Within the twisted shadows, pairs of scarlet eyes lit up. Three Shadow Guards appeared silently behind Gordon and the others.
At the exit, Gordon was carefully observing the outside to see whether there were any monsters left when he suddenly instinctively sensed something strange behind him. He hurriedly turned around and looked back.
"Nina, watch out!"
The next second, Gordon saw the three monsters that had appeared behind them at some point. He roared and charged toward Nina without hesitation.
Splurt!
A splash of warm blood sprayed across Gordon's face. Nina's body flew away amid Gordon's furious, powerless roar, while Keith, who had been on her back, was instantly torn into four pieces and slammed heavily onto the ground in front of him.
"Ahhh! You damn monsters!"
Looking at Nina lying on the ground and Keith's shattered body before him, Gordon could no longer hold back. The scene of Tuka patting his shoulder and entrusting the others to him kept surfacing in his mind. Yet now Nina and Keith had died right in front of him.
"Cough, cough!"
At that moment, Nina, whom Gordon had thought was already dead, suddenly struggled to get up. She spat out mouthfuls of blood, while a deep wound that reached the bone was clearly visible across her back. Blood poured from it continuously, staining the filthy water beneath her red.
"Nina!"
Nearby, Tuka's son hurried over and helped Nina sit up. Tuka's wife also promptly took out a healing potion, poured half of it over the wound, then poured the rest into Nina's mouth.
"...Take Nina and go first. You must survive. Don't let all our efforts be wasted!"
When Gordon saw that Nina was still alive, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, with a determined expression, he stepped forward and blocked the Shadow Guards slowly approaching from the darkness. This time, it was his turn. It's just right. Dying here... With Keith and Tuka, those two noisy fellows, I probably won't feel lonely.
"Gordon."
Tuka's wife looked at Gordon's resolute back, then at her son and the severely wounded Nina beside her. She bit down hard on her lip, hoisted Nina onto her back, and pulled her son as they jumped out of the sewer entrance.
Bang!
Hearing the sound from behind him, a faint smile appeared on Gordon's face. The next moment, he charged at the three Shadow Guards before him without hesitation. With a forceful swing of both hands, he threw two daggers coated in deadly poison at the Shadow Guards on the left and right.
Immediately afterward, Gordon embraced the last Shadow Guard with a savage grin. One arm clamped tightly around its neck, while his other hand tore the pouch from his waist. He knew that with his strength, he could never hold these monsters back, so...
"Die with me!"
Gordon laughed as he threw the pouch to the ground. The contents inside shattered instantly, and the gray cloth bag was corroded away in an instant. A thick black mist spread out, and the sewer walls were immediately corroded into hole after hole.
Gordon, who was enveloped by the black mist, had already been reduced to a bloody mess. Black spots covered the white bones exposed beneath his flesh. As for the Shadow Guard Gordon had embraced, more than half of its body had already dissolved, with drops of black liquid continuously dripping from it.
Crack!
The next second, Gordon and the Shadow Guard turned into a pool of thick liquid mixed with several gray-black bones. The current swept them through the exit and into the river outside. At the sewer entrance, the other two Shadow Guards, their bodies corroded and pitted, leaped into the river as well.
At dusk, the sky was dyed blood-red by the setting sun. Peach-colored clouds were reflected on the river, staining the entire surface crimson, as if a raging fire had ignited upon it.
Splash!
Suddenly, several figures crawled out of the riverbank. Tuka's wife tightly held Nina on her back with one arm, while using the other to drag her pale-faced son out of the freezing water.
When she had jumped into the river from the sewer earlier, Tuka's wife had known that if they went ashore directly, they would never escape the monsters pursuing them at their speed. Thus, she had taken Nina and her son along with the current, drifting all the way until now. Only after they were nearly exhausted and their bodies had been chilled into trembling by the freezing river water did they finally manage to reach the shore.
"It's not enough. We have to run farther."
Tuka's wife looked back in the direction of Ereccia. After murmuring to herself, she carried Nina, took her son by the hand, and staggered into the woods. She knew that with Gordon's strength, he could not hold those monsters back for long.
To keep Gordon, her husband, Keith, and the others from dying in vain, she had to keep the survivors alive.
