He waited, the monsters nearly upon the line but he waited still, their hoofs coming down on the wood blocks but he waited still, as they kicked the wood with full force. The kicks dispersed them with some going further within the wave of monsters while others were thrown ahead but they quickly ran over. 

He pulled the trigger while a rectangular barrier shimmered in front of him just the size of his body.

BOOOOM!!

A cloud of dust and green covered the sight but he ran, the massive sword-shaped chuck of metal dragging behind with both his hands grabbing it. His foot rammed in front of the dust cloud and the wind screamed as the massive sword was swung. He did not feel any resistance and he let the momentum spin him but just before the circle was completed he lunged towards the other side, using his momentum and adding more force he again swung the sword, covering the remaining half of the road.

The dust screen was torn apart in two swings and into sight came a gap as the green-colored mist dispersed. He spun, lunging towards the opposite side and again he swung. Each strike decimated the monsters. They were powerless, unable to withstand even a single strike but he too was not different.

He was unstoppable as long as he had the strength which was finite while the green wave of the monster was visible to his eyes till the furthest he could see and neither had the tower stopped shining. It was inevitable he would be exhausted as it was inevitable he would make mistakes. 

He swung as the monsters rushed at full speed as though they had no survival instincts. They kept attacking him vainly. He swung, again and again, until he made a mistake.

The sword tore through the wall with almost no delay. Almost. A few successfully escaped, capitalizing on the brief lag.

Haaaa!!!

His arms bulged, his feet sunk deeper and he rotated. The monsters were smashed apart, and their bodies started disintegration as soon as the sword touch their bodies.

He leaped towards the opposite side exerting himself to recover the lost second but it rapidly got out of his hand. They kept slipping, in ones and twos at the start, thankfully his spinning was fast enough to crush them each time, even if barely.

Left, right. He kept swinging the massive sword, slowly starting to feel the exertion. His attacks were wild like an animal and he constantly pushed into their ranks trying to force them back but he had forgotten something.

“Incoming!!”

“They are coming out from the streets!!”

He was one while what he faced was an army and what he was out to accomplish was saving these people not killing these monsters. He cursed, jumping directly in front of the monster just enough distance that they could not stab him with their horns and he spun creating a wind will in the process.

He spun, a wave of green lights disintegrating as a result.

The sword left his hand, tearing apart the air as it sunk into the asphalt ground till the hilt after crossing the women that were gripping the wooden blocks tightly, their fingers white from the strength they put in. He felt weightless as he ran toward the women in charge of creating bomb lines.

“Run!!”

He pointed toward the rest of the crowd and they all started running. He quickly crossed them, flames appearing upon his palms, shooting towards the alleyways. The monsters within were lit on fire.

Twin swords appeared in his hands making quick work of the monsters that he come out. 

The path opened, and the women ran towards the crowd that still showed no sign of lessening.

Again he stood like an undestroyable wall. The monsters rushed and they were broken. Another shower of red fell upon the monsters lighting them on fire. While they howled, as though they truly felt the pain, his hands moved, the swords cutting through them without any delay.

He kept tearing through them, not allowing them any opportunity to gather. Another set of flames burst open sending down a shower of red on both sides of the alleyway. While the monsters burned, he turned back.

They were already crossing the second line, and quickly sifting through the triggers he pulled them again.

BOOOOM!!

‘Hopefully, it will buy enough time.’

He threw two wooden blocks, one each alleyway. He let them sit there while he ran. Filled with shrapnels of broken weapons they were terrible weapons as they easily tore through the monsters. The effect was evident as the green-colored mist escaped the alleyways.

“Quick! What are you stopping for!!”

His hands swung, and multiple goat-like monsters were beheaded each time. It was quick, it was easy, it was effortless. It was child's play compared to what he had faced before. What he had not faced were these seemingly uncountable numbers attacking him at the same time.

“Gogogog!!”

He grabbed her hand, dragging her as he ran. She was much younger than others, maybe similar to what his child would be aged. He threw her to the other ladies as well as the tin box.

“Quickly prepare another line! And someone tell them to hurry up and hide.”

He turned back, looking at the monster and then at the tower, still coiled in that green light. He knew he did not have much time. Humans tired much more quickly than they imagined and with the level of physique most people had it was inevitable they would be exhausted and then ripped apart before long.

Already he could see them heaving and huffing, their breaths visible even in this heat.

The women ran, this time creating the line much closer to the crowd that was just pushing one another, not having any space to run towards.

They kept repeating and while he tried to keep the monsters away from the crowd of people, the men shouting got nowhere with the crowd.

