Chapter 4: The Arrival of Dawn

I silently stood on the hallway as I waited for Franchesca’s class to finish. Every now and then, Jerry would cast dubious stares and glares at my direction. I could not blame the guy. After all, he ditched his work just to come with me to this place. On top of that, he brought his sister with him.

“This makes no sense!” he said in exasperation. His sunken cheeks moved as he ruffled his brown hair. “What do you mean that our lives are in danger?”

I closed my eyes for a moment. “Just like I’ve told you. This place will soon be overridden by demons—”

“—that’s what I was saying!” said Jerry, his voice echoing through the empty corridor. “That’s what makes no sense! Look, Chase! I don’t know why you keep spouting lies like that, but I hope you’ll consider our side as well! You know that I need my job, right?”

“A job is useless if you’re dead,” I retorted. I sighed. “Look, just trust me on this one, okay?”

I looked at my worn-out leather watch. “An hour left and it’ll happen.”

For some reason, Jerry stayed silent after that. Maybe he felt the grimness within my voice, or maybe he saw the murderous intent within my eyes, I was not sure.

Well, what he thought of me right now hardly mattered. What was important was that he was with me. I cannot and will not let the same mistakes from the previous timeline happen once again.

We spent the remaining time in total silence. From the corner of my eyes, I could see that Jerry’s little sister was already uncomfortable of the current situation. Was she hungry? If this was a normal circumstance, I would have offered her the food in my bag. But right now, I knew full well the importance of the rations we currently have. It would soon mean our life and death, and I would do everything in order to conserve it.

“Five more minutes,” I mumbled.

I was not sure of the exact time and moment the apocalypse happened, but I could somehow estimate that it was around this time of the day.

“Jerry, take the bag with you. Come with me,” I said. “We’ll go inside the room and grab Franchesca by force.”

Jerry’s eyes widened in disbelief from what I said. He repeatedly opened then closed his mouth, then in a baffled tone, he said, “You-You’re nuts! What do you mean take by force?” He grabbed his sister’s hand, probably finally ready to leave the place after putting up with all my charades.

Once again, I sighed. As expected, I really looked like a madman right now.

I walked to him and stared straight into his eyes. “What will happen in the next few minutes will be a living nightmare. I cannot fight while bringing that large bag with me. Be sure to keep it with you as we flee this place.” My eyes momentarily fell on his sister. “And try not to leave my side too much. I cannot protect all of you otherwise.”

And as though on cue, a familiar window popped up in front of us.

Surprise bitches!

Judgement Day is finally here!

Scream and fear! Your lives and souls are ours to devour!

Jerry stared at the translucent window in shock. On the other hand, I was smirking after I saw it. My current situation right now was vastly different than before. This time, I knew fully well how to beat this shitty game.

I licked my lips then placed a firm grip on Jerry’s shoulder. “Stay close to me. And never let go of that bag.”

For the first time, Jerry conceded. He was still probably surprised by what he saw.

“Th-The ground,” said Jerry.

It started out as a low grumbling sound at first, and it quickly escalated into deafening crackles and whistles. The ground violently shook, and debris fell down the ceiling. The three of us crouched in order to maintain our balance.

From the outside, bells and alarms rang, and the sound of students screaming was heard. This continued for a full minute more, before the deafening sounds and violent quakes stopped altogether. The entire hallway was filled with cracks, and a part of the eastern wing had fallen down. A large slab of stone barricaded one of the exits, and we were left with no choice but to traverse through the other one.

Jerry’s sister was crying, almost wailing, but I chose to ignore her. I tried to open the door to Franchesca’s class. It was stuck due to the quake. Without warning, I kicked it open, sending half of it flying inside the room.

The inside of the classroom was in chaos. Chairs were scattered all over, and trembling students were crouching on the floor. It was actually a miracle in itself that this building did not fall down even after such a strong earthquake. Well, I had expected it. After all, even back in the previous timeline, Franchesca did not die on the first day.

The professor from before was silently crying at the corner. I frowned as I thought of how useless she was.

With brisk steps, I stormed the room then grabbed Franchesca by the hand. Tears had formed at the corner of her eyes. For a moment, I felt a squeezing sensation in my heart. I did not want to see her like this.

“We’ll be getting out of here,” I firmly told her. “Come.”

I did not know if it was because she was trembling in fear from what transpired, but Franchesca easily went out the room with me. After we went outside, I could hear some of her classmates getting up one after another.

