Noah regarded the creature impassively as its headless corpse twitched on the ground as the shadows under its skin faded out of existence.

He faced the oncoming wave of survivors and soulless, which had become distinctly different from how they looked during the trial phase. The creatures no longer resemble humans and could be easily differentiated from the crowd's survivors by their hairless corpse pale skin.

It was also impossible to mistake the soulless' elongated fangs, claws, and twisted features. Grade two Soulless were a size larger, usually wearing ragged remnants of clothing. Whereas grade one Soulless were similarly built to how they were in life, so their clothes remained relatively intact.

There were far less soulless remaining after the heroic man's sacrifice, but they still outnumbered the survivors ten to one within the oncoming crowd. He even saw many naked giants reaping terror among the throng, which were newly promoted grade three soulless.

Noah witnessed survivors being regularly tackled to the ground before rising back to their feet a short time later as a newly mutated soulless. There were also ability-users resisting with a variety of abilities similar to the biker he observed earlier. Survivors would flock to shelter behind them, but none of the abilities were as eye-catching as the [Inferno] ability.

The harbour buildings and piers had been reduced to rubble, becoming a mass grave littered with corpses of soulless as far as the eye could see. The few bodies of survivors who died due to the soulless would stagger to their feet as they twitched. Their hair fell from their bodies as they transformed into nightmarish, demonic creatures with twisted features. Screams of terror and pain would ring across the battlefield as each survivor was swallowed by the horde.

Noah looked out towards the ruined docks, noticing a group of survivors hurriedly scampering over a half-submerged pier towards a moored ferry. Survivors had amassed on the deck, helping pull others on board.

He decided the ferry was his best chance of getting to the cruise ship anchored in the harbour. He felt it was the safest place left in this destroyed city and it likely held supplies.

As he ran towards the embarking ferry, soulless would try to intercept him as his [Battle Instinct] would cause him to reflectively dodge then retaliate with his sword.

***

Before he realized it, he had amassed his own following of survivors who had congregated to him in the desperate hope of safety. Noah cut down a larger soulless that had just leapt at him while he was distracted by the rag-tag group of people accompanying him. He smiled reassuringly at a distressed-looking child of about three being carried by his equally-distressed mother before returning his attention to the front.

He felt energized as his [Omega Role] claimed amassing lifeforce from the slaughtered soulless. The System's voice once again spoke to Noah, causing him to become distracted for a moment. A smaller soulless swung a claw at him, his sword instinctively cut off the deformed hand before taking its head a second later.

[Grade two lifeforce requirement attained.]

[Hostile creatures are detected.]

[User will be incapacitated during enhancement.]

[Do you wish to commence grade two advancement?]

Noah instantly declined. Remember the state of the soulless at the end of the [Trial Phase] as they underwent their enhancement. They were rendered absolutely helpless as survivors could attack them at will without even the slightest reaction. He was still currently in a perilous situation. Undergoing the grade two advancement right now would be the equivalent of suicide.

"I'll hold off the creatures while you all make your way to that ferry. You'll be safe there!" Noah pointed towards the ferry that was filled with people.

The purple glow dimmed from his eyes as [Battle Instinct] ability deactivated while he stood guard as the group arrived at the edge of the collapsed wharf. Noah urged the survivors out over the wreckage towards the ferry full of other survivors. He heard someone cry out in panic, followed by the sound of splintering wood. He turned in time to see tentacles move back underwater with trash and blood bubbling to the surface.

"Hurry!" Noah urged as he activated the [Wind Blade] ability from the top of a rock towards the retreating monster under the waves.

The water exploded where the wind blade struck it, releasing spray to rain down on Noah standing on his rock while causing a small flood to rush towards the survivors scampering among the wreckage towards the waiting ferry.

What is that thing under the water? I saw it drag that rifleman into its mouth at the end of the trial phase. I'd much rather deal with the evolved soulless than whatever that is. I can at least see them coming, and I've become used to them.

Noah didn't like it, but he had no choice but to face this new unknown threat to make his way to the relative safety of the large ferry floating a short distance away from the destroyed dock. It was still accessible by anyone desperate enough to brave it.

He looked uneasily toward the pursuing soulless that had arrived at the edge of the water. The ferry survivors were pointing towards the soulless that were now attempting to clumsily follow out among the ruined dock.

He sheathed his sword then closed his eyes as he tilted his back, taking a deep breath in through his nose while clenching his fists. After he resolved himself, he opened his eyes with determination. A wave of energy surged through him as six transparent, ethereal arms burst from his back, glowing faintly purple as he activated his [Six Spirit Arms] ability.

Noah took a running start as he leapt from his concrete boulder to land in the ocean briefly before pulling himself out of the water onto a bollard. He used his ghostly arms to assist him in nimbly navigating his way through the dock's remnants towards the ferry, which had begun to drift away with the lowering tide.

He quickly overtook the other survivors as he agilely maneuvered himself over the rugged terrain while maintaining one eye on the suspiciously calm water. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched by whatever that creature was that he had attacked beneath the water.