Our priority is to get out the hell of this place, as from what it looks like right now, staying here is not an option anymore. Instead of waiting for our death here, it is better to struggle and try another way.

But the real question is, where should we go after we manage to get out from here? Judging from screams that we heard around, probably the monsters already invaded the town.

It would be good if we managed to meet soldiers or adventurers, and in that way, the chance of our survival might increase. Still, that was only is wishful thinking, and in the first place, it is not guaranteed that we will able to meet them in our way.

The only thing that I can think of right now is getting out of the town, but the probability of encountering a monster on our way outside is much higher compared here.

Still, it is much safer to wander outside as the monsters are focused on attacking the town, so probably getting out and staying away from here is the safest choice after all, and yet...

While I was thinking about it, I looked at Millie and Sera, who was beside me. Sera were probably going and agreed to my plan as presumably, she doesn't have any family members left, but the problem was on Millie.

Millie's parents are still out there, and if I told her about my plan, there is no way Millie would join us. Even if I told her that the chances of her parents being alive is low, she would probably stay here, and in the worst case, she will be going to search for her parents alone.

Tsk! What should I do?! Should I give up on Millie and left her alone and bring Sera with me?! If possible, I want the three of us to survive. Is there no other way?! I'm not a saint, and if my life is on the line, I won't hesitate to leave her here.

"N-Nagi, what should we do?"

While I had a hard time thinking about what I should do next, Millie grabbed my clothes and asked me. *Sigh* Seeing the way she looked at me with her pale face as she cowered in fear, there's no way I could leave her alone here with her current state.

"Sera, do you still have any family left?"

Before I answered Millie, I made sure to asked Sera first. I know it's not the time to ask her this question right now as her mother recently died, but I have to make sure. If she still has family members left besides her mother, I will change my plan.

"I-I only have my mother..."

"I see. No need to continue answering my question."

She was hesitating and having difficulty answering my question, and that's why I stopped her.

"Millie, do you know any secluded place where we can go to hide? It is better if there is an underground sewer."

I started living here not too long ago, so I don't know much about the structural location here, but Millie, who has lived here since birth, probably knew one or two. Because I already abandoned escaping from the town, the only other option is to relocate to a much safer place.

"There is an old tunnel I know that was converted into a storehouse in the past. It was already abandoned and just an empty storehouse now. But, I didn't hear about an underground sewer."

"Don't worry about it." I said to Millie and patted her head to ease her tension.

The plan has changed, and our current destination is the old tunnel. Usually, I wouldn't have the guts to make a plan and step outside when monsters are roaming freely in the streets, but I still have an ace in my sleeves.

I still have Alchemy. Maybe it's not a trump card that can help me wipe out every monster in our way, but it can help us to escape, at least. The only problem is that the limitation of my alchemy. Two potions were my limit with my current strength. Making two was enough to drain my mana. I made two shooting star potions or speed potions for short and gave the other one to Sera.

"Sera, take this." I opened her hand and put the potion there.

"This is?"

"It is a potion that will increase your movement speed. In simple words, it will make you faster when you run. Only use this when necessary."

Judging by Sera's figure, we are probably the same age, and that's why I entrusted the potion to her because I believed she would make a better decision than Millie, who was two years younger than me.

"Millie, the tunnel that you mentioned, how far it is from here?"

"It's not that far away from here. If I'm correct, the tunnel is near the west wall. Because it was already old, the passage was blocked by a wooden plank."

"I see. Get ready because we will go there."

The inn was near the west center of the town, and If it is really located in the west wall, it's not far away from here. We don't have much choice but to gamble.

"Are you two ready? Can you move?" I asked them carefully to make sure that no accident would happen.

"Y-Yes" Millie said while Sera nodded at me. Compared to earlier, her expression right now is much better. It's a relief. It looks like I don't need to worry much about her for now.

I went to the kitchen to get anything that we could use to defend ourselves from the monsters. After giving each of them a knife, we started to move, and the moment we stepped outside the inn, dead bodies were scattered everywhere. Millie and Sera flinched from what they saw.

"Don't stop moving!"

As they heard what I said, they were able to recover quickly and continue to run away. The whole town looks terrible. The fire was everywhere, and as we continued to run, dead bodies were scattered around. We can see some people on our way that we're still struggling and fighting the monsters from time to time.

