Noah had slashed the throat of a charging monster, using his gauntlet. Despite the gush of blood, the creature pressed on in its attack. Noah had to strike the monster again and again, until it finally stopped moving and the familiar cloud of essence left the carcass and absorbed into him.

Whatever horror had let out that furious shriek, earlier, it was clear that the hordes of monsters were far more afraid of it than they were about being slain while assaulting Noah's group. They fought as though they were possessed. Even the twisted beings clinging to the walls of the ancient buildings, while spitting acid, had descended in order to join the charge, despite their physical weakness.

Noah was burning through his essence at an alarming rate and the skeletons that he had raised were being destroyed, one after the other, as more frenzied monsters were joining the fray.

With no other option, Noah withdrew Claws and the surviving minions towards the center of the formation, being held by Steve. At least the front was secured. No matter how many monsters were crashing into Jeffrey's hulking form, the werehuman weathered the onslaught like an immovable titan, catapulting away mangled monsters with every hit.

The frenzied creatures continued their mad assault, stomping over their own dead and injured.

A monster latched onto Noah, attempting to take a bite out of him, its jaws snapping dangerously close. Keeping one hand pressed against the creature's head in order to keep it away, Noah felt its repugnant breath wash over him, as he looked into its eyes.

Pure terror.

That was what Noah had gleaned from the monster's yellow eyes. Something had terrorized three massive hordes of monsters, into a state in which they did not fear death anymore.

Using the gauntlet on his free hand, Noah repeatedly stabbed the creature's chest and stomach, and yet it refused to relent, still holding on to Noah with maniacal determination.

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Finally, Noah kicked the monster away, sending it flying towards the first line of the encroaching horde, which proceeded to crush underfoot any creature that had lost its balance, as they continued their advance.

Taking a step back behind his minions, Noah attempted to calm himself and assess the situation.

'This is absolutely insane! No, I have to focus...'

Panting heavily, Noah looked around at his surroundings. The monsters were advancing from both ends of the street, but there was a path behind them, leading into an alley.

"Jeffrey, we need to run!"

The werehuman turned to look at Noah, with a writhing monster in his jaws, before snapping it in half and spitting the bloody parts away.

"Yeah, looks like it."

Noah left behind the majority of the skeletons that he had raised during this battle, in order to buy the group a little bit of time, as they dashed through the narrow alley.

Every time a skeleton was destroyed, Noah felt it, until they were all gone, and the frenzied hordes of monsters began to pour into the alley.

'Hurry! We gotta hurry!'

The path led to what appeared to be a town square, now overgrown with vegetation, grime and littered with bones.

The pursuing monster mobs poured out of the alley and began to surround the group. Their roaring howls were deafening.

Again, the creatures appeared to leave Noah's group a path of retreat – a stairway leading underground.

Tapping Jeffrey's back, Noah pointed towards the stairs. The werehuman sighed and nodded. He as well, knew that something was off, but they were out of options.

The hordes of monsters pursued the group, as they descended underground, but remained at the entrance, seemingly not daring to continue beyond that point.

It was pitch black inside, with the mass of monsters at the entrance blocking the only source of light from the outside.

Noah turned on his omni device's flashlight and looked around. They were inside a large room, with long abandoned booths. The only available path was another stairway leading farther down.

"I guess we might as well find out who wanted to meet us, this badly." Jeffrey chuckled.

The werehuman was coated in blood. While most of it was not his own, Jeffrey's tough skin was covered with many lacerations. Noah couldn't understand how he could remain upbeat in this situation. It was obvious that whatever had instilled utter terror in the monster hordes, had led them down here.

With no other alternative, Noah, Jeffrey, Steve, Claws and the handful of remaining skeletons that had survived, began to descend deeper underground.