to get his mother out. But, his mother glanced at the station and noticed that everyone was getting on board, so the only way to let Luke live was¡­

    (Mary) Luke ¡­ come here ¡­

    (Luke) M-Mom¡­

    (Mary) Can you come here?¡­

    Luke¡¯s eyes shimmered with sadness, which brought some water starting to form in his eyes. Almost melancholically, he walked towards his mother who was still stuck under the rubble, his body near her head as he listened to what his mother had to say.

    In true silence, both mother and son were present in this world, and no one else. The world blanketing white.

    (Mary) I want you to go without me.

    Luke began shivering, his body not wanting to move at all at the thought of leaving his mother behind.

    (Luke) I ¡­ m-mo¡ª

    (Mary) I¡¯m sorry if I was too harsh on you, me and your dad. I know we weren¡¯t the best in terms of making you happy, but you did your best to make us happy.

    (Luke) no¡­

    (Mary) You truly shined both me and your father¡¯s hearts. Even when you get frustrated and ignore all of our words and reasons, or when you get in trouble for causing fires in your labs, you were mine and your father''s world¡­

    Luke¡¯s eyes began to water as his mother confessed to the amount of love that he received from both his mom and dad. Not wanting this to be the last time he ever saw his mother again, he tried to fight back the tears, as well as control the quiverness of his body.

    (Luke) I ¡­ I¡¯m going to get you out! Please don¡¯t say those words¡ª

    (Mary) Luke, I never told you this, but I was just like you¡­

    (Luke) ¡­

    Curious as to what his mom meant, Luke bent down so that mother and son were face to face, inches from theirs.

    (Mary) Before I first met your father, I didn¡¯t have any freedom or choice in terms of how I lived my life ¡­ I was a lonely girl, a very angry girl ¡­

    Mary then snuggled her head near Luke''s, her touch warm and comforting. Luke could even smell her perfume if it wasn¡¯t for the smoke and sweat.

    (Mary) But when I met your father, he was just like you, all shy and nervous, almost too shy to a certain point. Even at his shyest, the moment I truly wanted to be with him for the rest of my life, was when he held out his hand and said to me¡­

    Tears then started to stream across Mary¡¯s face, her life flashing one scene when he first met the love of her life¡­

    (Joseph in Mary¡¯s Mind) Live your life the way you want to. That¡¯s what you wanted right? Someone to just snatch you up from that miserable place!

    (Mary) So, please!

    The world then started to resort from whiteness to the hellish reality that is called life.

    (Mary) Live for me!

    A river of tears strolls out of Mary¡¯s face, as Luke starts crying, his hands holding his mother''s face, accepting the reality of the situation.

    (Conductor) Last call! Last call!

    (Mary) Run Luke!

    His quiverness stopped, his tears roamed free.

    Standing up, he ran towards the train station to catch the last boat before it headed off. Tears make marks on his light-toned face as he lets go of the fact he won¡¯t ever see his mother again¡­

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t look back¡­

    Luke continued to make his way to the boat, passengers trying to shove their way onto the boat before it sails off. As Luke was still a kid, his presence made the passengers make room, and even the conductor had to notify the crew members.

    (Conductor) Make sure that kid gets in!

    Everyone pushed their aggressiveness away and agreed to help Luke get on top of the boat. With the help of many humans and beast humans, Luke finally puts his feet upon the metallic boat that sets them away from everything.

    But as Luke just wanted to see his mothers face one last time, he looked to see the rubble that his mother was in.

    In an unexpected twist, Mary was¡­

    She was lifting the rubble up with her bare hands with one knee and foot on the ground, her body shaking and convulsing at the weight of metal and stone. She gritted her teeth, her muscles aching with pain, as she slowly lifted the debris that was on top of her.

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) Even if I don¡¯t get on that boat ¡­ I¡¯ll ¡­ I¡¯ll reunite with him ¡­

    She then put both feet on the ground, as just as she was about to finally let go of the debris that was weighing her down¡­

    There was a man on top of the rubble.

    A man clad in all black, tall, almost a teen, and had a mask that covered his face.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) what¡­

    The masked man, the man who made him go out to see the world beyond his room, was looking down, eyeing the woman that was lifting the rubble.

    As Luke saw more, the masked man pulled out something from his pocket, and pointed his arm toward Mary¡¯s¡ª

    Then came the gunshot¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 9: Something Brighter Than The Sun...

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 4:58PM)

    The silence was all Luke could do as he remembered the scene many times in his head¡­

    When he looked to see if his mother would see him go, he saw the man he thought was cool with, murdering his mother in cold blood.

    The piercing gunshot caused everyone to panic, including the conductor at the time.

    (Conductor) Bring in the anchor! ¡­ we¡¯re leaving¡­

    That was the last thing the conductor told the crew members, leaving the rest of the passengers to either jump on the boat, into the river or try to find whatever means to get out of the city.

    As the boat traveled throughout the city canals, everyone felt a sense of relief wash over them.

    Except for Luke¡­

    Luke remained to say nothing as if he was shell-shocked from the whole experience. Clinging onto his legs and putting his head on his knees, he curled himself up to try to get rid of all the horrible memories in just the span of a couple hours¡­

    (Random stranger #1) Poor kid. Do you think he lost his parents?

    (Random stranger #2) From the looks of it, I say he saw some nasty stuff. That¡¯s not good for a kid his age¡­

    As others commented on the anti-social Luke, who just wanted to be alone, arguing amongst the crew members and the conductor commenced.

    (Conductor) What do you mean we can¡¯t stop in Clastgade? We barely have enough fuel to get over there so why are they canceling our¡ª

    (Crew member #1) Conductor sir, please listen to this.

    As Luke was near the door of the conductor¡¯s room, he managed to overhear the news coming from inside, despite being a recluse.

    The sounds of radio static were loud and bearing, causing the crew members and conductor to clean their ears to listen through.

    (Guy on radio) static¡ªI repeat! Clastgade is overrun! I repeat! Clastgade is overrun¡ªstatic¡ªwhat is that white ugly bastard doing¡ªstatic¡­

    (Conductor) No way¡­

    (Crew Member #2) Castglade is just 300 miles northwest of here¡­

    Silence and dread fell as the conductor and crew members heard the shocking news of what was left of the radio transmission from Castglade. It was starting to spark fear and worry amongst everyone in the boat.

    (Random stranger #3) If castglade is being hit the same as us? Then does that mean?

    (Random stranger #4) Is Ticia being invaded?

    (Random stranger #5) Is this the end of the world?

    Everyone started to panic, as they were left in the dark. Trying to find more radio stations that connect around the country, they linked their radios to other cities in the country of Ticia.

    (Woman on radio) Please, whoever is out there, save us¡ªstatic¡ªmy child is missing! Please help me save my child¡ªstatic¡ªI don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to¡ªstatic¡­

    (Conductor) Where was this transmission from?

    (Crew member #3) Visily Harbor sir, 600 miles northwest from here¡­

    (Conductor) ¡­ get me to all the radio stations that connect to every city from here to Fort Damns, Lake Lofney, and Greathedghe!

    (Crew member #3) But sir, our radios only connect to the Naamah forest region, we wouldn¡¯t be able to hear other¡ª

    (Crew member?) Here you go, sir¡­

    One of the crew members gave the conductor a black radio set. Upon seeing the way it was structured and how it was handcrafted, it looked as if¡­

    (Conductor) You aren¡¯t a crew member, are you?

    (Crew Member?) No sir ¡­ I¡¯m a rookie agent from the FUC ¡­ I got on board this boat to escape the chaos that¡¯s all¡­

    (Conductor) hmm? Well what reason do I have for kicking you out, so I guess I¡¯m stuck with you¡­

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Plugging the wires into the control room, the black radio set then started to spazz out so much, causing many people¡¯s eardrums in the room to swell with pain.

    Followed by the curiosity of everyone on the boat¡­

    Luckily, the rookie agent managed to get a read on the many areas and radio stations that he wanted to check upon for any readings of overruns or attacks.

    (Conductor) Check any radio stations in the Azazel subtropical region, and search for cities like Saint Nick, Ward Bay, and Lake Loffney.

    (Crew Member #3) Coming up in just a second.

    The turns radio controls keep shifting as the crew tries to see if there¡¯s whatever''s left of Ticia, but the radio transmissions say otherwise.

    (Guy on the radio) Run! Run! Run before the blue monster¡ªstatic¡­

    (Crew Member #3) That¡¯s from Saint Nick, only 450 miles southwest of here¡­

    (Conductor) Give me Ward Bay.

    (Crew Member #3) Ward Bay coming in now, reaching the radio tower 750 miles southwest from here.

    (Woman on the radio) Where¡¯s the military when you need it¡ªstatic¡ªwe shouldn¡¯t have completely defunded the Ticia military¡ªstatic¡ªget your ass down¡ªstatic¡ª

    (Conductor) Shit ¡­ get me cities of the Angharad valley!

    (Crew Member #3) Coming up sir!

    (Rookie Agent¡¯s thoughts) Maybe I should''ve been stationed at Lagefor then Clastine¡­

    Cities like Tringho and Armadillo Wells were reporting the same things as what was reported in Ward Bay.

    Other regions were reporting other instances all over the country, like the Ebony Tall Tree region to the north and the Liberia Autumn forest to the west. The city of Ridesta in the Ebony region was also attacked as well as the city of Saint Giselle in the Liberia region. It was now known that Clastine wasn¡¯t the only one who was brutally hit with despair.

    (Conductor) Son of a bitch¡­

    (Crew Member #3) But the cities such as Lake Lofney, Greathedge, and Fort Dams report nothing particular going on, which meant that some of Ticia weren¡¯t attacked¡­

    (Rookie Agent) But Fort Damns and Greathedge all bordered near Kepputha, and Lake Lofney borders Haxouburg¡­

    (Conductor) But still, this all happened less than 2 hours ago¡­

    (Rookie Agent) Can it be that we were invaded by the east then?

    (Conductor) You think we were invaded east of Clastine? The easternmost city of the world¡ª

    Then came the message heard around the world¡­

    (???) My fellow citizens! Today is not a day for rejoicing, for it is a day of remembrance.

    (Conductor) Is that the President Reed of Kepputha? What¡¯s he doing in the Tician radio channels?

    Everyone on the boat came to hear the message heard across all radio channels. Everyone was so worked up that even Luke, who still was recovering from trauma, looked to see the radio message heard around the world.

    (Rookie Agent) It¡¯s classified, but I think he initiated the Protocol TerraMessenger¡­

    (Crew Member #3) I thought it¡¯s supposed to be classified?

    (Rookie Agent) I don¡¯t have much to lose now, declassifying protocols is the least of my worries¡­

    As the crew members and conductor take the agent¡¯s word for granted, everyone continued with listening to the radio, their ears perched against the radio waves that carry solace and reconciliation.

    (President Reed) I¡¯ve received news that the country of Ticia was strategically and mercilessly attacked by forces we cannot comprehend. For it is a day that we, by the union of ordered governments¡ª

    Something was pulsating light coming from the fiery city¡­

    As everyone then decided to look at what was going on, their eyes opened wide as the orange flamed monster stopped playing with its toys and started to look up in the sky.

    Since everyone was on the outskirts of the city, they saw most of the buildings in the downtown district completely destroyed, and in the center, the monster looked lonely as her fun time was over. The light pulsating more and more as if it was ¡­

    (Conductor) Sweet Noah the gardener¡­

    (Crew member #3) What is that thing doing?

    (President Reed) Our Tician brothers are going through hell on Terra just to survive, but my citizens, do not treat these your Tician brothers harshly, for they¡ª

    The pulsing of the beast continued to marvel at everyone on the boat on the outskirts of the city, the pulsating continuing more and more, as if ¡­

    Luke saw this pulsating and in a surprising twist ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m hungry¡­

    Depressingly, he saw in his pocket a raisin, almost resembling that of a black banana seed. Ingesting it. He didn¡¯t know what to do, since he thought that it would be nice to eat something, considering that he hadn¡¯t eaten lunch or dinner, and had half a plate of breakfast.

    But when he tried eating the raisin, Luke noticed that he couldn¡¯t eat it, since it was too hard, so he decided to just swallow it like a pill. As much as it smelled like blood, he couldn¡¯t find a taste or sense to describe the flavor, but that wasn¡¯t important¡ª

    Because when Luke ate the raisin, Luke dropped down, holding his stomach tightly, writhing in uttermost pain and agony.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Aah, it hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

    His stomach hurt so much that he curdled up like a ball. His eyes closed them shut, trying to bear with the pain and such.

    (Conductor) That monster is pulsating more and more¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Someone! Mom! Please help me, the pain¡­

    (Conductor) Oh shit ¡­ everyone get¡ª

    (President Reed) Have been through hell and back¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It hurts¡ª

    Then came light¡­

    Light so bright that it shined brighter than any day in the history of Clastine as if it was ¡­

    Something brighter than the sun ¡­

    Light so bright that when the unfortunate saw they¡ª

    (Conductor) Aah! Aah! My eyes! My eyes!

    Everyone on the boat felt as if they saw white more than they should¡¯ve seen¡­

    (Random Kid #1) Mommy. Mommy, where are you?

    (Random Mother #1) Tracy? Tracy? Are you here?

    Kids started bawling as they couldn¡¯t see their parents, parents worried and panicking as they had managed to lose sight of their kids¡­ as for Luke¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What happened?

    Luke managed to overcome the pain, but with a stroke of luck, his pain caused him to not open his eyes to the flash of super bright light¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Uh no ¡­

    Everyone on the ship was disoriented of some sort, as if they didn¡¯t know what was in front or back of them, except for Luke. Kids, parents, toddlers, elderly, no one was able to see walk normally as if someone blindfolded them¡ª

    Then came the shockwave¡­

    The intense wave hit the boat, with so much force that it almost turned¡ª

    No, it capsized the boat itself¡­

    Thus, Luke fell, a ship sinking to the bottom of the river¡­

    Followed by all the people who didn¡¯t know what was happening at that moment, which ¡­

    Made it their last¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 10: The Hopeless Walk

    There was sand everywhere across the endless horizon.

    For where he lay, nothing but infinite sand was across every edge of this world. He had no choice but to rest in the burning sand that he called a bed.

    The grains of particles washed his legs, his feet, and as well as his chest. Entirely submerged in this bath, he shut his eyes and hoped that no sand washed over his face.

    The smell of death and loneliness continued to drench his body, a signal that if he were to be entirely submerged in that bath he called hope¡­

    (???) It¡¯s not time.

    But who said it?

    The voice was inaudible. It sounded masculine and raspy, yet it sounded as if the man didn¡¯t have anyone to speak to for who knows how long¡­

    (???) Stop resting.

    He couldn¡¯t open his eyes, his body becoming one with the sand. As if it was submerging him to the depths of the unknown. He didn¡¯t fight back, for it felt smooth and comforting as vanilla. He didn¡¯t want to open his eyes, since the memories that he holds have already caused him more pain and suffering.

    (???) Wake up.

    He didn¡¯t want to. He was too deep in the sand that no words could pull him out of his coma-like state¡ª

    Another voice boomed the boy¡¯s head, this time a voice that only he knew¡­

    (Mary) Live for me!

    He opened his eyes¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Emerging from the deep river was a light-haired brown boy. Still afloat on the river, he continued to breathe rapidly, trying to not drown because of the lack of stamina the boy had.

    He didn¡¯t have any strength to say anything, for his legs and arms barely had enough strength to take him to the shoreline, west of the river. Putting whatever strength, he moved his arms and legs to reach the other side, hoping that his body wouldn''t fail him.

    The closer he got, the more his body ached with the sensation of rest. Stopping in the middle of the river would be his end, since for him, staying afloat would be a lot harder than swimming.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come ¡­ on ¡­ make it ¡­

    He wanted to sleep, he wanted to nap, he wanted to be in a deep sleep, he maybe just wanted¡ª

    Luke shook his head.

    He barely got to the west shore, crawling his way on the dirt that met the water. Dripping head to toe with cold murky water, Luke laid on his chest.

    He just lay there, not caring if he was seen or heard. He just wanted someone to give him a break, someone that will¡ª

    The rustling of leaves and bushes can be heard¡­

    Looking up as he lay on his chest, he looked in the direction of the rustling, hoping that it was just the domesticated tigers, lions, wolves, or bears that were abandoned by their owners during the invasion of the city. The more the leaves rustled, the more sweat Luke dripped down from his head, but he was already drenched by the rivers¡ª

    Out of the bushes, there was a creature that smelled like molten milk. Ghostly pale, eye sockets replaced with black tar, no nose¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) oh no¡­

    Luke¡¯s face started to turn pale from fear.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is that the same type of creature?

    Luke didn¡¯t want to encounter another one again, mostly because of his deadly encounter with one, and if it weren¡¯t for his mother, he would¡¯ve been dead.

    This time, he didn¡¯t have someone to protect him ¡­

    He was on his own.

    But this time, the creature didn¡¯t notice him, or rather, the creature didn¡¯t notice his presence at all

    Because the creature had no eyes, Luke decided that it was most likely blind.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) ¡­ Does ¡­ Does it rely on hearing and smelling?

    As Luke got up, the pain that his whole body was in started to come back. He clenched his teeth, hoping that he didn¡¯t let out a single groan or noise as he put both feet on the ground. With his body up, he slowly picked up a nearby pebble or rocked him, holding the pebble in the palm of his hand¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Here goes nothing¡­

    Luke threw the pebble so that it hit the tree from far away, making a little clunk noise that followed. Sure enough, the creature noticed this noise, and started to walk to where the little rock made contact with the tree.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It does rely on hearing ¡­ I got to go ¡­

    Luke slowly and carefully walked out of the area, and fortunately, he managed to get out of the presence of the creature.

    But as he was about to walk, for who knows how long ¡­ he looked to see the remnants of the old city which he called home.

    It was unrecognizable.

    Most of the buildings were wiped off ¡­ or rather they were wiped off the face of Terra. In the center, no building was sighted, while the buildings near the edge were destroyed and crumbled. Combined with the air temperature, the dryness and heat that radiated from the city was enough to make Luke sweat his already drenched body.

    The amount of orange and yellow dust and smoke filled the entire region, making it harder to breathe. But there was one thing that¡ª

    The river that was in front of him was carrying the corpses of the damned¡­

    Hundreds of babies, toddlers, children, teens, brothers, sisters, cousins, fathers, mothers, parents, uncles, aunts, grandpas, grandmas, and grandparents, were all being swept by the nonchalant river, the river being dyed with innocent blood.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) ¡­

    Luke remained silent as the atrocity of reality crawled upon him, his way of life¡ª

    Gone¡­

    A tear strolled down the left side of Luke¡¯s face, as the city where he lived his whole life for 12 years ¡­ was just gone¡­

    Friends, family ¡­ everything was gone ¡­

    Barely having any hope for himself, he looked opposite of where the city stood facing his head west as he remembered something.

    (Mary in Luke¡¯s thoughts) Please! Live for me!

    In the embers of chaos, Luke walked, moving forward to whatever outcome that bestows upon him.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Kalemonath 1, 56 / 8:??AM)

    Sleeping on the cold dirt with a bunch of big green leaves doing their duty as a little blanket, Luke woke up with the clouds grim and dark.

    Luke began smelling the cold and rusty air that filled the country sky. If Luke remembered from when the boat sank, Clastine wasn¡¯t the only city where the invasion took place.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) If other cities were attacked ¡­ and Clastine is the easternmost city, then¡­

    Luke had to walk several hundred miles to either the Kepputha or Haxouburg border if he recalled that the border cities were the only safe ones.

    Luke started to panic, as his way of surviving meant that he had to walk hundreds of miles to safety, without no one to help him or no means of transportation¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) This ¡­ it¡¯s impossible¡ª

    Impossible?

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) No ¡­ I¡¯ll make it ¡­ I don¡¯t want to die ¡­

    Luke started to limp a bit on his right foot, soreness already creeping up to him as he was still recovering from yesterday, his stomach longing for food that he rarely ate during the invasion and his throat¡­If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Water¡­ Need water ¡­

    ¡­was dehydrated.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Kalemonath 3, 56 / ?:??PM)

    Even though he kept track of the days that he continued to walk, he lost count of time itself.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I finished the last of this water bottle¡­

    During the second day, Luke got lucky and found three water bottles in an already looted store, enough to keep him hydrated for a day or two, but unfortunately today, the day was unusually sunny¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I hope I find another batch of water soon¡­

    Luke¡¯s stomach began to growl violently, causing him to stop and bend down from the pain. He squeezed his red eyes shut, and his teeth grinded one another as if they might chip a bit.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I haven¡¯t eaten anything since I walked¡­

    Starving, Luke wanted to hunt for food, his instincts kicking into hyperdrive for the want of a meal, but how can a person hunt for food if they didn¡¯t have a weapon?

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I hope I run into a¡­

    From his peripheral vision, Luke stopped in his tracks and saw a nest next to a large tree. The nest contained so many eggs that Luke¡¯s mouth started to drool with savageness.

    Luke ran for the nest, and upon seeing what was inside that nest.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) There are dozens of eggs in here, I¡¯ll put them all in my backpack.

    Previously, on the first day, he saw a leftover backpack that he snatched when checking out an abandoned gas station.

    Opening the backpack, he quickly put one egg at a time into the bag, but unfortunately, despite Luke knowing the anatomy and characteristics of wild chickens, he failed to have the actual skill of stealing chicken eggs¡­

    Because a community of wild chickens were on top of the trees, surrounding Luke¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Uh oh¡­

    Was this scene God¡¯s joke? Or was it an ordeal for Luke to bypass?

    The black and white wild chickens looked at Luke with opening red eyes with their long brown beaks, itching to get a pick at.

    As Luke held onto the last egg, any flinch or quirky movement would be the green light for the chickens. Luke just has to slowly put the egg in the bag¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Screw it!

    Rapidly putting the egg in the bag ¡­ he made a run for it, hoping to escape intact by moving his already throbbing legs, but by then he was too late¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡ª

    All the wild chickens and roosters flew to attack Luke, their feathers and beaks surrounding the poor boy¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Kalemonath ?, 56 / ?:??_??)

    He lost track of what day it was¡­but¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s the valley¡­

    Overlooking the high forest of Naamah, the region where Clastine is located, Luke saw the other region of the country of Ticia, the Angharad Valley.

    But just as Naamah, the valley sky was clouded with smoke, as if¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) The valley isn¡¯t safe either ¡­  I hope they didn¡¯t take all the vegetables¡­

    From where Luke stood, the valley was considered to be the vegetable bowl of the world, a place where the soil was fertile and clean.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I hope I reach Tringho, or at least see a village or town that is intact¡­

    Luke then walked for about several hours, reaching the valley floor. Hoping to see any crops growing¡ª

    Luke then fell, clinging to his head as if someone was stabbing it. The pain was so great that his eyes turned bloodshot red, his ears rang to the sound of tinnitus, and his mouth opened and closed drastically and rapidly.

    (Luke¡¯s thought) It hurts ¡­ it hurts ¡­ it hurts ¡­ I need water ¡­ I need water ¡­ I need water ¡­

    Because he stole those chicken eggs, Luke ran so much that he forgot that he ran out of water earlier. So far, Luke failed to find water again, and even the eggs will soon run out.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Get up!

    His body was attached to the floor, his legs, stomach, chest, and his cheeks longing for the paved dirt.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come on, pick up feet!

    For a good several minutes, Luke continued to wail and cry from the exhausting pain, but then¡­

    Pulling through, he put one foot on the ground, his shoes covered in mud and dirt as he forced his body to move.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) And the other¡­

    Having both of his feet on the ground, he struggled to maintain balance and stability, his feet barely keeping him from falling over. If he continued to walk, how long would he just¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I can¡¯t¡ªno ¡­ I ¡­ I ¡­

    Mixed, Luke continued walking, but this time, his eyes looked droopy, the grayness of his eyes showcasing a lack of sleep.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) How much more of this nightmare will I have to endure¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Kalemonath? ?? 56? / ?:??_??)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9¡­

    Counting numbers from one to nine repeatedly, Luke found some solidarity in the wake of his brutal journey. He couldn¡¯t feel the soles of his feet anymore, as if the pain receptors stopped working.

    He continued to count, trying to pass through the loitered fields of Angharad Valley¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) 1, 2, 3 ¡­ carrots ¡­

    Luke did not run, but slowly walked his way to untouched carrots that he found in the fields.

    Plucking out a carrot, he melancholically ate his vegetable, experiencing the joy of eating something for who knows how long. The fresh and juicy vitamins that seeped into his mouth gave him a bit of strength and energy.

    After eating one single carrot, he then started putting all of the untouched carrots into his bag.

    But for one particular carrot, it was ledged into the ground compared to the others, so Luke used a bit of strength, so as not to extract himself.

    Pulling the carrot out, he noticed the tip¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) W-water¡­

    Looking down, he noticed a good amount of water deep in the soil. Bending down, he dug with his bare hands, the hands that still have scars and bruises from when he tried to dig his mother out of the rubble.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I wish I was a dog person ¡­ they could¡¯ve dug up this hole fast ¡­

    Finally digging a hole to fit his head, Luke then put his head into the ground, kissing the water with his lips, trying to get as much water as he could get.

    For a few minutes, he sucked the water until he reached the point where he was kissing mud.

    Lifting his head back up, he felt sort of relieved that he had something hydrating¡ª

    Luke¡¯s stomach started to growl violently, and then ¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Kalemonath 20, 56 / 6:45PM)

    Now starving, dehydrated, and on the brink of collapse, Luke felt as if his body wanted to shut down¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m so close ¡­ I¡¯m barely in the Ebony Tall Tree forest region ¡­

    Leaving the valley behind, Luke just had one more region to cross before he reached the Kepputha border.

    His whole body just wanted this nightmare to end, if Luke decided to take a break, he would probably never move again¡­

    Because of the water that he drank several days ago, Luke¡¯s trip almost ended, mostly because ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) sniff ¡­ How long ¡­ has it been ¡­ since I¡¯ve showered ¡­ I should''ve ¡­ never drinken ¡­ that fertilized water ¡­

    Luke rubbed his stomach, and it was growling out of hunger which made Luke somewhat comforted. Compared to several days ago, his stomach was growling viciously and violently because of the water, so what came out of this was ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I almost ¡­ died of ¡­ diarrhea ¡­

    As Luke was recalling the horrible events that led to everything he had to endure, such as drinking fertilized water and getting jumped by wild chickens, it''s safe to say that Luke ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I ¡­ I ¡­ I ¡­ m-maybe¡ª

    The rustling sounds of bushes can be heard¡­

    Upon instinct, Luke stood in the back of a tree, dozens of feet away. Peeking out of the corner of the tree, Luke noticed ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) no ¡­ please no¡­ not anymore¡­

    Another creature, similar to the one he dodged and similar to the cop that attacked him. With no rocks or pebbles to distract, how will Luke¡ª

    (Creature) Save Us!

    The creature, sprinting towards Luke with excessive velocity, caught Luke off guard. It was so quick, and Luke didn¡¯t even move an inch or anything, and the creature was blind too, so how did it ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I didn¡¯t make any sound!

    Fear rained down on Luke, and for the first time in a dozen days, he began to sprint away, pushing the limits of his stamina and strength. Fortunately, the creature wasn¡¯t that fast, but it locked into Luke, meaning that if Luke didn¡¯t shake off the creature in time, Luke could just¡ª

    (Luke''s thoughts) Please push! Please push! Someone! Anyone!

    Running more and more, his heart began beating irregularly, followed by a massive migraine that caused Luke to want to bash his head into something.

    He wanted to be saved, he just wanted a break to be given to him ¡­

    (Luke) Please help me!

    Not noticing what¡¯s below him¡ª

    Luke then tripped on a rock, allowing his body to hit the dirt.

    In an instant, his body began to disobey his commands to get up, everything in his body glued to the ground.

    (Luke¡¯s) NO!!

    Filled with betrayal that his body gave up but not his soul, he wanted to beat himself but he couldn¡¯t, since his arms and hands betrayed him too.

    The creature managed to reach Luke, setting up its pounce stance before it had its feast. As the creature was about to bare its fangs and make Luke its dinner¡ª

    The creature was unloaded by a barrage of bullets. The bullets were fast and rapid, unlike handguns, shotguns, or snipers. Not only that, but the creature had many holes and spots that looked like he got machine gunned¡­

    Luke looked in the direction of the shooter and saw a man¡ªno, a shark-human man holding a heavy-weight machine gun.

    As if the creature had his dinner disrupted, the creature charged forward to where the shark-human was standing, completely ignoring Luke. Baring its fangs, it showcased the abhorrent smell of black tar that reaped with joy, not caring if the shark-human had a much different face compared to a normal human.

    But then the monster stopped in its tracks as if it couldn¡¯t move¡ª

    (???) Hey handsome!

    There was a bright light, surrounding the creature, as if a whip or rope was holding onto the creature¡¯s waist. In a flash, the rope that carried the creature by the waist then started to go in a circle, spinning and spinning until the creature was so fast, that when the rope was let go ¡­

    (???) Sayonara!

    The creature flew away to the east, the inertia catapulting him to who knows where¡­

    But as the creature was now somewhere in the sky, the shark-human was a little frustrated that his comrade decided to do that little move again.

    (???) Really Gwen? That cartoonish move?

    (Gwen) But it¡¯s funny! You should have some more fun, it won¡¯t kill you¡­

    (???) Whatever. Hey Gwen, check that boy out.

    (???) Hey Gwen, check that boy.

    Gwen checked to see if the boy was ok, her eyes filled with curiosity. By then, Luke was fast asleep, breathing in slow breaths. But as soon as both got close to him ¡­

    (Gwen) Damn, he stinks!

    (???) Probably survived out here for a while.

    The more Gwen looked at the poor boy, the more she felt like something was calling to her. Remembering something that was told to her long ago, she quickly realized that the calling¡ª

    (Gwen) Take him to the van Benn.

    Gwen¡¯s mood changed from childish and friendly to that of a serious soldier. Noticing the change of demeanor, the shark-human Benn picked up Luke and dropped him into the van. Carrying Luke with one hand, Benn used the other hand to cover up his nose.

    (Benn) I¡¯m taking passenger.

    (Gwen) I¡¯ll keep an eye on the boy.

    Gwen and Benn both got inside the truck and as soon as the van started the engine, Gwen had to notify the driver where they were going.

    (Gwen) Miles, take us to Lagefor.

    (Miles) That¡¯s a long drive, it would take us all night just to get there.

    (Benn) How about me and you taking turns driving?

    (Miles) Sure.

    From there, the four of them continued heading west¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 11: I Want to Be A Soldier

    (Kalemonath 22, 56 / 7:56AM)

    There was a voice¡­

    (???) Wake up¡­

    As if laying in cotton candy, the way he laid on his bare back was enough to never want to get up. The presence and comfort he longed for was finally showing, so why would he want to¡ª

    (???) Wake up sleepy head ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Who ¡­?

    The voice sounded like a woman, an adult woman, but there was something oddly different with the way the woman was speaking.

    (???) Aww ¡­ he isn¡¯t waking up.

    (???) Leave him alone Gwen.

    (???) Hmmm ¡­ I wonder if this works ¡­

    (???) Please don¡¯t do that¡ª

    Luke instantly woke up, his head colliding with another.

    (Gwen) Ow!

    (Luke) What the¡ª

    Luke¡¯s eyes were met with a woman sitting on the floor, rubbing her forehead. Upon seeing her, she appeared to be a tall, slim woman with light skin wearing a black leather jacket and black pants, followed by black boots and a white T-shirt.

    Soon after, Luke then started to feel an annoying pain rushing from his chest.

    (Luke) What did you do to my nipples?!

    (Gwen) Relax, I just gave you a purple nurple ¡­ but you didn¡¯t have to headbutt me that hard though ¡­

    (Luke) A purple nurple?

    (Gwen) Yeah, have you not heard of a purple nurple? It¡¯s where you put your thumb and pointer finger on a person¡¯s nipple and then you¡ª

    (Luke) Okay! Okay! You¡¯ve made your point!

    (Gwen) Hey, it woke you up ¡­

    Luke began to pout, with his cheeks puffing red.

    (Luke) ¡­ why are you here? Who are you?

    Gwen got into a crouching position and started patting Luke¡¯s head.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m Gwen! I rescued you, but you probably don¡¯t remember that huh? I¡¯m surprised you slept for 36 hours straight. I thought you were in a coma or something.

    As Luke glanced around the room, he caught a glimpse of a bulky, blue-skinned figure in between the room and the outside hall. He also happened to be wearing the same outfit as Gwen with the exception of his chest being bare.

    (Gwen) looking in Luke¡¯s direction Oh, that¡¯s Benn. Don¡¯t worry, once you get to know him, he¡¯ll be your friend for life.

    (Benn) Maybe.

    (Gwen) Always small sentences, huh Benn?

    (Benn) I guess.

    Gwen then jabbed her finger at Luke¡¯s chest, narrowing her dark brown eyes.

    (Gwen) But if you mess with him, you¡¯re dead meat. Got that?

    Luke gulped as he nodded. As he glanced at the shark-human, he noticed that he was relatively short-statured. Benn had short hair with human eyes and ears. In terms of shark genetics though, he had a shark nose and teeth.

    (Benn) I¡¯m going to eat.

    Benn then left the room, his stomach growling.

    As if in response, Luke¡¯s stomach began growling loudly as well. He held his stomach hard, gritting his teeth. Gwen noticed this and stood up to put her hand on Luke¡¯s back.

    (Gwen) You¡¯re hungry, huh?

    (Luke) I haven¡¯t eaten anything in several days¡­

    (Gwen) Ah, that¡¯s right! I¡¯ll go get you something!

    Gwen then ran towards the dining hall, her black hair swinging in her ponytail. As Luke was alone again, he looked around the room.

    (Luke) So this is Kepputha¡­

    The room that Luke was staying in felt like nothing from his own room a month prior. The closet was a normal dresser and the TV looked more brown than black. Not only that, but Luke saw more buttons on the TV and no remote.

    Several minutes went by, and sure enough, Gwen brought Luke breakfast. Freshly cooked eggs, potatoes, and bacon were served, followed by plain white rice. The smell caused Luke¡¯s stomach to gurgle even more, causing him to lick his lips.

    (Gwen) Here¡¯s your plate.

    Gwen gave Luke¡¯s food with a bright smile, and in return, Luke started inhaling the heavy breakfast that was in front of him. He gulped, which caused Gwen to back away in surprise.

    (Gwen) Wow, man. Guess surviving god knows how days in the wilderness does something to a kid.

    Luke gave a single nod. Once he was finished with his food, he then put the tray to the side of the bed and bowed while sitting, an old Clastine custom that Luke was taught.

    (Luke) Thank you for giving me breakfast and saving my life! I will forever be in your debt!

    (Gwen) You don¡¯t have to thank me, I was just doing my job¡­

    Luke noticed that Gewn had a badge on the right side of her jacket, near her breast pocket. As Luke looked closely, the badge was titled, ¡°Commander Keegan.¡±

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is she a soldier? From what group or squad?

    Gwen noticed that Luke was staring at the right side of her jacket, where her breast pocket¡ª

    (Gwen) Huh, didn¡¯t know you were a little pervert ¡­ chuckles ¡­If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Luke¡¯s face turned bright red, his face instantly forming sweat as the misunderstanding of the situation led him to be labeled as such.

    (Luke) I-I¡¯m not a perv! I was just looking at your badge!

    Luke looked away, avoiding eye contact as he started to keep his hands close to his body. Gwen¡¯s eyes shut as she held her stomach laughing.

    (Gwen) Haha ¡­ I was just kidding with you, looking ain¡¯t a crime. But about this badge ¡­

    Gwen gave Luke a better chance to see it up close. Upon seeing the badge, it started to spark something within Luke. For Gwen, she looked at the badge, the yellowish metal reflecting its tiny light into Gwen¡¯s eyes.

    (Gwen) I was entrusted to be the leader of a future crew, an elite crew that my overseer is heavily funding. He sees me as the one to take command of them ¡­

    Gwen let out a little chuckle, her hand gently wiping the badge with her right thumb.

    (Gwen) Heck. I¡¯m not smart nor strategic, yet I¡¯ll be the one to blame if anything goes wrong. I guess it¡¯s just my luck huh ¡­

    Putting the badge back on, Gwen looked at Luke, her face holding back a tear from her eye.

    (Gwen) ¡­ Don¡¯t worry kid, I¡¯m not going to recruit you. I know a place where Tician kids who survived the invasion can take shelter, many places in Lagefor are refugee camps for Ticians.

    Gwen then extended her hand to Luke.

    Luke paused for a moment. If he took Gwen¡¯s hand, he wouldn''t need not to worry about death and chaos, as well as the harsh training that may come out of it. He then noticed that Gwen¡¯s hand was etched with blisters and calluses.

    He also saw thin white cuts on the border of her hand and arm that were somewhat hidden inside of her jacket¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) How did ¡­ My mother lifted all that debris ¡­

    During the hellish escape from the city, Luke¡¯s last image of his mom was her showcasing her true strength. Considering the possibility that Luke had some inner strength within him, Luke wanted to make sure that scenario never happened again.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I think ¡­ I have to get stronger ¡­

    Luke then looked down at his own hands, hands that were covered in bruises and cuts from that horrible day.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Do I really want to just sit in a shelter aimlessly? Not for my sake, but for¡­

    Luke then remembered what his mother told him as she said her final goodbye, causing Luke to look up, facing forward.

    A hint of water managed to form inside Luke¡¯s eyes, but not so much as that it started to stroll, but enough for Gwen to notice.

    (Gwen) Uh, do you need a tissue?

    She tried to reassure Luke by putting her blistered hand on Luke¡¯s shoulder, but Luke stopped Gwen, softly swiping away and holding the part of the arm where she had the cuts.

    (Gwen) Hey, w-what''s the issue?

    Luke looked at Gwen, gripping her arm a little more tightly.

    (Luke) I want ¡­

    The room was then blanketed by sunlight, the warm drizzling rays lighting the dimly lit room¡­

    And then Luke stare at Gwen¡¯s face, his eyes of that of not a normal boy, but¡ª

    (Luke) I want to be a soldier.

    The sun''s rays shone on both Gwen¡¯s and Luke¡¯s eyes.

    Gwen took a step back, retreating her arm in place.

    (Gwen) Why ¡­?

    Her eyes looked downward with utmost guilt.

    (Gwen) I offered you a choice to live a carefree life. You went through hell yet you want to join in the fray again¡­

    Her hands started to form fists from below, yet her eyes started to form droplets.

    (Gwen) Why? Why do you want to put your life on the line? You¡¯re just a kid¡­

    (Luke) I want to survive, but in order to survive ¡­

    He then stood up on the bed, his stance overlooking Gwen as his face contorted with his fierce red eyes.

    (Luke) I want to get stronger, I want to train, I want to squeal, I want to be your soldier¡­ so, please ¡­

    Luke then grabbed both of Gwen¡¯s hands, staring at Gwen¡¯s face with intensity.

    (Luke) I¡¯ll be your very best soldier! Let me be a part of your crew!

    Her eyes in his eyes, she felt like she couldn¡¯t do anything to talk him out of his decision. She didn¡¯t want any harm bestowed upon the boy, so she held both Luke¡¯s hands with her own.

    (Gwen) Can you promise me something?

    Her hands were still shaking. The blisters combined with the sweat made it so that Luke had a hard time finding comfort and stability in them.

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t ever give up¡­

    (Luke) I won¡¯t give up¡ª

    (Gwen) Promise me you won¡¯t! If you promise that, I¡¯ll let you be a part of the program.

    Forcing him to make that promise, Luke¡¯s face lit up as there was a chance to get to be a part of an elite force.

    His way of staying alive¡­

    (Luke) I promise! I won¡¯t let you down!

    (Gwen) It¡¯s settled then, oh and by the way ¡­

    Gwen then pinched her nose, took a bottle of perfume and pointed at Luke.

    (Gwen) You stink!

    Gwen then sprayed 90% of the bottle of perfume on Luke¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 18, 56 / 6:00PM)

    (???) Attention all future angels!

    Humans are both shepherds and sheep. The shepherds are the ones that give orders and the sheep are the ones that follow those orders to the letter.

    (???) Welcome to hell!

    Inside a big barrage, a man dressed in a fancy tuxedo and hat spoke into the microphone.

    His stature was short, and he was perceived to be overweight and in his late 40s. He had a mole on the right side of the cheek, followed by circle glasses. He had normal features, with the only thing that distinguished him was the bowl-cut hair that he had. His hair color was more turquoise than brown, despite being on the older spectrum.

    (???) You thought you¡¯d seen everything, but you¡¯re all just getting started! This isn¡¯t the Marines, the Army, the Navy¡­ this isn¡¯t even the FOC agency! This is the elite mercenary program directed and funded by me! Boris Velenksey!

    The chubby man named Boris presented himself and continued to talk with the 14 kids and teens that were in the building with him.

    (Boris) ¡­ This training regiment will last for four years. In those four years, you¡¯ll be made into incredible yet fascinating soldiers who¡¯ll turn the tide of this whole mess.

    Of the 14 kids and teens present, Luke was one of them.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I think I haven¡¯t met any of the other members of the group.

    Or rather, no one has met each other yet¡­

    (Boris) After the destruction of Ticia, the countries of Kepputha, Lagefor, and Haxouburg are under heavy military alert, with Kepputha and Haxouburg defending their borders from the threat of incoming zompires.

    Boris¡¯s voice started to dim down, his face now looking more calmer and sentimental.

    (Boris) And because of the destruction of Ticia, the world¡¯s economy is on the brink of collapse ¡­ our country of Kepputha is in its worst depression in recent decades. Over 30% of the workforce of Kepputha are unemployed, Lagefor taking the brunt of it.

    As Boris recalls the state of the entire world having to deal with the consequences of the invasion of Ticia, Boris takes off his hat, his eyes remembering things before the attack.

    (Boris) This country was peaceful, it wasn¡¯t perfect but it was peaceful. And in just two months, this entire country has been turned into a literal zoo. Robberies, scams, petty crime, organized crime ¡­ is a common thing in the present¡­ That¡¯s why ¡­

    And in just the snap of the switch, Boris then looked at the 14 kids and teens in the dark, his eyes showcasing his hope for a better future for the country he lived in for all his life.

    (Boris) I chose the 14 of you to do God¡¯s work! Traumatized! Battered! Broken! Use it for your advance!

    The darkening yet booming sounds shocked the building as Boris was climaxing his speech. His tone, his stance, his heart, it was in perfect unison.

    (Boris) In the depths of despair, you hid! In the periphery of chaos, you scattered! In the memories of the burial, you saw hell did you not? You¡¯ll be courageous! The magnificent! The hero! You¡¯ll be¡ª

    Boris then dropped his mic. Just as the mic dropped to the floor, a loud boom overshadowed the ever-cleanse of the entire building, shaking the stone walls and souls of¡ª

    (Boris) THE DARK ANGELS!!

    The shepherd is the one that leads the sheep to do what it¡¯s told¡­

    Just as Boris finished his speech, he slowly limped off the wooden stage. His body shook as he exerted himself too much in his speech.

    As Boris went into the other room, everyone was in thought as to what may come for them, especially Luke, who looked down at his hands that had a couple of scars from a couple of months ago.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Would I go this far if the road will be hell¡ª

    Luke and the other kids immediately were hit with the intense lights, with most of them hissing like vampires as their pupils dilated with great force. The intense light, so bright, that it may be brighter than the monster¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) ¡­ this is nothing like the light from that monster!

    Forcing his eyes open, he quickly saw the 13 other kids and teens who were trying to force their eyes to work. But there were three kids that Luke recognized in the building¡­

    In a flash, he ran to the boys who had their palms on their faces, blocking the light.

    (Luke) You guys!

    Luke then ran up to a kid his age, a boy whose the same age as him with silver hair¡ª

    (Luke) Fred! It¡¯s me!

    Fred let go of his hands and saw Luke ¡­

    (Fred) Luke!

    Both boys hugged each other, their arms wrapping each other warmly as the two managed to see each other again.

    Two other boys came to see Luke and one of the boys joined in on the hug, his face saddened with utmost regret and guilt.

    (Stan) I-I¡¯m so sorry ¡­

    A tear started to drip from his eye.

    (Stan) I don¡¯t want to be forgiven ¡­

    (Luke) It¡¯s ok ¡­ I think all three of you have been through a lot too ¡­

    Gary put his hand forward, his face neutral but calm.

    (Gary) I¡¯m ¡­ sorry for what I did ¡­ I think I was ¡­ a little too rash and jumped to conclusions during that time at the club ¡­

    Luke calmly took Gary¡¯s hand and did a little handshake, both boy''s hands tightening with a firm grip.

    (Luke) No worries ¡­

    As the four boys were finally reunited, all four of them checked out the 10 other candidates.

    (Stan) So these are our future buddies huh ¡­ We¡¯re in for a long four years¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 12: The First Day of Training

    (Prominis 19, 56 / 6:00AM)

    (Gwen on Megaphone) GOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOORRRRNIIIINNNNGGGG LAAAAAGEEEEFOOOORRRR!!!!!

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Huh what? What the heck is going on!

    As Gwen giggled as she held up a government-crafted megaphone, using it to wake everyone up from their deep sleep.

    A couple of minutes later, many residents opened their doors to the brutal wake-up call that shocked the second-story floor, their eyes barely opening and already dressed for the day.

    The kids had gray lining beneath their eyes, followed by the way they walked as if they didn¡¯t get enough sleep¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) We just barely slept for 4 hours. Why did Gwen decide to end a celebration party at 2 in the morning¡­

    Same as Luke, the three other boys got out of their perspective rooms as well, followed by another boy who was with the group.

    Gary decided to speak with the new member of the group.

    (Gary) Did you get enough sleep, Diego?

    (Diego) Barely ¡­

    Previously, Stan and Gary noticed a boy that looked similar to one of their friends from the robotics club. Diego, the same age as Gary, was considered to be the opposite of Gary; being skinny and tall. He had spiky black hair and glasses, followed by his skin being relatively brown. His nose and ears were nothing distinguishable, but he was dressed similar to a mechanic.

    (Stan) Why did they have to wake us up at 6 in the freaking morning?

    (Fred) I hope they have breakfast¡­

    (Gary) I hope we just get our blessings over with.

    (Luke) But we have to earn those blessings, we can¡¯t just take things for granted.

    (Gary) Does it look like I wanna train?

    As Luke and Gary had their little dispute, Stan noticed that out of everyone that came out of their rooms, there was one teen that didn¡¯t have gray lining on their eyes.

    (Stan) Who¡¯s that dude? He shakes off four hours of sleep like nothing!

    (Fred) I think his name is Jack. He¡¯s probably a year younger than you.

    As Stan was fascinated that Jack was the most energized one up, Luke glanced to see the 15-year-old teen. Jack had brown eyes, followed by wavy hair. He looked to be pretty tall for his age, and he appeared relatively slim. He had long arms and legs, followed by a short nose and normal ears. The only thing that was weird about him was ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Red hair¡­

    (Stan) Red hair? Well, Fred, I think you have competition for the weirdest hair color.

    (Fred) ¡­

    As Fred remained timidly silent, there was also another thing that Stan noticed in the crowd. They were missing one person, most likely a girl since there were originally four girls and now there are three.

    Gwen also noticed this and checked the roster, her fingers tracing each name with ease.

    (Gwen) Hmm ¡­ aah, I see. We¡¯re missing Luna.

    Gwen then walks towards the door where the girl, Luna, was assigned to. Opening the door, Gwen noticed the 16-year-old girl was still fast asleep, her face deep into her pillow.

    (Gwen) She slept through the megaphone huh? Guess I have no other choice huh¡­

    As Gwen approached the bed, Luke and the others were curious as they saw Luna, still fast asleep snoring in bed. Luna looked to be taller than the average girl, followed by her deep black hair that was relatively short. Her nose was normal, followed by her ears being a little larger than most people, but her skin was tan, but not too tan. But her face ¡­

    (Luke, Gary, Fred, Stan, Diegos¡¯ thoughts) She¡¯s pretty¡­

    Taken aback by her beauty, the boys were all blushing nervously as it felt wrong to stare at her.

    But Gwen didn¡¯t care. Sitting on top of the bed, Gwen then rubbed both her hands, giggling a bit as she said¡ª

    (Gwen) Clear!

    Luke then shuddered as he remembered that wake-up call three months ago¡­

    Using both hands, she positioned her thumb and index, she then grabbed both ¡­ well ¡­

    As soon as Gwen twisted Luna¡¯s ¡­ you know ¡­ Luna instantly woke up, her eyes clenched with pain. But in that incredibly short time, she turned her shock to pure undeniable rage.

    (Luna) WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!!??

    Luna immediately sucker-punched Gwen with all her strength, sending her flying to land where the five boys were located. At least breaking her fall, the boys were on the floor, with Gwen on top of them. Upon seeing Gwen¡¯s face, her cheeks were purple, one of her teeth was missing, and her nose was broken. Even her eyes looked like she was seeing stars.

    As Luke saw Gwen¡¯s battered and bloodied face, he wasn¡¯t angry at Gwen, but rather ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) She kind of had it coming¡­

    But Luna wasn¡¯t done.

    Sono after her punch, Luna then stomped her way to where Gwen was, clearly still angry for the little prank that Gwen did. Luna had on gray sweatpants and an oversized baggy gray shirt, and on her wrist, she wore a charm bracelet¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Should I not get ¡­ no ¡­ Gwen¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m here!

    Luke then stood in front of Luna to protect Gwen from harm, putting himself in Luna¡¯s path. As Luna saw this, she looked at Luke coldly and maliciously, looking at meek prey.

    (Luna) Move¡­

    Luke continued to block her path, but he was afraid the same thing that happened to Gwen might happen to him¡­

    Luna then grabbed Luke by his shirt with her left hand, gripping his collar with her hands quivering with anger. The difference in weight and strength was noticeable, as Luna was towering over him with pure dominance.

    (Luna) I said move¡­

    Luke didn¡¯t say anything, not letting a single voice or sound get out of his vocal cords. Angry, Luna then readied her stance, preparing to throw a right fist directly at Luke¡¯s stomach.Stolen story; please report.

    (Luna) I said move!

    Just as she was about to land a hard blow to Luke¡¯s stomach, a man in his late 30s came by in the knick of time to hold back Luna. Using both his hands, he made sure that his arms were landlocked by Luna''s arms as well. Despite Luna being strong for her age, the man had an aura of strength and composure, as the way he held back Luna caused everyone to hold their breath.

    (???) Calm down.

    (Luna) Let me go!

    The man then put more strength into his armlock, and Luna felt her arms stretching horribly. She tried to fight back the pain and even the man, trying to use her head as a way of punching his chin, but no matter what, the man was unbreakable in strength.

    (???) Luna, calm down ¡­

    The man then started petting Luna¡¯s head with reassurance and comfort, as if petting a wild animal. The way he moved his hand back and forth, the way his fingertips pressed along her scalp, it was noticeable that this wasn¡¯t the first time he had done this¡­

    (???) Are you calm?

    (Luna) ¡­ yes David¡­

    The man named David then let go of Luna, hoping that she let all of her anger and frustration out of her system.

    Luke saw the man, as he had medium messy black hair, followed by his stature being relatively tall. He wore a cowboy hat as well as black vest and blue cargo pants, with black boots and a bandanna he has around his neck. He had dark brown eyes, normal nose and ears, but also had little sideburns that made him look young for his age.

    Luckily for him, Luna didn¡¯t seem too interested in Gwen and Luke anymore, but she decided to head on in front of everyone, wanting to get the day over with¡­

    (Gary, Fred, Stan, and Diego¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s crazy¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s scary¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 19, 56 / 8:00AM)

    (Boris) Alright everyone, let¡¯s start with the most basic of training!

    After eating a hearty breakfast that Fred was looking forward to, the 14 candidates headed towards the gym room. With the room filled with dumbbells, weights, pull-up bars, and a big ring in the middle of the room, Luke smelled the cleanly bleached room.

    Everyone did, as they took in the white and spotless room that they¡¯ll be training in for the next four years.

    (Boris) First things first, to be a soldier, a soldier has to learn the basics of fighting.

    Standing in the middle of the ring were three adult figures. One was the man named David, who was the one that held Luna down, and the other two were unknown to the candidates. One was a girl barely in her 30s, and the other was a male who was in his late 20s.

    With Boris leading the candidates, he wanted to make sure that everyone got a good view, so he ordered his sheep.

    (Boris) Make sure three to four people are on each side of the bottom of the right.

    Four sides of the ring, and 14 people, and since Luke''s group is five people.

    (Luke) I¡¯ll go with those two.

    Luke went to a side near his friends, on the right side of his side, right by the corner. Next to him was the red-haired teen named Jack, alongside an elf with ginger bed hair. He had green eyes, pale skin, blue pants, gray boots, and a gray shirt, and he looked to be Gary¡¯s age. He looked a couple of inches taller than Jack, and he was less sturdy than Jack.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I forgot what his name was¡­

    Instead, Luke focused on the subject at hand, his eyes focusing mostly on David. David noticed Luke staring yet he completely ignored it, not caring.

    Boris then got hold of a microphone, clinking on the switch to turn it on. As the vibrations sounded in the room, Boris stood up tall, trying to make his presence well known for his short body.

    (Boris) So, as we all know, fighting is crucial, but how do you guys learn how to fight?

    No one raised their hand, not confident or not bothering to care to answer. With Boris being left in the dust, he signaled either the three adults to do something¡­

    David noticed this signal, and with a sigh, he turned towards Luke, with eyes stern and serious as the boy felt something cold picking him. In no time, David signaled Luke to climb up onto the ring, his eyes locking onto Luke¡¯s.

    But Luke doesn''t want to, considering that Luke isn¡¯t the strongest person in the room, and he doesn¡¯t want to be labeled as the runt on the first day. Luke began to sweat as David kept on signaling him to get on.

    Sighing, David then put his hand on Luke¡¯s face, his fingertips digging deep into Luke¡¯s skull. Dragging Luke, he pulled him up off the spectator side and into the ring, as people started giggling at the embarrassing display.

    Now with Luke in the ring, Boris then signaled David again, but David shook his head no, as if he knew the outcome¡­

    (Boris) David, you know what needs to be done¡­

    (David) I¡¯m fine with putting the boy in, but not with her¡­

    (Boris) It¡¯s to demonstrate the difference in fighting styles.

    (David) sigh ¡­ I hope you planned a funeral.

    David then signaled a girl to go inside the ring, and lord and behold ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡­ not her¡­

    The girl that David brought in, Luna, began eyeing Luke maliciously as if she was plotting down the entire fight in her mind. Scared, Luke began to take a couple of steps back, his face turning pale as he knew who won this fight.

    Everybody knows who will win this fight¡­

    (Stan) He got the crazy girl¡­

    (Fred) Looks like I need a new best friend¡­

    (Gary) After this ¡­ I¡¯ll be nicer to him.

    (Diego) It was nice knowing him¡­

    As everyone started gossiping and praying. Luke started to breathe in and out rapidly, his heart going through an episode.

    (Boris) Alright! David, Jenny, and Jerry get out of the ring. This is going to be a good one!

    As the three adults looked at Luke with worry, all three of them watched up close, just in case the fight would be ugly.

    (Boris) Candidates Luke Fenix; Age 12. Luna Guerra; Age 16. Fight!

    As the bell rang, for Luke, it wasn¡¯t a fight, but just a deadly game of tag¡­

    The objective, try not to be punched, for if he ever gets punched¡ª

    Luna then charges forward with speed and precision, her movements flawless and coordination unmatched. As everyone saw the way she moved, it was as if she was honing this ballad for years.

    Even the three adults at bay were in utter shock at how fast and precise Luna moved, so much that David had his hang on the ring¡¯s rubber chords, his nervousness intruding on him¡ª

    Luke¡¯s reaction time failed him.

    As Luna got close, she jumped sideways to land a punch on Luke¡¯s body. With her fist loaded, she sprang it forward, hitting the right side of his stomach region.

    Instantly, Luke bent down in utmost agony and pain, as if someone stabbed him in that region twenty times over. Not wanting to get up, Luke remained in motion to the ground, coughing and wheezing with drool starting to drip down his mouth.

    Bending down, Luna then grabbed a chunk of Luke¡¯s hair. Her angry look was replaced with a sadistic smile, her predatory eyes eyeing her prey.

    (Luna) Hah ¡­ I feel calm now ¡­

    Luna moved her hand left and right, the motion of Luke¡¯s head going along with it. The more she moved his head, the more ¡°ecstasy¡± and ¡°fun¡± she was having, not wanting it to stop. Luke was so caught up in the pain, he didn¡¯t care that he was being toyed with.

    (Luna) Not putting up a fight? You look pretty submissive right now¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Was I supposed to fight her no matter what?

    Everyone had faces of disdain and disappointment as Luna sadistically played with Luke, especially his friends¡­

    (Fred) He¡¯s still alive¡­

    (Gary) Yeah ¡­ definitely being nicer to him ¡­

    (Stan) That bitch¡­

    (Diego) At least she¡¯s pretty¡­

    With everyone wanting the fight to stop, David jumped into the ring, about to hold Luna down for Luke¡¯s safety, until he stopped in his tracks.

    Even Luna stopped what she was doing, as both she and David heard an audible whisper coming from Luke.

    (Luke whispering) ¡­ thank god ¡­

    (Luna) What?

    (Luke whispering) thank god¡­

    (Luna) Thank god for what?

    Luna then pulled Luke¡¯s face closer to hers, his face inches away from her ear.

    (Luke) Thank god you didn¡¯t punch the left side of my stomach¡­

    With her guard down, Luke then pulled out a bottle of near-empty perfume from his left pocket, pointing and spraying it instantly in Luna¡¯s eyes.

    (Luna) AAH!

    Temporarily blinded, Luke then used this opportunity to hold Luna down to the ground, placing his right arm around her neck, an immediate chokehold on her.

    Stunned and outsmarted, Luna¡¯s teeth clenching with anger while being held down, as her prey was about to be the predator.

    (Luna choking) ack ¡­ You dirty cheat!

    Luna, still temporarily blinded, started to claw her way out of the chokehold, which was not one of Luke¡¯s strongest suits. Her hands prying his arm more and more, Luke¡¯s little trick didn¡¯t work out like he thought it would.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡­

    Broken free, and both on the ground, Luna grabbed his arm and then caged Luke¡¯s neck.

    Choking, he quickly tapped Luna¡¯s arm, his way of surrendering to her. Luna, her eyes bloodshot with rage and heavy breathing, continued to choke Luke, as Luke¡¯s eyes were starting to roll in the back of his head.

    (Luna) I¡¯m not falling for any tricks this time!

    Luke started to drool, the freshness of his saliva dripping down onto the ring floor. He tapped a couple more, but Luna wouldn¡¯t budge.

    Fortunately, David pulled Luna off of Luke, using all his strength so that Luna would stop choking the lights out of Luke. Gasping for breath, tinnitus rang in his ears.

    As Luke looked up, he swore he could see veins starting to bulge out of Luna¡¯s temple, making him flinch. The more David restrained her, the more she gritted her teeth and glared ferociously.

    (Boris) I guess it shows us both their fighting styles huh¡­ Jenny, take the boy to the infirmary.

    (Jenny) Got it, sir.

    The woman named Jenny went inside the ring, putting the boy on her back before leaving the ring. Jenny had dark brown hair wrapped in a ponytail, with brown monolid eyes. She wore glasses and was pale skinned, and she was to be a couple of inches shorter than Gwen. She had a mole on the left side of her chin, with her nose and ears being relatively small.

    She also wore a long black dress and black heels. As Jenny looked at Luke, his face sleeping alongside her back, her face softened.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) He reminds me of Kenichi¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 13: Who is that Girl?

    (Prominis 19, 56 / 12:03PM)

    (???) How long has he been napping for? The dude just got choked, so it can¡¯t be that bad.

    (???) But Luna is the strongest female fighter out of the candidates, probably the strongest one here¡­

    (???) I¡¯ll take the blame for this, I could¡¯ve handled it better¡­

    In the void, he heard three voices coming from somewhere. He wanted peace¡ª

    How many times does he blackout and hear new people?

    Jolting out of his nap, Luke opened his eyes to see David sitting on a chair, facing the direction of Luke.

    (David) Victim?

    (Luke) Of what?

    (David) Gwen¡¯s wake-up call?

    (Luke) Gwens¡ªoh ¡­ I guess so ¡­

    (David) Listen, son, sorry for what Luna did to you. Even though I talked with her afterward, she just rolled her eyes and walked off angrily, you know, typical teenage girl¡­

    (???) Bro, that''s not some typical teenage girl!

    As David was apologizing to Luke, the sincerity and slight guilt about Luna¡¯s outburst, a teenage male voice was heard to the left of Luke. Looking to his left, he saw a teenage boy with red hair, who was none other than¡ª

    (Luke) Uh, Jack right?

    (Jack) Yeah, man, I thought you had it rough! But noooo, look what she did to me!

    As Jack was lying in bed in the hospital lounge, he showcased to Luke a little cast on his ankle, the reason for being in the lounge in the first place.

    (Luke) Did she break your ankle?

    (???) She just sprained your ankle, which was mostly your fault Jack¡­

    Another teenager, probably a young adult, was sitting in front of Jack, similar to how David was to Luke. Luke didn¡¯t recognize him, but he felt like he had seen him before¡­

    (Luke) I feel like I know you¡­

    (???) Name¡¯s Miles, wanna soda?

    As Luke looked closely, Miles was different from the others. For one, Miles looked to be older than Luna, most likely two years older than her.

    He had a dark skin tone, followed by his hair being wrapped up in a ponytail. His hair was gray, followed by the unusual black eyes, as well as a body being well built and sturdy, probably more than Stan¡¯s. He was also tall, a few inches taller than Jack.

    He wore a blue shirt with a black vest, followed by black boots and blue jeans, and had a necklace with a cross.

    (Luke) No thanks, I¡¯m good.

    (Miles) Cool beans. Want a soda, Jack?

    (Jack) Yeah, pass me one.

    Miles passes the soda that he was originally going to give Luke to Jack.

    (Jack) Mr. Pepper? You know I don¡¯t like Mr. Pepper Miles¡­

    (Miles) Then give it to me.

    (Jack) ¡­

    (Miles) Give it.

    (Jack) Get your own!

    Miles then snatched the soda away from Jack, and as a way to insult Jack, Miles opened the Mr. Pepper soda can, looked Jack dead in the face, and drank the entire can in one gulp. Finishing the soda, he crunched up the can and threw the tin can like a frisbee to Jack. Jack gaped at him.

    (Miles) Keep it.

    (Jack) You¡¯re an asshole, you know that?

    (Miles) Your spoiled ass started it.

    (David) Jack, if you keep it up, I¡¯ll make sure you get put into the same ring as Luna.

    (Miles) So stop complaining.

    (David) You too Miles, you¡¯re close to being Luna¡¯s candidate.

    Jack and Miles immediately zipped their mouths shut for the greater good of themselves.

    (David) Anyway Luke, I asked Jenny and she told me that you¡¯re good to go.

    (Luke) Oh ok ¡­

    Luke then proceeded to get up from the hospital bed, stretching and breathing in so that he could continue with his first day.

    (Luke) So what did I miss?

    (David) 8 to 9 AM was mostly the ring competition. 9 AM to 10 AM was mostly the history of fighting techniques, and 10 AM to 12 PM was the elite training. Right now, everyone is busy getting lunch.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    (Luke) Oh ¡­ I was wondering, how did Jack sprained his ankle?

    (Jack) Dude, I¡¯ve been trying to understand that part up until now.

    (Miles) Jack ¡°accidentally¡± tripped Luna during the elite training. She got angry and kicked his leg while he was running away. The fall is what led to his sprained ankle.

    (Jack) But Sean made a bet with me!

    (Miles) You and Sean ¡­ I swear¡­

    As Miles gets more and more frustrated with Jack''s antics, Luke is ready to go to the lunch hall with his friends. As Luke was about to set out¡­

    (David) Kid, just want to let you know that Luna isn¡¯t that bad of a person. She can be a huge handful, but once you get to know her, you can understand where she¡¯s coming from.

    As Luke gave David a nod of acknowledgment, Luke walked out the door, hoping to get a meal in his stomach.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) She went through hell. If I was in her shoes, of course I would be unstable¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I almost died ¡­ just how much more pain can I take?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 19, 56 / 8:33PM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I guess they all crashed out¡­

    Since Luke didn¡¯t go through the hellish training before lunch, all the candidates who participated went to sleep early.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t want to be spoiled though ¡­ so I¡¯ll leave them be¡­

    Walking through the garden behind the main building, Luke saw the Kepputhan night sky. The two moons that were barely visible to the night sky shone dimly as Luke ate a leftover slice of pizza from the dining hall.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I guess in big cities, light pollution is still a thing¡­ I kind of wish I saw the full night sky, filled with stars, galaxies ¡­

    As Luke was lost in thought, he heard two voices coming from the other side of the garden. He didn¡¯t pay any heed to it, but he wanted to get close to hear what their conversation was about.

    Walking towards the area, he opened his ear to eavesdrop just a bit in case the conversation was interesting¡ª

    (???) Sorry, I just don¡¯t find you attractive ¡­

    (???) So what if I¡¯m not attractive to your tastes? Many girls find me cute and sexy. I guess you¡¯re into more nice guys huh? Well, I can be a little good boy if you want.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What?

    Luke stopped to comprehend what he just heard, his eyebrows tilted and his eyes squinting. Slowly, he checked to see what was going on, but carefully so that it didn''t look like he was spying.

    Hiding behind a bush, he looked to see what the two people were talking about¡ª

    Luke¡¯s eyes fell upon a girl with fair skin, fidgeting with the stands of her blonde hair.

    From her bright blue eyes averted from the other boy¡¯s glance, to the way her cross necklace shone on her black dress, Luke would have mistaken her for an angel.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Who is that girl ¡­

    His cheeks showed no signs of stopping his blushing, followed by his palms being sticky and wet. His whole body lit up in warmth as if a mere glance would shine the whole cloudy night sky.

    But there was someone else talking to her.

    The boy looked to be Gary and Diego¡¯s age, and judging by his leaf shaped ears, Luke realized the boy was an elf.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s the elf from the ring tournament that was with Jack, I think his name was¡­ I forgot ¡­

    The elf showed that he didn¡¯t mean any harm to the woman, but he didn¡¯t want to take no for an answer.

    (Ginger Elf) What¡¯s your type? And I promise you I¡¯ll meet that criteria in no time!

    (Blonde Girl) I uh ¡­ don¡¯t have a type ¡­

    (Ginger Elf) Oh, you don''t? Then why not go out with me? I could¡ª

    (Blonde Girl) I mean ¡­ as long as he¡¯s nice and has a good heart, then that¡¯s all that matters ¡­

    Luke began to get more nervous, as his chest began to feel heavy as he stared at her.

    (Ginger Elf) I could be nice. And I mean, not everyone has a heart of gold. We¡¯re all human in a way, despite my appearance¡ªoh ¡­ I get it ¡­ I see ¡­ I guess you¡¯re not attracted to elves huh?

    (Blonde girl) No, I¡ª

    (Ginger Elf) Just because I¡¯m an elf doesn¡¯t mean you should reject me for it! That¡¯s pretty discriminatory if you ask me!

    (Blonde girl) I just¡ª

    Luke¡¯s fists began to clench as the girl¡¯s blue eyes started to tear up. Controlling himself, he quietly stepped out of the bush and walked away, trying to find some way to intervene with the two.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯ll just have to go away and come back so it¡¯ll look like I just barely got here.

    Slowly walking away, Luke then pulled back to the same spot, hoping to casually slide into the conversation or at least make his presence a little known to them. Walking to the area where the girl was being misunderstood, he wanted to introduce himself with a simple greeting.

    (Luke) Uhm ¡­ are you two alright?

    As he questioned both the girl and the elf, he wanted the elf to drop the act. Upon seeing the girl up close, he felt timid as the girl was looking at him, his eyes avoiding any contact with her.

    But focusing his entire attention on the ginger elf.

    (Ginger Elf) Ah don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re doing just fine ¡­

    (Luke) Are you guys sure?

    (Ginger Elf) Yeah ¡­ name¡¯s Sean.

    Revealing his name to be Sean, the teen looked at Luke with a normal complexity, with a twisted smile.

    (Sean) Hey, do you like party tricks?

    (Luke) Sort of ¡­

    Sean pulled out from his large pants pocket, a small metal box. Having it in the palm of his hand, he gave it to Luke, his lips smiling with mischief. Luke¡¯s eyes were scanning the box, a bead of sweat forming next to his right eye.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s this¡­

    Luke tried opening the box, but it was lodged in tight. Dumbfounded, Sean started laughing as Luke¡¯s naivety was showing, slapping his knees as he laughed.

    (Sean) Haha¡­ you¡¯re supposed to push the button at the bottom.

    Luke then saw a little black button in the center of the bottom, the button not being a switch but a simple click. As Luke was about to hit the button, Sean gave him one more bit of advice.

    (Sean) For the trick to work, you have to stare at the top of the box. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not going to kill you¡­

    Luke, looking down at the box, pressed the button on the bottom. He didn¡¯t know what would happen per se, but his curiosity is what¡ª

    The box burst open, opening up a boxing glove fist that gave Luke an uppercut to the chin. The force of the punch from the box caused Luke to stumble backward onto the ground.

    Luke wiped his mouth to find blood.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) My tongue!

    He massaged his cheek, his fingertips scrounging back and forth along the area, knowing that wouldn¡¯t be enough to cure a bleeding tongue.

    As Luke stood up, he noticed that Sean was running away in the distance, cackling. Luke let out a huge breath.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why is everyone out to get me?

    Luke headed towards the hospital lounge again, rubbing his cheeks, until he was stopped by the girl. Her face had a lot of worry, one of sentiment and care.

    (Blonde girl) Are you ok?

    Avoiding eye contact, Luke started to sweat with nervousness and perspiration, letting his extremely timid sideshow.

    (Luke) Y-yeah ¡­ I-I¡¯m fine¡­

    (Blonde girl) ¡­ I¡¯ll go with you to the hospital if you want.

    (Luke) N-No, you don¡¯t have t-to¡ª

    (Blonde girl) But you''re bleeding!

    (Luke) I can manage myself¡ª

    The girl then grabbed Luke¡¯s hand and ran with him to the infirmary. Her long black dress flowed in the wind. Running through the garden in the night sky, Luke¡¯s eyes stared at her hand clasping his.

    (Luke) I-I never caught your name¡­

    The more he was towed by her, the redder he got. Even the girl noticed Luke¡¯s sweaty palms as she held them, but she didn¡¯t mind the nervousness of Luke one bit. Looking back where Luke wanted to know her name.

    (Blonde girl) Oh ¡­ uhm ¡­ my name is Hope ¡­

    The girl named Hope had her cheeks blushed with nervousness, not as much as Luke''s, but enough to be noticeable.

    But as they were about to part into the infirmary, Hope stopped to turn towards Luke, her eyes staring at his.

    (Hope) Luna shouldn¡¯t have done that¡­

    (Luke) I mean I¡¯m still alive, I think she just has anger issues.

    He began rubbing his chin, the pain still caused by the jack in the box punch. As hope opened the door to the building, a warmth reignited inside Luke.

    A warmth that he hadn''t before everything that he loved was lost.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 14: The Second Day of Training

    (Prominis 20, 56 / 6:00AM)

    (Gwen on Megaphone) GOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOORRRRNIIIINNNNGGGG LAAAAAGEEEEFOOOORRRR!!!!!

    Same as yesterday, Gwen yelled into the megaphone, her cheeks and face still recovering from Luna¡¯s rage the day before. Despite this, Gwen continued to do her duty as a wake-up caller.

    Meanwhile, Luke barely woke up, his sweet dream was cut short because of Gwen¡¯s antics. Even though he was barely awake, he exhaled slowly and screamed internally.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I was having a good dream!

    Getting ready fast, Luke changed into his black shirt and pants, the dark fabric keeping him cozy and nice.

    Upon exiting his room, all his friends and other candidates also left their room. But the same routine that happened yesterday was happening again because they were missing one person¡­

    (Gwen) Luna is still asleep huh? Well, guess I have no other¡ª

    David and Jenny held Gwen back, their hands holding Gwen back from even setting one foot in Luna¡¯s room. David gripped her arm tightly while Jenny¡¯s arms barely contained Gwen¡¯s enthusiasm.

    (David) Don¡¯t go in.

    (Jenny) Please don¡¯t Gwen! You¡¯re still recovering!

    Gwen had a strip across her nose, followed by her right cheekbone having a white bandage. Her right eye was heavily bruised, yet she moved it just the same as the left.  Despite the two adults that are older than her, she still tried to break free.

    (Gwen) But it¡¯s my duty!

    (David) To wake them up, not give them purple nurples¡­

    (Gwen) Then who should wake her up?

    Gwen, Jenny, and the rest of the candidates all looked over at David, their eyes gleaming with hope. David, knowing that it was his job to handle Luna, started walking over to her room, his face calm.

    But the door to Luna¡¯s room was open¡­

    (David¡¯s thoughts) What?

    Checking inside, David saw that Luke was in her room. He started to sweat a bit, his hands quivering.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Get out of there kid!

    Luke tip-toed with ease, and sure enough, he reached the side where Luna was sleeping. Upon seeing her face, he recalled the scene in which he was in the hospital room.

    (David in Luke¡¯s thoughts) Luna isn¡¯t that bad of a person. Once you get to know her, you can understand where she¡¯s coming from.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Here goes nothing¡­

    Moving his hand, he gently tugged Luna¡¯s shoulder, trying to get her to wake up. His face was red and warm, with eyes relaxed and content, yet scared that if Luna wasn¡¯t in a good mood, it would send him to the infirmary yet again.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I just hope she¡¯s in a good mood¡ª

    Luna then opened her eyes to see Luke tugging at her, and sure enough¡­

    (Luna) Get out!

    Silenced anger filled every part of her face. She got out of her bed and grabbed Luke by the end of his collar, his body shaking as he dangled from the ground.

    As her way of making a point, Luke¡¯s face was facing the direction of the door. She had her left hand on Luke¡¯s nape, and her right hand on Luke¡¯s pants, positioning herself to get a clear shot.

    (Luke) Wait! Wait! Wait¡ª

    In no time, Luna used all her strength to throw Luke into the hallway, his entire body being flung to where his friends were.

    (Luke) Ow¡­

    Despite checking over his body to not see any injuries or bruises, his chin did hurt since it was the first to land on the ground, as well as the prank Sean did last night.

    Luke didn¡¯t check to see Luna¡¯s room, but he heard the door behind slam shut.

    Without getting up, he remained motionless on the ground, letting everyone watch his embarrassing display with Luna yet again. Not only that, but Luke¡¯s fists were clenched, but in no time, he burdened it down in his heart¡­

    (Gwen) Ok ¡­ looks like we¡¯ll be having breakfast now. Try to catch up with everyone!

    (David) I¡¯ll wait for her.

    Before he continued walking, he stopped by Luke who remained constrained to the floor. As his eyes glanced at Luke, he silently gave him a nod of approval, until he got to her door.

    As all the candidates continued walking, following Gwen¡¯s orders, four of his friends decided to get up quickly, their eyes filled with sentiment and compassion.

    (Fred) I don¡¯t know how you do it ¡­

    (Gary) If you want Luke, I could buy you a drink.

    (Diego) Lucky¡­

    (Stan) Here, let me help you¡ª

    But there was another candidate that was with them, a girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Even Stan was shocked since she managed to slip past them with ease, which caused the four boys to look away nervously.

    As Luke was still on the ground, he noticed that her hands were quivering, wanting to move forward but fighting to remain in place, almost as if ¡­

    (Luke) Uhm ¡­ d-do you need s-something?

    As Hope watched him silently, she instantly reached out to him, pulling him up from the ground. As Luke got to his feet, he saw that her eyes remained focused on his eyes, which caused him to look away blushingly.

    (Hope) You shouldn¡¯t be dealing with this. I don¡¯t understand why you push yourself for her.

    (Luke) It¡¯s ok really.

    Remembering the scene with Sean, she looked at his chin which was still recovering from the punch.

    (Hope) Let¡¯s go. Hold my hand.

    (Luke) Really, I¡¯m fine¡ª

    (Hope) Now.

    (Luke) O-ok¡­

    As Luke followed Hope to the breakfast area, hoping that Hope wasn¡¯t another Luna, the four boys eyed the teenage boy and girl walking to the breakfast area.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) My best friend¡­

    (Gary¡¯s thoughts) I take it all back¡­ he¡¯s not getting a drink out of me!

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) It should have been me!

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) How does the pushover have a love interest in a day?Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 20, 56 / 12:02PM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Finally, we get to have lunch¡­

    Once making it back from their grueling training, Luke was exhausted from the intensity that David, Jenny, and Jerry put them through. His arms felt like noodles, barely enough strength to grab a feather. His legs cramped along the way to the lunch area, each step screaming at him to sit down and rest.

    Getting his food, he found two wooden tables that were on the opposite end of the lunch area; a place where all his friends would hang out. Setting down his tray, he waited for the others to come by, since he was the first one in the line.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why is everyone else so picky with food?

    Luke¡¯s stomach then growled from hunger, and in response, Luke started to devour everything the mashed potatoes and miso soup on his plate, not caring if he was labeled as messy, ever since the hellish walk.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) People should value the food they have¡­

    As Luke was halfway into his lunch, two boys sat opposite of him. Luke, despite not caring that he was messy, resorted to a more classier way of eating, eating up his own words at the drop of a hat.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why are Cameron and Ryan sitting here?

    Cameron was a year younger than Luke and Ryan was a year older. Cameron was a horse-human that had more human characteristics than horse ones. He had brown eyes and dark brown hair, his hair long and straight. He had a big nose, as well as huge ears that looked longer than some elves. He was taller than his age, and he was skinny and lean for an 11-year-old boy.

    Ryan on the other hand was a bunny human, and he had more bunny characteristics than human ones. Ryan had small, black eyes, as well as medium black hair. His nose was short, his ears the same length as Cameron, and looked to be short and chubby for his age group.

    (Ryan) I saw your fight with Luna yesterday, I was generally surprised that you¡¯re still alive.

    (Cameron) The way you pulled out that perfume was a cool play! I should have a perfume bottle with me!

    (Luke) It¡¯s nothing really ¡­ well ¡­ I was just trying to survive I guess ¡­

    (Ryan) Hmm ¡­ you¡¯re really smart, you know that right?

    (Luke) I¡¯m not that smart compared to others¡­

    (Fred) I guess we¡¯re expanding our friend group huh¡­

    Fred, Diego, Gary, and Stan sat at the table next to Luke, Cameron, and Ryan. As the boy group started to expand, Fred noticed a girl looking in their direction, and a mischievous smile formed on his face.

    (Fred) I think Hope¡¯s looking at you.

    (Luke) W-Where?

    Luke looked around, sweat starting to form as he tried to find her. Sure enough, she sees her on the opposite side of the room, with her eating with two other girls.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s over there huh? Looks like she¡¯s eating with Loraine and Gemma ¡­ I know Gemma is in our age group but why is an eight-year-old signing up for the Dark Angels¡­

    As Luke focused his attention away to the girl''s table, he then saw another table that had three teenage boys in it.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s Jack, Miles, and ¡­ Sean ¡­

    Luke clicked his tongue as he recalled his last encounter with Sean. Despite forgiving Gary for his incident, and maybe Luna to a certain extent, for some reason¡­

    As time ticks, Luke¡¯s posture becomes rigid.

    As Luke continues to stare at Sean with frustration, Diego notices that one person was missing from the tables.

    (Diego) Man, I think out of all the candidates, Luna is the most antisocial out of us huh¡­

    (Stan) The woman is crazy. Bitch almost killed Luke because he defended himself!

    (Fred) Quiet, or else she might hear you¡­

    (Stan) I¡¯m just saying, she isn¡¯t normal. Hell, I would say she is a psycho¡­

    (Luke) Maybe ¡­ she just can¡¯t express herself unlike the others. If she was from Ticia, then who knows what she might have seen.

    As Luke looked down towards his hands, his palms became clammy as he glanced at the already eaten food on his plate. Looking around with sweat droplets forming, he felt like somebody was watching him in the shadows.

    (Gary) There are a lot of weird candidates huh.

    (Diego) Yeah, I think there was that Sean dude who pulled a jack-in-the-box prank on Luke. He had to go to the infirmary again because of it.

    (Stan) What?

    (Diego) Oh ¡­ I forgot to tell you, but Luke had a bad encounter with Sean¡ª

    Stan immediately got up and went towards Luke, who was eating quietly with Cam and Ryan.

    (Stan) Is this true Luke?

    Luke gave a nod of nervousness, which caused Stan to look over to where Sean was sitting, his eyes twitching underneath his freckles.

    (Stan) That pointy-eared bastard¡­

    (Gary) Uh, Stan, you''re an elf too¡­

    (Stan) He makes us look bad!

    Stan then began walking towards Sean¡¯s direction, his eyes hellbent on focusing on one person.

    (Luke) Wait, Stan, let me handle it.

    (Stan) This is disgusting¡­ how can he and even that crazy psycho be called elite soldiers if they treat you like shit?

    Luke stood up too, followed by Fred and Diego trying to hold Stan back. Despite the difference in strength, Stan didn¡¯t want to push them out of the way, rather he looked at Luke, confusion in his eyes as Luke had both hands on Stan¡¯s chest.

    (Stan) Why? Why do you let people treat you like this? It¡¯s not ok. You should value yourself more¡­

    Luke¡¯s heartstrings were strung but they weren¡¯t enough to cause him to tear. He still had a hold on Stan, trying to push him back to his seat so that Stan wouldn¡¯t do anything rash. Luke pushed more and more, wanting Stan to just sit ¡­

    (Stan) Your mother died for you, right? She wouldn¡¯t want the person she sacrificed to be someone¡¯s toy!

    Water formed in his eyes, but he forced them down.

    (Luke) Please ¡­ just please ¡­

    Luke then looked up towards Stan.

    (Luke) Just please sit down ¡­

    Stan, looking down at Luke, submitted to Luke¡¯s decision. Carefully and slowly, Stan sat back down, not looking at anyone.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) You can¡¯t do this on your own¡­

    As the boys returned to eating, Stan¡¯s escalation made it so that the whole group ate their food quietly, not enjoying the awkward silence that followed.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) My food got cold¡­

    But in the shadows near the trash bins, there was a certain someone wearing a gray hoodie who saw the escalation with open eyes.

    She ate the rest of her food in peace, her mood relatively more positive than average.

    As she finished the rest quickly, she remained in the shadows, thinking about what to do next¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 20, 56 / 6:01PM)

    (Jerry) Class Dismissed!

    As Jerry finished his discussion about the basic level of education that kids should be learning, Jerry packed up his things so that he could go out to eat.

    Jerry was an elf with average height, with short spiky dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had a more tan complexion as well as having big pointed ears, followed by a small button nose. He was relatively normal in weight, as well as having little facial hair on his chin. Wearing a brown jacket, black pants, and brown boots, Jerry also had an eyepatch upon his left eye.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I hope Jenny will go out with me this time. She¡¯s always around David¡­

    With 14 candidates seeing their teacher leave before them, half of them left to go to their rooms, their stamina burnt up after a whole day of learning, fighting, and education.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) They left me behind ¡­ I was just packing my backpack¡­

    As Luke was about to leave the class, trying to catch up with his friend group, he noticed that Luna, the girl who almost killed him the day before, was coldly staring at Luke. He felt her eyes peer right into his soul, her glaring filled with ice and metal.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What does she want?

    Luke¡¯s body started to shiver, mostly from fear of what she had in mind for him.

    Throughout the past two days, Luke barely did anything, other than defend himself from her, so why?

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Does she hate me that much¡­

    As Luke tried to ignore Luna¡¯s glares, he soon noticed another girl staring at him. Upon seeing the girl, he started blushing, his body filled with butterflies and timidness, a far cry from a certain girl.

    Luke remained silent, as he tried to walk normally and smoothly out of class, but just as Luke was about to leave the room, he felt his shoulder being tugged. Looking around, he saw that Hope was staring at him, her cheeks a little red, and clasping her hands together.

    (Luke) Uhm ¡­ d-do you wanna go somewhere?

    As his whole body felt heavy, he asked a simple yet hard question to let out, making him look like he was out of breath. Hope started to see that he was blushing hard under his cheeks, which made her cheeks red even more.

    (Hope) Y-Yes ¡­ I would love to¡ª

    Luna then stood up in an instant, her cold glares replaced with immense rage.Luke went pale as she saw her, causing his mouth to gape from fear. Hope noticed the fear that Luke was in and looked behind her, to see¡­

    Luna was walking towards them¡­

    Hope scurried away, her face turning pale as she saw the burning flames of Luna¡¯s wrath. Now alone, Luke had no other option but to deal with the psycho.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What do I do!? What should I do!? I don¡¯t want to get beat up!

    Luke then started to walk backwards, as Luna kept walking towards him. Each step he took was calculated yet nerve-wracking for if he tripped once, well¡­

    Then the plan would be ruined¡­

    Once Luke was near the door, he turned the handle of the glass door and opened it wide to get himself out.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) My room! I want to go home¡­

    He sprinted with full force to his dorm, wanting to get away from it all. Luna, Sean, his strength, they were all tormenting him mentally and physically. The more he ran, the more he longed for his room, before everything, before he broke his dad¡¯s promise about leaving that cold penthouse.

    He heard footsteps chasing him, he knew what those steps were but didn¡¯t dare to look back. Continuing with his run, he started to grab a hold of his head, wanting everything to stop.

    (Luna) Get back here!

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why did I bother being here¡­

    Finding the door to his room, he then opened it and closed it shut, not wanting anyone to enter.

    Finding a chair, he put it amongst the doorknob.

    The way he was displayed in the past two days, he was ridiculed, embarrassed, almost killed.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I want to go home¡­

    He then curled himself up like a ball, the same position as he was in when leaving the city in a boat.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I want to go home¡­

    The sounds of a door being pounded on can be heard¡­

    Still curdled up, he put both hands amongst his ears, not wanting to hear those vicious knocks that creak the door.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Leave me alone¡­

    (Luna) I know you¡¯re in there!

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to hate you ¡­ I don¡¯t¡­

    Mixed with emotion, all his body ever wanted was peace. He continued to sit on the floor, trying to dig deeper into another world, far from the reality he was facing.

    (Luna) Don¡¯t make me burst down this fucking door!

    The more Luna pounded and kicked, the more Luke swam deeper into the other world. A world where he had his room, a world where Fred, Stan, Diego, and maybe Gary were his only friends. A world where¡ª

    His mother was still alive¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I ¡­ I ¡­ maybe don¡¯t want to die ¡­

    The sounds of the pounding and kicking stopped, and from there, deafening silence.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 15: Gamble of Hidden Love

    (Prominis 20, 56 / 6:08PM)

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Fucking coward¡­

    Noticing that the door was dented and damaged, Luna lowered her fists and took a couple of steps back. Still having veins popping out of her forehead, she still wanted to see Luke.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Why did he have to shut himself in!?

    As Luna continued to wait for Luke, she saw from her peripheral vision Sean, who was about to get something from his room. About to open the door, he was soon stopped by Luna, whose anger was still dwelling inside of her.

    (Sean) uh ¡­ hey beautiful?

    (Luna) Is it true that you pulled the jack-in-the-box trick on Luke?

    (Sean) Yeah! It was funny, wasn¡¯t it?

    Confirming to Luna that he was the one who pulled the jerkish prank on Luke, Luna¡¯s anger quickly rose, walking towards the tall teen.

    Despite being 5¡¯6¡±, Sean was 5¡¯8¡±, so for Sean, Luna wasn¡¯t that tall.

    But she was also¡ª

    (Luna) ¡­ You know what would be even more funnier?

    (Sean) What? You going out with me¡ª

    Luna then landed a major blow to Sean¡¯s face, causing him to fall cartoonishly. His nose launched a river of blood, combined with his right cheekbone turning purple from the horrible bruise.

    Now unconscious, Sean had a similar setup to Gwen, but it was nowhere near as bad as hers¡­

    (Luna) Never in a million years¡­

    Walking towards her room, she opened the door and closed it hard. Alone in her room, she put her back on the wall, the room dark and humid as she looked up at the ceiling.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 20, 56 / 9:35PM)

    (Fred) How long is he still in there?

    (Gary) So he¡¯s going to become a shut-in because of a mean girl¡­

    (Diego) I mean, she''s crazy man¡­

    (Stan) ¡­ that damn bitch¡­

    As Luke¡¯s friends were outside his door, they weren¡¯t happy that Luke decided to hole himself up, away from everyone. Shaking the door handle to his room, Fred tried to speak to Luke, his voice full of concern.

    (Fred) Come on Luke, this isn¡¯t you.

    (Gary) The dude survived 20 days in the wilderness with barely enough food and water, but some psycho girl was enough to break him¡­

    (Stan) Luke, I know you¡¯ve been through a lot, but we could help you, you know. You don¡¯t have to do this alone¡­

    Alone?

    (Diego) Hey, is Miles walking towards us?

    As Diego noticed Miles, he noticed that Mile¡¯s face was more chiseled, as if he was holding in anger or frustration. As Miles got closer to the group, he noticed Stan was in front of Luke¡¯s door, trying to get Luke to come out. But Miles''s aura was different, his sturdy and well-built body more hell-bent on trying to locate¡ª

    (Miles) Are you Stan!?

    (Stan) Yeah, why?

    (Miles) Did you punch Sean?

    (Sean) ¡­ what?

    Miles, his face keeping the anger from exploding, interrogated Stan, trying to get a solid and heavy evidence answer.

    (Miles) Did you punch Sean?!

    (Stan) N-no I didn¡¯t!

    (Miles) Then why does he have a broken nose?!

    (Stan) Look at my hand! Tell me if it looked like I punched someone!

    Stan showed his right hand to Miles, his knuckles and hands not showing any red marks or blisters of any sort.

    (Miles) During lunch, I overheard you being angry at Sean for what he did to Luke.

    Miles'' voice faded to a lower tone, his face looking slightly downwards.

    (Miles) What he did to Luke was horrible, and I told him to never do it again. I don¡¯t know if he listened to that advice, but ¡­

    Miles then returned to his angry tone, looking at eye level with Stan.

    (Miles) A broken nose is not meant to be paid by a bitten tongue!

    Grabbing Stan¡¯s t-shirt, Miles'' body was ready to go full action, his hands shaking with frustration and anger that was coming out slowly from him.

    But Stan had allies, because Fred, Gary, and Diego were ready to back Stan up, showcasing their fists that were shaking with fear yet resolve.

    (Diego) Get your hands off of Stan.

    (Gary) I may be fat, but I could punch!

    As Miles noticed the three boys, readying their stances, he looked at them neutrally, hoping that they didn¡¯t go through with their backup.

    But there was one boy that made Miles nervous¡­

    (Fred) Back the fuck off¡­Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    As Fred looked at Miles with controllable rage, Miles wanted to make sure neither boy would get hurt.

    (Miles) You guys have nothing to do with this, I¡¯m only here for Stan, not you three.

    Showcasing that he doesn¡¯t want to fight three kids four to six years younger than him, he remained his sights on Stan, trying to wait for Stan¡¯s action. Sure enough, Stan gripped Miles¡¯s hands, trying to pry them off of his collar.

    (Stan) Take the shot!

    Just as conflict was about to reach its peak, a girl came out of her room. Appearing to be not in a good mood, she had gray lines underneath her eyes, as she glanced at the commotion unfolding.

    (Luna) What the hell are you guys doing?!

    Walking towards the commotion, she glared at both Stan and Miles, her eyes and stare making both Stan and Miles stop in their tracks.

    As Luna came forward, Stan noticed that Luna¡¯s fist was red, marked with a hint of dry blood that could¡¯ve led to¡ª

    (Stan) Wait, I think Luna is the one who punched Sean, take a look at her fist!

    Surprisingly, Luna showed the fist that she used to punch Sean, her knuckles showing the dried-up blood, followed by the structure of her hard and pointy knuckles.

    (Miles) So you were the one that punched Sean¡­

    (Luna) Yeah and what of it?

    Flabbergasted, Miles didn¡¯t expect Luna to say this nonchalantly. Letting go of Stan, he moved his way towards Luna, not faltering at all.

    (Miles) ¡­ Why did you punch him?

    (Luna) Because he pissed me off.

    Maintaining eye contact, she gave her answer to Miles, not caring about what Miles may say.

    (Miles) You''re a bitch you know that?

    (Luna) ¡­ I¡¯m not a bitch.

    Ignoring Miles, Luna made her way to the door where Luke was shut in. With Fred, Gary, and Diego scared that Luna may pull something, the three made themselves seen as weak and pathetic, hoping that Luna may show any mercy in case of a scenario. Meanwhile, Stan and Miles made a stance in case that Luna decided to throw a secret punch¡ª

    (Luna) I just have anger issues¡­

    In one kick, Luna kicked down the door to Luke¡¯s room, forcing her way inside. Upon seeing the dark room, she noticed that Luke was hiding under the blankets of his bed, trying to ignore everything that¡¯s been going on.

    Stan was ready to go full swing, ready to throw a punch straight at Luna¡¯s face, but¡ª

    Miles grabbed Stan¡¯s arm, holding him back from his action.

    (Miles) Wait ¡­ I think I see her intentions ¡­

    (Stan) Damn it, let go of my arm!

    (Miles) Trust me on this¡­

    (Stan) Trust you?

    (Miles) Yeah, call it a gamble of hidden love¡­

    With the five boys on standby near Luke¡¯s door, Luna walked over to the side of the bed where Luke was hiding in. Hovering over him, she put both hands on her hips, her voice commanding and dominant.

    (Luna) Get out from under there.

    Luke didn¡¯t budge, not wanting to enter the real world. This room was his sanctuary, his way of life, a life that he wanted to throw away but he crawled himself back into it yet again¡­

    (Luna) Are you going to sulk and cry? Is that what you¡¯re going to do here for the next four years?

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Leave me alone¡­

    (Luna) I thought you would¡¯ve had a better will, but I was mistaken. Guess I should¡¯ve known ¡­ you''re just a pipsqueak¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Please¡­

    (Luna) You¡¯re a pushover, a toy, someone who can be taken advantage of.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) No more ¡­ please leave ¡­

    (Luna) How would your mom think of this?

    Luke immediately stuck his head out of the blanket and glared towards Luna.

    (Luna) I guess the word mommy got you out, let me guess, your mom died during the attack huh?

    (Luke) Where are you going with this¡­

    (Luna) Finally, you can speak. Do you think you¡¯re the only one having issues?

    Luke¡¯s face contorted with brittle rage, his eyes glaring at Luna as his hands wanted to grab onto something.

    (Luke) What about you?! I bet your parents spoiled you so much you think you can get away with anything! You think the whole world revolves around you just because you went through the same issues as all of us! You¡¯re full of ¡­ full of ¡­ crap!

    (Luna) ¡­

    Luna remained silent, her demeanor changed from teasing to neutrality as Luke turned the tides to her. Upon seeing that Luna didn¡¯t want to answer, Luke sighed, and his eyes remained focused on Luna as she kept to herself.

    (Luke) Exactly ¡­ you¡¯re just a psycho ¡­ I was wrong about you ¡­ David was wrong about you¡­

    Getting up from his bed, he ignored Luna¡¯s reluctant body and was about to exit out of the room, his face tattered with frustration. Before long, Luna stopped him with just a simple sentence, her eyes looking downward while looking away.

    (Luna) My father was killed right in front of me.

    Stopping, he turned towards where Luna was sitting on Luke¡¯s bed, his face focusing on hers as she looked down at the bed.

    (Luna) And all four of my younger brothers were already slaughtered when I got there¡­

    Slowly walking towards Luna, Luke kept his ears open as Luna opened herself to him. With each footstep that Luke drew, the more gentle his demeanor was.

    (Luna) I could still see those faces, that figure that destroyed whatever was left of my neighborhood ¡­ killed and butchered my brothers ¡­ my dad ¡­ those scum ¡­ those bastards ¡­

    Luna¡¯s fists started to shake uncontrollably, her rage slowly building as Luke was now next to Luna. Her body was uncontrollable, as she tried to remember that impure face.

    (Luna) ¡­ those ¡­ those ¡­ those¡ª

    As Luna was about to explode, Luke put his hand on top of Luna¡¯s. His face and hand showed concern, wanting to cure the pain, his voice frail and compassionate.

    (Luke) ¡­ You should¡¯ve told me ¡­

    Luna was caught off guard by this and her face turned red.

    (Luna) Don¡¯t hold my hand, you idiot!

    (Luke) Wait I wasn''t trying to¡ª

    Luna kept her hand close to her body.

    (Luna) Dumbass¡­

    Getting herself up, she started walking outwards to the hallway, looking downward with a mean glare. Stopping midway, she looked towards Luke who shyly avoided eye contact with her.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Should I say I¡¯m sorry? I¡¯m not that evil ¡­ ah to hell with it.

    Looking downward onto her hands, she put them inside of her hoodie. As she got to the hallway, she saw 12 candidates in the hallway.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) God damn it¡­ maybe I should¡¯ve just stayed a bit more with Luke.

    Putting up a hard front, she glared coldly amongst them, trying to get them to leave her alone, but there was a certain candidate who wasn¡¯t iced in total fear.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Why¡¯s this dumb blonde girl looking at me? Don¡¯t tell me ¡­

    As Luna got closer to Hope, her height overshadowed her, trying to set her in line as the rest, but Hope didn¡¯t falter.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Is she mad about what I did to Luke? I never did get to apologize to Luke directly, just maybe ¡­

    She looked up, and quietly said ¡­

    (Hope) whore¡­

    (Luna) YOU¡¯RE DEAD!!

    As everyone held back Luna, a major commotion happened right outside Luke¡¯s door.

    Meanwhile, Luke, still in the room, stood up from his bed, his eyes slowly sparkling.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why did I shut myself in my room ¡­ isn¡¯t that what I fought against in the first place¡­

    In the abyss of the room, he calmly walked towards the window that caught a glimpse of the city of Lagefor.

    The skyline wasn¡¯t anywhere as tall as Clastine¡¯s, with most of the building being 20 to 30 stories high. Despite this, the skyline was bustled with lights, showcasing the economically hard-hit city of Lagefor.

    Putting a hand to the cold window, the more he looked at the city that had many more issues than what meets the eye, the more he saw his reflection shown in the window.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I won¡¯t let this city be the same as Clastine¡­

    Turning his head, he saw the tense yet joyful scene of the candidates trying to break off a fight that was ensuing, their yells causing the adults to come in curiously.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I won¡¯t let my friends die on me¡­

    Walking out of the dark room, he entered into the hallway, the bright lights showcasing his resolve and tenacity, as he looked at them with regretful eyes. Everyone in front of them turned their attention to him, waiting for any response as their bodies remained still.

    (Luke) Sorry if I was being recluse ¡­

    Nervously saying this, all candidates and even adults looked at Luke with neutral faces, some of them looking at him with worry, some neutral, and some (or one) glaring at him.

    (Luke) How about we have another party ¡­ if it¡¯s up to you guys? We all have some tension between us, so how about we unwind with at least food and drinks ¡­

    Timidly rubbing the back of his head, he awaited any answer that may come out of the 13 other people.

    (Stan) Another party? Sure, my heart feels heavy from all that drama¡­

    (Miles) Yeah, I could use a soda or two.

    (Jack) I could stay up for a bit longer.

    (Sean) ¡­ fine ¡­ but only for the girls and drinks ¡­ n-not for you¡­

    The rest of the candidates agreed. Surprisingly, Luna also voiced her opinion, her voice slightly warmer than her cold demeanor.

    (Luna) As long as there''s donuts.

    Hope didn¡¯t say anything, or rather she came up to Luke and took his hand, which caused Luke¡¯s cheeks to redden.

    Sean looked away blushingly, his face signaling defeat upon the girl that he tried hitting on a day ago.

    (Luna) Stop holding hands!

    Perfectly, the rest of the candidates went downstairs, putting aside their issues and worries for the next day and after¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 16: The Strongest and The Shyest

    (Prominis 19, 58 / 6:00PM)

    Four years later¡­

    (Jerry) Class dismissed! You guys are finally finished with your last day of training! I hope you all do well on the final test!

    As Jerry dismissed the class full of teens and young adults, he quickly walked out of the classroom, his face lightened and calm.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Maybe this is the day that Jenny will go out with me.

    As the 14 candidates were packing up their things for the day, 16-year-old Luke looked out the old window, seeing the calm and orange sky as it was turning darker each minute.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Guess this is it¡­

    Getting up, he checked the calendar on the back of the room, the calendar stacked with 24 months of the year. While checking, four other guys came over, checking out the white and bulky calendar too.

    (Fred) Why do we have 24 months in a year?

    (Luke) Because Terra does a full orbit around the sun in 24 months?

    (Fred) Yeah, but how come we¡¯re both 16 and not eight?

    (Gary) It¡¯s quite simple dumbasses, we all have two birthdays in the same year.

    (Stan) Yeah, we always had one odd birthday and one even birthday. Your even birthday is technically your true birthday, as well as the fact that we all sort of decided to divide the year into two years¡­

    (Diego) Come on Fred, it¡¯s basic knowledge¡­

    As the boy group was discussing amongst themselves the basics of months and years, Luke noticed that Hope was staring at him, her timid nature holding her back from reaching to Luke, despite being a 17-year-old.

    Fred notices Hope¡¯s shyness and he reaches out to Luke, placing his arm over his neck.

    (Fred) You should ask her out man.

    (Luke) Look, I just¡ª

    (Diego) Go for it, she¡¯s into you.

    (Luke) H-Hold up¡ª

    (Gary) Freaking loverboy¡­

    (Luke) Time out!

    Luke, flustered that all his friends were trying to set him up with Hope, wanted to hide in a corner, his body shivering with timidness and lack of assertion.

    (Luke) I mean ¡­ she is cute ¡­ but ¡­

    (Stan) But what?

    (Luke) There¡¯s her¡­

    Luke looks to where Luna is sitting, the 20-year-old glaring at Luke and the boys, her way of showing dominance and fear. Four years prior, Luna was the coldest and meanest girl that everyone laid eyes on. Now, she was more of an annoyance, since even all of Luke¡¯s friends just calmly looked at her.

    (Gary) You always attract either the shyest or the craziest¡­

    Getting up from her seat, Luna made her way towards the boy group, her walk filled with a barrage of dominance and complete charge as she came across Luke.

    Luke hit a growth spurt a few years back, so he was an inch taller than Luna. As Luna examined Luke with her predator''s eyes, she let out a smug grin, her lips letting out a small chuckle.

    (Luna) I need you to come with me.

    (Luke) ¡­ sure.

    Just as Luna was about to leave with Luke in tow, Hope was in her way, her eyes filled with jealousy and determination. Luna wasn¡¯t in the mood for Hope, since she planned this day to be special¡­

    (Luna) Move¡­

    Hope continued to not move, her fists starting to clench themselves as her body shook.

    (Luna) Move or else¡­

    As Luna towered over Hope, about to grab her collar and pull her up when-

    (Gwen) Hello! I hope all of you are having a good evening!

    As Gwen barged into the room, she noticed that both Hope and Luna were at it again. Sighing, she crossed her arms, smirking a bit as she seemed to be enjoying the commotion.

    (Gwen) You two again? Fighting for a boy like always?

    Both Luna and Hope¡¯s cheeks were burdened with red, their bodies filled with butterflies as Gwen exposed them. Hope remained timid as she looked downwards with a face as red as a four-clawed lobster, while Luna had the complete opposite reaction.

    (Luna) Shut up! It¡¯s not like he¡¯s special or anything¡­

    (Gwen) Hmmm¡­

    (Luna) What are you here for anyway? If it¡¯s for a dumb reason then I¡¯ll kick your ass!

    As Luna changed the subject, Gwen then stood up straight. Her smirk disappeared and her eyes narrowed.

    (Gwen) Tomorrow, we¡¯re going to be leaving for Fort Damns, a former major city in the country of Ticia.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Fort Damns?

    As Gwen spoke of the news of leaving Kepputha for the destroyed nation of what used to be Ticia, Luke and his friends, including Luna and Hope, faces were modeled into confusion. Noticing this, Gwen¡¯s eyes were unwavering, continuing to speak on the information that she was given to her. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    (Gwen) It¡¯s part of your last test, so make sure you give it your all! Hmm ¡­

    Gwen then took out from her pocket a road map of the world, her eyes scanning the roadmap but¡ª

    (Gwen) Luna, you¡¯re good with maps. Can you determine how many miles is Fort Damns to Lagefor?

    (Luna) sighs ¡­ Fine¡­ let me see.

    As Luna looked at the map, Luna¡¯s eyes opened wide, as the 14 candidates had to travel¡ª

    (Luna) It¡¯s almost 700 miles east!

    (Gwen) They said the drive is about 13 hours, with two rest stops which can take up to an hour each.

    (Luna) That¡¯s a whole day¡¯s journey!

    Luke and everyone were surprised that their journey would be a long one since they were curious as to why go back to Ticia.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What even is our final test? They said that our final test determines if we become an elite soldier or not¡­

    As Luke got into thought, he noticed his friends as well were thinking about the journey, their hands on their chins as they were lost in thought.

    (Gwen) Oh, and one last thing ¡­

    Clearing up her throat, Gwen looked at Luke, his friends, Luna, and Hope, her eyes scanning every one of them.

    (Gwen) Everyone is leaving at 6 in the morning, so make sure you guys are up by 5.

    All the candidates groaned.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 20, 58 / 5:00AM)

    (Gwen on Megaphone) GOOOOOOOOD¡ª

    In an instant, Luna stormed out of her room and ran furiously to Gwen.

    Luna¡¯s body charged forward with frustration and anger as she targeted the megaphone in Gwen¡¯s hand. Gwen, on the other hand, still maintained a carefree attitude, her smile and childish attitude remaining even when she was in her mid-20s.

    Once Luna was close, her right hand was enclosed with a fist. With enough momentum, she threw a hard punch, the strength capable of breaking someone¡¯s face permanently, but Gwen dodged Luna¡¯s blow to her megaphone, and upon missing her target, Luna didn¡¯t back down from trying to hit it again.

    (Luna) I¡¯VE HAD ENOUGH OF THAT THING!!

    (Luke) Luna! Calm down!

    Luke stormed out of his room to try to hold down Luna¡¯s rage. Grabbing both of her arms and putting her in a position so that her arms wouldn¡¯t move, Luna was¡ª

    Much stronger than Luke, a lot stronger, because Luke couldn¡¯t even put her in a proper armlock, so Luna broke free fast and charged forth again.

    (Luke) Luna!

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh wait, the donut!

    To bring her back to her senses, Luke brought out from his pajama pocket a leftover donut, showcasing it to the air.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Ooh!

    Luna stopped in her tracks as she sniffed the air to find a strawberry-glazed donut from yesterday. Despite noticing that Luke had it in his pocket, Luna kept her eyes on the donut, her eyes unwavering from it.

    Bringing the donut down, Luke lured Luna in so that he could give her a treat.

    (Luna) I¡¯m not some animal!

    (Luke) Do you want it? I mean ¡­ I could eat it if you¡ª

    (Luna) No!

    Luna walked towards where Luke was and snatched the donut from his hand. Taking a big bite, her demeanor completely changed, with her face more happy and relaxed as the fluffiness and sugar spread all over the inside of her mouth.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Easiest trick in the book¡­

    With Luna in her habitat, eating a donut calmly, the rest of the other candidates happened to be out of their rooms, awaiting orders with their eyes showcasing the need to go back to sleep. Their bodies were sluggish, given the fact that every day for the past four years, they had been waking up at 6 in the morning, so a 5AM wake-up call wasn¡¯t suitable for their bodies.

    (Gwen) Alright, I explained this to two separate groups yesterday, but I haven¡¯t fully disclosed all the information. We¡¯re taking two vans, one van would be David and me in the front while the other van would be Jerry and Jenny also in the front.

    As David, Jerry, and Jenny came by, they were keeping an eye on the candidates, hoping that all of them felt at least some sort of relief, but even the adults were feeling nervous¡­

    (Gwen) For seating, you could choose any van and you can sit with anyone you like, but the limit for each van is seven.

    Luke¡¯s friends were overjoyed that they would all be together in the same van, their faces smiling and nodding their heads with contentment as they had each other''s backs for the long road.

    Many minutes later¡­

    Upon exiting the building, they saw two brown spacious vans. In the back of both vans, there were four seats on each side, having the ability to hold up to eight people. As they saw the vans, Luke and his friends formed a big group, while Sean, Jack, and Miles were a trio, and Ryan and Cameron were a duo.

    (Stan) Let¡¯s go with David and Gwen.

    (Gary) Seems fine with me.

    (Miles) Follow me, we¡¯re going with Jerry and Jenny.

    (Jack) Sure dude.

    (Ryan) Come on Cameron, let¡¯s go with Miles.

    With all the boys going to their prospective vans, the last people to decide on which van they wanted to take were the girls.

    But the two girls had the same idea in mind. Looking at each other, both girls hated the idea of either one of them inside the same van as Luke.

    (Luna) I¡¯m going in there¡ª

    Hope ran to the van that Luke was in, leaving Luna in the dust¡ª

    (Luna) Get back here!

    Grabbing Hope by her back collar, Luna was ready to throw Hope back hard with enough force to send her back 20 feet, but Hope had a counter. Since she knew that Luna would throw her back, Hope got a hold of her arms, eliminating the chance to get rid of Hope.

    (Luna) Get off me!

    In the distance, two girls saw the commotion unfold.

    (Loraine) They¡¯re at it again!

    (Gemma) Come on, let those two lovebirds just handle it out.

    (Loraine) They should kiss!

    (Gemma) Lorraine!

    (Loraine) hehe.

    As Luna was about to smack Hope in the head, with enough brute force to let her see stars, Luna noticed that two other girls were trying to enter the same van Luke was in.

    (Gemma¡¯s thoughts) But I think Fred is in this van. I just hope those two are still bickering¡­

    (Gemma) Loraine, quick let¡¯s get on¡ª

    As Gemma and Loraine noticed Luna and Hope, Gemma¡¯s face turned pale as not just Luna, but Hope too looked at Gemma with a dangerous glare. Not wanting to take her chances, she and Loraine in tow scurried to the van that contained Miles and the others.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Good riddance¡­

    But that meant that both girls had to be in the same van¡­

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Finally, I could sit next to Luke¡­

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Do I have to be in the same van with this blonde bitch?

    As both girls entered the van, there was a little miscalculation¡­

    From the right side, from near the passenger to near the back door, was Fred, Luke, Diego, and Stan.

    But on the left side, there was only one seat, right in the middle¡­

    (Gary) Hey girls!

    Hope didn¡¯t mind Gary, so she sat down nearest the driver to get a better view of Luke. As she was seated, Gary looked at her with a warm smile, his face lighting up as his plan was a success. Luke, who was facing in front of them, kept his hands to himself, glaring at Gary without anybody noticing.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Wait ¡­ why am I jealous?

    But there was one girl that didn¡¯t take her chances with this change of seats.

    (Luna) Hey fatass, switch seats with Luke.

    (Gary) Huh? Who are you calling a fatass¡ª

    (Luna) Now.

    (Luke) Hey, be nice.

    (Luna) Then trade seats.

    Luke pulled out another donut from the morning, motioning it still as Luna¡¯s hands were quivering as she licked her lower lip.

    (Luke) I¡¯ll give it if you apologize, and if it makes you better, I¡¯ll trade seats with Gary.

    (Gary¡¯s thoughts) Come on!

    Luna glared at Gary, who was in the middle of between Luna and Luke in the large yet small van. Sighing, she crossed her arms and put her right leg on her left knee.

    (Luna) Sorry for calling you a fatass, not my fault that you were¡ª

    (Luke) Say it like you mean it.

    (Luna) Tch ¡­ sorry.

    Giving the donut to Luna, she rapidly snatched it with her right hand. Opening her mouth wide, she took three bites to completely devour the donut.

    Luke got up so that Gary could sit in the seat that Luke was in, Gary¡¯s eyes glaring at Luke as he sat in between Hope and Luna.

    Both girls sat side by side with him, causing his whole body to burn with nervousness.

    The four boys on the other side view in envy, as Luke was in between the strongest and the shyest.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 17: Prepare for ... The Array

    (Prominis 20, 58 / 8:03PM)

    (Border Patrol Guard) Your Drakos right?

    (David) Yeah, we have a dispatch to go to Fort Damns.

    (Border Patrol Guard) Well if it¡¯s by thee David Drakos then I wouldn¡¯t question it. Is the other van with you too?

    (David) Yes son.

    (Border Patrol Guard) Alright, can you tell me the name of the driver behind you?

    (David) Jerry Phillips.

    (Border Patrol Guard) Noted. Thank you sir.

    Crossing into the forest wasteland of Ticia, David¡¯s eyes began scanning the area, making sure that no zompires were within his line of sight. Meanwhile, Gwen laid back deep in her seat, still sleeping in without a care in the world.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s been sleeping through the entire trip¡­

    In the back, five out of the seven candidates that were in that van were still awake, funny enough, it was the two oldest candidates in that van.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) That damn border crossing woke me up¡­

    As Luke was fast asleep, his face slumped down straight, not leaning his head into any girl, Luna had her arm over Luke¡¯s shoulder, while Hope was leaning her head towards Luke¡¯s left shoulder.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I wish he wasn¡¯t this shy¡­

    As Luna¡¯s eyes started to glare at Hope¡¯s sleeping face, Stan, who was now awake, looked at Luke and the two girls that were attached to him. Curious, Stan took his direction towards Luna, who was trying to lean Luke¡¯s head into her left shoulder.

    (Stan) I know he¡¯s better-looking than most boys, but why him?

    (Luna) Huh?

    (Stan) It¡¯s pretty rare for two girls to fight over some socially awkward dude, so why him? I¡¯ve seen what you do.

    Stan put his hands on the back of his head, slumped forward as he casually eyed Luna.

    (Stan) You mark your territory, you glare at any girl that looks at him, you make him follow you around, yet you say that you don¡¯t ¡°like¡± him¡­

    (Luna) Is that supposed to be a bad thing?

    (Stan) Well, do you like him?

    (Luna) He¡¯s¡­my pet.

    (Stan) You mean your toy?

    (Luna) Whatever you call it, I don¡¯t care.

    (Stan) But the moment someone wants to play¡ªor rather, treat your toy with care, you get selfish, possessive¡­

    (Luna) What the hell type of point do you want to make here?

    As Luna raised her voice, but barely enough so that she didn''t wake up Luke, she wanted to hear Stan¡¯s thesis. Quietly, Stan¡¯s eyes remained focused on Luna¡¯s, his voice low but audible enough for Luna to hear.

    (Stan) I think you should let Luke decide who he wants to be with.

    (Luna) Decide?

    (Stan) If Luke was a dog-human, which partner would he rather go with?

    (Luna) ¡­

    (Stan) Because you show who¡¯s the big dog? Do you truly believe he likes to be treated that way?

    The more Stan questions Luna, the more her throat agitates with frustration. Her fists started to clench, followed by her body sending one-second shivers in five-second intervals.

    Noticing that Luna didn¡¯t want to retort back, Stan continued to go along with his point, his eyes remaining focused on Luna.

    (Stan) From what I¡¯ve seen in ethics, dog-humans usually go for people who treat them with respect, the same goes for cat-humans but cat-people are mostly spoiled in terms of love.

    Stan¡¯s voice then started to tone up a bit more, clearly trying to finish his point with his body exerting confidence without fear.

    (Stan) If Luke wants to be treated with care, then I think the best choice would be Hope.

    (Luna) Shut up¡­

    Trying not to yell, Luna¡¯s voice was at its limit in trying to hold her anger, using every bit of strength to hold herself back.

    (Stan) You¡¯ve seen the way Luke looks at Hope, try to remember a scene in which he looks at Hope the same he looks at you¡ª

    (Luna) Shut up!

    Luna flinched out of her seat, barely standing as she wanted to make her dominance known to Stan, but limited since she was being seated in a van.

    Unsurprisingly, the candidates that were asleep soon woke up to Luna¡¯s outburst, with Gwen as well waking up and David losing focus on trying to scout for enemies.

    (David) Luna, keep it down.

    Calmly, David told Luna one simple request that he knew wouldn¡¯t work, his face eyes barely awake as he continued to drive.

    (Luke) W-W-What happened?

    (Luna) Go back to sleep.

    (Luke) B-but.

    (Luna) Now.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Forcing Luke to go back to sleep, he followed her order, putting his head in the middle so as to not lean in on Hope or Luna¡¯s shoulders. As he forced himself to sleep, everyone else did the same, as their faces were perplexed with crusty eyes and drool marks.

    (Stan) Guess I should go back to sleep¡­

    As Stan positions himself to take in a few mimis, Luna¡¯s arm that was wrapped around Luke tightened more, her eyes looking into Luke¡¯s sleeping face. Her cheeks turned a bit red as she couldn¡¯t resist the way he slept peacefully.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) After all these years, I still haven¡¯t apologized to him so ¡­

    Luna looked up at the van roof, her eyes blankly staring at its metallic brown state. Almost as if looking up at someone, she clenched her right fist slightly.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 20, 58 / 9:15PM)

    (David) We¡¯re here!

    As the van¡¯s engine turned off, David got out of the car and headed his way towards the back. Using a vault code to unlock the locks, David turned the handle to let everyone out, their eyes and bodies barely operable as they grudgingly looked around¡­

    The forest was unusually quiet, with no crickets or cicadas chirping or buzzing, followed by the darkness of the forest surrounding them.

    As the first van unloaded, the second van pulled up near their location. Same as before, Jerry got out to unlock the vault from the back, and the second group came out the same as the first ¡­ barely operable.

    (David) Everyone, get inside the white building!

    (Jerry) Listen to what David says!

    As the 14 candidates walked towards the building, their legs feeling the tall grass that brushed against their legs, all of them lined up single file to enter the small metal door. Upon entering, they noticed that the building was cramped for 14 teens and young adults, but for some reason, most people could see the outlines of the building despite it being night¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is this a bathroom?

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) Why are there little sprinkler systems here?

    Noticing that it had stalls, toilets, and sinks, all of them slowly noticed that it wasn¡¯t a fancy lunch or storage room.

    (Jack) Damn, it stinks in here!

    (Miles) Try not to use any toilets or sinks, the pipes have probably been corroded and rusted by now¡­

    Pinching their noses to not smell the putrid horrors of sewage water, they all weren¡¯t happy that they were enclosed in a run-down bathroom¡ª

    The sounds of a closing door can be heard¡­

    Everyone checked their back, they noticed that the door was closed from the outside, the heat and humidity of the teens worried them, causing them to make the bathroom feel like a sauna.

    Cameron, nearest the door, noticed that the handle to the door wasn¡¯t opening¡­

    (Cameron) I think we¡¯re locked in here¡­

    (Ryan) Why are we even here in the first place? Aren¡¯t we supposed to be doing our final test?

    (Gemma) What if this is¡ª

    (???) Welcome to the final test candidates!

    A faint recording was heard throughout everyone, their ears perking up as they curiously began looking for the noise. Seeing that a small recorder box was playing on a rusty sink, the voice could be none other than¡­

    (Sean) Is that Boris?

    Everyone huddled around the recorder.

    (Boris recording) If you could hear me, then this test would prove your capability of becoming a soldier. It is known publicly, but some people possess magic, which you may know as blessings. If you listened in class, you should have already known that blessings originated from the white bananas you eat, and in turn, give you magical powers that suit your DNA and personality¡­

    The candidates continued to listen to Boris¡¯s exposition, the memories of training and learning flooding in, causing most of the candidates to nod as Boris mentions.

    (Gary) Weren¡¯t we already familiar with blessings?

    (Stan) If you think about it, some of us probably forgot about the power of the blessings, so it makes sense that you would review it for the final test¡­

    (Boris) Stan is indeed right, but please listen.

    The gasps of teens and young adults can be heard¡­

    (Gemma) I thought it was a recorder box.

    (Boris) It¡¯s a handcrafted government box¡ªshall we continue along with the lesson!?

    (Loraine) I¡¯m hungry¡ª

    (Boris) Stop interrupting me!

    Heavy breaths and panting were heard through the box, the candidates worried for Boris'' health since previously, when Boris introduced himself, he was out of breath and sweating when he finished his speech.

    The same thing is happening again, but worse¡­

    (Boris) pants ¡­ anyway ¡­ pants ¡­ every one of you has not received a blessing, until tomorrow¡­ pants ¡­ your final test will reward you with it¡­

    The 14 candidates then clumped together like sardines, their bodies leaning towards the box in order to understand Boris¡¯s words.

    (Boris) In the center of the city, you¡¯ll find white bananas that will grant you those blessings. Some of you may receive support blessings, offense blessings, or defense blessings ¡­ and some bananas will grant you support-offense blessings, offense-defense blessings, or defense-support blessings¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Six classes in total¡­

    (Boris) When you eat a white banana, the power will take time to activate. When using a blessing, there is a limit to how much you can use it. Instead of mana or chakra or any other fancy mechanic, the power of a blessing and its usage determines how much stamina the person has¡­

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) So that means the healthier the person, the longer the usage¡­

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s why they made us train till our bones break¡­ they were getting us in perfect shape.

    The more Boris explained the power of blessings, the more intrigued everyone in the small bathroom was. Curious, Gary decided to speak up, his face confused and his tone curious as he spoke to the box.

    (Gary) Hey, I have a question.

    (Boris) sigh ¡­ Yes Gary?

    (Gary) Doesn¡¯t the government have a monopoly on these white bananas? A couple of years ago, I heard from either you or David that the government has been slowly taking control of all the white banana trades. Does this mean that if we get our blessings, we will be forced to work under the government?

    (Boris) Unfortunately, yes. I received the funds for this project from the government, but they had some demands that even I was hesitant to push forward¡­

    (Diego) Wait, by the Kepputhan government or the Union of Ordered Governments?

    (Boris) ¡­ I think you boys should stop talking ¡­ for all of our sakes¡­

    With a change in the tone, Boris continued to speak through the metal box, his voice hesitant.

    (Boris) A demand from the government that I was fine with was the time limit, in which everyone had to get to the center before 6AM, starting at midnight. I believe everyone should reach the center in that period.

    The candidates were somewhat content with the time limit, their bodies were relaxed and calm.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s better that way, it forces us to work missions under pressure.

    The candidates held their stomachs, as their way to achieve status as a soldier was soon in the¡ª

    (Boris) But one of the demands that the government wanted ¡­ was to put only seven white bananas in the center¡­

    (Everyone) W-WHAT!!

    Realizing that half of them would be cut off from the program, everyone¡¯s eyes remained solely on the recorder box.

    (Stan) Why seven?

    (Boris) They said they wanted the best ¡­ I was a little hesitant, but it¡¯s for the greater good¡­

    (Miles) For what greater good?! Are you really going to cull the weak because¡ª

    (Boris) Please understand it wasn¡¯t my choice to begin with! I just went along with it to please them!

    Panting again, Boris was restless and exasperated once again as his heavy body was not working with him.

    (Boris) pants ¡­ another demand ¡­ pants ¡­ that they wanted ¡­ pants ¡­ was one that I fought with ¡­

    (Stan) What can this demand be any worse than culling half the group¡ª

    (Boris) The government ¡­ wasn¡¯t content with just the city being filled with regular traps ¡­ so they decided to fill the city with ¡­ zompires¡­

    There was no shock, no voice uttering amongst the teens and young adults.

    Luna, Luke, Fred, Gary, Stan, and Miles¡¯s bodies began to shake uncontrollably, their faces as white as glacier snow when they had to-

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to go through it¡­ Not back there ¡­ Not back there ¡­

    (Boris) I offer my sincerest apologies¡­

    Boris'' voice was filled with regret.

    (Boris) Please forgive me¡­

    Many of the candidates began to cough and gag as gas began to spray within the building..

    (Fred) Everyone, break down the door before ¡­ before ¡­

    Fred slowly started to collapse onto himself. Slowly, the candidates started to lose consciousness.

    (Stan) Someone ¡­ get ¡­ get a stick ¡­

    More candidates were slowly falling asleep. Even Luna, who was kicking at the metal door, started to lose her strength, her kicks slowly becoming more and more weaker.

    (Luna) I¡¯m ¡­ going to kick your ¡­ kick your ¡­

    (Boris) Before you go, this is the most important rule! Please stick together and¡ª

    As Luke collapsed, he had his eyes still open. Before he began to fall asleep, his eyes caught one last glance as all the candidates managed to fall asleep. Closing his eyes, he heard one last¡ª

    (Boris) ¡­ prepare for The Array ¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 18: The First Stage

    (Prominis 1, 58 / 7:08PM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s too fast!

    The gym room, which laid many dumbbells and weights, held a ring in the middle of its center. Two people, a boy, and a girl, sparred with utmost intensity¡ª

    Well, mostly the girl¡­

    (Luna) Too easy.

    With utmost ease, Luna used her sword to disarm Luke, the sword pushing its limits to break Luke¡¯s grip in his right hand, its metal showing its state of retirement. Her sword managed to chip away as Luke gave in, his hand covered in blisters and calluses.

    As for Luna, her hand was smooth yet rough, as the hand that shows the knuckles was tender and soft but the palm was bumpy and jagged. In this rough conclusion, Luke¡¯s sword was on the ground, dislodged as he was weaponless, and Luna pointed her sword at Luke.

    Luke looked at Luna¡¯s hands, as well as the stance she used to point her sword at him.

    (Luke) Why are you this good at using swords?

    (Luna) What, going to cry?

    (Luke) No ¡­ it¡¯s just ¡­

    (Luna) It¡¯s just what?

    Putting her sword down, she started walking towards where Luke was standing, closing the gap between them, and making her back straight as she slightly looked up. While looking up, she placed her arms on her hips, glaring at Luke with cold yet tender eyes.

    Luke being Luke, he looked away, avoiding eye contact as he spoke.

    (Luke) You ¡­ didn¡¯t look like you used swords a lot before we met ¡­

    (Luna) Huh?

    (Luke) Your palms were smooth like mine ¡­ even more when we had our first ring fight ¡­

    Luna then put her head down, her face being flustered as Luke cleverly noticed one mystery that Luna had¡­

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Damn it. Like a puppy, he has good eyes¡­

    (Gwen) Are you two going to kiss?

    (Luke and Luna) WHAT?!

    Gwen being Gwen, she barged in knowing that Luke and Luna were sparring, her face cheerful and childish as she saw her disciple with the strongest girl. Causing both to turn red, Luke began sweating hard, backing a couple of steps away.

    (Luke) Hey! We¡¯re just friends!

    (Luna) He¡¯s my pet dumbass!

    Her fists on the verge of breaking, she ferociously eyed Gwen, wanting to make another makeover on Gwen¡¯s face.

    (Gwen) Just kidding with you guys! Man, you guys can¡¯t take a joke to save your lives haha.

    Chuckling for a couple of seconds, she handed Luke a white paper card, the smell of it being fresh.

    (Gwen) On the last day of training, I want you to put it in your pocket. It¡¯s a little secret if you like to put it¡­

    (Luke) What does it contain?

    (Gwen) It¡¯s just a little tip.

    Opening the card, Luke opened it to see a little poem made by none other than¡­

    (Luke) Is this a joke?

    (Gwen) Nope, it¡¯s my way of helping you guys out¡­

    Luke began reading the poem in his mind, his mind focusing on analyzing every line.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) In a forest of dead bricks, take the tunnel to see a cool trick¡­

    (Luke) What does this line mean anyway?

    (Gwen) Like I said you¡¯ll find out¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 12:00AM)

    The sounds of an alarm can be heard¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Ow¡­ my head ¡­ what¡¯s going on¡­

    Slowly opening his eyes, he turned his head left to right to notice that he wasn¡¯t in the run-down bathroom like before¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Am I in a city?

    Getting up sluggishly, he noticed that all around him were buildings, buildings corroded and being brought back to nature, the moss and trees calling the buildings home as they rested for the night.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) And it¡¯s a double new moon today, so the city is¡ª

    Nestled in darkness, as Luke could not see most of the buildings from far away, the darkness of the sky is shrouded in an almost dystopian setting. The more he looked at the buildings and the scenery, the more Luke began grabbing his stomach, his breathing becoming irregular as memories of the past began coming back.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) No ¡­ I don¡¯t like it ¡­ help ¡­ help ¡­ where¡¯s ¡­ where¡¯s ¡­

    A clash of glass coming from inside a building was heard¡­

    Luke began looking all over his area, fear prevalent all over his face as he was on the verge of panicking. Not knowing where the sound came from, Luke remained still, yet his body was trembling with utmost fear, his face being deathly pale while his back felt the chillness of the whole scenario.

    Then another clash of glass can be heard¡­

    Pretty soon another¡­

    And another¡­

    Until¡­

    (Luke) AAAAAAHHH!

    Using his peripheral vision, he noticed that a small figure was walking out of an office building to his left. He jumped as his vocals convoked a high-pitched shriek.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Wait ¡­ Is that a wild chicken¡­

    Embarrassingly walking towards the wild chicken that looked oddly towards Luke, he looked down, inhaling and exhaling.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) You¡¯re coming with me!If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Grabbing the chicken by its legs, the chicken started to try to fight back, but the way it was grabbed was so that it wouldn¡¯t peck Luke¡¯s hand. With the chicken being submitted to Luke¡¯s will, he looked inside the abandoned building, hoping to see anything that could carry and hold the chicken as he walked.

    Sure enough, he saw an old purse and backpack, just waiting for it to be picked up¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It looks like it was placed¡­

    Grabbing the purse first, he placed the chicken inside of it, zipping the purse up so that the chicken couldn''t escape. As Luke zipped the purse, he noticed that the purse looked expensive.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Reminds me of the purses Dad would buy for Mom¡­

    He carried the purse with his left hand, followed by the old backpack like he was going to school.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I should get going. Let¡¯s just hope I¡¯m a good cook¡ª

    When Luke was about to exit the door, he felt like something was watching him¡­

    Turning around normally, he saw¡ª

    Dozens upon dozens of red eyes were watching him in the darkness of the building, with the creatures dropping all kinds of saliva off of their blue beaks.

    Realizing what position Luke was in, he then realized something.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) The chicken I was carrying was a female, the only one in their little tribe, so¡­

    The red-eyed creatures slowly started to walk their way toward Luke.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) If this type of tribe system is correct, then ¡­ These are poisonous blue-beaked chickens!

    His body moving in motion, Luke quickly ran out of the building and into the street. Looking back, he quickly saw that dozens and dozens of male chickens were running towards him, their beaks drooling with venomous saliva.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why do chickens hate me so much?!

    Dozens of minutes after midnight, Luke Fenix, a 16-year-old boy holding a Lewis Batton purse with a female chicken in tow, being chased away by dozens of male poisonous chickens can be heard in the distance.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 12:33AM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) panting ¡­ I think they¡¯re gone¡­

    Hiding in a home with no front door, Luke lurked in the shadows of an abandoned home, his body heavy as he lay down beside the wall in a molded living room. Noticing that a clock still works, he looked and his eyes were met with panic.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m only 30 minutes in!

    Tapping his foot up and down for a couple of seconds, he stood up and put his fists against the wall, his head rubbing on it as he tried to calm himself down.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) This is insane! How am I supposed to survive six hours of this?! Even then, I¡¯m supposed to reach the center of the city! How! How! How¡ª

    Then Luke looked up, his face inches away from the wall¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What ¡­ What did Boris say again?

    Scratching his head furiously, he tried to remember those exact words that Boris said before he passed out, but it was no use.

    Frustrated, Luke slammed his fists hard against the wooden wall, the shock not as hard as Luke thought it would be, but just enough¡­

    So that a small portrait would hit Luke¡¯s head.

    (Luke) Ow! Now pictures are tormenting me!

    Picking up the portrait, he was about to use his right hand to throw away the little portrait, until he noticed that there were a bunch of legs that the photo had on the bottom.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is this a suburban home?

    Upon looking at the photo in full view, he saw a normal family photo of a mother and father with their three kids.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) They all looked happy¡­

    Noticing the happiness of the family of five, Luke looked around the living room to see the ambiance of moss and mold already calling the house home.

    Looking at the photo even more, he noticed that the father wore a soldier uniform. Its black and red striped jacket followed by the amount of shiny medals made the father not just a soldier, but¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) A commander¡­ just like Gwen¡­

    Putting the photo in his pocket, an idea came to him.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) If he was a soldier ¡­ then ¡­ then he must have at least a weapon in storage!

    He went deeper into the house, trying to find anything useful that the soldier may have hidden or kept, but the darkness of the house was Luke¡¯s biggest obstacle.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I should probably find a match or flashlight in here somewhere. If I was a commander, where would I put a flashlight¡ª

    As Luke went inside the kitchen thinking to himself, he noticed that a drawer was wide open. Running towards the drawer with immense speed, he looked through the drawer to find a red and blue kids-sized flashlight.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It may not be that bright, but it would work¡­

    Having a source of light to navigate the house, he grabbed the flashlight with his right hand, and then made his way to the molded hallway. The more the wooden floorboards creaked with each step, the more he had to cover his face from the moldy air until he noticed that the hallway was plastered with family photos.

    In each photo, Luke noticed that the fatherly soldier was in them, either with his wife, his son, or his two daughters. Their smiles are ever-present in the decay of time.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What happened to him?

    As Luke¡¯s eyes simmered downward, he took a whiff of a door that was conjoined with the floor.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s the basement¡­ wait ¡­ could he put a weapon stash in there?

    Running to the basement door, he quickly put the purse down near the stairs and made his way down.

    But then he tripped, tumbling his way down the stairs.

    (Luke) Aaah!

    Grabbing the flashlight in his right hand, he tucked his right arm so that the flashlight wouldn¡¯t break on his flight down the stairs. With each stair he tumbled upon, the cold cemented steps would put on a body and face makeup of purple and blue bruises.

    Feeling like an eternity, he managed to tumble down to the basement floor, his face hitting the smooth stone with a lot of force. Slowly getting up, his body was shaking as the cemented stairs made him discombobulate, with his head feeling like he was stabbed to the side¡­

    Ignoring the small ringing in his ears, Luke noticed that the flashlight was still on, his breathing slowing down as the pain started to subside.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Alright, now to find that¡ªoh, is that the weapon¡¯s locker?

    As Luke¡¯s luck got the better of him, he walked towards a wide-open weapon¡¯s locker, his bruised face naturally forming a smile straight from his heart.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I just hope they haven¡¯t ¡­ raided it.

    Unfortunately for Luke, the weapon locker was ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s empty¡­

    The chicken from the purse started to cluck hard¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why is the chicken acting up? And at this time?

    Even when he was in the basement, the clucks the chicken was making were frantic and fast, almost as if the chicken wanted to get out of the purse¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s a poisonous blue-beaked chicken ¡­ What animal can scare off one of the deadliest animals on¡­

    The floorboards from the hallway started to creek hard¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡­

    Sweat starting to form on his forehead, Luke noticed a big blue cabinet. Running to the cabinet, he opened it wide and enclosed himself in it. Turning off the flashlight for a much better chance that he wouldn''t be seen, he crossed his fingers hoping that whatever was on top of him was just one of the candidates. The more the floorboards creaked hard, the clucks of the chicken could be heard harder¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to die¡­

    Breathing in and out rapidly, his body odor started to be noticeable, as Luke remained fearful for what lay outside the basement. Placing his hands on his ears, he wanted the sounds of hell to stop.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Please go away! Please go away! Please go away! Please go away!

    Shutting his eyes from the world, he remained like that for several minutes, keeping himself mentally stable to not lose hope and humanity.

    Then the sounds of the chicken clucking stopped.

    And the floorboards stop creaking.

    Still having his eyes shut, he steadily unclasped his hands that were binding his ears, his breathing still heavy and fast. His breathing slowly started to dim down as his hands started to press against the cabinet.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Alright, I don¡¯t hear anything. I think I could open my eyes now.

    Opening his eyes slowly, he saw almost nothing out of the hole in the cabinet, the darkness of the basement staggering his vision. Steadily pulling out the kid''s flashlight, he flashed the light out of the cabinet.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) This is a horrible idea, but I got to know¡­

    Seeing that the basement was completely devoid of anything, Luke still had a worried face, his sweat still prevalent as he carefully opened the cabinet door to let himself out. Moving inch by inch, he steadily put a foot down on the basement cold floor, making sure a monster wouldn¡¯t grab his leg.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I hope it isn¡¯t hiding ¡­ I just hope that it was just my imagination¡­

    Looking around with the kiddie flashlight, there was nothing that moved or changed¡ª

    The flashlight then stopped working.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come on! Come on! Why out of all times!

    A putrid hot breath tickled down his neck.

    Then came a low humming growl¡­ from on top of him.

    Luke knew that putrid hot breath from anywhere, his face ghostly pale, his face saturated with sweat, and his whole body shivering as if he had hypothermia.

    And upon noticing this hot breath, Luke ¡­

    Sprinted with so much force to try to escape whatever was near him¡ª

    (Zompire) Save Us!

    The zompire managed to tackle Luke, with enough force for Luke to fall on his chin. As Luke was lying on his back, he was forced to submit by this zompire that was waiting for their prey.

    (Luke) NOOO!!! I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE!! I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE!! PLEASE ANYONE¡ª

    Just as the zompire was about to clamp its fangs into his neck, another figure was behind the zompire, a girl who wore blue trousers.

    In an instant, the girl who was wielding a Swiss army knife managed to pinpoint exactly where the zompire¡¯s heart was, and in an instant, the zompire started to melt, with its eye sockets, nose, and mouth spewing out putrid black tar. For several seconds, the zompire then started to turn into ash, black ash that covered Luke from top to bottom.

    Slowly and fearfully getting up, his shivering face saw a girl much younger than him, most likely at 12 years of age. In an instant, Luke knew who the girl was.

    (Luke) L-L-L-Loraine?

    Her short height and scrawny body were confusing since she was the second strongest female fighter other than Luna. She had gray eyes and dark brown hair, her hair having pigtails that reached towards her back. Her skin was light and pale, with her nose being above average and her ears being large in length.

    Looking up at Luke, she pointed towards the stairs.

    (Loraine) sniff sniff. Can I have your chicken?

 Arc 1 - Chapter 19: First Zompire Kill

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 1:02AM)

    In a park a couple of blocks near the house, a barbeque pit was lit for a special occasion.

    (Luke) I know I said this a million times but thank you for saving me!

    Bowing clandestinely, Luke arched his back 60 degrees to fully give his thanks to Loraine, which caused her to put her hands on her hips.

    (Loraine) I was only really saving you for the chicken. If you died and I stole your chicken then it would leave a nasty taste in my mouth.

    (Luke) But still, if you want, you could have the whole chicken to yourself.

    (Loraine) Hooray!

    Jumping up and down, Loraine continued to cook the chicken on the barbeque pit, her mouth slightly drooling from the fresh and delicious meat that Luke risked his life over. Meanwhile, Luke sat on a wooden table, hunching his back forward as he took in a big breath in and out.

    (Luke) So how did you find me?

    (Loraine) I heard some crazy boy shouting so I checked to see where it was coming from. And just then ¡­ chuckles ¡­it was you who did all the shouting, and ¡­ chuckles ¡­ you looked like you ran off with a woman¡¯s purse being chased by a group of chickens¡­

    Ignoring the cooking chicken, Loraine gripped her stomach hard as her knees were on the ground, her breath out of place as the scene continued to play on her mind, causing Luke to fluster and to put his hands on his eyes.

    (Luke whispering) Why do I always need to be saved?

    Loraine giggled softly as she stood up back again with her knees off the ground.

    Just as she was about to check on the chicken, she noticed that Luke pulled out a Micro Uzi from his backpack. Curious, she walked towards him.

    (Loraine) Why do you have that gun?

    (Luke) It¡¯s for protection, why?

    (Loraine) To kill a zompire, you have to slice or damage the heart of it. Anywhere else would be a no-go.

    (Luke) What are you trying to say?

    (Loraine) Unless you have good aim, then guns wouldn¡¯t do much in a fight.

    (Luke) Sorry Loraine, but I¡¯m not like you. Come to think of it, the person with the worst accuracy with guns is I think you.

    Loraine then started to pull both Luke¡¯s ears, her breathing rapid as she made a heavy pouting face. For Luke, he put the Uzi down and grabbed a hold of Loraine¡¯s arms, trying to get her hands off of his ears.

    (Luke) Look I¡¯m sorry! Please stop pulling, you¡¯ll rip them off!

    Letting go, Loraine sat on the ground as she looked up at Luke, her face still pouting as she folded her arms.

    Luke held the gun to his right hand, using his left hand to point a finger toward the gun while looking at Loraine, a hint of sweat dripping down his right eye.

    (Luke) You may not be good at accuracy, but I am. Just let me use this weapon for safety okay? It¡¯s not going to kill me.

    (Loraine) Then what about the one that was wearing the commander''s uniform¡­

    Luke began to carefully dust off the dust that had ash inside of its mechanisms. The more he dusted off the ash, the more his face was pushed downwards.

    (Loraine) Why do you feel so emotional for someone else¡¯s gun? That commander wasn¡¯t human anymore, we did what we had to do.

    (Luke) Loraine, he had a family.

    (Loraine) You know if it weren¡¯t for me, then you wouldn¡¯t be alive to speak to me!

    As Loraine shouted at Luke, Luke remained silent as he continued to stare down at the gun. His fingers traced the blurred blackness of the trigger, his fingertips tracing the fingerprints that were etched into the trigger and grip.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Loraine is just a kid, she wouldn¡¯t get it¡­

    (Loraine) You¡¯re probably right ¡­ I wouldn¡¯t get it ¡­

    Stunned, Luke looked towards Loraine. Not looking at him, she pulled out a picture of her and Boris, the photo black and white filled with unfinished bread crumbs.

    (Loraine) I wasn¡¯t raised by normal parents ¡­ I didn¡¯t even know what my parents were ¡­ all I remember was that I was taken into care by Boris¡­

    The picture showcased little Loraine on top of Boris¡¯s back, her arms wrapped childly around Boris¡¯s chubby neck.

    (Loraine) He¡¯s mean, he¡¯s strict and greedy, but ¡­

    Loraine¡¯s eyes started to water, as she looked towards Luke with her nose beginning to sniffle.

    (Loraine) He¡¯s the only person that took care of me¡­

    (Luke) Loraine¡­

    Standing up, Luke decided to pat Loraine on her head, giving her much-needed reassurance.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    (Luke) We all care for each other. You may not be that good to work with, but please ¡­

    Bending down to see Loraine¡¯s watery face, Luke looked directly at Loraine¡¯s eyes, his face calm and warm.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t do this on your own ¡­

    In an instant, Loraine got up from her seat, avoiding eye contact with Luke. As Luke tried to not make it look embarrassing by taking back a couple of steps, Loraine then turned around towards where Luke was and charged forth, similar to a battering ram.

    A weak battery ram¡­

    (Luke) Uh, what are you doing?

    Because Loraine didn¡¯t have the strength to move Luke at all, his body was still in the same position.

    As Loraine took a couple of steps back, she then smiled gleefully towards Luke, her smile cheerful and childish as she put her hands in the air.

    (Loraine) It¡¯s my test to see if you¡¯re worthy of becoming a friend! I don¡¯t like weak people so I decided to test if you would either flinch or tumble but you didn¡¯t!

    (Luke) Ok?

    Luke remained confused about the logic behind Loraine, so he decided to keep his mouth shut and folded his arms to his sides. As Loraine looked over at the chicken, she threw up her hands..

    (Loraine) No! It¡¯s burnt!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 1:35PM)

    As Luke and Loraine walked through the abandoned city after their night dinner, the two managed to get nearer to the center.

    (Luke) I still can¡¯t believe Boris managed to spoil you all the ways and functions of The Array¡­

    (Loraine) hehe ¡­ He has a soft spot for me, I mean ¡­ I knew from the beginning what The Array would be like.

    (Luke) But still, you could¡¯ve told us sooner.

    (Loraine) Boris told me to never say anything about it until now. If I did, then he told me I would be kicked out of the program immediately¡­

    Luke started to breathe slightly off tempo, his fists tightened for a bit until he let go. Meanwhile, Loraine just casually walked with her arms moving back and forth in large gaps, similar to how a robot would walk.

    (Luke) Hey Loraine? You said that The Array had three stages right?

    (Loraine) Yup! We are in the first stage, or the suburbs of the city! You won¡¯t be seeing zompires any time soon unless you¡¯re unlucky!

    Ouch¡­

    (Luke) What about the second stage?

    (Loraine) The second stage is the downtown area, where many offices and shops are located! You better have enough ammo, because Boris told me it¡¯s common to run into a zompire!

    (Luke) What about the third stage?

    Loraine then stopped walking, putting her hand on Luke¡¯s arm. As Luke felt the smoothness and purity of Loraine¡¯s hand, he also felt her hand shake with uneasiness.

    (Loraine) It¡¯s ¡­ the third stage is in the military complex ¡­ at the center of the city ¡­

    (Luke) How many zompires would we run into there?

    (Loraine) ¡­ Boris didn¡¯t say anything about how many zompires would appear, so he just ¡­

    Loraine then remembered something from her past¡­

    (Boris in Loraine¡¯s thoughts) Promise me that you¡¯ll shoot the crates! Promise you¡¯ll stick together with someone! Anyone!

    Luke started to turn a little pale as even Loraine couldn¡¯t grasp how many enemies the military complex would hold since all she did was just look down with her face, even more paler than his. Walking towards her, Luke put both his arms on Loraine¡¯s shoulders, looking at her directly.

    (Luke) I think I know what Boris meant ¡­ he wanted us to stick together huh.

    (Loraine) Y-Yeah¡­

    (Luke) But to improve our chances for survival ¡­ or for everyone ¡­ then ¡­

    Luke then turned around and grabbed Loraine by her hand, dragging her while running closer to the center.

    (Luke) We just have to find the right company to stick with¡­

    Luke, running with Loraine through the almost suburban landscape of Fort Damns, started to scan every inch of the abandoned buildings so that he might find someone either with a group or alone.

    Running more and more, Luke¡¯s stamina was in perfect condition, since he had many hellish experiences before training and during training.

    But for Loraine, she has started to slack off, her stamina isn¡¯t as well built as Luke¡¯s¡­

    (Luke) Loraine, do you want me to slow down?

    (Loraine) Yes! I¡¯m starting to feel tired¡ª

    Out from a random garbage can was¡ª

    (Zompire #1) Save us!

    Jumping with fear, Luke with Loraine in tow, jumped sideways as a zompire appeared to the side of them. For Luke was pale, his body quivering with fear as the zompire managed to ambush them, Loraine wasn¡¯t scared ¡­ but ¡­

    She smiled¡­

    (Loraine) Fighting time!

    Letting go of Luke¡¯s hand, she then charged forward to hone in on the zompire, its black hair and no eyes, not even putting a mark of fear onto the 12-year-old girl. Pulling out her Swiss army knife, she made sure her arm was stretching with her knife in tow, with a smile still stuck on her face.

    (Luke) Be careful!

    Loraine lunged to the right side of her to get a cleaner angle for its heart. By bending down, she then put her left hand on the zompire¡¯s chin, to push it so that it wouldn¡¯t take a bite from her. Now using her right hand, she lodged with enough force so that the knife would sink deep into its heart.

    By twisting her knife, she managed to stab right into the zompire¡¯s heart, pushing against the black tar that leaked out of the creature. As Loraine pulled back her hand, the zompire collapsed onto itself and started to die out.

    But on its death, it started to glitch out¡­

    And upon death, it started to form black ash¡ª

    Loraine then was tackled onto the ground by another zompire¡­

    (Zompire #2) Save us!

    (Loraine) Aah!

    The zompire pressed its body onto Loraine, the creature licking its lips like some sick weirdo as it eyed the barely teenage girl. Twisting its head so that it would take a huge chunk off of Loraine¡¯s head, it bared its fangs as it got closer and closer to Loraines¡ª

    A bullet was shot¡­

    As the piercing sound clashed across the city, where would that bullet hit?

    The answer to that would be the zompire¡¯s temple, where a bullet was lodged inside the creature¡¯s skull. The bullet looked to be tiny compared to other cartridges, as it trickled down the creature¡¯s shoulder and onto the paved dirt.

    The zompire looked towards the direction of where the bullet was shot, and it was none other than¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Just need a clean shot!

    As Luke aimed his uzi in his right hand, his right arm started to shake intensely as the fear and panic from four years ago started to flood in. His face was drenched with chivalrous sweat, and his palms weren¡¯t gripped well enough to hold a gun accurately, but¡­

    Luke put his left hand supporting his right arm.

    The zompire started to run towards Luke with superhuman speed, making Luke¡¯s job of aiming for the creature¡¯s heart much harder than it needed it to be. His hand shaking nervously, he wanted to jump out of the way, he wanted to run away, he wanted¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Focus! Focus! Focus!

    The zompire was mere feet away from where Luke stood, and in a flash, Luke shot another bullet, aiming at the zompire¡¯s heart. Upon shooting the creature, Luke waited for the creature to die, since, unlike metal objects like knives or swords, the creature didn¡¯t move like it would normally, the creature not wanting to move¡ª

    The zompire then started to glitch out like the first one, its little ceremonial death taking place as the zompire melted into pure black tar and black ash.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I got one ¡­ my first zompire kill¡­

    With the creature dead, Luke and Loraine looked at each other with exhausted eyes, their bodies drenched with cold sweat to cool them off.

    But the night was already cold enough to begin with.

    Luke then extended his hand towards Loraine, wanting to help her get back up on her feet. Loraine accepted Luke¡¯s hand, her smooth hands grabbing onto Luke¡¯s sweaty and nervous ones.

    (Loraine) Why are you so sweaty?

    (Luke) I just got my first kill, that¡¯s all.

    (Cameron) Oh crap, you guys alright?

    (Ryan) Hey Cam, let¡¯s check them out!

    Two beast people who happened to hear the gunshot ran towards where Luke and Loraine were.

    (Luke) Cam! Ryan!

    (Loraine) Ew, beast humans!

    Luke smacked Loraine¡¯s head hard.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 20: The Second Stage

    (Prominis 20, 58 / 11:47PM)

    (Boris) Is The Array ready?

    (Government Agent #1) Yes sir, all 14 of the teens and young adults are placed on the edge of the city.

    (Boris) Perfect, you shall take your leave for now.

    A tall, silver-haired man with long hair spoke to Boris, wearing a black tuxedo and slacks.

    (Government Agent #1) May I have permission to speak sir?

    (Boris) Go ahead.

    (Government Agent #1) Are you sure you want to put a bunch of kids and teenagers in a deadly game of survival? Isn¡¯t this a bit too much sir?

    Boris looked down towards the steel floor, his glasses covering his gray linings under his eyes.

    (Boris) It¡¯s not like I wanted this in the first place¡­

    (Government Agent #2) Hey Eren, Briggs wants us back to Lagefor tomorrow.

    Another agent, a woman of average height with pitch-black hair, came into the room, speaking directly to the tall silver-haired agent.

    (Government Agent #1) Didn¡¯t you already tell him that we would be helping Boris set up The Array?

    (Government Agent #2) You know how he is in terms of children¡­

    (Government Agent #1) Yeah. Let¡¯s go back, Ada.

    As the two young agents walked out of the room, Boris continued to look downward, not looking at the TV screens and cameras that were plastered across the room.

    (Gwen) BORIS!!

    Hearing rapid footsteps, he looked up to see Gwen sprinting towards him, with veins spouting over her forehead.

    Boris noticed the enraged Gwen and tried to hide in a cabinet, his face dripping with nervous sweat as his body warms up instantly, but Gwen managed to wrap her small hands around his fat neck before he moved. Increasingly tightening her grip, she put her hidden strength into lifting Boris from the ground, causing his face to turn purple and his legs kicking in the air.

    (Gwen) WHAT DID YOU DO!!?

    Four adult figures came by, sprinting towards Gwen with their breaths irregular and out of control.

    (David) Gwen! Stop!

    David outran both Jenny and Jerry, his face tattered with paleness as he managed to grab a hold of Gwen. Putting both hands on Gwen¡¯s arms, David put so much strength onto Gwen¡¯s arms that she had no choice but to lighten her grip on Boris. Jerry and Benn then pulled back Gwen with all their strength, holding Gwen back.

    (Jerry) Gwen, control yourself!

    (Jenny) I know you¡¯re angry, we all are!

    (Benn) Calm down¡­

    Barely holding Gwen, David put his entire body in between her and Boris so that Gwen wouldn¡¯t touch him, his body radiating his duty as a bodyguard for Boris, but even then¡­

    David turned towards where Boris was on the ground, his breath coming in much slower than normal, his breathing raspy and parched. Noticing this, David took out from his pocket a mini inhaler.

    Bending down, he lifted Boris¡¯s head and put the inhaler inside Boris¡¯s mouth, giving him much-needed air.

    Now slowly breathing normally, Boris steadily got up from where he stood, but as much as David helped him, David glared at Boris, his body barely containing the emotions he kept hidden away.

    (David) Why did you do it?

    Not only David, but Jerry, Jenny, and even Benn had their eyes sharpened at Boris¡¯s face. Their eyes did not falter as Boris looked downwards, his face not showing his already soulless eyes.

    (David) I brought in Luna. Gwen brought in Luke. Jerry and Jenny took care of the rest like children ¡­ you even brought in Loraine!

    David then put both hands on Boris¡¯s shoulders.

    (David) Why?

    David¡¯s fingers dug into Boris¡¯s chubby shoulders. As David kept his grip, he felt Boris sigh.

    (Boris) Many years ago ¡­ I made a little joke about making The Array, a kiddie version that I sold to you guys ¡­

    David let go of Boris¡¯s shoulders, taking a couple of steps back to let Boris continue. Jerry and Benn loosened their grip on Gwen, while Jenny looked at Boris with disgusted eyes. Gwen continued to stare at his neck.

    (Boris) Arthur Kennedy, now a politician, liked the idea, but the person now in charge of funding me was President Reed¡­ and to receive the money, I had to put in some extras to please him.

    Everyone except Gwen looked down, realizing that Boris had no other choice but to make The Array an impossible test of survival¡­

    (Boris) At first, I wanted to cancel the project. I wanted to just cut it and do it on my own. But ¡­ another friend of mine forced me to make a promise during that day at the bar.

    Boris looked up to everyone, his eyes unwavering.

    (Boris) He quotes ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t do it on your own, no matter what ¡­¡±

    (David) Which friend was it? Politician Kennedy?

    Boris¡¯ eyes turned to Gwen. His face and cheekbones relaxed as he remembered his past days ¡­

    (Boris) It was Fenix, Joseph Fenix¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 2:03AM)

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) So we finally reached the second stage¡­

    As the landscape shifted from a suburban to a downtown central area, Luke, Loraine, Cameron, and Ryan walked through the used-to-be busy streets of Fort Damns. The more they walked, the more noticeable the moss was along the paved street. The greenness of it illuminated the street to make it more visible in the double new moon sky.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I only have a gun with me, and Loraine has nothing but a Swiss army knife. I wonder what weapons Cameron and Ryan brought¡ª

    Luke tripped as his foot managed to bump into something, causing him to fall face-first into the pavement. As the three see this, all three of them end up laughing at his other embarrassing display.

    (Cameron) Hahahaha ¡­ you¡¯re the life of the party!

    (Loraine) giggles ¡­ your encounter with the chickens and now this! Hahahaha.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    (Ryan) chuckles ¡­ ah Luke ¡­ Here, let me help you up.

    Ryan extended his right furry hand towards Luke, his face barely containing the laughter as his cheeks were puffing up and down like a chipmunk. Taking Ryan¡¯s hand, Luke rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, turning red as he felt like a burden to the group.

    (Cameron) Hey, does anyone hear that?

    (Loraine) Here what?

    (Cameron) I hear a noise. It sounds like¡­steam?

    (Loraine) I don¡¯t hear anything. Maybe it''s because of your horse''s genetics ¡­ freak ¡­

    (Cameron) Excuse me?

    Cameron then towered over Loraine, his build much taller as he also had another growth spurt similar to Luke. His face looked down at Loraine, his eyes twitching as his fists were balled into a punch, waiting for Loraine to say anything else.

    (Loraine) Back away freak!

    (Cameron) Call me a freak again! I dare you!

    (Luke) Cameron, calm down! She¡¯s just a kid, she doesn¡¯t know any better!

    Luke walked towards them, his face disappointed and immeasurable as his eyes drooped down at the two teens younger than him.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) Damn bitch ¡­

    (Ryan) Hold on Luke, I¡¯ll help you too¡ª

    An explosion rocked the street.

    Everyone was astounded by the intensity of the explosion, as the shockwave sent them back a few feet from where they were at. Dust and smoke covered the entire street front to back, windows and concrete throwing flaming bits in all directions. Luke, Loraine, and Cameron lay unmoving, their bodies aching from the pain.

    (Cameron) RYAN!!

    Cameron ran towards where the explosion was, diving headfirst into the smoke and dust as it started to water his eyes and choke his throat. He couldn¡¯t see, his mouth started to dry from the dust, and his nose blocked the way to let the oxygen flow through his brain.

    In the smoke, Cameron then tripped onto a body of fur. Falling on his chest, he got up to see¡ª

    Ryan¡¯s right arm. Separated from his body.

    Even through the stinging smoke, Cameron¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t deceive him. Even with low oxygen, his heart was still pumping. Ryan¡¯s right arm wasn¡¯t connected to his main body, causing Cameron to bend down looking at the arm that would give him bro''s fists. Placing his right hand, Cameron felt the furriness and coldness of what used to be¡ª

    (Cameron) No! He¡¯s still alive!

    Through the smoke, he saw another body part.

    (Cameron) He¡¯s¡­

    Then another.

    (Cameron) He¡¯s ¡­ He¡¯s ¡­

    Then came the full view of Ryan¡¯s body.

    (Cameron) H-H-H-He¡­

    Ryan, the 17-year-old bunny human, the beast human that treated everyone with care, especially Cameron, didn¡¯t have a body¡­

    His head was barely attached to his neck. His stomach had holes of blood and guts spewing out from him. Almost like an open surgery, his chest and stomach showcase little organs that Ryan contained, with his torso and crotch completely obliterated with his legs nowhere to be found.

    A scream tore from Cameron¡¯s throat. His hands scraped away as he began pounding the old street pavement.

    With his screams of agony continuing, it made Luke and Loraine get up from their fatigue.

    (Luke) Cameron!

    Luckily for them, the smoke started to clear out, as soon as the two saw Cameron, Luke ran to pull him out of his state.

    (Luke) Cameron! We have to go¡­

    Cameron desperately tried to fight back.

    (Luke) Cameron!

    In an instant, Loraine walked up to the two boys and pulled her arm back. Using her right hand, she curled it up into a fist and used all her force to hit Cameron straight on in the head, making him unconscious.

    Now asleep, Luke put Cameron onto his back, with Loraine tying him up so that Cameron wouldn¡¯t fall off. As the two looked down where Ryan¡¯s corpse was ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) God damn it! Why¡­

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) Damn.

    Luke¡¯s eyes began to water, his eyes averting the hideous state that his friend¡¯s corpse was in. The same was for Loraine, her eyes squinting by how quick it was¡­

    His face showing many veins on his forehead, Luke continued to walk to the center, his face quenched with vengeance for¡ª

    (Many zompires) Save us!

    A dozen of zompires decided to ambush them from behind¡­

    Looking back, Luke¡¯s frustration was instantly swept by fear, his face becoming one of a Kepputhan glacier.

    (Luke) R-R-Run!

    With Cameron on his back, and his left hand on Loraine¡¯s, the candidates ran as fast as they could.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 2:36PM)

    (Luke) They¡¯re still catching up to us!

    (Loraine) pants ¡­ how much ¡­ stamina do they have ¡­

    As Loraine took in irregular breaths, Luke still had most of his stamina, even with Cameron on his back. At this point, Loraine was mostly being towed by Luke, who kept on forcing Loraine to run more than she should have.

    Because the horde of zompires was still on them¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) We¡¯re barely a third through the second stage, how many more zompires do we have to run into?!

    Luke¡¯s heart was steadily increasing, his legs on overdrive forcing his body to keep going despite the dreaded fear. Loraine was different, since Luke smelled the stench of body odor coming from Loraine, since she never pushed herself to this limit before¡­

    (Loraine) Please ¡­ pants ¡­ carry me.

    (Luke) I already have Cameron on my back!

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s gotta be a way to get rid of this horde¡­Wait ¡­ that one zompire during the river when the boat sank¡­ It doesn¡¯t use eyes, and it mostly likely uses hearing, because I used a rock to misdirect it ¡­ but ¡­

    During the end of his hopeless walk, Luke remained quiet when he encountered another zompire, but the zompire pinpointed exactly where Luke was¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I didn¡¯t make any noise if I remember correctly ¡­ So what other sense does it use to track down its prey¡ªwait hold on ¡­ can it be?

    On his first encounter, Luke was barely getting out of a river, drenched with water. On his unlucky encounter, he smelled terrible considering that he hadn¡¯t bathed or showered for twenty or more days¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Does it also rely on smell?

    Grabbing out of his left pocket was a small ¡°stink¡± bomb that Luke made. The ¡°stink¡± bomb looked like it was made last minute, with its mechanism and metal all over the place.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) One of my two last resort weapons¡­

    Loraine looked at the little bomb that Luke pulled out, her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she instantly knew what the bomb looked like.

    (Loraine) What are you going to do with that?

    (Luke) This!

    Clicking the little button on top of the bomb, Luke instantly tossed it back over, trying to distract the zompires. Upon impact to a nearby garbage can, the bomb exploded and released a gas cloud of yellowish smoke, the cloud reaching a dangerous radius as Luke and Loraine barely managed to escape the cloud.

    Both looking back, they noticed that the zompires were coughing..

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) How are they still alive? I thought it would melt them from the inside out.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) How smelly is that stink bomb?

    The zompires continued to grab their stomachs as they coughed their lungs out.

    Most of them were coughing up their organs already, with most of their organs turning black and molded as the cloud covered the horde. Their eye sockets spewed out yellowish molded tar instead of the black tar Luke saw in his previous encounters. As the zompires screamed in agony, Luke lowered his eyes and continued to run, tugging Loraine along.

    (Loraine) What did you put in that stink bomb?

    (Luke) Oh, I infused a liquid called ammonia and then poured in a bunch of bleach and sulfur. It made this yellowish gas, so me and Fred trapped this cloud onto this little bomb.

    (Loraine) That gas looks so cool! I hope you teach me how to make it!

    (Luke) You don¡¯t know how dangerous that gas is¡­

    As the two managed to run away, they noticed a little lake in the middle of the second stage. The brownish murky water covered in abandoned debris made Loraine¡¯s eyes sparkle.

    (Loraine) Maybe we could hide in there?

    (Luke) And maybe ¡­ What if the zompires couldn¡¯t trace humans'' smell because of the water or hygiene a human has?

    The more they got closer to the lake, the more Loraine¡¯s eyes sparkled in the night, but Luke eyed the lake with a tilt of his head.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Wait ¡­ What if-

    Just as Loraine was about to jump into the lake, Luke grabbed her arm, his grip firm and gentle.

    (Luke) Wait, hold up. The lake might have bacteria.

    (Loraine) Never know till you try!

    Breaking his grip, Loraine jumped into the lake head first, submerging herself in the brownish water, not caring how hideous the water looked. Putting her head out of the water, she gently spoke to Luke.

    (Loraine) You better hurry, what if those zompires find you?

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) As long as I don¡¯t get the water into my face, I¡¯m good.

    Putting his legs into the water, Luke made sure that he put most of his body in the water, not letting any brownish droplets into his ears, mouth, and especially nose. To make sure that Cameron had some water on him, Luke aligned Cameron¡¯s head with his. Looking back, he no longer saw the horde.

    His body quivering inside of the water, Luke motioned to Loraine to get closer to him. In return, Loraine swam bit by bit towards Luke, her body one with the water.

    (Luke) I think we¡¯re safe to get out now.

    (Loraine) But what if the horde ambushes us again? You don¡¯t want to put me and yourself in danger again right?

    (Luke) I know but¡ª

    (Loraine) Let¡¯s wait for a couple of minutes longer. I love to be in the water.

    Luke resigned to Loraine¡¯s wishes and waited in the brown lake until she felt safe. Looking around for a few minutes, Luke thought he heard yells and noises coming from their previous direction but he paid them no mind.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) When is Loraine going to get us out of the lake¡ª

    (???) Someone! Help us!

    A teenage boy¡¯s voice was heard¡­

    (???) She needs help! Can anyone help her?!

    (Luke) That sounds a lot like¡­

    A group of footsteps can be heard getting closer and closer to the lake Luke and Loraine were in, his eyes scanning the top of the hill as they saw three figures. Surprisingly, Luke was familiar with all three of them.

    (Luke) That voice¡­

    As Luke motioned Loraine to follow him, both went up towards the hill, with Luke waving his arms to signal his best friend.

    (Luke) Fred!

    Running uphill with Cameron in tow, Fred noticed Luke¡¯s signal, his eyes starting to tear up as help arrived¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 21: Thank You for Taking Care of Me...

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 3:09AM)

    (Luke) All she needs is rest¡­

    (Fred) Those damn zompires ¡­

    Luke and Fred evaluated the damage done to one of the girls, who was none other than Gemma. Setting her down on the grass, her breathing was raspy and slow, with rashes spreading all across her body, as her body started to heat up from the pain.

    (Luke) This isn¡¯t from a zompire ¡­ was there a trap where gas hit her?

    (Luna) Nope. We saw some nasty-looking zompires that looked yellowish, so me and Gemma decided to cut them up.

    (Fred) Luna managed to not get hurt, but Gemma ¡­ got scratched by one of them ¡­

    Luna was next to Luke as he took in the information, his body shaking as he didn¡¯t want to believe that what Fred was saying was true¡­

    (Luke) So uh ¡­ did Gemma¡ª

    (Fred) Did you use mustard gas, Luke?

    Fred looked intently at Luke, his eyes serious and unwavering. Luke looked down, as he breathed in and out slowly.

    (Luke) I¡­ had no other choice.

    (Fred) What¡­

    (Luke) We were being chased by that zompire horde, so I decided to use the gas to try to take them out ¡­ but I never expected them to just take the pain and continue fighting.

    Fred then walked over towards Luke, his face slightly looking up at Luke¡¯s as Fred¡¯s eyes started to water¡­

    (Fred) You knew how dangerous that bomb was ¡­ and yet.

    (Luke) I¡¯m so sorry¡­

    Fred then grabbed Luke by his collar, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he didn¡¯t want those words to ring true. His eyes remained serious yet tears were starting to form as his eyes wanted to let those waterworks out¡­

    (Fred) You ¡­ how could you¡ª

    Luna then put her right hand firmly yet gently on Fred¡¯s left hand, looking at Fred with a cold yet gentle face.

    (Luna) He had no other choice, Fred.

    (Fred) But ¡­ but he¡ª

    (Luna) He did what he could to survive. If he didn¡¯t use the mustard gas then both him and Loraine would¡¯ve been dead. Sometimes, the price of one can be far better than the price of two¡ª

    Fred countered Luna¡¯s hand with his other hand, looking at Luna with furious eyes, as his hands started to uncontrollably shake.

    (Fred) If ¡­ you fought those yellowish zompires, right? What would you do if those zompires scratched you instead of¡ª

    Luna then grabbed Fred¡¯s collar, her eyes glaring.

    (Luna) I¡¯m alive, aren¡¯t I?! Why can¡¯t you just accept that what¡¯s done is done? Gemma isn¡¯t going to die! Hope is already trying to get her better dumbass!

    Fred rapidly turned his head towards where Hope was, his eyes in shock as he saw Hope treating Gemma with care. Hope had on her left hand an inhaler, and she pressed it against Gemma¡¯s raspy mouth, hoping that Gemma took the chance to get some air out of it.

    Luna then put Fred back down on the ground, his face still tattered with tears in his eyes. Looking towards Gemma, who was being well rested and cared for, he slowly walked towards her, with her face gently resting amongst the yellow grass.

    Putting his hand onto Gemma¡¯s cheek, he felt the warmness of her head, the blood still inside of her fighting the toxic gas that got inside her veins.

    Fred then stood up, looking towards Luke with a sincere yet sorrowful face.

    (Fred) I¡¯ll call for help.

    Pulling out a black box from his right pocket, Luke instantly noticed what Fred was carrying, his hands shaking slightly by the exterior of the invention.

    (Luke) Is that the flashlight signal we made in our first year of training?

    (Fred) Yeah, I never got to use it, but maybe, just maybe ¡­

    Fred then looked for a place where the device wasn¡¯t going to be underneath anything, putting it several feet away from Gemma as she was underneath a tree. Punching in some numbers and buttons, the device started to light up as it was about to ¡­

    (Fred) Maybe it could lead us to the others ¡­ so that way we all could¡ª

    Shoot a bright white beam towards the night sky.

    (Fred) Be together¡­

    As a bright beam shined the entire north side of the city, its intensity and brightness managed to shine the old and molded reflections of glass in the downtown district. Old puddles, glass shards, metals, and things that reflect were creating a light show of mirrors and shows.

    Which caught the attention of another group near the center¡­

    In return, another message was brought forth signaling the night sky as well.

    (Luke) Hey, I see a red smoke signal coming from near the center¡­

    (Fred) That¡¯s gotta be the others!

    (Luna) It¡¯s pretty far away¡­

    (Luke) There¡¯s no time.

    Luke then put the unconscious Cameron back on his back, followed by Fred putting Gemma on his back too. Before they went, Luke noticed that Luna was cleaning a sword that was filled with black tar and yellowish dust, with a white rag.

    (Luke) You used a sword to take out those zompires, didn¡¯t you?

    (Luna) Someone has to.

    (Luke) But what if they managed to bite you¡ª

    (Luna) Stop worrying about me, you idiot! I¡¯ll handle myself! Just focus on defending Cameron and yourself!

    Luna¡¯s eyes twitching with her cheeks blushing red. Once the group was about to head off, Fred had one more question as he was staring at Cameron¡¯s sleeping face.

    (Fred) Forgot to mention, but what happened to Ryan? Is he with the others?

    Luke and Loraine stopped in their tracks, trying not to look saddened or disheartened. Not looking at Fred, Luke pointed towards the red lingering smoke signal.

    (Luke) Once we reach the third stage or take a break, I¡¯ll tell you everything¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 19, 56 / 11:43AM)

    (Stan) Hey Fred, you good?

    (Fred) pants ¡­ yeah, just ¡­ pants ¡­ head on without me ¡­Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    After their first brutal training course, Fred lay on the short grass field, the grass sinking into Fred¡¯s body as he closed his eyes.

    Stan knew that Fred just wanted some time to rest alone, so he signaled Diego and Gary to come with him, dragging both of them so that they would leave Fred alone.

    (Gary) Why does he get to be alone?

    (Diego) Yeah! I¡¯m probably more tired than him!

    (Stan) You guys are wimps, just let him rest, he''s weaker than you guys combined¡­

    As the friend group headed off to lunch, everybody else kept up the pace, leaving Fred with his grass.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) I just wish Luke wasn¡¯t in the infirmary ¡­ then again, Jack was also taken to the infirmary too¡­

    But there was one girl who looked at him, her green eyes gazing at the 12-year-old silver-haired boy. Since he was the same age as her, she looked towards one of her newest friends whom she met.

    (???) Hey Hope, save me a spot okay?

    (Hope) Why? Did something catch your eye?

    (???) ¡­ s-sort of¡­

    Flustered, the black-haired girl walked in the grassy field, her eyes remaining solely on Fred. As her way to get his attention, she blocked the sun¡¯s rays on his face, her face overshadowing as she looked at him with a smile.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) Who is she?

    Fred saw the dark-haired, green-eyed girl, her skin slightly tan as she had funny-shaped ears. Her nose was normal, followed by her eyelids, and her hair was messy as it was all over the place. She wore a black T-shirt and blue pants, followed by brown boots.

    Fred started to sweat from the corners of his eyes, as he tidied his shirt and fixed his hair. Finding his shyness adorable, the girl giggled, her hand covering her mouth as she found his face amusing.

    (???) Why are you blushing ¡­ giggles ¡­ your name¡¯s Fred right?

    (Fred) Yeah ¡­ uhm ¡­ sorry¡­ w-w-what¡¯s yours?

    (???) giggles ¡­ The name¡¯s Gemma.

    Gemma then stuck her hand towards Fred, her hands smooth and carefree as her face lit up with a bright smile.

    (Gemma) Wanna walk me to lunch?

    Fred¡¯s cheeks flustered bright red, as he took Gemma¡¯s hand with his. His palms were drenched with sweat, and Gemma looked down to hear a slight noise coming from their hands.

    (Gemma) Are you this nervous around women?

    (Fred) W-W-W-What?

    Gemma then started to giggle loudly, covering her mouth again and closing her eyes. Fred¡¯s face was stiff and pale, his eyes avoiding any eye contact with Gemma¡¯s.

    (Gemma) Relax, I¡¯m not going to bite ¡­

    She then dragged Fred to where the lunchroom was, her face as bright as the afternoon sun, the two teenagers running in the field on the hot day.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 3:40AM)

    (Miles) Shit, we shook the hornet''s nest with this one!

    (Stan) Just keep shooting!

    A major defense holdout was ensuing right at the gate of the military complex, the gate to enter the third stage.

    A rain of bullets rained amongst the incoming horde of zompires that were trying to get the six other candidates waiting for the others. Their guns and weapons are loading, reloading, shooting, and repeating the action over and over again as they hold out.

    (Stan) Gary! Diego! How many bullets do we have left?

    (Gary) We¡¯re down to our last munitions!

    (Diego) Should¡¯ve looted more of that damn gun store we saw in the first stage!

    Miles wielded a little handgun, a gun that he wasn¡¯t well off with, his aim on hitting the zompires awful, as he could only hit them from up close.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) I wish that I had a shotgun with me¡­

    Stan wielded an AR-18, a weapon perfect for him as he managed to hit a couple of lucky shots.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) This gun is perfect, but ¡­

    Stan noticed that he had only one to two cartridges left, his face twisting with anger.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Why does this gun have rare fucking ammunition?!

    Gary and Diego wielded AutoMags, weapons that are perfect for their ideal tastes.

    (Gary) Pass me more ammunition!

    (Diego) Here! When are the rest of them coming anyway?

    (Stan) Just hold them off!

    The rain of gunshots ricocheted across the street and blocks, the sounds deafening around them.

    (Miles) Sean! Sean! How¡¯s the left defense going with you and Jack?

    (Sean) Do you want me to answer that right now? I¡¯m down to my last cartridge!

    Sean wielded an M42 semi-auto sniper rifle, a weapon that Sean sucked at.

    (Sean¡¯s thoughts) I wish this weapon was more automatic, it just shoots one at a time!

    (Jack) Hey Sean! Wanna trade weapons?!

    (Sean) Hell no! Your shotgun is probably out of ammo!

    (Jack) Just give me the fucking¡ªwait ¡­ are those?

    Jack noticed far from the distance, six to seven other figures running towards them. Focusing his eyes more closely, ignoring all the gunshots, rain of bullets, and the agonizing screams of zompires, he figured out what those figures running towards them were¡­

    (Jack) It¡¯s them! It¡¯s the rest of everybody!

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) No way¡­

    (Stan) Give them covering fire!

    In an instant, all six boys decided to rain down whatever was left of their ammo, the bullets managing to shoot down a majority of the zompires that were trying to get them.

    Luke and the others saw the others fending off the zompires with the grit of their teeth. In an instant, Luna sprinted towards the zompires, not caring if the rain of bullets would hit her.

    In her ballad of dance, she used her right-handed sword to slash her way to the group, her sword sharp enough to cut through the zompire¡¯s skin and her arm strong enough to push through its heart. And if a zompire gots jumpy, she grabbed a hold of the zompire¡¯s skull by gripping it with her left hand.

    (Luna) Bring it!

    In an almost perfect precision of movement, Luna began maliciously slashing the zompires one by one, her feet almost gliding through the pavement as she continued her ballad of giving out death.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) What the hell is she thinking? Is she slashing them up knowing that we might make an accident and shoot her?

    In an instant, Stan and the others'' weapons and guns stopped working, their cartridges and ammo no more as they had no means to defend themselves. Stan looked towards Miles, giving each other a nod as they encouraged the other four to follow them.

    (Miles) Get the door open!

    (Gary) What about the others?!

    (Miles) They¡¯ll catch up!

    (Sean) Shit, we still have some zompires on us!

    (Jack) I thought Luna had the zompire audience!

    A couple of zompires managed to sprint their way towards the boys, who were prying the door with all their strength. Miles, who was the strongest one there, patted Stan on the back before he found a wooden baseball bat lying near the rubble. His face was gentle and relaxed.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Reminds me of the glory days¡­

    Miles then sprinted towards the zompires, his mood turning from the drop of a hat. Seeing the first zompire, he swung the bat with all his strength at the zompire, his muscles contracting and expanding as the bat hit the zompire with unbelievable force.

    Knocking out the zompire, he then made his way toward the other zompire, using the same godly strength as he used the same as the one he hit. But once he hit the zompire with the bat, the wooden bat broke in half, its wood leaving off a sharp wooden stake meant for¡ª

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Perfect!

    Miles then stabbed the second zompire making him break the bat, the broken wood stabbing the zompire¡¯s heart, causing it to glitch out as it melted. Focusing his entire attention, his eyes averted to the other zompire that soon got up from the hit, and he then took out the steak from the second zompire and stabbed the first one, his eyes unwavering as he reached for the heart yet again.

    With both zompires dead, Miles looked over to the second group that was getting close.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Please make it!

    Fortunately, Luna finished her deathly ballad that eliminated all of the zompires that were giving Miles and the others a hard time, but there was a slight problem¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come on! Push forward!

    Fred was staggering behind, his stamina soon dwindling as the gate to the final stage was closed.

    (Stan) Hurry Fred!

    The more Fred ran, the more motion can be felt along his back¡ª

    (Gemma) cough cough ¡­ Fred?

