Those who witnessed the flare and caught a glimpse of the area turned their attention to a particular spot as they listened to his voice.
Gin swiftly sprinted away from the collapsed towers, drawing the ire of the agitated Horrors and diverting their focus exclusively to him.
At the time he was running, he kept avoiding the Horrors he met and just tried to get their attention until he stopped counting inside his head.
'A minute and a half passed.'
Gin set his attention on one Horror.
Measuring at least five meters in size, the creature exhibited an asymmetry in its arms, with one noticeably larger than the other, giving the impression of malnourishment in the latter. A disconcerting detail emerged as it lacked any discernible head, leaving Gin perturbed.
'Looks like I have to stop avoiding them or I'll get cornered.'
The Horror fixed its focus on him, incited by the grin Gin wore just before ruthlessly smashing the ground at the exact spot where he stood.
Thud—!
Gin swiftly reacted to the creature's motion, his agility evident as he dashed to its side, then promptly aimed his revolver at the creature's comparatively smaller hand.
Bang—!
Without a moment of celebration, Gin, sensing an ominous presence safeguarding the previous Horror, became aware that he was encircled by seven more of these nightmarish entities as the dust settled in their vicinity.
All the other Horrors, as if not minding his presence, continued to pursue the tower and look for the rest.
"Tsk!"
Those seven Horrors rushed towards him as Gin heightened his senses.
Gin skillfully evaded the first Horror with its long, lethal limbs aimed at him, attempting to strike for the kill.
Clang—!
However, as he sought to retaliate with a shot, his efforts were thwarted by the second Horror, the same entity that had previously shielded the monstrous creature, now standing as its protector once again.
Whoosh—!
In that very instant, three additional Horrors lunged at Gin with intentions to devour, slash, or bite him down. Miraculously, he danced with hair's breadth precision, skillfully dodging each attack and narrowly escaping the clutches of the nightmarish onslaught.
However, the cumulative fatigue momentarily overwhelmed Gin. Despite relying on his sixth sense, he failed to detect a swift creature approaching from behind, and it successfully landed a blow on him.
"Kuuuk—!"
A vicious slash marred his chest, one eye swollen and covered in blood, while his back throbbed with excruciating pain. The overwhelming agony made him yearn to crawl and collapse onto the unforgiving ground.
All types of pain in one single body.
Standing up on his feet, only to stagger back on the ground, Gin gritted his teeth.
'Not yet!'
With a crazed determination in his eye, Gin resolved to buy more time, summoning the last reserves of his strength as he stood up against the odds.
The monsters didn't even wait for any other openings coming from Gin, who was still in a half-state condition, as they rushed at him.
Whoosh—!
'I'm so…tired'
Gin realized one thing as his eyes narrowed at the incoming monsters.
'Right, time. I was supposed to buy time for the people,'
"Roar—!"
Crack—!
Those Horrors are ready to swarm Gin whole, using any means to destroy him as much as possible to join with the others.
Poof—!
However, an unexpected event occurred, causing these normally indifferent Horrors to halt in their tracks, an anomaly that typically wouldn't concern them.
Just as they were about half a hundred meters away from capturing him, a flare burst into illumination against the dusky night.
In the sullen eye of Gin, which had seemingly lost all signs of life a while ago, a faint glimmer of hope flickered.
'That flare is still a bit too far from here but… it finally came.'
Prior to arriving here and embarking on a ship, Gin visited a specific location, delivering a letter to someone. The letter detailed the context that Oliver and Ariana were orchestrating a rescue mission.
/If we didn't came back a day, wait for another day. If it still didn't happen within two days, help us./
'Neon, thank you.'
Revitalized by this news, Gin displayed a dangerous smirk, realizing that all of his efforts wouldn't be in vain.
Experiencing extreme hunger and drought, alongside constant fear, running away from Horrors in every possible situation if needed, crashing himself at the towers, and receiving injuries from the same Horrors.
It was a small yet tough time.
The only difference between before and now was that there was a guarantee, or at least that's what Gin liked to think.
"Ahh~ Feels nice to live~"
The Horrors, displaying a hint of trepidation, slowly turned around to face Gin. As their gazes met, they found the human in front of them, both of his revolvers raised and aimed squarely at their malevolent forms.
