They were returning to where it all started. Thyria royal magi craft company. Arguably the most dangerous place in the entire city. Though Jack did not understand why they were heading there at first. It would seem that the city guardsmen were unaware as to why the whole situation happened.

Sett patiently explained while he leaned on Jack’s shoulder.

“That lecherous decrepit old bastard!” Jack was truly incensed when he found out who was behind everything. “How dare he cause such destruction to the town when we welcomed him with open arms. Damnit, I should have listened to my subconscious and put my sword through his heart when I first saw that creepy weasel. I knew he would be trouble!”

Jack and Sett shared the same sentiment. They hated those that brought danger to others through their own selfishness. The only difference was that Jack was much, much more vocal about the matter.

Jack finally paused after having insulted Doctor Cardric in more than fifty ways. He eyed Sett whose face was pale as a sheet and facial expression were locked into an eternal grimace.

“Sorry about that, Sett. You know how I am.”

“I know how you feel, Jack. But let us save our complaints till after we have found Jess.”

Sett too was incensed. Terribly so. But he would deal with his grievances later. Being at death’s door brought a sense of clarity which was hard to describe. It put everything into perspective. All that mattered now was getting to Jess.

While they walked, Sett decided that it would be a good idea to gain some information on what had happened to other parts of the town.

“What happened on your side?”

“It was horrible, Sett.” Jack shuddered. “We did not have a single moment to prepare. In one moment, it became chaos. People running and screaming everywhere. We weren’t trained for this. Bandits we can take, but this is just insane.”

Jack vented his feelings to Sett. From his words, it sounded like the gates where Jack had been stationed today and the surrounding area had not fared much better than the inner town.

“Is it that bad out there?”

Sett had seen only seen the two monsters earlier.

“Yes. The animals turned into monsters. Real monsters, Sett. Even the bloody chickens from Carl’s backyard rose up against us. The hens were manageable, but the damn rooster was something else. Roosters aren’t supposed to that strong or fast.”

Jack shook his head as if it were unbelievable. If monsters were out in such overwhelming forces that the local guardsmen were overwhelmed by them, it would seem that Sett had been rather lucky.

“If it were not for Captain Orland, I’m pretty sure I would be dead in the ground by now.”

Sett looked at the man he had always looked up to as his senior in the village. It hurt to see him shaken to this extend. It hurt, even more, knowing that he could do naught to help him. Sett was an unawakened. He knew that there was little he could do to help.

If it had been only a day later, Sett might have stood a chance at helping if he had awakened to some extraordinary powers. However, as it stood right now, even if he were at his peak and outfitted with a sword, he would hardly be able to fight one of the monster hounds back. With his leg wound and fatigue, there was no way for him to even fight back. It was simply too bleak of a prospect.

His depressive thoughts prompted something within him. Sett decided that if he was to survive this, he would become stronger. It did not matter what he awakened to or what his arcane affinities were, he would become strong enough to protect himself and his kin from disaster.

As Sett resolved himself, Jack continued speaking.

“We were managing to get by until that bastard Baron Lark came and took Captain Orland away.” Jack cursed at his betters once again, although this time much quieter than before. “They did not even give him a choice. That huge brute Karwood just walked straight in and dragged him away. Didn’t even mutter a single word or excuse. Tch, what a hypocrite.”

Sett blanched. It was really bad. Captain Orland, the man known for his fighting prowess, had been dragged away to who knows where. If the rumours were to be believed he held the third-highest fighting prowess in the town area. Supposedly, he only slightly lost out to the baron himself.

Captain Orland was a local hero. Some even called him a paragon of justice. It was said that seven times had the baron attempted to recruit him, each time with more and more incentives, and seven times had the captain refused his offers. He chose to stay as the guardsmen’s captain for less pay and far less influence.

He was likely to be the only person who could truly protect the common populace and yet he had been taken away. Not only did the nobles shirk away from their responsibility, but they also even sabotaged other's attempts to help.

Sett did not think his opinion of nobles could be lowered even further, but their actions had proven this thought to be wrong.

“The captain’s unwilling departure even led some of the other guards to join them. They fled like chickens before the slaughter, almost clutching the legs of those damn nobles, begging them not to leave them behind.”

Jack spat on the earth.

“Before that, we held the main street and were planning to search in the side streets, but now that we only have seven guardsmen left, we’re struggling to even hold the main street.”

Sett had been wondering why they had not searched critical locations such as the magi craft company’s building, but it turned out that they simply did not have enough manpower.

“What about the…”

Sett had been meaning to ask about their plans for the industrial district but was forcibly interrupted midway through the sentence.

*Crash*

Two wolf-like hounds had broken through a nearby fence that connected to the main street sending splinters flying everywhere. They looked like exact copies of the dog that had attempted to attack Sett earlier in the day, the only difference was that these looked a lot more starved.

The moment the two hounds breached the wood, their eyes trained on Sett and Jack. Without any hesitation and with a mild glint of insanity in their eyes, they charged for the child and guardsman.

The dogs were on them after only a few moments.

Sett simply froze in place. He had expected and was prepared to fight back the beasts if it came to it. But believing and something actually happening was something completely different. He did not even manage to raise his knife before the wolves had arrived.