"Mom, those monsters!"
Suddenly, Tuka's son pointed at the distant river with his entire body trembling. Two Shadow Guards were floating on its surface, advancing continuously toward them. They would soon catch up.
"...Come with me!"
Tuka's wife glanced back at the two Shadow Guards on the river, gritted her teeth, and continued forward. At the same time, she began carefully observing her surroundings. After several minutes, a low, dense, and inconspicuous bush appeared before her.
Seeing it, Tuka's wife revealed a faint smile. She gently lowered Nina from her back, stuffed her into the bush, and after making sure there was no sign visible from outside, had her son crawl inside as well. She also had him remove the pouch from Nina's waist and pass it to her.
"Kainas, stay here obediently. You must protect Nina. Also, you're already a man, so you have to learn to take good care of yourself."
After saying this, Tuka's wife cleaned away the last traces, gripped Nina's pouch tightly, and ran toward the depths of the forest in the opposite direction. This time, she did not move stealthily. Instead, she deliberately made all kinds of noises to attract the attention of the two Shadow Guards.
Just as Tuka's wife had expected, the two Shadow Guards that had just reached the shore immediately noticed the noises she made. They transformed into shadows and chased after her. Without the slightest intelligence, they merely carried out Dikas's orders to kill every human they encountered.
"Mom!"
Inside the bush, Tuka's son Kainas had already understood what his mother intended to do when he saw her departing back. But he could do nothing except hide there and pray for his mother, praying that she could escape safely, even though he knew the possibility was almost zero.
Boom!
A few minutes later, a tremendous explosion suddenly came from the distance. Roaring flames illuminated the forest, and that flash of fire extinguished the last trace of hope in the boy's heart. Tears involuntarily dripped from his eyes. He knew that his mother was dead, just like his father—she had died protecting them.
"Kainas, don't cry."
At that moment, a cold hand was placed on Kainas's head. Nina struggled to sit up and looked toward the direction of the explosion, her eyes seemingly burning with flames. In fact, Nina had been awake the entire journey. Her injuries were simply so severe that even speaking was difficult.
Even now, Nina could feel the intense pain from the wound on her back. But compared with the blazing flames of vengeance burning in her soul, this pain was utterly insignificant.
"Nina."
Looking at Nina, who had awakened beside him, Kainas could no longer hold back. He hugged her tightly and burst into tears. For an eleven-year-old like Kainas, everything that had happened in less than a day had been nothing short of torment and a nightmare.
The suddenly appearing monsters had slaughtered all his friends and neighbors. Then his parents and Uncle Gordon had died before his eyes to protect him. Even his former home, Ereccia, had been turned into a living hell.
Tap!
Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the bush. Kainas, who had been crying, hurriedly released Nina and cautiously looked outside. A rodent-like face with most of its skull missing, flames still burning over it, appeared before him.
"Ah!"
Faced with the Shadow Guard's head at such close range and its horrifying, savage appearance, Kainas cried out in terror and hurriedly shrank back into the bush. Outside, the Shadow Guard's body was already missing most of its flesh. A huge hole gaped in its abdomen, and only its two foreclaws remained. After hearing the sound inside the bush, it began frantically tearing and biting at the vegetation before it.
"Nina, what do we do?"
Inside the bush, Kainas looked at Nina in terror. He had never expected another monster to survive, much less find them here.
"Kainas, I'll hold this monster back. Run as soon as you can. The farther away, the better!"
Nina glanced at Kainas, whose entire body was trembling with fear. After giving him those instructions, she grabbed her bow and arrows and crawled toward the outside of the bush. Although she truly did not want to die, Nina knew that her body had already reached the point where even walking was difficult. Escaping under the monster's pursuit was simply impossible.
Since that was the case, she might as well sacrifice herself to hold the monster back and let Kainas, who still had some strength left, escape. Moreover, through the gaps in the bush, Nina had discovered that the monster was in hardly better condition than she was. At least she could kill one monster before dying. That would count as revenge, more or less.
Tap!
