Chapter 15- Holem Has Chosen You! (Part 1)
Hearing that sound, Akio's body instinctively did exactly what Tin asked for. Hell, even his mind didn't register before he was on the move.
Crouching down, an object flew right above his head a moment later. Because of its high speed, Akio couldn't discern what it was until it fell down a few meters ahead of him.
Meanwhile, the man had already seen everything that happened and was quickly creating distance between himself and the object. He was indeed arrogant and prideful. However, being prideful and being a moron are totally different things; he was certainly not the latter. He knew Tin and he knew the things he invented and how mysterious and powerful they could be. Staying there would only be an idiotic decision.
*Tick*
Falling to the ground, Akio finally discerned what kind of item Tin threw. It was a stick, its size didn't exceed 10 inches long. It had a greyish-brown color that spoke about its old condition. Around its frame were weird engravings and scale-looking drawings that were similar to some animals. However, Akio sensed a weird aura around it that made him slightly wary.
'What is that…'
Before he could even finish his thought, the stick started shaking violently as if it was being controlled by an external force.
*Swish*
Then, out of nowhere, the stick exploded as a huge frame somehow emerged out of it. The size of it quickly loomed over the whole area as it made Akio arch his head up just to see the top.
'A… snake?!' Akio's eyes widened as the realization dawned on him.
The scaly texture of the massive creature and its huge head that had a long tongue that kept coming out of its massive mouth. It was a gigantic snake, made out of wood.
The creature's slit eyes glared immediately at the running man and then like a bullet, dashed after him. Its body glided on the rough ground as if it was ice. Because of its massive, long body that reached tens or even hundreds of feet long, it was able to somehow close the distance between them.
The most probable reason for that was that the man himself wasn't intending to run away either. He just created distance between him and the giant snake in case it had some kind of trick up its sleeve.
*BANG*
Reaching him, the giant monster bent down and opened its mouth as it tried to swallow the crusader wholly. Its sharp fangs glistened under the light of the moon as sharp as blades.
However, before it could do so, the man had already jumped in the air and avoided the attack. His speed was still as mind-blowing as ever.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
In a moment, a whole house was obliterated from existence.
However, the snake didn't give up as it twisted its neck and tried to catch him, in mid-air.
*Clang*
A violent clash between the two sparked in the air as waves of air flew everywhere.
"UUUGH!!" Akio felt his body being pushed back.
"Oi! Akio! What the fuck are you doing?! Run away, you fucking brat!" Tin yelled in the middle of the chaos.
The nightmare monsters were already extremely close.
"The snake won't stay for long. It can only keep moving for a few minutes. I created an opening for you! Hurry your ass up!"
"But, what about…"
"Don't worry about me! Just go! I can handle myself! And take this!"
Rummaging through his pockets he found a small flask that he quickly threw toward Akio. Then, he smiled widely.
"You better live, kid! Or I will come and kill you myself!"
Looking at the flask that was filled with mysterious liquid, Akio nodded his head as he quickly hid the flask and turned around to escape.
"Ugh… Tin… Thanks." Akio found difficulty in saying those words.
"Hahaha! See you later, Akio!"
It was no wonder since this was the first time he had to be grateful for someone. The old man had basically done everything to save his life. Even though Akio was still completely confused by everything that happened, he still knew how to prioritize matters. All these creatures, the mysterious powers of the man that exceeds any human limit, the items Tin used… It was all new to Akio. Yet, all he could think of now was…
'But, why did he do all of this? Why is he putting his life in danger for me?!'
Dashing in between the buildings with his harmed leg, he tried to create distance between himself and the creatures. Meanwhile, he pulled out the flask and checked it carefully.
The liquid inside was greenish with a hint of blue in it that he didn't know the origin of. It didn't take a genius to understand what Akio should do with it exactly.
*Gulp*
Chugging the whole thing without hesitation, Akio's face contorted as he pulled out his tongue. The taste of the drink was so horrible that he almost spat it out.
'Ugh, is this some kind of bitter medicine?'
It had the taste of dirty water with some odd flavor that didn't go well with it. It was a distasteful drink.
But, the thing that happened next made him forget completely about the taste. A weird surge of energy appeared inside his body. It was akin to having a few days of good rest or even more.
Then, that energy quickly moved around his body and accumulated around his injured leg. A few seconds later, a small itchy feeling appeared around the place of the injury. Akio watched as miraculously, his huge wound that had been agonizingly torturing him for the past few hours start healing at a rapid pace.
He could see as cells started visibly fixing themselves. Tendons of the muscles linking and wriggling and the skin slowly move and reattachs with the other parts. It was a very quick process. But, unfortunately, a few seconds later, this amazing phenomenon stopped. His injury was still there albeit less dangerous. The drink had accelerated what should've taken a few days or even weeks to heal.
'This is… amazing!'
Akio didn't care about the fact that he didn't completely heal. Now, he can move his leg more or less and use it to run albeit with some sharp stabs of pain with each step.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
However, his happiness was soon drowned again by the screeches of the monster. Looking back quickly, Akio saw hordes of monsters following him. Behind them, he could see the giant snake wreaking havoc as it fought the crusader in a battle of life and death. All hell broke loose in the area of the fight.
'I need to focus!'
Without any hesitation, Akio headed southeast where he couldn't see any creatures coming or going. It was most likely because that area was still untouched by these creatures or was still in the process of the mass extermination.
"Hah… Hah… Hah…"
"Save me, please!!! AGGGGGGGHHHH!!"
"No, no, NOOOOOOO!!!"
"Mom!!! Where are you?! Mom?! WAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Cries for help and screams of hellish agony filled the sky and shook the whole slums. Akio's eyes looked around him for a split second to understand what was going on before he quickly shifted them back to where they were initially looking. His legs were running as fast as possible, trying to escape from the horrible things eager to kill him.
Blood… Blood was everywhere. All he can see was that ominous red liquid dirtying every nook and cranny of this shithole that is considered his home. As much as he hated this place, it was still where he was born and where he lived most of his life. Now, this same place was turned into hell on earth.
Shredded human corpses, decapitated heads, and multiple dismembered limbs were thrown everywhere. It was a horrifying nightmare, a doomsday of some sort. The strong smell of death was dominating his senses and clouding his already numb mind. All he felt was imminent death looming over his head, chuckling cruelly, amused at how he was trying so hard to run for his life.
The sound of bare feet running on the rough ground was the only thing the young man could hear. His ears were ringing loudly and his heart was beating out of his chest like a drum. His whole head was spinning in circles.
'I need to run.' Was the only thing getting repeated in his head like a prayer mantra he must keep. All of his being was wholly focused on running as fast as possible.
Running on a rough terrain formed into roads was not the greatest feeling the boy could feel. The prickly sensation on his cold feet and the stinging of multiple injuries tortured his exhausted mind. Because the location was on the outskirts, there weren't really any cement roads or man-made paths for that matter. These dirt and rock roads were just the result of countless people passing through across tens of years. The only places that had actual roads were the inner parts of the city or to be more precise, everything inside the huge wall behind Akio.
'Tin... Thank you!' Closing his eyes for a second, Akio felt a strong sense of gratitude toward the rude old man.
(For those who are asking, I decided to delete the prologue and instead use it as a part of the continuation of the next 2 chapters or so, don't worry, I changed it to fit the events so even those who read it can also read this. Thanks for understanding :) )