Jack thankfully managed to perform where Sett had failed. He immediately turned to face the dogs with his shoulder, putting himself in between Sett and the attacking dog’s maws. He did not manage to ready his sword for a counterattack but could only bring it up before himself to parry the lunging dog’s attack.

The first dog arrived. It had sent itself flying through the air, clearly intending to rip open Jack’s throat. Jack’s preparation had foiled its plans, however, as it was only met with cold steel. It locked its jaws around the sharp metal as if it did not fear it. A brutal standoff happened between the two foes as Jack began to try and shake it off.

The second dog, arriving a few seconds after the first, had time to change its approach. It did not fling itself at the sword like the first but rather chose to attack Jack’s ankles. It closed its massive jaw around Jack’s left ankle. Luckily, Lark’s guardsmen were not too shabbily equipped. It only bit into the leather armour.

Around the same time, Sett came to his senses. He had been saved, but it had caused Jack to take some damage to his equipment in his attempt to save Sett. Sett had made his decision. He could not fight, but he could at least not drag Jack down with him.

Sett immediately released himself from Jack’s arm, letting himself fall to the ground. He could only hope that Jack had the dogs’ attention. He slowly crawled towards a nearby water barrel and leaned upon it.

Jack, who could suddenly use his second arm, unleashed hell upon the dogs. With a massive swing, the first dog was sent flying back to where it came from. The second dog, clearly the wiser of the two, had seen the first getting swung away and retreated by its own.

Sadly, Jack’s left leg armour was left in shambles. You could even see some bloody marks where the dog had bitten through the armour.

The two parties were left in a standoff. Neither of the sides had been particularly damaged. Even the dog which had bitten down the sword only had some light bleeding in the corners of its mouth.

Jack looked worriedly towards Sett, but his eyes lit up when he noticed he was unharmed.

“Don’t you worry, Sett. I might not be as strong as the captain or as smart as Daniel, but I’ll show you that I didn’t sit around on my butt during the last two years! These small beasties are nothing in my eyes!”

Sett could hardly help but laugh out loud at his friend’s strange antics. Even during such stressful moments, did Jack manage to fool around and posture before his junior.

With a large yell, Jack set off, charging at the dogs. The first dog, as was expected, charged as well upon seeing Jack’s manly display. The second dog, however, simply flanked around Jack and kept its distance.

A life and death fight ensued. Jack would lunge at the first dog, trying to kill it and the dog would attempt counterattack with high speed. However, after only a couple of seconds of fighting it was clear that Jack held the advantage.

Having dodged the crazed attack of the dog, Jack instantly made use of its unsteady stance and swung his sword down. Unfortunately, at this very moment, the second dog decided to attack. It sprung forth only moments before Jack’s sword would have struck down the first dog.

“Damnit!”

Jack had to cease his attack and focus on the new threat. He immediately stopped his arms forward momentum and brought his elbow back towards the new attacker with a high speed. It struck its head with a light crunch.

*Whimper*

The dog was sent flying and then rolling for a couple of meters but was ultimately fine. Only ten seconds later, it had returned to stalk around Jack’s perimeter.

This fighting style continued. Jack would fight back the first dog and almost kill it, but the moment his concentration was elsewhere the second dog would immediately attack. The two parties were almost evenly matched.

Soon five minutes had passed, but to the observers, such as Sett, it felt like hours. At some point, it had almost looked like the dogs had managed to tire out Jack, but at that time Jack had taken out some sort of potion and he had immediately regained his vigour.

More and more ground was gained by Jack as he adapted to the dog’s style and the dogs grew tired.

Finally, it happened. Jack had feigned his attack on the first dog and had instead prepared to strike the second dog when it attacked him. It was sent flying much further this time and Jack used this time wisely.

With only a few moves he overwhelmed the first dog. With a large shout, Jack plunged the sword into the dog’s body.

He stood victorious, but it was not over yet. The second dog, upon seeing his defeated kin, attacked with great fervour, leaving Jack's defense in shambles.

At this important junction in the battle, a third dog prowled. Even Sett only managed to spot it a couple of seconds before it struck.

It stalked in the shadows, remaining out of sight. It was smaller than the other dogs, but its slender and well-built body suggested that it would make a dangerous opponent.

“Jack! Behind…!”

Jack, unfortunately, did not have time to listen to Sett. He and the dog were both drained of energy. With one last-ditch effort, Jack pushed the dog away. The next second, however, he was assaulted by the third dog. He had been sent to the ground with a ravenous dog on top of him. The only thing separating them was the sword he held up before himself.

It was without a doubt a losing battle. This third dog was full of energy while Jack was running on fumes. Even worse, the second dog was still alive and was slowly standing up. It could easily end Jack’s life as things were.

It was a losing battle.

‘Kill… Save Jack…”

Sett felt as if he lost control of his body. It was all instinct. With an amount of energy that he thought to be impossible even if he was not a death’s door, he charged forward. In his hand, the knife was poised and ready to strike.

With supernatural precision the knife was plunged directly into the unprepared dog’s soft throat, leaving it dead within moments.

The moment the light left the dog’s eyes, Sett too fell prone on the ground feeling as if he had been drained of all his energy.