    Fred noticed that Gemma woke up from her resting nap, but his eyes remained focused on the gate, hoping to safely get himself and her into the third stage.

    (Fred) Don¡¯t worry Gemma ¡­ I¡¯ll promise you I¡¯ll get you to the other side¡­

    Luna made it to the gate first, followed by Hope behind her. The two girls watch as Luke and Fred make a mad dash to the gate, with another batch of zompires running towards them.

    (Luna) Luke!

    (Hope) Please hurry!

    Luke was outpacing Fred in terms of stamina, his body slowly yet surely reaching the gate that would grant them the chance to become elite¡ª

    Fred then tripped and fell¡­

    (Stan) FRED!!

    Barely having any strength to run more, Fred was at his limits in terms of strength, his arms groggy as his legs couldn¡¯t take the extra weight anymore. Luke noticed that Fred and Gemma might be the horde¡¯s dinner, so Luke¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Fred¡¯s going to make it! Fred¡¯s going to make it! Fred¡¯s going to make¡ª

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) DAMN IT ALL!!

    Not only Luke, but Stan also was hellbent on saving Fred, their mind clouding with dangerous what-ifs. Giving Cameron to Miles, Luke and Stan made a mad dash towards Fred, hoping to get both Fred and Gemma as soon as possible.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) My sword is already really dull¡­ shit!

    Checking her sword, her weapon was on the verge of breaking, its metal already brittle and chipping away. As Luke and Stan were halfway to getting Fred¡ª

    (Gemma) Thank you for taking care of me¡­

    (Fred) What¡ª

    Gemma then pushed herself off of Fred¡¯s back.

    (Fred) GEMMA!!

    As she pushed herself with enough force to go back a few feet away, it also pushed Fred a couple of feet forward, giving Stan and Luke a lucky shot of getting to the gate¡­

    (Fred) Get the hell off of me!

    Stan carried Fred, ignoring all the hard kicks and punches that Fred was causing. Luke wanted to get Gemma too but ¡­

    (Luke) Oh no¡­

    Gemma then looked at the distraught Fred, as her last thoughts of the man she wanted to be with were her last¡­

    Fred then looked back one last time until he saw himself in her eyes, her bright green eyes sparkling with an unbridled future that was never to come.

    Her body was slowly eaten as the sharp fangs of dozens and upon dozens of zompires slowly ate the dinner that they happily waited for. Her vocals cried out in agony, with her body shaking in pain as the zompires ate every part of her with joy. Her legs spazzed out, her arms trying to block the horde yet those were eaten too. Upon her last breaths, she shrieked until the zompires chewed them out.

    Everyone looked back with horror, not wanting to see the full display of the cruelty that was subjected upon Gemma, except for Fred, who remained silent as the girl he wanted to be with slowly and cruelly screamed her way to the afterlife¡­

    Silently but rushingly, Luke and everybody closed the door behind them, leaving them to the last stage of The Array¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 22: The Break of Despair

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 4:03AM)

    (David) Sweet Jesus¡­

    (Jerry) What is it, David?

    (David) Take a look at this¡­

    In a control center in the middle of the military complex, the rest of the adult figures were lying in wait. Many cameras and screens plastered the walls of the room, showcasing areas of the north side of the downtown district that held the second stage.

    Reviewing the footage, their mouths opened wide as all the candidates still alive were making a bomb rush to the third stage gate, the gate that will lead to the military complex.

    Jerry was diddling with his baton sword, the black metallic iron shining a reflection in his eyes. Being brought back to the present, Jerry saw with David, Jenny, Gwen, Benn, and Boris the horror of¡ª

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Poor Fred¡­

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Jesus¡­

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Why Boris ¡­ Why?

    (Jenny) Where¡¯s Ryan?

    Boris looked down at his hands, his chubby hands shaking and drenched with sweat as he held them up near his face.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Is this what it feels like to have blood on my hands¡­

    All five adults looked at Boris, their faces twitching and fuming Gwen walked towards Boris, making a hard clenched fist. Her knuckles were on the verge of snapping as she eyed the chubby man with a putrid death glare.

    David and Benn held back Gwen from doing anything to Boris, their hands gripping Gwen¡¯s arms as they didn¡¯t want a repeat of what happened a few hours ago. Despite holding back Gwen, David¡¯s eyes were twitching, the redness of his lids barely containing his anger.

    (David) I didn¡¯t expect you out of all of them¡­

    (Boris) I didn¡¯t want blood to be on my hands¡ª

    (David) We all have blood on our hands! Because of you, we gave those kids hopes and dreams before we sent them to hell yet again!

    David then looked at his own hands, each containing small calluses and blisters. He then lowered his tone, his throat serious and gentle as his eyes started to contain bits of water.

    (David) And because of us ¡­ you sold yourself so that we could have something meaningful to do with our pitiful sad lives¡­

    As David reminisced of those fond memories of being a mentor, David then looked towards a nearby sword on the rack, remembering a certain girl that he cherished.

    (David) I lost my two daughters during the attack of Ticia, I sure as shit won¡¯t let that brat die either¡­

    David took a glance at the rest of the adults before walking out of the control center. Sure enough, the rest of the adults walked out of the room, leaving only Gwen and Boris. As Boris didn¡¯t care if Gwen strangled him right now, he knew that whatever punishment they came up he¡¯d take, because ¡­

    (Boris) I know I¡¯m in the wrong, and I know you want to strangle me right now ¡­ but ¡­ the note I sent to you ¡­ the poem from many days ago?

    (Gwen) What about that damn poem¡­

    (Boris) You passed it to Luke.

    (Gwen) What are you trying to say?

    Gwen walked towards Boris, towering over him as her fists kept on going up and down, reaching towards Boris¡¯s body. Boris let out a small droplet of sweat near his right eye, his face looking upwards towards Gwen¡¯s¡­

    (Boris) If Luke knows the true meaning, then he¡¯ll save everybody. You have faith in him, don¡¯t you?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 4:36AM)

    For who knows how long, the candidates laid waste in between the second and third gate, a checkpoint well needed for them.

    They were enclosed in a storage room, exhausted and scared as they barely made it past the second stage. The room smelled of body odor and sweat since it had been a couple of days since the candidates showered.

    No one talked, even Sean and Jack who were the most vocal weren¡¯t chatting. They leaned against a wall, their minds remembering the spectacle of Gemma¡¯s death.

    Everyone still had that fresh memory latched onto them, especially Fred.

    In a corner, Fred curled himself into a ball as he stared into the distance with wide and broken eyes. Not Stan, Gary, Diego, or even Luke could pull him out of the trance, as they glanced at him hoping to push their bodies to comfort him, but even their bodies felt rigid and cold. It was as everyone was on the brink of despair.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) This is all my fault¡­ Why did I have to trip? ¡­

    In an ugly display for a domino effect, Luke was away from everyone, sitting on a wooden crate as he put his hand on his right eye, his right side bang tickling the knuckles of his right hand.

    As Luke got lost in thought, Hope noticed Luke¡¯s loneliness and discomfort over the whole situation. Putting herself up, she slowly walked over to Luke, her eyes having bits of water inside of them, holding back tears as Luke¡¯s eyes remained dry.

    (Hope) ¡­ It¡¯s not your fault.

    Luke looked up to see Hope, her blue eyes barely shining light in the dark storage room as she looked at Luke. Luke didn¡¯t avoid eye contact, as he remained looking at her eyes, until he looked down at his own hands, with gray and yellow dust particles in each hand.

    (Luke) None of this could have happened if I tripped ¡­

    (Hope) Tripped?

    (Luke) I ¡­ I killed them ¡­

    (Hope) You didn¡¯t kill them, Luke.

    (Luke) Why are you defending me? Just why? I don¡¯t deserve to be forgiven ¡­

    (Hope) Luke!

    Hope raised her voice, her tone serious and strict. Bending down to Luke¡¯s face, she couldn¡¯t see herself in his eyes, the room still dark and grim as she desperately wanted him to keep moving forward but ¡­

    (Hope) You¡¯re not a killer! You didn¡¯t kill them! Those zompires got to them!

    (Luke) But what about¡ª

    (Hope) He was killed by a zompire too!

    (Luke) What are you saying? Why are you making me the good guy¡­

    Luke then stood up and towered over Hope, his body feeling heavy. Eyeing Hope as he barely tilted his head, his eyes were restless as the guilt continued to crush him.

    At this point, everyone in the room was staring at Luke and Hope. Even Luna, who usually didn¡¯t like Hope near Luke, kept to herself this time, trying to depressurize herself from many minutes ago.

    (Hope) Because you are¡ª

    (Fred) Wait a damn minute ¡­

    Fred then stood up and melancholically walked towards the two of them, his head wobbling back and forth as he carried a handgun in his left hand.

    (Fred) Luke? A good guy? Why do you believe in him, Hope?Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Fred then stopped in front of the two, looking up to see Luke¡¯s soulless eyes and Hope¡¯s watery eyes, with his eyes beyond dark and baggy. Instantly, Fred reached for Luke¡¯s collar, his right hand gripping hard as his left hand that held the handgun started to shake violently.

    (Fred) He killed a girl that made a vow to me, she saved my life yet I couldn¡¯t save hers. Ever since four years ago, I¡¯ve felt someone has been pulling the strings ¡­ hey Luke ¡­

    Fred then put the handgun slowly to the temple of his left temple.

    (Fred) Am I lucky enough for this world?

    Everyone jumped up as Fred put the barrel of his gun to his head, running to stop Fred from¡ª

    (Fred) Stay Back!

    Fred put himself in a corner, putting his finger on the trigger so that nobody makes a sudden movement. As 10 of the candidates, excluding Cameron, begged Fred to put the gun down, as his right started to violently shake.

    (Stan) Fred, calm down!

    (Gary) Fred ¡­ it¡¯s ok ¡­

    (Diego) Don¡¯t do it, Fred ¡­

    (Luke) Please no¡­

    Luke put himself in front of everyone, putting his hands forward to try to bring him out of it.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t do this ¡­ I always cared for¡ª

    (Fred) Care?! You Care?! Tell that to Gemma! Tell that to Ryan!

    All the other candidates murmured amongst themselves, their voices bringing in ambiance and echoes in the room. Luke looked down, noticing his sweaty palms and the brownish dust he still had.

    (Fred) I knew something happened to Ryan ¡­ but I wanted to believe that he was with the second group. And what I¡¯ve found, when we were all charging towards the gate, he was nowhere to be seen. Did we leave him behind? Did he chicken out and run? Tell them, Luke!

    (Luke) Fred¡­

    (Fred) Tell them now!

    All eyes were on Luke, their ears perking up as their stances became rigid. Turning his body around, Luke looked at the 10 other candidates, his eyes squeezed shut.

    (Luke) ¡­ I tripped onto a tile and he helped me get back up. But ¡­ just as we were about to leave an explosion happened right where Ryan was standing ¡­ so ¡­ he got blown up ¡­

    Their eyes were shell-shocked and open, with most of them putting their hands onto their mouths, except for Hope and Loraine¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Please don¡¯t forgive me¡­

    Luke felt everyone¡¯s eyes continuing to deepen into his soul, putting guilt and regret into his burdened heart. His legs wanted to move, yet he remained standing. His back wanted to arch, yet he remained standing for any punishment¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Just please don¡¯t¡­

    (Fred) I don¡¯t think I¡¯m cursed¡­

    Everyone then turned their attention to Fred, as he still pointed the gun at his right temple. They remain silent yet again as they see the broken teenager still in a corner.

    (Fred) You know what I think ¡­ I think you¡¯re just too lucky Luke ¡­

    Fred then slowly pulled the barrel away from his temple, moving with caution as he grudgingly put the handgun to the ground.

    In an instant, Fred then slightly kicked the gun towards Luke¡¯s feet, the magazine clip touching Luke¡¯s shoes, the barrel pointing towards Fred.

    (Fred) You have a choice to make Luke ¡­ either you shoot me ¡­

    Fred then pointed towards Luke, his finger quivering intensely.

    (Fred) Or you shoot yourself¡­

    As everyone held their breath, Luke looked at the black handgun that was touching his boots.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t make me.

    He didn¡¯t move, his body not wanting to touch that gun, his heart screaming to not lay a finger on that trigger.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why me¡­

    (Stan) Don¡¯t touch that gun.

    Stan put a shoulder on Luke, his hand sweaty and pale as his tears started to roll down his face.

    Miles and Luna, upon instinct, ran towards Fred, tackling and pinning him to the ground. As Luna used force on Fred¡¯s lower half and Miles on Fred¡¯s upper half, both of them gripped Fred down hard, their teeth clenching with nervousness.

    (Stan) This conversation is over¡­ everyone!

    Stan then directed everyone¡¯s attention, his eyes looking at every candidate, including Fred and Luke. Swatting away the tears that were rolling down his cheeks, he put his arm up high.

    (Stan) This whole program! This everything ¡­ is done! We¡¯ve been sold hopes and dreams! We¡¯ve been training for what, to be a zompire¡¯s dinner?!

    Everyone listened to Stan¡¯s declaration, their bodies slowly started to loosen. Pretty soon, everybody started nodding their heads the more Stan spoke.

    (Stan) I say we go backward! We go backward so fast that we may have a shot of escaping!

    Selling out a dream, Stan managed to woo the candidates over, his speech trying to turn the tide of despair. Looking at Luke, he softly whispered to him, his tone relaxed and reassuring.

    (Stan whispering) Come on Luke ¡­ let¡¯s go home¡­

    As Stan and the rest of the candidates went to the door to pry it open again, leading back to the second stage, Luke looked at the gun that was still by his feet.

    Hope was nearby him, as Miles and Luna were still holding down Fred who was trying to break free. Hope was nervous as Luke kept on looking at the gun intensely, his eyes not losing focus.

    (Hope) Luke ¡­ hey Luke ¡­

    Hope put her smooth hand on Luke¡¯s shoulder, and she then started to tug gently to try to unfocus his focus.

    (Hope) Are you going to follow Stan?

    Out of sight, he slowly picked up the gun, gripping the grip with his right hand and putting his pointer finger on the side. He then slowly walked towards where Miles and Luna were holding Fred, all of them focusing on the gun, and then¡ª

    Luke pointed the gun at Fred¡­

    (Miles and Luna) LUKE!!

    (Fred) WAIT!! WAIT!! WAIT!!

    (Hope) Don¡¯t!

    Then Luke pointed the gun at a brick wall, right next to the area where Fred was cornering himself.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) In a forest of dead bricks¡­

    Putting his finger on the trigger¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Take the tunnel to see a cool trick¡­

    Luke pulled the trigger, straight at the abnormal brick wall.

    The room sounded with the pulsating gunshots that came from Luke¡¯s direction, as all the candidates stopped to see Luke¡­

    (Stan) What are you doing?!

    Unloading the magazine, Luke threw the gun towards Fred, who was still trapped by Miles and Luna.

    (Stan) Why the hell did you do that!?

    Stan tackled Luke to the ground, and everyone tried to hold down Luke who thought went insane.

    (Luke) Wait, look over there!

    (Stan) Why? Just what the hell are you thinking of this time?

    Someone pushed down the old brick wall¡­

    With little to no ease, the person¡ªor rather the horse-human, saw a bright light coming from the other side of the wall.

    (Gary) Cameron?

    As everyone was curious as to what lay beyond the brick wall, everyone let go of Luke, as well as letting go of Fred. Luke stays close to Fred, hoping that Fred doesn¡¯t go on another mental breakdown.

    Cameron, who remained deafeningly silent, glanced at every candidate, his red eyes healing from the breakdown he had a couple of hours ago.

    As the 12 candidates saw the tunnel, it was vastly different from the dark storage room they were in. For one, the walls were white and modern, with no steel pipes to be found on the roof or sides. The more they walked, the closer they got to a white glass door¡­

    Stan noticed that the door wasn¡¯t budging, as he tried to push or pry the handle hard.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Guess we¡¯ll have to break down the door¡­

    (Stan) Miles and Luna, I¡¯m going to need your strength.

    As the three strongest candidates rolled their sleeves up to their triceps, the three took back several steps, readied a stance, and then charged forth to bust down the door.¡­

    (Stan, Miles, Luna) AAARRRGGHH!!

    The white door managed to not only open, but the entire door frame fell as the three used enough force to pry its screws loose. Because they busted down the door, dust clouded their nostrils and eyes, forcing them to cough and gag as they pinched their noses.

    After several seconds of coughing, the dust started to clear off.

    (Luke) Is this ¡­ is this an armory?

    All around the room were weapons. Assault rifles, RPGs, Sniper rifles, shotguns, hand grenades, ammunition, smoke grenades, flashbangs, handguns, and many more.

    (Stan) No ¡­ this is a miracle¡­

    Stan then walked forward and turned around to see everyone glancing at the room, their eyes sparkling as their hands started to clasp together.

    (Stan) Everyone stock up! Choose whatever weapon that may suit you best!

    Everyone started to pick their preferred weapons, ones that suited their fighting style best.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Hmm ¡­ two twin-bladed double-edged swords¡­

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Dual-wielding sawed-off shotguns¡­ I always preferred close-range weapons¡­

    (Jack) Finally, a sniper rifle!

    (Sean) A Thompson submachine gun! This is a classic!

    (Loraine) RPG!!

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) This AK is pretty cool.

    (Gary) Sticking to handguns Diego?

    (Diego) Yeah ¡­ more of a revolver type of guy. I¡¯m not really into pistols like you.

    (Cameron) ¡­. Ryan always liked using the Thompson Contenders ¡­

    The last three to pick out their weapons were Fred, Luke, and Hope. Fred kept his hands in his pockets, not wanting to touch any gun that he saw, his legs shaking and his arms quivering.

    (Fred) I don¡¯t think ¡­ I don¡¯t think¡­

    (Luke) Fred¡­

    (Fred) I don¡¯t want to hold a gun ¡­ What if ¡­ What if I ¡­

    (Luke) Fred!

    As Luke yelled at Fred, he then grabbed Fred¡¯s collar, looking directly at his eyes so that Fred¡¯s eyes wouldn¡¯t look away. Luke¡¯s hands tightly and firmly gripped Fred, as Luke towered over him.

    (Luke) You made a promise with Gemma, right? Did you make a vow? What type of vow did you propose to her?

    (Fred) I just ¡­

    Fred then started to slump down, his legs wobbled as he decided to sit down on the floor he was accustomed to.

    (Fred) She ¡­ wanted to spend the rest of her life with me ¡­ I wanted to make it happen ¡­ but she ¡­

    Slumping even more, Fred started to let out more tears coming from his face. Red marks already formed along his cheeks, as Luke still held onto Fred¡¯s shoulders.

    (Fred) Why did she ¡­ Why did she have to ¡­

    (Luke) Fred ¡­

    Luke then tightly wrapped his arms around, the same tight hug that they had when they first reunited.

    Fred responded by gripping his arms around Luke too, his arms tightening like he was gripping for his life.

    (Luke) She sacrificed herself to save you ¡­ can¡¯t you understand that?

    Luke¡¯s voice started to crack, his hand firmly tightening around Fred¡¯s back. With both of them not wanting to see eye to eye, Luke had a couple of tears starting to drip on Fred¡¯s shoulder.

    (Fred) But she ¡­ have you ever gone through that before?

    (Luke) I have ¡­

    (Fred) And ¡­ you still carry onward?

    (Luke) I don¡¯t have a choice Fred, neither of us have.

    (Fred) Do I ¡­ Do you still miss your mom?

    (Luke) Yeah ¡­ all the time ¡­ but Fred.

    Letting go of Fred, he took a couple of steps back. As he put his hand on Fred¡¯s shoulder, they both saw each other in their own reflected eyes.

    (Luke) Live. For Gemma.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 23: Im Too Lucky...

    (Prominis 20, 56 / 11:43PM)

    (Jack) Just curious ¡­ Where are you all guys from?

    Near a campfire, the 14 candidates celebrated their rising tensions with a party. With nothing but soda, donuts, barbeque, and other small snacks, the kids and teens had a little fun on their second night.

    (Jack) I know Sean told me that he was from Aizzonia, but what about you guys? I mean, some of you guys look like you¡¯re from Ticia.

    Jack looked towards Stan and his friends, his eyes focusing primarily on Luke. Luke, remaining mostly quiet, looked at Jack¡¯s direction, his eyes trying to avoid eye contact with Jack. Clearing his throat, he didn¡¯t look at Jack as he looked to the ground.

    (Luke) Yeah ¡­ I¡¯m from Ticia ¡­ Stan, Fred, Gary, and Diego were from there too¡­

    (Stan) We all sort of knew each other, before the invasion. Not to be rude, but I hope you¡¯re not interested in our story, let¡¯s just say it was a package of awful memories.

    Jack rubbed his chin, as he still remained focused on Luke and his friends. Letting go of his chin, he straightened his back.

    (Jack) Yeah no worries bro. You don¡¯t have to give us your guys'' backstory.

    Focusing his attention to the two beast humans, Jack¡¯s eyes started to shimmer a bit as he pointed at them with his finger.

    (Jack) Care to explain your homeland Cameron and Ryan?

    (Ryan) We¡¯re both from Ticia, specifically Visily Harbor.

    (Jack) Visily Harbor? The city of fish?

    (Ryan) Yeah ¡­ you know a lot of cities.

    (Jack) I was always good at geography. You don¡¯t have to tell me your story if you don¡¯t want to.

    (Ryan) Actually, it probably isn¡¯t as bad as the others, but me and Cameron were always good friends before the attack.

    Jack laid back as he perked up, putting his right leg on top of his left knee, having both of his hands on the wooden bench that he was sitting on.

    (Ryan) On that Saturday, me and Cameron were just looking through the city, until we were stopped by a gang of dog-humans. Despite me, Cameron, and them being beast humans, they started belittling us. They tugged on Cameron¡¯s ears, his nose, they started throwing carrots at me, trying to touch my tail.

    Ryan looked up at his furry white hand, his hand vastly similar to Jack and the rest of the humans, yet the way he was treated¡­

    (Ryan) From a certain angle, I could see why some humans would see us as different, but why dog-humans?

    (Jack) So ¡­

    (Ryan) We were about to fight them head on, until a bunch of explosions rocked the city. I don¡¯t know what they were to this day, but it just all happened so quickly.

    Ryan rolled down a tear, until he swiped it away with his right hand.

    (Jack) It¡¯s ok ¡­ I¡¯ll leave you alone with the details ¡­ How about you Luna?

    He turned his head towards Luna, who was gobbling on a donut.

    (Luna) What?

    (Jack) When you spoke with Luke, you said your father and brothers were killed during the attack, so ¡­ what region were you originally from?

    (Luna) Why should you care?

    (Jack) I''m just curious.

    Luna¡¯s eyes rolled as she continued to eat her donut. Noticing that Jack¡¯s eyes remained on her, she swallowed and cleared her throat.

    (Luna) sighs ¡­ Angharad Valley, Yamu.

    (Jack) Yamu? Is it a small town?

    (Luna) It¡¯s a small city in between Tringho and Armadillo Wells, barely a population of 100,000. Happy?

    Jack gave a thumbs up for Luna, who in return, looked away with a vein popping out of her forehead. Jack glanced at Luna as she turned away and giggled a bit as he put a hand to his mouth.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Dork!

    (Jack) All that¡¯s left is Hope, Loraine, Gemma, and Miles. So who wants to go first?

    Jack looked through the last four candidates, eyeing every single one of them. Miles stood up with a soda in hand, drinking the soda in one gulp, and crushing the can with two of his hands, before placing it in his pocket. Funny enough, Jack¡¯s eyes remained focused on the soda can that Miles crunched up.

    (Miles) I¡¯m from here, Kepputha is my home.

    (Jack) Wait really? Where in Kepputha?

    Jack¡¯s jaw dropped, followed by everyone else gasping and gossiping amongst themselves. Miles started to look down as he put his hands in his pockets.

    (Miles) I¡¯m from City King, a rural town near the city Fort Stonerock.

    (Jack) You lived near the penitentiary city?! Why is a Kepputhan country boy here as a candidate for an elite program?

    (Miles) It¡¯s ¡­ complicated.

    Looking towards the door to the lunch room, he thought he saw a¡­

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) A tunnel?This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    A tunnel appeared, replacing the door that led to the lunchroom, but in an instant, the tunnel vanished and was then replaced back to being a door.

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Why am I reminding myself of that¡­

    Jack noticed that Miles was lost in thought looking at the random door, so he took his attention to the three girls.

    (Jack) Hope. Wanna tell us your home country?

    (Hope) Sorry, but I don¡¯t remember what my home country is¡­

    (Jack) Really?

    (Hope) All I remember is an older girl that I was maybe close to. I forgot her face and I also forgot her name¡­

    Hope silently watched the firepit as she took small bites of her s''more.

    (Jack) Welp ¡­ Gemma?

    (Gemma) Nothing too complex, was raised in an orphanage in Ticia, and I managed to be the last survivor out of all the orphans. I walked to the Kepputhan border for about a month until I ran into Gwen.

    (Jack) Woah what? That¡¯s not simple, that¡¯s pretty dark!

    (Gemma) I guess I always had a hard life¡­

    Everyone¡¯s eyes averted away from Gemma.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Welp. The harder the life, the peaceful the fall¡­

    (Jack) ¡­ how about you Loraine¡ª

    Loraine was fast asleep, her eight-year-old body couldn¡¯t muster the strength to stay up. Having a little vein on his forehead, he folded his arms as he looked at the firepit.

    (Jack) I guess I¡¯ll pry into Loraine¡¯s story later¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 4:59PM)

    (Stan) We have only an hour before The Array ends¡­ let¡¯s hole up here for now so that we can say that we failed our final test.

    (Gary) Why not just go backward?

    (Stan) Come to think of it ¡­ what I said was pretty dumb ¡­

    (Diego) How so?

    As the boys huddled in a group, Stan, the ring leader, looked at his friends and even Jack, Sean, and Miles. Unclogging his throat, Stan folded his arms as he leaned on the stone wall.

    (Stan) If we did leave the city, then how would we make it out of Ticia alive?

    (Jack) Yeah, thankfully we didn¡¯t do that¡­

    (Sean) But hey! We just gotta do nothing for an hour, I mean ¡­ it¡¯s better this way¡ª

    (Luke) Who says we''re staying here?

    Luke carried with him dual-wielding uzis, with a belt that contained many ammo and magazines as well as a holster. On his way to the group, he was looked upon with awe and admiration, with many of the candidate''s eyes sparkling with coolness as Luke was stacked.

    (Stan) What do you mean? You can¡¯t be thinking of going out there¡­

    (Luke) Stan, think about this ¡­ you always told yourselves to never give up right? We¡¯re fully loaded with our preferred weapons and you want to tuck tail and run?

    (Stan) I just¡­

    Stan looked away, his eyes avoiding eye contact with Luke¡¯s. He then looked towards Sean, who envied his style since Hope and Luna started flustering hard as they saw Luke¡¯s attire.

    (Sean) Dual-wielding uzis?

    (Luke) Better than some run-down submachine gun¡­

    (Sean) Hey! This gun is a classic!

    (Luna) Shut up, Sean.

    (Fred) Come on guys, break it up¡­

    Fred carried on his right hand a long wired yo-yo, with barbed wire and razor blades attached to the metallic string. On his left hand, he wielded a simple handgun, the one that almost took his own life¡­

    (Fred) I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m using Gemma¡¯s razor blade wires for my man-made weapon¡­

    (Hope) Gemma would¡¯ve loved that idea.

    Hope carried with her a Beretta Storm combat pistol, followed by a huge backpack carrying medical supplies.

    (Luke) Hope¡¯s right. Are you sure you¡¯re ready Fred?

    (Fred) Suffering builds character I guess.

    (Stan) ¡­ guess we have no other choice huh ¡­

    Stan and everyone decided to follow Luke, with all 11 candidates behind Luke. As Luke turned around, he saw all of them using their right fist to thump the left side of their chest two times, and gliding it to the right side, a salute for the upcoming elite force¡­

    Luke also did the elite force salute.

    (Stan) So ¡­ what¡¯s the plan?

    Luke put his right uzi on his holster, taking out a piece of a white crystal from his pocket. As he held it up high, everyone tilted their heads, except for Fred, Stan, Gary, and Diego.

    (Fred) Is that fulminated mercury?

    (Luke) Yeah ¡­

    (Fred) What¡¯s it for?

    (Luke) ¡­ Everyone, stand behind me to form a line!

    As the 11 candidates stood behind Luke, setting up his stance to focus on the metal door that would lead them into the third stage¡­

    (Stan) No but seriously, what¡¯s the plan?

    (Luke) There is no plan.

    (Gary) So we¡¯re just going to go guns blazing then.

    (Luke) Loraine, explain to them.

    Lorraine, who was in the middle of the line, spoke up as everyone focused their eyes on her.

    (Loraine) The goal is to get to the center of the complex. To get there safely, we have to form a big group and stick together!

    Finishing his stance, Luke rubbed the fulminated mercury a bit in his right hand as he adjusted himself into a throwing position.

    (Fred) Wait, hold on! The blast would put a bunch of metal shrapnel at us!

    All the candidates started to shake, their gossiping and murmurs causing Luke to look back at them.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry ¡­ that¡¯s why I have everyone in back of me¡­ like you said, Fred.

    Luke then threw the fulminated mercury at the door, the world in slow motion as everyone eyed the white crystal barreling towards the stone wall.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m too lucky¡­

    As the explosion unfolded, the shockwaves caused ripples through most of the candidate''s bodies, their limbs feeling the vibrations and pounds of adrenaline. With the metal shrapnel hurling towards them, Luke¡¯s gamble was right on the money, as the candidates saw the debris fly over them, some passing inches from them.

    With the explosion and dust clearing off, they all thrust themselves into¡­

    (Luke) Charge!

    The last stage.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 24: The Last Stage

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 5:32AM)

    In an instant, all the candidates huddled up as a blob, their bodies barely touching each other as they ran through the white concrete and big fenced walls. Around them all, the military complex was comprised of a wide open courtyard, big enough for huge groups of zompires to¡ª

    (Luke) Zompires straight ahead!

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s a lot of them¡­

    As Luke noticed the horde of zompires heading towards them, he signaled the candidates with his raspy vocals¡­

    (Luke) Alright, commence operation by threes!

    Despite the group still being one big block, three mini groups started to form as they all ran together.

    The first group in the front was Luke, who was with Luna, Hope, Cameron, and Loraine.

    The second group was to the right side, with Miles being the leader, his subordinates being Sean and Jack.

    The third group was to the left side, with Stan being the leader.

    Fortunately, the horde of zompires also split into threes, with eight to ten zompires per group. Seeing that the zompires were trying to do the same thing as the candidates, Luke gave off a cold smug, scaring the rest of the candidates who were near him.

    (Luke) Weapons free!

    Luke¡¯s group decided to clash with the zompires group that was drawing near. Using both uzis, he sprayed and paid the zompires from a far distance, the zompires being riddled with holes and bullet wounds.

    Despite his guns not working, it was to¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) hehe.

    With a devilish smirk, the bullets then exploded, creating a spectacle of zompire body parts and organs flying in the air. As the black tar rained on the front group, Luke then walked slower, letting someone else take the lead.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Go crazy.

    (Luna) Come here!

    Yet another deathly ballad, Luna wielded both twin bladed double edged swords in each hand. Spinning both swords like yo-yos, she used her legs to spring herself forward, the motion of the lung was hard enough for Luke and the others to see a mini shockwave when Luna lunged.

    With an upwelling roar, she thrusted her spinning sword in one strike, taking down a couple of zompires in one fatal sweep, black tar and guts drenching the swords that Luna wielded.

    Strike by strike, Luna sliced and diced her way as the front runner, her arms moving along with the sword. The more zompires she sliced, the more her arms pulsated and expanded.

    But one zompire managed to sneak right next to her ¡­

    (Zompire #1) Save us!

    Opening its mouth, the zompire sprinted with enough speed to catch Luna off guard. Despite taking out most of the zompires, she was dealing with an extra zompire on top of the sprinter. Having her left sword holding down the zompire that was biting her sword, she used her right sword to block the sprinter¡¯s charge.

    The sprinter caused Luna to be pushed back a couple of steps, barely having enough strength to push them back.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Shit!

    Her arms were shaking under the pressure, with her legs quivering as she didn¡¯t have the strength to defend herself.

    An old gunshot can be heard¡­

    The zompire that Luna was holding with her right sword slowly fell down and started to glitch out, black tar sweeping out of its eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. Glancing at the direction of the gunshot, it was none other than the horse human candidate.

    (Cameron) Take your chance!

    Luna used her right sword to stab the zompire that she was defending with her left sword, aiming straight at its heart. As the zompire fell, glitched out, and melted, Luna took in a few breaths, her breathing rigid and raspy.

    (Luke) Luna, let¡¯s go!

    (Luna) Let me breathe for a second!

    Luna looked back to see everyone still up and running, dealing with the first wave of zompires.

    Hope and Loraine encountered three zompires heading towards them. Since Loraine was in the back of Hope, Loraine sprinted towards Hope, her legs having a lot of pressure as she got closer to Hope.

    Putting both of her hands on Hope¡¯s shoulders, Loraine then pushed herself against the pavement, which caused Hope to bend down from Loraine¡¯s weight.

    (Hope) What are you doing¡ª

    Loraine then used Hope¡¯s posture to lunge herself like a bullet, eyeing two zompires as she wielded her swiss army knife. Firmly gripping her knife, she sprang it forward the moment she was in distance to one of the zompires, right at its core.

    Having her left hand on the zompire¡¯s shoulder, she flipped herself over to make an in-air front flip, landing on her feet as her body already made a stance against her next opponent. With the second zompire charging at her, she jumped sideways to have a clear angle at its heart, thrusting her knife again at it.

    Hearing a gunshot from Hope¡¯s direction, Loraine¡¯s eyes took a whiff of Hope casually shooting a zompire charging at her, her face looking down at the zompire with no hints of sweat or paleness.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) Scary¡­

    Mile¡¯s group was dealing with a horde not as big as Luke¡¯s, the horde containing six to eight zompires. Feeling the wooden yet metallic sawed off shotguns, Miles encountered two zompires charging at him.

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Here goes nothing.

    Miles started to slide off the concrete, having enough inertia and momentum as he dual wielded his guns. As he was gliding past the zompires, Miles fired both his shotguns at the same time, aiming perfectly at their hearts. With both zompires down, he looked back to see Sean and Jack dealing with many of the other zompires.

    Jack, despite sprinting, managed to place his right finger on the trigger before precisely shooting most of the zompires. Sean glanced at Jack with a slide glare, moving his legs more to run into two more incoming zompires.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    (Sean¡¯s thoughts) Show off¡­

    Having the tommy gun on his left hand, he dragged a melting zompire¡¯s body so that the first incoming zompire would trip. Sure enough, the zompire tripped, causing the second zompire to go around the melting body to reach Sean.

    (Sean¡¯s thoughts) Poor choice of actions.

    Sean with good aim, shot at the zompire, then quickly shot the first zompire that was recovering from its trip.

    (Sean) Now that¡¯s how you deal with zompires!

    (Miles) Just keep up with the group!

    Stan¡¯s group saw a large group heading towards them, the horde not stopping as they got closer.

    (Stan) Just fire whatever you got!

    The quad rained down the group with bullets, their handguns managing to hit most of the zompires hearts. With the smoke and shockwaves circling around them, it wasn¡¯t enough for the group to be taken down.

    (Stan) Fred, ready to use that huge whip?

    (Fred) On it!

    Right as the zompire group reached them, Fred extended his yo-yo razor blade whip to enclose the horde, giving the others a perfect opportunity.

    (Stan) Let¡¯em have it!

    Stan, Gary, and Diego shot at the leftover zompires that Fred had trapped.

    Charging head first again, all the candidates huddled up again, sweat and black tar covering most of the candidates faces. As the tar started to burn onto their skin slightly, the candidates had no choice but to bear with the annoyance, their teeth slightly clenching as their fists slightly shook.

    (Miles) I¡¯m going to take a long shower after this.

    (Luke) Hey Loraine! How big is this military complex?

    (Loraine) The building we have to go through is in the center, so it¡¯s only a kilometer away¡­

    The candidates'' faces started to breathe irregularly, their legs aching with the ex hustling pain of setting foot on another stone pavement.

    (Fred) A kilometer?

    (Luke) We could run a kilometer.

    Another wave of zompires were clearly seen from the distance in front of them. This time, it was twice the amount. The candidates started to holster their weapons back up again, with Luke being in the center yet again.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) They don¡¯t call this the third stage for nothing¡­

    (Luke) Everyone follow me!

    Luke then started to make a curve to the right, yet still managing to keep going straight. Everyone followed Luke to the letter, as they were all in back of him, their legs unshaken of defeat and sorrow.

    (Luke) Anyone that has mid to long range weapons, come to the left side!

    Jack, Sean, Cameron, Gary, Stan, Fred, Diego and even Hope moved to the left end, having a clear view of the zompire horde that was on them. Locking and loading their weapons, the seven of them unleashed a barrage of bullets towards the incoming zompires, taking out dozens upon dozens of zompires.

    The zompires that were shot were riddled with bullet holes, bleeding out black tar that was putrid. Most of the zompires that were shot had their hearts damaged, their ability to regenerate extinguished, causing them to glitch and melt.

    (Luke) Alright, mid range weapons still stay on the left! Long range, switch with short range!

    With the zompire horde still closer as they curve right, Jack and Cameron switched places with Miles and Luna. Reloading their weapons, the left side then commenced another downpour of bullets, hitting their targets with much more precision than earlier.

    Only a few were still standing, managing to make their way scaringly close to the group. Because of the switcheroo¡­

    Miles blasted a few of them with his sawed off shotguns, putting permanent holes onto their chests. For Luna, she took a couple of steps away from the group to duel with a couple of zompires that were still alive. Slicing their hearts with ease, black tar splattered onto Luna even more, her face filled with black spots as her hands were drenched with tar.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯ve smelled worse.

    She then ran towards the group, catching up to them with ease. With the second horde down, the candidates noticed that they didn¡¯t see a third wave incoming.

    Most of the candidates let out sighs of relief, as the pitch black morning constrained them from their view.

    (Miles) I think we¡¯re clear.

    (Stan) Hey! Don¡¯t let your guard up! They could be anywhere¡­

    As everyone started scanning their surroundings, hoping to find any zompire in sight, they didn¡¯t see any black haired, pale face creatures in the dead of night.

    (Gary) It¡¯s too quiet¡­

    With the only sound they''re hearing being footsteps, the candidates slowly rapidly moved their eyes to see any zompire, but ¡­

    (Jack) Wait, hold up! I see a zompire far in the distance.

    With his eagled shaped eyes, Jack saw from afar the darkness a zompire, extending its hands out in the air. Upon seeing the creature, the candidates started to slow down, as the eerie behavior of the zompire caused them to stiffen their bodies.

    Far in the distance, the zompire started to¡ª

    Smile intensely.

    The creature''s smile reached up to its empty eye sockets, showing no teeth as it stared at the group with no eyes.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Wait a minute¡­Why is¡­

    The zompire¡¯s chest and stomach was coded with a brownish red, the areas of red showing lines of arteries and veins as well as black tar that managed to leak out like an unclosed hose.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is that muscles? Why is it glowing?

    The zompires muscles started steaming, making a mist cloud forming around the body. Looking at the candidates, the zompire¡¯s smile remained unchanged, but then¡ª

    Many more zompires slowly walked out to back up the peeled zompire, and like the peeled zompire ¡­ the zompires also had steam coming out of them, their chest and stomach muscles showcasing a glowing red.

    (Fred) Luke ¡­ your call?

    (Luke) I¡¯ve never seen this before¡ª

    Then the zompires sprinted at them.

    (Zompire #2) Help us!

    (Luke) J-Just shoot the zompires!

    All 12 candidates, their faces pale and sweaty, shot their guns like crazy, hoping that these were just ordinary zompires.

    As Jack hit a peeled zompire¡¯s heart with his sniper, the zompire in question¡ª

    Exploded in an immense inferno, with many of the other zompires in that group exploding in a chain reaction.

    The shockwave caused them to knock them a few steps back, as the burning gust caused them to cover their eyes. Their eyes were parched and dried out, stumbling around as the hot and dry air managed to lose their balance.

    Once they were able to see, all the zompires were extinguished, but their faces started to twitch as their hands started to shake.

    (Cameron) Exploding zompires!?

    (Luna) Are you fucking kidding me? I can¡¯t fight them with swords now?!

    (Miles) So much for using shotguns now¡­

    (Jack) ¡­ well ¡­ works for me.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is this the same explosion ¡­ that killed Ryan ¡­

    (Stan) Luke, are you sure you want to go through with this?

    Luke looked at the gate with his face pale and his hands shaking. Cold deadly sweat dripped down from his left and right temples, followed by his breathing ragged and irregular.

    (Luna) Hey!

    Luna gripped Luke¡¯s face with her fingertips, leaving burning tar on his cheeks, causing him to lose focus on the harrowing gate. Looking at Luna with still fear in his eyes, Luna continued to hold Luke¡¯s face, looking directly at his red eyes.

    (Luna) We¡¯re this close to finishing up this stupid game, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to now chicken out on us!

    (Luke) I-I¡¯m not going to chicken out, it¡¯s just ¡­

    (Luna) It¡¯s just what?!

    (Luke) Nobody has ever seen or heard of that type of zompire¡­ no records or studies documented an exploding zompire, so maybe ¡­

    Luke then pointed towards the gate, his finger quivering as his eyes focused back onto the gate.

    (Luke) Maybe that zompire ¡­ is so rare or so deadly ¡­ that anyone has ever laid eyes on it ¡­ didn¡¯t come back alive ¡­

    Luna, who still had her hands on Luke¡¯s shoulders, let go of him, taking a couple of steps before she looked down at Luke¡¯s hands. Noticing the scars on his palms, Luna then extended her hand to hold Luke¡¯s.

    His cheeks slightly flustered, his palms began to sweat gently as Luna rubbed them back and forth with her hands.

    (Luna) Where did you get those scars?

    With a curious and reassuring tone, she continued to look at Luke¡¯s hands as he stared more into Luna¡¯s.

    (Luke) I tried saving my mom ¡­ but I was too weak. I wanted to carry all that rubble and get her out ¡­ but the world wouldn¡¯t let me.

    (Luna) So what are you going to do?

    Luna then looked up at Luke¡¯s eyes, her eyes focusing solely on his. As both saw each other in their eyes, Luna gripped his hands firmly, her finger tips tapping Luke¡¯s palm scars.

    (Luna) Do you want to get stronger?

    (Luke) Of course I do, but.

    (Luna) Then instead of being strong, how about strategizing a bit more. Muscles ain¡¯t going to save you from those things.

    (Luke) How am I supposed to do it?

    (Luna) Ask Loraine!

    Letting go of his hands, Luna put herself back into the candidates, as most of them were barely keeping their legs straight and their bodies still. Luke then straightened his back, putting both feet straight across as he cleared up his throat.

    (Luke) Loraine! Have you heard of this zompire before?

    All the candidates perked up their ears, awaiting Loraine¡¯s response to Luke¡¯s order.

    (Loraine) No. But¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 25: The Dark Angels

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 5:28AM)

    Two teens were walking closer to the last gate.

    (Jack) Are you sure this is going to work?

    (Luke) Trust me on this.

    (Jack) Trust you? I know you¡¯re the luckiest out of all of us, but that doesn¡¯t explain why¡ª

    (Luke) Quiet. Follow my lead.

    Both Luke and Jack took cover behind a stone wall, their backs rubbing the wall as their breathing increased. Giving each other a nod, Jack, who was nearest the gate, looked over to see what laid beyond the final stretch.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) What the actual hell¡­

    Blocking the door was a militia of steaming zompires, the steam creating a mist cloud around the little section that they needed to cross.

    The section was composed of many dead trees and little ponds, and ground was replaced with dead grass and soil. It was almost like a garden, but without the flowers and bees.

    Despite popping his head out, the zompires didn¡¯t notice Jack looking at them. Not only that, but it didn¡¯t sense or sniff any human that has body odor.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Luke was right on the money. Water does give us a great advantage.

    (Luke in Jack¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s a little hose right next to us, I want everyone to hose themselves down!

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) I hope the plan goes through.

    After analyzing the monster, Jack looked around to see that there were many wooden crates, with black and white skulls labeled on them around the little section.

    (Jack) Hey Luke. There¡¯s a shit ton of wooden boxes scattered around the garden.

    (Luke) How many?

    (Jack) I would say around 30 to 40 of them.

    (Luke) So Loraine was right ¡­

    Luke switched places with Jack, looking inside of the little section. Upon seeing the garden with his own eyes, Luke gave out a little smirk as he put his hands on his hips.

    Giggling a bit, he turned towards Jack, with his cheeks turning red.

    (Luke) hehe ¡­ so I¡¯ve been worrying for nothing huh.

    (Jack) What are you saying?!

    (Luke) You see those crates?

    Luke pointed to the crates. Noticing them, Jack tilted his head, scratching the back of his scalp.

    (Jack) What do you take those crates for?

    (Luke) Those black and white skull and bone pictures are meant to be a symbol for cryogenic gas.

    (Jack) What?

    (Luke) Those crates contain deep freeze gas that can turn anything to hard ice. What do you think the black and white skull and bones logo stood for?

    (Jack) I thought it meant poison or something¡­

    Looking away, Jack kept to himself as he put his hands in his pockets, his ears turning red.

    (Luke) Alright, let¡¯s get to the second stage of our plan. Let¡¯s go Jack.

    Signaling Jack, both teens walked towards the gate, seeing all the skinned zompires walking in a programmed walking pattern.

    As soon as they crossed the gate, all the zompire turned their direction to the two teens, as well as the tar monster noticing them. Feeling deathly stares at every corner of the section, the two boys continued to sweat profoundly as their legs started to shake a bit.

    (Jack) Are you positive you know what you¡¯re doing?

    (Luke) Yeah ¡­ just need luck that¡¯s all¡­

    Luke then both hands to point towards the crates from both sides of the opposite sections, his pointer fingers barely touching them. With the help of Jack, Jack shot his sniper near their area, causing a major disturbance for the zompires which instantly turned towards the two of them.

    As the tarred creature noticed Jack, the zompires quickly sprinted towards Jack, their peeled stomachs and chests letting off steam, indicating that it was about to¡­

    (Luke) Fire!

    On the sections walls, there were two walls on the left side and the right side of both Luke and Jack. On both the left and right side, five candidates took to the top of each one to get a clear view of the section, waiting for Luke¡¯s signal.

    As soon as Luke pointed to the wooden crates, all the rest of the candidates had their heads popping out of the top of the walls, causing Luke to sprint as well back, dangerously behind as the zompires were reaching up to him.

    Miles'' group, who climbed the left side, had Luna, Hope, Loraine, and Sean.

    Stan¡¯s group on the right had Fred, Gary, Diego, and Cameron.

    All wielded their weapons and pointed towards the wooden crates, and in a flash, a deadly rain of bullets dropped all over the dead garden. All candidates punctured the holes of any wooden crate they found, firing off all the ammo that they¡¯re guns held.

    Loraine was the only one who held an RPG, firing shell after shell towards the zompires that were after the two teens in the bottom. The force of each shot violently shaking the girl¡¯s body as the recoil was enough to discombobulate her for a split second.

    For Luna and Miles who had close range weapons, both of them wielded something different.

    Both of them found a fucking gattling gun!

    Firing hundreds of bullets per second amongst the crates, Miles¡¯s hands and arms were utterly exhausted as the old machine gun had enough recoil to make him lose focus when accurately shooting the crates.

    Luckily, Luna took most of the recoil, as she was the one that gripped the gatling with the most force, sending her most of the motion as Miles focused on aim.

    (Luke) Jack, get back!

    As Luke and Jack ran, Luke looked behind and saw with his eyes the absolute peak of destruction¡­

    As explosive, near absolute zero temperature gas that was let out.

    (Jack) Shit, don¡¯t let it touch you!

    Jack took cover by the same wall that they used to spy on the zompires. With the zompires and frozen gas behind him, Luke pushed his legs with all his might to get to the same cover that Jack was in. As the cold gas managed to spread throughout the dead garden, it wasn¡¯t just perfect.

    (Stan) Everyone get down!

    The gas quickly managed to spread on top of the walls of both sides, rising to where the candidates could see the gas with the naked eye.

    (Miles) Shit! Use the poles!

    One by one, each candidate slid down a metal pole to escape the gas, gripping the pole tightly so that they wouldn¡¯t fall off.

    (Stan) Don¡¯t slip off! You won¡¯t be able to walk if you fell down thirty feet!Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    The gas managed to reach the top and even cover the places where the candidates originally were at. Looking up as the gas barely missed them, all of them held in their breaths as they try to slid down without falling.

    But one of the metal poles managed to be damaged¡­

    (Stan) Shit!

    Stan¡¯s group pole managed to break loose from the top, sending Luke¡¯s friends halfway to the bottom of the wall. Despite it being 15 feet, it was enough for them to lay on the ground irritating with pain as some of them sprained their ankles.

    For Miles¡¯s group, their pole was fine. Once the group was down, they looked at each other with little smiles, their faces finally relaxed after a brutal exam.

    Until they remembered two important people.

    Well, mostly one.

    (Luna) Oh shit, Luke!

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Please be alive!

    Both girls ran towards the gate, their feet colliding with the concrete. Pushing themselves to run faster, it caused them to breath in heavy breaths, with their heads starting to create sharp headaches, but that didn¡¯t matter.

    (Miles) Wait, Luna! Hope! ¡­ I guess we¡¯re following them.

    (Sean) I wish I had that type of concern for me.

    Miles and the others ran to get Luna and Hope who were much farther away, with him, Sean, and Loraine barely catching up. As soon as they catched up, Miles and the others saw Luna and Hope, and surprisingly, Luke and Jack were seen with them.

    (Miles) They¡¯re still alive! Hurry up Sean!

    (Sean) Hey man ¡­ pants ¡­ I¡¯m barely breathing ¡­

    As Sean grudgingly made his way towards Luke and Jack, the elf looked at Luke as he was in between Luna and Hope.

    (Sean¡¯s thoughts) Damn¡­

    Sean noticed that Luke had minor freezer burns on his hands, mostly because as soon as they turned the corner, their hands were placed on the wall that quickly became one of the ice. In turn, his palms were sunnish red, with blisters already forming beneath their fingers.

    (Jack) So this is the price for doing things the easy way¡­

    (Luke) Better this than to fight all those creatures. Good thing that Loraine told us about that little wooden crate spoiler.

    (Jack) What spoiler? I thought you said you knew it was frozen gas?

    Luke remained silent, his eyes avoiding any eye contact with Jack.

    (Jack) Did you really just freaking gaslight me?

    (Luke) ¡­ I had to make you trust in me, otherwise¡ª

    (Jack) You manipulative bastard!

    Jack then gripped Luke¡¯s collar angrily, his hands shaking violently as he eyed Luke with vicious pupils.

    (Luke) Woah, hold on! I chose you because you¡¯re an expert at eyesight! Also, I¡¯m the one who risked my life the most!

    (Jack) Don¡¯t think just because you¡¯re a leader doesn¡¯t make you the boss of¡ª

    (Luna) Get your smooth hands off of Luke!

    Luna punched Jack¡¯s head, causing him to squeal as he let go of Luke¡¯s collar. Putting his hands onto his head, he started to massage the redness and pain that he received. Using his fingers, he pressed against his scalp, eyeing Luna with a couple of tears in his eyes.

    (Jack) But ¡­ but he used me.

    (Luna) Are you an idiot? He used you because you were useful to him! Dumbass!

    (Jack) D-Don¡¯t call me a dumbass.

    (Luna) Idiot!

    (Jack) Stop calling me curse words!

    (Hope) Nincompoop.

    (Jack) Not you too Hope!

    As Jack kept being verbally assaulted, Luke stood up and put on the bandage himself. Finding a piece of cloth, Luke wrapped it gently onto his palm, hoping to cover the irritating burns of his hand.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It ain¡¯t much, but it will do.

    As Luke was about to enter into the gate, he noticed that Sean was running into the little section, which was completely taken over back by oxygen now, with the zompires still frozen. Seeing the frozen dead garden that can still be walked on without slipping, it looked more alive than dead.

    The trees had lethal icicles on its branches, followed by the dead grass having a loud crunch when crushed on, as well as the soil being permafrost.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why is Sean running towards ¡­ oh no¡­

    Luke then put a hand to his right eye, as he looked down onto the ground.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s only seven white bananas!

    Luke then ran to Sean as well, his legs kicking off the ground. As Luke ran off, the others saw him off, and even they had that same realization.

    (Miles) The bananas!

    (Luna) That fucking dork!

    (Hope) Wait Luke!

    (Jack) Sneaky bastard! Damn, even Loraine is far gone!

    As Luke ran towards the exit, he heard a number of shouts reaching out to him, the voices causing Luke to look back. Upon seeing those faces, Luke made an unamused face as he looked again forward, still keeping his same speed as before.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Hmm ¡­ What if I do this?

    Luna then side pushed Hope hard, causing her to fall on the icy soil. Hitting the earth, Hope landed on her right arm, causing immense pain as her body weight pressed onto it. Getting up slowly, she looked towards Luna, who was still running, not looking back.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Why did she push me?! I didn¡¯t do anything ¡­ Yet ¡­

    (Hope) ¡­ whore¡­

    (Luna) Catch me if you can bitch!

    Hope then used her legs to catch up to Luna, but compared to Luna, Hope¡¯s legs were not as fast. Seeing the difference in height, Hope continued to push her legs forward, her eyes focusing not on Luna but to the door.

    Meanwhile, Sean and Loraine were the first ones to reach the door that leads to the main building. As they stood in front of the door, the metallic door slowly opened up, leading them inside.

    (Sean) Not waiting for anyone!

    (Loraine) Piggyback!

    Loraine ran and jumped onto Sean¡¯s back, with Sean taking a few steps forward as his face looked back to see Loraine smiling at him.

    (Sean) Listen Loraine, I¡¯m not into little girls.

    (Loraine) Don¡¯t care! Charge forward!

    Punching his back, Sean decided to run to keep Loraine on his back, his eyes looking back at the rest of the candidates trying to keep up.

    (Sean¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t care who¡¯s in my team, as long as Luke isn¡¯t here.

    Sean, with Loraine on his back, went onward into the building, not looking back.

    Luke, the third person to reach the door, stopped to look back on the candidates that were trying to reach the main building, his eyes looking for someone, or rather a group in particular. As his eyes noticed Luna, Miles, Jack, and Hope catching up, he barely saw¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I see Stan and the others! Why did they take so long!?

    As Luna saw Luke stop at the entrance, she quickly ran up to him. Upon swiftly taking his hand, she dragged Luke so that¡ª

    Luke pushed Luna¡¯s hand away.

    (Luna) What are you doing?

    (Luke) There¡¯s something I want to say to Stan and the others¡­

    Luna tilted her head as she focused her eyes on Luke. Folding her arms, she got close to Luke, looking up at Luke with eyes as sharp as daggers.

    (Luna) Get moving.

    (Luke) Just let me talk to them.

    Luna then grabbed Luke¡¯s hand, firmly tightening it as she placed her body more aligned to the building. As she was doing this, Miles and Jack managed to both make it inside the building too, but both looked back to see what Luke was doing.

    (Jack) Come on you guys, your goals are right there!

    (Miles) You guys better make it before they do.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry Miles, you and Jack could enter through.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) And if Luna and Hope enter, then there would be one person to eat that banana¡­

    Miles and Jack were swept inside the building, not looking back. Hope, who was panting and breathing hard as she exerted herself, soullessly looked at Luna, her eyes not having a shred of humanity as she continued to glare at her.

    (Luna) What? Going to cry?

    (Hope) ¡­ slut.

    (Luna) Take that back!

    Luna then grabbed onto Hope¡¯s hair, pulling it hard as her grip on her made it so that Hope had tears in her eyes. As the pain of Luna¡¯s abuse was present, Luke saw the group of boys that he called friends.

    As Stan, Fred, Gary, Diego, and even Cameron were on the footsteps of the door, they saw Luke, Hope and Luna, their eyes looking downward onto the icy floor.

    (Stan) So I guess this is it¡­

    (Luke) I know you guys really wanted to pass, you all really do.

    Stan then looked towards where Luna and Hope were beside him, his eyes focusing on primarily Luna.

    (Stan) Tell me Luna, remember that conversation we had at the van?

    (Luna) pfft ¡­ can¡¯t remember.

    (Stan) Hey Luke, tell Luna what I talked about when we all crossed the border¡ª

    (Luna) Shut up!

    (Stan) Heh, always feisty huh?

    Luna¡¯s cheeks started to fluster, as her fists began to clench and shake with vigor.

    Stan then directed his attention to Luke, his eyes gentle yet serious as he put his hands in his pockets.

    (Stan) Gary and Diego overheard something a few days back. If someone managed to fail The Array, they¡¯ll still have connections to The Dark Angels, but they wouldn¡¯t be in the frontlines, so¡­

    Stan then thumped his left side of his chest twice, then gilded it to his right side, showcasing The Dark Angels salute. Seeing the salute, Luke¡¯s eyes began to water, a tear dropping from his dirtied face.

    The morning sun started to rise from the east, dawning upon the five candidates from their backs.

    (Stan) Remember, don¡¯t do it on your own. Because you¡¯re now in good hands!

    Stan, letting a teardrop from his face, didn¡¯t want to wipe it away, rather let it sink into the frozen pavement. Not only Stan, but the rest of his friends took a couple of steps forward.

    (Diego) We¡¯ll keep you guys in check, we''re actually going to be picked up at around noonish.

    (Gary) Yeah, so I still have another four years to train huh.

    (Cameron) In those four years, maybe I¡¯ll become much stronger¡­

    (Fred) Hey Luke!

    Fred¡¯s arms started to shake, his body quivering as his eyes focused solely on Luke.

    (Fred) I¡¯m ¡­ sorry for what happened back at the storage room ¡­ I don¡¯t know what got over me¡­

    Fred arched his back to bow down, his eyes looking downward as his ears perked up. Seeing Fred in a state of guilt, Luke rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.

    (Luke) I¡¯m ¡­ sorry too. I don¡¯t blame you for overreacting ¡­

    (Fred) Come on ¡­what type of best friend does that?

    (Luke) Because of my mustard gas trick, Gemma paid the price of it, so I guess I was the one that caused you to mentally break. What type of best friend does that too?

    (Fred) Hey Luke!

    Fred pointed a thumbs up towards Luke, smiling at him as he took a couple of steps back.

    (Fred) Live for me okay.

    And by then, the five boys walked off, knowing that the three that were on the doorstep were the ones that will be dubbed elite soldiers.

    (Stan) Take care of Luke Luna, and take care of Hope Luke!

    Hope¡¯s cheeks flustered red, followed by her taking a couple of steps back into Luke¡¯s arm. With Luna, her face reddened with many veins popping out of her forehead.

    (Luna) He¡¯s my pet!

    She grabbed Luke¡¯s hand, forcing him to go with her.

    (Luna) We¡¯re going in!

    After six hours of survival hell, seven candidates were then chosen as ¡­

    The Dark Angels.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 26: Chosen Seven

    (Ostermonath 21, 48 / 10:43PM)

    (???) Hahaha, that¡¯s just a joke, right?

    (???) A joke?

    (???) pfft, I don¡¯t think Boris is joking!

    Three men sat at a bar in a wooden tavern, sitting on high wooden stills as their arms lay on the smooth marinated wooden cocktail table. In each of their hands, they gulped down their drinks one at a time.

    But two of them had their hands to their stomachs, slapping their knees as the man to the right of them, a short chubby, haired 28-year-old man, had his fists clenched and his breathing rigid.

    (???) Hey Boris, for a man with a PhD in political science you sure are funny!

    (Boris) Quiet you prick!

    The man to the left of them wore squared-lensed glasses and had dark brown wavy hair and many freckles.

    (Boris) Just because it made you laugh didn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not a joke!

    (???) But still, what made you come up with that? If it¡¯s your way of getting rid of world hunger then not many people will like it.

    The man in the middle, tall with messy blonde hair, looked towards Boris. Boris looked straight at his friend¡¯s eyes, which caused him to drip a bead of sweat from the right corner of his eye. Clearing his throat, he turned the high chair towards the blonde man¡¯s direction, putting his hands on his knees.

    (Boris) After our lecture, I overheard William Reed talking to our professor about kids and such, and how kids should be good fighters so that they could defend themselves from sexual predators and whatnot.

    (???) Hmm ¡­ in a way, I could see why. But what types of traps can they allow for kids and teens? It would be pretty funny if some kid gets caught in cotton candy or falls in some hole and calls it a trap.

    (Boris) But wait Arthur, William told our professor that he has a newborn baby and that he wants to make sure that he is trained at an early age for self-defense.

    (Arthur) Can¡¯t he just protect his own kid?

    Arthur then looked into Boris¡¯s oval-shaped eyes. As Arthur remained in eye contact, Boris leaned onto the cocktail table and made sure his head was turned.

    (Boris) In a way, children need to be tough.

    (???) Are you going through with that joke?

    The man in the middle then caused both Arthur and Boris to lose eye contact, with both of their eyes staring at the blond-haired man. Looking into Boris¡¯s eyes yet again, Boris then looked towards the many whiskey and beer bottles that reflected Boris¡¯s figure to him.

    (Boris) Would I have blood on my hands?

    (???) Unless you work with someone that already has.

    (Boris) Can I do it alone?

    (???) No, it can¡¯t be done with you alone.

    The blonde-haired man¡¯s fists who were on the cocktail table started to shake gently, looking at Boris¡¯s chubby face as his eyes hardened. Putting his right hand over Boris¡¯s shoulder, he whispered in Boris¡¯s ear.

    (??? whispering) Whatever you do, don¡¯t ever do it alone.

    (Boris whispering) Why? You don¡¯t think I can work it out by myself¡ª

    (??? whispering) It¡¯s for your safety¡­

    Boris, who still faced the glass bottles of whiskey and beer as he was being whispered to, tilted his head to the right as he remained dumbfounded by this weird reason.

    (Boris whispering) So, what type of funding or help would I need?

    (??? whispering) Let¡¯s just say I know a man about Arthur¡¯s age who knows how to shoot¡­

    (Boris whispering) So I just need bodyguards?

    (??? whispering) You also need money, that¡¯s the important issue¡­

    (Boris whispering) Don¡¯t tell me I have to go to the government like a lapdog, you know I hate the government with a passion.

    (Arthur) That¡¯s why you have a PhD in political science.

    Arthur then scoots up with his barstool, trying to hear the whispering conversation that¡¯s taking place between their blonde-haired friend and Boris. The blonde-haired man put his left arm around Arthur¡¯s shoulder, bringing them close as to discuss the experiment.

    (Arthur whispering) Why are we still going on about Boris¡¯s joke?

    (??? whispering) Arthur, what do you wanna do after graduating from The Political Institute of Lagefor?

    (Arthur whispering) I plan on being a lawyer why?

    Arthur looked into the blonde-haired man¡¯s eyes, the man¡¯s blue eyes contorting to a serious look as he cleared his throat.

    (??? whispering) Plan on being a politician.

    (Arthur whispering) Yeah, I rather give hopes and dreams than sell hopes and dreams¡­

    (??? whispering) Promise me you¡¯ll be a politician!

    (Arthur whispering) sighs ¡­ why? Why do I have to follow someone else''s goals more than my own?

    Arthur then looked towards Boris, who went back to looking at the bottles of whiskey and beer. Seeing his friend enveloped in the world of beer, Arthur looked back toward his blonde-haired friend.

    (Arthur whispering) It¡¯s just ¡­What if I can¡¯t become a politician¡­

    (??? whispering) Then be president.

    Arthur then stood back to the same position he was in when they first went into the bar. Taking a little drink from his small bottle of whiskey, he looked down at his hand that held the cold drink in his hand.

    The blonde-haired man let go of both Arthur and Boris, having his eyes focused on only Arthur who remained lost in thought. Looking up toward where the blonde-haired man was, Arthur¡¯s eyes scrunched as his nostrils flared for a bit before he rubbed the cold glass with his thumb.

    (Arthur) Joseph.

    (Joseph) Yeah?

    (Arthur) You¡¯re full of shit.

    (Joseph) I get that a lot.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 6:22AM)

    In a room near the control room, was a mini theater that had a small stage with dozens of seats.

    Upon the rows of seats, seven candidates reached the end of the line. Sweat drenched every inch of their bodies, the body odor making the room humid and foul, followed by the dark gray eye bags that showed the lack of sleep that they endured.

    Except for Jack, the only one that didn¡¯t have gray eye bags underneath his eyes.

    Yawning hard, Luke¡¯s eyes felt heavy as he tried to keep them open, his body sore and spent since he couldn¡¯t even budge them one bit. Looking at Hope who was staring into the abyss, he patted her shoulder with his right hand.

    (Luke) Here.

    Luke pulled out from his pocket a small razor blade, placing it flat on his right hand as he showed it to Hope. Despite almost snoozing out, Hope¡¯s eyes sparkled as she noticed the familiar-style razor blade.

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    (Hope) Is that Gemma''s?

    (Luke) Fred gave it to me before we all went through the third stage. He said he wanted me to keep it but ¡­ I wasn¡¯t that close with Gemma compared to you, and Fred and Loraine had many other razor blades that Gemma kept, so ¡­ I want to give this to you.

    Hope had her hand in place, struggling to pick up the blade. Luke noticed a gulp coming from Hope as her breathing was a little raspier, her body trying to hold her back.

    Noticing this hesitation, Luke used his left hand to help out Hope by bringing down her right hand to the razor. With both their right hands cupping, Luke slowly withdrew his right hand so that Hope had the razor blade since Hope¡¯s hands were sticky and sweaty.

    But then Luke flustered bright red.

    Noticing Luke burning red, Hope¡¯s eyes widened, and clasped her hands together, also turning a bright red too. Looking away, her eyes wandered somewhere as sweat started forming across her face.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m sorry¡­ you guys went through the zompire hell again.

    Coming out of the stage was Gwen, who slowly walked in as she didn''t carry the usual megaphone that she normally used. She looked at all seven of the exhausted candidates.

    (Gwen) I know you all probably hate us right now, but we¡¯re just as angry as you all are¡­

    David came out to the stage too, carrying a medium-sized box. The box was coated in black paint, the smell causing him to gag a bit as he fought through the smell.

    (Gwen) I know Boris was clearly in the wrong, but in a way, I guess he had no other choice but to submit for the government this time, but still, I¡¯m not excusing him and all of you shouldn¡¯t either.

    Putting the box down on a table behind Gwen, three other figures came out of the stage, waiting for Gwen to finish up her speech. As Luke stared, he realized the three figures were Benn, Jerry and Jenny.

    (Gwen) But behind me, are those blessings you all worked hard for. I¡¯ll call out the names in terms of who came in first.

    Benn walked over to Gwen and gave her a paper list of names. Going back to his station, he waited for the new candidates that he¡¯d have to work with.

    (Gwen) First on the list is Loraine, who will be ¡­ benchwarmer.

    (Loraine) What¡¯s a benchwarmer?

    (Gwen) A person who is usually called in when a person from the team is out of commission.

    (Loraine) But I want to fight!

    (Gwen) Well, ¡°A certain person¡± says otherwise.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Can¡¯t believe Boris was willing to push her into The Array, a girl that he cared for.

    Loraine stood up and walked over to the stage, lifting herself onto the stage instead of taking the stairs. Quickly walking over, David opened the black-coated paint box, holding his nose.

    (Loraine) You don¡¯t like paint?

    (David) I hate paint.

    (Loraine) Why?

    (David) Horrible memories.

    Sharpening his eyes, David folded his arms as Loraine leaned over the box, grabbing the white sparkling banana.

    The banana was a foot long, with a yellow neck and flower tip on the edges of the fruit. As Loraine peeled the banana, her fingers had an extra time trying to peel the fruit all the way, since it was twice as hard to peel it than a normal banana.

    Instead of peeling it halfway and eating it, Loraine peeled the entire thing off and threw it somewhere backstage.

    (Jenny) Hey, you better pick that up after you eat it!

    Ignoring Jenny, Loraine then started eating the banana, not taking any time whatsoever to gulp down the fruit in one session. Patting her chest so that the banana could go down faster, Loraine then goofily looked around the other adults to see their reaction.

    (Jenny) Remember to pick up your peel.

    Loraine being Loraine, walked over to the banana peel and grabbed it nonchalantly. Seeing Jenny glaring at her, Loraine¡¯s face smiled devilishly, which caused Jenny to raise an eyebrow.

    (Jenny) Make sure you put the peel into the trash bin¡ª

    Loraine then threw the peel at Jenny¡¯s face.

    (Jenny) Ugh! Loraine!

    Running off the stage, she ran towards the other candidates and found her seat still spotless. Jumping over a couple of candidates, she landed safely onto her spot, put up the recliner, and smugly fell asleep.

    Clutching her fists in pure anger, Jenny bent down with anger as her forehead was bristled with veins bulging out of her. Jerry, who was beside her, pulled out a small container of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

    (Jerry) Here Jenny.

    Angrily snatching the ice cream container, she pried the lid open and noticed that there was no spoon or fork to eat it with. Jerry checked his pockets and to no avail, he didn¡¯t pack a spoon or fork for Jenny. Already furious, Jenny started eating it with her own hands, scooping big chunks into her small hands and putting her entire hand into her mouth.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s so cute when she¡¯s mad.

    (Gwen) Alrighty, the second person is Sean, who is going to be the recon of the group. There are going to be two recons in the group.

    Sean stood up grudgingly, walking towards the stage and taking the stairs. Towering over the box, he peeled the banana all the way similar to Loraine, and placed the banana peel on top of the table.

    Jenny noticed this and looked up towards Sean, her face still having a bit of ice cream.

    (Jenny) You ¡­ munch ¡­ better pick ¡­ munch ¡­ that up!

    Smugly looking at Jenny, he put his hands together to form a heart shape, showcasing it to Jenny who was still eating ice cream with her bare hands. As Jenny noticed this, she only glared in anger since her veins were still bulging from what she had gone through with Loraine.

    (Sean¡¯s thoughts) Huh ¡­ I guess I¡¯ll try it when she calms down.

    Walking off the stage, Sean looked back to see that Jerry was glaring at him, his eyes unwavering as Sean took his seat next to Jack.

    (Sean¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s going to die for love at this point¡­

    (Gwen) In third place is Jack. He¡¯ll be the sniper.

    Jack, the only candidate who wasn¡¯t sleepy, casually walked towards the stage, taking the stairs as he approached the box. Jerry, who was the driver of Miles, Sean, Jack, Cameron, Ryan, Gemma, and Loraine on the road to Fort Damns, stopped glaring at Sean.

    Putting a finger up to his chin, his eyes focused on Jack.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Jack didn¡¯t sleep at all during the trip here, so why is he the one who looked like he got a good night¡¯s sleep?

    Peeling the banana midway, Jack ate it normally as he finished it in three to four bites. Having the peel left, he went over to the trash bin and threw it in.

    Leaving the stage with his hands behind his pockets, he took a seat next to Sean who was slowly falling asleep.

    (Gwen) In fourth place is Miles Brown, who will be the shield of the group.

    Miles slowly got up as he made his way to the stage, lifting himself similar to Loraine. Grabbing the banana, he ate it similar to Jack, peeling the banana midway and then throwing it to the bin with no problem.

    But Miles noticed that Jenny was still furiously eating ice cream. Grabbing from out of his pants pocket, he pulled out a leftover soda with his left hand.

    Walking towards Jenny who was sitting on the ground eating, Miles showcased the soda that he had, putting his hand down to the floor as he looked down at Jenny.

    (Miles) Wanna soda? I got it during the first stage with Stan and the others. I kept it just in case if I was in a shitty situation, I would like to have one last soda before I drop dead.

    Shuffling her eyebrows, she stared into the soda for a long bit, her forehead and face still having bulging veins. Without warning, Jenny took the soda and opened up the can, drinking halfway through the can as she tilted it upward. Putting the soda down, the can now be filled with ice cream handprints, she gave out a loud burp, which shocked even Jerry to some extent.

    Walking out of the stage, Miles found his seat near Jack and Sean, with his eyes slowly closing as each second passed.

    (Gwen) For our blade of the group, Luna Guerra¡ªoh, she¡¯s asleep¡­

    Gwen made a little giggle as Luna managed to fall asleep during the presentation. Looking at both David in the back of her and Luke near her, he motioned either one to wake her up.

    (Luke) sighs ¡­ Here goes nothing.

    Luke tugged Luna¡¯s left shoulder, her body slumped in the chair as she calmly put her head deep into the seat. Tugging her shoulder again, Luke stood up as he remained focused on Luna¡¯s face, preparing himself for the outburst.

    As Luna¡¯s eyes shot open, she had her right fist ready to punch the person who dared to wake her up¡ª

    (Luke) Luna, it''s me!

    Noticing Luke, Luna dropped her shaking fists. Looking around rapidly to see that she was still in the little theater room, she was still panting and breathing heavily as her anger didn¡¯t subside.

    (Gwen) Come on Luna! I know you want to kiss him but after you eat your banana!

    (Luna) SHUT UP!!

    Luna charged forth onto the stage, pulling up her sleeves and pushing the wooden floorboards for her sprint. Readying her fist, just as she was about to deliver the punch, a glowing rope wrapped around Luna¡¯s waist.

    Falling, Luna¡¯s face was yet still full of rage, her fists clenching violently as she continued to death glare at Gwen. Seeing that the light rope was coming from Gwen, she stood up Luna so that she would be able to stand.

    (Gwen) Awwww, is your little naptime ruined~?

    (Luna) FUCK YOU!!

    (Gwen) If you behave I¡¯ll get rid of the rope.

    Luna then slowly started to control her breathing, her anger managing to slowly be a burden down to her heart. Her hands soon stopped clenching one another as she continued to slow down her heart rate with each passing second. Once Luke and David saw this, they gave out little smiles as Luna managed to take control of her anger bit by bit.

    Gwen saw this and drew back the rope that was binding Luna. With the light rope in Gwen¡¯s hands, she made the rope vanish as it started to particle out.

    Luna walked over to the box silently, with each step making a creaking sound as the stage couldn¡¯t handle the force pressure. Snatching the banana out of the box, she peeled off the banana, throwing the banana peel onto the ground.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) At least Gwen is finally using her power to constrain Luna. Sometimes I wondered if she wanted to get hit by Luna, or if she was just stupid.

    Managing to consume the entire banana, Gwen looked at Luna with a serious look, her eyes focusing on Luna as she was still constrained in the rope of light.

    Just as Luna was about to walk off¡­

    (Jenny) Hey, pick up your banana peel and put it in the trash¡ª

    Luna then picked up the banana peel, looked at Jenny¡¯s recovering angry face, and threw the banana peel hard at her face. Stomping towards the trash bin, she kicked it down the flight of stairs. Her breathing was irregular and her fists clenched hard, she took a seat right next to Luke, her face showcasing veins upon veins plastered on her face.

    Jenny then started to grab her hair, about to pull it out of her head as her face was on the verge of exploding. Scared, Jerry took a couple of steps back and patted his pockets, and upon noticing that he didn¡¯t have the source of Jenny¡¯s cure.

    (Jerry) Shit! I¡¯ll get more ice cream!

    Jerry ran backstage, hoping to find any leftover ice cream¡­

    (Gwen) Okay¡­ uhm ¡­ next on our list is Hope, who will be our little medic of the group.

    Hope quietly stood up and made her way towards the stage, taking the steps with ease and care. Grabbing the banana in the box, she peeled it halfway, ate it, and threw it away inside the bin.

    Before she was about to leave, she looked at Jenny who was fuming with rage, her crazy eyes and hair pulling extremely noticeable. Putting her face down, Hope walked up towards Jenny, and from within her pocket, she brought out a white leftover napkin with her left hand.

    (Hope) Here, you could use this to wipe off the ice cream.

    Smiling at Jenny who was about to explode, Jenny started to let go of her hair. Despite not exploding, Jenny still had her hands clenched and her body shriveling with rage as she didn¡¯t have another cure for her rage.

    But Jenny did snatch away Hope¡¯s napkin, using it to clean her hands as much as she could, but it was only one napkin.

    Walking towards where Luke was, she sat down quietly, closing her eyes to get some sleep.

    (Gwen) Last but not least, Luke Fenix. Who will be ¡­ giggles ¡­ the second recon of our group.

    (Luke) Oh, come on!

    As the last person to walk onto the stage, Luke¡¯s body felt as if an anvil was on top of him. Slowly walking on the steps, he saw from the distance his six future comrades he¡¯d be working with from now on.

    Seeing the last banana, he peeled the banana with some struggle and put the peel not on the table or floor, but inside of his pocket. Readying his lips, Luke slowly opened his mouth, feeling the contents of the banana inside his mouth as he closed his mouth shut.

    Luke¡¯s eyes opened wide as the banana roamed around the areas of his mouth. Unlike a normal banana, the taste was acidic and sweet, the two flavors crashing all over taste buds along his tongue. Nodding as the taste was impactful for his taste buds, Luke¡¯s eyes started to sparkle gently as his lips curved into a smile.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Just one step closer to my goal.

    Finishing the banana, he then looked at his hands which were covered in grime and dirt.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I guess my next goal is to be a great soldier, a soldier my mom would be proud of¡­ I mean ¡­ I¡¯m not the main character¡­

    Looking up, he quickly went over to the bin that was kicked by Luna, and he adjusted it so that it was back to its original position. He also cleaned up the area, putting in the leftover banana peels and trash in the bin. Checking the floors a second time, he did a simple nod for himself that the wooden stage was spotless.

    Looking over at Jenny who was looking at him with wide eyes, he slowly walked over to her, his eyes sleepy yet his mouth curled into a little smile.

    (Luke) Are you finished with your ice cream?

    Jenny looked down at the ice cream that was already decimated by her. Grabbing the container, Jenny clenched hard on the container, bulging veins still on her forehead.

    Luke noticed this and put his hands onto Jenny¡¯s constraining hands, her eyes started to form a bit of water as Luke¡¯s smooth yet rough hands touched them.

    (Luke) I¡¯ll put the ice cream in the bin for you ¡­ is that ok?

    Instantly, Luke felt Jenny¡¯s grip on the ice cream decrease, her hands letting Luke handle the container. Carrying the container, Luke walked over to the bin and dumped it in, clapping his hands back and forth before he turned his attention to Jenny, her hands shaking softly.

    (Luke) Sorry if I¡¯m not the best at handling Luna, so please forgive me.

    Luke then walked shyly to his seat in between Luna and Hope, who had had their eyes closed for a while.

    All the adult figures looked at Jenny, who had a warm smile dawning upon her face as she saw Luke walk away.

    (Gwen) I think everyone is pretty tired, so wanna just take a nap for a little bit?

    (David) Yeah, we¡¯ve all been running on fumes.

    And like that, everyone in the little theater went to sleep ¡­ for the entire day.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 27: ******* Was Never Seen Again

    (Prominis 20, 56 / 11:57PM)

    The 14 candidates continued to look at the firepit in prospering silence.

    Seeing the embers of the smoke mixing with the air, they all continued to see the beauty of peace and comfort that most of them longed for.

    The firepit crackling the wood, the smoke being released into the Lagefor night air.

    (Jack) This is kind of relaxing¡­

    (Miles) Yeah, compared to a couple of hours ago.

    Miles drank his Mr. Pepper with his right hand, looking around at the candidates who were much younger than him. Seeing the relaxation and comfort of the fire, Stan looked over to where Miles was, his eyes looking downwards as his face was more droopy.

    (Stan) Same ¡­ hey sorry if I was being a bit hot-headed. Back there, I didn''t think too straight.

    (Miles) It¡¯s ok ¡­ I think I¡¯m more in the wrong. I could¡¯ve handled the situation differently ¡­

    (Stan) Hey, tomorrow if you want I could owe you a soda or something.

    (Miles) You don¡¯t have to man, I already have a mini fridge stacked with them.

    Both Stan and Miles gave each other a nod, their eyes warm and relaxed compared to the incident a couple of hours ago.

    Luke and Sean kept glaring at each other, both their eyes slowly twitching as Sean¡¯s hand formed a small fist. Jack, who was noticing the two of them, hunched his back and put his hands on his knees.

    (Jack) My dudes, you guys are giving off tsundere vibes¡­

    (Sean) Wait, what''s a tsundere?

    (Jack) Right ¡­ you guys don¡¯t know that ¡­ Do you guys hate each other or are both of you secretly in love?

    Luke spat out the water he was drinking, the water narrowly avoided the firepit. As the water got into the wrong hole, Luke kept on pushing his lungs to get the water out, slowly letting air back into his lungs once more.

    Meanwhile, Sean flustered his cheeks.

    (Sean) I ain¡¯t gay! I¡¯m into girls!

    (Jack) Be honest Sean, you thought Fred was cute looking.

    (Sean) That¡¯s because I thought Fred looked like a girl!

    Fred moved a couple of inches closer to Gemma, away from Sean.

    (Jack) Or how you thought Hope was a boy and you said ¡®Game is game¡¯ and you went over there yesterday and you were thrilled that Hope was a girl¡­

    Hope looked at Sean as if she was seeing trash.

    (Gary) So ¡­ you¡¯re bi?

    (Sean) I¡¯m straight!

    (Diego) Yeah he¡¯s bi.

    (Loraine) Closet!

    (Sean) S-Screw you guys!

    Sean stood up and walked away from the pit, glancing at everyone and even Luke. As he laid eyes on Luke, he turned away, looking towards the door that led him to the dorms.

    As there were 13 candidates left, everyone started to giggle and laugh. Luke, who was enjoying the moment, noticed that Hope and even Luna were having a good time.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes watched as Luna was snorting cutely, covering her face with her right hand and her left hand clutching her stomach. All the boy¡¯s cheeks flustered bright red as Luna had one of the cutest laughs they had ever seen, their eyes gazing upon Luna¡¯s closed eyes and relaxed face.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Eventually, the silence was loud enough for Luna to hear her laugh, and she stopped to see that everyone was gazing at her.

    (Luna) What is it?

    Luna switched from her cute status to that of her normal angry self, making most of the boys avert their eyes. Scoffing as the boys nervously looked away, Luna folded her arms and straightened her back to appear more tough and dominant.

    (Luna) Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought.

    Then she looked towards Luke, his face looking in the opposite direction to where Luna was. Clearing her throat, she sharpened her eyes towards Luke as she put her right leg on her left knee.

    (Luna) Oi, what are you looking at?

    Luke still had her sharp gaze at Luke, raising her voice more as she wanted his undivided attention. Still having his head turned, she quickly stood up and walked towards Luke.

    (Luna) Hey! Look over here when I¡¯m talking to you¡ª

    She saw Luke¡¯s face flustered beet red, his face having the cutest nervous face that she had ever seen.

    (Luna) ¡­

    Luna then went back to her seat, her cheeks red as her fists clenched tightly. Seeing that everyone was starting to look into her, she straightened her back even more and had a bulging vein or two from her neck.

    (Luna) Y-You guys wanna fight or something?!

    (Stan) Hey Miles, you were right when you called it a gamble of hidden love.

    (Miles) When it comes to love, believe me, I¡¯ve been in many relationships to count.

    (Luna) You guys better shut up!

    Jack then pulled out a wooden guitar. Having a pick, he strummed the guitar once as the strings were already tuned. Seeing Luna eyed the guitar with her veins bulging out of her forehead, Jack let out a smug grin.

    (Jack) Do you all wanna hear a song?

    (Luna) If you¡¯re going to make fun of me, I¡¯ll punch your nuts!

    (Jack) Relax, it¡¯s a song about Luke. Here, take a listen.

    (Jack singing) I See Luuuuuukkkkeeee~

    On A Treeeeeeeeeeeeee~

    With a girllllllllllllllllllll~

    With anger isssuuuuuess~

    (Luna) I¡¯M GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING NUTS OFF!!!

    (Jack singing) They were kissssiiinnng~

    (Luna) COME BACK HERE!

    (Jack singing) Mountain mamaaaaaaaa~

    (Luna) SHUT UP!

    (Jack singing) I see Luuuuuuukkkkeeee~

    On a¡ª

    (Luna) AGHHHH!

    To the point of spitting saliva, Luna used her entire strength to try to get Jack, but he was too fast for her to catch. Meanwhile, all the candidates held the flustered Luna back, laughing as if they had never had this much fun in a while.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Prominis 21, 58 / 7:47AM)

    (Stan) We¡¯re almost there, the rendezvous should be close.

    (Fred) I never expected to walk this much for losing.

    (Diego) Hey Gary, do you think they¡¯ll even have another test like this?

    (Gary) Depends. If it¡¯s kept under the rug, maybe. If they declare it to the public, also a maybe.

    All five boys who didn¡¯t reach the gate, or rather they gave up their spot, were walking towards where they would be picked up. Their legs were sore and longing for a chance for rest, all of them were dragging their feet as their boots'' soles were showing little holes.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) For now, all we need to do is get stronger. And that means to work behind the scenes of The Dark Angels.

    Walking ever more, another boy, Cameron, noticed the street that they were walking through, his eyes letting a tear or two run down his cheek as this was the terrible street of the second stage.

    Falling, the four other boys noticed Cameron, helping him up as they looked at him with their eyes down gazing at him.

    (Stan) Hey, are you alright?

    (Fred) Hey, Cameron. What¡¯s going on, why are you sobbing all of a sudden¡ªoh¡­

    Cameron gave a teary nod, which caused all four boys to look down. Stan, who was in front, put his hands on Cameron¡¯s shoulders.

    (Stan) What do you wanna do ¡­ we could either look for Ryan¡¯s corpse or not ¡­ whatever¡¯s your call¡­

    (???) Are you guys talking about him?

    A tall red-haired woman with glasses appeared to the side of them, carrying the corpse of a bunny-human. Appearing in her mid-20s, the tall short-haired woman looked at the boys with a gentle smile, which made the boys take a couple of steps back.

    Seeing that the woman had his best friend in her arms, Cameron clenched his fists, his eyes wide as his vocals struggled to utter a noise. Seeing that Cameron was in a major state, she gently put down the corpse and sat down with her knees on the ground.

    (???) Are you connected to this boy by any chance?

    Tilting her head, she clasped her hands together as she looked at Cameron with her eyes having bits of water in them. Patting the ground to signal him, Cameron slowly walked toward the red-haired woman, his jaw clenching inside of his mouth.

    The rest of the boys all look at the woman with their eyes purely focusing on her, checking out her hand gestures or body movements for anything suspicious.

    (???) It¡¯s ok, you guys can carry on to the rendezvous meetup. I¡¯ll be taking Cameron to some place for questioning.

    (Stan) Some place?

    (???) It¡¯s for the cause of Ryan¡¯s death ¡­ as well as Gemma¡¯s¡­

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Should I let her? I mean, she does know our names and what happened so I take it she¡¯s an agent that works for the government?

    (Stan) Alright, we¡¯ll be going then Cameron.

    Saying their goodbyes to Cameron, the horse-human was then left with the tall red-haired girl, both of them alone. His jaw still clenched tight, and his eyes widened as he continued to glare at the red-haired woman.

    Seeing that the boys were walking away, the woman stood up and walked towards Cameron.

    (???) It¡¯s just you and me.

    The tall woman smiled with her face pushed up, causing Cameron to sweat a bit.

    (Cameron) ¡­ how long is the questioning going to take?

    (???) As long as it takes.

    Cameron was never seen again.

    Nor did anybody ever remember him.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 28: The Blood Eagles

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 2:36PM)

    Two years later¡­

    In the hilly city of Lagefor, the bustling streets downtown rock the city with business, growth, prosperity, and most important of all, money. Everyone walks to lunch at the same time, everyone works with one another, and everyone is in sync to not fall behind. As the old saying goes, time is money.

    In the center of the city, lies a large metallic bank, its walls from the outside impenetrable and almost indestructible. It was in between two small skyscrapers, and in front of the highest tower in the city, it was described to be the most tucked bank in the world.

    In the bank doors, a big group of guards with ARs watched as every executive and millionaire came and went into the bank. Looking around in the street, the group of guards have their faces masked as they look around, waiting for something.

    Inside the bank, dozens upon dozens of bank tellers deposit checks, withdraw checks, and most importantly of all, checking their customers'' status as a member of society.

    (Random guy) Look, I just want to withdraw some money from the bank, I need it for something.

    (Bank Teller #1) Listen Mr. Zirardge, your father has said that you¡¯ve been using your money carelessly, so I¡¯m obliged to respect his orders without question.

    (Random guy) You don¡¯t understand! If I don¡¯t have the money withdrawn, how am I going to support¡ª

    (Bank Teller #1) I¡¯m sorry sir, but thank you for your time. Can I help the next person in line?

    A blonde-haired boy in his late teens started to sulk as he walked slowly out of the bank.

    Inside the bank was spotlessly clean, with the white marinated marble spread throughout the bank as people clanked it with their heels and dress shoes. In the center of the bank, was an area where bank tellers would do their business, having a little iron bar wall to separate the teller and the customer.

    Across the entirety of the bank, massive golden pillars showcased statues of each wild animal of Terra, ranging from the deadly mammoths of the Kepputhan and Aizzonian glaciers, the lethal saber-toothed ligers found in the tundras, and the territorial ground sloths found in most parts of the world.

    The blonde-haired boy turned around to see the secular parts of the bank, his eyes glancing at every single pillar that was constructed with ease, his fists clenching as he then looked at the center at the top to see a portrait of his father.

    (Blond-haired boy¡¯s thoughts) Is it wrong to be in a relationship¡­

    As the boy turned back around to exit the building, he noticed a white van that was similar to one of the vans that his father bought for his guards. Focusing on the van, the boy folded his arms as his eyes squinted.

    (Blond-haired boy¡¯s thoughts) Why would the guards park in the front? Aren¡¯t they supposed to park in the back of the building?

    The door to the passenger side of the van opened, letting a bulky man walk towards the back. Unlocking the back, the passenger let out a few other guards who wielded Mossberg shotguns and AR-15s on the right side of their arms.

    The guards of the van then met the guards that were guarding the door.

    The boy put his hand on his chin, scenarios racing inside of his thoughts as he started to look around for something to hide.

    (Blond-haired boy¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯ve never seen the front bank guards this casual before. Is this¡­

    All the guards that were standing in front of the door then put on their masks¡­

    Covering their faces, the guards lined up single file, holding their weapons with both of their hands. With the passenger in front of them, he quickly kicked and broke the glass door down, causing the glass to scatter all around them.

    Everyone in the building saw the commotion as the guards piled into the building, their weapons loaded as the person in front held up his handgun and pointed it in the air. With a simple push of his finger, the guard fired three gunshots into the roof.

    (Bank Robber #1) Alright! This is a robbery!

    (Bank Robber#2) Everybody gets down so no one gets hurt!

    The group of 10 guards¡ªbank robbers made their presence well known to everyone, pointing their guns at the crowd and bank tellers.

    Everyone inside the building dropped to the floor, their chests reaching the white marble stone as they stained the floor with their sticky palms. With many of the citizens on the ground, many of them started to silently pray, shutting their eyes. As the crowd was being tamed, the bank robbers reached towards the center with ease.

    The blonde-haired boy stood behind a plant, wielding a small BB hand pistol beneath his brown jacket.

    (Blond-haired boy¡¯s thoughts) Are they robbing my father¡¯s bank? What are they, stupid?

    Having his body tucked away, he saw the bank robbers pointing their guns toward the bank tellers whose faces turned pale as they had their hands in the air.

    (Bank Robber #3) Alright, take me to the Zirardge mine!

    (Bank Teller #2) W-what mine?

    The robber pointed his shotgun toward the teller''s head through the iron bars, aiming the barrel at his forehead. Despite the robber having a fully enclosed face mask, his hands were shaking as he put his pointer finger gently caressing the trigger.

    (Bank Robber #3) It¡¯s at the bottom, right?! If you don¡¯t take us to the mine, then we¡¯ll bury you in one!

    The bank teller looked at his co-workers, his face drenched with sweat while his body shook with utmost fear and despair. Silently nodding, the bank teller looked down at his desk as he took in a breath in and out.

    (Bank Teller #2) Alright ¡­ I¡¯ll send¡ª

    (Bank Robber #3) Nah, nah, nah. Just you. We only need you, nothing else.

    (Bank Teller #2) What makes me so special?

    (Bank Robber #3) Just get out of there!

    The bank teller left his area and opened up the little wooden gate to walk towards the bank robbers. With the bank robber holding the shotgun to the back of the teller¡¯s head, the bank teller¡¯s face started to drench with sweat, causing a foul odor to come out of him. Despite this, the teller continued walking with a gun on the back of his head as he made his way towards the lunch room.

    (Bank Teller #2) This is the way¡­

    (Bank Robber #3) I¡¯ll go with him. Can three of you back me up, and six of you guys hold down the fort?

    (Bank Robber #6) Sure thing.

    Opening the lunch room door, the teller noticed that the lunch room still had trash and food left out. As the robbers walked by, their facial expressions behind their masks contorted with disgust.

    (Bank Robber #4) You guys are pigs.

    (Bank Teller #2) It was the end of our lunch!

    (Bank Robber #3) Keep walking.

    Seeing a wooden door, the four robbers waited for the teller to activate a wooden key. Shakingly pulling out his pass card, his sweaty fingers gently pressed the four-keyed lock. With a click, the door was open, causing the robbers to push the teller forward.

    Leaving the lunch room, they saw that they had to take a long flight of stairs.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    (Bank Robber #2) So how long is this flight of stairs?

    (Bank Teller #2) About five flights of stairs¡­

    One of the bank robber tsked. Still having the barrel of the shotgun clinging to his head, the teller and the four other robbers walked down the stairs to the mine. With the teller¡¯s breathing rigid and warm, his eyes started to look around aimlessly.

    The teller was about to fall down the stairs before the robbers managed to catch onto him for support. Seeing the state that the teller was in, the four other bank robbers looked at each other.

    (Bank Robber #4) Do we need this loser?

    (Bank Robber #3) It¡¯s just for right now.

    Reaching the last flight of stairs, the bank robbers and teller put their feet down on the stone-marbled floor as they looked to see a big open space. One of the bank robbers noticed a large vault, a vault wrapped in titanium and with big metal bars.

    Walking quickly towards the vault, they noticed that it needed not a 6-numbered code, but a 36-numbered code. Realizing that breaking through the door wouldn¡¯t be a good idea, they all looked at the bank teller who was breathing more irregularly.

    (Bank Robber #4) Punch in the code loser.

    The female-sounding robber grabbed the bank teller by the nape and put his face near the circular lock. Crushing his face tightly onto the metal, one of the bank robbers held the female bank robber back, placing his hand on her right shoulder.

    (Bank Robber #3) You can have fun with him after he punches in the code.

    (Bank Robber #4) Does it look like I want to have fun with this loser?

    The robber that held the shotgun made a clicking sound to the shotgun, which caused the teller to turn a deathly pale.

    (Bank Robber #3) Punch in the code now! Your brain would be sprained with a push of my finger if you don¡¯t do as we say!

    Crying, the teller slumped down as he put his hands on the vault. Not looking at the bank robbers, he continued to sweep bristled tears as his sweaty palms stained the titanium vault.

    The bank robber who held the shotgun to his head pulled back the gun and holstered it on his left arm. Bending down on one knee, he put his arm around the teller¡¯s shoulder.

    (Bank Robber #3) Now listen here. We need that code for the vault, and you¡¯re the only person that could help us. You don¡¯t want to die right? So how about you just stand up and open the vault?

    The teller swiped away his tears with his right hand, putting his right arm down motionlessly as if he didn¡¯t dare to look at the masked robber.

    (Bank Teller #2) I ¡­ I can¡¯t ¡­ you need the chief manager to do it ¡­ he¡¯s the only person to have the 36 numbered code¡ª

    (Bank Robber #3) Do we look like a fucking joke to you?

    The female bank robber pulled out a knife from her left pocket and held it firmly on her left hand. Grabbing the teller¡¯s motionless right arm, she pulled it and jabbed the knife right into the man¡¯s right hand.

    (Bank Teller #2) AAAH!!

    His vocals tearing up from the pain, the teller curdled his right hand to himself as a knife was infused on both ends of his palm and his hand. Blood spurring across his hand and onto his arm, the bank robber forced the teller up by the throat.

    (Bank Robber #3) You¡¯re Mark Taken. Age 32, 5¡¯8¡±, 160 pounds. You have a family of two living on the north side of the city with a beautiful wife. You drive an old school WMB to work and you always wear a white collar shirt and khaki pants on the weekends. Lastly, you¡¯re not just a bank teller, you are also known by the higher-ups to be the big boss, am I right?

    The bank teller, who is now the chief manager, started to choke hard as his throat was being strangled. Pushing the chief manager down, the bank robber pointed the shotgun toward the manager.

    (Bank Robber #3) You could drop the dumb bank teller act. If it takes you one minute or more for you to open the vault, then we¡¯ll make you a headless chicken. Clear?

    The bank manager, his body odor pungent as his breathing was starting to remain back in order, stood up slowly as he clenched in the brutal pain that his right hand gave out. Using his left hand, he took out from his pocket a wrinkly old napkin, a napkin that caused many bank robbers to look at each other and shrug.

    Putting the napkin on his right hand, without moving so that the pain wouldn¡¯t commence, the manager used his healthy hand to find the numbers. Twisting and turning, the vault¡¯s locks slowly started to be undone as the manager pressed his fingers onto the pin.

    With a click, the vault then started to slowly open, the vault door being tucked in from both sides of the wall as it slid to reveal the mine.

    (Bank Robber #1) Well what do you know¡­

    The bank robbers saw mountains upon mountains of gold coins inside of the vault. The shiny reflected coins let the masked robbers open their mouths as the scene was too much for their eyes¡­

    (Bank Robber #2) They weren¡¯t kidding when they said the Zirardge Bank has more worth than the entirety of Aizzonia.

    (Bank Robber #1) Yeah, and we''re only robbing 1% of it¡­

    (Bank Robber #2) No, it¡¯s .1% of it.

    As three bank robbers ran towards the mountains of gold, they soon brought out their big, well-manufactured, stylish black bags. Grabbing the handfuls of light gold coins one by one, the bank robber who used to hold a shotgun to the manager''s head put his hand on the manager¡¯s right shoulder.

    (Bank Robber #3) Do you see those black bags?

    The bank manager noticed that the black stylish bags had a symbol on the back of them. Squinting, the manager noticed that the symbol had an eagle next to two shotguns pointing at it. Instantly, the manager started to break down in a ghostly panic as he laid his legs and butt on the hard floor.

    (Bank Robber #3) You now know what group you¡¯re dealing with, right?

    Holding the shotgun with his left hand, he then pointed it towards the bank manager¡¯s face, his finger calmly on the trigger while the manager had a putrid smell coming from his crotch.

    (Bank Robber #3) Now tell me, do you love your wife?

    (Chief manager) I do! I do! I do! Please don¡¯t kill me! I love my family more than anything!

    (Bank Robber #3) Oh, really? Then why do you have a little love affair with a woman 10 years younger than your wife?

    The chief managed to turn his head towards the bank robber, his eyes fluttering up and down as continued to gulp rapidly, to the point where his throat began to run dry.

    (Bank Robber #3) Here¡¯s a little motto from the Blood Eagles. Anyone that hears evil¡­

    The bank manager then remembered his family for the last time.

    (Bank Robber #3) Speaks no evil¡­

    Pulling the trigger, the slug blew away the right side of the manager¡¯s face.

    Bits of brain scattered throughout the floor as blood swept around the manager''s neck and upper body. The scent of blood already corroding the room with the stench of death.

    Hearing the gunshot from behind, the three bank robbers looked behind as they saw their comrade shoot the manager with ease, stopping what they were doing, the three of them tilted their heads as to why they would shoot an innocent man.

    (Bank Robber #4) I was going to have some fun with that loser¡­

    (Bank Robber #2) Doesn¡¯t he have a wife though?

    (Bank Robber #4) He does have a son.

    (Bank Robber #1) But his son¡¯s eight¡­

    Back to putting in the gold coin, the three of them filled up whatever they could in their bags. As the robber who shot the manager saw the others trying to get the gold in, he quickly ran towards them to do the same.

    As they filled eight bags of pure gold, the bank robbers carried them with both of their hands as they decided to leave. Not even bothering to close up the vault, they soon ran up the stairs, the weight already weighing them down as their legs were quivering.

    (Blood Eagles Member #4) Hey, can someone help me here?

    (Blood Eagles Member #3) No.

    (Blood Eagles Member #4) sighs ¡­ if you can carry one of my bags, then I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want¡­

    (Blood Eagles Member #3) Deal.

    Reaching the top, they quickly got into the main center where the rest of the now Blood Eagles members were holding down the fort. Walking towards one of the members, the one with three gold bags gave one to alleviate the soreness.

    (Blood Eagles Member #4) Fucking cheater.

    One of the Blood Eagles members talked to another, as both examined their surroundings.

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) How¡¯s the situation going?

    (Blood Eagles Member #6) We¡¯re in the middle of a standoff. Police, Zirardge guards, and even some military personnel are outside in the front.

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) Don¡¯t worry. The boss had thought of that beforehand. He¡¯ll pull us out.

    (Blood Eagles Member #5) Hey. What about the civilians here?

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) Did they hear evil?

    (Blood Eagles Member #5) No.

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) Then command them to cover their ears if they want to live.

    Ending the conversation, the blood eagles then all grouped in waiting for their cue to strike. Checking the clock at the center of the room, they noticed that the time was¡­

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) 2:42 PM.

    Then came the sound of raining bullets¡­

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) Right on time. Alright men, let''s move!

    With all 10 men and women leaving the bank, they soon noticed that the police, Zirardge guards, and military men and women were all being rained hell upon from above. The Blood Eagles, most likely consisting of 30 to 40 people, were scattered on both sides of the street that the police and authorities were in.

    As the authorities were shot at, they all took positions to defend themselves, with many firing with handguns and ARs, similar to the Blood Eagles members.

    With the main group managing to sneak inside the van, the driver was able to remain hidden and started up the engine. As most of the other members who were considered reinforcements continued to be decoys for the robbers, the van backed up quietly until it had enough space to make a 3-point turn.

    (Blood Eagles Driver) How much money did you guys get?

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) With eight bags, I would say we probably have over 16 million dollars worth of gold coins.

    (Blood Eagles Driver) And how many coins did the Zirardges have in that mine?

    (Blood Eagles Member #1) They have a net worth of 16 billion dollars¡­

    Managing to have the van turn towards the street, the main group managed to get out safely, riches and gold on their hands as they all shrugged and laughed.

    Seeing the van flee, the rest of the blood eagles retreated into their vans, firing off many bullets at the authorities as the vans ran off.

    Many of the police and military were injured, with many having bullet wounds to the stomach and chest, followed by the stench of blood running amok around the area.

    (Random Cop) Was it just a distraction? It didn''t feel like a standoff¡­

    Seeing the sight unfold, the young blonde-haired boy saw everything unfold with his own eyes, as he held in his pockets two handfuls of gold coins.

    (Blonde Haired Boy¡¯s thoughts) I wonder why they left the vault open. Also, why did they only target the chest or stomach areas?

    In front of the bank, he slowly walked out of the building, his face neutral and calm as he examined his surroundings. Noticing that a beast human was running towards him, he opened his eyes wide as he saw her sprinting at him with full force.

    (Blonde Haired Boy) E-Elizabeth?!

    The cat-human girl, Elizabeth, ran up to him and held him tightly, her arms shaking as she looked up at him.

    (Elizabeth) Johnny?! Are you ok?! What happened?!

    Johnny pulled out a handful of gold coins to Elizabeth, her face widening in shock as she took a couple of steps back.

    (Elizabeth) Did you ¡­ just¡­

    (Johnny) Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t rob the bank. Someone else did. Don¡¯t worry, today, tomorrow, and the rest of the week and month, you¡¯ll be able to have good full-course meals!

    (Elizabeth) You know I can live off of trash cans, right?

    (Johnny) sighs ¡­ oh Ellie ¡­

    Johnny patted Elizabeth¡¯s head, roughing up her brown hair. Looking up towards the daylight sky, he held Elizabeth¡¯s body even more.

    (Johnny¡¯s thoughts) I just hope someone is strong enough to teach my father a lesson¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 29: Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 10:01PM)

    Deep in the south central part of Lagefor, lies a large building in the suburbs.

    Around the area, homelessness, gangs, and prostitutes scattered over the many blocks of the ghetto, a common sight to see horse and shark gangs at night drinking and smoking.

    Of the building that was surrounded by nothing but poverty-driven houses, laid a three-story, multi-complex building similar to that of an office.

    It looked to be an apartment complex but without the outside balconies or stairs. Seeing all this from a bird¡¯s eye view, a helicopter was hovering as their blades caused ripples through the air from many blocks away.

    (Boris through the Radio) How is the helicopter going for you Diego?

    (Diego) I could handle it, unlike a certain somebody¡­

    (Boris through the Radio) Oh please, it was one time!

    (Gary) Still, you had to buy a new helicopter because of it.

    In the cockpit, Diego and Gary laughed raspingly as they remembered Boris¡¯s failures. With both of the men using headphones to communicate with Boris on the other side of the radio, there was also another pair that was on the passenger side of the helicopter, both of them on each side with a mounted turret attached to it.

    (Fred) This turret is pretty big for flying aviation¡­

    (Stan) Not as big as that Gatling gun from two years ago.

    Fred was seated at the right side of the chopper, followed by Stan seated at the left. As Fred looked down towards the building, his face remembering the hellish night of staying alive physically and mentally, he saw the brown van that was parked outside near it.

    (Fred) Hey, tell Gary that he has poor eyesight because I see the van.

    (Stan) Hey Gary, Fred says you have shit eyesight!

    (Gary) What! Tell Fred that he could suck my fat¡ª

    (Diego) Hey, quit it, man.

    Smacking Gary¡¯s head, Gary looked over at Diego, his eyes sharpening as his fists started to clench. Diego, who was focusing on the building, noticed from his peripheral vision that Gary had his fists already balled up.

    (Gary) I could fight one mano to mano in this cockpit right now!

    (Diego) Come on man, I just want you to focus.

    (Gary) I don¡¯t care! You and Fred could just suck it!

    (David) Can you guys just shut up, your chat can be heard publicly¡­

    Hearing that their convo was being heard by who knows how many Dark Angels members, Gary started to slouch as he covered his eyes.

    (Gary) Who was listening to our conversation?

    (Boris, Jenny, David, Jerry, Stan, Fred, Gwen, Benn, Jack, Miles, Loraine, Hope) Me.

    (Diego) Damn, that was pretty much everyone¡­If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Slouching even more, Gary looked away into the skyline of the city, his eyes focusing on the busy lights that shone in the downtown district of the city. With the city having not so many issues compared to six years ago, Gary had a sense of relief wash over him.

    Keeping his head locked in there, Diego decided to speak to David on the public radio, his voice filled with concern while paying close attention to the front gate.

    (Diego) Just a question. How do you know this plan might work?

    In the van, David, who was in the driver¡¯s seat and had his legs on the dashboard, spoke and raised the headphone mic to his mouth.

    (David) Trust Luna, I know she¡¯s durable enough for the job.

    (Jerry) Hey, don¡¯t forget Luke. You¡¯ve seen him in action before, I mean, he¡¯s the one who thought of this plan.

    (David) Luke? You know out of all of us, he is the weakest in terms of offense. He could handle himself, but it¡¯s way too risky to put a lion in a raptor den.

    (Jerry) Same risk as putting a tiger in a mouse den.

    Jerry, who also had his feet on the dashboard, was sitting right next to David on the passenger side. Looking at each other with neutral eyes, they both continued to stare into the building¡¯s entrance.

    (Jerry) Hey David¡­

    (David) Yeah?

    (Jerry) Do you still miss your wife and two daughters?

    David continued to look into the building¡¯s entrance, his face unfazed as his hands gently shook. Not looking at Jerry at all, David took a sip of his water he brought the drink up to his mouth and gulped it down.

    (David) What type of question is that?

    (Jerry) Well, do you?

    Jerry also continued to look into the building¡¯s front gate, his eyes glancing at David as he placed his hands on the back of his head. David, turning his head towards Jerry, looked into Jerry¡¯s eyes as his voice started to break softly.

    (David) I still miss them ¡­ but.

    David then turned back his head towards the front gate again, his voice cracking a little.

    (David) At least I have a brat I can raise again.

    Jerry looked at David with his eyes gently wide, his face making a small frown as he heard David¡¯s voice break a bit. Pulling his feet and legs out of the dashboard, Jerry hunched his back while putting both of his elbows on his knees.

    (Jerry) You know why I¡¯m here David?

    (David) Why?

    (Jerry) My girlfriend went missing during the attack on Ticia. The last thing I ever heard of her was that she was in Clastine out of all places¡­

    Jerry¡¯s voice then started to break a bit when he mentioned Clastine. His hands holding an empty water bottle started to shake..

    (Jerry) She was all I could¡¯ve asked for, I would say even more than Jenny. Yet¡­

    Jerry looked down, the water bottle now crushed.

    (Jerry) The world didn¡¯t let her be free¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 10:34PM)

    (Blood Eagle Member #1) Why did those two decide to get busy at a time like this?

    (Blood Eagle Member #2) Let them. If they get in big trouble by the boss, then it¡¯ll be a big wake up call for them. Besides, the woman is in her early 20s.

    (Blood Eagle Member #1) But he¡¯s in his late 30s¡­

    A knock was heard behind them.

    Noticing that someone was at the door, they all turned towards the shortest blood eagle member.

    (Blood Eagle Member #5) Hey doorman, go get it!

    (Blood Eagle Member #10) I¡¯m not a door man!

    Despite his statement, he stood up from his seat and stomped towards the front door. Opening the door slightly, he saw two blood eagle members that were much taller than him, his face hinting a bit of sweat as he gulped down gently.

    (Blood Eagle Member #10) H-Hear evil.

    (Blood Eagle Member #3) Speak no evil.

    Nodding his head, the blood eagle then opened the door wide, putting his body near the wall as he extended his hand to welcome in the past members. Two figures walked inside the room, noticing that the large room.

    One of the members was tall and skinny, while the other was three inches short, having a curvy and appealing body, making the member very feminine.

    The living room had two TV sets and three radio sets scattered across, as well as two massive couches and two jumbo coffee tables in the center.

    The eight soldiers stared at the two members of the group, all tilting their heads with their hands on their chin.

    (Blood Eagle Member #2) Hey, you two were unusually fast, yeah? I didn¡¯t expect you to blow your lid off that fast.

    The two remained silent as they saw the bags that were stuffed in gold. Seeing that the gold was confirmed, the two casually stood until a person of Jack¡¯s age came out of the bathroom.

    (???) Sorry if I¡¯m late, but shall we begin?

    The man was a few inches taller than the skinny member, and had wavy medium hair that was dark brown. He wore attire similar to that of everybody else, from the jacket to the shoes, but the he man wore no mask, as his face had freckles and brown eyes, with a button nose and long ears.

    With the two blood eagles members standing near the door, the skinny member leaned his head closer to the curvy member.

    (Blood Eagle Member #3) Are you ready Luna?

    (Blood Eagle Member #4) Stop worrying about me Luke, I¡¯ll be fine.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 30: We both have anger issues

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 4:32PM)

    (Boris) God damn¡­

    A huge black and white TV showcased the evening news, in a room where three men and one woman gasp in shock for what their eyes let them see.

    (Jenny) Is that in front of the Zirardge bank and tower?!

    (Jerry) So they''re now calling Lagefor home huh?

    (Boris) No, they¡¯re just returning to their roots¡­

    As the news displayed the events of the aftermath of the shootout, Jerry placed his hand over his mouth, looking downward as the news wasn¡¯t sensitive to the information they showed. Seeing many officers injured and shot, Jerry looked towards David who was eating a cone of ice cream.

    (Jerry) Hey David, do you think the government is going to send us to clean up the Blood Eagles once again?

    (David) Gwen and the others were always hot on their trail right when they all got their blessings, but¡­

    David looked towards the TV, his eyes focusing on the many men and women making testimonies to the shootout. Gently gripping his ice cream cone with his right hand, he put his left hand on his chin.

    (David) Why did they return here? To Lagefor of all places?

    A phone call was heard towards the back of the room the adults were in. Boris, who was the only person to touch that phone, got up slowly and walked towards the phone, his limping much more noticeable.

    Picking up the phone, he listened to what the person from the other side had to say.

    (??? person) Are you seeing the news?

    (Boris) Yeah.

    (??? person) You know what to do.

    (Boris) sighs ¡­ I¡¯ll let them know¡­

    Hanging up the phone on the wall, he looked at his employees.

    (Boris) Someone called, they want the Blood Eagles gone.

    (David) You know how they operate, their boss is too much of a weasel to be caught! No matter what city they go to, we always have shit luck in trying to get him.

    (Boris) It was always in other cities, so the budget was relatively smaller. But here in Lagefor, we have a home-field advantage in terms of money.

    Walking up to the TV, Boris looked at the news that was still showcasing the horrifying aftermath of the shootout, placing his hand on the screen with a gray lining in his eyes.

    (Boris) I remembered after The Array when I showed my face to the lucky seven ¡­ I remembered how they all looked like they wanted to kill me ¡­

    As his palms were starting to sweat, they started to stain the TV screen. Not only his palms, but his face started to form droplets of sweat dripping down from his forehead.

    (Boris) Not just the lucky seven, but Stan and his friends also wanted me dead, same went for Gwen. Hell, nobody talked to me for a week straight ever since The Array, but there is one thing though¡­

    Boris pulled back his large fat hand, leaving behind a huge stain.

    (Boris) Even if they did want to kill me, I know they wouldn¡¯t, because ¡­

    Boris looked down at his hands, his hands sticky and clammy as he continued to look deep into his palms.

    (Boris) They never experienced having blood on their hands.

    Putting his hands down, he relaxed.

    Boris then walked quickly towards David, his limping noticeable as he tried to run. His breathing became more rapid, followed by his sweat. Reaching to where he was in front of David, he looked up towards him, his eyes barely open.

    (Boris) I¡¯m done letting Gwen put in every Blood Eagles raid as a game, I¡¯m going to force her soldiers to be rough with them.

    (David) You know Gwen isn¡¯t going to go through with it¡ª

    (Boris) If she refuses, then I¡¯ll put in Luke to do it alone. You know how she is in terms of Luke¡¯s safety.

    David put his hands on Boris¡¯s shoulders, his eyes glaring towards Boris as his legs started to quiver back and forth.

    (David) Boris, this isn¡¯t you. You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re dealing with.

    (Boris) Even if I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m dealing with, it¡¯s obvious that Gwen doesn¡¯t take her job seriously. If she tried, she could¡¯ve put an end to the Blood Eagles if she wanted to.

    David let go of Boris¡¯s shoulders, taking a couple of steps back as he looked at Boris with wide eyes. Sitting down on the couch, he put his hands to his face.

    Boris remained standing, looking at his sturdy bodyguard and then giving out a sigh. Walking slowly towards David, he now towered over him with his chubby body and black fedora hat.

    (Boris) Stop acting all hippie and nice, out of all of us you have the most blood on our hands. You were in the Beast-Human skirmishes, right? You weren¡¯t all that nice to beast people when you were Luke¡¯s age.

    (David) Why the hell are you bringing that up?

    (Boris) You can¡¯t deny that you¡¯ve killed people.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    (David) But the people I killed were killers themselves.

    David remained on the couch, looking up towards Boris who was still towering over him. Putting his full-back on the couch, David then started to slouch, leaving Boris to turn around and head to look at Jerry and Jenny who saw the conversation unfold.

    (Boris) Don¡¯t look at me like that. You¡¯re not innocent Jenny, and especially not you Jerry.

    (Jerry) I¡¯ve killed people who needed to be killed, same as David.

    (Boris) Hmmm¡­

    (Jenny) I¡¯ve never killed a person Boris¡­

    (Boris) Yet.

    Walking towards the door, his limping caused Jerry and Jenny to look at Boris as their eyes noticed his horrible right leg that looked more and more swollen as time went on.

    Reaching the door, he grabbed hold of the handle, slowly opening the door. Turning his head towards where David was, he was still placing his hands over his eyes, his slouching causing his head to caress the edge of the couch.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Sometimes, to defeat your enemies, you must become like your enemy.

    Putting his chubby body out in the hallway, he gently shut the door and walked through the old hallway, different than it was six to two years ago.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 10:40PM)

    (???) Congrats. You all did it.

    The man appeared to be the same age as Jack, his youth ever present as he looked at all of his closest blood eagle soldiers. Seeing every one of them, he noticed that there were two that stood out to him.

    (???) You guys were that fast huh? Number 1 told me that you guys were having your intimate time on the second floor, well, before I went to the restroom.

    (Luke) Number 1? Intimate time¡­?

    Despite being masked, it was clear that the rest of the masked men and the boss noticed that ¡°Number 3¡± was nervous, as ¡°Number 3¡± looked away with his face sideways to the boss.

    (???) What¡¯s the matter Number 3? Don¡¯t want to pry into the details?

    Walking up towards where Luke was, his height towered over the masked boy as he folded his arms. Looking down at him, the boss swiped away a bit of hair that was blocking his eye.

    (???) Now tell me Number 3, I thought you were my most confident soldier yeah? Did the blood eagle bike, Number 4, turn you soft?

    (Luke) N-no¡­

    (???) Look into my eyes 3.

    Extending his right hand to Luke¡¯s masked face, he grabbed a firm grip on his chin, feeling the unusual youthness and lack of hair inside of the mask. Luke, who had his head up, had his face contorted with frustration as his fists started to quiver.

    (???) I don¡¯t need soft soldiers. I don¡¯t care if you were submissive to the bike, but if you ever look away when I¡¯m talking to you¡­

    The boss pulled out a long double-edged kitchen knife. Its black handle and white crystal edges made it so that by touching it, one would simply be cut.

    Putting the knife close to Luke¡¯s right ear, he leaned it close to Luke¡¯s ear.

    (???) I¡¯ll cut off your ear and wear it as a decoration.

    Someone then gripped the boss¡¯s hand, their hand squeezing tightly as their fingers dug into the boss¡¯s left wrist. Noticing the pain, the boss looked to see ¡°Number 4¡± focusing her attention on him as he started to clench his teeth.

    The rest of the main group stood up and had their eyes on ¡°Number 4¡±, having all of their hands in their pockets as they continued to deathly glare at her despite wearing masks.

    (???) Woah number 4-ow ¡­ I never expected you to have this strength before. Are you-ow-ow-ow ¡­ are you this secretly ripped?

    As Luna still had her grip on the boss¡¯s left hand, the boss took a couple of steps back away from Luke. As he now turned his attention towards Luna, he used his right hand to put away his crystal knife, tucking it inside of his black fabric jacket.

    Luna still had a tight grip on the boss, even when he started to tower over her. Licking his lips, he put his face close to the black mask that Luna wore.

    (???) Because I love strong women¡­

    Bringing his right hand on top of Luna¡¯s, he also gripped with enough force to take Luna by surprise. Caressing her knuckles with his fingers, Luna¡¯s left fist clenched hard as she shook her body, which became noticeable to the boss.

    Letting go of her hand, Luna also put her hand close to her body, clearly focusing all of her attention on the boss.

    (???) Your unusually feisty Number 4? Did he let loose too early? Was it too small? Were your expectations of him causing you to feel this way?

    The boss continued to walk backward, not looking back as he managed to bump into a coffee table. Glancing at the coffee table filled with mugs and homemade little plants, the boss picked up a plant and extended his arm to the both of them. The plant that he was carrying was plastic, lifeless, with the white glass showcasing the fake dirt that it had.

    (???) You¡¯re too ¡­ I just feel like something is amiss here, you know? Both of you I trust for a long time ¡­ yet you guys are acting so¡ª

    At the drop of a hat, the boss then threw the plant straight at the TV, causing the screen to be destroyed as it managed to go inside it. With all of the Blood Eagle members on standby, they took a couple of steps back, their body movements calm and challenging.

    Except for Luna and Luke.

    (???) IT¡¯S NOT RIGHT!! IT¡¯S NOT RIGHT!! I¡¯M NOT RIGHT!! NOTHING IS RIGHT!! FATHER!! FATHER!! FATHER!! FATHER!!

    The boss went on a berserker frenzy, picking up all of the fake plants and mugs and crashing them onto the TV and wall behind it. He grabbed each plant, throwing them with ease as his arm didn¡¯t have any expansion or muscle to them. As he yelled, his vocals were shrouded with pain and agony, his voice sounded like a plea for help as he went off the deep end.

    Once he was finished throwing all the fake plants and mugs, he lifted the table and flipped it over, as adrenaline filled his arms with pure strength. Kicking the wooden coffee table over and over again, he managed to cause two to three holes by just merely kicking the table a couple of times.

    Taking a step back from the table, his breath became raspy and shallow, not wanting to follow the simple rhythm of breathing.

    (???) pants ¡­ pants ¡­ I think ¡­ pants ¡­ you guys should sit down ¡­ now ¡­

    Looking at the two of them with snake eyes, the boss used his hand to gesture to them to sit down with him. Keeping his eye on the two of them, he walked towards a chair that was in a corner of the room and gently placed it in front of the broken TV. Positioning the chair, he sat so that the back of the chair was touching his stomach, having his hands positioned at the top.

    Seeing that the two Blood Eagle members were hesitant to sit down on the couch, the boss sharpened his eyes as he put his right hand onto his left knee, bending down gently.

    (???) Sit down!

    Pushing his vocals again, the two members quickly found a seat in the middle of the couch, both Luke and Luna sitting side by side as the blood eagles stood behind them. For eight of the blood eagles looking down, Luke started to breathe in and out more rapidly, his chest feeling heavier by the second.

    Luna had her left arm holding onto Luke¡¯s right arm, making sure her body was close to him. As the boss saw the two Blood Eagle members feeling heavy, he straightened his back and used his right hand to pull something out of his jacket pocket. Instead of pulling out his crystal knife¡­

    (???) I think I know what¡¯s going on¡­

    He pulled out a M1911 pistol.

    Having the pistol in his right hand, he pointed it towards Luke, pushing his face down as his eyes narrowed at his suspects. With a bit of hair covering his right eye, he didn¡¯t care to put it in place, as he put his finger on the side of the gun.

    (???) I could tell that nervousness from anywhere! You¡¯re Luke Fenix huh?

    The tall masked blood eagle member¡¯s hands started to shake violently, looking away as his head started to shake softly. Seeing that Luke didn¡¯t want to look at him, the boss turned his attention to a woman, licking his lips in the process.

    (???) And you¡¯re the swordswoman Luna Guerra huh? Are you still the hellfire of the group? You look as if you want to kill me right now under that mask.

    Luna had her fists clenched as she focused her entire attention on the boss who held the handgun in his right hand. As her body shook with vigor, the boss continued to eye Luna, his lips trying to keep themselves moist.

    (???) I¡¯ll take it as a yes. You know, when I first met you, you took my breath away. You¡¯re strong, you¡¯re loyal, you¡¯re a fighter! You can cause many men to gaze upon your beauty yet the moment you show your inner demons, they scatter off in the wind.

    Luna used her legs to force her body to stand up with a snap of a finger. With her eyes behind the mask deathly glaring at the boss, the rest of the blood eagles took out their weapons, already loaded, and pointed them toward the fiery woman.

    The boss slowly stood up and put his handgun on his black jacket, walking towards Luna as he signaled his men to stand down. Upon receiving the boss¡¯s order, all the men put their weapons in their holsters, with handguns and shotguns being the most prevalent.

    (???) Hit too close at home? You know Luna, we make a perfect match? Do you wanna know why?

    The boss then put his hands on Luna¡¯s mask, prying his way to see the beauty behind the mask.

    Fully having the mask off, what the boss saw was Luna¡¯s face, her forehead showcasing bulging veins. The boss put his left hand on her left cheek, her fists on the verge of breaking.

    (???) We both have anger issues¡­

    Leaning his face closer to hers, the boss¡¯s lips opened slightly as he slowly moved his way toward Luna¡¯s lips.

    Just as he was about to seal her lips, a flash of light was radiated out the window.

    Noticing this, the boss slowly turned his head towards the window.

    (???) She¡¯s here¡­

    The wall surrounding the window exploded from the outside, raining dirt and debris amongst the blood eagles.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 31: Hallway and Lobby

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 10:45PM)

    Everyone ducked as soon as the blast came, but some people ducked faster than others.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Perfect timing!

    As Luke was the first one to duck right next to the couch, Luna also took cover when she saw the light as well.

    But instead of ducking and holding their ears, Luna already had her fist clenched hard, her knuckles having a whitish color. Seeing for a split second that the boss was vulnerable, she used that opportunity to drive her left fist into the boss¡¯s liver, using all the strength in her weak fist to knock him out.

    Unfortunately, not only did she knock him out, but she also sent him flying straight into the wall. Up to this point, the rain of dirt, dust, and debris managed to catch up to Luna as well. As soon as Luna was being pelted by dirt, she managed to take cover the same as Luke, having her head positioned so that debris wouldn¡¯t hit her in the head.

    With the debris explosion gone, both Luke and Luna stood up to see that most of the Blood Eagle top members were unconscious on the ground, groaning as their bodies ached with the dreaded pain of debris hitting their backs and heads.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) This dust is killing me¡­

    Luke instantly took off his mask, his face showcasing not a big change as his face was similar to that of two years ago during The Array. Seeing that Luna had barely any bruises, Luke¡¯s face drooped down calmly as he gave her a little smile.

    But out of the dust, was a tall woman with a ponytail, carrying a short girl on her back.

    (Gwen) Where is he?

    (Loraine) Where¡¯s the pervert?

    Gwen had a childish walk to her as she walked up towards both Luke and Luna, her eyes scanning the both of them. Loraine, despite being a teen, had a robot walk as she looked up at Luna and Luke. Luna pointed with her finger towards the dented wall, showing that the boss¡­

    Wasn¡¯t there.

    (Gwen) Did you guys let him get away?

    (Luna) Shit, I didn¡¯t expect him to crawl or walk away after that!

    (Luke) Come on, we got to catch up to him before he¡ª

    The lights went out.

    With the room now being replaced by total darkness, Luke, Luna, Gwen, and Loraine remained still and had their senses ready in case of an ambush. Fortunately for them, Gwen had the best ability to work in the dark.

    (Gwen) hehe ¡­ so they want to fight in the dark huh?

    In the pitch black of night, the three dark angels saw a glowing light coming from Gwen.

    Gwen didn¡¯t just make light, she was light.

    Her body created an angelic yellowish light that made the room more noticeable, her hair, skin, and even clothes being used as her flashlight. Looking around the room, they saw the door was wide open ¡­ too wide open.

    (Luke) Alright, we¡¯re going to have to improvise. I know David and Jerry were at the back exit, Stan and the others keeping an eye on the front exit, and Miles'' group storming the first and second hallways, so how are we going to get the boss?

    (Gwen) Why do you say the boss? His name is Maverick¡­

    (Luke) Right ¡­ How are we going to capture Maverick for good?

    Gwen put her hand to her cheek, tapping her foot as she tried to come up with a better way to tackle things. Gwen being Gwen, she quickly stopped tapping her foot, putting her hand in her pocket as she eyed the door.

    Looking at Luke and the other two, Gwen then readied her right leg, putting an extensive amount of force as she looked like she was about to make a lunge. In a split second, she stormed out of the room, her body as light as a baby bird''s feather as she got to the hallway in less than a second.

    (Gwen) Oi! Maverick! I¡¯m coming for ya!

    Because she was glowing, Gwen was a huge target for the Blood Eagles members waiting outside in the hallway. Standing outside her door, she saw many blood eagles wearing a weird type of goggles that she couldn¡¯t recognize.

    But either way, those goggles managed to make the mercenaries see in the dark.

    (Gwen) Hello everybody! Have you seen your boss? I just want to talk to him!

    In the third hallway alone, there were 30 to 40 Blood Eagle members, all having their weapons loaded and their faces concealed as they all focused on the glowing woman. Seeing that they weren¡¯t going to just respond to her, Gwen put on a frown as she placed her finger on her mouth.

    (Gwen) Awww. I was hoping that one of you told me¡­

    The blood eagles then pointed their guns toward Gwen, readying to open fire at the woman. Just as they all put their fingers on the trigger, Gwen looked to the right to find that the three dark angels weren¡¯t there in the room at all.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Not bad Luna¡­

    A commotion can be heard on the opposite side of the hallway, as a blood eagle''s member falls.

    When one of the blood eagles saw their comrade fall, he quickly ran up to him and checked his back for any bullet wounds. Finding no bullet wounds on the back, he turned his friend¡¯s body to see if he had any wounds on the front.

    He did, but it wasn¡¯t a gunshot wound.

    (Luna) Up here, dumbass.

    With a precise slash, Luna used her right arm to slash a blood eagle''s chest, not that deep so that it wouldn¡¯t kill him, but just enough so that he wouldn''t get up.

    Having dual-wielding, twin double-edged swords in each hand, Luna came out of the hallway that led towards the second floor. Not only Luna but Luke and Loraine also were with Luna, with Luke wielding dual-wielding Uzis and Loraine wielding an RPG.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #1) How did they get to the other side of the hallway?

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #2) I don¡¯t care, take them out!

    (Luke) Loraine! Press the alarm button, it¡¯ll give us some light to see in the dark!

    (Loraine) Gotcha!Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Loraine ran towards an alarm system that was gently tucked near Luke. Since Luke had his eyes on Luna, Loraine used the butt of her RPG to break the glass. Putting down the RPG, she placed her hand inside the little case, gently pushing the alarm button with ease.

    All hell was let loose, as the sounds of light, metal, and bullets rocked the red and black hallway of the third-floor hallway.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Miles¡¯s Group)

    (Miles) Did Gwen just really bust through the third floor?

    (Benn) Typical.

    (Jack) Hey wait, isn¡¯t that our cue?

    Four dark angel members waited outside the front door. In terms of change, Miles and Benn¡¯s faces stayed the same from two years ago. Meanwhile, Jack¡¯s face started to mature more as his cheeks and jaw were shown more, while Hope¡¯s overall body grew more maturely.

    Seeing that the door was locked in tight from the inside, Jack tilted his head as he tried to pry the lock with his hands.

    (Jack) How did Luke and Luna get in?

    (Miles) They copied their outfits to the letter and used it to sneak in. Weren¡¯t you paying attention to the plan?

    (Jack) I was daydreaming.

    (Miles) Yeah, that¡¯s on you.

    (Hope) Hey Benn, I gave you a stick of dynamite a couple of days ago. Do you still have it?

    (Benn) Yeah, I put it in your backpack. Hold still.

    Hope remained still as Benn went through her backpack, the amount of energy drinks, healing equipment, and medicine bottles scattered as Benn tried to look for one single block of dynamite. After searching for several long seconds, Benn noticed a familiar material.

    (Benn) Found it.

    Pulling out a stick of dynamite, he went back inside Hope¡¯s backpack hoping to find any random lighter to light the fuse. Unfortunately, finding a lighter would be finding a needle in a haystack.

    (Benn) I¡¯ll just use something else.

    Zipping up her backpack, Benn held the dynamite firmly, his bluish hands wrapping it as he looked down at the concrete floor. Bending down, he swiped the dynamite in one fast swoop to light up the explosive, the sparks, and flames inching their way toward the gunpowder.

    Nonchalantly walking towards the door, Benn placed the dynamite at the door, his eyes lost in the gaze of the flames and sparks that he rarely ever had.

    Walking slowly, he was able to make it out of the blast range as the explosion created a shockwave that shook the four dark angels, their bodies feeling the blast and shock, especially for Benn who felt his back was about to tear open.

    (Jack) Woah, it worked¡­ I thought Fred¡¯s special dynamite wouldn¡¯t work.

    (Miles) You thought it wouldn¡¯t?

    (Jack) It was just a hunch. Look, it¡¯s not my fault that I can be a bit pessimistic, I mean, we did fail to bring in Maverick like three times!

    (Benn) That was because of Gwen¡¯s hesitation.

    (Jack) And every time, he somehow finds a way to recruit more mercenaries. He should run for president.

    (Benn) Maverick hates the government.

    (Miles) This conversation¡¯s on hold for now, we have to carry onward!

    Holstering their guns, the group of four ran towards the broken down door, dust and smoke filling up their lungs as they fought through the anguished air. Upon getting out of the lethal smoke that gagged their senses, they all saw the insides of the lobby.

    With nothing but couches and coffee tables, it was just a plain run-down lobby. There was an abundance of fake plants, dirty rugs, cigarette ash holders, and most importantly of all, the stairs.

    (Benn) Hold up, let me use my blessing.

    Benn then closed his eyes and stood still, relaxing his breath as he focused on one thing and one thing only. For the others, they waited, guarding Benn for anything that might ambush them, their eyes peered for any enemy.

    (Benn¡¯s spiritual voice) Lend me a fly¡¯s vision from the third-floor hallway¡­

    In an instant, Benn was dumped to the vision of a fly. As the fly buzzed around the hallway, it lent aid to Benn¡¯s goal, looking for any sign of a tall freckled man with long hair.

    With its five eyes, it saw a man putting his right hand onto its stomach, panting and wheezing as the fly saw the man¡¯s face pale and sweaty. Benn, who instantly noticed that familiar face, talked to the other dark angel members, his eyes remaining shut as he remained focused.

    (Benn) Maverick is running away.

    (Miles) Where is he, Benn? Is he heading towards the second floor?

    (Benn) Yeah, looks like he¡¯s going for¡ªwhat¡­

    If the power to the third floor was to be cut off, then the first floor-

    (Jack) You gotta be shitting us? How are we going to raid a building without light?!

    (Miles) Hey Benn? Can your animal or insect see in the dark?

    (Benn) No.

    (Miles) Alright. You can stop now Benn.

    Benn then returned to his physical form, sweat forming along his forehead as he swiped it away with his arm. With everyone not being able to see clearly, Hope managed to bring out something from the side of her backpack.

    (Hope) I hope this helps.

    Turning on her flashlight, she held it firmly in her right hand as the rest of the group used their eyes to look around. Noticing that there was nothing particular in the lobby, Miles gave one last look before he turned his head towards the three of them.

    (Miles) Let¡¯s get up the stairs, we got to back up the others in whatever way we can ¡­ hey ¡­do you all hear that?

    As their ears perked up as the loudening footsteps were coming from the stairs, Miles turned his head towards where Hope was, quietly whispering to her with his voice gentle yet firm.

    (Mile¡¯s whispering) Hope, turn it off. Everyone, follow me.

    Miles gathered the group, holding them together as they all hurriedly ran towards the lobby counter to remain hidden. On their way to the counter, Hope used her left hand to turn off the flashlight, yet she still held onto it with her right hand. As the three of them reached towards the desk, they all barely managed to reach it in time, just as the mercenaries of the blood eagles came down to the area where they were originally.

    Not being able to see how many there were, the four dark angels'' breathing was becoming more rapid as they were enclosed inside the lobby desk.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Are they going to go or not? I hope they don¡¯t try to pry through every single corner of this lobby.

    Unfortunately, rustling was heard on the opposite side of the lobby, causing Jack to hold his hands together tightly and shut his eyes.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Just imagine yourself eating cake near the ocean! Just imagine yourself eating cake near the ocean! Just imagine yourself eating cake near the ocean!

    Hope as well breathed in heavily, as the mercenaries were oddly getting closer and closer to the lobby desk. Just as the rustling seemed to stop, all the dark angels sensed a person right in front of them. Considering it was pitch black, the dark angels couldn¡¯t tell if the person in front of them could either see them or not, but one thing¡¯s for sure¡­

    The person in front of them isn¡¯t friendly.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Just imagine ¡­ Just imagine ¡­ Just ¡­ imagine ¡­ imagine ¡­ thought ¡­ brain ¡­ telepathy, wait¡­

    Jack, who could somewhat see a silhouette in front of him, moved his body a bit more outward. As if readying his stance, he looked straight into the silhouette, his eyes unwavering as the air around him mystified.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) If I used my blessing, maybe I could dig in on some info.

    As Jack¡¯s eyes turned more brownish, he started to hear a little transmission, trying to pick up the message. Even though there was no radio on site, where can the transmission come from?

    Is there some hidden radio?

    (Random Blood Eagle Member #2¡¯s thoughts) Why is it so damn hard to find bullets for our buddies? I thought the boss provided them a couple of months ago.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) So he doesn¡¯t see us huh? Just looking for bullets like some idiot. Then I was worried about nothing after all¡ª

    Gunshots and fighting can be heard higher up upstairs.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Oh no, are they fighting now? We¡¯re not even towards the second level!

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Shit! We need to do something about that silhouette-looking figure.

    In an instant, Jack quickly got up, without attracting the attention of enemies and even friendlies since Miles nor Hope ever heard his presence. Tip-toeing, Jack continued to listen to the man¡¯s indoor voice and actions, making him more of a ninja than an elite government-funded group project.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Just need ¡­ oh, alright here it is!

    Grabbing from out of his pocket, he pulled out a knife with holes on its edge. Seeing that the silhouette still didn¡¯t notice Jack¡¯s pressure behind him, Jack took this opportunity to read his crouching stance as he pulled back his knife. Slowly standing up, he was about to lunge forward, aiming for the right side of the blood eagle member''s stomach, but¡­

    (Random Blood Eagle Member #2) Oh, Coach? Do you think these bullets would work?

    The Blood Eagles member managed to turn around at the worst possible time, managing to see Jack who was behind him almost a foot away with a huge knife.

    But Jack was always good with eyesight, especially in the dark. As he slowly put his knife into his pocket, Jack put his left hand in the air, and when the opportunity was right¡ª

    (Jack) Come here!

    In an instant, Jack used his right hand to pull the silhouette towards him. With a twist of his hand, Jack subdued the poor member as he had his left hand on his neck, making sure his fingers were blocking all the airways that led to his lungs. With his right hand, he pulled out a leftover napkin, a napkin that was created and handed down by Luke and Fred.

    (Fred in Jack¡¯s thoughts) This napkin could put a man to sleep in 10 seconds tops! Make sure the said person has little oxygen for it to work more sufficiently!

    Putting the napkin onto the Eagle¡¯s member''s nose, the member wailed his arms and legs violently as he tried to fight his way out. Fortunately, Jack was strong enough to put a grip on the man¡¯s neck and managed to make him fall asleep.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) That bastard was bluffing!

    But the blood eagle member made a little bit of noise when he was subdued. As Jack was taking off the Blood Eagle¡¯s members'' goggles, he put them on to get a good test drive. Seeing the entire room with clear visibility, he also saw that the other Blood Eagle members were on their way¡­

    There weren''t even just several of them. If Jack were to estimate how many were in that lobby, Jack would need four extra hands to count.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Oh shit¡­

    Thus begins the lobby holdout for Mile¡¯s group.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 32: Just One Rocket Launcher

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 10:50PM)

    (Miles Group)

    In the pitch black of the room, the only thing that lit was the reign of bullets.

    The gunpowder smoke started to surround the room, with everyone¡¯s noses being assaulted by the smell of burning superspeed metal.

    The sound penetrated the entire lobby, booming through the walls and pillars near the stairs and lobby table. Their ear is bleeding as the noises that shoot out from their guns cause excruciating pain, as the four dark angels take shelter from the rain.

    (Miles) Damn it Jack!

    (Jack) At least I have night goggles!

    (Miles) Why do you always bring us shitty luck?!

    (Benn) Stop arguing!

    As the safety of the strong wooden desk prevented bullets from penetrating the other side, Miles glared at Jack in the dark, his night goggles making him stand out more than he should. They didn¡¯t dare to lift their heads.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #3) We¡¯re rushing! We¡¯re rushing!

    In the dark lobby, Jack heard a few footsteps approaching the lobby desk, his heart increasing as the footsteps could be heard coming closer. Holding their breaths, Jack saw three to four pairs of legs from the corner of his eyes.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #3) Found you!

    As Jack saw with his goggles three Blood Eagle members pointing their guns at him and the others, he quickly froze up, his arms and legs shaking as they all focused on Jack in particular. Having his bottom on the ground, putting his hands up high, he quickly started to turn pale.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) What should I do?! What should I do?! What should I do?! What should I¡ª

    A bluish light surrounded the four dark angels.

    It wasn¡¯t a light, but a rather defensive shield. It wasn¡¯t a normal shield, but rather a little ball that enclosed the four of them. Jack, who realized who initiated the defensive ball, looked his head towards Miles, his hands emitting blue particles as it was pointed upwards.

    (Miles) Jack, get back!

    Jack crawled backward, his arms and legs moving as his breathing became less rapid and his face returned to its natural color. Retreating to the group, Miles then used both of his hands to point them toward the direction of the three Blood Eagles members.

    Standing up, Miles then used his strength to push forward his two hands, droplets of sweat starting to form along the crevices of his eyelids. As his breathing somewhat intensified, the blue particles that emitted from both his hands stopped.

    (Miles) Eat this!

    The blue shield dome that protected the four of them started to rapidly change shape. The dome was cut in half from the back, leaving only the curved front side.

    In an instant, the shield that was altered came charging onto the three blood eagle members, the force was so huge that it caused the men to be sent flying towards a nearby wall, leaving huge dents on the stone wood.

    (Jack) Take their goggles!

    As the blue shield was drawn back into the body of Miles, he, along with Benn and Hope, ran towards where the blood eagle''s members'' unconscious bodies were. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    They quickly put the goggles on, tightening their straps. With the ability to see now ever more present¡­

    (Miles) Alright, lock and load ¡­ cause we don¡¯t have to hide anymore.

    In the dark lobby, the four dark angels stood up to see a platoon of Blood Eagle members, all pointing their guns at them.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #5) Open Fire!

    As the rain of bullets commenced , Miles extended his arm forward to showcase his hand to the enemies. Blue particles emitted from his hand forming a see-through wall, big enough to defend all four of them. With the bullets bouncing off the shield, it gave the other dark angels to strategize.

    Benn, who wielded a heavy submachine gun on his back, looked towards the blood eagles who tried to penetrate Miles¡¯ wall. Reaching towards his back with his right hand, he grabbed a hold of the grip of his gun, placing his left hand onto the middle of the gun.

    With a slight chuckle, Benn placed his finger on the trigger, putting the gun gently to his hip to have better control of the gun. Lock and loaded, Benn pushed the trigger with a rare smile on his face.

    Like no other assault rifle or light rifle, the heavy submachine gun caused disorientation amongst the blood eagles that already formed a perimeter, but when the bullets fired, many of them remained in tight cover, seeking to the back of the lobby to escape the rain of deadly bullets. Not wanting to take chances, some of the blood eagles saw the destroyed opening in the main entrance, leading them to make a run for the outside.

    (Random Blood Eagle member #6) Come on, let¡¯s go!

    Escaping through the blown-up door, the blood eagles were right on the sidewalk, trying to control their breathing under their masks. As they were about to hitch a ride, they all noticed a nearby helicopter pointing a searchlight at the group.

    Then came the rain of tranquilizer darts.

    (Stan) Hold the gun steady Fred! Don¡¯t let them escape!

    (Fred) On it!

    As the helicopter overhead managed to overrun the group, the blood eagles that were ransacked by darts started to act discombobulated, their faces bobbing up and down as their legs gave in. With all of them eventually passing out on the street, the helicopter moved in closer.

    (Diego) You see any bodies, Gary?

    (Gary) I can see it now! Fred! You and Luke made a pretty good weapon!

    Seeing that the bodies weren¡¯t getting up, Fred looked towards Stan, his face lighting up with a smile as Stan gave him a thumbs up.

    (Stan) You did well Fred. I just hope Miles and the others are doing okay¡­

    Meanwhile, Miles continued to hold the barrier for the barrage of bullets heading toward them, his strength slowly diminishing as his stamina started to dwindle.

    (Miles) How¡¯s it going, Benn?! Are you at least hitting them?!

    (Benn) Yep!

    (Jack) Half of them have been gunned down. With the nine we took out and the six that stormed out the building, I¡¯d say there¡¯s 15 left.

    With 15 remaining blood eagles, Jack took out his long-range heavy sniper. Holstering the sniper near his head, he looked for any opening to take, his finger shaking as he caressed it with the trigger.

    (Hope) Two down!

    Finding a couple of blood eagles trying to rush her, Hope didn¡¯t hesitate to fire her combat pistol, aiming at their stomach region so that they both wouldn¡¯t die from the gunshots. Steadily aiming her pistol again, she noticed that one of the blood eagle members carried something large¡­

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Is that¡­

    The blood eagle member on the way back carried a heavy gun, or rather it wasn¡¯t a gun, but a weapon that a particular dark angel member loves firing.

    Jack, who was too focused on trying to find any opening, had his shoulder tugged hard by Hope.

    (Jack) Hey!? What are you doing!? Don¡¯t you see I¡¯m trying to concentrate¡ª

    Hope reached out towards Jack¡¯s face and turned his head towards where the blood eagle with the RPG was. Seeing the blood eagle readying to fire his shot, Jack¡¯s face turned pale as he saw with his eagle eyes the blood eagle putting his finger on the trigger.

    (Jack) Oh shit!

    Holstering the sniper with the help of his body, he entirely used all his focus to set up his gun for shooting. In a battle between the prepared and the unprepared, Jack barely had his finger on the trigger as he aimed at the blood eagle. Once the enemy fired his incoming rocket, Jack used his pointer finger to push the trigger, with his gun unsteady.

    But the blood eagle was quicker by half a second.

    But in that half a second, the bullet that Jack shot was not heading towards the blood eagle member, but ¡­

    At the shell that was coming out of the RPG.

    Since the sniper round was faster, the large bullet managed to hit the shell, causing it to explode in front of the blood eagles.

    The shockwave sent the rest of the blood eagles into disarray, as the shell was not only a normal RPG shell but a special one. It did not only just make half the blood eagles go unconscious¡­

    It caused the entire group to be downed in major injuries.

    The force of the explosion was so great, that it also caused the dark angels to take a step back, covering their ears with their hands as their ears pierced with the pain. Closing their eyes shut, they clenched their teeth as tinnitus pierced their ears.

    Slowly opening up their eyes, they took in the sight of the rundown lobby.

    (Jack) Just one rocket launcher ¡­ did all of this ¡­

    Small fires spread across the lobby, lighting the lobby with a dim light. Hearing that the upstairs fighting was still ongoing, Miles looked towards the stairs that led to the second floor.

    (Miles) No time to waste here. We need to link up with the others!

    With all three of them giving Miles a serious nod, the four of them headed towards the stairs, hoping to link up with the rest of the group.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 33: Just Let me Play a Bit Longer

    (Luke and Gwen¡¯s group)

    In the darkness, there was a red light.

    For every second, the red light would turn on and off, the culprit being a 14-year-old girl.

    Many people under these circumstances wouldn¡¯t fight toe to toe with a disturbance of sight. If someone were to take away the ability to see for half a second, many would lose their focus.

    Except for Luna.

    (Random Blood Eagle Member #6) We need backup! We need a backup¡ª

    A blood eagle was slashed by Luna, her eyes narrowing at the many squads of blood eagles that continued to fire their bullets at her. Luna narrowly dodged every single one of them, her legs swinging with adrenaline and anger.

    Swishing her way to each squad near her, all they could do was try to defend themselves in the half-second darkness, but even then, her way with the two swords created a yo-yo motion as she sliced each chest she could find.

    Upon her ballad, Luke was taking cover from behind with Loraine.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I know she¡¯s done this many times but how?! Hope isn¡¯t here so how is she this confident?!

    Her legs were in perfect sync with her body, her arms in complete control over the swords she carried in both arms. Her speed was unpaired with many of the blood eagles'' aim and precision, leading them to miss every shot, despite her vulnerability when she slices their comrade''s chests.

    Dealing with one to two squads worth of blood eagle members, Luna continued to jump sideways, bouncing off the walls to reach her enemy. As she was on the verge of reaching another squad, they made sure that their guns were pointed at any possible sideways jump that Luna would do.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #7) Steady!

    Two blood eagle groups were in the middle of the hallway, holding up a little firing squad. Seeing this, Luna stopped and decided to extend her arms so that the tips of the blades scratched the old wooden walls.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #7) And now!

    The two blood eagle groups consisting of five in each group pulled their triggers in unison, hoping that Luna wouldn¡¯t escape the incoming deathtrap that was soon to come.

    Luna devilishly smirked at them, her eyes hanging low as she wielded her dual-wielding twin double-edged blades in her hands. As the bullets were about to hit the mad woman, Luna vanished.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #7) What? Where is she?

    (Luna) Turn around.

    Rapidly turning around, the blood eagle member looked to see Luna in the back of him. He was about to point his gun toward Luna but was slashed too.

    With one down and nine to go, the rest of the blood eagles took a few steps towards the direction of the second floor, walking backward with their guns shaking violently in their hands. Seeing that fear was taking a toll upon them, Luna continued to slice each chest she could find.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #8) Just open fire¡ª

    A nylon rope snuggled up to two blood eagle members in the back row. As the two Blood Eagle members fell, they landed on their right shoulders on the wooden floor.

    (Loraine) Gotcha ya!

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #9) Just cut the rope!

    Pulling out a knife, one of the members tried to free himself, using it to cut off the nylon rope. With little to no avail, the rope didn¡¯t budge, as the knife was being dented rather than the rope. The blood eagle member looked up at Loraine, his eyes in shock.

    (Random Blood Eagles Member #8) Did you use a blessing?!

    (Loraine) Yessir! There¡¯s no point in escaping! It¡¯s meant for people to be trapped, no matter the person!

    The other blood eagle tried to break free by tucking in his gut. While trying to wiggle his way out,the rope, it somehow tightened.

    (Loraine) You should¡¯ve never done that ¡­ otherwise you¡¯ll slowly start to lose oxygen until you die!

    (Luke) I got this Loraine.

    Walking past Loraine, Luke pointed his right hand towards the two blood eagles in the bind. Having the Uzi in his right hand, he then shot out not bullets, but darts, white darts that had a needle to them.

    Slowly, the two blood eagle members went deep into sleep, causing Loraine to unbind them.

    As the nylon rope on her hand was being rapidly pulled back, it was absorbed into Loraine¡¯s palm, the entire 10ft rope being condensed inside of Loraine like human storage.

    (Loraine) Mmm ¡­ Rope is yummy!

    (Luke) This is why you''re a benchwarmer¡­

    Luke looked up to see that Luna had dealt with the crowd of blood eagles all on her own, his eyes widened by how many unconscious bodies were lying around her. Seeing her face, blood was splattered on her cheeks and nose, following a steady stream of sweat pouring down her right and left temples.

    Half of her swords were covered in blood. Once Luna made eye contact with Luke, she tilted her head as she folded her arms.

    (Luna) What?

    (Luke) Oh nothing. You just look tired, that''s all.

    (Luna) I¡¯m not tired! You¡¯re tired!

    (Luke) But you dealt with almost all of them by yourself.

    (Luna) W-Whatever! Let¡¯s just back up Gwen¡­

    As the three dark angels made their way to the opposite side of the hallway, they noticed a lot more bodies that were unconscious. As Luke looked down, he saw that they were already dealt with.

    (Luke) Can¡¯t believe Gwen took half of them down all by herself too¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) And in half the time.

    As the three walked, they saw that despite the number of bodies, there was one person that they didn¡¯t find.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    (Luke) Hey, where¡¯s Gwen?

    Luna put her hand to her chin, looking down as she walked with them.

    (Luna) Probably looking for that piece of shit Maverick.

    (Luke) I don¡¯t know why Gwen hesitates on getting him¡­

    (Luna) I swear, the next punch will be his nuts!

    (Luke) I just wish we¡¯d be the ones to take care of him, you know. He¡¯s escaped Gwen numerous times, he¡¯s not just going to pop open¡ª

    The door a few feet in front of them swung open.

    As the man barely clutched the right side of his stomach tightly with his left hand, he barely had the strength to keep his legs steady. His other hand clutched the door handle as he gasped for breath.

    Looking to his right, he saw the numerous henchmen unconscious.

    But then he looked to his right, his face looking down at Luke, Loraine, and most of all, Luna. As he clutched the right side of his stomach, Maverick licked his lips and toned down his breathing, a sight unusual for a person who is agonizing in pain.

    (Maverick) I would¡¯ve liked to kiss you beautiful, but I must get some rest~

    Barely had the door handle onto his right hand, Luna didn¡¯t hesitate on lunging forward to tackle him. Extending her arms so that she could pin him, Maverick fell as the door to the room he wanted to enter opened. Leaving the door wide open, Luna successfully had enough room to put her body weight on Maverick, her hands on his neck as her fingertips drove themselves to his airways.

    But then.

    (Blood Eagles Member #3) Get off of our boss.

    (Blood Eagles Member #4) Or else.

    Two Blood Eagle members, a man and a woman, pointed their guns towards Luna. Seeing that the two masked blood eagles had their fingers on their triggers, Luna pulled her hands off of Maverick¡¯s throat, yet still had her weight on him.

    Maverick didn¡¯t want this position to end, so he smiled creepily and started to laugh in tired breaths.

    (Luna) What¡¯s that smell?

    (Maverick) sniff sniff ¡­ oh ¡­ So you guys chose lust over loyalty¡­ I should¡¯ve known ¡­ Well you guys are the town pump and town bike after all.

    As the stench of love and god knows what filled the room, Luna and Maverick couldn¡¯t concentrate as the stench was just ¡­ pungent ¡­

    (Maverick) sighs ¡­ the least you guys can do is help me take care of Luna. I don¡¯t think you guys can fight her 2 vs 1 so at the very least, I don¡¯t know ¡­ shoot her legs?

    The two blood eagles nodded with each other, placing their fingers on the trigger as their cold stances didn¡¯t cause Luna to falter.

    (Luna) You think you can shoot me here?

    They shot their handguns straight at Luna, but Luna vanished instantly.

    Now free, Maverick readily got up, taking a couple of steps back towards his two soldiers as he pulled out his personalized handgun. He began to laugh, his breaths raspy and low.

    (Maverick) pants ¡­ oh I love this two-year game of tag! What¡¯s your next move?! You¡¯re going to appear out of the hallway?! Come out from the roof?! Come through the floor?!

    Maverick then looked towards the window as he spread his arms wide. His eyes narrowed when he saw a little light coming from out of the window. With his two blood eagle soldiers standing back towards the closet, they pointed their guns towards the window.

    Maverick noticed the tension with his soldiers, so he gestured for them to put their guns down.

    (Maverick) Oh ¡­ Daring are we?

    In that single instant, the light came crashing onto the little window, causing many sharp glass pieces to spread across the floor and room. The glowing ball of light came into the form of a tall woman with freckles, and her body began to form on the ground as she bent down on one knee.

    Slowly standing up, Gwen¡¯s light started to fade out, her stature resorting to a human figure rather than to that of a person made out of light. As the two blood eagles pointed their handguns toward Gwen, Maverick signaled with his right hand to stand down.

    (Gwen) Maverick¡­

    (Maverick) Been a while huh Gwen?

    The two tall figures with freckles and dark brown hair looked at each other. Gwen¡¯s eyes sharpened as Maverick lifted his head.

    She then walked slowly towards Maverick, using her right hand to rub the back of her head. Luke noticed Gwen giving an unusual smile as she put her left hand onto her hip.

    (Gwen) Maverick, Maverick, Maverick, why do you always have to take things to another level? Can¡¯t you just turn yourself in?

    (Maverick) You know I can¡¯t do that Gwen, I¡¯m a cursed man.

    (Gwen) You¡¯re not cursed.

    (Maverick) No ¡­ we¡¯re both cursed.

    Gwen stopped right in front of Maverick, his towering height looking down at her as he continued to clench his fists tightly. Not only were his fists crushing his knuckles, but his face started to warp into a devilish smile as he put his left hand onto his mouth.

    (Maverick) You see Gwen ¡­ cackles ¡­ I¡¯m not like you in terms of will ¡­ cackles ¡­ oh man, sometimes I just want to¡ª

    Maverick then saw a fake plant that was near him, and at the drop of a hat, Maverick used his right hand to grab it intensely and ¡­

    Gwen grabbed a hold of Maverick''s arm, her ability to stop Maverick from lashing out caused the two Blood Eagle members to take a couple of steps back.

    (Gwen) Please Maverick ¡­ playtime is over ¡­

    Gwen looked downward onto the floor.

    Maverick saw her face with a pushed-down frown, her eyes not bothering to look at him. Taking a couple of steps back, his back was facing the doorway as water started to gently form in his eyes.

    (Maverick) Just let me play a bit longer¡­

    The light to the third-floor hallway was brought back, eliminating the need for the half-second red alarm.

    Maverick sprinted outside the hallway, his stomach already recovering as he managed to run more efficiently as he didn¡¯t have to crawl or limp. With Maverick escaping, Gwen tried to run towards Maverick, but a gunshot was heard.

    Falling onto the wooden floorboard, Gwen placed her right hand on the right side of her stomach. Feeling something warm and sticky, she brought her hand up towards her face, and as she examined it.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡­

    The wooden floorboard was beginning to soak under the light blood that was gently streaming out of Gwen. Looking back to see who shot her, she saw two Blood Eagle members pointing their guns at Gwen, with the short and feminine Blood Eagle member having smoke coming out from her gun.

    Gwen¡¯s eyes started to clench tightly, as she gripped her right side much more violently. As her body clenched every muscle to its breaking point, Gwen started breathing rapidly, her eyes opening and closing rapidly.

    (Blood Eagle Member #3) Finish her.

    Aiming at the back of Gwen¡¯s head, the blood eagle was about to pull the trigger, until¡ª

    The feminine blood eagle member dropped her gun.

    Or rather the blood eagle member dropped her gun that also had her hand.

    Turning her entire attention to her left hand, she noticed that her hand was entirely cut off clean. Seeing the horror of her used-to-be hand spewing out a river of blood, with her bone sticking out like a sore thumb, the blood eagle member leaned against a wall as she shrieked with agonizing pain.

    Luke turned his head to see Luna emerging from the shadows, clenching her swords.

    (Blood Eagle Member #3) MEREDITH!!

    Pointing his handgun and putting his finger on the trigger immediately, he began rapid firing at Luna, his gun shaking violently as he unloaded his cartridge at the swordswoman.

    Vanishing again, she managed to get near Gwen who was clutching her stomach with her right hand. Bringing her hand closer to Gwen¡¯s back, Luna then started to drag her by her nape, being a little rough as she made her escape.

    (Blood Eagle Member #3) You¡¯re dead!

    Reloading his other cartridge, the Blood Eagle member rapidly fired another round of bullets, trying to hit Luna as she escaped. Just as those bullets were about to target her, a young man managed to push her out of the way.

    Tackling her down along with Gwen, Luke narrowly dodged the incoming bullets.

    (Luke) Luna! Run to the others.

    Standing up, Luke had his eyes on the enraged masked blood eagle. Aiming his Uzi ready, Luke prepared to fire, but the blood eagle member was faster.

    Seeing the rain of bullets barreling towards him, Luke closed his eyes, his breath slow and steady as he left his arms motionless and his legs still.

    Upon instinct, Luke dodged the incoming bullets by jumping to his right, using his left leg to thrust himself from harm¡¯s way. As he slowly opened his eyes, he continued to charge headfirst into the enraged blood eagle member.

    (Blood Eagles Member #3) You can¡¯t dodge this!

    The member continued to shoot at Luke, but with his little power, Luke continued to dodge the point-blank bullets with ease. Seeing that Luke was untouchable, the member threw away his gun and decided to charge him back. Reaching up to him, Luke then pointed his Uzi at him to get a clear shot.

    Shooting the dart, Luke hit the blood eagle straight in the heart, causing the man to stumble down hard, as he laid onto the wooden floorboards motionless. Seeing the member fast asleep, Luke slumped to the wall, his legs giving in on him.

    Swiping his side bang away from his right eye, he looked at the others who barely managed to get to the third floor.

    (Miles) Is the fight over?

    (Luke) Yeah¡­

    (Miles) Oh shit! Hope, treat Gwen¡¯s bullet wound!

    (Hope) On it!

    As Hope sprinted towards Gwen, she noticed the amount of slashed and unconscious bodies that lay all around the hallway. Seeing that the slashes came from none other than Luna, Hope¡¯s fists began to shake gently, her face looking downward as she finally came towards Gwen.

    Placing both her hands on Gwen¡¯s stomach region, Hope closed her eyes, her elegant seating causing Luke and the other boys to gaze in awe.

    A beautiful yellow light emerged from Hope¡¯s hands, causing Gwen¡¯s eyes to relax. Hope let Gwen rest on the wooden floorboard, as she put a hand onto her back.

    (Hope) Try to relax a bit for now. You can¡¯t move much when you¡¯re barely healed¡ª

    Instantly, getting up, Gwen checked her stomach that the injury was gone. Dumbfounded, Hope stood up rapidly as she looked up towards Gwen, pouting.

    (Gwen) Thank you, Hope, but I¡¯m taking it from here.

    Putting herself in the middle of the hallway, Gwen then did the dark angel''s salute, by thumping the left side of her chest with a curled-up fist and sliding it to the right side of her chest. The dark angels¡¯ ears perked up.

    (Gwen) The Blood Eagles raid is now over. Even though Maverick escaped yet again, we¡¯ll get him next time¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 34: Under The Single Full Moon

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 11:49PM)

    (Gwen) Our plan wasn¡¯t a success but at least nobody died.

    (Benn) That¡¯s every encounter with them.

    (Luke) I just wish that our plans succeed¡­

    (Gwen) Hey, be careful of what you wish for¡­

    In the building that everybody called home, the dark angels sat near a firepit in the open night sky. As the burning wood released embers into the night, the dark angels could only watch as the smoke rose to the Lagefor night sky.

    The dark angels as well as some other soldiers were sitting side by side, enjoying the peace and tranquility that they were rewarded with.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m surprised that you and Fred were able to make such a cool bullet. Tranquilizer darts? That¡¯s honestly pretty scary.

    (Luke) It was Fred¡¯s idea, his way to limit the amount of lethal casualties.

    (Fred) I mean, it was a cakewalk to create so it wasn¡¯t all that to be crazy for.

    Fred put a cold beverage to his lips, his mouth opening slightly as he gulped down the entire bottle of beer in his hand. Swiping away a bit of beer on his lip, Fred then turned towards where Luke was, hiccuping as tried to stand straight.

    (Fred) You know, I¡¯ve never seen you drink beer, Luke? All of us have tried or at least drank a bottle or two but not you?

    (Luke) Tried it once. Spat it out immediately. I¡¯m not good with alcohol in general.

    (Gwen) Did this happen when you were a kid? Maybe you had tequila or vodka.

    (Luke) It was just a normal beer.

    Everyone then started to laugh. There was one laugh in particular that caused all the boys to turn their attention to.

    (Luna) snorts and giggles ¡­ oh man ¡­ snorts and giggles ¡­ that¡¯s too funny ¡­ snorts and giggles.

    As Luna put her right hand to her mouth, geekishly snorting as she giggled, it caused Luke to turn red as he looked away. Noticing that Luke was nervous, Luna put on a devilish smile as she stared at him.

    (Luna) What? Not gonna look at me? You know I¡¯m not that angry now.

    With a beer bottle in her right hand, she made her way towards Luke, still devilishly smiling at him. Towering over him, her eyes sharpened as Luke still avoided eye contact, his face looking right as she kept her gaze on him.

    (Luna) Oi, look at me.

    Her eyes changed from a stare to a glare, her face reddening from the alcohol she intaked. Hope, who kept watching Luke avoiding eye contact with Luna, stood up from her seat.

    With her hands shaking, Hope made her way towards where Luke was, her eyes unwavering as she put herself in between him and Luna. Stretching her arms sideways, she continued to give out death glares at Luna, which caused her to sharpen her eyes at Hope.

    (Luna) Oi, I¡¯m talking with Luke. Move.

    Hope didn¡¯t falter, as her soulless eyes continued to stare into Luna. Showing no signs of backing down, Luna walked towards Hope and towered over her, with her fists slightly shaking.

    (Luna) I said move!

    (Hope) Leave him alone.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    (Luna) Don¡¯t care, move you bitch!

    (Hope) Whore.

    (Luna) Say that again!

    (Gwen) sighs ¡­ There are other guys in the world you know?

    Putting herself in between Hope and Luna, Gwen looked at both of them, her eyes looking at the two rivals glaring at each other. Hope sat back down slowly, eyeing Luke as she clasped her hands together. Luna meanwhile was face to face with Gwen, her eyes unwavering as her fists started to shake more violently.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Why does everybody butt in my way?

    Eyeing Gwen with a vein bulging out of her, Luna continued to control her anger from coming out, wanting to move her fists into Gwen¡¯s face yet she didn¡¯t. Gwen, who watched Luna glare at her with a goofy face, put her hands on her hips, tilting her head.

    (Gwen) Just get another beer to smooth you out. Come to think of it, this is your third bottle of beer as of right now huh?

    (Luna) And?

    (Gwen) Last time you got drunk, you tried to fight everybody except Luke. Remember what caused you to lash out at everybody?

    (Luna) Shut up!

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Why were my emotions loose during that whole incident¡­

    (Jack) Just say that you liked him, man, are you insecure that he¡¯ll reject you¡ª

    (Luna) Stop using your stupid telepathy blessing!

    Looking towards Jack, she sent death glares towards Jack who went slightly pale as Luna looked in his direction. Now ignoring Gwen, she made her way towards Jack, her eyes purely focused on him. Jack, who was still sitting in his seat, was about to surrender until.

    Luna vanished.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Aww shit! She used her teleportation blessing.

    Luna then managed to teleport behind Jack, grabbing his arms and pulling them hard enough as if his arms were about to break. Feeling his muscles being stretched, Jack used his fingers to gently touch Luna¡¯s arm, but Luna still kept pulling.

    (Jack) Wait, Luna! You¡¯re going to dislocate my arms!

    (Luna) Shut up! This is payback for that stupid song you sang six years ago¡ª

    (Luke) Luna! Do you want this?

    Standing up, Luke got out from his pocket a strawberry glazed donut, cherry filling leaking out of the holes that it was put into. Raising his arm high, Luna eyed the donut, her mouth slightly open as she licked her lips.

    (Luna) You can¡¯t win me over with food!

    (Luke) If you want I could eat it¡ª

    Instead of sprinting, Luna used her blessing to teleport near Luke¡¯s location. From the back, Luke turned rapidly as he saw her snatching the donut out of his hand, her mouth slightly drooling. Putting the donut into her mouth, Luna¡¯s body and fists start to mellow out as the donut does its work.

    Seeing the entire incident unfold, the behind-the-scenes guys continued to drink beer with teriyaki chicken. With warm smiles and laughs filling them inside, the men¡¯s mouths were coated with the stench of alcohol, and their cheeks remained flustered.

    (Gary) Why is Luke so lucky? Having the attention of two girls¡­

    (Diego) For a time, Fred had some attention, remember Gemma?

    (Gary) Yeah, she was pretty ¡­ a shame that she sacrificed herself.

    (Fred) Yeah ¡­ I still miss her.

    (Stan) And never forget Ryan¡¯s death too, we lost two good people for what? To get stronger? The four of us didn¡¯t even get our blessings, so what was the point?

    As the old group of friends had beers in their hands, they all looked down as they remembered the fond memories of the 13 of them, talking and being themselves by the campfire.

    (Fred) Those were good times huh?

    (Gary) We were kids ¡­ of course, we didn¡¯t think too much of it. Honestly, looking back, training wasn¡¯t that bad at all. Yeah, they put us in really good shape, but nothing can top The Array in terms of cruelty.

    Gary put his hand on his left eye, his face looking into his right hand that carried his beer. Seeing that his palm was healed and recovered from all that intense training, only to be put into data management for the government, he looked up to see the main group.

    (Gary) I think that¡¯s just part of growing up. The older we get, the more we reflect on the things we take for granted.

    Having a tear run down his right eye, Gary swiped it fast as he didn¡¯t want anybody to notice it. Looking up towards Luke who was with the main group, Gary¡¯s face made a small smile as he recalled a past rivalry that he and Luke had.

    (Gary¡¯s thoughts) If you told a 14-year-old me that I¡¯d be working just fine with Luke, I wouldn¡¯t believe it for the world.

    As Fred looked towards Gary looking at Luke, he turned his head upward to see the cloudy sky starting to break free. Noticing a light coming from above, Fred squinted his eyes, standing up as he placed his feet on his chair.

    The more the light shone, Fred looked down to see everybody still having a good time.

    (Fred) Hey, you guys look up! Everyone look up!

    Fred stood up and yelled at his friends and even the main group, getting everyone''s attention as their eyes focused on Fred. Pointing his finger towards the sky, Fred¡¯s body began to squirm like a little kid.

    (Fred) The clouds are finally breaking free!

    Seeing that the clouds were slowly dissipating under the night sky, the night showcased the biggest reward that Terra could receive. Seeing the sky fully lit up, the gentle rays of one of Terra¡¯s moons shone on the city of Lageofor.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) A single super full moon¡­

    As everyone looked at the super full moon, their eyes sparkled because their eyes started to reflect the large moon shining down on them.

    (Stan) How long has it been since we saw a single full moon?

    (Diego) That¡¯s once every decade, I guess we lucked out huh?

    (Luna) The moon¡­

    With a simple stroke, it was just the 11 of them, all wishing, all hoping, and all dreaming that these days will never end¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 35: Start This Genesis

    (Quintiles 23, 59 / 2:50AM)

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) Guess I¡¯ll have to build up my militia again. This time, filled with soldiers that won¡¯t choose to fuck each other.

    A young man walked with his right hand still clutching to the right side of his stomach. Looking back at the city filled with shimmering lights, Maverick¡¯s eyes remained focused on the high-rising buildings that were trying to reach the heights that Clastine had.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) The changing of times huh¡­ how I despise change¡­

    Focusing his attention on his walk, he tiredly walked up the hill he was walking on, his legs barely reaching keeping him up straight as they were exhausted from the running and sprinting from the previous few hours.

    Reaching the top, he noticed a large abandoned factory on top of the hill. Seeing the factory from up close, Maverick looked into the wide open door of the factory, the single full moon shining the inside of the building so that Maverick could see in front of him more.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) Well, I guess I¡¯ll rest in this factory for a bit.

    Walking into the old factory, Maverick inhaled a year¡¯s worth of dust, coughing and gagging as the amount of lethal dust continued to clog his sense of breathing. Slowly breathing in and out, he tried to hit his chest with his fist a couple of times for his lungs to work more, but even then it wouldn¡¯t do.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s ¡­ pants ¡­ unusually dusty. How can ¡­ pants ¡­ someone work in these conditions?

    The more he walked towards the center of the moonly lit factory, his breathing returned to its normal state. Looking back, he noticed that the entire building of the factory had a fog of dust, except for the center where he was.

    Not only that, but the roof of the building had a huge hole, the moon lighting Maverick as he looked up towards the rare sight.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) I guess I¡¯ll just leave it be, I¡¯m too tired to deal with the dust and the soreness of my legs. Also, the moon¡¯s light puts me to sleep much faster than any other moon cycle.

    Putting his bottom to the floor, he lay on the rusted ground as he continued to look up at the single supermoon, his eyes slowly closing as his body continued to rest on its own.

    Feeling the cool summer Kepputhan air brustling against his hair and face, Maverick spread his arms and legs open as he had a little smile dawning upon his face.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) Reminds me of the good old days¡­

    (???) You know that floor is dirty right?

    Fluttering his eyes to open up, he instantly stood up, his breathing irregular as he glanced around the factory. Not knowing where that voice was, Maverick brought out from his jacket his handgun, pointing it to anywhere that the voice would come from.

    His face was drenched with sweat as the cold breeze hit his face, Maverick continued to pant as his finger was already on the trigger.

    (Maverick) Where and who are you?! Whoever is in here, please come out now!

    (???) No, no, no, the question in hand is why are you here? You came in here and decided to lay down on the rusty and dirty floor of an abandoned factory? You¡¯re going to have to shower or bathe after that.

    Maverick heard the voice coming from in front of him, which made him point his gun in that specific direction. As he had his right hand on his gun, he used his left hand to extend it for a little hand signal.

    (Maverick) Just come out now! I won¡¯t shoot you, but I want to know who you are?!

    (???) Hehe ¡­ You don¡¯t want to know who I am. I mean, it would be too complicated to explain things to you right now¡­This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    A silhouette in the factory can be seen as Maverick focuses his eyes on the tall figure. He didn¡¯t seem that young, with the man¡¯s voice appearing to be in his early to mid-50s. Maverick took a couple of steps back as his right hand that wielded his handgun started to shake violently.

    (Maverick) Show yourself! Or else I¡¯ll¡ª

    (???) Do what, shoot me? Believe me, you¡¯ll never hit me with that.

    A voice spoke to him from the back.

    Turning his whole body back, Maverick took many steps back as he adjusted his aim again, his breathing more irregular than before. Wielding his gun, his eyes took in the whole view of the man face to face.

    The man had circular-shaped glasses, followed by hazel eyes and many wrinkles. His nose was sharp, followed by his eyes being small and slanted and his ears were normal-sized. The man had a couple of scars on his cheeks, followed by his height and weight being normal.

    He wore a white robe, his hands encased into the other hand''s sleeves, followed by wearing white sparkly boots that didn¡¯t match his attire.

    The man had light green hair.

    (???) You seem rather tense. I take it this is your first time seeing someone different than you yeah?

    (Maverick) What do you want?!

    (???) Come on, you¡¯re supposed to be crazier than this, you¡¯re making me feel like I¡¯m the bad guy.

    The light green-haired old man slowly walked towards Maverick. Despite Maverick being taller than him, the man had an aura far more malicious than what Maverick had ever dealt with.

    As sweat continued to drip down from Maverick, the man extended his hand towards Maverick, the old man¡¯s hand smooth and clean.

    (???) Enough beating the bush, I¡¯m giving you two options. You could work and serve under me without any questions asked, or you could decline. I prefer you if you don¡¯t decline, otherwise¡­

    The light green-haired man sharpened his calm face as he looked directly into Maverick¡¯s eyes.

    (???) Well, it''s your choice ¡­ Maverick Keegan.

    Maverick started to hyperventilate as if he was seeing death with his very eyes.

    Falling on his bottom, he put his hands onto the rusty floor, his face ghostly pale as he lost the strength to move his legs. The old man, however, continued to look down on him, tilting his head and putting his hand onto his cheek, his hand already in fist form.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) H-H-H-H-H-H-H-How¡­ How ¡­ How does he know my name?

    (???) If you do decide to serve me, you might have to end your playtime with your older sister, but I mean, this is a choice between life and death, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll put up with it.

    (Maverick) P-Playtime?

    (???) Well, everything in life has drawbacks. Say, for instance, if you choose work, say goodbye to most of your entertainment. If you choose family, say goodbye to your free time. The same applies if you serve me.

    Maverick continued to breathe irregularly, his face already soaked with cold sweat. Thinking more about his previous play times, Maverick slowly looked up towards the old man, his eyes filled with fear.

    (???) Nobody wants to die, son, so just serve under¡ª

    Maverick used all his strength to point his handgun toward the old man, his face extremely pale as the sweat couldn¡¯t stop strolling down his forehead, his hand shaking violently as he couldn¡¯t aim right. Standing up slowly, his eyes had soft tears coming down his cheeks.

    The old man didn¡¯t take it too kindly as Maverick started to showcase a hint of rebellion.

    (???) You really wanna do this huh?

    (Maverick) I don¡¯t care if you know me ¡­ b-b-but if you won¡¯t let me have my fun, then I¡¯ll ¡­ I¡¯ll fight for it even if it¡¯s the last thing¡ª

    The old man suddenly had his body close to Maverick.

    (???) Really bad choice kid. As a leader, I thought you would¡¯ve been a lot smarter, despite having good Eyehawk.

    Maverick felt something light within his stomach. As his breathing started to drastically slow down, he turned his head back to see what¡ª

    An arm was wedged in between Maverick¡¯s stomach.

    Slowly pulling his arm out of Maverick¡¯s body, the old man saw the chunks of guts and blood that stuck to him, his face contorted with disgust as he pinned his nostrils together.

    (???) Crap, my robe is soiled. Jason or Pedro, anyone of you, can you bring me a towel, and maybe an extra robe while you¡¯re at it?

    Maverick immediately fell onto the rusty floor, a pool of blood already reaching his neck and face as he couldn¡¯t move any limb from its place. His body burned yet it started to freeze, his arms and legs losing control altogether. As fecal matter started to escape from the gaping hole, combined with the abhorrent smell of gestational fluids, the old man took many steps back.

    Using the last of his eyes, he noticed a tall-haired man walking near the old man.

    He couldn¡¯t feel any pain.

    (???) Also check up on Ryan, Gemma, and ¡­ what¡¯s his name ¡­ Cameron as well.

    (Jason) Are we doing this now?

    (???) I would say do it next week, we¡¯ve barely reached Lagefor.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) G-Gwen¡­

    His life flashing before his eyes, he recalled the many times he played with his older sister, the many years when he could escape the cruel reality he calls hell. The last memory that played in the void of death, he noticed a familiar figure that he never wanted to look back upon.

    (Maverick¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to be touched¡­

    (???) Make sure you get Mia and Kenichi as well too, also Sydney for our trump card, because under this single full moon, we''re about to¡­

    As Maverick took his last breath, he heard one last line that came out of the old man¡¯s mouth.

    (???) Start this Genesis.

    END OF ACT 1

 Arc 1 - Chapter 36: Its Going to Be A Long Day

    He awoke to an unfamiliar sight.

    Looking around him was nothing but the world of white, everything and nothing being in perfect harmony.

    In some twisted fate, he can move his head, arms, and body, as he puts his hand on his chest to look up at the white nothingness.

    (???¡¯s thoughts) Is this a dream?

    Getting up rapidly, his feet settled on the solid white floor that was nothing, feeling the presence of white marble but it wasn¡¯t there. With his eyes seeing nothing but white, it made his breath hotter and raspy, and his body started to quake under the sudden sight.

    With nothing, why is he here?

