El awoke from her dream as she felt familiar energy zooming around the base; Cain was obviously searching for her. She did admit she went overboard in trying to hide her shame. But she couldn't stop herself. Cain was a person who lived for others; he always wanted to help the weak and the helpless in all the 100 years they traveled together and as they fought the Asgardians who arrived.
The blonde swordsman always tried to save as many as possible and blamed himself for those he couldn't save. It was so self-destructive.
On the other hand, she couldn't care less if everybody died after what happened in their village. Something inside El broke; she no longer cared about others; it was not only easier but kept her thoughts about life simple. And this behavior was the one thing Cain couldn't accept. To the point that he said to her.
"How could you even think that? Aren't you just as bad as the monsters? Are you even human?"
Remembering such words caused her heart to ache, like a knife bleeding her body to death. It happened on one of their excursions before the Asgardians invaded. Even though the global beast tide only started in EOS 11. The demonic beasts already existed several years earlier.
It's just that the beasts were gathering strength. When several Rank 5 were ready, the beasts decided to assault the human survivors simultaneously. Arthur, El, and Jin had their entire town transported into the deserts of the middle east, specifically the region that once was known as Saudi Arabia.
When they were transported, entire pockets of the forests around their town were forcefully transplanted into the desert. But at the same time it also messed up the ecosystem. Eventually, the trees all died, and the land returned to deserts once more.
After Arthur was saved from being tied to the forest by El and Jin, they decided to set out and leave their old town. They proceeded to hunt local wildlife as they traversed the forests. However, as they left the confines of the green woods, they noticed that the land lying outside the forests was deserts instead of the roads they expected to see.
It was at that point they knew something was wrong. Arthur could only lament their fate as he said.
"It seems fighting against beasts is not enough; messing with the entire landscape is also part of the Shattering, so let's conserve our water and rations and try to make it through. The desert could only be a small area for all we know."
Eventually, the group kept walking; due to their Force ranks all being at 3 star and above, they could endure the harsh winds and scalding temperatures without issue. Finally, after about 60 kilometers of walking, they witnessed a piece of a city within the desert. The buildings were Asian as they could see temples and Pagodas, but they still had skyscrapers like Arthur saw in magazines and postcards.
Personally, experiencing the evil nature of humans, the group opted to wait and see before proceeding. Then they saw numerous giant scorpions and lizards assaulting what looked like an Asian supermarket. Multiple people could be seen trying to fight the monsters with sticks and knives as they tried to deter the vicious demonic creatures.
When Arthur saw women, children, and the elderly being killed by the monsters as they fled, he wanted to jump in only to be stopped by El. She then explained.
"Arthur, we don't owe these people anything! Going in there is suicide; we have makeshift spears and small knives. What are we going to do against 20-meter scorpions and lizards? If we go in without planning, we will die a pointless death!"
Following the rescue of Arthur, Jin and El were caught in a desperate situation. By the grace of the heavens however, they didn't die but instead ranked up to 4-Star, allowing El to shed her innocence and obtain the cognitive functions of a fully grown adult. Having gained new skills, El and Jin followed Arthur as he was forced to leave by the townspeople.
For the past two months, they slowly made their way through the forests; now, all three were experts in dealing with some monsters and had become hunters to survive. Unhappy with El's line of thought. Arthur then shouted as he stood up.
"We can help them, El; I refuse to stand by as they get slaughtered! Just because our townspeople were vile doesn't mean everyone is the same. If I can save one more person, I will do so."
Before he could run to them, Jin stopped him with his hands as he said.
"Arthur, I'm not saying we should not help them, but El has a point. We cannot act recklessly and throw our lives away, even if you ranked up to 5-Stars; if you used your skill here, you would be incapacitated afterward. El and my 4-Star skills can make short work of them, and then what?
If they ask for our supplies, do we give what we have to them? If they ask for us for protection, do we stay or leave them? Someone will die for each one you save; we cannot save them all."
The blonde 5-Star warrior proceeded to say.
"Jin, I know what it feels like to be abandoned. Of course, we can use the Force from these monsters to rank up; we can leave them afterward. But please, we cannot just stand by and do nothing."
Seeing as there was no convincing the young hero, El and Jin could only relent and move to save the people in the supermarket.
Jin could use his 4-Star skill [Turbo Vulnus], Latin for tornado slash to generate vacuum slashes made of hurricane winds, he needed time to charge, but it was enough to kill these Rank 3 monsters instantly. Arthur could stop their minds with his [Album Mundi], while El gained Telekinesis through her 4-Star skill [Dýnami chorís chéria], which was Greek for strength without arms.
As Jin slashed the 20-meter scorpions with his skill, Arthur locked their minds or crushed them if the beast was of lower rank. El used her skill to make knives fly and assaulted the weak points of the beasts like the eyes, nose, and mouth.
After they met with the people they saved, the people were hostile, as the group at the supermarket believed Arthurs's trio would rob them due to their overwhelming might. Feeling the unwelcome atmosphere, Arthur took his group and left without a fuss. After which, Jin could only complain.
"These f*cking assholes, we wasted our time and energy to save them, and they treated us like bandits."
While chatting as they walked away, they suddenly heard screams from the same direction they had just left.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!" "HELPP!!" "SAVE ME!!!" "NO!!!!!!"
Looking exasperated at the new development and knowing Arthur would not be able to stay still. The trio made their way back to the supermarket. Only to see what seems to be a biker gang shooting the people around the supermarket and dragging some women by the hair as they laughed.
"Come here, baby! I'll treat you good!" "I like em feisty! WOOHOO!" "HAHA, COME HERE, YOU BITCH!"
As the biker gang killed and r*ped the group from the supermarket, any semblance of order was gone. Blood red energy erupted from Arthur as he was about to jump into the fray. Before he could move, however, El had already acted.
"This is an absolute waste of time, Mage Skill [Dýnami chorís chéria]!"
As she spoke, the mage closed her eyes, and her knives floated and flew to pierce the biker gangs through their weak points. However, it didn't end there. She then started going after even the survivors and those close to dying from gunshot wounds around the area. Unable to remain silent, Arthur began to shout!
"EL! WAIT! NO!!! STOPP!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!"
Ignoring the raging blonde youth beside her, El only stopped when the area was silent as a graveyard—sensing no other people in the area aside from the three of them. She opened her eyes and spoke.
"We don't have time to bother with them, Arthur; we are tired and close to running out of food. If we saved them, they would be killed after we left. The supplies would fall into the hands of those with ill intentions."
"ILL INTENTIONS? YOU BUTCHERED THEM ALL, EL! HOW ARE YOU ANY BETTER THAN THE GANG JUST A WHILE AGO?
HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK THAT? AREN'T YOU JUST AS BAD AS THE MONSTERS? ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN?"
Shouting at the top of his lungs, unable to contain his rage, Arthur left them and ran to check for survivors among the group from the supermarket.
"He didn't mean that El, don't take it against him. He has a hero complex and wishes to believe in the best of humanity."
After Arthur left, tears flowed out of El's eyes; she decided to preserve their strength and get the new supplies. Being called a monster by the one you consider your friend hurts. While she had the analytical capabilities of an adult emotionally, she was still only an eight-year-old girl.
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Proofread By: Pearl_Wang
Edited By: WorthyAdversary