Chapter 22 Just a short trip – Arianna

Arianna adjusted the grip on her mace as she stepped out of the car, her boots crunching against the cracked pavement. The air smelled like blood, smoke, and something acrid she couldn’t quite place. Around them, the city lay in eerie silence, interrupted only by the occasional distant screech of a monster or the sound of something scuttling just out of sight.

Their car trip had been surprisingly easy—almost peaceful. The roads out of Hallowford had been mostly clear, and the few monsters they’d seen had fled at the sight of them. Cassis had explained it was because of his and Arianna’s Monsterbane I titles, which made weaker monsters instinctively avoid them. His family had been a little jealous when they heard about it, but they’d accepted it with good humor.

“Well, you two did kill the most monsters,” Danielle had said, giving Arianna’s hand a quick squeeze. “Especially with that hobgoblin. You deserve all the experience you got.”

Arianna had smiled at that. Danielle had a certain warmth to her, like someone who looked out for everyone but had a sharp edge when needed.

Now, though, standing on the outskirts of Vallendale, warmth was the furthest thing from her mind.

They weren’t in Hallowford anymore. The moment they entered the city, the atmosphere changed.

Blood splattered the streets, smeared in handprints on car doors and streaked across cracked asphalt. Some abandoned cars had shattered windows, doors left wide open as if people had fled in a hurry. Others had no visible damage—just empty, silent reminders that the people who had been inside were simply gone.

Arianna swallowed hard and looked down the street. City Hall was just a few blocks away, Cassis’ school not much farther.

She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that he was a teacher.

It just didn’t fit, not with the hardened, battle-ready man she’d come to know. But the more she saw of him here—leading them, making plans, teaching her how to use her inventory—the more she realized that this part of him had never disappeared. He had always been someone who guided others, even in the apocalypse. In the other timeline he just hadn’t had anyone to guide anymore.

And now, unlike in his past life, he was choosing to help a stranger. He was choosing to save his students and colleagues.

That change meant something. It sent a strange warmth through her chest.

But they weren’t safe yet.

It was late morning now, around 10 a.m.

Six more hours.

Six more hours of monsters until they retreated into their newly established dungeons. After that, they’d only have to worry about stragglers, mutated animals and plants, and the inevitable dungeon breaks.

Arianna exhaled slowly and tightened her grip on her mace.

They moved into formation.

Cassis and Danielle took the front, scanning ahead for movement. Marcus and Arianna followed behind, while Liam covered their backs.

Silence stretched between them as they walked, boots crunching over broken glass and debris.

Then, up ahead, something shifted.

A dark shape, low to the ground. Movement in the shadows.

Arianna’s heart pounded as Cassis lifted a hand, signalling them to stop.

The fight was coming. And they were ready.

The streets of Vallendale were nothing like the ones in Hallowford.

Here, the monsters weren’t just roaming—they were hunting.

Some still ran at the sight of Arianna and Cassis, but more and more of them stood their ground. Worse, they were forming packs. Groups of seven to ten creatures lurked in alleyways, prowled through the streets, and lunged at them in coordinated attacks.

Arianna and Marcus held back on their magic, opting to fight with their weapons to conserve mana. Arianna’s new mace proved its worth, smashing through monster skulls and sending them sprawling. Marcus fought beside her with his staff, his movements precise but clearly less practiced than the warriors’.

Cassis, Danielle, and Liam led the charge, cutting through monsters with brutal efficiency. Cassis’ blade gleamed with fresh blood, while Danielle and Liam moved with sharp, controlled strikes. They worked together, covering each other’s backs as they cleared their path toward City Hall.

By the time they reached the last corner before their destination, Arianna’s breathing was heavy, and her muscles ached. They had fought several groups already, and the monsters were getting stronger.

Then they saw it.

City Hall loomed ahead, its modern and simplistic structure – a rectangular three story building with glass doors – now marred by battle. The front doors were barricaded, furniture stacked high against the glass entrance. The monsters weren’t just wandering here—they were gathering.

A horde, at least a hundred strong with some E-ranks in there, clawed at the barricades, growling and slamming their bodies against the doors. Some of the creatures had blood dripping from their fangs, others bore deep gashes, likely from survivors still fighting inside.

People were alive in there. Fighting. Holding on.

Cassis muttered a curse under his breath. "That’s a lot of monsters."

"Going through the front is suicide," Liam added grimly.

Danielle wiped sweat from her brow. "There’s another way in," she said. "A back door. One of my friends, Helen, works here. She takes her smoke breaks out back, and I’ve met her there a few times."

Arianna raised an eyebrow. "You’re saying we’re sneaking in through the designated smoker's entrance?"

Danielle smirked. "If it works, it works."

They circled the building, cutting through side streets and dispatching more monsters along the way. The back of City Hall was quieter, but not empty.

