Before anything else could go wrong, I activated Oculus and immediately used my jetpack to dive straight downward. Those survivors who saw me gasped and became worried about my well-being. But they knew that I had not given up and just flew below ground. And when those same people witnessed me flying across the clouds, those fearful murmurs became cheers of delight, hoping I could put an end to our hardships. However, I knew that I couldn’t defeat the Feather Kraken. No matter how hard I would try, those Pests created by Vulcan were too much for one adventurer to handle. I even tried it before by shooting my magical and physical bullets at the flying creature. But my efforts were put to no avail. So the only thing left for me to do was to distract the hovering beast and lead it somewhere far away from the group. And that was what I did. The creature was a hundred times my size, so it wasn’t easy for me to get its attention. Even so, I did what I could and went straight ahead towar
Fortunately, the group of survivors were already near their destination. For about a few feet away, those people would be free from any conflicts facing this serpent. So I had to survive before the inevitable could happen. Because if I die, this creature would devour me within seconds and hastily return to the crowd.Oculus and I tried our best to side step every attempt that the Feather Kraken made. When the serpent went left, I went right. And when the slithering creature zoomed onward, I went upward. I didn’t let the flying snake do as it pleased and used the fog as its cover. I noticed something odd every time the serpent and I travelled through the thick white smoke. It seemed that the Feather Kraken’s speed gradually increased when its skin touched the fog. And when I rose towards the sky or descended every time I dodged the serpent’s attack, the beast’s speed remained the same. And the pace it had accumulated before slowly disappeared.This description of the Feather Kraken wa
It was a matter of “who reaches who first?” type of scenario where the beast attacked the survivors while the people tried running away from the creature.If i had to guess it right, the seven survivors would reach the viaduct’s end around ten minutes. The group of survivors were close to reaching the finish line. And if these people made it out on the other side of that bridge, the Feather Kraken would not lay its fangs on them. And the same would happen to me.Oculus, theoretically, could not carry anyone with me. However, I defied all means and forced my device to bring, at least, one person behind my back. This old and wounded me couldn’t walk any further, and if I tried forcing this old man to crawl to the bridge, the survivors would take more minutes for them to reach the other side of the bridge. Those survivors would gladly accept that proposal, but the serpent had already eyes on the group. And slowing down even for a minute would greatly affect our future.While the serpent
With the old man behind my back, my movements were sluggish. And I had to be careful to take sharp turns and consider the health of the old man clinging on my shoulders. But I did not complain about it. This was the only time for me to save the old man while giving a chance for the survivors to escape. That was my job. And I wished to protect each person in my party, especially those who believed in me.The old man knew that also, as we hovered across the foggy sky. Behind us was the monster that continued chasing our tails. Fortunately, the Feather Kraken pursued our figures instead of the survivors. It was a good thing for the survivors, but not for myself and the old man. We still had three minutes left before the people could reach the other side. My mind knew that one hundred eighty seconds were not enough for me to outspeed the serpent. But I didn't give up just yet. I didn’t want the old man to die, especially when I volunteered to save him. And I… promised that I will save ev
I focused my eyes on the prize and dove straight onward to the land. I didn’t care if I crash landed on the place. As long as the old man and I were safe and sound, everything should be okay. The two of us were going to make it. We had to. Even though the monster was near my feet, I believed we could reach the end line. I didn’t know what to do if I failed this time around. My body became lighter. And from the looks of it, I could finally reach the other side without facing another challenge. I was about to make it. However, the sudden increase of speed told me one thing.Something… or someone was dropped off my shoulders. There was only one thing that added more weight to my body. And that was…“The old man…” I uttered, and quickly turned around to check for the bloke. But when I glanced at my side, the old man wasn’t slouching behind my back. He was already falling from the sky.“Aoi… It’s fine.. Go save yourself,” the man whispered.I honestly didn’t know what the old man mention
After a few minutes, my emotions were already swollen. I had already cried a river. And I knew I had already drained the bucket of tears stored inside me. Just as when I had thought I had wept enough, another set of emotions wished to stir my thoughts. Thankfully, before that could even happen, the mother and her child - two survivors - went to my side and comforted me.The child sat beside me and uttered nothing. He knew that I had been going through a lot and remained silent while keeping me company. For a kid his age, he knew how to handle the situation well. If he was a different child, maybe I would’ve accidentally lashed my emotions to him.The mother also sat on the opposite side. She held my hand without hesitation and met my solemn gaze. When my eyes stared at the woman, the mother caressed my head as if I was her son. Even though I was a stranger in her eyes, the mother treated me as someone dear to her life.“Losing something is normal. We need to move because life has more
I pressed the end of my rifle and repeated the question to the mage. “Tell me or this will not end well for the two of us.”“I don’t care what you do to me. As long as I can protect my people, that’s all that is to it.”After hearing the mage’s resolution, I gingerly lifted my gun and aimed the barrel at the mage’s head. I lightly tapped the rifle at the wizard and flashed him a snicker.“Last warning. Tell me what you know. And tell me why the FUCK DID YOU NOT HELP US!”I tried scaring the mage and forced him to answer me. But instead of scaring the wizard, the survivors who met me well had seen a different picture of myself. It wasn’t what they had expected. Even though each of them felt betrayed from the mages in front of us, these survivors still had a kind heart that seperated mine.The boy who I also spoke with hid behind his mother’s figure. He refused to meet my gaze, even though we had a thousand conversations with each other. The temporary leader of the group had also deduce
As my group headed towards the stairs, waves of portals seeped through the place. Hundreds of golden circles appeared outside the village we left, belonging to the swarm of monsters. A few minutes after, the creatures materialised and hunted down the nearest target. It was the structures that acted as the mages’ temporary shelter. But even though I left the place unprotected, I knew that the mage’s “Master” would protect them. I also had a group to escort upward. And this party of mine placed their trust on me. People could call me bias, but I offered the mage’s help with my abilities. However, two reasons stopped me from siding with them: one was their ignorance on helping us in our situation, while the other was their representative’s full-hearted rejection of my help. I didn’t lose anything when the mages pushed me away. And since they cared about their pride more about their people, I guessed leaving them alone to defend themselves would be the wisest thing to do. Besides the afo