'It fucking hurts…'
Every vein coursing through Gin's body felt repulsive, swirling, and wailing in torment as he strained to move forcibly.
Never before in his life had he encountered something of this nature. Finding himself in this situation was a lifetime experience too.
Nevertheless, Gin persisted in his pursuit. Despite his battered body and the internal turmoil causing him pain, he remained undeterred.
He had bought a plentiful time.
But if he started thinking that he did, Gin felt afraid that the adrenaline rushing through his body would stop.
In the midst of this relentless momentum, halting in the heat of battle would be akin to sentencing him to defeat.
He can't stop.
He wouldn't stop.
Should he relent, the ability to rise again would be forever beyond his grasp.
The only time he would stand down was the moment this ended.
Numerous instances presented opportunities for him to collapse on the ground, with the Horrors paying him no heed, yet he remained steadfast on his feet.
"You bastards!"
Gin tried to get the attention of the other Horrors, but they were now focusing on finding his seniors and peers.
It has been like this since he came back here.
The Horrors shifted their focus entirely to the search, unknowingly exposing their vulnerabilities—a circumstance Gin keenly exploited.
Despite their relentless attacks upon provocation, their primary obsession with searching for something or someone in the tower was unmistakable.
Thus, this time, five kills have been added to the list of Horrors he managed to subdue and slay.
Standing at the top of a Horror he just killed using the intricate revolver, Gin started to heave a sigh.
"Hahhhh…"
Crack—!
After drawing a few breaths, a subtle sound of snapping emanated from behind Gin.
Gradually, it shattered into minuscule fragments, unveiling two individuals who gazed upon the bloodied man before them.
Gin glanced with a cold look before a smirk formed on his lips.
"Done catching up on your beauty sleep, you two?"
Oliver and Ariana, each sporting a streak of blood trickling down from their heads, were initially taken aback by the nonchalant tone, only to recognize the familiar voice.
The tone… the mannerism…
"You've worked hard," Ariana replied with a smile.
"Ahaha… I guess so."
Gin let out a small exclaim from his mouth as he stated, "Again, to remind you. Conceal your face with your robes. We are still not done yet. We need to find others too."
…
"Ah, shit!"
Horrors from every direction joined forces, forming a menacing alliance to overwhelm the trio. Despite their steadfast resistance, the endurance wouldn't endure for long against the overwhelming power of each Horror.
"Any luck finding the others?"
Oliver inquired amidst the relentless assault, surrounded by the persistent Horrors intent on diverting their attention while Gin continued the search for additional members.
Swoosh—!
Oliver ignited a fiery flame in his hand, scorching the Horrors, although its effectiveness appeared limited. Nevertheless, it provided enough force to repel the encroaching monsters.
Meanwhile, Ariana engaged in a hand-to-hand combat spectacle with the Horrors, showcasing a mastery that outclassed even seasoned martial artists and experts.
Her repertoire of techniques surpassed expectations, leaving onlookers in awe of her skill.
Even so, none of them managed to slay a single Horror as every creature was trying to gang them up.
If not for the skills they were showing, or a bit inferior, they would've died earlier.
Having briefed them on the unfolding events during the time he bought with his diversion, Gin had set the stage for the next step of his plans.
Assigned the responsibility of scouting for the others, Gin focused on searching the surroundings. With the understanding that they had descended onto the tower's apex, they speculated that the landing platform coincided with the point of arrival.
That's why Gin's expression was weird.
'They aren't here… At the same time, there are no traces that they've also left or captured by Horrors…'
"Gin!"
"There are not here…"
"What?"
Gin glanced at the two, "We should leave."
Upon the realization that their targeted individuals were not present, Oliver and Ariana swiftly departed, their bare feet making direct contact with the ground.
"For starters, let's look around the tower."
With that task in mind, the three started searching for them.
Yet for a brief moment, the trio collectively discerned an unusual anomaly in the situation.
That's when they realized the Horrors that were chasing them, which were the same Horrors that were trying to kill them earlier, were… too few.
'That wasn't like this before I found these two…' Gin thought inwardly, 'So does that mean the numbers kept decreasing after I found them? That… could also mean it is an ample enough time to also wake up those people.'
But no traces?
That was hard enough to believe, especially since the traces would appear on its own.
Rumble—!
As though the existing predicament wasn't enough, the ground beneath their bare feet began to quake, prompting the trio to follow the reverberations and identify the source of the disturbance.
'Holy… shit.'
