"Seriously...?" I asked. "Even with all of us together...?"

Xiang Peng shook her head. "I know a strong foe when I see one. Perhaps if we were all in our peak state, we would stand a chance, but..."

She glanced at the resting rescue squad members, and gritted her teeth. "There's only so much Blessing Magic can do, after all."

"Well...if we can't fight, we can always run," I suggested. "Everyone should be feeling well enough to walk, at least."

She nodded. "You're right. Let's go...not."

Just as she turned around and prepared to get everyone to run away, a huge abomination, similar to the one who had just shot a laser beam at me, emerged from behind the corner.

"Oh...shit," I muttered under my breath.

The resting rescue squad members struggled to their feet and backed away immediately. We formed a circle with the ten of us, Qing Yue in the middle.

Xiang Peng laughed awkwardly. "Haha...guess we'll have to fight after all, huh...?"

"Yeah. There's no time for you to fly us away one by one," I replied, before unsheathing my obsidian sword once again. "What should we do now, leader?"

Xiang Peng cast her eyes downwards, before biting her lips and making a firm decision. "I will distract them. You guys run away."

Another rescue squad member, a man who looked to be in his thirties, immediately spoke up. "Hold on, leader, we can't just leave you-"

"That's an order," Xiang Peng cut him off.

Hearing this, the man fell silent, and so did the rest of us. We can't disobey orders given to us by higher-ups...even if it means going against our own morals. Whether we liked it or not, we would have to abandon her here, if she wishes so herself.

"I'll distract this one closer to us. You guys take advantage of that opening and get away from here," Xiang Peng explained. "There will only be one chance, since the other one is closing in on us by the second. Understand?!"

"...Yes, leader," were our replies. None of us sounded enthusiastic about this, but we had no choice.

Xiang Peng nodded in satisfaction, before turning around and facing the monster closer to us. Just as she was about to take off, however, I grabbed her wrist.

"Wait."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?!"

"We still have a chance of fighting them. Call the other teams."

"The other teams...but...they have their own problems to worry about, most likely. I don't want to delay them rescuing any survivors..." Xiang Peng murmured quietly.

I scoffed. "Are you stupid? Why do you think you were given comms to contact one another? Obviously it's so that you can request for help when you need it, from the other teams."

"But..."

"Jesus...you're so damn indecisive," I muttered impatiently. "Look...the others and I will buy you some time. Hurry up and contact the other groups."

Xiang Peng's eyes widened. "H-Huh?! Wai-"

"Everyone," I interrupted her, and successfully gained the attention of the other team members. "We're not going to run here, like cowards! Instead, we'll buy our leader some time to contact the other teams and request assistance! How does that sound?"

"Yeah!" someone yelled, raising their arm in a cheer.

"Better than running away!" another joined in.

"Heh...not bad, kid," the old senior clenched his fists and looked in the direction of the monster. "You really got my blood pumping."

Soon enough, everyone had agreed to my plan, despite the protests of Xiang Peng.

I snickered, then continued. "Good! Five of you, take on the monster closer to us! The rest, along with myself, will stop the other one!"

With this, we immediately sprung into action. As I passed Xiang Peng, I whispered into her ear. "Better get started with calling for help, yeah? I don't know how long we can last for."

"D-Damn it! I'm the leader here! A-Ah...fine! Whatever!" she quickly pulled out her walkie talkie from her pocket, and began pressing some buttons.

I snickered, and headed into battle.

*****

Our team originally consisted of ten people. Right now, five were taking on one monster, while four, myself included, were fighting the other. The last member, our leader Xiang Peng herself, was busy contacting the other teams. Qing Yue also came with me.

The old senior, whose name I found out was Gu Yuan, was on my team as well. The remaining two members were two males older than me, one wearing glasses and the other not, by the names of Ke Tian and Ye Xiao Xing respectively. Together, we confronted this monster together.

"Level Three Light Magic - Holy Ray!" Ke Tian yelled, shooting a brilliant white beam of light from his hand. The attack hit the monster directly in the heart area, and after a while, the beam faded.

"Did it work...?" Ke Tian murmured in anticipation.

"RAGHHH!" a deafening yell that shook the earth itself broke out, and we all covered our ears.

