Compatriots fight for their own to the very last moment

An icy chill swept toward him. The bone-deep killing intent within the dense black pollution drained the color from his face. He had no doubt that this was an A-rank Polluted. A shadow fell over him, and he stiffly raised his head. At some point, the Polluted had grown tall enough to reach the ceiling. Its sturdy body and knotted, densely packed muscles brimmed with strength. It raised its fist and brought it down on him-

Bang!

The blow punched through the mall. The tremendous noise startled the people who had not yet evacuated far, and they looked back in shock.

The dust cleared. The young man from the operations team lay with his entire body shattered, barely clinging to life.

Some people cried out and tried to run over to save him. The young man coughed up several mouthfuls of bloody froth. "Don't... cough... don't come over."

Clinging to his last breath, he forced out, "Go! Call... the Ability Control Bureau. There's... there's an A-rank Polluted..."

He could not hold on and lost consciousness.

The people froze in shock. Several seconds passed before they dialed with trembling hands.

A-rank.

Was it really A-rank?

How long had it been since City A's last A-rank Polluted incident? And now another one?

The Ability Control Bureau's phones rang off the hook. News of an A-rank Polluted appearing at the mall reached the bureau, but no reinforcements came. The branch's only two A-rank ability users were both tied up.

An A-rank Polluted had appeared in both the southern and eastern parts of City A. The two captains had already gone there. With A-ranks clashing against A-ranks, the battles would not end quickly.

Crack.

Crack, crack.

Dirt and rubble rained down. Those who had not managed to get far enough away saw a drum-headed man emerge from the underground mall. Its towering body stepped onto the ground. One step, and the earth shook. It looked utterly different from what they had seen not long before! Pollution swirled around its body, as though clothing its naked form. Those nearby were knocked unconscious by the impact on the spot. The citizens who withstood this wave dragged the unconscious away, scattering in every direction.

"Run!"

"That guy from the Ability Control Bureau is still lying there!"

"There's no time! What can we do? Run!"

Even so, some citizens tried to run back and drag the young man from the Ability Control Bureau away. Only when they found it impossible to approach did they give up, their eyes red.

The crowd fled with their hands over their heads.

A dozen or so students blundered into a street like headless flies. A small restaurant came into view. Its owner and server were both standing at the entrance, apparently having come out to investigate the noise.

"Run! An A-rank Polluted has appeared!"

The students screamed, "Hurry!"

Ye Jiang: "..."

She had only seen this group of customers off a little while ago. She had not expected them to come back, shouting something about... an A-rank Polluted?

The amnesiac Ye Jiang was building a concept of an A-rank Polluted in her mind. Beside her, the owner's expression turned grave. She stepped forward, grabbed a student, and asked, "There's an A-rank Polluted?"

The student was on the verge of tears. "Yes! Yes! At the mall across the street!"

The owner looked up. A drum-headed man over ten meters tall was roaming the streets.

Boom!

The drumbeat carried across several streets. The next second, the owner could hear nothing. She could only see the student's mouth opening and closing as they gestured anxiously.

"Hurry! This drum-headed man can take away people's sight and hearing! One more time and we won't be able to see, and then we won't be able to escape!" the student shouted. They were kindhearted; even in such danger, they did not abandon the uninformed owner and server to flee alone.

They tugged at the owner and Ye Jiang.

So this drum-headed man can take away sight and hearing.

That was what Ye Jiang thought.

The owner had already lost her hearing, yet Ye Jiang only felt her own hearing disappear after listening to the student's explanation.

It was as though, without the student helping her establish that understanding, she would never have lost her hearing at all.

Losing her hearing felt strange. Ye Jiang touched her ears.

More people ran into the street. Residents and shopkeepers along it came running out as well, hurrying past them to escape. Some even shouted something at them anxiously as they fled.

The A-rank Polluted had appeared even more suddenly this time than half a month ago. And three had appeared at once, throwing many parts of the city into chaos.

The

owner stared blankly at the drum-headed man, at the humans who looked so tiny beside it as they cowered and fled. A desolate sorrow welled up in her heart.

Here it comes again.

Humans were too fragile before the Polluted. They could not fight back. They were powerless.

Her vision filled with blood-red, and scenes of death surfaced from her memories. Mothers weeping over lost children, toddlers looking around blankly after losing their parents, lovers embracing as death came, friends, sobbing, wailing, groaning...

Humans were too fragile.

"...Ah, it's coming! Ma'am, hurry!"

Sound suddenly returned. The owner heard the student tugging at her, shouting themselves hoarse.

Even though they were weak, even though they could not withstand a single blow, the students had never thought of fleeing alone.

Helping one another was the first lesson humans were taught after being born into this world. Because they were weak, they could afford no indifference. Only by banding together did humans have a chance of surviving in this world.

