With the advent of explosions and destruction, most people had stayed in their buildings or gone underground to fearfully hide, hoping all the monsters would be gone when they came out. Some were lucky, others were killed as buildings collapsed from the beasts.
Because many of the monoliths that appeared and had dungeon breaks were rank B, their bosses weren't too much of a hassle for me to take down. In a few minutes, I was transferring in and out all over the city, following explosions and screams as I took down the BOSSes and smaller beasts, giving hunters defending the city some breathing room
All they saw was a figure flash by, red lightning and golden swords descending, as well as a golden light that healed those badly injured. A moment later that figure was gone.
This process carried on for another half an hour, with hunters more effectively working together to move people away from the battlefield while protecting themselves from beasts. With a majority of the rank B BOSSes taken down, I rose high above the city to check what was happening and which areas needed the most support
On the south side of the City, the huge wall erected to protect it was broken down and I could see droves of beasts rushing out, with a huge TITAN standing beside the path where the monsters were leaving from. [Danger Sense] was letting me know that this beast was of the same caliber as the huge white gorilla.
I defeated one, and I can definitely defeat another. My mind was still blazing with anger as I continued to use [Instant Transfer] with [Eagle Eyes] and moved closer and closer to where the monsters were leaving the city
Sharp eyes seemed to have noticed me as the TITAN looked up and their body grew to become even larger. It had the shape of something that had long gone extinct and could only be learned about in history. It had large strong legs and tiny arms that were still multiple times bigger than me, while boasting a gargantuan head that held rows of sharp teeth. It seemed to resemble very closely the archaic Tyrannosaurus Rex
An intelligent light flashed through its eyes as its large legs acted like a spring, pushing it off the ground and its opened jaws nearing me in an instant. [Instant Transfer] was quickly cast as I escaped before the jaws could snap down. I reappeared where its body used to be as I began spamming [Frigid Impermanence]
The large body wasn't able to dodge in the air, and two blasts hit it before it reached the ground.
ROAAR!!
It moved at extreme speeds as it ignored the freezing flames on its body and zigzagged towards me, evading the skills as if it knew where they would land before they were cast.
The moment it neared me again I disappeared into the sky, its terrifying teeth biting nothing but air. It let out another frustrated roar as it didn't jump this time around, it's large jaws opening as a red light began to condense and palpitate in the center of its mouth
Oh, f.u.c.k you. I didn't let it complete it's skill as another cold blast smashed onto its face, interrupting whatever it was trying to do and causing a huge explosion. The beasts that continued to leave through the broken wall in the city were not looking back, as if they were possessed or heeding a command.
The huge Tyrannosaurus Rex had its gigantic head mangled, a few of its teeth shattered on the ground. It would get no respite from me as [Doom Bolt]s and [Frigid Impermanence] smashed onto its injured body. Each strike of red lighting left deep gashes and each explosive cold blast left freezing flames with entire areas of its body missing
Its tremendous life force could not continue supporting it as it slumped down and was finally killed. [Core]s and another rank A [Skill Book] dropped, the skill being [Infernal Purge- Searing flames descend from the skies in an area of 5 meters].
I learned the skill without a thought and looked to the monsters completely ignoring me and rushing out of the city. There was much less noise and explosions as hunters continued to bring order to the city with the deaths of the TITANs, the only beasts roaming free being stranglers left behind
I tested [Infernal Purge] for the first time towards the tens of monsters still rushing out the city. Dark red flames manifested in the skies and rushed down, melting anything they came in contact with. I didn't care who was commanding the monsters to leave the city, I would just kill as many as I could.
Chapter 44 - Reverence
I floated in the middle of the broken wall leading to the desolate Barrens that the monsters continued to rush to. [Infernal Purge] and [Frigid Impermanence] continued to fall onto them, but not a single one turned around to face me as they escaped with all their might
Things began settling down until only one or two could be observed running here and there, with most of them already deep in the Barrens. I couldn't leave the city now as I didn't know what else would occur, and there were still rank B dungeons that were red and nearing another dungeon break
Movements could be heard behind me as hunters began appearing, the first one being Elizabeth. She stood on her injured eagle that was licking the wounds all over its body as she looked at me with a complicated expression.
Elizabeth approached from behind as she said, "The city is gradually being stabilized, with some teams already clearing the dungeons in the high-risk category that haven't had a dungeon break."
