The coat was two sizes too big for Noah. It was fortunate because after he put on the coat, it fit comfortably over his armour. Buttoning the coat closed, it was now difficult to notice the bracers on his wrists and the breastplate underneath. Only the neck-guard could be seen above the collar.

Noah grabbed both of the lapels, folding them up to obscure the neck-guard. After adjusting the shoulders to sit comfortably over his armour. Noah looked at the skeletal remains of the homeless man. Lifeforce flowed into his [Grade 1 Inferno Breastplate] as he activated the ability. Flames blanketed the skeleton, igniting the ragged clothing hanging loosely on its frame. The rubbish skip began to glow red-hot as it began to distort under the heat.

The flames incinerated the bones and marrow. All that remained was soot lining the brick wall with charred fragments laying in a thin pile of ash. Noah nodded to himself in satisfaction after cremating the homeless man. Suddenly he was alerted by a disturbance outside the alleyway.

"Help us!"

A pair of twin girls, roughly twelve or thirteen, ran into the alley. They saw Noah watching them cautiously and stopped running. They appeared to be of mixed Hispanic nationality, causing Noah to wonder what part of the world he was in now before dismissing it as unimportant. The girls wore a matching, filthy school uniform, torn in places. The timid girl wore her skirt higher above the knee than could be considered appropriate. One of the girls shifted to stand closer to her sister. The other looked at her with mild annoyance before speaking.

"There's a soulless horde behind us. We're both about to awaken, so don't try anything funny," the lead twin said.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Noah said indifferently.

Noah ignored the girls as he walked past them. He leaned out of the alley to look down the street. The road was filled with pot-holes and strange gouges leading to the center of the city. He only now noticed that there weren't any abandoned cars. Noah frowned as he ignored the thought and looked toward the swarm of soulless.

Soulless filled the street as they charged toward him. There was a large variety of different origin species, some that Noah didn't recognize. But many were obviously once dogs. They looked completely different to the 'hell-hounds' of the island, but he still referred to them as the same, for lack of a better word.

He wasn't concerned by the number of soulless. What made him uneasy was the soulless crawling along the ruined walls of buildings and over the top with the pair of girls undergoing the [Rite of Awakening] behind him.

If I choose to fight, I'll be unable to protect those kids entirely. I've dealt with worse than this horde, but I can't risk them becoming collateral damage. Sigh, that leaves me only one option.

"Ahhh!"

Noah was interrupted from his thoughts, alerted by a female scream. He turned to discover the timid twin being dragged onto the rubbish skip as her twin backed away warily, looking ready to flee. The soulless lifted the girl by her head as she kicked her legs helplessly in empty air. Noah's eyes narrowed as he focused on the nightmarish features of the soulless.

Moving instinctively toward the ambusher, Noah activated one of his new abilities. A spear of ice formed in his left hand as he thrust it toward the soulless. The soulless ignored his attack as it was too distracted by the girl struggling in its grip. The slavering jaws slowly approached the girl's face, distorted by terror.

Noah's [Ice Spear] pierced through the creature's open jaw to erupt from the back of its skull in an explosion of brain and bone shards. The monster let go of the girl who fell to the ground. The girl picked herself up and ran to hide behind her twin, who was engrossed in watching the monster die. The soulless uncontrollably twitched as it was suspended on the spear tip. Its feet scratched against the rubbish skip as it failed to find purchase while its hands swatted helplessly at the spear shaft.

Noah unwaveringly held the creature pierced by the spear until it finally stopped its death throes. He then carelessly flicked his arm to the side, causing the soulless to slide off and collide with the first of the horde arriving at the alley.

"We can't stay here. We have to leave. Now!" Noah instructed.

He gave the traumatized twins a push to start them moving while glancing over his shoulder. Soulless crashed past the entrance by the press of bodies. Their momentum pushed a few into the alley as they began to climb the walls in pursuit. None of the monster's attention was on Noah as they ignored him to focus on the girls fleeing at a sprint down the alley. The soulless intended to avoid him by staying out of his reach to catch their prey.

Noah cursed as he activated an ability. Gesturing at the brick walls lining the alley with his free hand, he made a downward motion. The brick walls began to vibrate as they reacted to his [Earth Manipulation+2] ability. The soulless were thrown from the walls to be buried under the debris as they collapsed. It would temporarily delay the soulless's pursuit.

Turning the corner of the alley, Noah crashed into the more confident twin, knocking her stumbling. He instinctively reached out to steady her by gripping her torn school sweater.

"What are we going to do now, Meghan?" the timid twin asked.

"Shut up, Missy. I'm trying to think," Meghan replied.

In front of the group was a dead end. A building had collapsed to block the alley. They were trapped.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with it," Noah said.

Noah pushed between the twins to stand ahead of the girls. Purple-lifeforce moved through his body as he gestured at the rubble, abruptly turning with his arm in a chopping motion. Noah's eyes narrowed with a smirk as bricks catapulted toward the first of the horde to navigate his obstacle at the other end of the alley.

Bricks hurtled past the group from behind to bombard the arriving soulless. The more timid twin, Missy, clutched at Meghan, her sister. Meghan looked annoyed but didn't push her away as she watched a large number of soulless pummeled into unrecognizable piles of flesh. Noah noticed a hunger in her eyes that he chose to ignore. A moment later, Noah's [Earth Manipulation+2] ability had shifted the rubble obstructing their path, blocking the alley behind them.

Noah walked to the enlarged opening to investigate the street ahead. It was empty except for a few stragglers of the horde charging toward the other road in another direction. Noah held up a hand to prevent the girls from recklessly leaving the alley. The scratching of pursuing soulless climbing the rubble was unnerving the pair of girls.