Dashing in the stairs direction, Erdan heard a roar coming from the ape-man. He didn’t even consider to look back and just runned with all his might.

Arriving near the stairs, He saw that the ape-man was running in his direction. Realizing that the monster would catch up with him as soon as he reached the stairs, he made a decision. Instead of slowing down, he runned faster and when he arrived in front of the stairs, the monster was about to catch him. Without stopping he jumped up in the side wall direction that was located in the turn of the stairs.

The ape-man, without a place to stabilize it’s feet, fell like a ball in the stairs.

Seizing the opportunity, Erdan slided from the wall and fell directly above the stunned creature. Holding the katana with all his strength, he appointed the point of the katana to the nape of the ape-man.

‘KATCHAA’

The katana entered cleanly into the monster’s head. Supporting his foot into the head of the monster, he removed the katana.

“SHIT, what the hell is happening?!” Erdan stopped and leaned his back on the wall to rest, he was patiently looking to both ways of the stair so that he would not be grabbed unprepared.

“ARHHH, I can’t stop now!” Stopping his little rest, Erdan began to feel the after effects of using the ‘Rush’ from his martial art’s, blazing heart.

While the adrenaline could support his body and was giving him a huge amount of stamina and strength, he couldn’t stop, because if he did, he would feel the after effects.

Shaking his head, Erdan began to jog quietly on the corridor of the school. Hearing the chaos spreading more and more, he began to jog faster, until he began to run. Arriving at the entrance of the school, he looked back and finally saw some students beginning to run out of the classes, and some monsters behind them as well.

They were varied in various forms and shapes, but the most commons were of ape-man’s and insects. Without looking back again, Erdan runned into the school’s yard that was full of sakura tree’s. Arriving near the school gates, he realized they were closed.

“Shit, what do I do?” looking around, he thought of slashing the lock of the gate with the katana to open it. But realizing how tired and weak he was, he couldn’t do it. So he looked at the little cabin beside the gate ”There!”

Running in it’s direction, he arrived beside it…

Just when he arrived in front of it, a huge force slammed the door from inside and broke it open.

“BOOOM”

The door slammed on Erdan and sent him flying until he hit a sakura tree and stopped.

The sword that was in his hand flew in another direction because of the impact.

Feeling his bones cracked, Erdan head was buzzing with the intense pain and he couldn’t focus anymore, much less fight.

“Oh, please, not again….” Looking at the creature that was leaving the door, it was a bear-man, it’s muscles were inflated, and it’s flesh torn, showing the huge bulging muscles, it’s face looked like an orc’s of the legend’s, with it’s canines showing.

“I don’t want to die, why, WHYYYY!” Erdan screamed desperately looking at the monster coming at his direction.

Feeling oblivion in his heart, Erdan’s mind began to go crazy while thinking ‘It’s always the damn war!! It took me my mother, it got my father away from me, and now it’s going to take even my life? I can’t accept it! I WON’T ACCEPT IT!’

While the monster was getting close to him, Erdan began to feel an energy inside him moving, his body was feeling the power coming from all around him and especially from the trees around him, in his rage and hoping that the monster would die, roots began to sprout from the ground constricting the monstrous bear-man.

The monster quickly showed a reaction and began to claw at the roots to torn them away from his body.

Felling his body heal with the energy inside him, Erdan awoke from his stupefied state and runned to the cabin’s entrance while the monster was trying to get away from the roots entangling it.

Encircling the monster and getting to the sword, Erdan grabbed it with his right hand and running to the monster he gained impulse and stabbed it in is back right where he thought the heart would be.

“PLEEEF” Was the sound that the katana made when it traversed the monster’s body.

Noticing the struggles of the monster growing weaker, Erdan twisted the sword and got it out, making a huge gash were blood was gushing from.

Getting away before the more blood smeared him and cleaning his face, Erdan felt the connection with the roots that were entangling the monster, and with all the trees around him. The connection was faint, but he could truly fell it. Shaking his head and feeling that his body was better, he dismissed the thought and opened the gate to get away from there….

Getting out of the school, the first thing he did was not going to his master dojo, after hesitating a little bit he went to his best friend’s house..