She was looking at me differently and speaking in a much more reserved tone than usual. I nodded as she continued, "We're trying to get in contact with other cities of the empire, but we don't have an estimate of deaths and which cities are still standing." She held back the pain as she said this, and I thought about her new tone towards me and the looks I had been receiving
Ever since I had begun moving around the city destroying the monsters relentlessly, people began looking at me differently. This was even more so for the rank A hunters and higher-ups that saw my power first hand when I handled the TITAN and its minions from the rank A dungeon break
I took the change with a calm mind as there were too many things to think about for me to worry about what other people were thinking. We waited at the portion of the destroyed wall until more hunters came and were stationed to rebuild and protect the hole leading out into the Barrens, and we went back into the city
In the military sector, there was significant damage done to many areas, but there was still functionality as people in their respective positions got things going again. I knew nothing besides being a hunter, so I continued to fly over the city while using [Eagle Eyes] to catch anything I missed
Four rank B dungeon monoliths were now in the city, with two in the high-risk category shining red, and two shining orange. There were already teams set up and clearing the two that were high risk, but they were still red. I thought for a bit and chose to quickly clear them a few times so that another dungeon break doesn't occur if the clear rate was too slow
In the next two hours, I dived into each of the two high-risk category dungeons three times before their color changed to light orange, gaining more [Core]s and [Skill]s. Nothing disastrous had happened while I was going in and out of the dungeon
Once there were no dungeons that would have any immediate dungeon breaks, I went back to the military sector where there would be a debriefing. I ignored the thankful and reverent looks from the soldiers and hunters that I had either healed or saved and went into a huge conference room, finding the only open seat at the front center of the room, with everyone else waiting
I sighed and sat down as the debriefing began. The discussion was somber this time around. We had lost much of the connections with surrounding cities and were not able to get in touch even with Blessed City.
The consensus was that this occurred throughout the world, and we didn't know the extent of the damage yet. But one thing was clear, there were now many more monsters roaming the desolate Barrens.
It would be much more dangerous to pass through from one city to another, with not much hope for the people stationed on guard posts along the roads leading to and from the cities
The next step was what we would do from here. When we got to this point, the room quiete
d and many people turned in my direction. This was what I was thinking about how to deal with before coming here. In the cities, those who held the most power would be the ones in high positions and have a large influence on the direction and lives of all the people living in it. Currently, they had seen with their own eyes that I was the strongest, and by a large gap at that, so more influence was pushed onto me.
I knew my strengths and weaknesses though, and leading people was not something I was confident in. I thought for a bit and said, "All I can do is hunt down the beasts, so I will rely on the help and ideas from everyone else on matters I am not knowledgeable on."
The hunters in the conference room nodded as they waited for my opinion about what we would do from now on. I continued, "The first thing is information. We need to find out which cities are still with us, and which cities still need a helping hand that haven't already been overwhelmed."
The officials in the room nodded as they began moving around busily, The issues after that were logistics about the city, its people, food and water, and many more things I didn't know or have an ounce of knowledge on that I left to the relevant departments to take care of.
After the direction was decided and the officials began to act, I went towards the melancholic Elizabeth who was standing in the corner of the conference room. I looked at the sight of this person that I didn't know how to feel about and said, "Are you doing alright?"
She looked at me and put a smile on her face as she replied, "Yeah. I just thought we were close to being done, but it looks like things are just beginning"
I looked at the tired woman that seemed to be trying her best. She had lost another friend today, someone she knew much longer than I did. Magnar's face flashed in my thoughts as I observed the sad expression on her face and replied, "Get some rest, it'll be a new day tomorrow."
She nodded her head as she looked around the room and went towards the living quarters. No other thoughts passed through my mind as I went out of the building and flew to the skies of the city once more. I looked to the destroyed buildings and people that were moving about and mourning for the losses of those they knew. My thoughts moved to something I didn't want to imagine right now, which was the people of Outer Bank X. With the highest ranker there being rank B...I shuddered as I thought at the possible number of deaths that had occurred there and in other similar cities
I continued to fly higher and higher up until the buildings seemed tiny and the outline of the city could be viewed fully by me. I would wait for the information to come out after what remains of the military acts to move their drones and other things to obtain intel, but I could still move myself and be ready for whatever might occur
The immediate surrounding of the city's walls were clear, and I couldn't see much else in the darkness this high up even with [Eagle Eyes]. But I instinctively felt that there was something in that darkness. I stayed in the air, watching and waiting for dawn to break to see what was waiting for us in this darkness
Chapter 45 - Raining Flames
I floated in the night sky as thoughts continued to churn in my mind. Hours went by as nothing out of the ordinary happened. When the light began to appear on the horizon, I had made a monumental decision for my actions from here on out
The cover of the night was pulled away as the walled city and desolate Barrens revealed themselves to me. Far from the city, there were many moving dots that made for a terrifying sight. At the forefront of these dots were three large TITANS that moved around menacingly. More and more beasts were coming from all around to join this larger crowd as the dots kept on increasing
The scene reminded me of the pictures of the horde of beasts with the large turtle in the middle that were also making its way towards the Empire, albeit the sight in front was at a smaller scale.