"I already see it! We're near! We just need to turn right in that corner of the street, and soon we will going to see the tunnel!" Sera and I felt relief at what Millie said. Finally!

Growl

When things were going just like we hoped for, a monster appeared in the shadows near the corner. It was nearly two meters tall, some sort of wolf species as it has a horn in its forehead, and its size was much bigger than the wolf I know.

Judging from how its eyes locked on us, I doubt that it will be going to let us pass quietly. Tsk! What bad luck! Just a little more... Just a little more...

"Sera, take care of Millie for me! I will distract it. You go together with Millie and go ahead and don't wait for me!

After I said that, I picked a stone and threw it at the wolf before running in the opposite direction where the tunnel was. Luckily the wolf followed me, ignoring both Sera and Millie.

Even I volunteered to become bait. I don't plan on dying here. After making sure that I was far enough from Millie and Sera, I stopped running away, and I looked back at the wolf.

Running away won't accomplish anything, and I know that it was pointless to compete with it in the first place. Then there's only one option. I opened the speed potion that I saved and drank it as I tore my skirt to reduce its length enough for me to move freely using the knife that I got earlier.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, but it was not enough to completely get rid of my fear. Even so, I pointed the knife at the wolf and made my stance. "Come!"

The wolf started to jump on me, and its claws were ready to pin me down as it couldn't wait to touch and ripped my whole body.

"Nice try, but I won't go down without a fight!"

A certain measure of cowardice is necessary to protect oneself, but I don't need more of that. Since the moment I learned about my ability, there's is not a single day I missed adapting my body to the effects of my potions.

From what I learned on my first experienced when going into power-up, there's a slight time lag for one to accustomed the body and mind to control the power output that can be released, and in live combat, having that difficulty can be fatal.

Not only that, but the time used in adjusting to the power prevents making use of its full potential right on the bat. Before the monster landed on me, I quickly lowered my body to avoid a blow, making a small blind spot from below, and from there, I used my knife and stabbed the lower belly of the monster.

I released my grip on the knife that I used to stab it, and by using the gravitational force from the jump that it made, I pushed the monster backward.

Before the monster could recover from the fall, I grabbed the other knife that I was hiding in my waist and quickly stabbed its neck. I was able to dodge and execute everything just right on time because of the speed potion I drank, increasing my overall movement speed.

After defeating it, I felt a slight sense of relief as I let my guard down for a second, but in the next instant, I felt a sudden and intense pain coming from my right shoulder.

The monster that I thought I killed already came back from the dead and bit my right shoulder. I pulled out the knife from its neck and stabbed it again and again and again until it released its teeth on my body as it lost its last strength as it fell in the front.

This time, after making sure that it wouldn't get up anymore, my legs lost their strength and collapsed on the ground.

*Pant* *Pant* *Pant*The pain lingering on my right shoulder started to become worse and spread in my whole body. I felt cold, and as I looked at my wounds, my upper body was almost covered in my blood.

"N-not yet. There are probably still monsters nearby. I can't collapse here."

I mustered my strength, and I was barely able to stand up. I started to walk with wobbly legs while enduring the pain from my wounds, but soon I began to cough blood, and my sight was starting to get hazy.

Not good. Don't lose focus. I need to keep an eye on my surro—"

❖❖❖❖

After Nagi collapsed, two people appeared out of nowhere around the town. They were wearing a black cloak with a hood to hide their identities. They didn't mind what was happening in the town right in front of them, and they started to have a conversation.

"There's no sign of the target. The information seems wrong this time."

"It can't be helped. Let's go back for now and — "

"What is it?"

"I lost my connection to my pet."

"You mean that alien beast of yours? Impossible. There's not a lot of people who can defeat that thing here... Don't tell me!"

"I ordered that pet to watch out every nearby town or city. It looks like the information was correct."

"Then what are we waiting here? Let's go."

"No. We will withdraw. We already spent too much time here, and I'm sure that others are already aware. It won't take long before a reinforcement comes here. We will consider this mission as a failure."

"What will we do with this town then?"

"I will release my control over the monsters and then, they're free whatever they want to do."