    (???) Hello! Anyone! Is anyone here?!

    Cupping his hands between his mouth, the young man shouted throughout the world of white, his voice reaching the endless horizon. With nothing beyond the human¡¯s horizon, the young man continued to quake his body more as the mounting pressure of despair mounted on him.

    (???¡¯s thoughts) This is just a dream, right? Usually, if I get too scared, I¡¯ll just wake up and forget about it right after breakfast.

    His way of getting out of this dream-like world was to move forward. Lunging his right foot forward, the young man forced his body to move out of his terrified state, not looking back as he kept his face forward.

    (???) Live¡­

    Stopping in his tracks, he slowly turned his head towards the ungodly individual who was a couple of feet away from him. Angling his hands, his body quaked even more as whatever was in the back of him¡ª

    (???) Mom?

    Seeing the dark brown-haired woman behind him, the young man took a couple of steps back, tears building up in his eyes as he remembered that silicon face. Putting his arms down, he slowly moved his body toward the woman he called Mom¡ª

    A finger gently tapped against the man¡¯s right shoulder.

    (???) What the?

    Quickly turning his head, he saw a figure latched in white fur and bunny ears. The young man widened his eyes as his jaw slightly opened.

    (???) Ryan?

    Nearing the bunny-human was another beast human. With this beast human having a long neck and horse ears, the young man put his hand to his chin, trying to remember the name that was given to him¡­

    (???) Wait ¡­ who are you¡­?

    Taking another couple of steps back, his eyes slowly started to shut himself up. As his face started to turn pale, the young boy then bumped into another figure.

    (???) Eep!

    Jumping up out of shock, his back let out a small cold shiver.

    He turned his body again to see a girl with green eyes, a girl taller than most girls. Not taking his eyes off of her, the young man¡¯s eyes started to tear as the faces of the past continued to stare at him, their eyes glued to the young man¡¯s face.

    He quickly fell to the ground, his bottom hitting the white of nothingness as he put his hands to his ears.

    (???¡¯s thoughts) Please wake me up! Please wake me up! Please wake me up! Get up! Get up! Get up! Don¡¯t make me remember! Don¡¯t make me remember! Don¡¯t make me remember! Don¡¯t¡ª

    (???) Get up, Luke.

    Hearing a familiar voice, the young man named Luke lifted his head, his hands still wedged in his ears. As his eyes slowly gazed at two other individuals, Luke¡¯s eyes began to water as he could recognize those two figures from anywhere.

    A woman and a man looked down at him, their faces all too familiar to him as a single tear rolled down his right cheek. Forcing his body to stand up, the woman in front of him walked a couple of steps towards him, putting her hands on Luke¡¯s shoulders.

    (???) No matter what, never give up.

    The world then started to shimmer into nothing, the white of nothingness turning into the nothing of nothingness.

    (???) Because in the end, you¡¯ll be a burning¡ª

    Luke fell into nothing.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:02AM)

    (Gwen) Wake up, sleepyhead!

    His body resigned to the comfort of the bed. Gwen, a dark-haired girl with freckles, continued to tug him, her smooth yet stitched hands touching the shoulders of the sleeping man.

    (Gwen) Hey, come on. Breakfast is ready. Just wake up, please?

    As Luke continued to solace in the comfort of his bed, Gwen stood up and immediately headed towards the front of his bed, her boots creaking the wooden floorboards of the old building. Rubbing her hands rapidly, a form of electricity and sparks came out of it, the sparks somewhat brightening the darkness of the dimly lit room.

    Holding a large amount of friction in her hands, she moved her way towards Luke¡¯s shirt, slowly pulling it up as his chest was bare right in front of her.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Man, talk about a change from six years ago.

    Despite being skinny, his chest was somewhat well formed, his pectoral muscles not that muscular but it was clear that it had some meat. Moving her eyes towards his abs, Luke¡¯s abs were much well defined, a small six-pack that was ever-present.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I thought he was just a twig, but I guess this twig has some meat on him.

    Rubbing her pointer fingers and thumbs rapidly, it created another barrage of sparks that lit up the room. Bending down to give Luke the best purple nurple, Gwen gave off a cheeky and devilish grin once her fingers were wrapping around Luke¡¯s nipples.

    Holding them firmly, Gwen then made sure her feet were on the ground steadily.

    (Gwen) Clear!

    Just as she was about to turn her fingers, the door to Luke¡¯s room busted wide open.

    (Luna) Hey Luke! Get your ass up!

    Another woman figure, a tanned beauty with short dark hair and a curvy body, saw the sight unfold, her eyes widening as her fists started to tighten.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Instantly, Gwen stood up, flinching backward as she rapidly got away from Luke. Unfortunately, her fingers were tightened around Luke¡¯s nipples¡­

    (Luke) AH!

    Springing his whole body up from the pain, Luke rapidly moved his head forward to collide with Gwen¡¯s stomach. Gwen then clenched her eyes, as if a brick was thrown at her, causing her to let go of Luke¡¯s nipples.

    Luke felt a surge of electricity throughout his whole body, the pain ticking every nerve and cranny. His body shook with vigor, followed by his legs quivering and his arms shaking as he put his hands on his chest.

    Controlling himself, he wrapped a blanket onto his body, his eyes clenched shut as his front and bottom teeth ground with one another.

    (Gwen) Oh, shoot, hehe ¡­ sorry.

    (Luke) Why did you do that?!

    (Gwen) Blame Luna! I was just going to give you a slight purple nurple, but Luna scared the bejeebers out of me!

    (Luna) What the hell is going on!? And why are you here with Luke alone?!

    Luke pouted hard as his face turned bright red, the pain still ever present as his legs shook gently. Continuing to stare at Gwen with his sharpened eyes, Gwen rubbed the back of her head with her right hand.

    (Gwen) Sorry, I was just trying to get you up Luke, so no hard feelings. For you Luna, I wanted to wake him up the hard way that¡¯s all.

    (Luna) I already told you I was going to wake him up!

    Luna unfolded her arms as she took a couple of steps into the room, her eyes glued to Luke¡¯s sultry pout. Clenching her fists, her body started to gently shake, her arm muscles slightly sharpening as she then moved her glance toward Gwen¡¯s freckled face.

    Gwen, who still had her right hand rubbing her head, put it back down as she placed her hands into her pockets, tilting her head to the right.

    (Gwen) But you have the worst wake-up calls out of all of us? Especially towards me and Hope out of all people.

    (Luke) I kind of prefer Luna in terms of waking up. At least she doesn¡¯t molest me.

    (Gwen) That¡¯s because Luna gives you special treatment. With the rest of us, she drags us by the hair or ears! You get to be carried by her bridal style!

    Luna¡¯s face turned a bright red, her mouth gaping open as her body tightened with anger.

    (Luna) Shut up! Out of everyone, he gives me donuts! Of course, I give him special treatment!

    (Gwen) Hmm ¡­ is there something else besides donuts¡ª

    (Luna) Get out!

    Positioning herself in a fighting stance, Luna put her fists up, her eyes glaring at Gwen, who then stood up and put her hands in the air.

    (Gwen) Ok, ok. You don¡¯t have to fight me¡­ but as Jack says, you should be more honest you know?

    (Luna) Shut up!

    (David) Hey you three, Boris wants all of us back in the breakfast room now. He wants to hold a meeting after breakfast regarding the blood eagles.

    A man clad in all black with a brown cowboy hat stood in the doorframe of Luke¡¯s room. Seeing that Luna was in defensive mode, David inhaled and exhaled slowly as he put his hands in his pockets.

    (David) Luna, calm down. Let¡¯s just get breakfast.

    (Luna) Shut up, old man! You can¡¯t tell me what to do!

    (David) What did you just call me?

    David walked slowly into Luke¡¯s room, his eyes neutral and calm as he slouched. Seeing that David was slowly approaching her, Luna then put her shaking fists down.

    Taking a couple of steps back, a bead of sweat dripped from Luna¡¯s forehead. As David towered over, his face was soullessly glaring at her, yet his body was relaxed and calm.

    (David) Did you just call me old man?

    Luna then let off a little sly smirk, despite her forehead having more droplets of cold sweat. Putting her hands on her hips, she positioned her body so that she looked like she was making a taunting stance.

    (Luna) Y-yeah. What are you going to do about it? Y-you know that you have a soft spot for me, so you¡¯re not going to do anything bad to me¡ª

    In a flash, David grabbed Luna¡¯s right ear, his fingers having a tight grip on it. Pulling her body towards him, her head bent downward to look at the floor.

    Luna, her ear aching in pain, used her right hand to get a grip on David¡¯s hand that gripped her ear. Using her fingertips, she tried using her immense strength to loosen the grip on David, but David didn¡¯t budge. David started to tighten the grip on her ear.

    (Luna) Ow, ow, ow! Dammit, you geyser¡ªow, ow!

    With Luna now being subjected by David, he turned towards Gwen and Luke, his eyes now nonchalant. Luna started to throw hard fists at his stomach, the fists seeming as if they could knock out a mammoth. David however, did not pay heed.

    (David) Gwen, stop picking on Luna, you know how she is even though her temper has gotten better throughout the years.

    (Gwen) Aww, you know I tease everyone equally~

    (David) And Luke, make sure you get dressed because it¡¯s going to be a long day.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:25AM)

    (Jack) Oh, look who decided to sleep in late?

    (Luke) I¡¯m not like you Jack.

    Long ago, the breakfast and lunch room looked more like a typical boot camp or school cafeteria, with most of the tables being wooden with the floor being stone.

    Now, it took on the appearance of a big house kitchen, with three tables, two stoves, two refrigerators, and many barstools. In terms of appearance, it was more colorful since the walls were painted.

    Despite behind the scenes dark angels and the frontline ones being completely different, there were no rules that determined they should sit at different tables.

    Many of the members decided to merge two tables, leading to one super mega table next to a small one.

    (Stan) Yo, drink orange juice man. You¡¯ll lose your teeth by the time you¡¯re 30.

    (Miles) Then what about the amount of fat and grease your omelet has? That thing will give a mammoth a heart attack.

    (Gary) You guys have really bad eating habits¡­

    (Diego) Says the person who only eats junk food.

    (Gary) Hey, I love my junk food.

    (Luna) That¡¯s why you¡¯re a fatass.

    (Gary) I¡¯m not fat! I¡¯m big-boned!

    (Luke) Jack, why are you putting so much syrup on your pancakes?

    (Jack) Because I like syrup bro. Hold on a minute, why do you have mustard on your bacon?

    (Luke) Because mustard is good for you.

    (Jack) pfft ¡­ that¡¯s a really funny joke. You know, you should be a comedian.

    (Luna) You should shut up.

    (Jack) sigh ¡­ always to the rescue huh?

    On the other table, it was just four adults, casually eating their food despite the nosiness of the other table. David, Jerry, and to an extent, Jenny were fine with the overall vibe that everyone had at the mega table, but with Boris clenching his fork tightly, and his chubby right hand started to shake violently as he eyed the rest of them. David, who noticed that Boris was on the verge of exploding, clasped his hands as he looked at him.

    (David) Don¡¯t worry Boris, let them be. For punishment, you could just have them clean the entire building like always.

    (Boris) Do you understand David? They¡¯re adults! Soldiers! Why do they act like little kids?!

    (Jerry) Are you honestly asking that question?

    For a moment, Boris felt a pang of guilt.

    (Boris) Jerry, I¡¯m aware they¡¯ve gone through some tough times, but they do this every day!

    The noise of the candidates grew louder, leading to Boris holding his fork even more tightly as he began to sharpen his glare towards the rest of his soldiers.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) They¡¯re just young adults. They¡¯re just young adults.

    Something smacked Jenny in the face.

    (Loraine) hehe.

    Everyone stopped to see that Loraine threw an omelet at Jenny¡¯s face, everyone looking towards Loraine¡¯s goofy face as she stood up in her seat. With everyone seeing the weird face Loraine made, all the candidates on the table started to shake a bit.

    Not by anger or frustration, but¡­

    By laughter.

    Laughter filled the colorful room, with members like Benn and Luna laughing at the seriousness of the event taking place.

    Hope and Luke, who despite wanting to help out Jenny, didn¡¯t want to be seen as the party poopers of the group. Because of this, they kept themselves silent.

    Even David was holding back, shaking extremely hard as his mouth puffed up like a chipmunk. Boris and Jerry, the only two who didn¡¯t find it funny, stood up and turned towards Jenny who let the omelet on her face stay there.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) That damn brat!

    (Jerry) Hold up Jenny, let me get that omelet out for you.

    Peeling the greasy omelet out with ease, Jerry then gently put it down onto her plate, as Jenny¡¯s eyes were bloodshot red.

    (Jerry) Hold up Jenny, I¡¯ll handle her¡ª

    Jenny instantly stood up, her greasy face turning towards Loraine. Her hands were shaking violently, followed by her bulging veins all around her forehead, combined with the fact that she started to deathly glare at Loraine.

    Loraine jumped back down from her seat. Using her legs, she pushed herself off the rich wooden floorboards, making a mad dash out of the breakfast room. Turning her head back as she looked upon everyone, she gave out a peace sign as she pointed out her pointer and index fingers together.

    (Loraine) Toodles!

    Jenny instantly stood up from her seat, her knuckles on the verge of crushing themselves under the weight of her strength. She sprinted her way towards the door, her legs thrusting themselves to the limits as she pushed off the floor wood boards with each step.

    (Jenny) LORAINE!!

    Everyone remained silent as Jenny lost control of herself, looking down at their plates. Jerry, despite eating his breakfast, stood up and pushed his seat in.

    (Jerry) Shit, I¡¯ll go get them.

    (Boris) No, let Jenny handle it. She could capture Loraine with no problem.

    Boris looked towards the larger table. Even though his fists shook, he clasped them together tightly, putting his right thumb over his left.

    (Boris) Once Jenny comes back, I want everyone to apologize to her. To rub salt in the wound, you guys also are going to clean up all the dishes and garbage throughout the day, do I make myself clear?

    (Gwen) Come on Boris, it was just a harmless prank.

    (Boris) And about that meeting. That shall be delayed until everyone is finished with their chores.

    (Dark Angels and Stan¡¯s group) Awww man¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 37: A Small Drink Wouldnt Hurt?

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 4:09PM)

    (Luke) Oh man, I¡¯m tired¡­ but it¡¯s for the best.

    (Jack) It was just an omelet¡­ couldn¡¯t they just blame Loraine? I mean, it was her idea, not ours.

    Both Luke and Jack had their arms motionless as they sludged and walked through the hallway. With their legs shaking, they continued with heavy breaths as their hands were coated with blisters and cuts.

    Behind Luke and Jack were Miles and Stan, who had steadier breaths yet sweat drenched their chests and backs, causing their t-shirts to create sweat stains.

    (Miles) Boris has a weird sense of punishment. When someone does something wrong, he punishes everyone except the one who did it.

    (Stan) But you know Loraine. She doesn¡¯t give a damn if she¡¯s hated, so it doesn¡¯t make sense.

    The dark angels, combined with Stan¡¯s group, noticed the room that they were directed to.

    (Luke) I guess this is the adult lounge.

    Opening the handle door, the dark angels and the others walked into the adult lounge where all the adults were. Seeing the lounge room, everyone was astonished by the couches and rugs that were in the middle of the room.

    With four couches in the middle of a coffee table, there were two small couches on the north side of the table and two large couches on the east and west sides of the table. On the north side, there were David, Boris, and Jerry, all sitting as they waited for everyone to sit on their couch of choice.

    (Stan) So I guess we sit wherever we like?

    (Boris) Yes, please. There¡¯s enough room for you guys to sit on.

    Stan, Gary, Diego, and Fred sat on the east couch, having enough room for them to sit.

    Jack, Miles, Gwen, and Benn sat on the west couch, with barely enough room for them to comfortably sit.

    Then there¡¯s the south couch, where Luke was in the middle of Hope and Luna.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Lucky bastard¡­

    Luna¡¯s fists already clenched as she stared at Hope. Meanwhile, Hope huffed as she folded her arms together, ignoring Luna by focusing her attention on Luke.

    (Boris) Alright, let¡¯s commence the meeting, shall we?

    Everyone''s ears perked up as their bodies leaned towards Boris¡¯s direction. Noticing that everyone was awaiting his words, Boris stood up slowly, his limped leg noticeable as he picked up a stack of papers from the coffee table.

    (Boris) Alright, these papers contained some highly classified info among many things that I want to show you all. Gary, Diego, do you recall those questions you asked me two years ago?

    (Gary) Sort of. Does it lead to anything that the government is doing or hiding?

    (Boris) Let¡¯s take a look, shall we?

    Placing the set of papers back on the table, he had one single white paper in his right hand. Boris then handed it to Gary and Diego, extending his right hand as much as possible.

    (Boris) Here.

    Both men stood up, with Gary gently taking the paper out of Boris¡¯s hands. With both men looking through the paper, it only took several seconds for both men to put the paper back on the table. With their mouths being covered by their hands, both of them turned towards Gwen, their eyes widening as the ends of their feet were touching the couch.

    Boris also turned his attention to Gwen, his eyes droopy as he leaned back on the couch. Putting his fedora onto his lap, he cusped both his hands on top of his hat.

    (Boris) Gwen, would you mind explaining?

    (Gwen) sighs ¡­ Why me?

    (Boris) When you raided the Blood Eagles, I ordered you to use a bit more roughness, yet you didn¡¯t. If you don¡¯t want to get an extra punishment under your belt, I suggest you explain it to everyone.

    Gwen, crouching down with her elbows on her knees, looked down toward the fancy rug. Seeing the circles upon circles on the furry rug, she remembered an old time that she wasn¡¯t too pleasant with.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I guess everyone has memories they want to keep in the dark.

    Slowly, Gwen stood up, her hands and arms straight as she straightened her back. With everyone¡¯s eyes seeing Gwen, she inhaled deeply in before she slowly exhaled out.

    (Gwen) Alright, I have a confession to make. You guys know Maverick right? Well, do you guys know any similarities between me and him?

    All the members of the dark angels and even Stan and Fred put their hands on their chins. Luna looked up towards Gwen, clearing up her throat as she slouched back onto the couch, with her left arm around Luke.

    (Luna) Well, you guys both have freckles, and both of you are infuriating.

    (Luke) Wait, Gwen? Don¡¯t tell me-

    (Gwen) sighs Yeah¡­ he¡¯s my younger brother.

    The room was then filled with gasps, murmurs, and gossip spreading across each member as they all looked at Gwen with wide eyes. Luke slumped back to the couch.

    Stan stood up instantly, his fists shaking as his hands remained down.

    (Stan) Is that why you¡¯ve gone easy on him? Does this mean that we could¡¯ve¡ªwait, you could''ve had the choice to turn him in, yet you didn¡¯t?

    (Gwen) It¡¯s¡­complicated.

    (Stan) No, it¡¯s not! Because of you, his group¡¯s out there murdering innocents!

    Fred then stood up, facing Stan as he held up his hands.

    (Fred) Hey! Let¡¯s just calm down. Out of all of us, I think she¡¯s the one that¡¯s the most troubled here. She kept this secret from us for so long, so ¡­

    Gwen looked down, putting her right hand on her left forearm, her hands shaking even more. Seeing that everyone was staring at her, Gwen gulped as she looked towards the door to the hallway.

    (Luna) So it all makes sense huh.

    Luna stood up, her hands forming into fists as she sharpened her gaze towards Gwen. Walking her way towards Gwen, Luna remained in front of her, her eyes twitching as her eyes began to redden. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    (Luna) Is your family full of weirdos?! Why do both you and your brother always touch people without their consent?!

    Luna put her hands onto Gwen¡¯s collar, her hands shaking as her face was inches away from hers. Seeing Gwen reasonably angry, Gwen only looked down as her hands didn¡¯t have any motion in them.

    (Gwen) It¡¯s a long story¡­

    (Luna) Just because he¡¯s your brother, I¡¯m not going to let you off scott free! You had one job and you blew it!

    (Miles) Sorry to say this Gwen, but Luna¡¯s right. You¡¯re a commander, and you should start acting like one. What Stan said earlier, Maverick isn¡¯t innocent, nor is he a good person to be around.

    (Jack) I think you guys are being too harsh on Gwen.

    Jack then received angry stares from Miles and Luna, causing Jack to put his hand on his collar. Shaking the collar loose from his neck, he turned his attention towards Gwen.

    (Jack) She can¡¯t control Maverick, and also I heard his wanted status is dead or alive. If she did turn him in, he¡¯s not going to have a light sentence.

    (Luna) Does it look like I care?

    (Gwen) Luna¡­

    Gwen¡¯s hands started to shake as her head remained glued to the floor. Luna, already angry to begin with, noticed the slight tension of

    (Luna) Because of you, I have to deal with your perverted psycho brother and his shit! So you better not¡ª

    (Hope) Don¡¯t fight Luna. Just sit down.

    Hope got to the right of both Gwen and Luna, her eyes slightly tearing up as Luna still had a grip on Gwen¡¯s collar. Luna, noticing Hope staring at her, sharpened her eyes.

    (Luna) Sit down. Now.

    (David) No Luna, sit down and calm down.

    (Luna) What did you say old man?!

    (David) Sit down. Now.

    (Luna) huff Fine!

    Sitting back, Luna continued to heave her chest irregularly, drool started to come down her mouth as she clenched her hands together.

    (Gwen) mumbling You¡¯re right. You¡¯re all right to blame me. I¡­I should have stopped him.

    Luke looked at Gwen as she covered her face with her hands. He remembered how he met Gwen for the first time, how little she valued herself. He then stood up from his seat, his eyes gentle as he calmly looked at Gwen.

    (Luke) You shouldn¡¯t feel guilty.

    Gwen looked up at Luke, eyes widening.

    (Luke) No matter what he did, you still loved him as an older sister would. You knew you didn¡¯t want to turn him in.

    Luke walked slowly towards Gwen as he looked towards her freckled face.

    (Luke) You know he did unpleasant things, yet you continued to love him still. Don¡¯t blame yourself for protecting your family¡­

    Gwen immediately hugged Luke, her arms tightly wrapped around Luke¡¯s waist as she nestled her head onto his shoulder. Silent tears that rolled down her cheeks.

    Luna glared at the two of them, but did not move while Hope folded her arms and looked away, making a slight pout.

    Gwen continued to nuzzle her face onto Luke¡¯s shoulder, continuing to sniff and rub her face onto Luke¡¯s jacket.

    (Luke) Are you feeling better?

    Gwen nodded unhurriedly, her tears already drying up as they left red little marks beneath her eyes.

    For a few seconds, Gwen then unwrapped her arms around Luke, sniffling softly as her nose was bright red. Wiping her nose with her jacket, she inhaled in and exhaled, her breathing back to normal as she straightened her back again.

    (Gwen) Sorry guys. I guess I should¡¯ve been more revealing about what you all were getting into.

    Her eyes were still red from her silent crying, followed by tear marks etched onto her cheeks, Gwen still had her eyes remaining on her soldiers.

    (Benn) I always knew that Maverick was your brother.

    Benn, who was next to Miles, crouched down so that his forearms were on his thighs. Looking up at Gwen, she tilted her head to the left, putting her hands on her hips.

    (Gwen) Wait, what? How?

    (Benn) It was when we first met.

    (Gwen) Oh ¡­

    (Boris) Hate to break it to you guys, but there¡¯s another major info that I shared with Diego and Gary. Either two, say out loud what happened to Maverick.

    Boris, now the main lead again, continued to slouch on his couch as he extended his hand towards the two men. Gary looked down, his eyes not wanting to make contact with Boris, staring at the coffee table.

    Diego started as his hands. A droplet of sweat dripped from his forehead. With both men not wanting to speak, Boris sighed as he shook his head.

    He then slowly stood up with the help of both Jerry and David, his legs barely keeping him straight.

    (Boris) Maverick Keegan, the leader of the Blood Eagles, has gone missing. The last sight of him missing was on the outskirts east of the city.

    Everyone either slouched into their seats or crouched down on their knees.

    Luke and a few other smart members put their hands on their chins.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s weird¡­ doesn¡¯t Maverick typically get heat or attraction after a couple of days after our raids?

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s more than what¡¯s here ¡­ Maverick always wants to be in some sort of spotlight, so why would he go silent?

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) If Maverick somehow ended up dying, then they would¡¯ve found him already. So what if there¡¯s a possibility that he might have turned zompire?

    (Stan) But it doesn¡¯t make sense though.

    Stan, the only one that spoke his questioning thoughts out loud, managed to get all the looks from everybody. Having the floor, Stan kept his back straight as he had his hands wide open.

    (Stan) Is there a possibility that Maverick has a blessing? If so, then it might explain how we managed to lose sight of him most of the time in our raids. But in a way, holding up and building a little army secretly isn¡¯t Maverick¡¯s style.

    Stan then turned his attention towards Gwen, his eyes squinting at the freckled woman as her head was looking down at him.

    Gwen''s hands were heavily shaking, her body unrestful as her right foot tapped rapidly on the ground. Nervous, Stan then slightly arched his back forward so that he clasped his hands together with ease.

    (Stan) But, for all we know, Maverick is most likely alive. Maybe it was because of what you said to him during the raid. Or maybe he had a thought come to him. Either way, he¡¯s most definitely alive, but probably taking things a much more different approach than usual.

    Hearing Stan¡¯s conclusion, Gwen then started to relax her body more upon hearing Stan¡¯s conclusion, her body calm and content as her breathing returned to a more normal state.

    (Gwen) Thanks, Stan ¡­ I needed that.

    The sounds of a phone can be heard¡­

    (Boris) Why out of all times?

    Boris then walked towards his special hotline, dragging gently his right leg causing him to limp. David and Jerry, who watched Boris limp to the phone, stood up rapidly, having their entire focus on Boris, in case Boris collapsed.

    Reaching the phone, Boris placed it firmly against his ears, buckling them as he heard a familiar voice.

    (???) Are you still in Lagefor?

    (Boris) Yes. Why are you asking me now?

    (???) Has President Reed said anything to you yet?

    (Boris) No. The last time I spoke with him was before The Array. What does he want from you now?

    (???) Are you alone?

    Boris raised the phone down. Glancing towards his soldiers, his eyes scanned every face as he pushed his cheeks in. For a second, he shook the phone with his right hand but stopped as he raised it to his ear again.

    (Boris) Yes. Speak away.

    (???) President Reed wants all politicians, political figures, and billionaires to move to El Niabea for the next couple of days. He says that he has an important meeting being held there and has also invited me.

    (Boris) Why are you telling me this? Is this classified information?

    (???) Highly.

    Boris then glanced at the windows, looking around the world for any opened closets or other suspicious things in the room. Looking towards David, he signaled him to look around the room for anything off.

    Boris even checked the closed up drawer in the back of the room.

    Boris then started to sweat gently, his fat palms being drenched as the grip on the phone started to get loose.

    (Boris) You shouldn¡¯t be telling me this. Do you know what happens to politicians who reveal highly classified material?

    (???) I¡¯m aware of the risks, yet I haven¡¯t been caught. Inform your dark angels to be prepared. I don¡¯t think President Reed is just leaving for a meeting.

    Boris then crouched down to better prepare to hear the words coming from the telephone. As his legs started to shake from the amount of force and pressure that he had on his legs, Boris slightly clenched his teeth, a vein sprouting on his neck.

    (Boris) What do you think he¡¯s doing then?

    (???) To be honest, I¡¯m not sure. But you must make sure your men and women are prepared.

    (Boris) Men and women prepared? I have never told you about the little mercenary group that I oversee.

    (???) Someone else told me that, someone recently¡­ just tell them just in case.

    (Boris) I¡¯ll let them know¡­

    With the phone call ending, Boris looked towards the three couches, the young adults to the old all having their eyes on Boris. Most of everyone had their hands clasped together, their feet slightly tapping down.

    Except Jack.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) I know you, Jack. Please try to keep the information within ourselves.

    Boris looked towards Jack, his eyes starting to have a gray lining beneath them. As his body seemed to start slowing down, Boris then slowly walked towards the couch with David and Jerry, having his eyes on Jack most of the time.

    Jack in exchange gave a slight nod, his body slumped to the couch as he extended his arm. With his thumb, he pointed it upwards to showcase a thumbs up.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Hey man no problem.

    Boris gave off a small smile before putting his hat flat across his face.

    Both Jerry and David stood up to give Boris a small chance for rest, both their hands in their pockets as they saw Boris slowly drifting to sleep. Turning their heads, they nudged their heads to the right, in the direction of where the door was.

    Gwen gave a slight nod before she motioned the others with her right hand to follow her. As the group of young men and women left the room, Gwen then had a sinister smirk on her face.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Come to think of it, this whole Blood Eagle and Maverick thing was starting to stress me out a lot¡­

    (Gwen) Hey, do you guys wanna hit a bar? It''s a bar Boris told me about a while back. I mean, a small drink wouldn¡¯t hurt?

 Arc 1 - Chapter 38: Re-live a Dark Past

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 2:03PM)

    (Jenny) There you are!

    (Loraine) Aww, man!

    The smell of cigarettes and tobacco clogged the busy streets, with some men wearing white t-shirts and khaki pants and women wearing long white dress skirts and black heels. As the cool summer Kepputhan heat caused its citizens to sweat, everyone walking by wore a smile.

    (Jenny) You¡¯re in so much trouble young lady! So much trouble!

    (Loraine) But that was funny!

    (Jenny) That¡¯s it!

    Jenny, a woman in her early 30s with glasses, grabbed the pigtails of the 14-year-old girl in the back of an alleyway. Clutching her right hand on Loraine¡¯s hair, she then started to walk back towards the direction of the dark angels building.

    Loraine tried to goofily punch Jenny to her sides but Jenny¡¯s iron grip kept a hold on her, which made Jenny let off a smug grin.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Now to get back to the building¡­

    With her right hand having a hold on Loraine¡¯s pigtails, Jenny used her left hand to check the watch she had on her left wrist. Noticing the time, she then covered her mouth with her right hand, causing Loraine to thrust forward with the motion of her hand.

    (Loraine) Ow!

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Oh no! I should get to the building!

    Now running, Jenny dragged Loraine, devilishly smirking through the crowd of businessmen and businesswomen. Looking back, she noticed that Loraine had her eyes clenched as she put her hands on Jenny¡¯s right arm.

    Lorraine then squeezed Jenny¡¯s arm, her nails digging themselves into her skin. Jenny clenched her teeth, trying to hold back herself as she was in public.

    (Jenny) Ow! If you keep it up, I¡¯ll put a leash on you!

    (Loraine) Bleh.

    Sticking her tongue out, Jenny started to sprout out many veins across her face. With her face starting to turn bright red, she rapidly extended her right hand forward.

    (Loraine) Squeal ¡­ Stop pulling my hair!

    (Jenny) Then stop tormenting me!

    Out of spite, Lorraine then turned her head around, her face right in front of the mouth that held her hair. Loraine took this chance to thrust herself towards Jenny¡¯s hand, opening her mouth wide.

    Loraine managed to fit the entire hand in her mouth, and with one fatal sweep, Loraine clenched her mouth shut.

    (Jenny) OWW!! LORAINE!!

    Jenny snarled. Putting her left hand on Loraine''s forehead, she then spread her legs several inches away from each other, her back straightened as her stomach clenched.

    In one push, Jenny put half of all her strength into her left arm, with Loraine¡¯s head tilting upwards, yet she still contained Jenny¡¯s right hand.

    And with her right hand, she used the other half of all her strength, pulling back her hand with enough speed to catch Loraine off guard.

    Lorraine was pushed back several feet from Jenny. Landing on the stone-paved ground, Loraine hit her head, creating a small bump that slowly started to form.

    (Loraine) Ow!

    She whimpered as she massaged her bump with both hands. Jenny meanwhile, wiped her hand covered in putrid saliva against her pants. As her face contorted with disgust, she started to inhale and exhale slowly. Looking up, she noticed that Loraine already stood up from the ground, her eyes tearing up.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    (Loraine) You hurt my head!

    (Jenny) You started it! You¡¯ve been causing me so many issues ever since you first joined! Can¡¯t you just listen and behave for once you weirdo?!

    (Loraine) Weirdo?

    Loraine looked down onto the ground, her tears nowhere to be seen. Noticing this sudden change, Jenny noticed that Loraine stopped rubbing her head, her face continuing to stare at the ground.

    Looking up, she glared at Jenny, her eyes soulless.

    (Jenny) Hey! Are you listening to me?! W-Why can¡¯t you just freaking listen to what I have to say?!

    (Loraine) ¡­ Don¡¯t call me a weirdo.

    Jenny took a couple of steps back, her feet shaking as Loraine formed a fist with her right hand. Steadying her feet so that she could have enough strength and room to launch herself off the ground, she eyed Jenny, not wanting to break focus.

    (???) Oh no!

    A man with a white robe managed to drop his bag of apples.

    Loraine lost focus on her stance, steadying her eyes on the old man who dropped his apples.

    Jenny turned her focus onto him too, leaving behind that fearful look she had when she was about to be attacked by Loraine. Seeing the old man bend down to pick up the large amount of apples beside her, Jenny approached the old man.

    (Jenny) Here, let me help you.

    (???) Oh, thanks dear.

    Helping the old man pick up his fallen apples, Jenny took note of the old man¡¯s clothes and face. For one, the old man¡¯s glasses appeared to be more metal than plastic. Jenny would have thought he was a priest if she didn¡¯t find his light green hair unusual.

    With all of the old man¡¯s apples in the bag, Jenny stood up to meet the old man, her face sweating a bit.

    (Jenny) I think that¡¯s all of your apples. Do you need me to walk you to wherever you''re going?

    (???) No thanks dear. I¡¯m going to my friend¡¯s friend''s house. I may be old, but I¡¯m sure I could walk by myself with no worries.

    (Jenny) That¡¯s good to hear.

    (???) Pardon me for asking, but is that little girl your daughter?

    Placing his hand underneath his chin, he started to scratch the little facial hair that he had, focusing his entire attention on the girl who shook violently.

    Loraine ran to hide behind Jenny, grabbing fistfuls of her shirt.

    Jenny then turned towards the old man, her face pushing up to form a gentle smile.

    (Jenny) She¡¯s not my daughter. She¡¯s my boss¡¯s daughter and I had to keep watch. She just got upset about something.

    Loraine put Jenny¡¯s arm close to her, tightly gripping her arm as her little hands shook. Jenny, who noticed this odd behavior from Loraine, looked towards the man who continued to smile warmly.

    (Jenny) So uh, I should be getting going now. I don¡¯t want to let my boss get worried for her daughter.

    (???) Oh, no worries. Say dear, is the building you''re working at several blocks away? If you want, I could escort you to your work, since you helped me out.

    (Jenny) You don¡¯t have to do anything, I just helped out a citizen in need, that¡¯s all.

    Jenny rubbed the back of her head with her left hand, her face slightly flustering.

    The old man gave a subtle nod, smiling gently at Jenny. Turning his body in the opposite direction of where Jenny and Loraine were going, he put his right hand up, waving it toward the two females who held hands.

    (???) Then you have a good day now. I¡¯m going to see if there¡¯s anything in the store behind me to look for a new and much better bag than this.

    (Jenny) No worries. I hope you take care.

    As the old man and Jenny went their separate ways, Loraine firmly squeezed Jenny¡¯s hand as she continued to look down at the ground, her body still shivering with sweat.

    Jenny, who noticed the tight squeeze on her hand, looked towards Loraine, her face sharpening as let out a small sigh.

    (Jenny) What was it, Loraine? Why were you scared of him?

    Loraine didn¡¯t respond.

    (Jenny) Was it because of his outfit? He looked too old to be that scary. Maybe you¡¯re just overreacting.

    Looking down at her, Jenny rubbed the back of her nape with her left hand, her black slightly crouching underneath the Kepputhan cool summer. Loraine placed her right hand on her stomach, her eyes remaining underneath as Jenny heard a loud gurgling from near her.

    (Jenny) Was that your stomach?

    Loraine gave a shy nod, continuing to look down towards the ground as she continued to firmly squeeze Jenny¡¯s hand.

    (Jenny) Do you want me to take you somewhere to eat?

    (Loraine) Yes please¡­

    (Jenny) sighs ¡­Fine. But I ain¡¯t letting you off the hook.

    As the two females carried onward, the old man turned around to see the two close together. Adjusting his glasses by pushing his pointer finger towards the center of his lenses, he devilishly grinned with the corners of his lips reaching the length of his nose.

    (???) Those two are close, despite them almost fighting in public. Reminds me of some people¡­

    Turning his head towards the dark alley, a dark silhouette was leaning against a wall in the shadows. Not being able to distinguish the outside features of the man, the old man regardless still looked at him, his eyes gently gleaming at the young man.

    The silhouette in question walked towards the old man, yet his body and face were still kept in the shadows.

    (???) I want you to let Pedro and Kenichi follow those two, and make sure they don¡¯t lose sight of them.

    (???) Got it, sir. Permission to speak.

    (???) Go ahead, son.

    (???) Why can¡¯t I do it? You know in terms of power, I would be enough to take down the rest of the dark angels.

    (???) Well son, you just explained it. You¡¯re too valuable for them. Let the weak fight the weak to give them a shot of hope. And besides¡­

    The old man took out a handkerchief, cleaning his hands out of random despite not touching anything.

    (???) To truly drive a man or woman into despair, one must let them re-live a dark past.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 39: Paradise, Far from The Oasis

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 5:21PM)

    (Gwen) Finally, we reached the bar! Why do you always get lost in terms of driving? I know you¡¯re a good driver, but tell me.

    (Jack) I don¡¯t know, every building seems the same to me¡­

    A brown van parked near the front of a rundown bar.

    The bar was brown and wooden, with the windows having a yellowish tint and some breaks in between the glass.

    Jack, Benn, and Gwen got out from the front, their eyes peering at the old building from top to bottom. Benn, his nose sniffing the air that came from the bar, pinched his nose with his right hand.

    Jack stood next to Benn, his eyes sharpening towards Benn as he folded his arms.

    (Jack) Stop overreacting man, it¡¯s just alcohol!

    (Benn) I hate alcohol.

    (Jack) Then why did you come here in the first place?

    (Benn) You guys forced me.

    (Gwen) Haha ¡­ nobody didn¡¯t force you, Benn.

    Gwen walked towards the back of the van, having a little hop in between trying to get to the door. Punching the numbers of the lock, Gwen heard a little unlock sound from the back, giving her a chance to open the back of the van.

    Turning her head towards Benn as she opened the back of the van, she straightened her back as she pulled out the door.

    (Gwen) You just went with us because you didn¡¯t want to be all alone.

    And out the back, four dark angels and four behind-the-scenes soldiers piled out. On the left side from first to last were Miles, Hope, Luke, and Luna. And on the right side was Stan, Gary, Diego, and Fred.

    (Gwen) Alright little maggots, time to party!

    With the big group of young adults walking towards the old bar, Gwen was the first of the group that was leading the charge.

    The rest of the young adults noticed the geriatric building in front of them, its age showing the paint dissolving and the outside walls slowly crumbling. Gary let out a loud sigh, putting his right hand behind his head as he rubbed it back and forth.

    (Gary) This is the place? It looks old and rundown.

    (Diego) Hey, don¡¯t judge a book by its cover. Maybe the inside isn¡¯t that bad¡­

    Reaching the old door, the dark angels noticed the hinges on the verge of letting loose, the rustiness of the screws on the corners of the woodwork. Gwen gently pushed the door, easily swinging it open as she held the door for the others.

    (Gwen) Be careful when opening the door, it¡¯s a little loose. The owner will have a cow if it breaks.

    As the dark angels moved their way toward the inside of the bar, they took in the smell of beer and whiskey roaming the air around them.

    (Gary) Don¡¯t judge a book by its cover my ass.

    Many beer bottles were riddling the wooden floors, with many of the beers causing permanent damage to the wood. The tables were filled with trash and garbage that hadn¡¯t been picked up, crumbs upon crumbs of bread found on every table.

    Chairs were turned upside down, with some of their legs about to break open as the wood from them looked as if it might break if a feather was on top of it.

    Everyone besides Gwen pushed back their faces, taking a couple of steps back as the ugly sight of pure trash roamed every corner of the bar.

    (Miles) Isn¡¯t there another bar we could go to?

    (Gwen) Most of the bars in this hour of the day are jam-packed with businessmen. It would take forever to get a seat, and you know how angry businessmen get when they¡¯re drunk.

    (Stan) True ¡­ but at this rate, I¡¯ll take the angry businessmen. Most of them couldn¡¯t punch to save their lives.

    Finding 12 bar stools that seemed the most operable compared to the wooden chairs, the dark angels settled themselves onto them, facing the cocktail table in front of them. Noticing that the bar owner hadn¡¯t made an appearance yet, Benn looked towards Gwen, his face turning much bluer than it already was.

    (Gwen) What¡¯s wrong Benn? Feeling blue? I mean, you are kind of blue, to begin with.

    (Benn) I feel like throwing up.

    (Gwen) Come on¡­. Just please suck it up for once? You kind of need to get used to the smell

    (Benn) sighs ¡­ I¡¯ll try.

    The dark angels farthest from the front entrance were Gwen, followed by Benn, Hope, Luke, Luna, Jack, Miles, Stan, Fred, Gary, and Diego, all in respective order.

    While Luke was sitting in between Hope and Luna, he heard a little knocking down near his feet, the wood being stepped on by something tiny. Looking down, he searched for the source of the little light taps, his face starting to be coated with sweat.

    Until he noticed a small insect right next to his right foot.

    Letting out a yelp, Luke instantly fell out of his barstool, crawling backward rapidly on the alcohol-ridden wooden floor. Despite his tailbone aching from the pain of falling, he put his entire body weight on it, ignoring the pain as he focused his undivided attention on the foul creature.

    Everybody turned toward where Luke was, with most of the men starting to laugh as they held their stomachs, slapped their knees, or even both.

    (Jack) Haha¡­ I guess cockroaches beat you 14 to 0.

    (Miles) hehe ¡­ Don¡¯t worry, cockroaches are more afraid of you than you are afraid of them.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) I guess being a soldier doesn¡¯t make you immune to past phobias¡­

    Hope stood up from her seat, walking towards Luke who was drenched in cold sweat. Turning around to get to his back, she crouched down, her legs keeping in place as she put her body close to Luke. Putting her hands on his lower back, a yellowish light came from her hands.

    This yellowish light, caused a sense of relief and contentment in Luke, making his hands lay flat on the ground. His legs were quivering and seemed to lay motionless, his breathing that became irregular turned to normal, and his heart that wanted to pump out of his chest remained solid in its pleasant state.

    Turning his head towards Hope, he gave her a shy nod as he looked down onto the ground, not making eye contact as his cheeks flustered a bright red.

    (Luke) T-thanks¡­

    Hope then pulled back her hands, standing up as she gently looked at Luke. Extending her hand, she made sure her hand was within reach of Luke¡¯s, her face making a warm smile as her blue eyes looked at his red eyes.

    Taking her hand, Luke stood up, wiping off the dirt and groin from his back legs and bottom. Seeing that Luke was calm yet nervous, Hope as well avoided eye contact, looking down as her cheeks as well started to fluster.

    (Hope) No problem¡­

    Meanwhile, Luna eyed the cockroach with malicious intent, her eyes bloodshot as she eyed the creature. Using her left leg to steady herself, she lifted her right leg to perform a brutal curb stomp.

    (Luna) Eat boot!

    Putting all the strength in her body onto her right leg thigh and foot, she then pushed her foot onto the cockroach, creating an immense stomp as her foot hit the wooden floor.

    The shockwave of the stomp caused the entire bar to shake quietly, as the beer bottles from the other side of the cocktail table gently shook. From the epicenter, Luna¡¯s stomp seemed as if the wind was bending towards Luna¡¯s will.

    Taking her foot out, she noticed that she created a big hole in the wooden floor, the hole leading to a patch of infertile dirt.

    (Gwen) Aww Luna¡­ you know you¡¯re going to have to pay for the damages right?

    (Luna) Don¡¯t care. That stupid bartender should¡¯ve taken better pest control.

    With a giant hole underneath Luke¡¯s seat, he made his way towards his barstool. As his breath started to slow more, Luke sat on the barstool in between both Luna and Hope again.

    Gwen then noticed that despite the commotion Luna created, the bar owner was nowhere to be seen. Putting a hand on her cheek, she stood up from her barstool and pushed in her seat. Putting her hand in the air, she clenched her hand into a fist, looking at everyone as they continued to talk.

    (Gwen) Hello! Can I make an announcement?!

    Everyone turned their heads towards Gwen, their ears perking up as their bodies leaned into the cocktail table. Seeing that they were awaiting her announcement, Gwen cleared her throat and placed both hands together behind her back.

    (Gwen) I¡¯ll be the one making drinks! I hope I can make some killer beer for you guys!

    (Everyone) Oh no¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 5:54PM)

    (Gwen) Ahahaha ¡­ hiccup ¡­ So how''s the alcohol¡­?

    (Miles) Oh man ¡­ I feel heavy¡­

    (Jack) Damn ¡­ what did Gwen put in this stuff¡­?

    (Stan) Yeah ¡­ I¡¯m going to take a break.

    (Gary) Oh shit ¡­ oh my head ¡­

    (Diego) hiccup ¡­ I¡¯m a pony!

    (Fred) Ahahaha ¡­ Gemma? Gemma I¡¯m sorry ¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡ªwhoop¡ªow!

    (Luna) Can you all ¡­ hiccup ¡­ shut up! I¡¯m going to sleep¡­

    (Hope) snores¡­

    Both Benn and Luke looked at one another, giving each other a silent nod as Benn pinched his nostrils shut. Meanwhile, Luke gulped as he had his right hand on a bottle of beer, a beer that Gwen brewed by herself.

    Silently, Luke¡¯s temples started to roll down a couple of drops of sweat, his hand cupping the bottle tightly. Looking back to his drink, he licked his lips to make them moist, his hand gently shaking the bottle as his eyes remained focused on the drink.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I know it¡¯s been a year ago, but I think I could take a shot ¡­ nah ¡­ I can¡¯t do it¡­

    Putting the bottle down, he folded his arms as he crouched down to where his elbows were resting upon the cocktail table. Benn, who continued to watch Luke try and fail to drink the bottle, looked toward the bottles of beer that rested on the back wall.

    (Benn) Don¡¯t worry Fenix. There¡¯s nothing wrong with being sober.

    (Luke) F-Fenix?

    (Benn) That¡¯s your last name.

    (Luke) But usually, everybody calls me Luke though.

    (Benn) I call kids by their last name, and my superiors by their first.

    (Luke) Oh¡­ w-why?

    (Benn) Sometimes, kids can be level-headed. Sometimes, adults can act childish.

    Gwen kept on clutching her hand to her stomach, her lungs coughing out laughter as she continued to slap her knee with her other hand. With Gwen being drunk, Luke stood up to check on her, tears coming down her face as her smile reached the tips of her ears.

    (Luke) Hey Gwen. Gwen!

    Tugging her shoulder with his right hand, Gwen looked up to see Luke, her laughing position continuing to remain on her face as her eyes grazed upon Luke¡¯s.

    (Gwen) What is it, soldier? Pfft ¡­ soldier ¡­ hahahaha ¡­ oh man ¡­ hiccup ¡­ you know, if you weren¡¯t as young as my brother, I would¡¯ve been all over you ¡­ but I ain¡¯t no cougar, nope, nada, unlike a certain someone ¡­ hiccup.

    (Luna) Shut up! Burp ¡­ I ain¡¯t a cougar ¡­ it¡¯s just-just-just a preference¡­

    (Luke) Here, let me help you, Gwen.

    Both women being drunk, Luke then put both of his hands on Gwen¡¯s arms, trying to hold her up as her knees began to buckle. Despite being drunk, Gwen took a couple of steps back, her eyes focusing on Luke¡¯s face as she made a smug grin.

    (Gwen) At ease soldier! Say soldier ¡­ no ¡­ L-L-Luke! What¡¯s your dream?

    (Luke) D-Dream?

    (Gwen) Your goal?

    Her legs still being buckled, Gwen used Luke¡¯s arms as a way to not fall.

    Luke, still having his hands on her, looked towards the bottles of alcohol and beer, his face putting on a frown as he pushed his face down.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come to think of it, what have I been doing all this time? I promised mom that I¡¯d live. I promised myself to get stronger and become a soldier, so what other goal or promise will I take upon¡­?

    Luke looked back toward Gwen, his eyes sharpened as he held a firm grip on Gwen¡¯s forearms.

    (Luke) I don¡¯t know, but all I could do was be the best soldier that you could have.

    As if Gwen woke up from her drunken state, her knees began to unbuckle as she heard Luke¡¯s goal. Letting go of Luke¡¯s hands, she put them down towards her hips, her eyes looking down at the ground as her hands began to shake firmly.

    (Gwen) But why that goal?

    (Luke) I want to be a soldier through and through. I¡¯m not strong, I don¡¯t have the best blessing in terms of attack, and I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m the weakest in terms of strength. So, being your best soldier is my only choice.

    The only one who overheard Luke and Gwen¡¯s conversation was Jack, his ears perking up as his face narrowed at the two of them.

    (Gwen) Why just be a soldier? Lazing around and waiting for another raid to drop by? Why can¡¯t you just be a¡ª

    (Jack) I know this may sound stupid, but do you want to know my goal?

    Jack then stood up, barely keeping his legs straight as he wobbled gently. Looking around to see that everyone was groggily looking at him, except for Luke and Benn, he then patted his chest two times.

    (Jack) I plan to just laze around and be a soldier. I mean, I don¡¯t like working, so being a normal soldier would be good enough for a person like me.

    Upon hearing Jack¡¯s goal, everyone let off a chuckle. Luke and Gwen, who were inside the bar area, held each other as they let off a light chuckle, her right arm wrapped around Luke¡¯s nape.

    Jack, however, wasn¡¯t too pleased by this, as he clenched his fists with his face flustering like a tomato.

    (Jack) S-Shut up! Being a soldier is all I¡¯m good for!

    Jack then sat back down towards his barstool, putting his head beneath his arms as he pretended to fall asleep.

    Stan and his friends looked at one another, their eyes pungy and red as the alcohol still affected them. Putting their forearms on the cocktail table, the men lifted their faces towards Jack and the others, turning their whole bodies so that their backs were leaning on the edge of the table.

    (Stan) Well, if we¡¯re talking about goals, then I guess mine¡¯s pretty simple too. What I want is for Fred, Gary, and Diego to keep on making inventions.

    (Gary) Same. For me, I just want to build the biggest and most baddest bomb. It wouldn¡¯t hurt me, would it?

    (Diego) I¡¯m not really into inventions, but I¡¯m more of an engines type of guy. I want to create the best engine this world has ever seen!

    (Fred) This may sound cheesy but, I want to perfect the best weapon, by using both my fighting style and also Gemmas¡­

    Miles, who was next to them, also stood up. Clearing his throat, like Jack, he thumped his chest twice, noticing everyone¡¯s eyes on him as he straightened his back similar to Jack.

    (Miles) Same as Stan and it may sound cheesy too, but what I want is to make sure that everyone is alive and well, that includes Stan¡¯s group too.

    (Stan) Thanks.

    Miles turned his attention towards Benn, who still had his nostrils closed as he made eye contact with him. Gesturing for Benn to come up, he shook his head no, keeping his mouth shut as he didn¡¯t want the spotlight on him.

    Miles let out a rough sigh, putting his hands to his waist as he turned his attention towards Luna.

    (Miles) Hey Luna, what¡¯s your goal?

    Despite laying on the wooden floor wanting to take an evening nap, she opened her eyes as Miles directed the floor to her. Having a couple of veins sprouting out of her forehead, she started to deathly glare at him.

    (Luna) My goal? Why do you want to know?

    (Miles) There¡¯s nothing wrong with explaining your goals. At least something that you¡¯re striving to get to.

    Putting her right hand on her chin, she looked towards the ceiling as her left hand formed a fist and she started to clench tightly. Soon enough, more bulging veins started to form on her forehead and neck, her eyes glaring at the wooden ceiling.

    Noticing this, Miles took a step back as a single drop of sweat leaked out of his right template.

    (Luna) All I want is to find the bastard that killed my father and brothers. I know ¡­ I know he¡¯s out there somewhere, and when I find him ¡­ and when I kill him ¡­ I¡¯ll be whole again.

    Silence fell upon the room.

    Not even Gwen let out a muffled voice, her eyes looking down towards the semi-drunken Luna who lay on the dirty wooden floor.

    Hope, who woke up when Jack delivered his goal, stood up from her barstool and looked towards Luna with pathetic eyes. Steadying herself from her tired state, she looked around the room.

    (Hope) To me, all I want is to help people in need. With my power, I can give out miracles to people, but I know I can¡¯t just heal everyone, otherwise, I¡¯ll deplete my stamina¡­ So I''ll help in whatever way I can!

    Putting her arms and fists upwards, her face had a sense of determination as her face sharpened towards Luke, despite barely waking up from her little nap. Luke, who felt as if her words were directed towards him, looked away nervously.

    Meanwhile, Gwen walked towards the center of the bar, her walk childish as she was then surrounded by all of her soldiers and other combatants.

    (Gwen) Guess it¡¯s my turn huh? Well, my goal is sort of weird.

    Straightening her back, she thumped her chest twice, looking around the room to see that everyone had their eyes peeled on her.

    (Gwen) All I want in life ¡­ is to go to Paradise.

    (Everyone) What?

    Everyone tilted their heads, with many of them putting their hands towards their chins or their hands rubbing the back of their heads. Seeing that they were all still lost, Gwen slightly crouched as she stood.

    (Gwen) In terms of Paradise, I want a place where we can have fun together without the supervision of Boris and the other adults. Think about it, we¡¯re strong, we¡¯re fighters, we¡¯re soldiers! We could handle anything! But don¡¯t you all want to just escape from it all?!

    A reverb service bell sounded within Luke¡¯s heart.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Wait, wait, wait ¡­ something isn¡¯t right¡­

    With his blessing activated, he looked around the room with sweat-drenched all across his face.

    (Gwen) So once we have enough money, we could all just move elsewhere and make ourselves our community. A community with just us, and if we managed to bump into other people, they could join in as well.

    Luke continued to look around for anything suspicious, his eyes wandering the old bar as his breathing became more frigid. Putting his hand to his heart, he kept on looking and looking until¡­

    Another reverb service bell rang again.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s going on? Where is the threat coming from?

    Luke then turned his head towards where the door to the back was, a dark figure peeking its head out the door. Squinting his eyes through the dimly lit bar, he saw bony hands clinging to the door frame as the person popped out its face.

    It had no eyes, and it smiled, with steam escaping out of its body.

    (Luke) DUCK!!

    Unfortunately, not everyone was quick enough to sense the coming danger.

    The entire bar exploded upon itself, with the debris of wood and stone raining down on the dark angels.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 40: He ... Doesnt smell

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 3:50PM)

    (Johnny) What do you mean that we¡¯re leaving Lagefor? I was just about to buy a house for me and Ellie!

    (??? on phone) You and that goddamn cat! Can¡¯t you listen boy?! Unless you have a death wish then get the hell out of there!

    A young blonde-haired man spoke through a black phone placed flat on a magenta-colored table. As he put the phone next to his ear, his eyes sharpened as he looked down at the phone.

    Next to him was a girl three years younger than him, her brown long hair and cat ears perking up as the blonde-haired man continued to stare at the black phone. With her hands slightly shaking, she placed her furry palms on his shoulders, putting her chest onto his back.

    (Johnny) Then where should we go then?! What place do you want us now?!

    (??? on the phone) Just get to the ranch at Haxouburg. You can follow that simple rule, right feline fucker?

    Johnny then shook the phone violently, his fists clenching the phone tightly as creaks of the metallic phone started to appear. Elizabeth, the cat-human, started wrapping her arms around Johnny, nudging her head on his back, making a soft purring noise as she closed her eyes.

    Sensing her, Johnny¡¯s hands loosened their grip on the phone. Johnny cleared his throat as his eyes began to water.

    (Johnny) ¡­ Yes father¡­

    As the phone hung up from the other side, Johnny still held the black phone that was attached to a chord of the mainframe. In an instant, Johnny lifted the phone high and slammed the phone hard onto it, as his arm shook vigorously from the strength used.

    Elizabeth continued to purr and hold onto him. Johnny, who was breathing heavily, continued to stare blankly at the magenta desk.

    (Elizabeth) Johnny, it¡¯s ok. If we have to go, we have to go.

    (Johnny) Ellie, you know that if we go back to Haxouburg, they aren¡¯t going to treat you that well. You know how the ranchers act to beast humans.

    (Elizabeth) And you know how strong I am, right?

    Letting go of Johnny¡¯s waist, he turned towards them as he felt the comfort of her hands gone. She took a couple of steps back to take a full view of Johnny, her brown eyes gazing at the tall young man in front of her. Clasping her hands, she looked up towards his face to see gray eyebags beneath his eyes.

    (Elizabeth) We could work things out together like always, right? We still have a long time left together so all we need to do is listen to your father.

    (Johnny) But that¡¯s the problem Ellie ¡­ he tells one thing and asks for another. At this rate, I feel like I could never leave my family.

    Looking down onto the wooden floor, he hid his face so that Elizabeth wouldn¡¯t see his tired face. Putting herself right in front of him, she then extended her arms to reach to his face, clasping both hands onto his cheeks.

    She rubbed her thumb back and forth along his cheek, sensing the pale yet tired face he had. Johnny then looked up towards her, the tears from his eyes barely containing themselves, and his cheeks were rubbed with care.

    (Elizabeth) It¡¯s ok¡­

    She then let go of his face and looked up at him with tears. With a couple of tears rolling down her face, she nudged herself onto Johnny¡¯s muscular yet slim chest.

    (Elizabeth) We¡¯re going to be ok¡­

    Wrapping his arms around her, Johnny slumped his head onto Elizabeth¡¯s shoulder, letting out one single tear of his right eye. Clutching her tightly, he stared at a map of Haxouburg, the country to the south.

    Seeing the brown map filled with towns and cities, he also noticed a railroad that goes around a loop across the southern country.

    (Johnny) I promise you this ¡­ we will have a better future¡­

    (Johnny¡¯s thoughts) Even if my family drops dead.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 5:56PM)

    (Boris) So you went to go eat after that huh? That explains why you and Loraine took a long time getting here. Are you sure that you weren¡¯t followed the whole time?

    (Jenny) I promise you, I wasn¡¯t. I looked back to make sure that the old man wasn¡¯t following me.

    In the adult lounge, Boris, Jenny, David, Jerry, and Loraine were all standing up in the back of the dimly lit room.

    Boris, whose body began to shake, turned his head towards Loraine, her face slightly sweating from her forehead as her hands began to get clammy.

    (Boris) Are you alright, Loraine?

    Lorraine¡¯s left hand was held by Jenny¡¯s right, remaining silent as she looked down. Seeing this unusual behavior coming from her, both David and Jerry looked at one another.

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Giving each other a nod, David walked towards Loraine, putting his right knee on the ground as he made sure his face was leveled with hers.

    (David) Did you know what the old man looked like? Can you at least describe his appearance?

    Loraine kept her mouth shut, hunching her shoulders. Jenny, her hand being shaken from the tremors of Loraine¡¯s body, held her hand firmly, putting her thumb on her hand.

    Rubbing it back and forth, she looked towards Boris, nudging Loraine to take a couple of steps back as she stepped forward.

    (Jenny) The old man looked to be in his mid-50s, but he looked really strong. He had metal glasses, green eyes, and a weird white robe. And his hair was bright green!

    Boris then put his hand onto his chin, slightly angling his head. Tapping his chin with his pointer finger, his temples started to form sweat as they ran along his chubby cheeks, hitting the dark brown wood.

    Noticing that Boris was thinking into the abyss, the rest of them kept their focus on Boris, with David and Jerry folding their arms and Jenny and Loraine shaking their hands.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Someone told me long ago about it! Who was it?!

    Boris got a bead of sweat onto his eye, causing him to lose focus completely. Clenching his fists, he put his right hand into his pocket to bring out his handkerchief.

    Firmly grasping it, he rubbed his head furiously, especially the area where the bead of sweat hit his eye.

    Until he suddenly stopped.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Wait a minute ¡­ handkerchief ¡­

    Boris took a long look at the white handkerchief in his right hand, his hand still firmly shaking at the white rag.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) I remembered the man had a handkerchief, but who¡­

    Putting his left hand onto his left eye, he put an abundance of pressure on it.

    Until it finally hit him.

    (Joseph in Boris¡¯s thoughts) Be careful of him, he may be a germaphobe but he is sure one smart bastard.

    (Boris) Oh shit ¡­ oh shit ¡­

    Boris took many steps back until his back hit the dress drawer, his legs buckling fast as his breath started to come in faint pants. His arms tried to hold onto the dresser, but even they failed him, causing him to land on his bottom.

    (David and Jerry) Boris!

    Both men ran towards Boris, helping him get back on his feet. With their excessive strength, they put both of their arms around Boris, helping him stand up as he couldn¡¯t find strength in his legs.

    (Jerry) What happened? Did you know who it was?

    Boris continued to be covered in a drenched sweat, his breathing extremely irregular as he couldn¡¯t even have the strength to breathe normally. David brought out a little inhaler from his jacket, putting the inhaler into Boris¡¯s mouth. Clicking the button on top, much-needed air went inside Boris¡¯s lungs, letting him breathe in more air into his tiny lungs.

    Pulling the inhaler out, David put his right hand on Boris¡¯s shoulder.

    (David) Hey. Boris. Talk to us, who is he?

    Boris turned his head towards David, his face ghostly pale as his breathing came in slowly.

    (Boris) pants ¡­ he¡¯s the weakest of the generals ¡­ pants ¡­ Joseph ¡­ pants ¡­ told me all about them¡­

    (???) Don¡¯t spoil it for them chubby.

    A voice was heard somewhere in the room, or rather¡­

    It was behind the three men.

    Out of the large dresser, came a skinny and frail young man, his hair black as his skin was pale as the snow.

    He had eyes, a nose, and ears, everything that made him human, but¡­

    (David) Boris get¡ª

    As he rapidly drew near, the three men in slow motion smelled the putrid odor that radiated from the man. At a glance, David saw black tar dripping from his eyes, its entire body just emitting an extremely foul odor that can be smelled by a certain creature.

    Which caused David to hesitate at the slightest interval.

    The frail young man in question managed to sneak behind Boris, tightening its feeble arms around Boris¡¯s chubby neck.

    Everybody took a couple of steps back, their eyes glaring at the tall man simply holding Boris hostage. David¡¯s forehead had a vein popping out of his neck, his eyes twitching as his hands started to clench.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) I could¡¯ve gotten Boris out, but his odor was just too much¡­

    The frail man who had black tar oozing out of his ears looked towards Jerry. Putting his right hand on his cheek, the frail man tilted his head slightly as his eyes remained hungry on Jerry.

    (???) Long time no see Jerry. Remember me?

    Jerry quickly pulled out his AR-15 that was tucked nicely inside of his jacket. With his right hand, he handled the pistol grip and placed his left hand on the handguard.

    Pointing the rifle towards the frail man¡¯s head, the man let off an ugly smirk, his teeth yellow and black as it showcases its abhorrent decay.

    (???) You still don¡¯t remember? That time we saved those kids? When you were still a rookie?

    Jerry¡¯s hands started to shake gently, but he nodded his head away and continued to aim at the man¡¯s head. Noticing that Jerry wasn¡¯t backing down, the man then walked towards Jerry, still having his arms wrapped around Boris¡¯s neck.

    Boris continued to remain silent, as his body was tugged along with him.

    Everyone, including David, had their guns or weapons on standby, holstering them for any given opportunity to strike.

    As the man managed to reach towards Jerry, the man stood up straight and looked slightly down towards Jerry¡¯s face.

    (???) You let me die, did you not?

    (Jerry) No way¡­

    Jerry let out a loud gasp as he pointed his gun slightly down. His hands started to shake again and he too ka step back.

    (Jerry) Pedro?

    (Pedro) Ah ¡­ now you remember¡­

    The door to the front of the room flew open.

    Flying halfway through the room, the door crash landed onto the furthest couch that Boris usually sat on, the wood being bent in half as it looked like it was kicked by force.

    Everyone turned their eyes towards where the door used to be, their eyes seeing a dark silhouette figure standing menacingly in between the doorframe. Pedro, also seeing the silhouette with its fully black pupils and eyes, let out a small sigh.

    (Pedro) Late to the party again, Kenichi?

    (David) What did you say?

    (Jenny) w-what¡­

    The dark silhouette then walked into the room, seeing everyone¡¯s faces turning towards him. The more the silhouette walked closer, the more distinguishable he was.

    (David) What the hell¡­

    The man wore all-black clothing, followed by a black mask that covered his face. His hair was ginger and all over the place, followed by the man having a normal light-toned complexion. His eyes were blue and bright, with his height roughly the same as Jerry¡¯s, while his body build was much skinnier than other men, almost to Luke¡¯s slim-toned body.

    The ginger-haired man looked towards everyone, his eyes soulless and unwavering.

    David and Jenny continued to stammer, their eyes and hands beginning to twitch as they looked like they saw a ghost.

    (Jenny) K-Ken ¡­ Ken¡­

    (David) How are you still alive¡­

    Tears rolling down Jenny¡¯s cheeks, shaking the spiked frying pan on her right hand. With her left hand, she gripped her stomach as she continued to hyperventilate as the figure continued to stare at them.

    David put his brown cowboy hat down with his right hand, pointing his gun up to not aim at him. His eyes wide and his jaw slightly opening, he started shaking his head as he started to mumble to himself.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Is this a dream? Or is this our reality?

    Loraine however, sniffed the air coming from him, noticing a vast difference between him and Pedro.

    (Loraine) sniff sniff ¡­ he ¡­ doesn¡¯t smell¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 41: Lagefor Has Been Breached!

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 6:01PM)

    He couldn¡¯t hear.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What the ¡­ what happened?

    Opening his eyes, he witnessed the dense smoke and dust that clogged the entire bar. Seeing that rain and debris were scattered across the now destroyed bar, Luke tried to wake up his arms and hands that were asleep.

    Nothing but broken beer and wood amid unconscious bodies, Luke noted some people twitching their arms and legs as they fought against the pain and temptation.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) E-Everyone ¡­ please ¡­

    Dust and dirt covered the bodies that lay bare, with many wood chips and glass blanketing them in a tight slumber.

    Luke slowly lifted himself off the ground with his arms and hands on the floor, he tried to move his legs and feet that were still asleep. Putting his knees and elbows on the wooden floor, his head continued to look down at the alcohol-ridden floor.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come on, get up!

    His ears felt like he was being stabbed. Unable to stand, continuing to remain in that position, he clenched his teeth as he tried to mutter out something from his parched throat.

    (Luke) Aah ¡­ h-hello ¡­ a-a-anyone ¡­?

    Turning his head, he saw the rest of his friends'' bodies stuck to the dirty, ridden floor. Pushing whatever strength he had, he tried to put his feet flat on the ground, but his legs continued to buckle. He tried to push himself off the ground, but his arms remained in place, his fists enclosed tightly as he inhaled and exhaled rapidly.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Get up! Just get up!

    Pushing a bit more strength, he tried yet failed as he remained in place.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I got to save them! I have to¡ª

    That same reverb service bell rang within Luke again, his face widening as his sixth sense begged him to run.

    Yet he couldn¡¯t.

    With the only thing to do was turn his head to his right, he slowly noticed the putrid smell coming from behind him.

    From his peripheral vision, he saw glance of a brightly pale figure with long dark hair, a similar appearance to a certain creature. Turning his head evermore, he then looked at the creature that caused him to flinch.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) W-what¡­

    The creature ¡­ looked like an old teen. In a weird sense, the creature or rather the human¡ªno, the horse-human continued to stare at Luke, his smile reaching the tips of the horse''s ears.

    Giving off a little chuckle, the teenage boy who looked too much of a zompire looked down where Luke was, his eyes fully enclosed in black.

    (???) Why did I always admire you? Come to think of it, you were always weak compared to the others.

    Luke frowned. The boy then walked ever closer toward Luke, crouching down as he put his right hand on Luke¡¯s head.

    Firmly getting a hold of his hair, their faces were several inches from each other. Luke pulled his face back, as the abhorrent smell came out of the boy¡¯s decaying mouth.

    (???) Why are you this rude huh? Don¡¯t tell me you forgot me too. Well? Well?! Do you remember Ryan then!? Do you still remember what you did to him!?

    Before Luke could react, the boy, firmly gripping his hair, then used an incredible amount of strength to push his head onto the wooden floorboard. In a loud thump, Luke¡¯s face collided with the wood, causing his nose to bleed and his cheeks and forehead forming immense purple bruises.

    Keeping Luke¡¯s head on the floor with his hand, the boy let out a devilish laugh.

    (???) Are you going to tell me, huh?! Do you know how long I¡¯ve waited to do¡ª

    In slow motion, the boy saw an incoming kick coming at him. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    With enough force, the leg that was drawn landed on his face, his mouth and cheeks being pushed back into his head. Followed after, his head then managed to pull back hard.

    His entire body went along with it, sending the boy back flying towards a damaged wooden wall. Since the wood wasn¡¯t strong enough to begin with, as soon as the boy crashed onto the wall, it collapsed onto itself, sending the boy to fly a few more meters outside the bar.

    (Luke) Luna¡­

    Turning his head towards her, Luna struggled to catch her breath. Two more men barely stood up, their legs quivering from the lack of stamina as their breaths were rapid too.

    (Jack) pants ¡­ You alright Miles?

    (Miles) Barely ¡­ pants ¡­ you get the others up, me and Luna would handle him¡­

    Giving him a slight nod, Jack went towards the others who were still unconscious. Even though he ran, his legs shivered as he started to be coated with cold sweat. Glancing at the hole in his pants, he noticed a large scrap near his ankle, barely touching the Achilles heel.

    Ignoring the pain, he made his way towards Hope and Benn first, tugging on their shoulders with his hands. As the blood continued to gush out, Jack clenched his teeth hard as his body started to feel slight shivers down his back.

    (Miles) Try not to pass out Jack! Get Gwen so she could deal with these easily!

    (???) Do you need help?

    Another man similar to the horse-human boy came out of the door. He had black dark hair, a pale ghostly face, and all-black eyes that encompassed the entire socket.

    He was frail, similar to the horse-human, but with a bunny face. He was also tall, being an inch taller than Jack.

    (???) Yes bro, I think these scumbags deserve death for leaving us to die. You remember Luke, right Ryan?

    (Ryan?) Yeah, I still remember that ugly face. Can¡¯t believe he was the one that caused my death, yet here I am, fresh as ever.

    The almost half-zompire, half-bunny human Ryan came near towards the half-zompire, half-horse human. Placing his hand on the boy, the horse-human then turned his head towards him, his face making a warm smile.

    (???) You got that right bro. Sucks that nobody knows who I am now¡­

    (Ryan?) Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure I and you were good friends from what I heard, and now we¡¯re good friends. Don¡¯t worry, Cameron, I got your back.

    Both of them readied their stances, their fists not clenched but open.

    Luna and Miles took a couple of steps back, getting their stamina ready by controlling the flow of their breathing. Luke, however, still was locked onto the floor as if a magnet was trapping him.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come on, move!

    Luke grit his teeth.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Stop being useless and move!

    (Ryan?) Wanna see what I can do?

    Closing his eyes, Ryan steadied his posture, his eyes fully enclosed¡ª

    Luna lunged forth from the wooden floorboards, her legs helping her body move towards Ryan who was wide open.

    (Luna) Not interested.

    With the world in slow motion, Luna¡¯s hands, who wielded two twin-bladed double-edged swords, started to spin in her signature yo-yo move, making the blades seem as if they were helicopter blades.

    Reaching close to Ryan, she brought her sword forward, using her right blade to reach for Ryan¡¯s neck. Upon contact with his neck, she used her right arm¡¯s strength to push the sword deeper into it, her eyes not sharpened but more droopy.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t know what caused you to be like this, but it¡¯s for the best that I end this quickly¡­

    Slashing his neck¡ª

    (Ryan) Hehe¡­

    Her eyes remained wide open as her jaw clenched. As her face remained unbridled with a barrage of hot sweat, Luna took note of the abnormal reality of what was in front of her.

    (Luna) W-W-W-What the fuck!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 5:59PM)

    (Agent Eren) Why are we still stationed here in Lagefor? Aren¡¯t we supposed to be summoned to El Niabea?

    (Agent Ada) We follow Briggs¡¯s orders, and Briggs wants us to remain here.

    (Agent Eren) Still, can¡¯t believe he¡¯s not following the higher ups¡¯ orders. I mean, come on. It¡¯s one of the golden rules of the FUC.

    (Agent Ada) Heh ¡­ they¡¯re too scared to deal with him. The only person he¡¯ll listen to is Spartan Gabriel. Other than that, don¡¯t even bother trying to negotiate with him.

    (Agent Eren) Wasn¡¯t planning on it.

    Both young agents sat at a table in the nearby lunch room, the cleanliness of the white floors and walls were ever-present.

    (Agent Eren) I could get used to this! I never expected the Theologian Military and Museum complex to have so many buildings for military personnel and politicians.

    (Agent Ada) It¡¯s one of the biggest in the world, so of course it would be huge.

    Both agents had their dinner trays on the metallic table, a part of their trays having a slice of turkey leg and mashed potatoes. Ada tilted her head as she took a bite of her mac and cheese.

    (Agent Ada) Why are you eating tempura? This is Lagefor, not Clastine.

    (Agent Eren) But I like tempura. I mean, there¡¯s nothing wrong with eating different foods in different cities.

    (Agent Ada) sighs ¡­ weirdo.

    (Agent Eren) Hey! If you¡¯re so umpty about some foreign food, then you should try it then¡ª

    The sounds of an alarm screeched in the room, causing the agents to cover their ears and stand up.

    (Agent Eren¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s going on? This never happened before¡­

    (Woman on the speaker) Red alert! Red alert!

    Both agents noticed the lights slowly going off, the lunch room starting to dim as they continued to listen to the speaker.

    (Agent Eren) What did she just say?

    An explosion can be heard from a distance¡­

    (Agent Ada) It can¡¯t be¡­

    (Woman on the speaker) Red alert! Red alert!

    Eren grabbed Ada¡¯s hand, his grip firm yet gentle as he tried to make his way out of the lunch room. Looking back, he saw Ada¡¯s face letting out beads of sweat on her right and left temples, her neck showing a shiny color.

    (Agent Ada) Wait, where are we going?

    (Agent Eren) To do our jobs!

    Then the lights flickered out, leaving the lunch room in the pitch of dark¡­

    (Woman on the speaker) Lagefor has been breached!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 42: Bar Holdout (1)

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 6:02PM)

    (Ryan) Swords aren¡¯t going to save you, bitch.

    Ryan¡¯s head didn¡¯t get chopped off.

    (Luna) Are you using a blessing?

    (Ryan) Maybe. Maybe not¡­

    Ryan allowed himself to be hit with the blade, letting his neck follow the motion of the blade. Because Luna used a good amount of her right arm to push forth her blade, in return, it caused Ryan¡¯s neck to almost extend like rubber, his neck looking like a slingshot as her blade didn¡¯t look like she beheaded him.

    With a quick motion, Ryan sprung his neck back into place, making Luna¡¯s blade flinch.

    Barely handling the motion of Ryan¡¯s rubber neck, Luna took a couple of steps back as she examined Ryan head to toe, her eyes glancing at what used to be human as she let out a sigh.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) He is using a blessing, but what type? Is he using a defense-support blessing? Or something else¡­

    Ryan then steadied himself, digging his feet onto the wooden floor as he tried to find a home base to leap off of. Eyeing the woman, Ryan jumped towards Luna who had her blades on defense, her left sword twirling clockwise and her right sword twirling counterclockwise.

    Seeing the defense that Luna made, Ryan had his left foot touch the floor, and with a simple thrust, he directed his body to go right, moving to Luna¡¯s left side.

    (Ryan) Gum¡­

    Extending his arm towards Luna, he clenched his right fist of a punch. In slow motion, he thrust his entire arm like rubber toward Luna, who happened to keep too much guard on her front. Seeing the extended punch coming at her from her left side, she didn¡¯t have much time to defend, but she did have time for something.

    As the fist was about to collide, Luna took a step back, barely managing to dodge the incoming punch coming from Ryan. Seeing Ryan¡¯s arm right there in front of her, Luna already had her left sword on standby. Putting a good amount of strength into the blade, she sent it straight down onto Ryan¡¯s right arm.

    (Luna) RAAARR!!

    Luna pushed her vocals to let out a shrieking roar, her body shaking violently. Despite this, her blade made contact with his arm, the blade barely managing to¡ª

    Be sent straight down to the ground, with the arm bending with the blade.

    (Luna) Are you fucking kidding me?!

    Ryan let out a devilish smirk as Luna¡¯s eyes widened by the unfortunate attempts to cut his body. With veins bulging out of her forehead and neck, she sharpened her eyes towards Ryan who happened to pull back his arm with utmost ease.

    (Ryan) Like I said, you can¡¯t cut me.

    (Luna) God damn it! Can¡¯t you just die like you¡¯re supposed to!?

    (Ryan) Hehe ¡­ then go ahead! Give it your best shot!

    Luna tapped a button on both swords with her thumb, causing the twin-bladed double-edged swords to pop back into their black battens. As the swords were encased in the battens, she holstered both of them on her pants, placing them right in the center of her back.

    Ryan, who pushed himself with his right foot, decided to spin his body to give himself more momentum, his accuracy subpar as it looked as if a bullet was coming at her.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Guess I have no choice huh? Resorting back to the old ways.

    Clenching both of her fists tightly, she put her hands up as her knuckles were riddled with bits of dried blood and tar. Followed by the little creases that showcased her palms, it was covered in calluses and bruises, small red rashes appearing on her fingertips.

    Pushing herself yet again for the third time, Luna saw that instead of any fancy tricks or jumps from the left or right, Ryan was heading straight for her.

    (Ryan) You¡¯re fists! Let¡¯s see who¡¯s stronger!

    With the world slowed, Luna used most of her strength to steady her hand, focusing her eyes on Ryan who got closer to her. Getting in the right position, she then thrust her first straight at the zompire human, her eyes focusing solely on his face etching closer and closer.

    Ryan had his arm extended, but not charging it forward, but had it pulled back like a slingshot. Similar to a slingshot, he used all his strength to thrust a large amount of inertia and momentum outwards, as he managed to close the distance between him and Luna.

    (Ryan) Gum Gum.

    (Luna) Eat knuckle!

    Luna managed to land the first hit on Ryan in terms of speed, his momentum punch backfiring horribly. Having her fist on Ryan¡¯s face, she then used an absurd amount of strength to push Ryan¡¯s nose into his brain.

    But Ryan didn¡¯t want to let his punch go to waste.

    Even when his face was slowly crumbling from the inside, he managed to thrust himself the momentum punch that he was storing up for, his target being Luna¡¯s wide-open face.

    Just as Ryan was sent flying, his first landed directly at Luna¡¯s right cheek. Luna slowly gritted her teeth as the abnormal pulsating strength caused her to lose her grip on the wooden floor. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    And then Ryan flew towards a damaged wood wall, crashing onto it until the wall couldn¡¯t sustain itself anymore. Leaving a big hole in the wall, Ryan¡¯s body lay motionless as he landed on a patch of dirt near another building from the destroyed bar.

    For Luna, she fell on her right hip, clenching her eyes shut. Caressing her right cheek, she used her right rough hand to smother the pain, until she felt a soft and squishy bruise right on her cheekbone.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Shit! Do they have some incredible amount of strength or what?! Oh, fuck! Why is this so painful!?

    Grinding her teeth intensely, her whole body tightened by the pain of Ryan¡¯s punch, still caressing her right cheek.

    (Luna) Where¡¯s that goddamn blonde bitch when you need her?!

    (Hope) You look horrible.

    At long last, Hope was towering over Luna, making a smug grin as Luna remained on the floor massaging her cheek. Hope then put her hands onto her hips, tilting her head as she put a finger on her chin, despite her breathing ragged and irregular as sweat started to drip down to the floor.

    (Hope) I wonder who could help you with that squishy bruise? There¡¯s gotta be someone who has the blessing for you to be better.

    (Luna) Don¡¯t play dumb with me you dumb bitch! Hurry up and heal me!

    Luna moved her body so that her knees were on the ground, her right hand still on the affected area. With veins bulging out of her forehead, Luna¡¯s left hand clenched into a fist as her body began to shake as well.

    (Hope) sighs ¡­ Fine.

    Hope let go of her hands holding her hips and crouched down to get to an eye level where Luna was. Putting her right hand on Luna¡¯s cheek, she closed her eyes as she let the flow of yellowish light flow into her.

    The bright yellow light gave Luna a sense of relief, completely relaxing her body as the affected area slowly started to return to its normal state. Feeling the lightness of her body thereafter, Luna touched the area again, not feeling any squishiness.

    (Hope) Aren¡¯t you supposed to say thanks?

    (Luna) It¡¯s your job to heal dumbass, don¡¯t make it seem as if I owe you.

    (Hope) Whore.

    (Luna) Bitch.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Sweat trickled down all over Mile¡¯s face, his hands shaking as he wielded two sawed-off shotguns in both his hands. His breath grew weary, followed by his groggy eyes barely having them open as he focused on the half zompire.

    The beast human zompire in question, put his arms to his sides, opening his palms so that Miles could see them. Out of the boy¡¯s palms, several creatures started to pour off them.

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) What the hell is up with these blessings!?

    But the creatures were all the same species, a flying animal that had wings and the face of a mouse.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) How many bats does this asshole summon anyway?!

    With a horde of bats surrounding and covering the boy, he extended his arm as he pointed his finger at Miles, his frail and brittle finger as white as snow. In a blink of an eye, six to eight bats bared their teeth towards Miles, the speed of their wings flapping the Kepputhan air as they reached the speed of no return.

    (Cameron???) Hahaha ¡­ Let¡¯s see if you could dodge this!

    Flipping his arms towards the horde of bats, Miles steadied his feet placidly, placing his right foot more farther away from his body. His legs started to quiver as the wooden floorboards creaked under the pressure of his body weight.

    At the right moment, Miles shot the sawed shotgun in his left hand, hitting a couple of bats as the shell sprayed the horde. Recalling his left arm back, Miles then used his right leg to spring himself to the side to avoid the incoming horde.

    Lunging to his side, Miles landed on his back as the four to six horde of bats were still locked on him. Despite his back hitting the wooden floor hard, he ignored the pain as he steadily aimed at an angle.

    (Miles) Bullseye!

    Pulling the trigger to his right hand, Miles'' hand felt the vibrations of the recoil coming off his gun, the shockwaves harassing his blood streams that caused his hand to go numb for a split second. With the shell splitting up, it landed many direct hits toward the bats, hitting most of the horde in one shot.

    But Miles noticed that his back was to a corner.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Shit! I should get to the center¡ª

    Dozens of bats charged straight for him.

    Seeing the many white fangs and saliva that came out of the bat''s mouths, Miles extended both of his hands towards the horde, placing his fingers on both the gun¡¯s triggers.

    He clicked the trigger yet nothing came out.

    (Miles) Fuck, my ammo!

    With the hoard of bats closing in, Miles walked back towards a corner, his face pale as his legs started to quake. Still wielding his guns, he threw them toward his feet quickly, the guns hitting the wooden floor with enough force that it caused a big dent.

    Putting both his arms to cover his face, Miles looked directly at Cameron, his eyes focused as he steadied his breathing.

    A bluish dome appears right in front of the bats.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Shit, that was close¡­

    With a dome protecting Miles like a shield¡­

    The bats still went off their way to try to break the dome, bashing their bodies against the bluish shield.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Damnit! Come on Miles ¡­ push them back!

    Despite the shield being nearly as hard as a diamond, the dome started to shrink as Miles¡¯s arms started to shake violently under the weight of the push. Clenching his teeth as if he wanted to break them, his eyes began to turn red, making his vision blurry as the pulsating vibrations from the shield slowly started to put strain on his body.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Why isn¡¯t Luke helping me out!? Damn it, anyone! Even Jack for Christ''s sake!

    The vibrations of the bats continued to bash the shrinking dome, with the dome inches away from Miles¡¯s face and arms. His feet were on the verge of buckling, as his arms were about to give into the temptation of releasing. The more he thought of the idea of letting go, the more his strength started to fade away faster.

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) I just ¡­ I just ¡­ I can¡¯t die now!

    (??? in Miles¡¯s thoughts) Save me! Save me Miles!

    The sounds of a heavy machine gun can be heard.

    In a rain of bullets, the metallic spray of gunpowder and smoke painted the bluish dome with red blood, and many pieces of bat splattered all around Miles¡¯s area. Feeling the weight of the horde of bats diminishing, Miles quickly let go of his blessing, pulling back the bluish particles into his hands as he fell back to the wall with sweat pouring down from his cheeks.

    Turning his direction to the rain of bullets, Miles saw a short and bulky shark-human, pointing his gun towards the beast human zompire boy. Even though the shark-human¡¯s stance was seen to be calm and chalant, the man¡¯s body wasn¡¯t in the best shape as his breathing was raspy with blood trickling down from his forehead.

    (Miles) About ¡­ pants ¡­ fucking time ¡­ come on Benn, finish him¡­

    Ignoring Miles, Benn carefully held the heavy machine gun as he aimed down the sights with his right eye. Finger on the trigger as the barrel let loose once more, he felt the recoil shake his right arm and left hand, the bullets rapidly coming out of the barrel as they targeted the boy head-on.

    (Cameron???) Foolish.

    Placing both his right hand and left hand upwards, Cameron unleashed another horde of bats that came out of his palms. Pointing his right finger yet again, the horde of bats charged towards Benn, with the horde being in the crossfire as the gunsmoke and metal clashed with the bat¡¯s little bodies.

    And this created a perfect opportunity.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Thanks, Benn.

    Using whatever bit of strength he had, he pushed it all towards his right hand, his right arm shaking uncontrollably as he steadied his legs that barely kept him up. Swinging his right arm, a bluish-see-through wall sprung out towards Cameron, his teeth grinding against one another as his forehead and neck showed strained veins.

    Cameron, who was busy dealing with Benn¡¯s heavy machine gun bullets, saw from his peripheral vision the bluish shield coming towards him. Stopping his bats, he aimed his right hand towards Miles¡ª

    (Cameron???) Oh my¡­

    Once Cameron was about to push his right hand forward, the bluish shield came into contact with him, pushing him back several feet. Landing right near where Ryan was, he lay on the debris as his head pulled a 180 twist.

    Meanwhile, Miles collapsed onto himself, the weight of all of his strength now loose as he had his face on the dirty wooden floorboard.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 43: Bar Holdout (2)

    (Luna) You guys okay?

    (Benn) I¡¯m fine. Miles isn¡¯t.

    Extending his huge forearm, Benn pointed towards Miles who lay down on the dirt floor, his breathing at a rapid pace. Seeing Miles¡¯s face coated with hot sticky sweat, Luna looked over to Hope who was right next to her, her eyes motioning her to go over to Miles.

    (Luna) Help Miles recover his strength.

    (Hope) But my blessing only heals, so it won¡¯t work unless he is bleeding or cut. Also, even if I do heal him, it will only give him a short boost of stamina for a limited time.

    (Luna) Does it look like I care? Just poke him with a needle and heal him! Do it or else I¡¯ll use you as a decoy!

    Sharpening her eyes, Hope shook her hands violently as her throat contracted. Slowly breathing in and out, Hope turned her direction towards Miles and ran towards him, her fists clenched as her footsteps were much more forceful than normal.

    While with him, Luna and Benn look over to Ryan and Cameron, both beast human zompires slowly getting up from their perspective fights. With their bodies sluggishly keeping themselves up from falling, they both breathed in and out slowly.

    (Luna) What are they doing?

    (Benn) Nothing good.

    Both beast human zompires started to inhale a lethal amount of oxygen into their bodies, their chests almost expanding as they intake the air around them. Slowly pushing out a lot of air, both beast-human zompires opened their eyes to see both Luna and Benn focusing their gazes on them.

    (Luna) They¡¯re not humans or zompires. They act like humans but have the appearance of a zompire. So what the hell are they?!

    (Benn) I would call them liches. They have the strength of zompires but with the power of a blessing.

    (Luna) Liches huh¡­

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Maybe Luke would probably find a way to deal with these pricks ¡­ wait ¡­ don¡¯t tell me Luke is still¡ª

    Turning her head towards where Luke was originally, she noticed that the area where Luke was buckled to¡­

    (Luna) What the hell!? Where is he!?

    Losing sight of Luke, she glanced all around the bar. Noticing that most of the tables or debris didn¡¯t have Luke within them, Luna slowly let out a droplet of sweat on her forehead, dropping down onto the hole that she made earlier.

    The sounds of howling can be heard outside the bar.

    Or rather a pack surrounding the entirety of the bar.

    (Benn) Are those wolves?

    (Luna) I thought wolves were domesticated. Why are they getting ready to ambush us?

    Hearing the pack of wolves getting closer to the front of the door, Luna holstered back her two twin-bladed double-edged swords. As well, seeing that the two liches seemed to be breathing in and out, she took a step back as she glanced towards Benn.

    (Luna) Benn, keep an eye on those two. If they make a move, call me.

    Seeing with her eyes glancing at many white, gray, and black wolves outside the perimeter of the bar, Luna had one eye focused on the entrance to the bar, her legs readied as she put most of her strength on it for anything that might come to light. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    (???) Looking for this?

    Luna turned her rapidly, her body doing a 180 twist as she gazed upon the voice from behind. Her face started to turn pale as her hands started to rapidly shake, and her eyes saw a tall figure holding a boy hostage.

    (Luke) Luna¡­

    (Luna) Luke!

    A frail boy, younger than Cameron, held Luke hostage, his long slender arms wrapping Luke as he covered his neck with ease.

    The boy had the same deep black hair color, white as snow skin, and all-black eyes, similar setup to Cameron and Ryan.

    The frail boy pushed down his face as he deepened his lips into a frown, his eyebags being a grayish black as he stared at Luna.

    (???) A female? Out of the strongest I sensed in this room, the scent is coming directly from you. Come on! I expected at least the shark-human to fight with!

    (Luna) Shut up you incel. Give Luke back to me before I slice your nutsack.

    Pointing her right sword right at the frail boy¡¯s genitals, her eyes tightened towards the tall boy¡¯s ghostly pale face. Her sword shaking violently, Luke noticed this as the tightening around his neck started to take hold, pushing Luke¡¯s lungs to beg for more air. Gasping, he started to slowly kick his legs as he put his hands up to the frail boy¡¯s meatless arm.

    (???) Incel?! ¡­ INCEL!!?? How dare you call me that! How!? How!? How!? How!? You know what bitch!

    Putting his right middle and pointer finger into his rotten decaying mouth, the frail boy¡¯s whistle was heard throughout the entire bar, with Benn losing his focus for a bit on the two liches that stared him down as he glanced over at the frail boy. Miles and Hope looked over to see the whistle¡¯s sound, eyeing the boy as they started to quiver as they focused on the new enemy.

    The pack of wolves that were outside of the bar, came rushing through the entrance. With around several wolves running towards the frail boy, he extended his arms sideways to showcase the wolves in back of him.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) What the hell? What is he, their alpha?

    The wolves growled and dripped off saliva from their mouths, baring their white and sparkling teeth as their nuzzles vibrated and they locked onto their prey. Luna, who noticed that the wolves were all locking onto her, noticed four silhouette figures all grudgingly standing up.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) About goddamn time!

    The four dark figures had their guns locked and loaded, the sounds of metal clashing inside of their guns as they aimed at the several wolves in front of them.

    The wolves picked up a scent coming from behind, their noses perking up as they all turned their heads and bodies toward the fresh scent of human blood.

    (Stan) Fire!

    Stan, Gary, Fred, and Diego all fired their respective rounds at the pack of hungry wolves that were about to pounce on them. Feeling the recoil of the amount of rounds being fired upon, Stan and his friends had trouble aiming at the pack of wolves as the sound of bullets filled the air around them.

    Despite shooting most of the pack, a couple of wolves managed to reach the group, baring their fangs with drool and saliva dripping down from their nuzzles.

    (Stan) Shit! Fall back!

    The frail boy, who turned his head towards the commotion unfolding behind him, let his grip loose as Luna saw Luke breathing in more heavily, his slightly purple face turning into his normal color. With this opportunity, Luke wiggled his way out of the frail boy¡¯s arm.

    The frail young boy noticed the sudden slip of him, his face pale but already pale as he extended his hand to pull Luke back, but Luna was too fast.

    Or rather, she vanished.

    The boy¡¯s left arm then fell onto the wooden floor, black tar dripping down from its gushing wounds as the boy saw what lay in front of him.

    Luna was already slightly crouched down, already finished as the tip of her left sword touched the floor. Tightening her eyes towards the lich, she lunged forward a step, grabbing her right hand towards Luke whose legs were still unable to move as his body moved with the motion of where Luna pushed him.

    (Luna) Get your ass moving!

    Throwing him away from the lich, Luke was moved closer to where Miles and Hope were, his body tumbling like a rolling pin as his face was directed toward where Benn was.

    (Luke) Ow! ¡­ Oh wait, Benn!

    Because the frail boy managed to distract Luna, it was the perfect chance for both Ryan and Cameron, causing them to steady their stance, their legs expanding as they put enough muscle inside of their legs. In a flash, both beast humans lunged forward to where Benn was.

    (Ryan?) Where¡¯s your tanned partner now?

    Ryan pulled back his arm, stretching it again like a slingshot to give it enough inertia to make a shot at Benn¡¯s stomach. Cameron meanwhile, already had a horde of bats surrounding him, the bats traveling with him as it covered his body head to toe like a suit of armor.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) How am I supposed to defend this!?

    Fortunately, Luke could move his arms as his legs normally.

    As his knees were on the ground, holding him up, Luke had his back straightened as he pulled a piece of crystal out of his jacket. Holding the crystal-like substance, Luke pulled back his arm and threw the crystal right at the two liches.

    (Luke) Miles! Use your blessing!

    Despite Miles being exhausted, he slowly stood up, his breathing more casual and slower than it was several minutes ago.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Good thing Hope used that pin needle trick.

    Putting his arm forward, a bluish shield formed right in front of Benn, giving him a sense of safety as the two liches hit the wall dead on.

    As for the crystal, it managed to hit one of the bats from Cameron¡¯s blessing, causing the crystal¡ªno, the piece of fulminated mercury to explode at the two liches.

    (Benn) Ah, crap!

    A cloud of smoke overclouded the entire area where Benn, Luke, Miles, and Hope were, but the shockwave managed to reverberate the entire building.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 44: Collection of Past Dark Memories

    (Luke) Ow! ¡­ Is everyone alright?!

    A cloud of lethal dust covered the entire destroyed and flat bar.

    Luke remembered how the first explosion caused the bar to be ridden with debris, with the roof and most of the top walls being blown away.

    But this explosion was different, as it destroyed all the walls that held the settlement.

    The dust continued to grab a hold of Luke¡¯s throat and eyes, filling his airways with decade-old dirt and grime as he put his right hand gently on his throat. Thumping his left hand onto his heart, he pounded it so that dust and dirt could escape out of his lungs.

    (Luke) gasps ¡­ Hello! ¡­ gasps ¡­ anyone there!?

    The cloud of dust continued to surround everything, his visibility impaired as the dust started to attack his eyes. Clenching them shut, he put both his hands to his eyes, bobbing his head right to left.

    (Luke) Aaah! ¡­ please anyone! ¡­ gasps ¡­ say something!

    The dust started to clog his throat more and more. His breathing became more shallow by the second. Clutching his left chest with his right hand, he continued to suffocate under the dust cloud, hoping that by some miracle¡ª

    A sudden rapid gust swept the dust cloud off the bar. Seeing that the entire bar was now clear of dust, Luke still had his eyes wide open as he looked around the wall-less establishment.

    (Luke) W-what¡­

    Too fast for the eye to see, Luke barely felt the presence of the gust. Putting his right hand towards his chin, he looked down at the still alcohol-ridden wooden floorboards.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Was that Fred¡¯s invention? Did he finally use the dust sweeper?

    Luke¡¯s legs finally were able to walk normally on their own now, the explosion from earlier causing him to wake up the scared joints of his knees. Seeing Miles and Hope putting their backs in a corner, followed by Benn laying on the wooden floor motionless, Luke was thankful he could control the flow of his breathing.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Luckily Hope and Miles are safe, and Benn looks like he just wants to rest for a short bit. I wonder how Luna and the others are doing.

    Stan and the others look at Fred who brought with him a dust sweeper, a black device that had a circle in the middle. Seeing that Fred gave him a thumbs up, Luke gave him a slight nod as he kept on looking through the bar.

    Luke saw Luna pointing her sword toward the frail boy, her eyes bloodshot red as she had the tip of her blade right at the frail boy¡¯s heart. Seeing this, Luke slowly walked towards Luna, holstering his dual-wielding uzis in both his hands.

    Luna glanced at Luke, her eyes still bloodshot as she continued to focus her entire focus on the frail boy. Luke stood near Luna, his body calm and nonchalant as his arms were motionless with gravity.

    (Luke) Before you kill him, we should ask him a couple of questions first. They may ask us why they are attacking us in the first place.

    Luna didn¡¯t give a nod to Luke, keeping her blade on the boy¡¯s neck, but she did however motioned her head slightly to the boy¡¯s direction. As Luke looked down at the boy, he then pointed his right hand towards the boy.

    (Luke) What are you guys doing here?

    Luke¡¯s right hand started to gently shake, his palm starting to warmly sweat as the grip of his gun started to feel loose.

    The boy changed eye contact towards Luke, his hands still on the ground as he sat.

    (???) We¡¯re just zompires with blessings. I think that fat shark-human said that we¡¯re liches, perhaps. Anyway, we have no designated goal in mind, no mind of our own is what our boss calls it.

    Luna firmly moved her blade slowly into the boy¡¯s heart, his body flinching as he started to have white bulging veins popping out of his neck.

    (???) Hey, calm down you stupid bitch! You females need to listen if you want the truth!

    (Luna) Can I kill him right now!?

    (Luke) I know you''re angry but please, we need info.

    Continuing to crouch down towards the boy¡¯s eye level, Luke sharpened his eyes as his hands started to shake evermore. Taking note of the boy who seemed to not take any interest in both of them, Luke began to exhale and inhale slowly.

    (Luke) Just tell me, who are you guys?

    A vein started to sprout out on Luke¡¯s forehead. Quickly holstering his guns to his side, Luke extended his hands towards the old shirt of the boy, his hands shaking gently as the whiteness of his eyes began to turn slightly red.

    (Luke) Who is behind all of this? I¡¯m not going to let you make Lagefor into another Clastine. Not again. So tell me, who''s your boss?

    In a cold yet frantic murmur, Luke¡¯s throat reverberated as he spoke more with the frail boy, his eyes tightened as he narrowed them toward the boy.

    Twitching hard, the boy¡¯s body had his face puffed up and he continued to stare at Luke¡¯s unbothered gaze, his eyes on the verge of closing until¡­

    The boy laughed, slapping his knees as he looked down at the ground.

    His laughing startled Luna, who loosened the tip of her blade on the lich''s heart. Meanwhile, Luke¡¯s frustration only grew as his hands started to shake violently, his eyes narrowing more as he continued to hear the boy¡¯s pathetic laugh.

    The lich noticed this and wiped away a black tar droplet from his black right eye, controlling his breathing as his legs and arms started to decrease in motion.

    (???) Hahahaha ¡­ fine, I submit, I¡¯ll tell you some things. It probably won¡¯t kill me.

    Luke¡¯s grip on the boy¡¯s shirt continued to remain unshaken, his teeth grinding against one another more and more as he smelled the putrid breath of the zompire. The boy in question folded his arms as he continued to sit down on the floor, despite half of his left arm being sliced away.

    (???) For one, you probably don¡¯t know me, but I most likely know you. Do you recognize those two dimwit beast liches that seemed as if they¡¯re¡ªno, yes, they are best friends! Do you recognize those two?!

    Luke glanced towards where Benn was lying down, his arms and legs motionless as a possum playing dead. In front of Benn, Luke took note of the lich duo.

    The lich that Luke doesn¡¯t remember had its chest and head clean off its body, with only its legs and feet still standing. The other lich, Ryan, had merely his left arm and half his face blown away, chunks of tar and pale body parts spread all around the area that they crashed into.

    Luke looked back towards the frail boy again, his hands shaking more slowly as his voice continued to remain cold.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    (Luke) I know Ryan, but not the other one.

    (???) Well, that makes sense. Curses are one hell of a power¡­ anywho ¡­ How did we become like this? Well, no matter how you look at it, we stink, we¡¯re puppets, we¡¯re rotting yet we¡¯re immortal, so ¡­

    The frail boy then turns his lips into a devilish smile, the tips of his dimples reaching to the level of his nose.

    (???) We¡¯re just a collection of past dark memories¡­

    Gary overheard the conversation from up close, several feet behind the frail boy. Scratching his head with his right hand, Gary looked down towards the debris-ridden floor filled with dirt and grime.

    (Gary¡¯s thoughts) Why do I feel like I heard him before like I knew him¡­

    Luke stood up as he took a step back, his eyes remaining solely on the frail lich boy. His arms were shaking more gently compared to before, and his breathing became slower as he straightened his back.

    Luna¡¯s eyes narrowed toward the frail boy, and her hand that held the blade started to softly shake. With veins starting to sprout out from her neck, Luke kept his gun pointed towards the lich boy, but with a droplet of sweat rolling down his forehead and nose.

    (Luke) Just two more questions. How did you guys come here? And also¡­

    Luke used his right hand to pull out his other Uzi, holstering it as his shaking hand started to slowly diminish.

    (Luke) And who¡¯s behind all this?

    The frail boy stood up, patting his knee with his right hand as he stared at him at eye level. Putting his hand to his chin, the boy then lightly tapped it back and forth, rolling his eyes like a normal teenage boy.

    Luke took a step back as he let go of the boy¡¯s old shirt, watching his height dominate him by a couple of inches.

    (???) The easiest question for how we got in is quite simple. Our boss knew that doing a full charge at the border wouldn¡¯t work, since the border patrol uses a lot of military to guard the border between this country and Ticia. So he thought of something interesting.

    The frail boy took a couple of steps back, making Luna move at the same pace as him, still placing the iron blade onto the boy¡¯s heart. The boy had veins bulging from his neck and forehead, his breath hot and rapid as he tried to make eye contact with Luke.

    (???) He decided to¡ªstop tormenting me you bitch! ¡­ anywho ¡­ he decided to sneak many of us in by truck, pretending to be a soldier while he was at it. From there, we saw an old abandoned factory and we called it home.

    (Luke) And who¡¯s your boss?

    With both uzis in both of his hands, Luke aimed them straight at the boy¡¯s heart, his hands shaking violently again as his grip on the guns started to feel loose.

    Luna firmly dug deep into the boy¡¯s chest, his veins continuing to bulge more as his teeth started to grind.

    (???) Can this bitch leave me alone! Damn her looks are wasted by her personality! At this rate, she¡¯ll never be a good wife for¡ª

    (Luna) That¡¯s it!

    Luna, who had her blade on the boy¡¯s chest, tightly put a lot of strength into her arm, expanding her muscles as she readied to thrust her sword into his heart. Fortunately, Luke was near her, so he used his right arm to halt Luna from pushing any farther.

    Luna saw Luke¡¯s arm holding her back, his arm making contact with her ripped stomach as she stopped to look towards it. Turning her head towards Luke, she slightly glared at him, her body continuing to quake under the burning anger inside of her.

    The boy took many steps back, his face full of veins bulging and sprouting as he had his palms open up for an attack.

    (???) I was being nice, yet that female always messes things up! Because of her, you¡¯re both on my personal shit list.

    (Gary) Turn around.

    Hearing a loud reload coming from a gun behind his head, the boy turned his head. Turning around to see Gary, Gary¡¯s eyes began to water, a tear rolling by his left cheek as his face started to push down.

    The frailed boy started to smile warmly, the corners of his lips barely reaching the lowest part of his nose.

    (???) Gary! Gary. Long time no see, do you still remember me?

    Gary¡¯s hand gently shook as he continued to point his pistol towards the frail boy, rolling down more cold tears as his eyes began to puff up red.

    Stan and the others pointed their guns at the frail boy too, their faces wide-eyed too.

    (Stan) How are you still alive? I thought you were dead¡­

    (???) Ahh, it¡¯s a friend reunion! Did you guys miss your old speaker from the robotics clubs?

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) He was the speaker from six years ago¡­

    With Stan, Fred, Diego, and Luke starting shaking with disbelief, Gary continued to point his gun toward the lich, his finger on the side of the gun as his eyes continued to let out cold tears.

    (Gary) What ¡­ what ¡­ what happened to you ¡­ why ¡­ Why are you doing this?

    (???) It¡¯s a long story¡ªno, actually, it¡¯s quite short.

    The frail boy¡¯s left arm began regenerating, the wound sprouting out a frail meatless arm that slowly was covered in black tar and mold. Steam was slightly present as his left arm was finished molding, the steam managed to burn the tar to where it formed white pigments. Showing his left arm brand new, the boy extended his arm as steam puffed out.

    The rest of Stan¡¯s group and Luke took a couple of steps back, their faces turning slightly pale as they clutched their weapons hard.

    (???) I already had a blessing to begin with, so it only took long before I eventually became this. Still, though, I never thought you would eventually team up with the man that broke your nose.

    Gary¡¯s throat jumped with each sniff he intake, his eyes continuing to observe the ghostly face that used to withhold humanity. Stan put his hand on Gary¡¯s right shoulder, signaling him to get behind him.

    (Stan) Come on Gary, he¡¯s practically a shell, a ghost, a being with no mind of its own, we have no other choice but to kill him¡­

    But Gary put Stan¡¯s hand away. As more tears dripped down from his chubby face, Gary moved his body forward to the frail boy who looked at him smugly.

    (Gary) Stop doing this Harold. It was six years ago ¡­ please ¡­

    Gary then put his pistol into his belt, securing it tightly. Within an arm¡¯s length, he extended his hand outwards, making eye contact despite being looked down upon by the lich boy.

    (Gary) You don¡¯t have to do this¡­

    The frail lich named Harold put his right hand underneath his chin, tapping it gently as he continued to make eye contact with Gary. Putting his left hand on his hip, he tilted his head to the right, until his eyes unfocused on Gary.

    (Harold) I¡¯ll let the tall chick decide.

    (???) No problem Harold.

    A female voice was heard coming from behind the boys. Fred, who noticed that voice from anywhere, instantly turned his head towards the direction of the¡ª

    A tall woman with dark black hair, a ghostly pale face, and black eyes stood behind the group of boys, specifically looking at Fred. Seeing her face in the flesh, Fred stood up instantly as he shook his head softly, his breath caught inside of his throat.

    The woman in question tilted her head to the left, smiling softly at the man in silver hair.

    (???) I see my sacrifice hasn¡¯t gone in vain.

    (Fred) Gemma¡­

    Fred then collapsed to his knees, his legs giving in as his arms remained motionless on the floor. Sitting on the wooden floor, he looked down as he started to stare into the abyss, his eyes holding back tears of joy and sadness.

    Gemma walked slowly towards the silver-haired man, making a devilish grin as she noticed him submit to the ground. Towering over him, she put her hands onto her hips, tilting her head again as her eyes gazed upon Fred¡¯s neck.

    (Gemma) You¡¯re all grown up too, sucks that you¡¯re now taller than me.

    Crouching down, Gemma reached the same eye level as Fred, who was sitting on the floor with his hands holding him up. Extending her frail and pale hand toward his face, she started to rub his cheeks gently and affectionately, rubbing her thumbs back and forth.

    (Gemma) You¡¯re so cute like you were two years ago ¡­ kind of makes me wanna just kill you quickly and turn you into my lich boyfriend already. How does that sound?

    Fred slowly turned his head upwards, her eyes not reflecting his body as he could only just let out broken hums. Getting closer to his face, Gemma slowly opened her mouth, revealing the rotten and decaying contents of her putrid breath, followed by her sharp fangs.

    (Stan) Fred! Snap out of it! Run!

    More howls can be heard outside the bar, the sounds of paws and growls coming closer as the front of the entrance had silhouettes of creatures waiting for their signal.

    (Gary) Don¡¯t do this Harold¡­ Please don¡¯t do¡­

    (Harold) It¡¯s all part of my boss¡¯s master plan, so take it up to him. Besides, if you want me to not do this, then just shoot your shot.

    (Miles) You got to be fucking kidding me right? Are you seeing this shit, Benn?

    (Benn) Yeah, unfortunately.

    Both Ryan and Cameron¡¯s corpses, the corpses that were supposed to be blown to bits, started to slowly reconstruct themselves. With the black tar of their blown-away bodies creating white pigments with the hot steam radiating out of their bodies, Ryan and Cameron managed to steadily get up with fresh hot limbs, as they eyed both Benn and Miles.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) We need a miracle.

    (Gemma) Just hold still Fred¡­

    Fred¡¯s neck flinched with the hot yet disgusting breath that was Gemma, her mouth wide open as her fangs were inches away from Fred¡¯s hot and sweaty neck.

    Both Luke and Stan pushed their legs against the old floor, their chests reaching their limit as they flail their arms back and forth frantically.

    (Stan) FRED!!

    (Luke) Don¡¯t give up Fred!

    (Luna) Gary, just shoot him now!

    Luna pointed her two swords toward the entrance of the bar, as what entered in was a large pack of bloodthirsty wolves. With sweat beading down from her temple, she took a step back as the wolves growled their muzzles hungrily.

    Gary¡¯s hand shook violently as Harold placed his own body against Gary¡¯s gun, and he continued to let out tears upon tears.

    (Gary) But ¡­ I can¡¯t ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I just ¡­ I just ¡­

    On his way towards Fred, he extended his right hand, stretching his arm to his limit as he lunged his body right at him. Having a tear drip down from his right eye¡ª

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) ¡­ Wanna go home¡­

    In the biggest mound of rubble right in a tucked away corner of the bar, came out a dimly lit light, a light so recognizable that¡­

    The mound burst open from the inside out, revealing a freckled woman carrying a passed-out red-haired man.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m up bitches.

    For one solid second, everyone turned their gaze towards the bluish light that reflected the rays of the breathing, their eyes all focusing on Gwen, their miracle given.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 45: Gwen to The Rescue

    Gwen stood on top of the rubble, seeing everyone¡¯s eyes gazing upon a wishing star as their eyes started to tear. Gently putting down Jack onto a patch of debris, Gwen put up a V sign over her right eye, making a bright smile as she closed her eyes.

    (Gwen) Awwww ¡­ did you guys miss me? Don¡¯t worry.

    Gwen then radiated her entire body within a bluish light. Extending her right arm, she closed her eyes and breathed in calmly as her chest slightly expanded upward and downward. Upon her hand, a blue rope formed, its particles summoning out of thin air as the light rope was now firmly held onto her right hand.

    (Gwen) I think it¡¯s time I do a little butt-whooping!

    The area around her didn¡¯t create a shockwave or decibel of noise, as she lunged forward with her right leg.

    To the liches, it was the last trace that they saw Gwen¡­

    (Ryan) Where did she go?

    (Cameron) Do you see her?

    The four liches look around the destroyed bar to uncover Gwen, their eyes looking around in a frenzy as their breathing starts to turn irregular.

    At this point, Gemma let go of Fred, who took a couple of steps back to put up her fists.

    Ryan and Cameron both stuck together, putting all their points on defense as Cameron covered his entire body with bats.

    And Harold signaled his wolves to huddle near him, their nuzzles sniffing the air for any sign of Gwen.

    The rest of the dark angels sat down, laying or sitting on the debris-ridden ground, all of their chests pounding from both their hearts and lungs.

    Harold glanced towards Gemma, his voice hoarse and raspy.

    (Harold) Gemma! Use your blessing to uncover¡ª

    (Gwen) Nah!

    Appearing behind Harold¡¯s back, Gwen wrapped the light rope around Harold¡¯s waist, instantly putting him in a bind. Gemma, who was the nearest to him, readied her stance as she was about to¡ª

    Gwen then instantly appeared right in front of her, as Gwen¡¯s arm thrust her rope that slightly opened as Harold was still inside.

    (Gwen) Caught two!

    Like a speeding bullet, she then snatched Gemma with ease. Slowing down, she smashed the two liches together to create one big binding for Gemma and Harold, before she vanished again.

    Harold, who was bound with Gemma, looked away as veins started to sprout out from his forehead and neck.

    (Harold) Out of all liches, I have to be next to a girl lich¡­Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    (Gemma) You know, I think Luna should¡¯ve thrust your heart.

    For the lich duo that was near Benn, Miles, and Hope¡¯s position, both liches decided to put their backs behind each other, keeping their eyes peeled as they moved their eyeballs at a rapid speed.

    (Ryan) Careful bro, she could be anywhere.

    (Cameron) Hell, she could even be underneath us¡ª

    (Gwen) How can I be underneath? I¡¯m on top of you dummies!

    Gwen, who had a giant rope using both of her hands, threw it downwards onto the lich duo, trapping them underneath. Being bonded together by the rope, both liches had their mouths opened wide as the air in their lungs jumped out.

    With both hands on the rope, Gwen then threw it towards the other two that were in another rope layout. Like a bullet, the two ropes merged, creating a mega rope that bonded all four liches.

    Clapping her hands back and forth, Gwen also wiped her forehead as a couple of hot sweat started to form.

    (Gwen) A good honest day''s work.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I wonder where Harold¡¯s wolves and Cameron¡¯s bats are?

    Everyone that had their arms down to the ground and motionless and their legs barely keeping themselves together stared at Gwen, their eyes soulless as their hands started to shake. Their eyes were glued to Gwen, not bothering to look at the liches that were squeezed inside of the bind.

    Gwen, nonchalant and oblivious to the situation, started to rub the back of her head. Seeing that everyone was narrowing their eyes towards her, Gwen pushed her lips to form a weak smile.

    (Gwen) Uhm ¡­ What''s with all the stares? Did I miss anything?

    (Luna) You damn bitch! You could¡¯ve handled them from the very start?!

    Luna stomped the wooden floors, causing them to creek loudly as she made her way towards Gwen. Placing her right hand on Gwen¡¯s collar, Luna¡¯s eyes twitched violently as her eyes started to turn red.

    A bead of sweat dropped down from Gwen, who placed both hands high up in the air.

    (Gwen) Hold up, I was buried deep in the rubble! If it weren¡¯t for Jack, he wouldn¡¯t save me!

    (Diego) Wait ¡­ Gwen was the last person that Jack saved¡­

    Everyone then turned their gazes toward the red-haired man who was barely awake on the floor. Next to him was Hope, who continued to place her hands on Jack¡¯s gushing wound near his Achilles'' ankle, the blood slowly decreasing the rate at which it left his body.

    Now being the center of attention, Jack lay motionless as his arms remained stuck to the floor, his face forming beads of cold all over his head.

    (Jack) Hey man, I¡¯m barely awake and you guys want to gang up on me. I think it was either Miles, Luna, or Luke that ordered me to reach Hope and Benn. Either way, you guys ordered me too.

    (Miles) But you decided to save Stan¡¯s group first, a group that was not fit for combat. Those four could barely handle zompires yet we¡¯re up against an entirely new threat¡­

    (Jack) How was I supposed to know¡­

    Miles folded his arms as he looked down at Jack, his eyes sharpening at the sight of Jack¡¯s barely audible voice.

    (Stan) It¡¯s ok Miles. I think we should consider ourselves lucky that none of us died.

    (Luke) Agreed, I think we pretty much lucked out compared to two years ago. As long as those liches remain in that light rope, then we should be fine.

    With everyone nodding their heads in agreement, all of their breathing returned to normal, most of them putting their hands towards their chest to massage them.

    Benn turned around, focusing his attention towards where the liches were bonded to¡­

    (Benn) Hey Gwen, how tight was the rope?

    (Gwen) Pretty tight? Why? You saw how they struggled.

    (Benn) Ok, but did you bind their animals too?

    (Gwen) ¡­ Maybe.

    Everyone¡¯s heads perked up as they all looked toward where the liches were¡ª

    Used to be.

    (Everyone) Oh no¡­

    The light rope that used to hold all four liches was nowhere to be seen.

    Gwen let out a faintly weak smile, her left hand rubbing the back of her head yet again as her face was coated with cold sweat, her back and chest having sweat stains upon her green t-shirt.

    Everyone then turned their heads toward Gwen. Surrounding Gwen, they all folded their arms or placed their hands on their hips.

    (Benn) Gwen¡­

    (Gwen) Yeah?

    (Benn) Do you have anything to say?

    Gwen let out a nervous chuckle as she held up her hands.

    (Gwen) Oops?

 Arc 1 - Chapter 46: 100% Oxygen

    (The Adult Lounge)

    (David) Kenichi¡­

    His voice cracked as David mentioned the name. Still having his gun pointed upwards with his left hand, he looked at the ginger-haired man. He struggled holding his brown cowboy hat in his right hand.

    (David) What are you doing here¡­

    Kenichi, with his hands inside of his pockets, soullessly stared at the middle-aged man who continued to quake under his boots. Ruffling his hair, he fixed up his black cowboy hat that was cricket, making sure the ridgeline was blocking anyone from seeing his eyes.

    Slouching his back, Kenichi looked toward Jenny. With tears dripping down onto the rich rug, Jenny¡¯s hand held the spiked frying pan, shaking it violently as her legs were on the verge of buckling.

    David¡¯s eyes started to twitch, sprouting a few veins from his neck as he noticed Kenichi ignoring him.

    (David) Answer me dammit! Why are you still alive!? Did you fake your death!? Was that it?! Oh¡­

    David slowly walked towards Kenichi, who still stood under the doorframe of the broken-down door. Walking over the many pieces of wood chips, David heard the sound of crunching and popping, his boots having crusted stains of chips and wooden needles that stuck to his boots.

    Reaching towards the ginger-haired man, David looked up at him.

    (David) You¡¯re not a lich ¡­ so explain to us, explain to me how you become into this?!

    The gingered-haired man didn¡¯t bother to open his mouth, his lips and cheeks motionless as he just folded his arms towards David.

    Jenny then stomped her way towards the man. Fastly moving through the wood chips with loud crunch noises, she was then towered over him by the sheer height difference between them.

    (Jenny) You promised! You promised! Why did you break your promise?

    Jenny had left fist tightly clenched as she looked up at the man. Her body tightened despite not having any veins on her forehead and neck, but she did however hold the spiked frying pan up with her right hand. With more cold tears rolling down her cheeks, Jenny¡¯s eyes turned red from the amount of salty tears that clouded within them.

    The ginger-haired man moved his focus onto the woman with glasses, his face still emotionless as his legs and arms remained sucked into gravity.

    From across the room.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Just what is he? He¡¯s not a lich, yet he works with them. Is he a sympathizer or a terrorist? Or maybe there is something else instead¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Boris, Jerry, and Loraine)

    Despite being held hostage, Boris didn¡¯t have enough airway into his lungs, his chubby neck being armlocked by a meatless arm. Slowly, his face started to turn purple, his vision becoming blurry as his eyes started to fluster open.

    His chest began to stab itself, and the little air that was going through his lungs started to suffocate him. Putting his right hand towards his chest, he gritted his teeth, dramatically tightening both his hands.

    Jerry and Loraine continued to focus on the frail man who held Boris in a choking state. Seeing Boris tap the frail arm repeatedly, Jerry¡¯s hands disturbingly shook the gun that he held, his finger on the side of the gun as he didn¡¯t aim the barrel straight at the frail man.

    Meanwhile, Loraine looked down to the ground, her fists and body twitching at hearing the sounds of Boris¡¯s attempts to breathe.

    (Loraine) ¡­ let him go ¡­

    Her voice sounded frigid yet broken up, her throat contracting a bit of the vowel that escaped from her mouth.

    Pedro noticed Loraine¡¯s tiny body shaking with animosity, so he turned his attention towards the little girl, putting his other arm under his chin as he used his hard-fisted hand to hold it up.

    (Pedro) I see you¡¯re getting feisty now. I suppose you¡¯re close to him?

    Loraine steadied her legs as she moved them a couple of inches apart, putting her right leg in a lunging state. With her right hand, she pulled out her Swiss army knife that was tucked away inside her jacket, firmly grasping the blade as she lowered her arm.

    (Pedro) You¡¯re going to attack me? That¡¯s a first, considering that anyone who knows about me would cower and flee at the mere sight of me being in a battle.

    (Loraine) Let him go!

    Pedro untightened his grip upon Boris, allowing much-needed air for him.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Yet Boris¡¯s face was still purple as his tiny lungs weren¡¯t getting enough oxygen in time. Inhaling as much air as he could, his chest felt the stabbing sensation even more, gripping his chest with both his hands, digging his fingernails into the area of his heart.

    Pushing herself against the wood, Loraine lunged towards Pedro, pulling her arm back with her knife in tow. Locking into Pedro¡¯s right black eye, he aimed down the knife as she edged closer and closer to her body.

    (Pedro) Now this is more like it!

    Pushing away Boris with his left hand, Pedro opened himself up for Loraine to hit him, his hands open as his legs were spread out. Straightening his back, followed by his chest and stomach out in the open, his head arched back as he saw the incoming kid speeding towards him.

    Merely inches away from his face, Loraine thrust her right arm that held her large knife, pushing it forward into Pedro¡¯s right eye. As soon as it made contact¡ª

    The knife and her entire arm went through Pedro¡¯s head like air¡­

    (Loraine) W-What?

    Seeing that her arm passed through Pedro¡¯s head, she took note of the lack of blood or even the lack of solid-state that his head was in, as if he was¡­

    Made out of Gas¡­

    (Pedro) Even if you hit me with your strongest attack, it wouldn¡¯t do much to begin with.

    Pedro gripped Loraine¡¯s wrist firmly, his hand squeezing and putting a lot of strength for her to clench her eyes and grind her teeth.

    Putting her left hand on top of Pedro¡¯s hand, she tried to squeeze or dig her fingernails into him, but even then¡­

    (Pedro) I think you should be disciplined more, don¡¯t you think?

    Pulling her body into his, he made sure that Loraine lost footing on the wooden floor, her feet barely dangling in the air. Having her close to her, he then started to rapidly spin, making sure both of his hands were clasping both of her hands together.

    With Loraine spinning rapidly like a doll, Pedro steadied his feet on the ground.

    Loraine¡¯s body was literally off the ground as her entire body was laying in the air. The blood that normally spread throughout the insides of her body started to rush towards her head, causing Loraine to clench her teeth.

    (Pedro) And up away you go!

    Just as Pedro was going to let Loraine go¡­

    Pedro was then tackled to the ground, having his whole body collapse onto himself as he hit the rich wooden floor hard.

    His hands let go of Loraine, who was still spinning¡­

    (Loraine) Aaah!

    Flying rapidly towards a random corner of the room, she headed towards an incoming wall. Before her body collided with the stone, she felt a body shielding her from the impact.

    Hitting the person, both of them fell onto each other, with Loraine opening her eyes slowly. Seeing who was below her, her eyes opened wide instantly.

    (Loraine) Boris!

    (Boris) Ah ¡­ my chest¡­

    Boris let out a low groan, his chest and stomach sore as he continued to lie down on the floor.

    With cold sweat drenching his cheeks and forehead, Loraine quickly got up from the chubby man and looked down. She showcased her goofy smile, putting a thumbs up at Boris who continued to breathe heavily.

    (Pedro) Aw dammit, Jerry!

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to do this¡­

    Having his arm wrapped around Pedro, Jerry expanded his muscles, his right arm gleaming with strength as he pinned much-needed strength onto Pedro¡¯s throat.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Just please go to sleep.

    Pedro let out loud gurgles as tar dripped out from his mouth, his hands quickly tapping onto Jerry¡¯s arm. Jerry had water and redness in his eyes, his nose sniffling softly as his legs were motionless on the ground.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep.

    Pedro¡¯s black eyes started to roll in the back of his head, his gurgling and dripping turning violently as his entire body began to twitch hard. Jerry¡¯s arm felt the increase of tar expanding on Pedro¡¯s throat, the buildup of gunk causing Jerry to let out a single tear drop roll down onto the expensive floor.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep¡ª

    Until his arm pulled back onto himself¡­

    But his arm felt like something vanished, like he just passed through simple air.

    Yet Pedro was right in front of him.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Jerry) W¡­W¡­

    Jerry¡¯s face slowly started to turn pale, cold sweat drenching his face as his body began to shiver. His arms remained in place like it was before, his legs twitching as he started to kick or tap Pedro with the tips of his feet.

    But he couldn¡¯t kick him.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) W-W-W-What¡¯s going on?! Why aren''t I even touching him!? He¡¯s right there!?

    Released, Pedro curdled himself up like a little ball, coughing and puking out tar that built up from within his throat. Placing his right hand on his stomach, followed by his left hand caressing his throat, he remained in that position as his eyes rolled back to normal.

    Using his left hand to have a hold on the ground, he gave himself balance as his sharp bone knees helped him have much better stability, causing his body to stumble less.

    (Pedro) gasps ¡­ just breathe ¡­ gasps ¡­ I just got to breathe ¡­

    Putting one knee on the ground, he continued to cough and spit out a couple of black tar.

    His chest expanded a lot more as the air around him lessened, gently breathing in and out. Pushing his other knee off the ground, he turned around and saw Jerry lying as if his body was stuck to the floor.

    (Pedro) In all the years that we have worked together, I¡¯ve never seen you this terrified before. You expected a lich like me to just drop dead by suffocation?

    Pedro then crouched down towards where Jerry was at, his face coated with even more sweat. Placing his elbows onto his knees, he laid his hands motionless as he formed a smug smile.

    (Pedro) You¡¯re strong, but not smart. Remember that?

    A small gas cloud started to form around Pedro, the cloud appearing around his neck as he continued to look down on Jerry.

    Jerry¡¯s body began to twitch. His breathing started to become more irregular by the second, Jerry started to fight for breath.

    (Pedro) Now Jerry ¡­ you know blessings. Well, do you know that there¡¯s something much greater than blessings?

    Jerry¡¯s eyes remained in eye contact with Pedro¡¯s, his eyes wide opened and his jaw jittered with exuberance.

    (Pedro) I don¡¯t have a blessing, I mean, who needs one when you have a curse?

    Pedro glinted his eyes as he took in a whiff. Licking his lips, he suckered them as he rubbed his stomach with his right hand.

    (Pedro) Mmmm ¡­ I love that smell. The smell of human odor at its finest. You know, liches like me love that smell. I mean, I don¡¯t blame the zompires that seem to be attracted to it too.

    The white cloud that was around Pedro¡¯s neck started to grow, its diameter reaching the height of Pedro¡¯s head. For the cloud that sat on top of his head, he brought up his two hands, closing his eyes as he steadied his breath.

    (Pedro) 100% oxygen¡­

    Still having the cloud on top of him, Pedro brought out a piece of it, his breathing slowed as his body relaxed. Despite his head itching to bring his face inside of the cloud, Jerry arched his back.

    (Pedro) Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make this quick and painless for you.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 47: "The Fox?"

    (Jerry, Loraine, Boris)

    (??? in Jerry¡¯s thoughts) You know, you¡¯re the first man that ever treated me right.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) No ¡­ why is this playing¡­?

    Throwing the white cloud onto Jerry, the cloud quickly enveloped him, his entire head tucked inside of the cloud as Jerry spread his arms and hands in the air. Twitching his arms and body, Jerry¡¯s inaudible voice was deafened by the muffled cloud.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) No! Not like this! I¡¯m not dying this way!

    Luckily, a rope bound Pedro around his waist, causing him to collapse onto the wooden ground.

    (Loraine) Hehe.

    A small gust of wind gently shook the cloud of pure oxygen away, the cloud dissolving instantly.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) I should pay Fred more. His gust sweeper is pretty reliable.

    With the cloud gone, Jerry took a big breath in, sucking in normal oxygen into his lungs as his nose bled and his mouth released a bit of lung fluid.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I thought I was done for¡­ holy shit¡­

    But he continued to cough and gag, his mouth continuing to release more lung fluid from his body. Clutching his right hand over his chest, he felt like it was being cut open, his face starting to turn a ghostly pale.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Shit! Maybe I am done for! What the hell was in that cloud?!

    Boris slowly walked up towards Jerry, narrowing his face as his chubby body towered over him. Seeing Jerry tighten and convoluted with pain, Boris crouched down, his legs struggling to keep him afloat as his feet started to blister. Using his right hand, Boris pulled out his small metal inhaler from his jacket, his chubby hands firmly gripping the small handle.

    (Boris) I guess what goes around comes around, huh Jerry.

    Putting the inhaler into Jerry¡¯s mouth, Boris pushed the small button on top, pushing small air into Jerry¡¯s lungs. Seeing that Jerry was still pale, Boris tapped the button again, putting another round of small air into his lungs.

    Again.

    And again.

    Until.

    (Jerry) cough cough ¡­ I¡¯m fine Jerry ¡­ cough cough ¡­ I¡¯m fine!

    Using his right hand, Jerry pushed the small metal inhaler out of his mouth. His mouth felt no signs of lung fluid coming out, nor did he feel a slight pinch of blood streaming down from his nose.

    (Boris) Guess you¡¯re good now. I didn¡¯t want you to get oxygen poisoning, I had experienced that before and it wasn¡¯t good.

    Putting his hand onto his chest, the tearing pain that he felt in his chest was vastly toned down, the pain being bearable to the level of someone pinning a pin tack onto it. Caressing his chest, Jerry stood up from the ground as his vision returned to normal, the symptoms of pure oxygen seeming to go away.

    (Boris) Now all we need to do is pry open some answers out of him.

    From his pants pocket, Boris placed his hands deep down into his pockets, until he found a sharp needle. Pulling the needle out with precision, Boris carried it with his pointer finger and thumb, focusing on the needle as he double-checked it.

    Turning his attention towards Jerry, who was standing up with him, Boris extended his hand that held the needle.

    (Boris) Here, put this needle on me. Anywhere that may be discrete.

    (Jerry) What are you plotting? It¡¯s just a needle.

    (Boris) sighs ¡­ Maybe that¡¯ll connect the pieces.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Boris dug his hands into his pants yet again, his hands feeling another object as he pulled it out. Instead of another needle, Boris had in his hands a little remote that had a motion tracker, his hand trembling as his fingers tapped the on the back of the remote.

    Jerry focused his attention on the remote motion tracker, his eyes seeing the red light fast flash. Looking up towards Boris, Jerry¡¯s eyes began to widen, his nose wrinkling upward.

    (Boris) Just for safe measures, who knows what that lich has in store for us?

    (Jerry) But what if you¡ª

    (Boris) Have faith in me, this is the only way to know what these abominations want with us. Specifically me out of all people.

    Rubbing his chubby neck, he looked down towards the lich that was tucked in a bind, his eyes sharpening at the frail man who looked up at him. Pedro then looked downwards onto the ground, his face pushed down as Boris formally folded his arms.

    (Boris) You¡¯re after me, aren¡¯t you? Who was your order given by?

    Pedro continued to lie on the ground, hiding his face as it looked like he was kissing the floor. Despite looking away, Pedro forced his throat open, his voice barely audible as he continued to look down on the floor.

    (Pedro) My boss doesn¡¯t have a name. He usually nicknames himself, ¡°The Fox¡±.

    (Boris) The Fox? That¡¯s an abnormal name for someone with so much power on his hands. So tell me, Pedro¡­

    Boris then crouched down as he continued to look upon the back of Pedro¡¯s head. Despite his legs barely keeping him stable as his chubby body forced his feet to gain even more blisters, Boris kept his eyes on him, his hands forming into fists.

    (Boris) Why is he invading this city? My city? What goal or purpose does he have here?

    Pedro lifted his head, his face seeing Boris¡¯s eyes starting to twitch. Making a warm smile, the corners of his lips were pushed upwards slightly as he licked his lips.

    (Pedro) Do you wanna ask him yourself?

    Pedro got up like normal, getting out of the bind as he appeared to faze out of the rope. Stretching his arms and legs, he made sure that every limb of his body had tar running through him.

    Boris, Jerry, and Loraine took many steps back, their faces dozing in a heap of sweat as their bodies soon released an aroma of body odor.

    (Loraine) Oh no¡­

    Sniffing the air around him while continuing to stretch, Pedro¡¯s black eyes sparkled as he looked towards both Jerry and Boris.

    (Pedro) Oh, I just love that smell.

    Loraine put her arms around Boris¡¯s right arm, her arms clutching onto him tightly as her face started to turn pale.

    Jerry pointed his AR-15 towards Pedro, his hands shaking as a bit of blood dripped down from his nose. Noticing that Pedro was towering over Boris, Jerry tried to force his legs to work, but they buckled.

    (Pedro) My boss wanted to speak to you personally, he knew that you¡¯re connected to a person that he knows of.

    Putting his hands on Boris¡¯s shoulders, Boris looked away as the smell of Pedro¡¯s rotten breath caused his mouth to puff up like a chipmunk. Gulping down whatever wanted to come out, his throat keeping guard for any chunks of human waste, Boris¡¯s heart rate started to increase.

    But Loraine put herself in front of Boris, extending both her arms outwards yet her face remained pale, but¡ª

    (Pedro) Out of the way brat.

    Grabbing a hold of Loraine¡¯s throat with his right hand, he carefully lifted his arm so that Loraine dangled her legs in the air. Tapping Pedro¡¯s arm with her hands, Loraine gagged and suffocated as the grip was too tight, leading to her face turning blue.

    Until Boris put his right hand onto Pedro¡¯s right arm. Gripping his arm firmly, Boris had bulging veins sprouting all around his forehead, his fingertips digging deep into the lich¡¯s arm.

    (Boris) Let her go.

    (Pedro) Do you promise that you¡¯ll go with me?

    (Boris) As long as you let her go now.

    (Pedro) As you wish.

    Pedro then dropped Loraine to the ground, her body collapsing onto the wooden floor as she continued to cough and gag. Saliva and drool continued to drip down from her mouth as she forced her lungs to let air in, causing Boris to shake his fists as he looked down at the ground.

    (Pedro) Alright, time for you to go see the big boss¡ª

    (Jerry) Pedro! Don¡¯t do this!

    Putting the barrel of his assault rifle onto the back of Pedro¡¯s head, Jerry continued to breathe. Pedro slowly turned his head, having the barrel of the assault rifle pointed towards his forehead.

    (Pedro) Do what? What more do I have to lose or gain from this?

    Jerry placed his finger on the trigger, his hand trembling. Forcing his finger to pull the trigger, Jerry closed his eyes as he tried to maintain his breathing. The more he was deep in thought, the more his body listened, his finger caressing the trigger.

    Until.

    (Pedro) Sorry, but we have a meeting to get to.

    Pedro instantly gripped the helm of the assault rifle with his left hand pulling it upwards as soon as Jerry pulled his finger on the trigger. With the small storm of bullets coming out of the barrel that grazed Pedro¡¯s hair, Pedro continued to clutch the rifle, his strength pulling back Jerry¡¯s.

    (Pedro) This shouldn¡¯t kill you.

    Pulling back his arm, Pedro steadied both his legs on the wood as his stomach clenched the core of his body. Throwing back his right arm, Pedro made sure Jerry had his grip on the rifle by¡­

    Blowing into the gun.

    (Jerry) What are you doing?

    (Pedro) I think that should be enough to trap you.

    Jerry tried to pull back his hands from the gun, yet¡­

    (Jerry) What did you put in the gun?

    (Pedro) Oh, I just breathed out high levels of ozone onto the gun, making sure my arms and the gun stuck together hard like candy. For my final trick¡­

    Having his arm pulled back for a little while, Pedro thrust his arm, the arm traveling fast as it headed towards Jerry¡¯s face. Reaching the point of no return, Pedro made contact with Jerry¡¯s right cheek, his hand placing his knuckles onto his cheekbones.

    (Pedro) Off you go.

    At an exhilarating speed, the punch sent forth Jerry flying, the strength of the force causing most of the air around it to jump. Flying several feet from his current location, Jerry landed on the hard wooden floor, his right cheek.

    An agonizing pain ripped through Jerry as if a sledgehammer slammed across his face. Putting his hands on his right cheek, he pushed his vocals to the limits as his throat contacted from the pain.

    (Pedro) I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still speaking after that punch.

    Pedro then saw a broken window from the far corner of the room, his eyes focusing on the sharp shards of glass lying on the floor. The sounds of gunshots and screams were heard in the distance.

    (Pedro) I guess Kenichi left huh? Come, Boris.

    For Jerry who continued to wither in agony and Loraine to gag on the floor with her saliva, Pedro quickly hovered in the air. Seeing Pedro levitate on the ground, Pedro extended his right hand towards the chubby man.

    Picking him up like nothing, Pedro flew out the window and left with Boris in tow.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 48: Jennifer Sumiko

    (David and Jenny)

    Both adults stood in front of Kenichi, shaking their bodies as they were catching their breath.

    (Jenny) Say something¡­

    Jenny put her left hand onto her chest, her cheeks having red water stains as she continued to roll down hot tears.

    Seeing that Kenichi continued to stare at them both, not moving his mouth at all, Jenny¡¯s left hand that gripped her skirt grabbed Kenichi¡¯s collar. Shaking savagely, Jenny¡¯s eyes narrowed yet her tears continued to pour forth.

    (Jenny) Say something!

    Pushing his face down as his eyes focused on the girl with glasses, he finally opened his mouth.

    (Kenichi) I have no memory of you.

    Jenny took a couple of steps back as she let go of his collar, her pupils dilating. Putting a hand on top of her mouth, she shook her head.

    (Jenny) You¡¯re lying ¡­

    (Kenichi) I don¡¯t know you or him. Never recalled you two in my life.

    Jenny¡¯s grip on the spiked frying pan began to tighten, her eyes narrowing more onto his face, causing her to quaff. Gritting her teeth together, she pointed her spiked frying pan straight toward Kenichi, her face turning beet red as her legs created a stance.

    (Jenny) Liar! You remember me! You¡¯re lying!

    (Kenichi) Shut up.

    (Jenny) You¡¯re just a liar! A liar!

    (Kenichi) You¡¯re getting annoying.

    Rapidly extending his hand towards Jenny, Kenichi tried to grab a hold of the pan despite his face not budging a sweat or nerve.

    But a hand stopped him from doing so.

    A firm hand gripping his wrist.

    Glancing with his eyes towards a middle-aged man, Kenichi¡¯s arm remained still as he continued to stare into David¡¯s eyes.

    (David) I don¡¯t want to do this¡­

    David then pulled out a simple pistol from his jacket, gripping the gun with his right hand. Aiming it right at the black-clad man in his early 40s, David¡¯s breathing started to fasten, yet his grip on the gun didn¡¯t falter.

    (David) But I must.

    David then used his left hand that held Kenichi¡¯s right wrist to turn like a door knob, turning it counterclockwise as his grip continued to hold him in place.

    Kenichi, his hand on the verge of dislocating, rapidly turned his hand in the opposite direction at a rapid speed.

    Letting go of Kenichi¡¯s wrist, David jumped back as he aimed the gun toward him, his finger on the trigger sweaty and pale.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Forgive me, Gabriel¡­

    David pulled the trigger, sending a rapid fire of six bullets launching right towards Kenichi.

    David watched as those six bullets charged straight forward to the fully blacked clothed man. As the bullets were halfway towards Kenichi, he saw the bullets¡ª

    And took a step back as the bullets grazed him, the front of his jacket having slight burned marks as the fiery gunsmoke and metal ruined the leather.

    With the world in present motion, David saw Kenichi unfazed, the bullets hitting the corner of the door frame.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) No way¡­ he dodged them¡­ no one has ever¡­

    Looking down at his grazed jacket, Kenichi stroked the slightly burned leather, his fingers rubbing the little hole as his finger started to go red. Pulling back his fingers, he looked up towards David, his eyes sharpening with his right hand forming a fist.

    (Kenichi) You¡¯re dead.

    Focusing his attention only on David, Kenichi reached towards his lower back. With a slight smirk on his face, he steadily brought out two pieces of metal from his holster, one on each hand.

    David unloaded the six cartridges used in his attempt, the metal hitting the wooden floor with heavy clanks. His hand reached again inside his jacket and felt a small box of his ammo. Taking out six bullets, he swiftly placed them into the chamber of his pistol.

    Jenny, however, clutched her spiked frying pan vigorously, hyperventilating as she puckered up her mouth.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Oh no¡­ no, no, no¡­

    With a push of a button, the pieces of metal brought out a double-edged sword from its chamber, the metal coated with black as it shined the dark room.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Not his weapons¡­

    And with another push of a button, the lining of the blade that was the sharpest part of the sword ejected a small chain¡­

    A chain that most chainsaws used.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Fuck¡­

    Kenichi, wielding two double edged chainsaw swords, caused the metals of the sword to spark metal embers all around him, creating a dazzling display of light. With smoke rising out of the chains, it caused Jenny to stare in perplexity.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Red sparks¡­ Why red sparks ¡­

    Taking a step back, Jenny recalled many stories behind the man with chainsawed swords.

    ______________________________________________________________________________Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    (Mensis 28, 42 / 8:22PM)

    A baby''s cries can be heard throughout the humid bedroom, the humidity causing the baby to be coated with hot and sticky sweat and other bodily fluids.

    In a dark room with only a lightbulb present, lying in bed was a woman encased with her hard sweat, her breath hot and murky. Tilting her head upwards, she saw many beads of water on the ceiling, dropping along her exhausted body.

    She parted her legs as blood dripped down from underneath. In front of her, a man with a beard carried in his arms a small newborn baby, his eyes softening as he started rocking it back and forth.

    (???) Our daughter¡­

    The man who carried his newborn daughter held his finger on his daughter¡¯s lips, rubbing it as he continued to look into her black-colored eyes. Speaking in a fragile voice, he continued to rub her lips with his soft finger.

    (???) She¡¯s beautiful.

    Looking up to see the woman staring at the baby¡¯s cries, the woman brought her hands up, with shining tears. Walking towards the woman in bed, he rested his daughter in her arms.

    Putting her daughter near her chest, she rubbed the back of her head. Lifting her head towards her husband, she let out a warm smile, the corners of her lips reaching her nose.

    (???) She looks a lot like you. She has your slanted eyes and your black hair.

    (???) And she has the same thin hair as you do. What should we name her, my dear?

    The man softly placed his hand on his wife¡¯s shoulder, his hands sticky and sweaty as a droplet of sweat touched down on the floor. The woman, still rocking the baby near her chest, looked towards the baby¡¯s crying face.

    (???) Jennifer, but Jenny sounds cuter and shorter.

    The door to the room creaked open.

    The man turned his head towards the door, his eyes focusing on four kids peeking in the room.

    (???) Should we let them in my dear?

    (???) Of course. I want them to see Jenny.

    Taking his left hand off of his wife¡¯s shoulder, the man walked into the center of the room, his body facing the direction of the door.

    (???) You can come in now. Make sure your hands are clean if you want to hold her.

    The four kids slowly walked in, their footsteps quiet on the hardwood. Focusing their entire attention on the newborn baby being held by the woman, the kids ignored the humidity of the room, despite their bodies already being beaded with sweat.

    From oldest to youngest, was a boy with a brown cowboy hat, another boy wearing a cross necklace, and a girl with dark purple hair wearing gloves.

    And a ginger-haired boy with messy hair.

    And in front of the group was a girl, followed by the two oldest boys side by side, and the young ginger-haired kid in the back.

    (???) Iris, do you want to see your sister?

    (Iris) Yes, father.

    Iris, the 10-year-old girl, walked forward to see the newborn face, who was still crying in her mother''s arms. Seeing her mother¡¯s warm tears roll down her cheeks, Iris put her hands on her mother¡¯s arm.

    (Iris) Can I hold her mother?

    (???) Of course, you can.

    Gently giving the baby to Iris, Iris held the warm newborn in her arms, her face looking down at her sister. Noticing the lightness of her body, Iris started rocking the baby back and forth until¡­

    Jenny cried out more than before.

    (Iris) Uh¡­ mother?

    (???) I guess she doesn¡¯t like you. It¡¯s ok dear, she¡¯ll warm up to you eventually.

    Iris¡¯s mother put her hand to her mouth as her body began to lay motionless on the blood-stained bed. Looking at the three boys who stared at Iris and her newborn sister with curious eyes, Iris¡¯s mother pushed a strand of her dark purple hair out of her eye.

    Noticing the ginger-haired boy having his hands in his pockets, the woman extended her hand, waving to him to come forward.

    (???) Don¡¯t be shy Kenichi. You can see her.

    (Kenichi) A-Are you sure, Erina?

    (???) My wife wants you to go, so do what she says, boy.

    (Kenichi) O-Ok Kenji!

    (Kenji) Remember to call me sir, boy.

    The shy ginger-haired boy bowed down towards Kenji, his face flustered as he brought his hands out of his pockets.

    Kenji, a black-haired man with monolid eyes, folded his arms as he eyed the shy boy. Erina meanwhile, continued to have a warm smile on her face, her body relaxed as Kenichi made his way towards where Iris was at.

    Iris continued to struggle to control Jenny, who was bawling her eyes out. Seeing Kenichi, a boy who was a year younger than her, extending his hands to receive the baby, Iris pushed the baby onto him.

    (Iris) You take her. I don¡¯t want to deal with her.

    (Kenji) Be nice Iris, she¡¯s your sister.

    Having the baby in his arms, Kenichi looked around to see everyone staring at him. Gently rocking the baby back and forth, Kenichi looked at the baby as her cries suddenly stopped.

    The baby opened its black eyes as it saw the ginger-haired boy¡¯s face, and upon seeing the gentle care of his face¡­

    Jenny decided to sleep softly. Erina, putting her hand onto her mouth again as she chuckled, softly looked at Kenichi who focused his eyes on Jenny.

    (Erina) I guess Jenny likes you, Kenichi.

    Kenichi turned his gaze towards Erina, his face reddened and filled with hot sweat. Looking away from Erina, the boy looked down onto the ground, noticing two shadows behind him.

    (???) Hey David, will Jenny give Kenichi a hard time?

    (David) That would be pretty funny. Hilarious even.

    Kenichi looked away with a flustered face, pouting as he turned his face back towards the sleeping Jenny. Feeling the heaviness of Jenny already, despite her being light, Kenichi¡¯s arms started to get exhausted.

    Kenji took a good look at the grandfather clock near the bedroom drawer, his hands unfolding as he put them on his sides.

    (Kenji) Time for bedtime boys. You guys have a lot of training tomorrow.

    (David) But Kenji, tomorrow¡¯s Saturday?

    (Kenji) I adopted you boys because I see potential in all of you. You better go to sleep before I put you in the ring with Iris.

    (David, Gabriel, and Kenichi) Ok¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 49: Give Me Flowers! Pinky Promise!

    (Kalemonath 14, 45 / 8:01AM)

    Four years and five months later¡­

    Blossoms began to sprout towards the end of winter, the purple blossoms radiating the large garden that grew tall grass and fertile soil. With the smell of early spring radiating across all corners of the garden, the smell makes it hard for men to feel butterflies and rainbows.

    In the middle of the garden lies a gentle streaming river, flowing clear water as it spreads throughout the crops and plants near the little banks. Crops such as simple carrots, potatoes, and beets created an earthy aroma along the center of the garden.

    The sounds of sparring can be heard in a small field with short grass and infertile soil.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Why is she this strong!? Couldn¡¯t I fight someone like Gabriel for a change?!

    Kenichi wielded a sparring hard stick, causing his hands to blister as he thrusted his entire body. His movements were amateurish for his sparring and strength were relatively mediocre compared to his adoptive sister.

    In front of him was Iris. Her long dark purple hair swayed in motion with the stick as she battered her arms down at the 14-year-old ginger-haired boy. Opposite of him, her moves were practically flawless.

    In no time, Iris managed to knock Kenichi down, using her sparring wood stick to thumb the top of his head in a loud snap. Falling on his bottom, Kenichi placed both of his hands on top of his head, and his eyes saw in front of him the same stick being in front of his face.

    (Kenichi) Ow!¡­

    (Iris) You just have a bruise you wimp. Even Gabriel doesn¡¯t complain this much.

    Still caressing the top of his head, Kenichi looked up as Iris folded her arms, her face looking down on him. Slowly, Kenichi got up as he shook away the dirt and grime off of his butt and back thighs.

    Both started to walk towards the other end of the garden, with Kenichi placing his left hand on the back of his head.

    Meanwhile, Iris continued to frown as she crossed her arms. Looking towards Kenichi, his face started to fluster red as he avoided eye contact with her, causing her to sharpen her eyes at him.

    (Iris) You know that look won¡¯t make me kinder to you.

    (Kenichi) I know¡­ I¡¯m sorry.

    (Iris) Honestly, be more like David or something. He has ten times more confidence than you do.

    (Kenichi) That¡¯s because he¡¯s the strongest one here. I¡¯m not that strong, or fast¡­ I¡¯m kind of the black sheep here¡­

    (Iris) Well if you¡¯re the sheep, then David¡¯s the shepherd you have to follow .

    Iris then stopped walking as she turned her entire body towards Kenichi.

    (Iris) You shouldn¡¯t be that shy. Cause, believe me, most people use other people¡¯s shyness to get what they want.

    Noticing Kenichi¡¯s silence, Iris let out a sigh, her face sharpened even more as her right eye started to sprout a vein. Kenichi, who still turned his head away from Iris, looked towards his right side, his face down as his cheeks flustered even more.

    (Iris) What? What is it? Say something.

    (Kenichi) I-It¡¯s nothing¡­

    (Iris) I know you want to say something, so say it.

    (Kenichi) I said ¡­ I said it¡¯s nothing.

    Iris turned her body back towards the direction of the end of the garden, her hands forming into tight fists.

    (Iris) tch ¡­ Whatever, just follow me.

    Walking towards the end of the end of the garden, Kenichi noticed two boys older than him, both of them having envelopes in their hands.

    One of the boys was 16 and had a golden cross necklace, with his black hair tied up in a bun.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    While the other boy was 17 and had a brown cowboy hat, eating an ice cream cone.

    Reaching the two of them, Kenichi and Iris stood in front of them, sweat and some dirt on their clothes as they saw the two teens. David, his ice cream cone slightly melting on his right hand, looked towards Kenichi.

    (David) So how was sparring?

    (Kenichi) It was ok. She was stronger than me, but it was nothing too bad.

    (Iris) He was way too weak. Gabriel put up a better fight than him.

    Kenichi looked down towards the tall grass as his ears perked up, covering his face with both his hands as his face hottened.

    (Gabriel) Hahahaha ¡­ oh man, this means I¡¯m not the weakest out of the bunch.

    (David) Hehe ¡­ don¡¯t go to that harsh man, he¡¯s just 14.

    (Gabriel) Hey, better for him than me.

    Iris, who had a vein sprouting onto her forehead, clenched her fists tightly as she put herself in front of Kenichi. Looking towards Gabriel mostly, her eyes sharpened ferociously, while Kenichi stood behind with his hands cusped in between them.

    (Iris) Quiet! You¡¯re starting to annoy me.

    (Gabriel) Why do you always appear to give aid to Kenichi? Do you like him or something?

    (Iris) pfft ¡­ no, too wimpy for my taste.

    (Gabriel) I don¡¯t know ¡­ you always seem to get passive-aggressive whenever someone talks about him, especially when a girl compliments him.

    (Iris) Whatever. What are those envelopes?

    Iris looked down towards the two white envelopes that both David and Gabriel had, her cheeks flustered for a second before she replaced them with bulging hidden veins on her neck.

    David and Gabriel both looked downwards, their eyes avoiding eye contact with her as they shook the envelopes on both of their left hands. Looking up towards Iris, David¡¯s voice slightly broke as his eyes were droopy.

    (David) Me and Gabriel are being drafted into the war. They needed all the men they could get so they extended the age from 18 to 13.

    Iris turned her head towards Kenichi, her eyes widening at the ginger-haired boy. Looking back towards the other two, Iris gulped down as she straightened her back, a bead of sweat rolling down her right temple.

    (Iris) I thought it was just a bunch of riots.

    (David) They say it¡¯s a civil war at this point. They¡¯re calling it the Great Demi-Human Skirmishes. A bunch of skirmishes and battles have been going nonstop recently in parts of our country and Aizzonia, so I guess the government is that desperate.

    (Gabriel) Yeah, and I heard Kepputha and Ticia are under intense curfews and lockdowns, I heard major cities like Lagefor and Ticia are filled with rioters.

    (Iris) But why teens¡­

    Iris¡¯s hands started to shake, her knuckles on the verge of breaking as she continued to eye Kenichi. Noticing her sharpening eyes towards him, Kenichi looked away, turning his head towards his right side.

    Until a little girl with glasses ran up towards Kenichi, tackling his leg from behind. With enough force, she managed to move Kenichi forward a couple of steps.

    (Jenny) Kenny!

    (Kenichi) Hey Jenny. Be careful when you ram me.

    Kenichi turned his focus towards Jenny, who continued to hug his left leg tightly. Pecking his right hand on Jenny¡¯s head, her four-and-a-half-year-old body warming up as she clung to him.

    His face softened, with no redness or flustering from his cheeks, his eyes seeing the little bundle of fire tightly clutching around his leg, causing him to stay put.

    (Jenny) Piggyback!

    (Kenichi) Come on Jenny, I¡¯m in the middle of¡­

    (Jenny) Piggyback!

    (Kenichi) Oh fine¡­

    Untangling herself from his leg, Jenny walked in front of him as he carried her upward with his rough hands. Putting her onto his back, she clung her arms onto his neck, causing him to lose air for a second.

    Despite this, Kenichi didn¡¯t pay any mind to Jenny¡¯s tight grip. Turning his face back towards the three, he scratched his cheek with his right hand, the lack of facial hair upon his youthful face.

    (Kenichi) I guess this means I¡¯ll be going to¡­

    (David) Yeah, but I heard teens can be in the same regiment as their friends so that¡¯s a plus.

    Everyone felt a sense of relief, their breaths letting go in unison. Kenichi, looking towards Gabriel, noticed that his lips formed an evil-like grin, his smile causing Iris to fold her arms and tap her foot.

    (Gabriel) Don¡¯t worry Kenichi, I¡¯ll take care of you. Oh yeah, I heard a myth that if you give a girl flowers after a war, that girl will forever be your wife.

    Turning his head towards Iris, her hands turned into fists as she continued to fold her arms in place.

    (Iris) And? Your point is?

    (Gabriel) If Kenichi makes it out alive, I¡¯ll force him to give you flowers.

    (Iris) Please stop talking.

    Having veins bulging out of her neck and forehead, Iris glared at Gabriel, her face reddened from both anger and something else. His face turning pale, he slowly put his hands in front of him as he took a couple of steps back.

    But Jenny, still clutching onto Kenichi¡¯s neck, had her ears perked up as she remembered the myth. Placing her head right next to his ear, Jenny showcased a bright smile as her hands tightened his neck.

    (Jenny) Kenny! Give me flowers!

    (Kenichi) What?

    (Iris) Jenny!

    (Jenny) Give me flowers! Pinky promise!

    (Kenichi) Jenny, you¡¯re still only four¡­

    (Jenny) Promise!

    Now feeling the tightness of his neck starting to slightly suffocate him, Kenichi put his pinky up towards Jenny.

    Making a vow, Jenny let out a cheerful smile as she put her arms in the air, letting go of Kenichi¡¯s neck.

    (Jenny) Yay!

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s just a little kid, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll forget eventually.

    Iris tapped her foot violently, her forehead and neck bulging with veins as she looked toward Kenichi. Noticing her deathly glare, he flustered his cheeks as he looked away, avoiding eye contact with her.

    (Iris) tch ¡­ Fine go ahead, I don¡¯t like flowers anyway.

    (Gabriel) ¡­ Iris?

    (Iris) What?

    (Gabriel) You lost your crush to your little sister¡­ I never thought I would see that with my own¡ª

    Iris thrust her leg into Gabriel¡¯s bloodline, causing him to collapse onto the tall grass.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 50: You Promised to Give Me Flowers...

    (Mensis 21, 45 / 11:32AM)

    One year and seven months later¡­

    (Iris) Come on, pick up the pace!

    In the same purple blossom garden, the clashing of wooden sticks can be heard. On the doorstep of winter, the purple blossoms slowly withered away as many droplets were scattered across the infertile soil that the two girls were in.

    The smell of early spring was long gone, with the scent of body odor and sweat coming from one particular area.

    (Jenny) Stop!

    (Iris) And you¡¯re done.

    Doing a baby remix of her original ballad, Iris smacked away the stick that Jenny fought with, causing Jenny to pout, her cheeks puffing up red. Iris, who smirked smugly at her, placed her stick to the ground, her forehead and neck not breaking a sweat.

    (Iris) You¡¯re too slow Jenny.

    Jenny clenched her fists as her eyes started to contain rolled-down tears, hitting the dry soil as her legs started to quiver.

    (Jenny) You¡¯re mean!

    (Iris) I don¡¯t care. You need to learn how to fight properly. How are you going to defend yourself?

    (Jenny) Kenny will!

    (Iris) sighs ¡­ That damn wimp. Don¡¯t rely on men to fight your battles, Jenny, it¡¯s not a good mindset.

    Iris looked away towards the decaying cherry blossom trees in the garden, feeling the slight chill of the wind on her nape. Noticing that Jenny was starting to shiver from the sudden gust of wind, Iris held out her hand towards her, her eyes gentle as her rough hand filled with calluses was inches away from Jenny.

    (Iris) Here, take my hand. Let¡¯s get something for lunch.

    (Jenny) hmp.

    Despite Jenny continuing to puff up her face, Iris grabbed her hand firmly, as both of them walked through the decaying garden. Feeling Jenny¡¯s hand tighten, Iris rolled her eyes as Jenny continued to look down towards the tall grass.

    Iris noticed the clouds overhead starting to dampen the light from the sun.

    (Iris¡¯s thoughts) I guess today is going to be cloudy¡­

    Reaching the end of the garden, Iris opened the white shoji door, gently placing her hand on the sliding handle. Opening the door, she used her left hand to push Jenny in, before softly closing it back.

    But as soon as they got in, they noticed both their mother and father in front of the door, looking down. Kenji, their father, had his hands formed into fists, his fists shuddered as his jaw started to grind between one another.

    Meanwhile, Erina, their mother, clasped her right hand onto her mouth, a river of tears flowing outwards as her left hand was placed onto her stomach, clutching it tightly.

    Iris, looking towards Jenny, placed her hand on Jenny¡¯s back, her eyes narrowing at Jenny¡¯s confused face.

    (Iris) Jenny, go to your room¡­

    (Jenny) But I thought we¡¯re going to get lunch¡ª

    (Iris) Just go!

    Pushing Jenny out of her sight, she jerked her head towards where her parents were, her body shaking as her breathing started to turn irregular. Slowly walking towards her parents, each step on the dark wood creaks loudly, causing her to cusp her hands tight, as if she wanted to break them.

    Putting herself in between her parents, she noticed two boys in front of them, their faces looking downwards. Iris, her jaw opened, covered her mouth as her head arched back.

    (Iris¡¯s thoughts) David and Gabriel ¡­ they look older¡­

    Before they left, Iris recalled the youthfulness of both boys, their faces smooth with little to no facial hair. Now they had a few wrinkles on their jawline and cheeks, their foreheads filled with sweat and their eye bags were completely dark with gray, covering the entirety of their eyes.

    Iris put her hands to herself, her back straightening upwards despite her face on the verge of breaking. Focusing her eyes on both David and Gabriel, she folded her arms like usual, yet they started to shake.

    (Iris) Where¡¯s Kenichi?

    David sluggishly looked up towards Iris, his eyes red and his hands motionless. Without opening the edges of his mouth, David forcingly moved his right hand towards his jacket¡¯s pocket, the world blanketing white. Holding in her breath, Iris awaited the suspense, as David brought out¡­

    A small red rose, taped together with a photo of Kenichi.

    (David) I¡¯m sorry¡­

    David turned his head away as his confidence faded away into the winter wind.

    Iris walked backward, her head swaying side to side. Her chest began to push upwards and downwards more, her legs twitching in a frenzy, her hands motionless as her eyes¡­

    Looking away, she pushed her legs off the wooden floor, towards the direction of her room. Ignoring everything, every sound, every brought, every pain in her heart, she reached the end of the hall, opened her door, and slammed it shut.

    (Jenny) Where¡¯s Kenny¡­?

    Gabriel glanced as David let a single tear drip from his face, rolling down his cheek onto the red rose, which caused Gabriel to motionlessly let out a stream of tears out of both his eyes, his head in place as he stared at Jenny.

    Jenny looked at the two boys, those boys who were considered to be the strongest boys that she ever met, who were slowly breaking down right in front of her.

    Erina placed her trembling right hand onto Jenny¡¯s shoulder, her quivering throat causing her to let her voice break as she spoke to Jenny.

    (Erina) Kenichi¡¯s r-ran away from here¡­ he moved away to¡ª

    (David) He¡¯s dead Jenny. Kenny¡¯s gone¡­

    Crouching down towards Jenny, David extended both his arms to pull Jenny into him, giving her a tight hug as her head was on top of David¡¯s left shoulder. David¡¯s hands shook with vigor as his eyes desperately held back his tears.

    Jenny remained still, as her entire body was stuck onto David¡¯s hug. For several seconds, Jenny remained silent as her heartbeat pounded against her tiny body, causing David to look at the ground.

    (David) I¡¯m sorry¡­

    Suddenly, Jenny¡¯s eyes let out a tsunami of tears that continued to roll down onto David¡¯s shoulder. With the shroud of water pouring out of her, Jenny clutched herself onto David, her body completely loose as she wailed.

    Tightening the hug around Jenny, David let out another tear from his eye. Continuing to look down, he spoke in a gentle tone.

    (David) ¡­

    Her mouth was wide open, her nostrils flared, and most importantly of all¡­

    Jenny¡¯s eyes looked upwards to the heavens above, hoping to see the ginger-faced boy one last time¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Present time)

    (Kenichi) I¡¯ll make this painless.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Wielding dual-wielding, double-edged chainsaw-chained swords, Kenichi readied his stance as he put his right leg forward. With a heavy thrust, Kenichi pushed his left leg off the ground, traveling fast as he made his way toward David. Having his arms extended back, the swords brought with them a fast amount of inertia into them, the chainsaw chains going at a much faster speed than David is used to.

    David, who saw the world in slow motion again, only wielded a simple handgun. Kenichi edging closer to him, thrusted both of his legs to move to the right, creating a perfect dodge.

    David had his feet steady on the ground again, not faltering as he saw Kenichi thrusting himself towards him a second time. Kenichi moved towards David as he again tried to launch his chainsaw sword onto David, creating a gust of wind.

    (David) Your moves were lacking back then. What changed, Kenichi?

    David took many steps back as he continued to dodge each strike from Kenichi¡¯s swords. With ease, Kenichi mowed the air to get a hit on David, even when it meant slicing onto the rich wooden floor.

    The chainsaw chains continued to shred the well-manufactured wood as if it was cloth. With wood chunks scattering around Kenichi, his forehead didn¡¯t have any beads of sweat or exhaustion as he thrust his arms at David. Even when his feet were in the way of his barrage of thrusts, his face remained still as his eyes focused on David¡¯s ballad.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) And I can¡¯t even shoot at him point blank. He¡¯ll probably just deflect it.

    A chunk of wood got into David¡¯s eye.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Damn it!

    (Kenichi) You¡¯re backed up now.

    David put his back against the wall, feeling the hard wood. David continued to wield his pistol on his right hand, extending his left hand far out the wall.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Perfect, I just need to execute it properly.

    From his peripheral vision, David noticed a large dresser to the left of him, so he covered his left hand by putting it behind the dresser. Grabbing a hold of the back of the dresser, David looked towards Kenichi.

    Kenichi raised his right arm again, lifting it high as he put enough muscle and strength onto it. Not only his right arm, but he pulled back his left arm, readying it as he angled it sideways compared to his right arm which was angled downwards.

    (Kenichi) You¡¯re finished.

    As the chainsaw blade from his right arm was several inches away from David¡¯s face, David angled his left hand on the drawer.

    Putting an incredible amount of force into his left arm, David pushed the angled drawer towards him, the drawer making contact with the chainsaw blades. At the right moment, David ducked to his left as the chainsaw blades managed to cut through the drawer like paper. During his duck, his jacket tingled from the chainsaw blades of Kenichi¡¯s left sword.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Holy shit that was close.

    Breathing hard, David crawled backward as sweat started to drip from his forehead, his legs starting to fail their given role. Kenichi saw David¡¯s antics of desperation, his eyes twitching as his hands started to gently shake.

    (Kenichi) Stop dodging me, it¡¯s pointless.

    While crawling, David managed to bump into a couple of chairs near a table, his luck continuing to get the better of him. Grabbing the leg of a chair with his left hand, he then placed the metallic chair in front of himself.

    Kenichi threw his right arm yet again at David, but the object that David had didn¡¯t break. The metallic chair started to spew sparks, a duel ensuing as the chair and chainsaw were in a match of strength.

    The sparks shone in the dark room, their eyes making eye contact as they saw each other''s reflections.

    (David) You¡¯re not that strong. Remember those sparring matches with all four of us? You were the weakest of them all.

    (Kenichi) How many times do I have to tell you¡­

    David¡¯s face went ghostly pale as he glanced towards his right side, breaking eye contact right away.

    Kenichi¡¯s left arm thrust sideways yet again, angling it inward so that it would go between the opened area of the chair. With an absurd amount of strength, Kenichi¡¯s forehead started to let out a single droplet of sweat, his arms tightening his grip on his chainsaws.

    The chainsaw sword continued to make its way inward onto David, and he could only watch as his eyes put the world into slow motion.

    But even in slow motion, people can¡¯t escape their imminent demise.

    (Kenichi) I don¡¯t remember you at all!

    Still in slow motion, David flinched his body to the left, his face coated with cold sweat as his breathing started to become irregular. Kenichi¡¯s chainsaw chain sword made its way towards his side, inches away from his right abdomen, until¡­

    The duel between the chair and the chainsaw came to a halt, with David accidentally pushing the chair with enough force in front of him.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) W-What¡­

    Seeing everything in present motion, David saw Kenichi almost tumble to the ground as he walked a few steps to the right, retracting his chainsaw swords. Kenichi also retracted the inward chainsaw that was about to strike David, his left chainsaw grazing upon the metallic chair as it returned to him.

    With his chainsaw swords retracting back to the two pieces of metal, Kenichi holstered them quickly back into his jacket. Feeling an unfamiliar liquid reaching downward onto his shoulder, Kenichi slowly placed his right hand onto the area where the liquid was coming from. Rubbing it gently, he noticed that the liquid substance was sticky and warm, most notably to be¡­

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Blood¡­

    Slowly turning his head, he saw a woman with glasses wielding a spiked frying pan.

    His chest heaved in an abnormal cycle. Seeing that her eyes were still tearing up, with her face red from the tears that stained her cheeks, Kenichi looked towards Jenny with a sly smirk.

    (Kenichi) You¡¯re pretty strong.

    Jenny continued to point the spiked frying pan at Kenichi, her hands shaking as her eyes were bloodshot red. Her legs remained solid on the ground, followed by her mouth letting out hot pants as she held onto her weapon.

    Kenichi walked towards her, towering over her as the spiked pan reached his chest. Looking down at the woman, Kenichi slowly put his hand onto the spiked pan.

    (Kenichi) But not as strong as me.

    Kenichi lifted the spiked frying pan. Because Jenny had a firm grip on the pan, it made her go along with the motion of it.

    To her surprise, Jenny found herself off the ground, her feet dangling as she continued to have a strong grip on the handle.

    Sweat started to drip down across her face as her tears stopped to see the cold ginger-haired man narrowing his eyes on her. Swiping his hair with his left hand, Kenichi pulled her in close.

    (Kenichi) I think it¡¯s best if you forget about me, can you promise me that?

    (Jenny) Kenny¡­

    A gunshot was heard in the adult lounge.

    (David) You can¡¯t promise someone if you can¡¯t even hold a promise yourself¡­

    The barrel of the gun let out a gentle smoke rising out. Having his finger on the trigger, David already focused his sight on Kenichi¡¯s stomach region, into an area where he knew that it wouldn¡¯t kill him.

    Kenichi sensed the unusual throbbing pain coming from the right side of the stomach. Dropping the spiked pan to the ground, Jenny stumbled onto the floor.

    (Kenichi) You little cheat¡­

    Placing his right hand towards his liver, a stream of blood poured out of it, his hand drenched with the sticky and warm substance. As his vision started to get blurry, Kenichi started to stumble as his legs were on the verge of buckling, his ears throbbing as he walked towards a nearby window.

    (Kenichi) I think I should go, for all of our sake.

    Kenichi then formed a tight fist, using his arm to punch the bulletproof window.

    Glass splattered all around his body, the sharp shards cutting and slashing his arm, with some pieces of glass stuck to his light-toned skin.

    Putting his right foot on the window frame, he placed his body in between it. Looking back towards the two adults that remained motionless, Kenichi softened his face.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) I guess even when I had memories, I never fulfilled any of my promises¡­

    Turning back around to see the city, he then pushed himself off the window, his right leg shaking as his wound continued to gush out.

    Jenny and David both glanced at each other, looking at the glass shards and many broken objects all around their fighting area.

    Ignoring the other battle ensuing from the other side, their ears blocked any outside force coming into view.

    (Jenny) Kenny¡­

    Jenny sat down and covered her mouth with both her hands, inhaling and exhaling as her breath started to get caught in her throat.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) You promised to give me flowers¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 51: A Hero in My Book

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 6:32PM)

    (The Destroyed Bar)

    In the remnants of a bar, 11 people sat and rested on the debris-ridden floor, their body odor ever-present as they all looked up at the evening sky.

    While the background far in the distance contained many explosions and gunshots, screams and shouts were heard not too far from their location. Perking their ears up, they had no choice but to endure the sounds of people¡¯s tears and desperation, their eyes closing at the lives they let go of.

    (Gwen) sniff sniff¡­

    (Miles) Are you still sad about us going off on you? It was your fault that you let them get away.

    (Gwen) But ¡­ sniff ¡­ I said I was sorry¡­

    Sitting on top of the rubble, Gwen had her knees tucked in as her arms wrapped around her legs, putting her head on her knees. While in that position, Gwen sniffed in intervals, the running water from her nose dripping onto her black pants.

    Squinting their eyes, everyone else saw this embarrassing display, as Gwen looked around with her eyes and nose bright red. Benn, folding his arms, walked towards the freckled woman who looked up towards him.

    (Benn) You¡¯re acting childish. Stop acting like a little kid.

    Gwen turned her head to her right side, pouting as her eyes remained closed. Clenching her stomach and chest, she slightly leaned back as the center of focus of sitting was now onto her tailbone.

    (Gwen) I-I¡¯m not a little kid¡­

    (Benn) Yet you always act like this.

    (Luna) Can you just get her ass up? She¡¯s being annoying.

    Luna remained halfway between the others and Miles and Stan, her hands on her hips as she focused her glare on Gwen. As her chest continued to heave heavy breaths, Luna managed to stand normally, her feet steady on the unbalanced floor.

    Gwen, looking towards her direction, stopped her pouting as her eyes started to swell up with tears again, her nose sniffling more as she hugged her legs tightly.

    (Gwen) Stop being mean to me! Why do you act like this?

    (Luna) Cause you¡¯re a pain in the ass! Just get up and give us orders, you idiot! Why do we have to clean up your messes that you failed to clean up?

    (Luke) Luna.

    Luke put his hand on Luna¡¯s left shoulder, his smooth palms rubbing the material of Luna¡¯s leather jacket. His voice is as gentle as a Tician black bear, he looked towards Luna who had her face turned towards him, his fingertips etched onto her shoulder.

    (Luke) Please calm down. Let me talk to her.

    Feeling Luke¡¯s hand, her eyes narrowed toward Luke¡¯s pushed-down face. Quickly, she put her hands into her jacket¡¯s pockets and turned her head the other way as she avoided making eye contact.

    (Luna) W-Whatever¡­ just get her up¡­

    Letting go of her shoulder, Luke had both of his hands down as he walked across the debris-ridden wooden floor. He took note of the amount of wood and dust that scattered in his way, his boots having tiny scrapes as the shards of wood cut through the black leather.

    Steadily, he reached towards Miles and Benn who were right in front of the childish freckled woman, their hands folded as they looked down at her. Placing himself in between them, Luke crouched down to where both his and her eyes were at the same eye level.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry, they don¡¯t mean nothing by it. It¡¯s not your fault, sometimes people can get caught up in the moment.

    Gwen decreased her sniffling as her body began to loosen. Swiping away her bodily fluids from her nose with her right arm, she brought it back towards her knees, continuing to cradle herself.

    (Gwen) But why are they being mean? I saved them but they treated me like some idiot.

    (Luke) Hey¡­

    Putting his hands on her shoulders, he gently rubbed his thumb across the black leather on her jacket, his touch causing her body to relax as her stomach and chest were uncontracted.

    (Luke) You¡¯re not an idiot. You may be slow but you¡¯re not that. They¡¯re just cranky that you let the enemies get away, enemies that could¡¯ve killed them easily.

    Gwen looked up to see Benn and Miles continuing to fold their arms.

    Turning away from Miles and Benn, she saw the other Dark Angel members and Stan¡¯s group continuing to rest as they either looked up towards the sky or looked down towards the floor full of debris.

    Yet Gwen still held onto her knees tightly.

    (Gwen) But I saved them, Luke¡­ Aren¡¯t I strong?

    Luke then stood up steadily as the debris caused his feet to unbalance himself. Making his way towards Gwen¡¯s back, Luke slightly tread the rubble of debris as he managed to reach Gwen¡¯s back.

    Meanwhile, Gwen turned her gaze onto her hands, looking at the rough scales of her palms as she ignored the razor blade scars on her wrist.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m a leader, but I¡¯m slow. I¡¯m slow yet I give orders. Strength is the only thing I have but people¡ª

    Luke crouched down near her back, placing his knees onto the ground as his arms were down, his knuckles feeling the hardness of the wooden debris. Despite the debris causing his knees to shiver from the unconformity, Luke extended his arms.

    (Gwen) Huh?

    Luke wrapped his arms gently around Gwen, his hands reaching her knees as his muscular yet slim chest gave her back a sense of comfort.

    Turning her head to where her head was inches away from his, Gwen¡¯s eyes started to twitch as water started to form within them. Being hugged tightly, his arms giving her a sense of comfort, led Gwen to¡­

    Roll down a single tear from her right eye.

    (Luke) You are strong. Much stronger than anyone else in this room. You may be the slowest in brain power, the most careless fighter, but¡­

    Placing his hands onto Gwen¡¯s hands, he slowly rubbed them as he gently looked at her face with a warm smile.

    (Luke) You saved my life, so in my book, I guess that makes you my hero.

    Gwen let go of her knees that she cuddled with, her hands being placed onto the debris-ridden floor. As her legs lay across the debris, with wooden shards pinching her legs, Gwen looked down at the ground, her eyes barely containing tears that she wanted to let out.

    Luke slowly placed his hands on Gwen¡¯s lower neck, not putting his arms on her chest as his breathing remained calm.

    (Gwen) I understand¡­

    Gwen put her right knee on the ground, using her left leg to stabilize her body. With the push of her other leg, she got both feet on the unstable ground as she straightened her back and head. Cupping her hands on her mouth, she spread her feet a couple of inches from the sides.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    (Gwen) Attention everyone! Please gather around me!

    Both Miles and Benn turned their backs as they saw the other seven adults walking towards her. With their feet barely able to cover the uncharted debris around them, they all managed to move in a crowd as they were all right in front of her.

    Their eyes focused on Gwen, who still had red eyes and a red nose ever present on her face, they all folded their arms and perked up their ears as their bodies slightly leaned towards her.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I guess that works too¡­

    (Gwen) Sorry if I acted childish. I guess I should¡¯ve known you guys aren¡¯t as strong as me in terms of dealing with those monsters. And I guess I have been careless in terms of fighting, so¡­

    Gwen then placed her left hand onto Luke¡¯s back, her rough hand scaling the contents of the same fabric that she and the Dark Angels wore. With a small thrust, Gwen pushed her arm with little strength, his body almost collapsing as he slowly steadied his feet again.

    (Gwen) This young man here, you know him, you love him, is going to be our little planner as we track down those four liches. Any questions?

    Fred, who was in the back of the small crowd, raised his hand high, his smooth palms gleaming in the evening light. Because of this, everyone¡¯s eyes remained focused on the young man with silver hair, making Gwen squint her eyes as Fred was in the back of everyone.

    (Gwen) What do you need, Freddy?

    (Fred) Can I ¡­ can I ¡­

    Fred¡¯s left hand trembled as he looked down onto the debris-ridden floor, causing Gwen to tilt her head to her right.

    But Fred put down his left hand, with both of his hands forming well-tightened fists that slowly turned his hands white.

    (Fred) May I plan with Luke too ma¡¯am!

    Bowing down at a 90-degree angle, Fred placed both of his fists on his thighs as he displayed the Clastine bow.

    Everyone made room for him as he did his gesture, their eyes turning towards Gwen as she put her hands onto her hips. The corners of her lips made a warm smile, similar to the one that Luke used with her, bobbing her head down to gesture a simple nod.

    (Gwen) Sure, you all could plan out the details, but Fred¡­

    Gwen then walked towards Fred, her boots dragging on the wooden floor as she made her way towards him. Still having her hands on her hips, she placed her right hand on his left shoulder.

    (Gwen) Can I borrow something for a second?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (The Adult Lounge)

    The room was filled with the moisture of two fights that lay there, the humidity making the crevices of the walls and even the ceiling start to sweat.

    Papers, wood pieces, glass shards, and a couple of chairs were out of place as four people remained in that room.

    Two people were on opposite sides, with the ones near the front door both an adult male and an adult female, while the other ones in the back were an adult male elf and a girl.

