Mark heaved. He could not believe that things had resulted in this and discovered how little he had prepared for situations like this occurring. He had decided to carry the alien on his back after it had explained to him how its legs were completely useless and how it couldn't walk. Carrying the machine gun in his hands, he finally began to feel the strain in his muscles.

The thick scent of blood seemed to grow even stronger as he marched forward, hinting that the source of the revolting smell was not the dead bodies he had seen alone, but more he was yet to see for himself. He could see some blood splattered around the purple-leaved plants scattered around the earth of the strange world. Unlike his expectations, there were little to no bugs in the area.

He noticed scorch marks on the grass though, and guessed that the external conflict must have helped in migrating the bugs to purpler pastures. As he moved forward, Mark began to notice more ruined buildings, and a new type of plants he had not noticed before. These grew to reach a height of ten to fifteen metres, owing grey tilted leaves and wood-like branches.

“You said your name is Izyrx, right? I was wondering why there are bigger branches up north than in the south. I can guess activity is more heated downtown, but what is the reason for it?” He stopped, a cold gleam in his eyes as he scanned the area. He had learned her name earlier, and he thought it would be more polite to ever to he by name than to call her “alien” or “entity”.

"This place is dangerous. Those buildings are the home to the true natives of the arena it would not be wise to fight them here as they battle in groups, and with such a high amount of buildings in the area we would be at a disadvantage." Izyrx frowned as she also looked around on high alert, a feeling of dread rising in her heart.

Mark dropped his machine gun to the ground, and following the massive explosion of grass and dust was a loud bang that resonated throughout the area. As soon as the sound fell, Mark vanished from his position — and at that same minute — a massive arm came crashing down on the ground, dust rose and fell, and the perpetrator was revealed.

It was a massive beast towering over eight metres. Its arms were as thick as this world's tree trunks which were comparable to three fully grown adults strapped together. The build of the new monster was humanoid, but its hideous face riddled with teeth and mismatching horns betrayed every thought that this thing was somehow related to humans.

Mark stood in the distance calmly. He had dropped his gun for this very reason and was very glad he did what he had to in time. The monster before him was not strong enough to put him in a disadvantaged situation no matter the environmental conditions. He could detect its gross threat level even without the system and wondered if these types of monsters were for babies.

Izyrx had herself wrapped around Mark could feel her heart beating against her chest. She had not expected the sudden movement from Mark, and everything else happened too fast for her brain to process. She wondered why the natives would attack a bystander. Was it because of the noise he made with that metal rod he always carried?

Mark dashed forward, and Izyrx yelped in shock. Before she knew what was happening, Mark had picked up his machine gun and was dragging it with them as the group of natives chased them at full speed. She stared down at the ground, frowning at the massive trail Mark was drawing with his gun as she wondered what he was trying to do.

Just as she was about to speak, Mark raised his speed even greater and she struggled to keep herself around him. After a few minutes, Mark turned around to face the small crowd chasing him, and he took in a deep breath. All the wild thoughts in his head settled as he calmly parted his lips, “You will have to get off me for a second.”

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Izyrx loosened her arms and then she helped herself to a seat with her back against the tower wall behind Mark. He turned to her, and after Mark confirmed she was in a good position, he lifted his machine canon and aimed. An exhale escaped his lips, and then bullets sprayed from the muzzle of his gun, shrouding the area in a fascinating layer of gore and blood as the monsters ran into the gunfire blindly. In a few seconds, all the monsters were torn to shreds.

[Jather’e Killed!]

[Jather’e Killed!]

"Ten…" Mark shifted his gun to the side, and he opened fire again. There was the sound of bone shattering, and a scream of agony before silence returned to the area. The once purple leaves were now dyed in blood whilst wearing decorations of gore. Mark was calm as he looked around, opening his mouth again to add in a cold voice, "Eleven."

[Jather’e Killed!]

As the blood flowed down to his feet, Mark felt the weight in his hands lighten. He cracked his neck, then he dropped the machine gun again - although this time he was more careful so as not to create unnecessary noise. After a few seconds of standing, he sat himself down on the ground, watching as the blood streaked across the flowers.

“How…. Why?”

Terror shrouded Izyrx's face, numerous thoughts running through her mind as she found herself struggling to understand what had occurred before her very eyes. She wrapped her arms around her body, trying to fathom how a metal rod could unleash such devastating power in an instant. It made her wonder what sort of world the stranger had strayed from.

"Energy bullets run deep… It took the human civilisation centuries to master the technology, and the beauty of it is manifest in our conquests." Mark rested his right hand on the machine gun. The descendants stood at the forefront of such expeditions, and their lives built the very foundations of humanity's slowly growing galactic confederation.

All these while their home planet bathes in pollution and devastation. He wondered if the only way for things to get settled was when all they could reach was wasted or some armageddon that would be so great all humanity be eliminated. Until then, this abominable development will continue to eat at the very core of the universe.

“Energy? Bullets?” Izyrx was unfamiliar with those terms, but she recognised Mark’s race in an instant. Although she had never met a human in person, their fame was unprecedented although it was only due to the terrifying number of civilisations they had managed to gather under their flag. After a few seconds, she opened her mouth to ask, “Why did you kill them? The natives?”

"If I did not kill them, then they would have had no problem killing the both of us." Mark felt the temperature drop as he spoke, and he tilted his head slightly. He wondered if he should have acted remorseful after what he did, but all that he said was what he believed to be the truth - his actions were just and true, and not what he should feel remorse for.

"The arena is just behind us… and I am afraid you will have to leave me here," Izyrx spoke as she relaxed on the wall, out of breath and looking even paler than usual. The sudden movements had left her a lasting impression, and she did not want to go through it for a second time. Also, she was in consideration of Mark's health as well; being that he was going to battle with two weights.

Just now, he had to drop his rod to move quickly, but she knew that it would be a suicidal move in the arena. He could not carelessly parkour around the area without dropping every burden that held him back first unless he would only sustain more wounds than usual. Izyrx sighed calmly.

“You are not only weak, and crippled - you lack survival instinct. Have you sat down to wonder what would happen if you were not useful to me?” Mark spoke in a calm and collected tone, “You’d have died of either hunger, dehydration or the extreme cold. Now that you have a chance to survive, you want to throw that chance away and stay in a place where I just killed eleven monsters?”

Like does she want to die that much?

"If you are worried about the fact that I am carrying two heavyweights, then worry not. I have a way of handling these things." Mark cracked his neck and stood to his feet, and in the next instant the machine gun flickered away from physical existence - like it never existed in the first place, "You are not entitled to any questions. Let us just get this over with, shall we?"

"Okay." Izyrx nodded. She still did not want to go inside the arena, but she felt it would be better to risk herself with someone strong enough to defend the both of them than be at constant risk out in this place where she had no one but herself. She would guide him for protection. Good.