“Hmm…”

The left side of Galveston must be the industry sector since there are many skyscrapers, restaurants, museums, entertainment, and commercial facilities. Everything around me was ruined as if the zombie apocalypse had begun. Cars and monsters littered the streets, making it quite difficult to navigate through the roads. Buildings had huge holes in them from all manner of creatures busting through metal, unaware of what they just destroyed. Colorful birds with heads too big for their bodies were roosting on top of high rises, craning their neck as they stared down at the destruction with their beady eyes.

Yep, this is totally the kind of world I expected when this all started eight months ago. A world where humans and monsters fight each other repeatedly until one side remains victorious. Humans and monsters will never be able to co-exist. It's just hardwired into our DNA. A monster’s instincts will kick into overdrive and will succumb to their bloodlust once in proximity to a human while we would rather nip the problem in the bud. They are uncomfortable with being roommates with monsters because of the impending doom they give off. One misstep and your life are forfeit. Then again, there are exceptions. Just tame a monster and see how it goes, just like Laila. On that note, why does she get a pet dragon and I don’t? I want a cool mythical beast by my side too! How did she do it? I need to know her secrets…

“…”

Sophie has been quiet ever since we parted ways with the group. Sometimes she would mutter to herself like a crazy person stuck inside an asylum. I slowed down my pace to match hers and tapped her on the shoulder. Her body jolted upwards like a scared cat.

“O-Oh, it’s just you…”

“You good over here? You keep muttering to yourself like a weirdo. You scared?”

Sophie shook her head. “No that’s not it… My mind is racing thinking about how my family and friends are doing…”

I had totally forgotten that these people have families. I was so engrossed with the current situation that such a simple concept slipped by. Of course they would be worried sick about their loved ones, especially since they themselves aren’t there to protect them. If my parents were still alive and I’m halfway across the country, unable to save them, I would slowly lose my sanity just thinking about them twenty-four/seven. I should probably say something at a time like this.

I rubbed the back of my head and said, “…It’s unhealthy to think about unpleasant scenarios happening with your friends and family. It’d be best to think positive thoughts. Superhumans around the world are working together to save those who are unfortunate. Trust me, I’m kind of an expert when it comes to mopey stuff like this.”

The corners of Sophie's mouth curled. “…Thank you for that, Isaac. I really needed to hear that.”

Oh wow. Seems like that did the trick. Sophies worries seemed to have lessened. Instead of a frown that carried sadness, she now carried herself with confidence and resolve.

“How cute…” A dry voice expressed from behind. Iris was watching us both with a blank stare.

“…I forgot you were here. Your presence was so minor that I didn’t even know you even existed,” I jabbed at the woman. She simply rolled her eyes, unimpressed.

“Har-Har, you’re hilarious. Instead of focusing on me, you should focus on what’s ahead,” Iris warned.

Wondering what she meant by that, I quickly turned my head to see a pack of wolves the size of bulls. Riding on top of them were small humanoid creatures with long, crooked noises and green skin. They were all cramped together on a street, the wolves standing firm on top of SUVs, sniffing the air with drool dribbling down the edge of their maws. Noticing our presence, the goblins all communicated with each other through a series of hissing and clicking tongues. Are the clicking tongues a code word or something? Well, it doesn’t matter anyways. They’re making my life easier by being still targets. It’d be best to handle them before they start moving around like flies.

In just a couple of seconds, one by one all the wolves and goblins were skewered by my icicle spears, their blood splattering the clean windows and hoods.

“…Maybe I should save up on my mana? I don’t want my heart exploding from overuse…” I mumbled. As I was thinking of ways to preserve my reservoir, I heard gunshots and loud explosions at the end of the street.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“What’s going on over there?” Iris asked with that heavy accent of hers.

“I think the noise is coming from that museum over there!” Sophie yelled out from on top of a burger joint.

When the hell did she get up there? I didn’t even hear or see her jump or make a sound!

Iris and I jumped up on the roof with her and looked over where she was pointing. Sure enough, the explosions and gunfire were coming from a museum that had a nineteenth-century renaissance style to it, a three-story building of yellowish-white brick and a red-slanted roof. There were small holes on an otherwise neatly trimmed lawn with trimmed hedges around the premises. Right now, there was a big battlefield going on near the front with disheveled trees knocked over and broken black statues.