    Jerry continued to wither on the ground, clutching his cheek as his body twitched from the overload of his nervous system.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I can¡¯t move my mouth¡­

    Both of his hands occupied the bruised area, feeling the squishiness of his right cheek as his legs flailed, hitting the ground many times with his feet.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Hope¡­

    He placed the left side of his face on the ground, caressing the rich wood as it caused him to relax his body more. Yet still, the deeply bruised area continued agonizing him as his fingers dug deep into the outer layers of the bruise.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I need Hope ¡­

    A small girl came by, her footsteps slow and quiet.

    Looking upwards at the small figure looking down at him, Jerry¡¯s eyes squinted as he took note of the pigtails of the girl followed by her youthful face.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Loraine¡­

    Loraine¡¯s chest thumped loudly as her breathing was irregular, as well as her arms remained motionless as they quivered under the immense strain. Oxygen on her legs was low, causing them to shake as her knees were on the verge of buckling.

    But Loraine crouched down towards Jerry, her eyes remaining up as her breath was hot and sticky. Still having marks of saliva and spit on her mouth, Jerry narrowed his eyes more as Loraine¡¯s eyes were on the verge of rolling back, her forehead coated with hot sweat that rolled down to her cheeks.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) What does she want¡ªAah!

    Jerry clutched his right cheek again as another bolt of pain flinched his nerves, causing him to grind his teeth together.

    Loraine slowly placed her hand into her jacket pocket, her little hand moving through the abundance of junk and objects as her eyes slightly opened wide. Feeling the abundance of glass and metal coming together, Loraine slowly pulled out her hand as she firmly held the object tightly.

    (Loraine) H-Here ¡­ pants ¡­ is your medicine¡­ pants.

    Slightly squinting his eyes, he took note of a glass bottle with a metal cap. Looking more into the bottle, Jerry focused his eyes as he noticed the symbol of the bottle.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Oh shit! Not that medicine! Anything but that!

    Jerry leaned his body away from the bottle, his right cheek still throbbing from pain that felt like someone was stabbing a burning knife into it.

    Loraine, who noticed that Jerry didn¡¯t want the medicine, rapidly turned the bottle cap clockwise, opening the lid as her face backed away from the smell. Smelling the foul and acidic odor coming from the bottle, the liquid started to bubble as it was exposed to oxygen.

    (Loraine) You need this so the pain will stop.

    (Jerry) Like hell! Ow!

    (Loraine) Hehe.

    With her left hand, Loraine grabbed Jerry¡¯s hair as she held the bottle with her right hand. Bringing his head closer, she made sure that his cheek was wide open, and with the thrust of her right hand.

    (Loraine) Clear!

    Dumped the entire load of the bubbly and acidic liquid onto Jerry¡¯s right cheek, the area of the bruised area starting to sizzle with steam coming out of it.

    (Jerry) AAAAAAAHHH!!!!

    His body twitched as if he was dying, his feet pounding the floor with pure strength, creating many wooden dents on the rich wood.

    His throat pushed itself to the limit as he let out a frantic yell. Followed by his body being coated with an abundance of hot and cold sweat, his breathing intensified as his chest and stomach clenched from the medicine¡¯s doings.

    (Loraine) Stop being a baby.

    Jerry continued to tear his vocal cords from his overbearing yelling, his right cheek still steaming as the bruised area slowly started to turn back to normal.

    Feeling the burning sensation of his cheek slowly dissipating, Jerry frantically put both his hands on his cheek, his cheek returned to its normal state.

    Noticing that the acidic burn also went away, Jerry put his hands to the ground as his face looked towards Loraine.

    (Jerry) You didn¡¯t have to put in the whole bottle!

    (Loraine) But you¡¯re now better.

    His hands started to shake, his eyes twitching as veins started to form on his elf ears. Seeing Jerry steaming not from the bottle but from himself, Loraine got up and she let out a goofy smile, the corner of her lips reaching her ears as she opened her eyes wide.

    (Loraine) Baby!

    (Jerry) strained ¡­ Lorraine ¡­!

    Holding back himself, he slowly inhaled in and out, his lungs feeling the breath of more fresh air.

    As his eyes started to expand more, leading him to see more clearly, Jerry saw from his peripheral vision David and Jenny, the two gently resting on the other side of the room.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Oh good, they¡¯re both still alive.

    Standing up slowly, he put his right hand on his cheek, rubbing his sweaty and stick palms on it despite the pain being long gone. Moving his legs forward, he slowly made his way toward the one nearest to him, a woman with glasses and monolid eyes.

    Seeing some of the wooden floor being cut up by chains, Jerry took note of the many slashing of objects such as a dresser, followed by the cuts of a metal chair in the middle of the room.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I wonder what happened during their fight.

    Jerry stood in front of Jenny, his arms remaining in place as he moved his face downwards onto the ponytailed beauty. Crouching down, his face was on the same level as hers as he extended his hands towards Jenny¡¯s shoulders.

    Jenny only stared as her mouth was agape.

    (Jerry) Jenny ¡­ are you ok? What happened to that man? Did he hurt you?

    Jenny¡¯s eyes were soulless as her arms and legs laid on the floor. With a sigh, Jerry slightly tugged her shoulders to get her head in a straight position.

    (Jerry) Please, Jenny, I need to know. Whatever he is, we¡¯ll get him for sure.

    (David) You don¡¯t want to know Jerry, nor will you ever get to him.

    David got behind Jerry, his eyes on the back of Jerry¡¯s head as he had his hands and arms motionless like Jenny. Turning his head, Jerry¡¯s eyes locked onto David¡¯s, causing Jerry¡¯s mouth to quiver.

    (Jerry) What do you mean I don¡¯t want to know? He hurt Jenny so I¡¯m not going to sit back and watch! Even if he overpowered you of all¡ª

    (David) You¡¯ll get slaughtered the moment he gets serious. Trust me, he¡¯s not as weak as he looks¡­

    Jerry stood up instantly, his hands forming into fists. Despite David being the shorter man, David remained calm, with his breathing regular and his hands continuing to remain still.

    (David) You¡¯re not thinking straight Jerry. You never beat me in hand-to-hand combat, hell, you never beat me when it comes to gun accuracy or speed.

    (Jerry) So!?

    (David) Even if I go with you, I doubt we¡¯ll be able to get him fairly.

    Jerry continued to tower over David, his fists shaking. His breathing became more irregular, followed by the way Jerry¡¯s eyes started to turn bloodshot red.

    (Jerry) Does it look like I give a rat¡¯s ass if he¡¯s stronger!? I¡¯m facing him whether you like it or not!

    (Jenny) Jerry¡­

    Jerry instantly looked towards where Jenny was, his furious stance still on him as he gazed upon Jenny¡¯s face. Her face was tattered with cold tears, her cheeks strawberry red.

    (Jenny) Please don¡¯t go¡­

    From those words, Jerry¡¯s ears that were turning a deep crimson red ceased to go back to normal, and his mouth slightly opened as he took a step back. Followed by his hands allowing the gravity to be pulled to the ground, Jerry looked down as his entire body felt as if an anvil was weighing down on him.

    Avoiding David¡¯s eyes combined with Jenny¡¯s, Jerry looked towards the broken window.

    (Jerry) Pedro got Boris¡­

    Both David¡¯s eyes and Jenny¡¯s lit up, their eyes wide as beads of sweat started to drip down from their temples.

    David walked closer to where Jerry was, his breathing more out of pace as he put his hand on Jerry¡¯s right shoulder.

    (David) Say what?

    (Jerry) Boris got kidnapped.

    David glanced around the room as there was no sign of Boris, the dark room starting to deeply settle in. As his face started to be coated with sweat, David tightened his grip on Jerry, his eyes peering behind Jerry¡¯s head.

    (David) So how do we find him?

    The phone from the back of the room rang.

    Everyone, including Jenny and Loraine, turned to see the black phone that was hanging on a wall vibrating.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 52: The Plan to Retake The City!

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 6:47PM)

    (David on the phone) Hello?

    (Gwen on the phone) Hey David! How¡¯s it going on the other end?

    (David on the phone) Is that you? Are you using the homemade telephone that Gary made?

    (Gwen on the phone) Heck yeah! You gotta hand it to the guy, he makes basic but cool inventions.

    (Gary¡¯s thoughts) Maybe a thank you could¡¯ve been better.

    Between the destroyed bar and the adult lounge on the main building, both Gwen and David found solace and relief as communication was now being made.

    Gwen placed the black vintage phone on her right ear, holding it with her right hand as the main body was held in her left.

    David held the special hotline phone with his left hand, having the phone directly in front of him as he had the button on speaker.

    (Gwen on the phone) Listen. Something horrible happened to us during our little party. We got ambushed by four liches and they managed to escape. You think you could help us out?

    (David on the phone) Unfortunately for you, we also got ambushed by a couple of liches. One of them even took Boris.

    Gwen took a step back, her legs trembling as her hands that held the phone started to tighten, the phone creaking as its delicate metals started to ache from Gwen¡¯s fingertips. Everyone around her held their breath as the phone didn¡¯t have a speaker.

    (Gwen on the phone) So they took Boris huh¡­

    (Everyone) What?!

    (Luke) Wait, who took Boris?

    (Stan) Was it a lich?

    (Gary) A lich would make sense. Boris has many connections to the government, so of course the liches or zompires would want to pry out details or answers.

    (Fred) I don¡¯t know, there are a lot of holes that this story has¡­

    Stan and his friends, including Luke, huddled together as they put their hands on their chins or the back of their heads. Their eyes focused on the debris-ridden ground, the group of boys tapped their chins or rubbed their heads.

    (Gwen on the phone) Where¡¯s he heading?

    (David on the phone) Jerry told me that before Boris was taken, he put a needle into his jacket, as a sort of tracker. And before he was taken, he gave Jerry a little sensor to showcase Boris¡¯s location.

    (Gwen on the phone) I don¡¯t know how that works, but that seems cool. So David¡­

    Gwen straightened her back as she inhaled deeply, causing her chest to expand deeply as she pushed her lips to form a smile.

    (Gwen on the phone) I think we have a way to kick those liches out of Lagefor before they cause any extra carnage, and also get Boris back as well.

    (David on the phone) How so?

    Gwen then walked towards where Luke, Stan, and his friends were, all thinking to themselves. As their eyes gazed at Gwen approaching them, the boys closed their mouths.

    (Gwen) Show David what you made Fred.

    (Fred) But it was built on the spot.

    (Gwen) Never know till you try.

    Fred crouched down, his feet steady on the debris as he put down his black backpack. Opening the backpack, Fred pulled out a black radio box that looked old and crusted as if it was built by a high schooler.

    Everyone looked away as their mouths puffed up, holding in the air as their hands trembled.

    Except for Gwen, whose eyes sparkled wide as Fred placed the busted black radio box onto the floor. Placing the phone near the radio box, Gwen gestured to Fred to turn it on.

    (Gwen) Let it rip Fred.

    Putting his hand on a little gray knob in front of the radio, a small static noise emitted from the speaker. Everyone slightly flinched as the static was in a high-pitched frequency, with most of them having their ears.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Pfft ¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to work¡ª

    (Guy#1 on Radio) All units! I repeat all units defend the military complex! We are dealing with numerous amounts of zompires, possibly a new variation! Oh shit, getaway¡ª

    An explosion was heard coming out of the radio transmission, cutting off the signal from the router.

    All the adults that went through The Array looked down as they recalled a specific type of zompire. With their bodies being coated with a cold stream of sweat, Fred, Gary, and Diego were the ones that were the most terrified, their legs on the verge of buckling as they heard the sounds coming from the cut-off transmission.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) I guess we¡¯re going to have to deal with those things¡­

    (Gary¡¯s thoughts) Son of a bitch¡­

    (Diego) Not those steamed zompires ¡­ they¡¯re making their public debut here out of all places¡­This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Everyone violently nodded their heads, hoping to forget those unpleasant memories. Gwen, who looked at the three men, sighed.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m sorry you three, but those zompires are our lowest threat in terms of power. Since all three are considered the weakest, can you help out the military in dealing with the Zompire horde?

    (Fred) I¡­ we¡¯ll ¡­ we¡¯ll try.

    Turning the dial to another transmission, his finger turning counterclockwise.

    (Woman#1 on Radio) Please! If there¡¯s anyone out there! Please save me! I¡¯m at the Zirardge National Tower! There are these two maniacs slaughtering everybody, and ¡­ and one of them has bats surrounding him and the other has chainsawed chained swords¡ªNO!! NO!! AAAH!!

    Another transmission was cut short. Gwen put both of her hands on the back of her head, taking a couple of steps backward as she looked down at the radio box.

    (Gwen) Chainsaw chained swords¡­ I feel like you told me a story about a certain kid yeah? When you were in the beast-human skirmishes?

    (David on the phone) About that. I want you to deal with him Gwen, he¡¯s the fastest man out of all of them, he even outpaced me.

    Gwen put her hand on the collar of her shirt, tightly gripping it as she looked towards Luna, who looked down onto the rubble of wood she was on top of.

    (Gwen) Sure, me and Luna could handle him.

    (Luna) Chainsawed chained swords¡­ chainsawed chained¡­

    Fred turned the knob towards another transmission.

    (Guy#2 on the radio) Some crazy jokers are running through the buildings like a bunch of monkeys! One of them could stretch and the other had a pack of wolves! Please, request assistance!

    Luke looked up towards Gwen, his face wide-eyed as beads of sweat started to drip down from his forehead.

    (Luke) That¡¯s Harold and Ryan.

    (Stan) And me and Luke would deal with those two.

    Stan walked right beside Luke, placing his left hand on top of Luke¡¯s right shoulder. Both giving each other a nod, another man stood to the left side of Luke, placing his right hand on top of Luke¡¯s left shoulder.

    (Miles) I¡¯ll go too, you guys are going to need some defense.

    (Stan) No problem Miles, I got your back.

    (Miles) I think I got your back. Are you sure you wanna go with us, Stan? You don¡¯t have a blessing.

    (Stan) Don¡¯t worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

    Stan used his right hand to showcase an amount of junk inside of his pockets. Seeing that Stan was loaded in terms of trickery, Miles gave a small chuckle, his right hand swiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

    Jack then put himself in between the three of them.

    (Jack) And you all are going to need me for support right?

    (Miles, Stan, and even Luke) ¡­

    (Jack) Right?

    (Miles) Well ¡­ the more the merrier¡­

    (Jack) You guys are jerks¡­

    (Gary) You guys are killing Harold¡­?

    Gary faced the four boys, his eyes looking downward toward the debris-ridden floor. His eyes were on the verge of tears, Gary looked up as he noticed all four boys having their heads down for him.

    (Luke) Look, we¡¯ll see if he can be reasoned with first.

    (Miles) I¡¯m sorry Gary, but I don¡¯t think he wants to be reasoned with. Like he¡¯s in some sort of spell. They feel inhuman, or evil to an extent.

    (Gary) But how?

    (Miles) I don¡¯t know¡­

    (Stan) Gary.

    Stan placed himself in front of Gary, his face tightening around his eyelids as he looked down. His eyes starting to redden, he shook his head once, his body shivering as a sudden chill rained down upon him.

    (Stan) We have to let go¡­ there¡¯s no way we could bring him back.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) Harold¡­ I hope whatever happens you find some sort of peace¡­

    (Fred) Incoming recent transmission.

    Turning the knob again, another high-pitched frequency pinched the air, with everyone¡¯s hands covering their ears against it as it continued for several seconds.

    (Guy#3 on the radio) There¡¯s a bunch of people being held hostage inside the Zolon metal company building in the Lagefor industrial district. Two frail weirdos are holding ¡­ some sort of chubby bowl-cut man and a bunch of other men and women, requesting backup!

    (David on the phone) That¡¯s Boris!

    (Gwen on the phone) The Lagefor industrial district? That¡¯s near where you guys are at.

    (David on the phone) Perfect. Me, Jerry, Jenny, and Loraine will take a shot at retrieving Boris in no time.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Hold up, didn¡¯t the guy say two frail weirdos? Who is that other lich then¡­

    Turning the knob one last time, Fred managed to luck out as there was no high-pitched frequency from the radio set, with everyone''s faces relaxed.

    (Woman#2 on the Radio) I¡¯m inside a bar on the South side of downtown. Some crazy woman is eating my boyfriend! Please! Someone help-AAAAHH!!

    (Fred) Is that¡­Gemma?

    (Luna) Who knows if it¡¯s Gemma or not. That could be anyone.

    (Jack) Unless there''s an extra lich girl then yeah.

    Fred looked down as he recognized the last lich that was brought out, his finger off the knob as he cuddled his right arm. His lips quivered as his legs started to shake, followed by his breathing becoming more heavy as he put his left hand on his chest.

    (Benn) Me and Hope will take care of her.

    (Fred) B-Benn¡­

    (Benn) Can you kill Gemma?

    (Fred) W-W-What do you mean? J-J-Just¡ª

    (Benn) Then focus on helping the military out.

    Fred¡¯s hands started to form into fists, tightening them to where his hands were a deathly white. Standing up, he eyed Benn with a death glare, his vocals holding back the many things he wanted to say.

    (Benn) Don¡¯t tell me you still have a thing with her.

    (Fred) Who gave you the right to¡ª

    (Luke) Fred!

    Luke put his hand on Fred¡¯s shoulder, his fingertips digging deep into the fabric of Fred¡¯s shirt. Noticing Fred¡¯s eyes softened, his hands remained motionless as he looked at Luke in front of him.

    (Luke) I know you want to save Gemma, but¡ª

    (Fred) But what?! How do you know killing Gemma is the only way?! How do you know?! How?!

    (Hope) Fred!

    Hope then walked slowly towards the tall silver-haired man, her eyes softening as she looked up at Fred¡¯s youthful face. Her cheeks flustering a bit, Hope made loose fists as she put them up towards his chest.

    (Hope) We could capture Gemma if you want. I know me and Benn don¡¯t have any fancy gadgets, but we could try to bring her¡ª

    (Fred) Can you¡­

    Fred then walked towards Hope, his hands shaking as his eyes started to roll down a couple of cold tears. Avoiding eye contact, he looked towards the ground, rubbing his left hand on his right arm.

    (Fred) Can you at least try to bring her in? At least an effort.

    (Hope) Absolutely!

    (Benn) sighs ¡­ But if she doesn¡¯t oblige, we have no choice.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I think it¡¯s going to be impossible but I don¡¯t want to say it to him. I really don¡¯t want to get into an argument with him right now.

    His face shone bright as his eyes gleamed with red tears in his eyes, his throat quivering with the words caught in his throat. Fred extended his arms outwards to give Hope a big hug, wrapping her around him as he let out a teardrop from his right eye.

    (Fred) T-Thank you!

    (Hope) No worries.

    Luke, who noticed Fred¡¯s relaxing state, kept staring at Fred as he made a little pout.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) sighs ¡­ At least he ain¡¯t Sean. A good thing he was kicked out a year ago.

    (Gwen) Perfect, there are six liches that we need to deal with.

    (Benn) I thought there were seven. There¡¯s an extra one with that lich that is holding Boris hostage.

    Seeing everybody nervous as they all had their eyes down, Gwen looked at every one of them.

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make it out of this. And after this, we¡¯ll all go to Paradise, with or without me.

    And then.

    (Gwen) Ready! Set! Go!

    The plan to retake the city commenced!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 53: Bar Littered With Blood

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:16PM)

    (Benn and Hope)

    (Benn) The sidewalks are too jampacked.

    (Hope) It''s nice that we''re using a motorcycle.

    Along a motorcycle, the shark-human and blonde-haired woman rode along the evacuating streets that were clogged with people trying to get out of the city center. They clutched their suitcases as they ran along the pleasant streets, their belongings dropping baggage upon baggage of clothes and money as they ran along the streets.

    Sweat and odor were ever present amongst the civilians, their faces smeared in black dust and blood as their legs trembled with the intensity of the world they lived in.

    Hope put her right hand covering her mouth, her hand trembling as her mouth started to slightly quiver. Benn meanwhile, continued to look forward as his eyes barely grazed the sweaty civilians.

    (Hope) This is horrible¡­

    (Benn) The invasion of Ticia was worse.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) But something isn¡¯t adding up. They invaded and collapsed Ticia like it was nothing with an army of thousands of zompires, and they did it in under a single day. Why are they sending special ops zompires in droves? Are they trying to play it smart? Are they being strategic? Just who is controlling the Zompires anyway? Do they have a will of their own? Do they¡ª

    (Hope) Benn watch out!

    As the motorcycle continued to increase in velocity, Benn broke out of his thought trance as another crowd of evacuees walked in droves, covering the street that they must cross. Clutching the brake pedal on the bike, Benn noticed a larger bearing of smoke the further they were going, the smell clogging his nose as he gagged a bit.

    Hope felt the sensation of his large throat as she held her arms around Benn, her hands clasping together as she held Benn from his waist.

    (Hope) What¡¯s wrong Benn?

    (Benn) Nothing.

    Focusing his attention on what was in front of him, Benn slowly moved his way through the ever-growing crowd of evacuees fleeing from safety, most of the people¡¯s eyes sharpening towards them.

    (Evacuee#1) That damn flake is taking all of our girls. Pretty soon, they¡¯re going to take all of the regular girls and make them bear ugly babies. Ugh, imagine that huh?

    (Evacuee#2) Damn right! That girl deserves someone better.

    (Hope) They¡¯re all staring at you, Benn.

    (Benn) It gets tolerable.

    Passing through the frustrated crowd, Benn managed to get the bike on the track, his face pushed down as he looked back towards the crowd of evacuees.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t they have something better to do? Aren¡¯t they supposed to be running away or evacuating instead of judging me?

    Benn gripped the handles of the bike, his knuckles turning white until he felt a sudden warm sensation coming from his stomach. He looked to see Hope¡¯s hands.

    (Benn) Why are you holding me tightly?You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    (Hope) Even if society doesn¡¯t see you in a good light, I and everyone else think you¡¯re exceptional. You may be anti-social, uncaring, and mostly moody when Gwen is near you, but¡­

    Hope put her head onto Benn¡¯s right shoulder, her head turning to see Benn¡¯s shark-human face.

    (Hope) You should be proud of what you were born to, and who you are as a person.

    Benn had his head turned, and upon hearing those affection of words, his throat quivered as he gulped down rapidly, his arms that held onto the bike started to loosen for his entire body seemed to relax as a feather in the springtime.

    (Benn) I¡¯ll keep that in mind.

    Further driving the motorcycle on the black pavement underneath them, Benn made way as both of them saw in front of them the semi-smoking city in the late evening sky. Its dazzling light shined and radiated throughout the area, shining its rays upon the many businessmen and businesswomen running through the city sidewalks.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Even if I¡¯m not wanted here, I¡¯ll hold my hand out to people who never handed theirs out to me.

    Benn turned his gaze towards Hope, his eyes gentle as his frown was lighter upon his face. As she tilted her head to the left, Benn then turned his head towards the front of him again, continuing along the paved path.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) But my friends are a different case.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:32PM)

    (Benn) We¡¯re here.

    Parking the motorbike next to a fancy bar, the two Dark Angels moved their bodies off the bike as their feet landed on the glass-covered pavement.

    Their feet were tickled with the amount of glass shards and debris little rocks all around them, followed by the smoky air and the lack of citizens that made the area seem more abandoned. With no citizens running down, Benn rubbed his hand with his shark nose, his nostrils flaring up instinctively.

    (Benn) We¡¯re too deep in enemy territory. Keep an eye out for anyone pale.

    Benn and Hope in tow made their way across the many glass shards, their feet dragging onto the cold pavement. Feeling the air around them start to heighten, Hope¡¯s face started to drip with cold sweat as they arrived near the front entrance of the bar.

    All windows were broken, followed by the many wood panels that hung from the ceiling as they peeked inside. Placing his head in front of the window, and upon noticing that many electrical cords were hanging from the ceiling, Benn kept his head up as the chords continued to emit sparks.

    (Benn) Be careful. Make sure your head doesn¡¯t touch them.

    Lunging over the broken window, Hope held Benn¡¯s arm for comfort, her hands sticky and sweaty as she looked around the dark cold room. Both of them noticed a foul smell coming from deep within the center of the bar, their noses flaring up as the unholy smell made its way into their lungs.

    (Hope) Gag ¡­ What is that? It smells like¡ª

    Letting go of Hope¡¯s hands, Benn instantly hunched his back as he moved his body away from Hope. Clenching his stomach tightly, his hands tightened as his legs buckled severely, causing him to¡­

    Let out many putrid body fluids from his stomach.

    Hope took a step back as Benn continued to puke out whatever alcohol and snacks he had in his stomach, the putrid smell ever present as she extended her arm out.

    (Hope) B-Benn! Are you ok?!

    Placing her arm on Benn¡¯s back, Benn breathed irregularly as he looked down towards the ground at his digestive fluids. Wiping his mouth with his right sleeve, Benn looked towards Hope, his face drenched with water as his body continued to warm up.

    (Benn) The smell ¡­ gasps ¡­ it¡¯s the smell ¡­

    (Hope) What smell? Do you know what the smell is? Is it¡ª

    (Benn) Someone died here¡­

    Hope instantly turned towards where the smell was radiating from, her eyes wide opened as she placed both her hands onto her mouth.

    Benn, covering his nose with a piece of cloth, grudgingly walked closer to where the smell was, forcingly holding Hope¡¯s hand as she let herself go with him. Seeing Hope surprisingly being cooperative, Benn¡¯s grip on Hope loosened, but¡­

    (Benn) Oh no¡­

    (Hope) Ha¡ªha¡ªha¡ªha

    Hope¡¯s eyes flickered intensely as her breath got caught in her throat, taking many steps back. Wanting to scream, her legs were spread open and buckled as her body crouched forward, yet her vocals couldn¡¯t push that shriek out.

    Benn let go of the rag, the rag hitting the rich wooden floor¡­

    Covered in blood.

    (Benn) This is just not right¡­

    In the middle of it all, a tall woman with black hair and a pale face ripped open the head of a teenage boy, her fangs getting deep inside the skull, creating a loud crunch.

    Continuing to devour the boy¡¯s head, the woman¡¯s fangs and rotten teeth were in ecstasy as they ate away the skin, bones, muscles, and brain, her fingernails dug deep into the boy¡¯s shoulders, for grip.

    And around her, lay more bodies of teenage boys, their heads eaten clean off.

    Looking up, her eyes gazed upon Benn and Hope, both standing as their eyes remained wide open. Dropping the teenage boy that she finished eating on the ground with a thump, she slowly stood up as her height towered the both of them.

    Wiping a tsunami of blood with a flake of bones on the crevices of her lips, she only let out a devilish smile, the corners of her lips reaching her eyelids.

    (Gemma) Looks like I¡¯m having sushi for dessert~

 Arc 1 - Chapter 54: Benn and Hope vs Gemma (1)

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:35PM)

    (Benn and Hope)

    Blood trickled on the floor around the soles of their boots.

    The only source of light was from the front door, the light unable to showcase the reflection of human blood. The smell of the putrid blood created a scent of manure, rotten egg, molded cheese, and worst of all¡­

    (Gemma) sniff sniff ¡­ hmmm ¡­ I just love the smell of death, don¡¯t you agree?

    With the amount of heads missing, Benn and Hope tried to look away as much as possible, their eyes focusing on Gemma whose cheeks were stained with red blood.

    Benn¡¯s gagging reflex started to come back, crouching down again as he put his hand onto his stomach. Opening his mouth, he waited for the foul liquid to shoot out again.

    But he can¡¯t.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I can¡¯t take this smell anymore. If I don¡¯t get out of here, I might faint. Hope is horrible in terms of combat, yet she¡¯s considered our little cheat code. If I let her die here or get injured, I¡¯m going to get so much shit on me, especially Luke.

    Despite his stomach gurgling, Benn placed himself in front of Hope, placing his hands into the back of his jacket. Placing both of his hands onto a heavy metal object tucked inside of his jacket, Benn thrust it out with full force.

    Displaying the heavy machine gun, he placed his right hand on the grip, the horrible stench continued to linger deep within his lungs. And with his left hand, he held the gun steady underneath the center.

    Pointing the gun at Gemma, Benn narrowed his eyes as his nose continued to flare upwards, his throat pulsating as his eyes began to water.

    (Gemma) Oh, you''re using that gun huh? I don¡¯t understand the reason for guns, you know? They¡¯re loud, they cause nothing but harm, and yet¡­

    With an opening in front of her, Gemma took a couple of steps back as her legs were quaking with strength. Her legs felt a rush of adrenaline, she stopped to see Benn putting a whole round of ammo into the chamber, and after he put the cartridge into the chamber¡­

    (Gemma) Society continues to use them.

    Pushing her left leg off the blood-covered ground, the little pool of blood splattered in all directions as she made her way towards Benn. Creating little shockwaves of air, her body became one with the wind.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Dammit¡­ I don¡¯t think I could dodge this¡­

    Making a fist, Gemma pulled back her arm, bony and frail as she was mere inches away from Benn¡¯s face.

    A gunshot was heard.

    But Gemma continued to exert her strength anyway.

    The ripples of the air that was brought with her fist, slammed into Benn¡¯s right cheekbone, his face being fully enveloped in a multitude of pure agony as the punch not only made him fall.

    But it sent him flying, his body landing a few feet away from where he was at.

    Despite his body being sturdy, his right cheek was bruised as the area around it started to swell. Laying on the floor that was out of the blood¡¯s reach, Benn placed his right hand on his cheek, grinding his teeth as he felt like someone hit him with a hammer.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) What was that punch?

    Another gunshot was heard.

    (Gemma¡¯s thoughts) Why does my body feel light? I wonder who ¡­ hmmm¡­

    Gemma turned her head towards where Hope was, wielding a combat pistol as the smoke of the barrel continued to pile out.

    The gun in Hope¡¯s hands shook followed by the amount of unneeded sweat pouring out of her forehead and cheeks. As the dreaded body odor that leaked from her body, Hope had her eyes wide open as her chest continued to heave irregularly.

    (Gemma) Come on Hope, you know you could¡¯ve just left Benn you know? I never thought the timid girl, the girl that doesn¡¯t like conflict and fighting, is shooting me with her gun, to save Benn of all people¡­

    Gemma walked closer to where Hope was. Putting her hand onto her breast, Gemma noticed two holes leaking black tar from her body, the tar causing Hope to take a couple of steps back as the smell started to make its way into her nose.

    Hope¡¯s legs continued to shake, her feet barely handling the overall situation she was in. Still clutching the combat pistol, Hope placed her finger on the trigger, feeling the contents of the black metal ring.

    (Gemma) Are you going to shoot again? If you were aiming for my heart, then your aim sucked. You did always have mediocre aim¡ª

    Hope pulled the trigger again, pressing the trigger three times in a row.

    The three bullets traveled at a rapid speed right towards Gemma¡¯s left chest, the bullets already making contact as Gemma¡­

    Moved at the last second, using the middle of her chest to take in the incoming hot burning metals.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) W-W-W-W-W-W-W-

    (Gemma) Hahaha ¡­ you think I would be taken down that easily?

    The bullets that were lodged from the center of Gemma¡¯s chest, quickly fell out, landing onto the little pool of blood on the floor. With the black tar oozing out of her chest, the tar started to pour onto the blood down below her feet, the colors mixing as it formed an eerie color.

    Gemma widened her eyes, her hands shaking as she made a smug smirk towards Hope.

    (Gemma) You almost got me there, didn¡¯t expect you to have the intent to kill. So tell me Hope, how is that cute brown-haired nerd doing? Is he still hanging out with that swordswoman?

    (Hope) W-W-What are you trying to say?!

    Gemma then towered over Hope, her eyes hungry and full of desire as she licked her lips to moisten them. Hope, who saw Gemma in this hungry state, took a couple of steps back as her gun reached contact with Gemma¡¯s stomach.

    (Gemma) Because once I¡¯m done with you and Benn, I¡¯ll pay him a little visit. You know Hope, you, me, and Luna all have that same thing in common.

    Instantly, Gemma pushed her right arm onto Hope¡¯s neck, wrapping her entire frail and bony hand around her sticky neck and nape. Squeezing her neck firmly, Gemma then lifted her arm upwards, causing Hope to be lifted off the ground as her feet dangled in the air.

    Pulling her right arm back slowly, Hope¡¯s body began to move closer and closer toward Gemma, the gun that she wielded with both arms being trapped in between both of their stomachs. With her gun trapped under the meatless stomach of Gemma, Hope¡¯s hands couldn¡¯t make her way towards herself.

    (Gemma) We both just love our men shy, timid, and weak.

    Opening her mouth widely, Gemma¡¯s hot and putrid breath launched itself onto Hope¡¯s face, her face growing deathly pale as her eyes widened evermore.

    The sounds of a heavy machine gun can be heard.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    (Gemma¡¯s thoughts) Oh shit!

    Gemma slammed Hope to the ground. Hitting the little pool floor, the smell of rotten eggs and molded cheese hit her nose like a freight train.

    Quickly getting up from the ground, she noticed her entire left side of the body was covered in blood, her left hand that pushed herself off also was covered in the tint of death.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Oh no! Blood is on¡ªoh my goodness!

    Meanwhile, Gemma was bombarded with the rain of heavy bullets that Benn longed to use. With no smirk present on his face, Benn¡¯s eyes remained focused as he aimed straight at Gemma¡¯s heart. The barrel of the gun radiated smoke and fire as the bullets continued to lodge themselves onto Gemma¡¯s chest and stomach.

    Finishing off his barrage of bullets, Benn pointed the gun down as Gemma looked downwards onto the ground, her chest and stomach riddled with tiny holes with black tar drenching down onto the ground.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t think I shot her heart, but maybe losing a lot of tar would probably drop her to her knees. If tar is blood to them, then doesn¡¯t that mean they aren¡¯t immortal? If the same logic applies, then we just have to¡ª

    Gemma¡¯s body sprung dozens upon dozens of bullets that were all lodged in her, a rain of dead metal clinking and splattering onto the little pool of tar that came out of her. Continuing to keep her head down, her back hunched forward, steam started to come out of the regions where the bullets were originally lodged, black burning tar forming on the holes upon holes that riddled her body.

    Hope, who was near Gemma,took a step back as the hot tarred steam was too much for her to take, causing her to place her head away from Gemma.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s regenerating ¡­ Ow! The steam is too much! It¡¯s too much!

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I should reload now that I have the chance. Why couldn¡¯t I hit her heart during that barrage? Liches can¡¯t move their own heart, can they? Unless they have some broken blessing that allows them to do it¡­

    The heat being too much, even Benn felt his body moistening up as the white pigments of her frail body started to form again.

    Spreading her arms wide, her palms faced outward as her eyes remained hungry for her dessert. Licking her lips again, this time with a look of ecstasy, Gemma¡¯s hands started to form¡­

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Is that mist coming from her hand? Does this mean she has a blessing? Come to think of it, every lich up until now had some sort of power to them¡­

    The mist that Gemma radiated managed to slowly cover her arms, the mist slowly making her arms seem invisible. Steadily, Gemma used her mist to cover her chest and stomach, reaching down to where even her legs and feet were at. Lastly, she started to cover her face in the mist as well.

    (Gemma) Time to get frisky~

    Benn¡¯s face had beads of sweat on both temples, his stomach clenching as the smell continued to dampen his senses. His stomach gurgling violently again, Benn had no choice but to crouch down and gag out anything from his stomach.

    A stomach that didn¡¯t have anything in it.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Why was I cursed with such a strong nose?

    Hope started to pant as her breathing continued to heave irregularly, her eyes wide opened as the unruly sight bestowed upon her. Her hands cusping themselves together, Hope¡¯s hands shook followed by her cheeks and face flourishing with paleness.

    The mist that enveloped Genma¡¯s entire body started to condense onto her skin, so much that Benn and Hope couldn¡¯t see her.

    Instantaneously, Gemma then started to spin, her body twisting and turning as her feet started to steam from the friction on the tar-blooded puddle on the floor.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Just what is she doing? Is she going to attack us right now?

    The mist then slimmed down even more, revealing Gemma¡¯s body outline as she started to squeeze into the little mist sphere. Yet despite feeling trapped, Gemma put both her arms outwards, her arms now out of the mist armor.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Benn is still gagging, so let me at least go near him.

    Hope, still having her legs shaking from fear, rapidly made her way towards the area where Benn was. Running across the pool of tar and blood, her boots splattered with it as she made her way towards Benn. Placing her hands onto his arm, she put herself in the back of Benn, her head peeking out as Gemma continued to have her hands out.

    (Hope) What is she going to do?

    (Benn) I don¡¯t know, but I don¡¯t want to find out.

    Turning back, Benn held Hope¡¯s hand as he pushed his legs off the blood-ridden floor, the trickles of splatters echoing across the two-story bar. Looking back at Hope¡¯s face, Benn¡¯s eyes widened as he noticed far in the distance that¡­

    Gemma stopped spinning, and her hands that held onto the armor started to quickly loosen as the wraps of the armor, the shield that covered Gemma¡¯s condensed mist body.

    Exploded.

    The mist that contained Gemma¡¯s unyielding power, managed to instantly spread across the room, traveling through every corner and inch upon the now barely visible bar.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Benn) Just hold on tight.

    (Hope) How are we going to find her in this state? She has a complete advantage over us!

    (Benn) Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll think.

    Hope held Benn¡¯s hand as they looked all over the bar, which they couldn¡¯t see as the mist crowded their visibility. With no way of knowing what was in front of them, Benn¡¯s breathing started to roar as his throat continued to create gag intervals.

    With their four senses more steady, Benn closed his eyes, breathing in and out as his breaths were sort of relaxed.

    (Benn¡¯s spiritual voice) Lend me a mosquito¡¯s vision from the roof of the bar.

    Benn¡¯s head warped instantly, as his vision darkened by the sudden change of eyes. Slowly, Benn happened to be using the mosquito''s eyes for vision, looking around the bar on the top of the roof.

    The mosquitoes'' two eyes picked up two bodies sending off infrared light, both Benn and Hope¡¯s bodies sending off waves of heat as the mosquito continued to look around the room.

    Hope, who saw Benn relaxed and focused despite both of them being in the midst, placed her hand on his shoulder, her voice quivering as the sudden coldness of the mist was causing her body to shiver.

    (Hope) Do you see her?

    (Benn) Not much. I¡¯m only seeing both of our infrared heat. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Do liches not have infrared heat? They¡¯re dead humans so it would make sense that they wouldn¡¯t radiate body heat. Wait, then what about steam? Steam is how those liches regenerate so if steam is heat, then¡­

    Continuing to see in the vision of a mosquito, the little insect buzzing around the top of the ceiling, Benn in his physical body turned to the direction of where his hand was being held.

    (Benn) Hope. If you see Gemma, shoot her on sight.

    (Hope) But what if I miss her heart?

    (Benn) Even if you shoot at her body, it¡¯ll work.

    (Hope) Benn, what are you planning¡ª

    (Gemma) Sorry, but I don¡¯t want any funny business from both of you.

    Benn searched everywhere as the mosquito seemingly roamed free around the room, its eyes catching a slight heat popping out from her mouth rapidly coming towards the two infrared people.

    Steadying his aim towards the incoming Gemma, Benn gripped the gun tightly as he put his finger on the trigger. Nonchalantly, Benn raised his voice gently as he turned his head towards the barely visible Hope, his throat trembling as his chest contracted.

    (Benn) Gemma coming at 2 o''clock¡ª

    Benn then crouched down again, his gag reflex hitting him yet again.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Why out of all times?

    Turning her head slightly to the right, Hope pointed her combat pistol towards the incoming lich several feet from where they were standing, despite the mist clogging up their visibility. Her hands trembled as the grip on her gun loosened slightly at the sight of not being able to see in front of her, the mist clouding her eyes like a blindfold.

    But unexpectedly, Hope remembered a line, a significant line that caused her eyes to widen.

    (Gemma in Hope¡¯s thoughts) Because once I¡¯m done with you and Benn, I¡¯ll pay him a little visit.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) She shouldn¡¯t have talked about Luke.

    Her arm steadied, and her chest stopped heaving as her finger pushed the trigger all the way. Hope¡¯s body became one with the gun, her head having no thoughts or hesitations as the barrel lit up, six times in a row.

    The bullets rained down into the barely visible mist, going into the unknown as they hit¡­

    (Gemma) Curse you Hope!

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Good thing I gagged¡­

    Barely seeing Gemma in the mist, Hope and Benn barely saw her figure as she barrelled her way towards Benn, her eyes tarshot black as the crevices of her eyelids creaked into hard wrinkles. Seeing her chest being riddled with bullet holes, Hope took in the fruits of her labor as she slowly backed away.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) And now for the fun part.

    Placing his right hand on the grip, and his left hand in the middle, Benn turned right in the direction of where Gemma was.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) You shouldn¡¯t have talked.

    Feeling the roughness of the trigger, Benn pushed it, opening hell for the lich girl.

    The bullets from the heavy machine gun created many holes again in Gemma¡¯s body, her chest and stomach being riddled again as Gemma¡¯s head arched upward.

    (Gemma) No! No!

    As black tar dripped not just from her chest and stomach, but from her left chest as well, Gemma collapsed as the weight of the bullets slammed her onto the ground.

    (Gemma¡¯s thoughts) Fred¡­

    Both Benn and Hope stopped shooting and lowered their guns as they heard a loud thump, their eyes focusing amid the mist.

    (Benn¡¯s spiritual voice) Take me out of the mosquito¡¯s vision.

    Opening his eyes, Benn¡¯s vision returned to his original body as he looked around, finding nothing but mist and smoke as his hand held Hope¡¯s. Walking a couple of feet into the dead of the mist, Benn''s boots were being drenched with tar as he walked through a puddle, and managed to hit something with his foot.

    Almost tripping, Benn pulled back his foot to barely see Gemma, lying down on the dirty floor surrounded by her tar and many teenage boys¡¯ blood.

    (Hope) What have we done¡­

    (Benn) It¡¯s for the best Hope.

    (Hope) But ¡­ we haven¡¯t bring Gemma back to us ¡­ we couldn¡¯t save her¡ª

    (Zompire #1) Save Us!

    Benn instantly pulled back with Hope, jumping backward as he heard a familiar line. Looking around the mist, he heard many footsteps touching the helm of the puddle. It wasn¡¯t just a pair of feet, it was like¡­

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t tell me the boys that had their heads eaten by Gemma are now zompires too¡­

    Benn¡¯s body shook as he heard many other voices coming from the mist, their footsteps thrusting themselves toward¡ª

    (Benn) Retreat!

    Clinging to Hope, Benn sprinted his bulky body in the opposite direction, not wanting to be sushi.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 55: Benn

    (Maiores 21, 54 / 9:23PM)

    Many Years ago.

    (Police Officer#1) We¡¯re letting him go, sir?

    (Police Officer#2) Yeah, unfortunately. I don¡¯t understand why we should let him out though. Who knows what he¡¯ll do.

    Two police guards stood near a metal-locked door, their hands inside their dark blue pockets. One of the guards, a male dog-human, tapped his foot on the ground in an arithmetic pattern, his eyes looking downward onto the marbled ground.

    Meanwhile, a male human, having gray hairs marked on his sides, cleared his throat as he scurried his hand inside his pocket. With his right hand, he pulled out a huge loop of keys.

    (Police Officer#2) Alright rook, follow me.

    The senior officer used his left hand to punch in the code for the door. With the door loose, the senior pushed the door gently, turning his attention to the rook that continued to sweat, causing the senior to furrow his brow.

    (Police Officer#2) What is it?

    (Police Officer#1) I was just wondering. I read his file, and with all due respect sir, he doesn¡¯t seem like a bad guy to begin with¡­

    (Police Officer#2) Well, you¡¯re a dog-human, so it makes sense. Listen rook, out of all human groups, who''s the most well-treated in society?

    The dog-human officer looked up towards the senior officer, his eyes looking into the gray eye pupils of the old man. With more beads of sweat starting to settle into his neck and nape, the dog-human cupped his hands nervously.

    (Police Officer#1) That would be normal humans, sir.

    (Police Officer#2) And the rest?

    (Police Officer#1) Elves, sir. Then dog-humans, cat-humans, bunny-humans, horse-humans, and¡ª

    (Police Officer#2) Shark humans.

    The dog-human cop nodded his head back and forth, his eyes back to look at the cold marbled floor.

    Both cops then walked forward into a small stoned hallway, seeing lines upon lines of metal bars that acted as cages for the poor and unfortunate. Stopping to see the number of men and some women with blue-covered uniforms, their eyes sharpened at the two cops.

    The dog-human took in the sight of the walls being plastered with thick white concrete, the presence of no windows, and only one hanging light at the center of the hallway. Wiping a handful of sweat from his forehead with his right-sleeve jacket, the dog-human officer turned towards his senior.

    (Police Officer#1) W-Where is he located, sir?

    (Police Officer#2) Where we usually put the lowest of society.

    Making their way past the prisoners, both of them weren¡¯t near any cages as they walked straight in the middle, not wanting to make eye contact with any of them as their heads remained forward.

    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    The senior officer only glanced at a few prisoners, his eyes focusing on each hand that was cusped or tightened.

    The dog-human meanwhile, turned his head at the prisoners, giving his full divided attention to a couple of prisoners even while he was walking, which caused some prisoners to be rubbed the wrong way.

    (Prisoner#1) Keep walking traitor¡­

    A dog-human, with a scar on his right eye, barreled his eyes at the dog-human officer, his hands forming into fists.

    The officer kept moving forward, turning around to keep up with his senior officer, his eyes started to twitch followed by his legs trembling.

    (Police Officer#2) There he is, that¡¯s the guy.

    Both officers made their way towards the last cell in the very back of the hall, the metal cage being shrouded in heavy darkness. Despite the cage being dark, it was well kept and groomed, with the bed tucked in nicely and the toilet not clogged or dirtied.

    The dog-human officer squinted his eyes, managing to see a big sturdy silhouette sitting on a chair in a back corner. Barely catching the shark-human¡¯s big blue nose, dark brown hair, and cold frown upon the man¡¯s face, the dog-human officer took a step back.

    (Police Officer#1) The description matches sir.

    (Police Officer#2) Well, what do you know?

    The dog-human officer placed his hand inside his dark blue heavy jacket, scavenging his empty pockets. Having his fingertips sensing a small envelope, the dog-human pulled it out as his his palms started to get sticky.

    The senior officer looked towards the envelope that the dog-human had and snatched it away. Ripping it open, a small piece of the card fell out, the card having a brown ID with a picture and initials etched onto it.

    (Police Officer #2) I¡¯ll let you do the prisoner release initiation rook.

    Throwing the card at the dog-human, the senior officer looked towards the dark sturdy silhouette, the corners of the shark-human¡¯s face creating a little U shape. Straightening his back, the dog-human officer showcased his outwards chest, his legs and feet right next to each other and his black dress shoes pointing straight at the cell.

    (Police Officer #1) Benn with no last name. As of today, you¡¯re no longer part of the Kepputhan jail system. Please stand up with your hands in the air and your palms facing towards us.

    The shark-human Benn slowly stood up from his metal seat, putting his hands high in the air. Submitting to them, the senior officer pulled out the loop of keys again.

    Putting the keyhole in, the door to the cell creaked wide open. Steadily, both of the officers walked their way towards Benn who had his hands high, his stomach softening as the cops didn¡¯t pull out their weapons.

    The nearest to Benn, the senior cop, towered over him, his eyes looking down at the short shark-human. Turning his head towards the dog-human, the senior officer gestured to him to come near him.

    (Police Officer#2) Bring me the cuffs.

    Using his right hand, the dog-human looked through his deep blue colored jacket, easily finding the metal object. Giving the cuffs to the senior officer, he continued to focus his attention on his senior.

    Having the cuffs with his left hand, he used his right hand to bring down Benn¡¯s arms to his crotch, using the cuffs to contain the now free criminal.

    (Police Officer#2) Your felony would be on your record for life, boy. Next time you pull that shit again, you¡¯re going straight to The Dome.

    (Benn) I was just¡ª

    In an instant, an arm thrust against his liver, the right side of his stomach being pelted against, causing Benn to collapse onto the ground. Laying down on his stomach on the cold stoned floor, his eyes only saw the black shoes that the officers wore.

    His breathing was haggard, followed by a warm substance wanting to escape through his mouth. Pushing the liquid down, his eyes soon flustered quickly as his mouth was wide open with drool starting to drip out.

    In extreme pain, Benn continued to gasp for breath while his eyes sharpened towards the senior officer.

    Even the dog-human gasped at what the senior officer did, putting his furry hand on the senior¡¯s arm.

    (Police Officer#1) Sir! As cops, we shouldn¡¯t¡ª

    (Police Officer#2) Know your place, rook! Unless you have a question, I don¡¯t want to hear anything from that hairy mouth!

    The rest of the beast-human prisoners looked downwards, their fists clenching hard as they heard the commotion unfold.

    The dog-human cop took a step back, looking away as his breathing started to accelerate. Seeing with his eyes the senior officer bending down towards Benn, the dog-human officer placed his hands to his ears, shutting away his eyes.

    (Police Officer#2) Listen here, blue-skin. No shark-human goes to a nearby playground just for fun. You probably wanted to do something to one of the kids huh? Do you like kids, blue-skin? Well, do you?!

    (Benn) Shark-human crimes against kids are amongst the lowest¡ª

    (Police Officer#2) Yet a similar situation happened 18 years ago, did it not? That¡¯s what led to the Demi-human skirmishes ¡­ where I lost my brother in arms. Like I always say, it would be better for society if shark-humans never existed, you guys serve no purpose.

    Forcing Benn¡¯s body back up, the senior officer placed his hands onto Benn¡¯s neck, barely dragging the big shark-human from off the ground. Looking towards the dog-human officer, the senior officer pushed Benn towards the dog-human cop.

    (Police Officer#2) Take him out of here rook, and then we¡¯ll talk about your relocation to Clastine.

    (Police Officer #1) ¡­ yes sir.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 56: The World Can Be A Horrible Place

    (Reverence 28, 55 / 3:33AM)

    Three years later¡­

    In the hilly city of Lagefor, Benn wandered through the empty sidewalks, the concrete ground starting to crack as the infrastructure looked to be breaking. Looking his eyes downward onto the ground, he thought of those cracks that were littering the pavement, his hands deep in his pockets.

    His legs quivered as he continued to walk. His feet blistered with each step.

    Benn then looked up at the downtown skyline, his eyelids, and eyebags covered in gray as he saw the cheerful light from across the city.

    While the dim street light shone from the back of him.

    Placing both his hands inside his pants pockets, he pulled out two objects that were kept in each pocket. On his right pocket, was a thin white and orange paper, slightly bent as he grabbed it with his pointer finger and thumb.

    On the left, he pulled out a broken match.

    (Benn) If hell¡¯s real¡­

    Benn crouched down, extending his left hand onto the stone pavement with his broken match. Swiping the match onto the slightly dirty concrete, the match barely ignited as sparks flew from the flammable area. With his right hand, he placed the cigarette into his mouth, the butt of the cigarette kissing the whitish lips of Benn.

    Bringing the match slowly towards his mouth, the light of the match ignited the end of the cigarette. As noxious smoke soared through his lungs, he inhaled and exhaled as much as he could.

    (Benn) Then I¡¯m already living in it.

    He saw one of the many highways that go around the city, the highway having little to no cars that barely shined the black-shaded pavement. On top of the bridge that overlooked the highway, Benn slowly walked towards the edge of the overpass, having the lit cigarette inside of his mouth.

    Reaching towards the edge of the railing, Benn placed his left hand on the railing, his feet still on the cold dirty pavement as he looked down at the deadly height between the overpass and the highway.

    Benn¡¯s left hand trembled on the metal railing, the railing surprisingly short as the railing was only up to Benn¡¯s waist. Continuing to look towards the highway, Benn¡¯s cigarette started to dim.

    With almost no noxious air to take in, Benn pulled out the cigarette with his right hand and threw it onto the highway, placing his right hand on the railing as well.

    Time passed as he continued to stare at the dreaded highway, trying to swirl around the smoke from within his body. For who knows how long, Benn remained in this state as his eyes darkened evermore, his legs shaking as he tapped his right foot onto the cold pavement.

    But from his peripheral vision, he noticed a tall slim figure enclosed in a black hoodie, wearing all black.

    The figure, the same as Benn, looked at the dark-shaded highway, entirely focused on it as the figure placed their hands onto the metal railing, their smooth hands shaking violently as they gripped them with all of their fingers.

    Benn turned his head towards the figure in all black, his body still leaning on the metal railing as his eyes remained entirely focused on the figure that fidgeted.

    The figure slowly put their feet on top of the bottom lining of the railing, as they leaned their body on the edge. At that moment, the figure put their right foot on the other end of the railing, causing their crotch to touch the top of the railing, their body in between the railing.

    Having their hands on the railing, with their left leg not on the side that was near the highway, the figure slowly lifted that leg so that they could place it next to her right.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Should I stop them? Should I just carry on? Nobody cares about me, so what¡¯s it to me?

    Benn continued eyeing the figure, whose legs shook with a drive of adrenaline running through them. Their arms held their body as their hands continued to grip the railing. Slowly, they turned their body to face the highway.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Then again. I never had someone to talk to.

    With a heavy exhale, Benn walked towards the dark hooded figure that was on the edge of the railing, their head looking down onto the dark-shaded pavement. With each step towards the figure, his footsteps thumped upon the concrete.

    Ignoring Benn, the figure continued to have a grip on the rail, their heels on the edge with their chest heaving up and down.

    Benn cleared his throat.

    (Benn) The world can be a horrible place.

    The dark hooded figure continued to stare at the highway, their palms coated with hot sweat as their grip slightly loosened. The figure spoke, their voice breaking as if their throat was jumping with every consonant.

    (???) Y-Y-You¡¯re n-n-n-ot supposed to be h-h-h-here, sir.

    (Benn) I hear that a lot.

    Benn put his hands down in his pants pocket, standing near the figure that had a feminine voice. Making a cold frown upon his face, Benn tilted his head up as he put his hands into his baggy pants pocket.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    (Benn) Why call me sir? You know what creature I am.

    (???) At this point, I don¡¯t care anymore. Even if you¡¯re a s-shark-human.

    The hooded figure¡¯s grip started to slowly loosen more as both of her pinkies were now open, leaving only eight fingers gripping the helm of the railing. Her body shuddered more as the cold wind smashed across her back.

    (???) Why are you here? Do you want to end it all t-too? At this point, I-I don¡¯t care if you live or die.

    (Benn) Me too.

    (???) Excuse m-me?

    The dark-figured woman turned her head towards Benn, the city lights not showing the feminine face that lay beyond the darkness. Gulping, her throat jumped as her voice continued to quiver.

    (???) So y-you don¡¯t care that I jump off and end my life right h-here?

    (Benn) I don¡¯t know you.

    Having her body still on the edge of the railing, the woman turned her head again towards the dark-shaped pavement, her feet shaking as some cars continued to roll down the highway. Seeing that her head was turned back, Benn inched closer to the woman as his body relaxed upon itself despite the situation.

    (Benn) Do you have parents?

    (???) Not anymore.

    (Benn) Killed?

    (???) You trying to save me? If you¡¯re gonna give me a pep talk about how good life can get, you¡¯re wasting your time.

    (Benn) You don¡¯t know me then.

    The woman then had her ring fingers loose, leading to only six fingers holding herself together. Her breathing started to turn heavy as Benn inched his way ever closer, his body a few feet away from the woman.

    She turned around again, with Benn seeing a little facial figure of her face, but still shrouded in the dark. Looking down on the sidewalk, between the many cracks on the pavement, Benn focused his eyes on each crack on the dirtied sidewalk.

    (Benn) My dad has been long gone ever since I was born, never knew his name.

    As soon as Benn said those words, it was as if the pain he endured lifted off his shoulders. He took out his hands from his pockets, laying them motionless as he sharpened his eyes towards the woman. Seeing the woman focusing herself on him, he could start to see her facial features or rather the outline of her head.

    (Benn) My mom passed away when I was 15, leaving me and my twin sister to move to Lagefor.

    Benn decided to take a few steps towards the woman until he was right next to her, her ears perking up as Benn spoke in a louder voice than before. Words kept spilling out of Benn like water bursting out of a hose.

    (Benn) When I turned 17 and a half, I was arrested and beaten for being near a playground, just for following some creep who targeted children.

    The woman let go of her middle fingers, with only four fingers remaining. Turning her head again, half her face was still shrouded in the darkness.

    Benn then extended his right arm and hand onto the metal railing, having a loose grip on it as he looked down towards the paved highway. Clenching his left hand into a fist, his eyes sharpened as his big blue nose started to sprout a vein.

    (Benn) He walked to a little girl who was trying to enter a restroom, wanting to escort her and whatnot, and she looked like she wanted to cry, so I had to defend her¡­

    The woman continued to focus her barely revealing eyes on the shark-human, her eyelids on the verge of tears as she puckered her lips with a despairing frown.

    Letting go of her pointer finger, her thumbs were the only ones that held onto the railing as a single tear drop rolled down her left cheek.

    (Benn) I asked him to back away. I really did! But then he pulled out a knife. And before he stabbed me, I beat him. I beat him like hell.

    Benn then placed his right hand on the woman¡¯s shoulder, continuing to sharpen his gaze at the woman with black hair.

    (Benn) The girl ran to get her parents for help. And I thought I did something good for society, but¡­ they beat me like I was trash, thinking that I was the one who tried to assault her. But I DIDN¡¯T!

    Benn kicked the railing as he said that last line. For a moment, it was silent between the two.

    (???) So? What happened to that girl? And what happened to you¡­?

    Benn widened his eyes.

    (Benn) You¡­believe me.

    The woman gave a slight nod.

    (???) I mean, yeah. You don¡¯t seem to be lying. So¡­what happened?

    Despite leaning her body towards Benn, her thumbs started to loosen. Tightening the grip upon her shoulder, Benn looked down onto the cracked white concrete again and took a shuddering breath.

    (Benn) The girl tried to explain what happened, but they were too focused on me. And God knows they won¡¯t listen to a damn thing I say. I only got out of jail when I turned 18. My life was ruined from the start.

    The woman turned her head forward to look up at the sky, an eerie morning mist starting to form as her breathing softened at the sound of his words. Looking up at the barely visible stars in the sky, seeing the barely visible Pollux star¡­

    (Benn) My sister cut contact with me, believing the story to be true. And for the past three years, I¡¯ve been living off of the shelters, trying to look for a job but my record put a bullet in my head.

    Benn turned his head onto the woman with black hair, his face replacing the sharp look that he had with a softened and gentle one. Releasing his grip on her shoulder, he laid it motionless as gravity pulled it down.

    (Benn) Yet despite all that, I still somewhat kept going. I¡¯ve had thoughts, I wanted to make society better by ending myself on my worst days, but ¡­ I still think I was destined for something great¡­ so.

    Benn put both of his bluish and large hands onto the woman¡¯s shoulders rubbing the fabric of her black leather jacket. Seeing that she is making eye contact with him still, Benn leaned his face closer to the woman, his breath reaching towards her.

    (Benn) Unless you have a horrible shitty story that can outrank mine, then I¡¯m not letting you just kill yourself.

    The woman began letting out a hollow chuckle as a couple of tears dropped from her slanted eyes.

    (???) Pfft, we only met, and we¡¯re ranking our sob stories now?

    Feeling her body began to relax, she extended her left hand towards the back of Benn. Her hand coated with sweat even in the dim light of the streetlight, the woman unpuckered her lips as the color of her eyes began to appear visible to Benn.

    (???) ¡­ Ok ¡­ ok ¡­ you win¡ª

    Her right foot all of a sudden slipped, causing her to lose balance.

    But she was caught by instinct by both of Benn¡¯s hands. He tightened his hands, causing an immense pain on her shoulders.

    Using all of his strength to pull out the woman that dangled in the air, he steadied his feet and legs onto the concrete. Benn crouched and pulled the woman towards him, throwing her across the street.

    Landing on the edge of the sidewalk, her body slammed onto the pavement, landing on the right side of her body. Running towards the dark-haired woman, Benn pinned her to the ground, holding her down as she let out another weak laugh.

    (???) Pinning me to the ground? Ha, you¡¯re such a weirdo.

    (Benn) Are you trying to kill yourself?! I still don¡¯t know if you trust me now!

    (???) I just slipped! I promise! Just please let me go!

    (Benn) I will, until you spill out your story.

    The woman that was below Benn looked towards Benn¡¯s sharpened face, gave a sigh. Turning her head to the side, she quietly spoke in a timid tone, an unusual tone compared to her loud demeanor from before.

    (???) Can you at least not pin me to the ground ¡­

    (Benn) Ok. But I¡¯ll hold your hand though. Just in case.

    Both of them stood up as Benn had a strong grip on her hand, her eyes looking downward as she couldn¡¯t look at his face. With his left hand, he extended it towards her shadowed face, trying to have her face shine in the dim light from above by making her make eye contact.

    (Benn) Before you tell your story, we didn¡¯t introduce ourselves. My name¡¯s Benn.

    (???) My name ¡­

    The woman straightened her back, clearing her throat. Benn noticed the number of freckles that the tall woman had, followed by her uniform badge that dubbed her the name ¡°private¡±.

    (???) The name¡¯s Gwen ¡­ Gwen Keegan.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 57: Benn and Hope vs Gemma (2)

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:45PM)

    (Benn and Hope)

    (Hope) Where are we going!?

    (Benn) Outside.

    Despite being in the barely visible mist, both Benn and Hope sprinted on the wooden floor, their eyes unable to detect what was in front of them as their vision was clouded with mist. Both had their stomachs clenched as they tried to reach the door from the front entrance.

    Running through the barely visible bar, both Benn and Hope knew that stopping or bumping into anything would be a no-go, the thought of it causing Benn to shake his head repeatedly.Hope¡¯s breath became ragged as the thought of dying soon dawned upon her mind.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Let¡¯s just hope we don¡¯t run into a wall¡ª

    Both Benn and Hope crashed into something, their faces making contact with a hard substance that managed to block their entry. Their cheeks reddened from the impact, and their faces started to convulse into anger as their teeth ground against one another.

    Benn used his hands to feel the hard wooden surface in front of them, his eyes widening as he turned towards the barely visible Hope. Still having his hands against the wooden surface, Benn gulped down as his throat started to quiver.

    (Benn) Guess we¡¯re not that lucky¡­

    (Zompire #1) Save us!

    (Hope) Benn! They''re getting near!

    The group of zompires were heard several feet in back of them, their footsteps causing the floor beneath them to shake. Scratching his nose, he closed his eyes, as Hope clung to his arm with her left hand, her right hand wielding her combat pistol as she pointed it toward the direction of the incoming horde.

    The more Benn closed his eyes, the more he could see in the mist, the moisture from it causing him to sense his surroundings more than he should. Not only did the mist heighten his instinct, but it also allowed his memory to open up quickly and vividly.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) There were a bunch of electrical cords that were wide open for electrocution, so¡­

    (Hope) B-B-Benn!

    Turning his direction to the horde of zompires coming in close, Benn wielded his heavy machine gun towards the zompire horde just barely a couple of feet in their direction. With his finger on the trigger, he steadied his aim as the horde was now starting to get visible in the dense mist.

    Hope, noticing that Benn was aiming towards the horde the same as her, put her finger on the trigger as she waited for the chance that Benn struck first. Keeping an eye on his finger, Hope began to hyperventilate as the horde of zompires were getting more visible in the mist.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I just hope I don¡¯t die from this¡­

    His muscles expanded as his large forearms were pulsating with an enormous amount of strength. Using his left arm, he pushed Hope to the left so that she would be out of the horde¡¯s way, the zompires now right in front of him.

    Jumping to his right, he narrowly avoided the incoming horde that charged at him, turning their bodies to the sudden change in movement. Seeing this, Benn looked at the zompire horde in a split second, with the horde being around 8 to 10 boys with their heads back on to their bodies.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) They¡¯re all piled together, so I could probably get a chain reaction.

    Aiming his gun not at the zompire horde, but where Benn last saw a hanging electrical cord when he first entered in, Benn placed his trigger steady at the target by memory. Even if it seemed far-fetched, as the mist allowed Benn to not even see where his target was, Benn¡¯s face was relaxed as his chest heaved normally.

    With a simple push of a trigger, Benn fired two small bursts of bullets coming from the barrel, smoke gently rising from the iron as the hot metal¡­

    Instead, the hot metal reached the outer layers of the mist, into the unknown.

    But this unknown wasn¡¯t an unknown.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) No way!

    A bolt of sparks flew onto the zompire horde, with a couple of zompires near the electrical cord beginning to emit sparks of electricity and electrical charge. Luckily for Benn, a chain reaction did spark out, the bits of electricity and electrical charge causing the entire horde to begin spasming out in under three seconds.

    Their eyes black eyes started to melt the tar from within their eye sockets, their hands convulsing and their feet kicking up with the bones cracking under their inflexibility. Lastly, the zompires collapsed as their bodies twitched from the overload of electricity running through their extremely conductive bodies, the white pigments of their skin turning them into mini generators.

    Even for Benn.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Aah! It hurts! It hurts!

    With the current running around Benn¡¯s body, his bluish skin emitted shockwaves of electricity across the outer layers of his body, his unique muscles not allowing the current to travel inside of his body. Having an electrical field raining down on him, Benn collapsed on his knees as he put both of his hands down on the wooden ground.

    His vocals started to push themselves to the limit as he continued to scream under the immense cataclysm of pain his body was in. The skin that formed an electrical field around him felt as if a thousand tiny needles continued to stab him repeatedly, the shocks causing his nerves to fry up as the tiny hair strands on his arms spiked up.

    Shutting his eyes, he tightened his fists to where his knuckles started to creak, his joints begging for the sweet release of death.

    Amid the despair, amid death.

    In the barely visible mist that clouded his being.

    (Benn) AAAAAAHH!!

    His bluish skin started to darken, the light pigment underneath his arms and forearms creating a foul burn that enraged all his nerves to revolt. Clutching his head, clutching his temples, his fingertips digging deep into the softest areas of his head, his vocals started to tear as the raging pain consumed his entire soul and being.

    Until¡­

    (Hope) Heal.

    Hope placed her smooth hands upon Benn¡¯s electrical force field skin, her palms touching his big back as she felt the contents of the frictionful leather black jacket. With the volts latching onto her hands and going through her body, Hope gritted her teeth as she poured a bright yellowish light.

    Her palms started to redden, followed by her breathing hitching in her throat as the electrical current passed into her body. Shutting her eyes as her back arched from the excruciating pain, she continued to launch the saintly yellow light.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) Aah! This is all I can do¡­

    Her legs shook as she started to lose all feeling in her feet, her knees buckling as she not only was in pain but in utter exhaustion. Having her knees on the ground, her eyes fluttered as her breath started to decrease, leading to her head bobbing down, her core strength diminishing in front of her own eyes.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    As the yellow light banished the electrical force field surrounding Benn¡¯s body, Benn stopped his shrieking cries. Putting one knee on the ground, he placed both of his hands on the ground as his body began to return to normal.

    Breathing in, he looked around the room to take in the dreaded mist that continued to block his view. Feeling the chilliness of the mist caressing his body, Benn put his left hand to his gun, holding onto the grip unwaveringly.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) pants ¡­ Gemma is still alive.

    Putting his right hand on his chest, he turned towards the direction of Hope lying on the wooden floor, her whole body coated with cold sweat as her breath started to dim. His eyes focused on the blonde beauty, Benn wiped away a drop of blood coming from his mouth, his lips accidentally biting into one another.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) But Hope is barely¡­

    Crouching down, he put his left hand on Hope¡¯s chest, noticing the slow pumps coming from her heart. His left hand trembling, he gulped down whatever saliva that tried to moisten his dried mouth.

    With a time limit being summoned upon him, Benn turned his head towards his left, the mist around him slowly becoming more visible. Seeing what¡¯s left of the zompires, their black ashes on the floor that can be barely seen with the naked eye, Benn gave off a quiet sigh as the ashes soon moved in the mist.

    (Benn) I guess it¡¯s just me then.

    In the mist, a tall woman was walking through it, kicking the ashes away like it was nothing.

    Putting his left hand back towards his body, Benn stood up as he straightened his back, his eyes looking at the burnt-out woman breathing irregularly. Having his gun in his left hand, he looked towards it as he focused on the grip and chamber of the machine gun.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) And I guess I have to fight like a man.

    Benn holstered his gun back into the back of his leather jacket, a click resonating around the two-story bar. Tightening his fists, his large hands sprung up to create a fighting stance, his legs spread out as a bead of sweat rolled down onto the wooden floor.

    (Gemma) No matter what, I¡¯ll make sure all your limbs fit inside of my stomach.

    Benn then looked down onto Gemma¡¯s stomach, his eyes pushed down as he let out a playful smirk.

    (Benn) You¡¯re going to need a bigger stomach.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    The wooden floor creaked as the splattering of tar could be heard, her right leg pushing off the ground as Gemma barreled her way toward the shark-human. In breakneck speed, Gemma managed to create little air shockwaves from her lunge, her eyes tarshot black as she extended her hands outwards to showcase her sharp fingernails.

    Seeing a completely new different way of attacking, Benn took a step back as he placed both his feet steady on the ground, rubbing the wood gently as he continued to keep his fists still.

    (Gemma) Too easy.

    With her left foot, she lunged herself to the right, angling her body so that she had a clear opening for Benn¡¯s right stomach. Seeing his body wide open for an attack, Gemma thrust her hand with her sharp fingernails, coming ever closer towards Benn¡¯s body.

    His eyes followed Gemma¡¯s movements, Benn didn¡¯t have time to block Gemma¡¯s attack, his body barely turning itself towards Gemma¡¯s side thrust.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Please forgive me, Hope.

    Benn pushed out his right hand in the direction of where Gemma was showcasing her sharp nails. Coming in contact with his hand, Gemma did not let her opportunity go to waste.

    Benn yelped as her nails dug in his hand. Cold sweat starting to take form upon his forehead and neck, Benn started to grunt as a river of blood started to escape from his right hand, leading to him feeling light-headed.

    Gemma wrenched her fingernails back as she exerted enough strength to twist the bones and joints. Her twisting caused Benn to open his mouth wide.

    (Gemma) Don¡¯t you think you trapped me just yet!

    Gemma pushed her other hand, her eyes targeting Benn¡¯s body yet again. The fingernails were less sharper than the one lodged in Benn¡¯s hand, yet had no dullness upon it, causing Benn to turn his attention onto the incoming hand.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s starting to get desperate.

    So he decided to let Gemma shoot her shot, her other hand already making contact as her fingernails were on the very edge of digging themselves deep into Benn¡¯s liver. With a sharp thrust¡ª

    Benn grabbed her wrist with his free hand, tightly gripping it as he looked into her widened eyes.

    (Benn) You¡¯re predictable.

    Tightening the hold on Gemma¡¯s wrist, Benn used his fingertips to grip her frail bones into place, causing her to clench her teeth.

    (Benn) And you shouldn¡¯t have exerted that much strength in the first place.

    Slowly bending her forearm, the tips of her fingernails were now facing the direction of her own body, her arm about to break as she continued to exert what little strength she had. The more she struggled, the more Benn¡¯s arms pulsated with raw unbridled adrenaline, leading to him making her arm creek.

    And then Gemma¡¯s arm snapped in two, her forearm being separated from her main arm.

    (Gemma) Damn you¡­!

    With her arm bending unrealistically towards her chest, Benn used his bulging arm to push her hand into the area where Benn was targeting. Making sure Gemma¡¯s wrist had her arm pointed towards her chest, Benn twisted her wrist slightly so that she wouldn¡¯t move or fight back.

    Benn had a steady hold on her weapon, getting closer and closer to the target area that was on her chest.

    Her fingernails scraped herself as Benn slowly thrust his arm, her nails digging deep into her chest. Despite the pain barely noticeable, Gemma started to grind against her teeth as her fingernails dug deeper, with Benn managing to reach the area where her heart¡­

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) And then one last thrust¡ª

    Gemma moved her body forward, allowing Benn to lodge her fingernails to her chest.

    But it also allowed her nails to wedge itself into her target area, both him and her having their targets on standby.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) W-what¡­

    Glancing down at his liver, he noticed that the hand he used to trap Gemma¡¯s fingernails was now halfway through into his body, his eyes flickering open as an abundance of cold sweat ran down his forehead. As the hand was right on his liver, Benn froze..

    Gemma only just smirked with the crevices of her lips reaching to where her nose level was, her eyes affectionately looking upon the shark-human¡¯s pale face. Covering her mouth with her face, Gemma squinted her eyes as her nostrils flared up.

    (Gemma) Turns out I just won.

    Benn then pulled his hand that was covered with blood, noticing the many open holes that Gemma created as chunks of bone and meat were radiating out of his palms. Not only did Benn pull out his hand, but he glided his body back, the nails that dug halfway into his liver showcased a light stream of blood.

    Benn placed the hand that was normal onto his right stomach, feeling the warm liquid substance coming out from within him. From a different limb, the river of blood reached down towards his elbow, the hand that blocked Gemma not wanting to move as by merely a gust of wind¡­

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Oh no ¡­ oh no ¡­ shit! Shit! Shit!

    He tried to move his hand, but the pain flared with an utmost roar of intensity that caused Benn to activate his gag reflex again. Now focusing on the smell, Benn slowly walked backward as his vision became blurry, followed by his head feeling as if it might explode at any moment.

    Bending over onto the ground, Benn placed his safe hand onto his chest, opening his mouth wide yet again as he tried to let out any content from his stomach.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I can¡¯t lose like this! I still haven¡¯t told Gwen yet¡­

    Coughing-out fluids weren¡¯t there, to begin with, Benn still used his safe arm to wipe away a drop of saliva or two, drool dripping down from the corners of his left lip. Turning his head towards the door, he noticed that the mist was starting to become more visible, seeing some of the outlines of the humid room.

    Noticing that Hope was still lying down on the ground, or rather the outline of her body, Benn tried to steady his breathing by closing his eyes and exhaling in and out.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I need to get out of here. I need to go. I need to¡ª

    (Gemma) Yeah no can do, my sushi. You know I have an appointment starting right now~

    Towering over him, Gemma folded her arms as she looked down upon the large nose shark-human, her eyes gleaming with joy despite them being all black. Sucking her lips into her mouth, she licked them inside as she popped them back out.

    Slowly extending her right hand towards the shark-human, Gemma¡¯s nails hit the tips of his dark hair, gently caressing the features of his large head. Leaning closer to Benn¡¯s face, Gemma placed her other hand on his right cheek, the nails making microscopic cuts as Gemma was bashed with a load of ecstasy.

    (Gemma) I think I¡¯m just hitting the tip of the oasis with this¡­

    (Hope) Gemma ¡­ let him go¡­

    Both Gemma and Benn turned in the direction of a blond-haired woman on the floor lying on her stomach, her silhouette noticeable as the mist started to lose its sense of eeriness. Hope looked towards Gemma, her eyes on the verge of closing as she slothfully crawled on the ground.

    Gemma¡¯s legs started to quake, and the nails that were having a grip on Benn¡¯s head started to tremble violently as she continued to make eye contact with the girl who was barely breathing. Looking upon Hope, her face let out a warm smile as the crevices of her eyes slanted sideways.

    (Gemma) Hmm? How¡¯re you still here?

    Letting go of Benn¡¯s face, her fingernails managed to create paper-thin cuts all along Benn¡¯s right side of his face. Putting her hand behind her back, Gemma walked towards the barely alive Hope, her eyes now sharpening at the blonde-haired girl.

    Benn then collapsed onto the ground, hitting the wooden floor with his hard-knuckled knees. His arms remained motionless, he took note of the hands that were placed behind Gemma¡¯s back, her fingernails continuing to twitch uncontrollably.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I ¡­ got to let Hope know¡­

    Turning her head back to the shark-human that had collapsed onto his knees, Gemma put her pale finger up to her lips. Still smiling as the white pigment of her skin started to redden, Gemma made a shooing sound as the air that came out of her was nothing but a cold putrid mist.

    (Gemma) You¡¯re too worn out Benn. I guess your guy¡¯s hope is running thin.

    Benn¡¯s throat started to jump as the words that wanted to come out wouldn¡¯t dare to, leading to his eyes staring intensely at the blond-haired woman who continued to crawl. Crouching down near Hope, Gemma extended her arm so that her fingernails ran along the course of Hope¡¯s cheek.

    Feeling the softness and comfort of Hope¡¯s cheeks, Gemma started to scrap away around the area of her cheekbones, creating lines of red scrapes that bled on a smaller scale.

    (Gemma) I think it¡¯s about time to put you out of your misery, Hope. You look like you¡¯re about to wither off into the rising sunset¡­

    Grabbing a hold of Hope¡¯s hair, Gemma slowly extended her arm up high. Hope¡¯s body remained still and slightly reddened by the electrical current.

    Noticing Hope with small breaths, Gemma put her other hand onto her forehead, shaking her head repeatedly as she looked at both Hope and Benn.

    (Gemma) Do you think you guys would have beaten me? Both of you executed the best possible combo in the worst way. I thought I was done for when I saw a heavy being with the support of a healer.

    With her eyes glancing rapidly at each of them, Gemma put her left hand in the air with a fist, spreading her legs so that she could do a pose. As the sunlight from the outside started to dim out, it was enough so that anyone could hide¡­

    (Gemma) I¡¯m strong ¡­ much stronger than any of you combined!

    Then came the Vulcan of bullets raining hell from outside the bar, opening up many new doors as windows and walls.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 58: Love is Love

    (Military Guard#1) FIRE!!

    Hundreds of bullets came crashing toward the unguarded Gemma, who was too caught up in her victory. Still, in her pose, Gemma¡¯s body then started to be riddled with the hot metals of rifle rounds, pistol rounds, shotgun rounds, and some sniper rounds.

    Gemma let go of Hope, her arm losing strength as a tsunami of tar poured out of her stomach and chest with all of her internal organs being liquified.

    As Hope lay on the ground, her arms couldn¡¯t budge to protect herself against the amount of leftover bullets gently blanketing on top of her. With the deafening noise continuing to surround her, Hope had one choice but to close her eyes as she awaited help from a miracle.

    Meanwhile, Benn leaned on a wall to avoid the Vulcan of bullets raining across the bar, landing on the side that wasn¡¯t causing him excruciating pain. Seeing Gemma being ground against the bullets, Benn continued to stare straight at Gemma, her stance now gone as she was nothing but liquified organs and an unattached head.

    (Military Guard#1) Guns down!

    Outside the bar, an entire platoon of military guards armed to the teeth, carrying military-grade assault rifles, handguns, and shotguns, perked their ears up as a loud voice came from the middle of them. Noticing that the leader had his hands pushed down in a gesture, all the soldiers slowly and steadily pointed their guns down, not wanting to cause any harm.

    Pointing their guns down, a middle-aged man in the middle looked at a large squad of about six people, his face contorted with his nose wrinkling up from his voice.

    (Military Guard#1) You six, enter inside the building to check up on any survivors! Make sure the enemy is dead!

    (Group Leader#1) Yes sir! You heard the Lieutenant! Let¡¯s move out!

    (Guard #1) Yes Sergeant!

    The squad of six looked at one another, pushed their boots off the street pavement and ran towards the front entrance of the bar. Making their way past the door, the squad of six pulled out military high-beamed flashlights from their soldier uniforms, five out of the six carrying their flashlights with their left hand while their rifles were on the right.

    The squad of six noticed the target had its chest and stomach missing, their organs completely tarred and burned as it turned her into a lump of spoiled soup. With most of the soldiers looking away, as some started to gag at the sight, they turned their attention towards another matter.

    The Sergeant noticed a young woman being covered in heavy machine gun bullets, her hair and body wrapped in a blanket of death. Looking towards his men who were looking around the destroyed room, he straightened his neck as he thumped his chest, letting more oxygen flow into his chest.

    (Sergeant) We have a survivor! Get the medic team now! She looks like she¡¯s barely alive!

    Three soldiers ran outside to rally their finest medics, holstering their guns to their chests as they sprinted in an unsoldier-like fashion. Placing his hand onto Hope¡¯s forehead, he felt the high fever that her body was in, his palms already sticky and sweaty.

    Noticing a slight static on her leather jacket, the sergeant rubbed her shoulder area, his thumb and pointer finger trying to identify the static. Coincidentally, it caused him to get shocked, pulling his hand back towards his body as the zap sent out a piercing shockwave through his whole body.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) How the hell did she get electrocuted?

    The two soldiers looked around the room as they tried to find any other survivors, their eyes panning the dirtied floors. A short soldier, a soldier small and thin, looked up towards a tall soldier with blonde hair, his eyes sharpening at the tall man next to him.

    (Guard #2) I¡¯ll look for the survivors and you look for any corpses to bring back.

    (Guard #1) sighs ¡­ alright.

    (Guard #1¡¯s thoughts) If I don¡¯t go along with him, he¡¯ll throw another hissy fit.

    One of the soldiers, the short and thin one, noticed Benn lying in the dark, his face and body shrouded in the darkness as he made a cold frown upon his face. Looking down at the shark-human, he continued to stare at Benn, until the sergeant looked towards the soldier, the soldier having his body blocking Benn.

    (Sergeant) See anything?

    (Guard #2) ¡­ No sir ¡­ just a corpse.

    Looking away, the small thin soldier carried onwards as he continued scanning the other areas of the, avoiding Benn¡¯s glare. Setting his open palm on the wooden floor, he leaned the back of his head against the wooden wall.

    But the tall soldier, when looking towards the sergeant and small soldier interaction, noticed Benn. Squinting his eyes more, his breath caught in his throat as the shark-human lay in the shadows¡­

    (Guard #1) Wait, we got another survivor!

    The blonde-haired soldier wielded his gun as he ran towards the injured Benn, seeing the devastating state that Benn was in. Passing through the many broken wood and shards on the floor, the soldier managed to reach in front of Benn, his eyes softening as he looked towards Benn¡¯s injured hand and liver.

    Placing the butt of his gun on the floor while still holding onto it with his right hand, the soldier crouched down, having one knee on the ground. Ignoring the lingering scent of smoke and metal, the soldier extended his left hand towards Benn.

    (Guard #1) You¡¯re a soldier, right? Here, take my hand, I¡¯ll help you walk.

    Benn stared at the white-toned palm that reached out to him, the soldier''s face neutral and calm. Looking downward onto the floor, his eyes noticed the little cracks of wood, a soft comparison of material to that of many years ago¡­

    Turning his head upward, he reached out his shaking hand towards the soldier, using his safe hand so that he could pull himself up.

    Getting Benn off of the floor, Benn noticed the youthful facial features that riddled the blonde-haired soldier, followed by the soldier¡¯s slim figure and skinny appearance. The blonde-haired soldier wrapped an arm around Benn¡¯s neck and shoulders, holding him up as he and he walked their way out of the smoke-filled bar.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Why can¡¯t most of my soldiers be more like Private Zirardge? I just hope he doesn¡¯t turn out the way his father is¡­

    (Sergeant) I¡¯ll carry her out of here then.

    Extending his arms towards the sleeping Hope, the Sergeant placed his left hand on Hope¡¯s head, followed by his right arm in between her thighs and calves. Carrying her bridal style, the Sergeant put one knee on the first, checking Hope¡¯s breathing as he put his head on her chest. Hearing that she was doing fine, he carefully lifted his knee off the ground, making sure that no sudden movements dare strike his¡ªStolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    (Guard #2) Sir! The lich is gone!

    Flinching his arms, the Sergeant sharpened his eyes towards one of his soldiers from the center of the bar, his throat trembling inside of his throat.

    (Sergeant) What the hell do you mean she¡¯s gone?!

    Having Hope in his arms, one of his soldiers pointed towards the area where Gemma was supposed to be located.

    As if like the mist, she disappeared into the dead of the evening, her organs or bodily fluid nowhere to be seen as not a trace of tar was present.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:53PM)

    Sitting on a small metal chair on a street filled with soldiers, Benn remained still as he laid his arms motionless on the ground, remembering the warmth of the soldier who helped him.

    He watched as that same soldier holstered his gun on his chest strap, his arms having a hold on Benn¡¯s wounded hand, as blood continued to pour out. Benn turned his gaze towards the medics who looked at him worriedly, followed by the soldier turning his attention onto the medics who remained still.

    (Guard #1) Heal him! He¡¯s losing blood!

    Giving the soldier a nod, two medics ran towards Benn. Replacing the soldier, one of the medics looked at Benn¡¯s hand, having a white latex glove on both of his hands.

    Having Benn¡¯s hand, the medic evaluated the pouring blood, looking to the other medic who was analyzing another wound on Benn, a wound on Benn¡¯s right side of his stomach. Being evaluated, Benn ignored the medics as he focused his attention on the blonde-haired soldier.

    (Guard #1) Is there something I did sir?

    (Benn) Nothing, just surprised that¡¯s all.

    The crevices of his lips created an upside down U shape as he looked down. With his safe hand shaking, he rubbed his thumb on the bone of his pointer finger, his nail scratching the bluish pigment on his palms.

    Looking up towards the blonde-haired soldier, Benn furrowed his brows as he cleared his throat.

    (Benn) You¡¯re not like the others.

    (Guard #1) Pardon me, sir.

    (Benn) Do I scare you?

    (Guard #1) Why would I be scared sir?

    Benn looked up at the soldier, his eyes sharpening as his large nose started to crinkle. Seeing his nonchalant and youthful face tilted to the right side of his face, Benn let out a sigh as he looked down onto the black pavement.

    He took note of the many cracks on the pavement, his eyes scanning them as he continued to talk with the soldier.

    (Benn) Were you raised in Ticia?

    (Guard #1) Sir, I was raised in the countryside of Haxouburg.

    Benn gulped as he heard the word Haxouburg, his forehead starting to roll down with cold sweat. Wiping away the sweat with his safe hand, the arm sleeve of his jacket pelting against the whitish pigment of his forehead, he sharpened his shark-like eyes towards the soldier.

    The soldier in question let out a reassuring smile, the corners of his lips barely reaching the same height and length as his nose tips.

    (Guard #1) I can safely tell you that I¡¯m not a discriminant, or what many beast-humans like to call it.

    The soldier put his right hand onto Benn¡¯s left shoulder, his unwrinkled palms feeling the fabric and leather of the black leather jacket. Upon making eye contact with Benn, the soldier let out a sigh as he softly squeezed his shoulder with his hand.

    Feeling the soldier¡¯s grip on his shoulder tighten, Benn continued to look down at the ground as his eyes looked down onto the many cracks of the pavement.

    (Guard #1) Hey, my girlfriend is a cat-human, and she loves me as much as I love her. My family despises the idea of both of me and her being a couple, but you know, love is love, right?

    The two medics who evaluated Benn¡¯s wounds stopped to turn around to see the blonde hair soldier, their eyes squinting as their faces contorted with a hint of disgust. One of the medics, the one overlooking Benn¡¯s bleeding hand, continued to crouch down as he cleared his throat.

    (Medic #1) You¡¯re not beating the feline fucker allegations Zirardge.

    (Guard #1) Excuse me?

    (Medic #1) Look, sir, I don¡¯t mind beast-humans. I grew up in El Niabea so I don¡¯t care if I have to heal them. But¡­

    The medic turned his attention back towards Benn¡¯s hand, grabbing a roll of adhesive white bandage with his right hand. Holding Benn¡¯s hand with his left hand, he used his right to roll up Benn¡¯s hand repeatedly, making sure the bloodied hand stopped gushing out.

    Finishing the rolling rotation, he then stared at the covered-up white bandage, the medic¡¯s left hand trembling as he rubbed the contents of the bandage.

    (Medic #1) I think it¡¯s morally wrong for humans to mingle with beast humans. Humans should mingle with humans and beast-humans should mingle with their said species. Too much interspecies mixing and in the next hundred years, humans will look like a group project.

    (Medic #2) Oh, stop being a hypocrite.

    The medic who tended to Benn¡¯s wound on his stomach turned around to see the other medic, his eyes gleaming with sadism as he smirked his lips. Having his right hand on Benn¡¯s stomach, he placed his left hand on his chin, tapping his fingers lightly.

    (Medic #2) You know you have no right to say anything bad about mingling. Did you forget who your past lover was?

    (Medic #1) Well, it wasn¡¯t a beast-human, that¡¯s for sure.

    The medic tending to Benn¡¯s hand straightened his back as he looked at the other medic, a sly smile merking across his face as he put both hands on his hips, and finished dealing with Benn¡¯s hand. Placing a handful of red gel across the stabbed area on Benn¡¯s stomach, the medic started rubbing it as he looked at his friend.

    (Medic #2) Ok, tell them what the lover looked like then.

    (Medic #1) Well ¡­ her name was Eve, and she was a quiet woman at that¡ª

    (Medic #2) Was it Eve or Steve?

    (Medic #1) Screw you!

    The medic that was called out stood up and stomped away huffing. Seeing the medic¡¯s outburst, the three of them looked toward one another, having their mouths puffed up like chipmunks.

    The blond-haired soldier let out a small chuckle, having his hand on his chest as he turned his head towards Benn.

    (Guard #1) So yeah ¡­ I guess love is love after all¡­

    (Gwen in Benn¡¯s thoughts) Real question Benn. You rarely talk but you¡¯re always near me. Why is that?

    Benn¡¯s face lit up a warm smile, his back still hunched as he looked up towards the blond-haired soldier¡¯s statement. Putting both of his elbows onto his thighs, with his hands holding his knees, Benn let off a playful chuckle.

    (Benn) Yeah ¡­ love is love ¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 59: Industrial Building Dented With Rust

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:24PM)

    (David, Jenny, Jerry, and Loraine)

    (David) Keep pushing through. Don¡¯t fall behind.

    (Jerry) I could try harder if the air wasn¡¯t this thick with smoke.

    The industrial side of the city wasn¡¯t the most eye candy in terms of what lies in Lagefor.

    For one, many of the industrial buildings were littered with rust, despite the doors having locks and clean glass windows. This was followed by the amount of black smoke around the district, making this part of Lagefor hard to breathe in.

    (Jerry) No wonder Boris always had an inhaler with him. You think he would¡¯ve chosen a building more farther away from here, maybe near the military complex? I sometimes have difficulty breathing in the main building. The smoke from the industrial side can be smelled from out my window¡­

    (David) It¡¯s not as simple as it looks.

    Continuing to run, David turned his head towards Jerry, his eyes narrowing at him. Jerry rolled his eyes, his body flowing with the motion of running.

    (David) Did Boris ever tell you his background?

    (Jerry) No. He only told me that he grew up in Lagefor.

    (David) Well, despite Boris being formal and clean, he wasn¡¯t raised on a silver spoon.

    David and Jenny¡¯s legs continued to remain the same as their chests moved up and down in a normal motion. For Jerry, his face started to sweat, and his breathing increased the more he ran.

    But Loraine''s whole body was drenched with her sweat, her legs almost dragging onto the floor as her arms were flailing like a malfunctioning robot.

    (David) First, let me just give Loraine a piggyback.

    Slowing down, he extended his arms and hands back, his body crouching softly as he turned his head towards the exhausted girl.

    Loraine pushed her right leg off the ground with all of her strength, her stomach tightening as she used most of her core strength. Rapidly, her speed made way for David¡¯s back, extending her arms and hands outwards as her body made contact with him, her breathing decreasing.

    Wrapping her arms around David¡¯s lower neck, Loraine shut her eyes as she began taking a nap on his back.

    (David) Alright back to Boris.

    David turned his head towards the other two that were running with him, his chest heaving lightly as his legs continued to push themselves onward.

    (David) He was raised by only his mom, a child born out of a one-night stand. With no place to go, his mother found only one suitable housing for her and Boris¡¯s needs¡­

    David looked around the buildings upon buildings of the industrial center, with multiple sightings of industrial camps in little tucked-away places.

    Jerry couldn¡¯t find any small industrial camps with his eyes, nor did Jenny too. Yet despite this, Jerry turned his head towards the back of David¡¯s head, his eyes slightly closed.

    (Jerry) So he grew up here in this filth? Damn, never expected a man like him to rise from this. How long did he live here?

    (David) Until he went to college, even when his mom died when he was 13 or 14.

    Both Jenny and Jerry¡¯s eyes widened, angling their heads away as their breaths slightly shook. Having their hands forming into small fists, Jerry managed to squeeze out his palms, creating a squishy noise with his right thumb.

    (Jerry) What? So how was he able to make it?

    (David) Boris worked in those industrial factories for many of his teen years, and since he always had a chubby body, followed by the pay being less for teens, he had to work the same hours as an adult would while going to school too¡­

    (Jerry) Jesus¡­

    David started to gag, his throat coughing in many black smoke around the area, his lungs already parching from the horrible air. Breathing in and out slowly, he cleared his throat, his eyes containing water as the air was too much for him.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    (David) The amount of smoke and dangerous air he was breathing in through all his early years managed to surprise all of his doctors, with some saying that he shouldn¡¯t be living.

    (Jenny) Poor Boris¡­

    (David) So that¡¯s why we¡¯re getting him back. If he stays there too long, who knows how many chemicals his little black lungs will take?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:48PM)

    (Military Man#1) Where¡¯s our backup!?

    (Military Man #2) They¡¯re too busy defending the complex from the zompires!

    (Military Man#1) Shit! I guess it¡¯s just us huh¡­ Marines!

    Outside of an industrial building filled with rust on the outside, a group of marines aimed towards the front door, their assault rifles and submachine guns on standby as their ears perked up.

    A man in the center of the squad, put his right arm high in the air, causing other soldiers to lock their eyes onto the signaling man.

    (Military Man#1) Get ready to buckle up, cause we¡¯re going in!

    All of the soldiers in the group looked at each other with their faces drooped down, their hands clenching the grips of their guns as their legs began to wobble. Noticing that their leader was walking slowly towards the door, with his rifle on guard, the rest of the group quickly followed suit.

    The leader put his body weight on the front of the door steadily, leaning his back to the rusted door, he turned his head to his soldiers who placed their backs to the door as well, yet¡­

    (Military Man#3) Sergeant. Permission to speak sir?

    (Military Man#1) Go ahead Mclovin.

    (Private Mclovin) Will we die fighting to get those hostages, sir?

    The leader¡¯s eyes softened as his thumb rubbed the cartridge of the gun. Seeing his soldier shaking as sweat started to pour out of his forehead, the leader cleared his throat as he placed his left hand on the door.

    (Military Man#1) Nobody¡¯s dying unless I order you to. Your top priority is the hostages then your lives. Keep yourselves safe men, but remember¡­

    Taking his back off the rusted door, the leader gently placed his right foot on the door, his leather hard boot firmly tightening, his right leg expanding with a heavyweight of strength. Having both of his hands steady on his gun, the leader pushed with his right leg.

    (Military Man #1) A soldier¡¯s job is to protect the weak.

    The door to the front quickly opened, with many of the leader¡¯s soldiers looking in awe as their faces slightly opened at the showcase of strength.

    But that was overlapped by the hostages in the back of the building, all tied up and bound. With their eyes noticing the soldiers, the leader raised his arm high, making a hard fist with his right hand as he placed his gun on his left.

    (Military Man#1) Give em hell boys¡ª

    (David) What seems to be the problem, son?

    Hearing a deep voice from behind, the leader quickly turned around, his arms holding his assault rifle as he quickly pointed it towards the man dressed in all black. The rest of the soldiers turned their gaze toward the commotion, their eyes widened as they quickly pointed their guns toward the others.

    Luckily, David and the others didn¡¯t flinch or make any sudden movements, their eyes calmly seeing the many soldiers with their eyes wide open and their fingers already on the trigger.

    (Military Man#1) This is a rescue operation! Get out before¡ª

    (David) Here¡¯s some ID.

    Already having the ID in hand, David extended his right hand towards the leader, slowly and carefully to not make any soldier flinch. The leader, seeing a badge and picture on David¡¯s right hand, slowly walked and snatched it away.

    Upon having the badge in his hand, the badge had a platinum lining metal, with the shape being that of a foreign helmet. The foreign helmet appeared to be a motorcycle helmet but with a visor in the center. Seeing the badge, or rather the symbol, the leader took many steps back as he quickly looked toward David.

    (Military Man#1) You¡¯re a¡­ You¡¯re¡­

    (David) I get that a lot, son. Now, is there anything that I can do to help?

    The leader quickly gestured his right hand slowly, his left hand holding the grip of the rifle. With his right hand tightened in a fist, the rest of the soldiers casually holstered their guns down, looking toward each other as they silently stared.

    (Military Man#1) We were about to rush in, sir, we uncovered two unidentified cases of zompires talking and acting human, and we took the liberty to try to get them back.

    (David) Have you heard of blessings, son?

    (Military Man#1) Yes sir.

    (David) Unfortunately, those zompires have them, so killing them with normal weapons is going to be a hassle unless you have Togo.

    The leader looked downwards as he nodded, his breathing haggard as he put his right hand on his chest. With his hand on his chest, he moved it up to where he grabbed the collar of his khaki brown military jacket, his hands softly trembling.

    (Military Man#1) So how should we propose saving them, sir?

    (David) It¡¯s quite simple. Me and the other three are going to take them head-on. You and your men get the hostages out quickly and efficiently. Any questions?

    (Military Man#1) None!

    (David) Alright. You three, follow me.

    With David in the front, he extended his right hand towards the back of them, flinging up his fingers twice. Jerry, Jenny, and Loraine saw this with their eyes opened wide, their legs moving forward as David pulled out his pistol from his jacket.

    Entering inside the building, they took note of the air pungent with humidity and tar, their noses molested with the stench of rotting flesh and body odor.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Oh ¡­ oh ¡­

    David in particular, clenched his chest as he put his right hand onto his stomach, his throat expanding with a particular liquid.

    As he was about to open his mouth, he jerked his head upwards to force his throat to swallow. His forehead was coated with soupy sweat, followed by his body odor ever present as Loraine sniffed David¡¯s back.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) Is he nervous?

    (David) Alright. Loraine, you¡¯re with me. Jerry and Jenny, take that other lich on the left.

    With the two duos reaching towards the two liches from both sides, Jerry and Jenny saw a girl, her body frail and her skin pale.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Who is this freak? She looks a lot like someone I know¡­

    The other duo reached towards a frail man, his hands gently and firmly holding Boris.

    (Pedro) I guess you¡¯re a bigshot huh? Let¡¯s put that to the test, shall we?

 Arc 1 - Chapter 60: Jenny and Jerry vs ??? (1)

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:55PM)

    (Jerry and Jenny)

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Seriously, who is she anyway? And why is she holding hostages?

    (Jerry) Before we begin our little fight, do you mind telling me what you are and why are you doing this? I don¡¯t like to lay hands on women, so I hope it¡¯s not just some psychotic reason¡­

    The woman, or rather the teenage girl who looked to be slightly older than Loraine, looked up to see both Jerry and Jenny eyeing her, not losing sight. Swiping away the black hair that covered her left eye, she silently stood and kept her small mouth shut, folding her arms in the process.

    Jerry slowly breathed in and out, his eyes continuing to focus on the girl. Inching towards the girl with medium height, Jerry noticed that she looked up with her eyelids, not moving her head an inch from its place.

    (Jerry) The least we could do is probably just tie you up and be asked for questioning. You don¡¯t look like a fighter, nor do you look like you take pleasure in killing people, so¡­

    Jerry extended his hand out, his right hand shaking softly. Making a nonchalant face, his lips remained in a normal frown, a bead of sweat rolling down from his right temple.

    (Jerry) Wanna do a truce? There¡¯s nothing we can gain or lose if we fight.

    The girl then extended her hand too, her frail and bony arm barely managing to force her hand to move, both of them holding their hands in a firm agreement like a couple of businessmen. Smiling warmly, the crevices of her lips created an angelic smile similar to a certain girl in the Dark Angels.

    Closing her eyes as her hair swung back, the grip of her hand instantly loosened.

    (???) There is something that I could gain from this fight¡­

    A gunshot was heard¡­

    (Jerry) Hmm ¡­ wait ¡­ what ¡­

    Jerry looked down towards where his hand was, the hand that he shook with the girl to settle their differences.

    But her hand wasn¡¯t there.

    Replacing the girl¡¯s hand was a heavy-weight revolver, the barrel of the gun emitting smoke.

    (Jerry) H-Huh?

    Slowly pulling out his hand, he slowly turned it around to see his palm covered in a warm substance that Jerry was familiar with.

    He gasped as a bolt of pain ravaged his right hand, as a major hole sprouted out from the middle of his hand. The bullet wasn¡¯t just lodged in there, it practically made an actual hole in the middle of Jerry¡¯s hand.

    Jerry gripped the wide-open wound with his left hand, taking many steps back as droves upon droves of blood poured down onto the rusted floor of the metal factory. His throat hitching his breath, his vocals wanted to tear themselves up, and yet¡­

    (Jerry) Hope! Hope! Hope!

    Jerry then noticed another area where a warm liquid fell from, a droplet of sultry red blood dripping out from underneath. With his left hand, he slowly touched the area where another leakage occurred, his eyes clenching from the stabbing pain.

    Jerry lay on his left side as the bullet that managed to clean its way through his hand, managed to lodge itself inside of his stomach. Tears welling up from his eyes, he wanted to scream, he wanted a miracle, he wanted¡­

    (Jenny) Jerry!

    Jenny sprinted a few steps towards where Jerry lay down, crouching down instantly as she placed her hand on his forehead. Feeling the contents of Jerry¡¯s cold sweat on his forehead, her hands slowly trembled as she rubbed his forehead with brittle care.

    (Jenny) Hang on! I¡¯ll get some of the soldiers to¡ª

    A click was heard, followed by a reload.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Damn her!

    Turning rapidly towards the girl with her right hand being replaced by a revolver, Jenny stood up as she saw the girl pointing her gun hand towards her. Pulling out her spiked frying pan, she wielded it with both of her hands, gripping the handle of the pan as she pointed it toward the girl.

    The girl continued to point her gun hand towards Jenny, not bothering to use her left hand at all. As if the gun was part of her, the trigger, without the girl pulling it manually, automatically fired on its own, with six bullets barraging towards the monolid woman with glasses.

    (Jenny) You¡¯re going to pay!

    Jenny extended her frying pan as if she wielded it like a bat, her knuckles on the verge of breaking. Lunging to the left, she used mostly her right leg to push herself off the ground, the dirty metal floor clearing off a hint of rust as the shockwave of her push created a small dent.

    The girl shot them as soon as Jenny lunged to the left, with most of the bullets missing their mark as they traveled through the emptiness of the evening lighting of the factory. But there were a couple of bullets that managed to come into contact as Jenny was barreling her cautious ballad.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Oh crap!

    Jenny used the bottom of the frying pan to deflect the bullets from hitting her, two bullets creating small but noticeable dent marks on the black spiked metal. For deflection, the two bullets deflected back to the person who shot the gun, which led to¡­

    (???) Hmm?

    Standing still through all of this, the girl tilted her head to the side, placing her small finger on her right cheekbone. Because she tilted her head, out of luck or skill, the two bullets didn¡¯t lay a touch on her, going towards the wall that the girl¡¯s back was facing.

    The girl saw all of this happening, leading her to forget about Jenny for a split second.

    And in that split second.

    (Jenny) Come here!

    Jenny was a mere feet away from the girl, leading her to ignite her slim yet muscular muscles as she dug the handle of the pan with her fingertips. Thrusting her arms towards the little girl¡¯s face, Jenny clenched her teeth as her enamels let out a tiny amount of sparks.

    The spiked frying pan then closed the gap, landing the critical blow into the side of the girl¡¯s right cheekbone. With the spikes on the bottom of the pan making contact, the spikes dug deep into the lich¡¯s cheek, holes forming along her face.

    But Jenny wasn¡¯t done.

    Contracting her muscles so that an absurd amount of strength poured through her right and left arms, Jenny managed to croak the handle to the point where the handle started to crack. Creating a mini shockwave, the air trapped between the pan and the lich girl¡¯s face managed to explode into a loud clamp.

    But Jenny didn¡¯t send the girl flying¡­

    Or rather the only part of the lich girl¡¯s body was fling was¡ª

    (???) Oh my, that¡¯s not good¡­

    A single body part flew to the other side of the building, the limb soaring high in the air. Being in the air for not that long, the limb started to roll across the dirty and rusty floor of the factory, accumulating an absurd amount of dust and rust as the front of the limb was¡­

    (???¡¯s thoughts) Oh no ¡­ got some rust in my eye.

    The lich¡¯s head was rolling down through the factory floor, her pale face covered in red as the rust managed to create artificial rashes on her skin. Putting her pan back to the base of her body, she looked at the faraway head that she dislodged, her eyes panning to the spiked frying pan.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I think I used too much strength¡­

    The head of the lich girl managed to stop rolling, with her head being 20 to 30 feet away from Jenny¡¯s position. Seeing that the head wasn¡¯t regenerating, Jenny placed her pan forward as she focused her attention on the head.

    Turning her eyes towards a soldier hiding in the distance in the shadows, Jenny turned her head to the cowering soldier.

    (Jenny) Help Jerry now! He¡¯s losing blood!

    (Scared Soldier) O-Ok!

    As the soldier ran towards the injured Jerry, Jenny continued to give her attention to two body parts. With a bead of sweat rolling down from her left temple, her grip on the pan started to loosen.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Now which body part is she going to regenerate from? Wait ¡­ every lich or Zompire''s weakness is their heart. If I take her heart now¡­

    And sure enough, the lich girl¡¯s body was right in front of Jenny, her kill right for the taking.

    With the body of the lich girl lying on the ground, pouring tar from her missing head, Jenny raised both of her arms, the pan clouding the dim light from the ceiling as her grip loosened evermore. Spreading both of her legs out, Jenny made a stance as what a person with a sledgehammer would make, the spikes of the pan dripping tar onto the body.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Then her misery would end.

    Thrusting her body forward, Jenny expanded her slim muscles so that her grip on the pan tightened. On its trajectory to her heart, the pan accumulated an abnormal amount of inertia, causing the pan to create a mini sonic boom as the air around the edges of the pan hardened.

    As the spikes of the pan started to close in on the left side of the girl¡¯s chest¡­

    (???) Not every lich has their heart on their left chest.

    Jenny stopped the motion of her pan, the spikes of the pan barely touching her chest as the sudden stop caused a small airwave that entrapped the lich¡¯s body for a split second. Keeping the pan on the girl¡¯s heart, Jenny revolved her head to where the girl''s head was, the grip of the pan loosening again.

    (Jenny) What?!

    (???) My heart is where my brain is at, and my brain is where my heart is at.

    The head of the girl faced her head towards Jenny, her artificially red face plastered with rust looking upon the monolid beauty many feet away. Not even smirking or smiling, the girl didn''t even let out a frown, her mouth formed in a straight line as her nose, left cheek, and forehead relaxed.

    Jenny turned her focus onto the head of the bodiless girl, still having the pan pointing towards the girl''s chest. Sharpening her eyes at the girl, Jenny sprouted a vein from her hand as she creaked the pan under immense pressure.

    (Jenny) I¡¯m not buying that! Are you saying that liches are different from normal zompires!?

    (???) When using blessings, unlike humans, liches can alter their organs into different places if their blessing is suitable for it. If humans did the same, then they would end up killing themselves in the process.

    (Jenny) Why are you telling me this?

    Jenny pointed her pan towards the lich girls¡¯ head, despite the vast difference in location between them. Breathing in hurriedly, Jenny started to feel a sharp pain in her chest, the pain feeling as if someone pinched her heart.

    Ignoring her breathing, Jenny swiped her head once, returning her attention to the girl.

    (Jenny) Just what are you planning? What are you achieving by telling us your secret?

    (???) ¡­ I just wanted to buy myself extra time¡­

    A body stood up from behind her, rapidly getting back up as it silently faced¡ªwell with no face, had her body and chest facing the back of Jenny. Noticing that the lich girl¡¯s body was up, Jenny turned her head to see the headless body, tar splattered all across the girl¡¯s chest and stomach.

    (???) I hate when my hand is groveling on the ground. I just hate it.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Oh no ¡­ I should kill her now!

    Pushing her right leg off the ground, she lunged herself straight towards the headless body, the body that remained still and content as she barely moved her arms and legs. Noticing that the body wasn¡¯t backing down from Jenny¡¯s attack, she slightly crouched down as for what she was about to do¡­

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Maybe this will work.

    She kicked herself off the ground, reaching a height that humans shouldn¡¯t be able to jump.

    Kicking the rusted floor with her heels, caused her entire body to spring up into the air. Seeing that the body continued to not move an inch, Jenny turned her body the opposite way, while doing a backflip midair so that her landing would be smooth.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I never do this unless I have to. I¡¯m still not an expert at it.

    With the soles of her feet carefully landing on the ground, the inertia and mass of the jump managed to push Jenny down, making her crouch deeply to the floor. For a couple of seconds, Jenny composed herself as her holster that wielded her frying pan was still in place.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Good, it didn¡¯t fall off.

    Wielding the frying pan with her right hand, Jenny charged forward as she managed to land behind the lich girl, her body not flinching or even turning back from the sudden change of positions. With a simple click of a button, the bottom of the pan emitted a large amount of spikes, the spikes in the front of the pan being dropped down.

    Extending both of her hands backward, Jenny continued to sprint towards the girl, the lich''s back wide open. Targeting the left side of the back, Jenny¡¯s muscles expanded again as she swung the pan with another surge of strength.

    For the spectators, a cowardly soldier was treating Jerry, his eyes focused on the monolid beauty as she aggressively charged the lich.

    (Scared soldier¡¯s thoughts) Just how much strength does she have? She swings her pan like nothing¡­

    Halfway through her charge¡ª

    The girl spun around, with two of her arms being replaced by assault rifles.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 61: Jenny and Jerry vs ??? (2)

    (Scared soldier) Take cover!

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) What¡­?

    The lich girl¡¯s arms without warning unleashed a barrage of bullets straight towards Jenny, her entire body ricocheting back and forth as the recoil of both assault rifles managed to loosen the girl¡¯s balance on her feet.

    Jenny, who saw this unexpected tide of the battle, had her eyes wide open, her entire body enclosed in a sultry sweat as the bullets moved closer and closer to where she was charging forth. With nowhere to go, Jenny extended her frying pan outward, covering her chest and stomach.

    (???¡¯s thoughts) Simpleton.

    Jenny thrusted herself to the left to avoid the assault rifles'' tsunami of bullets. By pushing both of her legs, her legs buckled underneath the whelming strain.

    Yet despite this sudden maneuver, and with Jenny defending her chest and stomach, the handle of the pan that tried to block her stomach was nothing more than useless.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I¡­

    Some of the assault rounds that were emitted from the lich girl managed to lodge themselves deep into her lower stomach, holes upon holes of bullets claiming home in her digestive tract of Jenny. Falling without touching the ground with her feet, her left arm and side were doing it for her.

    Letting go of the spiked frying pan, she quickly put both her hands onto her lower stomach, feeling a large portion of the warm liquid leaking out. The droplets of blood reached downwards onto the rusted floor, and soon a constant stream of blood started to emit out of her.

    (Jenny) Help! Help!

    Her vision going blurry, her ears ringing with tinnitus, her mouth opening wide open, her nostrils flaring upwards. Clutching both of her hands towards her lower stomach, she fluttered rapidly, her eyelids flinching inhumanly possible.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t wanna go!

    Her breath started to decrease rapidly, her lungs starting to weaken as the air that she should¡¯ve been inhaling normally now was starting to contract within. Pretty soon, even her heart felt the lack of blood being pumped, causing her to open her mouth wider as soon blood started to pour out from the corner of her left lip.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t wanna go! I don¡¯t wanna go!

    The blood that poured from her intestines started to reach her chest, and her arms and legs soon felt the warm and sticky substance. Her brain was still active, her eyes continued to pan the area around her with fastening speed, her eye sockets making her eyes tremble as her head started to shake uncontrollably.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t wanna go! I don¡¯t wanna go! I don¡¯t wanna go! I don¡¯t wanna go!

    (???) Thank you for the little fight. It was nothing worth fighting for, yet you still charged forth with no plan.

    (Jerry) I promised ¡­ pants ¡­ myself to never lay hands on a woman ¡­

    With her vision and hearing still on hyperdrive, Jenny panned her eyes close to where Jerry¡¯s voice was, the pupils of her eyes dilating as she noticed the blurry figure holding a sword.

    Jerry wielded a sword with his left hand, his right arm motionless to gravity as blood continued to stream out of the hole that was sticking out. Putting his arm down to the ground, the blade of the normal-looking single-edged sword managed to trickle down a droplet of hot tar.

    (Jerry) But ¡­ pants ¡­ you my friend are no woman ¡­

    A thump was heard across the room.

    (???) Hmm?

    Her head entirely focused on the dying Jenny, her eyes panned towards where Jerry was, his breathing coming in heavy intervals. Followed by his chest heaving frantically up and down, his left hand squeezing the grip of his sword, and his legs on the verge of buckling, Jerry continued to look toward the headless girl¡¯s body.

    The girl, her eyes squinting at him, noticed a limb was on the floor, being covered in a pool of tar. Noticing this, the girl¡¯s head started to shake as her hair began to sprout up, followed by her lips puckering up into her mouth.

    (???) My arm¡­

    Her right arm, a limb that was replaced by an assault rifle, turned into her normal arm as it was cut down from near the shoulder. Sweat started to drip from her forehead, the girl moved her body that was separated from her head to jump back a couple of steps.

    (???) You cheat.

    Jerry barely moved his legs forward, the strength within his legs holding him back severely as he couldn¡¯t lunge or jump. His breath hot and frantic, he wielded the sword strong enough to try to swing at her left arm.

    (Jerry) Come here!

    Of a voice without water and moisture, Jerry¡¯s raspy breath was heard across the room as Jenny¡¯s vision started to wither away, leaving her with nothing more than hearing the fight with her well-formed ears. Closing her eyes, her body began to relax as her legs and arms continued to be touched by the pouring blood coming out of her intestines.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Glancing his eyes towards the bleeding Jenny, Jerry bit his lips as blood started to pour out of the upper lip, not bothering to wipe it away. Randomly swinging his sword with his left arm, Jerry eyed the girl¡¯s left arm evermore, his eyes on the verge of shutting down as the lack of blood caused his legs to slightly buckle.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Please let me hit her arm! Just once, please lend me a hand lady luck!

    (???) I should end this quickly.

    Instead of pointing her left arm at Jerry, she decided to raise the rifle as if it were a sword, her stance spotless and effortless as her legs spread out for the incoming attack.

    Jerry, being caught off guard, still managed to eye the headless body with precision, thrusting his sword onto the lich girl¡¯s metallic guns, sparks flying as her strength was being tested against the elf. Slowly pushing the weight of his sword onto the girl, he was able to overpower the girl¡¯s defense, his sword almost reaching the area where her heart was.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Even if she is going defense, I¡¯ll just thrust her heart and¡ª

    (???) Is it true that your girlfriend was killed during the attack on Clastine?

    Jerry remained still as the swords that were holding the guns at bay suddenly managed to push Jerry away with ease. Being pushed back, Jerry tightened the grip on his sword with his left hand, looking towards the lich girl¡¯s head that looked right into his soul.

    Pointing the sword toward the lich girl¡¯s head, despite the long distance between them, his eyes glared as the lines beneath his eyes convoluted into pure anger.

    (Jerry) How did you know my girlfriend was killed!?

    (???) Her name was Sidney, correct?

    Jerry¡¯s throat started to quiver as his hand continued to point toward the girl¡¯s head, his hand trembling dangerously as his fingertips started to loosen from the base. Shaking his head to the side, Jerry darkened his face, not allowing any sunlight to reciprocate any reflection along his eyes or face.

    (Jerry) What does she have to do with this¡­ Why is she important to you guys ¡­

    (???) There is a way to bring her back. Back from the dead of what people call it.

    Widening his eyes at the proclamation, Jerry¡¯s sword that he held with his left hand loosened severely, his palms coated with hot sweat as he had trouble holding onto the grip. Gulping down whatever saliva or moisture would cleanse his parched throat, he steadied his breathing, dropping his sword to the ground.

    (Jerry) Do you ¡­ Do you mean it? Sidney would be back alive again?

    (???) Of course. But first, you must meet the Boss, and he doesn¡¯t want anyone to know of our little secret base, so I¡¯m going to have to blindfold you! Are you fine with that?

    Rubbing his right arm with his left hand, Jerry looked down onto the bullet wounds from his right hand and his lower stomach, blood continuing to pour out of there. Letting out a sigh, Jerry looked towards the bodiless girl again, his eyes submitting defeat.

    (Jerry) I¡¯ll go with you ¡­ but can you promise me you won¡¯t hurt that woman there, and have someone heal my wounds as well?

    (???) Of course. The boss wanted Boris, but I think he¡¯ll be lenient enough to allow you. He¡¯s not a complete authoritarian, but he is germaphobic¡­

    Panning his attention to the cowardly soldier not doing anything, having his gun pointed toward the headless body, Jerry yelled at the soldier despite not seeing him.

    (Jerry) Soldier! Tend to Jenny¡¯s wounds! I¡¯m going to settle this on my own¡­

    (Scared soldier) But Sir! This is a trap! Consider the possibility that your life is on the line!

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) My entire life, I wanted one thing. Just one thing. No matter what, I¡¯m achieving that goal¡­

    (Jerry) Consider this my sacrifice to save my second option! Tell David and the others, if they manage to pull through, that I¡¯ll be doing it alone this time!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) He promised me¡­

    Her vision started to blacken into nothing, the empty void that brought forth left her with the sounds of the battle ensuing in the vastness of reality.

    Her pupils dilated enough to cause her to see the pinnacle of nothingness, the only saving grace of life was her ears that sparked memories, memories that weren¡¯t shown but heard.

    (Iris in Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Get back up! You can¡¯t let men fight your own battles!

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) But he promised me¡­

    Almost as if she was remembering a past that held her back, a past that needed one fixing.

    (David in Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Keep moving forward Jenny. Sometimes you¡¯ll find something that you wanted but never thought you wanted.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I just wanted my promise to be granted¡­

    Can she be saved? Can she move forward despite being on the brink of death?

    Can her promise be granted under the cataclysm of this horrible world she lived in?

    (Kenichi in Jenny¡¯s thoughts) I think it¡¯s best if you forget about me, can you promise me that?

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Why can¡¯t you promise me one thing¡­

    Her lungs failed, her heart stopped, and her brain went on overtime.

    Her body felt the shiver of an imaginary sheath scrapping the contents of her back.

    (Kenichi in Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back as soon as the war is done. But please listen to your sister and parents more.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) You liar¡­

    The dilation of her eyes returned to its normal state, her ears erasing the sounds of tinnitus.

    (Scared soldier) Hey, are you ok!? Are you breathing now again!?

    Her body was sucked back into the world of the living, her entire body flinched upwards as her vision, sense, smell, and taste shocked upwards into her soul. Looking around the factory in a frenzied manner, she turned her attention to the small and shy soldier who looked to be barely in his 20s.

    (Jenny) What happened?

    (Scared Soldier) R-Rest now. It looks like she¡¯s gone.

    (Jenny) Oh¡­

    Jenny started to scratch her stomach, feeling a burning itch coming from her lower stomach. As her fingernails felt a warm liquid, the liquid coursing down onto her hand and palm, she noticed a foul manure smell.

    Sniffing the air around her, she noticed that the smell was coming from somewhere close. Flaring her nostrils up with each sniff, her nose pointed to a particular area down underneath her.

    (Jenny) Wait ¡­

    She put her hand in front of her face that was scratching her lower stomach, her eyes opening onward as her hand was covered in¡­

    (Jenny) Ha ¡­ Ha!

    A roaring amount of blood, her hand etched on the liquid as she continued to breathe heavily. Not only did she see blood, she saw two other supplements from her lower stomach, causing the scared soldier to gag behind her.

    First, she saw bits of pink and red particles on her fingernails.

    Second, she noticed that some of her fingertips had some brown pigments¡­

    (Jenny) HA!!

    Letting out a high-pitched shriek, Jenny collapsed her body onto the hands of the scared soldier, his hand holding the back of her shoulders. Smelling the foul odor coming from her slightly leaking intestines, the scared soldier focused his attention on her, pinching his nose with his right finger.

    (Scared soldier¡¯s thoughts) I should signal the others so that they could give her the illegal syringe. I hope they have the balls to do so¡­

    Placing her head on top of his lap, the scrawny soldier put his hand on her forehead, feeling the high fever coming from her body. Using his left hand, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and dialed in three numbers, static being reached from the metal device.

    (Scared soldier) Going to need the syringe! I know it¡¯s illegal, but this is a serious case here!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 62: David and Loraine vs Pedro (1)

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:55PM)

    (David and Loraine)

    (David) I may be a big shot, yeah, and I¡¯m willing to kill you where you stand right here and now. But I have a question to ask of you.

    On the other side of the building, David slowly put his hands in his jacket, straightening his back as he cleared his throat. And in front of both David and Loraine, Pedro had within his hands¡­

    (David) Why do you have Boris enclosed in your arms? Is he going to run? Is he going to fight back? What danger does Boris pose to you?

    Pedro, his arms holding Boris hostage, continued to look towards David and Loraine. Tightening his grip upon Boris, his arms were caging Boris not by his neck, but by his chest area.

    Taking a step back from the two, Pedro let out a small chuckle as his lips gave off a warm smile, his nostrils flaring upward as his eyes were closed. Hunching back, Boris also followed the motion of Pedro, being dragged by a ragdoll by the male lich, as his chubby body continued to emit sweat.

    (Pedro) Do you think I find something useful for this old fatass? It was my boss¡¯s orders to bring him in, he thinks that Boris may be useful for something.

    (David) Like what exactly? Care to explain?

    David started to slowly walk towards Pedro, still having his hands inside his jacket pockets as he continued to stare intently at the lich. Seeing that Boris'' lips were not moving, Boris put a hand to his chin, rubbing the jawline back and forth with his pointer finger.

    (David) What¡¯s the matter, Boris? The lich got your tongue?

    Boris slowly turned towards Pedro, his face starting to be coated with sweat as his face nodded sideways frantically. With his left hand, David extended it towards Loraine, nudging her right hand to hold his as his eyes glanced at Pedro starting to walk back slowly.

    Loraine accepted the hand, holding onto it as she sharpened her young eyes towards Pedro, her left hand enclosed into a fist as her body began to tremble violently. Walking with David, both of them managed to keep up with the pace of Pedro¡¯s backward walking.

    (David) During my fight with Kenichi, I could¡¯ve had an even match with him.

    (Pedro) You¡¯re bluffing, right? I heard from Kenichi that you were on defense the entire time.

    (David) Unlike you liches, there¡¯s a thing called humanity.

    Despite Pedro being slightly taller than David, David folded his arms as he managed to reach a few feet away from both Pedro and Boris. With Pedro¡¯s face beginning to form sweat particles on his nose, Pedro tightened the hold on Boris¡¯s chest, as Boris continued to breathe slightly raspy.

    Loraine noticed this, causing her to tighten her fists even more, her knuckles on the verge of breaking as her entire focus was on Pedro¡¯s neck.

    (David) What I mean by humanity, is the fact that most of us remember who we are as people, what our beliefs are, and what goals and dreams are.

    Pedro slowly looked down as his face started to darken, his smile fading away as a cold frown started to replace it, leading to him tapping his right foot on the rusty floor. Still having his right hand in his leather jacket, David started to let out a small smile as the left side of his lip managed to reach more to his ear than to his right.

    (David) I had emotion and I was taken aback. I saw something that shouldn¡¯t be considered possible. I saw him as a brother yet he fought me like he never knew me.

    David looked down onto the ground, the rusted floor of the industrial building having no reflection. With his face darkened, David replaced his smirk with a frown, thinking about the rusted floor that looked too hard to be dented.

    Finally, David thrust his hand outwards toward where Pedro was, his right hand wielding a handgun with the barrel of it pointed right at his head. Steadying his aim, David put his finger on the trigger, his old yet brittle fingertips slowly caressing the metal as he continued to stare at the lich.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    (David) While you, my friend, have no morals, no beliefs, no goals or dreams to follow. You kill for what? For your boss?

    Pedro then started to unleash steam out of his body, the steam starting to go up on top of his head. Loraine, who noticed the steam cloud, squeezed the hand that David was holding her with, his eyes quickly glancing toward her until he looked back at them.

    (Pedro) I didn¡¯t have a choice.

    (David) I knew you were going to say that.

    Pulling the trigger, the chamber of the gun unleashed six of his bullets straight toward Pedro¡¯s face, the barrel of the gun reddening as the metal started to gently melt. With each bullet launching itself out of the chamber, his arm remained in place despite wielding it with only his right hand.

    In slow motion, the six bullets edged themselves closer toward Pedro¡¯s head, the hot metal about to collide with the center of his forehead. Looking up at the fast bullets, Pedro closed his eyes as his grip on Boris continued to remain hardened, his breathing steady as the bullets¡­

    Traversed right through Pedro¡¯s head, his head seeming like it was made out of air.

    As the bullets targeted the back of the wall, denting the rusted metal wall, David continued to ready his gun, his finger remaining on the trigger.

    (David) So you¡¯re a user with a blessing I take it?

    (Pedro) No, not a blessing. Something vastly better than just a normal stupid blessing.

    The air on top of Pedro, or rather the cloud forming above him, grew increasingly large as Pedro started to look with his own eyes. With a smirk being drawn right across his face, Pedro¡¯s hands then reached upwards, his hands being enveloped in the cloud as he felt the deadly air on his palms.

    Taking a step back, David pulled out ammo from his jacket¡¯s pockets, putting six bullets into the chamber as he replaced the old ones that were shot. Hitting the back of the bullets to secure their place in the gun, David turned his head up from his focus on reloading, seeing Pedro¡ª

    (Pedro) This is the pinnacle of power!

    Thrusting his arms outwards to David, the cloud that he grabbed a hold of was launched forward, the clouds traveling as fast as a baseball pitch. Loraine, still having her grip on David¡¯s hand, broke away as she pushed her legs off the ground, jumping from her left side by arching her whole body away from the cloud.

    As the cloud was about to envelop David¡ª

    David was halfway towards Pedro, his legs and arms swiftly moving like a moving bullet. Pedro barely took notice of David¡¯s speed, his eyes widened at the sudden change.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) Wait what?

    Reaching in front of Pedro, the gas cloud that was supposed to envelop him was now useless as David got in front of him, merely inches away from his face. Unable to defend himself from the lightning-fast man, Pedro jumped back, with Boris in tow.

    Noticing that Pedro was not giving up on holding Boris hostage, David pointed his gun towards the lich, caressing the trigger softly as he pulled it back, unleashing another round of six bullets. The bullets launching themselves towards the lich, Pedro kept walking backward as his feet stomped the rusted floor, his grip on Boris unchanging as he took a fast breath in.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) More bullets? Guess I have to use it again.

    Standing still, Pedro saw the bullets edging closer and closer toward his head again, his breathing starting to turn ragged as his putrid and warm breath continued to trickle down Boris¡¯s head. Boris, remaining still, looked to see that the bullets were just about to come into contact with Pedro¡¯s head.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) What is his weakness? There¡¯s gotta be a way that his power works¡­

    Like usual, the bullets that went straight for his head managed to pour out with no tar or skin damage, his head as light as air. Smoke rose from the barrel of the gun, David noticed that the barrel started to turn a bright red, the metal slowly melting more as the metal bullets that hit the ground were sprouting steam.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) I hope I don¡¯t overuse the gun.

    Pedro then felt a rope around his waist, the rope tightening around his body as his body was trapped with Boris.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) Oh, wait ¡­ shit I forgot about her!

    Managing to remain standing, Pedro turned his body to see the face of an enraged little girl, her eyelids bloodshot red as her hands that held the rope convulsed, causing the rope to forcingly shake. Closing his eyes as he lit up a warm smile, Pedro looked towards the fuming girl, ignoring Boris¡¯s squeals for air.

    (Pedro) You know that I have your little fake daddy trapped in me right? He¡¯s in more pain than I am so what do you say in letting me go?

    Loraine tightened the grip on the rope even more, the nylon material starting to turn Boris¡¯s face blue.

    Boris gasped for air, his lungs being pelted against both Pedro and the rope, followed by the already small lung space that he had. With tears in his eyes, he continued to eye Loraine, his breathing starting to weaken more as his heart began to slowly pump blood.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Ah! Snap out of it Loraine!

    He tried to bulge his arms yet he couldn¡¯t, he tried to yell out but his vocals worked against him. His eyes slowly rolled onto the back of his head, his throat convoluted with the gasps for freedom.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) You¡¯re going to¡­

    (David) Thank you, Loraine.

    In the back of Pedro, David already had pointed his gun towards the back of him, the barrel of the hot gun targeting a specific area. With his pointer finger on the tip of the trigger, David clutched his finger, releasing not six bullets, but¡­

    One single bullet, a bullet that wasn¡¯t coated in black, but in red.

    Traveling through the air, the bullet breached the air around it as it pushed its way onto Pedro¡¯s left back side, as Pedro slowly turned his glance onto the incoming bullet.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) One bullet? Really? I could just¡ª

    In slow motion, the bullet managed to brush against the skin of the lich, the bullet starting to make itself at home into the unguarded lich. Having the bullet inside where his left chest was, Pedro opened his mouth wide as the air started to get trapped inside his throat.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 63: David and Loraine vs Pedro (2)

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) W-What the hell!? Why did it go in!?

    Unlike the other times, tar formed along the ridgeline as a big hole opened up in front of David. Still pointing the gun towards Pedro, David let go of the trigger, putting his finger onto the side of the gun as he watched Pedro with his eyes sharpening.

    Pedro started to leak tar out of his back chest, the hole pouring out hot liquid tar all across the lower ends of his back. His mouth coughing out tar, he slowly turned towards David, his arms around Boris as he flickered his eyes.

    (Pedro) Damn you ¡­ How did you shoot me?

    (David) You¡¯re not a gasman, are you? If you were, then you would¡¯ve been using all kinds of fancy ways to kill us, but you only use oxygen¡­

    David still pointed the barrel of the gun at Pedro, his hand and content yet the chamber was empty. Using his left hand, he pulled out six other special bullets from within his jacket, having them steady in the palm of his hand.

    Looking up towards the lich, David let out a little chuckle as a bead of sweat rolled down from Pedro¡¯s right temple.

    (David) The fact that your power can work on offense, defense, and support is overbearing. Only blessings can have the power of one or two of those, but never three, unless you use that power system¡­

    Pedro looked down onto the floor, his gaze hardening as he continued to hold Boris hostage, his fingernails digging deep into the skin of the chubby man. As the more David talked to Pedro, the more his eyes widened by the intelligence of the middle-aged man.

    (David) It¡¯s a curse huh? Well, it doesn¡¯t affect liches then it does humans. Anyway, about those bullets.

    David showcased the red-coated bullets, the metal linings on the top being circular rather than jagged or sharp. Having the palm of his hand open for the world to see, Pedro took a step back as his breathing started to turn haggard.

    (David) They¡¯re infused with CO2 gas, not a gas that you¡¯re familiar with. I never thought a day would arrive that I would be using these¡­

    Pedro placed his right hand onto Boris¡¯s head, his large and frail hand cupping the entirety of Boris¡¯s bowl-cut hair, his fingertips feeling the oily hair of the old man. Digging into Boris¡¯s scalp, he put more strength as his gaze unfocused onto David¡¯s.

    Loraine, noticing that Pedro¡¯s hand was barely moving freely despite being in the bind, opened her jaw wide as she loosened the grip of the rope.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) How is he able to move in my bind?!

    Feeling the tightness of the rope, Pedro turned his head towards Loraine, his smile ever present as his eyes were pushed to the sides. Despite his face pushing up, his fingertips on Boris¡¯s head continued to clamp more as Boris felt like his skull was about to cave in.

    (Pedro) You don¡¯t want to do this brat, if you make one wrong move, then he¡¯s going to have to pay for it.

    Loraine loosened the grip of her rope steadily, her palms coated with cold sweat as her fingers started to wrinkle from the overall water molecules from her hands. Groping the rope with both of her hands, her strength continued to diminish as her legs started to buckle from the way Pedro had a death grip on Boris¡¯s skull.

    Suddenly, Pedro then walked out of the bind that held him together with Boris, both getting out as he slowly made his way towards the girl.

    (Pedro) You know, girls like you are a threat to this world you know? You think about feelings rather than thoughts. You do things that suit you best versus what suits others.

    Walking along the rusted metal floor, the lich¡¯s bare feet squeaked under the dirty floor, creating human footprints along the dusted floor. Having Boris in front of him, Pedro showcased the chubby old man in front of Loraine, her stance diminishing as her mouth started to flicker up and down from the way things were going.

    (Pedro) Would you go to lengths for this old man? The man that put you in a survival game to better prepare you for the world?

    Many gunshots were heard coming from the back of him.

    (Pedro) You¡¯re getting annoying.

    Pedro arched his body to the right as he heard the incoming fire from beneath him, his ears perking up at the millisecond that David shot his gun. With his body arched to his side, the incoming bullets soared through the air, sending shockwaves in the rippled air as it managed to make its way into the abyss.

    Well, some of the bullets managed to cause Pedro no harm, but as for most of the bullets¡­

    As three to four bullets pierced the air, it found its plan B target being Pedro¡¯s left shoulder, the special types of bullets piercing the white pigment skin. Digging deep inside his body, another course of holes managed to lodge itself deep into the lich¡¯s body, swallowing up the bullets as the black tar digested them.

    (Pedro) Don¡¯t you have anything better to do? You keep on shooting me with that same gun over and over again. Don¡¯t you have something else besides shooting?

    (David) I think you¡¯re mistaken.

    David, wielding the gun with just his right hand, pulled it back towards him as he jammed it into his holster. Still rubbing the metallic metal upon its case, David kept his focus on Pedro, his eyes loosening as he slightly tilted his head to the right.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Straightening his back, he extended out his left arm, his hand enclosed into a fist almost as if he was about to give Pedro a fist bump.

    (David) I don¡¯t shoot a gun because I¡¯m a sharpshooter.

    Letting go of the back of the gun that was holstered to his right hip, with the barrel pointing downward, David brought his right arm tucked into his armpit, spreading his legs out as he drew a fighting stance. Opening his palm, all of his five fingers pointed straight at Pedro, the nails of all five of them ragged and sharp.

    (David) I shoot a gun because I¡¯m too strong.

    A massive cloud of aura circulated David, his stance making Pedro take a step back, causing his arms to loosen dramatically as air got into Boris¡¯s small lungs. Even though Boris opened his mouth to get a wide amount of fresh air, he quickly looked up towards the godly stance that David drew.

    Boris'' face turned deadly pale, putting a hand towards his chest as his breathing started to turn irregular again.

    (Boris) Oh shit ¡­

    Pedro looked down at Boris¡¯s face, a bead of sweat dripping down onto Boris¡¯s cheeks as Pedro widened his eyes, shaking his legs uncontrollably. Gulping down an abundance of tar from his throat, Pedro slowly clawed his fingernails onto Boris¡¯s arms, the ragged razor razor-sharp nails making small cuts at his arm.

    (Pedro) W-What? Is he portraying his full power?

    (Loraine) You done F-U-C-K-E-D up!

    Pedro turned his head quickly towards the back of him, his all-black eyes slanting toward the tomboyish girl''s voice behind him. Standing behind Pedro, Loraine let out a devilish smirk as she stood up straight, the corners of her lips reaching to the ends of her ears.

    Moving her right hand, her fist was clenched hard, posing it as if she was about to punch him, but she stuck out her thumb shortly after. With her thumb, she pointed it to the direction of herself, her feet gripping the rusted floor as her nose flared up.

    (Loraine) You should always check where your feet are, mister!

    Loraine had her left hand down to the ground, casually having it motionless to the ground. Seeing that Loraine was relaxed, Pedro turned his head down towards where her left arm was, his eyes pinpointing a nylon rope that was trembling with strength.

    Pedro turned his head down to where his ankles were¡­

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) That little shit!

    (Loraine) Hehe ¡­ go get em David!

    Fortunately for Boris, his feet were not on the ground when Loraine did her little cheat attack. Not being affected by the bind, Boris quickly ran off to avoid getting captured again, his lungs stabbing his chest as he pushed his feet forward toward where Loraine was.

    Pedro on the other hand couldn¡¯t walk even if he wanted to, the bind that Loraine did to him eliminated any ways for Pedro to attack or even defend. Not only that, but the special bullets that were lodged in his left shoulder still had the effects of the CO2 gas, the fumes still spreading throughout his body.

    Turning his head towards David, he quickly noticed¡ª

    (Pedro) W-W-What?! W-Where is he?!

    Gone in a whiff of dust, the only trace that David left in his wake was the cloud of dust and rust that circulated his original area.

    His breath caught in his putrid throat, Pedro looked around to try to find any sight of David, his eyes squinting at every corner of the nook inside the large building, even watching the fight unfold from the other side.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) I just hope Mia doesn¡¯t mess up¡ª

    A shocking pain unleashed demonic agony across the contents of his cheekbone.

    The air around the surface of his right cheekbone started to break apart as the force of the object forced his entire head to arch back unrealistically.

    But it wasn¡¯t a metal object that was hit against him, nor was it a weapon of any sort.

    The object felt too warm for anything metallic, the weapon itself being a weapon that humans used at the beginning of time.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) Was he holding back all this time?!

    In an instant, a small sonic boom made a wall around the entire body surface area of the lich, the deafening thunder of the punch causing his eardrums to burst upon impact.

    With his body off the ground, Pedro soon found himself in a flying position, his entire body being pushed by the inertia of the punch. Instead of just normally flying like a pigeon or bird, similar to the level of punches that Luna or Jenny do.

    Pedro was flown away like a diving peregrine falcon, the supersonic speed eating away at his white pigmented skin.

    In a split second, Pedro hit the rusted wall of the metallic and dirty wall, the oxidation of the metal being dull and weak for any strength put upon it. Being too heavy, the wall that should¡¯ve won over Pedro managed to collapse onto itself, his inertia causing him to break down part of the wall of the factory.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Just one more finishing blow.

    His left hand coated with white pigment skin and sticky tar, David started his stance again, his feet not gripped to the floor as his legs relaxed and loosened up. Followed by his arms, his muscles didn¡¯t expand or contract to the way he punched Pedro, his fists not gripping as much as the others would.

    But despite his loosened body, with his menacing look, David soon vanished again.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) My right cheek! He made a fucking hole in my right cheek!

    Clutching his cheek with both of his hands, his hands trembled as the gushing large hole poured a never-ending stream of tar. Being outside of the factory walls, Pedro shut his eyes from the pain, his eyes flickering intensely as his fingernails dug themselves into his nose.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) That bastard will pay for this¡ª

    A large hand grabbed the hem of his throat, deathly tightening the grip as Pedro found himself being thrown upward to the sky. In a swift motion, Pedro let the motion take him to a couple of stories high off the ground, tar streaming out more as some of it dripped down onto the ground.

    Looking down at the ground, he noticed that a middle-aged man looked up at him, the man crouching down as he shook away his fists repeatedly.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) Wait! What is he doing!? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s¡­

    (David) It¡¯s been a while since I last did this.

    Gripping his feet onto the busted-down metal door, David readied his fists, letting the blood flow into his hands as it started to form a reddish pink. With both of his arms, his muscles started to expand vastly more than they should be doing, his large veins sprouting from within his jacket, managing to be seen by the naked eye.

    And then David let out a circular arm motion for both of his hands, his left arm moving in a clockwise rotation and his right arm moving in a counterclockwise rotation. At a rapid speed, the air around his arms caused air bubbles to form in between every circular rotation.

    (David) I don¡¯t call attacks, but you¡¯re going to love this one!

    Pedro then fell as gravity worked against him, the motion of his body leaning closer and closer to the ground. Unfortunately for Pedro, David was soon ready for the incoming lich dropping down onto his little party game.

    As soon as Pedro started to take a position for David¡¯s trick, David then waited at the right time when Pedro was just on top of him.

    And the right time soon began.

    (David) Divine Slab.

    Still in the motion of his circular rotation, David thrust his hands at the right time when his hands came into contact with Pedro¡¯s stomach. As if his entire strength was used for this attack alone, David¡¯s body emitted a surging amount of air around him, reverberating the rusty walls and metal around him despite being outside.

    The grass and dirt near him swayed with the air motion of the punch, the windows from the top ceiling being shattered as shards of glass splattered into the rusty building.

    And then Pedro flew, soaring into the air with a large hole in his stomach. Not being able to see where he was going, David only watched as Pedro was long gone from the building, the shock of the punch forcing his body to travel west.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 64: Last Saw Him Heading East...

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:05PM)

    (David) Are you guys ok? How¡¯s Boris doing?

    (Loraine) Boris is doing okay! He just has weak lungs!

    (Boris) For the last time ¡­ pants ¡­ I have small lungs ¡­ pants ¡­

    (David) Just breathe inside of your inhaler old man. Anyway, I don¡¯t think I ended him, he¡¯s probably somewhere in the city.

    David, Loraine, and Boris all sat together in a little circle, sitting on a bunch of wooden crates that had many splinters. Feeling their bottoms being pelted against the uncomfortable wood, they all started to rustle their bodies, their legs squealing from the horribleness of the comfort.

    Despite sitting on these wooden crates, all of them felt relieved that having splinters upon their thighs and butts is the only thing they have to worry about, their breaths slowing down from the horrible scenario they faced. David, looking around the room, noticed that the hostages were being set free by the soldiers, and the sounds of fighting stopped shortly after they finished up with Pedro.

    (David) Looks like that random lich girl was dealt with. I wonder where Jenny and Jerry are.

    (Boris) For now, let¡¯s go take a look at the¡ª

    A high-pitched squeal was heard from the other side of the room, a feminine squeal that reached every corner of the building.

    Opening their eyes wide, the three of them stood up from their seats, ignoring the splinters that were latched onto their black pants.

    (David) That sounds like Jenny!

    (Boris) There¡¯s no time! Let¡¯s see if she¡¯s alright!

    Moving their legs in motion, the three of them sprinted towards the area where Jenny screamed, their faces plastered with cold sweat as their stamina still wasn¡¯t fully recovered.

    David still had a strong hold on his breathing, his chest and body having no faults or errors in his sprint. For Loraine, she barely got a hold of herself, her breath slowly descending and ascending frantically like a roller coaster.

    While Boris wheezed his lungs out, his breath caught in his throat as he couldn¡¯t even make it halfway towards Jenny before he collapsed onto the ground.

    (David) Do you need to be carried?

    (Boris) wheezes ¡­ yes ¡­This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Both he and Loraine stopped, they turned their head towards Boris, with Loraine putting her hand over her mouth as she loudly giggled. David meanwhile, folded his arms as he slowly walked towards the collapsed Boris, exhaling a sigh as he extended his arm out.

    (David) I¡¯ll give you a piggyback. Hold on tight old man.

    (Boris) I¡¯m five years older than you!

    Having Boris on his back, David and Loraine continued onward with their sprint, as David¡¯s legs used an excessive amount of force as the weight of Boris himself seemed to overpower David. Even though his legs wobbled with every step in his run, David didn¡¯t falter his breath one bit, his chest continuing to heave like normal.

    Reaching the area where Jenny was, they quickly noticed that a small and thin soldier was wrapping a large white bandage all across her lower stomach. Seeing this, they all noticed a foul-smelling odor coming from Jenny, causing them to pinch their noses.

    (David) gags ¡­ What the hell is that smell?!

    (Scared Soldier) It¡¯s coming from her sir¡­ that girl lich did a number on her stomach, especially where her intestines are at.

    Jenny¡¯s head rested on the soldier¡¯s lap, her eyes were closed shut as her mouth was wide open, cold sweat still ever present on her face. Looking down at the ground, Boris put his hand underneath his double chin, Boris rubbed it with his ring and middle finger.

    (Boris) Is she going to live?

    (Scared Soldier) We used a special type of injection to keep her alive, but she needed a professional medic and a table for her. Either that or a person that deals with healing of some sort.

    (David) Healing ¡­ Boris, get a call in either Hope or Benn! Those two are together!

    (Boris) I¡¯ll try to reach out to them.

    Boris got out an invention made by Stan and his friends, a small walkie-talkie that was specialized in receiving communication with others. With both his hands, Boris rolled down the mini knob on the metal device, hoping to find the frequency that Benn and Hope were assigned.

    Finding the assigned frequency that he remembered was Benn¡¯s, Boris pushed the up keypad for the incoming transmission call, his hands shaking as his palms started to crush the metal device profoundly. Luckily for him, the transmission call that he reached to Benn managed to work.

    (Benn on the talkie) Hello?

    (Boris) Benn, this is me! Is Hope okay?!

    (Benn on the talkie) Partially. She¡¯s breathing and she could walk fine, but she¡¯s still mostly burnt.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Just who did they battle against? Did they also get ambushed as well? I¡¯ve been mostly held hostage this entire time so I don¡¯t know anything about the others¡­

    Boris tightened his grip on the homemade walkie-talkie, his fingers digging into the black material as it started to creak from the pressure. Loosening the grip, Boris straightened his back as he swiped away blood from his nose.

    (Boris) I need you guys to come here to the industrial complex east of the city. Jenny is badly injured.

    (Benn) I¡¯ll let the platoon know.

    Both hanging up, Boris put the device into his pocket, looking towards Jenny who was now being comforted by David, Loraine, and the scrawny soldier. Letting in a large inhale of bad air that he was all too familiar with, Boris started to cough as his lungs started to stab inside of him.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) cough cough ¡­ Can¡¯t believe it¡¯s happening again ¡­ and they took me to the area where I was raised¡­

    Boris looked around the factory floor, noticing that a particular person seemed to be not present. Scanning the floor again with his eyes squinted, Boris put his hand onto his chin, tapping it arithmetically.

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Is Jerry present here? Wasn¡¯t he the one who dealt the finishing blow?

    (Military Man#1) Are you the leader or overseer of these men with black suits?

    Boris looked towards the military leader who helped free the hostages that the two liches were guarding. Noticing that the hostages all wore fancy suits and dresses, Boris ignored it as he focused his eyes on the man.

    (Boris) Yes, soldier. Have anything to declare?

    (Military Man#1) One of your soldiers, the tall elf with an eyepatch, was abducted by the enemy. They say they last saw him heading east¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 65: Three Dudes and a Bike

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:15PM)

    (Fred, Gary, and Diego)

    (Gary) You sure you know how to drive this thing?

    (Diego) I¡¯ve driven helicopters and planes before, I think I could handle it.

    (Fred) Like that time that you drove a motorcycle? You couldn¡¯t walk straight for a week. And watch out for glass!

    Three young men rode along the glass-covered asphalt with many of the shops and businesses abandoned and looted as they speeded past them. With most of the windows of the shops shattered, as the shards spread along the gray sidewalk, combined with the barely dimmed streetlights, it created a sense of loneliness as the men¡¯s feet shook.

    As the sun started to set on the decaying city, the last of the rays hit the buildings in the city center. Noticing the lack of refugees on the streets, the three of them started to gulp as they all looked straight ahead on the street.

    Fred, the only one who turned his head to the right, kept looking at the passing asphalt as his breathing quickened.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) Their army is super small compared to the invasion of Ticia, but they look like they¡¯re using special types of liches to do the job. How did they bring in a small zompire force in the first place?

    Fred started to scratch his head, his low-edged fingernails scraping off what little dandrum he had in his silver hair. His eyes started to sting as he continued to watch the rolling asphalt, he looked up to the sky as the air around him started to make him cough, his lungs pinching his chest.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) coughs ¡­ They¡¯re using liches that we knew, using it against us in whatever way they can ¡­ coughs coughs.

    Gary and Diego turned their heads back at Fred, noticing him closing his eyes shut as he scratched his head repeatedly, his fingernails starting to scratch away bits of his scalp.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) Almost as if this little invasion is connected to us ¡­ but for what¡ª

    (Gary) Stop scratching your head too hard! You¡¯re going to create a big bald spot on your head!

    Reaching his hand outward, Gary reached towards the end of Fred¡¯s head and smacked it from behind, eliminating the trance stance that Fred was in. Being sucked back to reality again, Fred turned his attention towards Gary, his face crinkling up as his nostrils flared.

    Putting both his hands onto Gary¡¯s collar, Fred glared at him with slanted eyes, his breathing turning frantic as his hands started to convulse.

    (Fred) Why¡¯d you do that?! Can¡¯t you see that I was thinking hard about something?!

    (Gary) Let go of me, you bastard! I just prevented you from getting a bald spot and this is how you repay me?!

    (Diego) Can you guys be quiet? I¡¯m trying to navigate where the complex is¡ª

    (Fred and Gary) Shut up!

    Diego then enclosed his mouth, putting his lips inside his mouth as he started to quiver. As his grip on the motorcycle started to loosen, Diego¡¯s eyes began to water as he started to sniff with mucus escaping from his nose.

    Gary and Fred looked towards Diego, the 20-year-old man, slowly breaking down as Gary felt Diego¡¯s back shake from the pressure of the shout. Both of them let out a sigh, Gary sharpened his eyes as he looked at the back of Diego¡¯s head.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    (Gary) Are you crying because we told you to shut up?

    (Diego) N-No, it¡¯s just the smoke¡­

    (Gary) You¡¯re lying.

    (Diego) I¡¯m not!

    (Fred) Look, Diego, sorry for overreacting, but I was trying to think about our situation at hand, and then the next thing came to another and¡ª

    A radio frequency was heard in Fred¡¯s pocket, the loud and high-pitched static jabbing their ears.

    Fred, who had the radio in his backpack, put it in between his chest and Gary¡¯s large back, going through the amount of objects that he hoarded. Finding the radio, Fred turned the knob to release the static.

    (Guy on Radio) Attention men! The Union of Ordered Governments declared the presence of two main zompire groups!

    (Gary) So they¡¯re finally acknowledging the presence of those suicide zompires from The Array¡­

    The three young men leaned in closer to the radio set, their ears perking up as the man behind the signal continued to speak. Diego continued to focus driving forward as the sky was beginning to darken.

    (Guy on Radio) The main zompires that everyone has dealt with are now called pouncers! If you see one, don¡¯t hesitate to shoot them on sight.

    The radio transmission started to emit static again, the pitch squealing louder this time, causing all three of them to clench their eyes from the pain. Pulling the knob again, Fred turned it around in a full circle, the knob on the verge of being pulled out as the metal was old and beaten up. Fortunately for Fred, the static cleared, and the knob barely holding onto the metal box still kept up to frame.

    (Guy on Radio) If you see any zompire that emits steam and has no skin on their chest and stomach, then they¡¯re steamers, and they are dealt the same way as pouncers.

    (Diego) Uh, guys¡­

    The men looking up as Diego saw many high buildings in the distance. His eyes widened as he saw rising smoke and fires coming from the buildings from afar.

    (Guy on Radio) But be careful men ¡­ Unlike pouncers, steamers will explode if shot down, and they¡¯re known to be faster than pouncers. If you see one, under any circumstances, no matter how many pouncers there are, steamers are our top priority!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:30PM)

    (Diego) I think that¡¯s the military base!

    (Gary) The base is only 1/4th of the complex. If you combine the international museum, and the UOG and Kepputhan government buildings, then that¡¯s the whole complex.

    (Fred) So this thing is freaking massive then¡­

    In front of the gate, a large four-lane bridge connected the main city to the complex. With the gates broken down, the three men noticed that the bridge was a mile long, with a small river rolling in between the gap between the city and the entire district.

    With the stream gushing around the entire complex that separated it from the rest of Lagefor, Gary looked between Fred and Diego.

    (Gary) If I recall, we¡¯re heading into the east gate, where the museum is. On the west side of the complex is the military base, followed by the many military homes. And in the center, is where all the buildings from both the UOG and Kepputhan government.

    Driving through the large bridge as the sun was nowhere to be seen, the smokey sky now blending into the night sky, the three young men looked forward to seeing a bit of broken-down military jeeps and trucks scattered along the four-lane bridge. Taking in the old vehicles decaying, the smell of gunpowder and smoke ruminated the air, their ears perked up as gunshots were heard far in the distance.

    Squinting their eyes at the front gate into the museum, Fred caught a glimpse of a battle taking place, as many shots were seen through the smoke that clouded the fight.

    (Fred) Diego, full speed! They need our help!

    Gary put his hand onto Fred¡¯s shoulder, his palm sticky and wet as his hand was wrinkled with the moisture of his sweat. Looking into Fred¡¯s determined eyes, Gary¡¯s face was drenched with his sweat, his breathing irregular.

    (Gary) Wait, no! We don¡¯t even have blessings, and we¡¯re probably at least the bare minimum of being a normal soldier!

    Fred turned his head towards Gary, his hand forming into a squeezing fist as his eyes sharpened at the chubby man. Putting his right hand onto his collar yet again, Fred raised his voice as a fire in his eyes caused Gary to push back, his body feeling lighter than it should be.

    (Fred) We have brains! We may not be strong, but we have brains! Those soldiers need our help, and besides ¡­

    With the three of them halfway to the complex, Fred looked towards the front of the other main gate leading towards the main entrance to the museum. The battle now being visible despite being clouded in the mound of smoke, Fred straightened his back as his legs were steady on the car floor.

    The smell of smoke clogged their nostrils, and the sounds of death burned their ears as they got closer to the battlefield.

    (Fred) The Gemma I knew wouldn¡¯t have liked me to just sit this battle out. She would¡¯ve pulled my ear or something.

    Fred looked down at both of his hands as he felt something wet coming from his right eye. Swiping away the teardrop, he shook his head before he turned towards the complex main entrance gate.

    (Fred) I don¡¯t care if I die. I don¡¯t care if I get beaten to a pulp. As long as those soldiers and the rest of our friends and comrades are still breathing, then that¡¯s fine by me.

    (Diego) Yeah, but don¡¯t die. Believe it or not, your friends care about you too.

    (Gary) For a second there, I thought that was cool, but you really are an idiot.

    (Fred) You get the point!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 66: Taking Back The Military Complex (1)

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:35PM)

    (Fred, Gary, and Diego)

    (Military Soldier #1) Just keep firing!

    (Military Soldier #2) Where are the agents when you need them!? What about that platoon that was on the south side of the city?

    (Military Soldier #1) They¡¯re too busy dealing with some survivors! It¡¯s just us!

    A squad of men rained a monsoon of bullets onto the incoming horde of pouncers, the hot metal flying at high speeds as it made contact with the white pigment skin of the undead.

    The recoil shook their arms, vibrating their entire body as their rifles reverberated through the chamber and cartridges inside of the bundle of metal. Their legs were on the verge of buckling, the soldiers¡¯ eyes widened as they saw the number of pouncers right in front of them.

    The squad leader, a man in his mid-30s, held the line with four other men, spraying the horde with bullets as much as they could, but¡­

    (Military Soldier #3) Sergeant! We should retreat!

    (Sergeant) Just keep shooting! We can¡¯t let them go any further!

    A group of pouncers breached their way onto a small opening of the squad¡¯s defense, sprinting their way towards the soldiers that were the nearest to them. Noticing the zompire¡¯s strategic push, the Sergeant pointed his rifle toward the undead, calling out the other men of his group.

    (Sergeant) Get those zompires now before they surround us!

    In the middle of the men was the Sergeant, with two men to his right and two men to his left. The opening that the zompires took was in between the two soldiers that were on the leader¡¯s right, with the two soldiers pointing their guns at the small group of zompires.

    Reloading their weapons, the two soldiers on the right of the Sergeant felt the overbearing pressure of death surrounding them, their breathing heavy.

    (Military Soldier #2) Careful! They¡¯re coming towards you!

    (Military Soldier #3) Oh shit! I think I¡¯m surrounded!

    The soldier farthest to the right, who was wielding a heavy machine gun, flinched as he heard the sounds of more pouncers right behind him.

    Two zompire groups surrounded him.

    (Pouncer #1) Save Us!

    Turning his back, his face started to drip with cold sweat, causing the heavy soldier to panic and start shooting at the zompires that breached to his right.

    Feeling the burden of the machine gun¡¯s recoil spreading across his entire body, the man focused his entire panicked being towards the zompires in front of him. Unable to turn his head towards the other group of zompires that breached the defense, the heavy soldier blindly fired from his hip, his breathing hitching as his heart felt like it was about to explode.

    (Military Soldier #3) You¡¯re not taking me!

    The pouncers that were being pelted by the heavy bullets started to falter under the hot metal, the bullets reaching lodging intensely towards their hearts. Seeing that his shooting was at least thinning out the zompires that were charging at him, his legs remained still under the heavy pressure, his knees buckled to the ground.

    (Pouncer #2) Save Us!

    (Military Soldier #3¡¯s thoughts) Why can¡¯t I move!?

    The zompire group that he ignored earlier, the one that breached the defense earlier, managed to barrel their way toward the back of the heavy soldier, baring their fangs as the soldier was merely several feet in front of him.

    The soldier¡¯s breathing turned desperate, his chest on the verge of popping out as his eyes glanced at the sight of imminent death upon him.

    One of the soldiers to the right of the Sergeant, the one that was in between the Sergeant and the heavy soldier, turned his head towards the heavy soldier.

    (Military Soldier #2) Ramirez!

    The soldier with the heavily pumped shotgun ran towards the heavyweight, his shotgun pointing towards the zompires surrounding his friend. Shooting the shotgun in rapid pumps, the Sergeant noticed his soldier¡¯s attempt to save his comrade.

    His voice raspy, his throat quelling with anger, his vocals trembling from the sight that beheld upon him.

    (Sergeant) Timber!

    Shooting the zompires that were supposed to be for the soldier named Timber, the Sergeant, wielding his casual AR-17, loading his entire chamber at the zompires. His grip on the rifle loosened as the Sergeant swayed his head one time as he tightened the grip on his gun evermore, the metal starting to creak under the immense strength.

    Flinging the trigger of his gun again, the zompires faltered under the cataclysm of bullets, their ashes being swept into the stone debris. Wiping his forehead from the amount of hot sweat bestowed upon him, the Sergeant shouted¡ª

    But right before he could yell, a zompire got on top of Timber.

    (Sergeant) TIMBER!!

    The soldier, Timber, fell in slow motion, similar to how a tree would fall when it¡¯s cut.

    Showcasing its fangs, the zompire slowly crept its face towards the neck of Timber, tar dripping from its rotten and decaying teeth. Having his gun to the right of him, Timber had no means to defend himself from the zompire, his eyes widening as his life started to flash before his eyes.

    (Private Timber¡¯s thoughts) My memories¡­

    Ah memories.

    Memories make life feel meaningful.

    And in a meaningful life, one must have pleasant memories.

    But sometimes.

    (Private Timber¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯ve lived a shitty life¡­

    As the zompire¡¯s fangs touched the tips of Timber¡¯s neck, the only thing that Timber felt at that moment was¡ª

    Happiness? Joy?

    Ecstasy?

    The crevices of the soldier¡¯s lips reached to the point where his smile was nothing but devilish, creating a steep U shape. Having his arms spread out before him, followed by his legs at ease within himself, he didn¡¯t have any flight or fight response to him, as only his calm breathing was heard in his ears.

    (Private Ramirez) NO!!A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    His knees unbuckling themselves, Ramirez jumped to the left of him, avoiding both of the zompire groups. With the push of both his feet, he kicked the cement ground as the debris around him fluttered around him, splattering small bits of hard rock and wood on the zompires feet.

    Wielding his gun bridal style, Ramirez sprinted towards the couple of zompires that surrounded Timber¡­

    (Private Timber¡¯s thoughts) I feel content.

    Rotten fangs that were coated with tar struck themselves into Timber¡¯s neck.

    (Sergeant) Damn it¡­!

    Yelling a mighty roar, Ramirez placed his right hand onto the grip of the gun, followed by having his left hand on the center.

    He started to carry the gun like a baseball bat, his face shaded in a deep crimson red.

    (Private Ramirez) I¡¯M TAKING YOU ALL DOWN!!

    Reaching the zompires, he swung his gun onto the back of a zompire¡¯s head, although it did not falter one bit.

    The horde of zompires that he failed to kill started charging towards him, causing Ramirez¡¯s eyes to turn to a deep and fiery bloodshot red.

    His body was free, his joints contracting from the deep anger that lit a spark in his heart, he didn¡¯t care to shoot the gun with him. Swinging left and right, he followed the motion of the gun as his fingertips tore into the hull of the grip and chamber.

    But sometimes not even adrenaline can save the strongest.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

    Ramirez¡¯s swinging wasn¡¯t enough to fully get rid of the zompires, as the pack started to jump onto him, showcasing the rigid and knife-life edges of their teeth.

    But Ramirez didn¡¯t falter, as his legs continued to hold onto him despite the weight of tenfold zompires holding him down. As the rest of the soldiers completely ignored the other zompires that were trying to get them, the three soldiers focused their attention on their two soldiers being gutted out alive.

    Ramirez¡¯s entire body felt the sharp fangs penetrate his body, their teeth clawing their way into the many organs that Ramirez had. His legs only produced more strength, Ramirez tightened his chest and stomach, his arms moving in a frenzy as he tried to punch as many zompire¡¯s skulls as he could.

    (Private Ramirez) GIVE ME ALL YOU GOT!!

    Drops of drool released from the corners of his mouth. Ramirez continued to push his fists onto the many heads of zompires that he saw, his hands being covered in blood and tar. Despite being eaten alive, his body was in motion, even when his back, chest, and stomach were starting to show his skin-peeled muscles and arteries.

    Even his internal organs started to creep out of him, as some zompires started to get some fresh pink matter into their mouths, from both his lower stomach and his chest.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Why is this happening¡­

    (Military Soldier #4) Oh shit! We¡¯re being surrounded!

    As Timber and Ramirez were being eaten alive, one filled with happiness and another filled with anger, the three other soldiers turned their heads all around every angle. Seeing that many zompires were all around them, charging at them at full speed, the soldiers pointed their guns at the horde, their fingers unable to pull their triggers.

    (Military Soldier #3) This is the end¡­

    (Military Soldier #4) N-No¡­

    They couldn¡¯t have the courage to pull the trigger, their faces filled with fear as they couldn¡¯t even dare to look the enemy in the eyes.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) This was supposed to be my last day before retirement¡­

    The sounds of an EMP burst can be heard.

    An invisible wave of electrical current, not meant to be seen by the human eye, swept through the entire front holdout entrance gate.

    Their bodies felt light, as the weight of the situation just fell off their backs. Like an anvil missing their head, or dodging a massive bullet, the soldiers noticed the many zompires that were supposed to charge head first into them were not moving.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) What the¡­

    The zompires couldn¡¯t budge themselves out of their frozen stance, their feet lodged onto the cement floor.

    Still having their guns pointed at the unmoving zompires, the three soldiers wielded their guns down, their barrels pointing towards the floor. Looking around them from left to right, their feet continued to remain still as their foreheads continued to be coated with chilled sweat.

    (Sergeant) Kim. Panchal. Stay alert.

    (???) I think they¡¯re here!

    The sounds of footsteps and rustling along the debris caused the three soldiers¡¯ ears to perk up. Steadying their guns, the soldiers took deep breaths as their palms remained sticky and sweaty, the metal being stained under the constant pressure of the grip.

    The footsteps drew nearer, and the sergeant put his finger on the trigger, awaiting anything as he focused himself on the dense smoke cloud. Caressing their triggers¡­

    (???) Don¡¯t shoot! We¡¯re friendly!

    Three young men came out of the smoke, having their hands up high in the air as they slowly walked towards the three soldiers.

    One had silver hair, another was short and chubby, and the last one had circular glasses.

    (Fred) We¡¯re friendly okay. We¡¯ll help you out.

    The three soldiers lowered their guns, letting out sighs of relief.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Sergeant) How did you know how to make that soldier? Hell, you don¡¯t look like a soldier.

    (Fred) We¡¯re more or less reserves rather than soldiers, but we¡¯re here to help in any way we can.

    The six men huddled together in front of the gate of the museum, the gateway to the entire complex.

    Around them, much debris consisting of stone and rock littered the entire area, followed by the many ash particles that surrounded them on the ground and air. With the many little fires that lit around them, they also took note of the sky turning into a more hellish orange.

    The smell was pungent, as body odor and ethanol roamed the night air, followed by the screams and shouts coming from inside the complex. Not bothering to look in the direction of the screams, the six men continued to sit down on the debris-ridden floor.

    The sergeant looked towards Fred, his eyes pushed down as he put his hands down to his thighs, his hands motionless.

    (Sergeant) Are you an inventor of any kind, soldier? I¡¯ve seen this in movies and whatnot, so are you a nerd or geek?

    (Fred) I¡¯m more or less an inventor sir. So are these two men near me? The one with glasses doesn¡¯t invent and mostly works on engines of any kind.

    (Sergeant) Still, you guys could be useful. What object or weapon disabled those zompires?

    Fred placed his backpack in front of him, the weight upon his back loosening as he looked through the inside. His knuckles noticing a familiar object, Fred pulled it out with his sweaty hand, showcasing the unfamiliar object in front of him.

    (Fred) Here it is.

    The object itself was a glass bottle, with the ends of it being coated with a metallic top on each side. Inside of it, was an all-cubed mirror inside of the bottle, next to a homemade EMP handheld device, with copper wire connected to the top and the bottom edges of the sides. Two pitched black cubes sandwiched the all-cubed mirror, the black cubes inflating as it started to sweat out of the moisture in the bottle.

    Everyone saw the object at hand, looking at each other with neutral faces. The sergeant, putting his hand underneath his chin as he rubbed the edges with his fingers, focused his attention on the object out of everyone.

    (Sergeant) Is it an EMP blaster of some sort?

    (Fred) Sort of. I trap the sun¡¯s rays or any light energy with the two black cubes that are connected to the rods of the little device. By pushing the top button, the homemade EMP blaster will suck in all the energy from the black cubes, and as it reaches everywhere, the all-cubed mirror reflects the waves tenfold.

    The two soldiers tilted their heads to the left as Fred held up the glass bottle in front of him, with most of them scratching their heads with their dirty fingernails. The sergeant, the only one who nodded at the explanation, let go of his hand that was on his chin, cupping his hands as he looked into the little homemade device.

    (Sergeant) So how does it hold the zompires?

    (Fred) Two years ago ¡­ I caught a sample of zompire tar and found out that it has an incredible amount of iron and metal inside, so with a simple blast of an electromagnetic pulse, well¡­

    Fred looked down onto the cement floor, focusing on the debris-ridden ground with his eyes warmly seeing the little fire in the middle of them. His knees tucking themselves onto his chest and stomach, he wrapped them with his arms, holding them tightly.

    The three soldiers stood up from where they were sitting, all of their hands occupying the guns in their hands as they looked towards the direction of the screams and shouts. Their hands gently shaking the guns they wielded, the sergeant looked towards the three young men still sitting on the ground, extending his hand out towards Fred.

    (Sergeant) Come on soldier, we¡¯re not done yet. If you wanna prove your brains over your brawn, then show us how we can take back this complex.

    Seeing the hand being extended down towards him, Fred widened his eyes. His hands trembling as he continued to wrap them around his knees, he gulped loudly with his raspy throat, a bead of sweat rolling down from his cheek.

    Fred then reached to grab the sergeant¡¯s hand, feeling the rough and coarse palms of the Sergeant¡¯s hands, contrasting his smooth and youthful hands.

    Standing up slowly, Fred took a big breath in as he looked in the direction of the screams and shouting from the museum and other parts of the complex, the air thickening with smoke the more the fighting continued.

    (Fred) Come on guys, we¡¯re going.

    Diego and Gary got up, their feet trembling from the weight of everything as they looked into Fred¡¯s sharpened eyes. With everyone turning in the direction of the fight, Fred glanced at the sergeant, his eyes softening at him.

    (Fred) Is there anything wrong, sir?

    The sergeant had his gaze upon the two dead soldiers on the right side of the front entrance to the museum, their corpses half-eaten as blood poured out of their decaying stomachs and chests. His entire focus was on those bodies, the sergeant''s hearing started to thin into the air, his body remaining still as he seemed to be almost frozen-like.

    Everything that he focused on was those bodies, lying on the cold cement ground as he began to slow his breathing.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Even if I do survive, will the rest of my soldiers will?

    (Fred) Sir?

    His senses returned to normal, and his body flinched upwards as he looked toward the person that was behind him. Taking a hard step back, he noticed that the silver haired man, Fred, shut his mouth as he largened his eyes from the state that the sergeant was in.

    Putting his hand onto the back of his head, Fred started scratching his dandrum, with little flakes dropping onto the cement.

    (Fred) Uh oh, forgive me for saying that sir¡­

    The sergeant wiped his head once as he looked towards the front entrance of the complex. Clenching his hands as he wielded the rifle with his right hand holding the grip, he turned his attention towards the others, mostly at the silver haired young man.

    (Sergeant) I¡¯m fine, soldier. Anyway, let¡¯s just take back this complex.

    Leading the group of five, the sergeant walked along the many shards of stone and wood, kicking away a couple of rocks of stone that were in the way. Reaching towards the door to the entrance of the building, the sergeant inhaled in and exhaled out, his chest expanding as he inhaled.

    Putting his right foot on the door, he turned to look at the men behind him, all holding up their guns, with some holding a couple of gadgets from their backpacks.

    (Sergeant) We¡¯re going in!

    The sergeant pushed his right foot outwards, leaving the door to the building to sway open violently as the rest of the soldiers charged forward.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) I promise I¡¯ll avenge you two, no matter who it is¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 67: Taking Back The Military Complex (2)

    (Fred) Where exactly are we heading to sir?!

    (Sergeant) We¡¯re heading to the statue of Claudrick, the center of the museum!

    Six men ran through the debris-ridden field of grass and stone that was covered in dust. Eyes narrowed as they saw the amount of destruction of most of the outside monuments and structures that made the museum. Their eyes panned to the many groups of people that held out the many zompire groups before looking ahead, not wanting to see the brutalities around them.

    Fred¡¯s lungs jabbed at his chest, his liver stabbing his stomach as he placed his right hand onto his side. His chest heaving up and down, Fred ground his teeth together as he tried to keep his composure.

    The sergeant, his chest starting to pintack him, turned around to see Fred and the other two men¡¯s exhausted bodies, his breathing turning rapid as he yelled out to them.

    (Sergeant) Come on nerds! You¡¯re soldiers right!? Just keep pushing forward!

    (Gary) pants ¡­ For the last time ¡­ pants ¡­ we¡¯re reserves¡­

    (Diego) gasps ¡­ Yeah ¡­ gasps ¡­ what he said ¡­

    (Fred) The sergeant is right, we have to ¡­ pants ¡­ keep moving forward!

    Taking a break wasn¡¯t an option for Fred, nor was the sergeant and his two men. Upon smelling the putrid air of smoke and dust, the six of them continued to push on forward.

    After several minutes of running through the desolate and dangerous museum, the six of them noticed a monument that was right in the dead center of the field and grass. The sergeant, noticing the monument from a mile away, widened his eyes as he saw a major firefight ensuing in front of the statue.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) I guess they¡¯re defending the statue from them¡­

    (Sergeant) Men! Get ready to fire!

    The sergeant and his two men, followed by Fred, Gary, and Diego, wielded their weapons as they heard the glaring sounds of a holdout ensuing half a mile from their position. Gripping their guns tightly, they focused their eyes on the number of pouncers they saw just from the group alone, their legs quivering from the pressure.

    But they didn¡¯t wield, as their legs continued to push forward even more, their feet blistering from the dreaded run.

    (Gary) Fred ¡­ gasps ¡­ I don¡¯t ¡­ gasps ¡­ I could ¡­

    (Fred) Just ¡­ pants ¡­ keep moving forward!

    On the verge of collapsing onto himself, Gary felt his heart on the verge of popping out of his chest, followed by his entire body emitting a foul odor, the smell noticeable from the two nearest him. Pinching his nose with his fingers, Diego kept his distance from Gary as they continued to sprint, his eyes side glancing at Gary, getting his attention.

    (Gary) gasps ¡­ What?

    (Diego) ¡­ nothing ¡­ gasps.

    (Gary) Yeah ¡­ gasps ¡­ keep running!

    The sounds of gunshots were getting closer.

    (Sergeant) Weapons-free men!

    The six men steadied their aim, despite their hands and arms moving in the motion of their sprint. Unleashing an army of bullets straight towards the back of the zompire horde, the recoil of their guns shook their hands and arms, causing their aim to be dislodged like they were drunk.

    Seeing that the horde focused its attention on the six men, the zompires¡¯ fangs opened wide as they sprinted towards them with malicious intent. Stopping to catch their breath despite the desperate situation, the six men steadied their aim onto the group of zompires again, the imaginary crosshairs more visible to their eyes.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    (Sergeant) Steady¡­!

    Their fingers caressed the trigger of their weapons, and their breathing was loud and clear for them to hear, with the small sound of a droplet of sweat hitting the field, all of them closed their eyes to breathe.

    (Sergeant) Aim¡­!

    Letting the murky air into their lungs, the smoke and polluted air that was their only saving grace, the men opened their eyes to the horde of zompires getting closer.

    (Sergeant) And fire!

    The six men unleashed another round of bullets, their aim was not as hazy as compared to their previous attempt. As the bullets hurried into the zompire¡¯s white pigmented skin, the bullets hit the mark, with all of their bullets lodging into the zompire¡¯s left chest.

    The Zompires horde soon started to collapse and crumble to ash, writhing and screaming in agony as they clawed their faces with their brittle yet sharp fingernails. As the ash of the dust started to sway in the wind, the men¡¯s eyes gazed upon the ash flying away up into the air, going away from the field of grass that they crumbled on.

    (Sergeant) Good time to at least stop here for a moment.

    With the horde gone, the six men saw in front of the two figures in black suits, their stature well-formed despite seeing that they had blood on their suits. One of the figures was a tall man with long silver hair, similar to Fred, while the other was a short woman with oval glasses with a mean face.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Are those agents? Didn¡¯t the comms say we didn¡¯t have any agents backing us up?

    Putting a hand underneath his chin, the sergeant looked down onto the field of glass around them, rubbing his jawline as he tapped his pointer finger along his cheek. Looking back up towards the black-suited agents wearing black fedoras, the sergeant led the others to meet with them.

    Walking right in front of the two high-class military personnel, all of them except for the Sergeant, whose palms were sweaty.

    (Sergeant) I wish we could do a formal greeting but there is something I must ask of you. Are you willing to let at least one of these young men be on top of the Claudrick statue?

    (???) Why? Is it important for them to be on a statue in the middle of this?

    The sergeant walked back a couple of steps as he turned his attention towards Fred, Gary, and Diego. Putting his right hand on Fred¡¯s upper back, he patted it a couple of times as he put on a warm smirk.

    (Sergeant) These young men, this man especially, have a plan, a plan too bold even for me. Can you at least hear it out, Agent Eren?

    The agent trickled his nose with the tips of his pointer finger and middle finger, his small button nose turning red. As his right hand was occupied, he raised his left hand and arm, gesturing a simple shrug at the man.

    (Agent Eren) sighs ¡­ I¡¯ll at least hear it.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Agent Eren) Are you sure he could do it?

    (???) That plan is too bold, even for me.

    The two agents folded their arms, their faces sharpening towards Fred.

    Fred started to look away as he didn¡¯t want to make eye contact with the two glaring faces, mostly at the short woman with glasses. The woman in question, tapping her heel onto the field of grass, contorted her face as her eyes squinted at the youthful boy.

    (???) Let me ask you a question. Are you suicidal?

    (Fred) No ¡­ but I want this plan to work, so it¡¯s better to at least give it a shot¡ª

    (???) Answer my question, are you suicidal?

    The woman in black hair started to walk towards Fred, her eyes sharpening even more. Fred, looking away from the woman, put his left hand onto his forearm, rubbing it gently with his soft and delicate fingertips.

    The rest of the men look intently at Fred, their eyes beaming at the youthful figure as their eyes sharpen at the words coming from the woman.

    (Fred) I¡¯m not suicidal, it¡¯s just¡ª

    (???) Then what¡¯s your endgame after that plan? What benefit comes out of you after this?

    (Agent Eren) Ada ¡­ if he could pull this off, then maybe we have a strong chance to push them back.

    (Agent Ada) I¡¯ve seen that look in his eyes, I know way too many people with that same look¡­

    Ada¡¯s hand started to tremble, her fingers wrapping themselves up into tightened fists as she continued to look into Fred¡¯s avoiding eyes. Placing herself right in front of him, Ada had her hands down to her thighs, glaring at Fred.

    (Agent Ada) You¡¯re way too young to pull that off ¡­ so stop being some hero and think of another¡ª

    (Women on Speaker) Emergency! Emergency! We have an unidentified variant!

    (Everyone) What!?

    Everyone looked around the outdoor museum to see that everyone who was fighting the little zompire groups stopped to see what the message was about.

    The group had their faces pale to the bone as their hands clenched from the speaker that made the emergency, their feet unable to steady themselves to the field of grass. Fred, the one who squinted his eyes more around him, noticed an unfamiliar creature towards the gate that they came out of.

    (Fred) Do you guys see that?

    Everyone turned their gaze towards the entrance to the museum, their eyes peeking at the ungodly figure that started to make everyone back away. Their legs quivered from the way the two story high creature walked out of the entrance of the gate, turning their attention towards Fred.

    Fred, looking into the other''s gazes, started to shake uncontrollably as his chest started to heave heavily again, leading to him convulsing with his own heart.

    (Agent Eren) I think it¡¯s time you do that trick¡­

    (Agent Ada) But, he¡¯s still a kid¡ª

    (Fred) I could do it ¡­ but ¡­

    Fred took out his backpack and set it in front of him, opening the backpack to see an abundance of objects littered in it. Placing his right hand inside the backpack, was the same glass bottle that emitted an EMP burst, the glass still looking fresh despite the now creaking glass from the burst.

    Showcasing it to everyone, especially towards the two agents that were in front of him, Fred carried the bottle carefully with both hands, his palms wreaked with sweat.

    (Fred) It will only be a one-time use, and I need a lot more time to set it up for it to work. It would be great if all of you could defend me. And also¡­

    Taking out his flashlight with his left hand, Fred held it up high towards the others, having a bead of sweat roll down his left temple as he let out a sly smile. With the flashlight having no batteries inside of it, everyone squinted their eyes, followed by the agents folding their arms.