The monumental decision I had made while I was floating in the night sky this past night was to start moving independently. As great as it was to mix around with others, it was also limiting me. I was planning on going all over the Empire to clear out the dungeons and beasts that have popped out, before going ahead and facing the incoming horde of enemies after
This was me moving faster. I would start with the collection of beasts amassing themselves around this city first. My eyes were on the three moving TITANs whose figures became even clearer with the sun breaking through the horizon.
One was a large bear with claws drenched in black, another was an arctic fox with white flowing fur, and the last was a white panda hoisting a sizable tree trunk on its back.
I began acting while staying in the skies, starting off with multiple casts of [Infernal Purge]. The dark red flames that were terrifyingly hot rushed down towards the gathering of beasts below.
---
Elizabeth was watching an alarming image of collections of monsters outside the city. What alarmed her the most was the droves of flames that were now falling down and burning everything on site
She had not been able to get a wink of sleep last night, and she doubted anyone would have. They had received signals about the gathering of beasts outside the city a few hours ago and were already moving the tired hunters to fight as soon as dawn broke
She came to the forefront at the destroyed portion of the wall, only for the sight in front of her to present itself. The dark flames were the first thing she saw, when she looked to where they were coming from, she saw the hazy figure of a man she soon recognized in the sky
Her mind was much calmer as she saw this, and she thought about the incomprehensible power that Noah seemed to have. She had thought he was a better than average rank A and chose to let loose with him for a night just to forget about the grimness she had been dealing with all this while. It was a great time, but she felt like she really couldn't approach this man that same way again. He just seemed too strong and intimidating currently, becoming a different person overnight
She also knew herself and she didn't think she was the type of woman that deserved someone like him. Looking at the destruction he was bringing down on beasts that they would have to spend hours fighting, she knew someone like him wouldn't stay in one place for too long. A person of his caliber deserved somebody that wasn't damaged, and was meant for much greater things. A sad expression passed by her face as she depreciatingly thought about this
She thought of the attack yesterday as she watched the monsters outside the city howl as flames kept on falling onto them and melting their ranks clean through. That attack had occurred the moment they began destroying dungeons. Anger rose in her as she thought about this. That attack was deliberate. Their enemy was much stronger than they were, and they knew nothing about them
She looked to the skies once more as she hoped. She just hoped they now had someone just as strong that would stand by their side. She was planning on staying in Star City for quite a while to take care of things that might fall apart because of the absence of a great friend of hers.
He had saved her once in the past and owed a great deal to him, and yet she wasn't even there when he died. Her wrathful heart was getting some relief as she watched three TITANs angrily rushing around the other beasts avoiding flames. They had tried jumping to reach the target in the sky, but this resulted in even more gruesome injuries as patches of their body were melted from the continued rushing flames
Elizabeth looked at this ridiculous sight of three rank A BOSSes that effectively could not do a single thing to the man in the skies and thought maybe, just maybe, they would be alright.
The monsters began dispersing as they couldn't deal with the attacks coming down, and this was when another attack was introduced. Circular explosive blasts of cold elements wrecked the area where the monsters were in, blowing them to smithereens and only leaving behind blue flames
With the combination of flames and these cold blasts, a majority of the beasts were destroyed or sent running. The three TITANs did not make it out alive as their bodies lay burnt and frozen in the chaotic Barrens
She, along with
the other hunters placed on the broken walls looked up to the figure in the sky in reverence and fear. He hadn't come down even once, but the horde of beasts lay dead around him.
---
After watching the unbelievable show of the decimation of beasts, hope rose in the hearts of many as they looked to the future. Communications were properly established and they were able to get a better grasp of the situation around them. The Empire's capital was damaged, but still standing because of the strength of Steel Mikhail. Other cities that had rank A hunters and a multitude of rank B's were able to bring things under control, but the deaths were in the millions for many cities, with others completely destroyed
News from the United Federation was just as grim, with some countries destroyed and others turning lawless. People from all sides were living in fear as this scene from some time ago repeated itself.
Something even more disastrous was a new threat that had just appeared. Besides the large horde of beasts coming towards the Empire, another had formed and was targeting the United Federation. This horde had something that made many people tremble in fear, it was a mythical beast they hadn't seen before, a dragon. News from those that saw this beast and were still alive said it had come out of a monolith larger than any of the currently doc.u.mented ones, and that it spelled destruction for the entire world
When the images were first seen, the officials did not want to believe it. The dragon was not carrying out indiscriminate destruction, but occupied a few countries and declared himself King. Any hunters that dared to defy him would be killed without question. Something even more startling was that this was the first beast that was able to communicate with the humans, making commands and reformations that the occupied countries had to follow
This threat was something they did not know how they could possibly deal with. Leaders were panicking with no options in sight as at this sudden development. Were their lands about to be taken over by foreign invaders?
Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse c1-705 Page 22
