This is the start of ARC 2. Enjoy. I’m not sure if I’m actually doing good as an author right now, but I might as well continue this story.

Arc 2.1: The Mysterious Magician

We kept running, our footsteps creating loud splashing sounds on the puddles on the road. The rain continued pouring down the dark clouds above. Every now and then, thunder would bellow. The streets were hazy from the rain, and the ground was slippery, but we did not decrease our speed regardless. If we took even one breather, we were afraid that those horrible monsters would catch up to us.

“Over here!” I shouted as I led my group towards an abandoned building. After everyone had entered, I cast one last look to the outside then shut the door tight. I was still breathing heavily when I said, “Anna, the Orb.”

Anna, a woman in her early twenties, nodded at my words. She pulled her copper hair to the side then began chanting her magic. In a matter of moments, an orb of light the size of a fist hovered in front of her. It floated higher and higher, until it reached the ceiling. With this, we were able to see everything within the small building. Judging by the wooden boxes piled up here and there, this was probably a warehouse.

Anna and I locked eyes with each other. She shook her head and I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this place was clear of monsters.

“Move those boxes. We’ll be blocking the entrance,” I ordered.

My group began moving the boxes towards the entrance. I did not know what those boxes contained, but judging by the difficulty in moving them, it should be good enough to temporarily blockade the entrance. I did not really have confidence in the wooden door. I felt that if those monsters flocked towards it, it would break in a matter of moments.

After the boxes had been moved, everyone sat on the ground, panting, body wet and clammy. During our escape, eight of our companions died. And now, there were only six of us left. As the leader of this group, I have to appear strong and reliable, but deep inside my heart was wailing. I wanted to sit in a corner and cry, to put all responsibilities on another person. During this past few days, I have experienced enough nightmare to last a lifetime.

“What should we do now, Leader?” asked Raul. He was a young man in his late teen. His body was thin, and coupled with his baggy clothes, he resembled a walking skeleton.

“We’ll wait for the rain to stop,” I said as I opened the bag I carried with me. Inside were rations we packed before our departure. “We still have enough food for a few more days. Hopefully we’ll reach Camp Lamia by then.”

“—Hopefully,” repeated Virgilio in disdain. He was an old man with thin, graying hair. I remembered that he was the most hesitant among the group when I proposed that we go towards Camp Lamia. “This is why I told you that it’s foolish to go towards the next city!”

His voice was more of a shout than a snarl. I knew that that shout could have given out our location, but right now, I simply did not have the energy to reprimand him. My mind was still filled with various thoughts, especially the deaths of our members.

“Paul! Do you still think it’s worth it?! Maine, Hans, Jeanne, and the others—all of them are dead!” growled Virgilio. The numerous wrinkles on his face intensified as he glared at my direction. “And it’s all your fault!”

His last statement echoed in my ears. I felt a squeezing sensation in my heart, and I felt the urge to vomit. Anna must have seen my pale face. She went towards me and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Mr.Virgilio,” said Anna. Her voice was soft and trembling. “Please stop. You know that Paul did his best to save everyone that time. It’s not his fault—”

“—It is his fault!” snarled Virgilio. “If that damn rascal had not insisted that we go towards that so-called Camp Lamia, everyone would still probably be alive by now! Because of him, eight of us died! It’s all that damn bastard’s fault!”

Outside, the thunder bellowed. We heard loud footsteps nearby, and everyone immediately turned silent. I could hear the cackling sound of those little green monsters, and it was accompanied by the snorting sound from those cow-like beasts.

We all instinctively looked at the entrance. Right now, it was still barricaded by the wooden boxes, but we all knew that if those monsters forced their way in, those things would do nothing but temporarily hinder their charge. We all shivered from the thought.

Thankfully, after a few more minutes, the footsteps disappeared and only the sound of the pouring rain remained.

I noticed that the little girl we were carrying with us had fallen asleep on her sister’s chest.

“How’s she?” I asked the sister.

The sister looked at the sleeping angel then at me. “She’s still too young to understand what’s happening. She probably got tired of moving throughout day.”

Back in our previous base, there were objections in bringing the little girl with us. After all, there would always be the possibility of her crying and giving out our location. But after some deliberation, I insisted that we bring her along with us to Camp Lamia. After all, if we stayed in our base, we would have run out of food in another two days. Those that would stay would eventually die from hunger. I was sure. Thankfully, during our travel towards the next city, the little girl hardly made a sound. She was even more quiet than the adults, something I was very grateful for.

I looked at the opened window near the ceiling. The rain did not show any sign of stopping.

“Although the rain would conceal our scents, it’ll be too dangerous to travel to the next city right now,” I said, after considering our limited visibility. “Everyone should rest. We’ll resume our journey tomorrow morning.”

Virgilio made a ‘Hmpf!’ sound while the others nodded. After the Orb of Light created by Anna vanished, we all immediately fell asleep.

***

The next morning, the rain had stopped entirely. Upon going outside, the streets were filled with pools of water as expected. Most of our gadgets have stopped working by now, and we have no choice but to rely on the old compass to determine the direction of the next city. According to the radio transmission we received several days ago, Camp Lamia was taking in refugees. That place was a famous military stronghold, and if they were bold enough to announce that, then they were probably doing great against these monsters. Right now, they were our ray of hope in this damnable hellhole.