    (Fred) Do you guys have any energy to spare? I¡¯m going to need all the light I could get¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 68: Taking Back The Military Complex (3)

    (Agent Eren) Seriously, what is that thing?

    (Agent Ada) Doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s harming anyone, it looks like it''s looking around aimlessly as if it¡¯s blind.

    His left eye closed, Agent Eren placed his right eye into the scope of his M21 sniper rifle, his eye focusing on the unholy creature. Seeing it with just his right eye, Eren took note of the giant creature on its sturdy legs, its pale skin ever present as it leaked drools of tar from its mouth.

    Almost in a feral state, the creature had no pupils or any eyes to see from, its ears not present on its head, its nose smelling the air around it. Frantically turning its head side to side, tar dripped out of the creature¡¯s lips as a pond of it formed on the cement.

    (Agent Eren¡¯s thoughts) So we have to stop that thing?

    Placing his finger on the trigger, Eren caressed it slowly as he parted his legs a couple of inches to the side, his breathing calm with his hands steadying the metal. Ignoring everything and everyone as time slowed in the present motion, the only thing that could be heard was the faint sound of his breathing.

    (Agent Eren¡¯s thoughts) Please don¡¯t let this be a failure, Fred¡­

    Eren tapped the trigger, firing a single sniper round out of the barrel of the chamber, the burning metal traveling through the field of grass and sidewalks of the museum as it made its way toward the creature.

    The creature looked towards the direction of the sniper shot, its head lifting up and down like a wolf sniffing its prey. As the bullet lodged itself onto the head of the creature, Eren let out a mischievous smirk, the corner of his lips reaching to the level of his ears.

    (Agent Eren¡¯s thoughts) And now we¡¯ll just wait for him to sprint at us¡ª

    It puffed out its chest and stomach as the creature stood up tall, showcasing its immense burly arms and chest. At most, the creature was around 10 feet tall or more, with its fangs popping out of its mouth like a saber tooth tiger.

    Looking right in the direction of where it shot, the creature started to sniff the gun smoke, its nose muscles not even moving as the creature had no nose to begin with, allowing the two open nostrils to do the work for him.

    (Agent Eren) What the ¡­ what¡¯s it doing?

    A low-pitched roar vibrated the entire outside museum, the roar reaching the ends and corners of the entire complex.

    The stone walls shook, and the copper and gold statues and monuments'' souls were rocked to the core, the field of grass swaying with the wind of the roar. Having its mouth wide open as it continued its warcry, the sky slowly started to darken, as ash started to fall slowly onto the military personnel on the complex.

    Everyone turned their attention towards Eren, with Ada placing her hands onto her waist as she got up from behind him, her tiny pupils being dilated.

    (Agent Ada) That¡¯s the best you could do?

    (Agent Eren) I just shot at the creature¡­

    The gunfights amongst the zompires were put to a halt and the bullets stopped. With everyone in the complex turning towards the creature, the sound waves smoothened into the souls of the many soldiers remaining still.

    (Sergeant) What are those zompires doing?

    Many of the zompires that were fighting the random soldiers, took many steps back from them, turning their heads to the low-pitched creature that continued to roar with intensity. Their lack of eyes gazing at the 10-foot giant of a zompire, the pouncer''s faces all had frowns on them, their lips creviced to be an upside-down U.

    Until it slowly turned to that of a high-raised U.

    In unison, all the zompires around the field started to smile devilishly, their empty eyes and no nose making them almost skeleton-like.

    (Agent Eren) Are you kidding me¡­

    All the zompires around the field turned their heads towards the man who held the sniper rifle, their gazes burning into the soul of Eren.

    And in unison all together¡­

    (Every Zompire) Save! ¡­ Save!

    Everyone took a step back in unison at the sudden change of the zompire¡¯s behavior, leading to them having their legs on the verge of collapsing. Having their guns on standby, all took a big deep breath in, their grips on their guns creaking the metallic metal.

    Every other soldier that held out the zompires on the museum took their prospective steps back to take in the erratic behavior.

    (Every Zompire) AAAAAAHHH!!

    The zompires throughout the entire outside museum started to scream, because with their right hands¡ª

    We¡¯re covered in the white pigmented skin that they had, their fingernails completely drenched with their tar.

    With their hands, they clawed their skin, tar, and pieces of dead white pigmented skin dropping onto both the cement and grass as they tore up their vocals. In almost pure agony, the high-pitched shrieks managed to be too much for the soldiers, with most of them putting their hands to their ears shut and closing their eyes from the horrible sound.

    Out of all of the personnel in the complex, the only ones that were badly affected by this were both Ada and Fred, clenching their eyes shut as their eyelids were being glued to the sound. The others slouched down as they looked at the grass, the sound causing them to tap their feet from annoyance.

    And then the shrieking stopped.

    Turning their attention back to the zompires, they all widened their eyes, with many of them covering their mouths with their hands. Both Fred and Ada slowly opened their eyes, peeking through steadily as they both witnessed¡­

    As the zompires had a steaming chest and stomach, almost similar to the ones found in The Array¡­Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    (Fred) Oh no!

    (Gary) Are they fucking steamers now!?

    (Diego) And it looks like that big macho Zompire is the one who communicated with them.

    (Every Zompire) Help Us!

    All the zompires that had clawed themselves into steamers charged forth to Eren, the sniper rifle¡¯s barrel continuing to emit smoke. Everyone taking many steps back from the hundreds of steamers hurdling themselves toward Eren, they walked back to the point where Eren was at the front.

    The creature started to pound the pavement with his two hands in the front entrance of the first gate, smashing it repeatedly as if it were in a fit of rage.

    With the creature''s eyes deadpanning towards the gun.

    (Agent Eren) I think I screwed up¡­

    (Agent Ada) You think?!

    The floor began to rumble as the pouncers, now turned into steamers, charged forth onto the group of soldiers and two agents in the middle of the outside museum. Their breath catching itself onto their throats, everyone turned their attention onto Eren, their faces sharpening at the tall silver-haired man.

    Eren, looking down at the metallic gun that he wielded, darkened his face as if he didn¡¯t pay the soldiers any mind.

    (Agent Eren) How ¡­ was I supposed to know ¡­?

    (Sergeant) Sighs ¡­ I don¡¯t think they¡¯re following you, son¡­

    The soldiers and agents turned their attention onto the Sergeant who slowly walked his way towards Eren, his eyes reddened as water continued to pile up in his eyes.

    Looking towards the gun that Eren had, the Sergeant''s hands clenched themselves tightly as he ground his teeth against each other. With his breathing hitching in his chest, the Sergeant extended his hands outwards, having his palms facing in front of the Agent.

    (Sergeant) There¡¯s no time. Give me the gun, son.

    Slowly, Eren placed the gun into the hands of the Sergeant, his hands feeling the last of the metallic gun for the last time. Looking away, he didn¡¯t make eye contact with the Sergeant as his fingers shook.

    But a young man placed his hand on the shoulder of the Sergeant; a man with silver hair with a white and yellow shirt.

    (Fred) Sir, there¡¯s a big possibility that you won¡¯t make it.

    Squeezing the edges of the soldier¡¯s khaki jacket, Fred¡¯s eyes were the brim of welling up tears, his eyes reddening at the sight of the soldier even daring to hold the gun. The Sergeant took a step forward and Fred¡¯s hand fell to gravity.

    (Sergeant) Don¡¯t worry son, I¡¯ll be fine. Just do your job as a soldier and I¡¯ll do mine.

    The sergeant still had his eyes on the metallic gun, ignoring the sounds of incoming steamers. Turning his eyes towards the other soldiers, followed by Fred, the Sergeant wielded the sniper with his left hand, followed by raising his right hand to give a salute.

    The others looked down onto the grass that was covered in ash. Their hands trembled at the sight of the man giving a salute. Fred, the only one who let out a rolling tear down his right cheek, stood there motionless like his feet were magnified to the grass.

    (Sergeant) For my father who was murdered six years ago, I swore an oath!

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) For revenge, it always leads to death¡­ isn¡¯t that right Ramirez?

    He then ran towards the empty field to the right of the statue, lifting the sniper rifle high in the air.

    Feeling the grass on his boots rustling the edges of his heels, the man pushed his lungs to the limits, as the soaring pain of many pintacks stabbing him all at once came to play. Followed by his breathing turning raspy, the Sergeant faced his head forward as he sprinted, ignoring the stabbing feeling from his legs.

    Fortunately, the steamer horde decided to follow the Sergeant, not bothering to give attention to the others in the middle of the field. Seeing this, Fred climbed to the top of the statue, his hands and legs ignoring all the metal dust in his hands and the height of the monument.

    (Gary) Come on Fred!

    (Diego) You can do it!

    Reaching the top of the statue, with his eyes overseeing the entirety of the park, Fred looked down as he was twenty feet above ground, seeing not just a dozen of zompires chasing after the Sergeant.

    It was most likely a hundred of them, all creating dust and dirt as they stampede to the soldier. Having his hands into a fist, he looked towards the Sergeant one last time, his eyes pushed slightly to the center as they slanted to give off a determined look.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) I have one chance to pull this off!

    Standing on top of the head of the statue, Fred put his backpack onto his chest and put his hand into it, looking for a similar device that he knows he has. Sensing the object as his knuckles dragged along the outer layers of the glass bottle, Fred instantly pulled it out, ignoring the objects that were in the way.

    Followed by many of the others giving him light sources to work with, Fred also pulled out high-voltage batteries and flashlights, setting them next to the device. Rubbing his hands, Fred sat down, not wanting to fall off as the stability of the monument wasn¡¯t the most ideal.

    Doing his experiment on top of a monument, his chest and back start to be coated with hot sweat.

    (The Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Even if he doesn¡¯t use the device, it¡¯s fine by me¡­

    The sergeant turned his head to find the many steamers a few feet away from him, their bodies on the verge of exploding as their arms extended outwards. Their fingertips inches away from his back, the sergeant turned his head towards the others, their faces riddled with wide eyes and open jaws.

    Fred, still working on the device on hand, continued to put many objects into the glass bottle, wrapping them in the copper wire inside of the bottle.

    (Fred¡¯s thoughts) Almost there ¡­ just a bit more¡ª

    (Agent Eren) Oh shit!

    Everyone turned their heads towards Eren, except for Fred, his long finger in the direction of the creature, who started to run like a horse, using its arms as legs as it galloped towards the silver-haired man. The hallowing sounds of the soil from below shook, the grass and dirt vibrating across the entire outside museum.

    Eren collapsed, hitting the grass field. His legs were unable to move as the sight unfolding in front of him.

    (Agent Ada) Get up, Eren!

    (Gary and Diego) Fred! Hurry!

    (Fred) I¡¯m trying!

    (The Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Oh no ¡­

    The sergeant turned his head towards the commotion unfolding, seeing the creature pound the cement and grass as it galloped. With the creature halfway to their position, the Sergeant clenched his fists hard, the fingertips inside of his palm stabbing himself.

    Ignoring the many sounds of steamers a couple of feet in back of him, their fingertips barely grazing the upper and lower ends of his back, his entire focus was on the charging creature at hand.

    (The Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m not letting them die ¡­ not yet.

    Angling his run to where he was facing the creature head-on, the man pushed his feet to the very limits of what was possible, his lungs on the verge of shutting down as his heart pumped out blood inhumanly possible.

    Everyone seeing this stopped to look at the sprinting man, their knees with most of them started to collapse onto the ground. Eren, the only one who was standing up, had many tears welling up in his eyes, his face motionless as his knees couldn¡¯t dare to take another step.

    (Agent Eren) Damn it ¡­

    (Agent Ada) Is he going to do it?

    The sergeant noticed the many hands scraping on the edges of his back, the steamer''s palms slightly burning the fabric of his khaki jacket. Noticing that the steamers were starting to surround him from the left and right, the man looked up towards the creature that was getting closer towards the group, as he placed himself in between them and the creature.

    Opening his eyes wide, the creature that was charging now right at him looked eerily familiar, which caused the Sergeant¡­

    To stop his daring sprint.

    (The Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) That creature ¡­ looks a lot like Ramirez¡­

    A steamer tackled the Sergeant, its hands wrapping around the man¡¯s waist.

    The Sergeant saw the world in half the speed as his head pressed against the soft and rigid field of grass, the dirt pressing itself onto his left cheek.

    His right eye caught a glimpse of the steamer that tackled him, seeing the facial features of the white pigmented face, noting the presence of no eyes and a devilish face smiling upon him.

    (The Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) Oh, Timber¡­

    Keeping the Sergeant in place, the hands of the zompire that held him in bay started to melt the jacket that he wore, its body heat continuing to burn the skin of the man. And in the blink of an eye¡­

    (Gary and Diego) FRED!!

    (Fred) Got it! What do you guys need¡ª

    It was too late.

    As Fred turned his head towards the commotion at last, the only sight that swelled upon his tiny pupils was the glowing light of the steamers who were on the verge of exploding. Unable to move from where he sat, Fred¡¯s world slowed down as the steamer that was on top of the Sergeant, followed by every steamer after that¡­

    Created a Herculean eruption beyond the Everglades of the past, the meadow, and sand that created the grass and cement being in a sunder of fire.

    While the shockwave¡­

    Created a cataclysm of serrated winds sweeping through the entirety of the field of knowledge, pushing the people¡¯s souls tenfold onto the melbrew ground.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 69: After The Herculean Explosion

    (Agent Ada) Is he responding?

    (Agent Eren) I think the better question to ask is if he¡¯s still conscious.

    Gary, Diego, Eren, and Ada circle the barely conscious Fred, crouching down to see the wide opened mouth of Fred.

    Fred managed to find the strength to bring his body to a sitting position as he looked up at the others. Gently, he rubbed the back of his head, feeling a large bruise as he tightly clenched his teeth.

    (Fred) W-What happened?

    (Gary) Here, let me get you up so you can see.

    Extending his hand outward, Gary placed his hand in front of Fred¡¯s face, his hand covered in dirt and smoke. Despite this, Fred pushed his hand outwards as well, grabbing Gary¡¯s hand as he slowly pulled himself off the ground, his feet barely keeping him up.

    A cloud and fog of smoke and ash circled them. Fred looked around as he saw his backpack right next to him, his face and eyes nonchalant.

    (Fred) Did I push the button?

    (Agent Eren) Yeah, you did. Right when you fell twenty feet. You managed to keep the creature still, but ¡­

    The smoke in front of them faded away, giving them the sight of a large crater in the middle of the field that had small fire burns on the grass. Ignoring the little flames, everyone breathed in slowly as they saw the creature remaining still.

    Taking note of the creature¡¯s drooling tar coming from its saber tooth-like mouth, Fred gulped down hard as he continued to look all over the frozen-like creature. Turning his head to the right, he looked back to see the large crater, causing him to smolder his hair, and feel the large bruise on the back of his head.

    (Fred) Wait, why is there a crater? Where were those steamers? And where¡¯s the¡ª

    Fred then widened his eyes as his hands started to tremble.

    (Fred) No¡­

    The remnants of black ash around the crater can be seen, followed by smoldering heat waves trapped within the circular formation.

    And the massive creature that remained continued to burn its eyes towards the tall silver-haired man, causing him to look at a dandelion flower.

    Seeing the dandelion flower right in the midst of all the ash and destruction, Eren nonchalantly looked at pollen that didn¡¯t dare to leave its stem.

    But despite all of this, there was no sign of the Sergeant anywhere.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Fred) Why couldn¡¯t I finish it earlier?

    Fred groveled on the ash-covered grass, his hands clenched into fists as he pounded the dirt with his right hand. Tearing up the grass with his left hand, he held onto the blades as he continued to look down at the ground.

    All around him were nothing but two soldiers, two agents, and two of his closest buddies, all in front of him as beads of sweat dripped from their temples.

    Except for one short woman.

    (Fred) He didn¡¯t need to die!

    Having the ripped grass in his left hand, he threw it away in the back of him, extending his left arm again to rip away another handful of grass.

    (Fred) I could¡¯ve saved him! Why couldn¡¯t I!?

    His chest heaved upward, his eyes turning a bloodshot red. Letting go of the handful of grass in his left hand, he placed his palm flat on the ground with tears dripping onto the grass.

    The two soldiers, the ones that were well acquainted with the Sergeant, placed their weapons gently onto the grass, their hands shaking gently.

    (Fred) Why am I useless!? Why!? It ¡­Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Fred covered his mouth with his left hand, as more tears dripped onto the grass.

    Eren, Diego, and even Gary crouched down to where Fred was, their eyes pushed down as their hands were motionless.

    (Fred) It should¡¯ve been me¡ª

    A hard kick landed on the area of Fred¡¯s lungs, causing his arms and hands to falter onto the ground. Laying on the ground with the grass touching his chin and cheeks, he looked up slowly at the person who kicked him, his lungs failing to take in air.

    Pulling back her right leg and foot, Ada''s hand, her fists clenching themselves tightly, her knuckles sprouted out like sore thumbs as her bones started to crack. The three men that were crouching down, turned their sharpened glares at Ada.

    (Agent Eren) Ada!? Why did you kick him!?

    (Gary) You bitch! Only I get to kick him!

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) It should¡¯ve been me!

    (Agent Ada) It¡¯s for the best, you pussies!

    Her face reddened as a little vein started to sprout on the right corner of her forehead, Ada looked over to the boys with a huffed face. Looking over at the young man starting to drool, Ada slowly stomped over towards where the young man was, towering over the man.

    Fred, who continued to cough out saliva, tilted his head as he looked up at her.

    (Fred) Why ¡­ why did you ¡­

    (Agent Ada) Stop saying that stuff you idiot!

    Crouching down onto the ground, she instantly placed her hand on the man¡¯s hair, gripping it firmly with her cold hands. Pulling him near, she placed his groggy head close to her face, seeing the red teary eyes of the young man.

    The rest of the men just silently watch, continuing to glare at the woman with convulsed faces.

    (Agent Ada) He did it to save us, you moron! He sacrificed himself to save you!

    (Fred) But why can¡¯t I sacrifice myself¡ª

    (???) Let him be Ada¡­

    Two figures stood in back of him, looking around the many soldiers and youthful faces, especially at the two agents.

    Glancing at the figures from behind with his eyes, he noticed one of the figures was a below-average-height, blond-haired man dressed in a suit and a fedora, covered head to toe with tar. Next to the man was an above-average-height, brown-haired woman dressed in the same attire. From the looks of them, Fred noticed that both of them had glasses, but the man had normal glasses while the woman had sunglasses.

    (Agent Eren) Agent Briggs, Spartan Alexandra, where were you at?

    (Agent Briggs) Had to heal some wounds. Porky over there gave me a run for my money.

    Nodding his head towards the creature, they all looked at the frozen-like creature unable to move, its legs glued to the grass as its head started to twitch. Seeing that the creature wanted to get out of its position, Briggs turned his head towards Ada, his frowning face causing Ada to let out a bead of sweat.

    Briggs folded his arms as he looked down at the woman, his low-frequency voice making her widen her eyes as if his voice had an intent of murder.

    (Agent Briggs) Let him go, Ada, that¡¯s an order.

    (Agent Ada) ¡­ Yes sir.

    Letting go of Fred¡¯s silver hair, Agent Briggs put his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the young man. Turning his attention to the woman near him, he signaled her with his head to help up the boy.

    The woman, letting off a sly smirk, walked her way as she licked her lips, moistening them as her eyes were completely focused on the man. While on her way towards Fred, she rubbed her hands back and forth, her entire focus on the young man drooling saliva.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Oh absolutely~

    (Agent Ada) I¡¯ll help him up!

    Bringing him up instantly, Ada used her small hands to grip Fred¡¯s shoulders, her tiny body and arms easily pulling up Fred. With his feet steady on the ground, as his heels were digging into the soft grass, Fred focused his attention on the man with blonde hair.

    Meanwhile, Alexandra gave off a cute pout, looking away as she put her hands to her hips, her eyes not bothering to look at the short woman. As for Ada, she put herself in front of Fred, folding her arms as she huffed out a huge exhale of air.

    (Agent Briggs) Are you with the Dark Angels?

    Fredd sniffed as he brushed away his tear-stained face.

    (Fred) Only behind the scenes. Why?

    Briggs took out his right hand that was in his pocket, grabbing out of it a lighter and a box of cigarettes. With both in each hand, he took out his left hand as well, grabbing the box with it as he opened the lid to the lighter with his right.

    All while looking at the tall silver haired man, his eyes containing deep black eye bags underneath his soulless eyes.

    (Agent Briggs) Cause I¡¯m going to need to borrow you for a second.

    (Fred) Sure. But sir, may I ask what it is?

    Opening the box and grabbing from it a cigarette, he placed it inside of his mouth as he ignited the lighter, placing it so that the cigarette would work. Inhaling the amount of smoke and fumes coming from the toxic paper wrap, Briggs looked up into the smokey sky as he blew out the toxic air, his eyes focusing on the abyss.

    (Agent Briggs) I want you to make the same device you used for your fight, and also one question that I want to ask of you¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 70: Four Men and A Van

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:16PM)

    (Luke, Miles, Jack, and Stan)

    (Miles) Where are we going exactly?

    (Jack) All we need to do is try to listen to the comms right? If we use it, we could track down where those two maniacs are.

    A large van paved the murky four-lane highway. Looking around the freeway, the four men took in the emptiness of the lanes, as no cars or trucks were there to block their flow.

    With litter and glass all around the highway, Jack, the driver, kept his eyes peeled as he soon noticed the abundance of many suitcases around the white dotted lines of each lane, doing sharp turns left and right.

    (Stan) Hey Jack! Can you not do a sharp turn for one minute?!

    (Jack) Hey, I¡¯m doing my best here!

    (Luke) Have you guys found anything yet about both Harold and Ryan?

    (Miles) Not much, just a bunch of radio transmissions from some unlucky soldiers¡­

    Miles, looking down at the radio box in his hand, had on black headphones, the wire connecting to the radio box as he turned the knob left and right. Since he was in the passenger seat, he had control over the radio. Luke and Stan noticed his hands trembling as he listened through the radio comms.

    Both of them looked at each other, giving each other a sigh as they put their hands onto their foreheads, shaking their heads. Looking outside through the window, they couldn¡¯t describe much as the night sky dimmed the skyline of the city.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) And we still haven¡¯t found both of them¡­ can we catch them at this rate?

    Luke folded his arms as he started to look down onto the van floor, tapping the floor with his left heel repeatedly. Pushing his folded arms onto his chest, he crouched forward as he continued to eye the crusted floor of the van, feeling the humidity around him.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Why do they want to kill us so badly? Are they brainwashed to do so? Are they doing it for revenge?

    Stan noticed Luke¡¯s focused face as he turned the other way, looking out through the window of the van. Putting his right hand on the window, he took a slow breath in, holding in the air in his lungs as his chest expanded outwards. He exhaled back out, the palms and tips of his fingers trickling the glass window, his eyes and face pushed down.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I came a long way, and for what? Am I going to face my problems head-on?

    (Miles) Hey, I¡¯m getting an incoming transmission! It¡¯s one talking about Harold and Ryan!

    (Jack) Oh shit! Take off the wire so we can listen through!

    Miles used his right hand to take off his headphones, putting them down on his lap. Using his left hand, he unplugged the wire that connected the radio box to the headset, while at the same time, using his right hand, turning the volume of the box to its limit.

    The static cleared up almost instantly, as both Luke and Stan got out of their thought trance, making them stand up to put their heads close to the little hole in between Miles and Jack. With all of the boys leaning close to the radio box, their faces started to coat with hot sweat, the humidity of the van increasing in temperature.

    (Woman on the Radio) We got two wackos going through the north side of the downtown district! I repeat! We have those two wackos going through the north side of the downtown district!

    Everyone turned their attention to Jack. Putting his left hand on Jack¡¯s right shoulder, Miles focused his eyes on the right side of Jack¡¯s head.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    (Miles) What highway are we on?

    (Jack) Sorry, but I don¡¯t know my lanes and such.

    (Miles) And you¡¯re considered to be the best driver out of the group!

    (Jack) Driver, not navigator¡­

    Miles let go of Jack¡¯s shoulder, clenching his left hand as he turned his attention away from Jack. Looking to his right onto the skyline of the city, he shook his head as he sighed, his lungs expanding outwards.

    Luke however leaned his face into the little hole in between both Jack and Miles, having his face towards Miles.

    (Luke) Hey Miles, give me the map from the passenger glove department!

    (Miles) On it!

    Miles settled the radio box onto the middle seat where both he and Jack were sitting. Opening the glove compartment, Miles looked through the stacks upon stacks of papers that flooded the entire station, going through them with difficulty.

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Just how disorganized is Gwen!?

    Struggling to look for the map of Lagefor, Miles started to grind his teeth together as his fingers brushed past the papers. Luke, having a bead rolling down his left temple, gave Miles a confused stare, his face pushing down as his eyes started to squint.

    (Luke) Do you need help?

    (Miles) I don¡¯t know how you can help, but can you at least try to point out if the map is located in these stupid papers?

    (Luke) Uhh Miles, the map is on the bottom of the stack of papers¡­

    (Miles) What?

    Turning his head towards Luke, Miles¡¯s breath was trapped in his throat.

    Miles looked through the stacks of papers again, this time, going for the one that was located right at the bottom. Pulling out a brown large paper from the bottom of the stack, Miles¡¯s face darkened as his hand trembled softly.

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Just fucking kill me¡­

    (Miles) Here¡­

    Putting the map into Luke¡¯s hand, Miles turned around to sit back down in his seat, straightening his back as he looked straight at the highway, his eyes focused on the skyline to get his mind off of things.

    Luke opened the map, seeing the detailed version of the entire layout of the city of business. His eyes as well as Stan¡¯s sparkled as they took note of the many districts around the city.

    (Luke) From where we all originated from, we came out of the bar on the south side of the city. And the battles as of now are Benn and Hope on the south side of the downtown district, David and the others at the industrial center in the east, Luna and Gwen at the northern side of the downtown district, and Fred, Gary, and Diego defending the military complex to the west.

    Pointing to each district on the map, Luke¡¯s finger caressed the lining of the old brown paper.

    (Jack) Just one question. Why is Lagefor considered hilly if there aren''t that many hills?

    (Luke) The hills are mostly on the northern side of the city, where most of the rich and upper middle-class people live. The hills sort of curve at the ends of the west and the east side of the city, making the city look only accessible to the south.

    (Stan) Yet the international highway runs up north of the city and straight through the downtown center¡­

    Luke and Stan paused as they tried to find the highway that all of them were on. Pointing to a specific one, Luke¡¯s eyes widened as he looked up towards Stan, his face dropping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

    (Luke) I think we¡¯re on the northern highway, the hills to the north are to the left of us, and the skyline to the right of us, so¡­

    (Jack) Oh shit. Then does that mean those two maniacs are close by?!

    Jack gripped the steering wheel, looking around the city as the darkness clouded their visibility. Having his right hand on the steering wheel, he used his left hand to engage his high beams.

    Miles, on the other hand, looked around the skyline to his right, not seeing anything unusual from the buildings. Placing the palm of his hand onto his right cheek, he focused his eyes on the high-rising buildings, most notably the highest tower in the city, the Zirardge Tower.

    (Stan) Hey, you guys seeing this? It looks like a pack of wolves? And¡­they¡¯re multiplying?

    Luke looked up from the brown map to see Stan staring through the back window.

    (Luke) Wait, let me see¡­

    Luke pressed his head towards the back window, noticing the group of wolves rushing closer towards the van. Squinting through the darkness, he noticed that the wolves had their nuzzles drooling with saliva.

    (Luke) Uh oh.

    (Stan) What?

    (Luke) Those aren¡¯t normal wolves¡­

    (Miles, Jack, Stan) Oh shit.

    Miles looked towards the right edge mirror to his side, followed by Jack to the left edge mirror, both their faces turning pale. Luke, continuing to eye the wolf pack, noticed that a figure wasn¡¯t present in the pack¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) But where¡¯s Harold, where could he be¡ª

    The door to the van suddenly opened, unleashing an extraordinary amount of air out.

    Being sucked out of the van, Luke yelped as he was about to fall onto the asphalt until his collar was grabbed by Stan. Hanging on by a thread, Luke put his arms onto Stan¡¯s right arm, not letting go as Stan held onto the van¡¯s emergency wire with his left hand.

    Seeing Stan keeping Luke an inch away from his life, Miles put his head into the little hole, his face drenching with sweat.

    (Miles) Holy shit!

    (Jack) Things can¡¯t get any worse¡ª

    Sounds of footsteps crashed on top of the van, causing all four boys to gulp.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 71: Black Asphalt Highway

    (Quintiles 22, 59 / 8:27PM)

    (Luke, Miles, Jack, and Stan)

    (Jack) I guess things are getting a lot worse huh¡­

    (Miles) You just had to say it, do you?

    (Stan) Come on Luke, pull yourself into the van now!

    (Luke) I¡¯m trying!

    Footsteps ricocheted the entire top end of the roof above them, their ears hearing the metal denting with each step the person or creature was taking. As if the person or creature was made of iron, the roof above them creaked loudly as Jack''s eyes continued to be glued to the black asphalt.

    For Miles though, he had no choice, as he extended his right hand towards the right of him, placing his sweaty right hand onto a metal handle.

    (Jack) Wait, Miles!? What are you doing¡ª

    The passenger side door of the van swung wide open, the air around Miles being contorted as his entire body flinched towards the direction of the asphalt. As if it wanted to pull him forward, Miles maintained his core strength as his stomach and chest tightened, having his left foot pushing under the glove compartment for stability.

    His face felt the night air pushing against his face, Miles placed his left hand onto his holster on his left hip, followed by his right hand holding the handle of the door. Still, in a sitting position in the van, Miles turned his attention towards Jack, his chest being filled with sweat.

    (Miles) I¡¯m going in, Jack! Make sure you drive carefully!

    (Jack) Wait, Miles! You have to think this through!

    Putting his right foot onto the edge of the van, Miles steadied himself as he moved his body onto the van door. With caution, he put his entire body on the doorframe of the van, his body now hugging the frame.

    Still being pelted by the raging winds, Miles looked up, but to no avail, his eyes couldn¡¯t spot anything. A bead of sweat rolled down from his right temple, he pushed his body up as much as it could go, ignoring the dangers of the road as he tried to squint through the heavy darkness around him.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Just where is Harold¡ª

    A hand gripply held onto the top of his head, the fingernails of the person or creature clawing itself at his scalp.

    (???) Did you forget about me?

    (Miles) Ryan!

    The hand that started to grip the helm of his head tightly was none other than Ryan, his black-eyed eyelids and pupils continuing to remain on Miles¡¯s pale face. Gulping loudly as he was within Ryan¡¯s mercy, Ryan pulled Miles in front of him, his feet steady on top of the van as the air then blew their hair.

    With the night-heavy breeze that brushed against their bodies, Ryan put his left hand onto his chin, pushing his head back as he let out a sly smile.

    (Ryan) Come on now, we were good buds before The Array right? Even though you were a little hesitant because of my status as beast-human.

    Miles¡¯s body continued to dangle in the air as the only saving grace that awaited him was the rapid asphalt on the bottom of him. Kicking his legs, but his arms remained in motion onto his hips, Miles clenched his eyes shut as he turned his head away from Ryan¡¯s face.

    Ryan pulled Miles closer to his mouth, his putrid breath continuing to molest his eyes and nose, causing Miles¡¯s nostrils to flare and his body to do a gag reflex.

    (Ryan) But despite all we went through, you left us to die in that arena? All of you fake soldiers wanting glory yet eliminating the weak and unfortunate.

    Ryan¡¯s hand that gripped Miles¡¯s head started to tighten, with his fingertips clenching onto Miles¡¯s scalp even more. Blood started to pour as the nails dug themselves into the skull.

    As some of the blood rolled down Miles''s left cheek, his eyes shut as the pain of Ryan¡¯s stabbing nails was enough for him to move his legs more.

    (Ryan) Well, guess who''s poor and unfortunate now?! Who huh?! Tell me, who!?

    (Miles) We didn¡¯t sacrifice you, we were all trying to¡ª

    (Ryan) Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah-blah-blah blah blah blah blah. I¡¯ve heard better conspiracy theories with less shit than that sorry excuse!

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) That rhythm of the blahs¡­ is that from Dog of Flanders?

    His right arm containing Miles, Ryan looked down onto the fast asphalt that was the only way for Miles to land. With a devilish smirk crawling upon his ghostly pale face, Ryan widened his eyes as he put his left hand motionless to his thigh.

    Miles looked down onto the asphalt road, his forehead forming droplets of sweat as he gulped. His body shook with a shiver running down his spine. He swayed his head as the lich boy tilted his head to the right, moving his shoulders up while doing so.

    (Ryan) Sorry pal, but I guess this is what they would call¡­

    Ryan then let his fingertips loose, Miles¡¯s scalp feeling a sense of relief.

    But his entire body wasn¡¯t.

    (Ryan) The end of the line¡­

    A gunshot was heard coming from the back of the van.

    Miles soon dropped down from the air.

    A smooth hand reached towards him, grabbing Mile¡¯s hand tightly as his boots started to scrape off from the highway pavement. Looking upwards, he noticed a familiar figure on the side of the van, the man¡¯s freckled and brownish ginger-haired face giving Miles a good inhale in and exhale out.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    (Miles) Oh shit man, that was close.

    (Stan) No worries ¡­ grunts ¡­ quick, pull my arm to get to the side of the van!

    (Ryan) How¡¯d you get to the side? I never saw that handlebar before. Did they improve or upgrade the van to have sidebars? Gee, I wish I could¡¯ve seen that.

    Ignoring the two sturdy men on the side of the van, Ryan focused his attention on the young man with light brown hair and red eyes, his eyes sharpening.

    The man in front of him already extended his right arm and hand towards him, his gun pointed at him with smoke coming out of the barrel. Despite his stance making Ryan take a step back, the man¡¯s eyes were slightly wide, his breathing rapid as his hand continued to desperately shake.

    (Ryan) Luke, Luke, Luke. It¡¯s a shame. I mean, are you going to kill your old friend for this huh? Out of all of us, you have the most ethical morals, right? Where¡¯s that young boy you once were?

    (Luke) You¡¯re the one that shouldn¡¯t be telling me about morals!

    (Ryan) Oh really?

    Ryan slowly walked towards Luke, his footsteps continuing to dent the top of the van, causing Luke to notice the slight loss of stability. Still having his gun motioned towards Ryan, Luke¡¯s arm started to quiver as Ryan put himself in front of the barrel of the Uzi.

    Putting his hands onto the sides of his gun, Ryan motioned it towards the lower area of his heart, the barrel of it pointing right at his most vulnerable spot. Luke, his hand shaking even more, started to feel the numbness of his legs take full effect, his breathing turning more and more rigid.

    (Ryan) Come on, you can shoot that nice and easy. It¡¯s quite simple really, I¡¯m the bad guy and you¡¯re the good guy, that¡¯s all that is to this scenario.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What is going on? Why am I holding back!?

    Luke¡¯s eyes began to widen as his arm, hand, and finger remained still and motionless to the way Ryan had a hold of his gun. Ryan let out a small chuckle as his breath reached towards Luke¡¯s face.

    Luke arched his head back as the putrid breath smacked against his face, his nostrils being molested by the smell of rotten eggs and manure.

    (Ryan) You¡¯re not going to do anything huh? I guess in terms of character, you¡¯re too good of a guy. You don¡¯t want to kill me, but¡­

    Ryan then threw his left hand back, his left arm being stretched into the distance as he focused his eyes on the youthful face. Having both of his feet steady onto the van, the metal began to dent evermore, since the soles of his heels dug themselves deeper to create a presence of stability.

    (Ryan) In terms of my character, I¡¯m way beyond in need of salvation.

    He then started to thrust it towards the face of Luke, the air around the edges of his stretched left arm working battling against friction. With his left fist barreling its way towards Luke¡¯s face, Luke shut his eyes from the incoming fist, his face shivering from the dreaded upcoming impact, but¡­

    A loud gunshot can be heard from behind.

    (Miles) Unfortunately for you, I¡¯m not that good of a guy.

    Turning his head towards the dark-toned man, Ryan continued to keep the barrel onto his left chest, clutching the metal with his fingernails cracking the insides of the chamber. With the air blowing into his pale face, Ryan sharpened his eyes as his legs started to quiver in an unstable manner.

    (Ryan) Do you have to shoot me from the back?!

    Wielding his sawed-off shotgun with his right hand, Miles already had his arm extended and his finger on the trigger, smoke coming out of the gun¡¯s barrel. His left hand holstered the grip of his other sawed-off shotgun, Miles¡¯s ears perked up as Ryan shook his vocals with intensity.

    (Ryan) Can¡¯t you just jump off a bridge or something!? I¡¯m in the middle of a killing here!

    (Miles) I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that.

    (Ryan) Ok, tough guy! Bring it!

    The shell that was lodged inside of Ryan, the area where the shell was dead in the center, sprouted outwards back to its original direction. Seeing the shell coming towards him, Miles lunged his left leg and foot back as his stomach and chest tightened, his hand holstering his sawed-off shotgun into his right hip.

    As he managed to place both of his arms right in front of him, Miles¡¯s forearms soon began to convulse, his muscles stretching out as he sharpened his eyes toward Ryan.

    (Miles) Not today!

    A bluish shield appeared in front of Miles, the bluish particles that emitted from his hands created a wall that was as hard as diamonds. With the bullets that were heading in the direction of Miles hitting the shield, the metal crumbled into powder as blue sparks lit up upon impact.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Guess I have to go into offense.

    Still having his blue shield on standby, Miles pulled back his left arm. Because of the absence of his left hand, the shield was dropped down by half.

    The small shield on Miles¡¯s right hand started to form two sharp ridges on the top of the shield, making the shield turn into a weapon for stabbing. The shield slid onto his right wrist, as if he was homing the shield with his right hand.

    (Mile¡¯s thoughts) Now I¡¯m ready.

    His legs thrusting himself off the metal material, Miles focused his eyes towards Ryan, having his right arm kept into his body as he laid his left arm motionless. Seeing that Ryan wasn¡¯t flinching, despite having his body wide open, Miles managed to close in the distance between them, thrusting his tucked right arm as the rigid shield homed in on its prey.

    In return, Ryan extended his left hand back, stretching it so that it would bring in a surge of inertia upon his hand. Feeling the air around his hand and arm trickle down his pale skin, Ryan pushed his left hand with an abundance of strength, his left arm contracting as his fist barreled its way toward Miles¡¯s face.

    But something caught his hand.

    (Ryan) Oh, you little cheater!

    (Luke) It¡¯s called thinking strategically!

    Both his guns being holstered on his hips, Luke used both his hands to catch and grip the lich, his fingertips digging themselves deep into Ryan¡¯s rubbery skin. His fingernails caused Ryan¡¯s arm to bleed out tar, Ryan ground his teeth together as he turned his face towards Luke, his eyes turning tarshot.

    (Ryan) You better let go right¡ª

    Ryan¡¯s head was delivered an expendable punch, the sharp spikes on the top of the rigid shield clutching themselves deep into Ryan¡¯s right cheek.

    His head almost turning 180, Ryan¡¯s body was pushed back as the force of the shield punch was enough to knock him off of his feet. With holes of tar dripping out from his right cheek, Ryan¡¯s eyes rolled to the back of his head, causing him to collapse on the edge of the roof of the van.

    And his left arm and hand, that was being held by Luke, was let go as it fastened itself towards the lich.

    With a sly smile dawning upon his face, Luke focused himself on the rolled back-eyed lich, his eyes not faltering for one second as Ryan¡¯s fist barreled its way onto himself.

    The hand landed on the same area that the sharp shield hit and the lich¡¯s face started to push away as his head and body began to be sent flying. A shockwave traveled his entire body from head to toe, the pressure and intensity of it caused his body to falter under the weight of his body.

    Since his body was on the edge of the van, the final push caused him to fall quickly onto the incoming asphalt, the weight of his body keeping his body down as it homed into the pavement.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) Those cheaters!

    His body made contact on the black paved highway at a rapid speed, his entire chest hitting the ground first as the fast-paced movement that he was already in.

    Started to scrap away his pale skin, brutally gliding through the highway with his entire body sliding off the ground.

    Seeing the horrible sight with both of their eyes, Luke and Miles looked away, their faces starting to darken.

    Both of them turned their heads towards one another, giving each other a nervous nod as their feet loosened the grip on the top of the van.

    (Luke) Did we ¡­ have to do that¡­?

    (Miles) It¡¯s for the best Luke¡­

    (Jack) Hey Fenix! Luke! I think something¡¯s coming your way!

    (???) My turn!

    Another lich popped out from the driver''s side of the van, its white pigmented body barreling towards Luke and Miles as its eyes honed not at Miles, but at¡­

    (Luke) Oh no!

    Luke¡¯s body was thrusted back more than he calculated. His eyes widened at the sudden pushback by only himself, his body was leaning itself right at the edge of the van.

    The lich had his right arm extended, pulling it back normally as his right fist was enclosed in a tight grip. Unable to defend himself as one wrong push would send him flying out of the roof, Luke only watched as the fist edged itself closer and closer towards Luke¡¯s nose.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What can I do?!

    (Harold) Time for payback, you bastard!

    The knuckles of his fists started to come into contact with Luke¡¯s face, the frail bones of his fist starting to push the fat and skin of Luke¡¯s nose as the vibration was felt throughout his entire face. First managing to encapsulate his entire nose, a large cracking sound was heard as a major jolt of pain launched up inside of Luke.

    This caused Luke to be fully pushed back, as his feet were completely loosened from the ground.

    His body was sent backward onto the black asphalt below. His face was changed as his nose started to flow a river of blood, his right and left cheeks bruised. The pain of the punch sent shockwaves throughout his entire body, he quickly put his hands to his cheeks as his fingertips clenched his cheeks.

    But below him, was the black asphalt highway, with the back of his head being the first to land.

    Luke¡¯s eyes focused upwards as he saw two figures looking down at him from the top of the van. His breath caught in his throat, his breathing coming to a standstill, and his mind blocking out the surging pain from his shattered nose, Luke¡¯s eyes began to water as the last sight that he saw was¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 72: Hallowing of Lupus

    (Harold) My turn!

    Another lich popped out from the driver''s side of the van, its white pigmented body barreling towards Luke and Miles as its eyes honed not at Miles, but at¡­

    (Luke) Miles! Use your shield!

    With a quick nod under Luke¡¯s command, Miles extended both his arms in front of him, using his rigid shield that was in his right wrist to sprout out towards Luke. The shield transforming to that of a normal wall shield, the shield instantly teleported towards Luke¡¯s direction, as if it was moved at light speed by the user¡¯s declaration.

    The lich, seeing in front of him the fast shield popping out of nowhere in front of Luke, had no choice but to slam his body onto the blue shield, his entire body and face squeezing itself.

    (Harold) Come out of theeerrre! I got a supprrrriiiise for you!

    Having the palm of his bony hands placing itself onto the blue shield, Harold¡¯s face was made into a goofy one as he tried to push his way onto Luke, but with no avail.

    Miles, his legs slowly starting to feel numb as his blessing was getting the better of him, started to sweat profoundly from his left and right temples. His arms slowly started to fall to the ground, he began to dent the metal with the way his feet were steadied, his heels stabbing the roof of the van.

    (Miles) pants ¡­ Don¡¯t let him get you!

    (Harold) Oh, what an absolute joy the two of you are! Can¡¯t you guys just fight like normal men!? The way men are supposed to fight!?

    Pulling back his face from the shield, he turned his head towards where Miles was, the wind blowing against his light black hair that was on the edges of his forehead. Noticing that the blue shield started to lose its blue radiance, Harold let go of his right hand that was placed on the shield, placing it up high up to the sky.

    Both noticing Harold¡¯s hand, they all focused their attention on the weird stance that Harold was doing, his legs spread out as he had his face looking high on the orange smoke sky that plagued the city.

    (Harold) Then again, I¡¯m not a man, just a shell of it.

    Harold then spoke in a low tone, his voice dark and sundered as if the entire aura around him completely changed to that of a middle-aged man.

    (Harold) Hallowing of Lupus.

    Despite his voice and stature being that of a teenage boy, his aura for that one single moment was enough to straighten both Luke and Miles¡¯s backs, gulping loudly as their throats were parched with thirst.

    And then¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What is that sound?

    Luke turned his head towards the direction of the sound, the sound being in the back of the van. Squinting his eyes into the darkness in front of him, he saw the pounding of dust on the highway pavement in front of him, a group or pack of animals chasing after them.

    Opening his mouth softly, he put his right hand onto the helm of his right eye, covering it as he noticed the familiar animals that were after him.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Oh come on ¡­ wait ¡­ why are they coming now? Weren¡¯t they in back of us the entire time?

    The undomesticated bloodthirsty wolves smelled the two men on top of the van. Drool and saliva sprouted from their mouths, causing Luke to turn his head towards Miles.

    (Luke) Get your weapons ready, Miles!

    (Harold) Stop being a snitch, you bastard!

    Harold started to bang on the blue shield, his hands pounding the wall that started to cause Miles to let out many droplets of sweat that trickled down onto the metal floor. With each bang that Harold reverberated on the shield, his legs began to feel more numb and his breathing began to become rapid.

    (Miles) Luke! I can¡¯t take it anymore!

    (Luke) Just wait a little longer!

    Withdrawing his arms towards him, the blue light that emitted from his hands ceased to exist, the weight of his legs loosening as his breath returned to normal. With the shield being withdrawn¡­

    (Harold) Hehe, you¡¯re mine!

    Thrusting himself towards Luke, he pushed his bare feet against the metal of the van, extending his hands outwards as he eyed Luke¡¯s throat. His eyes sharpened towards the brown-haired boy, Harold clenched his jaw shut, his fingernails sharpening at the sight of Luke¡¯s youthful and pretty face.

    In slow motion, Harold was about to make contact with Luke¡¯s throat, his fingertips and nails slightly touching Luke¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple. In one small push, Harold could¡¯ve ended Luke easily, but¡­

    Luke dodged it.

    Arching his back to his very limits the fingernails and hands that were about to lodge into his throat merely missed him by a couple of millimeters.

    (Harold¡¯s thoughts) What the fuck?!

    With the balls of his feet pressuring into the van, Luke had both of his hands motionless on the ground. His hands formed into fists as his face and Harold¡¯s face were grazing upon each other in the slow motion of time. And with his fists, he raised them upward to where Harold¡¯s stomach was, his feet on the verge of slipping.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I just hope this is enough.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Expanding his slim muscles on both of his arms, Luke punched Harold¡¯s frail stomach as hard as he could, his knuckles touching the cold skin of the boy. Hemanaged to raise Harold¡¯s body not much, but just enough for him to be carried out of the van itself.

    (Harold) Damn it you!

    Luke¡¯s feet that were holding him down firmly weren¡¯t enough to keep him up.

    The world now in present motion, Luke fell as his body rested on the metal roof of the van except for his head. The blowing air bursted against his face as he had his head looking up.

    (Jack) Just to let you guys know! We¡¯re heading into the McLain Tunnel!

    Miles turned his head to where Jack shouted, as Jack¡¯s hands were still edged onto the wheel as he thrust the engine to its very limits. Pushing the pedal to the metal, his hands continued to remain sweaty as he saw the pitch-black tunnel getting nearer, and from the right of him, was the brownish-ginger-haired elf on the side of the van.

    (Jack) Get inside Stan!

    (Stan) I¡¯m trying but I can¡¯t reach the passenger! Also, Miles and Luke were busy dealing with Harold!

    Miles walked to the passenger side of the van and looked down, his eyes seeing the still clinging Stan as he remained still so that he wouldn''t fall off. Crouching down, Miles had his knees on the edge of the van, gripping the edge with his left hand for stability.

    Extending his right hand, he placed it on top of Stan¡¯s head, his palm wreaked with sweat as his eyes remained focused on the man looking up at him.

    (Miles) Here, let me help you up.

    With a silent nod in agreement, Stan extended his right hand upward, clutching onto Miles¡¯s hand. Using all of his right arm¡¯s strength, his muscles bulging from the pull upward, he slowly and carefully pulled Stan to the top of the van¡¯s roof, with Stan having his arms and knees holding his body up as the air around them started to loosen.

    Turning their heads to the tunnel that was starting to get nearer, the rushing air that pelted their faces now becoming nonexistent, Miles motioned his body still, his body feeling the familiar air that he felt long ago¡­

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) How long ago was it when I was in a tunnel?

    But that question soon sunsetted quickly, as an animal lunged itself at the three men that were too busy looking at the tunnel.

    Turning his head, Luke first noticed the presence of the animal behind him, a hearing of a reverb service bell dwelling inside of his heart as he saw the bloodthirsty creature bearing its sharp teeth. Opening his eyes wide to the sight of the wolf about to lunge onto the roof of the van, Luke glanced his eyes toward the two other men near the front end of the van.

    (Luke) Hey, we got a wolf!

    Both men turned their heads in the direction of Luke¡¯s shout, noticing that the jumping wolf¡¯s trajectory was right towards the center of the roof of the van they were standing on. Pulling their weapons out, the men managed to pull them out just in time as the wolf smoothly landed, and in an instant.

    All three men focused fire at the wolf, filling it with lead as the bullets landed themselves all over the black wolf¡¯s body.

    Their bodies shook with intensity as they shot the wolf without hesitation, their hands shaking from the brittle shockwaves of the recoil of their rifles and shotguns. Finally putting their pointer fingers out of the trigger of their guns, they all took a breath in as tar poured out of the wolf, an unfamiliar sight to their eyes.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Wait a minute¡­

    Luke turned his head to the left of him, only to find¡­

    (Luke) Uh, Miles¡­

    (Miles) Yeah? Oh ¡­ uh Stan?

    (Stan) Yeah? Oh ¡­ uh Jack?

    (Jack) Yeah? Oh ¡­ uh Luke?

    (Luke) Yeah?

    (Jack) It¡¯s been nice knowing y¡¯all.

    With the four men, even Jack included as he looked through his side mirror, saw dozens upon dozens of wolves lunging themselves in the air, their trajectory being¡­

    (Luke, Miles, Stan) Oh damn.

    And as soon as they saw the wolves, their vision darkened, the tunnel that was edging near earlier was now being plowed into by the brown van.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 6:48PM)

    On the day that Ticia fell.

    (Speaker) And now let¡¯s turn our attention to our beloved sons!

    Many male teens awaited inside the dark and fresh air tunnel, feeling the grizzly cold air blowing at their faces as their ears heard the sounds of clapping and shouting. The tall male teen in the front, a teen with a dark-skin tone and medium-length light black hair, held in his right hand, a brown helmet.

    Sweat started to drip down onto the stone floor, the echoes of the audience''s shouts and screams plowing through the small compacted tunnel.

    (Speaker) These boys are the shining light in our little country town!

    All of the teens gripped the helmets with their right hands, their eyes focusing on the light that shone at them from the front. The teen in the front turned his head towards the other male teens wearing black jersey uniforms and football gear.

    Putting his right hand in the air, his arms showcased his burly shoulder and arm, having all his team¡¯s attention as he stood tall.

    (???) It¡¯s time!

    (Speaker) They have secured themselves as the Tundra¡¯s champions of Kepputha! With this game being their last!

    Putting his right hand down, he quickly strapped on his brown helmet with ease, hearing the click from underneath his chin as his forehead started to sprout out beads of sweat. Following his example, the other teens as well strapped on their helmets, as the sounds of clicking vibrated the tunnel, making an echo across the old aluminum walls.

    Rubbing his hands with his gloves put on, the teen¡¯s hands started to tremble, causing him to put his hands onto his sides.

    (Speaker) You know them! You love them! Please give them a thunder of applause to our mighty football champions, The Bruins!

    The roar of applause rocked the stadium, followed by the noise shaking the thin walls of the tunnel. With their cue now in place, the teen in the front led them outward, jogging out of the fresh tunnel as they made their way onto the grassy field.

    And out in the field was a massive audience filled with many people, as families, teens, kids, seniors, adults, and couples, all filled the seats of the stadium. As the audience had their eyes on their hometeam coming out of the small aluminum tunnel, the cheers around the field started to dawn on them spiritually.

    The teen leading the team saw an overweight man wearing a black fluffy jacket holding a wooden clipboard, their legs jogging towards the man across the field. Jogging in full gear, it was pretty soon that they all managed to get right in front of the man, their faces inside of their helmets blocking their facial expression.

    As the man had his eyes focused on the team beforehand, the man set his clipboard down, his body shifting towards the boys in front of him.

    (Coach) Alright boys. Just remember like I said in the locker rooms. Do your best, try your hardest, and you¡¯ll never lose. Do I make myself clear boys?

    (Football Team) Yes coach!

    (Coach) And Miles¡­

    The coach stumbly walked forward to the frontman, or rather the quarterback of the team that was in front of everyone. His breathing was loud as his chest upheaved irregularly, the coach softened his eyes at the dark-skinned teen, giving the teen a gentle nod.

    (Coach) Be the best man you could be.

    (Miles) Got it, sir.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) And I¡¯ll beat the enemy no matter what¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 73: Miles Brown

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 10:40PM)

    In the barely empty road in the middle of the forest-tundra, was a large bus filled with male teens loud and content as they all got together, their laughs and shouts crossing through the outer layers of the bus¡¯s interiors.

    (Football Member #1) Yo Miles! Remember that crazy pass you did to Smith? I thought you were about to fumble that throw!

    (Football Member #2) Hey, don¡¯t forget me, man! Remember that last touchdown that I did!? Sold us the game!

    (Football Member #3) That¡¯s because Miles passed it to you! Yo, I didn¡¯t expect we would win!

    Their faces lit up in the dark of the night. Continuing to raise their arms in the air, they all joked and put their hands on their stomachs.

    Even the old senior bus driver had a calm smile on his face, his eyes focused on the road ahead as he rubbed his right hand with his chin. Turning towards the coach that was a seat behind him, he only glanced at him before he had his eyes back on the road.

    The coach swiped away his balding hair with his right hand, and some hair got stuck onto his sweaty palms as he swiped it away. His ears were bombarded with the loudness of his students, the coach had his hands on his thighs as he only smirked to himself.

    (Bus driver) Can¡¯t believe those boys did it. Never thought those meatheads were able to pull it off.

    (Coach) That¡¯s pretty rare coming from you John. You don¡¯t seem to be the happy type.

    (Bus driver) That¡¯s because I get paid pennies and nickels to drive people that require dimes and quarters. But in this case, I don¡¯t mind the pennies.

    The bus driver looked around the woods and trees that were vastly dark, his low beams not able to penetrate the surrounding darkness. Pushing the high beams button with his left hand, the headlights of the bus shone brighter than before, the visibility in front of him much better.

    Opening his mouth as a yawn approached him, he placed his right hand as he covered his mouth, his left hand still holding onto the wheel as his eyes glanced at the coach again.

    The coach started to yawn too as he placed his hand to cover his mouth.

    (Bus driver) For a fancy celebration, why would you all want to meet up at the diner on the outskirts of town? It¡¯s pretty late.

    (Coach) The diner is willing to accommodate all of us there. The owner is a big fan of ours so he¡¯s willing to go all out with us.

    (Bus driver) Hmm ¡­ but don¡¯t you think these woods look different to you?

    The bus driver put his right hand on his cheek, scratching the little hairs that he had as he focused his eyes on every tree he passed through. His left hand gripped the wheel as a slight chill ran through his back.

    The coach also looked around the trees, noticing an unholy vibe to them, his entire body feeling cold as the thought came to him. Swiping away his head, he put his hand onto the bus driver¡¯s shoulder, gripping it softly.

    (Coach) Don¡¯t worry, John. What can go wrong at a diner?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Solmonath 28, 56 / 11:01PM)

    (Coach) It¡¯s all you can eat boys! You guys deserve it!

    The sounds of many male teens eating a late-night dinner can be heard across the room, with forks and spoons clicking on the many white plates.

    Seeing that the football players were enjoying their late-night meals, the coach stood up on the table, making sure everyone was giving him his attention. Per usual, all the players on the team looked up at the overweight man wobbling on the table, his breathing hard and raspy with his back straightening up at the male teens.

    (Coach) I want to make an announcement. I didn¡¯t want to tell you boys this, but this year is my last year of coaching football!

    Many of the football players started to sigh as they heard the announcement. The quarterback Miles, who was a couple of feet away sitting near the table that the coach was on, looked down at his plate.

    His face darkened as his right hand that held his fork started to tighten, the metal of it creaking with his fingertips failing to dig themselves into it. Completely saturated with the white plate in front of him, he saw his reflection within himself, the whiteness of the plate causing Miles to push down his eyes.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) I guess his dream is finally completed huh¡­

    Backing down from the table, the coach managed to land his feet back on the ground. Turning his head towards Miles, the coach slowly walked his way to the sitting Miles, putting his hands in his pants pockets as he stood right next to him.

    Miles looked up from the plate that he was focusing on, his entire head turning right towards the coach as his whole body started to feel sluggish.

    (Coach) Don¡¯t get so stressed Miles. I¡¯ve been doing this for 30 years so it¡¯s about time I settle down.

    (Miles) But what about the next year of players?

    (Coach) By then, you¡¯ll be already graduating, son. Look, Miles¡­

    The coach put his right hand on Miles¡¯s left shoulder, gripping it firmly as his breathing started to slow down. Sensing the tightness of the coach¡¯s grip, he turned his full head towards the coach, dark eyebags settling beneath his eyes.

    Everyone continued to eat and dine at the late night dinner, their mouths full of steak and mashed potatoes and their bodies content to the heater circling, creating a warm cozy restaurant.

    (Coach) Football isn¡¯t the end. Try to do more things in life than just one thing. In my 30 years, I¡¯ve seen many men like you being a star on the field and being a nobody in the real world.

    (Miles) But what about you Coach?

    The coach let go of Miles¡¯s shoulder, placing it back inside his pants pocket. Letting out a heavy sigh from his chest, the coach let out a warm smile as he used his pointer finger to place it near his head.

    Pointing it right at his temple, he remained in that position, as Miles¡¯s eyes widened and his feet glued to the wooden floor.

    (Coach) I found the best of both worlds.

    (Diner Owner) Everyone! ¡­ pants ¡­ Everyone!

    Barging out of the kitchen door was the diner owner, his face frantic and pale as he looked around the diner hall. Having a radio box in his hands, he looked over towards the coach, running to him as his legs pushed him off the wooden floor.

    Reaching towards the coach, the bar owner bent down as his breath was out of place, his lungs piercing his chest as he couldn¡¯t talk straight. The coach, having both of his hands on the bar owner¡¯s shoulders, tilted his head.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    (Diner Owner) L-L¡­ L-Liste¡­

    (Coach) What?

    (Diner Owner) Listen¡­

    The Diner owner moved the knob of the radio set clockwise, trying to find a frequency that he last heard of. While doing so, the diner owner placed the radio box onto the table, the wooden table creaking as the box continued to emit static out of its little metal speaker.

    All the football team members stopped their chewing as they looked towards the commotion unfolding with the radio, their legs tapping the floor as their ears perked up.

    And at long last, a frequency was being played.

    (???) If you¡¯re hearing this, then this message is being broadcast on all frequencies across all of Kepputha. If you heard this several hours ago, then you¡¯ve probably heard this in all frequencies in Ticia.

    (Coach) President Reed?

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s going on?

    Everyone slowly walked towards the radio box, their ears perking up as the frequency continued to be played. The bar owner continued to heave his chest hard, his breathing irregular as he wiped away a cold sweat from his forehead.

    Not only was the bar owner the most nervous wreck in the room, but many other teens were shaking their hands as if their hands were freezing, their fingers tapping the hardwood tables. Miles in question stood right next to the coach, his eyes peering into the black radio box with his hands in his pockets.

    (President Reed) Several hours prior. The world we know has undeniably changed. At around 4 PM, the nation of Ticia was deliberately attacked by unknown forces, collapsing the entire nation in just a couple of hours.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) What?

    Everyone around the room went dead silent, their mouths closing shut as their eyes focused heavily on the radio at hand. Not even moving a muscle, everyone¡¯s feet were glued on where they sat or stood.

    The coach took a step back as his throat started to convulse with his breathing. As for Miles, a bead of sweat rolled down his right cheek, the droplet dripping onto the old wooden floor.

    (President Reed) As President of the great nation of Kepputha, I hereby declare to fully militarize the entire nation of Kepputha into total lockdown. The other countries such as Haxouburg and Aizzonia will follow suit.

    (Coach) Ticia attacked? Just what in the hell is going on?!

    (Diner Owner) I heard that they''re mythical creatures! And, if you get killed by one, you¡¯ll become one too!

    Everyone started to sweat coldly as their bodies began to shiver under the announcement of their president. With many murmurs and whispers roaming across the warm room, the coach looked his head towards his players rubbing their arms with their hands.

    Miles, one of the few people who were sitting, started to turn his face to a ghostly pale as he clasped his hands together.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Would we be invaded too?

    (Coach) I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything to fear.

    All the teens and even the bar owner looked at the coach with their heads tilted to the side, their eyes squinting at him glaringly. Putting his hand on his chest, he cleared his throat as his fingertips started to slowly dig into his chest, his eyes glancing at everyone around him.

    (Coach) The president said the invasion was several hours prior right? That would mean they only attacked Ticia for something, so it doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯ll just ambush Kepputha with ease¡ª

    An explosion rocked the entire diner, sending all the football players and adults flying across all directions of the diner hall.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    His ears didn¡¯t receive any noise.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) What¡­

    His ears ringing with the heavy sounds of tinnitus, he couldn¡¯t tell if everything was a deafening silence or a tranquil boom.

    Combined with his body not responding to his barely conscious thoughts, he lay on the wooden ground as the wooden debris blanketed the back of his head. Not able to turn his head, his eyes did most of the looking as he moved his eyeballs to the left of him, straining them as he noticed a figure in his vision.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Get up¡­

    His arms and legs remained motionless on the ground, his neck stiff and brittle as he tried to move it. His breathing returned slowly, the ringing in his ears stopped as he saw from the corner of his left eye.

    (Miles) C-C-C.

    His throat jumped with each consonant, the words that wanted to come out being detained by his vocals, causing him to widen his eyes more. Slowly moving his head, he fought through the pain as his neck started to constrain against itself, pushing his muscles to the limits as it fought against him.

    His eyes started to turn red, tears began to form inside of his eyelids, and his hands still held onto the wooden panels of the now-destroyed diner.

    (Miles) C-Co-Coa.

    Still lying on the wooden shard floor as he pushed his body to move upward out of the ground, his muscles slowly entangled within each other, the blood in his body causing him to twitch on his own.

    Ignoring the broken tables and walls that were letting in the darkness of the night, his eyes only saw one thing in them. A particular figure, a figure that is overweight and in his mid-50s, lay resting on the debris of fallen woods and stone, snuggly napping as Miles¡­

    (Miles) Coach!

    Miles pushed himself off of the ground in an instant. Sprinting a couple of steps towards the coach, Miles¡¯s breathing started to swelter.

    A river of blood flowed from the back of the man¡¯s head. He shook his head as he crouched down near the bleeding man, placing both of his smooth palms onto the coach¡¯s back

    (Miles) No¡­ no ¡­ what¡¯s happening coach? Coach?!

    A couple of tears started to roll down both of his cheeks, Miles clenched his stomach and chest up, his breathing turning into a rapid motion with his chest going up and down in an erratic pattern.

    Seeing that the coach¡¯s lifeless face turning pale, with his body unable to respond to the tugs, Miles started to curl his fingers deeply, trying to dig themselves into the old man. In the hope that he did come up, Miles would¡¯ve got him to come with him, even bringing in any other members that were still alive or breathing.

    But then he heard something behind him, the sound of a person jumping on hardwood.

    (Miles) Who¡¯s there¡ª

    Miles saw a man who was several years older than him, the man wearing a sports cap and a white tuxedo jacket, followed by the man¡¯s dress white shoes and pants.

    The man stood up straight with his chest, stomach, legs, and feet all pointing towards him. Not able to hear the man¡¯s breathing, Miles instead saw the soulless stare that the man gave Miles, his body continuing to remain stiff.

    (???) You have three options.

    The man dressed in white extended his hand towards Miles. His right hand closed itself onto a hard grip, the knuckles of the dark-skinned man stuck out like sore thumbs, his sturdy hands being mostly clothed by white gloves.

    Followed by his mouth and entire face being enclosed in a mask, with his eyes the only thing that sprouted out. With his eyes being the only thing that he could see from the man¡¯s features, Miles stared at them as if he were trying to decode it somehow.

    (???) One, you can join us in our conquest for salvation. Two, you can cower and run away like an idiot. Or three¡­

    The man¡¯s right hand deathly gripped a weird object in his hand and started to slowly open it, the object being visible to the eyes of Miles. His mouth opened wide as his jaw continued to drop down, Miles let out a tear roll down his right cheek.

    (???) You can fight us, and die by your own hands.

    The white-masked man threw the object at Miles, his hands not being able to catch the metallic object as it headed against his face. His hands not even flinching to protect him, he only looked dumbfounded as he looked down to see the metal object that landed right underneath his crotch.

    And in that object, was his mother¡¯s necklace, covered in pink blood.

    (???) Your choice Miles.

    Miles only spoke in weird gasps and mumbles underneath his breath, the words that wanted to come out of him not being able to as hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

    His hands not wanting to pick up his mother¡¯s necklace, the necklace that had a cross that resembled his family¡¯s religion, his hands shivered from the sight of the necklace, his head swaying softly at¡ª

    (Coach) Run Miles¡­

    Standing from behind him, was a familiar voice that caused his head to turn rapidly to his right. Seeing his coach breathing heavily, his throat gasping for more air as his lungs, the coach wiped away an abundance of blood from the back of his head.

    Miles only sat down on the debris-ridden floor with his palms twirling with the sharp wooden shards that resembled rigid shields.

    (Coach) Get your ¡­ mother¡¯s necklace out of here ¡­ Your mother ¡­ said it¡¯s important to her.

    Miles¡¯s body began to shake as the coach, on the verge of collapsing onto himself, continued to steady his feet on the hardwood. His eyes focusing on the white-masked man, he put his right hand into his pants pockets, pulling out another metallic object from within him.

    (Coach) Take this too¡­

    Hearing the dangling of metal coming from the coach¡¯s palm, Miles let go of his hands that were holding onto the floor, bringing them up as he saw a long silver metal sticking out from the object.

    The coach threw him the object or rather¡­

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Bus Keys¡­?

    Miles caught it wide open as his eyes continued to enlarge at the scenario taking place. With one last look to the coach, the coach turned his entire head towards the male teen, a sigh of relief letting out of his already emptied lungs.

    (Coach) And get out of here to be the best man you could be.

    As if his words lit a spark in him, a spark of electricity roaming through his despairing body, Miles jumped up from the wooden floor.

    Making his escape, as well as taking his mother¡¯s necklace with his right hand, Miles moved through the many bodies that lay bare underneath the wood scraps and debris. Not looking back, Miles continued to sprint as he made his way out into the open woods on a mendicant night, seeing the bus still intact despite the restaurant being torn open.

    The coach turned his head back one last time, his left hand pulling out a military revolver from his jacket.

    (Coach¡¯s thoughts) I wonder how my son is doing, I guess he was promoted to Sergeant the last time I talked to him.

    As a fight ensues in the badly damaged restaurant, with its wooden entrance and center being obliterated by a blast of some explosion of some sort, Miles entered his way into the bus. Making his way into the driver seat, Miles pushed the key into the ignition, turning it to put the engine running.

    Having his grip on the steering wheel, Miles turned his head towards where his hometown was, his hometown emitting an orange color on the skyline¡­

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) W-What¡­ why is ¡­

    As if the town was on fire.

    (The coach in Miles¡¯s thoughts) Don¡¯t look back.

    The engine running, Miles put his foot on the gas pedal and headed east as he drove into the dark woods in the dead of night. The wheels aligned themselves to the empty country road, and his breathing continued to hitch within himself, not bothering to look at what was behind.

    As if he wasn¡¯t looking back.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 74: Incel

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:41PM)

    (Luke, Miles, Jack, and Stan)

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s too dark! How am I supposed to fight now!?

    As Jack put the pedal to the medal into the dark and grim tunnel in front of him, all four started to be out of breath with their chests on the verge of exploding.

    (Luke) Guys, be careful! These wolves hunt by scent!

    (Stan) Where are they though?

    Everyone swayed their heads in the dead of night, sweat trickling down onto the roof of the van. Using their ears as their way to navigate, Luke, the only one who had his eyes closed during the whole panic, focused his attention on his sixth sense.

    His breath relaxed as his chest started to slowly push back and forth. His grip on both his uzis loosened as his sweaty palms started to stain the grip of his guns.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I think ¡­ I think the wolves¡­

    Gulping down a majority of his saliva down his throat, Luke turned his head towards the presence of the many dangers in the air in front of him. With his feet gripping the metal roof of the van, Luke¡¯s hands started to shake as he sucked in a breath.

    Pointing both of his guns towards the direction of the sense that was telling him, Luke placed his fingers on both triggers.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Any moment now¡­

    In two seconds, the roof of the van creaked as two to three creatures managed to land on the van, the wolves¡¯s paws digging themselves onto the metal as their nuzzles reverberated across the tunnel.

    The recoil of both guns on each hand echoed the stone tunnel around them as Luke pulled back the triggers.

    And fortunately for both Miles and Stan, the light of the bullets firing out of Luke¡¯s Uzi was enough for both of them to notice the wolves on the back of them, pointing their weapons at the wolves as well.

    (Stan) Shoot your guns! It creates light!

    (Miles) On second thought ¡­ Wait, my shield!

    Firing endlessly at a couple of wolves, Stan turned his head up to see that many other wolves wanted to jump in on the fray, their bodies lunging in the air as their nuzzles were wide open. With the light of their guns in half-second intervals seeing the wolves, Stan pointed his gun towards the wolves, aiming his assault rifle as the light of Miles and Luke¡¯s guns went off.

    While Miles used his left hand to turn into a weapon, his wrist having a sharp shield as the light emitted onto his face and body, allowing his eyes to peer around him.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Those sneaky canines!

    Pulling the trigger, Stan¡¯s right arm and shoulder felt the recoil of the gun shaking his body. His aim was less steady as he didn¡¯t hit any major hit points on the wolves. Yet despite this, his eyes sharpened at the bloodthirsty wolves that fell to the black asphalt below.

    Seeing the hot metal interrupt themselves straight towards the pack of wolves, he glanced at one of the wolves having more tar than usual, but Stan ignored it.

    Putting his gun to the side, the light of his rifle dying down, Stan clicked his trigger, but an echoing click barraged against his ears.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Shit!

    He scoured through his jacket pocket as many objects grazed his knuckles. Eventually, he found a small box, causing him to pull it out briskly as he took out a round of¡ª

    The sounds of a wolf¡¯s growl can be heard from the back.

    Turning his head to the sound of the growl, Stan had his hands full with his empty gun on his right hand and a box of ammo on his left. With nothing to protect himself with, Stan didn¡¯t dare to take a step back in case one wrong slip would send him falling off the van.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Out of all fucking times!

    Hearing the wolf lunge itself towards him, with the metal of the roof being dented as it created a loud thump, Stan placed his hands to cover his face and neck, his chest and stomach pushed down.

    Sensing the incoming threat drawing near, Stan¡¯s pupils dilated. His hands shook as the objects in his hands started to creak under the tremors.

    (Stan) H-H-He¡ª

    A high-speed bullet grazed the tip of his ear as it hurdled its way toward the lunging wolf.

    The wolf yelped as it managed to jump onto Stan, causing him to land his back on the roof of the van with the wolf¡¯s body laying on top of him.

    Stan flinched his whole body back as he felt the cold and putrid air coming from the wolf. But fortunately for Stan, the wolf didn¡¯t budge or move at all, as Stan felt the lack of blood or even a heartbeat at the wolf¡¯s chest.

    Having his hands placed on the wolf¡¯s chest, Stan used his strength to push the wolf that was on top of him, the wolf landing itself on the incoming asphalt that was below. With the weight of the wolf gone, Stan slowly got up and he used his hands to support himself up, his legs quivering from the close call that he almost had.

    Turning his head to the direction of where the bullet was launched, slight visibility of smoke came out of the barrel of a micro SMG.

    (Stan) How did you know where the wolf was exactly?

    (Luke) Don¡¯t be scared, but I just used my gut to blind fire straight at the wolf. I thought you weren¡¯t going to make it.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    (Stan) Holy shit¡­

    The three men on top of the van noticed a dim light coming from the end of the tunnel, causing them to turn their heads towards it. Sensing that there were no more wolves anywhere near their vicinity, they all decided to sit down as their legs collapsed onto themselves.

    Their breaths slowed down as they used their mouths to let the air in compared to their noses. Followed by them wiping off their foreheads, all of them sat down on the van as the weight of the exhaustion that burdened their backs was let go of.

    (Miles) Next time, no more tunnels¡­

    (Stan) You''re preaching to the choir.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Jack) So how¡¯s it going up there you three?

    As the van exited out of the pitch-black tunnel, the four men saw with their eyes the smoke-orange-filled sky above them. The men sitting on the van covered their hands over their mouths as tiny particles of ash floated down onto them.

    Miles, looking down towards where Jack was driving, grounded his teeth as he holstered back both his dual-wielding sawed-off shotguns.

    (Miles) Jack!

    (Jack) What!

    (Miles) You little ¡­ you haven¡¯t done anything to help us!

    (Jack) Whaaat?! I can¡¯t hear you through all this wind!

    (Miles) Ugh, forget it. Take us out of the highway!!

    Jack let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes, looking at the side view mirror. His right foot was still heavy on the pedal, and with the air breezing through the outside window, Jack noticed a green billboard sign with white letters.

    As he put his high beams on, he squinted at the sign.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) In about 5 miles huh¡­

    Jack placed his head outside of the van window, trying to gain contact with either three men on the roof.

    (Jack) Hey, should we help out Gwen or Luna?! Those two are facing two really powerful enemies at the Zirardge building!

    His grip on the steering wheel loosened, followed by the pedal slowly decreasing in speed. Jack¡¯s body began to shift to the left to hold up his head.

    Miles, the nearest one to Jack, turned his head towards the red-haired man as he made eye contact with him.

    (Miles) sighs ¡­ Should we? Gwen is pretty powerful on her own.

    (Stan) And Luna is the strongest fighter out of everyone.

    Stan also looked down to see Jack popping his head out, folding his arms as he started to stare into the abyss. His eyes looked at the passing asphalt of the highway, and Stan¡¯s whole body tensed and contorted as he thought to himself.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) And honestly, we¡¯re nothing more than cannon fodder. We could barely handle Ryan and Harold, and even then we defended against them one at a time.

    Miles noticed the state of thought that Stan was in, and he turned his head towards Luke, putting his hands on his waist as he looked at both of them.

    Luke had his right hand placed on the bottom of his chin, staring at the back of the van with a chiseled look on his face. Rubbing his jawline with his pointer finger, he continued to look straight at the highway in the back of him, his sixth sense starting to spark again as he slowly heard a reverb service bell.

    Luke placed his right hand onto his right hip, his fingertips feeling the back of his Uzi as he continued to squint. Clearing his throat as he arched his head back, he took a step back as the reverb service bell started to slowly increase in volume. His heart pumped faster as if it wanted to escape his chest.

    Miles took note of the strange behavior coming from, causing him to slowly walk towards him with his eyes glancing at the highway in the back of the van.

    (Miles) What is it, Luke?

    (Luke) I think something is coming.

    (Jack) So ¡­ what¡¯s the final answer? Should we help them or not?

    (Harold) You should say that after you battle with me!

    Luke, hearing the reverb service bell loudly in his heart, had his whole body clenched in a heap of sweat as he turned to the direction of where the danger was lurking. Having his fingertips caressing the grip of his right side gun, Luke breathed in through his nose as he arched his body back.

    (Luke) It¡¯s coming from the passenger side of the van¡­

    Everyone turned their heads towards the side where the passenger side was, their heads coated with sweat as they saw only a head pop out from the edge.

    With all three of them taking a step back, placing their hands onto their holsters, they gulped as the head and upper body, along with its arms, crawled its way onto the roof of the van. Remaining still, the men focused their entire being on Harold¡¯s head and upper body, their feet gripping the van as tightly as possible.

    Steadying himself with only his arms, Harold wobbled as his slim chest and stomach could barely hold his weight, his head trembling with his temples moving with their muscles.

    (Harold) You know, you guys are complete jerks! Because you guys completely demolished me inside of the tunnel! I can''t even walk!

    There was a pause before the three men tilted their heads to the right, all in unison as their breathing slowed down to a snail¡¯s pace. Miles narrowed his eyes at the lich¡¯s head, his arms folding onto one another and his mouth agape.

    Harold steadied his head as he looked towards the man, his entire body now remaining still.

    (Miles) Uh¡­you good buddy? How¡¯d you get here?

    (Harold) What¡¯s with that reaction?! You guys went all gung ho for a bunch of wolves, so it took me longer to regenerate!!

    Stan widened his eyes in realization as he continued to stare at Harold¡¯s face.

    (Stan) Ohhh. There was one wolf that had more tar than usual¡­

    (Harold) I hid in that wolf, but you went gung ho! Good thing you didn¡¯t shoot at my heart.

    (Miles) Or maybe we will, you incel.

    (Harold) What was that!?

    Miles folded his arms near his stomach, not even bothering to place his hands on his holsters anymore. Letting out a sly smirk, the corner of Miles¡¯s right lip reached to the edge of his ear, his smile causing Harold to grit his teeth immensely.

    Not only was Miles mocking him out of spite, but Stan and Luke also let out smug grins. For Stan, he put his hands on his waist, his eyes nonchalant as the corners of his monolid eyes started to squint at the legless boy.

    Luke meanwhile, covered his mouth with his right hand, barely containing a laugh as his whole body shook.

    (Stan) Just because you weren¡¯t good-looking with women doesn¡¯t mean that you should take your anger out on them.

    (Harold) You don¡¯t understand!

    (Luke) I think ¡­ chuckles ¡­ that¡¯s why his blessing is wolves. He wanted to be seen as an alpha and probably wanted ¡­ giggles ¡­ to lead a pack of his own ¡­ chuckles.

    (Harold) You!

    Harold gritted his teeth with bulging eyes that started to turn tarshot black.

    (Harold) You honestly think I¡¯m an incel!? Me!? An incel!? Just because I don¡¯t have many women falling head over heels for me doesn¡¯t make me some incel! They just don¡¯t understand the value that I have, that¡¯s all! I¡¯ve seen men who are scumbags bag the best girls that I lay eyes on, and do you know what I could bag!? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

    Harold slammed his fists against the hood of the van.

    (Harold) Is it me!? Is there something wrong with me!? Am I that hideous or ugly to look at!? I was practically harmless with women, yet they treated me like I¡¯m some sort of creep because I had no social skills! And then they go for the men that would beat them! All I ever did was be nice to them, yet they wanted a man that could do better! Better!? Why better!? Those women always say stuff like ¡°Oh why can¡¯t I find a good man?¡± or ¡°I just want a man to treat me right¡±! Well, boohoo little whores!

    Luke, Miles, and Stan could not find the words to describe what they were seeing.

    (Harold) I hope those four kids out of wedlock will someday dawn upon you! You know what!? Why do I bother going for those types of women!? Or even women at all!? Do you think a guy like me could bag a woman in this day and age!? Well nope! Not because nothing¡¯s wrong with me! No, no, no! It¡¯s because they could settle for something better! Does that explain to you why I see women as nothing more than just annoyances? I simply just exist and they wouldn¡¯t take a dime of the day! It¡¯s a good thing that I befriended Gary a long time ago because, believe me, I would¡¯ve gone crazy a long time ago! Does that explain well for, you fuckers?! WELL DO YOU!!?

    (Luke, Miles, Stan, and even Jack) ¡­..................... incel ¡­

    (Harold) I¡¯VE HAD FUCKING ENOUGH!!

    Harold¡¯s arms that held up his upper body soon started to slowly lift from the ground, his body slowly moving upward.

    Steam poured out of his torso, getting into the three men¡¯s eyes as they tried to block their faces. Luke, his right eye barely glancing at Harold, noticed that the steam started to emit sparks of fire, the embers sprouting everywhere around them.

    With his legs fully being built up again, Harold¡¯s eyes turned tarshot, as his frail fists were on the verge of breaking apart as his entire body clenched itself shut. Hunching his entire back, Harold let out an eerie low monotone groan from his throat, his pure unbearable anger coming out of him, causing the three of them to holster their guns.

    (Harold) I¡¯ll desectify all of you¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 75: Brunt Rubber On A Poor Lich...

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I guess we have nothing but ourselves to blame¡­

    Harold looked towards the three men with their lips puckered up inside of their mouths as they remained still. His entire body was on the very edge of exploding, Harold began to spread his legs a couple of inches away from each other. His bare feet gripped the metal as his legs prepared a crouching stance..

    He kicked off the van as he lunged his body forward to Luke, his eyes twitching as he extended his arms to his sides. .

    (Harold) I¡¯M STARTING WITH YOU!!

    Throwing his right fist at Luke, Luke activated his blessing, enabling him to automatically dodge to the right with no problem. His body moving with his gut, he slid away from the fist that was about to hit right at his right cheek.

    (Miles) Stan, we got to back up Luke!

    (Stan) On it!

    Miles activated his blessing, blue particles emitting from both his arms as he extended his arms back the same way Harold did. With both of his wrists forming his shield, Miles¡¯s forehead already started to form sweat.

    For Stan, he pulled out a black baton that most police officers use. The front end of it was replaced by a high voltage taser, emitting electric sparks that caused Stan to lean his head back.

    With the two men reaching towards the raging Harold, both were on the opposite ends of him. Luke, meanwhile, was gliding on the limited space he had on the van with his blessing unlocked.

    (Harold) Come on! Bring it! BRING IT!!

    In a rapid motion, Harold swiftly dodged both swings of Stan and Miles¡¯ weapons. Seeing that Stan lacked experience in combat, Harold turned his attention towards him but kept his close eye on Miles who continued to try to land a lucky blow.

    Grabbing the helm of Stan¡¯s collar, Harold spun his body in a 180 twist, his eyes taking note of Luke who didn¡¯t bother to even have a combat weapon.

    (Harold) Special delivery! HELLO!! YOU HAVE A DELIVERY!!

    Just as Harold was about to throw Stan towards the unguarded Luke, his grip on Stan¡¯s collar being a lethal one as he kept his eye on Luke, the motion of the van that was always constantly decided to¡­

    (Jack) Oh shit, I think that¡¯s the exit. Hold on, dudes!

    Swerve to the exit. The wheels of the van screeched as Jack jerked the steering wheel to his right.

    (Miles) Oh shit!

    (Stan) Woah!

    (Luke) Oh no!

    Everyone¡¯s feet that were clenched onto the roof managed to find themselves gliding across the roof of the van, the metal somewhat turning into a frictionless state.

    Miles managed to fall as he managed to hold onto the van with the grip of his fingertips. He squeezed his eyes shut when his nails began bleeding.

    Harold, who was about to throw Stan, found themselves off the edge of the van, their landing being the black pavement several feet below.

    As for Luke, he managed to fall into the back of the van, his landing being back inside the interior of the van.

    In slow motion, Stan watched the way Harold fell, his feet about to trickle the pavement as his toenails were edging the tips of the asphalt. For Stan, his hand reached towards the edge of the van, his palms reaching out as he focused his entire attention on stretching his arm to the very limit.

    His hand managed to grip well on the sharp steering van, his body dangling onto the edge as he tried to find his way back up.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Oh shit, how many close calls do I have?

    His relief, however, turned into surprise when his right foot had something dangling that stopped him.Stan turned his head towards the lich that started to pull him down near the van¡¯s tires, his strength still unmatched as he continued to twitch his eyes.

    (Stan) Can¡¯t you just give up already?! Is it an apology you want?!

    (Harold) Shut up! If I¡¯m being taken down, I¡¯m taking you with me! YOU HEAR ME!!

    Harold dug his fingernails into Stan¡¯s meaty calves, his grip on Stan unwavering as he continued to contort his eyes with rage towards the brownish ginger-haired elf. Stan¡¯s eyes were enclosed shut as the searing pain from the fingernails caused him to loosen his grip even more, his body on the verge of falling until¡­

    The motion of the van''s steering right ceased, causing the van to return to its normal driving state.

    Miles, who held onto the van with his body, pushed himself up as he turned his head towards Stan, whose hand was on the verge of letting go.

    (Miles) Oh shit! Stan!

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to make it.

    Just as Harold was about to pull Stan towards the asphalt, along with him¡­A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    A sniper gunshot can be heard coming from the driver¡¯s side of the van.

    (Stan and Miles) What?

    Everyone turned their heads and noticed a red-haired man hanging on the driver''s side door wide open. His feet barely held on with his right hand wielding a sniper, followed by his left wrapping around the door.

    (Harold) coughs coughs ¡­ I hate you all ¡­ I hate you all ¡­ I hate you all so much¡­

    Tar poured onto the fastening asphalt as Harold put his hand onto where the bullet was located, rubbing the left area of his chest as he continued to cough.

    Stan¡¯s grip was taken to a helm as Miles grabbed Stan¡¯s right hand with both of his hands, tightening it as he put his feet on the very edge of the van. Slowly pulling Stan out of the air, he turned his head towards where Harold was dangling, his eyes sharpening at the weakening lich.

    Harold held a weakening grip on the outer edge, dangling in the high-speed air as both men looked between one another, glancing at the lich who continued to widen his eyes.

    (Miles) What do we do with him, Stan?

    (Stan) I don¡¯t know ¡­ should we ask Luke?

    (Miles) Yeah, but where is he?

    As the two men looked around to try to find Luke, they noticed that the car was in motion despite Jack holding onto the driver¡¯s door with his sniper. Looking into the driver¡¯s side mirror, they found a light-haired young man with a side bang on his right eye, his left eye having a fiery red eye.

    Seeing that Luke was in the driver¡¯s seat, having his hands gripping the steering wheel, Miles put his hand to his chest.

    (Miles) Oh, thank god. I thought Jack was dumb enough to let the vehicle go forward.

    (Jack) What do you take me for? Some kind of idiot?

    (Miles) A smart idiot.

    (Jack) Whatever. What do we do with sir hates-women-a-lot?

    Miles and Stan looked towards Jack, putting their hands underneath their chins as they felt the cool summer night breeze hitting their faces. Noticing that they were still on the highway despite taking the exit, Miles turned to where Luke was, seeing Luke¡¯s face in the side view mirror as he yelled at him.

    (Miles) Hey Luke. What exit did Jack take?

    (Luke) He only took the junction to the main highway, the real exit that takes us to the tower is in a couple of minutes.

    Nodding at Luke''s words, all of them, even Luke, turned their attention to Harold, his body still dangling onto the edge. Seeing that Harold is having a hard time pushing himself up, as well as trying to keep himself from falling, all of them looked down onto the passing asphalt as they saw Harold in this state.

    Harold widened his eyes at Miles, as Miles took a step back his eyes sharpened at the lich, his hands slowly curling themselves into fists as he looked at his pathetic face.

    (The Coach in Miles¡¯s thoughts) Be the best man you can be¡­

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) How can I be a good man when the person in front of me is a psycho¡­?

    Harold jumped forward towards the two men, his last push of attack as his hands extended outwards, his fingernails sprouting out like knives.

    Thrusting both of his hands onto the unguarded men, Harold widened his eyes as his eyes returned to his tarshot black stance. Seeing that the two men jumped back from the sudden turn of events, Harold pushed up his face.

    (Harold) I¡¯LL GET THE LAST LAUGH!!

    (Stan) No, you ain¡¯t.

    Stan pulled out a nylon rope edged in razor blades, wrapping it around Harold as soon as he was about to pounce. Despite leaping through the air, Harold was unable to land on the van as the force of his last push was too great even for himself.

    In slow motion, the two men only saw as Harold lept right into the fast asphalt.

    (Stan) Oh shit, I shouldn¡¯t let him be grazed by the asphalt¡ª

    Unfortunately, as soon as Stan gripped the nylon rope firmly with both his hands, thrusting the rope against himself to pull Harold back to them¡­

    An ear-piercing scream stabbed all of the men¡¯s ears, causing everyone except for Stan to cover their ears as the pain thumped into their eardrums.

    They heard the grazing sound of something being grated as if the flesh was being spit upon on a molecular level. Almost like the sound of a chainsaw failing to cut down wood because of the engine or chains being faulty, the hearing of skin and flesh falling off was enough to put their hands to their ears.

    The van started to contort as one of the wheels, particularly one of the bottom right wheels started to shake and wobble. Almost losing control of the van, Luke placed his right leg onto the brake pedal, but couldn¡¯t work as something was blocking the wheel¡­

    Followed by the immense tightening of the nylon rope that Stan wielded in his hands, the rope being pulled towards where Harold was, which caused¡ª

    (Stan) Holy shit!

    (Miles) Stan, get him out of there!

    Harold was on top of the black paved asphalt as well as being grated by the van¡¯s wheel at the same time.

    His legs were being grated first by the wheels, his feet and calves being completely and utterly shredded as tar and bone were girded against the highway.

    Soon after, his entire stomach and chest were being cheesed, slowly grinding the front side of his body. With his organs and lungs smearing a huge line of tar, it was as if his body was losing mass as his body seemed to be shredded by the tire and asphalt.

    Hearing the hellish shriek of pain coming from Harold, the only thing that Miles and Stan did was look the other way, clenching their eyes shut from the shriek. Even Luke and Jack, who were the farthest from Harold¡¯s demise, let out a frozen shiver from their upper to lower backs, their souls unguarded from the unholy way Harold was going out.

    Luckily for them, the shrieking died down, the van stopping the rumbling from the back end of its right bottom tire.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:54PM)

    (Luke) What have we done¡­

    (Miles) I wouldn¡¯t wish that on my worst enemy.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I killed him, didn¡¯t I? If I let go of that nylon rope then he would¡¯ve lived, but I tried to pull it towards me¡­

    (Jack) I guess ¡­ we should just go towards the Zirardge building right now.

    A few minutes after defeating, or rather killing Harold, Luke and the others safely went to their normal seats in the van, with Jack being the main driver and Miles being in passenger, followed by Luke and Stan in the back.

    Not even bothering to stop and check the bottom right tire that grated Harold¡¯s entire body, all of them looked forward with darkened faces, their faces coated with cold sweat. Jack, the driver of the van, turned his attention towards Miles, his eyes softening as he continued to grip the steering wheel tightly.

    (Jack) Miles?

    (Miles) Yeah?

    (Jack) What would happen if we became liches??

    Miles focused his attention on his hand in front of him, noticing bits of tar. Letting out a sigh, Miles looked towards Jack, whose eyes were on the verge of tears.

    (Miles) We ¡­ we won¡¯t¡­ we¡¯ll never¡ª

    (Stan) We¡¯ll be killed¡­

    From the back end of the van, Stan had his head down as he put his hands inside of his pockets, his eyes soulless as he moved his upper body back and forth. Exhaling an abundance of fresh air out of his lungs, Stan¡¯s body started to shiver coldly, his eyes glued to the floor as he couldn¡¯t nudge his head towards Miles.

    His right pocket contained a lining edge of a rope, he squeezed it tightly, his fingertips clawing the nylon as if to imprint his DNA on it.

    (Stan) We¡¯ll be killed, just like that psycho incel¡­ but it¡¯ll be for the best.

    (Miles) We have to become stronger. Make sure it doesn¡¯t happen to us. But the thought of becoming a lich¡­I¡¯d be terrified. What if I become like Harold? What if you guys¡­?

    Miles¡¯s throat started to tremble, his vocals holding the hellish words from coming out as put his hands down onto his thighs, his palms facing upwards. Looking down to see his palms shaking, his fingers on the verge of curling up to form fists, Miles¡¯s breathing started to thin.

    Jack, noticing Miles¡¯s distraught nature, saw a high-rise building, a building pitched in all black with many tinted windows on the top floors of the building.

    (Jack) Sorry to break your existential crises, but is that the Zirardge building? I know every building to me looks the same but it''s the highest tower, right?

    Everyone turned their attention towards the building that was the highest they saw, the orange night sky covering the entire night sky. Turning both his hands so that his palms were holding his thighs, Miles straightened his neck as he breathed in and out, his chest expanding more than usual.

    (Miles) Yeah. Let¡¯s just ¡­ let¡¯s just help Gwen and Luna¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 76: SIX F***ING YEARS FOR THIS!!

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:26PM)

    (Gwen and Luna)

    (Gwen) So this is the tower? I never thought The Zirardge Tower would be this tall!

    (Luna) How did you not know that the highest tower was the Zirardge Tower? It says here on the map.

    (Gwen) Pfft, why waste brain power on tower locations?

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) This chick¡­

    As Gwen and Luna were in front of the Zirardge Tower, Luna took note of the tinted windows all across its floors. Most of the tintedness was found in the higher top floors of the building. With the clouds of smoke and ash reaching the height of the 3/4th point of the tower, the two women looked up to see the darkening orange color that plagued the city skyline.

    Returning their heads to the normal stance, Gwen and Luna took note of a large glass door, the doorframe being three to four times the height of Gwen. Putting her hands onto her hips, Gwen let out a smirk, the corner of her right lip pointed upward creating a deep dimple on her right cheek.

    (Gwen) I guess we enter through this door. You know I have never been inside a fancy building before.

    (Luna) Me too. Let¡¯s just get inside.

    Walking towards the front of the glass door, her body let out a small shiver from the lower ends of her back. Placing her right hand on the door handle, Luna pushed it to try to make the door swing open.

    The glass door seemed to not bulge despite the cracks of glass within its exterior.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) That damn door. And it looks like it requires a keyhole.

    Luna let go of the golden handle, placing her right hand on her lower thigh. Taking a couple of steps back, she straightened her back as she spread her legs a couple of inches from one another, her heels digging into the white cement.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) They could replace another door.

    Contorting her right leg thigh muscles, her meaty thigh motioned her calf and foot to move towards the direction of the already damaged glass door. A gust of wind spread outwards in all directions as the heel of her foot made contact.

    In an instant, the glass door shattered with shards falling onto both the white cement and the black marbled floor from inside the tower. Followed by Luna¡¯s right leg slightly pelted by the glass, and some glass managing to pinch her body and face.

    Turning her head towards Gwen, she extended her right hand and arm into the building, her eyes twitching with bits of blood sprouting out from her right leg.

    (Luna) Get in.

    (Gwen) You look like you wanna punch something. Is the glass actually that sharp to you? Now, the impenetrable Luna is about to¡ª

    (Luna) Get in the fucking tower!

    Clenching her left fist, the knuckles on her fist on the verge of flinching upwards as she contained her left arm. Her right hand still pointed towards the inside of the tower, Gwen let out a sly smirk, the crevices of her left lip turning upward as she let out a small chuckle.

    (Gwen) Okay, okay. Someone doesn¡¯t like jokes.

    Walking along the glass-covered cement in front of her, Gwen made her way toward the tower, her boots cracking the glass shards from underneath. Entering through the once-glass door, she couldn¡¯t detail much as the lighting of the tower dimmed the entire lobby in front of her, her eyes squinting through the cold darkness.

    Luna walked from behind, folding her arms as she also squinted, tapping her right foot onto the marble floor with her heel.

    But both noticed an eerie stench coming from the far end of the lobby¡­

    (Luna) Do you smell that?

    (Gwen) Sniff sniff, hmmm ¡­ I didn¡¯t know that you farted right now.

    (Luna) I¡¯ll make fucking mincemeat of you!

    Luna grabbed Gwen¡¯s jacket collar with her right hand, her fingers clutching the fabric of the leather with such animosity that it started to dent the organic leather. Bringing her face close to hers, Luna glared right into Gwen¡¯s sluggish eyes, her eyes pushed down compared to Luna¡¯s slanted and pushed-up eyes.

    (Gwen) Seriously, can¡¯t you just liven up a little? You can¡¯t be angry all the time, it¡¯ll make you go bald.

    (Luna) Shut up! I don¡¯t want to hear that from some childish womanbaby! Get your shit together or else you¡¯ll be buried six feet under¡ª

    Luna¡¯s left ankle felt the presence of a cold hand.

    Looking down towards the ground, her eyes widened as she saw a bloodied man clinging on to her boot with his right hand. His breath was hot and low, with his entire body lying motionless on the ground.

    His face was cut halfway, as the center of his face was split open to see the inside of his mouth perfectly. With a pool of moist blood dripping out from his entire body, his legs, and even his head fastened in the red liquid, Luna arched her body back as the smell of manure radiated from the man.

    (Dying man) Please ¡­

    The man slowly looked up towards the two women.

    Luna¡¯s face started to turn pale, her right hand letting go of Gwen¡¯s collar. With Luna still having her left ankle in place, Gwen crouched down to the level of the dying man, her eyes softening at the dying man.

    (Dying Man) Please kill me¡­

    Gwen widened her eyes the same as Luna¡¯s, extending both of her hands towards the middle-aged man¡¯s face. Feeling the chilling and rubbery cheeks of the man, with the foul smell coming from his lying down chest, Gwen¡¯s hands started to tremble as her fingertips grazed the man¡¯s pale face.

    (Dying Man) Please ¡­ please ¡­

    Looking up at the far end of the lobby from where the dying man crawled, Gwen pulled her left hand towards her, her right hand still caressing the dying man¡¯s face. Pushing her left hand outward into the open air, a yellowish light came out of her fingertips.

    She focused her attention at the other end of the lobby, the particles of light that went around her left hand started to emit light almost like a flashlight.

    With no words to break the silence, what lay in the lobby was the massacre of corpses in business suits. Their bodies, sliced wide open, were being feasted upon by a couple of bats.

    Luna¡¯s face darkened as she looked where the dying man was. Not budging her one bit, Luna¡¯s chest started to heave more. A couple of droplets of cold sweat ran down from her nose and cheek.

    For Gwen, her right hand emitted a surge of white light, the light entering into the dying man¡¯s body. Closing her eyes she let out a teardrop roll down her cheek, the teardrop managed to fall onto the man¡¯s nose, his bloodied eyes flickering. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    (Dying Man) Thank you¡­

    Gwen pulled back her right arm, a white ball of light in the grasp of her right hand as she rubbed it with her thumb.

    His mouth opening for the last time, the dying man lay bare on the cold marbled floor of the tower lobby, his body now a corpse as the ball of white light glowed. Luna¡¯s fists clenched hard as she continued to stare at the remains in the lobby, causing her feet to loosen from the floor.

    (Luna) Let¡¯s get them. They¡¯re still here.

    Gwen then lifted the white ball of air to the sky, the glowing light spreading throughout the lobby as it lit the room. Seeing that the light spread across the eerie and darkening room, making the two women sparkle their eyes towards the white light, Gwen both of her fists near her hips.

    (Gwen) Yeah ¡­ let¡¯s get them.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:58PM)

    (On the 40th floor)

    Out the elevator popped out the two women, their weapons or fists on standby as they scanned the floor that the elevator took them.

    Noticing the floor to be relatively a normal office floor, with the abundance of desks and typewriters in a cellular office layout, they saw from their eyes the number of scattered papers on the carpet floor.

    Gwen, putting her hand below her chin, walked out of the elevator as usual, turning her head left and right.

    (Gwen) Guess they''re not on this floor either.

    Luna quickly walked out of the elevator as she saw from the other end of the dark floor an arm, lying bare inside of an office cubicle.

    (Luna) ¡­ What is that?

    (Gwen) What is what?

    Her feet pushing away the number of littered papers that paraded the carpet floor, Luna¡¯s nostrils flared again from the smell. Putting her left hand onto her nose to pinch them, Luna made her way right in front of the cubicle, having her right hand caressing her metal batons.

    With her eyes, she scanned a dark cubicle with dilated pupils, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

    But the smell¡­

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Is the smell coming from the arm? Don¡¯t tell me another poor bastard is dead¡­

    Slowly walking into the cubicle, Luna squinted through the deafening darkness as she remained her head still. Still not having her eyes fully take in the dreaded sight, the smell of it began to worsen as Luna started to cough and gag.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Why the hell can¡¯t I find them!? If these bastards are at the top floor then¡ª

    (???) Hello.

    Luna instantly turned her head back to see a pale figure in the barely visible night, her hands now holstering both her batons as she wielded them in front of her. Upon seeing the lich, Luna grabbed her second baton, her left hand now holding the other.

    Luna clenched the grip of her batons, the metal managing to keep up with Luna¡¯s finger strength. Her thumbs caressing the little button in the middle of both her metals, she steadied her stance as she sharpened her eyes towards the boy.

    (Luna) Were you the one who massacred that entire lobby of people?

    (Cameron) Me? A person like me couldn¡¯t do it alone.

    Cameron turned his head to see a small bat snuggling on its shoulder, the bat¡¯s head moving up and down along the lich¡¯s skin. Putting his left hand on top of the bat, he slowly started to pat it gently, his frail bony hand feeling the black hairs of the night creature.

    All while not paying Luna any mind as he continued to speak, Luna started to hunch her back forward more at the boy.

    (Cameron) That man is as cold as ice. Slaughtered the entire lobby because of a cause he thought was right and just.

    (Luna) What the hell do you mean?

    (Cameron) Wait, you don¡¯t remember? He¡¯s the same dude that you¡¯re after.

    Cameron then turned his head towards Luna who continued to make a fighting stance with her undrawn sword.

    Rubbing the chin of the bat that was still on top of his shoulder, he used his other hand to rub his chin, his sharp fingernails scratching away the white pigment. Small amounts of tar leaking out of his scratches, caused Luna to hover the buttons in the center of her battens.

    (Cameron) Remember the second night of training? Where you explained your reason for why you¡¯re here in the first place?

    (Luna) ... I can''t recall.

    (Cameron) Stop lying, you do remember. That night when you shoved Luke out to the real world, where you explained your little backstory to him?

    Luna then pushed both of the baton''s buttons, unleashing the two twin-bladed double-edged blades. With her right hand, she pointed the sword right at Cameron, her grip firm as her palms stuck to the soles of the metal.

    Cameron put both of his hands on the back of his head. He scratched it, causing scalp and lice to pour out.

    (Cameron) Well, guess what senorita?

    Cameron then let go of his head, putting both his hands motionless to the ground as he let out a sly smirk. Putting his face high as he straightened his back, he slightly tilted his head.

    (Cameron) The last boss is on the 55th floor. If you want, I could let you go Scott free¡ª

    A yellowish rope wrapped around Cameron¡¯s waist, the rope tightening with enough force as it started to dig deep into Cameron¡¯s liver and intestines.

    Feeling his arms and hands trapped with the rope, Cameron managed to fall on top of himself, the rope continuing to dig deep. Hitting the carpet with his white pigmented skin, Cameron clenched his eyes shut as he saw tar drip from his lower section.

    (Cameron¡¯s thoughts) I think I know who that is¡­

    Barely opening his eyes as he saw the woman walk slowly towards him, Gwen¡¯s eyes started to sharpen as he managed to appear right in front of him. As soon as she got close to him, she started to tower over him, her chest heaving up and down as her fingernails lodged themselves onto her arms tightly.

    (Cameron) You couldn¡¯t wait any other time¡­

    (Gwen) I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking, but whatever it is. You need to stop.

    (Cameron) Or what? You¡¯re probably gonna let me off Scott-free, just like your younger brother?

    Gwen stomped her right foot forward near Cameron¡¯s face, her boot inches away from his nose as she ground her teeth between one another. She extended both of her hands towards Harold¡¯s white shirt, gripping his collar as her knuckles started to pop out.

    (Cameron) Hit a nerve? I got my news from elsewhere so I don¡¯t want to spoil it for you.

    Using his stomach to bring himself up, Cameron managed to get into a sitting position as his hands and waist continued to be tightened by the sharpening rope. Having his face looking up at the bloodshot-eyes Gwen, he let off a smug grin, the crevices of his lips reaching the height of his nose.

    (Cameron) Do something about one of your soldiers. She¡¯s probably long gone to deal with a manner personally.

    Turning her head to where the elevator was, Gwen saw with her eyes the door to the elevator closing shut, her hands letting go of Cameron¡¯s collar.

    Pushing herself off of the marbled floor in an instant, Gwen then zipped right through the front of the elevator, the carpet floor turning into a friction field as the material started to zap dangerously. Having her entire body in front of the elevator door, there was no window as the elevator was a standard issue.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Why is she going up there?! She¡¯s going to get herself killed!

    Gwen continued to stare at the elevator, putting both of her hands onto the gray metal as her hands were formed into tightening fists. Looking down onto the carpet floor, with her hands extending outwards as her fists continued to molest her knuckles, Gwen took in the sight of the carpet below her.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want her to die¡­ I can¡¯t screw up again¡­

    Unfortunately for Gwen, the rope that she held onto was by her side, the yellowish rope starting to dim into nothing but air.

    Considering that she completely forgot that she held Cameron with the rope, it gave Cameron a chance to¡­

    (Cameron) Looks like you and I are battling.

    Slowly getting up from the carpet floor, Cameron raised his fists as a couple of bats landed on top of his shoulders and head. Readying a stance as he spread his legs a couple of inches apart, he let out a cocky smirk as his left and right lips were creating a U shape, with the right lip being taller than the left.

    Gwen turned her head too. Closing her eyes to the world, she let out a slow breath, her lungs filling in the voids of empty pockets of air.

    Opening her eyes carefully, she saw that Cameron was in the same place as before, giving her the same cheerful smirk she had during her fight in the destroyed bar.

    (Gwen) Hehe, you know, you should¡¯ve hid when you had the chance.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Luna)

    (On the 55th floor)

    Bursting forth out of the elevator door was none other than a tanned beauty, wielding two twin-bladed double-edged swords.

    The room was more than just a typical CEO or boss¡¯s office, with the windows on the outside being devoured by the orange-colored smoke and ash that created an orange-dimming light around the room.

    As the woman looked around, she noticed a figure right in the front end of the window in the center of the room, looking straight at the orange cloud of ash and smoke.

    (Luna) You¡­

    Pointing her right sword right at the tall man colored in all black, Luna¡¯s hand started trembling as her eyes unwavering from that single man.

    Her teeth grinded against each other.

    Her stomach tightened up.

    Her chest remained still.

    Her neck sprouted bulging veins.

    Her face blustered a cardinal red.

    Her eyes sharpened a bloodshot red.

    Her forehead wrinkled.

    Her vocals jumped with each breath.

    (Luna) I¡¯ve waited ¡­ I¡¯ve waited¡­

    The orange smoke reflected against her eyes, her pupils seeing the man in all black standing as he placed his left hand on the cold window, with his right hand already in the inside of his jacket.

    (Luna) I¡¯ve waited, I¡¯ve waited, I¡¯ve waited¡­

    The man in all black turned his head towards the enraged tanned beauty, letting go of his left hand as he placed it inside his jacket as well. Sharpening his eyes at the tanned woman, he remained still, his breathing tame compared to Luna¡¯s.

    (Luna) I¡¯ve waited!

    In an instant, Luna pushed herself off the black wooden floor, denting the luxurious white marbled floor as she swung both her swords back.

    And in that moment¡­

    (Luna) I¡¯VE WAITED SIX FUCKING YEARS FOR THIS!!

    Charged herself towards a bleeding middle-aged man with ginger hair, who took out two chainsawed swords from out the innards of his jacket.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 77: Gwen vs Cameron

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:01PM)

    Gwen stood face to face in the cellular office layout with a boastful lich.

    (Cameron) You know I held back against those weaklings back at the bar. Now that I¡¯m fighting you of all people, I could go all out with my power.

    (Gwen) Interesting, because I barely tapped a bit into my power too.

    Gwen, instead of being in a fighting position like the rest of the dark angels, decided to put her hands into her pockets, tilting her head slightly to the right as she let out a cheerful smirk. Seeing that Cameron¡¯s body was twitching, his hands seeming to be on the verge of breaking his knuckles, Gwen straightened her back as she cleared her throat.

    (Gwen) You want to hit me, do you? You''re edging a lot right now so it¡¯s ok if you let it out~

    (Cameron) Oh, I¡¯m ready to let it all out~!

    Raising his left arm upwards, Cameron continued to stare right at Gwen¡¯s face, her smirk continuing to twitch his body endlessly. In a small motion, the couple of bats that were sitting on Cameron¡¯s shoulders started to twitch their heads.

    Which caused Gwen to take a step back while continuing to smirk at the lich boy.

    (Gwen) Are you going to summon more bats? Do you think I¡¯m going to be taken down by bats of all things?

    Cameron closed his eyes as he started to breathe in and out, his face started to clench itself as his cheekbones and jawline were more present than before. His chiseled face and body starting to showcase more bones than fat and muscle, he turned his head up towards the white ceiling, his eyes on the verge of rolling back into his head.

    Gwen felt an immaculate air around Cameron, his body and soul beginning to thin or rather loosen from himself as his mouth and black eyes continued to drip out tar from those ends. His feet make a hole around him along the floor, small cracks from the walls can be felt and heard by the pressure alone.

    (Cameron) Site of Retieration.

    In an instant, his entire body became utterly nuzzled against by hundreds upon hundred of black bats. Spreading his arms wide, his palms facing towards Gwen, he tilted his head to the left as he let out a sly smirk, his all-black eyes continuing to let out a couple of tar tears.

    With his head turning towards Gwen, the rest of the bats followed suit, their heads completely envisioning Gwen¡¯s soul. His legs put themselves together in a sort of military stance, and his feet were pointing to Gwen¡¯s body.

    (Cameron) What? Intimidated? Nervous? Scared? Do you feel the dread of despair yet? Do you fear what I¡¯m going to do next? Do you¡­

    Cameron then started to walk backward right alongside the wall, his bats now starting to fly all over him as his entire body was now being shielded. His chest upheaving like normal, he turned the direction of his palms to where it faced the ceiling.

    (Cameron) Fear death?

    In response, Gwen extended her right hand towards Cameron, her palm emitting a yellowish light the same as usual. The light particles slowly created something from within her hand, the light started to shine on the entire office floor.

    The object that Gwen envisioned was a simple one, an object that Gwen stuck with to this very day¡­

    Or rather something close to it.

    The yellowish object of light that Gwen formed in her hand was nothing more than a whip, a small whip that had a small razor edge on the tip of it.

    (Gwen) Pfft ¡­ so I was right, you just spawned more bats.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Cameron) I¡¯ll just show you how powerful I can be!

    Pointing his hands towards Gwen, the hundreds of bats that flew around him like an aerial shield started to dissipate into the wind.

    Gwen didn¡¯t pay any mind to the bats being gone, as her right hand that held the whip continued to be more or less loose. She put her left hand over her mouth, her mouth opening wide as she¡­

    Let out a loud yawn.

    (Gwen) Yawn ¡­ so uh when are we fighting? Today? Tomorrow? It feels like yesterday now¡ª

    The bats that were dissipated in the wind now returned to the present motion of air, as Gwen used her peripheral vision to locate the many bats coming at her from both her left and right.

    In slow motion, the dozens upon dozens of angry-mouthed bats opened their mouths wide, their fangs and teeth sharp and rigid as their mouths foamed from their saliva. Gwen raised her whip and she started to curl her fingers tighter.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Hmmm ¡­ I was never good at math or arithmetic, but I guess that¡¯s a lot of bats huh?

    Crouching down, she glided backward across the carpet as the material started to receive electrical shots and bolts along the wool. Having her feet just sliding back a couple of feet from her original position, she steadied her eyes at the horde as her fastening speed wasn¡¯t enough for them to catch onto.

    Standing herself up back to her normal position, she braced her whip as she noticed that the two groups managed to collide with each other, the groups now being into one. Seeing this, gave her the perfect chance.

    (Gwen) Breaking Scourge.

    Pushing her light whip with ease, the small and short whip lashed out towards the group of bats, the razor edge not even big enough to reach at least one bat. Against the many bats that were now turning their heads in slow motion at the freckled woman, the only thing Gwen went out from her mouth was a millisecond chuckle.

    Until.

    The entire horde of bats was obliterated by a colossal sonic boom.

    In the present motion, the horde of bats was swept away in one massive blast of compacted and dense air, the air that blasted them twice the speed of a sniper rifle round.

    Nothing but tar scattered across the white walls and carpet floor, leaving no trace of internal organs or skin to be smeared. Scattering across all directions, the tar managed to be smeared against both Gwen and Cameron¡¯s bodies and faces.

    Because of the wind and air being pushed against by a great force, the thrust of Gwen¡¯s whip managed to thrust against any of the cubicles and any material that was in the whip''s way. In an immersive display of strength, the gust broke away the carpet and the stone walls, tearing apart the very wool and fabric.

    Which left the floor from up above to pour what lay right on top of it.

    And another floor.

    And another¡­Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Almost three to four stories above them, a giant hole was created, at an angle, leading the hole out towards the side of the building.

    Turning her head towards Cameron, Gwen still kept her whip in check, barely keeping it loose as she eyed the lich boy with pushed-down eyes. Putting her whip right along her shoulder as if she were wielding a dormant rifle, she put her left hand onto her hip yet again, tilting her head to the left.

    (Gwen) So ¡­ how¡¯s that for power?

    Cameron started to let a bead of sweat roll down from his forehead, his face already pale to begin with as his nostrils started to open with every inhale and exhale. His breathing turned irregular, with his chest starting to contract and contort, Cameron still yet put his arms close to his body as he did a fighting stance.

    Noticing the stance that he was making, Gwen let out a sigh as she rubbed the back of her head with her left hand, caressing her long hair with her fingernails.

    (Gwen) You still wanna go?

    (Cameron) I have more power in me! I-I still have, watch!

    Cameron crouched down as he put his right palm onto the ground, his knees bent with the tips of his toes putting pressure on the carpet. Having his left hand extended back out, pointing in the opposite direction of Gwen, another sense of aura circled him yet again.

    Tapping her shoulder with her whip repeatedly, Gwen let out another yawn, this time letting it out loudly without the need to cover it with her mouth.

    (Cameron) You think I¡¯m a joke! Just you wait!

    Coming out of his left hand was yet again, another spawning of dozens upon dozens of bats, appearing out of thin air as they all nestled themselves onto Cameron. With the bats all circling the lich boy, making another shield around him, Cameron still was in his lunge position.

    And with a simple thrust to both of his feet, he lept straight towards the unguarded Gwen, having his right arm pulled back as he expanded his little yet dangerous muscles on his arm. Reaching closer and closer to the freckled woman, Cameron pushed against the carpet with his left heel, making him jump upward as he looked down at the woman.

    (Cameron) Eat shit!

    Having his right hand clenched itself into a fist, he barreled his fist towards Gwen¡¯s face, the tips of his knuckles inches away from hitting her cheekbone.

    But they didn¡¯t.

    (Cameron¡¯s thoughts) Huh? She was right there¡ª

    (Gwen) Going hand-to-hand combat with me? Wow, a round of applause for basicity.

    Gwen was far away; she was in the middle of the hallway, with a trail of carpet on fire as her speed managed to create enough friction. With her being twenty to thirty feet away from Cameron, she let out a huff as she shook her head sideways, still having that smirk.

    While she placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head as her nostrils flared up.

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t your parents ever tell you to not hit a defenseless woman?

    (Cameron) Shut up!

    Cameron lunged himself towards Gwen yet again, eyeing her face as usual as he thrust his right hand. His fist inches away from Gwen, but she vanished just as he was about to hit her on the last millisecond, his eyes widening as he started to grind his teeth together.

    But same as usual, Gwen vanished, a trail of carpet on fire as her last evidence.

    Landing in the hallway, barely able to stop himself from hitting the wall, Cameron looked around him as he tried to find the woman. Looking at every angle and corner of the office floor, he put his hands towards the back of his head, his fingernails digging into his scalp.

    (Cameron) Can¡¯t you just fight me normally?! Show up and fight me like a man!

    (Gwen) Hold up, I¡¯m not a man.

    Hearing the freckled woman¡¯s voice in the back of him, Cameron turned to see that Gwen had her whip down as her hand was motionless to gravity. Her grip on the whip not loosening one bit, the sudden airburst of wind came crashing onto him as his hair and skin fluttered from the listening speed.

    Still having the bats around him like an aerial shield, Cameron extended one of his hands out as he pointed his finger towards Gwen, the bats surrounding him turning their attention to her.

    Letting out an out-of-breath chuckle, with his left hand on his knee as he slightly hunched back, Cameron cleared his throat as his vocals started to quell, his walking turning to stomp.

    (Gwen) I may be flat-chested, but I¡¯m a woman dork.

    (Cameron) Let her have it!

    Half of the bats left to reach towards Gwen, the flying bodies trying to surround her as she looked up towards the horde. Pulling back her whip, she didn¡¯t need to make a stance, as she hurled the whip right towards the horde that was flying.

    Not that much strength compared to her first strike, the gushing air wiped away the group of bats off the face of Terra, the bullet wind blowing away a huge hole on top of the floor above it.

    More tar was smeared right in front of her face and body, her vision was blocked by a piece of bat skin.

    Cameron sprinted to the left side of Gwen.

    (Cameron¡¯s thoughts) She may be strong, but she¡¯s slow-headed!

    The bats that were surrounding him went around Gwen, half of his horde trying to loop around her towards the right side. While continuing to have the rest of the horde circling his body, he reached where Gwen was standing, pulling back his arm as he lodged it forward.

    Having his knuckles millimeters within touching her cheekbones, Cameron let off a devilish smirk, the crevices of his lips reaching the height of his bottom ears as his teeth showed.

    (Cameron¡¯s thoughts) And it looks like I just¡ª

    A hand gripped the helm of Cameron¡¯s wrist.

    Gwen¡¯s fingernails dug into his bones, causing his eyes to clench shut as his head arched back. His whole body starting to shake from the stabbing pain, the bats continued their pursuit towards Gwen.

    Glancing to the right, her right hand that wielded her whip launched itself towards the group of bats. The whip made the air around it faster than a sniper bullet as the horde of bats managed to be cleansed yet again, creating yet another hole on top of the ceiling as it traveled a couple of floors above.

    Another smear of tar launched itself around the office floor yet again, Gwen¡¯s body was drenched with blood as she sniffed the foul and putrid scent of the creature¡¯s liquids. After her third time displaying her power, she turned her head towards Cameron, her eyes slanting at the lich boy.

    (Gwen) What¡¯s the matter? Cat got your tongue?

    Cameron¡¯s knees began to buckle as the pain started to become more pressurized, his legs collapsing onto themselves as he landed on his shins. Tar coming out of his mouth, as well as his wrist, starting to pour tar on the carpet, his vocals started to strain themselves as he looked his head up.

    Gwen then pulled Cameron up out of the ground.

    (Gwen) You know, come to think of it. I¡¯ve been going on the defense for most of our fight¡­

    Cameron¡¯s eyes started to roll back onto the back of his head as the pain from his wrist started to melt him, as a yellowish light flowed into his wrist and hand, causing it to swelter and steam. Almost like fried chicken, Cameron¡¯s entire hand and wrist felt like being deep fried.

    (Cameron) How ¡­ are you doing this ¡­ What is this¡­?

    (Gwen) This is a power way above blessings bud. Hehe, even above curses too.

    Gwen then pulled back her left hand, with Cameron¡¯s body going along with the motion of her hand. Her grip on his wrist tightened even more, as well as the glowing yellow light burning up his wrist and hand, started to reach into the depths of his arm.

    Cameron let out a piercing shriek.

    (Gwen) Are you ready for this?!

    Having her whip with her right hand, she focused a little bit of her strength onto her left arm, thrusting it as she threw the lich like a speeding bullet.

    Cameron¡¯s entire body flew through many cubicles, hitting the stone walls despite not being able to stop. Bumping into many different objects such as desks, typewriters, and many other office materials, he managed to stop not at the glass¡­

    But.

    Someone stopped him.

    Feeling the same hand clutching onto his skin, burning it with her yellowish light, a trail of dense friction and fire made another trail in front of him.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m not done having fun. You know you need to learn your lesson buddy.

    Throwing him yet again, Cameron hit the many cubicles a second time as he tumbled and rolled all across the entire office floor, his entire body bleeding out tar as his white skin was covered in bruises.

    Not having the strength to stand up, Cameron laid his body motionless to the ground as he couldn¡¯t turn his head towards Gwen¡¯s direction.

    But Gwen wasn¡¯t done.

    (Gwen) Now for my final act!

    With her right hand, she let her whip motionless to gravity. Closing her eyes, the yellowish particles managed to make the leather much longer than it should be, almost as if the whip had been turned into a rope.

    But it still had the razor edge on the tip.

    Bending down, Gwen grabbed towards where Cameron¡¯s neck was, wrapping her left hand around it softly as his entire body was up in the air. Letting out a gigglish chuckle escaping from her mouth, she saw the sight of the petrified Cameron, his eyes barely able to see what was in front of him.

    (Gwen) You thought I was losing? Nah.

    Thrusting her long whip at Cameron, his body was not whipped, but bound by the leather, the yellowish light creasing his waist harshly as he felt his waist being cut open. Letting out a child-like scream coming out of his body, Gwen let go of his neck.

    And then she started to twirl around, having both of her hands holding the whip with Cameron in tow.

    Spinning around endlessly, the speed increased evermore each time she fulfilled a turn. Her feet and heels dug themselves into the carpet, and the fabric and material started to catch on fire as the friction was enough to spread the fire around her.

    (Gwen) Roses are red, violets are blue.

    As her spinning reached an inhuman climax, with the air around them turning into a sharpening vortex around them, Gwen saw from her eyes the horse-lich boy starting to get his skin peeled off from him. Seeing the terror in his eyes, his eyes were on the verge of letting out tearful tears¡­

    (Gwen) Goodbye Cameron, so away you flew.

    Gwen then let go of her whip.

    (Gwen) Hey, that was pretty good!

    And in that instant, a huge and gargantuan blast rocked the tower from within, as a massive hole gushed out from the building. With several stories around the floor where the blast was launched sharing the same huge hole, the pillars of the building started to creak.

    Not even bothering to put her butt down on the floor or lay near a wall, Gwen put both of her hands down as she squinted at the flying Cameron.

    In front of her, the clouds soon began to part as the ash-covered orange sky soon created a little hole only for her.

    His entire body becoming less foreseen with her eyes, she couldn¡¯t even tell if his muscles and bones were still intact. Placing both of her feet on the edge of the large hole, she noticed sprinkles of white pigmented skin shedding off from the corners of his skin, followed by a bit of black liquid tracing along the sky.

    Pushing her face down, her usual smile was replaced by a small frown.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Sucks that nobody remembered you till the very end.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 78: She Looked up to See---

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:10PM)

    (Luke, Miles, Jack, and Stan)

    (Miles) Jack! This is the place!

    (Jack) Are you sure? It looks like a typical building to me¡ª

    (Miles) It¡¯s the tallest tower in the city! Just park near it!

    Outside of the Zirardge tower, Jack managed to park the van right in front of it.

    Turning his head to see the tall tower from below, Jack noticed that the glass door to the building was broken down, with glass shattered all across the white cement. With Miles¡¯s command, Jack turned off the van, switching the key ignition off as he pulled the key out.

    Bringing his sniper rifle and stuff ready, Jack got out of the van as he and Miles made their way towards the back of the van, seeing the little pin code to put in. Looking at each other with nonchalant eyes, Jack brustled his hair as he slouched his head forward, his fingers grazing the top strands of his well-kept red hair.

    (Jack) Are you going to punch in the code or not?

    (Miles) I don¡¯t know the code.

    (Jack) Then who knows?

    (Miles) Surprisingly, Gwen of all people.

    Both came closer to the lock pin as they heard the sounds of rustling and footsteps inside the back of the van. Folding their arms as they looked at the lock intently, Jack continued to fondle his hair as he thought of the passcode, his temples bulging as a headache started to form.

    Miles noticed the heavy thought process Jack was in and started to stare at the lock pin, but then he noticed the numbers upon the lock pin¡­

    (Miles) Maybe we could put in the numbers that are the most used.

    (Jack) Like how?

    (Miles) Look at the number markings for each pin. Some of the paint is starting to wear off, so let¡¯s just get lucky with a random combination number.

    (Jack) Good idea.

    Both men hunched their heads towards the lock pin, scanning the number markings on the lock steadily as they went through each marking together.

    Tracing his fingers along the keypad of the lock, Miles looked towards Jack as he folded his arms again, his eyes softening at the man.

    (Miles) Let¡¯s see. 2, 5, and 6 are the only numbers that are the most painted off. Curious, it¡¯s a four-number lock, right?

    (Jack) Yeah, it¡¯s four numbers.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Well shit¡­

    His face started to coat with hot sweat, scratching the side of his head with his right hand. Trying to find the most used number marking in the lockpin, his pupils lowered at each number marking.

    (Miles) Hmmm ¡­ Can Luke hear me from here?

    (Jack) Barely. This van is designated to be sound resilient from outside forces, so you couldn¡¯t talk to Luke and the others even if you tried.

    (Miles) What about those dents from our fight on the highway?

    (Jack) It mostly works on noises that don¡¯t affect the van physically.

    An abundance of knocking can be heard coming from inside of the van, the knocking becoming louder as the van starts to shake. Jack pounded the back of the van door two times, having his fist on the metallic trunk.

    Turning his head towards Miles, he put his left hand into his side jacket¡¯s pocket, taking out a walkie-talkie as he flinched his head up towards the tower.

    (Jack) Try to reach Gwen. You have a walkie-talkie, right?

    (Miles) Yeah.

    (Jack) Then that¡¯s perfect. Tell her what the code is so that I could get these two bozos out.

    (Miles) Sure thing.

    Giving Jack a nod, Miles turned his body as he sprinted towards the glass shattered door that led into the tower. At the same time he was doing that, he pulled out a walkie-talkie with his left hand and pushed the button to activate the device.

    Getting inside the darkened lobby, Miles stopped to notice the darkened lobby right in front of him, his legs quivering as his pupils started to dilate. Sniffing the air around him, Miles started to gag as he smelled the presence of a foul odor many feet in front of him, the smell of toe jam and rotten eggs provoking his throat to open up.

    (Jack on Walkie Talkie) Hey Miles, are you in the elevator yet?

    (Miles) Ugh! No! It¡¯s almost pitch black in here!

    Miles turned his head around, plucking his nostrils with his right hand. Unable to see the elevators, he started gripping the walkie-talkie.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Just where the hell is the goddamn elevator¡ª

    An elevator bell rang right in back of him.

    Flinching his body toward the direction of the bell, Miles let go of his nose and placed his right hand where his right holster was at. His eyes trying to squint right through the darkness, Miles saw with his own eyes a normal yellow light barely opening up right in front of him.

    Or rather the door of an elevator sliding its door to welcome the dark-toned man.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Pulling his right hand out of the holster, Miles slowly walked towards the opening elevator, not seeing anything out of the ordinary as no one was inside it.

    (Miles) Found an elevator. Call me when you need me.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) I guess this is the way toward where Gwen and Luna are, but who bashed in the first-floor button?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:15PM)

    (Miles) Gwen!

    Miles sprinted through the completely trashed office floor as he saw the many carpet burns on the floor, the cubicles being destroyed with papers and typewriters heavily damaged.

    Seeing that Gwen had a fire extinguisher in her hands, Miles waved his hands as he ran.

    (Miles) Gwen! I need to speak to you!

    Gwen turned her head to see that Miles was sprinting towards her. Having her hands still on the fire extinguisher, she put down the object to the right of her as she waved with her left hand.

    Letting out a cheerful smile from her face, she closed her eyes despite the entire office being beyond the need for repair. Followed by the ash and dirt clogging the office floor from the few holes that Gwen created, Gwen wrinkled her nose.

    (Gwen) Hey Miles! Have something you need?

    Miles managed to reach towards Gwen, his face panting and puffing with his hot breath reaching towards Gwen¡¯s face. Bending down as his hands were on his knees, he looked down onto the burnt carpet, his breathing raspy and uncontrolled as he tried to speak.

    Putting both of her hands onto Miles¡¯s shoulders, Gwen rubbed his black leather jacket with her thumbs.

    (Gwen) You looked tired. I guess both Harold and Ryan gave you guys a run for your money.

    (Miles) I don¡¯t ¡­ gasps ¡­ know about Ryan. But ¡­ pants ¡­ we took out Harold.

    Miles looked towards the side of Gwen as he let out a huge gulp from his throat. Darkening her face, Gwen slightly tightened her grip on his shoulders, her palms getting sticky as they started to stick to the leather.

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t worry, we all are dealing with people that we all once knew.

    (Miles) I¡¯m scared that we have to confront Gary about him. But ¡­

    Looking up at Gwen¡¯s freckled face, Miles wiped his mouth with his right-hand sleeve as a bit of drool and saliva started to come down from the corner of his lip. Standing up straight, his eyes peered down at Gwen, his eyelids sluggish with eyebags forming beneath his eyes.

    His breathing calming down, followed by his chest heaving normally, he laid his hands motionless to the ground.

    (Miles) I need the four-letter code for the back of the van.

    (Gwen) Wait, what? That¡¯s it?

    Tilting her head to the right and placing her pointer finger along her cheek, Gwen¡¯s eyes widened as she remained still, her heels locking into place into the carpet floor.

    A bead of sweat rolled down her right temple, causing Gwen to let go of Miles¡¯s shoulders, taking a step back as she looked down to the ground. Putting her right hand onto the nape of her neck, she caressed it with her fingertips.

    (Gwen) hehe ¡­ so it¡¯s just the code that you needed huh? Hehe¡­

    Folding her arms, her hands started to tremble as she continued to look down at the carpet. Furrowing his brow upwards, Miles took a step forward as he towered over her, his right hand on his walkie-talkie starting to creak as his face slightly darkened.

    His throat quivering with uneasiness, Miles put his left hand on Gwen¡¯s shoulder, his eyes trying to make eye contact with hers.

    (Miles) Please tell me you know the code.

    (Gwen) Uhm ¡­ I uh ¡­ I ¡­ I don¡¯t¡ª

    (Jack) There you guys are!

    From out of the elevator doors opened up three men.

    With Jack, Luke, and Stan exiting the elevator, they all ran towards both Miles and Gwen, their legs pushing off the unstable carpet as they noticed Miles¡¯s widened eyes.

    Putting both of his hands on the back of his head, even with his walkie-talkie in his right hand, Miles turned his head away for a second until he turned towards Jack again.

    (Miles) What the hell?! How did you guys get here?

    (Jack) Luke had a walkie-talkie, so he talked through to me from the other side. He managed to guess the code without you or Gwen¡¯s help, with nothing but blind luck.

    Letting out a heavy breath of relief as her chest loosened, Gwen had her right-hand trace along the back end of her hair. Making a warm smile towards the three of them, she put her hands to her thighs, her fingers calm and still compared to another person¡­

    Miles'' hands were raised towards Jack¡¯s face, but he didn¡¯t have a hold on him, almost like he wanted to strangle Jack with his own hands.

    (Miles) You''re a piece of shit! You never told me!

    (Jack) Why are you angry at me!? Luke was the one that got himself and Stan out of the back of the van!

    (Miles) That¡¯s not the fucking point! I wasted my breath to come see Gwen and it was all just a joke!

    Miles wrapped his large hands around Jack¡¯s head, barely managing to have a firm grip on the top of his hair. With his fingertips digging themselves into his skull, Miles ground his teeth together.

    Both Luke and Stan pulled Miles from doing any further playful damage to Jack, holding him back as he tried to push forward towards where he was.

    (Stan) Dude, calm down. We¡¯re all here and that¡¯s all that matters.

    (Luke) Come on Miles. I know he didn¡¯t communicate, but it wasn¡¯t his fault. Try to be the best man here.

    Miles stopped his push forward as he turned his head towards Luke, his eyes widening. Loosening up his body, he let his hands go as his fists subdued to the hearing of Luke¡¯s words.

    Looking away, he avoided Luke¡¯s eyes as he looked at the burnt carpet next to him, seeing the fabric spiking up from the friction it still held.

    (Miles) Okay¡­

    Letting go of Miles, all of them turned their attention to Gwen.

    Stan, having his hands and arms folded, slouched his back as he looked around the room, noticing that there was one angry girl that was missing. Not only did he not find Luna, but he took a whiff of the ash smoke starting to pour in from above the clouds.

    (Stan) So uh ¡­ how was your fight with the chainsaw sword freak? And where¡¯s Luna?

    (Gwen) About that¡­

    A glass breaking from a window can be heard from the outside.

    Their ears heard it from the front of the office floor, and all of them stopped as their feet remained still, not bulging a muscle from anywhere in their bodies. Noticing that the glass was falling to the left of the group, it was as if¡­

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Oh shit!

    Gwen instantly glided towards the front end of the office floor in less than a second, making the carpet packed with friction. Being in front of the shattered window, she looked up to see¡ª

 Arc 1 - Chapter 79: Youre Kind of Strong...

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:03PM)

    (On the 55th Floor)

    (Luna)

    A forbidden gust surrounded them.

    The gust swept through the marble floor and desk, leaving behind no trace of dust in the room. As the windows started to shake intensely, small cracks started to form along the front end where both fighters were.

    Luna, having both her swords dueled against the ginger-haired man, both were at a standstill as the chainsaw blades started to dent her hard metal blades.

    His strength overpowering her, he pushed against her strength as he took a step forward, his muscles on the verge of popping open.

    As he bled through the open wound on his stomach, the blood trickled into the white-marbled floor.

    (Kenichi) So you¡¯re their strongest fighter I take it? You don¡¯t seem that strong to me.

    Pushing against his chainsaw swords with all her might, Luna expanded her muscles to her limits, her feet and heels gripping the marble floor. Drool starting to drip down onto her floor, Luna made the corners of her lips open wide, pouring forth more saliva.

    (Kenichi) Mostly because I¡¯m at a disadvantage.

    Pushing away Luna, Kenich took a step back as he started to breathe irregularly, blood starting to drip onto the floor from his stomach. His wound from his fight with David opened up again, he bent down to catch his breath.

    Pushing her heels off of the white marbled floor, Luna extended her right sword back, keeping her eyes on Kenichi. Seeing that he remained his body still, Luna thrust her swords toward the unguarded Kenichi, his bleeding stomach visible with her eyes.

    But Kenichi moved forward a couple of steps to the left, dodging Luna¡¯s attack.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s this girl¡¯s deal?

    He kept dodging with ease as he continued to wield his chainsawed swords in both hands. Luna groaned as she continued to swing both of her swords down at him, the bite from her lips causing her to thrust uncontrollably.

    Noticing that his back was about to hit the wall, Kenichi glanced at it with his eyes, seeing the many crevices that were decorated on it. With each blade swinging at him closely hitting the fabric of his jacket, Kenichi kept his focus on both the wall and her.

    Just as his back was against the wall, Kenichi waited as Luna swung her sword again, the blade of the sword inches away from his face as he¡­

    (Luna) Your back is behind the wall! YOU¡¯RE MINE!!

    Narrowly dodged to the side, as the blade managed to get stuck in between the crevices of the stone.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Motherfucker!

    (Kenichi) You¡¯re wide open now.

    Steadying his feet, Kenichi spread his legs apart as he steadied his right sword, his grip tightening as he pulled back. Barreling his right sword onto Luna¡¯s neck, his left sword also made its way towards her waist.

    With the blades of the chainsaw managing to nearly touch the strands of her neck, followed by the other chainsaw touching the tips of her black leather jacket¡­

    Luna vanished.

    Almost like air, Kenichi took a step back as he noticed the blade of her right sword was still stuck to the stone, but her body wasn¡¯t even in front of him. Looking around him in the dimly lit orange room, he noticed a woman breathing heavily in the back of him across the other end of the room.

    (Kenichi) Freaking blessing user.

    Snorting at the sight of the woman, Kenichi straightened his back as he slowly walked towards her, his chainsaws still in play as he sharpened his eyes. With each step that he took, the thump on the marble grew louder, causing Luna to drip down a bead of sweat.

    But Luna didn¡¯t falter under this immense pressure, as she held her left sword with both of her hands. Walking slowly backward away from the sword, Luna wielded it in front of her as she noticed that the ginger-haired man started to stop.

    (Kenichi) You want your sword back, right? You¡¯re not good with just one sword huh?

    Luna vanished again.

    Sensing a presence in the back of him, he turned his head to see that Luna was at the spot where her sword was, her right hand clenching onto the handle as she tried to yank it out.

    But the sword wouldn¡¯t budge.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Damn it! Release you useless piece of shit!

    Luna continued to struggle under the sticky situation, her hand gripping the metal until it started to make a creaking sound.

    Kenichi then pushed a button on the guard of each of his swords, and the chainsaw blades that were moving started to slow down. Slowly walking towards the tanned beauty, he holstered back his swords onto the back of his jacket, putting both of his hands inside his pockets.

    Looking upward, she saw the ginger-haired man grab a hold of her sword with his right hand, his grip firm but not tight. In slow motion, Kenichi slowly yet surely¡­

    Pulled out the sword with ease.

    Having the twin-bladed sword in his hand, caused Luna to falter onto the ground, her butt slamming onto the marbled floor hard as her other sword fell as well.

    Seeing her in this state, Kenichi casually threw the sword right next to her, putting his hand back inside of his jacket.

    (Kenichi) I have a soft spot for women, so I could let you go if you don¡¯t plan to kill me. But if you are¡­

    Kenichi then took a step forward toward Luna, his towering stance causing her to tremble, her legs motionless on the ground. Both of her swords on either side of her body, Luna looked up at the chiseled middle-aged man.

    (Kenichi) We both know what will happen.

    Her breathing started to become more irregular, her feet going numb, and her arms starting to lose the ability to hold herself up.

    Her face continued to turn pale, her eyes starting to flutter like a butterfly flying through a high-class garden.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Dad¡­ I¡­

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Puckering her lips into her mouth, her hands started to tremble more as her palms stained the marble with her sweat. Water started to form inside of her eyes¡­

    She used her right sleeve jacket to wipe away the water that was building up within her eyes, her eyes starting to turn back to her usual self. Noticing both swords waiting to be picked up, Luna instantly grabbed both of them, clenching the metals with a death grip.

    Slowly standing up, she looked up at the ginger-haired man, her eyes returning to their normal bloodshot color as her teeth ground against one another.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) No matter what, I¡¯ll avenge you¡­

    Pointing her right sword towards the ginger-haired man, Luna took a step back as she parted her legs for a fighting stance. Kenichi put both of his hands inside his jacket.

    Pulling out his chainsawed swords again, he pushed both buttons so that the chainsaws were now in motion, the blades creating slight sparks with the swords laid motionless to gravity.

    (Kenichi) You look less angry than before. Let¡¯s see if it works out for the better.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Another clash between swords drizzled through the dimly lit orange room, the smoke and ash making the scenery brighter than it should be.

    Sparks flew from the four swords that they wielded, the reflection of both of their eyes seeing within each other.

    Thrusting herself back to give herself more space, Luna used both of her swords to block the incoming attacks from Kenichi, his thrusts against her becoming stronger as she felt the strike of each blade on her swords. Being able to keep up with Kenichi, Luna kept on thrusting herself back, managing to block and defend herself from the chainsaw blades.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s doing good¡­ I wonder what came over her¡­

    The pain of his open wound started to stab him, causing him to slow his attack speed.

    Blocking the attacks of Luna¡¯s twin-bladed swords, Kenichi kept dodging. Feeling blood coming out of his open wound even more, Kenichi started to grit his teeth as he bit his lip down to focus the pain elsewhere.

    With each strike of the blade, it created burning sparks on each other¡¯s faces.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) This bastard looks like he¡¯s faltering. He looks like he¡¯s about to pass out.

    His face started to roll down a bead of sweat, the open wound continued to gush out more blood, causing him to slightly shut his eyes.

    His back being close to the high window that is overwhelmed by the ash-colored orange clouds, Kenichi glanced at the glass behind him.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) I can¡¯t let her hit the window.

    Thrusting himself to the side of Luna, her eyes widened at his sudden jump. Placed both of her swords in front of her, the blades of both her swords barely managed to block an incoming thrust from Kenichi¡¯s left sword.

    For the right sword, Kenichi did a lower-end strike towards her legs, trying to see if his chainsaw blades could cut through Luna¡¯s legs with ease. The blades making their way towards her knees, Luna managed to catch a whiff of this sudden attack, causing her to¡­

    Vanish.

    (Kenichi) So you¡¯re chickening out¡ª

    Yet this time was different.

    As Kenichi sensed a bloodlust coming from directly behind him.

    Not being able to turn his head, he instinctively dodged to the right in a frantic attempt. Being free from the danger that was behind him, Kenichi looked towards Luna, her eyes sharpening evermore at him.

    His odor now becoming more present, his grip on his swords tightened as he glared right at the tanned beauty.

    (Kenichi) Not only are you a chicken, but you also have no honor. Striking me from the back?

    (Luna) I don¡¯t give a shit!

    Thrusting herself yet again, she extended both of her arms as she lunged consecutively to the left and right side of Kenichi. The air around her being pushed by her strength, she managed to move quick enough for Kenichi to tighten his guard, having his swords in front of him as he eyed her.

    Gliding towards Kenichi¡¯s right side, his eyes peering to the left of him, his swords were still in front of him as he slowly noticed the incoming beauty from above. Taking a step back, Kenichi quickly thrust both of his arms to defend himself from the incoming Luna, his face continuing to turn paler.

    As for Luna, her hands gripped both of her swords steadily as the blades managed to collide with Kenichi¡¯s swords, hot sparks flying more as his chainsaw blades started to slow down.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) I need to finish this quickly.

    Pushing away Luna with most of his strength, Kenichi started to walk backward rapidly, his heels digging into the floor with each step he stomped. Having his hands motionless to the ground, his eyes took notice of¡­

    Luna kicked the air at breakneck speed, making herself look like an incoming bullet as she pulled back both of her swords.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I could do this.

    Pushing her swords forward right where Kenichi was going to be hit, he quickly dodged the swing of both swords, her blades scraping some of his jacket off. His eyes turning groggy followed by his breathing starting to dim, Kenichi glanced at his stomach, seeing the pouring blood from out of it.

    Puffing up his cheeks, his face was as red as a hot pepper, his skin starting to dry as his nostrils flared up to receive more air. Swiping his head away once, he started to look down onto the marble floor, his face turning even more pale.

    Bending down, Kenichi was in a position where he wanted to throw up, his mouth opening wide as his throat contorted. Not bothering to look at Luna, who was busy lunging left and right on either side of Kenichi, he started to spill out saliva as no blood or intestinal fluids came out.

    With his guard down, Luna threw herself off the ground with her heels as she lunged her way toward the back of Kenichi again.

    Targeting the nape of his neck, Luna extended both of her arms out as the tips of her blades were far out from her back, stretching her arms out to the very limits.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m doing it. This is it!

    Swinging her swords with almost all of her strength towards his body, her muscles expanded as the grip of both her swords started to dent. The blades made the air around them sharpen, and both her blades barreled their way toward Kenichi¡¯s nape.

    Inches away, Luna¡¯s swords were doing a clamp in, as she gritted her teeth to the most she could do.

    Until¡ª

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) I guess she¡¯s making me activate it huh¡­

    An indescribable force slammed against Luna¡¯s face.

    Out of nowhere, Luna¡¯s nose was being drilled in, the feeling of knuckles digging themselves deep into her cheekbones.

    This allowed Luna to fly through the air as the fabric of her clothes started to ripple in the air, her jacket on the verge of falling out.

    Her back and body landed on the stone-decorated walls of the room, a big crack and dent appeared right where she landed, her body lay on the wall as she looked down.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) W-W-hat¡­ w-wha¡­

    Her eyes looked to the marbled black floor as blood trickled down from her broken nose, her beauty subsiding. Too tired to look up at what was in front of her, Luna only just laid her arms and body on the wall, her throat now parched as her need for water skyrocketed.

    As for Kenichi.

    Every breath coming out molested his vocals from within his throat, causing him to bend down as he put both chainsaw swords on the ground next to him. With both of his hands, he put them on his knees as he started to spit out blood, the red liquid assaulting his windpipe and esophagus with a burning sensation.

    Despite being in a frail position, Kenichi looked upwards right at the injured Luna.

    (Kenichi) coughs cough ¡­ I didn¡¯t want to do this ¡­ but I guess you¡¯re kind of strong ¡­

    Using his right arm, he used his jacket¡¯s sleeve to wipe away an abundance of leftover blood that lingered on the front ends and the corners of his lips. Spitting out a saliva¡¯s worth of blood, his left hand felt the contents of his open wound drenching his stomach and crotch with the summer honey-warm substance.

    Putting his left hand up towards the front ends of his face, he squinted as his vision started to turn blurry, his legs wobbling sideways with his feet barely loosening from the ground.

    Obviously, on the verge of fainting, he put his right hand into his mostly empty pocket, feeling nothing as he soon found something.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Forgive me, Boss¡­

    Pulling out a needle from the depths of his right pocket, he glanced at his left arm as it started to go numb from the fighting. With barely enough strength with his right arm, he thrust the needle into the middle of the forearm and main arm, right where most of the veins were the most visible.

    And with a simple push, the purple liquid went inside his arm.

    Kenichi clenched his eyes shut as he looked away from the stabbing pain, blood starting to pour out from the corner of his lips again. His legs failing to keep him up, he instantly collapsed as his knees and shins were the ones holding him up.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) I wanna die¡­

    Having both of his arms and palms placed themselves onto the floor, he continued to tighten his face completely. As if it was attacking him, his body began to go limp, his body feeling as if he was transformed into a feather.

    But there was one body part that started to go back to normal again.

    The area where he stabbed himself with the needle, was brought back to life as he moved his fingers and hand like normal, his left shoulder being exemplified to a greater extent. Soon after, most of his chest, head, and stomach were all feeling the same thing, with the sudden numbness now being returned to a state of much greater strength than before he started attacking Luna.

    With his right arm, he took out the needle, throwing it away across the ground.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) But now I wanna live¡­

    His right arm and both of his legs now returning from their numbing vacation, he moved the joints of his right arm, pushing his feet against the floor to stand himself up. Straightening his back and his neck, he looked towards Luna who now was barely standing up, her feet unsteady.

    Reaching towards both of his swords that were lying next to him, his hands gripped the helm of the metal grips as he caressed the buttons on each sword. Pushing the buttons gently, the chainsaw blades emitted smoke as they began to continue their duty, the blades moving at a slightly slower pace than before.

    (Kenichi) I¡¯ll end this quickly.

    Almost as if the air around him fell, he closed his eyes from the world as he focused his spiritual being into the depths of his soul. His chest slowly inhaled in air and exhaled air out, his presence around him thickened with death, his stare at Luna being one as if she met her maker.

    The insides of his jacket started to move, air not blowing him at all as the leather fabric blew in back of him as¡ª

    Two swords were pulled out from the inside of his jacket, with both of them still in midair.

    Barely managing to widen her eyes, she took a step back, almost tripping despite nothing being in her way.

    Four chainsawed doubled-edged swords in motion, with two of them being in midair to the left and right of him, Kenichi started to walk slowly towards the tanned beauty.

    (Kenichi) Prepare for the end¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 80: Luna Guerra (1)

    (Salemonath 27, 56 / 3:01PM)

    A day before the attack on Ticia.

    (???) Hey Rachael, have you heard about the new album from New Kids In The Neighborhood? Their voices are so angelic and majestic.

    (Rachael) I know right? Zachary is my one true love.

    (???) Pfft sure girl. I claimed Zachary first.

    (Rachael) Didn¡¯t you say you liked Anthony second Christi? Take him, not Zachary.

    Two pale-skinned girls walked through a busy hallway, their footsteps squeaking on the white checkered floor.

    Being high schoolers, both carried school books in both of their hands as they wore a typical t-shirt and pants, followed by their sneakers being normal. With the many stickers of boys on their backpacks, and love hearts surrounding the paper, one can conclude that these girls¡­

    (Christi) I love New Kids In The Neighborhood so much! I mean, how many other boy bands that we claim as ours?

    (Rachael) I guess it¡¯s just that and Frontstreet Boys. I mean, there¡¯s Jimmy Deep and that new coming hot boy Leonard Capro.

    Are complete boy band fanatics¡­

    Both girls looked around each locker to find many personas and such in every school.

    The jocks, nerds, band kids, theater kids, cheerleaders, geeks, loners, goths, mechanic kids, and agriculture kids, all are a part of a typical school in the nation of Ticia.

    But not only were there just normal humans that piled the hallways, but many other races that coexisted in the school system.

    Both girls went past many bunny-humans with baggy pants and golden crossed necklaces, with most of them having backwards caps that made them seem like gangsters. For the few elves, all of them had books stacked onto their chests as they had them wrapped around them as if their life depended on it.

    Lastly, only a couple of horse-humans folded their arms as they leaned against the lockers, their long and frowned faces making them anti-social.

    As some boys ran through the hallways to reach the exit, both girls looked towards their watches. Turning their bodies back towards the hall, Rachael let out a sigh as she started to fold her arms.

    (Rachael) Where¡¯s our bestie anyway? Do you think she stayed after class?

    (Christi) She¡¯s in honors. It sucks that she takes academics too seriously.

    Letting out sighs, both girls looked back towards where their lockers were originally, as their bodies were right in front of the main gate.

    (Christi) Why did they put her locker at the other end of the school?

    (Rachael) I feel bad for the poor girl.

    Making their way past the hurrying teens of both girls and boys alike, the two girls managed to push their way into many different crowds of people. With each shove that they endured, the more they gritted their teeth, as their bodies felt each shove from their small and skinny shoulder blades.

    A few minutes went by, and they managed to reach where their lockers were, as the sounds of all the teens and kids leaving the school were present in the far end of the hallway.

    (Christi) Thank god we got past all that.

    (Rachael) My shoulders feel sore¡­

    Noticing a familiar figure, both of their eyes lit up as they fast walked towards the girl from behind.

    The girl that they saw was tan and above average in height, with her medium black hair covering her nape and side neck. Her hands were in her locker, getting stuff out to put inside of her big backpack, both girls put their hands on her shoulder.

    (Christi) Where were you? Were you at Mr. Adair''s class again?

    (Rachael) Can¡¯t you just take normal classes, girl? Ever since you took AP classes you¡¯ve been busy being a nerd.

    The tanned girl turned her head towards the two girls that were behind her, putting the last object inside of her huge backpack.

    (Luna) Sorry, I just wanted to get an A in his class, that¡¯s all.

    Luna Guerra plastered on a smile, her lips not quite reaching her eyes.. Hoisting her backpack onto her back, she closed the locker gently as she maintained eye contact with her friends.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Salemonath 27, 56 / 6:06PM)

    (Luna) I¡¯m home!

    Entering inside a middle-class family home, Luna put her backpack near the family coat rack near the door. Closing the door from behind her, Luna whiffed in the smell of tomato sauce as the hallway lights shone on the dark wooden floor.

    Continuing to have a smile on her face, making a slight hop, she heard the sounds of four boys that she was long too familiar with.

    In front of Luna were two boys, the tallest one had medium-length hair, while the short one had short hair. Seeing them, Luna let out a warm and cheerful smile as she had her hands on their shoulders.

    (Luna) Hey Lewis, hey Jacob. How was middle school?

    (Lewis) Jacob got into another fight.

    (Jacob) That dude started it.

    (Luna) Come on Jacob, you got to deal with your anger better. Otherwise, it¡¯ll kill you¡­And¡­

    She smirked at Jacob as she wagged her index finger at him.

    (Luna) You¡¯ll get no donuts.

    (Jacob) What?! Oh, come on!

    (Daniel) Did I hear donuts?

    Gesturing the two oldest boys to sit at the dinner table, Luna glanced towards her twin brothers gripping their forks.

    Pushing her eyes up towards the one jabbing the other, Luna tilted her head slightly as she made a little frown.

    (Lewis) Come on Daniel, leave Armin alone.

    (Daniel) But he¡¯s a nerd.

    (Armin) I¡¯m just reading a book.

    (Luna) Daniel, please leave Armin alone.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Luna patted the youngest boy¡¯s head with her smooth hand, rubbing her fingers along the boy''s scalp as she smiled at him. Armin, feeling his head being patted on by his older sister, put the book down as he placed his head flat on the table.

    Jacob raised his voice as he flinched his body upward as he leaned forward on the table.

    (Jacob) Why does he get special treatment?

    (Lewis) Because he¡¯s the youngest. He¡¯s a few minutes younger than Daniel.

    (Daniel) As if I need special treatment.

    (Lewis) You¡¯re just saying that.

    (???) Dinner¡¯s ready.

    Hearing a low-pitched voice coming from the kitchen, all four boys and Luna got their plates ready in hand as they went towards the man wearing a black apron.

    The chef was huge, with a height above 6ft and his arms being bulky, the man having a mustache and little goatee.

    Grabbing their food from the man cooking dinner, they all made their way towards the six-seater table, all of them having spaghetti with garlic bread.

    (???) I barely made it today, so enjoy yourselves.

    The four boys started to devour the spaghetti that lay on their plates, creating a mess as spots.

    (Jacob) Dad, Luna said I can¡¯t have your donuts!

    Luna was unbothered by Jacob¡¯s statement as she started doing her homework.

    (Lewis) It¡¯s unhealthy for you anyways.

    (Daniel) Donuts aren¡¯t that unhealthy¡­right?

    (Lewis) Oh, they are. 100%. They have a ton of sugar.

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) Come on now. Let¡¯s not fight-

    (Jacob) But Dad¡¯s donuts are different!

    (Lewis) Homemade or not, you need sugar to make donuts taste good!

    Luna slammed her fist against the table.

    (Luna) Be quiet!

    The three boys froze.

    (Luna) Oh¡­sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have shouted.

    The boys gave a vicious nod before engulfing their spaghetti. The burly man looked towards Luna.

    Furrowing his brow at Luna¡¯s outburst, he took a large piece of spaghetti with his fork, bringing it to his mouth.

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) I know you want to maintain your straight A¡¯s Luna, but you can continue after you eat.

    (Luna) I know, but I want to get Saturday¡¯s homework done.

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) Why? You know you could just do that before we leave¡ª

    (Luna) I¡¯m going to hang out with Christi and Rachael tomorrow.

    Luna¡¯s dad stopped eating as he stared at his daughter, his piece of spaghetti still stuck inside his mouth. Despite not fully chewing the spaghetti, her dad just swallowed it whole.

    Using his hand to pound his chest, he put his utensil into the spaghetti as he cupped his big and muscular hands together.

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) You should have told me this before.

    (Luna) But Dad-

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) You know that all of us are going to Damaris Lake over the weekend. Can you postpone your friend''s hangout till next week?

    (Luna) Well ¡­

    Luna then put her right hand towards the back of her head, rubbing it gently as she smiled wryly at him. Having her eyes sort of closed, she tilted her head slightly as her face cheekbones started to sore her a bit.

    (Luna) My friends have been dying to go out, and if I reject them, then they¡¯ll be mad at me. So I don¡¯t want it to ruin our friendship.

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) I understand. But mija.

    Her dad¡¯s eyebrows softened as he nodded. Having the remote near his plate, he put his right hand onto it as he turned on the button to play on the TV for the boys.

    Seeing the news, her dad let out an exhale of fresh air out of his big nose.

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) You must know you can¡¯t do everything. Always do the things that you know you can do, and set some time to do things that you know you can¡¯t.

    (Luna) ¡­ yes Dad.

    Armin noticed that the fork that Luna was wielding started to creak under the metal. Looking up to see her staring into the abyss, with a continued smile on her face, Armin continued to eat his spaghetti, his eyes unwavering from her tanned face in contrast to his light-toned face.

    Tapping her right shoulder with his pointer finger and middle finger, he let out a soft smile as the crevices of his lips reached halfway to the level of his nose.

    (Luna) Y-yeah Armin?

    (Armin) After dinner, can I tell you about the book I¡¯ve been reading?

    (Luna) Of course.

    The three boys, followed by their father, saw the news unfold from their boxed-style TV set, the screen showcasing an elf reporter. As their dad used the remote to turn the volume up, the sound of the news renovated the entire living room and kitchen, the sound loud enough for Armin and Luna to turn their direction.

    (Elf Reporter) We have another case of a missing child in the Azazel Region. They say it¡¯s from the many cartels that operate around the region.

    (Luna Dad¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s the same region where the lake is at ¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Salmonath 28, 56 / 3:25PM)

    (Luna¡¯s Dad in Luna¡¯s thoughts) Since you¡¯ve been doing well in school, I guess you could hang out with your friends. But remember to be back by 3:30 so that we all could leave for the lake.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I need to get back now!

    In the back two of her friends, all three of them walked through the busy crowd of shopgoers, their eyes peering at the many shops and stores in the large abundant shopping mall.

    The clean white marble floor they squeaked as the soles of their sneakers kissed the material with every step. Along with a couple of bags on their hands, followed by their noses smelling the food around them, it only caused the two girls in front of Luna to walk forward.

    While Luna fiddled with her fingers, her thumbs and pinkies mingled with each other.

    All three girls noticed a Cold Topic store filled with merch of any kind, ranging from basic movie and TV shows to even bands and musicians. Especially one particular boy band.

    (Christi) Oh my gosh! New Kids In The Neighborhood merch!

    (Rachael) Zachary! My Beloved!

    Both girls went inside a Cold Topic store in the dead center of the mall, completely disregarding Luna¡¯s presence as both went inside the back of the store.

    Waiting outside the store, Luna had her back hunched as she continued to fiddle with her fingers, looking around as she repeatedly tapped her heel on the floor. Barely glancing at the store from behind her, Luna¡¯s breathing started to fasten.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I know I want to buy some boy band merchandise, but can they please hurry? They know that I have to be back¡­

    After several minutes went by, the two girls that Luna waited for almost an eternity finally managed to come out, with many more bags in tow. Noticing that Luna had been acting anxious, both girls tilted their heads as their faces started to frown.

    (Christi) What¡¯s wrong Luna?

    (Luna) I¡¯m sorry, but I need to go back.

    (Christi) Why so soon? It¡¯s been forever since we had this much fun.

    (Luna) I know, but I promise we could hang out more next week.

    Both of her friends let out a sigh, both looked at each other as they gave her a simple nod.

    Luna¡¯s fiddling stopped as her heels ceased their tapping on the floor. Wiping away her forehead with the palm of her hand, Luna rubbed the back of her head as her fingers caressed the innards of her scalp.

    (Luna) Thanks guys.

    All three girls walked back to where they came from originally, their sneakers continuing to click on the marble floor. Seeing that Luna had her hands on her side, anxiously looking around the shops and stores with her eyes, both girls extended their hands towards her, their bags on the tipping point of falling off.

    (Rachael) Can you carry this Luna?

    (Christi) Please? My arms are getting sore.

    Putting on a reassuring smile, Luna reached out her hands and arms so that the two girls could put their bags on her. Having bags upon bags on her hands and arms, Luna didn¡¯t falter one bit, as they continued walking.

    Because Luna managed to carry all of the girls¡¯s bags, it led to many stares from both men and women alike.

    (Christi) How are you this strong?

    (Rachael) Do you work out? I heard boys don¡¯t date girls that workout.

    (Luna) But I¡¯ve never worked out before¡­

    Having her head down, Luna turned her attention around her as her stomach had butterflies, her body feeling light as the states continued to burden her.

    All three of them noticed that many of the stares were from the many people from the arcade they passed. Both Christi and Rachael noticed that most of the people were more or less males that were their age or lower, and most of them wore glasses and game-printed shirts.

    (Christi) Hahaha ¡­ I guess Luna is popular with nerds.

    (Rachael) If I was popular with nerds, I would cry.

    Luna let out a nervous laugh.

    Both girls turned their faces away from the group of male geeks.

    As for Luna, she continued to look at the gawking group of them, noticing that one of the boys had hair that blocked his eyes. By just barely looking at him, the boy with long bangs looked away as his face was redder than a raspberry.

    Turning her head away, with her face reddened as her cheeks started to warm up from the boy looking away, she put both her hands onto her cheeks.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Those two are so harsh! If I ever had a boyfriend, I would want him to be probably young, maybe with a side bang covering his face¡ª

    The sounds of an alarm can be heard¡­

    (Speaker) Attention! There is a tornado on the ground! Residents are advised to stay indoors and take cover!

    Everyone in the mall stopped as they all had their hands motionless on the ground.

    Perking their ears, everyone had their heads looking at one another as the regular tornado siren swept through the mall alert system.

    (Citizen #1) Tornado? Right now?

    (Citizen #2) It''s sunnier than it was yesterday. How can there be a tornado?

    (Citizen #3) The weather said it¡¯s supposed to be clear skies until next week.

    With everyone in a blitz of emotions, Luna and her friends looked around to see everyone confused and shocked, as many people slowly started to scatter away from the mall. Looking up at the mall window up top, they saw nothing but the sun raining down its bright rays at them.

    (Christi) Luna¡¯s right, we should leave.

    (Rachael) Yeah, things are getting freaky here.

    The three girls started to walk faster, their sneakers kissing the marble floor more as the squeaking intensified, their eyes peering all around the shops and many confused people as they tried to find the familiar set of doors.

    Luna, looking at her surroundings, memorized the layout of the mall as she pointed to the right of her, shyly gesturing to a small set of doors.

    With the two girls noticing the doors, Luna cleared her throat as she casually rubbed her head despite having many bags wrapped around her arms¡ª

    An explosion rocked the massive mall, the center of the explosion being near where the three girls were.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 81: Luna Guerra (2)

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) W-W-What happened ¡­

    Bags and debris scoured a blanket on top of her, with the heavy stone and wood encapsulating her as it put pressure on the poor schoolgirl.

    Tinnitus rang inside of her ears, followed by her body unable to move due to the blast numbing all her arms and legs, Luna grudgingly laid her chin on the stone debris.

    Her eyes barely kept her awake, her lungs breathing in the cement particles that were in front of her, she slowly lifted her head out of the debris.

    As a shield of bags safely wrapped around her waist and stomach.

    (Luna) Christi? ¡­ Rachel?

    Using whatever strength she had to move her arms and legs, the abnormality of her muscles managed to expand as she steadily had both feet on the debris. Her hands lifting the surprisingly light debris of wood that was blanketing her, she used whatever strength she had to push it off, the wood being thrown a couple of feet away.

    Her body wobbling, she looked around to see that her friends were nowhere to be found, followed by the absolute panic and chaos of what lay in front of her.

    Her ears slowly began to pick up the sounds of the crowd leaving the mall in a panic.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Did they leave without me¡ª

    Taking a single step forward, Luna¡¯s foot managed to hit a rubbery substance with the tip of her toes.

    Looking down at the ground, she saw a hand, a hand that looked way too familiar¡­

    Tracing the hand, it was attached to an arm, to a body¡­

    That was completely crushed by a much heavier load of debris.

    (Luna) Christi ¡­

    Luna took many steps back as her chest started to upheave frantically, her breath not faltering one bit as she put a hand towards her right breast.

    Turning her head towards the exit door, she let go of the bags that shielded her and pushed her legs off the¡ª

    Luna tripped onto something rubbery again.

    Falling on all fours, her knees and hands landed on the sharp debris pinching into her smooth palms.

    Turning her head to the left, she looked at the foot that tripped her.

    (Luna) Rachael¡­

    Leaning herself like a chair, she landed on her bottom, feeling the presence of dozens of stabbing pins poking directly at her bottom. Ignoring the jolt of pain, Luna continued to place her smooth palms on the stone debris that supported her, her fingers digging the rocks and pebbles from underneath.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) What is going on¡­ Why is this ¡­

    Unable to move her body, Luna kept her entire body stuck to the debris. With her own eyes, many men, women, and children ran as they tumbled each other for a way out, hearing their screams clearer as they pushed each other to get out the main set of doors.

    But in front of her, her eyes start to catch a whiff of a silhouette running towards her, her eyes blurry and disoriented for a split second. Swaying her head repeatedly, she saw in front of her a boy running towards her.

    The boy looked to be an older middle schooler, having long bangs that covered his eyes as he made his way towards the tanned beauty.

    (Middle School Boy) Hey! Hey!

    Luna¡¯s body spiked up as she heard the boy¡¯s voice, her eyes attending to the scrawny black-haired boy who was a few years younger than her. Her face flustering at the sound of the boy¡¯s voice, the boy extended both of his hands outwards towards Luna¡¯s right hand, tugging her with all of his strength.

    (Middle School Boy) You have to get up!

    Her face was still on the verge of tears, her eyes noticed the boy¡¯s eyes slightly, his eyelids being monolid rather than double lid. Allowing herself to be taken in by the young boy, her feet barely were able to hold herself up, as she used the boy¡¯s shoulders to get her up.

    Looking at her friend¡¯s dead body, she noticed that her purse was lying right next to the stone debris, her eyes darkening as she slowly walked toward her dead friend.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I-I¡¯m sorry ¡­

    Slowly walking towards the corpse, she crouched down and grabbed the purse with her right hand, opening it with her left. Looking through the object''s heavy purse, she quickly noticed the car keys on the side of the purse and pulled them out as her left hand started to tremble.

    The middle school boy tugged her shoulder with both of his hands, having puppy dog eyes as his face was close to hers.

    (Middle School Boy) We have to go.

    Looking away from his face, Luna¡¯s face flustered hard as she continued to grab both her friend¡¯s purse and her keys, a couple of tears rolling down from both of her eyes. Putting the purse and keys on her left hand, she extended her right hand timidly, looking down to the side as her hand started to shake.

    The middle school boy, despite having his eyes hidden underneath his bangs, gulped loudly as he saw the tanned beauty¡¯s face.

    (Luna) Help me get out of here.

    Grabbing the helm of Luna¡¯s hand, the boy managed to drag her out towards where they saw an emergency exit near their location. Seeing that nobody was using it, the two of them ran towards the exit as their shoes continued to culminate in dust and grime.

    Exiting through the exit door, they noticed that the outside of the mall was¡­

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Just what is going on¡­

    Many fires and smoke ravaged the small city, the shrieks and yells coming from mostly towards downtown where most of the yells were.

    Looking at Christi¡¯s car, Luna pointed with her left hand toward it, and the middle school boy gave a nod as he dragged her toward it.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Salemonath 28, 56 / 3:45PM)

    (Luna) Want me to take you to your parent¡¯s house?

    (Middle School Boy) They¡¯re gone for the weekend. I¡¯ll just stick with you, you look strong.

    Driving through the crowded streets of their home city, both Luna and the boy look around to see many people on the sidewalks sprinting. Their luggage is carried with them to their cars, their savings, memories, and anything that they could savage as they flee from the city.

    With smoke rising from many of the small buildings downtown, Luna had her eyes pushed up as her breathing went hot.

    Her hands gripped the wheel with excessive force, her anxiety causing her to use her left foot to tap the floor of the car repeatedly.

    The middle school boy who was riding in the passenger turned towards Luna, his body hunching back as he tilted his head.

    (Middle School Boy) You don¡¯t look good.

    (Luna) I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m not good at situations like these. Or rather any of this in general.

    (Middle School Boy) For a strong girl, you¡¯re pretty naive. I thought you would be the delinquent type.

    (Luna) I get that a lot¡­

    Luna felt her breath relax a bit as she continued to push her right foot on the gas pedal, speeding her way towards her house.

    Scratching his cheek, the boy continued to stare at Luna, his eyes digging into the depths of her soul as she started to fluster softly. Extending his left hand, he put it onto her right shoulder, letting out a warm smile with his monolid eyes barely showing.

    (Middle School Boy) And you have a good heart. Most girls like you don¡¯t interact with a lot of boys like me.

    (Luna) I just ¡­ whenever I and my friends would talk to one another about boys, they all would downplay or make fun of me.

    (Middle School Boy) Then why do you hang out with them?

    (Luna) They¡¯re the only people that wanted to hang out with me, so I just stuck to them.

    Luna started to dig into the black leather wheel as her eyes began to instinctively twitch, yet continuing to slightly smile with her cheeks pushed up.

    The boy noticed this slight behavior, he slightly moved himself a little to the right as he let out a huge gulping sound from his throat. Looking out towards the many houses, the boy noticed that there was a huge fire sprouting out to the right of them.

    (Middle School Boy) That¡¯s one big fire¡­

    Luna turned her head slightly to the right to see the huge fire, and upon seeing it with her own eyes¡­

    Her eyes widened as her breath was caught in her throat, her mouth opening as she was completely focused on the huge house fire.

    (Luna) That¡¯s¡­

    The boy turned his head to see that Luna¡¯s eyes began to water, her breath slowing down as he began to tighten his grip on her shoulder. His voice quivering inside of his throat, he let out a droplet of sweat onto his scrawny thigh.

    As Luna¡¯s smile started to turn into a frown.

    (Luna) That¡¯s the area where my house is.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Salemonath 28, 56 / 3:52PM)

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) No¡­

    Parking right in front of her house, her head was already turned to the left.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) No ¡­ no, no¡­

    Seeing with her widened eyes the spectacle of her own house being completely leveled to the ground, with the wood being burnt or charred by a fire, Luna did nothing but stare.

    Putting her left hand on the handle of the car, the car door opened wide, putting her left foot on the pavement as she got herself out. Followed by the middle school boy, his body started to tremble as he had his arms motionless on the ground.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) They¡¯re still alive.

    Seeing that Luna continued to stare and open her mouth without moving her tongue, he remained in the back of her as he noticed that she held her friend¡¯s purse with an iron grip.

    Walking slowly across the street, she made it across as she was right in front of her house, the house holding many cherished memories as a teardrop rolled along her left cheek. Her feet pushing her body forward, she walked along the porch as her hands remained still to her thighs, her stomach churning and growling and her brain pounding her skull.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) They¡¯re still alive. I know they¡¯re alive.

    Being in front of the door that wasn¡¯t there, Luna entered the hallway, the same hallway that she entered through yesterday.

    Her nostrils flaring up, she noticed a particular smell that she wasn¡¯t at all familiar with, the smell molesting her nose tenfold.

    Tracing the burnt and sort of see-through walls of the house, she walked through the used-to-be kitchen as she saw right in front of her eyes¡ª

    A big man lying on the floor covered in his blood, his hand wielding a crowbar.

    As a ginger-haired man wielded two chainsawed swords, the blades were covered in crimson blood.

    Putting both of her hands onto her mouth, she quickly collapsed onto the burnt floor beneath her, the sudden push of her bottom denting the unstable wood beneath her. Tears overflowing from both ends of her eyes, she began to gasp for air.

    With the middle school boy walking up from behind, he noticed that the big muscular man had his body split open like the letter X, blood and organs such as his lungs and intestines pouring out of him.

    The chainsaw-wielding man turned his head towards the two of them, staring at them both as he continued to wield his chainsaw swords.

    (Kenichi) They didn¡¯t give me a choice.

    They?

    The ginger-haired man darkened his face as he lowered his chainsaw swords to the ground, not having an inch of fighting spirit towards the two kids.

    Turning his direction to his right, his eyes glanced upon a woman wearing all white. The woman had on a white cap, a white tuxedo suit, white khaki pants, white dress shoes, and a facial mask that covered her face.

    The woman in all white turned her head towards the ginger-haired man, his face sharpening at her as his voice started to jump.

    (Kenichi) What did you do to the four boys¡­

    (???) Hmm ¡­

    Turning her head towards the two kids, staring at them, the woman tilted her head at them as she put her right hand onto her cheek, mostly looking at the middle school boy. Flinching at the sight of the woman staring at him, the boy went behind Luna, having both of his hands on her shoulders.

    As Luna had her hands on the burnt wooden floor as she continued to weep, the woman in all white, despite having a facial mask, lifted a devilish smile as the mask was pushed up.

    (???) For that tall boy and that jock, they¡¯re ready to be shipped alive and breathing to the archipelago. As for the short one, he was too noisy so I just killed him.

    Luna stood up, her heels digging into the unstable wooden ground beneath her.

    Glaring into the masked woman¡¯s face, Luna had her entire body still as her vision started to get foggy¡­

    (???) Awww ¡­ you feeling sad? Scared? Don¡¯t worry, I only just killed one, the rest are going to be serving for The Reaper now.

    (Kenichi) What about that young geeky boy? At least let him off the hook¡­

    The woman slowly walked towards the ginger-haired man, having her hands on her hips as she swayed them lustfully, causing the boy to look away. The ginger-haired man though only stared right at her masked face, keeping his composure as he took a step back.

    Suddenly, the woman kicked him with her right foot, the tips of her boot stabbing the left side of his stomach.

    The force of her kick sent him back a couple of feet, it landed him towards the back end of the kitchen wall, the burnt-up unstable wall falling with him in tow. Putting her leg back into place, she put both hands down to her sides as she hunched her body forward, her breath coming in rapid pants.

    (???) You don¡¯t have a say in what I can or can not do! Learn your place, you old piece of shit!

    She turned her masked face towards the two kids, mostly staring at the middle school boy who was now clinging to Luna¡¯s body. Seeing that Luna didn¡¯t move a muscle or inch, the woman in white reached her hand towards the boy, her fingertips about to latch onto the boy¡¯s pale face until¡ª

    A hand reached out towards the woman¡¯s wrist, her head turning in the direction of the eyes of a girl who had a twitching smile.

    (Luna) What did you do ¡­ to the youngest boy ¡­

    The helm of her hand gripping her wrist, Luna continued to let out many rolling tears on her face, with her smile weakening at the sight of the woman¡¯s all-masked face.

    Tilting her head to the right of her, the woman clad in white let out a small chuckle, a sigh escaping from her mouth.

    (???) He¡¯s too cute to be serving The Reaper, so I dub him my toy, if you know what I mean~

    Luna bent down as she stared at the floor, letting her hand go from the woman¡¯s wrist.

    As her knees sharply bent, Luna¡¯s hands started to enclose into tightened fists, her teeth biting the inside of her cheek.

    Blood spurring onto the wood, her chest heaved in an animal-like tone, her breathing rapid and savage as her knuckles started to nearly break under the immense pressure.

    The middle school boy stepped away from the panting Luna, looking towards the barely getting-up ginger-haired man. Upon seeing the man, the man pushed both buttons on each metal, leading to him revving up the chainsawed swords.

    Looking upwards, the woman clad in white slowly walked away as she went off, going through a door that led to the backdoor.

    Leaving Luna to look at the ginger-haired man, her fists clenched as her knuckles started to split open from the pressure she put on them.

    Taking a step back, the ginger-haired man wielded both his swords, awaiting anything for what the tanned teenage girl may¡ª

    (Luna) AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

    A high piercing shriek, etched across the house¡¯s horizon.

    Ignoring the middle school boy, ignoring the threat that was about to come, she found a crowbar that lay beside her father¡¯s corpse. Grabbing it with her right hand, she lunged herself forward off of the burnt wood.

    (Luna) I¡¯M GOING TO KILL YOU!!

    The normal school girl that she put a mask on, quickly faltered in the blink of an eye.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 82: Farewell Guerra

    (Armin) Hey Luna! Can I show you the book now!?

    (Luna) Ok, ok. I think I finished most of my homework for today.

    Sitting on a wooden chair, her back hunched forward as she still held a wooden pencil with her right hand.

    Around her room were nothing but boy band posters that had all of the band¡¯s album covers and posters, with most of them being human bands rather than beast-human ones. Music CDs and cassette tapes littering around the corners of her pink room, there was also her own bed that didn¡¯t foresee that much care in terms of being well groomed.

    Since Amrin took note of the dirt that accumulated on her blanket that had a tiger on it.

    (Armin) Hey uh ¡­ w-when was the last time you cleaned your room¡­?

    (Luna) Oh, about a couple of months ago. I know, I¡¯ll clean it after we get back from the lake.

    (Armin) Okay ¡­

    Walking inside of his older sister¡¯s bedroom, he placed himself on the edge of the unkempt bed, flinging his legs back and forth as his heels tapped the wood that blocked his feet from digging further.

    As for Luna, she quickly stood up and pushed her wooden chair into the wooden desk that had some splinters sticking out like pop rocks. Sitting right beside him, she continued to smile warmly at him as he then opened up the book that he longed for her to see.

    (Armin) It¡¯s about the ocean, or the sea.

    (Luna) Ocean? Curious about the ocean?

    (Armin) Yeah ¡­ sometime in the future, I want to explore the sea, no matter what type of ship I get on¡­

    Luna clasped both of her hands together as she let out a soft hum from the contents of her throat.

    Scooting ever closer, she had her right side touching his left, her body relaxing as she never wanted this feeling to end. Unclasping both of her hands, she bundled him up with her long arms around her upper back, bringing him into a warm and loving hug.

    (Luna) Remember that you have a family to keep track of right? Especially me and your dad, and even Daniel.

    (Armin) But ¡­ What about you?

    Luna¡¯s entire body froze up.

    As the reality before her soon dwindled and churned into something that was far beyond the truth of what is real.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Kalemonath 2, 56 / 9:03AM)

    A couple of days later.

    Her smell, her taste, her hearing, her vision, her touch; she could feel them returning to life. But at the same time, she felt as if her mind was in a bubble.

    Flinching her body upwards, with her bottom sitting on a normal hospital bed, she looked around the white clean room, her eyes glaring at her surroundings.

    She looked down towards her own body.

    Her hands had many blisters and bruises on her palms and knuckles, followed by her forearms having many white strips of bandages laced onto one another. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man in a black leather jacket sitting on a chair.

    The man had a brown cowboy hat on, followed by little facial hair underneath his chin and some wrinkles laced on his forehead.

    (???) Are you doing ok? Are you hungry? Thirsty?

    (Luna) They were just here.

    Luna¡¯s voice came out as a whisper.

    (Luna) Dad made dinner, like always. Jacob and Lewis fought again, but that¡¯s okay. They¡¯re kids.

    Her blistered hands started grabbing the hospital bed sheets as her vision became blurry.

    (Luna) And I¡¯d stop Daniel from bothering Armin, because Armin¡­Armin¡­

    She tried taking a deep breath before failing to do so.

    (Luna) W-we were supposed to meet together¡­a-and I didn¡¯t make it in time¡­

    Unable to contain herself any longer, the tears began rolling down her cheeks. Her body shook with sobs.

    Walking towards the crying girl, the man used his right hand to dig into his right pocket. Pulling out the object, he showcased it to Luna, her eyes gazing up at the creamy dessert.