“Well, they obviously need our help,” I whistled while watching them fight for their lives. From here, the superhumans were losing badly as more and more monsters flooded towards them like moths to a flame. Giant bird-like creatures were flying over the museum like predators, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go help them!” Sophie jumped off the burger place and sprinted toward the museum with all her might. I turned my head over to Iris.

“You heard her. Gotta help them peeps over there.”

Iris murmured curses under her breath as she followed Sophie. I stayed put on the roof and studied the scene a little more.

There were seven airborne monsters in the air, and were fairly large, maybe around seven feet tall? They look weak anyways so they should be easy to deal with. The grounded monsters though… there are about six regular demogres, three magus demogres, one chieftain, thirteen trolls, and twenty-two goblins. I had no idea how they survived for this long. It’s a miracle they’re even in one piece. Should I leave the ones on foot to Iris and Sophie? Yea… that’s a great idea. They can handle them on their own. If not, then my expectations for The Six Hunters would come crashing down. I have only heard snippets from Darion and they sounded like a cool as fuck group.

I think I have a shot at joining The Six Hunters. I mean, I’m stronger than all of them! I’m ranked first out of everyone so why wouldn’t they happily accept me with open arms?

“Oh shit, I went somewhere else for a moment there. That’s a bad habit of mine…”

Peering down at the museum once more, Iris and Sophie have now intercepted the monsters on foot. Both women were going ham on the monsters as they busted through their ranks like torpedoes. I could even see the struggling superhumans becoming teary-eyed at their new saviors, it’s almost comical. The bird monsters have set their sights on the newcomers and have come swooping down from the museum roof. I know I said that I should save my mana, but I have to make a flashy entrance at a time like this.

I raised my arm up to the sky while I concentrated on the very thing I wanted to summon.

Electricity arced across my fingertips as a small, dark cloud formed above the museum. Slowly, the cloud grew bigger and bigger until it completely overshadowed the whole lot. Booming sounds of thunder were being compiled within the cloud as the electrons from within become excited. Because of my [Energy Manipulation] and my knowledge of how electricity and lightning are created, this was an easy feat to accomplish. Monsters and superhumans alike were confused about how a thunderstorm was brewing high above their heads seemingly out of nowhere.

“Hehe… this light show is going to be good,” I smirked. After pinpointing each and every airborne monster inside my head, I brought down the lightning just as my arm fell downwards.

A few seconds later, the boisterous noise of thunder and white-hot lightning rained down on the airborne monsters one by one. Seven lightning bolts were released from the dark cloud and hit its marked targets. As quick as the lightning came down, so did the monsters. They didn’t even have a chance to register what just happened to them as they became steaming charred husks of their former selves.

“Grrr?”

The horde looked around in a daze, their formation now fragmented, still wondering what the hell just happened. Taking advantage of their confusion, the superhumans roared with newfound vigor and pushed back against the monsters.

“Heh, I’m a genius. Not only did my little spectacle reinvigorate their spirits, but the boots-on-the-ground monsters are still taken aback, allowing the superhumans to make a comeback. This is just way too easy. I could also kill them too with another burst of lightning, but Sophie and Iris should handle it on their own. Since Sophie is kind of like a hotshot around these parts, they’ll probably be more inclined to listen to her than me who they have no idea about."

But seriously though... The world has gone to shit all because we failed our mission in stopping Cardinal Nicholas from getting the red crystal. Laila and I failed not only Earth, but Solgen, Myra, and Zelke who risked their lives for us just because of a prophecy that’s probably not even accurate. Honestly, it makes me sick to my stomach that they died because of that. Not only because of the prophecy but because we were too weak to do anything. As I said, I have a big ego, and I want to be the very best at what I want to do. I expressed that through video games. Schoolwork bored me to death, so I didn’t really put all my focus on it even though I did well. But this power I was fortunate enough to receive, I don’t want to put to waste which is why I trained even harder than ever after that fatal day.

“…I fucking did that mind-wandering thing again. I swear it comes out at the most random times.”

Enough standing around on top of a burger joint as if I’m the dark night. Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad…