A familiar explosion echoed through my ears. I looked over to see where the sound came from and immediately headed toward there.
I used my left eye and saw an influx of mana and aura that was forcefully combined. Before I could see the person behind this, my left eye suddenly blacked out.
I ran out of mana, but my body was still filled with aura. I used 'Flashpoint' again and went to the source of the explosion.
It's weird. Launching an attack in the evening is not a good move. Soldiers should be on the way there, I'll just watch the fight.
I arrived at the source of the explosion quicker than anticipated. I went to the roof of one of the buildings as a vantage point.
The fire had engulfed the buildings in the vicinity and more explosions were being heard outside the citadel.
It will take time before I can use my left eye, but this situation felt wrong. Why is there no one coming? They should've arrived by now. But there are no signs of reinforcement.
The barrier of the citadel that had protected this land is getting weaker and weaker. I don't know what they are doing, but I hope they respond.
It seems like the civilians had evacuated before this had all started. There are no screams nor any signs of life.
The barrier will be destroyed any second now. Suddenly, someone pats my shoulder. It's a familiar feeling, it must be Alpha.
I quickly turned around and saw Alpha carrying Nift. Alpha's attire is different than usual.
A black cloak with long fabrics that seemed to dangle from the neck and insignia of a bird. Nift's expressionless face beamed over as Alpha carried her with a weird look.
Alpha looked at me with enthusiasm in his eyes and said, "Who is this?"
She's Nift. She followed me so I took her in.
"Can I pet her?" Alpha's face is screaming in joy, trying to hold the urge of petting Nift.
I can see Nift's expression telling me to save her. I signaled to her that she would be fine and she looked at me with disappointment. I'm sorry, but please hold on for a while.
"Now that I think about it, what's going on?"
I asked Alpha.
"Someone is breaching the citadel. It's best to move away from here."
"Wouldn't it be better if you intercept them first before they reach the citadel?" Kash looked at Alpha with skepticism.
"We can't. If we did, we would've done it." The explosions are getting louder as time passes. The barrier is now broken and next are the walls.
"Let's get to work, everyone!" the whole area began to dim as numerous people rose from the ground.
They wore the same attire as Alpha with the same insignia.The walls immediately busted open as large debris destroyed the adjacent buildings.
Standing before the broken walls is... The anomaly I saw in the forest..?
Unreal body frame, an iron mask with no holes, and a cleaver for its right hand that roots from the elbow.
"That guy again, huh," Alpha chuckled as he slowly wore the cowl of his black cloak.
"Listen carefully! That thing has dangerous close-range capabilities. Mana users will do long-range skills as damage, Aura users will restrict its movement." Alpha shouted as he signaled his members to take a position.
Alpha then let down Nift as he pulled out his crossbow from his inventory. Alpha fired 7 simultaneous arrows in the sky as he prepared to join in the fight.
I wouldn't wanna get into a fight with that creature, seeing its presence already sent shivers down my spine. It's infuriating. If only I was a lot stronger, then maybe I would've had the chance.
My left eye is back again. But I don't want to overwork it for now. Let's just move away from the fight.
"That's a chimera. Also a strong one." Nift pointed at the creature while he tugged Kash's shirt.
"Let's get away from here a bit." Kash carried Nift on his shoulder and leaped back a few buildings.
The chimera screeched loudly at the sight of the black figures it saw. It then leaned its right hand backward, prepared to slice.
Alpha looked at the creature with slight disgust and clenched his hand. He told the mana users to start chanting while the aura users would stand by.
However, what they didn't take into account was another variable. Another explosion echoed through the city, another wall was breached far away from where Alpha was standing.
He looked over where the other explosion was but then the chimera started to attack.
"Aura users, Protect the mage! Arch formation!" The chimera started to attack the one that looked the weakest.
Because of fear, one of the mages started to shiver as the chimera approached her. The chimera swung its right hand, trying to decapitate the feared mage, but was halted by blue chains coiling around its shoulder.
One of the aura users started to ferociously pull the blue chain as the chimera tried to remove it.
Another mage retreated the feared mage and cast a purifying spell on her. With a calm mind, the purified mage started to chant a spell, a spell that could destroy and shatter the chimera's skin.
The chimera sensed a large amount of mana surging from the mage. It tried to remove the blue chain by using its left hand to crush it.Knowing that it won't be able to escape easily, the chimera used mana.
A dark purple mana that embodies corrupted souls to remove the blue chain. "Soul Mana?!" Alpha told the other mages to use purify on the chimera, but the spell didn't work and the chimera got more agitated.
The chimera successfully removed the blue chain that was coiled around his right arm using soul mana and started to leap toward the aura user.
The aura user clenched his jaw and rushed toward the Chimera, trying to stop it with his yellow sword.
"Stop it! Get the hell away from there!" Alpha shouted at the aura user. But he didn't hear it and started to pour all of his aura into the yellow blade.
The chimera started to imbue soul mana on his right hand and slashed the aura user.
But its movements were stopped before it could touch the aura user. A blue box started to surround the chimera, It tried to use soul mana and sliced it but only slash marks were being formed.
"Now!" Alpha signals the aura users to slice the chimera. The aura users started to attack the chimera with continuous slashes through the blue box, hitting the chimera's torso and made a huge mark on it.
The chimera screamed in pain and released a huge amount of soul mana, completely nullifying the blue box and escaped.
The purified mage is intensely chanting and blood starts to drip from her eyes. She told Alpha that she was ready.
A large white sword appeared on top of the purified mage. Its light completely pushes the darkness around it.
The chimera saw the white sword and began to rush toward the purified mage.
Alpha shouted, "Now!" and the purified mage threw the large white sword at the chimera.
The chimera tried to evade the incoming white sword but was restricted from its movements by small mana threads from the other mages.
The large white sword pierced through the torso of the chimera. That caliber of attack would just make a small dent in its body, because of it's thick anti-mana skin.
But since the aura user cleaved the torso, it's bare skin is vulnerable to mana attacks. The chimera screeched in agony as the white sword started to shake.
In a single second, the white sword exploded, causing temporary blindness around it. By the time the white sword exploded, the chimera was gone.
Only a purple stone was left on the ground, the chimera's soul mana core.
Everyone cheered and celebrated the successful subjugation. But it's not over yet.
"What the... Another explosion?" Kash looked at the other side to check where the sound came from.
"Another chimera." Nift whispered.
Considering that Alpha is busy, Yara and Eta are nowhere to be found, Kash had to make a decision.
Either run away or face it. That is what's going on his mind. If he tried to face it, his life would be in danger. And if he tried to run away, it could increase casualties.
"But... All of the people are evacuated, right?" Kash murmured to himself.
But what if there are people who haven't evacuated... Before Kash could decide, a scream can be heard near the explosion.
"A person..?!" Kash rushed to where the scream was heard using 'Flashpoint'
After arriving, Kash hid between the buildings. He tried to locate where he heard the scream. But it's silent. More silent than an abandoned town.
"There's no one..." Kash whispered to Nift as he carefully retreated.
Before Kash can move, he felt a hostile presence behind him.