    (???) I don¡¯t know if you like donut holes. If you don¡¯t like them, then I¡¯ll¡ª

    (Luna) Please¡­

    Tossing the donut hole towards the teenage girl, Luna brought out her hands as the mini donut landed into her palms. Bringing the donut to her mouth, she ate it in one bite, swallowing it whole as she wiped away a couple of saliva from the corners of her mouth.

    The man folded his arms as he continued to stare at Luna, letting out an exhale of air from out of his lungs.

    (???) I don¡¯t know how you survived, but you did. Have you ever fought before?

    (Luna) sniffs N-No¡­ I never lifted a weight¡­

    (???) Hmm ¡­

    (Luna) My dad was a boxer though ¡­ until he had me ¡­

    (???) And your mom?

    Luna waved her hand.

    (Luna) She died in a car crash nine years ago. She wasn¡¯t the best mom from what my dad told me¡­

    The man made his way back towards his seat, putting his cowboy hat back on as he sat down. Swiping away a little strand of his hair that almost got into his eyelid, the man started to cusp his hands as he straightened his back, clearing his throat with a huge swallow.

    He continued to look towards the tanned girl, with her face glued to the man¡¯s dark eyebags that were under his eyes.

    (???) I¡¯m with a special forces agency, and my colleagues and I are looking for boys and girls to train to be elite soldiers.

    Luna widened her eyes as she slowly slouched her body towards him, placing her hands on her thighs as they started to tremble.

    The man¡¯s hands started to shake, his fingers trembling as he continued to speak.

    (???) To be an elite soldier, there are three golden rules. Strength, will, and mental stability. You need to be strong, you need to have an iron will, and you need to be sane enough to push on through.

    Luna looked down onto her own bruised hands. Clenching her fists twice, she saw veins already etching in between her fingers.

    (???) Even though you have strength, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re mentally stable from what I can see.

    (Luna) What¡­Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The cowboy hat man pushed down his eyes as he continued to look at her, both his feet pulling back towards his body as he remained sitting on the chair. Putting his hand toward his prickly chin, he kept rubbing it. A single droplet of sweat feel from his chin onto the white latex floor.

    (???) You flinched upwards, which meant your mind was already in flight or fight mode. You glared all around your surroundings until you saw me. Any normal person would flinch and then try to control their breathing first before assessing the situation.

    Luna let out a weak smile from her face, her smile twitching downwards as the corners of her lips started to fight itself to go downward. Her cheeks and forehead already turning red, followed by her nostrils flaring up, she still had that begging face as she had both her hands on the edge of the bed.

    Her voice caught in her throat, and she quietly spoke as a vein sprouted from the little corner of her forehead.

    (Luna) W-W-What are you trying to say?

    (David) You¡¯re not qualified to join, you probably have anger issues that could lead us to dangerous situations.

    Luna instantly jumped out of the bed as her bare feet landed on the cold white marble floor, wincing at the jolts of pain throughout her body. She clenched her fists with her knuckles sticking out like sore thumbs.

    (Luna) I want to fight¡­

    The man looked away as the girl started to tighten her body, his eyes glued to the white marbled floor as his hands started to uncontrollably shake. Hunching his back forward, he ignored the movements of Luna¡¯s twitching body.

    (???) You¡¯re not going to fight, you¡¯re not ready¡ª

    (Luna) I want to fight.

    Luna started to glare towards the man, her eyes sharpening as her feet dug themselves onto the frictionless floor. Biting her lip, blood started to slowly form on the corner of her right lip, her teeth grinding onto one another as her stomach clenched to showcase her skinny stomach.

    Standing up, he turned his head back towards Luna, his eyes sharpening at her as he put his hands in his pockets.

    (???) For the last time, you¡¯re not¡ª

    A small wooden chair was thrown towards a wall, the chair breaking apart with ease as the culprit of the thrower¡­

    Started to fast walk towards the man, her enclosed fists motionless as she thumped with each step. Upon standing right in front of him, Luna put her right hand onto his collar, bringing the man¡¯s face close as she yelled right at his face.

    (Luna) I want to fight!

    Staring at the teenage girl with both his glaring eyes, he put his right hand onto her shoulder, gripping the white patient uniform as he pushed her back a step.

    (???) Can you promise me one thing?

    Luna continued to have a death grip on the man¡¯s collar, her eyes making a total focus on the man¡¯s face as blood started to drip onto the white-marbled floor. Seeing his face pushed down, he let out an exhale of another set of air, his eyes softening towards the girl that reminded her of someone¡­

    (???) I¡¯ll allow you if you promise me you won¡¯t die.

    (Luna) I won¡¯t! I¡¯m not dying! Not yet¡ª

    (???) I don¡¯t want a not yet, I want just three words coming out of your mouth, not seven.

    Letting go of the man¡¯s collar, Luna took many steps back as she continued to glare at him, her eyes unwavering as red tear stains remained on her cheeks. Swallowing her saliva with one big gulp, she then folded her arms, tilting her head as she made a cold frown.

    (Luna) Sure old man. I won''t die.

    (???) Good, and don¡¯t call me old man.

    (Luna) Why? You look like you¡¯re¡ª

    In an instant, the man grabbed the lower end of her right ear, making Luna bend down from the annoying pain. Her hands reaching towards the ends of his face, she tried to grab a hold of his face but his long arms were able to keep him from harm¡¯s way.

    (???) The name¡¯s David, not old man.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:12PM)

    (On the 55th Floor)

    (Luna)

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Can I fight him?!

    The woman continued to grovel under the weight of pain that she endured, her arms and legs on the verge of collapsing onto herself as her vision blurred from the sight in front of her.

    Having both of her hands occupied by two swords that she held firm, her breathing thinned more as her heart felt like it might explode out of her chest. Her feet struggled to maintain stability. Gradually lifting the swords in front of her, she clenched her teeth shut as blood started to trickle down to her left eye.

    (Kenichi) You look like you¡¯re going to faint.

    Kenichi walked evermore slowly towards the struggling Luna, his thundering step creaking the marble floor from underneath him. Placing the two chainsawed swords that were in midair in front of him, it made it seem as if he was wielding four arms as if two arms were invisible¡­

    Now being several feet in front of the woman, Kenichi made a lunging position as he spread both of his swords outward, all tips of the blades pointing away from Luna. Gripping the marble floor tightly, his eyes peering at his target, he slowed his breath, and steadied his chest.

    And lunged with an absurd intensity, his heel making the marble crack as he barreled the air toward the unfortunate tanned woman.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Am I going to die? Is this the end?

    The blades of all four chainsaws were on the verge of reaching toward her neck, chest, torso, and knees; the bits of fabric of her jacket and pants felt the tingling sensation of the chains.

    Closing her eyes again, she had her swords motionless to her sides as her right eye was coated with dripping blood from the back of her head.

    She vanished into thin air.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) She teleported again huh?

    Turning around to see that she was on the opposite end of the room, Kenichi tightened his grip on all four swords, creaking the metal with his fingertips.

    Looking at his right side where his chainsawed sword was in midair, he quickly replaced that sword with the sword in his right hand. Turning his eyes on the woman letting blood flow from her mouth, Kenichi wiped his nose with his right sleeve, blood starting to come out as beads of sweat rolled down his temples.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) I want to make this quick. Don¡¯t know how long this shot will keep me pumped.

    Going into a lunging stance again, Kenichi jumped towards the air as he prepared to hit another strike at the defenseless woman, the air around the blades being cut.

    Her vision saw two to three figures of the same person, Luna shut her eyes as her right leg went numb, causing her to collapse as she put most of her weight on her left leg. Still having her hands and arms in front of her, she wielded them in front as she again vanished with her blessing.

    But this time¡­

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s going to teleport right there.

    Gripping the chainsaw sword in an iron grip, Kenichi then pulled back his arm as he caught the whiff of a woman teleporting to the left of her, her body in front of the elevator door.

    With a quick thrust, Kenichi threw the sword right towards where the woman stood, her eyes barely able to see the incoming weapon lodging right at her. Unable to dodge in time, the only thing that she could do at that moment was¡­

    Vanish again.

    (Kenichi) I¡¯m starting to know a pattern about your teleportations.

    As the chainsawed sword managed to lodge itself onto the metal of the elevator, Kenichi turned his head the opposite way toward Luna who began to vomit out blood, her legs collapsing onto herself. On her knees, she put the palms of her hands on the marble floor, her elbows barely holding her body weight.

    The same thing as before, Kenichi then replaced his chainsaw sword that was in midair with his original left-handed sword.

    (Kenichi) You always have to teleport in the direction you¡¯re facing.

    Pulling his left arm back, he did a little twirl to the sword and he then threw it straight towards her face.

    Unable to get up in time, Luna¡¯s entire body began to crumble as she started to vomit out even more blood from her body, her throat burning from the sticky red liquid.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Please ¡­ just ¡­

    Teleporting yet again, Kenichi saw the gust of windfall upon him again, causing him to turn his head towards the back of him. Hearing the chainsaw sword hitting the glass, he glanced at the sword tumbling over, making the glass the winner of the fight despite it starting to creak.

    But he had something holding him down.

    Looking down, his right ankle felt the presence of a cold and shivering hand clinging onto him, causing him to take a step back. Seeing that Luna had her grip lost, as well as having her left sword being held with her hand, Luna tiredly glared at him, her eyes sharpening yet pushed down weirdly.

    (Luna) Why ¡­ pants ¡­ did you have ¡­ pants ¡­ to kill my dad¡­

    Kenichi let out a small frown as the corners of his lips created an upside-down U, his face looking the other way as his face slightly darkened.

    Pushing the buttons off of two of his dual-wielding chainsaws, he waited for the chainsaws to stop rotating, the blades of them being dull and rusted. Putting them back into the back of his jacket, he also took note of the two swords that were thrown into different places.

    Kenichi had a surge of relief as his body relaxed, the air around him loosening like an anvil was let free from his back.

    (Kenichi) I didn¡¯t have a choice. The woman who wanted me to do it saw ¡°good¡± things from your brothers. Even I thought it was horrible what she did.

    Luna continued to stare into the cold eyes of Kenichi, her face sweltering a bit with tears as her stomach and chest clenched itself shut. Letting go of her left sword that was in her palm, she slowly put it towards the same ankle she was holding on to, gritting her teeth as more blood came pouring out of her mouth.

    Pushing his face down, he didn¡¯t budge his right ankle as he put his hands into his pants pocket, letting out a sigh.

    (Kenichi) You want to kill me. You want to take my head and make it into a pinata. I could understand what you¡¯re getting at.

    Crouching down to where his face was right where he was at eye level, he put his left hand onto the top of her head. Gripping her scalp with his fingertips, he slowly lifted it, their faces a couple of inches apart from each other.

    Her face was smeared with blood all around her mouth, followed by the stench of body odor ruminating across her body.

    (Kenichi) But from where I stand, you¡¯re the one that dug your path. If you just stayed back and didn¡¯t let your anger get the better of you, you could¡¯ve still kept on living.

    Her eyes barely saw the figure in front of her, she tried to nudge her head, but it was no use, as the only body part that she could barely move was being held in place. Her feet dangling into place, she slowly tried to lodge her feet onto his stomach, but even her legs started to go numb.

    Turning his head towards the front of the room, he saw the dented and cracked window that started to leak air into the room.

    (Kenichi) And unfortunately, I¡¯m afraid I have no choice.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s the story really. Me having no choices¡­

    Walking towards the front window, he continued to grasp Luna¡¯s head high as he held her until he got to the front, smelling the leaking ash and smoke through the cracks. He placed his right foot on the window slowly, feeling the cold air.

    In a simple kick, he thrusted his heel right towards the center of the window, the glass shattering instantly as the shards fell 50 floors below. Pulling his leg back, he quickly started to cough as the smoke instantly crept into the room.

    (Kenichi) I¡¯ll give you a quick and painless death. Sounds better than being sliced up. I hope you can understand.

    Having his feet on the edge of the tower¡¯s window, the ash got into both of their eyes quickly, causing Kenichi to squint and arch his head back. Extending his left arm so that Luna was in the air, not being able to see the ground beneath her, he quickly covered his nose.

    His eyes softened at the barely awake woman, noticing that she didn¡¯t have her swords on her holsters, as both of them were right in the center of the room.

    (Kenichi) I¡¯ll give you a token for the afterlife. A dedication for your harsh training and tribulation.

    Closing his eyes, a good amount of blood rushed out of his nose as he started to quicken his breath.

    Unrealistically, the two swords that were in the center of the room were being uplifted by an invisible force, the same force used during his final fight with her. The two twin-bladed, double-edged swords being placed into the holster as his final act of appreciation, the man¡ª

    Let out a single tear roll down his right cheek.

    (Kenichi) Farewell, Guerra.

    Letting go of the top of her head, gravity motioned her body to fall into the abyss, unable to see her body being dragged down by gravity.

    Pulling back his arm, he slowly walked to get his swords, while keeping his close eye on the elevator doors.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) She reminds me of a girl I knew of ¡­ I just don¡¯t remember the name¡­ or anyone from what I recall¡­ but I feel like¡­ nah ¡­ I should reach towards the Boss.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 83: Home

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) So I guess this is it¡­

    Feeling the air around her fasten under her shutting eyes, the back of her leather jacket rippled through the air of dense smoke and ash.

    She was falling as if she was rejected by heaven itself, her body shutting down as her eyes started to lose their sense of vision. Not being able to move her head or eyes, the only thing that she could do was¡­

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I couldn¡¯t even avenge my own family¡­

    Losing her vision, she soon quickly started to lose her sense of touch. As her hearing continued to take in reverberations of words or thoughts, the only thing that she could listen through was the violent winds that reminded her of her imminent doom.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Luke¡­I wish I could have apologized. I was so stupid¡­

    In the void of what lay between nothing and nothingness, she felt nothing as her heart and mind were at peace.

    Her body felt nothing, she couldn¡¯t move, and her mind was nothing but filled with thoughts of the one man that played through her memories.

    Her hand stretched out towards the void of darkness, her fingers stretching as far as she could go, the only person that she truly didn¡¯t want to leave behind, the person that she didn¡¯t want to lose¡­

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m sorry.

    But her body felt something.

    As if she was being carried in the pitch-black void of nothing.

    Despite not waking up, she felt the rippled air that pinched her back and neck stop, feeling her body being humid as she was then laid onto something soft.

    But there was nothing.

    Being unable to open her eyes, she couldn¡¯t tell what was going on, her thoughts that were running through her mind ceasing as her senses started to slowly form.

    Until she felt a glowing yellowish light going through her chest.

    The light was not visible in the pit of nothing, seeing the light as her eyes slowly opened up to the pitch-black void that held this light. Her hearing was fully restored, her smell coming back, her taste back to normal, the void of nothing that Luna was starting to settle into¡­

    Was now replaced with reality.

    (Gwen) There you are!

    Her entire body flinched upward, her sharp eyes glared all around her as she took in four men standing near her, followed by a woman holding her hand onto her chest.

    Her breathing slowed down from the sudden push of her core, she laid her legs and arms motionless on the ground, unable to look towards the others that were looking at her. Her face looking downwards to her legs and feet, she soullessly stared into the abyss, her eyes tired as eye bags were ever present on her face.

    (Gwen) What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t like me rescuing you? Well, you did want me to get my stuff together, so take it as is.

    One of the men, the one with light brown hair, slowly walked in front of the man as he crouched down to the right side of her. Putting his right hand onto the helm of her right shoulder, he gently caressed the black leather of her jacket, his smooth and youthful palms in a state of relaxation and tranquility.

    Which caused Luna to widen her eyes, continuing to stare blindly into the wall.

    With his left hand and arm, he wrapped it around the nape of her neck, having his entire gentle face looking towards Luna.

    (Luke) You¡¯ve been training for him this entire time, so ¡­

    Luna slowly turned her head towards the warm face, her eyes and face in full shock as her mouth slowly gaped at him.

    (Luke) Get rest.

    With quivering lips, she instantly wrapped her arms around the young man¡¯s body.

    Nuzzling her face onto his slim muscular chest, her entire body shook.

    Luke returned the tightened hug as he also wrapped his arms gently around her. He paid no mind to a part of his shirt becoming damp. He put his hand on top of her head, caressing the top of her hair gently.

    (Luke) It¡¯s ok ¡­ you¡¯re safe ¡­

    Jack, Miles, and Stan walked towards where Luna was sulking, looking down as they all started to crouch down all around her. Extending their arms outward, they placed their hands outwards, feeling the black leather of her jacket still in one piece as they all lit up calm and warm smiles.

    Gwen, the only one standing up, bent down so that she could place her right hand to pat her head, caressing the strands of her hair with her fingernails.

    Turning her face upwards towards the skinny yet muscular man who was four years younger than her, she made eye contact as her world started to slow down.

    Both of their eyes saw each other in their reflection.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I just ¡­ want to ¡­

    Slowly, she leaned her face closer toward his, causing Luke to remain frozen in place.

    Luna moved her right hand towards his cheek, closing her eyes as her face softened. Placing her right hand onto the side of his neck, she tilted her head to get a better angle, her entire body feeling hot and sultry.

    Inching away from his face, she slightly opened her mouth, her lips moistening to the nervous breaths and pants coming from the shy boy in front of him.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Please God ¡­ let me grant me this one wish¡­

    (Gwen) Alright, it¡¯s time to leave this heep!

    Smacking both of Luke and Luna¡¯s heads playfully, their heads turned slightly red from the playful smack, causing both of them to rub their heads.

    Luke snapped out of the trance as he turned away from everyone, his eyes staring at the ground as he covered his hands with his eyes. The three other men, having cheeky smiles and giggles, started to swarm around Luke as they all playfully tossed him around like a lucky winner at the jackpot.

    (Luna) sniff You piece of shit ¡­sniff  I¡¯ll kill you.

    Luna covered her red face with her hands, her eyes dampening her coarse and blooded hands with salted tears. Gwen, who knew Luna¡¯s words had no malice behind them, began patting her head as she lit up a warm smile.

    (Gwen) You did good.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:32PM)

    (Luke) Y-You know you don¡¯t have to always sit beside me.

    Luna didn¡¯t reply, as she put an arm around Luke¡¯s neck.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    (Luke) sighs ¡­ okay.

    After exiting out of the Zirardge building, all six of them were in the same brown van that Jack used during the Harold and Ryan attack. All of them were completely spent and exhausted, the only one that didn¡¯t catch a break was Jack, who drove along the darkened highway as he gripped the steering wheel tightly with his fingers.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Because I can¡¯t do much even in mid-range, I¡¯m a chauffeur to these bozos. Man, I just wanted to relax with a beer in my hand¡­

    To the right of him was Gwen, who carried a black radio box set with both of her callused hands.

    Side glancing at her, he kept his eyes on the road, his mouth pointing to the direction of Gwen as his right foot was on the gas pedal.

    (Jack) We should call the others to check up on them.

    (Gwen) Before I do, there¡¯s something I want to check up on.

    Turning her head toward the back of the van, she hovered her head in the little hole, seeing Luna looking socially awkward with curled-up lips.

    Wrapping her left arm even tighter than normal, Luna pushed down her face as the corners of her lips made an arched upside-down U. Turning her head towards the light-haired young man who laid his head back on the van metal, his eyes let themselves flicker.

    Gwen, seeing the little sight of both Luna and Luke in the back of her, let out a mischievous smile as she started to giggle softly, having her hand a couple of inches in front of her mouth.

    Putting her right hand inside of her leather jacket, she took out a black walkie-talkie.

    Pushing a couple of buttons on the front end of the device, she started to turn the dials on the top of the talkie, the homemade device letting out an ear-piercing static. In almost an instant, the sound was gone, leaving behind her with a slight case of static as the little antenna was up high.

    Straightening her back, as well as clearing her throat, she placed the walkie-talkie in front of her mouth as she looked towards the front of her.

    (Gwen) GOOOOOOOOD NIIIIIIGGGHHHTTTTTTT LAAAAAGEEEEFOOOORRRR!!!!!

    Startling all of the men and one woman inside of the van, all looked towards Gwen as she bent down onto the walkie-talkie, pushing her vocals to let out an emitting roar of emotion.

    Not only did it just startle the men and women inside the van, but anyone who wielded a walkie-talkie that was in the plan¡­

    Which led.

    (Everyone that has a walkie-talkie) Gwen! Shut up!

    (Everyone in the van) What was that?!

    (Gwen) Does anyone want to rendezvous in a certain area? Cause¡­

    Gwen then let the corners of her lips reach up to an unprecedented height, her eyes slanting as she put the walkie-talkie millimeters away from her lips.

    (Gwen) I think we deserve ourselves a little rest.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:34PM)

    A barrage of relief swept through the radio channels.

    From the east to the west, to the north and south, many soldiers and elite soldiers alike tumbled to the ground simultaneously.

    From the beast-humans to normal humans alike, they looked towards the sky as their eyes peered at the still lingering ash-covered sky. The orange night sky still beaming down its hellish rays, their eyes sparkled as they put their hands motionless, and their bodies stiffened as their breathing slowed.

    For each individual who was part of the fight to retake the city, some let out a tear, some raised their hands out for victory, and some let out smiles of reassurance and hope.

    (Military complex)

    (Agent Briggs) News coming in that guys fought a bunch of unknown liches and managed to win? Now that¡¯s good news.

    (Fred) Well, those are the Dark Angels for you.

    In front of the main gate that led out of the military complex, was a bunch of truck convoys gathering up soldiers of many kinds.

    The trucks boomed with the sounds of its engines, the metal creaking and rumbling as it emitted black smoke from the outer ends of its rear. Many of the soldiers on board the trucks, sat down as they had their guns near to them, not bothering to grip them as they shut their eyes.

    Fred, Gary, and Diego put their hands in their pockets as they watched the soldiers being filled inside of the many military trucks, as they were standing on top of the cement and asphalt.

    Fred turned his head towards the below-average-height man near him, looking down as he lit up a warm smile. Putting his right hand onto the agent¡¯s left shoulder, the blonde-haired agent turned his head upwards, having his arms folded as he rubbed his chin.

    (Agent Briggs) What?

    (Fred) Thank you.

    (Agent Briggs) For what?

    (Fred) For making use of me. I appreciated that sir.

    Two women came running from behind them.

    Both of their ears perked up from two pairs of footsteps, leading to them turning their heads to see a short woman with glasses and a woman of above-average height with sunglasses.

    One of the women had with her a large radio box, a box that was giving out the screeching sound of static.

    (Agent Ada) We got a transmission from the northern area of downtown.

    (Agent Briggs) Patch it through.

    (Lagefor Industrial Center)

    (David) Where¡¯s Hope, Benn?

    (Benn) She¡¯s in the truck.

    Seeing that Benn had little treatment upon his body as white appendix bandages were strapped on his hands and stomach, David rubbed his chin with his pointer finger.

    Narrowing his eyes, his pupils undialated as they started to shrink, letting a small huff of air out of his lungs.

    (David) Take me to her.

    (Benn) Sure.

    Turning his head back, David made eye contact with two other people. Seeing a man with a bowl-cut haircut with a fedora and a teenage girl with pigtails, he extended his right hand to gesture a hand signal towards them.

    Seeing the hand signal, both the chubby man and scrawny girl jumped up to walk towards the two men walking to one of the military trucks.

    Noticing that one of the trucks held a medic sign logo, his nose let out a trickle of sweat from the top of his large shark nose.

    (David) What happened with your fight with Gemma?

    (Benn) I could say the same thing to Jenny with that little girl.

    David put his hands in his pockets, turning his head the other way as his cheeks softly trembled. His throat jumping up from Benn¡¯s statement, David started to slowly buckle his legs as he moistened his lips.

    (David) I was fighting with Pedro, so I couldn¡¯t handle the little girl with her. Jerry probably must¡¯ve sacrificed himself being a hostage for Jenny to not be killed right away.

    Reaching the front of the truck, David¡¯s hands started to tremble softly as he still had them in his pocket, his straight lips on the verge of making a frown.

    (David) Let¡¯s just get to Hope. She¡¯ll know what to do.

    Pulling his hands from out of his pockets, he put both hands onto the edge of the truck, pushing himself up by himself, same went for Benn. Noticing that Boris and Loraine needed assistance, Benn extended his hand toward Loraine, while David extended him toward Boris.

    Helping them both get up into the truck, the four of them went inside deeper into the back of the military truck, seeing a blond-haired girl holding a plate and a fork.

    (David) Hope, you done recovering?

    Hope had in her right hand a plate filled with just crackers and beef jerky, while carrying a white napkin with her left. Slowly eating the beef jerky as the thin meat swirled and washed around the insides of her mouth, Hope looked up toward David who normally wore his brown cowboy hat.

    (Loraine) sniff sniff ¡­ Yummy!

    (David) You need to heal Jenny now, she¡¯s barely breathing.

    (Hope) Don¡¯t worry. Once I eat my special military meal, I will be able to fully heal Jenny in no time.

    Swallowing her food, she let out a kind smile, the crevices of her lips reaching halfway towards her nose. Seeing that Hope didn¡¯t have many electrical burns splattered across her body, David and the others let out sighs of relief.

    Until¡­

    The walkie-talkie near them was letting out a transmission¡­

    As an ear-pinching shout came from the other end, a woman said three words that caused Hope to drop her plate.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Gwen) So, where should we all rest? Does anyone have any suggestions?

    Inside of a brown van, inside of a military truck, and outside a convoy of trucks¡­

    Everyone who was near a radio box or walkie-talkie flinched as they heard the shout of a cheerful woman.

    (Military Complex)

    (Agent Briggs) Who¡¯s the annoying chick from the other end of the transmission?

    (Agent Ada) Is she a soldier?

    (Agent Eren) Probably some prankster.

    (Spartan Alexandra) She doesn¡¯t sound like a girl.

    (Fred, Gary, and Diego¡¯s thoughts) Damn it, Gwen¡­

    (Industrial complex)

    (David) Hey, keep it down!

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s a sound to sore ears.

    (Loraine) Hehe

    (Northern Highway)

    Gwen, having the walkie-talkie in her hand, listened to the complaints and shouts from both the inside of the van and through the other side. Rubbing the back of her head with her left hand, she used the ends of her fingertips to dig deep into her scalp, her face flushing red.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m fine with being told to shut up, but who called me a prankster!?

    (Agent Briggs) Are you a soldier or not?

    (Gwen) Yes, I am!

    Straightening her back and neck, she let out a childish pout, her cheeks enlarging as she had a barrage of air inside of them. Her face continuing to flush even more red, she soon began cracking the exterior metal of the device in her hand.

    (Gwen) I am the commander of The Dark Angels! Gwen Keegan! Remember that!

    (Agent Briggs) Don¡¯t care. Where should we all rest?

    Gwen continued to pout as she turned her head towards Jack.

    Jack didn¡¯t pay Gwen¡¯s helpful look no mind, his eyes side glancing at the freckled woman. But he squinted his eyes toward the darkened highway, his head lowered down as he tilted his head to the right.

    (Gwen) Jack, This soldier is being mean to me.

    (Jack) Well, just ignore him then.

    (Agent Briggs) Yeah ¡­ definitely a child.

    (Gwen) I am not!

    Putting the walkie-talkie down onto her thigh, her cheeks continued to puff out as her nose began to let out air from her nostrils. Unknowingly, a high pitch static still tormented both her and everyone''s ears in the brown van that they all found a brief solace from.

    (Agent Briggs) Uh hello? Where should we all rest?

    All of them turned their head toward the radio box, they all looked at each other as they kept their mouths enclosed. Jack, who was silent the whole way, turned his head to the right.

    (Jack) How about we all rest at a building we¡¯re all familiar with?

    (Gwen) What building?

    (Jack) Home.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 84: Lazaros Roosevelt

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:02AM)

    The sounds of chains can be heard.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Huh ¡­ what¡­

    His hands didn¡¯t move an inch towards his parched throat, keeping them motionless to the cold flooring.

    His feet and legs didn¡¯t have the inner strength to push himself forward, his calves glued to the dusty floor that he sat down upon.

    His hands and arms barely budged an inch, as if he was glued onto something¡­

    Slowly looking upward, his arms and hands instantly regained their senses, his wrists cold and tightened under a ghostly material that kept him out.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Are ¡­ are these ¡­

    His vision barely able to see what was in front of him, his blurred eyes saw a black metal wrapping around both his wrists. Not only that, but he barely saw a long piece of metal reaching the top of the ceiling, a chain-like metal keeping him contained.

    His barely breathing chest started to tighten under the sharp breaths he took, it started to stab him from the inside, his lungs pushing themselves onto his ribcage.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) What happened¡­

    His legs starting to regain their sense of motion, he quickly put both feet onto the cold floor, his boots plastered and old as he tried to push himself off the ground.

    But he landed on the cold floor again, and his stomach burned him as blood trickled out of his liver region.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Ah! Shit!

    His stomach twisted and churned as the insides of his body started to turn onto each other, lighting up a burning fire inside of his abdomen. Opening his mouth wide, he let out a low monotone groan, clenching his eye shut as his eyelid started to hibernate within his eye socket.

    The pain burning inside of him even more, Jerry arched his body forward, his hands and arms high in the air as the blood from his hands started to numb from the lack of oxygen.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Just where the hell am I?!

    (???) I¡¯ve seen you¡¯ve awakened, Jerry Phillips.

    His head turned frantically to every corner and cranny that he could see.

    The voice itself caused shivers to run down his back, his body completely ignoring the burning pain from his stomach, followed by his face letting droplets of cold sweat run down onto the cold rusty floor.

    (Jerry) W-Who are you!? Show yourself!

    Letting out a shaky yell from his raspy throat, Jerry moved his body so that his back was against the wall, his black leather jacket rubbing the rusted walls of the building.

    His ears didn¡¯t pick up a voice again, the cold and desolate industrial building going dead silent as if an apex predator was nearby¡­

    But then¡ª

    A man with a gray hoodie can be seen in the distance, his hoodie covering his face as he has his hands inside his pockets.

    Widening his eyes on the man, Jerry opened his mouth softly as his breath was caught inside of his throat, his chest stopping the extra air from coming out. The shackles from his hands clanking onto each other, Jerry started to fidget as the hooded man kept walking towards him.

    (???) There¡¯s no need to be scared. This is a normal reaction upon seeing two paths¡­

    The cold chilling voice reverberated the entire building again, the rusted walls and floor loosening its oxidation as bits of rust fell onto Jerry¡¯s hands.

    But there was something off with the hooded man and the cold voice.

    Squinting his eyes towards the hooded figure, Jerry saw a glimpse of his lower face as he noticed the unusual youthfulness of the man¡¯s chin.

    The gray-hooded man then towered over the eyepatch elf shackled in chains, his eyes and upper face covered in the low-hanging hoodie that he wore. His black sneakers were inches away from Jerry¡¯s old and worn-out black boots, the hooded man crouched down to where he could see him eye to eye.

    And by just barely glancing at his face¡­

    He had a youthful one, most likely the same age as Miles.

    (???) Jason, free him. You¡¯re strong enough if he goes berserk, no?

    The voice chilled through the rusty air around him again, Jerry let out a huge gulp as he saw the gray hooded man lean over him, his hands extending towards Jerry¡¯s hands that were handcuffed. Feeling the man¡¯s hands to be smooth and well-conditioned, Jerry looked up as the man had with him a key.

    Jabbing the keyhole in between the shackles that kept him bound, the shackles managed to be dropped onto the stone floor, landing behind him.

    Putting his hands and arms motionless on the ground, he used his feet to help him slowly get back up. Standing with his hands and arms motionless, he turned his head towards the gray-hooded man, his height several inches higher than Jerry''s.

    Putting his hands back into his gray hooded jacket, the hooded man ignored him as he made his way back towards where he came from. Extending his hand outward, Jerry let his body take a slight lunge forward as he let out a little yelp from his throat.

    (Jerry) W-Wait!

    His right hand was still in the air, being perfectly still, his stomach started to burn again, this time being more of an annoyance than torture. Putting his left hand onto his abdomen, he caressed it with his rough fingers, his lips being puckered up into his mouth.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) And who is he? Come to think of it¡­

    Jerry then looked all around him, the darkness of the dimly lit industrial building making him let out a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Am I in an industrial building?The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    His eyes looking all over the rundown abandoned building, the back of his hair went up, his body remaining still as he¡ª-

    (???) I think I should make my introduction more clear from the start.

    Jerry flinched as he turned his head rapidly to the voice behind him, the cold voice that he heard from the beginning.

    With his own eyes, he saw a figure that looked abnormally dressed.

    His hair was a light green, his eyes enlarging as he had on oval-shaped glasses. He wore a white robe that resembled a priest, as well as wearing simple black crocs that had many holes on top of his feet.

    He had many wrinkles upon his forehead and cheeks, his chiseled face and jawline unusual for a man in his mid-50s.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) What the hell!? Just what is he?!

    Jerry took many steps back as the man in the white robe had his hands and arms folded into his robe sleeves, his arms seeming like a particular villager in a famous survival game. Pushing his face upward, the old man lit up a devilish smile, the corners of his lips reaching to the height of his ears.

    Which caused Jerry to instantly yank out his sword that was holstered onto his thigh, the tip of the sword pointing directly at the old man.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s the same man that Jenny and Loraine bumped into? The description matches.

    Pulling out his right hand that was trapped in his left arm¡¯s sleeve, he used his pointer finger to pull down his glasses by an inch, using his normal eyes to look into Jerry¡¯s stance. Swaying his head from side to side, he let out a huff of air out of his lungs.

    (???) There¡¯s no need for you to pull that sword out.

    As the cold and clean air hit Jerry¡¯s face, smelling the old man¡¯s mint breath that was filled with toothpaste and gum. Squinting his eyes, he took a step back as his legs were on the verge of buckling, his sword trembling as the metal started to ring across the building.

    (Jerry) Are you the leader by any chance? Are you the one who led the attack on the city?

    His hands trembling, he gripped the helm of his sword unsteadily as he looked directly at the old man¡¯s eyes, seeing his green eyes stare into the depths of his soul.

    The old man did nothing but sway some hair out of his left eye, his straight green hair blocking a minor part of his left eye. Putting the other hand onto his chin, he quickly tapped it back and forth, his nails barely digging into his old and wrinkly skin.

    (???) Well, do I look like a priest or a boss? Don¡¯t answer that, that¡¯s too much of a weird question to answer.

    Putting both of his hands together back into the other arm¡¯s sleeves, he tightened it around as he didn¡¯t show his arms or hands. Tilting his head to the left, he cleared his throat as he straightened his back, his well-defined chest puffing out towards the elf with the eyepatch.

    (???) My name is Lazaros, Lazaros Roosevelt.

    From in back of him, Jerry¡¯s ears perked up as he heard the rumbling of many footsteps closing in on him.

    Unable to look back, the only thing that his eyes focused on was the old man, the tip of his sword starting to shake as his palms started to stain the stainless metal. Continuing to hear the thumping of footsteps, he barely glanced to the right and left of him, trying to distinguish at least a basic figure that was behind him.

    The old man saw this and let out a soft chuckle, placing his right hand over to his mouth as he let out a playful smile.

    (Lazaros) It¡¯s ok, Jerry. I told them that they wouldn¡¯t bite.

    Jerry soon started to turn his head towards the thumping behind him.

    Upon seeing it with his very eyes, his eye let out a teardrop as he dropped the sword with both of his hands, the metal clanking onto the cold rusted floor.

    (Jerry) N-no way¡­

    Gemma, Ryan, Pedro, and the lich girl Mia were all staring at him.

    Next to them, Kenichi and two black hooded figures also looked towards him, with one of the black hooded figures he recognized immediately.

    But what about the other one?

    (Jerry) What is this!?

    Jerry sprang his body up, seeing the liches and humans alike being near each other as if they were friends. Not even looking at the bottom of the floor, he couldn¡¯t glance for even a second at the sword that lay right near where his right foot was.

    (Jerry) What the hell is this!?

    His voice quivered, his Adam¡¯s apple jumped repeatedly¡­

    He couldn¡¯t even muster up his voice.

    (Lazaros) What? Cat-human got your tongue? You know some of those people right?

    Leaning his head near his ear, Lazaros was behind him as he placed his left hand onto Jerry¡¯s left shoulder, letting out a devilish smirk in the process. Placing his right hand onto the back of Jerry¡¯s head, he placed it on the parietal and occipital parts of his head.

    Caressing his fingers up and down along his skin and hair, his low fingernails managed to itch the innards of his head, causing Jerry to move his hands shakingly.

    As he couldn¡¯t tilt his head to the back of him.

    (Lazaros) Don¡¯t you remember? You see those two liches that you trained? That lich you used to be buddies with? And something else?

    (Jerry) Something what?

    Lazaros¡¯s fingers started to dig evermore as if he knew the parts of the head as his fingernails started to dig into the bone of his skull. Blood pouring out underneath, Jerry clenched his eyes shut as he started to clench his jaw shut from the pain.

    (Lazaros) Ah, forget it. It¡¯ll be shown later.

    Lazaros let go of his head and left shoulder, walking around him as he then turned his body towards Jerry.

    In Jerry¡¯s vision, Lazaros was in the middle of all the liches and humans that looked towards him, creating an image of pure chaos and fear as Jerry¡¯s breath was still stuck in his throat.

    (Lazaros) Say, Jerry.

    With his right hand, Lazaros pulled out a large bottle of hand sanitizer, pushing the lid as the gooey liquid came into contact with his left palm. Putting it back into his pocket, he quickly rubbed the liquid steadily and deeply, his eyes peering through every corner of his hand as his cheeks started to tighten.

    Shaking his hands softly to dry them off, he turned his attention towards Jerry.

    (Lazaros) I¡¯ll make you a deal, a really good one as what you¡¯ll call it.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:07AM)

    Lazaros walked towards the elf with the eyepatch slowly, having both of his hands and arms inside of his sleeves as he thumped the cold rusted floor.

    Despite being shorter than Jerry by a couple to a few inches, his presence and aura were enough for Jerry to let out a load of sweat from his face. With a couple of droplets crashing onto the cold rusted floor, Jerry started to pant hard as Lazaros looked up at him.

    (Lazaros) You can join us and become something more than just a simple elite soldier. You will be processed but it¡¯s for the best. Or¡­

    Lazaros then put his right hand onto the frontal lobe of Jerry¡¯s head, his fingertips all exactly placed on each area of the front of the brain. As if he knew where to place each finger, Lazaros started to squeeze it a couple of times, his low fingernails already stabbing the skin and bone of his head.

    (Lazaros) You could just simply not join and get either a lobotomy or a thrashing. Your choice.

    Jerry remained still, his legs and feet not corresponding as his heels were lodged onto the industrial floor. His right arm and hand contained the sword that was pointed towards the ground, he started to shake it as his mouth was agape.

    While his breathing started to quicken evermore, his hot breath reached Lazaros''s face, causing him to slightly arch his head back in return.

    (Lazaros) And if you also join, you¡¯ll get access to the best hygiene stuff, so really think about it.

    Jerry looked down towards his sword that he held with his right hand, his fingers loosening the grip as the tip of the sword reached towards the rusted ground.

    Not looking up towards Lazaros and the others, Jerry put his left hand over the eye that didn¡¯t have on the eyepatch, placing it firmly as he clutched the area tightly with his fingernails. Digging into his skin, both his eyes remained shut off from the world, his sense of seeing gone from him as he got lost in his thoughts.

    Lazaros pulled his hand out from Jerry¡¯s frontal lobe, leaving behind five red finger marks that were latched onto his skull.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s going to happen to me? If I ¡­ If I¡­

    (Lazaros) Think long and hard about this Jerry. What do you gain if you remain with The Dark Angels? And what do you gain if you come with us? Try to think about the benefits here.

    But his ears perked up at the sound of the old man¡¯s voice, a sniffle coming out of his nose as the eye that he blocked with his hand started to water out.

    Turning his body to the right of him, he kept to himself as the sword on the ground imaginatively rang inside his ears.

    His fingertips reached out toward the grip of the sword despite his body remaining frozen-like.

    Would he survive?

    Or would he die?

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Wait ¡­ I ¡­

    Jerry then slowly pulled back his left hand that covered his only eye, placing his hand firmly alongside his left thigh, letting it be dragged down by gravity. Turning his head towards the sword, he squinted into the single-edged blade, his reflection being carved onto it.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s my reason for being here¡­?

    He saw on the bottom near where the grip was, two letters etched onto the metal.

    (Sidney in Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I like it better when you use swords. It makes you more manlier.

    Those two letters were an S plus a J.

    And in that instant, Jerry crouched down as he extended his right hand toward the grip, pulling the sword that was resting on the rusted floor.

    Turning his body and face toward Lazaros, he pointed the sword directly at him, his fingers latching it around the grip with a sweaty hand.

    His eyes sharpened straight at the old man with light green hair, his glare a deadly one as the corners of his eyes reached towards the center of his nose. Pushing his right foot a couple of inches forward, he put his head down as he had his right hand holding the sword, his left hand enclosed to a fist.

    (Jerry) I¡¯m not joining your little frat party. No way in hell.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 85: Legion Twilight

    (Lazaros) sighs ¡­ Another one bites the dust I take it.

    Swaying his head back and forth, Lazaros put his right hand onto his cheek, tilting his head to the left.

    Turning his head back towards his followers, liches and humans alike, he let out a carefree smile, his lips making a U shape. Moving his right hand towards his chin, he put his left hand upward at Jerry, making a little stop-hand sign.

    Looking down on the ground, he rubbed his chin with both his pointer finger, middle finger, and thumb.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) I could just kill him here and there, but I already did that with that freckled man a week ago. Come to think of it¡­

    Moving his head up, he caught a whiff of one of the black hooded figures next to Kenichi, his height dominating everyone. Smelling the air around him, he took a whiff of the fact that he had humanity in him, as the smell that protruded out of him was nothing more than regular body odor.

    Extending his finger at the tallest person, he started to point towards him, lifting his head as he cleared his throat and straightened his back.

    (Lazaros) Come here Jason, I think it¡¯s time to use you for something.

    The tall hooded man walked towards Lazaros, continuing to have his hands inside of his pockets as his boots loudened the thumps that etched across the room.

    Reaching his way towards him, he quickly towered over him, looking down on the old man as he breathed in heavily through his nostrils. Turning his head toward Jerry who continued to point his steel weapon at him, Lazaros dropped his left hand to his thigh.

    (Lazaros) I want you to showcase just how deadly you are. I mean, you wanted to be in the fight right?

    The man with the black hoodie pulled out his hands from his jacket¡¯s pockets, turning his attention towards the elf with the pointed sword. A bead of sweat rolled down from the youthful figure¡¯s glimpsing cheek, the hooded man stood in a dominant posture with his head lifted high.

    As for Lazaros¡­

    He saw the rest of the other liches and humans that were all huddled in a group, their eyes peering into both Jerry and Jason who were in battle positions. Raising his left hand high, Lazaros managed to gather everyone¡¯s attention in the group, moistening his lips as he swallowed whatever saliva he used.

    (Lazaros) For the rest of you, I want every one of you to go out and hold back The Dark Angels in whatever way you can.

    (Ryan) Hold back?

    (Lazaros) It¡¯ll all be explained. After all, it¡¯s all according to plan.

    Ryan, Gemma, and the little girl Mia looked towards one another, their faces letting out beads of sweat from their temples as they looked out towards the dimly orange-clouded city.

    Letting out a huffed breath from their desolate lungs, Ryan extended both his arms as they stretched unrealistically, his legs turning into rubber as he sprinted his way with a push of his feet.

    Gemma quickly turned to mist, her entire body being sundered as she flew through the wind, moving through the night sky air.

    As for Mia¡­

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) Oh, man¡­

    Pushed her normal legs so that she could catch up with the two of them.

    Pedro, having the same setup as Gemma, quickly turned to pure oxygen as his entire body became a hotpot of death. Moving through the air same as Gemma, Kenichi looked towards the running Mia, placing his right hand over his barely recovered stomach.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Guess I have no choice.

    But there was one black hooded figure that stayed behind, her eyes peering into Jerry.

    Seeing with his old slanted eyes that she wanted to stay to see the battle, a big smile formed on Lazaros¡¯s face, the corners of his lips reaching to where his eyes met. Bending down, he placed his right hand over his stomach, his smile unfaltering as his eyes turned from calm to almost pure evil.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) And I guess I have the best part saved last!

    Pointing his finger at the black hooded feminine figure in the back of him, he snapped his finger as he raised his voice, his eyes and face now facing the two men. Pulling out a small metal stool for him to sit, he quickly put his bottom down on it as he tilted his head upward.

    (Lazaros) Bring me some popcorn. Also while you¡¯re at it, bring some soda and napkins, a lot of napkins.

    Jerry, pulling his blade back into position, kept both hands on the grip as his heels were gripping the cold stone ground, the rust ashes caressing the soles of his feet. His breathing was calm and steady, followed by the unusual lightness of his body, he noticed that his body was much more active and stronger than ever before.

    As for Jason, he extended both his hands outward, lifting his head to the ceiling as his palms were facing upward.

    (Lazaros) This is where the fun begins!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Jerry pushed against the cold stone floor with his right heel, the stone cracking as the weight of his entire foot lifted him from the ground.

    His body barreling towards the tall hooded man in front of him, Jerry had his sword tucked in, the grip of the blade being devoured by his right armpit. His pupils and irises shrank at the figure, his teeth clenched themselves shut with his entire body feeling the cold rusted air smack his face during his launch.

    As the tall hooded man simply stood.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s not doing anything so I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s powerful.

    With his left foot, he hurled his body away from the center of the hooded man, causing Jerry¡¯s body to turn right.

    Distracting him, Jerry managed to get to the right side of the man, his sword barreling right toward the man¡¯s lower abdomen. Using both hands, the tip of the sword was narrowing its way towards the projected path, with Jerry gripping the helm of the sword tightly.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s not doing anything, so I should make it count.

    The tip of the sword millimeters away from the fabric of his gray hoodie, the man didn¡¯t have the fastest reflexes to dodge it, as his head was barely looking towards the fast-moving Jerry.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Yet despite all this¡­

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) W-what the¡­

    Looking towards where both of his arms held the grip of the sword, he noticed an all-black hand gripping both of his hands, the black creature''s hands crushing his bones and knuckles.

    Squirming at the crushing pain, he tugged back his sword, but it only just made the creature tighten his hold on Jerry¡¯s hand even more.

    Opening his mouth, Jerry let out a painful yell, his entire body shivering from the abhorrent pain.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

    With both of his feet, he gripped the helm of the stone ground as he tried to move his body off of the cold stone pavement. Using all of his strength to pull off from the creature, his hands that were completely and utterly being crushed upon were suddenly let go.

    Causing Jerry to be dropped to the stone-cold floor ground, hitting the rusted floor with his bottom.

    Jason, putting his hands to his sides, looked over to the all-black creature, letting out a carefree smile as the corner of his barely visible lips reached upwards.

    (Jason) You saved me in the nick of time. Where are the others?

    The black creature was merely a humanoid ghostly figure that emitted black fake air.

    Its entire body was almost like a gas that didn¡¯t harm anyone, not smelling like anything.

    The black vapors that escaped from its spiritual solid body were on the edges of its outline body, almost as if the creature was on fire, but there was no heat to it.

    The creature had white tiny dot eyes, the only part of its body that had something other than pitch black.

    The creature only stared at Jason, its all-white eyes staring towards the man as it remained still, the black vapors releasing into the air in motion. As if he could understand what the creature had said, Jason let out two nods in an up-and-down motion, his hoodie remaining as he put his right hand underneath the creature''s chin.

    (Jason) Well, tell them to come out then. It¡¯s been a while since I last fought.

    In an instant, the black creature turned all white seeing stared right towards Jerry, his pupils causing Jerry to take a step back. Pointing the sword, the tip of the blade was inches away from the creature¡¯s stomach, despite Jerry still sitting down on the floor.

    Continuing to stare, the creature spread its arms wide, looking down at the elf with the eyepatch as the creature spread its feet apart.

    Until¡­

    A slow gurgle of bubbles emitted throughout the creature¡¯s all-black body.

    The bubbles continued to boil as the black vapor that was released into the air started to solidify, the vapor growing and growing as many other vapors followed suit.

    Many of the vapors managed to drop down onto the floor, the black creature being dissolved completely as many of its ghastly parts were spread all around the floor. In a horde-like substance, the many vapors on the ground started to sizzle, which ¡­

    The vapors started to grow out from the ground, the vapors taking the shape of a humanoid form.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) What the ¡­ are you kidding me?!

    Widening his eyes, Jerry saw the extreme multiplication of many of the black creatures, the creatures all huddling into a group as they set their eyes on him.

    Standing straight back up, he swayed his head back and forth repeatedly, his breathing hardened and uncontrolled as his fingertips started to crack into the grip, causing the sword to shake. Jason only took a few steps back, extended his right hand, and used his pointer finger to point where Jerry was.

    And with a carefree smile, his vocals brushed against each other as he glared at the elf.

    (Jason) Legion Twilight.

    Walking backward rapidly, dozens of the black creatures sprinted their way toward him, their speed equivalent to the level of steamers. Turning his widened eyes to that of a sharpened glance, Jerry pulled back his single-edged sword, the tip of the blade being stretched outward.

    One of the black creatures, being the first of the group, ran towards the elf with its arms and hands widening as if it wanted to hug him.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) They grabbed a hold of my hands and grip, so if the same physics work, then¡­

    Pushing his sword forward, the blade of the sword fastened towards the creature, the blade managing to reach onward onto the ghastly humanoid skin or air. The edge of the blade reaching the black vapor of its body, he thrusted it with both of his arms, his muscles expanding as the blade managed to make contact with the skin.

    But the blade went through the creature like air.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Wait what¡­?

    And the creature again had the hilt of his hands onto Jerry, holding the sharp blade as no blood nor tar escaped from the cut hands of the creature.

    His ears thumping loudly into his skull, he turned his head to see the other creatures many inches from where he was standing, their legs already off the ground as they were in the air.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Am I really that weak, I couldn¡¯t even put up a fair fight¡­

    Landing themselves onto him, all of their hands grabbed a hold of each body part that they held onto.

    Feeling the coldness of their touch, Jerry gritted his teeth as he felt their hands scour through his body, his body letting out a hard cold shiver. His eyes not deceiving him, the number of creatures gripping his jacket, pants, and even boots felt as if they could¡¯ve ripped them off, their all-black palms tightening their grip.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Shit, what can I do!?

    His hands still holding the sword, he tried to push his sword forward, but even the creatures had their hands placed upon his arms and hands, putting an excessive amount of force on the metal blade. As the creatures saw that they fully contained the troubling elf, they slowly stood him up, placing his legs onto the cold stone floor as they took away his sword with their unholy hands.

    Jason, still standing as he saw his black spiritual followers do all the work, made a hand gesture toward the black creatures that held Jerry.

    (Jason) Not bad. I thought he was going to give me a run for my money. Guess I was wrong¡­

    Looking towards the light-haired green man, he saw that he was sitting on a small stool with a popcorn bucket in his right hand, using his left hand to feed himself. And next to him, was a black hooded feminine figure having a bottle of Mr. Pepper in both her hands, her face fully hidden behind the hood.

    Lazaros, with a frown on his face, squinted his eyes towards both men, letting out a little pout as his cheeks slightly puffed up.

    (Lazaros) I was expecting a much greater fight ¡­

    (Jason) Sorry sir.

    (Lazaros) No worries son, you¡¯re just too powerful for the likes of him.

    Lazaros soon quickly got up from his sitting stool, putting his right hand into one of the pockets inside of his robe. Pulling out a handkerchief, he rubbed his fingers and hands rapidly with the cloth, rubbing every corner of his hands with the white fabric.

    Putting the handkerchief back into his pocket, he continued to face Jason, extending his left hand right where the black hooded feminine figure was, grabbing the soda hurriedly.

    Drinking a little sip of the glass bottle, he licked his lips as he returned the soda toward the figure, letting out a burp with his mouth closed. Curling his right hand into a fist, he put it close to his mouth, keeping the gas from coming out.

    (Lazaros) Pardon me. Now to get back to the topic at hand.

    Lazaros stretched out his hands as he placed them in the air, making a simple stretch as he arched his old back into place. Looking at Jason, he straightened his back as he cleared his throat, his entire body being light as a wild chicken¡¯s feather.

    (Lazaros) I want your shadows to gang up and beat him to a pulp. Pretty easy no?

    Jason clenched his fists hard as his knuckles started to stick out like sore thumbs, his face looking downward onto the stone ground as his mouth resorted to a frown.

    His Adam¡¯s apple being visible, it started to quiver underneath the black hoodie that hid his eyes. Looking straight toward the old man with light green hair, Jason lifted his head up and down, nodding as his voice shook.

    (Jason) Understood¡­

    Extending his right hand again, he pointed his finger right at the black creatures that held on him.

    With a simple saying of one line.

    (Jason) Don¡¯t kill him.

    The black creatures then one by one punched through the unguarded and defenseless Jerry.

    Their fists collided against the hardened muscles upon both his stomach and chest, making a requiem of loud thumps that sounded throughout the entire room.

    Each hand that struck him caused him to arch his head back, his body contorting as each fist that flew at him made a bruising impact on the given area. As blood started to spurt out from the corner of his lips, he took a bite of his cheek to focus his direction on the pain somewhere else.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Oh ¡­ oh shit ¡­

    His eyes widened as each punch twitched the pupils of his eyes, and his eyelids straightened as he looked up towards the ceiling, looking toward any heaven or higher power in the sky.

    With his vision blurring, the punches only got worse, as if his nerves screamed the dangers upon the exterior of his body.

    The punches felt as if someone was stabbing him with an ice-cold sickle, leaving his mouth open wide, his throat still intact as his breath was caught within his throat.

    Meaning that he couldn¡¯t breathe.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Sidney¡­

    His legs soon faltered under the pain, he landed on his shins on the cold stone-rusted floor, allowing the creatures to target something else instead. Holding onto his hair, the black creatures almost ripped open his scalp as they held him still, their second assault being upon¡­

    Jerry¡¯s face.

    The same thing as before, with nothing to defend himself with, the only thing that Jerry muffled out was a low-wielding yell from his throat, the yell not even audible to both Jason and Lazaros.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Sidney.

    The barrage of punches only intensified, as each first landed on his already broken nose and cheeks, blood rapidly pouring onto the stone cold floor as his eyes soon began to bleed out a cardinal red liquid too.

    With his broken arm and hand, he thrust it up towards the heavens.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) Sidney!

    His eyes were completely devoured into the red stick liquid, his vision was deafened, his ears blinded by tinnitus that rang throughout his head.

    As who knows how long Jerry was beaten up for¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 86: Be Brighter Than The Sun

    (Salemonath 26, 59 / 8:24PM)

    (???) Do you have to go alone? I could go with you if you want.

    (???) No thanks Jerry, I want to put in a good word with my parents first. I just hope they accept you being an elf in the first place¡­

    A couple stood near the train tracks as the darkness of the night blocked their view of everything around them.

    With only the station lamp lights shining down onto the dimly lit area where the couple was, the two of them saw each other in their reflections.

    The smaller figure was a ginger woman with freckles plastered on her cheeks and nose, followed by erratic curly hair with small circle glasses. The other figure was much taller, his long sharp ears and messy short hair making him seem as if he had woken up out of bed, his jacket unbuttoned and undone.

    (Jerry) I just think it¡¯s better if I show them that I¡¯m good, rather than telling them that I¡¯m good.

    (???) From the way you look, sometimes I wonder if you¡¯re good enough to do a decent deed¡­

    (Jerry) Hey just because I look scary, doesn¡¯t make me mean or rude. The old saying goes ¡°Never judge a book by its cover¡±.

    (???) Yeah ¡­ tell that to your eye patch.

    (Jerry) Hey, I got it because of you.

    (???) Hmm ¡­ listen Jerry.

    The ginger-haired woman then grabbed both of Jerry¡¯s hands, rubbing his rough and coarse palms and knuckles with her pale and frail fingers.

    His face slightly reddening, he made eye contact with her light brown eyes, his hands slowly trembling from the way she started to pin down his knuckles. Letting out a huge gulp from his throat, he straightened his neck as he tightened the grip on her hands.

    (???) How much do you love me?

    Jerry brought her body towards him, her chest and stomach making contact with his as he pulled her hands onto his lower back. Her eyes sparkling at the affectionate behavior, the woman then cusped her hands to make a bear hug around him, encapsulating him within her grasp.

    His throat jumped up and down, his vocals pushed forth the words that he always said, his cheeks reddening evermore.

    (Jerry) I love you. I want to make you proud and your parents proud. I want to earn your respect and your parent''s respect. I just want to make you happy, even at the cost of my happiness.

    The ginger-haired woman then nuzzled her head into Jerry¡¯s tall and slim muscular chest, feeling the warmth of his body heat alone. She tightened her hug with all her strength, causing Jerry to wrap his arms around her as well.

    As the two held onto each other in their arms, the howling of a mechanical locomotive could be heard, the tracks near them vibrating.

    Turning their heads towards the roaring train coming near, as they saw the single headlight a few feet from them, both of them let go of each other.

    (???) Why do you love me so much ¡­ Out of all the girls, you chose me ¡­

    (Jerry) Hey, you¡¯re nice, shy, a bit geeky, and most of all, pretty motherly. That immediately makes you my soulmate.

    (???) But¡ª

    Putting his pointer finger onto the center of her lips, his face gleamed with a gentle look as his eyes began to push down with his smile arching upward. His hands were calm and composed, the edge of his fingertip slightly arched, his fingernail slightly caressing the area in between her lips and nose.

    (Jerry) I¡¯m also into gingers, they have a sense of mystery to them you know¡­

    The ginger-haired woman looked down as she had her hands motionless to her thighs, her hands clenched into hard fists as her eyes began to let out a couple of tears. Some of the teardrops hitting the cold brick floor that lay upon them, the woman¡¯s hands began to shake as her eyes peered into the cracks of the brick floor.

    Staring into those cracks, her breathing fastened, the words that were caught inside of her throat not wanting to come out.

    (???) I ¡­

    (Jerry) What¡¯s wrong Sidney?

    The woman continued to look down onto the ground, causing Jerry to put his hands onto the edges of her shoulders, caressing her long bare shoulders as she wore a long sundress.

    His fingers feeling the paleness and smoothness of her honeydew skin, caused his fingers to tremble from within his nails.

    (Jerry) Sidney?

    Looking up almost instantly toward the sound of the elf¡¯s voice, Sidney¡¯s eyes widened as she was brought back to reality, her legs on the verge of buckling as her legs started to shiver. Her mouth slightly opened, and the voice that was trapped in her throat soon began to come out as she stood up straight.

    (Sidney) Jerry I¡ª

    The passing train managed to plow through near where the couple was standing, the two of them feeling the hard heavy wind that brought with it.

    Taking a couple steps back from the heavy locomotive, the two of them stood together as they saw a sign in front of the entrance, the sign saying ¡­

    Clastine, Ticia.

    (Jerry) I guess this is goodbye for now.

    Upon seeing the location of where the train was heading, Jerry cleared his throat as he continued to eye the heavy machinery in front of him.

    Continuing to look at the locomotive, Jerry¡¯s breath was caught in his throat, his hands continuing to grip her bare shoulders. Feeling his fingers not wanting to let go, Sidney put her hands onto his knuckles, feeling the rough edges of his bones with her tender touch.

    Letting go, Jerry lit up a cheerful smile.

    (Jerry) Take care.

    Without saying a word, Sidney only nodded with water in her eyes, grabbing her bag to the left of her with her left hand. Noticing that the train was about to depart, she gave him a Clastine bow and went her way towards one of the passenger cars.

    Looking back one more time before she entered, Jerry waived his right hand up high, his cheerful face still lingering on.

    (Sidney¡¯s thoughts) That dummy¡­

    Taking a seat near the window on the train, her butt felt the black old leather fabric of the seat, the cushion being old and stale. Her luggage was on the seat next to her, she looked over to the window to see Jerry walking out of the old train station, looking downward as he placed his hands in his pockets.

    Seeing him leave as the train started to move, the motion of the train startled Sidney, her body flinching upward as the train started to speed up fast.

    Leaving the train station, she continued to look out the window, her right hand going through her luggage as she tried to find a particular object.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    (Sidney¡¯s thoughts) I wanted to tell you something¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:22AM)

    (Lazaros) I think that¡¯s enough. He won¡¯t be leaving or fighting us anytime soon.

    In the cold dark industrial building on one of the hills on the outskirts of the city, on the floor lies a viciously beaten elf. The old man¡¯s eyes stared into the barely conscious body, he arched his head up as he narrowed his brow, taking a step back as the smell of blood spread throughout the area.

    Jerry let a soft audible moan escape his throat, his face looked up toward the ceiling, and his entire body lay flat on the floor.

    His abdomen was littered with squishy bruises, the skin around it turning purple.

    Half of his ribs were broken, with the other half being on the verge of cracking. The ribs stabbing the outer layers of his lungs, made breathing as if he was being stabbed every second he withdrew or deposited breath.

    His legs remained normal, but his arms were shattered and twisted beyond repair, even a simple touch would feel like someone was burning him.

    Blood poured out of his disorganized nostrils.

    His cheekbones were broken, with some of the bone piercing through the inside of his mouth.

    Half of his teeth were shattered beyond repair, as many teeth littered all over his mouth as the ground pieces of tooth pinched the innards of his mouth.

    His eyes were drenched in hot blood, and his forehead let out a gushing wound.

    (Lazaros) Good work Jason! I think you did a bit too much, but it¡¯ll do.

    As for Jason, he only just looked downward onto the ground, the cold stone floor filling his every vision as his hands were gently pushed down into his pocket.

    Taking a step back away from the cruelly beaten Jerry, Jason wiped away a load of sweat from his forehead with his right sleeve. Placing his right arm down, the area where he wiped away was drenched and watered, and not bothering to look at it as he continued to look at the ground.

    (Lazaros) What¡¯s the matter, Jason? Feeling regret?

    (Jason) N-No sir ¡­

    (Lazaros) Good, now for the final part.

    Lazaros then turned his head toward the black hooded feminine figure, his wrinkles unmoving as he extended his right hand towards her. Doing a hand gesture, the figure slowly walked toward him, her eyes peeled to the ground.

    Reaching right in front of him, Lazaros then put his left arm around the figure¡¯s neck and shoulder, his height towering as he lit up a carefree smile.

    (Lazaros) You¡¯re going to be a dear and help him up. You could do that, right?

    The black hooded figure remained silent, her hands trembling inside her pockets as she couldn¡¯t look directly into his eyes.

    Seeing this, Lazaros tightened the grip on the fabric of her neck. Feeling his rigid fingertips, his fingernails slightly digging into her skin, the only thing that she could do was remain still as if an apex predator was playing with its prey.

    (Lazaros) I said ¡­ Go be a dear and help him up. You do know what happens if you say no.

    The black hooded figure slowly nodded her head, as she started to slowly walk toward the injured elf that lay bare on the cold ground stone floor. Since she had her right hand in her pocket, she pulled out a syringe filled with a purple liquid that she didn¡¯t dare to look at.

    Crouching down onto where Jerry lay, he put her knees on the cold stone ground, her hands placing themselves onto the elf figure.

    Jerry, unable to see what lay beyond the hood, only let out a mutter from the innards of his throat, his vocals raspy and drier than a camel¡¯s back in the desert.

    (Jerry) W ¡­ W ¡­ What ¡­

    His voice tried to reach towards the hooded woman, his legs not even having the strength and will to stand up. With his head bashed onto the floor, his vision blurred from the amount of blood that stained both of his eyes, the only thing that he could do was groan.

    Using the syringe in her right hand, she put the needle right into the area where the veins were exposed, the purple liquid quickly going inside his arm.

    His left arm then twitched.

    Unable to even move his eyeballs, his left arm convoluted and expanded as his left arm started to fight back his body.

    Slowly, the liquid managed to spread throughout his body, reaching towards his neck, chest, and stomach. Because of this, these areas started to expand and twitch erratically, making him seem like he was a fish out of water.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) I wanna die! I wanna die! I wanna die! I wanna die! I wanna die!

    The liquid also reached towards the rest of his face, his cheekbones and nose muscles and fat expanding and tearing apart each other.

    But he then arched his body up.

    His hands started to return to their regular motion, he placed both of his hands towards his face. With his fingertips, he felt the changing muscles that started to tear and grow from inside of his face, even though his vision blurred red and his nose was still in its hideous shape.

    (Jerry¡¯s thoughts) What is this? What am I feeling?

    With his blurred vision, he noticed both of his hands were fine, and upon moving them, both his hands cracked as he placed them onto his face.

    Feeling his face with both his cracked yet normal hands, his bloodied palms felt his face continuing to swell and bruise, but it felt as if he was fine.

    Looking upward towards the black hooded woman that towered over him, he placed both of his palms downward onto the stone floor, his bloodied and swollen eyes letting out salty tears that pinched his eyelids.

    (Jerry) What did you do ¡­

    He widened his eyes straight at the black-hooded woman, catching a glimpse of her pale face under her hoodie. Using both of his shattered yet moving hands, he pressed his palms against his eyes, clearing away an abundance of blood from his eyelids.

    While the woman merely just put her hands inside her jacket, her face continued to look downward at the man.

    (???) I gave you The Syringe. It¡¯ll merely give you a stamina and defense boost, but it¡¯ll only last for a few hours¡ª

    (Jerry) Wait¡­

    Jerry then pushed his body back up, his heels digging themselves onto the stone floor. His knuckles were broken, and he cracked the joints as he glared crimson red eyes at the woman, a stream of blood tearing up from one of his eyeballs.

    Picking up his sword, he held it tightly as he pointed it right toward the black-hooded woman, the tip of the sword gleaming with the reflection of him.

    (Jerry) Just who are you!?

    A bead of sweat dripped down onto the floor, the woman let out a huge gulp as she put her hand on the back of her hoodie. Her hand trembling, she tightened her hand as she slowly pulled back the hoodie that covered her eyes, forehead, nose, and hair.

    At long last, the hoodie that hid the woman¡¯s identity fully revealed her pale¡ª

    The woman had a freckled face with ginger hair.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    His world was frozen in a heap of time.

    Unable to even draw back a step, unable to muster a quiver from his throat, he remained still as if he were inside a Kepputhan glacier.

    His hands unclenching, he dropped his sword again as his mouth opened agape, his body arched forward as his eyes continued to see the unholy sight that was laid in front of him. Not even bothering to pick up the sword that was dropped right on his right foot, the eye that was still covered in blood¡­

    Let out a river of blood-filled tears.

    (Jerry) Sidney¡­

    The ginger-haired girl slowly walked towards the flabbergasted elf, her palms placed in front of her as she steadily walked toward him. Her eyes softened at the eyepatch in front of her, she let out a slight frown that caused Jerry to sway his head back and forth, her body in the same position as she was in front of the train station six years ago.

    The red tears dripping onto his old leather boot and sword grip below him, he slowly moved his hands towards the layers of her cheeks, his palms trying to feel the ghostly pale face that he remembered on that day.

    (Jerry) Sidney.

    Rubbing his fingers on her honey-dew skin, his right hand continued to caress her right cheek, his breathing slowing down with his lungs creating rasped breaths. With his left hand, he placed it toward the area where his eyepatch covered the dead eye he never used, his fingernails etched into place.

    Feeling his fingers already in place, he withdrew his eye patch, his left hand having the black fabric as the ginger-haired woman saw¡­

    Two unscarred eyes.

    Widening her eyes, Jerry quickly wrapped both of his hands around her waist, holding her tightly as he placed his head on her right shoulder.

    (Jerry) You came back¡­

    Sidney only just stood still as she also wrapped her arms around his waist, her hands cupping his lower back tightly.

    Having her head placed near his ear, her mouth was right beside it. Her hot breath reaching the edges of his ear, Jerry started to sniffle.

    (Sidney) Jerry ¡­

    Jerry pushed his head back as both of his eyes continued to let out many hot tears, the tears stinging across his face.

    Looking towards Sidney¡¯s light brown eyes, eyes that he longed to see for god knows how many years, he held onto her more.

    (Sidney) Jerry I ¡­

    Those two words hit close to home for Jerry¡¯s soul, as he longed to hear what lay beyond those two words.

    Puckering his lips into his mouth, his cheeks puffed up as the corner of his lips that were not in his mouth started to quiver from the words he rarely heard. His vocals holding the words that he wanted to say, he straightened his neck as he ignored the two men who folded their arms at the sight of them.

    Because after all, she was his goal, his motive, his reason for keeping on living.

    (Lazaros) I¡¯ll leave you lovebirds to do your business. Come on Jason, let¡¯s dip.

    As both Jason and Lazaros turned their head toward the city skyline that was vastly far from them, Jason only looked down as his body shivered. Both he and Lazaros soon sprinted out of the rusted building, he turned his head one last time to see both Jerry and Sidney having their small moment, his lips making a U-shaped frown.

    Noticing that the two men left, Sidney¡ª

    Let out a soulless look, her voice cold and monotone.

    (Sidney) I¡¯m sorry.

    An orange light started to emit out of her. The orange light radiating around the dimly lit building, Jerry only just stared straight at her eyes, his face swaying back and forth.

    (Sidney) I don¡¯t have any parents. I don¡¯t have a sibling to take care of, and I don¡¯t have anyone that cares for me, except for you ¡­

    His vocals couldn¡¯t conjure up a single question or statement from out of his throat. His hands placed themselves tightly around her back, he never wanted to let her go, his hands emitting sweat as his eyes enclosed to the sounds of light traversing around him.

    More blood-filled tears flowed along both of his eyes. He didn¡¯t dare to pay the rising temperature any mind.

    (Sidney) I wanted to let you down subtly, but you continued to pursue me, so ¡­ just let me¡­

    Sidney then broke off the hug, staring at Jerry as she let out a couple of tears from her eyes. Looking her face upward, Jerry felt the heat of her body radiating out of her as his entire body slowly started to sweat.

    As if his jacket and clothes were melting against the heat, his skin started to burn up and swell as his white pigment started to burn a hideous reddish color.

    (Sidney) Be brighter than the sun.

    Then came the explosion that enveloped the entire building.

    Along with Jerry.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 87: Then Came The Shockwave...

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 10:59PM)

    (Jack) Huh, home sweet home¡­

    (Gwen) And we¡¯re sharing it all with other people too, almost like a big sleepover.

    Their heads peered at the two-story Dark Angels building, which had dorms, rooms, a garden, a large kitchen and gym, and a garage in the back.

    In the front of the building, they witnessed the abundance of military trucks that had supplies and ammo in them. The engines turned off for rest, it didn¡¯t emit its fatal and lethal smoke, followed by the quietness of the night as the cicadas pierced their singing songs.

    (Jack) I think they¡¯re treating our home like some sort of hotel.

    (Gwen) Well, we did hold back the city after all¡­

    Getting out of the van, both Jack and Gwen got out from the driver and passenger doors. Arching his back, Jack put both of his hands on his lower back, pushing them inward as he heard a bone crack or two.

    (Gwen) Got to get to the others in the back.

    Walking toward the back of the van, Gwen soon encountered the lock pin that was in the back of the van¡¯s doors. Putting her hand underneath her chin, she looked downward as she stared dumbly into the number markings on the lock.

    Tapping her finger repeatedly, a bead of sweat rolled down from her right temple, the droplet of sweat resting on her right cheek.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Which combination was it? I think it was 2-2-6-3 right?

    A loud thump was heard from the back of the van¡¯s doors, a dent forming on the right side. Widening her eyes, she let out a sigh as she pushed the buttons quickly.

    Two loud thumps were heard on the same side of the van, creating a major dent in it.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Why can¡¯t Luna just be patient¡­

    The doors of the back of the van made a loud clunk, causing Gwen to put both her hands on the metal handles, gripping them casually as she widened her arms.

    (Gwen) Open sesame!

    As the back of the van door widened out, Luna folded her arms as she frowned upon Gwen. Rubbing the back of her neck with her left hand, her mouth curved erratically as she tried to let out a wry smile toward Luna.

    (Gwen) Hehe, sorry for taking so long.¡ª

    Luna glared at Gwen before leaving the van with a ¡®hmpf,¡¯ causing Gwen to widen her eyes. Luke and the others in the van reacted the same, their jaws dropping to the ground as they witnessed an event rarer than the birth of a star.

    (Miles¡¯ thoughts) Luna¡¯s not putting up a fight!

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Oh my god. The world must be ending!

    Luke went out of the van to join Luna.

    Placing both of his feet onto the black cold pavement that chilled his toes and heels, Luke noticed Luna¡¯s quiet and meek nature. Rubbing the back of his neck, he stood next to her while turning his head.

    (Luke) Since it¡¯s been a long day, want to set up meals?

    (Luna) I need to shower first.

    (Luke) Ah, alright. Then I can help set your meal ready. And since we¡¯re celebrating, how about a choccy donut?

    Luna let out a noise as her face flushed a deep red before she gave a nod.

    Keeping her head down, both of her hands were curled into fists, but because of her sluggish walk, she quickly let go.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Quintiles 29, 59 / 11:13PM)

    Inside the building, there lay a somewhat spacious backyard.

    The backyard had a couple of fire pits, followed by small trails of cement that led to different sections of the building.

    Being in the center, it was outside, with the still smokey air present as well as the orange-lit sky lingering on. Ash particles continued to rain down amongst the cement and grass. The soldiers that laid bare in the backyard were more or less tired and worn, not even having the energy to party or have fun.

    (Gwen) Aah, there¡¯s no place like home.

    Five adults slid into the backyard. Seeing two other groups talking with each other, the group of five gazed in their direction at them, noticing that the two groups didn¡¯t notice their presence.

    The woman in the middle of the four men pointed her finger right at them, her nostrils breathing in the smoke-filled air that got trapped in her lungs.

    (Gwen) I think that¡¯s the others.

    (Jack) And it looks like they already have some food on their plates. So just food and drinks for these frat boys?

    (Miles) I have never seen a more depressing party.

    (Stan) I guess everyone is just happy that they at least survived. Probably survivor guilt is hitting them harder than it should. Either that or don¡¯t have the energy to party.

    Walking over, they saw many soldiers who had white paper plates and black plastic utensils, all of them casually eating their steak, rice, and beans. The noise amongst the many soldiers was minimal, with the only thing that glistened in the night was the sound of munching and murmurs they made.

    Luke looked to the ground as he covered his right eye with his hand.

    (Luke¡¯s thought) This is what it''s like being a soldier ... celebrating the little things while overcoming the biggest obstacles.

    Raising her hand high, Gwen swayed it back and forth as she cusped her left hand into the letter O, her left hand right over her mouth as she cleared her throat.

    (Gwen) Hey, ya¡¯ll! Long time no see!

    All the soldiers looked over toward the tall freckled woman wearing a black leather jacket, their eyes glaring at the woman as the dark eye bags underneath their eyelids were shown.

    The two other groups meanwhile, crunched up their faces as many of them let out beads of sweat from their foreheads and cheeks, their feet taking them a step back from Gwen. Seeing this, Gwen continued to wave her hand frantically, clearly not reading the room as she yelled out again.

    (Gwen) Come on! You can¡¯t forget about me!

    (Luke) Uhm Gwen ¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good time¡­

    (Gwen) Oh, come on Luke! Why aren¡¯t these soldiers celebrating?! It¡¯s like a big sleepover right!?

    Reaching toward the two other groups, a man wearing a fedora with a bowl-cut haircut placed himself in the middle of the two groups. His legs wobbled as his feet were barely able to steady themselves onto the grassy area; both his hands remained still as they were placed straight.

    Meaning that everyone is here in this very spot, except for Luna and Jenny.

    (Boris) I¡¯m surprised you made it.

    (Gwen) The same goes for you, you old fart.

    (Boris) Sighs ¡­ it¡¯s been a long and tiring fight, but I think we cleared out all the evil from out of the city. Good thing that some platoons stayed put, most of them were ordered to leave for the border.

    Many of the soldiers who continued to eat their meals looked over at the man clad in a fancy tuxedo despite his overall body shape. Their ears perked up, they squinted their eyes at the man, their bodies motionless to the ground as their legs couldn¡¯t even bother to stand up.

    Fixing his bowtie, he cleared his throat as many of the Dark Angels around him gasped, their foreheads letting out hot sweat.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    (Boris) I checked the data, and it looks like the highest-ranking platoons that were in the military complex were moved elsewhere, and the ones that were recruits and such were ordered to guard it.

    (Gwen) But why?

    (Boris) No clue¡­

    Turning his head toward a trio of agents followed by one spartan, Boris focused his eyes on them, seeing their black suits crusted and wrinkled. One of the agents, a slightly short man with blonde hair, noticed the stare from Boris, already making a slight glare.

    Putting his head back toward his followers, Boris clasped his hands as he put both of his feet straight, pushing his vocals to shake out the leftover saliva in his esophagus.

    (Boris) But at least some agents remained here. I wonder why there aren''t that many of them here. The best theory I have is that they were summoned to a city of some sort, possibly in El Niabea¡ª

    (Agent Briggs) What did you say?

    (Boris) It¡¯s just a personal theory¡ª

    (Agent Briggs) How did you know about El Niabea?!

    Boris flinched at Briggs¡¯ cold voice.

    Two other agents dressed in black suits walked right near where Briggs was, standing right next to both of his shoulders. The tall silver-haired agent was to the right of him, while the short woman with oval glasses was to the left of him. And behind him, was a woman with above average height with sunglasses.

    All of their hands laid either motionless to their thighs or in their suits, the four of them had their attention toward the entirety of the elite squad, with Briggs the only one folding his arms.

    (Agent Briggs) Where did you get that classified information from?

    (Boris) Hold on, son. Aren¡¯t my men and women the ones who managed to push back those zompires?

    (Agent Briggs) It takes two to tango. Half of the work was done by normal soldiers and your soldiers. So don¡¯t avoid the question¡­

    Briggs and the three other agents towered over Boris, all of their hands inside their suit pockets.

    Having his right hand inside of his suit, he slowly pulled his hand halfway, but barely enough so that Boris could see the grip of a black metal object that he wielded. Letting out a large gulp from his throat, Boris looked down to the ground as he fiddled with his fingers.

    (Agent Briggs) Where did you get that information from?

    (David) That¡¯s enough.

    Putting themselves in front of Boris were David and Gwen. Having his hand inside of his jacket, David squinted his darkened face as he calmly let out an exhale of fresh air, his nostrils releasing the air onto Briggs''s face.

    (David) We retook this city, regardless of how classified the info was. Technically speaking, you were the ones that initiated it first.

    (Agent Briggs) Excuse me?

    (David) It was common knowledge that platoons were to be commanded elsewhere, as it was considered in military terms, ¡°The public domain¡±. You on the other hand told us about the agents where they are going.

    (Agent Briggs) ¡­ And?

    David placed his right hand underneath his chin, using his pointer finger as he wrapped his right jawline with his thumb. Lifting his head, he let out a small smirk, the corners of his lips reaching a height where his nose level was.

    Briggs on the other hand furrowed his brow, his right hand continuing to grip the metal object that was within the inside of his suit. The other agents had their objects on standby, the only thing that was stopping them was Briggs, who had his left palm showing downward.

    (David) He said it was a theory, not a fact. If you said it was classified that you went to El Niabea, then doesn¡¯t that mean you were the one who said it first? Would that mean you spilled the info to these soldiers casually hearing this conversation as we speak?

    (Agent Briggs) ¡­

    Looking down toward the ground, Briggs let in an abundance of air inside of him, the air circling his lungs as he turned his head toward the grassy field.

    The other agents glancing at Briggs, they all saw his demeanor change, the way his expression quickly darkened as his eyes were staring into the abyss below. Their sweaty hands already staining the black objects that they held, they awaited anything for what their leader might say.

    (Agent Briggs) You have a point. So what now, you''re going to arrest me?

    (David) I¡¯m more of an executioner than a leader. I¡¯ll give the judgment to Boris here.

    Boris straightened his back, followed by both of his hands clasping onto themselves in front of his chubby stomach. His sweat coating his face, Boris focused his eyes on the blonde-haired man with cold eyes.

    (Boris) How about we do this? We¡¯ll keep all of this a little secret. It¡¯s our job as soldiers to protect and defend the weak, not turn on each other by higher powers.

    (Agent Briggs) The silver-haired weirdo here would agree with you. He was the one who ordered me around the battle in the military complex, despite me being the leader. Two silver-haired weirdos, one of them is with you.

    Turning his attention toward Fred in the back of everyone, his face stiffened as he put his right hand onto the back of his head. Rubbing it gently, he let out a quivered smile, his lips moving erratically as they twitched.

    (Fred) Hehe ¡­ Aren¡¯t we all tired? I mean, all this combat has stirred us around.

    (Boris) Yeah, considering that we fought with all our might.

    Turning his head back toward Briggs, he extended his right hand. His hand is noticeably sweaty and clammy, Briggs let go of the black metal object that he held inside of his jacket, placing it back into its pocket compartment.

    Seeing the hand, his right hand let out a small twitch, his fingertips wanting to curl itself up into a fist.

    (Boris) I think it¡¯s time we all rest up.

    Extending his hand toward Boris¡¯s, both shook their hands in a hard shake, their eyes remaining focused on each other as Boris held a firmer grip than usual.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:22AM)

    Laying awake inside of his room, Luke spread his arms and legs apart, looking up towards the white ceiling as the ceiling fan cooled down his body.

    His sheets were on the floor sleeping on the wooden ground, followed by the closed windows that didn¡¯t let the smoked air from coming in. With nothing but a black shirt and black sweatpants, he put a hand on his forehead.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m clean, I¡¯m well fed, and I¡¯m exhausted from all of that shooting and fighting, so what gives?

    Turning his head toward the door, he noticed that it was slightly open, even though the light from outside wasn¡¯t even on. Slowly pulling his sore body up, he sat on the bed and laid his hands on his thighs, his eyes squinting through the open gap that the door created.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t know anymore. I mean, I did the bare minimum of becoming a soldier, but how can I become Gwen¡¯s soldier?

    The door to his room creaked open.

    Flinching upward, Luke got out of the bed and he placed both of his bare feet onto the wooden tiles beneath him. With his hands placed in front of him, he slowly tiptoed toward the creaking door, his toes and heels feeling the cold laminated wood.

    Reaching the door, he leaned his entire body weight onto the wooden door, feeling its exterior coating as the dark wood melted against his skin.

    His ear pressing the edge of the door, he had his hands stationary on the wood, his breathing quiet as he slowly inhaled and exhaled.

    And then¡­

    (Luke) Ow!

    The wooden door swung open, hitting his face as his nose took most of the brunt, causing him to walk backward until his back hit the wall. Placing both of his hands onto his nose, blood soon started to spurt out, drips of it hitting the wooden tiles.

    Clenching his eyes, the blood smearing his hand and fingers, his teeth ground onto each other against the searing pain.

    Opening his eyes, he took a step forward as he let go of his hands, and upon seeing who was behind the door¡­

    (Luke) W-What? What are you doing?

    A young woman with blue eyes and blonde hair put her hands onto her mouth, with her mouth widening open as her eyes were pushed up.

    Jumping up and down with her toes several times, she swayed her head sideways repeatedly as her throat quivered.

    (Hope) I-I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!

    (Luke whispering) Don¡¯t yell. People are sleeping¡­

    Using his left hand to cover his bleeding nose, he extended his right hand to let Hope in as his palm was facing forward, his face flustered with his cheeks reddened.

    Seeing that he was still bleeding, she instantly used her left hand to close the door behind her quietly. Looking at Luke with water in her eyes, she put her right hand onto his left hand.

    (Hope) Here, let me help you.

    A yellowish light emitted from her right palm, the light latched onto Luke¡¯s broken nose, as well as lighting up the entire room around them. With each second that passed, the less the blood dripped from his nose, causing him to slowly let go of his hand.

    The yellowish light fading away, Luke¡¯s nose was fully healed.

    While Hope¡¯s body started to slug forward, her legs wobbled as her head started to heat up, and she let out a raspy cough.

    (Luke) Thanks, Hope, but why are you awake? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be asleep? You did heal Jenny for a couple of hours straight.

    (Hope) Sorry, but I couldn¡¯t sleep for some reason¡­

    (Luke) But why here? Is there anything that you need from me?

    Hope looked down onto the wooden tiles that had blood stains on them, seeing the drying blood becoming a part of Luke¡¯s room. Her face flushing a pink-red, she turned her head toward where Luke¡¯s messy bed was, as her head was still down.

    (Hope) Can I talk to you about something, on the bed¡­?

    (Luke) ¡­ S-Sure¡­

    Walking rapidly toward his messy and disorganized bed, he quickly sat his butt down on the old mattress, placing both of his hands onto his knees as hot sweat dripped from his forehead. Having his head down, he didn¡¯t dare to look at Hope, his fists enclosed tightly with one another.

    Hope followed suit and sat herself on the bed, clasping her hands as the darkened sky blocked most of their visibility.

    (Luke) So¡­

    (Hope) I need to know, and I want an honest answer, please.

    (Luke) Ok¡­

    (Hope) Do you like Luna?

    Luke turned his head slowly as his hands trembled on his knees, letting out a huge gulp from within his throat. Opening his mouth slightly, his throat started to jump within his throat, his vocals allowing low hums.

    (Luke) I uh ¡­ well ¡­

    Her hands trembled as her clasped hands tightened between one another, her body shivering as her eyes withheld hot tears. Placing both her feet and legs slowly onto the bed, she managed to lean her body more toward him.

    (Luke) I guess ¡­ I¡¯m just fine with any girl that likes me back.

    (Hope) What?

    Unclasping her hands, she put her palms onto the bed as her entire body was on all fours on the bed, staring at him.

    Seeing that she wasn¡¯t pleased by this answer, Luke let go of his hands that held his knees, putting both of his hands onto the bed as his body was now facing toward her.

    (Luke) Are you ok? What''s going on¡ª

    (Hope) So if Luna asks you out, would you go out with her?

    (Luke) I mean¡­

    (Hope) Then what about me?

    Moving her body toward Luke, he had no choice but to place his back against the front frame of the bed, having his entire body on the bed. His legs and feet lying motionless, and his hands and arms were placed forward onto the angry Hope, he squinted his eyes as a bead of sweat rolled down his right temple.

    Meanwhile, Hope gritted her teeth against one another, letting out a loud and angry hum from her throat.

    (Hope) Are you this insecure? Do you think that no girl likes you?

    (Luke) What is this about?

    (Hope) Do you like me?

    (Luke) Y-you ¡­ you look cute ¡­

    (Hope) Then?

    (Luke) I don¡¯t know how to approach¡ª

    Hope then placed both of her hands on the helm of his cheeks, creating a loud smack as a hint of redness formed on his face. Letting out a low hmph, she had his arms and hands spread out, his lips and mouth enclosed shut as he saw the angry-looking Hope grip his fingernails onto his face.

    (Hope) Are you a dummy?

    (Luke) A what¡­?

    (Hope) .... Fine then. I¡¯ll just show you myself!

    Having his body still, she slowly leaned her face close to his, her lips licking each other as she wanted them to be moistened. Closing her eyes, she moved her hands so that Luke¡¯s face could be closer to his.

    Having no choice but to submit to her wishes, Luke started to pant heavily as his entire body remained still as if he was frozen.

    Their lips inches away from each other, Hope was about to connect her and his together¡ª

    An orange light emitted from the darkened room.

    Both of them stopped, they turned their heads slowly toward the burning light from afar, their eyes peeled out the window from the east. With Hope¡¯s body leaning next to his, both let their bodies motionless to the bed as¡­

    A fireball of herculean proportion was plastered into their very eyes.

    Widening their eyes.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is that¡ª

    Then came the shockwave.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 88: Setting Things Straight (1)

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:30AM)

    A reverb service bell aroused throughout his heart, piercing his soul as it caused the back ends of his hair to spike up.

    (Luke) Hope! Get down!

    Tackling her to the ground, both of his hands grabbed a hold of her waist and lower back, pinning her down to the ground with his body. Holding her tightly, he made sure his body was on top of hers, shielding her as the incoming shockwave¡­

    Rumbled the entire building.

    Feeling the entire building scream and shriek, many of the drawers collapsed. Lights, as well as the windows shattered.

    Yet the building remained standing.

    Looking up, he noticed that the building didn¡¯t crumble under the shock, but the many objects and drawers managed to crack the wooden tiles.

    Letting go of her body, he slowly stood up and dug his heels onto the slightly unstable wooden flooring, his eyes peering everywhere around the room. Looking toward Hope, he extended his hand as she slowly looked up toward him, her eyes widened with her hands trembling from the explosion.

    Grabbing his hand, Luke slowly pulled her up, his lungs letting out an exhale of breath from his hot and fresh mouth.

    (Hope) What is that¡­

    Luke looked toward the broken window that shattered, the same window that he placed his hand on six years ago when he had that slight mental breakdown.

    And.

    (Luke) No. No please. Not again.

    Beyond the eastern edges of the city, on top of a hill.

    Was death in titan form.

    As the smoke and ash flew into the hills beyond the east, a giant figure slowly started to stand from the burning flames, its embers seen with the naked eye.

    Slowly walking toward the window, Luke placed both of his hands onto the edge of the broken frame, the glass shards pelting his palms as they started to bleed. Without a care in the world, he saw the monster manage to stand up with all of its height, its devilish horns striking heaven above.

    (Luke) It¡¯s the same ¡­ it¡¯s the same ¡­ its¡ª

    The monster had breasts upon its chest, followed by its thighs and curves being feminine, which meant¡­

    (Luke) It¡¯s the same as six years ago¡­

    (Fred) Luke!

    Upon the wide open door, the lights from the hallway flickered violently, leading to four men facing the two adults in the room.

    Luke had his widened eyes staring at Fred, whose cheeks were stained by the hot tears that rolled down his face.

    The three other faces darkened as they saw the hideous display from out the window. Stan enclosed his hands to fists.

    (Stan) Hell just came back again Luke¡­

    With the six adults looking toward the window, the female giant fiery monster had both of its elbows tucked into her armpits, her hands forming into death fists as she buckled her knees. Looking straight toward the city skyline, her legs spread apart the earth and land that melted and burned away the grass, dirt, and soil.

    Opening its mouth, the vocals upon the fiery giant could be seen as its throat¡­

    Let out a roar of a thousand cries.

    Nothing like before, the monster¡¯s cry was a death roar, a yell that sought revenge or hatred upon the buildings that stood in her way.

    The rest of the adults in the room moved their feet toward the hallway, their feet pushing off the wooden ground. Seeing that the monster isn¡¯t going to just disappear, the six of them placed themselves in the middle of the flickering hall, the light going on and off.

    (Hope) What do we do?

    (Luke) We ¡­ I ¡­

    The doors of the hallway swung open, with the rest of the Dark Angels storming out into the hallway. And since there were empty rooms that they had in spare, many soldiers rushed out too, with the three agents and one spartan leaving one room alone.

    All of them huddled in the center of the violently flickering hallway, all of them had no choice but to feel their heat against each other.

    Since they weren¡¯t fully dressed, almost all of them had on their regular pajamas or sleeping clothes, with many of the other soldiers having simple tank tops or bras and underwear.

    (Stan) Your call, Luke.

    (Luke) But ¡­ I don¡¯t ¡­

    The hallway lights that flickered violently ceased, leading to them being alone in the dark again.

    A large roar of yelling spread across the unfiltered hallway, leading to many shouts coming from the small fry soldiers.

    (Diego) You can come up with anything, right Luke?

    (Luke) But¡­Stolen story; please report.

    With Luke and the rest of The Dark Angels being right in the middle of it all, they could only hear the sounds of the soldiers panicking. Being tugged and pushed around, Luke turned his head toward the sounds of familiar voices near him, trying to extend his hand outward.

    (Gary) Luke!

    (Luke) Shut up, I¡¯m trying to think¡ª

    But then a whitish light appeared right in front of everyone.

    The yelling stopped for good, they all turned their heads towards a woman that glowed in the dark, their eyes sparkling at the freckled woman. Seeing that Gwen was also with four others, Luke and the rest of the gang widened their eyes as they had their mouths agape.

    (Gwen) Hey, ya¡¯ll! I think we should plan this out, no?!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:45AM)

    (Agent Briggs) So what¡¯s the plan, freckled woman?

    (Gwen) Honestly, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just a commander.

    Agent Briggs clicked his tongue.

    In front of the Dark Angels building, the Dark Angels and platoons of soldiers stood in front of a military truck.

    (Boris) Attention!

    With almost everyone turning their glances towards the fiery breast reaching the outskirts of the industrial district of the city, they all huddled up in the cold summer night. As all the soldiers, agents, and Dark Angels hurdled up in the middle, there were four men and one woman standing on top of a truck.

    (Boris) At ease!

    The bowl-cut man on top of the truck spoke in a commanding manner, his posture straight with his hands being cusped into his lower back. Noticing that many of the soldiers managed to listen to his head of words, he turned his gaze toward the blonde-haired man with a fedora.

    (Boris) Take it away, Briggs.

    Having his hands in his black suit pockets, the agent gave a little nod toward Boris, casually making his way toward the back end as he straightened his back. Moving his head so that strands of hair wouldn¡¯t get inside his eye, he cleared his throat as he coldly glared at the rest of the soldiers.

    (Agent Briggs) You¡¯re all going to fight that thing whether you like it or not! Just because it¡¯s powerful doesn¡¯t mean it can¡¯t be destroyed!

    (Boris) Your agent is right!

    Boris cleared his throat as he rubbed his throat with his fingers.

    Despite his throat becoming more raspy, he continued to stare at every single soldier at the bottom of the trucks.

    (Boris) We don¡¯t have a plan, but what we do have is hope and faith! Unless you want this city¡ªno, this country to be toppled by that monster, then we all are going to pull our weight!

    All of the soldiers, even The Dark Angels started to let darkened faces cloud their eyes and eyelids, as some soldiers nudged their feet back. With many of them glancing at the fiery monster walking closer toward the outskirts of the city, their palms started to be coated withsweat.

    One soldier, or one young man in particular, raised his hand, a side bang on his hair covering his right eye.

    (Luke) With all due respect sir, but what do you propose we should do?

    All the rest of the soldiers turned their attention toward the young man, their bodies letting out shivers upon their lower and upper backs.

    Hearing this, Boris put his hands into his pockets, his gaze turning toward Luke as he pushed down his eyes and slightly opened his chubby mouth.

    (Boris) It¡¯s quite simple, we''re going to fight against that monster, and we¡¯re using this chance to finally kill it.

    Gasps and murmurs surrounded the entirety of the area between the two trucks, as many soldiers opened their mouths wide as they sucked in the area around them.

    Meanwhile, Luke put his head down as he looked over to his two holstered weapons to his sides, seeing his weapon choices. Holding in the air in his lungs, he swiped his forehead with his right sleeve, despite his forehead not having any sweat to wipe away.

    (Luke) But sir, how are we going to kill it?

    (Gwen) That¡¯s where you come along. You were there on that day, so did you or Fred, Gary, and Stan see anything out of the ordinary?

    As Stan, Fred, and Gary were to the right of him, followed by Diego and Hope to the left, Luke turned his head toward the three of them. Seeing that they were putting their hands into their pockets, their breathing started to skyrocket as their lungs went up and down erratically.

    Having his arms to his thighs, he straightened his back and face, despite his body trembling.

    (Luke) During that hellish day ¡­ did you guys see anything that might be of use ¡­

    (Stan) ¡­ I uh, I can¡¯t recall ¡­

    (Fred) Me neither ¡­ everything was just so quick, so fast ¡­

    (Gary) This is a long shot but ¡­ I guess I have a theory.

    Not just his friends, but most of the soldiers and even Boris and Briggs perked their ears up at the sound of Gary¡¯s statement.

    Noticing that Gary had the floor, he panned toward the five figures that were on top of the truck, his eyes glancing back and forth between them and his friends. Caressing his chubby yet slightly muscular chest with his right hand, he gulped down as a bead of sweat went inside his lips.

    (Boris) Go ahead, Gary.

    (Gary) During the escape from the city, and when we were on the lifeboats, I managed to catch a glimpse of when it last disappeared or rather exploded.

    (Boris) And where was that?

    (Gary) ¡­ It exploded at the Clastine water facility.

    Boris rubbed his double chin with his fingers as he nodded.

    (Boris) So you¡¯re saying that the monster¡¯s weakness might be water?

    (Gary) Maybe, but we won¡¯t know till we try.

    (Agent Briggs) How didn¡¯t you go blind? Reports say that anyone who saw the explosion of the dissipating monster immediately lost their ability to see.

    (Gary) My friends and I were long gone, and I used high-lensed binoculars to see the creature emitting a bright light. I pulled away as soon as the monster exploded.

    (Agent Briggs) How far were you from the monster? Give me an estimate.

    (Gary) Probably 30 to 40 miles¡­

    Briggs took off his fedora that he wore on top of his straight blond hair, using his right hand to hold the top of the hat. With his left hand, he swiped away a good strand of his side bang that started to cover his left eye.

    Spanning his head right at Boris, he lifted his head as he tightened the grip on his fedora, his fingertips feeling the black fabric and cloth.

    (Agent Briggs) Given the speed at which the monster is going, she¡¯s surprisingly taking her sweet time. Where is the Lagefor Water pump facility located?

    (Boris) That will be downtown, on the northern side of the district.

    Everyone turned toward the skyline to the north, seeing the pitch-black high-rising buildings shrouded in imminent darkness.

    Placing his right hand onto the holster of his gun, Luke used his fingertips to caress the grip as he eyed one particular building, a building that was the highest one in the city.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) So we¡¯re all going to be going back there huh¡­

    His left hand trembled as he laid it flat onto his thigh, his bottom lip quivering. He looked up toward the dimming cloudy sky that was being replaced with a reddish color.

    He smacked his face with both hands.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s been six years. We¡¯re strong. All we need to do is spread out and take on certain tasks.

    Raising his hand high, his smooth yet rough palm was shown again, leaving every soldier to turn their head toward him. Getting the attention of both Boris and Briggs, Boris gave him a simple nod while Briggs folded his arms and glared at him with sharpened eyes.

    Having the floor to him again, Luke straightened his back and cleared his throat, pounding the right side of his chest with his right hand as he looked upward at the two.

    (Luke) I think ¡­ I think I might be able to tend to all of our strengths.

    (Boris) Speak away.

    Putting his hand down, he used the same hand he used to get everyone¡¯s attention to stick out his thumb, pointing it toward himself as he sharpened his eyes.

    (Luke) With all due respect, I think all four of us, from agents to soldiers, and elite soldiers alike should work together to do four separate tasks to take out or at least loosen the death count amongst the civilians that are still here.

    Everyone''s eyes widened at the same time, as some soldiers put their hands toward their mouths.

    The five figures that were on top of the truck looked at one another, peering into one another¡¯s eyes. With the five of them turning their attention back toward the man with light brown hair, four of them looked at the woman at the back of them.

    Moving their head to where the boy was, the freckled woman started walking toward the back of the truck, her body being seen by everyone, including Luke who widened his eyes.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) So he finally came up with something good for him.

    Folding her arms, she looked toward the soldiers that were in front of her, seeing that there was a clogged mess of men and women hurdled up like sardines. Standing up straight, she cleared her throat as she used her vocals to the extent of her ability.

    (Gwen) Bring that young man toward the top of the truck! Clear the way for him!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 89: Setting Things Straight (2)

    All of the soldiers that were in his way slowly took many steps back, creating a small empty line for Luke to traverse.

    His eyes peering into the many soldiers, he saw them all having their faces looking down to the ground, beads of sweat pouring onto the cement and asphalt. His hands slowly and surely relaxed, his feet and legs were in a state of relaxation, his chest heaving up and down in a normal manner.

    And with a simple lunge with his right foot, he slowly walked through the line of many soldiers, seeing the five figures from on top.

    Making his way on top of the truck, he slowly put his feet on the roof of the green metal, digging his feet deep onto it casually as he had a similar experience in being on top of automobiles. Passing through the Lieutenant and Sergeant, as well as passing through Briggs and Boris, he made his way toward the freckled woman.

    (Luke) What do you want me to do?

    (Gwen) Tell them what to do Luke. I know you have good ideas, but use that voice of yours.

    Putting her right hand onto his left shoulder, Gwen looked right into his red eyes, his eyes having a grayish red.

    Letting out a confident smile, she tilted her head to the left.

    (Gwen) Because that voice is going to lead to great things.

    Patting Luke¡¯s left shoulder with her right hand, she moved past him as she made her way toward the other end of the truck. Looking ahead toward the crowd of soldiers perking their ears up, Luke tapped his heel two times until he urged his legs to move forward.

    Walking toward the back of the truck, the five of them saw the young man place his feet on the edge, his toes leaving them hanging as his heels did most of the lifting.

    Having all of the eyes set on him, Luke¡¯s body trembled under the weight of all the attention. Fiddling his fingers with one another, he turned his head toward Gwen, his eyes pleading for help.

    But Gwen just gave him a thumbs up.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I guess I have to pull my weight¡­

    Standing up straight, he lay both of his hands motionless to gravity, his palms facing the crowd as the moon managed to slightly pierce through the clouds. The dim moonlight rained down onto the crowd of soldiers, they had their feet digging into the cement and asphalt of the street they stood on.

    As for Luke, his face started to turn pale, yet his chest puffed out.

    (Luke) I may be just an ordinary soldier, but there is a way to win this!

    The rest of the soldiers blinked blindly, with half of them squinting their eyes at the young man. Feeling as if he was out of the loop, Luke tilted his head up, closing his eyes as his body continued to shake more.

    (Luke) I suggest we make four teams. One of them leads toward the water pump facility, and the other team tries to hold back the monster. Two other teams will be in charge of evacuating any civilians, as well as exterminating any possible zompires.

    Everyone nodded their heads toward the different tasks that were dawned on the list, with many of the soldier¡¯s breathing slowing down as their hands slowly dimmed with calmness.

    Gwen turned her head toward Boris and Briggs, her smile not leaving her face as she had her thumb pointed to herself. With her left hand on her hip, her eyes slanted upward as she parted her feet a couple of inches away from each other.

    (Gwen) I raised that boy.

    Continuing along with the plan¡­

    (Luke) For the water pump facility located on the northern side of the city, I and a handful of elite soldiers will enter, so no military personnel will be needed.

    Extending his right hand upward, he stook out his thumb as it pointed right towards himself. Looking toward the crowd, he scoured many of his friends and comrades, his eyes peering into any one of them with a worried look.

    Fortunately for him, a blonde-haired girl raised her hand high, followed by a red-haired man with well-kept hair.

    (Hope) I¡¯ll be accompanying him!

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) I hope this is the easiest job¡­

    Another hand shook up from near Hope, the hand being smooth as many of the soldiers turned toward a man with weird hair. Widening his eyes, Luke let a bead of sweat roll down both his temples, clearly not ready for the man who wanted to accompany him¡­If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    (Fred) I¡¯m going too!

    And another surprising hand joined into the mix, a soldier with long blonde hair as he had his hair wrapped in a ponytail. Taking out his helmet with his other hand, he showcased his youthful face as he cleared his throat.

    (???) My name¡¯s Johnny Zirardge, and I¡¯m part of the reserves despite my position as the son of Doug Zirardge. I am willing to accompany you, Luke Fenix.

    Giving a simple and shy nod toward the soldier, Luke scratched his cheek as he stared into the abyss, his eyes pinned toward the many random soldiers from below.

    The rest of the soldiers abroad were also taken back.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I mean ¡­ I guess I¡¯ll allow it.

    Keeping that thought to him, Luke panned his attention back toward the other soldiers. His face started to let out droplets of sweat from his cheeks, his heels started lifting him repeatedly to the edge of the roof of the truck.

    (Luke) As for battling the monster, a few elite soldiers will be needed, but if it¡¯s all right, 50% of the military will be needed.

    Looking through the crowd of soldiers again, he noticed a couple of Dark Angels raising their hands high.

    One of the soldiers was a tanned woman with elegant beauty, and the other a dark complected man with a strong body. Seeing the woman, many of the male soldiers gawked and nodded their heads slowly, taking in Luna as she folded her arms, rolling her eyes as she tilted her head.

    (Luna) If it¡¯s Luke¡¯s request, then by all means.

    (Miles) I¡¯m going to have to put my shielding to the test then.

    Three other hands raised from the crowd¡­

    Stan, Gary, and Diego straightened their eyes right at Luke, their palms in the sky as their faces darkened, their eyelids being shaded in a dark black.

    (Stan) We¡¯ll plan on dealing with the monster on a smaller scale. Me and Gary have a couple of gadgets that could work on that beast. I mean, we¡¯ve been planning something like this ever since we first got in.

    (Diego) And I know all the shortcuts and streets here in Lagefor, so I¡¯ll lead the military and platoons to ambush it whenever they can.

    His hands trembling at the sound of Diego¡¯s words, he looked to the right where the monster continued to make its way toward the city, the fiery smoke now reaching the outer layers of the industrial center.

    Noticing that his right hand was twitching erratically, he placed his left hand onto his right wrist, taking in an exhale of air as it pushed into his lungs.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I just hope those three make it out okay. Out of all of us, those three don¡¯t have blessings. Then again, Fred also doesn¡¯t have a blessing.

    Patting the right side of his chest two times, he warmed up his vocals as he hummed for a quick second. Lifting his face upward again, his eyes glanced up toward the sky, his nervousness coming back to him again as his heels started to tremble despite hovering over the edge.

    (Luke) For the two teams that will be evacuating and exterminating zompires, the rest of the elite soldiers will be used, as well as 25% of the military needed for each team. I also want two agents on each team.

    Benn, Loraine, and David raised their hands high, causing many murmurs and gasps to circulate the entire area as they saw those three hands.

    For one, they all noticed that Benn had a bluish hand, as they saw his beast-human skin that resembled a shark-human. Second, they noticed that a fourteen-year-old girl was secretly hidden underneath the number of men, her head popping out like a sore thumb as her pigtails swayed. And third, they took in the middle-aged man, with some of them noticing that particular face and body as if they were seeing a celebrity.

    (David) Me, Loraine, and Benn are willing to exterminate and rescue any civilians if needed. I trust that Benn will be watching under Loraine, and I¡¯ll go in alone.

    (Agent Eren) I¡¯ll go with the girl and shark-human.

    (Agent Ada) Me too. Who knows what that sharky will do?

    Clenching his hands tightly into fists, Benn looked down onto the ground as he received cold glares from the rest of the soldiers around him. Feeling their icy stares digging into the depths of his soul, Benn¡¯s legs started to shake as his face slowly darkened evermore.

    Until ¡­

    (Johnny) Leave that man alone, would he do something hideous at this hour?

    Everyone had their eyes on the tall blonde-haired soldier who wore no helmet.

    Half of the soldiers either glared at him or looked down at the ground, a common reaction to those who are either in the wrong or believe they¡¯re in the right.

    Eren looked down to the ground, his boots feeling the black asphalt as cracks upon the pavement were shown. As for Ada, she only glared at the tall man, folding her arms as she squinted under her oval-shaped glasses.

    To break the silence¡­

    (Jenny) I¡¯m coming too!

    Running along the pavement, a woman with glasses and monolid eyes ran through the busying crowd of soldiers, making her way toward David. With everyone seeing the woman push her legs off the asphalt, they noticed that the woman scratched her stomach with her right hand.

    The only thing that David did was muster his eyes wide open, his face beading with sweat as he swayed his head no. Upon reaching right toward him, Jenny pulled back her hand as she looked up to see an exhausted face.

    (David) You¡¯re recovering. You should rest¡ª

    (Jenny) I want to fight.

    (David) You need¡ª

    (Jenny) I want to fight!

    Both of her hands curled up into fists, she pounded them once amongst his chest, her face sharpened as her eyes glared at the nonchalant man. David let out an exhale.

    (David) Ok ¡­ but you¡¯re staying behind me.

    Her hands were high in the air, she let out a jump of relief, a smile dawning upon her face.

    Jenny continued to scratch her stomach, her fingernails tracing the healed wounds that still pinched inside of her abdomen.

    Hope looked over to see that Jenny was right alongside David, causing her to let out a cute yet angry groan from her throat. Balling her hands up, she made a little pout.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) I healed her from the brink of death!

    (Luke) Alright. I think that¡¯s¡ª

    (Agent Briggs) I¡¯ll be going along with the man with the cowboy hat.

    (Spartan Alexandra) And I¡¯ll follow along with Briggs here~

    (Agent Briggs) Just don¡¯t get in my way, please¡­

    Putting his hands inside his suit jacket, he moved his body away as Alexandra licked her lips toward the pale-skinned man. Seeing that Briggs didn¡¯t want any physical contact from the lustful Alexandra, she wrapped her arms around the man.

    (Agent Briggs) God, you¡¯re so annoying¡­

    (Luke) Before I plan on each particular task for each team, I wanted to give you guys the biggest thanks I could give you.

    Putting both of his feet together, Luke¡¯s back remained straight as he tilted his face upward to the sky. The moon light now shining down right toward him, Luke had his right fist curled up like a ball.

    And then he pounded his left chest twice and glided it to where it stopped at the right chest.

    The rest of The Dark Angels followed suit, doing the same salute that Luke had given to them.

    (Luke) Now let¡¯s get down to the details of every team thereafter¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 90: Bringer of Death

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:55AM)

    (Luke) For the team that will be stalling, you guys will be facing off against the monster right in the center of the industrial district.

    Having his hands in front of him, his heels still gripping the edge of the back of the truck¡¯s roof, he still had his attention amongst everyone who eyed him.

    Seeing Luna, Miles, Gary, Diego, and Stan, he gave them a small smile, the cheekbones of his cheeks pushing upward. Smelling the smoke-filled air that roamed the area, followed by feeling the slight temperature increase despite being on the cool summer night, Luke cupped his hands over the area of his crotch.

    (Luke) If the monster is taking its leisurely time, then you¡¯ll have to use the surrounding industrial buildings for leverage. Don¡¯t worry, Miles and Luna have blessings so the rest of you will be in safe hands.

    Many of the soldiers let out sighs of relief as they placed their hands onto their chests.

    Luna looked across the other soldiers who were sighing, letting out a cold frown on her face as she continued to fold her arms. Meanwhile, Miles straightened his back as he placed his right hand into his pocket, letting out a neutral face as he looked at every single soldier around him.

    (Miles) Don¡¯t worry. If you listen to me and Diego over there, you¡¯ll all make it back home in one piece.

    (50% of the soldiers) Yes sir!

    Putting their feet together, all of the soldiers accompanying Miles and his group gave off a military salute, placing their right hand onto their right eyebrow. Miles wiped away the sweat dripping from his temple, his sleeve being coated by the hot sweat.

    As for Diego, he truffled what little facial hair he had on his chin.

    (Diego) I¡¯ll lead the way. I can propose ambushes and set-ups for the soldiers to aim.

    (Stan) And Gary and I will go with you guys. You¡¯ll be surprised as to how much a person could achieve without using blessings.

    Letting off a smirk, Luna tilted her head as the corner of her right lip reached toward her right ear. Placing her hands onto her hips, her eyes slanted as her face was lifted upward as she looked at Stan.

    (Luna) Then it¡¯s a bet then.

    (Stan) Got it. Hey Luke!

    Looking up at Luke who was on top of the truck, Stan waved his hand up high, causing many soldiers to glance at the ginger-haired elf. As well as getting Luke¡¯s attention, Stan cleared his throat as he put both of his feet together, his hands on his thighs as he placed them straight.

    (Stan) Good luck out there. You¡¯re going to need it.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:35AM)

    (Miles) Stop right here, this is the place.

    A military jeep pulled right over to the tallest industrial building that they found, seeing the several stories high with their own eyes.

    Opening the jeep doors, came open both a man and a woman, with the man holstering two dual-wielding sawed-off shotguns and the woman holstering two metal batons on each hip. Setting foot on the black asphalt, both of them started to run toward it as they looked toward the right of them, seeing the fiery monster now stomping its way into the center of the industrial district.

    And in the back of them, two other men from the back seat also came out, one of them having ginger-brownish hair and the other had black spiky hair and a small mustache.

    (Stan) Come on Gary, we got to catch up to them.

    (Gary) I know just get me a second.

    As the two men stalled on the jeep, Luna found a metal ladder being on the left-hand side of the building.

    Both she and Miles reached toward it, they looked back to see that the two behind-the-scenes members were still in the back of the jeep, causing Luna to let out a huff.

    (Luna) That fatass. Is he having trouble getting out?

    (Miles) Come on, we gotta reach the roof. Let them handle it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    With Luna in front, she turned away with another huff as she placed her hands onto the ladder, using it to climb with her hands and feet. Digging herself onto each step along the way, she looked down to see that Miles was right behind her, his face looking straight toward the building as if he didn¡¯t dare to look above him.

    A vein popped out from her forehead. She halted climbing as she focused her attention downward onto the straight-faced Miles.

    (Luna) Don¡¯t even dare to look up! If you want to keep your teeth safe, then make sure your head doesn¡¯t even tilt up an inch!

    (Miles) I wasn¡¯t even looking up¡­

    (Luna) Whatever! I¡¯ll kick your ass if you do!

    Continuing to climb the ladder to the top, Luna managed to place both of her hands on the roof of the industrial building, setting herself so that her feet were stable on the metal floor. Along with Miles in tow, he also helped himself up, looking toward the sight that was right in front of him.

    The air around them burned, with sweat dripping down onto the roof as they both holstered their weapon.

    The sight of the monster was burned into their very eyes.

    (Miles) So what now ¡­

    (Luna) We just do what we''ve always been doing.

    The fiery feminine monster was only a mile away from them, setting its sights on the skyline as it stomped through the industrial center.

    Each stomp that it took created a large dent in the poor cement and earth that laid bare, creating a small crater that burned through the asphalt. Miles and Luna looked towards one another.

    (Miles) I¡¯m going to radio in Diego, and see if the convoy is up to speed.

    Having a walkie-talkie on the collar of his black leather jacket, Miles leaned close toward the device. Miles had a slight shiver run down his back, his grip on his dual-wielding guns tightening.

    His ears then perked up to the sound of static coming through the device, the sounds of a transmission letting out a low monotone frequency as it was soon picked up.

    (Miles) Diego, how¡¯s the setup going?

    (Diego on the walkie-talkie) Good so far. Me and the Lieutenant and Sergeant are both in the same jeep. We¡¯re getting close to the ambush point on the map.

    (Miles) Sure thing. Godspeed Diego.

    Hearing the sounds of the low-frequency transmission shutting off, Luna spotted Miles gripping the cross necklace he was wearing in his hands. She noticed his eyes closed as he mumbled words she could not quite hear.

    Once he was done, Miles cleared his throat as he straightened his back.

    (Luna) Are you religious?

    (Miles) Of course. I was raised in a rural town. How about you?

    (Luna) I was, before everything went to shit. I attended church, my father was religious and all.

    (Miles) Well, it was my mom¡¯s, and she never told me where she got it from, but she said it¡¯s important to her.

    Luna looked toward the monster that was soon coming, pushing the buttons on each baton. Upon inertia, both batons unleashed their twin double-edged blades, the metal reflecting her face and the monster in front of them.

    Glaring at the hellish sight, as well as seeing the sky turning from a dim orange to a fiery red, Luna wielded both her hands in front of her.

    (Luna) I just hope God is still looking down with a smile, cause I don¡¯t know how long he could tolerate us.

    (Miles) You and me both¡­

    Taking in an exhale of air into their lungs, both of them looked up toward the clouds above, looking at the moon that was clouded by the clouds. They grited their teeth and readied their position until they heard a yell.

    Jerking their heads in different directions, Miles and Luna ran toward the edge of the industrial building. They looked down in the direction of where the yell was and saw two men near the jeep, Miles squinted his eyes before he slapped a hand on his face.

    (Miles) You gotta be kidding me¡­

    (Luna) I thought you took care of him!

    (Miles) We took care of Harold, but not him¡­

    Near the jeep, a stretchy hand reached outward underneath the military jeep, grabbing a hold of Gary¡¯s leather.

    (Stan) Shit, Gary!

    (Gary) What the hell is grabbing me!?

    (???) Missed me?

    Gary''s entire body remained frozen as he widened his eyes. Gary didn¡¯t dare to look behind him or to the ground as his face began to turn pale.

    And then a body extorted out of the other side of the jeep, the head and body almost turning into a humanoid figure as it stopped being a stretchy substance.

    The body turned into a figure that wasn¡¯t fully human-like, as it had bunny features upon its face.

    (Stan) So you¡¯re planning to stop us¡­

    Stan had his left hand etched into the back end of his back, his fingers brushing the cold metal object that was holstered. With his right hand inside his jacket¡¯s pocket, he slowly moved his hand through his pockets as he remained in eye contact with the sudden appearance of the lich.

    (Stan) You¡¯re not getting away this time.

    (Ryan) Guess Harold¡¯s kill isn¡¯t enough for you, is it? I never thought you would rub off his gruesome death like that.

    (Gary) What¡­

    Stan puckered her lips into his mouth, an abundance of sweat rolling down his face as he looked over toward Gary¡¯s widened eyes.

    The droplets of sweat hitting the cement, his hands continued to remain inside of his jacket. Unable to move his feet, Gary continued to stare into the abyss, his chest heaving up and down frantically as he swayed his head back and forth.

    (Gary) You killed him ¡­

    (Stan) Look, Gary, I didn¡¯t have a choice¡ª

    (Gary) Did you talk with him?

    (Stan) I didn¡¯t mean to¡ª

    (Gary) Don¡¯t bullshit me, did you talk to him¡­?

    Stan looked down onto the cold sidewalk that had ash played around during the beginning of the night, his eyes not able to peer into Gary¡¯s as he kept to himself.

    His throat jumping with every vowel that he said, Stan took a step back from Gary, followed by his breathing fastening as he continued to stare at Gary. Noticing that his fingers started to twitch, Stan placed his back against the wall, his hands gripping onto both metal objects from the innards of his jacket.

    (Stan) We couldn¡¯t. He surprisingly attacked us first, and we had a chance where he was wounded. Me and Miles tried to help him out, but he pulled one last attack, so I haggled him into a rope. One thing led to another, and ¡­ the rope managed to be stuck in between the highway and the tire¡­

    Gary looked down as his hands were enclosed into fists, his knuckles sticking out as his chubby hands trembled.

    His breathing turned erratic, his legs wobbling as his feet started to loosen their grip on the cement.

    He looked toward the scared Stan, his eyes filled with tears.

    (Gary) I¡¯m tired¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 91: Defensive Retreat

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:40AM)

    (Luna, Miles, and Diego)

    (Miles) Luna! Help those two out for a bit!

    (Luna) What about you!?

    (Miles) I¡¯ll figure out something.

    On the top of the highest industrial building in the district, both Miles and Luna were standing over the edge of the roof, their eyes peering down onto the two men below.

    Having both of his hands feeling the relaxing wind that chilled his hands, he inhaled a multitude of air inside his lungs, trapping it as he soon let it out slowly.

    (Miles) You probably don¡¯t want to be ordered, but now¡¯s not the time. You have to help those two out, or Luke will never forgive you if something happens to them.

    (Luna) Dammit ¡­ you better think of something good!

    Gritting her teeth for a couple of seconds, Luna gripped both of her swords.

    In an instant, Luna vanished into thin air, the dust and dirt around the edges of her boots soon dropping onto the aluminum roof.

    Turning his head away from the two men from below, Miles looked up to see the fiery monster almost heading toward his position.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) So this is what death is huh? Death incarnate? Or a bringer of death?

    Having both of his sawed-off shotguns in his hands, he maintained a firm grip on them as he rubbed the metal with his thumbs.

    The monster still plowed through the district, the cool summer breeze ceased as it was replaced by a scornful wind filled with heat. The wind and heat hit him as if he was feeling the heat of an open oven, his face soon started to crunch up as he arched his head back.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) And how am I supposed to fight that thing with no leverage? The best I could do is hope that my shield is strong enough.

    His body poured out cold sweat to fight back the heat, Miles used his right sleeve to swipe away some sweat from his forehead. He started to breathe through his mouth as he squinted his eyes from the stinging pain, his arms losing the strength to support his guns.

    His eyes sharpened as most of his eyelids reached toward the center of his nose.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) So I guess that¡¯s all I have as of right now.

    Raising his right hand, he had his finger cozying itself on the trigger, the barrel pointing straight toward the monster that was right in front of him.

    He pulled the trigger, creating a loud gunshot that rippled through the district.

    The barrel of the sawed-off shotgun emitting smoke from its chamber, Miles still had his gun pointed toward the monster. Taking a step back, he continued to glare at the monster, biting his lower lip which soon released blood.

    As the monster looked down toward the puny insect that was in front of her.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) I guess that got her attention¡­

    Pulling his hand down to his side, he then spread his feet apart a couple of inches from one another. Slowly, Miles breathed in and out as the lingering heat coming from the creature continued to soak Miles¡¯s body.

    Opening her mouth, the monster let out a deafening cry, her vocals tearing apart one another as the high-pitched shriek caused Miles to cover his ears with his arms rather than his hands.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Shit, I didn¡¯t think this through did I?!

    Her whole body hunching forward, she pulled back her right arm and hand, the hand reaching the ash-covered clouds that she created from her flames. Keeping her flaming eyes on the man below, she then thrust her open palmed hand toward him, the fastening speed of the monster reaching an ultimatum.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Where¡¯s Luna when you need her?!

    Miles felt the need to breathe as his body temperature kept rising. With his body beginning to feel like a wet cloth, the flaming palm that projected onto Miles.

    Flattened the entire building, her hand reaching the depths of the concrete.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    The hand remaining on the completely flattened building, the monster then started to drop out burning magna from the corners of its mouth.

    Rolling down from her red-skinned burning face, the monster then slowly lifted her hand upward, as well as pulling her own body back up. Standing in a straightened position, she looked down to see the completely leveled and flattened building, smoke and dust filling the entire area around it.

    Her left hand was enclosed into a fist, and she dug her rigid nails into her skin, the pain of her own body causing her to heave her chest erratically.

    But another loud gunshot was heard.

    Looking up toward one of the other buildings that was near the flattened one, the monster saw smoke emitting from the dust cloud that surrounded the said person. The dust being swept away, it revealed a dark composed man still pointing his gun, smoke leaving the barrel of his right shotgun.

    And next to him was a tanned woman with twin-bladed, double-edged swords.

    (Miles) I almost pissed my pants at your late arrival!

    (Luna) At least I¡¯m here you meathead.

    (Miles) Well, thanks for helping me though.

    They both turned their attention toward the monster in front of them, the flames of the creature sprouting out of its scaly skin.

    Having both of their weapons at hand, Miles glanced at the swords Luna¡¯s wielding.

    (Miles) I don¡¯t think you can fight her with those.

    (Luna) I¡¯m not as stupid as you are. You can¡¯t do shit with those close-ranged shotguns alone either.

    (Miles) Then why the hell did we decide to fight her in the first place?

    (Luna) We chose to do it. Besides, we¡¯re here to stall it, not defeat it.

    (Miles) Well, it looks like we won¡¯t be able to hold her off much longer!

    (Luna) Deal with it!

    Seeing that the monster was ready for another attack, Luna got close to Miles as she locked her left arm around Miles¡¯s right.

    The monster began to raise her arm, her hand forming into a fist as she hurdled it down toward the two adults on the roof. As the flaming hand began to spread out more waves of heat, she turned her body the opposite way, seeing another building that was suitable for standing or running.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    (Luna) You better keep up!

    (Miles) I¡¯m more worried about you!

    As soon as the monster had its¡¯ fist close to the building they were on top of, Luna vanished yet again.

    Teleporting onto another building that was facing Luna, they quickly stumbled down as they quickly put themselves back up.

    Noticing that the monster was keeping its eyes on them, the two of them pushed their legs off of the aluminum roofs of the industrial building. They continued to remain locked onto one another when Miles noticed Luna¡¯s extensive breathing.

    (Miles) We can¡¯t have it go northwest any further! We need to push it toward the northeast if we can!

    (Luna) What does it look like I¡¯m doing!?

    Miles looked behind him as the monster was barreled both of her fists at them, the flaming heat starting to make him buckle his legs. Noticing that Miles was slowing down, Luna began to tug him, using her body weight to push him further.

    Teleporting again, both of them landed on another building, the heat behind them dimming as their bodies began to soak with cold sweat.

    (Miles) I hate that thing ¡­ pants ¡­ I just hate hot weather in general ¡­ pants

    (Luna) I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re a tundra boy! Just keep moving!

    Still pushing their legs to their limits, Miles soon placed his left hand onto his chest, his breathing starting to weaken. Luna gritted her teeth as the arm lock between both of them started to tighten evermore, her chest upheaving faster than it did before.

    Miles noticed that Luna¡¯s face began to be coated with sweat, followed by her hair being puffed up.

    (Miles) You¡¯re tired pants, aren¡¯t you¡­

    (Luna) Tired¡­? Me¡­? Are you a dumbass?

    (Miles) Says the person with puffed-up hair.

    (Luna) You got something to say!?

    They stopped bickering when they felt the heat soon returning.

    Looking behind them, they gaped at the monster as it began running towards them.

    Widening their eyes, both of them noticed a row of buildings they needed to traverse, the hard metal beginning to blister their feet.

    (Miles) Luna! ¡­ pants ¡­ Can you teleport ¡­ pants ¡­ to the last building?

    (Luna) I could, why?

    (Miles) Just do it!

    As soon as they were already on the edge of the building, Luna looked toward the last building in the row of buildings ahead of them. Her hands began to tremble, and she swayed her head once as she sharpened her eyes at it.

    Teleporting past many buildings, both of them were out of the burning heat.

    Miles arched his head up as his legs began to feel the soreness of their sprint, while for Luna¡­

    Began to wheeze as her face was turning pale.

    (Miles) You ¡­ You need to breathe in more¡­

    (Luna) gasps ¡­ supt up!

    (Miles) Seriously ¡­ pants ¡­ you¡¯re not speaking straight.

    (Luna) I dun¡¯t ¡­ gasps ¡­ need no help! I cud ¡­ gasps ¡­ spek fi!

    The heat from the monster began to thicken once again.

    Not even bothering to look behind them, the two of them noticed that the nearest building where they had leverage was far away from their original standpoint.

    Or about several blocks away.

    Not even halfway to the center of the roof, the heat from behind them quickened, causing their legs to buckle as Luna¡¯s teleportations and Miles¡¯s intolerance to heat began to dawn on them.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Could we make it to the other building¡­

    The back of their necks began to sunburn, Miles glanced at the charging monster, seeing an incoming fiery fist already rapidly being thrown right at them. With nowhere to go but to teleport to the faraway building in the distance, Miles straightened his body as his neck started to lose stability, causing him to wobble his head like a bobhead.

    As for Luna, her skull began to smash itself into one another, the top of her head making her ears ring as if someone poured magma on her head.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I could make it! I could do it! I¡¯m strong!

    The two were close to the edge of the building.

    While the fist that was hurdled at them was a few feet away from flattening them.

    Feeling their hair begin to sizzle under the cataclysm of heat clouding around them, their eyes widened as the top of their eyes noticed the hand slowly trapping them.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Mom ¡­ Dad ¡­ Coach ¡­

    Miles extended his arm outward toward the building that he focused his entire being on, the space between them closing.

    Luna¡¯s eyes began to redden, followed by a drop of blood dripping out from the right corner of her mouth.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m sorry¡­

    The monster¡¯s hand was mere inches away from making them into burnt pancakes, their heads puffing up as the dry heat shriveled their bodies like old prunes.

    And at the last second.

    The monster slammed onto the building that they were on, its fists again pushing down onto the pavement below.

    As another dust storm clouded the area, the monster couldn¡¯t see if she had hit their bodies at all, the smoke clogging her flaming red eyes. For a last resort, the monster turned her head toward a building that was many blocks away, her eyes squinting as she saw from the top of the roof.

    Two adults, a man and a woman leaning back against a chimney.

    Instead of running, the monster began to slowly walk toward them, her eyes panning at the two completely exhausted adults who had their mouths open and their arms motionless to the ground.

    With each stomp that she took, Terra shook.

    With each thud amongst the cement and soil underneath, it reverberated throughout the buildings many miles from its epicenter.

    And with the heat of a hillbilly oven, the wave of low humidity and dryness made the entire district into a desert.

    Reaching onto the building that bestowed the two adults, the monster looked down as she had her arms motionless to gravity. Her hands were enclosed into fists, her flaming eyes began to dim as the light from them started to falter like a dying star.

    (Sidney¡¯s thoughts) The end is nigh for the chosen.

    Extending her right hand, the wind and heat that came out from her hand died down, the scaly red skin upon her palms and knuckles turning into a blackish red. Her right palm hovering over the two exhausted adults, she let out a low hum from her throat, her vocals jingling with one another to create a low static sound.

    With nothing to do but just brace for the bringer of death, they closed their eyes shut as the world around them darkened¡­

    Until the monster turned its body the opposite way.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Flinching her body forward, the monster crouched down as her palm didn¡¯t hover over the two of them anymore, the dim heat not forcing itself onto both Miles and Luna.

    Her eyes flaming bright red, she took a whiff of many anti-air vehicles, their main firing barrel being a long turret compressor. And instead of a rocket shell, missile, or even a fancy railgun¡­

    (Lieutenant) Hit her again!

    The bullet was similar to a rail gun, in that the bullet released a white light that shined the entire area around it when fired. Released from the chamber and out the barrel, the highly compressed light hit the monster¡¯s back at light speed.

    Making a hole in her back, the Lieutenant kept his hand down, his face still looking at the monster as his eyes sharpened. Next to him were two other figures that saw the hole of compressed light hitting her, their eyes sparkling as one of the figures took a step back.

    One was a Sergeant and the other was a tanned man with glasses.

    (Diego) So this is the power of mana, huh?

    (Sergeant) We mine mana for energy, and it led to the most beautiful creation ever created.

    (Diego) Do you think mana would be something that will be used for spiritual energy? Similar to a person¡¯s stamina you know?

    (Sergeant) Where did that come from? Mana has always been our energy source for lighting, basic energy, and electricity. It¡¯s one of our most valuable energy sources.

    Near them were groups of soldiers carrying tinted rifles with a pointed barrel. Having a little battery inside of the chamber, combined with a reticle of the gun showcasing a moving dot, all of the soldiers aimed their weapons right at the creature that aimed at them.

    Seeing that the monster started to flame out even more, the scaly skin started to peel off as magma dripped from the corners of her mouth.

    (Sergeant) That son of a bitch wants to come to us¡­

    (Diego) What do we do?

    (Lieutenant) Well, did you coordinate that ambush like you promised?

    (Diego) Yeah, but I don¡¯t think it will work though¡ª

    (Lieutenant) I don¡¯t care if it doesn¡¯t stop it fully. As long as that bitch stalls for even a second, that¡¯s a success in my book.

    Turning his body toward the monster, the flaming beast then started to push her body off the melted cement that was drenched in the blistering heat.

    Almost as if she was running like a human, she moved her arms in a jogging motion, her feet kicking up the ground as flaming debris scattered throughout every direction. The Lieutenant stood tall, his eyes unwavering for even a second.

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) That contraption is the only invention that I did without the help of Luke, Stan, Fred, and even Gary. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was just a fly to the monster.

    He placed his right hand onto his mouth with his thumb on his cheekbone. Diego¡¯s other hand curled up into a fist as his body soon started to tense up from the monster that was halfway toward their location.

    Bringing up his right hand, the Lieutenant and Sergeant both placed their right hands up high, their arms straightened out as their palms were facing toward the monster. Keeping them there, they cleared their throats, as their eyes widened at the heat that started to radiate around them.

    All the soldiers could do was stand while sweat dripped from their faces.

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) Just please ¡­ at least let it stall the monster for one second. That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking.

    As the monster continued to sprint toward the rest of the platoon, they all took a step back as the heat started to thicken the air around them, causing them to turn their heads away. As if feeling the heat of an oven attacking them, they didn¡¯t dare to open their eyes as the heat from the monster managed to turn their bodies into sucked-up mummies.

    Diego¡¯s chest started to stab him from the burning air that began to cook his lungs, a slight tear dropped down from his enclosed eyelids.

    Until they heard a loud contraption.

    Opening his left eye, Diego glanced at the fiery monster, causing him to open his eyes.

    Diego''s jaw dropped.

    Looking down onto her ankles, the monster was wrapped by a long strap of nylon rope, her legs unable to push forward as it was locked on tight. Her eyes flamed more yet her body continued to dim the heat, the rope started to cause her legs to wobble, her knees on the verge of buckling.

    As they all saw this, the soldiers all looked toward Diego, who had his hands placed on the back of his head as he gripped his hair.

    (Diego) It worked¡­

    Many vehicles were placed onto a certain intersection that the monster decided to roll on through. With the vehicles all holding down the monster¡¯s ankles like nothing, all of them gave Diego a thumbs up and nod, making him jump up once as he lit up a smile.

    (Diego) Holy shit it worked!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 92: Dont Change, Grow

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) F ¡­ F ¡­

    She couldn¡¯t even open her eyes properly.

    (Miles) C-Coach ¡­ C-C-C-C-Coach¡­

    He couldn¡¯t even speak properly.

    Having her body rest upon the chimney that released the industrial air from a normal workday, Luna laid her arms motionless on the aluminum roof of the building. Unable to even flicker her eyes open, the swords that she held onto were laid onto the roof near her hands, her fingers not even feeling the metal batons.

    As for Miles, he also rested his back upon the brick chimney, but he had his knees up more compared to Luna. Placing one of his arms on the ground while the other was on his knee, he stared into the abyss as his vision blurred in front of him.

    (Miles) Oh ¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have run¡­

    His mouth slightly opened, and he tilted his head to the right at an angle, his throat stabbing his vocals as they started to fight against each other. He let out raspy breaths of air.

    (Miles) Why did I run¡­? Why did you make me run¡­?

    Turning the camera to Luna, her breathing became frantic, the gasps that went forward out of her mouth turning into wheezes, her face as pale as a lich.

    (Luna) Dad¡­

    A teardrop rolled down her right eye, it dropped onto her right leg, the tear splattering on her pants. Her eyes still locked out by her eyelids, she then felt a mysterious presence coming from not behind her, not from the side of her¡­

    But right in front of her.

    Followed by Miles too.

    Slowly opening her eyes, Luna saw a burly and giant man right in front of her, the man folding his arms as his biceps were shown through his green camo t-shirt.

    His vision unblurred, Miles saw an overweight man wearing a big puffed-up jacket, holding in his right hand a wooden clipboard.

    (Luna) Dad I¡­

    (Miles) Coach ¡­ Please give me an answer.

    Both men looked down on their disciples, as both of them slowly walked toward the two adults that were on the brink of fainting. Towering over them, the two figures then decided to crouch down so that their eyes were face to face with theirs, their hands motioned on the aluminum roof.

    Clearing their throats, both of their eyes gleamed in the artificial light dawning from the creature from behind, their irises reflecting both adults'' faces in those pupils.

    (Coach) Live Miles. Don¡¯t think this is just the end.

    (Luna¡¯s Dad) Just rest mija. You have done so much.

    Both Luna and Miles jerked their heads up, causing them to feel a cold shiver run down their backs. Their eyes started to water up, they both tried to move their hands and arms, but even those weren¡¯t responding.

    Having no choice but to roll down a few tears from their cheeks, both men stood up as they lit up cheerful smiles.

    (Coach and Luna¡¯s Dad) Don¡¯t change. Grow.

    Both of the men then slowly started to wither away, the light that they were forged upon being swept away into the evening sky.

    Their lungs continued to pass in more air, they clenched both of their jaws shut.

    Gripping the roof of the building, they forced their weight on their shaky arms.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Get up!

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Come on work!

    Blood dripping from both corners of her mouth, Luna bit her cheeks with the sharp edges of her teeth. Miles moved his body upward with the way of the chimney, putting all of his strength onto his lower and mid back.

    Both of them saw the trapped monster thanks to Diego¡¯s successful ambush, both glared at the creature.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m strong! I don¡¯t need help!

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) You got to help them! Come on, please work!

    With wobbling legs, both managed to hunch their bodies forward as they had their hands on their knees.

    Their ears perked up as they both barely heard the sounds of a helicopter blade near them, which caused them to slowly turn their head to the right. Both of them managed to finally stand up straight, despite their body wobbling from either side.

    Out of the left side of the helicopter, four medics hopped out and placed their feet firmly on the aluminum roof that they shared with the two out-of-breath adults.

    Pushing against the aluminum roof, the metal echoed with each step they took, creating a radiance and vibration of radiant noise.

    (Medic #1) We have to tend to their wounds now!

    Reaching toward the two of them, all four medics saw Luna and Miles on the verge of collapsing, their knees buckled onto the roof. Two medics each placed their hands on both Miles and Luna.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    (Medic #2) She¡¯s ice cold! She must¡¯ve pushed herself when using her blessing.

    (Medic #3) The man here is the complete opposite! He has a high fever!

    (Medic #1) Let¡¯s treat them here! Let the soldiers now do their part! These two did theirs!

    Both Luna and Miles looked over toward the fiery monster that remained standing.

    As both of their breathing continued to intensify, all four medics then got out medical supplies, placing them on the ground as they decided to treat the two of them standing up.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Lieutenant) Way to go men! Let¡¯s finish this bitch once and for all!

    All of the soldiers of the platoon aiming down their advanced weaponry right at the bringer of death, Diego let out a mischievous grin, the corners of his lips reaching to the height of his ears.

    Tilting his head upward, he folded his arms and slanted his eyes.

    (Diego) Suck it!

    (Sergeant) Don¡¯t celebrate yet, geek. We still have to figure out a way for it to kill it.

    (Lieutenant) What do you mean figure out? We already have the weapon we are looking for.

    Extending both of his arms and hands outward, he showcased the high-tech rifle that he wielded. Smacking the right side of his head, the Sergeant let out a huff as his lungs kicked out an abundance of air.

    The rifle was coated in a dark waxed metal that shined under the burning light coming from the bringer of death. As the barrel of the gun stuck out like a sore thumb, a bluish light emerged from the glass tube that replaced the typical metal wooden extension.

    With every soldier having their rifles glow a soft blue, the Lieutenant let out a gentle smirk, turning his head and body toward the beast that struggled.

    (Lieutenant) Now I¡¯m going to pay back one of my best Sergeants who died during the holdout for the complex¡­

    Raising his palm high, his eyes beamed a death glare.

    The rest of the soldiers raised their weapons high, lifting the heavy metal of the grip as they aimed down the reticle with their right eyes. Placing their fingers on the trigger, all of them waited for their cue to strike.

    Followed by the many special tanks that had tall and sharp barreled mana turrets, they all remained stationary as their rubber wheels molested the debris that surrounded the street.

    (Lieutenant) Ready ¡­ And!

    Diego and the other Sergeant that was near the Lieutenant also aimed as both were also given the special weapon, their grips holding the weapon as the metal stabbed their shoulders. Inhaling in and exhaling at a snail¡¯s pace, Diego had his right lens touch the top of the gun, his breath hot as his feet were spread apart.

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) Fred would¡¯ve loved to participate in this¡­

    The sergeant next to Fred gulped and tapped the trigger of the gun.

    (Sergeant¡¯s thoughts) He was a good soldier. I pray to God that if I hadn¡¯t saved the hostages from the industrial complex, I would¡¯ve been there right by his side.

    The soldiers watched the monster turn her body toward the rest of the convoy, her legs and ankles still caught in the nylon rope. The flames upon her eyes started to dim down, and her entire body seemed to be in a relaxed state compared to the soldiers.

    (Lieutenant) Fire!

    A barrage of light shined through the street.

    Having her body in front of them, the monster¡¯s chest and stomach were soon pelted by the many mana-compressed bullets that went straight through her skin.

    Arching her head back, no smoke was emitted from the bullets as the clean strikes to her body made visible holes upon holes in her. Her hands spread outward, followed by her head avoiding the barrage of bullets, magma, and fire emitted from her scaly body.

    Still firing, the soldiers kept a steady glare at the monster, making sure that the beast would drop dead off the face of the earth.

    (Lieutenant) Hit her with everything you got!

    Not even bothering to check their battery status or status, no soldier checked underneath the chamber as a glowing red light shined on the bottom of the cartridge.

    Diego, the only one who noticed the blinking red light, stopped firing as he squinted his eyes at the meaning behind the blinking light. He went back toward firing out of his gun.

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) If they overheat, they overheat.

    At long last, the firing stopped as all of their guns overheated at the same time, followed by the tanks stopping as the engine started to smoke. Aiming their weapons down, they put their undivided attention on the monster that was still trapped underneath the nylon ropes that held her ankles to the ground.

    Widening their eyes, all of the soldiers that shot through the monster took a step back, seeing the hideous state the monster was in.

    The monster had no flesh or skin on its chest and stomach, nor was there any muscle or fat that was left standing after that attack. To make matters gruesome, her internal organs were all wiped out as a heap of Magna surrounded her feet, leaving a pool of hell right near where the trucks that held her down were.

    Or rather the pool of magma was caressing the wheels of all the trucks around it.

    (Diego) Oh no¡­

    (Lieutenant) What happened?

    (Sergeant) Those trucks are starting to flame up ¡­ and if we lose those trucks ¡­

    Several trucks ended up in flames. All the lieutenant and Diego could hear were the operators¡¯ shouts. They watched as the monster slowly lifted her feet, the weight of the trucks now beginning to weaken.

    The only thing that was shown in her chest and stomach was her ribcage and spine while her legs and head were intact.

    Noticing that the monster started to move backward, the Lieutenant turned his head toward the other soldiers who started to flinch back.

    (Lieutenant) Make sure your weapons are not overheated! If the creature is planning to charge, aim for her legs!

    (Sergeant) Our weapons are too overheated, sir! We can¡¯t fire even if we tried!

    (Lieutenant) Damn it!

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) We aimed for her heart, didn¡¯t we? Do the same rules for zompires don¡¯t apply to her?

    Shaking his head back and forth, he aimed down his weapon again as the grip began to stab his right shoulder. Letting out a hissing sound, his left hand that gripped the center of the gun started to tremble, leading to his right eye not taking in the reticle¡¯s position.

    Trying to straighten his back and neck, he took in a heap of ash and dry air into his lungs, leading to him coughing inside of his mouth rather than out.

    (Diego¡¯s thoughts) Either way, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s going to attack us¡­

    The monster slowly took a couple of steps back, her attention being on the building that held the two adults.

    Turning her head to the right of her, her sturdy ribcage and spine managed to hold her head up high. The heat upon her body drastically dimmed down, and a slow and tolerable dry wave of heat circled the two adults who were getting medical treatment.

    Their eyes gazed upon the stomachless and chestless monster. Few flames flickered in her eyes as she looked right at Luna and Miles. Her mouth was slightly opened as her vocals reverberated within her throat.

    (Bringer of Death) I am ¡­ free ¡­

    She turned her body away from the platoon that still aimed their reticles down at her and began to walk northwest.

    The two adults, as well as the four medics near them, all widened their eyes and opened their mouths agape.

    (Luna) W-What¡­

    (Miles) She spoke¡­

    But Luna and Miles looked up toward the scarlet sky.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) She sounds feminine ¡­ is she an actual zompire?

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Is someone controlling that thing? Why do I get the feeling that it isn¡¯t an undead like the rest of the creatures we faced¡­

    Not even bothering to look toward the walking monster, Luna and Miles remained standing as they turned their stares to the platoon below. Seeing that the platoon was still aiming down at the creature, both Luna and Miles clenched their teeth as they enclosed their fists.

    As for the Lieutenant, he then noticed something amiss about the way the monster had been walking. He rubbed his jawline as he wielded his weapon on his left hand.

    (Lieutenant) What is she doing¡­

    The monster that started to be less seen in the distance started to summon magma upon the empty area where their stomach and chest were.

    As the Magna soon started to make the needed organs of a regular human; the heart, liver, lungs, intestines, colon, and stomach were made. Following, the muscles and fat soon covered up the entirety of her chest, the magma that was trapped within her insides caused her to open her mouth wide.

    With steam escaping from her mouth, nose, and ears, scales upon her skin were formed.

    Putting his right hand into his pocket, the Lieutenant pulled out a walkie-talkie in front of his mouth. Clearing his throat, he straightened his back and put both of his feet right next to each other.

    (Lieutenant) This is Lieutenant Kuzo here. We stalled the monster but only for about several minutes. Requesting orders from Fenix, please.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 93: Just Do What You Do Best

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:40AM)

    (Stan and Gary)

    Stan looked down to the ground as he placed both of his hands onto his sides.

    Seeing that Gary remained still, Stan opened up his hands as his palms were facing toward him, leaving him vulnerable despite Ryan being in the back of Gary. His eyes becoming watery, Stan crunched up his eyes as his face stiffened from the way Gary continued to stare at him.

    (Stan) I¡¯m sorry Gary¡­

    Turning his head away from the hefty man in front of him, his eyes looked toward the black cemented street coated with burning debris from all over.

    The air around them started to warm up, as some sweat droplets plopped from Stan¡¯s face. As for Gary, his breathing started to hitch more.

    (Gary) I didn¡¯t get to say goodbye to my parents. I didn¡¯t even get to say that to my friends back at the robotics club¡­

    His voice came out broken. Gary had his hands enclosed into fists, his fingernails digging into his palms. His eyes started to let out several tears, which led to them rolling down his cheeks as he hunched his head forward.

    (Gary) I trained like hell for four years straight, but ended up not even getting a blessing in the first place¡­

    As his grip on the cement loosened, his legs started to wobble back and forth like a bobblehead.

    (Gary) And for the last two years, I did nothing but become a pawn. With nothing to prove myself over.

    Stan then started to look up toward the staring Gary, his own eyes starting to falter as the redness of his pupils managed to irritate him. Swaying away his head once, he sniffed his nose as mucus rolled down onto his upper lip.

    Gary cleared his throat, straightening his back as he turned his attention toward the lich.

    (Gary) And out of all days today, hell came back to us again, inviting our friends in the mix. Becoming nothing but shells of what they were like.

    Extending his right hand, he then pointed toward Stan who began to widen his eyes. With Stan grabbing a hold of his collar with his right hand, he let out a huge gulp as his hand trembled, causing him to bead more sweat from his body.

    Gary then glared right at the ginger-brown-haired man in front of him.

    (Gary) So in the end, you were the cause of my downfall, isn¡¯t that right Stan?

    (Stan) W-What¡­

    Ryan let go of Gary¡¯s collar, as Gary didn¡¯t even nudge or move forward despite being free from him. Letting out a devilish grin, Ryan took a few steps backwards while placing himself underneath the shadow of the alleyway, like a devil waiting for the perfect chance to strike.

    Seeing that Stan was placing himself lower than he should¡¯ve had, Gary then slowly started to walk toward him, his fists shaking.

    (Gary) You always preferred Luke over me. You always preferred Fred over me. Ever since that day that we first met Luke, you treated him like some sort of prodigy.

    (Stan) Because he¡ª

    (Gary) What about me?! I was found the same as Fred when you and your parents took us in! Why did you treat me like I¡¯m lower than them!?

    His vocals were on the verge of tearing each other apart, he then stopped right in front of Stan, the crevices of his eyes reaching toward the center of his head.

    As his breathing continued to turn more irregular, his eyes started to redden more as the tears stained his cheeks red. His face crunched as he slowly started to raise his fists.

    (Stan) That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying¡ª

    (Gary) Then what do you think of me then!?

    His hands then grabbed a hold of Stan¡¯s collar, gripping the fabric of his clothing as his fingernails dug in. Stan arched his head back onto the brick wall in the back of him, feeling the dust and dirt from the years of industrial workplace onto his hair.

    With his entire body now being trapped by Gary, he swayed his head two times slowly, his lips puckered up inside of his mouth.

    As he saw Stan¡¯s face on the verge of breaking out into tears.

    (Gary) I just ¡­ I just ¡­

    Gary then let go of Stan¡¯s collar, as both of his hands were now being laid motionless to his sides.

    He then dropped to the ground on all fours, opening his mouth wide as his palms were faced flat to the ground.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    (Gary) I just want to be useful too!

    Gary then let out an angry cry from his vocals, the air around him trembling from the grievance of the cry.

    The tears hitting the sidewalk, created small puddles amongst the ground as he dug his toenails onto the ground. Keeping himself shuttled like a turtle, he closed his eyes as the tears continued to pour out like a streaming river.

    (Gary) I just wanted to live a normal life! I just want to go back!

    His breathing soon started to trap inside his lungs and throat, and the basic need for oxygen began to weaken, but that didn¡¯t stop the crying Gary.

    (Gary) I want to¡­ I want to¡­

    Seeing this, Stan let out a tear roll down his right cheek, his throat quivering as he placed his right hand over his mouth. Sniffling his nose for a couple of seconds, he then extended his left hand outward toward Gary¡¯s¡ª

    An arm was barreling right toward Gary¡¯s head.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Stan) GARY!!

    Jumping up, he lunged his entire body and extended his hands outward to save Gary from the high-speed punch coming right toward him.

    Unable to look to the left of him, Gary widened his eyes as he still had his entire face down near the floor, his peripheral vision seeing a shadow from to the left of him. His eyeballs moved faster than his head, and the tears that poured out from his eyes soon began to cease.

    (Gary¡¯s thoughts) But ¡­ I didn¡¯t mean right now¡ª

    Another hand grabbed a hold of the frail and bony hand.

    (Luna) Leave him alone!

    (Gary) L-Luna¡­

    Gripping his right wrist, Luna dug her fingernails into Ryan''s frail bones, which caused them to crack under the extreme pressure.

    Clenching his teeth, Ryan glared straight at the tanned woman, while he tried to nudge back his hand and arm from her. Seeing that she didn¡¯t have any intention of letting go, Ryan then started to walk backward, his hand continuing to stretch more.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) If she doesn¡¯t want to let go then, I guess I¡¯ll just go to her myself.

    Letting out a devilish smirk, the corner of his right lip reached the height of his ear, his nostrils flaring upward as he let a tank full of air into his lungs. As well as a chuckle escaping from his mouth, he licked his lips with his brownish tongue, the hot and putrid air coming out of him being visible to the naked eye.

    Steadying his feet, he put pressure on his heels as he maintained his core strength, his abs tightening at the strength of Luna¡¯s grip.

    (Ryan) Ready or not¡­

    Ryan then pushed both of his feet off the ground, barreling his entire body toward Luna who had her lips making an upside-down U. Feeling the gust of air hitting his face, his hair and body fur flowed through the howling wind.

    (Ryan) Here I come¡ª

    (Luna) You¡¯re a dumbass, you know that.

    Luna then let go of his wrist, his hand being free from her grasp as she placed her hand down to her hip.

    The arm and hand being pulled back toward Ryan, he widened his eyes as the incoming fist started to make headway toward his face. As the fist managed to make contact with his skin, it started to dig into his nose and a bit of his cheekbones.

    Since he was in the air, Ryan then toppled onto the ground beneath him, making him roll a couple of times until he stopped. His right shoulder was placed onto the ground, blood started to spur from both his nostrils, as his entire nose shape was pushed back inward.

    (Ryan) You bitch!

    (Luna) You¡¯re fault, dumbass.

    Ryan then spread his arms and legs flat across the ground, letting his body rest as he moved his head up to see Luna from behind.

    Placing both of her hands on her hips, Luna then turned toward Gary who was sitting down on the ground. Having his butt on the cement, and his hands on his knees, it looked as if he was a kindergartner who was going through a timeout.

    Making a tch sound, Luna tilted her head up.

    (Luna) Why aren¡¯t you getting up?

    (Gary) I ¡­ I don¡¯t ¡­

    (Luna) Are you seriously going to sulk there?

    (Gary) I just want to ¡­ I just want to live a normal life¡­

    Luna widened her eyes as she continued to look down on Gary, her hands and arms now being folded. Glaring at him more, her cold demeanor continued as she stomped her right foot forward.

    Gary looked down onto the ground beneath him, seeing one big crack upon three small cracks.

    (Luna) Don¡¯t you think I want to live a normal life too?

    Gary didn¡¯t answer. His lips beginning to quiver softly at the pressure that Luna conflicted upon, he couldn¡¯t bring his face up toward her.

    (Luna) Get up¡­

    (Gary) But¡ª

    (Luna) Get the hell up!

    Fastening himself up from the ground, he steadied his legs as his feet continued to feel numb, his entire stance unsteady. With his hands to his sides, he slouched as he put both of his hands in a clasping manner, allowing his head to lean close toward the tanned woman.

    Luna however, unfolded her arms as she managed to face eye to eye with him, her eyes peering into the depths of his soul. Grabbing the helm of his collar, she pulled his large body toward her, her teeth clenching as she sharpened her eyes, her fingers clutching the fabric of his jacket with ease.

    (Luna) Stop playing the victim.

    Her voice was the opposite compared to her face, her tone sounding as if she was speaking toward a troubled kid.

    Slightly opening his mouth, he let his body remain still as his ears started to perk up, his body frozen solid.

    (Luna) You don¡¯t have to be the best fighter or the smartest technician, hell you don¡¯t have to be the best support unit, but¡­

    Her eyes are still cold and clammy, her sharpened eyes still glaring at the sniffling man, Luna let out an exhale of breath out of her mouth. Her grip on his collar loosened, she let go of him as she put her hands to her sides, tilting her head downward at him.

    Clasping his hands together still, Gary slowly felt his entire body become numb, his stained torn cheeks still red as he couldn¡¯t even allow himself to breathe.

    (Luna) Just do what you do best. And I¡¯ll do what I do best. You are useful, so act like you are.

    Looking up toward the sky, Luna noticed a burning monster right on top of them, her eyes taking note of a hand being pulled back. Widening her eyes, she looked right back at Gary as she then started to take a few steps back from him, her breathing starting to tighten.

    Curious as to what Luna was worrying about, Gary also looked up to see the monster hurdling its fist right on top of the building where¡­

    (Gary) Wait ¡­ is she going to attack!?

    (Luna) I got to help that meathead out¡­

    As Luna vanished into the air, Gary still looked up toward the monster as she managed to barrel her fist onto the roof of the building.

    Since the building is old and dusty, as soon as the monster managed to have her palm face down on the cement, a blizzard of dust formed right near where the building was at.

    Stan, who also saw the sight unfold, pushed his legs off the cement as the burning dust got into his eyes. Not bothering to look up, he pushed his way as the cloud of dust was barreling its way toward¡ª

    (Stan) Oh shit!

    (Gary) S-Stan!

    Seeing the world in slow motion, Stan extended his hand outward as he saw Gary¡¯s hand barely able to reach out. Lunging to him again, both of their fingertips were on the edge of theirs, creating a millisecond of joy and relief.

    But in the end, they were shrouded in the burning dust that followed suit.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 94: Stan vs Ryan (1)

    His eyes burned.

    (Stan) Gary!

    Covering his eyes with his left sleeve, he scoured through the burning dustfield that was clogging his eyesight and nose. Along with his parched throat, his vocals led to a raspy defying voice inside of the burning field of dust.

    (Stan) cough cough ¡­ Gary!

    Putting his right hand onto his chest, the heated dust and smoke made their way to his lungs causing his throat to prune up. Waving his left hand despite his left arm shielding his eyes, he awaited any object or person that would bump into him, or even trip him.

    At long last, his foot felt the presence of an object in front of him, causing him to slightly break away from the cover of his eyes.

    (Stan) Is that you, Gary!?

    With his right hand, he extended his hand as he crouched down toward the ground, waving his right hand around as if to find the thing that brushed against it. Not being able to scour it with his hand, he grits his teeth as he soon begins to cough once again, dust coming out from his mouth and throat.

    His nostrils feeling the burning sensation, Stan soon turned his right hand into a fist as his eyes contorted despite not being able to see.

    (Stan) Just where the hell are you, Gary?!

    (Ryan) Over here!

    Stan turned his body and face toward the direction of Ryan¡¯s singsong voice. Still blocking his eyes, he slowed his breath as the burning dust burned his lungs from the inside out, leading to him hunching forward.

    (Stan) Where the hell are you, Ryan?! Come out and show yourself!

    (Ryan) Now? I¡¯m not hiding. Hell, you¡¯re the one that¡¯s blocking your eyes. A little bit of burning dust wouldn¡¯t kill your eyes, you know.

    Hearing the sounds of footsteps coming toward him, Stan placed both of his hands in front of him, his eyes clenched shut as the dust started to smolder his face.

    As the stepping of bare feet soon got closer toward him, Stan gripped the helm of the assault rifles as his ears perked up.

    (Stan) Aren¡¯t you going to attack now? You know you have an advantage against me.

    (Ryan) I do, but I have something even better. Want me to show you?

    (Stan) Nah, I think I¡¯m good.

    (Ryan) Come on, you''re smart.

    Stan had his body frozen as soon as he heard the words coming from Ryan¡¯s mouth, leading to him looking around the dust-covered area. Even though his eyes were glued shut, it didn¡¯t mean that he could just peak through a centimeter or less.

    Slightly opening his eyes, a bit of burning dust got into the eye socket, causing him to immediately close it up again. Taking a step back from the burning pain that his right eye endured, he bit his lower lip as a bit of blood spurred on the cement.

    (Stan) Do you have Gary then?

    (Ryan) Hmm ¡­ do I? You know, it¡¯s quite a mystery. I mean, I could see in the dust and Gary and you could not, so how do you perceive it?

    Continued to look around at the burning dust that started to pinch and burn his skin, his hair surprisingly was intact from the sparks and heat. Feeling the hot air surrounding his body and black jacket, his hands soon started to feel the pinch of the heat, followed by his palms drying up from the lack of moisture in the air.

    His throat turning more parched, he then pulled out his assault rifle from the back of his jacket, wielding it with his left hand. Digging his palm into the grip of the rifle, his pointer finger latched onto the trigger carefully, feeling its black coating.

    (Stan) If you¡¯re going to be that low, then I¡¯m killing you.

    (Ryan) Oh, what a shame. I mean, you know the procedure right? You could hear the direction of my voice, so all you have to do is point your rifle and fire away.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Doing exactly as Ryan said, Stan pointed toward the direction of the voice of Ryan, his finger set ready on the trigger. But instead of firing right away, he stalled on the trigger, his finger a millimeter away from the firing mechanism.

    Feeling his lungs being burned up even more, Stan¡¯s left hand started to shake as his breathing started to intensify, leading to his chest going up and down in a frantic manner.

    (Stan) Are you using Gary as a shield?

    (Ryan) I don¡¯t know. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows.

    (Stan) Bastard¡­

    (Ryan) If only you could just open your eyes, and you¡¯ll see it for yourself. But you know how sensitive your eyes are anyway¡­ humans aren¡¯t supposed to see in this type of dust.

    Puckering up his lower lip into his mouth, he soon started to nibble on it as his face and neck started to become drenched with cold sweat. Unable to wipe away the sweat, his right hand slowly pulled out an object, a bottle encased with something unusual to carry with him.

    And since his right hand was wrapped around it, Ryan couldn¡¯t see it even with his all-black eyes, which caused Ryan to move the direction of his voice¡­

    Right in front of him.

    (Ryan) Whatcha got in your hand?

    Stan flinched his whole body back a jump, leading to him almost toppling onto himself.

    Hearing Ryan¡¯s voice unusually close, he smelt the putrid breath for a split second before it went away, leading to him swaying his head back and forth. A foul liquid getting stuck in his throat, he returned it down as he exhaled a huge breath out, the burning dust getting onto his tongue.

    Spitting out a couple of substances from his mouth, he turned toward the direction of Ryan¡¯s last heard voice.

    (Stan) You¡¯re messing with me, aren¡¯t you¡­ You¡¯re probably using your head to redirect the attention of your voice huh?

    (Ryan) Like I said. Maybe, maybe not. When you think about it, it¡¯s all based on luck, right?

    Hearing his voice to the right of him, Stan pointed his gun in the direction of the voice, as well as pointing the barrel in the other direction as well. Unable to comprehend the entirety of the situation, Stan¡¯s throat quivered as he straightened his back and throat, still clinging onto the bottle with his right hand.

    Keeping it hidden as he tucked it nicely into his chest, he managed to spark more curiosity in Ryan, leading to the lich letting out a small chuckle from his mouth.

    (Ryan) Just tell me what you got cooking up in there. Is it a little present for me?

    (Stan) It¡¯s just water¡­

    (Ryan) Water eh? Do you think you could beat me with water?

    (Stan) Water weakens rubber.

    (Ryan) We¡¯ll see about that!

    Not being able to use his vision, his ears perked up the sound of a gushing wind to the left of him, hearing the sounds of air being pushed back as it moved farther and farther away.

    Knowing that Ryan is about to initiate an attack, Stan tightened his body as he spread both his feet apart a couple of inches from each other. Noticing a gushing sound that started to come right toward him, Stan then placed the glass bottle of water right in front of him, extending his hand out as if he was giving out water.

    And finally, the glass that was shown in front of him was then broken, the liquid spilling all over both of Ryan¡¯s body part and Stan¡¯s right hand.

    (Ryan) AH!!

    The water, or rather a liquid, started to steam as it stalled on both Ryan¡¯s and Stan¡¯s hands.

    Hearing the sounds of Ryan¡¯s wailing from the other end of the area, Stan let out a small smirk before he groaned and clenched his teeth.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Who would¡¯ve thought acid would be a good idea? Oh shit! That burns!

    His hand on the verge of melting from the outside, he quickly put his acidic hand into his leather jacket¡¯s pocket again, his burning knuckles feeling the edge of a metal device. Bringing it out with his right hand, he quickly tapped the button on the front end center, just enough time before the device started to make a slight hole as his hand was still acidic.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) At least I have my eyes.

    (Stan) pants ¡­ Like you said Ryan ¡­ pants ¡­ humans aren¡¯t built to see in this dust¡­

    And in that instant, the device let out a gusting wind from out of the metal.

    The dust around them fondled away like a burning candle, the area being completely devoid of burning dust. Stan slowly opened his eyes as the fresh cool wind was now instantly kicking out the burning dust heat.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) That damn gust sweeper!

    The area now being clean from the burning dust, the dangerous heat still lingered in the area as Stan saw his surroundings. Noticing to the right of him, he saw a lich groveling on the ground, his hands being tucked into his chest.

    Seeing Ryan, Stan then wielded his assault rifle with both of his hands, aiming down his weapon right at the lich. Despite his face being pushed down, Stan placed his finger on the trigger.

    (Ryan) Your piece of shit! Your piece of absolute vile shit! You¡¯re going to pay! You¡¯re going to pay!

    (Stan) I guess you don¡¯t like it when I play mind games huh? Pretty hypocritical if you ask me.

    (Ryan) I¡¯ll kill you ¡­ I¡¯ll torture you ¡­ I swear ¡­ I¡¯ll make it worse than hell¡­

    (Stan) Cool. Where¡¯s Gary?

    Seeing that Gary wasn¡¯t with the lich, he looked around the area to find that Gary was nowhere to be seen, his eyes peering into every cranny and corner of the street. Still having his gun pointed at the lich, he started to slowly walk toward the lich that was holding his right hand, steam and tar escaping from it.

    Continuing to hear the horrid pain of Ryan, Stan managed to keep a good distance from him as he was ten feet away from him. The trigger on the verge of activating its firing mechanism, Stan placed his right foot forward, his left hand steadily aiming toward the left side of his back.

    (Stan) Was it a mind game or did he escape? Unless you want me to end it right here and now, then I¡¯ll be glad to do it sooner.

    (Ryan) I¡¯m not telling you! I hope you die, you scumbag!

    (Stan) Yeah, I had enough of that shit talk.

    Pulling the trigger of his rifle, he unleashed a steady round of bullets onto Ryan¡¯s back, his entire body defenseless as it started to pierce through his skin. With many of the bullets lodging themselves onto the groveling Ryan, tar started to spur from the bullet wounds and mouth his, leading to him coughing out tar.

    (Stan) Guess that acid is kicking your butt huh?

    His chamber empty, Stan soon started to reload again, replacing his old cartridge with another one as he swapped it out with ease. Lock and loading again, he was about to pull the trigger of his rifle until¡­

    (Ryan) Eat this!

    Before Stan had time to react, a flying rubber head was on a direct course toward his face.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 95: Stan vs Ryan (2)

    Taking a jump back, Stan ran back as he aimed yet again toward Ryan¡¯s chest.

    Pushing down on the trigger, many of the bullets that shot out through the barrel splintered the air around them, the mini shockwaves circling the entire area. The bullets made contact with Ryan¡¯s skin, his chest welcoming the hot lead with open arms, his skin absorbing it as if it were hugging them.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) How am I supposed to reach his heart!? If only I could get another bottle of acid!

    Gritting his teeth, Stan ran to the right as he pushed on through the cluttered debris in his way. His right hand already swelling and practically blistering from the burns of the acid, Stan¡¯s breathing continued to fasten as even motioning his hand would stab his nerves.

    As Ryan had his head unstretched onto his body, he spread both of his feet apart, creating a stance. His feet dug into the cement, Ryan then pushed off the ground, creating a big dent in the cement beneath him as his right foot was out in the air.

    (Ryan) Eat this you sack of shit!

    Ryan didn¡¯t feel the hot wind unwrinkling his face, as his face was nothing more than skin and bones. Having his body, legs, and head moving forward toward where Stan was, he had his arms and hands in the exact position where he last stood.

    Reaching halfway toward the running Stan, Stan extended both of his outward, his gun the only thing defending himself from the upcoming attack.

    As for Ryan, he then pushed forth both of his hands together at the same time, bursting the air around his knuckles as it barrelled its way toward Stan. Upon reaching Stan¡¯s skin, Ryan¡¯s knuckles felt the presence of the cold dark gun that Stan used as a last resort for defense.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) He may be smart, but that sure is a dumb way to defend yourself!

    The air around them exploded as both his fists landed straight at the gun, the rifle cracking as Ryan pushed his fists and arms further toward Stan.

    Unable to hold the gun any longer because of Ryan¡¯s immense strength, Stan pushed away his rifle to the right of him, causing Ryan¡¯s hands to follow the gun. An opening secured, Stan quickly put his left hand into his pocket, pulling out a single-bladed knife as the light gleamed against the metal.

    Thrusting his left arm forward, he barreled the knife right at Ryan¡¯s left hand, focusing his eyes.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m doing it ¡­ I feel like I could take on Luna¡­

    Stabbing right in between Ryan¡¯s knuckles and bones, the knife managed to go through the bony hand with ease. With the tip of the edge of the knife pointing out from the other side, it caused none other than Ryan to scrunch up his face, his wrinkles showcasing on his forehead.

    Pulling back his right and left hands, he sprung himself to the left, kicking his left foot as he barreled himself up high in the air. As the hot wind screamed against his ears, he heard the tranquil sounds of fighting and gunfire across the other end of the district.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) Oh ¡­ what a pity. I hope Sidney does her job as a trump card.

    Not bothering to look at the other fight in the distance, Ryan reached an altitude far greater than Stan ever hoped to see. Stan quickly put both of his hands inside his jacket, stumbling inside his pockets as he tried to find something of use.

    The lich-bunny human let out an evil smirk.

    (Ryan) I haven¡¯t reached my height yet!

    Noticing that his body was being pulled back down due to gravity, Ryan stretched and shot both of his feet and legs, both of them reaching toward the cement. As another airburst commenced onto the asphalt, it shook his entire stretched-out body, sending Ryan to push above into a much greater height.

    For comparison, Ryan was taller than almost all of the buildings around him, making him the tallest thing as he pulled back his legs onto his body.

    Reaching the climax of his peak, Ryan then extended back his hands and arms as he pushed them upward to the sky. His eyes squinted at the lowly figure from below, just standing still at the unrealistic sight, his hands started to enlarge.

    (Ryan¡¯s thoughts) I have never done this, but it won¡¯t hurt to give it a try.

    His body being pulled back down to the earth, Ryan¡¯s hands slowly draw more and more blood and skin onto his palms and knuckles, making his hands rapidly grow in size. Since his weight had been increasing steadily, it led him to feel the hot air more painful than it already was, his skin flapping gently at the cement that was soon ready for his impact.

    And at long last, he then thrust both of his giant fists right where Stan was gawking.

    (Ryan) Providence Discernment.

    Ryan saw the world in slow motion as Stan held up another bottle right in his hand. Seeing the bottle, Ryan noticed a logo that he had forgotten long ago¡­

    The logo had a skull and bones but in white and black.

    Unable to pull back his hands in time, the only choice that Ryan had was¡­

    (Ryan) Wait¡ª

    His hands made contact with the glass bottle that was wrapped in black wrapping paper, the glass bottle soon exploded, the air that was within that bottle spreading across Stan and Ryan¡¯s hands.

    Many of the glass shattered to the ground, piercing both of Stan¡¯s boots and Ryan¡¯s bare feet. Not only that, but the gas that was holding a particular air then circulated Stan¡¯s right hand and both of Ryan¡¯s hands.

    As the 0-kelvin air instantly wrapped itself onto Stan and Ryan¡¯s hands, freezing them within milliseconds as even both of them couldn¡¯t see with the naked eye. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    This leaves both of them at a standstill, as both couldn¡¯t escape from within each other even if they wanted to.

    Not even bothering to free himself, Stan¡¯s body started to tremble as his iced and frozen hand was completely and utterly numb and void of feeling, his blood and cells unable to even move.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) Good thing that I have a fan¡­

    Looking down, Ryan saw the object that he had on Stan¡¯s left hand, a small yet useful fan that blew the cold air right toward him. Because of this, Ryan clenched his teeth shut as tar started to drip from the corners of his lips, his eyes tarshot black as his breathing started to turn rabid.

    (Ryan) Fucker!

    (Stan) Desperate calls call for desperate measures.

    His entire mouth felt as if it was biting into a big block of edible ice, Stan¡¯s breath started to slow down as his entire body began to wobble. His chest stabbing him from the inside, tiny pinches started to attack his lungs and heart, causing him to arch his head and neck upward as he shut his eyes.

    Not even able to take a step backward, Stan¡¯s arms soon lost the ability to even pull or push, as they started to falter.

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I didn¡¯t think this through huh¡­

    Ryan then pulled back his head, stretching it back dozens of feet away. Widening his eyes, Stan tried to pull back his right hand, but given his weakened arms and impossible way to break free only just caused him to grit his teeth against one another.

    (Ryan) How about I help each other out huh!?

    Unable to lose concentration anywhere around him, Ryan then barreled his head not where Stan¡¯s head was¡­

    But where both of their hands were frozen solid.

    Breaking the ice that was between them, both of them took a step back, as Ryan managed to remain standing.

    While Stan dropped onto the cement, his left palm facing the cement floor¡ª

    (Stan) ¡­

    Pinning his eyes toward where his right palm was supposed to be, he soon noticed that his knuckles, fingers, skin, and bones made up his right hand were missing.

    (Stan) Ha ¡­ ha ¡­

    Blood not even spurring out of the frozen bandage that stopped the bleeding, it led to him not feeling any stabbing or excruciating pain.

    Clutching his right wrist which was cut in half, he put it toward where his chest was, his breathing irregular and off pattern. Followed by his heartbeat taking a more geometric pattern, his entire body shivered as his throat continued to produce wail after wail from his vocals.

    With his vocals tearing each other apart, Ryan inhaled a deep breath as he lit up a smile.

    (Ryan) Music to my ears¡­

    Ryan then extended both of his missing hands outward toward Stan, black and putrid tar slowly dripping out of the wounded areas that were replacing the missing hands. As the tar started to steam, it led to the tar to turn into a hardened substance, creating a perfect replication of the muscles and tissues of a normal human.

    As the white pigment was then put on top, Ryan moved both of his freshly regenerated fingers, wiggling them back and forth.

    (Ryan) Now for your death ¡­ I think I remember saying you deserve torture right?

    Covering his face with his left hand, Stan shut his eyes away from the rest of the world, his legs moving backward as he limped toward the back of the wall.

    Unable to come to terms with the way things are heading, Stan¡¯s throat started to quiver cruelly, causing his breath to be stuck inside of his throat. Keeping his head still, followed by his eyes widening at the tide of the battle, the only thing that Stan could do at that moment was¡­

    (Stan¡¯s thoughts) I did that all for what¡­

    (Ryan) I think I should pull you out of that wall. I think it¡¯s time for me and you to have a little fun¡­

    Pulling back his left arm, he stretched it a few feet back as he spread his feet apart. Digging into the cement, Ryan straightened his back and he then thrust his arm right where¡ª

    Ryan couldn¡¯t move his body.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Ryan) What the ¡­ what¡¯s happening!?

    Feeling his back frozen solid, he tried to move his legs and arms as they remained still in the air.

    Not only was his back, but his legs, feet, hands, arms, neck, and back of his head were encapsulated in a frozen layer of ice and water. Trying to move his head upward, he couldn¡¯t as the only thing that he could dare move was his eyeballs.

    As for the front side of his body, they remained normal as the air around him started to frost up his chest and stomach.

    (Ryan) Who ¡­ who did that!?

    Stan, who opened his eyes slowly, saw a chubby figure in the back of Ryan. His breathing was still erratic, he put his left hand onto his collar, his nonexistent right hand still lying motionless on the ground.

    (Stan) Gary¡­

    Not able to turn his eyeballs, Ryan managed to take note of the man that appeared in the back of him. Tar started to drip down from the corners of his mouth, and the black liquid dribbled onto his feet as it started to freeze from the cold air below.

    The person in back in question, Gary, had in his right hand a bottle of the same frozen air that Stan carried with him.

    (Ryan) You pieces of shit!

    (Gary) I think I understand now¡­

    Walking slowly upon the debris-ridden cement, Gary had on his left hand a simple pistol locked and loaded with bullets within the chamber.

    Turning his body toward Ryan, Gary continued to hold both objects with both of his hands, looking downward onto the cement pavement as the squeaking of sneakers shrieked the ground.

    (Gary) In life, there¡¯s always going to be someone better than you. Whether in brains or brawn.

    Standing still right in front of Ryan, Gary then holstered his gun onto his right hip. Putting his left hand inside of his jacket, he quickly pulled out a sharp kitchen knife, the dull blade coarse and rough along the edges.

    (Ryan) Does it look like I care!? Release me! I promise to give you a simple and clean death!

    (Gary) I¡¯m not strong, and others are smarter than me. But in the end, what lies beyond that horizon?

    Pushing his left hand, he thrust the knife right along the corners and edges of Ryan¡¯s left chest, causing Ryan to tear his vocals apart. Forcing his body to move, the entirety of his back didn¡¯t dare to let his legs or arms defend himself, leaving himself to be carved up by Gary.

    Finishing up his carving, he dropped the kitchen knife onto the ground, the metal clanking onto the pavement.

    (Gary) I had good company six years ago. I was the robotics club''s top kid and all. I had it all until Luke showed up, but hey, we¡¯re on good terms now.

    Ryan¡¯s black tarred heart was shown clear as day.

    With his right hand, Gary thrust his right hand into Ryan¡¯s left side of his chest, placing the glass object right next to his heart. Feeling the burning yet cold body that rustled along his fingernails and skin, Gary continued to talk as he took a step back.

    (Ryan) What are you doing!? Hey! Hey! HEY!!

    (Gary) And overall, I think being a mentor or rather a man that helps the noobs and lower levels sounds more fun than competing. Don¡¯t you think?

    Pointing the pistol straight at Ryan¡¯s heart, Gary had both of his hands gripping the grip of the gun, his right pointer finger caressing the trigger.

    As for Ryan, tar started to pour out of his eyes, the tar that was replaced with tears rolling down his cheeks as his breathing started to fasten.

    (Ryan) You remember the fond memories right!? We were friends Gary! FRIENDS!!

    Looking straight into Ryan¡¯s tarshot eyes, Gary could¡¯ve sworn that he saw his reflection in those pitch-black pupils. Sharpening his eyes, straightening his back, and swallowing a butt load of saliva down his throat, he let out one last smile.

    (Gary) I know, Ryan. But I have other friends to support. And many more to come.

    Gary pushed the trigger.

    The bullet sped right toward where the glass bottle was located, the little soundwave piercing the air as it managed to hit the glass clean. The frozen air that was entrapped in the bottle then spreaded across Ryan¡¯s body.

    For a moment, the shocked expression on Ryan¡¯s face made Stan forget the burning pain in his right hand. Gary and Stan then flinched when the lich¡¯s frozen body then crumbled on the ground.

    Gary let out an exhale.

    (Gary) I hope you, Cameron, and Harold are resting in peace now.

    Turning his head toward the ginger-haired man who was lying against the wall, he put his thumb up, letting out a cheerful smile compared to his grumpy frown.

    (Gary) Come on, we got to find Luke¡­ Need a hand?

    (Stan) Really dude¡­

    Both men turned toward the bits of frozen pieces of what¡¯s left of Stan¡¯s right hand. Walking in front of the display of cruelty inflicted upon their fight, Gary knelt down as he placed the pieces upon pieces of frozen ice inside of his jacket.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 96: Soldier Uniforms

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:56AM)

    (Outside the Dark Angels¡¯ building)

    (Luke) For the first team for civilian evacuation and zompire extermination, you guys are going to the downtown center. Make sure there¡¯s no civilians trapped or in danger. Eliminate any threat that stands in your way.

    (Benn) On it, Fenix.

    Turning his large bluish head toward the three other members of his group, he felt the daggers of a short woman piercing his soul, leading to him scratching his large nose with his right hand.

    The short woman in question folded her arms, her face scrunching up which led to the man right next to her to place his hand onto her left shoulder. Not bothering to look at the silver-haired agent, she continued to clench up her body, her stomach tightening abnormally.

    (Agent Eren) You heard the shark-human, we have to go.

    (Agent Ada) Are you taking orders from Sharky there?

    (Agent Eren) We¡¯re supposed to keep the people safe, and if it means working with shark humans, then I don¡¯t care.

    Digging his right hand onto her shoulder, he pulled her entire body toward the two other figures in leather jackets, seeing Benn and Loraine waiting for them. Allowing herself to be dragged, she didn¡¯t dare to look toward Benn, keeping her distance as she went behind Eren.

    Rolling his eyes, he used his right hand to hold the front of his fedora with his thumb and pointer finger, tilting it down and up in a formal manner.

    (Agent Eren) I hope we both won¡¯t slow you down. I promise that I will try to tone her discrimination down a notch.