The shops too were closing as their owners hurriedly joined the crowd or rushed into a side street. Each time he saw that he prayed they would return to their families safe and sound.

Things only seem to get worse. The crowd got bigger as more and more joined the group. The bigger they got, the more uncontrollable. It was a pipe’s dream, he had known that. How could a few people, with no prior experience, hope to accomplish what he had difficulty doing with thousands of policemen under him. Controlling and directing the crowd was difficult. A task made even more difficult as they saw the monsters, causing them all to panic. Despite knowing the futility, he had to try.

Time passed and he got exhausted. It was slow but he could feet it. Exhaustion seeped in with each swing.

Ever so slowly the doubts started scratching his resolve. It was all thrown asides. He spun, eyes widening.

Just like the last time, he let the sword drag him away, one hand freeing itself, pointing towards the monsters his palm opened.

‘Inferno’

It was the first time he used it in an open space and for a longer than a second.

shaaaAAaAAA!!!

The sound was horrendous making everyone stop momentarily as the fire mimicked his palm movement, left and right. The fire kept going and as he counted, it only stopped after passing the distance of nearly 20 storefronts.

There was a brief silence which was quickly torn apart amid screams. The crowd turned, rushing towards him. They desired to survive. Monster in the back and monster in the front, with nowhere to go, they rushed towards him.

There was no one else to block the monster as they tore into the crowd. It was like wolves were set free within a herd of sheep. Shrill screams were covering everything.

He cut off the energy flow, turned, rushing towards the crowd, again exchanging the massive sword for a pair of smaller ones. He jumped, landing directly within, yanking a kid back as his sword cut the biting mouth into two.

He swung his sword, a flame appearing above his palm as he briefly stopped, flying, bursting, then rained red sparks. Explosions went off each time the spark collided with the monsters and quickly they were all on fire. With mechanized movements, he mowed them down. Just like always, the monsters were helpless.

Just like in the back, the monsters started pouring out as far as his eyes could see, slowly trickling out from the side streets and alleyways. The alleyways and side streets were narrow and it throttled the maximum number of monsters at the same time. For him, it did not matter because the monster all converged toward him.

Just like before, he quickly started pushing them back.

***

In the end, he was only a single human. He gave it his all, coming dangerously close to exhausting himself. Still, there was nothing that he could do, not for most of them. He could not be in multiple places at the same time and though he tried using people by giving them bombs from the start all it had achieved was a delay.

Few remained from those that he had selected. The giant man, the young woman, a young boy, and the woman. Rest were either out of commission unable to perform any task, or dead.

“Move quickly!”

Thousands had been reduced to a few hundred and everywhere they moved was painted in red, body parts and organs littered on the ground. The monsters were now only visible in small groups now. He looked behind, the green light was gone now, no longer coiling the tower.

One of the locals was leading them towards a space big enough to house them all for now, where they could be given first aid and be allowed to rest and reciprocate.

“How much longer?”

He did not get a reply, the man, like all others was out of it. He moved, mumbling gibberish, much like he had when he had seen dead bodies blasted apart first time years ago. The group was quiet, all of them mumbling something, and aside from that, it was quiet. He had to physically shake the old man to get an answer.

He moved with caution, adjusting the face cloth that was now dried with blood. 

From a street a group came, rushing towards them. He quickly disposed of them but another group came and then another. It had been a while since he fought them off consecutively and when he was in the midst of the fight when he heard the noise. Cars. He swung, creating a brief opening around him.

There were 3 of them. All filled with dents, big and small, lights torn apart, doors and windows damaged. The front windows too were damaged making the visibility bad but he could still make out the nozzles within.

He sped up, his dance growing more violent, resulting in one burst after another of green light as monsters disintegrated.

Out came men, all equipped with firearms. One of them he easily recognized despite being covered with burn scars.

“Make way quick, qui–”

Suddenly he too turned, staring at him.

He could see his face starting to tremble and then he forcefully took his colleague’s weapon, an AK.

He ducked down even before he could think about escaping the first volley.

“What are you waiting for? He is one of the targets!”

Others too started firing.

At the start it was bearable but as they all joined, the rain of bullets became a hail. He rolled, dodged, jumped. Making his movement pattern difficult to follow.

He stood up, as their clips ended, head swirling taking in everything.

The monster had taken the first hail and the next was born by the people he had been protecting. He was stunned, bewildered unable to comprehend what had suddenly happened as he was finally had been nearing the end.

A dead child dropped to the ground, with the parent fallen near him. Men, women, young, elderly, the bullets did not differentiate between any of them. The few hundreds he had saved with difficulty were again reduced even further.