I was hoping that they’ll be in stupor for a few moments more. After all, it would be easier to escape if we have fewer people.

“Jerry, the bag. Don’t drop it,” I said the moment we stepped out of the room. “We’ll be escaping this city. Let’s go.”

Before long, students started getting out of the room. I firmed my grip on Franchesca’s hand, and ushered all of us towards the exit.

Outside, a horrifying scenario greeted us.

A large fissure destroyed more than half the campus. Buildings were toppled over, and numerous dead bodies were scattered about, crushed by the slabs of rocks and stones that fell down the ground. Smoke swirled upwards, covering entire sky. It was hard to breathe, and visibility was becoming hazier with each passing moment.

I felt Franchesca’s trembling fingers as she held my hand. Behind us, Jerry and his sister dumbfoundedly stared at the unfolded nightmare.

“H-Help! S-Stop! Aaaaah!”

“Help us! Heeeelp!”

“Monsters! Run! Ahhhhh! Stoopp!”

Not far from us, screams reverberated. Even from this distance, I could make out the silhouettes of numerous humanoid creatures massacring the surviving humans. A small horn protruded out of their foreheads, and their slit-like eyes glimmered in malice and lust for flesh. Green metallic sheens covered their naked bodies, and a small tail flailed about on their backs.

A small box, which seemed to have been taken straight out of an RPG, hovered above their heads.

Lesser Green Demon

Lv.3

One after another, the pesky demons slaughtered the students that survived the quake. Blood filled the air as screams of anguish and terror reverberated.

Necks were slit, eyes were scooped out, and limbs were severed from the bodies. The claws of those demons were as sharp as blades, and dismembering humans were as easy as cutting through butter.

Unable to contain all the fear inside, the Jerry’s little sister screamed. He tried to hush her, but it was too late. Some of the demons directed their focus on us. I swore I saw one of them lick its lips in anticipation of mutilating a new prey.

“System, put all bonus points to agility!” I said.

Do you wish to allocate 5 points to agility?

I made an annoyed sound when the translucent window popped up. Back then, I was unaware that all humans were given five bonus points the moment the apocalypse transpired. It was not much when compared to what I attained back then. But right now, those bonus points would mean the difference between life and death.

“Just do it!” I snarled. By now, three demons were approaching our direction. It was only a matter of seconds before they closed the gap between us.

Running from them while protecting three more people would prove useless at this point. The best course of action would be to kill the pursuing demons first, then escape after.

5 points has been allocated to agility.

After that notification, I turned to Franchesca and Jerry. I said, “Stay here! Don’t go too far from my side! Got that?!”

At the corner of my eyes, I saw that the classmates of Franchesca had started to go out of the building one after another. They screamed in pure terror after seeing the dead bodies strewn about, and after seeing the demons that kept massacring the surviving humans one after another.

I gnashed my teeth. Those damn classmates of hers were too noisy. They should shut the hell up. Otherwise, more demons would come to this direction.

But I did not have the luxury to tell them that right now. After all, the three demons had already closed the distance between us.

Using its claws, one of the demons swiped at me. I felt the effect of adding all bonus points to agility, as I easily evaded its strike.

The battle experience I had accumulated all throughout those years back in the previous timeline proved useful here. Contrary to the Demon Lords and Bosses I’ve slaughtered back then, these puny little devils were nothing but child’s play. But still, with my current level, this might prove more difficult than what it should have been.

With swift and fluid movements, I unsheathed the sword I held in my hand. Its blade severed the demon’s neck, sending its head rolling through the ground. One of the demons who saw this flew into rage.

“Die, you piece of shit,” I snarled.

Once again, I dodged the demon’s claws, then quickly countered with a swift strike of the blade. Another head rolled on the ground, and a soft splatting sound was heard as its blood spilled on the ground.

I side-stepped as the last demon tried to bite my flesh. Using a single strike, I struck at its shoulder, but my blade failed to cut through its chest.

“Not enough strength, huh?” I said.

As far as I remembered, these demons were already strong enough to resist against pistols. You’ll need a large gun to kill one of these bastards. Therefore, creating such a large cut on its body was already a feat by itself.

The demon staggered back as blood oozed out of the large gaping wound on its body. It glared at me with vehement ferocity. I glared back.

“Just die already,” I simply said as I raised my sword. With a practiced movement, I severed its head from the body. Its head fell down the ground with a loud thud, and its body fell on its knees then kissed the ground.

I stood there for a full second as I gazed at its corpse.

Red blood. Just like us, humans.

I frowned at the thought.