The owner's gaze darkened.

She gently pried away the student's hand.

"You go ahead," she said.

"What about you?" the student asked anxiously.

"Me?" The owner took off her tattered gloves, revealing rough hands that looked full of strength. A streak of blood-red wound around them. She looked up at the drum-headed man towering above her, her gaze resolute.

"I'll teach this Polluted some manners," the owner said. "Wandering the streets with a body that big is a public nuisance."

It had no respect for the rules. It had frightened her esteemed customers and potential customers.

She touched the Blood Moon mark. Several black iron chains as thick as arms abruptly appeared around her, colliding with low clanks. She stared steadily at the approaching drum-headed man.

This world was ill-suited to forming deep connections with others, but as long as one walked through it, remaining entirely apart was impossible.

The server who had given her a stone, the customers she had met only once when they came for a meal-she actually enjoyed connecting with people.

She was simply afraid.

Afraid that these hands of hers could not protect everyone.

The owner pushed the stunned student, then pushed the restaurant's high-maintenance server as well, issuing one brief, low command: "Go!"

Ye Jiang looked at her. The owner looked back and tugged at the corner of her mouth, a little of her usual languor returning to her eyes. "Server, once this is over, tell me your name."

With that, she sprang toward the drum-headed man, moving incredibly fast!

Chapter 26: Compatriots fight for their own to the very last moment.

The students pulled Ye Jiang along as they ran, their stifled sobs sounding beside her ears. She looked at the students' tear-streaked faces, then at the owner charging toward the drum-headed man without hesitation. Over there, the moment the owner reached it, she stepped onto its muscles and climbed. In the blink of an eye, she reached its shoulder. Gripping a length of chain in both hands, she poured strength into it, looped it around the drum-headed man's head, and pulled hard. Its enormous size made it clumsy, and the loop caught it squarely. The strike around its neck did not wrench its enormous drum head off, but still injured it badly. The chain sank deep into its neck, and it lost its balance, stumbling to the ground.

Boom!

Dust flew everywhere.

The dust billowed into a huge mushroom cloud, obscuring the owner's vision. She withdrew at once. Her retreat came just in time: the next second, the drum-headed man's massive palm slammed into the spot where she had landed, smashing a deep crater into the ground!

The owner sprang upward. Her chains bound that arm, and she forcibly hauled the drum-headed man over. He slammed hard into the ground, injured by his own weight and unable to move for the moment. Before the human owner, the ferocious A-rank Polluted actually looked like a puppy receiving a one-sided scolding.

Unable to resist looking back at the crash, the students unexpectedly witnessed this scene. With tears still wet on their faces, they stood dumbstruck.

Was that... the owner... of the little restaurant?

When the owner had charged toward the drum-headed man, they had thought she was going for the greater good, knowing full well that her ability rank was insufficient but determined to uphold an ability user's pride and sacrifice herself as an unsung hero.

But...

This...

Bewildered, the students stopped fleeing.

Ye Jiang discovered that the hand holding her had loosened. With a gentle tug, she regained her freedom.

She stood with the students, watching the owner train the dog.

Boom!

A drumbeat rang out.

The students braced themselves to lose their sight or hearing, but, unexpectedly, felt nothing at all. They could still see and hear. A trace of confusion crossed their eyes. What had they lost?

Before they could work it out, they saw the owner, who clearly held the advantage, suddenly slow considerably. One careless move nearly let the clumsy giant pat her head.

A "pat" from the drum-headed man was no small matter. It might "pat" her head clean off!

One student sucked in a breath and, alarmed, pinched the classmate beside them. The classmate was about to get angry, only to say, "Huh... that doesn't seem to hurt."

He pinched himself.

"It really doesn't hurt!"

What this drumbeat had stolen was neither sight nor hearing, but touch. That was why the owner's movements had become sluggish!

In a battle between experts, even the wind signaled an attack. Losing the sense of touch had an enormous impact!

"How underhanded! This drum-headed man was still hiding a trick!" a student said angrily.

Fortunately, a minute was not long. The owner soon regained her agility.

Clang!

Several chains shot from the owner's hands, striking with thunderous force and binding the drum-headed man tightly while it was slightly weakened after using its ability.

Hiss-

The iron chains corroded the drum-headed man's flesh, releasing billows of thick, foul-smelling smoke. For the first time, the drum-headed man showed pain, rolling around incessantly.

Though they were all chains, the earlier ones had not had this corrosive effect. The owner had been hiding a trick as well, though using it left her a little weaker too.

"Nice!"

The students cheered loudly. Both had hidden tricks, but the students' double standard was utterly blatant.

The owner heard them and shot them a glare. She had clearly told them to leave first. Why were they still here?