Tuka's Death

Chapter 36: Tuka's Death

"Let's keep moving."

Tuka glanced at Keith on Nina's back and silently retreated to the rear of the group, continuing towards the sewer that led outside the city. The thought of abandoning Keith, who had become a burden, had never crossed his mind, nor had it crossed the minds of the others in the squad.

They were teammates who had faced life and death together, entrusting their lives to each other. How could they possibly abandon a comrade?

Half an hour later, Gordon cautiously peeked around a corner, scanning the area ahead. Seeing no monsters, he quickly waved to the people behind him. The group followed Gordon carefully, emerging from the corner and entering a sewer half-submerged in water.

The liquid, mixed with blood and foul water, instantly reached their thighs. Tuka and the others, having anticipated this, simply continued forward. This was the sewer they had found when chasing monsters, the one that led out of the city.

Splash.

Accompanied by the sound of flowing water, the Tuka squad pressed onward. Perhaps because the sewer was in a remote location, they encountered no more monsters along the way. The group's expressions relaxed, and their hearts filled with renewed determination. They were not far from escaping this hell.

"What is that?"

Suddenly, Gordon, who was walking at the front, stopped. Trembling, he raised his head, his face filled with despair, and pointed ahead. At the sewer exit, numerous dark red tentacles writhed and twisted. Nearby lay the corpses of many common, low-level sewer monsters.

The bodies were all shriveled and charred, their split heads filled with eyes expressing terror and a desperate longing for life.

Snap!

"Is there... no hope left?"

The next second, Tuka's wife slumped powerlessly into the foul, muddy water of the sewer. Her eyes vacant, she stared at the exit, completely blocked by the writhing tentacles. A mere ordinary person, after experiencing all this, she was on the verge of collapse, even with her will to survive and the support of her husband and child.

Now, even the last glimmer of hope had vanished. The sudden blow made her unable to stand.

"Hold on, we can survive! We absolutely cannot die here!"

At this moment, Nina, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward and forcibly pulled the woman, who had gone limp on the ground, to her feet. Her face was resolute and determined as she looked ahead. No matter what, she was going to survive. She absolutely would not die here!

"Nina's right, we all have to live!"

Tuka's voice came from behind. His tall, sturdy body moved to the front of the group, a smile on his face as he looked at everyone. Tuka then hugged his wife tightly, patted his son's head, and turned to Gordon.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

With that, Tuka didn't wait for Gordon's reply. He resolutely raised the shield in his hand, took out the remaining three alchemical bombs from his waist pouch, and looked up at the tentacles blocking the exit.

"Stay close to me!"

The next second, Tuka roared and threw the alchemical bombs in his hand forward. Then, raising his shield, he charged ahead. He intended to use this method to carve a path for everyone.

"Tuka, you bastard, keep up!"

When Gordon heard Tuka's "I'll leave the rest to you," a bad premonition struck him. But before he could stop him, Tuka had already charged out. Seeing this, Gordon could only grit his teeth and roar at the stunned group behind him to follow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Huge explosions echoed through the sewer. The tentacles, caught off guard, were blasted open, creating a gap. However, a torrent of flames began to pour in. Seeing this, Tuka advanced instead of retreating, charging forward with his shield raised, blocking all the flames and shockwaves.

"Aaaargh! Hold it back!"

The intense heat of the flames turned Tuka's shield red in mere seconds. Tuka's body, bracing against the shield, emitted sizzling sounds, and a burnt, foul odor filled the air. But Tuka seemed oblivious, veins bulging on his arm, his face contorted in a roar as he continued to charge forward, with Gordon and the others close behind.

Bang!

Suddenly, Tuka, who was at the very front, felt the shield lighten. His body flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground. The red-hot shield emitted a large amount of white steam the moment it touched the sewage.

"Tuka!"

Seeing Tuka fall, Gordon rushed forward and quickly helped him up. However, upon seeing Tuka's current state, even Tuka, who had already anticipated it, couldn't help but tear up.

Half of Tuka's once resolute face was now a bloody mess. Blood mixed with mud flowed from the charred flesh in his hollow eye sockets. The hands that had held the shield were now half-cooked. Through the blackened flesh, bones were clearly visible. His body was covered in wounds.

"Cough, cough, Gordon, I didn't expect you to cry!"

Tuka opened the one eye he had left and looked at Gordon, a smile appearing on his horribly disfigured face. Tuka then struggled to lift his head and look at his wife and child. He tried to raise his charred arm to say something, but the next moment, his arm crashed heavily into the sewage, his breathing ceased, leaving only his open eye.

"Tuka!"

"Captain!"

"Father!"

Instantly, the remaining few rushed to Tuka's side, shaking his body forcefully, trying to wake him. But it was all in vain. Tuka, with nearly half his body and some of his internal organs cooked, was completely dead.

"...Let's go, quickly!"

A few seconds later, Gordon stood up abruptly, forcibly pulling the others away. His eyes, red-rimmed, stared intently at them as he spoke word by word. The explosion must have attracted monsters. If they didn't leave now, Tuka would have died in vain.

"Okay!"

Seeing this, the group nodded with difficulty and followed Gordon, continuing forward. Behind them, Tuka's body lay on his shield, his remaining eye looking at their retreating figures. A faint smile seemed to grace his lips.

For the rest of the journey, everyone moved forward in heavy silence. Tuka's death was a massive blow to all of them. Tuka had always been the core and captain of the squad, looking after every teammate and always taking the brunt of any danger to protect them.

Suddenly, a faint light shone on their faces. Gordon rushed forward and saw a river several meters wide outside the passage. A dense forest bordered the river, and the sewage mixed with blood flowed from the sewer into the river at their feet.

"Finally... we're out."

Looking at the bright sunlight and the lush green forest outside, the faces filled with sorrow couldn't help but break into smiles. What they didn't know was that behind them, shadows began to twist and writhe.