As if this batch of Horror wasn't enough and was merely a cannon fodder, another set of Horrors were appearing from the edges of the swamp, like a tsunami ready to devour everything.
It was very far though, too far, but just the sheer numbers were enough to put shivers on their spine.
"Impossible…"
Rumble—!
Their focus shifted abruptly as a more intense set of tremors rumbled in close proximity, capturing their immediate attention.
Then, they saw it.
In the middle of hundreds Horrors was a huge boulder than their size.
The once formidable boulder, standing resilient, now teetered on the brink of collapse as the relentless Horrors collaborated, employing any means necessary to crush the sturdy sphere.
It was involuntary and their bodies moved on their own.
The three rushed at it, realizing that the huge earth sphere was no other than their group inside it.
A terrible feeling crept inside them.
Bang—!
The Horrors didn't even mind them as they kept pounding everything they had.
Crack—!
'Stop…'
Exhausted and pushed to their limits, the trio persevered in their tasks, and their human capabilities stretched to the utmost. Despite transcending ordinary limits, their wearied movements struggled to match the relentless demands of the situation.
Crack—!
The boulder was harder to reach.
A sense of panic washed over them as they observed the precarious state of affairs, their emotions mirroring the urgency of the unfolding crisis.
"No!"
The boulder had cracks all over the place and it was a miracle that it was still standing, but it seemed its miracles even ran out.
The earth's sphere broke.
Crack—!
And everything inside flew out.
Emma, who seemed the one who made this skill, was all bloodied. Ariana's team -Mandy, Ned, Adrian, Freda, and the twins, Alex and Alice – were also among the ones levitating through the air after the boulder broke.
All of them are in no condition to fight.
Mandy was already missing an arm, Ned and Adrian had lost some limb on their own, and the twins… their faces were already unrecognizable.
'Freda…'
Her body was all battered up like a paste. She had the worst condition out of them.
It became apparent that, while putting up a valiant fight for their survival, the trio faced an absurdly overwhelming onslaught of Horrors that seemed insurmountable even for their resilient efforts.
That's what made these three realize something.
The earth sphere was the last sort of their defense, and that defense too wasn't enough.
Those people started going down like birds that had their wings cut off.
As the imaginary wings vanished, the sole lifeline that sustained them, the predatory forces below seized the opportunity and indulged in a feast.
The horror evident in the eyes observing the scene conveyed a gruesome and chilling intensity.
Slash—!
Mandy's body was cut in half and sliced more as the Horrors ganged him.
Ned's head was crushed into bits by some horrifying creature, followed by his body getting bamboozled until nothing was left.
The twins screamed their lungs out, yet their voices were muted once those Horrors had bitten their heads.
Adrian's revulsion-stricken expression was the last thing he felt when his body was cruelly twisted by some smiling Horror.
Emma's face was full of regret until she too had drowned by the onslaught of Horror while trembling.
Freda, fixing her gaze on Gin's location, welled up with emotion, a single tear tracing a path down her cheeks as she spotted him.
"Ma'am…"
Splash—!
In a tragic turn of events, it didn't take much time for a Horror to capture Freda, reducing her to a mush, its hands drenched in her blood.
"Ah…"
Gin's knees buckled under the weight of overwhelming weakness, the sensation coursing through his entire body.
He had a ragged breathing; his expression was a mixture of despair and exhaustion. His eyes unfocused and a stream of water brushed his face.
Thud—!
Horrors
What exactly are these creatures?
It was the creatures that haunted humanity for many centuries.
Humanity fought back by trying to reclaim the lost lands that the humans once owned. Yet the world is still ruled by such creatures.
Why?
Because Horrors are Horrors.
These people reminded themselves once more just how frightening they are. No pity, hesitation, and mind to kill humans.
That's how it started at the beginning of this era, and that would continue until the end.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
Gin looked at his side who just screamed.
It was Ariana.
If Gin felt bad, she would feel worse than him.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Her hands were clutching onto her hair as if she had gone crazy, watching her whole squad wiped out right at her very eyes.
"Ugh… UAHHHHHH!"
She wailed before kneeling on the ground, still screaming but her voice became silent once her lips touched the earth.
The two just lost important people in their lives.
For Ariana, it was a family.
And Gin who recently joined the family, felt a piece of his soul was torn and shredded.
"AHHHHHHHH— NO! AHHHHHH!"
Their deaths were sudden, nasty, and miserable.
And the only thing the two heard was a scream of regret coming from Ariana herself.