Seth didn't loosen his surveillance on his surroundings. He walked bravely on the city's main street in the midday, with the scene seemingly strewn with human and monster corpses.
The location of the five-story hotel was about 165ft away. From a distance, Seth could see the building he was aiming for. Mia and Joanna were still walking behind Seth, following where he was going.
"Looks like the wave of rabbit monster attacks has been directed elsewhere."
Seth's steps halted. His sensitive ears could hear the words clearly. He cast his gaze sideways, staring at a small alley that seemed dim due to the lack of light in the place.
Seth walked silently, putting his back against the wall of the neighbouring building with his eyes sharpened, peeking into the alley. Mia and Joanna followed suit, though they had no idea who Seth was watching.
"What's going on?" whispered Mia, asking Seth.
"I heard someone's conversation from inside. They said something about the rabbits," Seth replied.
"Then we can't let them escape. We need as much information as we can get," Joanna concluded.
Seth cleared his throat with his eyes fixed on the two women beside him. He sheathed the gun in his left hand as his fingers tried to reach into his pants pocket. The man picked up a hand bomb with a white stripe painted on it, the mark of a shock bomb.
He activated the detonator on the bomb - a circular button. And threw it at the alleyway with enough power. The hit between the metal and the concrete wall made a loud noise that echoed through the place, startling the people gathering there.
An explosion in the form of a stun sound and a flash of white light appeared simultaneously with the sound. With that sound and flash of white light, those who were affected by the shock hand bomb could only give up their sight and hear for a few seconds.
Seth dashed into the alley, seeing three people gathered with their hands clutching their eyes, trying to rub them in the hope their vision would return quickly.
The three didn't know that Seth was the one who had done all that. The man dropped the bodies of the three men violently using his martial arts skills. They fell helplessly on a dimly lit, dirty, muddy, and smelly alley.
"Tell me everything you know about the rabbit monster," Seth pleaded.
Both men's hands could be seen gripping the collar of one of the men's clothes, asking him to say many things related to the rabbit monster. Joanna and Mia also helped. They were pressed against the bodies of the other two men with weapons pointed at their heads: a shotgun and a knife.
"Who the fuck are you? What do you want?" the man asked, trying to communicate even though his hearing had not returned to normal.
"I just want information regarding the rabbit monster. Can you explain it to me?" asked Seth, squinting.
"Don't you know who we are, dammit?!" groaned the man.
From what Seth saw of the three men's faces, it was a temporary guess that they were members of Arcada's group. In his previous memories, Seth had seen them in the city harbour, killed by plasma bottle explosions and savage gunfire from Skywatcher.
"I should have attacked Arcada before the game started," said Seth.
The three men's eyes finally began to open slowly. They were shocked to find a stranger on their backs right now. Mia and Joanna tightened their grip on the man's hands, hoping he wouldn't move too much.
"Tell me now, or I'll have to put a hole in your head!" said Seth, sticking out the right hand that still held the laser pistol towards the man's head underneath.
His face was flushed with teeth chattering in annoyance. His eyes sharpened intensely, looking towards the back where Seth was sitting on his back at the moment, with the laser pistol pointed at the back of his head.
"I won't tell you even if you keep trying to force me!" snapped the man, visibly spitting to the side, belittling Seth's abilities.
Seth looked speechless at the contempt the man showed him. He sighed softly, pointing the tip of his laser pistol at the man's back. Seth's left hand seemed to gag the man's mouth with a dirty cloth nearby, simply so that the sound of his screams could not be heard loudly.
"You're fucking wrong for dealing with me!" groaned Seth in a low voice whispering in the man's ear.
The trigger pulled on Seth's laser pistol, the laser beam shot quickly through his back until it reached his front abdomen. The man beneath Seth convulsed violently. His eyes widened as a pool of blood began to flow profusely over the place.
After ten seconds, the convulsions in the man's body eased and stopped. He died with his mouth agape, gagged by a dirty cloth that had now mixed with his blood, making the cloth reddish-black.
The two men, still pinned down by Mia and Joanna, tried to rebel. They tried to break free with their pale faces, but one man managed to escape Mia's bonds, making the woman fall backwards, and her head accidentally hit a big stone.
Joanna was shocked to see it. She lost her concentration and fell after the man she had bound managed to break free.
"THEY KILLED ANTHONY!" one of the men shouted, his voice raising so much noise that it attracted the attention of many people in the place, especially the people in the five-story hotel.
Seth clucked his tongue, annoyed when things didn't go according to the hoped-for plan. He stood tall, pointing his two pistols at the men. When he was about to shoot them down, they had already escaped Seth's sight.
"Are you alright, Mia?" Seth asked.
"I'm fine, just a small bump on the back of my head," Mia said, still wincing with her right hand clutching her bumped head.
"We better get out of-"
Seth's steps stopped as he was about to run away from the alley. His eyes narrowed strongly, forehead puckered with both hands seeming to take a ready position. Dozens of people seemed to be on the other side of the alley exit, all armed to the teeth.
The man tried to walk backwards and stepped quickly in the opposite direction. However, his steps stopped again, realizing that dozens of other people had blocked the exit.
Now, Seth was in the centre of the place with both hands pointed to the right and left, ready to shoot anyone who dared to go near him.
"Damn, Arcada!" Seth complained.
Joanna seemed to be helping Mia stand up, her body still tired from everything happening right now. Joanna began to look anxious, especially when her position was now pressed by all of them.
"Drop your weapons!" said one of the men.
Seth gave him a powerful look as he dropped the two laser pistols in his hands. The pistols fell, but Seth's left hand swiftly picked up two shock hand bombs and held them with both hands.
He threw the shock bombs right and left right after activating them. The shock bombs began to beeping, signalling a countdown until the explosion and flash of light got closer.
The man quickly retrieved his gun beginning to fire several times at the wall of the building before him. The shock bomb exploded, creating a temporary deaf-and-blind effect for those affected. Seth was not completely affected by it, considering he had previously closed both eyes before it exploded.
His ears alone now felt buzzing, unable to hear anything; even the sound of firing on the wall could not be heard clearly. Seth put away his two laser pistols, picking up the shotgun that was still in Mia's hand.
He fired the shotgun at the wall in the hope that these shots would make a hole in the place and provide a way out for the three of them. One last shot showed an open gap that connected to the hotel corridor.
Seth smiled. It would be enough for them to squeeze through. He kept the shotgun behind his back as he turned his body around.
DOR!
A red laser beam shot from above through Joanna and Mia's bodies. Their eyes widened as their mouths seemed to vomit blood, both of them fell sideways, with blood continuing to flow endlessly, making the place into a blood pool.
"MIA!" Seth shouted.
His heart was furious with their cruelty. The man drew his laser pistol again and aimed at the roof of this five-story building. There were several people up there before they returned for cover.
"Hang in there, Mia!" pleaded Seth.
Mia fixed her eyes on Seth. Her soft, bloodied hands seemed to be gently rubbing Seth's cheeks before her at the moment. Although her injuries were severe, she somehow still had the energy to smile beautifully.
"Don't ... time loop for me again."