Chapter 30:  Engage

~ Dude ~

Disaster springs forth wherever I look. With an ear-deafening howl, a monster, taller than me and this building combined, swings its fist at my direction. I easily leap backwards to avoid, but the roof I was at is destroyed as a result. However, I do not waste this chance in front of me. Unleashing [Cerberus], a polearm with a purple-tinted blade attached at the end, I rush towards it while razing the blade down on the length of its arm. Sparks fly as I climb, and with a simple slanted cut across its face, the monster falls on its knees.

[Spear Mastery Learned]

As I distance myself, I notice the monster’s irregularity. There’s no blood as if it’s a hollow shell and the silver scales covering the entirety of its body is giving me the eerie vibes. On the center of its chest is a core of some sort. It emits small particles of orange light that seems to heal its wounds.

My eyes narrow into slits when I see the contents — a human. The man’s facial expression tells me he’s being used as a source of nutrient to sustain this monster’s vitality. Otherwise, what reason would they have to keep him alive? This is all the more reason that I have to find Fia — fast!

Despite its overblown size, the monster moves in quick and slams its fist to where I’m at, giving me no chance to further assess any information about it. I feel the land rumbling as I roll to safety. Damn, what a bad combination of agility and strength! One hit, and I don’t know what would’ve happened to me, as the previous space I was standing at before is lost into ruins. If these attacks continues, this land would no doubt sink into the ocean. But what do I do? If destroying this monster would equate to me killing that bystander, then I would be no different from a murderer; even if that guy is a total stranger. However, what choice do I have?

I allocate three skill points in [Spear Mastery] before raising myself to face this foe. With determination to pass, I swing my spear left and right and take a deep breath.

“Whatever I do here will bother me immensely, but I hope you would rest in peace.”

Letting out another ferocious howl, the monster continues its relentless attacks. Little by little, at a distance where being swatted like a fly is centimeters away, I chip in my hits.

Its regeneration is not as quick as Azul’s but is troublesome nonetheless. It gives chase wherever I go! And just when I thought that one is troublesome enough, more of its kind flock to where we bout, so I run towards the abandoned streets and use the tight passages and buildings as a form of concealment.

“Good Lord, how many of those are out there? Five or six? No, perhaps more,” I say while pressing my back against a wall.

Each one of those things is as deadly as they appear. Others even carry armaments like a sword or spear while the last two have complicated rings floating around their necks. The knights of this city stand no chance against those monsters. They’re too low leveled.

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But fighting a group of these high leveled monsters could be dangerous to me as well. Not to mention, there’s those masked figures that’s massacring the people around town. Either way, there’s no safe place. This city is done for.

Though that doesn’t mean that I’ll leave them alone. If I could just find Fia and assure her safety, I can concentrate on taking out these baddies. But where do I begin? I haven’t got the slightest clue on where she’s at.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!

All these thoughts are pointless. As long as I have this slave mark, I know for a fact that Fia’s still alive. Based on her personality, I know I’m her first priority; so there’s no doubt that she would look for me. I need to do what I can, for now.

I slip away from the rummaging monsters and head for the central plaza using my incredible speed. Helping the knights on their fight should be my priority, as they could help evacuate the citizens in these times of need.

But as I reach my desired destination, I stop. Dead bodies, knights and civilians alike, strew on the ground all the way down the stairs to the dock with either a limb missing or a twisted neck. The stench of death is overwhelming my nose as I move closer. Whoever did this is inhuman!

The clanking of steel resounds from my left. I turn my head to look, and there I find a familiar knight facing an unknown entity. One on one. Or it seems that way. The body of the female knight behind him is bathing on her own pool of blood.

“You, you there! Take my sister and run! Hurry!” he orders after noticing my presence.

The knight shrieks as he thrusts his blade forward, but the figure boasting a set of crimson armor dodges the end of his blade with a simple side-step, spinning in turn to retaliate a strike of her own. The knight manages to raise his blade in time, but the strength behind that full swing causes him to be literally blown away against a solid wall. Then his body plops down like a doll followed by a ruined debris. The aftermath is deadly. No way he could’ve survived that.

“Dropping dead after a single hit… This is why I hate humans…” mutters the woman as her head slowly tilts to my side. “Are you the same?”

A single glimpse in her eyes tells me she’s one dangerous individual. She moves her tongue across bottom lip, smirking. Without even uttering another word, she leaps towards me with her blade above her head, swinging it down with both hands!

“Shit, psycho!” Due to the nature of my passive skills, my body responds and deflects her attack with an upward swing of my spear. A strong clash, but I’m superior in terms of strength.  I use the force behind my legs to push her away. The woman gracefully lands on her feet, sword in hand, and resumes attacking me once more. It’s like I’m seeing a mirror of how I fight, as she’s hacking at me without care. Yet somehow, I feel like her hits are more precise and calculated, aiming for the vitals that could impair my movements.

Dangerous!