Bang—! Bang—!
He managed to shoot one Horror in the head which was open very wide, yet the other Horror managed to evade it by simply blocking it using its hand.
With a triumphant smile on his face, Gin watched as one of the Horrors crumbled to the ground, defeated by his decisive actions.
"Come on you bastards, let's go for another round."
…
As expected from the result, Gin wasn't able to kill another Horror after a couple of minutes that transpired.
The monsters moved the same, attacked very synchronously, and put pressure on him.
Seemingly divided in their attention, half of the forces that had been intent on finding the people amidst the demolished tower abruptly shifted focus, sprinting towards the direction where the flare had illuminated the night.
This shift in attention resulted in reduced productivity. Fortunately, no one managed to discover his team just yet.
Or it did but he just wasn't aware of it.
It didn't matter since this was all about buying time anyway.
Aware of the weight carried by the possibility of their demise, Gin had mentally prepared for such an outcome, understanding that it was their duty, and if it came to that, then it would be acceptable.
Swoosh—!
'Duty, huh.'
Gin shook his head.
'Damn, I hate working hard.'
Slash—!
The claw of one humanoid Horror brushed through his clothes, stinged a bit yet Gin didn't mind as it wasn't too serious.
Seizing the opportune moment, Gin swiftly grabbed the hand of the monstrous creature, stowing one revolver in his holster. With the other gun, he aimed and fired directly at its head.
Bang—!
He shot two more to make sure the Horror was outright dead.
Bang—! Bang—!
In a rapid and skillful sequence of movements, Gin employed the body of the fallen monster as a shield, mitigating the damage inflicted by another Horror.
Thud—!
Coughing a mouthful of blood, Gin staggered a bit before bending slightly to avoid the incoming limb aiming to cut his neck.
Swoosh—!
With his senses and skills put to the test, Gin's execution of his movements became deadlier, refined, and excellent.
Before, he was lagging behind the monsters, barely even dodging their attacks. Now, he can predict their movements, assume where to rightfully position himself, and attack them where they are vulnerable the most.
With impeccable timing, Gin initiated a strategic assault, systematically diminishing the number of Horrors pursuing him.
Bang—!
They became four.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
And then three.
Two.
'Slow,'
Gin skillfully dodged the colossal arm of the Horror, the same grotesque entity with an unbalanced and distorted body due to the unnatural structure of its arms, as it lunged to smash him.
Thud—!
The rest of the corpses of the Horrors before were scattered around. Crashed floors and piles of blood were littered.
Gin's focus remained solely on the specified Horror, and even as he navigated through the obstacles, he could precisely calculate the movements required to avoid stumbling upon them.
Thud—!
'What should I do with this Horror?' Gin thought inwardly, looking at the Horror he was fighting at his front coldly, 'It doesn't have a head unlike the others… What should I do…'
Thud—!
'Ahh… what am I thinking? I will just cut this thing to pieces…'
With that in mind, Gin started to rush at the creature after smashing its big arm again onto him and hopping at it.
Landing at its big arm, Gin dashed through until he positioned himself at its shoulder.
Swoosh—!
The Horror tried to sway and grabbed Gin but it was all futile.
Bringing out the dagger under his sleeves, Gin started his assault by pinning his dagger down to the Horror's shoulders.
No matter how many times it swayed or stirred, he was dead set on cutting it down.
Slash—!
Gin then successfully cut its small arm.
Slash—!
Gin targeted the area beside the large arm, swiftly wearing down its durability as he sliced it up a hundred times in a remarkably short span.
Slash—!
Every skin of the monster, every fiber, tissue, that even the bones of the said Horror was showing, was sliced down into tiny bits.
Slash—!
The monster had fallen down yet Gin wasn't even down as he gruesomely skinned the monster alive by cutting everything down it had.
Blood gushed towards Gin, but he appeared unfazed, pressing on with his determined focus.
Cut and cut. Kill and kill.
Once he was done, the blackened heart of the Horror was shown on the inside. Without even a hesitation, Gin brought his dagger back to his sleeves and aimed his revolver at the heart.
Bang—Bang—! Bang—!
Gin shot thirteen bullets in a few seconds.
He gazed at the hideous corpse, now beyond recognition, before firing his last remaining bullet into it.