Twenty to thirty F-rank monsters prowled the alleyway, blocking their way to the entrance.

They could take them.

Arianna and Cassis quickly formulated a plan. "I’ll use Water Barrier to hold half of them back. That’ll buy us time to take down the rest before they overwhelm us. Once the barrier breaks, I’ll call it out, and we finish the fight together. Sound good?"

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Everyone nodded.

Marcus finally prepared his Magic Missile, while Cassis, Danielle, and Liam readied their weapons.

"Alright," Arianna said, raising her hands. "Let’s do this."

She channelled her mana, and a shimmering wall of water surged up between them and half the monsters, cutting them off. The creatures screeched and clawed at the watery surface, unable to break through.

The rest charged.

Cassis and the others met them head-on, blades flashing. Marcus unleashed his Magic Missile, striking a snarling beast in the chest. Arianna joined the fray, swinging her mace and feeling the satisfying crunch of impact.

For a moment, it seemed almost easy.

Then her barrier wavered.

"Barrier’s breaking!" she shouted.

The water wall collapsed, and the remaining monsters surged forward.

But they were ready.

The fight dragged on for a few more tense minutes, but eventually, the last monster fell. Arianna took a deep breath, scanning their group.

A few scrapes, a couple of bruises—but nothing serious. No one needed healing.

"Nice work," Cassis said, rolling his shoulders. "Let’s get inside before more show up."

They hurried to the back door, where Danielle immediately started rummaging through a nearby box.

A moment later, she pulled out a small key.

Arianna blinked. "You have a key to the back entrance?"

Danielle smirked. "Technically, no. But Helen is good at… bending the rules."

Marcus snickered. "Right. A model administrative clerk."

Danielle grinned at him, a shared history flashing between them. Arianna had a feeling there were some interesting stories there. But now wasn’t the time for stories.

They slipped inside, closing the door behind them as quietly as possible.

Their fight had been fast. Not too loud. But in a city overrun with monsters, you never knew who—or what—was listening.

The corridors of City Hall were eerily silent.

Dust motes floated in the dim light filtering through the windows, and Arianna’s boots barely made a sound on the scuffed tile floor. Their group moved cautiously, following the faint sound of voices echoing from deeper inside the building.

The tension was palpable as they neared a corner. The voices became clearer—heated, desperate.

"Going out is suicide. We’re staying here until the police or military come!"

"We need to go to the hospital. They aren’t going to make it if we don’t treat their wounds!"

"And how are we supposed to do that? It’s full of monsters out there!"

"But we can’t just do nothing!" The last voice cracked with emotion, raw with frustration.

Arianna exchanged a glance with Cassis. He took a deep breath, then stepped forward, calling out, “Hi there, we’re here to help. Don’t attack.”

The arguing stopped instantly.

Silence filled the air, thick with apprehension.

Arianna kept close behind Cassis as they rounded the corner, stepping into a large room near the front of the building. Seven people were gathered there, their expressions wary and exhausted. Makeshift barricades of overturned desks and chairs blocked the entrance, though they wouldn’t last long if the horde outside descended on them. And from the looks of outside it was only a matter of time.

The man who had been arguing, a stocky guy with a buzz cut and a bloodstained shirt, stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “Who are you people?”

Cassis kept his tone even. “I’m Cassis Walker. This is my family—my mother Danielle, my father Marcus, my brother Liam—and this is Arianna Sloane.” He paused, then added, “We’re looking for Luke Bristol.”

The man remained stiff with suspicion, but before he could respond, one of the women gasped.

“Wait—Walker? Cassis, Danielle, Marcus and Liam? Arianna Sloane?” She stared at them, eyes widening in shock. “Are you those people? The ones from the world announcement?”

Arianna stiffened slightly. She hadn’t expected them to be recognized so quickly.

“Yes,” Cassis answered simply.

The atmosphere shifted. The suspicion in their eyes gave way to something else—relief, curiosity, maybe even hope.

The man exhaled, his posture relaxing, though his sharp gaze remained. “Alright… that explains a lot. But how did you get in here? The front’s been overrun all morning.”

Danielle smirked. “We used the special entrance.”

At his blank look, she added, “Helen’s way in.”

The man blinked—then burst out laughing.

“Of course. It’s Helen.”

The tension in the room eased instantly.

Arianna couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Just who is this Helen?

First, she had an illegal spare key left outside in a box. Now, people just accepted of course Helen like some kind of universal truth.

Curiosity sparked in her mind, but for now, they had more pressing matters to deal with.

Arianna frowned, remembering the heated argument they had overheard. “You mentioned people were injured,” she said, stepping forward. “How bad is it?”

