It was about eight in the evening when an armed group of civilians, wielding sharpened poles, approached the mall.
Jorge, who was on guard duty, stopped their advance.
Emma, who sat beside him, called for backup on the radio, but no one replied. She then switched the channel, and Tatang Robin answered.
Tatang Robin reported the situation to everyone, resulting in the current parade of people heading out.
Just as they stepped out of the building, a gunshot echoed in the area.
They all turned their heads towards where the sound came from and saw Jorge clutching his sides while falling from the bus.
Emma quickly raised her hands as if she became a hostage.
A few seconds later, another gunshot roared, and Emma fell backward, falling next to Jorge's body.
"What's happening?" someone shouted.
"We're being attacked!" Jun shouted. "Everyone, go back inside, those who have guns stay here and don't let anyone come closer. Find some cover and provide cover fire. Edward, follow me. Adrian, flank them."
Jun readied his shield and equipped a revolver from his dimensional storage. Using the aluminum baseball bat in this situation seemed foolish.
Before he could take a step forward, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Old John stared at him fiercely.
"Kill them. Kill them all. Please."
Jun watched as tears slid down the old man's face. Having the hope of people you knew and love, then in a brief moment losing that hope, the old man seemed to have aged a bit, looking pitiful.
Jun nodded. He didn't say any comforting words because he knew, based on experience, that no words could help him right now.
Jun's emotions became unstable. He smirked then stashed his revolver.
A new weapon appeared on his hand, a half-meter club that radiated red aura. That aura spread around Jun's body, outlining him, making him look domineering.
Jun turned away, then said:
"I'll make them suffer."
***
Jun and Edward ran on the parking lot, weaving between stalls, evading the eyes of numerous people. Adrian was sneakily walking along the walls on the eastern part of the entrance.
The plan they set up before moving out was quite simple.
Since they have no information about the enemy, they have to fight them conservatively.
The first part of the plan was to gain knowledge of how many enemies they were facing, what weapons they have, and how many of them has guns.
Jun and Edward would act as decoys to attract the gunman's attention while Adrian identifies them.
At the same time that Jun and Edward reached the last stall near the toll booth, a man appeared on the roof of the bus and quickly fired at them.
The two took cover behind the stall and waited for the man to stop firing. From the sound and rate of fire between the shots, Jun deduced that the shooter was using a pistol.
Jun looked towards the east and saw Adrian kneeling on a landscape of shrubs. Their eyes met, and he signaled for Adrian to wait for a bit more.
The firing stopped after eight rounds.
Jun took a deep breath then shouted. "Hey, fvcker! How's your day?!"
No reply came from the other side.
Jun furrowed his brows. He peeked on the corner and saw people advancing, holding sharpened poles.
"Are you sure that you can do this?" Jun asked Edward, who was intensely breathing by his side.
Edward turned his head in confusion.
"You might have to kill someone with how things are going. Are you ready for it?"
Jun noticed the fear and reluctance on Edward's eyes right after he finished his question.
Edward knew that he wasn't like Jun or Adrian, who grew knowing the dark side of life.
Jun didn't force him but left him the question for him to ponder on his own.
"This is a new world. It's your choice whether to kill or not to kill."
Jun stood up and ran towards the enemies. There's one thing that he didn't tell Edward, that is, he chose to kill because he had to protect something.
His life.
He still hasn't gotten his revenge for his family, and until the time that he achieves his revenge, he cannot die.
Five pole-arm wielders appeared in front of him. They stood side-by-side, pointing the sharpened poles forward.
Jun charged at the group to avoid being shot at by the gunman. He immediately got surrounded and attacked from every direction.
Edward ran after him and covered his back. He used barriers from time to time, to block the critical strikes that he couldn't dodge.
After exchanging a few blows with the group, Jun noticed something strange. Every time he was hit, it would always be in a safe spot with little to no damage, not leaving him in any danger.
After a few more stabs, Jun felt shocked when he finally realized the reason! This group of people was amateurs! They don't know where to hit someone or how to inflict more pain.
Thanks to his leather jacket and improved body endurance, all the stabs felt like he was just getting poked by a finger. Although he could still feel the pricks, they were still on a manageable level.
The red damaged club on his hand glowed redder the more he got hit. His consciousness started fading away, not because he was losing blood but because his mind was becoming clouded by a wave of unknown anger.
Like an irritable woman on her period, Jun's body sluggishly moved on its own.
He started mauling anyone in front of him like he was just using a punishment stick to hit them.
The armed civilians finally showed gaps in their encirclement after receiving a few hits.
Edward noticed Jun's eyes that glowed crimson and hurriedly distanced himself from him. He knew that something already happened to Jun, and he could only stand on the side and protect him.
He doesn't have enough power to stop Jun, nor he was willing to. Two of their people got shot, and there's a high probability that they could die. Even if these people weren't the ones who fired, they still must shed some blood.
When every civilian was down on the ground after receiving violent stick lashings, Jun raised his damaged club to finish them off.
A shrill noise resounded accompanied by white sparks as an energy barrier blocked the attack.
As if taunted, Jun turned his head to Edward.
Edward realized that Jun was unconscious and hastily backed off.
"I know that you've decided to kill them, but at least do it when you're conscious of it!"
Jun didn't answer him. He dashed forward with crazed eyes and laborious breathing.
Edward dodged a few easy strikes while using a barrier to block Jun's path and gain some distance between them.
They arrived in the middle of the parking lot with someone doing his best not to get hit while the other person madly swung a glowing red stick continuously.
Evo thew a ball of yarn to stop Jun's unconscious rampage.