Just as Nina had crawled less than two meters out, a hand suddenly pressed down on her shoulder. When she looked up, she saw that Kainas had not fled. Instead, he had pulled out a dagger. His face was filled with terror, but his eyes were incomparably resolute as he looked at her.
"Nina, I'm coming too. I promised Mom that I'd protect you!"
With that, Kainas raised the dagger in his hand, bent forward, and charged outside while roaring at the Shadow Guard tearing apart the bush. The silver blade plunged straight into the Shadow Guard's body.
Seeing that his attack had actually succeeded, an excited smile appeared on Kainas's face. But just as he was about to pull out the dagger and attack again, a sharp pain suddenly erupted in his chest. A black claw had already pierced through his abdomen.
"Kainas!"
Seeing the claw that had pierced through Kainas's abdomen, Nina hurriedly tried to crawl faster toward the outside. But her severely injured body could not summon any strength. With the bush obstructing her as well, every movement caused large amounts of blood to seep from her wounds and stain her clothes red.
"Nina, I'm fine. Dad said that I'm a man! I have to protect you, Nina!"
Kainas spat out mouthfuls of blood as he looked back at Nina lying on the ground. A faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. Then, while one hand clutched the Shadow Guard's body tightly, he pulled out the dagger with the other and frantically stabbed it into the monster's body.
As an existence born specifically for war, the Shadow Guard became even more frenzied when nearing death. Completely ignoring Kainas's attacks, it lashed its claws at his chest like a tempest. Large amounts of blood mixed with shattered organs flowed across the ground.
Thus, severely wounded, Nina could only watch helplessly as the human and Shadow Guard engaged in the most primitive and brutal struggle. The tears in her eyes finally slid down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Bang!
Suddenly, just as Kainas's dagger pierced the Shadow Guard's heart, the Shadow Guard, which had been attacking frantically, abruptly stopped. Its shadow-constructed body exploded and vanished bit by bit. After the Shadow Guard died, Kainas, who had been clinging to consciousness by sheer force, could no longer hold on. His body crashed heavily to the ground.
Several large holes had been torn into his tender chest. Blood and organs poured out continuously, while his brown-black pupils began to lose focus.
"Kainas! Kainas!"
With tears in her eyes, Nina used her arms and chin to inch her way toward Kainas. Looking at his battered body and unfocused eyes, she hurriedly called out to him.
"Cough, cough... Nina, I'm a man, right? I promised Mom I'd protect you properly. Nina, you have to live well. I'm going to see Dad and Mom..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kainas's breathing stopped completely. His tender face rested with his eyes closed and a faint smile at the corners of his lips, as if he had truly met his deceased parents and told them that he had become a man.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Looking at Kainas's corpse, Nina felt something inside her completely collapse. Her little sister lying in a pool of blood at the doorway, decapitated. Her captain, his entire body charred and covered in blood and gore. Keith being cut into pieces. And now, Kainas being slowly gutted by the monster before her and dying.
Countless scenes of death appeared in Nina's mind. Amid the wails of pain, fury, despair, and hatred, a line of bloody tears slid down Nina's cheeks. Black flames began to ignite, slowly enveloping her completely.
In the final second before Nina fainted, she seemed to hear a voice.
"Acquired Unique Skill [Witch of Vengeance]: Endless fury and hatred have transformed into flames that burn the soul. The flames of vengeance will burn everything to ashes... until eternity."
Within the dim, quiet bush, black flames began to consume everything around them. The magicules in the air, the trees beside Nina, and the soil beneath her all became fuel for the flames. Yet when the black fire touched Kainas's corpse, it alone was spared.
Within the flames, Nina's injuries rapidly healed. Her long black hair continued to grow, and even her petite body began to change. Her legs grew longer, the clothes across her chest began to swell, and the aura she gave off became cold yet terrifyingly searing. That was the fury and hatred of the Witch.
This part of the story has finally come to an end. The protagonist will appear soon. Also, Daida is changing the update time. Starting tomorrow, updates will be at midnight.
Because Slime is about to be featured!
I hope everyone can keep reading after Daida updates. Recommendations depend entirely on everyone's continued reading. This book's performance and how far it can go also depend on all of you. As for me, Daida will do my utmost to write the best story I can as a reward for everyone.
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