The humongous gnome-like approached me on two spindly feet, languidly, waiting for the certain dismay to set in. A fiendish cleverness lurked in those uncanny lambent eyes, making my hair stand on end. I met its gaze, defiance overriding my abhorrence as my fatigued thoughts began to seek ways out, the pounds of my heart loud in my ears. The peculiar chill of rationality washed over the fever permeating my body. The mercenary's hazy, onyx blade came into focus, lying right behind this aberration.

All my hastily devised plans came to a standstill as an enormous green hand reached me. My brain couldn't process the brisk movement, an indisputable hold now strangling my neck. As I tried to breathe, the anomaly lifted me higher, my feet hovering and kicking above the ground.

"No—" I wailed, my life sipping out of me.

Blood flooded my skull, my hazy vision diminishing rapidly as my swollen eyelids drew closer together. Fight back, I whimpered to no one in particular. I feebly sank my moist fingers into its brawny arm, hoping to inflict some pain of my own and liberate myself, but was unable to get past the thick skin coursing with ambient mana, which undoubtedly feels like nothing more than a tickle. Keychains clashed timidly in my ears. My protracted hands gradually gave out and drifted absently by my hips, my mind lurking through a fog so dense I could scarcely make out the figure veiled in dark gear as it took the weapon on the ground.

"You forgot about me," Ryan growled gutturally, driving the tip of his comrade's reliable sword right through the monster's arched spine, emerging at a higher angle through its abdominal muscles, almost grazing my gut. "You nasty son of a bitch."

A grotesque cry came out as I was flung away like a wet rag, the indistinct collision with the asphalt nudging my consciousness. I gasped on each mouthful of air, a harrowing twinge pulsating in the upper part of my chest as I swallowed. Coughing uncontrollably, I placed one hand on a car's oxidized hood as I tried straightening myself, straining my eyes to trace their silhouettes. The audacious swing of the claws left a shrill in its wake, obligating the hunter to release the handle.

Oblivious wrath glistened in its golden eyes. Reaching around, it impertinently yanked the blade prodding out of its disproportionate torso, discarding it on the ground with a loud metallic clank. The anomaly discarded my mere existence entirely, bustling into a state of frenzy. The surrounding atmosphere grew considerably thicker as Ryan channeled mana through his limbs, taunting the monster into following him. On his face was nothing other than sheer conviction. He spared me a sidelong glance before a whisper slipped out of his mouth:

"Live on."

My eyes trembled in recognition. Those were the last words Mara tried to mutter to me as she took her dying breath—a howl rolled down the mountainous oddity's tongue, relishing the implicit challenge. Ryan spun around and dashed for the building site, site, his speed and agility far outstripping Aaron's. Hunters can exceed any physical limitations through the magical element known as mana, and this guy was one of them. One of the few I'll never be able to match. Still, I had to give it a shot.

A hoarse voice struggled out of my inflamed throat, "Wait—I staggered after them, unable to catch up with such freaks—"anywhere but there!"

Noticing the bracelet-like device peeking out of his black sleeve, my soul just plunged to the very bottom of my stomach. The Spell-Casting-Operator wrapped around his wrist sparkled in a crystalline cerulean light as he ardently slithered into the wobbly skeleton of a vacant building, manifesting the spell encoded into its software. Something within me shattered like glass when I felt the deliberate tremor at my feet becoming more and more significant.

"Stop," I screamed, vomit gathering in my mouth as I slammed into a car with my hip. I sprawled on the road, the plain texture of my pants torn as skin peeled off my numb knee and blood flowed out. "Come back!"

Divergent shadows quivered through the draughty gaps in the bleak frame. Long claws reached out for the man's frame. Unable to dodge due to the phenomenon known as Mana Drainage, Ryan's defenseless head instantly got seized by a pair of immense hands. His face dyed into a blend of purple and red as more vital fluid kept flowing toward his skull, the last thing visible on the goblin's mug being the impish beam as a large fragment of the building crumbled on top of them. Murky gray clouds of powder prevented me from seeing the imminent crimson burst.

I hammered my fist against the vehicle with all the strength lingering in my tattered body, hardly containing the bottled-up emotions as I cry tore through gnashed teeth, "Damn it!"

The noise of the rumble came to an end, giving way only to my coarse huffs in the otherwise solemn silence. Massive waves of dust poured all over the building site, sinking the entire Central Plaza. I let myself be drowned in them and closed my eyes.

The world collapsed right in front of me.