This world was dangerous as Alex expected.
People are trying to kill each other. Alien creatures and demons trying to kill people. There are even mythical creatures and monsters trying to kill people. Excluding natural disasters, too many things were trying to kill people.
'Maybe I should name this world. Instant death world.' Thought Alex while looking at his burning home. Nothing inside survived.
'Maybe my kebab skewers will survive this fire.'
Either way, I need to survive in this damned world. And I also need this world to survive. So, I must take action. Any action that can increase the survivability of both this world and mine.
'Today, It was a demon who tore a hole through my apartment. But I can't say for sure what might be next.'
Looking at the damage. Only one question came to his mind. Is this covered by insurance? It might have been the side effects of being poor, you always think about money even in the most desperate of times.
Alex ran inside the burning building wondering what caused the deformed demon to spawn here. He knew that people transfused with demon blood can turn into demons and the result of a failed transformation was deformed demons. Demons who have lost sanity and succumbed to rage.
Quickly looking inside, all he could see was burning debris and a destroyed home. Other than the occasional crackling of the fire, he could hear the deformed demon rampaging down below.
'Cleaning this would be hard. But that's for another time.'
The fire was slowly but surely growing with each passing second. Alex came to a quick decision before running towards the corridor. The fire originated in another room, so he had the leeway to move around, trying to look for trapped survivors.
It might have been hard for a normal person. But it was an easy job for Alex, Feather-falling and the decreased gravitational pull meant he was faster and more agile with his movement. He shone when he had to carry enormous loads and leap from high altitudes.
So, moving fast and accurately was a given.
Once he reached the corridor, he could fully view the destruction caused by the demon. As expected from the Main Character, Edward seems to have taken the most reliable method when fighting the demon. The damage done to the core structure of the building was minimal while one or two walls broke in the intense clash.
Fire might have been caused by leaking gas lines.
'Considering most people run to safety in a moment of crisis, the actual number of human casualties might be minimal. The ones who might have been trapped would be in the destroyed apartment who didn't have enough time to respond.'
Alex had already cleared his home, now he had to check on his neighbouring rooms which showed signs of damage. Then he can move on to other rooms before the fire extends to every part of the fifth floor.
All that logical reasoning and decision making happened quickly inside Alex's brain. Like a well-oiled machine, he began his work. It didn't take long for him to find a survivor. He was an elderly man who was struggling to breathe. The smoke and noxious fumes seem to have paralysed him.
Alex quickly went up to him and carried him on his back. He swiftly carried the man towards the fire exit. Just as he reached the fire exit, he could hear people clamouring, trying to exit the building. He quickly came in and left the man in the care of someone else before moving into the burning part of the building.
Most people die inside a burning building due to asphyxiation. And the air quality was already beyond redemption. He didn't know how long he could carry on his solo rescue mission.
Looking at his glowing heart. He felt that he had enough energy to go on. He has yet to feel tired or even experience breathing problems. So, he was confident to go inside the fire again. Even though he felt hot, the fire did not seem to damage him as he expected. He knew something was up the moment he came in contact with the burning debris.
As far as he knew, the Alex in this novel was not fireproof. And the only explanation for all this was his glowing cyan heart. But not bothering about the details, he quickly saved three more people who were struggling to get to the fire exit.
"Boom…." Suddenly he could hear explosions outside the building. How crazy of a fight was going on outside for him to hear it inside. Alex was perplexed.
Then a sudden pressure descended on him. It felt like gravity at the same time it wasn't. It was a pressure on the depth of his soul. Something was squeezing him from the inside.
A crazy thought popped inside his mind.
'Dragon God's Will!' One of the craziest powers of Edward. An inheritance that will multiply Edward's strength for a short duration. That was the only thing that could cause such a phenomenon on a soul level.
'But, can he handle it? In the initial stages of the novel(Outerworlds), Edwards had a hard time after each use of Dragon God's Will. The powerup it provided came with the cost of damage to his own body. Simply put, it should have been impossible to even activate that power at this stage, yet he did it. Did the plot armour thicken?'
Alex felt jealous for a moment. Then a blue flicker flashed inside his eyes completely eradicating the influence of Dragon God's Will on himself.
Relieved from the pressure, Suddenly a thought popped up inside his mind.
He has yet to check on Emily!
Like a fool, he had concluded that Emily was Okay just because of the appearance of MC. But, If Edward was forced to use even Dragon God's Will. It might not be impossible for Emily to be in harm's way.
'The plot of the original novel is as unreliable as it gets. And I don't know what part I had in it. I should check on her just in case and make sure she is ok.'
With that in mind. Alex quickly closed in on her apartment.
It was shut tightly. There was no way in, so he knocked on the door.
"EMILY! It's me, Are you inside? It's Alex, open the door if you can." But no one responded to Alex's call.
Now, he could assume that no one was inside or break in and verify before going away.
'So, breaking in was the only option. No one shuts their door and leaves when a fire is burning next door. They run for their life.' Thinking that he went onto the balcony of another room, before climbing onto the balcony of Emily's apartment.
Half the people below looked at him thinking 'what was this crazy person doing?' While the other half thought he was brave. But, Alex had no time to care about them.
Just with a look, he could see two people who had passed out. Although she was covered by smoke, Alex could identify Emily. And the person next to her also seemed oddly familiar to him.
'The red-head neighbour and Emily. Why were they together?'
Wasting not a moment. He broke in through the glass window.
Checking their heartbeat, he confirmed that they were still alive.
'Thank god I checked! What would have happened if I stayed put, waiting for the rescue like everyone else.' The thought seemed to have scared him a little. Alex's cyan heart burned brighter, pumping him with energy.
—
Meanwhile
Leo was fidgeting near a paramedic trying to move away from him. He didn't like anyone touching him. Even then, the paramedics quickly looked at him to verify his safety.
"Kid, you are lucky! Where are your parents? Let me take you towards them." He said with a smile praising Leo's luck for not getting eaten.
At the same time, Leo implanted a small piece of dark matter into the paramedics' clothing. This was becoming a habit.
But the same could not be said for Edward.
He had broken most of the bones in his limbs while sustaining multiple fractures along his ribs. He was on a stretcher, being carried to an ambulance. He was a sorry excuse for the main character.
No one could have stayed conscious with that much injury, yet here he was screaming his throat out.
"My sister is inside! Fast go and help. Please." He screamed like a wailing ghost again and again. No one knew if he was conscious or not, but his scream kept on repeating in a loop again and again.
While Leo looked up, shaking off the paramedic's hands.
"Kid, don't be like that. You show me your parents and I will leave you right away. Please help this uncle." The paramedic asked Leo again. He raised his pitch-black arms towards the building. He pointed towards a burning apartment.
Five-floors high on an apartment balcony. You could see a man carrying two people. Behind him, the blaze swallowed the room. Smokes and dust clouds exploded outwards.
There was no place to escape.
So, he jumped.
Leo's hands trailed the falling figure.
"Family," Leo said. He had chosen his family.