    (Benn) Don¡¯t bother. She¡¯s nicer than the other discriminants.

    Seeing around him the lingering faces that continued to look at him coldly, Benn put a hand in his pocket as he moved his left hand away from Loraine. Taking a couple of steps away from her, he heard Loraine let out a quiet hum.

    Clearing his throat, he pointed towards a jeep.

    (Benn) Let¡¯s use that jeep there. I¡¯ll be driving.

    (Agent Ada) Either that, or you¡¯ll just take us somewhere to¡ª

    (Agent Eren) Hey, knock it off.

    Smacking the back of her head with his right hand, his rough palms hit her in full force as she was pushed forward by the hit. Putting both of her hands on the back of her head, she looked down onto the asphalt, clinging her fingernails onto her head as she gritted her teeth.

    Eren let out a sigh as he pushed down his eyes on the shark-human.

    (Agent Eren) Let¡¯s get this over with.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:45AM)

    (Benn) Nothing so far.

    (Loraine) I¡¯m tired¡­

    (Agent Eren) How is a little girl part of an elite force in the first place?

    (Agent Ada) Don¡¯t you remember? We helped set up that survival game with that chubby man named Boris.

    (Agent Eren) Oh¡­

    Inside the military jeep, Benn had his hands on the steering wheel as Loraine sat on the passenger. Followed by both agents sitting in the back, both of their eyes slowly started to flicker into a deep sleep, dark eyebags settling into their eyelids.

    Seeing this, Loraine put her right hand into one of her pant¡¯s pockets, pulling out a paper ball that she found when she was in the industrial center several hours ago. Having it in her hand, she pulled back her arm to unleash the paper pall, the ball smacking straight between her eyes which caused her to flinch her entire body upward in less than a second.

    (Agent Ada) What the hell are you doing!?Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    (Loraine) hehe.

    Sticking out her tongue, Loraine put on a goofy face as she pulled down her left eyelid, her finger making it as if she was flipping her off in her way.

    Grinding her teeth against one another, Ada hunched her body forward as she placed both of her hands on the back seat of Loraine. Gripping the leather seat tightly, her fingernails dug themselves into it as she tapped her heels repeatedly.

    (Agent Ada) What did you do that for?!

    (Loraine) Cause you¡¯re funny-looking.

    (Agent Ada) Excuse me?!

    (Agent Eren) Just let it go, she¡¯s just a kid.

    Folding her arms, Ada looked over toward the window as she had her right leg over her left as she huffed out a breath.

    Not even bothering to look at Benn or Loraine, Eren had his mouth enclosed shut.

    As for Benn, he turned his head toward Loraine who continued to have a cheeky grin, his eyes having eyebags underneath his eyelids.

    (Benn) Why did you do that?

    (Loraine) She¡¯s mean.

    (Benn) Mean? She wasn¡¯t mean to you.

    (Loraine) But she was.

    (Benn) ¡­ So you threw that ball for me?

    Loraine nodded her head a yes as she stared right into his large blue nose, his face and eyes continuing to keep themselves on the road ahead. Benn scratched the tip of it as his eyes slowly started to flicker shut, his eyelids on the verge of forcing him to sleep.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Guess she isn¡¯t that bad after all¡­

    A bump was heard in the back of the car.

    (Benn) What the¡­

    (Agent Eren) Is it a zompire?!

    (Agent Ada) Stay alert!

    Everyone lifted their heads, all looking around the downtown center to see where they had bumped into, their eyes peering into the darkened sidewalks and street.

    Noticing that nothing particular was around them, Benn tightened his grip on the steering wheel while Loraine sniffed the air around her.

    Almost like a dog, Loraine arched her head forward as she took in a huge amount of air, her eyes widening as she rapidly turned toward Benn.

    (Loraine) He¡¯s here¡­

    (Benn) Who¡¯s here?

    (???) Round two for you missy!

    A lich plopped itself right onto the windshield of the car.

    His legs froze to the core, and Benn¡¯s arms jerked to the right as he continued to hold onto the steering wheel. With the sudden motion of the car swerving instantly, the wheels upon the jeep had no choice but to lock, causing the jeep to ¡­

    Flip over on its left side.

    (Benn) Hold on!

    Their world in slow motion, Benn extended his right hand over Loraine¡¯s face, shielding it from the glass shards that lept toward the inside of the jeep. Meanwhile, the two agents that were in the back grabbed a hold of the back of both Benn and Loraine¡¯s seats, their sweaty hands clutching onto the leather.

    The jeep rolled repeatedly, their visions blurred as the twirling motion caused them to blank out from the impact upon each roll. When the jeep landed on its left side of the door, it tilted sideways as the left side door was blocked.

    (Benn) Is everyone all alright?!

    (Agent Eren) Barely.

    (Agent Ada) pfft ¡­ this is nothing.

    As Benn lay horizontally on the edge of the jeep, his head was placed near the broken window that was replaced with the black asphalt.

    Turning his head, he looked toward the shielded Loraine as he continued to have his right hand hovering over her, many bits of metal and glass pricking all over his hand. Pulling it back, he saw that the girl only sustained minor injuries, compared to him and the other agents.

    (Benn) Let¡¯s get out of here.

    Seeing that the glass windows of the front of the jeep were broken, Benn pushed his body forward as he got himself out. Laying on the street that was littered with glass, his back felt the pricking sounds of glass popping next to him, as both agents also escaped from the jeep.

    With Loraine in tow, she had only a slight bruise on her forehead, while the agents had blood pouring from their foreheads.

    (Agent Eren) pants ¡­ How did we crash again?

    (Benn) Something was in front of the car¡ª

    (???) What a lousy driver. Well, I couldn''t expect anything less than a sharky.

    The four figures turned their heads toward the voice that appeared from behind the jeep, seeing a man with ghostly pale skin and a white fabric covering him.

    Having both of his arms extending wide open, followed by his palms facing toward them, a white cloud started to form along the edges of his wrists.

    Loraine widened her eyes as she placed herself in the back of Benn.

    (Loraine) That¡¯s Pedro.

    (Benn) So I guess I have to help you face him huh¡­

    And from the back of him, not only it was just Pedro, but through the street right in front of them that was clouded with smoke¡ª

    A massive horde of pouncers walked through the street as they laid their eyes onto the group.

    (Benn) Eren, contact the soldiers that were with us!

    Eren put his right hand into his suit jacket, findling it as he scoured through the many gum and tic tacs that he had in it. His knuckles grazing against a black cold metal object, he quickly pulled it out as he placed it right in front of his mouth.

    Clearing his throat, he parted his feet as he placed his left hand on the walkie-talkie, holding it with both of his hands.

    (Agent Eren) Platoon Leader, give us your location!

    Silence was all that was read, as there was an eerie frequency coming from the other end of the device. Digging into the metal with his fingertips, the walkie-talkie started to creak as he hunched his back, causing Ada to widen her eyes as she heard an eerie frequency¡­

    (Agent Eren) Platoon Leader! Please we need backup¡ª

    (Agent Ada) Eren, give it up!

    (Agent Eren) This is a dire situation Ada!

    (Agent Ada) I think I know what happened to them!

    Pointing her short finger toward the group of pouncers, both agents as well as Benn and Loraine took in the clothes that the zompires were wearing. Noticing it, all of them took a step back as they opened their jaws wide, causing Pedro to tilt his head up as he let out a small chuckle.

    Collapsing onto the ground, Eren stared at the amount of pouncers that were coming towards them. All of them were wearing soldier uniforms.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 97: Benn and Loraine vs Pedro

    (Prominis 22, 58 / 11:04PM)

    A couple of days after The Array.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) It was my fault¡­

    Hurdling herself in a bunch of blankets, she quickly took in the other world she resided in.

    In this world, she escaped from all responsibilities and consequences that should¡¯ve dawned upon her, her feelings letting loose as she wept her sorrows away. The humidity within these blanket walls caused her body to heat up, creating a rainstorm of emotions inside her mind.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) I got Ryan killed¡­

    Curdling herself into a ball, she put her knees straight toward her stomach, her hands tightening the grip on them as she wept.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) If only ¡­ if only¡­

    A huge pound came from the other end of the room, butLoraine did not bother to look.

    She bit the inside of her cheeks.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) If only I wasn¡¯t born.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:50AM)

    (Benn, Loraine, Eren, and Ada)

    (Benn) Oh man¡­

    As the three adults and one child saw the horde of zompires approach them slowly, they took in the fresh uniforms that they were cladded into.

    Taking a step back, all of them had their weapons on standby, as Benn, Eren, and Ada put their hands onto their hips or back as they caressed the metal of their guns. With all of them seeing the unholy sight in front of them, they all swayed their heads from side to side, their mouths slightly agape with some of their teeth sticking out.

    Eren dropped down to his knees, placing both of his palms onto the many shards of wood, stone, and glass that pricked his skin.

    (Agent Eren) Oh ¡­ oh¡­

    His fingers gripped the asphalt as his nails were sharpened by the cement. Not bothering to look at Ada or the others, his nose started to sniffle, causing Ada to look down at him.

    With her right hand, she grabbed a hold of his left shoulder, pulling him up as she tightened her fingers onto his suit.

    (Agent Ada) Get your act together! Do you wanna be dinner for those bastards!?

    (Agent Eren) But¡ª

    (Agent Ada) They¡¯re not human anymore! If we leave them like that, you¡¯ll know what they¡¯re capable of!

    His face stiffening up, he arched his head back as he held in the mucus from leaving his nose.

    Placing his hands motionless to gravity, he turned his head toward the zompire platoon. His right hand trembling, he placed his left hand onto his right wrist, his fingernails digging themselves tightly onto his skin.

    (Agent Eren) T-Then what do we do to them¡­?

    (Agent Ada) We have no choice, Eren.

    (Benn) She¡¯s right.

    Both agents turned their attention toward the shark-human that now wielded a heavy-weight machine gun, having both of his hands gripping the gun with ease.

    Eren, who puckered up his lips into his mouth, used the right sleeve of his suit to wipe away the lingering water from the corners of his eyes. Clearing his throat, he straightened his back as he put both of his feet together close by, his eyes unwavering at Benn.

    (Agent Eren) Then ¡­ What do you propose we should do?

    (Benn) You guys are going to deal with the horde. Me and Loraine will deal with the lich.

    (Agent Ada) Who decided that?

    Ada took a step forward toward where Benn stood, placing her hands on her waist as she kept her head straight. Her face scrunching up, she sharpened her eyes at the shark-human in front of her, clicking her tongue as she clenched up her body.

    Benn, who noticed the negative demeanor of Ada in an instant, only stared at her with his hands and arms to his sides.

    (Benn) I decided that. Me and Loraine have blessings, you guys don¡¯t.

    (Agent Ada) So you think you¡¯re better than us Sharky?

    (Benn) I¡¯ll let you decide that.

    (Agent Ada) What did you say?

    (Agent Eren) Enough Ada! He¡¯s right. We have to do what we are told¡­

    Placing his right hand onto her right shoulder, he gripped the edges of her suit as the fabric glistened through his fingernails. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Her head turning toward the pony-tailed silver-haired agent, she continued to have that glare on her face, her eyes staring right into his gray pupils. Rolling her eyes, she took a step back as she let go of her waist, turning her hands into fists as she looked away from him.

    (Agent Ada) Tch ¡­ Fine! As long as we do this, I don¡¯t have to be near that Sharky!

    Ada stomped her way toward the front of the zompire horde that continued to slowly grovel their way towards them, their feet dragging along the pavement. Seeing the unusual behavior from the undead, Ada rubbed her pointer finger with her thumb, her fingernail scratching away the skin of her finger.

    (Agent Ada¡¯s thoughts) Why are they walking so slowly? It looks as if they are under someone¡¯s control.

    Stopping to the right of her, Eren took in the sight of the undead with his own eyes, letting out a sigh as he soon opened up his all-black suit. His suit opened wide, and he placed his right hand into his suit¡¯s pocket, scouring through the inside as his fingers traced along a metal that he was most familiar with.

    His lips forming a smile, he pulled out a light-sized sniper rifle, the barrel of the sniper having a suppressor as he wielded it with his right hand.

    (Agent Eren) So how are we doing this?

    For Ada, she placed her left hand into her black pants pocket, pulling out a Mauser pistol as it was coated in brown paint. The leather grip glued onto her left palm, and she turned her head toward the agent next to her, her cold frown continuing to remain on her face.

    (Agent Ada) Same as always. Shoot and run, and don¡¯t leave any behind.

    (Agent Eren) Got it, ma¡¯am.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Both Benn and Loraine ignored the two agents that were dealing with the zompire horde.

    Pedro, who was standing still with his palms opened wide against the air, had with him an abundance of white gas clouds circling his wrists. Seeing this, both Benn and Loraine took a step back as Loraine then emitted a piece of nylon rope from her right hand, holding it with her callused fingers.

    (Pedro) Are you ready to rock and roll? I ain¡¯t going to go down that easy.

    (Loraine) David kicked your butt!

    (Pedro) And unfortunately, he won¡¯t be able to save you this time.

    The cloud that circulated his arms and wrists then spewed out toward them.

    Having no choice but to widen their eyes, they both lunged to opposite sides of one another, making them separated from their little group. Pedro, who continued to spew out the deadly oxygen cloud, turned his hands toward the girl as he noticed the rope that she held in her hand.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) Got to take her out. She¡¯s a real pain in the ass if I leave her alone.

    Extending his left hand onto Benn, the gust of white gas that resembled a normal cloud barreled again at him, leaving Benn with no option but to dodge and run. Meanwhile for Loraine, the cloud of pure oxygen managed to barely scrape her right arm, feeling the burning sensation of the gas hitting her elbow.

    Pulling back her right arm, she continued to run as she avoided the incoming barrage of deadly clouds, feeling the spiritual evilness emitting from the gas. Thrusting her rope forth, Pedro raised his right eyebrow high, leading to him lunging to the left as he narrowly avoided the rope.

    (Pedro) That annoying girl¡­ I hope whatever happens it won¡¯t backfire.

    Stopping his attacks on Benn, he focused his undivided attention on Loraine, causing her to let down a bead of sweat from her forehead. Pulling back the rope, she wielded it with both of her hands, clenching her teeth as she focused her attention on the lich.

    Putting his right hand and palm onto the dusted and ash-ridden floor, his fingers felt the graze of the sharp ashes that fell from the sky. Crouching down, he put his left hand onto his knee, his face and body making a stance like he was an Olympic athlete starting a relay race.

    His own bare feet clenching down onto the sharp glass and wood, his heels started to pour out tar that was trapped from within. Tilting his head upward yet despite his body on the verge of racing, he then lifted his own feet off the ground, leaving him to barrel his body at the poor girl.

    (Pedro) I ain¡¯t backing down now!

    Seeing the putrid and foul face coming closer and closer toward her face, Loraine put away her nylon rope as it was gobbled up by her right hand. Quickly, she used her left hand to pull out a Swiss army knife, the weapon that she used during The Array.

    His fist made headway right toward her right cheekbone, Loraine braced herself for the impact, but then felt herself being lifted from the ground.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) W-what¡­

    She widened her eyes.

    She turned her head upward to find many black flying creatures digging their claws into the edges of her shoulders and neck. Their feathers fluffing through the wind, she slowed her breath down as she noticed the black iris from the big birds alone.

    (Loraine) Benn¡­

    Looking down toward the shark-human, her eyes softened at the man below her, his eyes remaining shut as he continued to point his gun at the lich. Having his finger on the trigger, he then started to fire many rounds toward the undead, the bullets trying to lodge into the dodging lich.

    While the three birds looked down toward the ground, moving Loraine away as she then tugged her shoulders and head.

    (Loraine) I want to fight!

    Her hands were enclosed into fists, and her body tightened as the birds flew her away more and more from the area.

    To retaliate, Loraine moved her head close toward the large bird¡¯s feet that flew, opening her mouth wide as she bared her sharp and rigid teeth. With no avail, she had no choice but to succumb to Benn¡¯s wishes, her eyes letting out a few tears as she then was pulled back toward the ground.

    Unfortunately for Benn though, Pedro didn¡¯t hesitate to strike back, as Benn still shot his machine gun with his eyes closed.

    (Pedro) Well ¡­ looks like I¡¯m going to have to kill him first.

    Pushing his heels off of the ground, he then pulled back his hands as clouds of gas formed once again all around his arms. Extending both of his hands, the clouds that were well-ventilated around him opened fire right onto the vulnerable Benn, who despite shooting his weapon, had his feet on the ground.

    Unable to coordinate the movement of his legs because of the movement of the big black vultures that held Loraine, one of the vulture¡¯s eyes widened.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) What should I do now?

    Setting Loraine down many feet away from the fight taking place, the five vultures noticed the beam of gas coming right toward the shark-human.

    Flapping their wings, they used them to push the air, gliding through the wind as they replicated the speed of a bullet. And as Benn¡¯s perspective was in the eyes of the middle vulture of the group, the middle vulture turned his head toward either side of its comrades.

    Seeing that the vultures were all eyeing the same lich in front of them, all four vultures that followed the leader smacked their beaks, as their legs and claws shook with intensity.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Am I going to make it?

    Unfortunately, the vultures weren¡¯t fast enough to reach Benn on time.

    As the white beam of deadly gas slammed across his entire body.

    Raising his right arm and hand upward, he couldn¡¯t breathe inside of the deadly gas, allowing himself to be swallowed up. His skin burning from the gas cloud, Benn¡¯s right hand then slowly came back toward him in the gas, his lungs burning up from the inside out.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) Ack! Ah!

    With his eyes closed, Benn turned his head around the deadly cloud and he then changed his vision back toward himself.

    Opening his eyes, the pain then started to double more as some of his senses were on hyperdrive. Because of this, Benn arched his head back, gritting his teeth as it started to chip away the enamel of his teeth.

    Pedro however, continued to blow the deadly gas of air into his direction.

    (Pedro) Sorry, but a fight¡¯s a fight.

    His legs were unable to push his body forward, his arms unable to keep him from falling, Benn remained still as both of his hands dropped his gun. The metal landed on the asphalt, it cracked as bits of cracks formed along the pavement, but Benn kept his face straight in the direction of the gas.

    Barely able to enclose his hands into fists, Benn managed to curl up his fingers so that his nails were punching the skin of his palm. Not knowing when the gas may stop, Benn¡¯s eyes started to water from not just the toxic cloud, but¡ª

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) At least I protected Loraine¡­

    Pedro pulled back his hands, the cloud of gas ceasing its deadly air.

    In front of him was nothing more than a shark-human breathing through his open wide mouth, his throat parched with his chest slowly upheaving. Followed by the way his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his feet were the only ones that kept him standing.

    With his right hand, Pedro scratched underneath his chin, his fingernails creating scratch marks that left red scars on his pale skin.

    (Pedro) Are you still standing? I guess killing you with oxygen isn¡¯t going to be a walk in the park huh?

    As soon as he started to slowly walk toward the unconscious yet standing shark-human¡­

    A small nylon rope wrapped over his waist, stabbing the insides of his lower abdomen as the tightness began to crawl up beside him.

    Turning his head to the left of him, Pedro then noticed a teenage girl holding a nylon rope with her right hand. The girl tightened her grip on the rope with her curled-up fingers, she didn¡¯t convey a smile or a goofy face, but rather¡­

    (Loraine) You¡¯re dead¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 98: Loraine vs Pedro

    Still being squeezed around his lower abdomen, Pedro let out a small breathless chuckle escape from his mouth, causing Loraine to squeeze the nylon rope tighter.

    Opening his mouth wide, Pedro widened his eyes as he saw the sharpened eyes of Loraine, the crevices of her eyelids being slanted toward the center of her nose. Focusing her divided attention on the lich, she then started to slowly walk toward him, the rope that was around Pedro feeling as if a thousand needles were pricking him all at once.

    Or rather¡­

    (Pedro) Ow! What the hell are you using with that rope!?

    His eyes glancing down onto the nylon rope, he noticed that the side that he was being squeezed against had many spikes laced onto the rope. A hissing sound came out from his mouth, he closed his eyes as he arched his head back, and his breathing was hitched into his throat.

    Not only did the spikes stab him, but they also emitted another gas similar to oxygen, the gas punching through inside his gut.

    As for Loraine, she then managed to stand right on top of him, her left hand occupied with a small metal object. Gripping the helm of her Swiss army knife with her left hand, she only glared at the lich below him, the tilt of her knife trembling around the smoke-filled air.

    (Loraine) You kidnapped Boris¡­ and you hurt my friends¡­

    Raising her left hand high, the tilt of the blade reflected against herself, the small blade not noticeable as she put her left foot an inch back.

    Thrusting her left hand toward the center of his chest, she aimed right where his heart was, not daring to look around her as her pupils shrunk. Gritting her teeth, the tip of the blade dug itself onto the side of Pedro¡¯s left chest, the blade digging into where his heart was located.

    (Loraine) So now you¡¯re going to die.

    Pushing the small pocket knife deep into the depths of his chest, the only thing that she could conjure up was a simple angry hum from her throat. Her vocals collided against one another, and she released another high-pitched shriek as her mouth was trapping the voice from within her.

    Black tar spurred out of his chest, flinching his body upward due to the blade going through him.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) Damn, this bitch!

    (Loraine) You¡¯re going to die¡­

    Jabbing the single blade into his chest even further, her body hunched forward as she tightened the rope evermore, allowing black tar to escape from his stomach.

    Unable to notice around her, drool started to drip down from her lips, her breathing erratic as her nostrils flared up fanatically. The entire blade was swept under his chest, and only the grip remained on the outside surface.

    (Loraine) Die.

    Despite feeling as if her head might explode, she pushed the blade into the very depths of his soul, her hands feeling as if they might shut down.

    Coughing out tar from the corners of his mouth, tar was splattered all around his face, his nostrils being assaulted by the horrible smell that even he was repulsed by.

    (Loraine) Die!

    Exerting all her inner strength onto a single push, the whole grip of the army knife was lodged shut inside of his chest, not letting the edge of the grip breathe through the surface.

    With her entire knife submerged in the bleeding tar, Loraine still pushed the knife through, the corners of her eyes rolling down tears that stayed along her cheekbones.

    (Loraine) DIE!!

    Loraine had her entire hand on his left side of his chest.

    The tip of the blade reaching the cement below, Loraine widened her eyes as she then pulled back her hand, the nerves that she ignored plastering onto her like a nagging adult. Seeing that her left hand was being steamed and burnt, she let out a sniffle from her nostrils, her chest going up and down rapidly.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Noticing that the rope that bound him was now inside of his waist, she quickly pulled out the rope as he noticed that his eyes were staring up at the sky.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s dead ¡­ he¡¯s dead now ¡­ right?

    (Pedro) cough cough ¡­ Guess I can¡¯t regenerate anymore huh¡­

    Slowly arching his head up, tar drooled from all over his chest and stomach, reaching into his crotch and left leg as sweat formed on the top of his head.

    Having his frail and bony hands tracing the stone cobbles and wood that were laced all around the street, he pushed his butt off the ground as he placed his right hand onto the left side of his chest. With his eyes and face being pushed down, he stared into the teenage girl¡¯s face, seeing her pigtails as well as her sharpened face.

    (Pedro) You ¡­

    With his left hand, he extended it outward as he pointed toward her, spreading his feet apart as he created a stance similar to a pose of a certain show¡­

    His knees were on the verge of buckling, his heels still gripped the cement that was beneath him, his bare feet and toes stabbing the stone.

    The corners of his lips turning his smile into a frown, he sharpened his eyes as more tar dripped from the corners of his lips and nose.

    (Pedro) I¡¯ll kill you ¡­ cough ¡­ you damn weirdo¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Between the lich man and the teenage girl, both of them were at a standstill as the reddish sky plunged the heavens above.

    Having her nylon rope neatly tucked with both of her hands, she continued to glare at the man as she clenched her teeth shut.

    (Pedro) What are you waiting for? You want your chubby daddy to save you again?

    (Loraine) Don¡¯t say anything bad about Boris¡­!

    Controlling her vocals, her throat hummed and vibrated against her esophagus as she hissed the words from her mouth. Tilting her head upward, she tightened the grip on her rope, the rope blistering her palms more as she took a step back.

    And in a flash, Loraine pushed her heels off the ground, charging at the lich man as she pulled back her rope.

    Seeing her attack, Pedro used both of his arms to shield his face, the air around his wrist and hands summoning pure oxygen gas clouds.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t want to use this move, but it leaves me no choice.

    (Pedro) Aegis Condensation.

    In less than a second, a pure cloud of oxygen so deadly surrounded his entire body.

    Widening her eyes, Loraine used the heels of her feet to break her body, gritting her teeth as the motion of her body wouldn¡¯t stop.

    Pedro, taking note of Loraine being caught off guard, spread open his arms wide as he allowed the shield of toxic oxygen to be split in two. Almost copying a similar fighting style to Miles, Pedro had two of the toxic gas clouds wrapped into balls that encapsulated both of his hands.

    Having his deadly gloves ready, Pedro then pushed off the ground, his heels sending him right where Loraine was gawking.

    (Pedro) You think I would give up that easily if you stabbed my heart!?

    Thrusting his right hand toward Loraine¡¯s face, he twisted his right wrist so that his hand would twirl in a clockwise rotation.

    Putting both of her hands so that she could cover her face, the fist that barreled toward her slammed on both of her hands. Feeling the vibration of the punch from the barely standing lich man, Loraine was sent back a few feet away from her original position, causing her to nearly collapse.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) Ow! He still has some strength within him! How am I supposed to fight against that!?

    Having her hands and arms laying motionless to gravity, she hunched her back forward as she tilted her head down, her breathing heightened tenfold.

    Taking a few steps back from the lich, she noticed that she still held the nylon rope with her right hand, which caused her to grip the material tighter again. Letting out a small cough, she put her left hand into the soles of her jacket, her fingers deep within the leather fabric.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) I hope this works.

    As she pulled out a simple ball.

    A ball that seemed to be perfectly normal, as it looked like something a dog would play with.

    Raising her left hand high, the small dog ball that was colored red was perfectly seen by Pedro, who furrowed his brow as he laid his hands down to his sides.

    (Loraine) I have this! Here take this!

    Pulling back her left hand, she then threw the ball into the air, the direction of the ball being right near where Pedro was. As soon as it landed on the ground a couple of feet to the right of him, Pedro used his eyes to glance at the ball.

    Crab walking to the right, kept his body forward while his feet and legs weren¡¯t, while panning his face onto Loraine.

    Bending down, Pedro grabbed the ball with his right hand, rubbing the soft foam of the ball on the palm of his hands. Turning his attention toward the girl again, he then extended his right hand upfront, showcasing the ball that he had as if he were a little kid.

    (Pedro) What is the ¡­ cough ¡­ What is the meaning behind this ball?

    (Loraine) Guess. The explanation behind it is really simple.

    Hearing the click of a reload to the right of him, he quickly turned his head to¡ª

    A gunshot was heard.

    Tar dripped onto his right eye, leaving him in a state of bewilderment as he then faltered under the weight of the sound around him.

    His knees landing on the wooden and glass shards beneath him, he finally turned toward where the gunshot was last heard of, his eyes widening as he saw¡­

    (Loraine) It was just a simple distraction.

    Smoke emitted from the barrel of a short woman with an all-black suit.

    Having her right hand grip the leather of her Mauser pistol, her entire suit and body were covered in tar, as not even her glasses were safe from the black goop.

    Standing next to her was another man clad in all black, as black goop was also drenched onto his coat and body. In his hands, the man wielded a light-sized rifle sniper, having his finger on the trigger as he steadied his aim on the reticle.

    (Agent Eren) You¡¯re not walking away from this.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 99: Loraine, Eren, and Ada vs Pedro

    Putting an intense amount of pressure onto the floor beneath him, Pedro then slowly stood himself back up, seeing the two agents clad in tar on the verge of firing.

    Having his hands up in the air, he had his palms facing toward them, his face lighting up with a carefree smile. Clearing his throat, he walked backward slowly as his eyes glanced at an empty alleyway shrouded in darkness.

    (Agent Eren) Don¡¯t get any funny ideas.

    (Pedro) Oh, not to worry. I¡¯ll be a good boy I promise, but promise me one thing.

    (Agent Eren) And what is that?

    Keeping his eyes focused on the two agents, he then stopped as tar started to pour out from his ears and nostrils, his mouth bursting out another load of black goop. As his stomach contracted from the intensity of the sudden burst, Pedro bent down and he placed both of his hands on his knees, his mouth agape and his feet loosening stability.

    Meanwhile, the two agents and the teenage girl all holstered their weapons outward toward the lich man, with the two agents noticing a large weapon that Loraine had pulled out of her.

    From the back, Loraine carries a metal case that resembles that of a guitar case, but what it does is it holds her best weapon.

    (Loraine) I forgot I had this! I¡¯m such a dummy!

    Putting both of her hands on the back of the case, she put the big rectangle-shaped metal case onto the ground, laying it flat as she put both her hands onto two openings. Flinging her hands upwards, the case flew open, revealing a weapon that widened both Eren and Ada.

    (Agent Ada and Eren) WHAT!!??

    With both her hands, Loraine grabbed and pulled out the metal weapon that was encased inside of the case, wielding the weapon as the barrel pointed toward the sweat-filled lich. Having her right hand on the grip, her left hand on the center of the weapon, and her right shoulder holstering the end of the monster¡­

    (Agent Eren) You had an RPG this whole time!?

    (Loraine) Yeah.

    (Agent Ada) Why didn¡¯t you use it in the first place?

    (Loraine) Cause I only have one to two rocket shells stored inside of it. I only shoot when I know it will kill.

    (Agent Eren) Good point.

    Pointing the rocket launcher right toward Pedro, his throat quivered as his hands started to tremble from the presence of the long barrel pointed at him. Letting out a small nervous chuckle, his breathing started to fasten as he slowly crouched down.

    Being in a submissive position, Pedro then moved his palms to face him, slightly covering his face.

    (Pedro) Hold up now! You don¡¯t have to be reckless! It is preferable to kill me with bullets than explosives!

    (Agent Ada) Why? Cause explosives destroy everything in the body instantly? Including your heart and body?

    (Pedro) Well, when you put it that way¡­

    Having his feet still, he then moved his body back and forth, swaying his hands out and over as he noticed a creature far in the distance.

    His eyes peering at the fiery creature that was miles away, a small smile lit up as he soon tilted his head down, another burst of tar coming out of his mouth. Slowing down his swaying, he then kept his body still, his face peering into the barrel of the RPG that was aiming right down his face.

    (Pedro) Anyway ¡­ You¡¯re going to kill me either way, so it makes sense to go all out.

    (Agent Eren) No, you ain''t!

    The two agents that wielded their weapons pulled both of their respective weapon triggers, firing a barrage of bullets with Ada¡¯s pistol and Eren¡¯s automatic sniper rifle.

    With the hot metal barreling right toward Pedro¡¯s chest, he then lunged his body to the left, avoiding all the bullets that managed to hit the building behind him. Having both of his hands and arms down to his sides, he clenched his mouth and chiseled his face, allowing the air that was around him to turn into another form of itself.

    Allowing his wrist to snuggle against the air around him, a cloud of white gas managed to swirl around him again.

    (Pedro) I¡¯m using all that I have got!

    (Agent Eren) Loraine! Use that RPG!

    (Loraine) But I don¡¯t have a good shot!

    Making a clicking sound with her tongue, Loraine let out a sigh as she then sharpened her eyes, the corners of her lips making an upside-down U. Having the rocket launcher locked and loaded, with the shell inside of its chamber, Loraine steadied her aim, but there was one simple problem¡­

    (Loraines¡¯s thoughts) I can¡¯t follow him!

    Her hands and arms trembling under the moving movement of her weapon, it was inevitable that she would be an easy picking. Since both of the agents had a difficult time trying to track down the lich too, it led to them blurring their vision as dizziness soon started to take hold of them, leading to them wobbling their legs.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    As for Pedro, he had his sights on the little girl wielding the RPG, causing his eyes to light up followed by his eyelids slanting to the opposite ends of his temples.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) She has the best weapon that could kill me. I have to finish her off quickly.

    Pulling his right hand back, he concentrated all the air that brustled against it and turned it into a pure form of oxygen, the cloud turning into a light shade of blue rather than white. The light bluish cloud was on the verge of making contact with Loraine¡¯s body, Pedro then let out a small chuckle, his breath losing the putrid smell that he once had.

    (Pedro) Now this is the¡ª

    A singular bullet lodged onto the head of Pedro.

    (Pedro) W-W-W-W-W-W-

    Widening his eyes, he quickly landed on top of the cement that was covered in small debris, his face being pricked upon by the tiny shards.

    The bluish gas cloud quickly dissipated into the air around them, it only left the sight of Pedro who was still groveling on the floor, his palms being placed on the ground.

    Slowly lifting his head, he turned to where the said person shot him.

    (Pedro¡¯s thoughts) I hate all of this¡­

    His eyes pushed down, his pale skin gleaming in the reddish sky, the dark eye bags underneath his eyes smoldered in black¡­

    It all came down to witness Benn, who was barely standing with his buckled knees, to shoot the final blow right at Pedro. And it ain¡¯t no normal bullet¡­

    Because when Pedro tried to summon his pure oxygen, the oxygen wouldn¡¯t summon. And to make matters worse for Pedro, another white gas emitted from the bullet that Benn shot.

    (Benn) pants ¡­ I finally beat you¡­

    (Pedro) gasps ¡­ fuck you¡­

    Unable to get himself back up, Pedro looked all around as he saw the two agents, the teenage girl, and now the shark-human all pointing their guns at him. Seeing that Pedro was bleeding out tar from all over his body, it created a huge puddle as it started to stick him into the street.

    All of their eyes turning over to Loraine, they all nodded in agreement at the way Loraine was showcasing her RPG.

    (Benn) He¡¯s all yours.

    (Loraine) Hehe.

    The rest of the adults turned their bodies away, and they all walked toward the jeep that was flipped over. As for Loraine, she pointed her RPG right toward the lich that groveled on the ground, literally drowning in his pool of tar.

    Turning her bright and cheesy smile to glare, the switch-up facial expression was barely received by the dimming light that Pedro was receiving.

    (Loraine) Guess it¡¯s just you and me now.

    (Pedro) Let me go you stupid brat!

    Having the large barrel pointed right where Pedro was groveling, Loraine pushed down her face as she was then caressed by the warm wind coming from a certain direction. Her body was slightly drenched in a heap of sweat, she also noticed the trinkets of ash starting to rain down on both of them.

    (Loraine) You know, ever since I was little, I pretended to be arrogant and cocky. I thought that if I were to cheer everyone up with my antics, it would make my friends happier.

    Taking a few steps back away from the tarred-up lich, Loraine then placed her pointer finger on the trigger. Rubbing the metal of the heavyweight gun, she let out a sigh as she continued to glare, the heaviness of the gun crushing against her right shoulder.

    (Loraine) But now ¡­ I don¡¯t know if they call this growing up ¡­ but I¡¯m starting to think why Jenny and the other adults always get on my ass.

    Sweat drenched his entire body, his legs felt numb followed by his arms feeling as if they were shrilled in ice.

    His sense of taste and smell continued to weaken more and more as his vision began to blur, replacing it with black tar that swept into his eyes.

    (Loraine) I want to cheer up my friends, even at the cost of my rep and well-being. So ¡­

    (Pedro) Just wait a minute you brat! What do you mean by¡ª-

    (Loraine) See ya.

    Pushing the trigger down, the rocket shell that was holed up inside of the chamber was then fired out, leaving the barrel with imminent speed.

    Bursting the air around it, the rocket shell rapidly made its way toward Pedro¡¯s face, the explosive bullet already making contact with his nose and cheekbones. As soon as the rocket plunged deep into his skin, the mechanism of the bullet then¡ª

    Exploded.

    The shockwave shook her body as her feet glistened the rumble from underneath her, causing her feet to go numb. Followed by the air around her deafening her ears, she closed her eyes as her body rocked with the explosive wave.

    Feeling the air go around her numb, she pinned her interest toward the smoke-filled area from where she shot, squinting her eyes as she put down her RPG to the ground.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) I think I killed him.

    She took note of the hole in the ground that was created by the impact of the explosion.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) Yep, definitely killed him.

    Turning her head toward the others who were analyzing the jeep, Loraine noticed that Benn was barely walking, as his previous fight with Pedro wasn¡¯t a pretty one.

    Grabbing her RPG with both of her hands she quickly put it inside of her metal case, locking it shut as she then strapped it onto her back. Running towards the three adults, she swayed her arms as a robot would do, her weird run causing the three of them to perk up their heads.

    (Loraine) Benn! Looks like you need a medic.

    (Benn) Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll find Hope.

    (Loraine) But your eyes are bleeding.

    (Agent Eren) Yeah, man, that doesn¡¯t look good.

    As Eren and Loraine took note of Benn¡¯s bloodied eyes and pale skin, the two of them set him down near a stack of rubble that best suited him.

    Letting out a dry and raspy cough from his throat, Benn placed his right hand onto the left side of his chest, tilting his head up as his mouth was slightly widened. Hearing the dryness of Benn¡¯s overall body, both Eren and Loraine quickly put both of their hands into their pockets, truffling around as they dug deeper into them.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) I must have something in my pockets!

    (Agent Eren¡¯s thoughts) I had an insulin pen somewhere, or did I give it to¡ª

    A short woman walked over toward the crippled Benn, her hands inside of her pockets as she looked down on him.

    Looking at the ground and pavement, she avoided eye contact as she pulled out an insulin pen, grabbing the syringe with her right hand as she extended it outward. Opening her hand, she aimed it straight toward Benn, her lips puckered up inside of her mouth.

    (Agent Eren) Ada¡­

    Slightly opening his eyes, Benn slowly took the insulin pen from her, both of their hands feeling each other as she quickly pulled it away once he took the syringe. Shaking her hand away, she turned her body the opposite way, not allowing any of them to look at her face.

    As for Benn, he injected the insulin right in between his forearm and main arm, allowing the liquid to traverse his body to fight against the pure oxygen. Arching his head back, he turned toward the short woman with glasses, his breathing slowing down as the liquid traversed his body.

    (Benn) Thanks¡­

    (Agent Ada) I¡¯m not that coldhearted¡­ but I¡¯m not owing you any favors!

    Folding her arms, she then hurried her way toward the crashed jeep, tapping her foot as she checked her watch.

    Taking in a big deep breath of fresh air into his pink lungs, his body quickly felt rejuvenated after the insulin shot, moving his fingers in a childish motion. Lighting up a small smile from his normal frown, it caused both Eren and most especially Loraine to crunch up their faces.

    (Loraine¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s smiling!

    Sniffling his nose, he then slowly walked toward the crashed jeep as well, gesturing for the two of them to follow him. Noticing the hand gesture, both of them followed suit, walking along the hard-covered pavement as they took in the surroundings around them.

    For Benn, he looked up toward the reddish and plague-looking sky, his smile still unwavering as his feet felt the many cracks upon the pavement.

    (Benn¡¯s thoughts) I guess there is some good in humans¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 100: It All Comes Down to Luck In the End

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:57AM)

    (Luke) For the other team in charge of civilian evacuation and zompire extermination, you will go to the northern side of the city, where the hills are.

    (David) I¡¯ll take the lead. I¡¯ll make sure the platoon stays with me.

    Putting his hands into his pockets, David turned his head toward the platoon that he would be taking tabs on.

    Next to him was a monolid woman with glasses as she fiddled with her hands.

    (David) Remember what I said ok?

    (Jenny) Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t get ahead of you.

    Before Jenny could make another comment, a below-average height agent with a tuxedo and fedora stopped right in front of David.

    (Agent Briggs) How about I command the soldiers, and you¡¯ll be the one leading the charge.

    Peering into the depths of David¡¯s soul, David let out a bead of sweat as he respectfully nodded at Brigg¡¯s request.

    (David) Sure. As long as you don¡¯t send them out to die.

    (Agent Briggs) And as long as they listen to me.

    (David) You know the old saying, trust is formed by respect, not power.

    (Agent Briggs) And I was being-

    Briggs was then hugged from behind by a taller woman.

    (Spartan Alexandra) And you¡¯ll know I¡¯ll go with you too Briggs~

    (Agent Briggs) sighs.

    Seeing Briggs ignoring the physical contact he was receiving, Jenny stomped her way right to Briggs and Alexandra. Putting both of her hands onto her hips, she leaned forward toward Alexandra, letting out a low angry hum.

    (Jenny) You can¡¯t be doing that to him, he doesn¡¯t like it.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Says who? He doesn¡¯t complain.

    (Agent Briggs) I believe I have told you many times not to hug me.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Awww~

    (David) Let it go, Jenny, now¡¯s not the time to argue against your past self.

    (Jenny) W-What?! I mean¡­

    Putting his hand on her right shoulder, he squeezed the edges of her shoulder as he then dragged her to one of the military trucks that had a spot open.

    As David and Jenny walked off, Briggs let out another sigh as he turned his head close to Alexandra¡¯s face. With a scrunched face, he took both of her hands.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Where are you taking me?~

    (Agent Briggs) To the trucks.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Aww ¡­ are you finally admitting that¡ª

    (Agent Briggs) Just shut up!

    Briggs¡¯ face flustered as he kept walking with Alexandra..

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:55AM)

    (David, Jenny, Briggs, and Alexandra)

    (Agent Briggs) Why the hell did they build this part of the city on top of hills?Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    (David) Do you want my personal take or logical take?

    (Agent Briggs) Logical.

    (David) The northern part of the city has many granite hills, so building houses on top of them wouldn¡¯t be that difficult.

    (Agent Briggs) Personal?

    (David) So the rich could look down on the poor from above.

    Inside of a military truck, David had both of his hands on the wheel as the cold frowned agent was to the right of him.

    In the back of the truck, many soldiers were fast asleep, with Jenny and Alexandra both wide awake as they leaned their backs against the truck''s walls. Both of them sitting opposite one another, they were also the farthest away from the edge of the truck.

    Jenny, who noticed Alexandra staring at one of the male soldiers who was close to them, cleared her throat as she straightened her back.

    (Jenny) I heard the rumors about you.

    (Spartan Alexandra) About what?

    (Jenny) You have a little personal all-male harem, care to explain that?

    (Spartan Alexandra) What¡¯s wrong with polygamy? I mean, I don¡¯t care if a guy does it, but why can¡¯t I?

    Folding her arms, Alexandra put them right underneath her chest, sharpening her glare toward Jenny. Making herself seem anti-social, Alexandra also tilted her head upward, letting out a little smirk as the corner of her right lip reached halfway to her ear.

    Jenny ground her teeth against one another, sharpening her jawline as she hunched her body forward.

    (Jenny) Polygamy is bad on either side. Doesn¡¯t matter on the gender.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Oh, so you don¡¯t care about gender? Nice, nice.

    (Jenny) You¡¯re just too horny to function.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Pfft ¡­ if you put it like that.

    Putting her right hand onto her cheek, she made a sly smile. Having her body leaned forward, she had her left hand on her knee as she continued to stare right at Jenny.

    Jenny then enclosed her hands into fists, her palms being pelted by her fingernails as she started to glare at the fedora woman. Puffing out her chest up and down, Jenny also glared right at her.

    (Jenny) You have no shame. You¡¯ll just go with any dude that seems hot to you.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Hell, he doesn¡¯t even need to be hot.

    (Jenny) You¡¯re a freak.

    (Spartan Alexandra) And you¡¯re a bitch.

    (Jenny) Excuse me!?

    Standing up, Jenny dug into the floor of the moving truck as her head barely managed to rub against the roof. Her feet barely able to keep herself from falling inside of the moving truck, she placed her left hand on the side of the truck. Having her right fit down to her side, she glared right at Alexandra, who widened her smile.

    David motioned his head on the back against his seat, rubbing his hair with the leather as his ears perked up from the commotion coming from the inside of the truck.

    Briggs as well motioned his ears in the direction of the girls, his face pushed down as dark eyebags circulated all over his eyes.

    (David) Hey Jenny, calm down.

    (Agent Briggs) Alexandra, drop it.

    (Jenny) No!

    Spartan Alexandra let out another laugh.

    (David and Agent Briggs) Well, we tried.

    Ignoring the commotion from the two girls, David and Briggs kept their eyes forward as they traversed through the hills of the northern part of the city. Glancing at the many mansions and houses that were barely near the downtown district to the south, David put his left hand underneath his chin.

    (David) If we do save the city, what will happen after?

    (Agent Briggs) Things will go back to the way they always do.

    (David) Let¡¯s think realistically. In the entire world, Lagefor is the biggest city on Terra, but second to Clastine. What will the rest of the world think when this city has been invaded by a horde of undead?

    Slouching his body forward, Briggs let out a sigh as he looked into one of the rearview mirrors on the right side of the truck.

    Seeing a bit of himself on the edge of the mirror, he squinted at the little bit, scrunching his face and body up as if he were looking at something disgusting.

    (Agent Briggs) Do you want my logical or personal opinion?

    (David) Logical.

    (Agent Briggs) The world will be in shambles after this. Haxouburg and Aizzonia will go under complete lockdown, same as six years ago.

    (David) Personal?

    (Agent Briggs) As I mentioned, the world will continue to move forward, whether we like it or not.

    (David) Like in the movies after a hero saves the world, they all clap and cheer for him, but the next day, they forget about his name¡­

    (Agent Briggs) Precisely.

    Both men remained silent, as Briggs gently nodded his head. Taking note of David¡¯s eyelids shutting, Briggs then fixed his posture by putting both hands on his seat, allowing himself to see the rearview mirror that he was squinting at.

    Silent as a mouse, Briggs clicked his tongue as he swayed his head once, just by seeing a bit of his face.

    (Agent Briggs¡¯s thoughts) It all comes down to luck in the end¡­

    Briggs then felt the motion of the truck trembling.

    Not in a constant state, there was a given interval of each tremble that the truck did. Placing both of his hands onto the door handle that led out of the car, Briggs stared into the abyss as he had his body motionless.

    Feeling the truck tremble again, the trembles became more intense, as if a horse or something bigger was pounding the street.

    Moving his head, he looked at the rearview mirror, squinting into the darkened night as he noticed¡­

    (Agent Briggs) Holy shit.

    (David) So it wasn¡¯t just me that noticed the shaking. Who¡¯s behind us?

    (Agent Briggs) I thought we captured and locked that thing down.

    (David) What thing?

    Looking into the rearview mirror to his left, David widened his eyes as he saw a black creature charging behind them. Having his fingers gripping the steering wheel and his right foot on the gas pedal, he pushed the gas pedal harder.

    Everyone else then perked their ears up as they noticed that some of the crates started to shake, causing the soldiers to look behind them as they saw the two to three-story creature.

    (Spartan Alexandra) It escaped!?

    (Jenny) You guys had it with you!?

    There was one person that had it chained around its neck.

    The man himself had in his left hand the chain that resembled a collar or rope that led the behemoth toward them. On his right hand, he wielded his weapon that emitted smoke and sparks, causing Jenny to widen her eyes.

    (Jenny) Wait ¡­ is that ¡­

    The man on top of the enraged black creature had in his right hand a chainsawed sword, a man with ginger hair.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 101: David vs Kenichi (1)

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:58AM)

    (David, Jenny, Briggs, and Alexandra)

    (Spartan Alexandra) Who the hell is that!?

    (Jenny) That¡¯s Kenichi¡­

    (Spartan Alexandra) What is a Kenichi?!

    (David) You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!

    Seeing the ginger-haired man on top of the black giant creature, David clenched his jaw shut as he put the wheel in a death grip.

    All around them were nothing but newly abandoned mansions, mansions that had many golden decorations and gnomes on the front porches. Along with the house lights starting to turn off in the early morning, it seemed as if the lights were on an automatic program, a vast improvement of technology despite them barely seeing TV in color.

    Ignoring the lights, Briggs squinted his eyes in front of him, hoping to see a mansion that far surpasses the others around them.

    (Agent Briggs) We need to head to that mansion!

    (David) The one on top of the biggest hill!? Yeah, good luck with that. That bastard will get us midway.

    (Agent Briggs) Unless¡­

    Looking into the left side mirror of the truck, Briggs analyzed the ginger-haired man who was chaining the creature like a big guard dog. He repeatedly tapped his jawline, letting out a huge abundance of air from his lungs.

    (Agent Briggs) You or me could stall that thing for a little bit.

    David swiped away his forehead with his left sleeve, his jacket taking in a whole load of sweat that was sucked into the material. Loosening his right foot, he slowly managed to decrease the speed of the truck, causing Briggs to make a ¡°tch¡± sound with his mouth.

    The rest of the other soldiers saw the creature now starting to pick up the pace, leading to them shouting out toward the driver in front. Jenny and Alexandra also gritted their teeth as the creature¡¯s thumps to the ground managed to get louder.

    (Jenny) David! Put the pedal to the metal!

    (Spartan Alexandra) I don¡¯t think I could go for round two with that beast!

    (David) ¡­ Briggs, take the wheel.

    (Agent Briggs) Me?!

    David took his right foot off the gas pedal, leaving the truck to drastically slow down as a result.

    Having both of his knees on the seat where he¡¯s sitting, David placed his left hand on the door handle, feeling the contents of the metal. Thrusting the door open, he placed his right hand on the edge of the door, having his body hanging onto the adjacent metal that stuck out.

    As a replacement, Briggs took command as driver, immediately putting his right foot on the gas pedal.

    (Agent Briggs) Just what are you doing!?

    (David) What does it look like I¡¯m doing?

    (Agent Briggs) Being a moron!? You¡¯re hanging onto the edge of the door!

    David then motioned his body, putting his right hand onto the roof of the truck with his left still holding the door. He then narrowly pushed both of his legs, sending him a foot high.

    Upon moving his left hand in a swift motion, he managed to get it onto the edge, pushing himself up so that his body wouldn¡¯t dangle in the air.

    (David) Got it! Briggs! Keep the truck going no matter what!

    His heels gripping the metal of the truck, David steadied himself against the howling wind. Having both of his hands inside his black leather jacket, he then noticed the ginger-haired man glaring straight at him.

    Remaining still on the roof of the truck, David then spread both of his feet apart, swaying his head a couple of times until he had his body hunched forward.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) What is he doing? Is he steadying himself on a moving truck?

    With a simple thrust of his feet, he became one with the wind.

    But in Kenichi¡¯s eyes, he was quick even for him.

    Barreling straight toward him, Kenichi yanked the chain that controlled the black creature causing the creature¡¯s head to flinch upward. Since David wasn¡¯t that high up, when the creature had its tilted upward, it only just¡­

    Helped David have a better leverage.

    Having some surface to dig his heels into, David then swiftly jumped forward, ignoring the creature¡¯s jaws that widened from the smell of his body odor. David quickly pulled two objects out of his leather jacket.

    On his right, there was his standard pistol.

    And on the other, was nothing but tightened knuckles.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Wait, he wasn¡¯t like this during the ambush¡ª

    Silently, David thrust his left hand straight at Kenichi¡¯s nose, his knuckles popping out like sore thumbs.

    His knuckles made contact, and he thrusted his hand deeply, causing Kenichi to be thrown out of the black creature¡¯s neck.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Falling on the pavement, Kenichi landed on his back as he rolled a couple of times on the pavement, his shoulders bruised and gushed from the two-story fall. His head facing the fading truck, his vision caught a glimpse of a stopping black creature, sniffing the air around him.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Where did he go¡­?

    Placing both of his palms flat on the concrete, Kenichi grunted as he pushed himself off the ground, his fingers being picked on by the small particles of asphalt and rubble. Having his head up, his eyes glanced at¡ª

    (David) So you¡¯re finally up I take it?

    Letting himself hit the concrete on his bottom, Kenichi had his body sitting up, his breathing fastening under the rocking motion from his brain. His eyes barely able to keep him awake, Kenichi flared his nostrils upward, his face creating a frown that defied the softness of his cheekbones.

    Having his pistol in his right hand, David pointed it right at Kenichi, his finger already on the trigger.

    (David) I don¡¯t know how I almost lost to you during that ambush. I guess I¡¯m not good with surprises.

    (Kenichi) What¡¯s your goal here anyway?

    (David) I could ask the same thing.

    Kenichi looked down onto the black and freshly paved asphalt that he sat on top of, smelling the fragrance of chemicals and materials that were needed.

    Curling his fingers an inch toward his palm, his fingernails started to scrape against the pavement, creating a small screeching sound. Looking up toward David, his breathing started to decrease, his chest feeling at ease with the cooling wind that plowed through from the north.

    (Kenichi) I don¡¯t have a goal. I just follow orders, the same as usual. Like you do too.

    (David) And who¡¯re you following orders from?

    (Jenny) Kenny!

    From the back of them, a monolid girl swayed her arms in a hurrying motion, her legs pushing off the asphalt as she managed to widen her eyes at the scene unfolding.

    Turning his head toward the voice of Jenny, David clenched his left fist as he then glared at her, his stomach contracting tenfold. As she then managed to be right in front of David himself, she slightly bent down as she started to catch her breath.

    (David) What are you doing here!? Why did you jump off!?

    (Jenny) I want to see him!

    (David) Forget it, Jenny! ¡­ We have no¡ª

    Jenny then thrusted her right hand onto David¡¯s right wrist, her fingernails digging into his bones which caused him to clench his jaw. Taken aback, David arched his head back, his right wrist letting out a bit of blood as her fingernails continued to stab him.

    (David) Let go!

    (Jenny) He can still be saved! We must find a way¡ª

    Grinding his teeth together, David let go of his enclosed fist, using his flat left palm to push her to the cold asphalt below. Falling on her right shoulder, a single tear came out of her left eye, her watered eyes widening at David as she started sniffling.

    Immediately after that, David widened his eyes as he let his left arm motionless to his side, as well as wielding his gun down at the ginger-haired man.

    (David) Wait ¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to ¡­

    Forgetting about Kenichi, David focused his attention on the teary-eyed Jenny, bending down right where Jenny had fallen. Extending out his left hand, he traced along the left shoulder and arm of her body, feeling the fabric of the clothing.

    On the verge of letting out a teardrop from his right eye¡­

    The sounds of a chainsaw revving up can be heard.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) That bastard¡­

    Turning his head around, his eyes widened at the motion of the blade that was barreling toward him, his nose tingling from the smoke and sparks of the blades of the chainsaw.

    In slow motion, David arched his head back as he then placed both hands onto the asphalt, the blade of the chainsaw barely able to graze the edge of his nose. Standing up nearly instantly, David swiftly put his hand back inside his jacket, pulling out his standard pistol as he then pointed it straight at Kenichi.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) I guess this is how it goes.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s moving with precision and ease. Was he holding back that much?

    Effortlessly dodging the slashes coming from the ginger-haired man, David still wielded his simple handgun in his right hand. The air bursting with every stroke of the chainsaw blade, only led David to clench his mouth shut, his eyes unwavering from Kenichi¡¯s ballad.

    In one particular stroke that Kenichi thrust at David, he grabbed his right wrist with ease, crushing the bone with just his fingers. Piercing the air around him with his cracking bones, Kenichi shut his eyelids, his mouth foaming with drool as he buckled his knees from the pain.

    Until he thrust his left sword.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Oh, forgot about that sucker.

    Letting go of Kenichi¡¯s wrist, the blades of the chainsaw barely grazed the ends of his jacket.

    His feet spread apart like before, David then pointed his gun straight at Kenichi, focusing his pupils directly at him. With a push of a trigger, he quickly fired six bullets in the blink of an eye, all of them leaving the barrel at supersonic speed that rippled the air around them.

    Kenichi, having both of his swords already in front of him, wielded them as if they were shields.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) He¡¯s shooting? Coward.

    In slow motion, the bullets hit the metal of both his swords, with most of them being splintered and cut open by the rotating blades.

    A few bullets, however, found themselves digging into his chest, causing Kenichi to lower his swords to his sides with a grunt.

    Kenichi bit the innards of both of his cheeks, blood spurting out of his mouth combined with his bloodshot eyes. Soon after, blood trickled down from his chest, his mouth soon spurting out more blood along with his face turning a ghostly pale.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Unfortunately for him, he¡¯s still human.

    With his left hand, David pulled out an ammo box that contained his weapon¡¯s ammunition, his left hand scurrying six other bullets in a hurry. Pulling out six bullets, he then unlocked the grip of the gun which dropped the chamber, his right hand holding both of them at the same time.

    Clucking all six bullets into the cartridge, he locked and loaded his gun as he fired all of his ammo straight at Kenichi again.

    Kenichi didn¡¯t have the strength to swing his swords, as the hot metal continued to burn the inside of his pectoral muscles. Seeing the firing of another rapid wave of bullets, his arms and hands didn¡¯t hold the strength to even block them.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Is this ¡­ Is this ¡­

    The six bullets barreled their way toward the defenseless Kenichi.

    Widening his eyes at the surprise, Kenichi continued to stream a river of blood from the corners of his lips, splattering onto the asphalt below. His legs on the verge of collapsing, the only thing that he could do at the moment was¡­

    Just let it happen.

    As the six bullets finally landed straight toward his chest.

    Only the sound of smoke emitted from the barrel of David¡¯s handgun.

    Taking many steps back, Kenichi drunkenly wobbled his head and body until he stopped several feet away from David.

    Crouching down, he bent down as he placed his swords near his knees, opening his mouth as blood soon started to drip from his nostrils. His mouth vomited out an abundance of blood from his insides, he then finally let go of both his swords, the two clunking metals denting the asphalt created a loud crack.

    His breath fastened from the bullets that pierced the insides of his chest and upper stomach, Kenichi tilted his head up to see that David remained still.

    (Kenichi) You ¡­ cough cough ¡­ Are you ¡­ cough cough ¡­ going to finish me off?

    David had his face darkened, his gaze lowering down onto the ground as his right hand trembled along with the gun. His finger still on the trigger, he slowly lifted his gun toward the standing Kenichi, his finger stalling as his eyes unwavering from the man.

    Clenching his jaw shut, David remained standing as then placed his left hand onto the grip of the gun, having both of his hands helping each other. As for Kenichi, his lips created an upside-down U shape, his nose letting out a stream of blood that soon started to smear his lips.

    Unable to wield his gun, David¡¯s throat quivered as his vocals held in the words that wanted to come out.

    (David) Oh, Kenny¡­

    (Kenichi) cough cough ¡­ Just shoot your shot.

    His finger trembling as he caressed the trigger with it, David began to breathe deeply as he aimed the gun right where his heart was. Swaying his head once in a slow stroke, David grit his teeth as he slowly tried to pull his finger to push down on the trigger.

    His palms were coated with the stench of sweat, followed by the grip of the gun being stained by the humidity of his hands.

    If time was still moving onward, then time had stopped for just David alone.

    Closing his eyes softly, David let in a breath of the fresh cool summer air inside of his pink lungs. Opening his eyes, he then pushed the air out of his body, his hands remaining still despite time for his return.

    Until a gust of wind blew through the air.

    As it landed full force straight at David¡¯s chest and stomach.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 102: David vs Kenichi (2)

    (David¡¯s thoughts) W-What¡­

    His vision blurred as his ears started to scream.

    The impact and reverberation of the punch soon started to dig into his stomach and lower ribcage, the invisible fist digging deeper into his ribcage.

    Opening his mouth wide, the air that was already empty from his lungs coughed out the last bits of air pockets that were held in storage. His eyes widened as his face clenched up, bits of saliva spat out from the innards of his mouth.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) cough cough ¡­ God ¡­ I hate using it ¡­

    Kenichi¡¯s entire face was coated with cold sweat, his right and left temples rolling down along his cheeks and sides of his face. Collapsing onto his knees, the asphalt underneath soon dented from the sudden force of which Kenichi dropped.

    Blood spurting from his knees, he tilted his head up slowly as he quickly noticed¡­

    The speed at which David was traveling.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) W-What just¡­

    His hair blowing through the early morning cold wind, his eyes soon rolled onto the back of his head followed by his breath being caught in his throat. Unable to even move his legs or arms, David had no choice but to let the air take him whatever it desired.

    The pain from the blow swelling up the skin from his stomach and lower chest, managed to burn the area where it landed, causing David to grit his teeth midflight.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) I didn¡¯t ¡­ cough ¡­ see it coming. Or ¡­ was it already there¡­?

    And at long last, David¡¯s back was then smashed right through a large window.

    With the glass dissolving, the small sharp shards stabbed his back as it lodged through the leather jacket he wore.

    Landing on the carpet floor of a nearby mansion, David kept his back and body to the ground beneath him, not bothering to arch his head up. Spreading his arms and legs wide open, his breath continued to hitch inside of his throat, his throat jumping up and down as he couldn¡¯t even breathe.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) gasp ¡­ gasp.

    Putting both of his hands on his throat, he placed each of his thumbs onto either side of his throat, putting pressure on his windpipe. Rubbing it back and forth, the air that was trapped within his throat was then swallowed back in, his chest expanding upward.

    His face slightly bluish from the lack of air, it turned back to normal again as he continued to widen his eyes, his pupils staring at the white ceiling in front of him.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Just what the hell did he use? Ain¡¯t no way it was a blessing.

    David arched his head up as he noticed the abundance of many large couches and rugs all over the area. With a couple of statues and arches on the other end of the mansion, David put his right hand inside his jacket again, feeling the metal of a familiar object that he used.

    He had both of his boots latched onto a brown and luxurious rug, the air around him mixed with chocolate and bleach.

    Walking forward, his boots then started to squeak as he left the rug for the clean marble floor that was in front of him.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) It wasn¡¯t fast, it was more or less unseen with the naked eye. The best guess to counter it is any hard object to deflect it.

    David strolled through the large hallway that was riddled with ancient weapons that were stored inside glass boxes. Taking note of each one of them, David has his left hand in his pants pocket, looking around his surroundings at the same time despite being in the dark.

    Noticing a small shield inside of a glass box, David towered over the box that was in front of him, his hand enclosed into a hardened fist.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Is it legal to use a weapon that somebody owns?

    He stared into the small metal shield as he tilted his head to the right, his eyes gazing at the outer edges of the slightly spiked thorns. Clicking his tongue once, he then placed his left hand on the glass box, his fingers feeling the cold glass that enclosed the ancient artifact.

    Staining the glass with his sweaty fingertips and palms, David pulled his hand back, using his lungs to expand as he sucked in air into his stomach.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Boris could pay for the damages.

    Pulling back his left hand, David thrust it right toward the center of the box.

    The glass then shattered, spreading its tiny weapons that pricked and cut his knuckles and fingers. Blood dripped onto the white marbled floor, his hand reached the spiked edges of the shield, his palms too being stabbed.

    Grabbing the shield with just his left hand, he pulled it toward him as he almost dropped the metal upon holding it, clenching the strap tightly with his fingers.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s surprisingly heavy. Just what type of metal is it¡­

    The front door swung wide open.

    Turning his head toward the direction of the sound, David remained still as he grabbed his shield and his gun on both of his hands. Not even motioning his fingers for a second, his eyes peered into the man who was standing in front of the door.

    While the man was peering at him back.

    As both saw each other in the early dark of the morning, the ginger-haired man pointed his chainsaw sword right at the man wearing a cowboy hat.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    (Kenichi) Hope you¡¯re ready for round two.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (David¡¯s thoughts) He looks like he¡¯s in normal condition compared to a couple of hours ago.

    Upon the darkness that shrouded the hallway and front entrance of the mansion, David pointed his handgun straight at Kenichi.

    As for Kenichi, he wielded his two chainsaw blades that emitted smoke and sparks from both swords. Despite blood dripping from his chest, along with the bullets still lodged in tight, Kenichi¡¯s breathing was slow and normal compared to what it was before.

    Furrowing his brow, David swayed his head repeatedly from side to side.

    (David) What did you do to your body? How are you still standing after eight bullets to the chest?

    (Kenichi) There are ways¡­

    David caught a glimpse at Kenichi¡¯s right arm, seeing a syringe being stuck upon the leather fabric of his jacket. Sharpening his eyes, David tapped his right foot repeatedly as he tilted his head downward upon the revelation at hand.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) What is that syringe?

    Gripping the two blades with such animosity and force, Kenichi then spread his feet apart from one another, making a lunging stance as he put his right foot in front of the left.

    Narrowing his eyes, he then pushed his heels off the brown rug that rested his boots, his entire body in the air barreling straight at David. Pulling back both of his hands, the blades of the chainsaws cut through the air like paper, the wind howling as it went straight for David¡¯s neck.

    The winds shrieked from the way Kenichi sliced through, David took a step back as he placed the shield that he wielded in his left hand in front of him. Even though it was small, it still covered his entire neck.

    Barely able to follow his movements, David fired three bullets from the barrel of his gun, the hot lead on a collision course toward the ginger-haired man.

    Kenichi lunged his body to the right of David, managing to evade three shots from his handgun. Kenichi thrusted his right blade, ignoring the graze of the hot metal that passed him.

    The rotating blade of the chainsaw finally made contact with the heavy shield that David used, making a display of lights that shone in the darkened room.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) And now he''s going to aim for my liver next huh¡­

    Kenichi thrust his left sword straight toward where David predicted, the spiked edges of the rotating chain nuzzling right at his leather jacket. Still having bullets within his gun, he shot the remaining bullets.

    Gritting the enamels of his teeth shut, David glared at Kenichi, who had a similar expression.

    (David) You feel that?

    All three bullets that shot out from his pistol were lodged straight inside Kenichi¡¯s abdomen.

    Pulling his right sword from the shield that was trying to cut through, along with his left sword that was centimeters away from striking David¡¯s liver, Kenichi only bent down as blood trickled from his stomach.

    With his mouth opened wide, it only led to him gasping for air, his face turning pale as his eyes began to redden.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Time to activate it again¡­

    The air in front of him howled a weak cry.

    As the strands of his air spiked up, he immediately thrust his left hand up toward his stomach, the shield blocking anything that might strike. His face and body already dripping with cold sweat, the presence of another being or unearthly property was making headway right at him.

    And sure enough¡­

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Shit!

    The air around him bursted open.

    Still clutching the metal shield in his left hand, the blunt of the impact pushed back David several feet from where he stood.

    His ears rang followed by tinnitus clouding his eardrums, his body shivered in intervals as the shield radiated a trembling motion. Unable to even keep his hands in control, David huffed his chest up as he held in an abundance of air.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) What was that just now? It can¡¯t be a blessing, but ¡­ can it ¡­

    Kenichi then straightened his whole body up, his feet many inches apart as he continued to stare at David. The rotating chains still in motion, Kenichi made a much cruller frown latched onto his face, his lips making an upside down U.

    His legs started to wobble, he sniffled his nose as a reddish liquid streamed out of it.

    (Kenichi) There is no escaping this.

    Another burst of speeding air traversed the front of David alone, his shield covering him once again. As another brunt of force slammed onto the shield that he was wielding again, David managed to have a stronger grip on the floor, causing him to glide through the clean marble.

    Tinnitus and shivering only increased as a result of the shield, his eyes slightly blurring from the high-rising sound of the metal.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) I think he has some invisible extra arm or hand with him. Man, I¡¯m losing my edge on this¡­

    Pressing the firing mechanism that was needed for the release of another round of bullets, David used his barely seeing eyes to glance at his gun. He clicked on the mechanism a few times before his eyes widened.

    (David) Oh shit!

    With no way to shoot bullets with an empty magazine, David quickly holstered his pistol back onto his hip. Noticing that Kenichi was still standing in the front entrance of the living room, David put his hand into his leather jacket, nuzzling his knuckles within a side pocket.

    Kenichi, who let beads of sweat roll down from his forehead, started to slowly walk as the air around him thickened. The strands of both sides of his jacket swinging up, led to the air pulling out two other chainsaw swords that were inside his jacket.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Just what is he doing now?

    Using the power that was bestowed upon him, Kenichi wielded the typical chainsawed swords on both his right and left hand, but also two swords that were on both sides of him. Hanging in the middle of the air, the two swords that weren¡¯t handled by any body part soon started to rev up.

    Widening his eyes, David quickly pulled out what he had from within his jacket, his right hand holding a simple object that he rarely used.

    His fingers digging deep into the old wood of the object, David put the small shield onto his chest and stomach, strapping it tightly onto his leather jacket¡¯s collar.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) Is that a slingshot?

    The wooden object was on the verge of collapsing or being swayed by the air, as a piece of wood chip fell onto the marbled floor beneath his feet. Along with the old scent of vanilla extract and body odor from the handle of the slingshot, it caused David to flare up his nostrils at the smell of nostalgia.

    He also took a small leather pouch out of his jacket filled with bullets that seemed four times smaller than a regular bullet.

    (David) I don¡¯t think you remember this, but it¡¯s a weapon that I¡¯m proud of mastering.

    Pulling back the leather rope from the wood, the leather rope stretched its old hinges with David¡¯s left fingers.

    Noticing that David was aiming right toward his forehead, Kenichi thrust his feet off the marble floor, going along the wind as he instantly came right where David was aiming. Having four chainsaw swords all barreling straight at David, the only thing that David could do was¡­

    (David) You never beat me in a slingshot competition Kenichi, nobody did¡­

    Let go of the bullet that hurled itself straight at Kenichi¡¯s forehead.

    In slow motion, he used all four swords to try to block the speeding mini bullet, all the blades aiming dead center. Feeling his muscles tear up each other by the sudden motion of his hands and arms, Kenichi focused his eyes on the black tiny dot, not unwavering his sight on it.

    Surprisingly, the blades of the rotating chainsaw managed to scrape away the bullet from entering him.

    (David) You focus too much, just like always.

    Kenichi¡¯s eyes widened as he looked downward. Blood trickled down from the lower ends of his abdomen, creating a puddle on the marble floor.

    Seeing that Kenichi couldn¡¯t move an inch, David lowered down his slingshot to the side, his eyes still glaring at the ginger-haired man.

    (Kenichi) Damn it ¡­ what the hell were in those bullets¡­?

    (David) Just plain ordinary BB bullets. It can kill a mouse or squirrel.

    His chest upheaving frantically, Kenichi clenched his jaw shut as he slowly tried to move his swords toward David.

    David took a few steps back as he continued to point his old slingshot right at the ginger-haired man, his fingers loosened as any pressure bestowed upon it would crumble. As he began to pull the leather rope at a perfect distance so that it wouldn¡¯t snap, his fingers started to blister upon the edges of the material.

    (David) But these bullets can put a dent in a human with enough force. Don¡¯t you agree?

    Kenichi took a step forward as he then summoned the invisible wind toward the back of him, the air bursting at two points at once.

    The air that held up both of his chainsaw swords soon fell to the ground, as both blades stopped revving as well followed by the sudden crash onto the marbled floor. With a loud shriek, it caused a bit of sparks to emit from the ground below.

    (Kenichi) I agree, but power is better.

    As if an invisible hand was grabbing onto something, Kenichi slowly moved the invisible hand that had an iron grip on it, an object that had a beating heart and warm blood.

    Bringing something into the dark of the early morning, the invisible air or hand showcased the thing that it caught, causing David to drop his slingshot.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) God damn it!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 103: The Flowers Remained

    Jenny struggled to breathe as her legs dangled in the air. She grabbed onto the invisible wrist that dug right into her throat.

    David aimed his slingshot straight toward Kenichi¡¯s heart, his eyes gazing upon the chest wounds that remained. His fingers pulled the leather rope, and his right hand trembled at the sight of Jenny continuing to dig her hands onto the wrist of the unseen hand.

    But gazing down on the ground next to her, was a simple butcher knife, a luxurious knife that can be only found in a rich kitchen.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Dammit Jenny! Why¡¯d you try to help me!?

    Jenny¡¯s eyes flickered repeatedly, her eyelashes stabbing her pupils the more she gagged out from her mouth. Drool started to drip down from the corners of her lips, which only led to kicking her feet more.

    David noticed the old wooden slingshot that he dropped earlier, already placing a tiny bullet onto the rope as he aimed it right toward Kenichi¡¯s heart. His nostrils flaring upward, David let go of the BB that was placed on the leather rope, barreling its way toward the standing ginger-haired man.

    But he quickly put her entire body in front of the incoming bullet, moving the air so that the BB could penetrate through her newly healed wound.

    Which led to David wielding his slingshot.

    David then started to bite down on his cheeks, blood pouring out from the crevices of his mouth as he saw a spur of blood from Jenny¡¯s abdomen.

    (David) Let her go¡­

    (Kenichi) I don¡¯t think you understand. I¡¯m the one in charge here.

    Pointing the slingshot again at the ginger-haired man, David tilted his head back. With both of his hands helping each other, David nudged the wooden slingshot forward as he tried to flinch Kenichi to let go.

    But it didn¡¯t.

    Swaying his head repeatedly, David noticed a sword that was encased in a glass rectangle, the metal gleaming in the darkness of the hallway. Using his peripheral vision, he glanced at it as he continued to look straight at both Jenny and Kenichi, his forehead beginning to drench with sweat.

    (David) You could come with us. There is no reason for you to do this.

    The grip upon Jenny then loosened. Ignoring Jenny¡¯s coughing for fresh air, Kenichi then looked down onto the white marbled floor beneath him.

    (Kenichi) You don¡¯t get it, do you¡­

    Kenichi tilted his head upward toward the wide-eyed David, his hands laying the chainsawed swords motionless to gravity.

    Upon turning his gaze toward the teary-eyed woman, Kenichi¡¯s eyes began to push down upon the guilt that he bestowed upon both of them. His breathing started to turn rapid, the grip upon Jenny¡¯s neck suddenly got loose, the invisible hand that held her in the air ceasing.

    Plopping down onto the marble floor, she lay on her left shoulder, feeling the cold material on her bare skin.

    (Kenichi) I don¡¯t want to kill, but I¡¯m forced to. I don¡¯t want to fight, but orders are orders. Do you feel the same way?

    David¡¯s face darkened as eye bags underneath his eyes started to be shown clearly in the dark of the morning. As he had his gun on his right hip, he then unleashed the shield that was strapped onto his chest, the shield dropping down on the marbled floor.

    Creating a loud clunk, it also dented the luxurious marble, the metal landing face forward.

    (David) Yeah ¡­ that¡¯s one thing that I 100% agree on¡­

    David then pushed his heels off of the floor, the air around him bursting the glass that was right next to him.

    Extending his right hand forward, he made a hardened fist, the knuckles showcasing its sharp exterior as he managed to break the glass wide open. With the glass stinging and stabbing all over his knuckles and hand, he quickly pulled the long single-edged blade, the blade being a flexible metal that had a rigid edge.

    Already having the many chainsaws raining down upon him from behind, David thrust his hand and arm straight at the four chainsaws that were inches from his face.

    Fortunately for him, the sword sped through the air a lot faster than other swords.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) This metal is light¡­

    The single-edged blade sliced through all four of the chainsaws that were raining down on him, with each rotating blade being cut in two.

    All four rotating blades soon collapsed onto the marbled floor, creating a small spark show as the chains sparked the hallway for only a couple of seconds. Burning the marbled floor, the blades soon created a deep scar amongst the luxurious material beneath them.

    Kenichi then withdrew the invisible hands and his breath soon started to come back normally. Taking a step back as he dumped all of the chainsaw blades onto the marbled floor, he laid his hands motionless to gravity.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    (Kenichi¡¯s thoughts) I guess I lost this round¡­

    Enclosing both of his hands into fists, he then pushed his heels off the ground, sprinting in the air as he exited out of the mansion with the snap of a finger. As both David and Jenny saw his fastening sprint fade away into the unknown, David instantly sat down on the marble floor.

    His butt shivering from the dreaded cold of the floor, he tilted his head upward as a strand of hair started to get into his eye.

    As for Jenny, she glanced at the nearby garden that was similar to that of the house complex from her original home.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) Wow¡­

    Her eyes reflected the red flowers that were shining bright in the middle of the garden.

    Despite the smoke and ash covering the flowers in a lethal haze, the flowers remained.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:14AM)

    (David) Pick your battles, Jenny, I almost had him.

    (Jenny) You were ¡­ going to kill him weren¡¯t you¡­?

    Having both of their arms wrapped around their necks, both of them helped each other out as they continued walking. Their boots stomped the asphalt that was beneath them, their noses smelling the reddish sky that still lingered in the still darkened sky on top of them.

    David tightened his mouth in a thin line.

    (David) He was about to kill you. He was about to kill me. Even during the ambush, he wanted nothing to do with us but just to kill.

    (Jenny) But he must have some sort of spell or curse surrounding him. He never acted that way.

    (David) Or rather ¡­ How did he come back to life? I watched him die in my arms.

    David¡¯s hands trembled on the thought of that last memory he had with Kenichi when he was alive, that brutal battlefield that he endured during the Beast-Human skirmishes.

    Tilting his head down as he walked, Jenny tightened her hold on David, her eyes beginning to water as her nose started to let out a long sniffle. Breathing through her mouth, she started to quietly pant as the words that were caught in her throat couldn¡¯t get out.

    Feeling her trembling body that vibrated against his left hand, David gulped as he walked forward.

    (David) Let¡¯s just go find Briggs¡­

    Headlights can be seen far in the distance, a heavy automobile driving through the empty streets of the rich neighborhood.

    Their feet sensed a rumbling motion underneath, and David and Jenny both squinted their eyes, their breathing slowing down as the heavy automobile soon started to take in the appearance of a truck. Widening his baggy eyes, he soon stopped in his tracks as the truck started to slow down, the wheels of it screaming the asphalt as it made a complete stop.

    With the truck stopped right in front of them, both Jenny and David looked up toward the driver''s side of the window, noticing a man with blonde hair, a scar, and an unamused face.

    (Agent Briggs) Get in¡­

    (David) Got it.

    Going toward the passenger side of the truck, David had both of his feet on the metal stool as he got inside fast. As for Jenny, she got in from the back, she saw right in front of her the lack of¡­

    Soldiers.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) What happened here¡­

    Men and women in fancy suits and fancy dresses replaced the amount of soldiers that were with her before her fight.

    Among them, a couple of children also were sitting down with their loved ones and families, all quiet and whispering as they noticed the monolid woman that got in. Passing through the many fancy and rich people that were taken care of, Jenny glanced at a woman wearing a fedora and black suit, all by herself with no company.

    Walking toward her, the woman had both of her enclosed hands placed on the center of her forehead.

    (Jenny) Where are the soldiers?

    Alexandra looked up toward the monolid woman, her eyes red and watery as she still had her hands cupped together. Tightening her hold on each of her hands, Alexandra continued to look down at her hands as she stared at the floor.

    Noticing that Alexandra wasn¡¯t in a talkative mood compared to many minutes ago, Jenny turned her head away as she widened her eyes.

    (Jenny) Oh¡­

    Jenny collapsed onto the seat that she originally sat down from, putting her hands onto her mouth as she soon started to let out a shiver.

    A single tear rolled down her right cheek, the droplet hitting her all-black suit sleeve that swirled around the very fabric. Her throat jumped endlessly, her nose began to sniffle loudly and her breathing began to fasten.

    (Spartan Alexandra) Two of my boyfriends were in that squad.

    Jenny perked her head up as she dropped her hands motionless to gravity, her breath caught in her throat as she widened her eyes. Seeing that Alexandra soon let out another sniffle, a long batch of mucus began to run down her nose.

    (Jenny¡¯s thoughts) At a time like this?! Who does this woman think she is?!

    Enclosing both of her fists, her eyes began to sharpen under the tearful woman who sat in front of her, causing her to flinch her body up. Jenny huffed out a breath, giving herself a moment to compose herself.

    Pushing her head back against the metal wall of the van, she soon drew breath from her exhausted lungs. Letting out the trapped CO2 from within her body, she continued to look up into the many post-it papers stuck on the roof of the truck.

    (Jenny) They must have meant a lot to you, haven¡¯t they?

    Two long streams of tears began to roll down Alexandra¡¯s cheeks.

    Inhaling in and out rapidly, all her contained emotions as an agent soon began to crumble down as it looked as if she was just a regular heartbroken woman. Hyperventilating, Alexandra closed her eyes as she didn¡¯t dare to look straight at the monolid woman.

    As for Jenny, her eyes began to water, her lips beginning to flicker.

    David, who had had his palms facing flat on the seat, turned his attention toward the blonde-haired man next to him. Unable to look back at the two women who began to release their emotions, he needed someone cold-hearted to keep him in check.

    (David) What happened to the soldiers¡­?

    With the truck driving in the southern direction, Briggs caught a glimpse of the entire city as the truck went over a large hill, seeing the darkened buildings as well as the fiery monster making its way.

    Putting his right hand underneath his chin, he rubbed it back and forth with his fingers, inhaling in and out as he swayed his head from side to side.

    (Agent Briggs) What do you think?

    (David) Did you order them to die?

    (Agent Briggs) No¡­ it was too fast ¡­ the damn creature ¡­

    Briggs gripped the steering wheel as he glared straight in front of him with a pained expression.

    A small static breached the two men as the sound shook from the innards of David¡¯s pocket, causing David to use his right hand to pull out the metal device. The device being his walkie-talkie, he slowly put the speaker input inches away from his mouth.

    Clearing his throat, he turned the knob with both of his fingers as the static ceased.

    (David) Come in.

    (Benn) We located a group of civilians hiding in a shelter. Where should we go?

    (David) Luke wants the civilians to be holed up on the western side of the city, where the military complex is.

    (Benn) Got it, Benn out.

    Hearing the transmission being cut off, David looked at the fiery monster that was still rampaging the industrial side of the city. Upon taking in the fiery inferno that was causing, he noticed that the monster was barely reaching the outskirts of downtown.

    (David¡¯s thoughts) Godspeed Luke.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 104: The Water Pump Facility

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:58AM)

    (Luke) For the last team, I will be leading a group toward the water pump facility. I and the others will create a hyper-lethal water bomb to counter the monster before she makes it toward us.

    Jack, Hope, Fred, and the tall blonde soldier named Johnny nod in agreement as they open their ears at Luke¡¯s declaration.

    Jack placed his hand on top of his hair, combing it with his fingers, tracing the scalp with his nails as he looked toward Johnny. Having his hair well-kept, he turned his attention toward Hope.

    (Jack) Are you sure we could trust that Johnny soldier? He doesn¡¯t seem that trustworthy. I mean, why would a soldier want to go toward the water pump facility?

    (Hope) Maybe it¡¯s for a good cause. We need all the help we can get, and he wants to do something.

    (Jack) I know ¡­ but still ¡­

    Jack continued to weave his hair with his fingernails, the strands of hair and dandrum getting into the little pockets inside of his nails.

    With a sigh, he turned his attention right where Johnny was, seeing that he was all alone with no one to talk to. Enclosing his hand on his left, he pushed his feet forward, walking right where Johnny was sitting down.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) I guess talking to him wouldn¡¯t hurt.

    In the back of him was Hope, who was near his right shoulder as she had her hands clasped together. Putting both of his hands into his leather jacket, he straightened his back as he managed to stop right in front of Johnny, towering over him.

    Johnny widened his eyes, letting a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

    (Johnny) Uh ¡­ do you guys need something?

    (Jack) So you want to roll with us? Can I ask you why?

    (Johnny) ¡­ That¡¯s classified.

    Hope took a few steps away from the two men that talked, turning her head toward Luke who happened to talk with Gwen.

    Since she was far away, as well as both Luke and Gwen were still standing in the truck, Hope fiddled with her fingers which caused her to look down at them. As her entire face started to push down, she let out a fake smile, her sore cheekbones radiating their annoyance amongst her.

    (Hope¡¯s thoughts) What can I do for myself other than just like Luke¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:05AM)

    (Luke, Hope, Jack, Fred, and Johnny)

    (Luke) This is the place, Jack!

    (Jack) Are you sure? Every building to me seems to be the same.

    (Luke) Just trust me! This is the place!

    A brown van stopped in front of a giant metal building.

    The building had two high industrial chimneys that were right in the center of it, along the walls were completely constructed of steel and metal. With barely any glass windows to be seen, it made it look like a prison that guarded something.

    In the front of the building lay a giant door that looked as if it was broken into.

    (Jack) Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re not the first ones here¡­

    (Luke) Get your weapons ready.

    Luke and Jack both got out from their side doors at the same time, swinging and slamming them shut. As Jack looked around the building¡¯s windows and exterior with his eagle eyes, Luke rushed towards the back of the van, his right hand caressing the grip of his holster.

    Jack noticed something on one of the yellow-tinted windows, causing him to stand still and stare.

    Reaching the back van door, Luke used his left hand to pin the numbers of the lock, hearing a loud click. Using both of his hands, he then let out the three adults that were sitting in the back, their eyes peering into the young man.

    Fred and Johnny looked as if they were half asleep, their eyes on the verge of shutting themselves out.

    (Fred) So what¡¯s the plan?If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    (Luke) All of us are entering inside the facility.

    (Johnny) That¡¯s it? I thought it was going to be a lot harder¡­

    (Luke) Well, there¡¯s a reason why I just wanted special forces. Anyway, we need to hurry.

    Looking at Jack, the red-haired man squinted his eyes toward one of the few windows on the second floor. Seeing that Jack had both of his hands inside his jacket, Luke slowly walked toward him, clearing his throat in the process.

    As soon as he got close to him, Luke placed his right hand on Jack¡¯s shoulder.

    (Luke) Hey, is there something wrong?

    (Jack) No ¡­ I thought I saw something¡­

    (Luke) Oh.

    Both Luke and Jack heard the many sounds of boots coming from the back of them, their ears perking up upon three people walking toward them.

    Luke and Jack turned to see that the three of them all had their weapons on standby, making the two men light up their faces with calm smiles. Clearing his throat, Luke then extended his right hand forward, sticking his thumb out as he pushed down his eyes.

    (Luke) Let¡¯s all work together, okay?

    (Everyone) Got it!

    (???) Wait!

    All five adults heard the voice of an old teenage girl, causing their ears to perk up in the direction of where they drove.

    Jack, who squinted his eyes, scrunched up his face as he put his right hand on top of his head. Lightly caressing the strands of his hair, he took a step back as he put his hand underneath his chin.

    (Jack) Is that a cat-human?

    (Johnny) A cat-human? Wait¡­

    (???) Johnny!

    Luke, Fred, Jack, and Hope turned their heads right at Johnny, their eyes peering into his face as he darkened his face. Tilting his head down, he shook his hands and he then gritted his teeth shut, leaving the others to just stare at him.

    Luke furrowed his brow, followed by using his right hand to scratch his cheek.

    (Luke) Do you know her?

    (Johnny) She¡¯s my ¡­ uh ¡­

    (???) Johnny!

    The old teenage girl finally reached up toward the five of them, her breath out of place as she bent down. Having both of her hands on her knees, she opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, doing a small pant as many hot breaths came out of her.

    Tilting her head up, she aimed her eyes right where Johnny was standing, who was the farthest to the left of the group.

    (???) What are you doing!?

    (Johnny) I should be the one saying that! Aren¡¯t you supposed to tell my father that I stayed behind?

    (???) But I want to come with you!

    (Johnny) No, it¡¯s too dangerous.

    Enclosing both of her fists, the old teenage girl placed her knuckles softly onto her sides, making a puffed-up pout as her tanned face started to redden.

    Noticing that the girl had cat ears, Luke let go of his hand that was beneath his chin, putting it inside his pants pocket. Taking a step forward, he analyzed the contents of the girl.

    The old teenage girl had medium-length light brown hair, followed by freckles plastered all around her cheeks. Her eyes were somewhat slanted, she also had a cute button nose as well as small soft cheekbones.

    Lastly, the girl wore a black summer dress, the dress being a long skirt that stopped to where her knees were.

    (Luke) What¡¯s your name?

    (???) My name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth Sanchez. And yes, I¡¯m a cat-human.

    (Jack) Hmm ¡­

    Despite having the same body features as most humans, the only thing that seemed unordinary from her was her ears and nose. Sensing that Jack was intensely staring at her, Elizabeth straightened her face as she let out a huge gulp.

    Johnny then started to glare at the red-haired man, straightening his back as he put his hands onto his sides. Because he felt the dagger from Johnny himself, Jack folded his arms as he shrugged with both of his shoulders.

    (Jack) Don¡¯t worry. Unlike others, we don¡¯t discriminate. I mean, we have a shark-human so I think we could take in a cat-human for now.

    (Elizabeth) T-Thank you!

    Elizabeth then clapped her hands two times, keeping her hands and fingers straight as she lit up a half-witted smile.

    Not only her but the sounds of two claps can be heard to the left of them, hearing the sound of Johnny doing the same gesture as Elizabeth. All their heads turning toward the tall blonde harried man, they saw a little smile raining down upon his face.

    (Johnny) Thank you guys for being nice to her ¡­ but I don¡¯t think she should go with us¡­

    (Luke) We have to at least know what she can do before we all decide.

    Luke then stood right in front of the old teenage girl. Avoiding eye contact with the teenager, Luke cleared his throat as he clasped his hands together.

    The rest of the adults watched, their eyes peering at the two, especially for both Johnny and Hope.

    (Luke) Are you able to fight?

    (Elizabeth) Yes, I know how to fight.

    (Luke) So¡­ Do you and Johnny fight on equal footing?

    (Elizabeth) I¡¯m not as strong as Johnny¡­ but I do have a blessing.

    (Luke, Hope, Fred, and Jack) What!

    Stunned, the dark angel members took many steps back as their boots startled the concrete below, and their mouths opened wide.

    The only one who didn¡¯t gawk his mouth open was none other than Johnny, as he looked at all of the Dark Angel¡¯s reactions. Jis face lit up a small smirk that reached his left ear. Shaking his head, his eyes peered right where Luke was still gawking.

    (Johnny) I guess you guys want her to come now, huh ¡­

    (Luke) Well ¡­ it depends on the blessing.

    (Elizabeth) I can create moisture clouds. It can either heal allies or attack enemies, but depending on how fast I can create them, it will take a toll on me.

    Luke and the others looked down in thought as they heard the words coming from Elizabeth¡¯s mouth. Tapping his chin repeatedly with his fingers, Luke then looked towards Johnny and lit up a small smile.

    (Jack) Come on man, let¡¯s bring her in!

    All of the adults looked back toward Johnny, their eyes gleaming with sparkles as Luke then straightened his back. Having his hands to his sides, Luke tilted his head downward, his wry smile starting to quiver.

    (Luke) I mean ¡­ you don¡¯t have to Johnny, but¡ª

    (Johnny) I guess you guys won. Like Hope said, you need all the help you can get. And besides, we don¡¯t know what¡¯s waiting for us¡­

    The giant door that was wide open caused many of them to shiver all at once, their backs feeling as if an ice cube was traveling down their spines.

    Having both of his hands caressing the grip of his two uzis, Luke¡¯s forehead started to be coated with sweat, leading to him inhaling a good chunk of brittle warm air that the bringer of death blew. Raising his right hand, his fingers started to tremble, causing the rest of the group to gulp loudly.

    (Luke) Alright. Let¡¯s go.

    Luke, who was in the lead, happened to be the first one to be inside the building.

    Along with the others, they all noticed the eerie pitched black building that had many metal stairs and railings.

    The darkness overcrowded their vision as they all huddled up. Their bodies mingled with one another as they had their hands on their holsters. Squinting, Luke turned his head toward Jack.

    (Luke) Jack, get me a flash¡ª

    The group froze as the sound of a door slamming shut echoed throughout the building.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 105: Elizabeth, Jack, and Johnny vs Mia

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:11AM)

    (Luke) Everyone stay alert!

    The five adults and one old teenage girl looked around the darkened building in the dead of the morning.

    All of their eyes peered at every corner that they laid eyes on, not leaving a single crop of dust out of their sight. The air around them making their lower backs let out an abundance of cold shivers, they all holstered their weapons as the trickling of metal filled the ambience.

    Luke, the leader of the group, wielded a flashlight with his left hand. By clicking the button on the top end of the device, it emitted a high-beamed light that shone through the eeriness of the metal railings and stairs.

    (Luke) It¡¯s still dark out, so we all better work as a team.

    (Jack) No probs. The only thing that we could work on is getting onto the second floor, right?

    (Fred) But those stairs don¡¯t look pretty stable¡­

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry, you all get behind me. I have pretty good luck.

    Motioning the five of them to form a line behind him, Luke cautioned his steps as he gently caressed the soles of his feet on the stone floor.

    Having his uzi on his right hand, he then placed his left foot onto the first step of the metal-rusted staircase, the metal screaming from its dehydrated state. The strands of the back of his hair were still in a deep sleep, Luke let out a sigh of relief, his lungs pushing forth unneeded air that he trapped inside.

    (Luke) Alright ¡­ please follow my lead¡­

    Going through the steps like old-fashioned, the rest of the group held in their breaths as the screaming oxidized metal staircase sang out an epiphany. Jack, who stared straight at the wall to his right, let a bead of sweat roll down his right cheek as his eyes noticed a black movement from his peripheral vision.

    (Jack) Not to alarm you guys, but I think I saw something earlier¡­

    (Fred) W-What did the figure look like?

    (Jack) No clue.

    Luke straightened his back as he turned his head toward the others, as he witnessed everyone stiffening their bodies at Jack¡¯s words. Clearing his throat, he gently stopped as he stood on top of the second stair that led to the second floor.

    As the strands of the back of his hair soon began to stand up straight.

    (Luke) Hey Jack ¡­ I don¡¯t think you¡¯re wrong.

    (Jack) Really? Is there something out there?

    (Luke) Yeah ¡­ wait ¡­

    Continuing to stand still, Luke heard the muffles of a reverb service bell circling the inside of his soul. Having his right uzi locked and loaded, he placed his finger on the side of the gun, his face starting to pour with sweat as he looked around the room.

    Flashing the high-beamed flashlight with his left hand, Luke then let out a shiver from his upper back, the strands of the back of his hair continuing to only increase.

    (Luke) ¡­ Let¡¯s get to the top.

    The muffled reverb service bell soon boomed inside of him, the noise from his soul causing him to not let a single breath from out of his mouth.

    Looking toward his left, he saw straight in his eyes a little girl barreling straight toward him, his body immediately jumping forward.

    Luke had both of his feet onto the metal flooring of the second floor as soon as the lich girl darted straight at the metal railing that held the six figures. Hitting the metal with the butt of her head, the metal started to shriek loudly as it caused everyone to stop and cover their ears from the noise.

    Except for Luke.

    (Luke) Get to the second¡ª

    As he had both of his feet onto the edge of the second floor, the sound of the oxidized staircase started to shriek like a screaming banshee. In a swift fast motion, the staircase below the five of them started to crumble into debris.

    Luckily for Hope, she was in the back of Luke the entire time, as she managed to reach the second floor as soon as the stairs crumbled onto the ground.

    (Luke) Guys!

    The world in present motion, Luke saw the staircase topple onto the dirtied floor beneath him, and Hope, saw a cloud of small dust spreading outward.

    Staring into the bottom of where everyone lay, Luke saw three figures coughing and lying on their backs, the three of them closing their eyes shut from the stinging dust. Noticing that there was one missing from the group, Luke looked all over the small dust in the dark of the morning until he noticed a strand of white¡ª

    (Fred) H-Help me!

    Luke moved his head forward while tilting his head down to see that Fred was dangling from one of the rods that stuck out.

    Widening his eyes, Luke extended his hand outward toward him. Grabbing a hold of Fred¡¯s hand, Luke used all his strength to pull him up, his lean biceps and chest expanding with the harsh pull.

    Having Fred onto the second floor, Luke and Hope together patted Fred on the back.

    (Luke) You guys ok!?

    Luke¡¯s heels were right on the edge of the staircase that fell, causing concern amongst both Hope and Fred who tugged both of his shoulders. Unable to pull him back, he continued to stare at Jack, Johnny, and Elizabeth who slowly stood up from the dusted ground, all shaking their heads from the dust that got on them.

    Jack, the first one to get up from the two, gave Luke a thumbs up.

    (Jack) We¡¯re good! You guys should go on ahead! We¡¯ll catch up with you later!

    (Luke) No! There¡¯s gotta be a¡ª

    (Johnny) cough ¡­ It¡¯s ok Luke! Cough cough ¡­ We¡¯ll figure something out.

    Shutting his mouth, Luke glanced down at the flashlight that he still had on his left hand. Pulling his left hand back a bit, he then tossed the device over toward Jack, who stared at Luke with slanted eyes.

    Receiving the flashlight from Luke, he also gave Jack a simple nod.

    (Luke) Good luck to you three!

    Turning his body toward the other end of the building, Luke then inhaled an abundance of air inside of his lungs, trapping the air inside of him. Slowly, he began to let the air out of him, his nostrils flaring up as the much-needed trapped air got out from his system.

    Looking at Hope who let out a wry smile, along with Fred who gave him a simple nod, Luke then made one step forward.

    (Luke) Come on. We got to reach the control room.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:13AM)

    (Jack) Where the hell is that lich girl? From what I can remember, Gemma didn¡¯t look like that, and Jenny and Jerry did say that they encountered another lich¡­

    Rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, his fingers scraped against the humid liquid that poured out.

    Putting his bloodied hand down toward his side, his brain started to hammer the innards of his skull. Having his head pointed toward where Johnny and Elizabeth were barely standing, Jack put his right hand on his chest.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    (Jack) You guys need to be careful. We don¡¯t know when that lich girl will attack¡ª

    Since Jack was plagued by bad luck, his eagle eyes caught a whiff of a fastening figure approaching to the left of him.

    Jumping his entire body back a couple of feet, he pulled out his sniper rifle with both of his hands, the heavy rifle already pointed toward the lich. Already having his finger on the trigger, Jack then fired with no hesitation, the barrel of his gun emitting a colossal bang.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Hope this teaches her a lesson!

    The lich girl got on all fours as she managed to dodge the bullet with precision and ease. With the bullet landing on the wall that was way in the back of her, it created an echo loud enough to reach heaven and hell.

    Gritting his teeth, Jack saw the bullet didn¡¯t even hit its mark, leading to him pointing the sniper straight at the girl again.

    (Johnny) Elizabeth! Let¡¯s back him up!

    (Elizabeth) Sure thing!

    Johnny wielded a heavy machine gun that had a suppressor along the edge of the barrel, as the edge of the gun was right in between his armpit. As for Elizabeth, she carried nothing but an electric hammer with her.

    For the hammer, the face of it was replaced by an all-wielding metal that contained an electromagnetic field that surrounded it. Along the throat of the metal tool, a wrap of electrical cords circulated the metal along the weapon, with the grip of the hammer being completely insulated with rubber.

    (Elizabeth) I always wanted to try this! I never got to experiment with the ranchers!

    (Johnny) W-What?!

    Ignoring the two, Jack aimed his sights toward the wide-open lich girl, her body still and motionless as she had her feet gripped to the ground.

    But that changed as the lich girl extended both of her hands outward, the shape of her fingers and knuckles changing into something completely different than other blessings or powers. As if her hand was being replaced, a metal object was slowly transforming and taking shape, the object pointing straight at the red-haired man.

    All three, widening their eyes, took in the sight of both of the lich girls'' hands with automatic pistols.

    (Jack) Oh ¡­ Oh no ¡­

    Swaying his head back and forth, Jack took a step back and he then immediately fired another large bullet at the lich girl again.

    Seeing the bullet coming straight at her, she narrowly dodged it by taking a step to the right of her, the bullet barely grazing her left cheek. Both of her hands were already pointed toward the three of them, the guns then automatically rapidly fired amongst them, causing the three to widen their eyes in surprise.

    Finding a piece of metal several meters from where they were, Jack pointed his left hand toward it, allowing Elizabeth and Johnny to nod their heads. With an audible yell, his vocals battled and rang all against his throat as his pointer finger remained still.

    (Jack) Shit! Take cover!

    Pushing both their feet on the metal flooring, the couple managed to safely take cover behind the strong aluminum.

    As for Jack¡­

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Ah!

    Raising his left hand forward, his fingers extended outward as he began to fall downward onto the floor. Gritting his teeth, Jack laid the sniper rifle against his body, clutching his head like a turtle as the incoming bullets ricocheted throughout the building.

    Looking upon his left leg, his eyes caught a whiff of a hole that ripped through his pants¡­

    As a gush of liquid tickled on his left leg, the sticky substance stuck onto his jeans.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) That damn bitch! She shot me, didn¡¯t she!?

    Unable to put any hand on the open gushing wound on his left leg, Jack gasped for air as he tried to push his way toward the others.

    Fortunately for Jack though, the bullets stopped their firing as soon as he reached the aluminum cover. Widening their eyes, both Elizabeth and Johnny had their hands on Jack¡¯s shoulders, tilting their heads at the display of tremendous luck.

    (Johnny) How did you make it here without getting shot three to four times!?

    (Jack) Ah! ¡­ Luck is a rollercoaster for me¡­

    Making a hissing sound with the butt of his teeth, Jack tilted his head up to see both Johnny and Elizabeth¡¯s faces slanted and tilted.

    Elizabeth, who made a cheerful face, put her right hand on Jack¡¯s forehead. Noticing that his forehead was burning her palms, she rubbed the end of it as his eyes began to flicker repeatedly.

    (Johnny) Please be easy on him, he isn¡¯t going to like it.

    (Elizabeth) But I have to do it!

    (Johnny) sighs ¡­

    Johnny turned his attention on the slightly flustered Jack, as Jack¡¯s face reddened by the touch of a cat-human that caressed her nails on his pale skin. Letting go of her shoulder, Johnny folded his arms, followed by making a nonchalant face that made his lips unable to curve one bit.

    (Johnny) It isn¡¯t as peaceful as it looks.

    (Jack) What do you mean¡ª

    (Elizabeth) Veil Delirium.

    A puff of a single white cloud formed along the edge of her palm, its adorableness making Jack sparkle his eyes at the tiny non-livable creature. Lighting up a smile, his teeth were slightly shone through the cracks of his mouth, his entire body in a state of relaxation despite the gushing wound from his leg.

    So in a way, the cloud was nothing more than just a simple adorable pet¡­

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Huh. Why did Johnny tell me it wasn¡¯t going to be peaceful¡ª

    The tiny adorable cloud then went inside Jack¡¯s mouth.

    Forcing its way in, the miniature gas passed through his tongue, making its way down toward the windpipe that managed to block his way of breathing. Flailing both of his arms and legs, both Elizabeth and Johnny took a step back as they let Jack go through the ¡°healing¡±.

    (Johnny) Poor dude.

    (Elizabeth) Unfortunately, the leg will take longer since it¡¯s the farthest body part from the mouth.

    Standing up, she put both of her hands onto her hips, arching her stomach and waist to the right as she tilted her head to the left. Letting out a bright smile, she stuck out her pointer finger outward.

    As for Johnny, he let out a cold hard shiver upon his upper back to lower back, scrunching up his face as he looked at the wailing Jack.

    (Elizabeth) Don¡¯t worry Jack, we¡¯ll take care of that lich girl. You just let that cloud do its work ok?

    His lungs and mouth were occupied by the cloud, the only thing he could muster was an extended thrust with his right hand. Pointing his thumb upward, it trembled greatly under the rolled-up eyes and gagged sounds that emitted from his throat.

    Flaring her nostrils outward, Elizabeth extended her hand outward too, her fist enclosed as she stuck out her thumb similar to Jack¡¯s.

    (Johnny) Now to deal with that lich¡­

    Both of them noticed that the lich girl was just standing still as they soon left the cover they huddled up in. Her heels glued to the metal that she stood beneath her feet, the girl extended both of her hands out, and the weapons that she had that replaced her hands were gone.

    Letting out a huge gulp from both of their throats, the couple wielded their weapons followed by their fingers creaking the grips they held onto.

    (Mia) I suppose you two want to fight me with weapons, but I see the girl isn¡¯t just a fighter with weapons.

    Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as she glared at the lich girl in front of her.

    Having both of her arms extended outward, the lich girl then made a cold frown upon her lips. In an instant, her hands began to morph like slime. As the skin from what was her hands began to solidify, Johnny¡¯s eyes widened when he saw steel.

    (Johnny) Get your blessing ready Ellie! She¡¯s going to shoot!

    (Elizabeth) Alright!

    Alarmed at the two assault rifles pointing at them, Elizabeth spread both her feet apart as she put both of her hands up in the air.

    Her palms opened flat onto the ceiling above. Feeling as if her body was starting to get lighter, Elizabeth¡¯s palms soon started to tremble under the coldness of what shot out from her body.

    Which was a giant black cloud that covered the top end of the first floor.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Light sparked out of the black giant cloud that made the top of the first floor call itself home.

    Hearing the mini shockwaves of thunder, Elizabeth let out a small smirk from the right corner of her lips, arching her back as she pointed her hand right at the lich girl. Her pointer finger digging into the lich with her vision, caused the girl herself to scrunch up her face.

    (Elizabeth) Go Cloudy! Take her down!

    As if it was following her command, the giant cloud slowly trailed its way toward the lich girl who stood still.

    The lich girl¡¯s bare feet smacked against the dirtied floor of the building, her hands still having her assault rifles on standby. The rifles lit up the entire room around them, causing Johnny and Elizabeth to sprint toward another cover.

    (Johnny¡¯s thoughts) Damn it! I can¡¯t fight when she shoots like that!

    Both of them close together, Johnny had his pointer finger on the trigger of the suppressor machine gun, as both of his hands were occupied by the weight of it.

    Pulling the trigger, many bullets sprouted out of the barrel of the gun, leading to the lich girl jumping onto the top end of a drawer in the room. Having both of her feet on the top, she then crouched down, her weapons still firing.

    Taking cover behind a pillar of metal that protected them from the incoming bullets, Elizabeth still watched as her black cloud tried to get to the lich girl, but the girl was just too fast.

    Gritting her teeth, Elizabeth then took out her hand again, her pointer finger already directing itself straight at the cloud. Turning her finger downwards, the cloud began to descend towards the lich.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) Attacking me with that? It¡¯s far too slow to be called a weapon, nothing more than a hubris blessing.

    Stopping in her tracks, the soles of her feet began to scrape against the metal, with some white pigment of skin leaving her foot. Scrunching up her face, her yellow and rotten teeth sprouted out as she clenched both of her jaws shut.

    Aiming down her right hand was her rifle, and her right eye caught a whiff of a small gap where Johnny¡¯s left arm was.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) But still, he hasn¡¯t done much anyhow¡­

    As Johnny had his body protecting Elizabeth with all of his might, he slowly turned his head toward the glance of the lich girl shooting at them.

    (Johnny) What¡ª

    His left arm soon started to create pain that resembled if someone was crushing it with the wheels of a heavy truck.

    The light from the two assault rifles that traversed the air lit up the darkened building as Johnny and Elizabeth both closed their eyes. Unable to mutter a voice, Johnny clenched his jaw shut as drool started to stream out from the corners of his mouth, hitting the metallic floor followed by his breath convulsing.

    With the barrage of bullets stopping, the lich girl perked her ears up as she heard the sounds of a petrified shrill coming from the direction of where she shot.

    Letting go of his suppressor machine gun, the heavy weapon clanked the metal off the floor with a loud thump. His eyes shut off from the rest of the world, and the vocals inside of him tore each other apart as his body let out shivers from both his chest and stomach.

    (Elizabeth) Johnny!

    Immediately forming a small cloud from the outer ends of her right palm, she decided to place her right hand in front of his mouth instead of next to him. The same way as what happened to Jack, the cloud forced its way into the windpipe and throat of Johnny, trying to reach the battered area.

    Not even able to wail his arms and legs, the pain of his left arm alone overpowered the pain of the cloud from entering inside of his body.

    Laying the shrieking man on the dirty floor, her hands continued to caress the layers of fabric that he wore. Her face darkening in the darkness of the early morning, she moved her hand underneath his chin.

    (Elizabeth¡¯s thoughts) Thank you for protecting me ¡­ like you always do.

    Pulling back her hand toward her, she turned to see that the lich girl was aiming both of her assault rifles at her.

    Bending down, saliva bubbles burst from her mouth as she showcased her sharp teeth. Her eyes turned bloodshot red, and her nostrils flared.

    (Elizabeth) You ¡­ you ¡­

    The slow giant black cloud that emitted small lightning from within itself then suddenly stopped on top of the girl.

    Tilting her head upward, the girl jumped backward as she tried to avoid the deadly black cloud. Beads of sweat dripping down from both temples of the lich girl¡¯s face, she pushed her heels off of the metallic ground beneath her.

    While Elizabeth slammed her right fist to the ground, causing the cloud to be dropped down in a flash.

    (Elizabeth) You¡¯re dead!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 106: I REJECT MY HUMANITY!!

    Lunging her body forward, the old teenage girl pushed herself off the ground as she dashed in the air straight at the vulnerable lich girl that just jumped back.

    For the cloud that slammed like a hammer, the lich girl managed to barely dodge the incoming attack. Her hair started to stick up, she rapidly walked away from the cloud as it started to emit more electricity coming from it, the cloud¡¯s thunder starting to rumble through the building and floor.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) A single hit from that lightning will surely kill me. And her electric hammer isn''t much better off either.

    Pointing her arms, the lich girl automatically fired the two rifles towards Elizabeth, whose hands and feet clung to the side of the wall.

    Scaling the wall with both of her feet and her left hand, she wielded the electric hammer she had in her right hand. Pushing off the metal wall, the force of the thrust of both her feet was enough to bust open a hole in the old rusted metal.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) Oh goodness. She¡¯s reaching fast!

    (Elizabeth) Now come here!

    She pulled back her right hand. Ignoring the dangerous sparks that fell on her black dress, she then thrust forward. She started to swing her hammer with a light so bright, the lich girl had no choice but to stop firing to cover her eyes.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) I never once used any of these weapons, but today I must.

    In her hands that were replaced, it seemed to resort almost like a rubber shield with a metal sword. On her left hand, the rubber shield managed to not falter under her current strength, but as for the sword on her right hand, it caused her body to take a step forward.

    Ignoring the status in weight, the girl easily blocked the incoming attack from Elizabeth¡¯s hammer strike, the electric metal hitting right at the rubber shield that insulated the electricity.

    (Elizabeth) Damn it!

    (Mia) This drag has gone long enough.

    (Elizabeth) Damn you! I¡¯ll double the pain you inflicted on Johnny!

    With the hammer not even pushing through the rubber weak shield, the only thing that Elizabeth could try to conjure up was to try to push against the shield itself. By forcing all her strength onto the hammer that she had, she used her body weight and muscles to push her electric hammer onto the lich¡¯s girl''s heart.

    With her left hand¡¯s palm pointed downward onto the ground, Elizabeth kept her eyes glaring at the girl.

    (Elizabeth) No. One. Hurts. Johnny. No one!

    (Mia) Love is a horrible concept, no? Love is what drives others to their deaths, revenge, sorrow¡ª

    (Elizabeth) Shut up!

    Biting her lower lip, blood started to drip onto the metal floor that was beneath her, her feet inching forward until the lich girl started to wrinkle her pale face.

    Moving ever closer toward the girl, Elizabeth then let out a high-pitched shriek from the innards of her throat, her vocals clashing against one another for a supreme octave. With her eyes fully immersed in the color red, Elizabeth gritted her teeth.

    (Elizabeth) No matter what, I¡¯ll make sure you¡ª

    A gunshot was heard.

    The lich girl already extended her right foot toward the off-guard Elizabeth, the heels and toes of her bare feet not being able to reach her abdomen.

    But there was a slight problem.

    Her foot wasn¡¯t there, as there weren''t any heels or toes or bare feet to think of.

    Replacement of her right foot, a cold metal object replaced that body part, the metal emitting a trail of small smoke that traversed up through the air.

    Still holding the hammer onto the rubber shield, Elizabeth looked down toward where her abdomen was. Widening her eyes, Elizabeth had her mouth agape as her lower abdomen started to swell up from immense pain.

    (Elizabeth) N-no¡­

    Blood trickling the metal floor evermore, Elizabeth let go of the shield that she tried to push forward as well as her hammer.

    As if someone was twisting a double-edged knife back and forth inside her abdomen, she clenched her stomach with her hands. Letting out a soft gasp, her knees hit the cold ground beneath her.

    The lich girl pulled back her right hand.

    (Mia) Over so soon? Ah well. I suppose ¡­ you shall sleep.

    A loud bullet rang across the entirety of the first floor.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Bits of brain and goo that were replaced by black tar soon started to scattered on the floor beneath the lich. Getting rid of her rubber shield and sword, she managed to make her hands return to normal.

    Turning her head slowly to the sound of the gunshot, she noticed a red-haired man pointing a high-caliber sniper rifle at her. With her only eye still seeing the man, the lich girl made a cold frown upon her face, her lips reaching down toward her chin.

    (Mia) You cretin. Don¡¯t you know when to give up?

    (Jack) Unfortunately for you, I¡¯m not giving up. Besides¡­

    Jack¡¯s hands trembled under the weight of the gun, his fingers twitching endlessly. Standing up tall, he barely noticed the metal bullet that came out of his left leg, the wound gray and pale as if a cloud was stitching it up. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Having his finger on the trigger, Jack analyzed the lich from head to toe, noticing a few facial similarities that the girl had.

    (Jack) I might be lazy, but like hell I¡¯ll sit out. Even on my days off, if Luke or any one of my friends needs a helping hand, I¡¯ll be there for them.

    The lich girl then replaced her right hand with a heavy caliber sniper rifle, the gun causing her to take a step forward because of the weight.

    Having her left hand on the center of the gun, she pointed it straight at Jack who happened to also point his same sniper rifle at her too. Making a standoff between one another, both Jack and the lich girl had their fingers on their respective triggers, waiting for the right time as their breathing froze like ice.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) If she wants to use her power, then I¡¯ll use mine too.

    Having his eyes open, he squinted right toward the innards of her soul, his ears perking up as he focused all of his attention on her.

    Hearing a distant voice inside of her, he hunched his head forward slowly.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) I must reach the second floor. I shall just kick my feet off the ground for my escape.

    (Jack) Yeah, there¡¯s no need to, princess¡­

    A loud bullet rang across the building yet again, followed by smoke emitting from the long singular metal barrel.

    Piercing the air, the bullet had its trajectory toward the left side of the lich girl¡¯s chest, her eyes widening at the surprise attack. Unable to dodge it completely, the only thing her body could do was merely move her body to the right.

    Which caused the bullet to strike her on the right side of her chest, the hot lead stinging and boiling the tar from inside her system.

    (Mia) Curse you!

    Tar dripping down from her chest, the lich girl coughed out a bit of the black goop from the corners of her mouth.

    Gritting her teeth, she sharpened her glare towards Jack, who happened to let out a sly smirk from the corner of his lips. Letting out an angry hum from the inside of her throat, her right hand which was replaced by a sniper rifle soon pointed it straight toward Jack again.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Oh shit!

    In a blink of an eye, she fired the bullet as the recoil pushed her back a couple of feet.

    Fortunately for him, he still used his blessing as he squinted at the girl¡¯s brain, having a higher reaction time than usual. Dodging the sniper rifle round completely, he started to run toward the cat-human that was lying down on the rusted and dirty floor.

    As she had her left hand facing flat down, with her right hand still wielding the electric hammer.

    Even when she was shot, she continued to still have that palm facing the ground¡­

    While running toward the old teenage girl, Jack began to reload as he put another bullet into the chamber of his sniper, feeling the mechanism of the gun making a loud clunk.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) I want to kill her off now before she eventually does shoot me.

    Aiming down the sight on the scope, he crouched down in less than a second as he saw the lich girl¡¯s head in the crosshairs of his gun.

    Seeing that the girl was preparing to shoot another shot from the automatic sniper rifle, Jack clenched his teeth together.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) Now may come haste upon the scythe that¡ª

    The barrage of bullets can be heard across the building.

    As the hot lead traveled across the building, it made its way toward the lich girl that stood in its way, the bullets all rippling and bursting the air.

    At long last, the bullets finally landed on their destination, the target being the back of the lich girl, whose back was exposed to none other than a tall, blonde-haired man.

    Who wielded a suppressor machine gun.

    (Johnny) Don¡¯t you dare take another shot of that gun¡­

    Having both of his hands wielding the machine gun, his body still felt the tremors of the recoil that shook his body and soul.

    Huffing up and down his chest, Johnny let out a small glare as he noticed the lich¡¯s girl''s head slowly turn its way toward him. Her frown upon her face worsened even more, it led to her tilting her head down, her eyes peering at the metal floor.

    (Mia) You all want to kill me I suppose. I am a threat and danger to you all, so it creates an understanding.

    (Johnny) Not just that, but you¡¯re not like the other liches. You and that Pedro lich were the only ones to not have killed civilians.

    Jack tilted his head to the right as he put his hand underneath his chin, tapping it repeatedly with his pointer finger. Staring right into the little girl¡¯s face, he noticed that the thickness of her hair was similar to somebody from the elite squad¡­

    Pointing his gun down toward the ground, Jack let his ears do the talking as he closed his eyes to hear the thoughts that came out of Mia¡¯s mind.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) Shall I tell them? I am related to one of them, but what good comes out of this meeting?

    Jack loosened the grip of the gun that he wielded, the long barrel starting to tilt toward the metal-rusted ground. Widening his eyes as he soon noticed the length and cheekbones of the lich girl, Jack cleared his throat followed by putting his right hand motionless to gravity.

    Which allowed the gun to be hanging by a thread.

    (Jack) Are you related to ****

    (Johnny) What? ***? Are you sure?

    The lich girl focused her sight now on Jack, whose throat quivered followed by his fingers now barely hanging onto the gun.

    As for the lich girl, she then lit up a bright smile on her face, tar dripping from the corners of her mouth as she slanted both of her eyes. Almost in a cute way, the lich girl managed to not only make Jack take a couple of steps back but also¡ª

    Made Jack drop his sniper rifle.

    (Mia) I remember everything, even before my death. The others did too, but Pedro and I aren¡¯t blessing users ¡­ We¡¯re curse users.

    (Jack) Curse users?

    (Johnny) As in another power similar to blessings?

    (Mia) Yes.

    Johnny safely put down his gun on the ground. Standing back up, he then tilted his head slightly down as he still watched the lich girl¡¯s movements steadily.

    (Johnny) How does your answer relate to my past question?

    (Mia) When a person dies from the undead, it can lead to two paths. The one with no power takes the zompire path of being chained until you¡¯re killed, while the one with power will have freedom and prosperity.

    Jack turned his attention toward the cat-human that twitched her fingers slowly on the ground, her left palm still clinging to the floor. Keeping his head on the cat-human''s head, he squinted his eyes as he then took a step back from her¡­

    (Johnny) Power? Do you mean blessings ¡­ and curses?

    (Mia) Precisely. If the civilians were a blessing or curse user, they would become like us. If a zompire eats or ingests a curse or blessing, then that zompire will also become like us as well.

    Johnny scratched his cheek. Letting out a sigh, Johnny cleared his throat in the process as he then put his right hand forward.

    Nonchalantly looking at the hand that was being presented by the tall blonde-haired man, the lich girl trembled her fingers as she puckered up her mouth.

    (Johnny) I have one last question. Is my father connected to all of this¡ª

    (Jack) Johnny! Get onto something high!

    Both the lich girl and Johnny looking at Jack, noticed that he was already on a high wooden crate, his feet avoiding the floor. With the push of her heels, Elizabeth managed to jump higher than anyone in the room, as her feet dug into a wooden crate that was six feet high.

    Reacting late, Johnny jumped onto the highest crate that he could find, grabbing the helm of the wooden, medium-sized box as he pulled himself up.

    Meanwhile, Mia didn¡¯t have any leverage to make herself up.

    Elizabeth then raised her hand high, the little black mist that covered a medium-sized area now encapsulated the area in a two feet high black cloud. Followed by the cloud covering up a good chunk of the lich girl, her legs soon started to shiver from the chill of the dense clouds.

    (Mia¡¯s thoughts) That imbecile, is she going to¡ª

    (Elizabeth) Atmospheric Fulmination.

    The clouds below on the floor of the building soon began to emit an epiphany of lightning and thunder across the two-foot black cloud.

    The two men and one teenage girl all had their bodies away from the storm below them that sparkled and stunned the living or breathing that was below. Clutching the wooden boxes, their bodies were tucked nicely as they limited the amount of body weight on the boxes they sat on.

    As for the lich girl that was below¡­

    (Mia) I REJECT MY HUMANITY!!

    By the millisecond that the lightning soon began to culminate the entire floor of the area she was trapped in, the lich girl thrust her hand into her own heart. Upon the beating heart that trembled her hand, she quickly pulled it out and she threw it high up in the air.

    And by the time the heart escaped from the cloud, the cataclysm of lightning spasmed the metallic floor.

    (Jack) She¡¯s escaping!

    (Johnny) How?!

    (Jack) She threw her own heart out of her body!

 Arc 1 - Chapter 107: Luke and Hope vs Gemma

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:16AM)

    (Luke) Almost there! I could see the water pump controls at the very end of the hallway!

    Pointing his finger, Luke got the attention of both Hope and Fred as they saw a metal panel that had valves and controls latched on it.

    Many blue pipes led to both the top of the water pump tower as well as toward the bottom, which led to the underground water unit that pumps the water throughout the city. As for the controls, the space that the many buttons and valves had was ginormous, with even geniuses like Luke and Fred gawking their mouths wide open.

    Fred then let out a sly smile as he scratched the back of his head.

    (Fred) So ¡­ how exactly are we going to kill the monster with water?

    (Luke) You¡¯re going to create a water bomb, a bomb that has enough explosion to flood several city blocks.

    (Fred) Is that safe?

    (Luke) Well, it¡¯s the quickest way we could do it. If only we had a person that specializes in water¡­

    (Fred) Yeah ¡­ like a water user¡­

    Tilting his head downward, Luke pushed his feet forward as he noticed a familiar presence that caused the back of his hair to stand up. Caressing the grip of his right Uzi with his fingers, Luke looked around his surroundings as beads of sweat rolled down from both his temples.

    Hope put her right hand onto his shoulder, her touch relieving the stress that soon dispersed out of him like a deflated balloon.

    (Hope) It¡¯s ok, we could handle ourselves on our own.

    (Luke) I know, but sometimes I feel as if someone is watching me¡­

    (???) Because you are being watched~

    Hearing a voice from the back of them, all three of them turned their heads toward the other side of the building.

    A tall woman with pitch-black hair and pale skin had her head tilted to the right as she lit up a small smirk. Followed by her all-black eyes taking in the presence of not just Luke, but Fred as well, she moistened her lips with her tongue caressing every corner and skin of it.

    (Fred) Gemma¡­

    Fred¡¯s breathing started to fasten more as he took in the sight in front of him, his whole body trembling under the presence of the woman in front of her. Curling up his fingers into his palms, the nails of his dug deep into his pale skin.

    Hope gripped her combat pistol while Luke pulled out both of his uzis on both sides of his hips.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What should I do? I know Benn and Hope couldn¡¯t reason with her, but could Fred?

    Looking at Fred, his hands couldn¡¯t even draw out his weapon, his face starting to turn pale as his feet were glued to the floor.

    Fred¡¯s shoulder was then gripped by a smooth and delicate hand from behind. With his breath caught inside of his throat, he slowly turned his head at the blonde-haired girl with sparkly eyes.

    (Hope) It¡¯s ok, We could figure this out.

    (Fred) I ¡­ ah ¡­

    (Hope) We could get through this, I know it. If you don¡¯t want to fight, I understand, but¡­

    Hope then placed her left hand on Fred¡¯s arm, rubbing it back and forth as she stared up into Fred¡¯s watered eyes. As the corners of her lips pushed upward onto her cheekbones, she slanted her eyes, making a face that released the air that was stuck in Fred¡¯s mouth.

    (Hope) Whatever you do, don¡¯t lose sight of yourself.

    (Fred) ¡­ I know.

    Fred looked away as he avoided eye contact with the blonde-haired girl next to him.

    His face continuing to darken, Luke and Hope both continue to glare at the lich woman that was in front of them, their backs being faced by the panel in the back of them. Glancing at the controls, Luke moistened his lips as he then motioned his throat and vocals toward a silver-haired young man from behind.

    (Luke) Fred, reach the control panel. Try to boot up the water systems in the building.

    (Fred) But¡ª

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry, everything will be alright. I promise that we won¡¯t try to kill her. We¡¯ll capture her at the very least.

    (Fred) Just please promise me that ¡­

    The tall lich woman then spread both of her hands out wide, eyeing both Luke and Hope who stood in the way in front of her. Looking at the silver-haired man walking toward the control panel at the far end of the hallway, Gemma lit up a mischievous smile across her lips, the crevices of her mouth reaching up toward her ears.

    Her smile was in full display, both Luke and Hope felt as if their backs were being plunged by an icicle.

    (Gemma) I have no beef with Luke, but you¡­

    Her eyes focused on Hope. Mist started to sprout out from the ends of her palms, the deadly water particles that she contained within herself soon circling all over her body like a blanket.

    Her cold body was pricked by the ice-cold mist that shielded her, she pointed her right hand toward Hope, her fingernail broken and dented beyond repair.

    (Gemma) You touched Fred, and you know how angry that gets me. So I guess you¡¯re going after Fred because you couldn¡¯t win over Luke with Luna?

    (Hope) What are you even saying!?

    (Gemma) I know what I¡¯m saying!

    Gemma then spread apart both of her feet, her heels digging into the metallic flooring beneath her. Enclosing both of her fists, her fingers curdle up as she then pushes against the metallic flooring with both of her heels.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Which caused the air to be rippled by the thrust of her moving body.

    Pulling back her right hand, she glared straight toward the young woman with blue eyes, her right fist tightening as she managed to reach in front of the girl in front. Thrusting her right fist, she trajected the punch toward the right side of Hope¡¯s face.

    As for Hope, the only thing she could do was widen her eyes, her feet remaining frozen solid combined with her hands being motionless to gravity.

    (Gemma¡¯s thoughts) Too easy. I¡¯ll just finish her off and-

    Hope threw a dry substance toward the lunging Gemma.

    Gemma shrieked as the substance managed to get inside her eyes. Raising both of her sickly hands over her eyeballs, she began to claw on them with her knife like nails, leaving bits of tar to seethe out.

    As she instantly began to regenerate the scratches as she continued to claw.

    (Gemma) You cheater! That¡¯s a dirty trick!

    Sand dripped from Hope¡¯s fingertips, her nails being overridden with the dry substance that pricked her skin. Hope then pointed her right hand toward Gemma, her fingers containing a metal combat pistol that was already locked and loaded.

    While on her left hand, some of the sand managed to get inside of her sleeve, causing her to tremble uncomfortably.

    With Gemma¡¯s eyes still closed, Luke took this opportunity to sprint towards her.

    Pushing against the metallic floor, his heels stomped and trembled the very building that he was on, the sounds making it louder and louder as he reached toward Gemma. Both of his weapons locked and loaded, he wielded neither of them as he put them into his holsters, his hands wielding nothing but a piece of a metal and flexible rope.

    (Luke) Let me get her down!

    Reaching in front of the tall lich woman, Luke then wrapped the metallic rope around her waist, her eyes still burning from the sand that pierced her eyes. Finishing up his tie, he looked around the room to notice that Fred was working on the controls, his eyes preoccupied with the many valves and controls.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) It¡¯s good that he¡¯s still working on that.

    Turning his attention back toward the tied-up Gemma, Luke then stood right next to Hope as both of them pointed their guns toward her.

    Hope had her finger already on the trigger, while Luke had his on the side of the gun.

    Taking a step forward, her eyes began to contain a tsunami worth of tears, her eyes reddening from her hands that shook the gun.

    (Hope) I know your feelings, but ¡­ we-we could find something ¡­ anything to¡ª

    (Gemma) You¡¯re going to shoot me? Me? You want me out of the picture so you can have another option!

    (Hope) You almost killed Benn ¡­ I¡¯m-I¡¯m trying to ¡­ help ¡­ h-help you¡ª

    (Gemma) Boohoo~ What are you going to do, cry?

    Luke then placed his left hand onto the end of the barrel of her pistol, startling Hope as she turned to look at his face. Her finger letting go of the trigger, her throat quivered as she tilted her head downward.

    Hope continued to point her gun at the lich woman, her finger now on the side of the gun as the barrel still was in the way of Luke¡¯s hand. Swaying her head a couple of times, Hope bit down on the innards of her right cheek, with blood soon starting to circulate in her mouth.

    Tasting the iron and nutrients in her blood because of the result of eating a healthy diet, Hope slowly pulled out her gun that was in front of Luke¡¯s hand. Having it to her side, Hope still held onto it from the grip, not letting go as her palms started to stain the black metal of the gun.

    (Hope) Luke ¡­ What should I do¡­?

    (Luke) It¡¯s ok Hope ¡­ let¡¯s just take her back to the¡ª

    Gemma¡¯s body soon started to turn into a cloud and clunk of mist, all the way from her head to the bottom of her toes, breaking down all the cells that made her a lich.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Feeling the lightness of the rope, Luke slowly looked toward where Gemma was supposed to be held, her entire body vanishing out of thin air.

    Fortunately for them, they noticed a trail of mist that led toward the other room.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Are you kidding me?!

    Upon seeing the humid mist leaving the room, Luke and Hope sprinted their way toward the other room that Gemma left. Both of their boots clanked the metal beneath them.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Well, I should¡¯ve known she could turn into mist, but really?!

    Taking out both of his weapons from his sides, he then held onto both grips of his guns, his fingers on the side of the gun as he ran. Along with Hope, she soon took out her combat pistol, holding it tightly with both of her hands while placing her finger on the trigger.

    Entering inside the other room that was beyond their pay grade, both noticed the room¡¯s density of mist, their sight completely failing them.

    Hope soon started to scrunch her nose. The smell was horrid and putrid as if a rotten glass of milk had been under the sun for weeks.

    (Hope) Be careful Luke ¡­ she could attack anywhere.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry, I heard about you and Benn¡¯s fight with her.

    Luke looked around the mist and fog that made his visibility unrealistic as he couldn¡¯t even see what was right in front of him. Feeling the presence of Hope near his right shoulder, even looking at Hope¡¯s direction wouldn¡¯t be enough to see her in full person.

    Yet despite this observation, Luke looked around the mist-filled room, his eyes trying to squint through the very mist that caught even Benn off guard.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) From what I can remember, Benn used a mosquito to find Gemma¡¯s hot breath with infrared vision.

    Closing his eyes, Luke centered his body as he placed both feet a couple of inches from one another, his chest and stomach perfectly aligned.

    Pulling out both of his uzis, he steadied his breathing. Allowing his ears to block the deafening silence of the mist, the only thing that he could hear was the beating of his own weak yet strong heart.

    And at long last, he heard the ringing of a reverb service bell.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s about to head ¡­ wait ¡­

    Upon sensing Gemma¡¯s presence, she was coming after them, that observation was proven to be a guaranteed fact.

    The strands of his hair being pointed upward straight, his entire back let out a long and wailing shiver throughout his upper and lower.

    It could only mean one thing.

    (Luke) Hope! Watch out!

    Pushing his feet off the floor, he sensed the incoming threat becoming closer and closer toward Hope, who still looked around the room aimlessly.

    (Gemma) You''re a dead bitch! You¡¯re not going to be named Hope Fenix for shit!

    Not even able to see what lay beyond or in front of her, or to the other sides in general, Hope widened her eyes as she looked over in Luke¡¯s direction.

    Not knowing the incoming fist that was about to come, Hope reached out her hand toward the direction of where Luke¡¯s voice was, her fingertips being molested by the putrid mist.

    Fortunately for her, Luke managed to reach out toward her hand in the mist, snapping his muscles out of place as he tore through a couple of hamstrings to feel her hand. Both of them holding onto each other¡¯s hand¡­

    Was abruptly changed as Luke noticed her body sway to the right, a sudden gust of wind slamming his face.

    (Luke) Hope!

    Pulling her hand toward his body, he hoped to see the same blonde hair and blue eyes that he saw from her, his lips puckered up inside of his mouth.

    Despite not even being able to see in zero visibility mist.

    Feeling her body close, he couldn¡¯t tell if she was conscious or unconscious, as her chest rested against his upper stomach, and her head resting¡ª

    ¡­

    (Luke) H-Hope¡­?

    No response.

    (Luke) H-Hey? Hope? ¡­ Hope? ¡­

    No response again.

    Tightening the hold on her body, his arms placed themselves across her lower back, trying to lean his face closer to hers. Despite the zero visibility that clogged his entire vision, he couldn¡¯t see what lay in front of him.

    Digging his fingernails onto her back, Luke looked all over the mist-filled area, his eyes on the verge of blackening as he still held onto the unresponsive Hope. Gritting his teeth together, his eyes were twitching endlessly as his feet started to go numb.

    Placing his left hand onto where her head was¡ª

    (Gemma) You¡¯re distracted.

    A reverb service bell rang across the innards of his soul.

    Sweat started to drench all across his body.

    From head to toe; his feet loosened, his hands tightened, his stomach convulsed, and his chest fastened.

    Everything inside of his own body went into a state of pure fear and shock, his face turning paler than any other lich he had fought so far.

    And as the reverb service bell heightened its unholy ring, it only caused Luke to stare into the abyss of what was about to come. Upon feeling a lethal danger dashing toward him, the only thing that he could was¡­

    Brace for it.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) No ¡­ w-what is this ¡­

    (Gemma¡¯s thoughts) My will ¡­ finally be¡ª

    His nose started to crunch up, the sounds of cracking and jointing twisting and turning upon his face. As if the object or body part was starting to stab right through his very head, the only thing that he could see was¡­

    Darkness.

    Then came nothing.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 108: Luke vs Gemma

    Not even able to see what lay beyond or in front of her, or to the other sides in general, Hope widened her eyes as she looked over in Luke¡¯s direction.

    (Luke) Hey!

    Luke reached for her hand that she didn¡¯t even hold up, his fingers clasping onto her sweat-stained hand as he pulled her close toward him. Having her body wrapped around his, both of their faces were right next to each other, their hot breaths mingling with one another as he looked toward the danger that barely appeared.

    A sudden gust of wind was blown from the direction of where Hope originally stood, causing her to grab tightly onto Luke.

    (Hope) You saved me! How did you know!?

    (Luke) Honestly ¡­ what ¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) What¡¯s going on? How did I know that I was going to save her just now¡­?

    Unable to think upon that question, Luke turned his gaze toward the tall lich woman who was still lingering in the mist.

    Having his blessing activated with full force, the little hairs on his back stood up as his eyes were peering into the mist. Clenching his teeth, with a couple of cracks dawning upon his enamels, Luke turned his head toward where both he and Hope originally came from, causing him to let out a huge gulp.

    (Luke) Let¡¯s get out of here Hope. I don¡¯t think we can fight her in this mist.

    (Hope) A-Are you sure?

    (Luke) Well ¡­ I just don¡¯t want you to die, that¡¯s all¡­

    (Hope) Then we got to hurry quickly.

    Both of them having a tight grip upon their hands, Luke led the way out of the mist of death that surrounded them.

    Pushing their heels to their limits, they soon started to blister from all the running throughout the entire day, with both their breaths starting to hitch inside of their throats. Tightening her grip on Luke, her body soon started to warm up as his thumb was protecting her hand from slipping.

    (Luke) We¡¯re almost there¡ª

    His face soon turned a ghostly pale, followed by his entire body stiffening up.

    Turning his head around, he still couldn¡¯t see what lay beyond the mist, as both Hope and Luke¡¯s eyes were clouded and fogged from the mist. But even then, there was something that Luke was looking toward, his eye squinting at nothing while his ears perked up a gushing wind.

    (Gemma) You¡¯re too dangerous now!

    Luke immediately lunged to the right of him, the danger that lurked behind him barely grazing the left side of his jacket. Still holding onto Hope, he continued to squint toward the light at the end of the tunnel that awaited both of them.

    Gritting his teeth to the max, he closed his eyes as his blisters soon burst from his heels, his feet stabbing him from the hellish metal flooring.

    Clenching Hope, clenching onto hope in his heart, he didn¡¯t dare to let that sparkle of light fade away.

    And at long last¡­

    Both of their eyes saw the other end of the room, the cloud of mist and fog completely being plowed by the two that made it out.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Y-Yes!

    Another reverb service bell alarmed his entire body, causing him to flinch upward as he looked toward the mist that he and Hope escaped from.

    Turning his head slowly, his peripheral vision caught the whiff of a creature that stook out both of her arms wide, her body completely in the air as she aimed straight at him. With nothing but a simple Uzi to defend himself with, Luke tried to settle his aim at the woman, but the speed at which the woman traveled was¡­

    Faster than he ever imagined.

    (Gemma) I didn¡¯t tell you that you could go!~

    Gemma¡¯s hands quickly wrapped around Luke¡¯s torso.

    Having an iron grip upon his lower waist, she managed to get Luke to cough out a simple breath of air from out of exhaled lungs. Feeling as if he was being choked, Luke put his left hand toward his throat, wrapping it tightly as his windpipe was trapping the air that needed to go down.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Got ¡­ got to do the technique David taught us¡­

    By putting his pointer finger and his thumb into the deeper parts of his throat, he then put enough pressure to squeeze it. As well as opening his mouth wide and flaring up his nostrils, he put enough pressure into his throat that it opened up a massive influx of air that sped right down toward his body.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Allowing himself to breathe, Luke pointed to his right Uzi which he wielded with his right hand, having his pointer finger caressing the trigger of his gun.

    (Luke) cough cough ¡­ You¡¯re ¡­ You¡¯re ¡­

    And in that instant, the frustrations that he bottled up inside of his heart soon started to let out.

    His forehead started to swell up with veins latched all across his left temple down to his right temple, as his legs that were being womanhandled by the lich started to move.

    (Luke) Eat this you, piece of shit!

    Luke then fired the trigger of both his guns, the barrels of both weapons melting as it continued a repeated pattern.

    The light from the barrel of his gun created a requiem that surrounded the entirety of the building all around him, his eyes didn¡¯t dare to look away at the lich in front of him.

    Still clinging onto the light-haired young man, Gemma grits her teeth as drool starts to drip from the corners of her mouth, tar already spewing onto her jawline and neck.

    (Gemma) What did you call me?! I¡¯m your best friend¡¯s crush, you piece of shit!

    (Luke) You leave Fred out of this!

    The bullets ceased firing as the trigger started to make a clicking sound from the depths of its metal. Hearing this, Gemma then slowly got up from Luke¡¯s body, as the many bullet holes that were lodged into her face soon started to sprout out.

    Which left her face being graded like cheese.

    Many holes were located along her cheekbones and forehead, along with her nose and mouth having open wounds that left air through its wounds. With tar dripping onto the metallic floor, her face soon began to assemble.

    Hot steaming tar started to form as the strands of bone and tissue soon collided against one another to reform her face. Her white pigment tissue stitching onto the holes that steamed out tar, led Gemma to let out a devilish smirk as her eyes soon were brought back to work.

    Having her face spotless yet again, she looked over toward the now-standing Luke, who took the opportunity to arise when she was healing.

    (Gemma) Someone¡¯s not in a good mood.

    Luke glanced at the trembling Hope who enclosed her mouth.

    His sharp red eyes still had that mean glare, and his right side bang disguised his face which didn¡¯t let even Hope to see. Not even clearing his voice, his rasped and trembling vocals continued to shake his throat and body as he motioned his command toward Hope.

    (Luke) Go to Fred. Now.

    (Hope) I¡¯m going to fight with you¡ª

    (Luke) Now Hope!

    (Hope) What¡¯s gotten into you¡­

    His eyes widened, his mouth clattering.

    His breathing started to fasten as his heart started to pound against his chest, so much so it felt as if his lungs were going to explode. He kept his enraged eyes on the lich girl, his expression unchanged.

    (Luke) Just ¡­ just please listen ¡­ I don¡¯t want¡ª

    (Gemma) Let her do what she wants, asshole!

    Gemma then kicked the ground with both of her heels, both of her fists having fully enclosed gloves that seemed to resemble boxing gloves. Her eyes narrowing straight at the defenseless Luke, he holstered back his uzi into his pocket.

    As he raised both of his hands straight in front of him, both his hands enclosed into fists so tight, he could see white knuckles appearing.

    (Luke) Then bring it!

    Using his blessing, his fists became nothing more than simple wooshes and whoos as he glided his body endlessly.

    Being on the defensive, Luke walked backward as he continued to glide across the metal flooring, glancing at the objects around him as Gemma relentlessly tried to punch him.

    Noticing a fire extinguisher that was dangling from the edge of the wall, Luke shifted his body to the left as he avoided another punch.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Let¡¯s see if she likes cotton¡­

    Her punches managed to hit closer and closer to her mark, her left punch barely grazed the edge of Luke¡¯s leather jacket. Ignoring the rip of his clothing, Luke got both of his hands on the red metal object, pulling it out with all of his might, despite the hinges being nailed to the wall.

    Wielding the extinguisher, he caught a whiff of another punch being thrown at him. Luke managed to stumble backward as he soon lost his balance with the floor. Because of this, Gemma thrust both of her hands toward the defenseless Luke, her knuckles popping out like sore thumbs.

    (Gemma) Look who¡¯s the bitch now, huh?!

    With no other choice, Luke extended both his hands outward to showcase the extinguisher.

    Gripping the metal with only the strength of his fingers, Luke closed his eyes as he arched his head away from Gemma¡¯s putrid body odor. As for her, both of her fists managed to make contact with the metal object, making a literal hole with just her popped-out knuckles.

    Which led to the spewing out of the sodium bicarbonate onto her face.

    (Gemma) Ah! Stupid foam!

    Luke still held onto the device despite his eardrums drumming the inside of his brain. Combined with his hands blistering from the sudden blast from the object, the extinguisher was still intact, as only the part that Gemma punched was punctured.

    Unfortunately for her, most of the effect was given down to her, as all the noise, wind, and foam that came out caused her mouth to swell up.

    (Gemma) You¡¯re just like any other boy or man I met. Just a simple wannabe masculine douche that wants to save his darling angel.

    Luke threw away the fire extinguisher as he took a couple of steps back.

    (Luke) Does that include Fred?! Because I don¡¯t think he¡¯d want to be with you!

    Seeing that Gemma was bleeding tar from her ears, Luke almost let out a smirk.

    (Luke) I¡¯m not done with you ¡­

    Putting his right hand inside his leather jacket, he quickly shuffled around his side pocket until his fingers managed to sense a Ziploc bag that was locked up in there. Slowly pulling out the bag, he used his jacket to keep it hidden to not let Gemma know of his plan.

    Gemma¡¯s eyes then managed to bleed out more tar.

    (Gemma¡¯s eyes) Wait ¡­ shit, am I going deaf?! And I can barely see! You have to regenerate fast!

    As Gemma tried brushing away the tar with her hands, Luke took out a white crystal that was safely kept inside the ziplock bag.

    Holding it safely inside of his right hand, he then threw it up and down as if he were throwing a ball. Having his left hand inside his pants pocket, he then tilted up his head as he continued to frown.

    As Gemma soon started to emit putrid steam out of her body, her wrists already made a little twirling cloud around her body.

    (Luke) Can you still hear?

    (Gemma) I hear your pathetic voice so yeah.

    (Luke) Good. I don¡¯t think you remember this, but you know me and Fred specialize in this type of area¡ªwell, mostly me.

    Stopping the throwing motion, Luke then gripped the white crystal with his fingertips, his palms staining the crystal with his sweaty palm. Letting out a devilish smirk from the corner of his lips, his eyes widened as he pulled back his right hand.

    Spreading his feet apart, he dug his heels onto the floor¡¯s surface with ease, his eyes beginning to turn a flash of crazy as his red eyes continued to redden even more.

    (Luke) You never saw this, but you¡¯ll see right now¡ª

    A hand stopped him from even throwing the piece of fulminated mercury at the lich woman.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 109: From The Prison of Your Heart ... Thank You For Taking Care of Me...

    Luke slowly turned toward the man that stopped him, a face that he would recognize from a mile away.

    (Luke) Fred.

    Luke couldn¡¯t even dare to look at Fred when he then let go of Luke¡¯s wrist.

    Pulling the hand that held the crystal-like substance, Luke put it back inside of his leather jacket.

    Hope as well couldn¡¯t describe the face Fred made, as his hair blocked the overall outline of his cheeks and jawline. Putting her left hand onto her right wrist, she slowly extended her right hand outward toward the silver-haired young man.

    (Fred) Sorry if I was busy ¡­ I was taking care of something ¡­

    (Gemma) You didn¡¯t have to do that babe. You were supposed to be helping me, because after all¡­

    Gemma then extended both of her arms outward toward the shy man.

    Placing both of his hands inside his pants pockets, Fred walked forward toward her, his footsteps tapping the soundwaves that collided with the air around them.

    (Gemma) You were always my little wallflower~

    Fred also extended both of his arms out wide for Gemma, both of them giving each other a long overdue hug.

    Wrapping his arms around her lower back, he pulled her body toward his, her cold icy skin piercing his palms as the white fabric barely was enough to contain it. Both of their heads close to one another, Fred nuzzled his head over her shoulder.

    (Fred) I¡¯m ready.

    (Gemma) I knew that you were smart. Don¡¯t worry, it will only just be a little kiss~

    Pulling his head away from her shoulder, he took in her all-black eyes that were gleaming at him, his reflection being shown into her pitch-black pupils. Licking her lips, she then leaned her face close to his, closing her eyes shut as she could feel the warmth of a beating heart.

    Luke clenched his fists as his eyes widened from the danger that was yet to come, his right hand reaching outward as it remained still.

    Hope clasped her hands together onto her chest, as if she was making a little prayer despite her eyes focusing on the two.

    (Fred) Gemma I¡­

    Ignoring those two words, Gemma then opened her mouth wide, her all-black teeth and putrid breath blasting out right in front of his face. Pushing his head slightly back, he continued to lean his face closer and closer, his lips barely opening as she then put her hands toward his shirt.

    Inches, centimeters, millimeters¡­

    As the corners of her teeth began to sharpen, her colorless lips were on the verge of pressing onto the light red of his lips¡ª

    She couldn¡¯t move.

    (Gemma) Huh?

    A burst of electricity and magnetism surrounded the entirety of the room they were in.

    Having her hands on his chest, her muscles couldn¡¯t even pull her out of the stance she was in, as if she were a statue. Her eyes widened, yet her mouth and throat still worked, the muscles that were supposed to do their job ceased to do their duty.

    While her organs continued to do theirs.

    (Gemma) F-Fred!?

    (Fred) I¡¯m sorry Gemma¡­

    From the inside of his jacket, a small metal device was sticking out from the outside of his pocket. With a red beeping light coming from the homemade device, Gemma couldn¡¯t even make a glare as her cheekbone muscles remained stoned.

    Both Luke and Hope remained gawking at the setup that Fred made, both of their mouths slightly lowered at Fred¡¯s groundbreaking way of moving forward.

    (Gemma) You ¡­ You ¡­

    (Fred) I know you didn¡¯t want this¡­

    Fred then pulled out a razor-like yo-yo from the inside of his jacket, his right hand trembling as his fingers stained the toy.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Her eyes glancing down at the toy, Gemma¡¯s whole body started to twitch despite the spell under the EMP burst, her eyes beginning to cry out tar as her nostrils flared inward and outward. Taking a couple of steps back, Fred pulled back the razor yo-yo that was entrenched in the old razor weapons that she used to use.

    (Gemma) ¡­ You¡¯re ¡­ You¡¯re ¡­

    (Fred) But you¡¯re not the same girl that I remember. So ¡­ Gemma, if you¡¯re hearing this from the prison of your heart¡­

    The air around the room went into a deafening silence, with the air around them making their goodbye a melancholic one.

    No breath was drawn, and no muscle moved.

    Only the tears that dropped from the man who wielded his weapon swept the room.

    (Fred) Thank you for taking care of me¡­

    Fred thrust the razor whip like a sword.

    Making contact with her chest, the intensity of the razor whip was enough to slice through the entirety of her body.

    The whip then came out from the other end of her chest, slashing across her body in one single slash. Tar leaking out of the area that he whipped across, her upper body then began to slowly yet surely¡­

    Slide off.

    Plopping onto the metallic floor, only the upper half of her chest, neck, and head were trembling under the coldness of the metallic floor. As a tsunami of tar poured forth from the sliced-open body, her heart wasn¡¯t safe as even that too was beyond repair.

    Every cell and skin that made up her body soon started to crumble as if she were a dead leaf. The three starred as her ash remained on the cold metallic ground.

    Fred then turned his head toward both Luke and Hope, his face plastered with tears that stained his reddened cheeks.

    (Fred) Thank you guys for capturing her. I wanted to do the finishing blow¡­

    The two soldiers could not say a word.

    Hope turned her head as she saw Luke¡¯s darkened face, her eyes enlarged as she kept on having her stare at him.

    Clenching both of his fists, he looked toward Hope, his face on the verge of letting out a couple of tears as his throat quivered relentlessly. Unable to look at the staring Hope, he clasped both of his hands together as he soon started to stare into the abyss.

    (Hope) What happened?

    (Luke) I don¡¯t know ¡­

    (???) I suppose ¡­ gasps ¡­ you lost your composure. That¡¯s what¡¯s called ¡­ gasps ¡­ implosive anger I presume.

    A lich girl stood in the doorway that led to the downstairs of the first floor.

    Having her arms crossed, she had her shoulder tilted to the door frame as she looked at the three of them. Despite her body language is that of a relaxed and refrained teenage girl¡­

    Her body and skin were the complete opposite, as her body was drenched in a heap of sweat that covered every part of her body. As well as her breath heaving out hot putrid air from her mouth, her vulnerable heart pumped out more tar that circulated throughout the entirety of her body.

    (Luke) Who are you?

    (???) The name ¡­ gasps ¡­ that was bestowed to me was Mia. I will not speak ¡­ gasps ¡­ of my last name here.

    (Fred) A Fron accent¡­

    Both young men took a step back as they glanced at the weapons that they still carried on their hips.

    Hope didn¡¯t even bother to holster her combat pistol as she had her hands motionless on the ground, her palms dripping with sticky sweat that caused her body to move forward. Taking a step back, she covered her body behind Luke as she looked down onto the metallic flooring of the building.

    (Luke) How did you escape from those three from downstairs?

    (Mia) That cat-human girl summoned her storm on the floor ¡­ gasps ¡­ catching me off guard. If I hadn''t pulled out my heart and threw it across the other ravine of the building ¡­ gasps ¡­ I would certainly be dead right now.

    Luke noticed Hope¡¯s fidgeting as her throat started to quiver from analyzing the lich girl¡¯s body.

    Putting his hands into his pockets, he placed them deep into them as he tilted his head upward, his eyes starting to glare at the girl. Fred also made a little glare at the girl, his entire body straightened and outlined with both of his hands onto his sides.

    With both men ignoring Hope, both looked at one another with simple stares, looking back toward the lich girl who was still in a heap of sweat.

    (Luke) You look familiar¡­

    (Mia) It is quite obvious that I look familiar. Do you not see the familiar ¡­ gasps ¡­ face that is right next to you I presume?

    Both men turned their attention toward Hope.

    Both see a similar status in facial structure, along with her nose and ears almost a replica of the lich girl.

    Both saw a similar hairstyle as the same strands of hair had the same thickness of both females.

    And most importantly of all¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Come to think of it, Hope never told the group anything about her past¡­

    Luke placed his right hand on her shoulder, his fingers caressing the lining of the fabric of her leather jacket. Looking up toward Luke, her eyes widened as she looked down, her legs wobbling.

    Fred on the other hand walked behind Luke, both of his hands folded as he swept away some strands of hair that got into his eye.

    (Luke) Hope ¡­ where are you from?

    Hope clasped her hands together as she formed a tight grip on them.

    Looking into the lich girl that still leaned on the doorframe, her eyes soon started to sharpen as her face stiffened up. Unable to look toward Luke or even glance at the silver-haired young man, Hope inhaled a huge amount of air that caressed her throat.

    (Hope) I don¡¯t ¡­ I don¡¯t remember.

    (Mia) Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s a reason why you don¡¯t know¡­

    (Jack) Get her, boys!

    A yell came from the first floor down.

    Hearing the loud voice of a red-haired man that they were all too familiar with, Mia flinched her body as she remembered the cat-human.

    (Mia) I suppose I shall leave now ¡­ yes, right now¡­

    Mia then extended her right hand onto a metal wall that was right near her.

    In an instant, Mia¡¯s right hand soon started to turn itself into a metal concoction, the weapon being not a projectile or gun, but rather¡­

    A grenade.

    Pulling back her right arm, she then threw the metal device right onto the metal wall that was next to her, while pulling the pin back in the process. Not even bothering to move, the grenade soon exploded upon impact rather than the typical four to five-second delay, creating a loud explosion that shook the room to its core.

    Creating a large hole, Mia then swiftly jumped into the dust as she flew away into the dark of the morning while everyone watched.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 110: The Main Act

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:45AM)

    (Luke) Can¡¯t believe we made it.

    In front of Luke, Jack, Hope, Fred, Johnny, and Elizabethwas a bomb, a water bomb to be precise.

    The bomb was tinted with a metal coating exterior that surrounded the deeply pressurized liquid. Along its corners, the sharp edges of the circular throwing ball that was in the palms of Fred¡¯s hands soon began to reflect the rays of the top lights above.

    Smoldering it with his right hand, Fred held his little bundle of joy with his left arm, as the rest of the group analyzed the metal and design of the bomb. As most of them put their hands underneath their chins, Luke in particular rubbed his fingers against his jawline.

    (Luke) I just hope Gwen¡¯s doing fine.

    (Fred) I just hope that bomb works. I mean, Gwen could probably take that thing head-on even without the needed boost.

    (Luke) She said she didn¡¯t want to take any chances.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) But why though? Isn¡¯t she the person to take the least amount of precaution?

    Fred stood up with the football-sized metal bomb that cuddled against his left arm, carrying it as if it were practically a baby.

    Looking toward Luke, he let out a sly smile as his eyes closed up, placing his right hand on the back of his head.

    (Fred) So¡­ are we going to carry this thing? To the Zirardge building?

    (Luke) Yeah. That way when we arrive on top, she¡¯ll be the one to deliver it straight toward her core. I hope Luna, Miles, or even Diego try to find any weaknesses during their stall.

    (Jack) So ¡­ I guess everyone is pulling their weight on this.

    (Luke) Pretty much.

    All six of them looked over to the wall that was broken by Mia. Seeing that the early morning was still blackened by the red clouds up high above them, Luke then pinned his head onto the exit where they all came out.

    Straightening his back, Luke cleared his throat while he began to look at the rest of his friends and acquaintances.

    (Luke) We did what we originally came here to do, so I would call this task a success¡­ ish?

    (Jack) It¡¯s weird seeing you as a sort of leader. Imagine if Gwen becomes ill one day and you need to take charge of one mission.

    (Luke) Well, I¡¯m not even good at even giving speeches¡­

    (Johnny) From where I was at, you seemed fine though. Everyone thought you did great.

    His neck plastered with sweat, Luke placed his right hand onto the helm of his white shirt that was underneath his unzipped leather jacket. Having two of his fingers nudging the collar, he did it repeatedly as he then pushed his feet forward, allowing the metal to blister his soles yet again.

    Walking toward the exit, Luke continued to fan his collar up and down as the rest of the group worried for the light-haired young man.

    (Luke) Let¡¯s get to the van. At the same time, while we¡¯re going to the tower, we could check up on everyone else too.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:55AM)

    (Jack) Good thing that the tower is only several minutes from the water pump facility.

    A brown moving van plowed through the downtown streets of the debris-ridden Lagefor, driving along the poorly cleaned asphalt.

    The van went through rubble and stones that riddled the clean asphalt, causing the wheels and the entirety of the moving vehicle to nudge erratically but not that heavily. Along with many of the building¡¯s windows being shattered, it left many glass shards littering the sidewalks, as well as the little fires that sprouted out on the edge of the street and sidewalk.

    Inside the moving van, Luke and Jack were in the front, while Hope, Fred, Johnny, and Elizabeth were in the back.

    (Johnny¡¯s thoughts) So this is the last push.

    Johnny¡¯s left cheek prickled with heat as he then turned his head toward the shining window on the left of him. As the rays of light caused his cheeks to sunburn, he opened his eyes wide, taking the sight of the monster being covered head to toe with flames and magma.

    As the burning fires reflected against his eyes, Johnny remained staring at the beast as he had his hands placed on his knees.

    (Johnny) Looks like she''s having fun rampaging the outskirts of downtown¡­

    (Luke) Shoot ¡­ What time will that thing reach the water pump facility?

    (Fred) From there to the water pump facility, and the speed that she¡¯s traveling, I¡¯d say 30 minutes.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Clasping both of his hands, Luke started to tap his heel on the floor of the van.

    (Luke) I hope that we¡¯re the last group to reach the top of the tower.

    Jack looked at Luke, straightening his back.

    Hope soon stood in the middle of the van, placing her head near the little hole that allowed her to see the anxious Luke.

    (Jack) Let¡¯s just check the channels first.

    In the middle of both Jack and Luke was the radio box that was laid across the middle seat of the van.

    Luke used his left to hold the radio box as he used his fingers to grasp the black stainless steel. Along with his right, he turned the white knob that emitted a scornful static that assaulted everyone¡¯s ears from inside the van. Fortunately for the group, the static was only for a couple of seconds as a transmission was then received.

    (Lieutenant on Radio) Come in! This is the Lieutenant! Come in!

    (Luke) We hear you sir, loud and clear.

    (Lieutenant on Radio) What¡¯s the status of that water bomb?!

    (Luke) Fred successfully made it, sir. We¡¯re on our way to the Zirardge tower now.

    (Lieutenant on Radio) Roger. Me and my platoon are guarding the front entrance of the tower. That bitch is drawing near to the water pump facility as we know it.

    Luke and the others looked outward as they saw the flames of the beast using the buildings as if it was a sandbox. Tightening his grip on the metal box, Luke fastened his tapping on the floor of the van. Perking his ears up, Jack glanced at the sweatied Luke who let out a sigh.

    Hope began to pop her head out from the middle of the hole that was located in between Luke and Jack, as she turned her head toward the nervous Luke.

    (Hope) We could do this Luke ¡­ just believe in Gwen¡­

    (Luke) I know. She could do anything, but ¡­ for us ¡­ how can¡ª

    (Jack) Hey, since when did you become the pessimist one?

    (Luke) What?

    Jack rolled his eyes.

    (Jack) It¡¯s gonna be fine. Besides, we got the bomb ready, and Gwen is one of the toughest chicks to fight with besides Luna, so we got this.

    Stopping the tapping of his heel, Luke loosened the grip on the radio box. Puckering up his quivered lips, he straightened his back as he then let out a simple nod.

    As he then looked towards the ground, his face darkened with a hint of hesitation inside of his throat.

    (Luke) Y-yeah ¡­ we got this¡­

    (Lieutenant on Radio) I¡¯m still here, soldier.

    (Luke) S-Sorry sir¡­

    (Lieutenant on Radio) It¡¯s nothing soldier, just make sure you deal with that bitch by any means.

    Johnny, Elizabeth, and Fred both stared into the radio box that they couldn¡¯t see, as Hope hogged the entirety of the little headhole.

    All three of them folded their arms, looking at the reddened sky that was filled with ash and flame. Despite being inside the van, they all smelled the scent of smoke and gunpowder through the car¡¯s ventilation system.

    (Luke) ¡­ P-Permission to speak sir¡­?

    (Lieutenant on Radio) By all means.

    (Luke) Who¡¯s on top of the tower waiting for us?

    (Lieutenant on Radio) Everyone who helped with the stalling of the monster. The ones that dealt with zompire cleanup and civilian evacuation are heading toward the military complex as you ordered. But we¡¯re missing one.

    (Luke) Who?

    All six of the Dark Angels moved their heads close toward the radio box that was inbetween Luke and Jack.

    All their ears heard the dreaded static that soon started to attack the transmission of the channel that they heard from.

    All their eyes were pinned onto the black device that connected them to the outside world.

    All their souls were locked in place as they couldn¡¯t even budge a nerve or muscle onto their finger to toe.

    As they all heard the words from the Lieutenant himself.

    (Lieutenant on Radio) We¡¯re missing someone. That one soldier who¡¯s tall and has freckles.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:59AM)

    (Gwen) Can I talk with you, Luke?

    (Luke) Sure, what is it, Gwen?

    Everyone else that was on the asphalt soon started to pile up inside of the trucks, their plan to set things straight soon starting to draw near.

    With their assigned tasks, the only group that awaited Luke to come down was none other than Jack, Hope, Fred, and Johnny who patiently stood still as they looked up at him. As Hope stared at the man on top of the truck, her blue eyes gleamed despite there being no means to be seen.

    Next to the man that she admired was none other than their commander, a tall woman with freckles who happened to place her right arm around his neck.

    (Gwen) Didn¡¯t know you had it in you. You know, when I retire soon, I¡¯ll make you the next commander of The Dark Angels.

    (Luke) Me? To be honest, I think Miles or Benn are more suited for that.

    (Gwen) Hey, don¡¯t think bad about yourself. Like I said, use that voice inside of you.

    (Luke) Yeah ¡­

    Gwen continued to squint her slanted eyes onto him, her smile still shining in the dark of the early morning.

    Loosening her left arm, she slowly pulled it back toward her body followed by pushing the corner of her right lip onto the height of her right ear. Her mouth let out a gentle chuckle, her breath reached onto Luke¡¯s face and nose, the smell of mint and toothpaste still lingering around her teeth.

    (Gwen) I think you forgot about someone important, hmm? Didn¡¯t know you were that much of a gentleman.

    (Luke) Wait ¡­ Oh shoot! I forgot about you!

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t worry. I think I know what to do.

    (Luke) R-Really? Then what do you have in mind?

    Gwen stretched both of her arms up high in the air, as she placed her right hand onto her left elbow, causing her left arm to rise even more. Her bones pinching the muscles that trapped her joints, she let out a long and relieved sigh from the depths of her lungs, her body soon pushing downward by gravity.

    (Gwen) I plan on taking that big girl head-on!

    (Luke) So ¡­ you¡¯ll be the one carrying the water bomb?

    (Gwen) I¡¯m the only one who can do it unless you want to give it a shot.

    (Luke) Yeah, you¡¯ll be the one to do it. I¡¯m lucky but not that lucky.

    Scratching the back of his head, Luke looked over toward the fiery beast that was barely storming the outskirts of the industrial district of the city.

    His eyes panning onto the deadly monster, Luke tightened his hair on the back of his head as his fingers gripped onto his scalp. His other hand enclosing into a fist, he laid it onto his side as he soon started to glare straight at the hellish sight that he saw.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Then again, I promised myself that I¡¯d never let this city become the same as Clastine¡­

    Luke looked over toward Gwen.

    Still having that glare plastered onto his face, he soon straightened his back as he let his encapsulated fingers free from the grip. Having both of his feet straight and tight-knit, he then let his left hand let go of his screaming scalp, his palm facing the direction of Gwen.

    Enclosing his right hand into a fist again, he thumped the left side of his chest twice.

    As he glided it over to the right side of his chest, making a Dark Angel salute.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry. Me and the others will not let you down.

    (Gwen) I know you will.

    Both the commander and her soldier looked at one another, their eyes glued to the reflections that showed upon their irises.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Cause I want to be your best soldier.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) So we could all go to Paradise together¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 111: Electricity

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:25AM)

    (Gwen)

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Almost there¡­.

    The air crackled and squirmed under the presence of the tall woman with freckles, her legs, and feet pushing her entire body and soul toward the place where she could set things straight. Along her path, the stone floor clicked repeatedly with her boots trembling the insides of the tunnels within.

    All around her was nothing but a wide-open underground floor that she ran for miles, her breath soon starting to hitch inside of her throat.

    Beneath an electrical output building on the south side of the downtown district, she looked around every corner for a sign that could lead to something. The dining lights overhead were barely enough to shine down on her, the darkness that followed afterward soon overwhelmed her senses, her body drenching in a heap of sweat.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Not the dark¡­

    Her visibility was shrouded, she closed her eyes as her entire body began to glow, her skin radiating light as if she were a glow stick. Swaying her arms back and forth, the strength from within them soon began to loosen as her eyelids started to darken around her pupils.

    On the verge of shutting her eyes, Gwen put both of her hands onto the helms of her cheekbones, causing a loud slap that shook all the tunnels that echoed its noise.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Ow! That kind of hurt!

    Putting both of her hands back to her running motion, she swayed her head repeatedly with both of her cheeks blistering from the slap of her palms.

    Far into the distance, Gwen squinted her eyes upon a blue door that held a sign on the front. On that sign, Gwen analyzed the writing as well as the logo that had within it, which could mean one outcome for her¡­

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) There it is!

    Already reaching toward the door, Gwen pulled back her right hand as she tightened her body from her chest to her stomach. Her eyes unable to pull away from the door in front of her, she then thrust her right arm forward, her body hunching along with her arm.

    Making contact with the door, her knuckles soon broke off its hinges that strapped the door shut, having the door make no other choice but to break free.

    Not just break free, but¡­

    It turned the door to a weapon.

    A weapon so lethal that the edges caused the wind to let out a piercing scream, traversing the long dark room as old splinters faded away from the force of the speed. With the door hitting the other end of the room, it created a sound loud enough to mimic a literal gun.

    (Gwen) So this is it huh?

    The room was filled with dust as the entire large room that could fit in seven highly fashioned mansions was cemented in stone and cement. Many pillars held up the upper end of the roof, with one single window that let out the dim light from above.

    In front of her was a large storage full of electrical transformers, all lining up single file. Since the transformers were in the middle of the large open room underneath the city, no light was bestowed upon the metal coating that it longed to gleam out.

    And on top of the center of the middle transformer, laid a single large rubber cord that connected all the transformers toward the surface, the rubber cord entrance and exit right next to the little window on top. Looking up with her slanted eyes, Gwen analyzed the rubber as its rough and thick insulation caused her to slouch down his head.

    (Gwen) This place is huge huh? Guess I better get to work now.

    Her boots tingled the air around her as her back began to let out a light shiver. Putting her hands into her jacket¡¯s pockets, she looked around her surroundings as the air around her began to thicken, her palms soon began to let out a bead of sweat.

    Her breath not showing in front of her, she ceased walking as she had both of her feet remaining trapped under the glued cement.

    As if she was being preyed upon.

    Slowly glancing in back of her, Gwen used the corners of her eyes to try to analyze the silhouette that was standing behind her.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    (Gwen) Uh ¡­ you could talk to me, if you want?

    Letting out a sly smile, the corner of her lips reached toward the height of her left ear, yet it soon started to break.

    A bead of sweat rolled down her right cheek, Gwen slowly pulled out both of her hands from out of her jacket, having them motionless to gravity. Moistening her lips to keep them wet and red, she also licked an abundance of sweat that got on top of her upper lip.

    (Gwen) H-Hello? Anyone home? Don¡¯t be daydreaming, it¡¯s rude when someone is trying to get your attention.

    (???) We¡¯ve been expecting you, Gwen¡­

    The sounds of a cold old voice can be heard.

    Arching her head up, she glanced around the room as her eyes peered into every corner that she could see. Along with unneeded earwax prisoned inside of her ears, her hearing soon sprouted open as she let out a huge gulp that reverberated the entire room around her.

    And when she was glancing around, she locked onto a young man wearing a gray hoodie.

    (Gwen) Hmm ¡­

    Upon inspecting the tall young man, she couldn¡¯t even describe his face as it was completely hidden underneath the hoodie. His hands were both inside his casual jacket, along with his black sneakers clamping the cement ground that was beneath him. With his head tilted down, not even the skin of his neck was shown.

    Gwen furrowed her brow as she put both of her hands inside her jacket again, letting out a small chuckle.

    (Gwen) Are you the old man¡¯s voice that I heard earlier?

    The tall young man soon ceased his walking as he laid his covered eyes on her.

    His entire body trembling, the young man slowly bent forward and he then spread both of his feet far apart from one another. Since his face was still covered by the overbearing hoodie that he wore, it caused Gwen to clench her stomach. Her eyes soon turned into a glare.

    (Gwen) What? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re holding in your laugh right now. I may be an idiot, but I¡¯m not stupid!

    (???) Honestly, I have no words for you.

    The old maleficent voice was soon heard again, along with the air being swollen by the cold that was brought with it.

    A drop of sweat was heard only from Gwen herself, as the droplet of sweat stained the cement floor. Her face stiffening, she looked over toward the tall young man again, her eyes still squinting at the tall man who soon pulled out both of his hands from out of his pockets.

    (Gwen) Hmm ¡­ you¡¯re the only one in this room, so I think you¡¯re the one that is doing that old creepy man voice. Hehe, you should be a voice actor for those cartoons¡ª

    (???) That tall man is not me you imbecile!

    Gwen instantly turned her head to the right of her.

    Her eyes then came into contact with an old man wearing a white robe, his sandals showcasing his wrinkled feet and toes. Looking at his face, she noticed his old and wretched wrinkles that dampened his youth, followed by his green eyes and light green hair.

    Letting out a simple ¡°ooh¡± of curiosity, Gwen clasped both of her hands together as her entire body let out a crumple of relief.

    (Gwen) Wow, you look so colorful!

    (???) You think I¡¯m colorful!? ¡­ she thinks I¡¯m colorful¡­

    His wrinkled face soon letting go, he let in a breath of air inside of his old lungs as his throat let out a raspy groan.

    Turning his attention toward the tall young man, the light-haired green old man had both of his hands enclosed into his sleeves as his white robe managed to hide away his skin. His voice commanding, the old man put both of his feet together.

    As he tilted his face upward.

    (???) Jason, you wanted someone who could keep up with you right? Today¡¯s the day that you could prove it.

    (Jason) As you wish.

    The old man turned his body around and he then walked off to let the freckled woman and tall man begin their battle.

    Finding a little corner, the old man laid his right shoulder onto the edge of it, the sharp edge stabbing his skin despite no blood or cut being bestowed upon the area. Adjusting his body, the old man pushed down his face followed by his entire body loosening as a result of his hiding in the little shadow.

    (???) This time Jason, go all out. For our plan to work, we must take out the biggest obstacle on our path.

    (Jason) No worries Lazaros, sir. I¡¯ll finish her off in no time.

    Jason had both of his palms showcasing outward toward the freckled woman in front of him, his eyes unwavering from the freckles that were plastered onto her face.

    As for Gwen, she folded both of her arms and tilted her face to the right, making a cocky stance as she then let out a small chuckle.

    (Gwen) Awww~ Let me guess, you¡¯re a curse user right? And it looks like you¡¯re not like Pedro or that lich girl that smells. Sort of similar to Kenichi then huh?

    (Jason) Kenichi is nowhere near my level¡­

    Black flaming air caressed both of his hands and arms, rotating it counterclockwise as he then showcased his sinister palms facing the freckled woman.

    His entire body was etched with the stench of darkness and death, the hoodie hiding the devil behind its fabric cloth. With the air around him warming up from the black flames that couldn¡¯t light up a candle, the light from all around the room soon started to dim.

    Which caused Gwen to glance at the transformers that were in the back of her.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Even if I do get a major boost with those transformers, I could still beat him fair and square here¡­

    Jason slowly started to walk toward the nonchalant Gwen, his black sneakers squealing under the pressure that he bestowed upon them with every step. As Gwen posed with pure confidence, her eyes continued to glance at the back of her, as if someone was whispering inside of her ear.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) But I don¡¯t have time for games.

    She thrusted her body in the opposite direction of where Jason was, her heels carrying her off the ground as she started to glide in the air.

    The air crumbled, her hair swaying.

    She glided toward the many transformers that all lined up right at the center, her body, hair, and soul becoming one with the wind.

    (Jason) Come here¡ª

    In less than two seconds, the edges of her fingertips grazed the vulnerable metal that would turn any human into rotisserie chicken.

    Upon making contact with the transformers, a bright light soon bestowed upon both Jason and Lazaros. Leaving them partially blinded by the sight, both of them turned their heads away as they had no choice but to block the light from getting in their eyes.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) Well, things just got a little harder¡­

    Soon after, the entire room was then swallowed up by the yellow light that shined as equal to the sun.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 112: Gwen vs Jason (1)

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:28AM)

    (Gwen)

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I feel strong¡­

    Like a star, her body glowed as the current flowed through her body.

    Her eyes closed, her feet pinning the cement below, and her body felt like a feather in a fall breeze at the beginning of a rainstorm.

    Along with both her hands wide open, her body was practically vulnerable to any attack that could bestow upon her. Even in the position she was in, no one dared to hurt or kill her as the two men watched silently at the star-like girl.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I feel powerful¡­

    The room crackled with the blinding yellow light, causing Jason and Lazaros to close their eyes to escape its super lucent brightness. Covering their eyes with either their left or right arm, both men remained still as their bodies arched back from the heat radiating from the epicenter.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Just close enough to reach the ends of Paradise¡­

    Soon after, the room that was molested by the blinding yellow light soon ceased.

    Both men placed their hands out of their eyes, their duty to safely protect their eyes a success as they placed them motionless to their sides. Looking at what was in front of the large transformer, both of them saw a tolerable glowing light that relaxed both of their pupils.

    It reminded them as if they were seeing a rebirth of a star.

    A star so bright yet so gentle upon its malevolent rays.

    Lazaros, who only frowned upon the presence of the soothing rays, let out a sigh.

    (Lazaros) Be careful, Jason¡­

    The tall freckled woman in front of him swiftly opened her brown eyes, the gentle light soon encapsulating his reflection that was trapped in her irises.

    Upon seeing the blackening flames that still caressed his arms and hands, Gwen slowly raised her hand toward the gray-hooded figure, which emitted a yellowish brightening light.

    Jason soon put both of his arms to block himself, the black flames that still lingered soon sprouting several shadows next to him.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) Let¡¯s see if he could pull it off.

    Flames that were embroidered with the smell of death soon poured forth from Jason¡¯s hands.

    With the air around him turning into a hasty fog of black and unruly darkness, Jason had both of his feet secured on the stone floor beneath him. His legs wobbling softly, his knees crunched as sweat started to bestow upon his youthful face, leading him to grit his teeth in return.

    Soon after, the blackened mist that sprouted out started to form and confine against one another, as if the atoms and molecules on a molecular level soon decided to team up with spirit.

    Leading to the creation of many black humanoid creatures barely assembling itself with their bodies.

    Since the black humanoid ghostly figures were right by Jason¡¯s side, they looked where their leader was staring, following the example that they were shown. Their white dotted eyes staring right into the depths of her soul, they soon stood one by one next to Jason.

    Using his right hand, Jason pointed with his pointer finger at the glowing woman, his throat rasped and cold as he summoned one simple command¡­

    (Jason) Twilight Region.

    A horde of black yet dimly fading ghost figures soon sprinted their legs toward Gwen, her entire body unfazed by the horde of a dozen sorrowful shadows that never saw the true rays of a star.

    Instead, Gwen put her left foot back as she steadied her right foot, as well as extending her right hand onto the incoming horde. A blinding light bursted out and hit every single black ghostly creature that fell ill to the attack.

    Jason covered both of his eyes again as he barely managed to avoid burning his eyes.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) Shit, hope she didn¡¯t take out my entire¡ª

    As soon as he opened his eyes, he widened them upon the revelation that bestowed onto his covered irises.

    Not one single ghostly black-flamed creature was seen as if they were swept away by an attack that seemed far too powerful for the likes of them. Leaving no trace of their existence in the world of the living, Jason bit down on his lower lip.

    Despite his face being covered up with his hoodie, Gwen continued to pan her nonchalant eyes toward the trembling gray-hooded man.

    (Jason) No ¡­

    Gwen pulled both of her hands down to her thighs, her palms soon closing up as she put her right knee on the ground. Her kneecap shone down the stone that needed its mournful sunlight, the stone soon reflected despite the floor being riddled with heavy dust.

    And with just the tap of her right heel, she soon lifted herself off the ground¡ª

    Jason¡¯s entire right face rained down blood that soon sprouted from his nose and inner eyelid.

    She was just that fast.

    As the wind around him got stabbed by the lightning fist punch, it created a gun burst of air that shot him outward, causing his entire body to be thrown back. And in only a couple of seconds, his entire back slammed onto the other end of the room, producing a large dent that trembled the old building.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) What just¡­

    His eyes flickering repeatedly, his legs unable to pull himself up nor with his arms, his body was latched onto the stone like he was the prey of a trophy hunter on display. Looking down onto the stone pavement that was soon littered with pebble stones that dropped from the cracking wall, Jason inhaled an abundance of air inside of his lungs.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    He then swept it away, unleashing a multitude of dimming black flames.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) I couldn¡¯t¡ª

    Gwen stood in front of him.

    With his fluttering and fastening blink that was slow enough to the rapid Gwen, Jason held his eyes open with his face tilted down. Unable to still see through his youthful face, Gwen put her glowing hand on top of Jason''s hoodie, her gentle fingers gripping the top of the hood.

    Slowly pulling down the fabric that covered his eyes, nose, and cheeks, Gwen still had a nonchalant expression smudged on her face.

    Upon looking at the youthful man, his cheekbones were polished and chiseled, along with his blonde hair latching onto the back ends of his ears.

    (Jason) What are you going to do to me¡­?

    Gwen then put her right hand onto the helm of his right shoulder, her nails not sharp enough to dig into the fabric of his gray hoodie. The glow of her pale skin bright enough to be a glow stick flashlight, she gently yet surely pulled the youthful man from out of the dented hole.

    Plopping down onto the ground, he landed face-first on the cement, his left cheekbone being crushed immediately by the impact. A large cracking sound coming from none other than Jason, Gwen put both of her knees onto the stone ground.

    (Gwen) I want to ask you before I leave¡­

    She then thrust both of her hands onto the edges of his neck, her palms not even tightening under the hold and grip she had on him. Her fingers felt his unwrinkled and smooth skin, her nails sensed what little facial hair Jason had.

    Having his head tilted upward, he had no choice but to look up at the glowing woman, while air still plunged deep into his pink lungs. Seeing her freckles stand out as they became brighter than her skin, similar to sun spots on stars, Jason¡¯s eyes soon started to crust from the lack of humidity.

    (Gwen) Do you know Jerry Phillips? An elf who wore an eyepatch?

    His throat didn¡¯t mutter a single groan or letter.

    Looking down at the cold floor that was beneath him, he didn¡¯t even look up at the light that shined down on him.