But that wasn't the most surprising thing. The most shocking thing of all was the fact that the monster didn't seem to be injured at all. The place where Ke Tian's attack hit looked completely undamaged.

In other words...his Level Three magic attack did nothing to this abomination.

"N-No way...no affect at all?!" Ke Tian gasped in shock.

"...Our attacks were at least able to harm the original monsters, even if it's little. But now..." the old senior, Gu Yuan, muttered.

"GRAHHH!" the monster yelled, before unleashing a purple beam of destruction of its own on us. We all dodged out of the way, and I cursed inwardly.

"Cover me," I said, grasping my obsidian sword in my hand.

The others all nodded in confirmation, when Qing Yue suddenly called out to me.

"Wait, Big Broth- ah, Zhang San!" she cried, and I turned around.

"What...?"

"I'll cast some enhancement spells on you first..." she explained, then placed her hand on my shoulder. "Potentia Excitant: Celeritas, Salire! Okay, it's all done!"

I nodded in thanks, and immediately dashed towards the monster. Leaping up into the air, I prepared to drive my sword directly into the monster's eye, but it raised an arm up in defense-

"No you don't!" Ye Xiao Xing yelled. "Level Three Psychic Magic - Shockwave!"

An invisible force swiped the monster's arm away, and I was able to land in a clean hit...not.

"Wha-"

What the hell is this...?! It's not going in?!

The monster closed its eye right before I stabbed it, so I ended up hitting its eyelid instead. However, even then, this obsidian blade sharper than diamond should've cut through its skin with ease. But no...instead, it was as if metal struck metal - a clanking sound could be heard, and my sword bounced back harmlessly.

Usually, I would've merely jumped off the monster and effortlessly landed back on the ground, but this time I was caught off guard by the sudden bounce-back of the sword. The monster took advantage of this, and slapped my entire body to the side with tremendous force.

"Ngh!"

I crashed into a solid brick wall, but luckily, it gave in. Otherwise, I might've died there from my head hitting the wall as well. Since the wall broke down, only my back was hurt...well, very hurt. It was probably broken.

Qing Yue was already on her way over. "H-Hey! Big Brother Xuan Kai! Are you okay?!"

I tried to stand up, but my back wouldn't allow it. I remained lying in the remains of the brick wall, unable to move. I tried healing my back with Blessing Magic, but couldn't even move my hand enough to do so.

"Ngh...I'm fine...idiot...don't call me by my real name..." I croaked weakly, groaning in pain.

Qing Yue broke into tears. "D-Don't worry! They can't hear...I-I'll heal you immediately! Level Two Blessing Magic - Major Heal!"

A gentle lime-colored light enveloped my body, and I gave in to the relaxation. After a while, it was done, and my back didn't hurt anymore. I tried getting back up, but Qing Yue immediately jumped on me, embracing me tightly.

"Big Brother Xuan Kai...sniff..."

I sighed, and patted her head. "Why are you crying? I'm fine now...so I need to get back and help the others..."

She shook her head, then buried her face in my chest. "No! I don't want Big Brother Xuan Kai to get hurt again...it's too dangerous! You're strong, but in the end still only an Intermediate Mage!"

I used all my strength to stand back up with her still attached to me, and then gently raised her head.

"That may be so, but...right now, I'm not Xuan Kai. I'm Zhang San, a member of the rescue squad. And so, until I have accomplished what I came here to do, I will fulfill my responsibilities under this identity."

I still haven't found the Yu sisters...I can't just run away now. If it's really hopeless, and everyone else has died already, then I'll just escape with Qing Yue, but right now...the rescue squad...they're all out there, still fighting for the sake of the city and its remaining people. They are the people's hope.

Once, when my parents died, I felt hopeless. The dark feeling of that...it's something I never want to experience again, and I don't want anyone else to go through it either. That's why...even if it's purely for my own sake, I'll continue fighting, until all else seems lost. The citizens of this city...hope is all they have left. I can't let them lose that, too...just like what happened to me.

"..." Qing Yue fell silent. It was clear she still wanted to say more, but she just bit her lip and stayed quiet.

With this in mind, I headed back into the battlefield, Qing Yue tagging along behind me.