After carefully making our way through the city, we eventually reached the outskirts. If my memory was correct, after crossing the river, we would officially be in the next city. The city where Camp Lamia was located.

We were about to cross the bridge when on our left, a hooded figure appeared. Everyone immediately pulled out their weapons, our faces pallid from anxiety. We had encountered the small green monsters and the cow monsters before, but this one was different.

Its height was a bit small, probably as tall as a teenage woman. We could not make out the face shrouded by the hood’s shadow. But for some reason, my instinct was screaming at me that that thing was not human. My other companions probably felt it too, that’s why they immediately pulled out the knives on their waist.

As the hooded figure came nearer to us, I shouted, “Stop! If you move any closer, we’ll attack!”

Since there was still the possibility that the other party was human, we did not immediately attack. The hooded figure seemed to have understood what I said. It stopped in its tracks, then stood still.

Now that the hooded figure had closed a bit of distance to us, I could now see what was concealed in the hood. It was wearing a guy fawkes mask. I did not know where this individual got that thing from, but just looking at it gave me the creeps. Especially those golden eyes that stared at us.

Aside from the hood and the mask, its arms, down to the fingers were wrapped in bandage, effectively blocking the skin. On its left hand, a bracelet dangled. I had never seen such a strange figure before, and I was still speechless by what I saw.

“P-Paul, over there!” said Anna.

Upon looking at the direction where she pointed at, I saw numerous humanoid lizards emerging out of the river. They were all holding a weapon that resembled a sickle, but instead of metal, it was made out of stone. And there were seven of them.

The lizard monsters began running towards our direction, their mouths partly opened as they screeched their battle cry. Right now, I was the only combatant remaining in our group. Anna’s light magic would do nothing against these monsters.

“Run to the bridge! Now!” I said.

I could see that there were more lizard monsters waiting in the river, but the bridge was high and it should be impossible for them to easily climb over it. The faster we crossed the bridge, the greater our chances of survival.

The seven lizard monsters began chasing behind us. Their eyes were filled with lust for flesh and blood. Despite their webbed feet, they were surprisingly agile even on land. At this rate, they would catch up to our group.

I skidded to a halt and shouted, “Keep going! I will block them here!”

“But Paul!” said Anna.

“Just go! Damn it, just go!” I said.

By now, the seven lizard monsters have caught up to me. Behind me, the rest of the members of my group kept running towards the end of the bridge.

I knew that I would probably die here, but strange enough, I could not feel fear, only contentment. Eight of my members died during the last few days, and whenever I thought of it, guilt would strike me. I knew that this was probably pure selfishness and ego, but with this, I would somehow be able to atone for their deaths.

“I really am a coward,” I said to myself in mockery. In a way, dying here was also running away from my responsibilities as the Leader.

One of the lizard monsters struck at me using its stone sickle, and I ducked and evaded. Using the opening, I pressed forward a foot then stabbed the body of the monster using my icepick. The piece of metal pierced through the skin then straight into the flesh. The lizard monster gave a screech filled with pain, before taking two steps back in reflex.

At the very least, it seemed that these monsters were weaker than the cow monsters from before. I kicked the lizard monster on my left, and it fell towards the ground. The one on my right swiped at me using its long tai, and I was hit right at the chest, my body flying and hitting the stone post of the bridge.

Below me, I could hear the sound of numerous lizard monsters leaving the river. Upon looking, I saw that dozens of them were coming towards this bridge.

Damn it. There were too many of them.

Anna and the rest of my group were halfway through the bridge. As long as I stopped these monsters here, they should be able to escape. With that in mind, I chanted my magic.

“Weapon Morphosis!” I said.

The icepick in my hand slowly transformed into a thin metallic shield. This was the skill I gained in this nightmarish world – the ability to transform a weapon into another. I’ve tried creating guns before, but it did not work. At most, the biggest weapon I could create was a bastard sword, and that would already consume a great amount of my stamina.

With my newly created shield, I kept blocking the attack of the lizard monsters. My hand felt numb as the strikes created dents on the metallic shield, and my legs started to wobble violently. Every now and then, a stone sickle would scratch my body, sending thin lines of blood down my skin.

I looked at the direction of Anna. Upon seeing that they were almost at the end of the bridge, my arms lost its strength and the shield flew out of my hands. The lizard monsters made jubilant screeching sounds upon seeing me weaponless.

As they raised their stone sickles to butcher me from all directions, a sphere of fire suddenly hit the body of the lizard monster in front of me. It was quickly followed by another sphere of fire, and another – each of them hitting a different monster. Those that were hit immediately fell limp on the ground. Probably because they were creatures that lived in the water, these lizard monsters were really weak to fire.

I looked at the direction where the attacks came from, and my eyes widened at what I saw. Near the entrance to the bridge, the hooded figure wearing the mask stood. Unlike before, it was now holding a strange weapon in its hand, probably a scepter or a staff. Three spheres of fire, each twice the size of a basketball, floated above the tip of the weapon, and every now and then, one of it would shoot towards a lizard monster, instantly killing it.

After more than a dozen shots of those fireballs, the remaining lizard monsters eventually retreated.

The hooded figure wearing a mask approached me. It showed me a notebook. Something was written inside.

There are some questions I would like to ask you.