The survivors burst out of the crumbling auction house, coughing and stumbling as smoke and debris followed them like a hungry shadow. Lady Naga led the charge, her blade drawn and eyes sharp, scanning the chaotic streets. They barely had a moment to breathe before an ear-splitting roar erupted from behind them.
Roar!!!
The Terradrakes surged from the ruins, their monstrous forms illuminated by the flickering flames of destruction. These weren't the same feral beasts that had ravaged the auction house—these Terradrakes were larger, faster, and more aggressive, their scales gleaming like jagged obsidian. Their glowing yellow eyes locked onto the fleeing group, and they charged with an earth-shaking ferocity that sent tremors through the ground.
"Stay together!" Lady Naga barked, her voice steady despite the fear clawing at her insides. She swung her blade in a wide arc, carving through the first Terradrake that lunged at them. Ino danced beside her, her dual bio-katanas flashing like lightning as they slashed at the beasts.
Kyoto joined the fray, his twin bio-pistols spitting bursts of concentrated energy into the advancing horde. He moved with calculated precision, his shots finding their marks in the Terradrakes' joints and eyes. But even with Kyoto's cover fire, the Terradrakes came in overwhelming waves, their sheer numbers pressing the group into a tight defensive circle.
"We're getting surrounded!" Suguru shouted, his bow releasing arrows of crackling energy that exploded on impact. Suguru fired his crossbow, the glowing bolts puncturing the beasts' thick hides, but the Terradrakes didn't slow down. They only grew more frenzied.
Lady Naga's confidence began to waver as the realization struck: this was no ordinary attack. These creatures had been sent for them, and their survival odds were rapidly shrinking.
Suddenly, a loud crash resonated from behind them, and a booming voice yelled, "GET DOWN!" The group turned just in time to see Kaguya barreling into the fray, her massive shield shimmering with an otherworldly glow. She swung it with staggering force, knocking a cluster of Terradrakes into the air like ragdolls before planting it firmly into the ground.
Kaguya stood her ground, her small frame dwarfed by the monstrous shield, yet she radiated an unshakable resolve. The Terradrakes slammed into her shield, their claws screeching against its surface, but she didn't budge. Her boots dug into the ground, her stance unyielding as if she were a mountain amidst a storm.
The sight left Lady Naga and the others momentarily speechless. "Kaguya...?" Ino whispered in awe, her blades momentarily lowering as she watched the girl hold back the beasts alone.
"MOVE!" Kaguya shouted over her shoulder, her voice cutting through the chaos. "I'll hold them off! Get out of here!"
Lady Naga snapped out of her daze, her strategic mind kicking back into gear. "You heard her! Everyone, retreat now! Shikaku, back her up!"
Shikaku, already slicing through a nearby Terradrake, nodded sharply. "On it." He darted toward Kaguya, his bio-blades humming with lethal energy as he carved through the beasts flanking her. Together, the two became a barrier of unrelenting force, their teamwork creating a narrow but clear path for the others to escape.
Lady Naga led the survivors down the path, her heart pounding as she glanced back. Kaguya's shield glowed brightly, deflecting attacks while Shikaku's blades moved like liquid death. They bought them time—but for how long?
.....
Ashiro sat in the RV, his knee bouncing anxiously as his cyan eyes fixated on the direction of the auction house. The silence inside was deafening, broken only by the distant cacophony of screams and crashes echoing through the apocalyptic day. His silver hair clung to his forehead, damp with sweat, as his fingers drummed against his thighs.
"She'll be fine," he muttered to himself, his voice shaky. "They'll all be fine. They've done this before."
But no matter how many times he tried to convince himself, the uneasy knot in his stomach refused to loosen. The occasional glimpses of fleeing survivors running past the RV only made it worse. Their expressions were painted with terror, and the increasing number of people only deepened his dread.
Then came the sound—a deafening crash that shook the very ground beneath the RV. Ashiro shot to his feet, his heart pounding as he instinctively grabbed onto the door for balance. The sound had come from the direction of the auction house, and the flood of fleeing people thickened. Some were limping, others screaming, their voices blending into a chilling symphony of chaos.
Ashiro's grip on the RV's door tightened. He could feel his body trembling, his instincts screaming at him to stay put like Kaguya had instructed. But the images in his head—the worst possible scenarios playing over and over—were too much to bear.
"I can't just sit here," he whispered, his voice barely audible but resolute. His fists clenched as he took a shaky breath, then exhaled sharply. "I have to see what's happening. I have to make sure she's okay."
Without another thought, Ashiro flung open the RV door and darted into the chaos outside. The shockingly cold air that was running in the day bit at his skin, but he didn't care. His legs moved on their own, his silver hair catching the faint glow of the burning wreckage in the distance.
The streets were a blur as he pushed through the crowd of panicked survivors. Adults twice his size stumbled and tripped around him, but Ashiro weaved through them with practiced ease. The closer he got to the auction house, the louder the sounds of battle became—roars, gunfire, and the unmistakable clash of metal against something monstrous.
Ashiro's heart raced faster. His mind screamed at him to turn back, to retreat to the safety of the RV, but his feet refused to stop. The thought of Kaguya, Shikaku, and the others struggling—or worse—without him was unbearable.
"Kaguya… please be okay," he murmured under his breath, his voice trembling. The smoke-filled air stung his lungs, but he pressed on, his determination unwavering.
As he rounded a corner, the ruins of the auction house came into view. What he saw made his blood run cold. Flames licked at the shattered remains of the building, and the ground was littered with debris and the bodies of those who hadn't escaped in time. In the distance where he the auction house is, hulking forms of Terradrakes moved towards a group of people, their monstrous roars sending shivers down his spine.
Ashiro froze for a moment, his breath hitching as fear clawed at his resolve. But then he clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing. Kaguya's in there. They're all in there. I have to do something.
Summoning every ounce of courage, Ashiro pressed forward toward the epicenter of the destruction.