LAN KYLAMON, CENTER OF THE TOWN
"Hey move aside!!! Let me get first!"
"Um, my kid, my kid…is stuck there…please save him!!"
"Aaaarrrrrrghhhh!! Stop biting me, you crazy…!!!"
The town was crowded, and everyone was running around desperately trying to be saved by the fish.
"Uh-huh, this is all messed up! Looks like I was already too late." Takashi said as he surveyed the deteriorating state of the town from above.
He was still using his skills passively and was unaffected by his involvement with the piranhas.
"Leave money aside, I doubt we'll get a single word of praise now!"
An expression of discontent adorned his face as he looked at the sky.
As he continued to breathe in the surrounding air, he clenched his fists with greater intensity to generate more power.
'Pyro fusion! He enchanted in his mind and engulfed the entire area in monstrous flames that were more efficient, but also more dangerous than the last one. The temperature was so high that even the ground heated like a desert and the people running over it in a crowd stopped and looked at the scenery.
The scenery repeated itself and the showering fishes turned into ashes in a fraction of a second while the ones that reached close to the ground all melted with no exception.
Even the citizens were falling one by one because of the attack's high intensity and temperature, which caused many of them to succumb to heat because of strokes and seizures.
"Aa-a, I messed it up," Takashi said as he finally stopped breathing out and sat down on the roof of the house that he was standing on.
"They shouldn't expect any more from me because I don't want anyone to burn alive. I have already dried up most of my mana though." He said as he calmed down and the steam that was fuming out of his body stopped and he lay down, looking at the scenery above him.
The piranhas were still entering, but the amount had decreased drastically and the ones who entered the region melted away before doing anything.
'It's strange though.' He thought.
"What made these little things so aggressive? They are not a friendly species, but they don't attack unless they are the one in danger, especially when it comes to fish-men." He said.
"And why did the numbers decrease so suddenly?"
"Were the other two kingdoms finished by such a meager attack or there's something else that we are yet to see?!"
Many things and assumptions were revolving in Takashi's head, but he couldn't get an affirmative answer or reach a possible conclusion to any of them.
"Well, we just have to wait and see. The others can do their share of work since I am done for now." He said and closed his eyes to take a quick nap.
Ignoring the health and conditions of the citizens, he slept on the top of the roof with a relaxed stature.
The chaotic atmosphere had calmed down, and the traffic made by the crowd was also sorted out slowly.
The ones that were fine or slightly injured helped those who needed some immediate treatment.
Many people were lying on the ground, cold and blue, the dead bodies.
Although it was not unexpected, the corpses numbered quite larger than expected.
It completely covered the street with red blood and some people were still in trauma, looking at the dead.
It was a veritable nightmare for the citizens since it was the first time in their life that they had experienced such a gruesome scene happening in front of them and was even a risk to their own life.
Although things had calmed for a moment, the crowd had loosened up but was far from clear.
*
"It was our mistake, Daiki senpai! We could have stopped it all if we weren't so careless back there. I feel guilty now." Riho said while looking at the mountain of dead piranhas in front of him.
"Yeah, you are right. I was in the impression that we don't have a way to fight off these creatures without some sacrifices but…" He said as he slammed the back of his spear on the ground in anger.
"I just pray that Takashi has taken care of things in his region because that's where most of the residential areas are," Akito said.
"Don't worry! It's him we are talking about. His firepower is not something half-assed, you know." Eiji said as he hid the two daggers back beneath his clothes.
"Well, we can't change what has happened, and I know we will not get a penny now, leave the banquet aside," Akito said.
"Let's get going. We need to meet up with Takashi and help him too if needed." Daiki said.
"If there are any dangers there, remember that I will be the first one to fight it, okay?" Riho said while looking at the other three with discontent.
"What's with him now?" Akito asked.
"I think he is worried about the fact that he couldn't use his skills to fend off those fishes because we already finished them off," Eiji said with a proud smirk.
"They are just fish. What are you getting so excited about? And you, Riho, you remember, right? You will not use your powers unless it's an absolute necessity." Akito said.
"Y-Yeah, I am aware of that," Riho answered.
"Don't get so worked up, Akito! Even though he is a newbie, he is still a member of the five fingers. He knows what he needs to know." Daiki said.
"I hope that's the case!" Akito answered.
The place was not that densely populated. Just some soldiers were posted there who were fighting off the piranhas till the reinforcements arrived as the five fingers.
The four members left the place and went off to meet up with Takashi.
*
CENTER OF THE TOWN
"Are these people still not done?!" Takashi said as he looked at them from the roof.
"Well, it's not like I could take a nap in the middle of such chaos."
"Should I give them a hand? Hmm, no, I don't think I will get along with this messed up town." He said.
The complete town was silent, just the voices of the injured and the people chatting with each other.
A person doesn't realize the importance of life unless he/she loses the one dear to him/her. It also brings out the true nature and procedure of thinking of a particular individual.
Many people were mourning while looking at the dead bodies.
Suddenly, amid all this, the ground started shaking. It was worse than an earthquake. It seemed like something big struck the town that made it tremor with such intensity.
"Huh? What is this? What's going on?!" Takashi said as he looked above him.
Suddenly, giant creatures bigger than the size of a ship fell on the ground at an unnatural speed, which destroyed everything beneath and around with the impact.
Many were crushed under the weight of the creature while the others died because of the impact.
"I-I-I-It's impossible!! This…"
Takashi started sweating as his widened eyes looked at the dead giant creatures on the ground.
"B-But how…? What in the world could have done this? What in the world could have killed the Sea Kings?!"