Terrence, the man with the buzz cut, let out a tired breath and rubbed his forehead. “Bad,” he admitted. “When the monsters first attacked, we fought them off. There were around sixty of us here—employees, visitors, just people trying to get paperwork done.” His jaw tightened. “Seventeen died.”

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Arianna swallowed, her grip tightening around her mace. It was one thing to know how bad the apocalypse was, another to hear the numbers.

“The rest of us managed to barricade the front doors,” Terrence continued. “We thought we’d be safe, but for some reason, the monsters just keep gathering out there.” He gestured vaguely toward the entrance. “We blocked off the corridors leading here, too, just in case, but I don’t think it’ll hold much longer.”

“And the wounded?” Cassis asked.

Terrence sighed. “Most of us are injured in some way, but five of them—” His voice faltered, and he looked at the man beside him.

Max, the man he had argued with earlier, stepped forward, his expression bleak. “Five of them won’t make it without real treatment. My wife is one of them.” His voice wavered, and he quickly clenched his jaw. “We moved them upstairs, third floor, behind the ‘Employees Only’ door. It’s the sturdiest one in the building.”

Cassis nodded. “We can help,” he said simply.

Terrence’s eyes flickered with surprise, but Arianna caught the quick flash of hope behind them.

“You have medical supplies?” Max asked, barely containing his urgency.

“Better,” Cassis said. “We have healing magic.”

Max inhaled sharply. A few of the clerks exchanged glances, some skeptical, others daring to believe.

The woman who had recognized them didn’t waste time questioning it. “Max, take them upstairs.” Terrence nodded.

Max didn’t need to be told twice. He was already moving toward the stairwell, gesturing for them to follow. Arianna exchanged a glance with Cassis before gripping her mace tighter and stepping forward.

If they could save lives, they would.

The second they entered the archive room and break area, Arianna’s chest tightened. The space was packed with injured people—some lying on the floor, others propped against shelves or makeshift bedding, with the less injured tending to the worst off. The heavy scent of blood, sweat, and desperation clung to the air.

Most of these people would survive without her help, but then Max hurriedly led them deeper into the room, where the most critical patients lay.

The first man she saw was missing a leg. A hastily tied tourniquet kept him from bleeding out, but his skin was pallid, and his breathing shallow. Arianna saw Marcus flinch at the sight, his hand unconsciously clenching over his own stump.

Another man had a head wound, his face too still, his chest barely rising. A woman was curled up in pain, deep slashes across her torso still seeping blood. Another woman—Arianna swallowed hard—had chunks of flesh missing, like something had taken a bite out of her. The sight made her stomach churn.

The last man was lying on his front, his back shredded beyond recognition, wounds still open and raw.

Arianna didn’t waste a second. She rushed to the closest person, placed her hands over their wounds, and let her healing magic flow. A soft, golden light spread from her palms, sealing flesh, knitting skin back together.

She moved quickly, going from one person to the next. Each spell drained her, but she didn’t stop—not when she could still move, still help.

Gasps of astonishment filled the room as wounds disappeared before their eyes. Max let out a choked sob as his wife’s breathing evened out, her slashes fading as if they had never existed. He dropped to his knees, hugging her, whispering thanks through his tears.

By the time Arianna finished, she felt lightheaded. Her mana had grown with her level-ups, but the injuries had been severe. She sat down heavily, her vision momentarily swimming.

Liam was beside her in an instant, his face creased with worry. “Are you okay?”

She forced a tired smile. “Just exhausted. Used a lot of mana.”

Liam nodded, his expression softening. “You did great.”

Arianna exhaled and looked around, searching for Danielle and Marcus.

They were across the room, talking animatedly with a small, round woman who had short red hair, oversized glasses, and a warm but mischievous smile. Danielle and the woman embraced tightly, laughing and whispering hurried words to each other.

Is that Helen? Arianna wondered.

Meanwhile, Cassis was speaking to a slightly injured man, his arm held awkwardly at his side. After a moment, Cassis turned, meeting Arianna’s gaze before walking over with the man.

“This is Luke Bristol,” Cassis said.

Arianna blinked and sat up straighter. “So, you’re Nadine’s husband.”

Luke’s face was tight with emotion. “My wife is really okay? What about our daughter? The announcement didn’t say her name, but I thought—”

“She’s fine,” Cassis reassured him. “And from now until she turns fourteen, she’ll be protected from monsters.”

Luke’s shoulders sagged in relief, his breath escaping in a shaky exhale.

Arianna reached for his injured arm and pressed her hands against it, sending another pulse of healing magic through him. The bone mended beneath her fingers, and Luke’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“It would have healed on its own,” she told him, “but you wouldn’t be able to fight like that.”

Luke flexed his fingers and let out a breath. “Thank you.”

Arianna just nodded. Because even though he was safe now, they all knew the fighting wasn’t over.