    Noticing that he wouldn¡¯t talk nor would look at her, Gwen helped Jason tilt his head upward to look at her, her eyes motionless as she just stared at the obedient man. With the edges of her fingernails and fingertips not even digging into his airways or even his skin, she brought his face inches toward hers.

    (Gwen) He¡¯s been missing. No one has been talking about him, very similar to what happened to Cameron. It¡¯s as if he¡¯s been forgotten ¡­ except for me.

    She then pulled the bloodied tall man high in the air.

    Clenching both ends of her jaws, Gwen slowly dug her fingers into Jason¡¯s neck.

    Which started to clog his airways, her fingers managing to perfectly and efficiently put enough pressure for him to completely trap the air within his body.

    As well as not letting any air from getting in.

    (Gwen) Where is he?

    With no air inside coming in, and with no motivation to dangle his arms and legs, Jason¡¯s vision slowly blurred as his lungs wrinkled from the trapped air inside of his body. Slightly opening his mouth, the words that wanted to come out couldn''t be pressed forth, his throat completely and utterly deprived of any oxygen needed to speak.

    (Gwen) Where ¡­ is ¡­ he?

    (Lazaros) How could he speak if you are stealing away the very thing he needs to speak?

    In a simple quick motion, Gwen turned her head.

    Sharpening her eyes ever more, her grip upon Jason continued to tighten, leaving Jason to roll his eyes on the back of his head while his groans for air remained. Lazaros, having her attention, walked slowly as he gently traced the stone-cold cement with his fully relaxed sandals.

    (Lazaros) It isn¡¯t like you to kill a beaten man by merely choking him. I always wondered how your morals work, considering that you eliminated Cameron as if you enjoyed it.

    Gwen let go of her grip on Jason¡¯s throat, his entire body plopping toward the cold ground below.

    Her fingers trembling, her hands twitching; blood started to pour out of the corners of her mouth as she started to bite down on the skin that was loose inside of her cheeks. Keeping her feet steady on the floor, more cracks started to join the already-dented cement beneath her.

    Which caused the ground to make a little hole that covered all over her black leather boots.

    (Gwen) I ¡­ didn¡¯t want to kill Cameron ¡­ you guys did ¡­

    (Lazaros) Do you hear yourself now? We killed him? What on earth is your logic here? You wiped him off the face of the earth and before that, you declined his role as the soldier he wanted to be.

    Lazaros placed his hands inside his large sleeves. Smirking, Lazaros then stopped halfway between where he was originally and where he was in front of Gwen.

    (Lazaros) Meanwhile, one of my subordinates rescued him from the depths of despair, making him far more powerful than he ever wanted to be. We did have to ¡­ you know ¡­ process him, but in the end, he got what he always wanted ¡­ to be a soldier.

    (Gwen) Your soldier¡­

    Gwen started to walk toward the smug-faced old man who stood up with his back and neck straightened out.

    With each step that she took, a loud overbearing thump would occur that would shock the ends of Terra.

    And with each step, her enclosed fists swayed the air around her, making it seem as if she controlled the wind that encompassed the entire room.

    (Gwen) You brainwashed him. You brainwashed all of the kids that had hopes and dreams. Gemma, Ryan, Cameron, Gary¡¯s best friend, that lich girl¡ª

    (Lazaros) The lich girl wasn¡¯t done by me, it was more or less a friend of mine¡­ and besides.

    Lazaros soon felt the bright light starting to tan his pale skin, as the freckled glowing woman happened to stand right in front of him.

    Tilting her head upward, her eyes emitted a deathly glare at the nonchalant face that Lazaros took on, his eyes pushed down as he continued to emit a smile that sharpened her eyes even more.

    (Lazaros) You don¡¯t even know what happened to them, neither did Jerry know.

    A fist thrust toward him.

    A hand caught the glowing fist that tried to attack him.

    An attack so fast and a defense so quick that both of them could see, yet the tall man still recovering could not.

    Having his bottom on the ground, Jason tilted his head upward upon looking at Lazaros¡¯s old and wrinkled right hand holding the glowing callused hand of the freckled woman. His breath caught in his throat, and he widened his eyes as the two beasts created a wind burst that swept the entire room.

    Dust swept, and the metal creaked.

    Jason pushed both of his feet as he continued to eye them.

    (Jason) S-Sir¡ª

    Blood spurted out from the innards of his throat, painted the cement red with its hideous color.

    Putting his right hand onto his chest, he pounded on the left side with a hardened fist, accompanied by a couple of cracks piercing the inside of his left rib cage. Coughing out more drawn-out blood from inside of his body, he quickly stood up straight as he wiped away the smear of blood that was latched around his lips, his right sleeve doing the job.

    (Jason) P-Permission ¡­ to continue fighting ¡­ s-sir?

    Both Lazaros and Gwen looked toward the bleeding Jason, noticing his legs wobbling back and forth as his face was filled to the brim with sweat. Followed by his pale face making it seem as if he was a lich, Lazaros lowered the glowing hand that he wrapped with his left hand.

    As he tilted his head to the right.

    (Lazaros) You don¡¯t look good Jason. I think you need to rest¡ª

    Jason pulled out a large syringe from one of his pant¡¯s pockets, holding the syringe with his right hand. Gripping the metal with his fingers, Jason then thrust the large needle right in between his forearm and main arm, not even bothering to lift his sleeve as the needle went through with ease.

    Pushing the purple liquid that was within the syringe, he clenched his eyes shut from the basic pain that involved shots. But the real pain began as Jason instantly got down onto his hands and knees, his vocals letting out a shrieking cry.

    Letting go of the syringe, the needle was lodged in tight as his whole body began to tighten and shrivel like a prune.

    He tore his vocals with his cries.

    The feeling can only be described as passing through a kidney stone.

    Or rather ten kidney stones all in one single lineup, the pain traversing every part of his body rather than just one.

    Closing both of his eyelids shut, his mouth shut in between his lips. As he curled up his toes inside his shoes, drool started to drip onto the cement that was beneath him. Unable to even look at the two monsters that were staring at him, he continued to indulge in the sweet pain that he inflicted upon himself.

    A reddened face, his fingers twitching, his entire body on the verge of spazzing out from the cataclysm of pain¡­

    He wished for relief, any relief, even if it meant the sweet release of death.

    Fortunately for him, the pain soon started to cease as the soul-crushing pain that traversed his entire body slowed down to a halt. With just a snap of a finger, his whole body felt like a Kepputhan cloud in the early spring.

    Opening both of his eyes, his face was still drenched in a heap of salted sweat, that even his own eyes stung at the thought of it. Along with both of his feet pinning the stone ground beneath him, he slowly pulled himself up and put both of his arms out wide.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) That pain never gets old¡­

    His breathing soon relaxed followed by his face returning to its original color. Blackening flames soon circled his arms and wrists yet again, he stared right toward the freckled woman who still shined her newborn glow. Sharpening his eyes, the only thing that he had his entire attention on was the glowing light that didn¡¯t even reflect upon his darkened irises.

    While her irises reflected the youthful darkened flames of man.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) This time, I¡¯ll go all out. No mercy.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 113: Gwen vs Jason (2)

    (Kalemonath 6, 56 / 7:24PM)

    Two weeks after the collapse of Ticia.

    (Gwen) Who''s this fellow?

    (Benn) Don¡¯t know.

    Both Gwen and Benn looked at the sweat-drenched, dark-complected old teenager that was right in front of them, his arms motionless to gravity as his legs wobbled back and forth. Gwen and Benn noticed the amount of dandrum that riddled the teen¡¯s burly shoulders.

    (???) Please! You got to help me! I-I have nowhere to go¡­

    (Gwen) Hmm ¡­

    Gwen tilted her head to the right as she placed her right hand onto her right cheek, her palms staining her skin with her calloused hands.

    Benn, who put both of his hands onto his sides, hunched his back forward as he squinted at the old teen. Peering into the depths of the unwashed and hungry teen, he wrinkled his nose as the smell of body odor radiated from him.

    (Benn) When was the last time you showered?

    (???) I don¡¯t know how long¡­ but I need someplace to stay, e-even if it means being¡ª

    (Gwen) Do you want to be a soldier that bad?

    Gwen slowly walked forward toward the dark-complected teen, her hands now on her hips as she swayed them back and forth, even though she didn¡¯t have any curves to begin with.

    Straightening her back and clearing her throat, she inhaled an abundance of air into her newly pink lungs, trapping the air as if it were a balloon.

    (Gwen) Do you know how grueling it would be?

    (???) I know that training would be hard ¡­ but if it means to survive, then¡­

    The teen looked away onto the asphalt ground, panning his eyes away from the smug face that the freckled soldier pinned on him.

    He stared into the cracks of the black road, tracing along the cracks as it eventually led up toward the boots of the woman in front of him. His mouth opened wide, the old teen curled his hands as he then looked up toward the freckled woman, his eyes making a fiery glare.

    (???) Then I¡¯ll be more and happy to do it.

    Gwen glanced at the shark-human who continued to fold his arms at the teen.

    Benn took a step to the left as he clicked his tongue. Focusing his full attention on her, Gwen let out a cheerful smile that reached toward the height of her ears.

    (Gwen) Well, if you¡¯re gonna to be a soldier for us, then we could put you on the list of candidates.

    (???) Candidates?

    (Gwen) We¡¯re doing a little program. Even though you¡¯ll be the oldest one in the bunch, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll fit right in.

    (???) Oh, okay ¡­

    Clasping both of her hands, Gwen tilted her head to the right, forming a feminine smile that caused both Benn and the teen to fluster.

    Walking off toward a brown van that was fully loaded with ammunition and weapons, the teen pushed both of his heels off the ground, his body already in turmoil from the lack of food. Placing both of his hands on his stomach, he noticed the two soldiers staring at him in front, causing him to straighten his posture despite his abdomen feeling as if it might implode.

    Tapping both of his lips, he looked toward the freckled woman who still eyed him.

    (???) I could drive. I drove from my hometown to here in one day¡­

    (Gwen) Hmm ¡­ sure, as long as you drive and let us do the heavy work, then it¡¯ll be ok. What¡¯s your name anyway?

    (???) Oh, the name¡¯s Miles. Miles Brown.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Lazaros) Well, looks like he wants a second round with you.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Taking a few steps back, Lazaros placed his left hand into his right sleeve, having his sleeves covering both ends of his arms. By just seeing the way Jason readied his stance, Gwen turned her entire body to face his direction, her hands still enclosed into fists that didn¡¯t let a single air sweep through them.

    (Gwen) Once I deal with him ¡­ you¡¯re next.

    (Lazaros) Oh, don¡¯t worry. If he doesn¡¯t kill you, then I will.

    Having her body in a lunging position, she readied her body as her feet were glued to the benevolent stone ground beneath her.

    She kicked her right heel off of the stone ground, disappearing like an ant in the wind.

    His eyes not able to perceive her speed, Jason put both of his forearms out in front of him, having them together to protect his face. By just protecting his face, the blackened flames that caressed his gray hoodie sleeves soon balled up to cover his entire body, the flames spreading outward until they came crashing down on him.

    But this wasn¡¯t his way of attacking himself, but rather a way to defend himself.

    Once the flames leaped downward onto him, they molded themselves into a large black and ghostly ball, prisoning Jason like a blanket.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) Hope this doesn¡¯t break.

    The light couldn¡¯t escape nor enter inside the blackened flame ball, putting Jason¡¯s sense of smell into overdrive as his sense of sight was withdrawn. Slumping down onto the pitch-black flame floor where he found comfort, he let out a soft chuckle from his mouth.

    (Jason) Too easy¡ª

    But the light was bestowed upon him again, causing him to press his palms onto his eyes.

    Soon after, the dimming heat that smoldered his gray jacket and pale skin ceased as he felt his butt slam on the stone floor.

    With his shield ball gone, Jason crawled backward. He mustered out a low groan.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) Damn it! Is her power a counter against mine!?

    Jason spread both of his hands outward, his palms facing the direction of the brightening freckled woman.

    The flames soon returned to smoldering from his wrists to his shoulders, it wasn¡¯t long before the blackened flames spread outward. Creating a circle with his power, the flames soon started to mold and transform quickly as the black humanoid creatures sprouted out from just the air alone.

    (Jason¡¯s thoughts) This is my trump card¡­

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s more?!

    Her left eye twitching, she saw the group of black humanoid creatures being resembled from the feet up. Bending the law of physics, imaginary black air was being cultivated by the power of Jasons¡¯ hands alone, culminating his vast army that caused Gwen of all people to gulp.

    Ten, twenty, thirty¡­

    Her body still radiating her imminent light, it flickered for a split second as more than a hundred of them emerged like gas.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) That¡¯s gotta be 100 of these suckers. I need to wrap this up now.

    All of their forms brushing the contents of the stone floor beneath their ghostly bare feet, Jason opened his eyes as he squinted against the blinding light in front of him. Having his finger barely pointing at Gwen, all of his creatures looked at the command that they were given, their all-white eyes staring into the abyss or to the soul.

    (Jason) Kill her.

    A bright light emerged from on top of Jason directly.

    He dug his knuckles inside his eyelids. Putting down his hands to his sides, his breath soon hitched inside of his own throat, his nostrils flaring up from the sudden gush of air that he forced his body to take in.

    As he saw Gwen high in the air, her body was still in motion as she reached the climax of her height.

    (Gwen) There¡¯s no escape¡­

    Putting both of her hands down toward the unguarded Jason, he then cleared his throat as he pushed his entire strength onto the muscles of his neck. Spreading his feet apart from one another, he had his palms opened up followed by his face wrinkling up from the light that bestowed on him.

    Followed by his trembling finger pointed toward the woman who was soon falling onto him.

    (Jason) ATTACK!!

    In an industrial-like fashion, the horde of ghostly black creatures soon piled on top of one another. With their bodies mingling, the dim blackened flames that sprouted out from their skin and bodies soon burned evermore. As long as their bodies were connected¡­

    They could let the rest of their comrades climb on top of one another.

    Seeing the cruel way that the horde was trying to reach her, Gwen placed both of her hands outward so that her palms were facing the horde. The glowing light forming on the ends of her palms, she straightened her body so that the horde were all lined up in one area.

    And fortunately for her, her traveling speed of hitting the ground floor was soon upon her.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) You will never take me out that easily.

    Blinding light poured out of both ends of her palms, the light reaching down onto the cursed black shadows that made its hellish ghost bridge.

    Upon being hit with the blinding light, all the rest of the black creatures soon let out a vocal tearing shriek that came from the soul, a one-second scream that sounded as if a baby was on the verge of death. Soon after, every single black ghostly creature that was in the vicinity of the attack faded away like blossoms in the late spring.

    With his entire army of ghostly creatures gone, the only thing that he mustered up was a slight moan.

    (Jason) ¡­ uh¡­

    He soon scraped his knees against the cement, his legs giving out from the amount of strain that his body was already in. Since using blessings or curses requires a lot of stamina, one must push oneself to the very limits for survival.

    But Jason didn¡¯t let that thought sink in, as his eyes soon began to roll onto the back of his head.

    His vision blurred again just the same as last time, and his back soon slammed onto the harsh cold stone that welcomed him in, his hoodie not even willing to protect his bones and skin. His mouth agape, he couldn¡¯t let the air from before set into his pink lungs, creating rasping groans from his trembling vocals.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) This time ¡­ I¡¯ll finish him¡­

    Like a bullet in the wind, Gwen sped through the air like clockwork, her body already reaching where Jason was currently injured. Having her right leg having enough speed and momentum to mimic a metal guillotine, she aimed her sights right where his neck was, the air around her burning up as she then made contact with¡ª

    A hand grabbed the tip of her heel.

    (Lazaros) Hey, aren¡¯t you supposed to be the good guys here?

    Gwen widened her glowing eyes as she saw the only person who could block a simple burning kick.

    Her body remained still in the air, her breath quickened as the glowing light from her body soon began to flicker. Controlling her breathing, she soon brought the same brightness back to her own body.

    (Gwen) What?

    (Lazaros) Where¡¯s that joyous personality of yours? Don¡¯t tell me you ditched it just for this fight alone.

    Putting down his right hand that grabbed the helm of her heel, Gwen then pulled back her right leg. Having both of her feet down on the ground, she laid her hands right by her sides as well as letting her entire body feel as if she was doing a marathon.

    Taking a step back from the nonchalant Lazaros, she straightened her back to appear taller than him.

    (Gwen) Only just for you ¡­

    (Lazaros) Hmm ¡­ I suppose you could take the news well, correct? I mean, you did want to know what happened to that spiky-haired elf.

    Placing his right hand onto his chiseled and clean-shaven face, he rubbed his cheekbone back and forth along where the bone sprouted out. By having his fingers relax under the partially wrinkled skin, he had his left hand down to the ground as his knuckles felt the cold air brushing against his porcelain skin.

    As for Gwen, the light from her body soon radiated more as she took a right step forward. Her body and soul juggling with the emotions of both nervousness and anger, she clenched her stomach as well as perked her ears up at the same time.

    (Lazaros) Well ¡­ Jason did end up fighting him in a 1v1, but that Jerry fellow was too weak to even swing a sword. Jason didn¡¯t kill him, hehe, only just beat the living lights out of him.

    (Gwen) ¡­ Did you kill him¡­?

    Drool started to pour out from the corners of her mouth, her body clenching up like a rabid dog that found its meek prey.

    Her body was on the verge of erupting in a ball of light that could rival the sun, her flickering glow ever increased as she spoke with him.

    Lazaros however didn¡¯t beat around the bush, as he curled up the crevices of his lips up to the height of both of his ears.

    (Lazaros) His girlfriend did. She¡¯s the one that you¡¯re all trying to defeat right now. Small world, right?

    A deafening silence took hold of the stone room that they both were in.

    Not even a tap of water or a movement of a muscle was enough to break it.

    Her body remained still, her body soon dimmed as if a star was in the middle of its cycle. With her entire body not even able to push herself forward, the only thing that she could do was pucker up her lips.

    (Lazaros) If you want proof, here¡¯s his sword.

    Using his right hand, he pulled out a sword that was tucked away inside of his right hip. Having his fingers wrapping the grip of the sword, he then threw it down onto the cold cement ground, dismay of disrespect that puckered up Gwen¡¯s lips even more.

    Looking down to the floor, she saw the engravings of the sword latched onto its metal, two words that were carved by none other than Jerry himself.

    (Gwen) ¡­

    (Lazaros) No hard feelings. It¡¯s ok if you want to scream or¡ª

    A glowing fist thrust upon his chiseled right cheekbone.

    Almost having his right hand catch the thrusting hand, he didn¡¯t even have enough time to prepare for the catch. The crevices of his eyes widened in slow motion, the burning light that caressed the left cheekbone of his old wrinkled face¡­

    Sent him flying through the air at breakneck speed.

    As for the girl who thrust her fist at the old man, she sharpened her glaring eyes. Her body radiated a yellow-reddish color, the change of it flickered intensely as she steadied herself on the stone floor that blistered her feet.

    (Gwen) Die¡­

    In an instant, the entire building around them dented the pillars that held the underground electrical room, as¡­

    The fight between the two strongest forces commenced.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 114: Gwen Keegan

    (Hallowmonath 25, 55 / 6:55PM)

    Several years ago.

    An old broken door soon collapsed onto the wooden floorboards below.

    Soon after, light let in the old and stale air that was trapped within the contents of the messy farmhouse, the smell of gasoline and dirt escaping from out of the door.

    Two soldiers took in the smell of the little farmhouse that both saw within their own eyes, followed by both of their arms wielding military-grade weapons.

    One was a tall freckled woman, while the other was a shark-human with a large blue nose.

    (Gwen) Reminds me of my childhood. Well, replace gasoline with beer.

    Benn placed both of his hands onto his knees as he started to cough and gag out loud, causing Gwen to furrowed her brow..

    (Gwen) Come on, even the smell of gasoline is enough to turn you into a mess¡­

    (Benn) Any smell that¡¯s strong ¡­ is sensitive to my nose.

    (Gwen) sighs ¡­

    Pushing her feet forward into the darkened room inside, she noticed the creaking floorboards beneath her feet. Seeming to make the wood scream out with every step, her frown was replaced by a smile as she turned her body toward Benn.

    As for Benn, he had his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, before pounding his chest with his right hand two times to allow the unneeded contents to go back to where it came from.

    (Gwen) You know, these old wooden floors are pretty cool.

    (Benn) Try ¡­ not to do anything here. We¡¯re here ¡­ for a search mission.

    (Gwen) Come on, loosen up a bit. I don¡¯t know what they want to search for, and even the Sergeant wouldn¡¯t tell us what we¡¯re searching for¡­

    Gwen started to gently jump and down on the wooden floorboards, the wood holding her shrieking loudly. Giggling softly at the screams of the wood, she had her face pinned toward the shark-human that didn¡¯t even set foot on the unstable wood.

    Despite the smell continuing to bother him, Benn still maintained his sharp frown.

    (Benn) Stop doing that.

    (Gwen) Then make me¡ª

    The floor beneath her snapped in two.

    Unlike in cartoons, Gwen didn¡¯t stay in the air for a few seconds. Because of their planet having gravity, it pulled Gwen down deep inside where she last stood. Free falling for several seconds, her eyes couldn¡¯t tell if she was falling or not as the motion of the fall blurred the lines between imagination and reality.

    Eventually, a loud crack was made from the bottom of the hole.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) What ¡­ What happened?

    Unable to turn her head, she laid the back of her head on the cold hard covered ground, her eyes looking up at the light that didn¡¯t shine through the hole.

    Clamping both of her palms onto the cold ground, she slowly tried to push her body upward, trying to gesture her legs and feet to¡ª

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Wait ¡­ why can¡¯t I move my legs?

    Having her butt on the cold floor, she had her body in a sitting position where her hands and arms did all the heavy work. Drunkenly placing her right hand under her knee, she tried to make it move but for some strange reason, she couldn¡¯t trace any sense of feeling within her legs.

    (Benn) Damn it, Gwen! You should have been careful.

    With her eyes widening as she looked up at the hole from above, she noticed Benn looking down in shock.

    (Gwen) H-Help! My legs! I can¡¯t move my legs!

    (Benn) Don¡¯t move! I¡¯ll get help!

    Leaving the edge of the newly broken hole, Gwen saw the last of the shark-human now that she was all alone.

    Tears welled up in her eyes, her nose sniffling with the scent of body odor roaming the hole, Gwen bit down her lower lip with her front teeth. As a trickle of blood spurted out from the bitten area, Gwen frantically looked around the darkened hole that she was trapped in, the darkness surrounding her.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Not the dark ¡­ I don¡¯t like the dark ¡­

    But a shining light appeared in a little corner of the hole.

    Remaining still, Gwen stared right into the blinking light that got the attention of her slanted eyes. Her body leaning toward the yellow light that dimly shone in the darkness, she soon crawled with just only her hands and arms.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Why is there a light here?

    Sweat trickled down from both her temples, her hands soon started to form blistering calluses that were caused by the dragging of hardened stone. The cuts on her hand soon burned up her palms, her lower body couldn¡¯t even take in the pain that was endured on her legs.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    By reaching the blinking light, she noticed that it was nothing more than just a simple glowing crystal.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) And why a crystal of all things?

    Having her left hand hold up her body, she extended her right hand toward the blinking substance that intrigued her curiosity. As her fingers barely touched the ends of the crystal, the glowing light¡ª

    She was now in a world filled with sand etched across the horizon.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (???) Are you ok?

    Only sand was seen throughout every corner and cranny of what she laid eyes on.

    The desert glaciers that stood stall amid the burning heat flew away the sand that flowed throughout the ever-growing concept of time itself. Gwen¡¯s jaw dropped wide open as her eyes widened. Since her legs were still paralyzed from the fall earlier, she had both of her hands placed on the burning sand that enveloped her wrists.

    Her throat quivered. She puckered her lips, stiffening from what she saw right in front of her.

    (Gwen) W-What was I ¡­ what ¡­ where ¡­

    (???) I know you have a lot of questions. People act like this during their first time here.

    In front of her own eyes, was a man clad in all black.

    He looked to be old, old enough to be in his 50s or 60s with tattered clothes. His body was not even facing Gwen, and he had both of his hands inside of his pants pockets.

    He tilted his head down.

    (???) You touched the crystal, yes? Do you have it with you?

    Gwen looked down to where her right hand was. Ignoring the pain from the burning sand, she pulled it out quickly.

    Noticing that the crystal disappeared, tears began to well up inside of her eyes.

    (Gwen) I ¡­ I don¡¯t¡ª

    (???) Don¡¯t worry, the only thing that you could¡¯ve brought was yourself, your soul, and clothes. Everything else would¡¯ve stayed in your world.

    Gwen shut her eyes as the hot wind blew straight across her face.

    (Gwen) How can you deal with this heat? How are you still alive in this dump?

    (???) You have no idea¡­

    Gwen opened her eyes a crack to see the old man. She caught a glimpse of his thin gray hair that barely touched the ends of his neck. His wrinkles and face were hidden with hair covering the sides of his face.

    The old man tilted his head upward as he continued to look into the sandy glaciers in front of him.

    (Gwen) Why did you take me here? Just who are you? And what do you want from me?

    (???) I¡¯ll answer all of those questions, but on one condition.

    The old man continued to have both of his hands inside his pockets, his fingers mingling with the tiny open holes that were the same length as his fingernails. He let out a sigh as his body slouched forward while the blowing sand continued to pelt his clothes.

    (???) If you promise to reflect on your past, you will know everything about the upcoming future, but at a later date.

    Gwen squinted, trying to get a glimpse of the man¡¯s face, but even the sight of the sandy landscape was hard to see. She cleared her parched throat.

    (Gwen) E-Everything? What is this about?

    (???) Me and you were both chosen, followed by many others¡­

    In his right hand, he grasped a metal-like object that caressed the linings of his palms and wrinkled skin.

    Showcasing the metal to the outer right side of his body, Gwen took in the sight as her body leaned forward at the shining object. Her hands trembling under the weight of her chest and head, her elbows creaked under the colliding joints and bones.

    (???) Here.

    He then tossed the black device with a backward throw, the metal slowly traversing in the zero-humidity air. Landing right in front of her, Gwen stared into the contents of the metal as she hovered her face with a widened stare.

    (???) It¡¯ll only showcase your turning points as toward the woman you are now.

    Extending her right hand onto the top of the device, which emitted a low frequency sound. Her breath drew shorter and shorter, her body completely forgot that she was newly paralyzed, leading to her falling on the burning sand with her chest slamming first.

    But just as she made contact with the sand, her fingers grazed the top of the metal device.

    The sounds of the glistening stopping, the world she saw right in front of her¡­

    Vanished.

    As if she was sucked into nothing, not even total darkness was enough to describe what lay beyond that vanishment. Feeling as if her soul was projected out of her body, her senses all seemed to be forgotten and misled, leading to her feeling as if she was nothing at all.

    Since nothing is nothing, and nothing can be described as nothing, then nothing is not necessarily nothing.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Ostermonath 17, 49 / 6:12PM)

    A man¡¯s cries deafened the silenced room.

    Burrowing his face inside the poorly washed bed sheets, his wails and sorrow continued to wash away the cloth.

    A little girl peeked through the opening of an old wooden door, her face botched with huge freckles.

    (???¡¯s thoughts) Daddy¡­

    (???) Angie¡­

    The little girl only saw the back of his head as his crying started to slow. Gripping the edge of the bed sheets with his curled fingers, his whole body shook in a trembling frenzy.

    (???) Damn it all ¡­ why her ¡­

    The girl was about to reach her hand out, to comfort her father, but in less than a second, the man stood up, shaking the wooden floorboards beneath his feet.

    She had no time to flinch before the wooden door swung open.

    (???) Ow!

    Putting both of her hands onto her forehead, small tears lit up the corners of her eyes followed by loud sniffles assaulting her nostrils.

    She then saw her father continuing to walk toward the kitchen, not caring in the slightest for her wellbeing.

    Tracing her steps along the old wooden floorboards, she walked through the old but well-maintained hallway filled with pictures and photos that were hung up on the walls. Ignoring the family photos they used to be past, the little girl continued to walk on the creaking floor until she reached the kitchen.

    (???) Daddy¡­

    Peeking her head out from the corner, her father in front of her rummaged through the fridge with both of his bare hands. Whatever leftovers that he stacked inside of the fridge, rolled in the back of him as it accumulated dust and grime from the floor.

    Stopping for one single second, his eyes caught the whiff of a bottle in the back of the fridge, causing him to moisten his lips with his pink tongue.

    Thrusting his right hand into the back of the metal fridge, his fingers grasped the beverage that could soothe any pain¡­

    (???¡¯s thoughts) For Angie¡­

    The bottle already opened up, and the man placed his lips onto the brown liquor bottle that awaited his tongue.

    Swirling his tongue, the sticky beverage tingled and nourished the contents of his teeth and gums, his already yellow teeth turning more brittle by the second. Followed by the way his feet were glued to the ground, he straightened himself as he angled his head 180 degrees up.

    With the liquor continuing to caress his tongue, he forced the contents of the bottle to deepen down toward his throat.

    (???) D-Daddy¡­

    She placed both of her hands onto the wooden edge of the wall, splinters already forming along her smooth and porcelain-like palms.

    Tears continuing to well up from within the crevices of her slanted eyes, she witnessed the climax of his long kiss with the liquor bottle at hand as he finally pulled the bottle out of his mouth. Slouching forward, he gripped the brown bottle with just his right hand alone, his fingers loosening the glass that soon started to behave under the contents of gravity.

    (???) That hit the spot¡­

    The strain of the alcohol content he drank with one swoop soon hit him like a freight train. Collapsing onto the wooden ground, his back hit the old floor creating a loud thump that rocked the entire kitchen room.

    Laying on the ground with breath that could drunken a beast-human, the man spread out his arms and legs as he looked up toward the old wooden ceiling above him.

    (???) W-What was I going to do again¡­? W-Was I supposed to feed G-Gwen dinner¡ª

    Failing to undergo his thought, the man soon closed his eyes as the alcohol claimed victory over him.

    And right in front of him, was a little girl that widened her eyes from the spectacle at hand, her hands curled up into hardened fists.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 115: Culmination of The Cosmos

    (Luyen 3, 52 / 4:32PM)

    Six years later¡­

    A barrage of objects can be heard against the wooden walls of the place they called home.

    Inside a small wooden room, many books and papers that were drawn with homemade pencils were scattered across the old creaky ground. The curtains of the room not letting any light bestow upon the dirt-filled papers, made as if the room itself was detached from the rest of the world.

    (???) Make it stop¡­

    Snuggled under the blankets and bedsheets that tucked him inside like a small baby, the sounds coming from outside of the door continued to raid against his ears. Both of his palms shut the evil noise from entering in, the boy with dark brown hair and light freckles tightened his hold on his ears.

    As he stared down at the bed sheets that restricted light from entering.

    (???) Mommy¡­

    Rocking back and forth, he tucked his elbows into the space of his armpits, his body heat creating a little batched oven that drenched his entire body in sweat.

    His breathing fastened, his heartbeat pounding. He waited for the touch of a motherly figure, a touch he wasn¡¯t familiar with ever since he was merely a baby.

    (???) Gwen¡­

    Clenching his eyes shut, the room that was disconnected from the outside world soon became reality as his vision turned from imminent darkness to imminent nothingness.

    His mind filled with thoughts, he clenched the ends of his teeth as his cavity-filled molars soon started to chip from the pressure.

    (???) I don¡¯t want to¡ª

    The sounds of the hellish fighting soon ceased.

    Several seconds later, the door to his room swung.

    His body froze up as if he were ice, his arms and legs that helped cradle him like a baby ball stopped. Not letting a breath draw out from his button nose nostrils, the boy puckered his lips into his mouth as he used his teeth to pin them down.

    (???) I don¡¯t want to be hit¡­

    Not able to hear the incoming footsteps drawing closer, he did however feel the blankets above him soon gave way. Emerging out of the darkness that he enclosed himself in, he opened his eyes as he still had both of his hands covering his ears.

    He then turned his head slowly, as well as letting his palms free from the grip that he contained on his ears. Upon seeing the face in front of him¡ª

    His voice couldn¡¯t even let out a few simple words as his vocals rebelled against him.

    (???) It¡¯s ok.

    A feminine voice rocked against the little eardrums that he was born with.

    Arching his body upward, the crevices of his eyes started to build up water that wanted to emerge like a flowing river. Seeing that the tween girl had many freckles on her face, her long hair braided to a ponytail, the only person in the world that could have those features was none other than¡­

    (???) Gwen!

    The boy¡¯s eyes traversed through the many botched wounds that were seen all around the girl¡¯s face and body.

    Both her eyes and cheeks had a purple glow to them, along with blood trickling down from the right corner of her lips. Cuts and rips riddling through her plain white overalls that were stained with week-old mud and dirt, the boy also noticed that both her hands were reddened with blistering calluses that seemed as if she was hitting something.

    (???) D-Did¡ª

    (Gwen) Shhh. Dad¡¯s still in a bad mood. Try not to disturb him, okay?

    (???) But Gwen¡ª

    Gwen then wrapped both of her arms around the boy¡¯s neck, drawing his body toward hers.

    Having his head placed right alongside her chest, his ears trickled from the pounding heartbeat that molested his ears. Pushing up his face, the boy gently wrapped his arms across her lower waist, his fingers digging into the fabric of her clothing.

    Instead of pushing out words, he soon pushed out tears that rolled down from all angles of his eyes.

    (Gwen) Hey, I said quiet down. I¡¯m here, ain¡¯t I, Maverick?

    In the room that didn¡¯t let light draw in, she continued to hold his head toward her chest. Placing her chin onto the top of his head, a small sniffle came out.

    As she gently wept, tears raced down her cheeks.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Why didn¡¯t Dad believe me¡­

    Wetting her brother¡¯s oily hair with her tears, she stared into the darkening curtains that blocked the light from entering in. Grinding the tops of all her teeth, bits of teeth were soon chipped away as her cavity-filled teeth shrieked with pain.

    While sharpening her bloodshot eyes.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I was touched by his best friend and he took his side¡­

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Octavian 12, 52 / 10:30PM)

    Outside of the old wooden house where the two freckled kids lived was a vast field filled with sunflowers.

    During the day, the meadow of that sunflower field brightened the area around the old wooden house that was smack dabbled into the middle of nowhere. And during the night, the meadow would become a cesspool of darkness that even the moonlight wouldn¡¯t break through.

    And inside of the sunflower fields that stretched the many acres that surround the old wooden house, was the rustling of two animals in the dead of night¡ªno, not animals but rather¡­

    (Maverick) Where are we going?

    (Gwen) Anywhere but there!

    The clouds above darkened the night sky, Gwen looked up toward the melancholic sky with a pleaful face.

    Gripping her brother¡¯s wrist, her fingernails latched onto the white overalls of her brother¡¯s fabric, making a slight tear on the old cloth. Not that it mattered, she continued to thrust her old torn shoes off of the fertile dirt, as the many holes on the bottom of her soles let in the abundance of soil getting in.

    Meanwhile, Maverick looked behind toward the old wooden house that they could barely see with the naked eye.

    (Maverick) B-But Daddy¡¯s going to beat us if we¡ª

    (Gwen) I¡¯ll just take your beating too! That¡¯s what I always did!

    (Maverick) But I don¡¯t want Daddy to beat you!

    Dirt and bugs latching onto their freckled faces, the darkness of the night continued to swallow them up. Her breath both hardened and fastened, Gwen opened her mouth as the dirt and bugs from earlier soon got inside of her cavity-filled mouth.

    Unable to let alone swallow the small spiders and muddied dirt that intertwined inside of her mouth, Gwen closed her eyes, the scenario from earlier playing like a film.

    (Gwen''s Dad¡¯s Friend in Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Your daddy doesn¡¯t give two shits about you, so how about I treat you good¡­

    If the cold night didn¡¯t shiver her, the evilness that she heard from that disgusting beer-filled mouth did. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Swaying her head repeatedly, the coldness of the darkened night soon started to turn her button nose red, along with the joints of her hands slowing down. Tasting the unusually cold summer air, her mouth soon closed up as if her tongue was shivering from the dreaded temperature.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t ¡­ I don¡¯t¡­

    Being in front of Maverick, she didn¡¯t let a single flower smack upon Maverick¡¯s smooth and chubby face, with not even a speck of dirt traced on his nose or forehead. As the relentless assault of the sunflowers that she pushed through continued to redden her face from the hard stems, the ever-growing darkness continued to consume her.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I don¡¯t like the dark¡­

    Her right foot fell behind it causing her body to launch forward, leading to her chin slamming into the soft soil that cushioned her skin.

    Since she still had her right hand gripping Maverick, she also dragged him down along with herself, leading to him falling right next to her. As both brother and sister were lying motionless on the cold soil that got inside their clothes, they didn¡¯t even budge their feet or legs to stand them back up.

    (Gwen) You okay?

    (Maverick) I think I¡¯m bleeding.

    (Gwen) It¡¯s ok, I¡¯ll give you a bandaid later.

    Having her palms grasping the soil that soothed her unclean hands, she lifted her face toward the sky that was darkened from the clouds above.

    And in that instant, as if divine intervention appeared right in front of her, the darkened clouds that blocked the night sky¡­

    Started to clear off.

    Setting her butt down on the soil, she had both of her palms digging into the soil that she was well familiar with, as the boy right next to her did the same thing. With both of them seeing the clouds part away, the sky was a beacon of hope for both of them soon delivered its divine message.

    By giving both a sky filled with millions of stars, far etched across the culmination of the cosmos.

    (Gwen) Wow¡­

    The zero-light-polluted sky rained down on the two kids who looked up toward the beacon of hope that they long awaited.

    Their eyes twinkled like the stars in the night sky, their irises glued to the pearly whites like gum on a poverty-ridden sidewalk. Unable to even decipher or name a single star in the night sky, both of them opened their mouths agape at the light show that they both yearned for.

    Both were always lower than dirt, living in a house that reeked with the smell of beer and mold. But right in front of them, they saw what lay beyond just the dirt and the mud of their white-trash life.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Stars¡­

    She forgot the coldness of the air around her, she forgot about the bruises and scars that she accumulated throughout the past six years.

    She forgot what it felt like to see the stars with a loving mother and father.

    Her left hand being held, she continued to glue her slanted eyes onto the cosmic constellations and galaxies as Maverick¡¯s right hand gripped hers. As if his whole consciousness was pulled onto the bright sky, he slowly stood up and he remained his head up at the ever-glowing night sky.

    While letting go of his right hand.

    (Maverick) Gwen¡­

    Being brought back to reality, she turned her head toward her brother¡¯s meek voice. Her body still sitting down on the cold soil that started to freeze up her bottom, and her sparkling eyes continued to hold the image of the night sky.

    (Maverick) How about we play a game of tag?

    Slowly bringing herself up, she soon towered him with her above-average height. By turning her face and body toward her little brother, both of them were face to face with one another, both of their eyes glittering like the night sky above.

    Still starstruck, she let out a warm cheerful smile. Putting her right hand forward, she stuck out her thumb upward, closing her left eye as she tilted her head to the right.

    While the chilling wind blew from the north.

    (Gwen) Sure. This time I¡¯ll beat you for sure.

    (Maverick) Hehe, then catch me if you can!

    Sprinting away into the sunflower meadow that was lit up by the glowing night sky, both brother and sister spent the rest of the night running and sleeping in the bristling meadow.

    Forgetting the dark humid home that both were obliged to stay in, both for once in their life, spend a night in a place where the wind howled instead of the smell of beer.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Reverence 27, 55 / 3:02PM)

    Several years later.

    (Random Soldier#1) Hey, porky! Can¡¯t you just slow down on your food for once!?

    (Random Soldier #2) And use napkins and utensils once in your life! What are you five!?

    (???) Hm?

    Talk and noise boomed the building where a freckled woman ate.

    Many soldiers sat down in their assigned seats, many of them eating and talking with food in their mouths and a fork or spoon in their right or left hands.

    But right in the corner of the cafeteria where the regiment ate, was a woman with freckles eating with nothing but her bare hands.

    Lifting her face, her mouth was covered in bits of watery mashed potatoes and crackers, crumbs being misplaced everywhere from her plate, table, lap, floor, and even her hair. Along with her fingers endorsed in her plate, she remained on the lukewarm food as her fingernails had many bits of food inside of them.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m just eating normally¡­

    (Random Soldier #1) Normally?! Were you raised in a barn?!

    (Gwen) No, I was raised in an old wooden shack.

    (Random Soldier #1) That¡¯s not the point!

    (Gwen) Oh ¡­ I get it now.

    Her hand still nestled on the plate filled with mashed potatoes and gravy, she curled up her hand so that mushy pasted food was gripped in her hand.

    Standing up straight, she made eye contact with the soldier who raised his voice, an elf with dark spiky hair and a tan complexion. Seeing both of his brown irises, she then extended her right hand forward, opening her palm in front of her as the mushy food in her hand was in full display.

    (Gwen) Sorry to break it to you Jerry, but I like these mashed potatoes. I¡¯m not sharing my food you hear?

    (Jerry) I wasn¡¯t even interested in the mashed potatoes in the first place!

    (Random Soldier #2) Relax Jerry. She was raised deep in the Prairie fields, so she¡¯s a little off in terms of cognitive abilities.

    (Gwen) What does that mean?

    (Random Soldier #2) It means you¡¯re dumb.

    (Gwen) W-What!

    Gawking her mouth wide open, Gwen slammed the food that she held with her right hand onto the metal plate on the table. The food splattering onto her uniform as well as onto the clean tables that supported her tray, her moistened hand became sticky as she curled it up into a tightening fist.

    Her cheeks flushed with red, she took a step back from the soldier who had dog fur, his nuzzle being the unique part about his face.

    (Gwen) I-I¡¯m not dumb! You¡¯re being mean!

    (Random Soldier #2) Just an observation. Think about it, you can¡¯t eat right, you charge headfirst into pretty much anything, and you snore loudly.

    (Gwen) Snoring is normal!

    (Jerry) But not that loud¡­

    The two male soldiers placed their metal trays onto the table in front of them, sitting themselves down as they looked away from the flustered Gwen.

    Bringing out their utensils, they soon gently ate their food in peace, not caring to look up at the steaming Gwen who curled up her right fist even more. Gritting the ends of her molars that were recovering from the thickened cavities from her childhood, she continued to glare at them.

    While also puffing out her cheeks.

    (Gwen) You guys are jerks! Bullies! Say you¡¯re sorry!

    (Jerry) We¡¯re not meanies. We¡¯re just being real.

    (Random Soldier #2) Yeah, what Jerry said.

    (Speaker) Gwen Keegan. Gwen Keegan. Please report to the colonel''s office immediately.

    All the soldiers that were chatting and eating soon stopped to look up toward the metal speaker in the far corner of the cafeteria.

    Giving the speaker their full and undivided attention, Jerry and the dog-human glanced at Gwen who put on a furrowed brow. Noticing that many of the soldiers in the cafeteria were all staring at her, she put both of her hands down to her sides.

    With her left hand, she scratched the little bit of dry skin that was latched on her right cheek, her fingernails scabbing away the piece of skin.

    (Gwen) Hah! See ya you jerks!

    Several minutes later.

    A wooden door swung open, leading to a tall woman entering inside of a warm and damp room.

    The room was filled with luxurious wine and beer that were hacked on shelves, as well as smoke traversing through every bit of space and air that it saw fit. With smoke jamming itself into her darkened pink lungs, she let out a quiet cough.

    But upon noticing a man sitting down on a chair, she straightened her back, her body tightening under the aura that the medals gave way. Her boots glued to the wooden floor beneath her, she put her right hand onto the crest of her right eyebrow, delivering a salute that bestowed the respect that she needed to give.

    (Gwen) Sir.

    (Colonel) At ease, private. I called you in because someone sent you a letter.

    Having a cigar in his mouth, smoke piled out of the little wooden stick that continued to spread its deadly air.

    His back slouched on the black chair that he sat upon, he had both of his right fingers softly gripping the cigar as he had his left hand down into a drawer. While making eye contact with the woman, the man clad in decorative medals pulled out a piece of paper from the innards of his desk.

    (Colonel) Here you go private.

    Throwing the paper in front of him, it landed on the edge of the desk that was riddled with paperwork and military-grade maps. Continuing to slouch in his seat, he tilted his hat as the rays of light didn¡¯t let his face be shown to the soldier in front of him.

    Letting her body loose, Gwen snatched the paper and opened it with both of her long-nailed fingers, digging into the paper with each tear. Bits of ripped paper littered the floor and around her feet, the front of the paper opened up as it safely landed on the palm of her slightly forming calloused hands.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I wonder who mailed me? If it¡¯s a love letter, then I hope it¡¯s from James Heefeed from Metallic. If not, then why bother¡ª

    ¡°To Gwen Keegan.

    Unfortunately, your father was found dead in his home at around early noon. He was reportedly stabbed with a long double-edged kitchen knife that he owned. We could only conclude that your brother might be the one who murdered your father, as his whereabouts are unknown. I hope this message doesn¡¯t inflict any harm upon your well-being physically or mentally.

    Yours Truly¡­

    Maverick Keegan.¡±

    Time felt as if itself had stopped.

    Upon finishing the last sentence of the note that she read, she without delay slammed her back against the stone wall, causing the wine bottles to shake violently upon impact.

    Her hands felt as if sharp needles blocked the entrance to her blood veins, along her feet felt as if they were on top of lukewarm lava.

    Her chest heaved up and down to the sound of her rapidly beating heart, as if it wanted to burst open from the ultimatum, her head started to turn light from the air that clogged her brain.

    And finally, her eyes soon trickled down cold tears that streamed out from the crevices of her eyes.

    (Gwen) No¡­ no, no, no, no, no, no, no¡ª

    Pulling the cigar out of his mouth, the colonel pushed his face down as the smoke from inside the room soon ceased to pollute the yellow-tinted windows.

    Her knees buckled against the overreaching of emotions that bundled inside of her, her kneecaps soon dented the wood that was beneath her. With the snap of a finger, all of her emotions that made her body turn into a trembling madwoman were all conjoined¡­

    Into a pain-jerking cry.

    A cry that was long overdue from the moment that her father changed.

    The moment when her father chose friends over family.

    And the moment where she experienced true evilness in full display.

    Bringing the note close to her chest, she looked up toward the ceiling that was nestled with smoke. Her legs giving out, and her cheeks were stained with the tears that were bottled up from inside her sensitive heart.

    Her vocals clashing with the different octaves that swindled a ballad of sorrow, she placed her knees close toward her chest and stomach, curdling them up to make herself look like a ball.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I would''ve ¡­ I could¡¯ve saved you!

    Drool stumbled outward from the depths of her mouth, dripping onto her black leather boots that were smeared with dirt and mud. With her freckles being tainted by the salted tears that stung her cheeks, she ignored the pain as she continued to look up to the heavens from the blocked air above.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) If I ¡­ If I just had more money¡­

 Arc 1 - Chapter 116: Promise Us Youll Bring Us To Paradise

    (Reverence 28, 55 / 3:33AM)

    She stood in front of the empty highway that glistened in the foggy night sky.

    She couldn¡¯t hear the pleasant noises of the trees swaying, or the loud music that blasted through the old houses from afar.

    The only thing that she could hear were the noises that dampened the inside of her head.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I did ¡­

    In her right hand, she held the very paper that changed the entire course of her life, her fingers gripping the note that wrinkled under the pressure. On her left hand, she held a butter knife that was caressed with the smear of blood, the warm liquid trickling the dry sidewalk beneath her feet.

    And on both of her sleeves, more blood dripped onto her palms, her wrists cut open to let the foggy air inside her bloodstream.

    (Gwen¡¯s thought¡¯s) I did everything I could ¡­

    Putting both the note and the little butterknife inside of her pockets, she let her eyes caress the smoldering asphalt beneath the bridge that she set foot on.

    Walking forward, the boots mingled the sidewalk pavement, clamping the night air. Continuing to watch the black asphalt being rolled over by the many cars driving onto it, it only caused her body to lean ever forward toward the rest of her family¡­

    Her darkened irises underneath her hoodie reflected the fake light that emitted from a few cars that drove.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s nothing left for me¡­

    Standing in front of the railing that was blocking her destination, she pulled out both of her hands from her pockets, placing them onto the cold metal railing that enveloped her calloused hands.

    Taking a big breath in, she let out the excessive air from her darkened pink lungs, all the alcohol air and cigarette smoke from that old and molded wooden house starting to get to her. Letting out a few rasping coughs from her throat and lungs, bits of saliva spewed out of her, with some saliva being tainted with a hint of yellow.

    Her arms trembling, her legs wobbling, the poundings that dwelled within her soul were brought to cataclysmic levels.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Mother ¡­ Maverick ¡­

    Lifting her face upward, she looked at the hidden stars that were blocked by the darkened mist, her beacon of hope fading away into the cosmic abyss.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m going home¡­

    Slowly, she put her entire body weight on the railing that blocked her destination.

    By having her left foot on the edge of the railing, she then placed her right foot just about next to it. With her entire body on the other side of the rails, she held the metal with both of her hands as if her life depended on it.

    Despite her body leaning forward.

    Facing the highway with cold darkened eyes, she closed them as her vision dampened with just the picture of nothing. As her heels were moved back and forth upon the stone cement, she let out a small breath of air from her lungs, as she¡ª

    (???) The world can be a horrible place.

    Behind her, the voice of a low-pitched man can be heard.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Her soul and mind were then brought back to the present time.

    But not just to her original world, but a world where the origin of time itself was nonexistent. Just beyond the edges of the horizons, were nothing but sand, sand, and an exquisite abundance of more sand.

    Her body was drenched in an abundance of hot sweat, her bodily liquids soon dampened the burning sand that enveloped her hands and fingers.

    And in the same position, as she was last time, her eyes took in the beauty of the old man that was in front of her, his position the same as he was a second ago. Noticing that she was paralyzed from the waist down again, she arched her chest and stomach upward as her muscles expanded upon the strength she exerted.

    (Gwen) T-That was it? That was what you wanted to show me? My past?

    (???) Correct.

    The old man still had his face looking onto the new phenomena that feasted upon his eyes, his gray thin hair from the back of his head blocking the sides of his face. Still having his hands encapsulated inside of his pockets, he tilted his head down as he slightly glanced toward the direction of Gwen.

    (???) About those questions. You want to know why I brought you here right? The reason why I brought you here was because you received power from that crystal.

    (Gwen) A power? Like a blessing?

    (???) No, something much more powerful than just a blessing¡­

    Gwen started to crawl forward, her palms burning up from the stabbing sand that blistered her already lumped-up hands. Exerting her entire body with just her forearms, biceps, and shoulders, she grits the ends of her recovering cavity-ridden teeth that she endured for many years.

    Just a couple of feet away from the old man, she opened her mouth agape as some of the burning sand soon got into her mouth.

    (Gwen) What type of power is it?

    (???) Let¡¯s just say that you¡¯re now a powerhouse in terms of power. But it all comes down to how you use that power¡­

    Still groveling on top of the sand, bits of it got into her uniform jacket and jostled her chest upward. Her body twitched from the never-ending sand that pelted against her freckled and pale face, she slowly extended her right hand forward, her left hand supporting the weight of her entire body.

    And in that instant, she leaned her body so that her right hand gripped the old man¡¯s ankle, her left bicep contorting with her muscles reigning her body to stay on top.

    (Gwen) What ¡­ What did you want from me¡­? Why was I chosen specifically?

    The old man didn¡¯t dare to look upon the burning hand that clenched around his old and wrinkled skin.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Tilting his head downward, he made sure that the strands of his gray hair didn¡¯t let the light shine onto his face, still having that mysterious facade on him. Letting in an abundance of warm hot air inside of his dried-up lungs, his throat raspied against his vocals soon clashed with the need for cold water.

    (???) You were chosen for some endgame plan, same as me. We¡¯re not the only ones that are in this desert heap together.

    (Gwen) Then¡­

    (???) The more your soldiers walk, the longer everything will come together in the end.

    Plopping her chest and chin down onto the sand below, the hot swelling sand chiseled her skin that felt as if she was being placed on a burning pan. Her left hand losing the strength to pull herself up again, slowly extended it toward the other ankle that the old man was blessed with.

    Clenching her other hand, she dug her fingernails into the wrinkled skin of his leg, causing his stability to slightly falter.

    (???) Why do you cling to me so much? What purpose does it make?

    (Gwen) For all my life, I did nothing but be in the bottom barrel of society¡­ day in, and day out, nobody cared for me¡­

    (???) And?

    (Gwen) Just ¡­ Why me? I haven¡¯t ¡­ done anything useful for once in my life ¡­ my parents are dead, and my brother is somewhere holed up in a cave ¡­ so, I don¡¯t have anyone in my life to¡ª

    (???) That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong.

    The old man turned his body around.

    Both her hands still gripping his ankles, the blinding sun overhead blocked his face which still left the clinging Gwen to question the facade behind that man.

    Looking up, she couldn¡¯t tell what type of face he had, even if she squinted and glared with her slanted eyes. Regardless, she pulled her body closer toward his black leather boots, her face soon blistering from the burning sand particles that stung her pale cheeks.

    (???) Even if only one person supports you, then it''s enough to keep going. One person is all it takes to push forward, even if the rest of the world pushes you back.

    (Gwen) But¡ª

    (???) Find someone¡ªno, a group to find the support you need. No matter if the group contains someone whose either shy, sweet, hot-headed, pessimistic, protective, anti-social, prankster or ¡­ even someone whose perverted, nurturing, a wannabe terrorist, masochist, or sadist, we all need some spice in our lives.

    Crouching down onto the level of where she was, he placed his right knee on the sand that soon cushioned the fabric of his black pants. Pulling both of his hands from out of his pockets, he placed both of them onto her trembling shoulders as he then stared into the irises of the freckled woman.

    (???) So ¡­ don¡¯t change Gwen. Please don¡¯t change. Just grow and you¡¯ll be brighter than any star.

    Violent winds smacked both the freckled woman and the old man who looked at one another, their eyes holding contact no matter what the obstacles around them.

    Turning her head toward the incoming sandstorm that was hundreds of feet away, she moved both of her hands onto his wrists, pushing her body upward to lean closer toward the man¡¯s face. Seeing the facial figure of the old man¡­

    (Gwen) Just who are you?

    (???) That¡¯s the only question of which I can¡¯t tell. But¡­

    The old man stood up as he dug both of his feet onto the unstable dunes, the dunes swaying under the inferno of sand moving toward them. Since he had both of his hands latched around Gwen¡¯s wrists, he slowly pulled the freckled woman upward, placing her feet and legs on the sand despite having no movement on them.

    His head now blocking the blinding sun, Gwen took in the man¡¯s face.

    (???) Promise me that you¡¯ll bring us to Paradise.

    The world that was filled with sand was no more.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Hallowmonath 27, 55 / 3:21AM)

    A woman jolted out of her long-awaited slumber.

    Flinching everyone who was around her, four male soldiers jumped up from their metal chairs as they quickly surrounded the recovering soldier. Making a little circle, all four of them put their hands onto the railings of the little hospital bed that she laid on, their hands gripping the white fabric with an iron grip.

    As for the freckled woman, she looked up to none other than a man with light gray hair, who wielded two uzis on both of his hips.

    (???) Private Gwen.

    Having his hands inside his cargo pants, the soldier puffed up his chest which showcased his bright medal on his chest pocket. Clearing the inside of his old and rasped throat, he tilted his head upward so that his adam¡¯s apple was clear as day, along with his prickly gray beard in full display.

    (???) You¡¯ve been asleep for more than 36 hours. Are you feeling ok?

    (Jerry) Sergeant Hill, she¡¯s still recovering, maybe we should get her some space¡ª

    (Gwen) There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m doing well.

    Her hands were loosened on top of her knees that were covered by a white silky blanket, as there was nothing that she wore underneath her lower body. Noticing that her butt felt cold, she peeked behind the white fabric that covered her legs, knees, and feet.

    And by just taking a peek, it was a good thing that the white paper shirt that she wore was long enough to cover her privates. Gripping the ends of the white blanket with piercing fingertips, her cheeks and face flustered a pink-red as she slouched her body forward.

    (Gwen) W-Where is my underwear?!

    (Sergeant Hill) It¡¯s inside of the desk to your left.

    (Gwen) W-W-Why did they strip me!? D-Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re checking me out!

    (Sergeant Hill) At ease private, the reason why you¡¯re naked from the waist down is because they¡¯ve been analyzing you.

    (Gwen) Analyzing?

    (Sergeant Hill) When you fell down the hole, you broke your lower spine, and it should¡¯ve paralyzed you from the waist down. But after some examinations¡­

    Benn held a regular-sized paper with both of his large bluish hands, his eyes glancing at the Sergeant who now panned his attention at him. Extending his right hand, the Sergeant grabbed hold of the paper, holding it with just his pointer finger and thumb.

    Instead of looking at it by his lonesome, he panned the paper straight at the flustered Gwen, who happened to have a tight grip on the ends of the white paper blanket that covered her lower body.

    (Sergeant Hill) Your whole body shows no signs of broken bones at all. Hell, it even fixed up your rotten molars and weak lungs.

    Her jaw dropped, her lips quivering.

    Seeing the X-ray right in front of her, she squinted her eyes at the picture taken that encapsulated her entire body and bones. Pushing her head down on the pillow, she looked up toward the ceiling that was painted white.

    All three other men let out sighs of relief, their lungs releasing unneeded air that was lodged tight in the middle of his throat.

    (Gwen) Wow¡­

    (Sergeant Hill) Now Gwen, did you find anything down there on that hole? Most likely a crystal?

    (Gwen) Crystal? How did you know?

    (Sergeant Hill) The higher-ups wanted us to look for a crystal, but I never guessed that the crystal managed to cure your paralyzed back.

    Tilting his head down, the Sergeant pulled both of his hands from out of his pockets, folding them in place as he stared at the star-struck Gwen.

    Not only he, but all three other male soldiers put their hands onto their sides, clamping them shut as they looked toward their leader. Benn, who started to glare at the man, curled his lips to form an upside-down U.

    (Benn) So what are you going to do with her now?

    (Sergeant Hill) Since this was my last mission, I¡¯m officially retiring from active duty.

    (Benn) That doesn¡¯t explain my question.

    (Sergeant Hill) Four of you are being assigned to a new team, or a future team in the upcoming future.

    Gwen gripped the edges of the white paper blanket, her eye bags that were deepened in a lightish black now more prevalent upon her face.

    Jerry and the dog-human that was next to him looked down to the ground, analyzing the wooden tiles and their arithmetic patterns.

    As for Benn, both of his hands began to curl up as his fingers soon dug themselves into the insides of his palms. His bones made a sharp creaking sound, it led to his eyes to fully immerse himself in his leader.

    (Benn) Hey.

    (Sergeant Hill) I know a chubby man named Boris who needed some soldiers for an upcoming group that he has been planning, so I took it up to his offer.

    (Benn) Hey¡­

    (Sergeant Hill) I¡¯m going to live my peaceful days with my wife and two kids in Fort Damns. It¡¯s been ages since I last saw them¡ª

    Benn put his right hand onto the Sergeant¡¯s shoulder, digging his meaty fingertips into the fabric of the camo shirt. Noticing that Benn had his face darkened, Jerry, the dog-human soldier, and even Gwen arched their heads forward to decipher Benn¡¯s next move.

    The sergeant turned his head toward the angered shark-human, his eyes and face pushed down.

    (Sergeant Hill) Speak away, Benn.

    (Benn) ¡­ What will happen to Gwen?

    (Sergeant Hill) She¡¯ll be following you, Benn. It¡¯s only a change of leadership.

    Benn pulled back his hand that gripped the fabric of his leader¡¯s uniform, placing it toward his thigh.

    Taking a couple of steps back, he put both of his hands into his pockets, unable to look at the sergeant despite no sign of flustering or sweating dawning on his face. Rubbing his chin, the Sergeant turned his entire attention onto Gwen, who happened to open the drawer to the left that kept her undergarments safe.

    (Sergeant Hill) As of now, all four of you will be assigned as not just regular soldiers, but elite soldiers.

    (Random Soldier #2) Sorry, but I¡¯m retiring too. I have a son now that I want to take care of.

    (Sergeant Hill) Guess that¡¯s three then.

    (Jerry) What¡¯s the name of the regiment or squad then?

    All three male soldiers soon huddled up closer toward the sergeant, their arms folded while they glued their feet on the white marbled floor.

    As for the freckled woman, the white paper blanket that covered her lower body moved as she had both hands in them. Since she had in her left hand the undergarment that was missing from her body, she pulled them in so that her butt wouldn¡¯t feel cold.

    Luckily for her, all the male soldiers didn¡¯t care to look at her, a show of respect and gentlemenhood.

    (Sergeant Hill) Jerry, Benn, Gwen. From now on, you¡¯ll be working under Boris, along with a few other soldiers who are already in. As for the name, they go by¡ª

    The Dark Angels.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 117: Gwen vs Lazaros!

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:36AM)

    Light glowed all around the darkened corners that drowned for the heap of light.

    Air as sharp as samurai blades, friction as dense as lightning. All around the two strongest fighters were nothing but the crusted air that was circling all around the room.

    Pushing her heels off the ground, Gwen arched her hand back as she pinned her eyes on the flailing old man with light green hair. As his body soared in the dusted air, his back slammed on the stone pillar that held the building, the stone already seeming to break apart from the impact.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) Not bad.

    His cheek was bruised but not bleeding. He focused his eyes on the incoming light that was hurdling at him. With his back smudged on the stone, he used his shoulder blades that were stuck to pop out, making a loud crack as his old joints popped out of place.

    Having both of his feet on the ground, the floor beneath him soon thundered as the wind glided away the decade-old dust. Creating a mini dust storm with just the push of his feet, he arched his entire body backward so that the punch from Gwen wouldn¡¯t pelt him.

    (Lazaros) Is that all you got?!

    Pushing herself off the stone cement again, she then twirled around repeatedly as the wind around her became as sharp as obsidian. Unable to even motion the twirl with his old eyes, Lazaros continued to sprint and jump backward to avoid the deafening punches from Gwen.

    Moving around all over the room, a bead of sweat trickled down from the corner of his left eye.

    Analyzing her with his own eyes, he barely dodged each punch and thrust as he took in the sight of her eloquent punches. With one of the punches sliding off the tip of his nose, his hands and arms that were motionless to his sides, soon extended upward in an instant.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) How¡¯s this?

    Gwen immediately pushed herself back many feet away from him, her boots creating a chain of sparkles that lit the ground with friction. Her boots still clinging onto the stone beneath her feet, she extended both of her arms outward as she showcased the outlines of her callused hands.

    Light emitting from the ends of her hands, two light whips formed with the snap of a finger. Having a death grip on the light whips, she crouched downward as she readied her stance, the ends of her whips touching the ground.

    And with a simple thrust of her heels, she yet again charged forth. This time, one of the whips managed to strike right where his left hand was, his eyes not even able to configure the speed at which it was drawn.

    Pulling his left hand toward his body, he grits his molars shut as he soon glared at her, his light green eyes making their rays of light. Motioning his head upward, he noticed the window that was on top of the ceiling, the only way to reach the surface without taking the stairs.

    (Lazaros) How about we take this upstairs!

    He used his right foot to launch himself upward.

    He barreled the air like a turbulent bullet, his white robe unable to ripple as the wind was too much for his fabric to handle. Looking upward toward the ceiling, he extended his right arm high in the air, making a curled-up fist.

    (Gwen) Get over here!

    Following him through the ceiling, her clothes couldn¡¯t ripple through the crusted air that was too slow for the glowing woman.

    Having her hands down toward her thighs, the only thing that pierced the wind was her light whips, the ends of them whistling like a freight train.

    Finally, the old man¡¯s knuckles made contact with the glass, the thousands of shards that were contained inside of that small window plastered all around his body. Yet even when the shards rained down lethal pieces of glass that could cut anything, not a scratch was formed on his skin.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) Just hope that I don¡¯t overdue¡ª

    Good luck or bad luck, no matter what outcome was good in the end, Lazaros not only got through the glass window that lurked on the first floor of the ground¡­

    He also passed through many floors above the first floor.

    His right fist soon reddened from the metal and stone that he inflicted upon his knuckles, he clenched his eyes shut as bits of metal got into his robe. Going through each floor, the stone was mere paper for him as he remained in a Superman position.

    Many floors later, his body came into contact with the bristling morning air, his eyes opening up again as he saw the status of the city in full display. Seeing his trump card still alive, the sky above him in a reddish state, and the darkened city surrounded in darkness, the only thing he could do was smile.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) Oh, Lagefor¡­

    But there was one person who could put an end to this.

    As his eyes were drawn toward the beautiful sight, he failed to take note of a glowing light that was behind him.

    (Lazaros) Oh shoot¡ª

    Gwen then pulled Lazaros straight toward her, his body being thrown as both were midair. Reaching the climax of their height, both soon started to fall onto the ground beneath them. Gwen holstered her left whip onto her left hip, and with her left hand, she curled it into a deadly left fist.

    For her thrusting punch aimed right at his left cheek.

    And with a simple blow, he flew to the right.

    As the air was finally rippling against the ends of his white robe, he sliced the air with just the bare bones of his body, his ears being hammered by the gusting winds at lightning speed. Not soon after, his entire body slammed onto the blackened asphalt, the location being around the southern area of downtown.

    Which was dozens of miles from where the Zirardge tower was located.

    Dust surrounded his entire being, and a cloud of it darkened his vision. Deciding not to move his arms and legs, he glanced to the left and right of him to see the hole that he created with just his body.

    Cracks and splinters riddled in the gushed hole, Lazaros arched his body upward as his head was barely on the level of the street. Seeing the street filled with stone debris and litter, he let out a sigh, followed by a simple smile.

    (Lazaros) Reminds me of six years ago.

    Another crash came from the back of him, wiping away the dust cloud that circled his entire hole.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Arching his head back, his entire world became upside down with the top of his head stabilizing his body.

    In front of him, Gwen had both of her hands and knees on the asphalt, drool coming out from the corners of her lips as they then littered the debris-ridden street. Her face continued to glare at the old man who lay motionless, she slowly stood herself up as she dug her heels into the cement.

    Her chest breathing heavily, her heart on the verge of exploding from out of her chest, she walked steadily toward him.

    (Gwen) I¡¯m ¡­ pants ¡­ not finished ¡­ gasps ¡­ with you yet.

    (Lazaros) Can¡¯t we just take a break? I¡¯m too old for this, hell, my back is stabbing my spine relentlessly.

    (Gwen) Does ¡­ gasps ¡­ it look like I care?

    Towering over the laid-back old man, she curled her hands again as she motioned her head downward onto him. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Gwen clicked her tongue while gathering her breath. Her glowing body flickered violently, and the light that came out of her soon started to fade, her eyes widening as she glanced at her clothing.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) What¡­? What¡¯s going on?

    (Lazaros) I guess you could say that you outdid yourself.

    Lazaros soon brought himself up, placing both of his hands and his knees to get himself up from the hole. He brushed the dust and grime off his hands.

    (Lazaros) You even got some mud on my robe.

    He patted his clothing repeatedly as he looked for any spots with dirt.

    (Lazaros) That should get rid of most of the dirt. Now back to what I was saying.

    Gwen extended her right hand forward, her fingers spread out as her palms showcased her calluses blisters. Her head down, she darkened her face under the reddish sky that turned more ghastly by the second.

    (Gwen) There¡¯s no time for talk.

    Lazaros put out both of his hands forward, raising them high in the air. Letting out a sly smile, a bead of sweat rolled down from his right temple.

    Returning his irises toward the steaming, yet slowly light-fading Gwen, Lazaros inhaled and exhaled out in a split second.

    (Lazaros) Then there¡¯s time for a show.

    Gwen¡¯s nostrils wrinkled under a foul odor coming from behind.

    Turning her entire body 180 degrees, her eyes pinned upon the zompire that grudgingly walked toward her, the undead¡¯s hands flailing around as its mouth was wide open. With the light that flickers on and off that glowed her clothes and skin, that little switch that went back and forth¡­

    Shut off.

    Her glow finally faded away into the reddish darkened morning sky, no light bestowed upon the dying star. She remained frozen by the zompire that trickled stones and sticks upon its feet.

    (Lazaros) Do you recognize that zompire? He¡¯s someone that you¡¯re close to ¡­

    The zompire had black hair. Its face was ghostly pale and was missing its nose and ears. Gwen noticed a feature that the zompire had on both of its chiseled cheekbones.

    (Gwen) Freckles¡­

    Gwen¡¯s voice was but a whisper.

    Her vocals rested against one another, forming a small blanket to halt the words from coming out of her windpipe.

    (Lazaros) Family reunion yay...

    He put his hands into his sleeves, tilting his head upward as his eyes peered down at her. Having both the crevices of his lips curling upward to form a sly smile, he let out a small chuckle.

    (Lazaros) So, what do you think? Pretty similar to the real thing, no?

    Gwen immediately turned her entire body toward the old man.

    (Lazaros) Hellooo? Terra to G¡ª

    He was then blasted away, gliding through the putrid air.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Buildings came crashing down as Lazaros sped through the stone and wood like it was cardboard.

    His arms and legs flailed outward as he struggled to move from the force of the blast.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) Time to get serious now¡­

    Smashing through the last building with his dented back, he put both of his feet onto the asphalt that laid bare. His sandals smoking from the friction and speed that he was still conceiving, he brought his right hand toward the center of his face.

    Having his finger on the metal of his glasses, he put them on the collar of his robe.

    And out of the last building was none other than a woman with a darkened face, her facial expression hidden away by the loosened ponytail that led her hair to be down. Having her arms thrust backward, her body can be perfectly described as being aerodynamic as possible, her entire gliding stance mimicking that of a peregrine falcon.

    (Lazaros) Are you using¡ª-oh boy¡­

    Both of Gwen''s hands wielded heavy glowing chains that mimicked that of normal metal ones, with the metal reaching the length of about two stories.

    Thrusting both of her chains out in front of her, the ends of them twisted and twirled until they reached the end of their target.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s slower, but I got to end this soon.

    Using his left heel, he pushed the stalling air as he stiffened his body to become one with the wind.

    A loud boom of air cracking the oxygen needed to breathe, his breath soon drew weary and slow, followed by his lungs punching and turning his chest. With the air of the chains managing to whip the insulated air, it allowed a sonic boom to assault his eardrums.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) Yeah, I really need to end this soon!

    He focused his old shallow eyes all across the little battlefield that they welded together. Peering through every corner and cranny of the many buildings that were several stories high, one building in particular caught Lazaros¡¯s interest.

    It was the tallest building in the city, but he put the tower in the back of his mind as his eyes returned to the disturbed wind from the corner of his right eye.

    Resuming his dodging, he only amplified his speed to the max. Pushing him farther and farther away from the building where he emerged from, the only direction that he could think of was due north.

    As the cold blowing wind struck the back of his head.

    (Lazaros) Here you go!

    From out of his sleeves, he pulled out both of his hands that crinkled under the cold morning air that stiffened his joints. His hands gripping two pieces of metal that seemed unworldly and bizarre to the human eye, he showcased them onto the raging Gwen who had her hair blocking her eyes.

    Soon after, he threw them toward her.

    As if it was encapsulated with something, the two metals that seemed to mimic a handmade grenade soon erupted in the air around its vicinity. And since the explosion of both metals managed to make contact with Gwen¡¯s jacket and face, the last thing that Lazaros saw was her face being caught in the lethal explosion.

    The air itself burst wide open, the light of the boom causing Lazaros to swift his head away as his irises burnt from the light.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) I hope that¡¯s enough to get her.

    Unfortunately, the smoke that soon formed afterward was swept away by a long heavy light chain.

    The tip of the metal weapon barreling its way onto the widened old man, there was a brief moment where Gwen¡¯s bangs of hair managed to unfold. Squinting his slow and moving eyes at her, he caught a whiff of a sight that managed to stick his words inside of his throat.

    In that little sight that he saw, was none other than anger incarnate, her face plastered in a burning crimson red.

    Her eyes bloodshot, her forehead, temples, cheekbones, bits of her neck; all were riddled with blood-gurgling veins that sprouted out from underneath her skin.

    And with her teeth chipping away from the skin-tearing grip that she had on all fronts and ends, a tsunami of drool decorated the corners of her lips, chin, and mouth. Slowly opening up her mouth, the words that were held back for who knows how long finally emerged from her convulsing throat.

    (Gwen) AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

    Releasing both of her chained-like weapons again at the jumping-back old man, she swung them back and forth as the metal slammed onto random buildings that were in the way.

    Most of the highly structured buildings were crumbled by the pressure of just her strength alone, her eyes all too focused on the dodging old man who did his ballad on the blackened street.

    (Gwen) AAAAAAAAHH!!!

    Her metal chains started to itch closer and closer toward the old man, dragging both of the chains on the ground lit up the asphalt.

    Accumulating an excessive amount of inertia inside of the chains, she then thrust both of them onward, the ends twitching by the time she already launched them. As the chains slithered like an aggressive snake aiming for its prey, she used whatever muscles were asleep to use them to her maximum potential.

    Which made it her last and desperate push, a finishing blow destined for a foe on equal terms as her.

    (Lazaros¡¯s thoughts) She¡¯s going to put all points on that¡­

    Barely able to see it, he saw the two chains in slow motion as they traversed the air that was whipped upon.

    And in slow motion, he motioned his entire body so that he was beneath the chains that glided across his unholy body. Seeing the chains barely grazing the tip of his nose, his feet that were close toward the lunging Gwen didn¡¯t push forward, but¡ª

    Pulled himself toward her.

    Moving his entire body closer than farther, caused both of his hands and arms to be whiplashed by the sudden movement. But even then, it wouldn¡¯t be a disadvantage to him anyhow.

    (Lazaros) Dumb move.

    Gwen froze.

    She slowly tilted her head toward the area where she felt the warm liquid traverse out of her body. Blood nestled along the simple pavement down below as she took note of the¡ª

    Fist that was lodged inside her lower abdomen.

    Quickly coughing out blood that belonged to her intestines, she couldn¡¯t wipe away the reddish and slightly brownish liquid that traced down to her neck. Her hands still wrapping both of the long glowing chains, the light that shone from her weapons soon faded away, her weapons being withdrawn as they turned to air.

    (Lazaros) You know, when a human gets turned into a zompire, do they truly die?

    Her hearing was still audible enough to hear the cold words from his mouth, Gwen continued to glare at the smug face that encapsulated it in her eyes.

    The hunger and thirst that began to dawn on her started to fade away like the fresh leaves at the beginning of autumn, her body trembling under the unfelt pain.

    (Lazaros) Well, if you want my sadistic opinion, I think that zompires don¡¯t go to heaven at all. If you think it through, all of the corpses that they originated from were all human, and if they somewhat act human, then doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s the same soul but corrupted?

    Blood continued to pour forth from out of her quivering lips, her entire face soon began to turn a deathly white.

    Unable to even dig her teeth against each other, the lack of strength before and after her wound was ever-present. Drawing her right hand alone, it trembled under the animosity and pressure as she barely got it to reach the large open hole.

    Intestines, blood, shit; her entire abdomen was open for the world to see.

    (Lazaros) If their soul is corrupted or trapped within a zompire¡¯s body, then doesn¡¯t that mean the said person doesn¡¯t go to heaven or hell?

    Covering her open wound, her right hand tried to mimic the action of her scratching her lower stomach. Her fingers not clinging onto a skin that would normally be there, she then slowly brought up her left hand as well.

    She dropped down onto her knees.

    Her mouth opened, more blood poured as the warm liquid burned her soft and sensitive esophagus, the contents of her body mingling inside of her teeth and gums. Lazaros took a step back as he wiped away the bits of intestines that were covered with his right hand.

    (Lazaros) Reminds me of a person having no mouth but they must scream. Or having no eyes but they must see the light. Either way, you get the picture.

    Using his left hand, Lazaros pulled out a small box of hand sanitizer from inside of his white robe, the small box see-through. Putting on 1/4th of the liquid contents onto his right hand, he put the little box inside of his robe as he scrubbed his hands repeatedly.

    Bits of sanitization stinging the ground and as well as his bare feet, the old man turned around to look at the west.

    (Lazaros) I¡¯ve done my part. Doesn¡¯t matter if Sidney wins or loses, but it will take a miracle for you guys to defeat her, now that you¡¯re reduced to a mere dying woman.

    Placing both of his hands into his sleeves, he then walked away from the dying Gwen, her forehead slouching on top of the black asphalt that welcomed her with open arms.

    Both of her hands cradled the air that used to be her stomach, more intestines and blood spurred out from the depths of her insides. Painting the street with a reddish yet slightly brownish color, the smell that radiated from her decaying lower body wrinkled her button nose.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Luke¡­

    Glancing at the tallest building in the city, she continued to look up at the edge of the building. Not bothering to push her feet up, or move her bloodied hand that dripped with her insides, her mouth opened as blood trickled from the left corner of her lip.

    As she let out a single tear from her right eye.

    .

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Please help me...

 Arc 1 - Chapter 118: On Top of The Zirardge Tower

    (Solmonath 27, 56 / 10:01PM)

    A woman focused on the TV as the screen''s color radiated against her dark brown eyes. As for the man right next to her, he wore a highly fancy tuxedo despite a blanket being wrapped around him.

    Turning her head toward the direction of a dark room, the woman noticed the same light that reflected onto her and her husband.

    (Mary) Luke, it''s time for bed dear!

    No response came from the other end of the penthouse, she continued to look at the slightly opened black door that let out the rays of the TV. Letting out a sigh, she put both of her feet and legs off of the couch and set them down on the fancy rug that tickled her bare feet.

    Making her way toward the dark room, her feet squealed under the rich wood that was beneath her, a replacement for the fancy brown rug. Reaching the black door, she burst through with just the tip of her right-hand knuckles, red starting to form along the skin.

    (Mary) What did I say, Luke!?

    Standing in between the doorframe, she put both of her hardened fists onto her sides, straightening her back as she let in an accumulation of air.

    The boy in question glanced at the woman who puffed up her chest, his lips curled up into a frown with his eyelids botched in dark eye bags. Having a white and bulky controller in his right hand, the bright light that emitted from the television continued to play, or rather¡­

    (Luke) Let me finish this level.

    (Mary) Don¡¯t care. Past your bedtime. Get off now.

    Luke glanced back at the TV, his knees and legs crisscrossed while layers of wires and video games littered the rug and floor of his room.

    The walls were littered with game posters and musicians, as well as a large bookshelf that was to the right of him. With many books littering the area around the shelf, some of the books either were chemistry, manga, or something else.

    Either way, the boy placed the white controller down right next to him, his fingers still caressing the material of the electronic. With his left hand, he used it to pick up a black remote, his pointer finger lingering on the power button.

    Turning off the TV, he glanced back at his mother, his lips still curled downward.

    (Mary) Go to bed. I¡¯m not telling you again.

    Grudgingly getting back up from the floor, Luke turned his head toward the messed-up bed that awaited him. By pushing his feet which were only covered by his white socks, he hunched his body forward while setting himself in his bed.

    Barely wrapping himself up with the dislodged bed sheets that sprouted out from both sides of his bed, Luke turned his body away from his mother, his left ear sandwiched by both his pillow and his head.

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) I wish that he wasn¡¯t this moody. He wasn¡¯t even like this a year ago¡­

    Turning her body 180 degrees, she stopped in her tracks as her entire body was facing the hallway. Looking back at Luke, her face pushed down by just the mere sight of the darkness that enveloped and cradled him.

    Mary slowly walked toward the littered young teenage boy¡¯s room, her bare toes almost stubbing onto a few wires and games that made it seem like a maze. The only saving grace was the TV light from the other end of the hall that allowed her to see those traps.

    She reached the other end of Luke¡¯s bed, her body on the opposite side of where Luke was cradled up.

    (Mary) Luke.

    Noticing that no response was given, she leaned her face closer.

    (Mary) Please say something.

    No response was given again.

    Mary clenched her teeth as her hands that held the side of the bed soon began to curl up, the white fabric material being pulled with it. Hunching her whole head down, her elbows and forearms that held her body in place started to wobble.

    Placing both of her knees on the bed, she had her whole body on it as she hurried her way to the dormant boy. In her sights, she opened both of her arms out wide¡­

    And cradled him against the growing darkness.

    (Mary) Please, say anything.

    Her face and head were right behind the back of his light brown hair.

    Pulling him closer, Mary made sure that her body was enveloping the back of his, the bedsheets being the only thing that separated between mother and son.

    (Mary) Please? Even as yes or no will-

    (Luke) I¡¯m tired of being a shut-in.

    She couldn¡¯t see the facial expression that bestowed on him, but the trail of his voice did.

    A voice that tingled with strain yet aggressiveness, a voice that wanted to pour its heart out on something yet held back on that very thing. His body started to tremble underneath the dislodged blankets, he still yet to turn his head toward the woman in the back of him.

    (Luke) Fred goes out and explores things. Everyone in my class goes on exotic vacations, but I don¡¯t.

    Mary¡¯s face continued to darken evermore, her grip upon her own son¡¯s body continuing to tighten. Letting her feet loose, the tips of her bare toes stuck out from the blanket as her heels were still lying on the bed.

    (Luke) I just ¡­ I just want to explore.

    (Mary) Oh, Luke¡­

    With her right hand, she rubbed his right shoulder as her fingertips loosened up the boy¡¯s joints and sorrows. Noticing that a slight sniffle came out from him, she continued to rub his right shoulder back and forth.

    (Mary) How about I lend you some time alone?

    Getting up from the bed, Mary put both of her bare feet back on the floor which was a maze to her. Walking through the floor carefully, she got a hold of the black door that she forgot to close, as the light from the TV was still on.

    Taking a last look at the boy, she placed her right hand on the handle, analyzing the position that he was in when she first saw him.

    Getting into the dark hallway, she slowly closed the door and it soon made a soft click.

    (Mary¡¯s thoughts) Just what does he want us to do¡­

    (Joseph) I see you comforted him, Mary.

    Having both of his hands inside his tuxedo jacket, he didn¡¯t lean his back on the dark soulless walls that were behind him. More rather, he had a straight posture as he made sure his neck and eyes were on the same level as his wife.

    Flinching upward, she turned her body toward the voice of his, seeing him covered in the darkness of the wall that seemed as if he emerged from it.

    (Mary) Don¡¯t scare me, Joseph. You know what happened last time.

    (Joseph) Sorry about that dear. Luckily you¡¯re good at restraining yourself compared to back then. Now about Luke, is he doing okay?

    Tilting his head to the right, he took a step forward as the light of the TV from the living room managed to showcase some of his right arm and hand. Catching a glimpse of the pale skin and old and worn knuckles of his right hand, Mary clasped both of her hands together as she looked down toward the wooden floor.

    (Mary) You know¡­ he¡¯s so ¡­ so¡ª

    (Joseph) Acting like a kid his age. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll grow out of it. But Mary dear.

    Taking a couple of steps forward, the light at the end of the hallway managed to showcase the entirety of the tuxedo man¡¯s body. The light showcasing him, caused Mary¡¯s eyes to sparkle in the darkness that overwhelmed her just the same way as it overwhelmed Luke.

    His eyes pushed down, he lit up a small smile that only caused the right corner of his lip to curl upward, leading Mary to look up at him.

    (Joseph) You understand why Luke feels this way. You¡¯ve experienced this type of scenario too, no?

    (Mary) I know.

    (Joseph) And don¡¯t worry, cause tomorrow¡­

    Joseph pulled both of his hands out of his tuxedo pockets, placing them on Mary¡¯s wrists which were right below where her stomach was. Caressing the bones of her wrists with just both of his thumbs, he made sure her eyes were sparkling at his own dimmed eyes.

    And with just a little tug, Mary soon was right in front of his chest, allowing Joseph to wrap his arms around her as her pointed ears slightly grazed his cheek.

    (Joseph) We¡¯re going to go on an exotic trip. I¡¯m not telling where, but promise not to tell Luke.

    (Mary) But where though?

    (Joseph) It¡¯s a secret.

    Wrapping her arms around his lower waist, the half-elf¡¯s left ear nuzzled its way toward his beating chest soothed her soul.

    Just hearing the pounding heartbeat of a man who vowed to be with her for the rest of her life, only caused her to close her eyes and let her body slump at him. As she was distracted, Joseph noticed that the TV light from the living room was still on, leading to him pulling out his right hand forward as he still cradled his wife in his arms.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    His palm extending outward onto the TV, he eyed the program where it showed the late-night news.

    (Joseph¡¯s thoughts) Off.

    While the TV light from the end of the hallway soon started to turn static, ending the program where the couple left off.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 6:05AM)

    (The Roof)

    The city was shrouded in what one may call hell.

    Smoke was rampant throughout the excursion of the twelve hours that it endured from the attacks of the liches. Not only was the city looted from top to bottom, but the presence of debris and glass shards littering every sidewalk and street became a common sight for the common soldier to see.

    In a way, the scenery made it as if all hope was lost.

    Despite their best efforts, no one had the gall to stop the burning monster that was rummaging through downtown, the monster¡¯s fiery flames scorching the reddish clouds above. Making a trail of destruction and flames, in her path, the monster only had one reason or goal to achieve.

    (Sidney) W-Water ¡­ die ¡­

    Her lower jaw moving to form a small cavemen-like statement, continued to stomp on Terra as the ground beneath her crumbled from the heat. Like a star that continued to burn and burn, her light and heat didn¡¯t falter for as long as she could draw breath¡­

    And as long as she could execute what she was tasked to do.

    (Sidney) W-Water ¡­ die ¡­ must.

    But right next to the water pump facility was none other than the tallest tower of the city, The Zirardge Tower which was so high, that it pierced the reddish clouds in the sky.

    Some of its structure was chipped off from Gwen and Camerons¡¯ earlier battle, leading to the stability of the building severely weakening as a result. Because of it, it led the floors high above to sway back and forth from the motion of the gusting winds that traversed together with the reddish smoke.

    Just above the clouds, just above the many floors filled with desk cubicles and papers, was none other than the roof of the building.

    And what emerged from an elevator in the early morning of the dark was none other than¡­

    (Luke) We made it!

    Six people sprouted out from an elevator that was latched onto the back area of the roof of the building, the metal door opening wide.

    The front runner was none other than a man with light brown hair, wielding dual-wielding uzis with both of his tightly gripped hands. As for the others, all of them wielded weapons that they were all too familiar with, but with one person carrying something rather than wielding something.

    Fred snuggled the metal invention he made as if it were a baby, taking in rasped and deep breaths as some fresh wind blew against his face.

    (Fred) Finally ¡­ gasps ¡­ some fresh air!

    Being dead last in the group, Fred dragged his feet across the marbled floor that was accustomed to his sneakers, his arms on the verge of letting go of the heavyweight bomb.

    The six of them managed to view the rest of the soldiers and their comrades that awaited them, all of them sitting down or lying on the marble as they arched their heads or bodies up. Seeing the bomb being delivered in one piece, the last bastion of hope that was swallowed up by the plague sky was soon thrown out back from its mouth.

    As the soldiers lit up carefree smiles.

    (Miles) Oh shit, you guys did it!

    (Luna) Luke!

    (Stan, Gary, and Diego) You guys!

    Five of their closest friends surrounded Luke, Fred, and the rest of the group.

    Luna, being the first one of the group of five, pushed her heels off the ground as she managed to stand right in front of Luke in an instant. The wind being blown against his right side bang, Luke took a step back as Luna immediately folded her arms and looked up at the young man who was a few inches taller than her.

    (Luna) Are you hurt? Did anybody hurt you?

    (Luke) Luckily for us, Elizabeth can use her blessing for healing, but I heard it¡¯s not the best.

    (Luna) I don¡¯t care. Are you hurt?

    (Luke) No, why?

    Luna continued to stare into the depths of his red eyes, his right eye being blocked by his right side bang that caused her to moisten her lips.

    Unfortunately for her, there was one other girl who was right behind him, her head popping out from his left shoulder. Instead of having her hands on his side like normal, she kept her hands to herself, as she had both of her hands inside her pants pockets.

    (Luna) What¡¯s the matter blondy? You don¡¯t look too touchy with Luke, you finally know your place?

    (Hope) E-Excuse me?

    (Luna) You heard me.

    (Hope) A-And you¡¯re not touchy either?!

    Luna let out a scoff as she then rolled her eyes.

    Puffing out her chest with her folded arms to make it look bigger, she tilted her head upward so that she had the power to look down on the blonde-haired girl behind Luke. Clicking her tongue, another male voice came into play, his voice silky and smooth like honey.

    (Jack) Oh, you should¡¯ve seen it, Hope. Luna was this close.

    (Luna) Shut up!

    (Jack) You see Hope after Gwen saved Luna, and with Luke comforting Luna¡¯s little trauma, she repaid it by trying to kiss Luke. I don¡¯t mean just a simple kiss on the forehead or cheek, no, but right where¡ª

    (Luna) Just shut the hell up!

    Stomping the ground with her right foot, the sharp edges of her heel clacked the marble floor as she curled her hands into fists. Walking toward the red-haired, well-groomed man who wielded a sniper rifle, he began to walk backward as a bead of sweat rolled down his right temple.

    (Jack) Hey, hey, hey! I¡¯m just trying to tell her what happened!

    (Luna) I don¡¯t want to hear it from you!

    (Jack) Then l-let your cutie pie break the news for¡ª

    Jack¡¯s heels caressed the edge of the stone that was right along the edge of the tower.

    Putting his right hand in front of while wielding the sniper with his left, his palm faced the direction of Luna, lowering his head down like a turtle that retreats in his shell. Standing right in front of him, Luna immediately grabbed his collar with her right hand, pulling his face close to hers despite the height difference being huge.

    Puckering up his lips, Jack arched his head back, his face trailing droplets of sweat that trickled down onto the ground.

    (Luna) Say one more word¡­ I fucking dare you¡­

    (Jack) ¡­ gubernatorial.

    (Luna) You little¡ª!

    A soft hand gripped her right shoulder.

    Snapping out from her enlightened rage, she looked behind her shoulder to notice a girl¡¯s face that was tilted downward, her face darkened as her eyes peered at the uncracked floor. Unable to see her blue eyes, strands of blonde hair shadowed her face as the young woman¡¯s nails started to dig into Luna¡¯s skin.

    (Luna) What do you want?

    (Hope) What ¡­ What did you and Luke do in this tower¡­

    Letting go of Jack¡¯s collar, Luna turned her entire body around so that her height towered over Hope¡¯s. Jack, who happened to be set free from Luna¡¯s wrath, noticed an opening from one of the clouds that was below him.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) What the¡­

    Meanwhile, Luna exhaled as she placed both of her hands to her sides. Tilting her head upward, a sly smirk crept up to her ear as her entire body radiated a sense of cockiness.

    (Luna) Try to guess.

    (Hope) ¡­

    (Luna) What¡¯s that? Do you want me to spell it out for you?

    (Hope) ¡­ You¡¯re bluffing, you didn¡¯t kiss him.

    Having her hands curled into fists, Hope let them loose as she placed them onto her thighs. Still having her face tilted downward, Luna still couldn¡¯t decipher the look on Hope¡¯s face, even when she started to lean her head as she bent forward.

    Her sly smile turned into a devilish grin, and her left eyebrow raised upward, which caused many of the other soldiers and Dark Angels alike to slowly creep up to the two of them.

    (Luna) In denial? Can¡¯t admit defeat?

    (Hope) Because¡­

    Hope tilted her head upward.

    This caused Luna¡¯s devilish grin to quickly be swept away because Hope was making¡­

    Was not one of timidness nor happiness, her usual shy demeanor being replaced by the facial expression that Luna used several seconds ago. Her eyes pushed down, her lips creating a smug grin, her head slouched down as she moistened her lips by the furrowed brow face that Luna was making.

    (Hope) I kissed him a few hours ago when you were sleeping.

    Everyone on the tower glued their feet still on the marble floor.

    All the Dark Angels that heard the commotion unfold either turned to look at the two girls or Luke, their eyes gazing at both of them at the same time. Covering their hands over their mouths or letting their jaws drop, two people didn¡¯t follow through with the normal shocked reaction.

    Luke¡¯s face turned redder than a tomato, his heart pounding the innards of his chest that made him grip his chest area with his hand.

    (Luke) W-W-We didn¡¯t kiss!

    (Hope) Well, we almost did.

    (Luke) H-Hope!

    Miles, Jack, Fred, Stan, Gary, and Diego all glared at him with penetrating looks, their arms folding against one another as they ground the ends of their teeth. Their faces darkened despite the sky above them still blocked by the extra layer of smoke that was still lingering above them during the first half of the raids, all the men slowly formed a circle around him.

    Except for Jack who continued to look down at the broken cloud that allowed him to see an opening on the ground.

    (Luke) Uh ¡­

    As for Luna.

    (Luna) You¡­

    Slamming her molars shut, her hands that were placed on her hips were soon let loose from her body, her fingers already curled up into knuckle-breaking fists. Her eyes turned bloodshot, her chest breathing heavily, and the sounds of her rasped breaths of fresh air that were situated inside of her lungs were then trapped as she straightened her back. Using her left hand, she grabbed the collar of the smug grin young woman with blue eyes, her right fist still down onto her thigh as her nostrils flared imaginary steam.

    (Luna) f¡­ curse you¡­

    (Hope) Gonna cry?

    (Luna) F¡­F¡­!

    (Jack) Uh ¡­ guys?

    Panning his attention toward the large commotion that was in the back of him, he noticed the many soldiers and friends that hurdled around Luke. As the men continued to toss around Luke like a little ragdoll, but in a playful and kid-like manner, they left the woman¡¯s issues to be dealt with on their own.

    Having his right foot on the edge of the stone cement, Jack cleared his throat as a small vein sprouted out from the edge of his right temple.

    (Jack) Hey, guys?

    (Gary) Give Luke a couple of more pushes around the rosie!

    (Stan) Agreed!

    (Miles) Let¡¯s push him hard!

    (Fred) Trying to rub it on our faces huh Luke!?

    (Diego) Why you!? It should¡¯ve been me! Not you!

    (Luke) W-W-W-W-W-W-

    His entire body spun around like an endless Ferris wheel, his arms were controlled by the changing motion of the relentless spins that the men bestowed on him. It didn¡¯t take long before he became a human hot potato to the envied men.

    Luna thrusted her right hand on top of Hope¡¯s head, putting her knuckles against her scalp. Instead of punching like she usually did, she rubbed the top of Hope¡¯s head like a drill, with bits of dandruff flaking all over her clothes.

    (Hope) Ow! S-Stop it!

    (Luna) I¡¯ll make a hole inside of your skull, you hear me!

    (Jack) Guys!

    Everyone looked toward the red-haired man who flared his nostrils outward.

    (Jack) Look down there!

    Seeing that he wielded his sniper rifle with just his left hand, they saw his right hand pointed downward onto the city that was below them. Tilting their heads, furrowing their brows, or making nonchalant faces, all of them slowly walked as their boots clacked the marbled floor that didn¡¯t let out a trace of cracks.

    Standing in front of Jack; Luke, Hope, Luna, Miles, Stan, Gary, Fred, Diego; even Johnny and Elizabeth.

    All looked down to see what lay beyond the broken city that was beyond repair.

    Squinting their eyes at the opening, they all noticed a trail of destruction, with houses and buildings crushed and destroyed as if a literal war went on down there. Luke, who had his hands gripping the edge of the building with just his sweaty and smooth yet rough hands, gripped the marble that didn¡¯t cut or scrap his hands.

    (Luke) What happened down there¡­

    (Miles) Was it a steamer?

    (Stan) Unlikely, there would be a lot of large holes if that were the case.

    (Gary) Then what about that charger we saw in the complex?

    (Fred) Maybe, but the agents said that they took care of it¡­

    The men rubbed their chins with their fingers, their eyes analyzing the damage that became too unholy for their eyes to take in.

    Tapping their chins repeatedly, they also noticed a figure that lay on the asphalt below them. Jack, who was renowned for his eyesight, squinted his eyes as he glanced at the men that were to the right of him.

    (Jack) What do you think it is?

    (Luke) Can¡¯t tell from this distance.

    (Fred) How about you use your sniper Jack?

    (Jack) Ooh, you¡¯re right!

    Placing the butt of his gun into his right shoulder, he made sure that the edge was nestled tightly into his armpit as he held the center of the mass with his left hand. Having his pointer finger on the side of the metal, Jack had the scope of the rifle placed onto his right eye, squinting into the scope as he soon saw the figure that lay down on the cement.

    And at that moment, Jack dropped the rifle.

    And turned toward the others as his eyes widened.

    (Luke) What is it, Jack?

    All the rest of the soldiers let out a huge gulp that traversed the unsmoked air.

    Their hands either clasped against one another or dropped to their sides, their legs remained still like a frozen block of ice or wobbled like a rocking horse in the middle of a playground. Continued to have his face in the direction of everyone watching, even people like Johnny and Elizabeth soon huddled against the elite soldiers who awaited the news.

    Jack then took out his walkie talkie from his jacket pocket.

    (Jack) Boris, we might need your help. It¡¯s Gwen. It¡¯s bad.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 119: Gamblers and Soldiers Are A Lot Alike

    Everyone except for Jack fell silent as he told Boris where to meet them.

    All of them taking a step back from the edge, all looked at one another with pushed-up faces and gritting teeth.

    (Fred) So what now¡­ if she¡¯s on the ground, laying down there, then ¡­ doesn¡¯t ¡­ that mean she¡¯s¡ª

    (Luke) She¡¯s not dead.

    Luke clenched both of his hands against one another, his eyes glaring into Fred¡¯s as tried to smile.

    Walking toward the silver-haired young man that was his age, Luke placed both of his hands onto Fred¡¯s shoulders. The only thing that he could muster up was a slight chuckle from out of his mouth.

    (Luke) D-D-Don¡¯t question that¡­ she¡¯s just tired ¡­ Maybe that isn¡¯t G-Gwen ¡­ J-Jack said it himself, we¡¯re way too high for us to see.

    (Fred) We don¡¯t know, Luke.

    Looking toward both Jack and the others that darkened their faces, Luke¡¯s eyes began to widen evermore, his own heart punching against his lungs as he covered his chest with his hand.

    His breaths becoming audible, Hope quickly grabbed a hold of his hand, having both of her fingers caressing his knuckles.

    (Hope) W-We could heal her still! G-Gwen is tough, so if she holds out a bit longer, then¡ª

    (Jack) She¡¯s not going to make it you guys¡­

    The world stopped for Luke alone.

    His feet were wobbling on the very smooth surface. Feeling as if tiny needles were pricking beneath his heels and soles, Luke slowly turned his head to view Jack.

    And in that single moment, the frustrations that burdened his heart let out a tiny slip.

    (Luke) What the hell are you saying¡­

    Biting both corners of his lips, Luke walked toward the scared red-haired man who closed his eyes and turned his head away.

    (Jack) There¡¯s a hole in her stomach! Look man, I¡¯m just observing the situation¡ª

    Luke used both of his hands to grab Jack¡¯s collar, his fingers digging into the very fabric. Tilting his head down, he didn¡¯t let Jack nor anyone see what was beyond that darkened face of his.

    Hope began to tug on the fabric on his left shoulder.

    (Hope) L-Luke. It¡¯s okay. If I go down there right now, then I might make it.

    (Jack) P-Please think realistically! No one has survived having a hole in their gut! I think¡ª

    Luke moved his head upward.

    With just one motion, Jack froze as he saw the facial expression that Luke had under his curled-up fists. Unable to muster up a single sentence, the only thing that he was able to push out from his throat were a few words.

    (Luke) We were so close¡­

    Jack looked down as he couldn¡¯t respond.

    Letting his hands stay motionless to his sides, he let Luke¡¯s tears hit against his black leather boots that were riddled with dirt and dust. Puckering up his lips, his thumbs rubbed the skin of his pointer fingers in an arithmetic sequence.

    (Luke) I was so close. This plan almost worked, but in the end, it was all for nothing¡­

    His grip on Jack finally loosened.

    Placing both of his hands toward his own body, Luke turned to look at the desolate city that was blocked by the reddish clouds that they were above. Continuing to let out a light stream of tears in his eyes, he placed both of his hands on the edge of the stone that was on the edge of heaven and hell.

    With his eyes stinging upon the salt that got trapped inside of his eyes, he let out a long sigh as he stared into the hellish clouds.

    (Luke) I don¡¯t ¡­ I don¡¯t ¡­

    Luke closed his eyes, his vision being eliminated as not even the light from the clouds didn¡¯t enter.

    Trapping air into his lungs, the feeling of stabbing needles prickling the soles and heels of his feet began to tighten evermore. As if his luck was running out, his eyes continued to stare beyond the edge of the horizon that even he couldn¡¯t decipher.

    (Luke) I don¡¯t know what to do¡­

    Amidst the darkness that clouded him, he then heard a tiny voice.

    (???) Luke¡­

    His jaw clattered as the voice surrounded his entire being.

    (???) Luke¡­

    Feeling the cold morning air stick him in place, his eyelids wouldn¡¯t even open to the hellish sight that reality stuck him in.

    But in a world of his own, he was the only one there.

    As if he opened his eyes, he saw the world blanketed in a bleach-filling white, as all of his senses were transferred to this world alone. Looking around the world that his mind created, he looked around the white room or world that trapped him consciously.

    (Luke) W-what¡­

    His mind and body being separated, he continued to see the endless horizon of just pure white.

    Gulping a load of saliva down his throat, he moved his head in every direction with both of his hands close to his body. Unable to see a person or creature in his world, his fingers began to stab his palms.

    (???) Luke¡­The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    That same voice.

    (Luke) Just, please tell me who are you?

    (???) Oh, Luke¡­

    And this time, the voice that whispered in the white world that he resided came from one single direction.

    Turning his head slowly to the right, his eyes caught a whiff of a figure with a hoodie and sweatpants, a woman appearing to be in her early to mid-30s.

    (Luke) Mom¡­

    Having his feet on the fake floor, he remained still as the woman slowly walked toward him.

    It was as if that day never happened, as if she was never encased in rubble.

    (Mary) You got so big.

    Luke¡¯s eyes swirled with emotions he could not describe.

    As Mary opened her arms, Luke immediately pulled the woman toward him. His arms held her as if he was about to lose her again. Nuzzling his face onto her shoulder, salted tears began staining her hoodie as he sobbed.

    (Mary) Shhh

    Caressing the back of his head with one hand, she used her other hand to pat his back.

    (Mary) You¡¯ve come so far.

    Luke couldn¡¯t let out a response as his own throat jailed his vocals from speaking any further. Her touch was as warm as he remembered. Mary pulled her head back as she saw the face that she longed to see.

    Moving both of her hands, she trailed them along his smooth youthful face as she finally reached both of his cheeks, having her thumbs placed beneath his eyes. Her eyes barely contained the tears that wanted to sprout out, she let out a small smile as her own hands began to be soaked by the running tears from Luke.

    (Mary) I¡¯m so proud of you¡­ you kept your promise¡­

    Letting go, she dropped both of her hands as she walked backward a couple of steps.

    Unable to even reach his hand outward, his hand trembled and twitched as he gritted the ends of his teeth. Trying to jerk his right arm forward, his reddened cheeks that were stained by tears soon began to wither away as the world of white...

    Soon began to crumble.

    Like the static of a TV, the world that he resided slowly was being brought back to the real world, as even the woman standing in front of him soon began to crumble as well.

    Still unable to jerk his right arm and hand forward, he pushed his vocals as he arched his body forward, enabling him to create one loud yell.

    (Luke) Mom!

    His chest began to fasten under the invisible timer, he finally pushed a single step forward with his right foot.

    (Luke) Please help me! I don¡¯t know what to do. I keep losing my friends!

    Mary only stared at him, her eyes on the verge of with-holding tears that could''ve drown out the hellish fires outside the world of white.

    (Mary) Don''t change, grow.

    A small smile remained as, Luke saw black.

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    He opened his eyes with a gasp.

    Seeing the reddish clouds that blocked the view of the city, Luke let go of the edge of the building that scraped against both of his hands. Taking a step back, he turned his head in the back of him as everyone began to slowly move themselves forward toward him.

    Extending out his right hand, he then used his pointer finger and thumb to snap them repeatedly.

    Making a simple repeated snapping sound, he looked down onto the marbled floor that he had both of his boots glued to, staring it down with both of his red eyes. Putting his left hand to cover his right eye, he dug his fingers into his face as he hunched his body forward.

    (Jack) Uh ¡­ Luke?

    (Miles) What¡¯s he doing?

    (Stan) I think he¡¯s thinking.

    (Fred) Never saw him think this deep before¡­

    Stopping the snapping motion, he extended his right hand and pointer finger toward the young man who had silver hair.

    Lighting up a warm smile, Luke straightened his back and legs.

    (Luke) Fred, remember during the robotics competition six years ago, when I decided to put those rocket boots onto the robot we were making?

    Fred put his hand toward the end of his chin, tapping all four of his fingers in a repeated flowing motion. His nails tracing along the hairless skin, he stopped midway as he turned his head toward Luke.

    Widening his eyes, Fred snapped his fingers once as he also pointed toward Luke, which caused Luke to drop his hand.

    (Fred) I remember now! Come to think of it, it was a pretty stupid idea.

    (Luke) Yeah, yeah. Anyway, remember the prototype that I tried to make, but ended up failing?

    (Fred) That was because it was impossible to make in the first place.

    Luke put both of his hands inside of his leather jacket, looking down onto the marble floor as he nodded up and down a couple of times.

    Still having a small smile on his face, he turned his attention toward Stan, Gary, and Diego, who were right beside Fred. Walking toward the four of them, Luke cleared his throat while clicking the marble floor with the heels of his boots.

    (Luke) Then how about we make it then? That same prototype.

    (Stan) Are you insane? How can all five of us invent something in under 15 minutes?!

    (Gary) Even for me, that¡¯s overkill.

    (Diego) We don¡¯t even have the parts to make it!

    Luke¡¯s face darkened at the responses coming from the four of them, tilting his head down onto the floor as he still had his hands inside of his pockets.

    Fred had both of his hands upward as his palms faced the open sky, while they were on the same level as where his hips were. In a pleading stance, Fred took a slight step forward with his left foot, having his body weight shifting onto it.

    (Fred) Look, Luke. Realistically speaking, there is no way that someone can use rocket boots efficiently. You have to be a master at balance and luck to even use it normally. Even then, no one is going to just have the same thing as¡ª

    A suitcase glided across the marble floor.

    Hitting alongside the back of Fred¡¯s left ankle, he quickly turned to look at the black suitcase that lay motionless near him. The rest of the five nerds looked up to see that the person who threw it like a bowling ball was none other than a bowl-haired cut man with a fedora. Putting both of his hands inside his black suit, Boris shifted his attention toward Luke.

    (Boris) Use that. What you want is right inside of that suitcase.

    Luke let out beads of sweat from both ends of his temples, as he had his palms showcasing outward. His hands soon turning sweaty and sticky, he looked up toward Boris who continued to stare at him.

    (Luke) R-Rocket boots? Inside this suitcase?

    (Boris) You heard me.

    (Luke) How did you even manage to find these, let alone create them then?

    Boris used his right hand to put it on top of the fedora that covered his forehead, gripping the black fabric of the hat. Taking the luxury hat off, it showcased his many white hair that soon rippled onto the floor below, as if a dog started to shed its winter coat at the beginning of spring.

    Seeing the many strands of hair inside of his hat, Boris placed the hat toward the side of his body, as he pushed his glasses upward with his left finger.

    (Boris) Someone I know gave them to me, saying that it might be useful for someone.

    (Luke) But who-

    (Boris) For now, we gotta stop that thing before it destroys the entire city. We both have one goal in mind, so I¡¯m ordering you to put them on.

    Letting out a huge gulp from within his throat, Luke bent down on one knee as he extended both of his hands onto the metal locks from the center. Clicking both locks with both of his thumbs, the black metal suitcase opened upward as all five men sparkled their eyes upon the sight that fell upon them.

    Pulling two objects out, Luke held both boots in both of his hands, feeling the icy cold black fabric that froze the ends of his palms. By merely placing them down on the ground, the heaviness of the metal from where the heel was alone was enough to wobble the ends of Luke¡¯s elbows.

    Its shoelaces untied, along with the metal canisters that were on the back of the boots, Luke took off both of his normal boots as he swept them away with just one kick. Putting the new pairs of boots on, he took a step forward. Well, tried¡­

    (Luke) It¡¯s a little heavy.

    (Boris) You¡¯ll get used to it. It¡¯s not for the damned and the unfortunate. You know Luke¡­

    Luke started to stomp toward the edge of the building as the others followed suit, all seeing the reddish clouds that were right below them.

    Not even bothering to place both of his hands on the stone edge of the building, he placed both of his hands onto his sides. Keeping the air in, he placed one foot on the edge as he lifted himself, as he now was standing on the edge of the tallest tower in the city.

    (Boris) Gamblers and soldiers are a lot alike.

    Exhaling out, he glanced at the two uzi¡¯s in both of his hips, while he checked to see the fulminated mercury and mustard gas that he had in his jacket¡¯s pockets.

    The rest of everyone, including the four nerds and four dark angel members that followed Boris gazed upon the sight of Luke staring down below hell itself.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Guess I¡¯m all ready now¡­ But before I go.

    (Luke) Give me the water bomb Fred.

    Fred safely gave the heavy metallic bomb toward the weak Luke, wrapping it close toward his right armpit. Tightening the grip on the metal water bomb with both of his hands to secure it, Fred tugged Luke¡¯s black pants with just the tip of his fingers, as Luke didn¡¯t even bother to look back.

    (Fred) W-What¡¯s the plan Luke?

    Silence fell upon the crowd of soldiers and friends that remained staring at the deliverer of Hope. Perking their ears up, they awaited what came from Luke, whether it be a groan or hum as all of them didn¡¯t even let a simple breath out of their lungs.

    Finally, Luke tilted his head upward, as he looked at the blackened sky that blocked the stars from above.

    (Luke) Well ¡­ try to have my back for the time being. You guys do what you do best.

    With just a simple thrust of both of his heels, Luke leaped out from the edge of the tower, the stone cracking along the edge.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 120: Weakest vs The Largest

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 6:15AM)

    The world became upside down.

    Having his head be the first body part to plow through the reddened clouds, ash and smoke molested his windpipe and nostrils as it forced its way into his lungs. Like a fallen angel being kicked out of the heavens, like a mythical creature born out of God¡¯s experiment.

    He felt truly free.

    Exiting the red smoke clouds, he saw the entire city with his body inverted.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) So this is the world from below¡­

    The chilled air caressing the edges of his jacket and pants, blew the ends of his fabric clothing as he still held the metal water bomb that he tucked under his jacket. Unable to draw breath, he dueled the monstrosity that was to the left of him.

    And with his own sharpened eyes, the creature that brought hell toward the land of the living flamed the entirety of the east side of the downtown district, with its flames melting the hardened cement like it was ice cream.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) And I have one shot¡­

    Reaching the halfway point of the building, Luke¡¯s eyes began to widen as he looked down onto the fastening ground. Opening his mouth, the ride-side bang that covered his right eye uncovered itself as both of his red eyes stared at the asphalt ground that awaited him.

    As the sounds of voices, all replayed a neverending movie that displayed the past six years of his life.

    (Boris in Luke¡¯s thoughts) Gamblers and soldiers are a lot alike.

    (Joseph in Luke¡¯s thoughts) You¡¯re not ready.

    (Luna in Luke¡¯s thoughts) Then instead of being strong, how about strategizing a bit more?

    (Hope in Luke¡¯s thoughts) You didn¡¯t kill him, Luke.

    (Fred in Luke¡¯s thoughts) Do I ¡­ do you still miss your mom?

    (Stan in Luke¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯m sorry¡­

    (Gwen in Luke¡¯s thoughts) All I want in life ¡­ is to go to Paradise.

    All of these voices playing at a fastening pace, Luke began to close his eyes as the wind tried to force them open.

    His body not letting out a bead of sweat, nor letting out a groan from his vocals, for once his body was as relaxed as the clouds that he had passed.

    And in one single whisper, another voice silenced the other voices that replayed over and over again.

    (Mary in Luke¡¯s thoughts) Live for me!

    Luke opened his eyes.

    While he swung both of his feet backward, making a backward kick with all of the force inside of his legs. In that one single moment, a spark lit up not just from his beating heart, but from¡ª

    The metal canisters that were lodged onto the back of his new boots that he wore.

    In one single burst, two bolts of flame and fire sprouted out from the ends of the boots, propelling a compelling force that battled against the force of gravity. As he was hundreds of feet from hitting the ground, his boots that were supposed to push him upward¡­

    Propelled him into the ruined buildings that were now right in front of him.

    (Luke) Ah!

    His heels being the engine and his legs being the steering wheels, Luke swayed and maneuvered back and forth against the concrete and brick buildings. As if it were natural for him, he avoided every building since the motion of the boots wouldn¡¯t stop for anything.

    Having his feet being the ones to guide him despite them being on the rear, Luke noticed an incoming building that popped out in front of him.

    With little time to dodge.

    (Luke) Oh no!

    An old window awaited his arrival.

    A reverb service bell rang all around his soul, and his blessing became activated by will as he soon clenched all four of his molars in a grinding close. Tucking his entire body in¡­

    He welcomed the old window with mind, body, and luck.

    Despite the world going in present motion, his blessing made it seem as if he was going on a rollercoaster, as he made sudden evades and turns to avoid the tables and broken down doors. Feeling the edges of the obstacles with just the skin of his clothing, he didn¡¯t let a breath draw in while going through the entire floor of the building.

    Coming out from the other end of the building, glass shards scraped against his skin as his bloodied knuckles and hands dripped down onto the ground below. His rocket boots still in motion, he turned his stomach so that his feet were still pushing him in the same direction while seeing the building that he was in.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) That was close!

    Looking in the direction of where the water pump facility was, right next to it was none other than the fiery monster that emitted its lethal flames. Noticing that the fiery monster had soon stopped, Luke bit down his lower lip, followed by the air around him fastening as he kicked both of his feet back again.

    Which sent his rocket canisters to second gear.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Time to finish this!

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    She bent down on both of her knees, clasping both of her hands together.

    The flames of her magma body dimmed, she hunched her body forward as her face soon began to look down onto the water pump facility that was right below her. Not letting out any malicious intent or smirk coming out from her mouth, the monster continued to keep her stance in check while ignoring all of her surroundings.

    (Sidney¡¯s thoughts) Just like last time.

    Her knees began to melt the asphalt and concrete that she put pressure on, along with the many buildings withering its chemical paint away.

    Gripping her hands more tightly, the fiery flames that were dimmed from the beginning soon ceased to shine.

    She slowly turned her head upward as she kept her muscle face still.

    Turning her head to the left of her, her eyes caught the whiff of a young man with light brown hair who held a heavy metal container tucked with both of his hands.

    No light emitting out from her eyes, she unclasped her hands as she laid them motionless to the ground beneath her. Staring at the young man intently, the crevices of her magma skin eyes started to slant.

    (Sidney¡¯s thoughts) I guess I steered his whole life huh.

    Leaving the water bomb tucked in his right armpit with his right arm, he used his left to pull out a little red gun that mimicked that of a toy gun from a dollar store. Bringing it up toward the air, he had his finger on the trigger as he pointed it up high with his tippy toes stabilizing himself.

    Pulling the trigger, red smoke rushed onward out of the barrel of the plastic red gun.

    Sending the red smoke flame up high, it lit the darkening morning sky that didn¡¯t let the morning rays come forth because of the hellish clouds. With the smoke flare being up high in the air, it then died off as it struck the top of the black clouds.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Hope that gives us the right signal.

    She soon used her right leg to push herself off the ground.

    Having one knee still on the ground, she also used it to push herself off as she stood up straight with both of her hands motionless to her magma skin thighs. Looking down on the young man, the fiery monster had its slanted and pushed-up eyes onto Luke.

    Who happened to have his face and body drenched in a heap of sweat, his palms starting to loosen the grip upon the metal bomb.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Honestly, the idea seemed far-fetched, even for me¡­Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    His breathing fastened, he noticed that the monster''s right arm pulled upward, bringing her arm and hand up high in the air. Gluing both of her bare feet onto the holed asphalt, she steadied herself as the crevices of her eyes pushed down in just the snap of a finger.

    Also in that single snap, she hurried her open-palmed hand onto him.

    The flames of her skin began to open up again, her magma skin soon turned from hardened lava rock to actual magma that ran down her skin. Her right palm closer and closer to the defenseless Luke, he crouched down on both of his knees as he slouched his chest forward.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is it going to work?

    Her now fiery hand was right on top of him.

    Luke¡¯s entire soul screamed out in danger as a hearing of a reverb service bell shingled across his body.

    Closing his eyes, he awaited as he let his body succumb to the beauty of lady luck, his arms, and hands that were wrapping the metal water bomb still gripped toward him. Hearing his beating heart that didn¡¯t implode from inside of his chest, even his breath was picked up from his ears.

    As he then opened up his eyes again.

    (Luke) What the¡­

    The change of place was different, as before he was right in front of the monster.

    Now, he was in the back of her.

    Her hand came full force onto the stone asphalt and debris, creating a loud boom that thundered the sky and air. With the shockwaves riddling the entirety of the city as if a small earthquake had formed, the top of the debris that he was now on shifted and churned.

    Not only did his eyes catch a whiff of change, but his lower waist felt like two arms that were wrapped around him in an iron grip.

    (Luke) Next time, be a little bit faster okay?

    (Luna) How about not jumping off of a fucking building next time!?

    Turning her head rapidly toward the tanned beauty and the light-haired young man that were in the back of her, the flames of her body glowed ever brighter as the heat caused them both to take a step back.

    Their clothes trapping the heat inside, Luna unwrapped her arms around Luke as she took out two metal batons that were holstered onto her hips. As the heat started to drench both of their bodies in a sultry sweat, Luke glanced at her with narrowed eyes.

    (Luke) You know you can¡¯t fight her with those.

    (Luna) Does it look like I already know that?

    Her magma hands soon curled up into fiery fists. Having her flaming eyes glued to the two of them, the monster took a single step forward as the shockwave of the step caused the debris on where they were on top to crumble.

    Noticing that the stone started to collapse onto itself, Luke huddled the bomb close as he raised his voice.

    (Luke) Quick! Grab hold of me!

    Barely in time to put back her metal batons onto her holsters, she quickly wrapped around his lower waist without question. Falling from the mountain of stone that they were both on top of, it gave Luke the chance to kick both of his feet backward, as the metal canisters from the back ends of his boots surged forth.

    (Luke) Brace yourself!

    (Luna) W-Wait what¡ª

    Both of them flew up high in the air, avoiding not only the motion of the fall but also another deadly attack by the monster.

    Her fists slammed onto the area of which they were originally at, Luke looked down to see the burning fists melting the stone into waxed cream that resembled glue. His boots sent him up toward the monster¡¯s chest level in height, his entire body strained itself by a weight that was similar to his.

    A weight that managed to ally itself with gravity.

    (Luna) Put me down! Put me down! Put me down now!

    Unable to even hit him let alone be angry with him, her entire body clung onto him as if her life depended on it.

    With Luke¡¯s eyes continuing to analyze the monster, she arched her head forward while opening her mouth to let out a shriveling war cry. As the monster¡¯s breath reached the flying Luke, he let the motion of his boots circle back and forth with Luna in tow.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Where could her weak spot be? Diego and the others said that her chest area was a no-go.

    (Luna) Put me the hell down now! Now! Now! NOW!!

    Ignoring her pleas and demands, her eyes widened as he continued to glide through the air as if he were oblivious to her wails and cries.

    Luckily for him, another red flare of smoke came forth from another building that was right near him, with the red flare of light unable to reach the top of the hellish clouds. Squinting at where the light was from that direction, he noticed that a couple of helicopters were on standby in a building that wasn¡¯t affected by the burning heat.

    (Luke) It¡¯s them! Look, Luna! It¡¯s them!

    (Luna) Place me there now! Do it or else!

    (Luke) Sorry Luna, but it¡¯s all according to plan.

    (Luna) What fucking plan!? We don¡¯t even have a plan you¡ª

    (Luke) Just bear it for a couple of minutes.

    Continuing to grip his body, she let out a trailing hiss from both ends of her teeth.

    While ignoring her little fuss, Luke looked up to see another red flare coming from near the building that the group of helicopters landed on.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) Is that the others?

    A white flare glistened the night sky, with the flare being the most west out of all of them.

    Looking toward where the military complex was, the group could be none other than David and the others who continued to hold down the fort. Letting out a small smile, the entirety of the little improv that everyone was a part of was now coming to its fulminated conclusion.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I guess Benn, David, and the others in the complex are sitting this one out¡­

    Looking toward the two main groups that awaited the coming battle, Luke pulled out a little metal earpiece that was inside of his jacket, putting it right beside his right ear. The sound of wind being filtered by the device, static soon started to pierce his ear as it cleared off, leading to a voice that trailed out of the piece.

    (Jack) L-Luke. Is this thing on?

    (Luke) Yeah, it¡¯s on. Can you determine her movements exactly?

    (Jack) Sort of. She¡¯s hell bent on trying to kill you guys. But it looks like she¡¯s ignoring her main objective¡­

    With Jack being a support guide, Luke let out a single long breath out of his pink lungs. Feeling his body loosened, Luna clattered her teeth followed by her grip on him starting to worsen by the second.

    Turning his head back onto the wide-eyed Luna, he gave her a reassuring smile that caused Luna to stop her squirming.

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry Luna. Once we end all of this, then I could help you lower yourself down.

    (Luna) You better!

    Luke motioned his head forward again as he saw the monster still eyeing them like an annoying housefly. Turning his feet, he made sure that the direction of which he faced was none other than the fiery creature that blocked their path.

    Like an angel, like a bird, he was free and he was fighting a demon. A demon that long tormented the planet that used to be a planet free from sin.

    Well, that¡¯s what he thought at least.

    Soaring toward the monster, he sharpened his eyes while keeping his body straightened and relaxed so that Luna wouldn¡¯t have a hard time trying to keep still. Not only that, but it was also useful for her so that she would be able to teleport without feeling nervous or frightened.

    (Lieutenant) Form up!

    A platoon of soldiers and elite soldiers alike awaited on the ground that was in front of the burning monster.

    With a total of barely 50 to 60 soldiers, many of the common Joes looked down onto the ground with darkened faces and gritting teeth. Unable to even look up at the monstrous sight that was in front of them, their wielded guns trembled as they couldn¡¯t even lift their hands to aim down. Miles and Hope ran on the stone ground towards the deathbringer.

    (Miles) Remember to heal any soldier''s Hope!

    (Hope) But Gwen! She needs immediate care!

    Miles stopped right on the edge of the street, the tip of his boot hitting the curb as he kept his eye on the fiery monster in front of him.

    Turning around, both of Hope¡¯s eyes began to fill up with water, her right hand gripping the handle of her combat. Clutching her weapon firmly, the metal began to creak, her nails scraping off whatever dust that stuck on.

    His voice quivering, his feet loosened, he couldn¡¯t turn around; he couldn¡¯t.

    (Miles) We don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll make it Hope¡­

    (Hope) But she needs our help!

    Miles turned around to face Hope, his eyes shaded in a cloud of darkness with strands of his hair covering the top of his eyes and forehead. Clenching both of his teeth, he kept his head down, while the monster¡¯s stomps only rumbled the soles of their feet evermore.

    (Miles) Hope, please. I haven¡¯t said this to Luke since I know he can¡¯t handle it, but she won¡¯t make it.

    A single tear trailed down from her right eye, her tear soon dropping hovering on the edge of her jaw.

    (Hope) How can you say that ¡­ We don¡¯t know what will happen.

    (Miles) I know Gwen¡¯s our friend, and I won¡¯t stop you if you decide to help her. But there are soldiers who need our help too.

    (Johnny) Waiting for your cue, Miles.

    Miles turned around. Seeing both a blonde haired young man and a cat-girl standing many meters in front of him, he raised his right hand to them.

    (Miles) Johnny! Elizabeth! You¡¯re with me!

    (Johnny and Elizabeth) Got it!

    (Miles) Stan. Good luck out there.

    (Stan) You too man.

    Miles turned back towards Hope, her tear-jerked eyes only trembling more and more as she kept her stare into his. With a slight quiver within his voice, a single trail of sweat swept down from his right temple.

    (Miles) So are you coming, or not? Make your choice.

    Hope felt a tingling sensation in her legs. Pressing her lips, she looked towards Miles, giving him a firm nod.

    (Hope) Okay ¡­ I¡¯ll go with you.

    Separated into three separate groups, Hope went off with the many soldiers who were low on morale, while Miles, Johnny, and Elizabeth formed their little group away from the platoon.

    Meanwhile, Stan, Gary, Fred, and Diego were all alone with nothing but weapons and gadgets that they still carried.

    With many of them on their podiums, they awaited the signal that would be bestowed by Luke and only Luke, as all of them looked up into the flying star that circled the angry giant. Infatuated with the young light brown-haired man, everyone held in their breaths as the heat from the creature raspied their throats.

    (Hope) Remember to give it your all!

    Pumping up both of her hands in the air, she was right next to the Lieutenant who placed her right next to him.

    With the platoon of soldiers stationed in the front, they saw the three other soldiers going in the other direction. As Miles was in front of them, he wielded his typical dual-wielding sawed-off shotguns, his fingers laid to the sides of the guns.

    (Miles) The platoon is there to concentrate fire on her stomach and chest, while we and Stan¡¯s group are aiming straight for her legs!

    (Johnny) Do you think it should give Luke an opening!?

    (Miles) It¡¯s the only way!

    For the group that was toward the opposite of Miles¡¯s group.

    (Stan) Get your best gadgets ready!

    The four of them took out respectively a pistol, revolver, razored whip, and an assault rifle.

    Wiping away an abundance of sweat, Fred used his right arm as it got coated by the salted water. Looking up at the fiery inferno that he ran away from six years ago, all three of them let out huge gulps down their throats.

    Except for Diego.

    (Diego) Don¡¯t worry Stan. You know me when it comes to these streets.

    (Stan) Thanks, Diego. Gotta thank Hope for fixing what she can.

    Stan looked down at his right hand which was molded in white bandages.

    Unable to grab anything with his recovering right hand, he placed it back inside his pants pocket. Wielding an assault rifle with his left hand, he already had his pointer finger laced on the side of the gun.

    (Fred) Good thing that Hope somewhat healed it to the betterment of her ability.

    (Stan) If I¡¯m being honest, I thought I was about to lose my right hand for good.

    (Gary) If you¡¯re lucky, you might be able to barely use it for the upcoming months. Almost like your body has been given a new hand you know, have to train it from ground zero.

    (Stan) Hopefully.

    The four of them looked upward into the night sky, seeing the dazzling light show that circled the fiery beast.

    Propelling their heels to push off the asphalt of the street, every soldier sucked in a big breath that clocked and turned every corner of their lungs.

    (Stan) Everyone knows what part they do.

    (Miles) This is it.

    (Lieutenant) Buckle up, soldiers!

    Squinting his eyes as his vision blurred from the movements of his own body and rocket boots, Luke turned his head back toward Luna.

    (Luke) Luna, take out the red flare gun!

    Using her right arm, she tightened her hold around his lower neck while her legs cradled against his thighs. With her left hand, she scurried into Luke¡¯s inner jacket as her knuckles grazed against the many objects and gadgets that were locked up tight.

    Feeling a plastic gun, she quickly pulled it out and pointed it up high in the air, the wind blowing against her face.

    Pulling the trigger, a large red flare lit up the already early morning sky, the smoke glistening onto both of their faces.

    (Luke) Get ready¡­

    Because the battle between the weakest and the largest commenced.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 121: This Is The End

    (Luna) Look out!

    (Jack) Just keep dodging Luke, you hear!?

    Unable to look at the ground, the fiery monster used her curled-up hands to sway away the annoying insect that buzzed around her.

    Widening his eyes, Luke tilted his head and upper body lower while his legs and feet were pointed upward, creating an angle at which Luke flew downward. Her fiery hand barely grazed the back of Luna¡¯s body, there was a single moment where Luna¡¯s hair steamed from the millisecond heat that both she and Luke dodged.

    Realizing that the monster had been swatting them away faster than before, Luke got farther away from her as she pushed her heels off of the ground.

    (Miles) Johnny! Elizabeth! Now!

    With the monster¡¯s right foot off the ground, Johnny had in his hands a light heavy machine gun that weighed slightly less than Benn¡¯s gun. Having his left hand in the center and his right hand holding the grip, he had the butt of the gun lodging itself into his right armpit.

    With his pointer finger, Johnny lit up the area around him as the bullets flew straight toward the heels of the monster.

    A shriek came from the giantess, turning her attention onto the ground insects that stung her, her flames already growing ever brighter than before.

    (Johnny) Elizabeth! Support me!

    (Elizabeth) Got it!

    Standing right next to him, Elizabeth spread out both of her palms away from her body, putting them downward as they faced the creature. Bits of cloud came out of her palms, the freshly coated black vapor circled and intertwined around her wrist and forearms.

    Taking a single step forward, she spread both of her arms up in the air, accumulating a great mass of black combusted clouds that soon covered her head like a hat. Pushing the clouds up higher, she thrust back both of her hands and arms and then carried them forward, which made the clouds that she controlled¡­

    To be launched toward the area of which Johnny was digging with his machine gun.

    (Miles¡¯s thoughts) Oh no, she¡¯s making her move!

    A single hand flew straight toward the three of them, the heat from the hand barely nudging the couple to sweat.

    Placing both of his hands up high in the air, a blue light emitted from both ends of Miles¡¯s palms.

    Followed by the dome circling the three of them, with Miles being the anchor of the trio. Sweat already sweeping down onto the asphalt below, Miles grit both ends of his teeth as his eyes barely glanced at the magma hand that was already right on top of them.

    Stopping his firing, Johnny dropped his weapon onto the ground like it was trash, cradling Elizabeth who continued to thrust her thunderclouds. Already feeling the abhorrent heat that barely drenched both of their bodies, they held onto each other as they braced for the smash.

    Luckily for Elizabeth, the black clouds reached toward the Achilles heel of the behemoth, creating a light show that stung and snapped her skin like fried chicken.

    At the same time, the monster¡¯s hand collided against the hardened shield that Miles summoned.

    A blast sounding the air, dust, and smoke encapsulated the area in which the three of them were. Feeling as if their lungs were stabbing their rib cages, Elizabeth and Johnny soon let go of one another as both of them placed their hands onto their chests.

    Dust came out from the two of them, they noticed that a brittle dust storm surrounded them, with the hand that was hurdled at them soon being pulled back. Looking all over, both of them noticed that one figure was missing.

    (Elizabeth) Where¡¯s Miles?!

    (Johnny) Miles! Miles where are you¡ª

    Looking down, the couple took a whiff of a barely conscious man who didn¡¯t show any signs of bleeding or scratches from his body. A trail of blood poured out of his nose, Elizabeth kneeled and she placed her right hand onto Miles¡¯s forehead.

    (Elizabeth) He¡¯s knocked out!

    (Johnny) I guess his shield won, but probably wore his strength out in the process.

    With the dust clearing away, the two of them saw the monster balancing on one foot, as her right foot bled out lava.

    Her black clouds withering away from the excessive heat, led to the sight of a severe open wound that caused the monster¡¯s stability to be in shambles. Not bothering to attack as her right foot was slashed, the open wound that gushed out boiling lava started to repair itself.

    As the magma soon hardened, leading to the wound being wrapped up like a bandaid¡ª

    She couldn¡¯t nudge her left foot.

    Having no sensation or feeling on it she turned her head to look at the four young men who wielded many blue canisters with their hands. Squinting her eyes, she noticed that the men had already thrown their canisters, but she couldn¡¯t register the feeling.

    So why?

    Looking down to where her left foot was, her head and upper body burned into a fiery inferno as she let out a high-pitched cry.

    (Stan) That should keep her busy!

    In Stan¡¯s hand, a black and white skull and bones were latched onto the logo of the metal.

    Her left foot being encapsulated by the almost absolute zero ice that managed to whisk away the flames of her hardened magma body, she bent down as she used her right knee to keep her stable. With her right hand, she thrusted it downward onto the group that started to sprint away from the burning heat.

    Finding a little alleyway, the four of them narrowly dodged the hand as dust circled the area where they were. Raising her right hand again, she wasted no time in trying to clobber them, with her right hand thrusting itself down onto the ground again where the four young men were hiding.

    Just as she was about to slam her right palm¡­

    (Lieutenant) Fire away!

    Gushing lava holes began to pour out from her upper body and neck.

    Unable to hit the group of four, she moved both of her hands to block incoming mana-compressed bullets that pierced through her hands. Putting an abundance of strength and power into her hands, created a little tug-of-war between her regenerative healing and the amount of bullets that the Lieutenant can fire against her.

    While blocking her head with her only way of defense.

    (Stan) Throw them now!

    Seeing an opening, the group of four that the monster let go of, threw the second round of frozen air.

    Smashing alongside her right ankle, the absolute zero ice soon encapsulated her right foot as it kept her right foot pinned to the ground in a snap. As the heat from her body continued to drench everyone who tried to get close, many men and women started to stumble back and forth as they got to the border of being conscious and not.

    Having both of her feet now super glued to the asphalt, the monster let out an ear-piercing shout from her flamed vocals, her sweltering raspied magma throat coughing chunks of lava out into the world. The air around everyone began to deafen and cause time itself to halt, the loud prolonged scream caused Luke and Luna to fly away even more.

    Unable to cover both of their ears, the two of them continued to look at the burning sight that encapsulated both of their eyes. Noticing that she stopped screaming, their ears rang with tinnitus as they barely heard each other from the sounds of their yells.

    (Luke) They need to stall a bit more!

    (Luna) Huh!?

    (Luke) I said they need to stall a bit more!!

    (Luna) But her guard¡¯s down!?

    (Luke) Huh!?

    (Luna) I said her guard¡¯s down!!

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    (Luke) Oh! But she¡¯s radiating a lot of heat! Even if we sneak past her! We wouldn¡¯t make it that far!

    (Luna) Huh!?

    (Luke) Don¡¯t worry about it!

    Still hovering over the sky, Luke heard the voice of a well-groomed man inside of his right ear.

    The person in question was inside none other than a safely kept helicopter, with the heavy aircraft being near where Luke and Luna were. With the man with red hair wielding but just a sniper rifle and a little ear device inside of his right ear, he aimed down his weapon right where the monster¡¯s head was.

    (Jack) Hey Luke. Tell the soldiers to aim for the head! That way they could give you an opening!

    (Luke) Uh ¡­ but it¡¯s impossible to try to speak to them down there! I don¡¯t think they have any communicative devices that are the same as us!

    (Jack) Oh don¡¯t worry, one person is listening to us.

    (Luke) S-Sorry what was that!?

    (Boris) The head is the weak spot? Consider it done.

    Behind both Hope and the Lieutenant, was none other than a man wearing a black fedora on top of his bowl-cut hair head.

    Having his hand over his left ear, he made sure that no extra noise came into the communication between him and the two men from above. Walking toward the Lieutenant who was busy giving commands, Boris placed his right hand on top of the Lieutenant¡¯s shoulder.

    (Boris) Tell your troops to focus fire on the head.

    (Lieutenant) What does it look like my troops are doing? That bitch knows where her weak spot is.

    (Boris) Then focus all attentive fire on her hands and arms. Without a need for shielding, she¡¯ll be helpless.

    Straightening his back, the Lieutenant cleared his throat as he thumped his chest with just his right hand. Swallowing in a load of saliva down his rusted throat, he placed both of his hands behind his lower back, showcasing his puffed-up chest loud and proud for everyone to see.

    Despite his voice directing his soldiers, his eyes locked upon the beast that continued to flame her magma skin despite her feet being contained.

    (Lieutenant) Soldiers!

    Almost all of the soldiers continued to spray the upper body and chest area of the monster¡¯s body, as well as the many lava flows that poured out of her body. With both of her hands and arms riddled with mana-compressed holes, she arched her head back to the max it could go, which made her seem headless to the platoon.

    (Lieutenant) ¡­ Just lock and load.

    Seeing that the fiery beast was arching her head back to avoid any bullets that could strike her, she also allowed her skin to burn evermore, her light managing to cause many soldiers to look away.

    Darkening his face evermore, the Lieutenant grits the back ends of his teeth as his enamels start to chip away from the excess bite force.

    (Lieutenant¡¯s thoughts) If only there was some way that we could get rid of both her lower and upper body! It would take a goddamn miracle for even us to try to get a good hit on her head¡ª

    Lights of a thousand whistles lit up the morning sky.

    Bullets, blessings, and even the sounds of a helicopter and rocket boots all ceased to stop reverberating sound.

    Looking up at the night sky, all of them saw a trail of flashing lights that sparkled and glistened like old lightning. With smoke upon the edges of the lights that shined its unholy whistle of death, the barrage of old lightning soon started to come down right where the monster stood.

    (Lieutenant) Missiles?

    (Boris) Looks like God¡¯s on our side.

    (Jack) They¡¯re from the complex¡­

    Luke, being the one in the air, looked toward the complex as the missile smoke was traced toward the west side of the city. Both Luke and Luna, seeing that a bunch of red flares were sprouting out from east of the complex, noticed that a trail of dust was seen from just the other side of the city.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) I think that¡¯s Benn, David, and the rest of everybody¡­

    Still clutching the water bomb in his hands, he failed to notice the slow incoming missiles that were meters away from hitting the poor beast that couldn¡¯t walk.

    As soon as the missiles struck the monster, a flash of light blinded the entirety of the sky in a whitish color.

    Everyone that was on the ground, ducked and covered as they placed their hands onto the back of their heads, dropping their guns and gadgets down as they gripped their scalps.

    Then came the shockwave that wiped the century-old dust.

    Their ears rang again, and all of the soldiers and Dark Angel members became discombobulated and clunky with their steps. Along with the sudden heat that came from the missiles, smoke plundered the area in which the monster barely stood.

    Standing up, everyone waved away the dust and smoke that molested their windpipes and lungs, leading to a good amount of soldiers coughing out large chunks of flesh in their mouths. Blood accompanying them, everyone sat down to watch as the smoke cleared from the beast before them.

    (Luke) Look, Luna!

    (Luna) Finally¡­

    What lay in front of everyone was a low dimmed, barely flaming monster that lay flat on its stomach.

    But she had no stomach.

    With her entire body, including her hands, arms, neck, and upper to lower body being completely gone from the face of Terra, the only thing that was kept was her feet and legs. As her spine was still attached, it led to her head being the only thing that was still connected to her body exoskeleton.

    (Jack) Hey Luke, her mind is completely overridden with fear. Now¡¯s your chance!

    (Luke) On it!

    Tilting his body downward, he let the motion of his rocket boots fly him downward toward where the monster¡¯s body was. Still having Luna in tow, her feet twitched as the ground that awaited both of them managed to get closer and closer.

    (Luna¡¯s thoughts) Finally ground!

    Making a touchdown on top of her hardened head, Luke noticed a large hole that led to an opening inside of her skull. The soles of their boots had not even melted from the magma-cooled skin, both Luke and Luna had each other close by as both felt her hardened cheek going up and down.

    Meanwhile, Boris widened his eyes as his face went a deathly pale.

    (Boris) Who knows what may happen if the bomb is detonated!?

    (Lieutenant) Holy hell you¡¯re right! Troops! RETREAT!!!

    By just hearing the words coming from the Lieutenant alone, all the soldiers and Dark Angels members ran alongside each other as they tried their hardest to push themselves off of the dark asphalt they ran on.

    Pushing their lungs and feet to their limits, all of them took in the ghastly toxic air that only just slowed them down.

    A bead of sweat rolled down Luke¡¯s right temple, he noticed the little valve that the bomb had on its right side. Holding the bomb with just his left hand, he used his right to twist it in a counterclockwise motion, allowing a little hissing sound to come right out of the creak of the hull.

    (Luke) This is the end.

    A ticking sound can be heard.

    Thrusting his left arm back, he put his right foot back as he arched his body so that his weight was focused on both of his feet.

    Throwing the heavyweight bomb straight into the little hole, Luna instantly held Luke¡¯s right hand as both of them jumped off of the back of the monster¡¯s head. Landing on the concrete, Luna made sure that Luke was right beside her while they continued to push their blistered feet on the blackened pavement.

    (Luna) I see them!

    Stan, Gary, Fred, and Diego barely made it onto the back of a building that was far away from the two of them. From the corner of the large building, a young woman with blue eyes and blonde hair popped out as she raised her head upward.

    While pushing her vocals to her limits.

    (Hope) Hurry Luke!

    Luke looked back to see the open-mouthed flaming beast that didn¡¯t even try to regenerate her bodiless body. Noticing that a couple of magma tears slowly streaming down from the corners of her eyes, Luke widened his eyes as he started to be dragged by Luna¡¯s right hand.

    Gripping her fingers into his knuckles, her low sharpened nails still managed to cut deep into his bones as he turned his head back around.

    (Luna) Just ignore her!

    Both Luna and Luke vanished.

    Being blackjacked hundreds of feet forward, both were dozens of meters away from the building of which Hope, Fred, and Miles stuck their heads out.

    As the sounds of a helicopter fading away into the distance were heard, Luke ignored the aircraft as he extended his left hand to try to close the gap.

    (Sidney) J-J-

    The bomb exploded.

    Inside her head, the highly pressurized water that was trapped within the metal jail cells of the metal bomb soon erupted into her closed-up head. In an instant, the water that swirled and crushed her mind and brain soon exploded outward, with not just water coming out.

    But a fireball of lava and fire spurred out from her head.

    The light was not as blinding as it was six years ago, but it was enough for everyone to close their eyes shut as they turned their heads away from the burning light. Barely grabbing her right hand, Luke clutched it tightly as he pushed Luna first into the alleyway that was in the back of the largely structured building.

    Then the sound came.

    Then the fiery inferno.

    Both coming in at the same time, Luke barely saw the rest of everybody that hurdled against each other to avoid the paralyzing shockwave and hellish flames that blanketed them from above, to the left, and to the right. With the only saving grace being the large building that acted as a shield.

    Barely opening their eyes, they witnessed that some flames were closer to them than others.

    Fred, Gary, Diego, and Stan all took out the last of their frozen gas canisters from their pockets, throwing them at both sides of the alleys followed by the high walls that can be turned into a roof. With the gas exploding, it led to a superficial creation of just absolute zero ice that caged them in to avoid the perverted flames.

    (Gary) We got ¡®em!

    (Fred) Not yet!

    As the star-like flames starting to melt away the hollow ice, Elizabeth pushed both of her hands outwards. Black clouds instantly formed along her wrists.

    Using her clouds to plug up the holes that the flames burned through, the black clouds summoned a chilling rain that allowed the ice to remain in its form.

    (Luke) Is this wall¡­

    The building that they used to escape from the flames, was practically holding back the last of the burning flames.

    Unable to focus her attention on the now melting wall, Elizabeth started to hyperventilate as the clouds that she continued to emit started to slow down. Feeling as if her body was on the verge of collapsing, she eyed the melting wall that soon started to burst open the can of ugly worms.

    Which was the fire that soon pushed forth onto the defenseless group.

    (Elizabeth) I-I¡¯m s¡ª

    A blue shield surrounded the entirety of them.

    From the Dark Angels to the platoon that stretched along the alleyway, the bright blue shield hardened in strength as the ever-glowing light continued to shine down on them. The man in question, barely allowing himself to breathe, had his right knee on the ground as he had both of his hands up in the air.

    Blood spurting out of his nose, along with his eyes starting to turn red from the trapped red liquid that was contained in his irises, Miles¡¯s entire body trembled under the sweltering heat.

    Luckily for him, a pair of hands softly touched his upper back.

    Miles¡¯ pleading eyes looked up to see Hope.

    (Miles) H-Hope!

    (Hope) N-No problem!

    She then put her entire soul into healing the barely conscious Miles. Luke looked on top of him as the burning flames started to weaken. With the black clouds raining down microburst-like rain onto the ice, it thickened the walls and roof of where the flames tried to seep into.

    As with Miles, his dome managed to block the sheepish flames that burst out of the very structure that they thought would not falter.

    But the flames were now the least of their worries.

    (Luke) Look out!

    Then came the collapsing of debris.

    Similar to the end of the robotics club six years ago, a barrage of melted stone and cement came crashing downward onto them, as the dome that protected them managed to keep them at bay.

    Luke, Fred, Gary, and Stan all covered their faces as they hurdled themselves onto the ground to protect their faces. Shutting his eyes from the darkening void, Luke crossed his fingers while the raging and relentless flames continued to blanket them violently.

    And with his vision shuttered away like a TV screen, the only thing that he could hear was the whispers of a motherly voice.

    A voice that he heard and that he longed to hear.

    (???) Hey¡­

    Or was it?

    (???) I¡¯m sorry.

    Amid everything, in the howling darkness that cluttered even his sanity and wellbeing.

    Someone wrapped him from the right side of his body, their arms not wanting to let go as the said person nuzzled their face onto his shoulder.

    Along with the world ceasing its pitiful noise.

 Arc 1 - Chapter 122: What Lies Beyond Humans Horizon?

    (Libertatem 1, 59 / 6:30AM)

    His lower body thrusted itself forward.

    With his upper body and head going along with it, the motion and blur only enlarged his pupils, as even basic shapes and objects in front of him were inverted in width. He rubbed his eyes with the knuckles of his pointer fingers. Water trickled onto his hand, his own created tears salted his dried-up hands that drank it like sand in the desert.

    (Luna) You¡¯re awake.

    Ceasing his rubbing eyes, his lower waist received a colossal bear hug that could only be given by someone with immense strength. Unable to turn his body, he turned his head to the right of him to see the said person.

    Which was a person with honey-tanned skin and dark brown eyes, with her short bobbed hair barely reaching her shoulders.

    (Luke) H-How long was I out?

    (Luna) Long enough.

    (Luke) But ¡­ that doesn¡¯t explain-

    (Luna) Just be quiet.

    Shutting his mouth, Luke pinned the back of his head against the wall of the industrial building.

    As the two heard footsteps, they turned to see Hope walking toward them. Her eyes were only half open and blood flowed out of her nose, along with her feet barely able to keep her body straight. Hope tilted her face downward as she extended her right hand onto Luna.

    (Luna) What are you¡ª

    By merely touching her head, the friction between negative and positive soon shocked both of them.

    Gawking her head open, her body twitched as the electrical current traversed through every part of her body. Letting go of Luke¡¯s body which soon started to twitch the same as hers, Luna curled her hands into fists as she pushed her body upward.

    (Luna) You bitch!

    (Hope) Hahaha¡­T-T-Try to get ¡­ m-me!

    (Luke) Luna, don¡¯t.

    Placing his right hand on her right shoulder, Luke gripped the contents of her leather jacket as he dug his fingers into it. By placing a tight hold on her shoulder, Luna turned her head back toward the meek-filled young man.

    (Luke) She¡¯s exhausted from healing Miles. She¡¯s in a drunken state.

    (Luna) ¡­ whatever.

    Brushing off his hand, Luna walked toward the rest of everybody who shrugged off the excess dirt and stone that got into their cargo pants or jackets. With everyone seeming to be in one piece, a sense of relief washed over Luke as he exhaled a breath of air out of his pink lungs.

    Next to him, Hope took a step right next to him, making Luke place his left hand on the back of his head as he rubbed it.

    (Luke) Thanks for healing Miles during the flames. Without that, we would¡¯ve all been dead.

    (Hope) Sssshhh.

    Her shyness completely gone by the drunken state that she¡¯s in, she placed her pointer finger onto the center of Luke¡¯s chapped lips. Keeping her head down, a slight giggle came out of her mouth as she slowly lifted her head upward.

    (Hope) Did I do great?

    (Luke) Uh¡­ a-absolutely ¡­ Do you want another compliment?

    (Hope) No silly. Do you want to hear a compliment?

    (Luke) Uh...

    Her face was now on the same level as Luke¡¯s, her eyes gleaming and filled with joy as she lit up a bright smile that reached toward the height of her nose.

    Putting both of her hands up in the air, she had her palms opened upwards as she arched her back. By having both of her wobbling legs be held onto the lukewarm cement that made her boots squeak, she slightly tumbled to the left as she opened her mouth.

    (Hope) You looked a lot like a hero!

    Putting both of her hands down toward her face, she covered her mouth as small intervals of giggles came out in a repeated pattern.

    By just her giggles alone, his entire face was soon blustered into a flustering frenzy as he took many steps back onto the wall behind him. Lowering his left hand so that he could rub his neck and lower left cheek, he looked down at the ground as he avoided eye contact with the giggling woman.

    Unable to speak, the sounds of a helicopter''s blades can be heard.

    (Jack) How¡¯s it going, you lovebirds?

    Jack jumped onto the black slightly melted asphalt that was not blocked by the large building. Seeing that everyone was huddled up in there, especially a young man and woman in front of the alleyway, Jack placed both of his hands onto his sides as he tilted his head to the right.

    Because of this, Luke turned his head away from both Hope and Jack, as he puckered up his lips into his mouth. As for Hope, she waved at the well-groomed man as she slightly stumbled to the right.

    (Hope) We¡¯re doing great! Didn¡¯t you see Luke?

    (Jack) Yeah, he¡¯s a real pro. Imagine if he was in the Survey Corps.

    (Hope) The what?

    (Jack) Forget what I said. Anyway, tell the others to come out here.

    Hope turned her sluggish body backward to see that everyone was still talking and wobbling their feet like crazy, along with everyone seeming to barely be able to get up from the state they were all in. Clasping both of her hands, she closed her eyes as she cleared her throat.

    As she hunched her body forward, waving her hands around in the air.

    (Jack¡¯s thoughts) Cute.

    (Hope) Everyone come quick! Jack¡¯s here!

    Everyone turned toward the direction of the young woman with blue eyes and blonde hair, along with the well-groomed man who waited for them outside the alley.

    Walking slowly, a trail of nothing but soldiers clumped and thumped the stone ground that was beneath their boots. As most of them walked out of the alleyway, they witnessed the still-darkened sky that was blocked by the now blackish smoke. The tint of red being completely gone, cleaned, wiped off the face of Terra, everyone looked to see that hell itself started to erode.

    (Boris) We all made it.

    An imaginary violin swelled the air around them.

    With the morning sky still being blocked by the stubborn black clouds from above, everyone ignored the massive crater that was formed by the giant creature¡¯s last blow. The heat from the crater itself blowing against their dirtied faces that were smudged with dirt and dust, they continued to look far to the east side of the city.

    (Jack) Sucks that the clouds are blocking the sun.

    (Luke) At least we don¡¯t have to worry about getting killed.

    (Jack) True.

    As they all stared into the east where the sun was supposed to be shining, all of them perked their ears up to the sound of cars and jeeps rolling through the debris-ridden asphalt.

    Seeing only a few jeeps worth of soldiers stopping behind them, the engines of the roaring automobiles soon ceased, along with the headlights closing down on themselves. The jeep doors swayed wide open, allowing dozens of soldiers to stomp down onto the street that burned the soles of their boots.

    Luke straightened his back as well as taking in an abundance of air inside his body, keeping the air in as he soon let it out.

    (Luke) Guys!

    In front of him was none other than a shark-human, a teenage girl, four agents, a man wearing a cowboy hat, and a monolid woman.

    As David led the others from behind, he put both of his hands inside his pockets as he tilted his hat up. Looking behind to see that he had the entire group behind him, David clunked his black leather cowboy boots as the soles started to steam from the darkened asphalt.

    Allowing his eyes to be seen, he was face to face with Luke as both of them stood at equal height.

    (David) You did good, kid. I knew Boris saw something in you.

    (Luke) Well, I wouldn¡¯t have done it if it weren¡¯t for Luna, Jack, Hope, Miles ¡­ and the rest of everyone all together.

    (David) Still though. These last couple of hours have been pretty tiring for all of us. I suppose that a good nap would get us all back into shape.

    (Jack) Yeah, it¡¯s like The Array all over again¡­

    Luke and a few others let out a couple of soft chuckles as they remembered their first time trying their hardest to survive, as Luke scratched the top of his head with his left hand. Still having his head up, he turned his attention toward the others who had smiles and laughs on their faces.

    But there was someone that they were missing.

    Looking around the two groups that connected, Luke swayed his body back and forth as he placed his right hand flat against his eyebrows. Scanning the area from east to west and north to south, he curled his right hand as his fingers dug themselves into his palms.

    (Luke) Have you seen Gwen, David?

    (David) ¡­ Yeah, we managed to find her ¡­

    Luke¡¯s breath got caught while he took a step forward, allowing his right hand to be dropped to his side.

    His Adam¡¯s apple jumping up and down, his vocal cords collided against themselves as the words that were trapped from within his throat couldn¡¯t come out. Placing his right hand onto his chest, he grabbed his collar with his fingers and he tugged it outward to let out the prisoners of words.

    (Luke) W-Where is she?

    (David) She¡¯s in one of the jeeps ¡­ she¡¯s been hit pretty bad, and she¡¯s still alive, but barely¡­

    (Luke) T-Take me to her.

    David tilted his cowboy hat downward while darkening his eyelids at the same time, not allowing Luke or anyone to see through his face. Turning his body the opposite way, he pushed his legs to walk toward the farthest jeep that was in the back of the group of automobiles, his feet on the verge of causing his body to stumble.

    Luke and Jack followed suit, with Hope, Luna, and the other dark angel members seeing the two men follow David. Benn, who darkened his eyes, tilted his face downward as both of his hands twitched violently.

    (Hope) What is it, Benn?

    (Benn) ¡­ Gwen¡¯s in the back.

    (Luna) Gwen? Is she injured?

    (Benn) ¡­ it¡¯s not looking good for her.

    (Miles) Oh, man ¡­

    Despite all of them looking down to the ground below, the Dark Angels slowly pushed themselves to follow the three men who forced their legs to move forward.

    Their breathing fastened, their legs wobbling, and the pressure that dawned on top of their backs like golden anvils began to slow down their steps. As for the four young men that watched as the scene unfold, Stan grits the ends of his teeth as he turned his attention toward his friends.

    (Stan) Hey, let¡¯s go with them.

    (Gary) Wait ¡­ are they¡­?

    (Fred) Yeah ¡­

    (Diego) Damn¡­

    Boris, Jenny, and Loraine also witnessed everyone that they were close to walking toward the farthest jeep from the group of jeeps. Taking off his fedora hat, he held the top of it with just his chubby fingers as he motioned Jenny and Loraine to get up.

    (Boris) Come on Loraine, you too Jenny¡­

    (Jenny) Oh no ¡­

    (Loraine) ok¡­

    The only people who didn¡¯t walk to the jeep were Johnny, Elizabeth, Briggs, Alexandra, Eren, and Ada, who all sat down on a huge load of stone and brick. Having their hands grasping the edges of the stone, they all looked down to the ground as their palms began to scrape against the sharp edges.

    (Johnny) So one of their own is injured.

    (Elizabeth) That sounds horrible ¡­ maybe I could¡ªThis narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    (Agent Ada) Don¡¯t bother, we four all saw her wound¡­

    (Agent Eren) She looks ¡­ bad.

    Briggs decided to remain quiet as he continued to blankly stare at the concrete in front of him, his eyes analyzing the bits of rock and brick that were in front of his feet. As for Alexandra, she turned her head to see Briggs being fully immersed in the fictional abyss as she couldn¡¯t hear a single hum or noise from his throat.

    Slowly, she slid her right hand on top of his, gently holding it down.

    Briggs continued to stare into the ground, his hand unretracting to Alexandra¡¯s action.

    (David) She¡¯s in here¡­

    Popping out the hood of the trunk, it swung wide open as the entirety of the Dark Angels gathered around to see what lay beyond the¡ª

    A mole of white bandages was wrapped around her stomach.

    Blood drenching the white bandages, she also had her eyes and mouth barely open as she motioned her head up to see the group of soldiers in front of her. Trying to conjure up a fake smile, the crevices of her lips twitched as her legs wobbled.

    (Gwen) H-Hey guys¡­ can you get me out of the jeep?

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Unable to even walk, her feet dragged against the contents of the ground below and kicked a few rocks from her way.

    Having both of her hands wrapping around both Luke and David¡¯s necks, she tilted her head upward as all of them walked east to see the giant crater that lay before them. With no signs of grass or flowers blooming across the lukewarm asphalt that still recovered from the flames from earlier, they all stopped right along the edge of the crater.

    (Gwen) Set me down here.

    Giving each other a nod, both Luke and David settled Gwen down as she dropped to her knees. With all three of them having their knees on the pavement, Gwen pulled back her right arm that held David¡¯s neck, while continuing to keep Luke¡¯s neck in a hold.

    Having her butt on the pavement, she slouched her body as blood started to drip down onto the black asphalt, her bandages already soaked with her blood. Her breathing heavy, she swallowed a heavy substance down her esophagus as it burned its way downward.

    (Luke) Gwen¡­

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a scratch.

    (Luke) But Gwen-

    (Gwen) Hey, I said don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be alright. But Luke¡­

    His head unable to even look at her freckled face, his right side bang covered his facial expression that Gwen could see through even with her blurry vision. Having her face peered into his hair, her wheezing and raspy breath stung her throat as blood trickled out of her mouth.

    Which was already smeared in dry blood.

    (Gwen) Can I ¡­ just lay my head down on your lap¡­

    Just the tip of his head, Luke nodded at Gwen¡¯s request as he tucked his feet below his legs. Having his right hand around her upper back, he lowered her down as the left side of her head softly came in contact with his barely meaty thighs.

    Like a pillow, she turned her head to the right to see a full front view of Luke¡¯s face, his eyes on the verge of tears.

    (Gwen) I told you that I¡¯ll be alright okay.

    (Luke) You¡¯re not going to make it¡­

    (Gwen) That doesn¡¯t make it the end of the world, right? As long as you¡¯re here along with everyone else, then that makes it okay in my book.

    Her own hot and bloodied breath that was mixed with iron reached onto Luke¡¯s quivering face, as his nostrils opened up by the scent of her mouth alone. With gentle ease, he glided his left hand onto her forehead as his left palm felt the burning heat that radiated from her skin.

    And with his right hand, he hovered over the bloodied bandage wound that kept whatever blood that wanted to spur out. As she had her own hands motionless on the asphalt, even the feeling of her arms soon began to fade as well.

    (Luke) W-What caused you to be like this ¡­ who did this to you ¡­

    (Gwen) Someone much stronger than me. Or rather someone much smarter than me.

    (Luke) Y-You could¡¯ve taken out anyone you wanted right?

    (Gwen) ¡­

    (Luke) Right?!

    (Gwen) Oh, Luke¡­

    A single teardrop rolled down from his right eye.

    The cold droplet of what used to be contained and trapped within his eye rolled down his right cheek as it hovered over his jawline. As the droplet of water remained on his skin, his vocals began to jump in intervals that made him seem as if he was choking on something.

    Footsteps stomped behind the two of them as the entirety of the Dark Angels gathered around the dying woman, along with the young man who held her dear. Pinning her eyes behind Luke, she noticed the bowl-cut-haired man that darkened his face.

    (Gwen) What¡¯s the matter? Finally, showing guilt for once?

    (Boris) I didn¡¯t expect this to happen¡­

    (Gwen) No one did.

    (Boris) You were our golden child¡­

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t worry, I was planning on leaving for a long time.

    Boris titled his head down while placing his other hand onto the hand that held his hat. Having them together, he moved his hat where his crotch was, as he looked the other way while letting out an excess of air from his blackened lungs.

    While letting out a raspy cough.

    (David) You just had to go above and beyond, did you¡­

    (Gwen) What? And you didn¡¯t.

    Same as Boris, David placed his right hand on top of his cowboy hat, taking the brown hat off as he just held it with one hand. Glancing at Jenny and Loraine with pushed-down eyes, he noticed that both of them sniffled and covered their mouths with both of their hands.

    Tears dropping down onto the asphalt, David used his left arm to pull Jenny closer to him, and she instantly used her head to nuzzle onto his left shoulder. Staining the area with her tears, Loraine curled up both of her hands as she looked down onto the stone cement.

    (Miles) This is bull¡­

    (Gwen) Lighten up, Miles. At least you¡¯ll say goodbye.

    (Miles) But who¡¯s going to lead us¡­?

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t worry, I know who.

    Miles'' eyes reddened as the salted tears that wanted to pour out assaulted both of his irises.

    Wiping away the contained tears with his right sleeve, he continued to stare at Gwen who didn¡¯t have a shred of fear or sadness inside of her. Seeing that Gwen is practically just smiling away the fear of death, Miles curled up his left hand and quickly placed it inside his pocket.

    (Jack) We¡¯re going to miss you Gwen¡­

    (Gwen) Try to read my mind.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) There¡¯s nothing to read in my mind anyway dummy.

    Jack turned his body 180 degrees as he placed both of his hands on his sides.

    Staring west, a small sniffle came out of his nose as his facial expression wasn¡¯t seen from Gwen¡¯s eyes. Letting out a raspy chuckle, a small stream of blood streamed out from the right corner of her lip, rolling down onto Luke¡¯s left thigh.

    Gwen then turned her attention to the two girls who were side by side with each other, both of them being in the back of Luke.

    (Gwen) Don¡¯t kill each other for one boy you hear? There are plenty more men just like Luke.

    (Luna) S-Shut up¡­

    Instead of an angry growl, Luna placed her right hand onto her left shoulder, rubbing it along her skin as she had her entire face softened from the view below her. Her voice meek and quiet, she avoided eye contact as Gwen continued to let out a cheerful smile.

    (Luna) Who am I going to get angry with¡­?

    (Gwen) There¡¯s always Jack. It¡¯s ok if you use him as a punching bag.

    (Luna) ¡­

    Unable to respond, Luna fidgeted under the heavy stare that Gwen gave her, as Luna put both of her knees onto the asphalt similar to Luke. Hope, who watched Luna be right next to Luke from the right of her, still gave her undivided attention to the freckled woman.

    Tears began to roll down from her eyes, hitting the black pavement, causing a small puddle to form underneath.

    (Gwen) Sorry, Hope, but the wound is too deep for you to heal. In your state, I¡¯m practically a goner.

    (Hope) B-But¡ª

    (Gwen) No buts. This is the way it is. This is natural considering what we went through.

    Same as Luna, Hope placed both of her knees down on the ground as she slid toward Luke¡¯s left side. Placing her hands on Luke¡¯s left shoulder, she didn¡¯t care that her rival was right next to her, as she glanced at her with rolling tears.

    Along with Luna, her jaw clattered against one another followed by her throat pushing down unneeded liquid that tried to go through her nose.

    Seeing four men from the back, Gwen cleared her bloodied throat as the dryness from her throat alone parched her vocals.

    (Gwen) You four need to get girlfriends you hear!

    (Stan) That¡¯s all you¡¯re going to say to us¡­?

    (Gwen) There are more girls other than just Luna and Hope, so don¡¯t get envious of Luke ok?

    The four men straightened their backs as they put both of their feet together at the hearing of Gwen¡¯s words. Gulping a huge load of saliva down their throats, Stan, Gary, Diego, and Fred placed their right hands onto the corners of their right eyebrows, their hands angled so that they gave her a proper salute needed for her respect.

    (Stan, Gary, Fred, and Diego) Yes ma¡¯am!

    Her face flustered a slight red, as she avoided eye contact with the four of them that soon dropped their salute fairly quickly.

    Behind Luna and Hope was none other than Benn himself.

    Instead of a darkened face or a deep frown face like the others, Benn had his eyes pushed upward with his mouth agape. His eyes twitching, his hands shaking, everything about Benn¡¯s reaction was a complete 180 compared to his old personality.

    (Gwen) Benn¡­

    (Benn) Gwen¡­

    (Gwen) Do you have anything to say?

    (Benn) ¡­ not the right time.

    Instead of a chuckle or a soft laugh, the only thing that came out from Gwen was none other than just a sniffle from her red nose. Her vision was blurred by the tears that softened her eyes, she couldn¡¯t even wipe it away as her arms were now gone from death.

    Followed by her lower stomach and abdomen starting to shut down as well.

    Last but not least, Gwen looked straight at Luke¡¯s teary-eyed face, his tears beginning to drop down onto her freckled face. Still clamping her forehead with his sweat-stained left palm, he soon felt the sudden temperature drop that turned her skin cold.

    (Luke) If only ¡­ if only¡ª

    (Gwen) You did the best you could, you all did.

    (Luke) I tried¡ª

    (Gwen) At least you tried.

    (Luke) Why¡­?

    Luke slouched his shoulders down as her chest began to soften under the touch of his left hand. With his right hand, he glided it across her chest and neck as she couldn¡¯t even register the faintest tickle or touch.

    Having it caressed her right cheek, even her face soon began to chill up. Like rubbing with frozen play dough, her face soon began to turn ghostly pale.

    (Luke) Why do you expect less of others¡­ I¡¯m not strong, I¡¯m not that fast, I¡¯m just¡ª

    (Gwen) A soldier.

    (Luke) Why do you replace my words with yours¡­ it¡¯s not going to¡ª

    (Gwen) Work, I know. But you did accomplish one thing.

    Gwen lit up a faint smile as even her lips began to lose the strength to reach her ears. Her eyes flickering up and down, she slowly pushed her head to the left of her as she faced her head west.

    Not looking at Luke, she nuzzled her head more into his lap like a cat trying to make itself go to sleep.

    (Gwen) You did become my best soldier.

    Unable to breathe, the air that got stuck inside his lungs punched the outer layers of his ribcage. Having his body flinch forward, he hunched himself as two different hands were placed side by side on both of his shoulders.

    As the tears that flowed onto Gwen¡¯s face ceased.

    (Gwen) And because of that, you¡¯ll be the new commander of the Dark Angels. You¡¯re way smarter than what you take credit for.

    (Luke) ¡­ But ¡­

    (Gwen) No buts ¡­ no buts ¡­ promise me you won¡¯t die.

    He shut his eyes as his eyes took in the dark desolate place of his eyelids, leaving him to keep his eyes in place. Taking in a big deep breath in, his lungs that awaited a fresh breath of air soon expanded outward as the smokey air still clouded the victory that they were bestowed upon.

    Opening his eyes, he let out a huge breath as his reddened eyes that were salted by his tears were quickly swept away. White returned to his eyes, he looked toward the morning sky to the east.

    (Luke) I promise.

    All looked up upon the clouds that soon started to break and tear from the force from the other side.

    (Gwen) And lastly, thank you for saving me too. My life would¡¯ve been a bore without you¡­

    Unable to move her head, Gwen¡¯s eyes had one last bit of strength as she kept them still onto the parting sky that dusted the smoke and ash.

    The Dark Angels, the four nerds, the agents, the platoon of soldiers; all awaited for what God may give them.

    And in what God has given them, was just a kindle of warmth.

    A kindle of the rising sun from the east, the very first sunrise.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) Wow¡­

    Her body completely drained from death, she stared into the last message of warmth and compassion for what that single star had given her.

    The sun warmed their skin, the residue of dirt and dust blanketed the multitude of their skin and clothes. As if the clouds were being vaporized into thin air, despair itself was relinquished off the face of Terra. Taking in one last breath, she inhaled one last breath to her now blackened lungs that returned to their original color.

    And in one last swift with her eyelids, she let out her last breath, along with her eyes picturing the burning sun from her grave.

    (Gwen¡¯s thoughts) So this is Paradise¡­

    She lit up a warm smile, as she lastly felt the warmth of another soul. As she passed away into the morning air.

    Feeling as if he was holding ice, Luke moved both of his hands underneath her corpse as he gently lifted her. Having both of his knees on the ground, he pushed himself upward while carrying Gwen.

    Putting one knee down on the ground, he allowed his other leg to stabilize his body under the weight. And with the other knee, he scraped his knee cap along the debris as he had both of his feet flat on the ground. Turning his head and body toward the rest of everyone, Luke grit the back ends of his teeth as he stared at every single one of them.

    (Luke) So I guess I¡¯m the new leader now¡­

    (Boris) It was Gwen¡¯s choice, to begin with, so I have no right to intervene.

    (Jack) So what now¡­?

    Luke noticed the continuing reddened eyes and sniffling noses that blanketed the clear morning sky. Turning his gaze down onto the warmly smiling corpse that he held with both of his arms, he tightened his hold around her as he paid back the same smile tenfold.

    Looking toward Jack specifically, he straightened his back and cleared his throat as he still slightly avoided eye contact with the red-haired man.

    (Luke) Well ¡­ the first thing that I want to do as a leader is to bury her in a place where she would¡¯ve loved to be.

    (Benn) Sunflowers¡­

    Everyone turned their attention onto the shark-human that had his hands motionless to gravity, his eyes peering into the ground beneath him. Not putting any pressure onto his feet, his heels didn¡¯t glue to the lukewarm ground that kissed and slobbered the black leather boots that they all wore.

    (Benn) Gwen was raised deep in the Kepputhan Prairies just South of here. She always recalled playing tag with her younger brother in a field of sunflowers, but I always wondered who her younger brother was until yesterday¡­

    Luke slowly walked toward the shark-human that put on a darkened face with just his eyes alone, as everyone took a step back to let Gwen sleep her forever slumber in his arms.

    Standing in front of Benn, Luke¡¯s height towered over him as his head blocked the light from hitting his face. Seeing past his right side bang, Benn directed his nervous gaze into the new leader that was right in front of him.

    To catch everyone by surprise, Luke pushed her corpse forward so that her ice-cold body tickled Benn¡¯s chest.

    (Luke) Can you be the one to bury her?

    (Benn) Me?

    (Luke) If it¡¯s alright with you.

    (Benn) ¡­ absolutely Fenix.

    With Luke¡¯s face flustering a pinkish red from the display of respect that he was given, Benn wrapped his arms and hands around Gwen as he lightly carried her like paper. Nuzzling her head onto the right side of his chest, Benn cradled her as if she was practically a kid, giving her a useless warmth that wouldn¡¯t even try to bring her back.

    And in that very moment, a single tear sprinted out from Benn¡¯s left eye.

    Scrunching up his face back to what he was used to, Benn looked upward as Luke had both of his hands on his sides.

    (Benn) What now, sir?

    (Luke) You know you could just call me Luke, or even Fenix¡­

    (David) But you¡¯re a leader now, son. Being strategic doesn¡¯t make you the best leader, that¡¯s one warning that I want to give you.

    (Luke) I know ¡­ and thank you guys for being open about that decision.

    Turning his head toward the continuing rising sun, the bright blue sky practically dawned upon them as the clouds above gave way to a new beginning.

    Or rather the end of the beginning.

    Or rather¡­

    (Boris¡¯s thoughts) Guess the culmination of genesis is at its point, huh Joseph?

    Folding his arms, Boris put on his black fedora that was bristled with grayish hair that wrinkled his old head.

    Turning his head toward the rest of the soldiers and agents who waited for them to make their move, Boris raised his right hand as he got the notice of a blonde-haired agent. The agent, tilting his head up, also raised his right hand as he quickly stood up.

    (Boris) You and the rest of the platoon head back to the complex and tell the world that we just won this battle! Tell them who did it!

    (Agent Briggs) Sure thing.

    As Briggs gathered his agents as well as the other soldiers around, Boris glanced at the sight in front of him, as Luke was swarmed by many of his fellow friends and comrades. Letting out a chuckle as well as a small cough, Boris sniffled his nose a bit as a warm liquid tried to escape.

    (Jack) Does this mean that I can laze around all day then?

    (Miles) I could drink as much soda as I can now right?

    (Stan) Hey relax on him, okay, he¡¯s only been a leader for barely a minute.

    (Fred) This means I get to be a wingman huh, sounds pretty cool.

    (Gary) What about me?

    (Diego) You tried to hurt Luke when you first met.

    (Loraine) Hey Luke, can I get away fully when I bully Jenny?

    (Jenny) Hey Luke, can you be a dear and give Loraine a suitable punishment for her?

    (Luna) I think it¡¯s obvious that I should be a wingwoman for Luke. I¡¯m the strongest.

    (Hope) And the smelliest.

    Luna growled as she dug her knuckles on top of Hope¡¯s head, rotating them right to left as if she were trying to drill the hole that she left off with.

    Putting both of his hands as if he was making a surrender, Luke let out a wry smile as he closed his eyes from the entirety of everyone¡¯s questions and comments.

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) So this is my life now huh¡­

    David remained close to Boris as he put back on his brown cowboy hat on his blackened head. Having his right hand gripping the front of his hat with his fingers, he had his left hand inside his jacket¡¯s pocket as the morning sun continued to trap the heat from within his clothes.

    (David) Hey Boris, what do you think lies beyond human¡¯s horizon?

    (Boris) Hmm¡­

    (Joseph in Boris¡¯s thoughts) I¡¯ll tell you more about it later. For now, let me just speak with my girlfriend Mary okay?

    (Boris) Even I don¡¯t know that question¡­

    In life, everyone goes through hardships.

    Some more than others, and some have it worse than others.

    Through the stars, through the sunflower fields.

    Through the difficulties of managing friends and family.

    Through the difficulties of leaving one¡¯s past behind.

    Through the difficulties of making a promise that you¡¯ll never get back.

    And through the difficulties of being trapped inside of a cage that has an open wide door.

    What may lie beyond these sets of individuals, and their hopes and dreams, all lead to one thing that bonded them together¡­

    (Luke¡¯s thoughts) You know what ¡­ I guess I¡¯ll never get tired of this ¡­ friends that depend on me and for me to depend on them¡­

    Despite everyone around him freely venting or haggling at him like a rich father, Luke let out a soft chuckle while coughing at the same time. Couching just two times, a tiny hint of blood spurted out from those two coughs.

    Putting both hands to his sides, his side bang that covered his right eye finally swayed to the back of his ear, fully showcasing both of his eyes.

    As he never wanted this haggling and venting to end.

 Arc 1 - Epilogue

    (Kalemonath 1, 56 / 6:55AM)

    Six years ago.

    One day after the attack on Ticia.

    Throughout the desolate city were none other than burnt and melted skyscrapers that howled their deathly wails. With the wind making it seem as if the souls of the damned and unfortunate reincarnated into the stone walls of deathly bricks, not even the slightest noise brustled the nonexistent leaves or grass that burnt up from the explosion.

    All was lost. Ticia was lost.

    But it wasn¡¯t over.

    Stone and rock soon toppled against each other as one man sprouted out from underneath the debris that trapped him from below. Without exerting his body, he walked out of the mountain of stone as it crumbled outward except for the direction of where he walked.

    Not a single scratch on his body, the man wore nothing but a fancy tuxedo, followed by a white handkerchief wrapped inside of his breast pocket.

    (???) This is insane¡­

    The man held onto someone that he held dear, his eyes unable to look down onto it as he scoured through the area.

    Unable to see a moving body for a thousand miles, only the sight of bones and marrow underneath piles of rock and stone was brought forth to his very eyes. Clutching the person that he held with both of his hands close, he had the person¡¯s head nuzzle toward the left side of his chest.

    (???) This is way too insane¡­

    Only the sounds of Sunday church shoes clacked the dusted ground beneath him, the soles of his feet blistering as each step he took was another breath that he drew out. Opening his mouth wide, the man began to hyperventilate as he looked right to left in a frenzied and crazed manner.

    As his right foot bumped into a rock that stood up like a tree stump.

    His entire body flinching forward, the grip that he had around the person almost went loose, as he regained his balance again. Stopping to collect his stability, as well as his sanity, he let out a big breath outward from his old lungs.

    (???) W-Where¡­?This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    What was he looking for?

    Was it helpful? Was it salvation?

    Or¡­

    (???) Oh ¡­

    The man stopped in his tracks as he glued the heels of his black shoes on the now asphalt street ground.

    Not even the howling winds of unfortunate souls piercing through the desolate city, the man perked his ears upward as a slight gust swayed his old blonde hair.

    His peripheral vision seemed to notice a man clad in all black, wearing a facial mask that closed off his facial features. Having both of his hands deep inside his pockets, the masked man tilted his head downward as he stared into one of the bodies that were trapped underneath another mountain of stone.

    (???) I¡¯m sorry¡­

    Turning his body around, the tuxedo man who held the feminine figure in his arms not only noticed the presence of just him alone.

    But others were hiding amongst the very wrecked buildings all around.

    Looking at over five different places in which they hid, the tuxedo man turned his attention back toward the man who concealed his identity. Releasing his trapped hands that were starting to sweat from the insides of his pockets, he laid them motionless to his sides.

    (???) I didn¡¯t want to do it¡­

    (???) ¡­

    No response was given from the man that darkened his face, strands of blonde hair started to cover both ends of his eyes. Both of his hands twitching with his joints buckling under the howling pressure, the man let out a low-tone growl that escaped from the depths of his throat.

    (???) Get out of my sight.

    Walking away, the masked man had his direction due South as he placed both hands inside of his pockets again.

    Leaving the grieving man to be left alone with just the woman of his life, he quickly put his feet and shins underneath his thighs and crushed them with just his lower body. Taking his right hand out from underneath her lower back, he hovered it right along her forehead which continued to leak out blood.

    Blood that was caused by none other than a gunshot.

    (???) They¡¯re all watching me, but they¡¯re not going to do anything.

    His fingernails tapping her forehead repeatedly, he continued to stare deep into the woman¡¯s soulless and lifeless eyes that used to be brown.

    Her hair was dark brown, her ears were pointed like a half-elf.

    All signs point to¡­

    (???) Please bear with it for now dear¡­

    A woman in her mid-30s, who wore nothing but her usual baggy clothing that didn¡¯t suit well for her age. Continuing to tap his fingernails directly onto her cold and ice-filling forehead, a certain warmth dawned upon the inside of her head.

    Almost as if he had some sort of power to him.

    (???) Because one day, you¡¯ll reunite with your son. Our son, so please Mary¡­

    The man leaned his head close toward the corpse¡¯s left ear, hunching his back in the process. With a sultry whisper, he glistened his voice with just enough charisma and fortitude that could drive any person onto total puppetration. Looking at the two men that came out of their covers at the same time, he glanced at both of them.

    One of them had bright red hair with a mole placed in the center of his chin.

    While the other had light-green hair, wearing a white robe and circular glasses that made him look like a priest.

    (Joseph) Live for me.

    The man ceased his tapping on her forehead.

    As she opened her eyes.