Stealthily running on the streets, behind the cars parked on the roadside, going through alleys, Erdan got to his friend’s house after escaping from a lot of confusion on the way. By now, the city was a total chaos, flames were beginning to spread, often a crazy driver could be seen driving on the streets trying to find his way out of this chaos, and some people were using all they had to fight monsters on the streets and inside their houses, the smell of blood was already permeating on the air.

Arriving near the house, that were located on the suburbs as well, Erdan didn’t just knock on the door, he was not out of his mind. Looking through the window of his friend’s room, he saw Jinn still unconscious on his bed.

Jinn Kazik was Erdan best friend since they were still toddlers. Jinn’s mother, Diana, was a nurse at the hospital his aunt worked, and they even knew each other before working there.

Jinn was eleven years old by now, the same age as him. He was red haired just like his mother Diana and had green eyes. He possessed a slim frame and white skin. His face still had a little baby fat.

Jinn studied at the same school as him, but on the last few days, he catch a cold, and was not feeling well to go to school, he got better and would be coming back tomorrow, but Erdan doubted that.

Seeing Jinn sleeping like a princess, Erdan knocked on the window so that jinn could woke up.

‘knock,knock’

Hearing a loud sound coming from the window, jinn suddenly awakened.

Looking at the window, Jinn saw his buddy. “Hey man, why are you here? Let me sleep more..” Jinn turned away from him intending to sleep more.

“Wake up NOW! Jinn, we have an emergency here!” Erdan said looking at his lazy friend.

“Okay, I’ll open the door for you.” Realizing the urgency in his friend’s voice, Jinn got ride of the laziness.

“DON’T” Seeing his friend walking in the direction of the door intending to open the front door of the house, Erdan stopped him. ”Open the window, quickly”

“Okay then” Said Jinn raising both arms.

After Jinn opened the window, Erdan quickly hopped in and closed it.

Seeing the sword in his friend’s hand’s “what’s with the katana and you full of ketchup hahaha” Asked Jinn while laughing.

Seeing his friend’s reaction looking at the katana, Erdan assumed a serious expression and said “Jinn, listen, what I’ll say now is not a joke, this is blood.”

At first Jinn thought it was a joke, but seeing the somber expression on his friend’s face he suddenly froze. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said, this is blood.” Erdan put his left hand in his friend’s shoulder to calm him down and began to explain what happened and what he saw in the skies earlier.

Sitting on the floor after hearing Erdan’s brief explanation, Jinn was shocked, he practiced on the same dojo as him, but he was lazy and often didn’t go to the training, and because he was not a direct disciple, he haven’t learnt the blazing heart secret technique.

After calming down, Jinn looked directly at his friend’s eyes and said. “let’s follow your plan and go to the dojo, we need master’s help”

“Okay, Let’s go then.” Erdan said looking at Jinn eyes.

It was already 11 am by now, the sun was near it’s apex.

Erdan and Jinn were running from alley to alley trying to evade the chaos that was ensuing the city. There wasn’t a lot of people in the suburbs where they lived in this hour, everyone got up early and went to work downtown, but even then, they were hearing a lot of screams. There were often some people running on the streets while the monster’s were everywhere.

Just when they were two blocks away from their master’s dojo. They entered an alley to hide from a insect man that was flying above them.

But, lucky was not always on their side.

Hearing some noise coming from the alley, Erdan quickly assumed a fighting stance, with the katana in his hand, while Jinn grabbed a kitchen knife that he got from his house before leaving.

Narrowing the eyes, Erdan looked at the source of the noise and asked “Who’s there?!”

Coming out from behind the shadow’s, Erdan saw a frightening sight.

It was a huge rat with at least 180 cm from the tail to the head, it’s teeth were protruding from it’s mouth and were at least 20 cm long, It’s leg growed quite well and it was not crawling on the ground anymore.

“Erdan, I’ll throw the trash bin at it and then you attack” whispered Jinn from behind.

Erdan waited while staring at the huge rat’s eyes, and then it happened.

Jinn quickly moved, grabbed the trash bin and threw it with all his force at the rat head.

Reacting quickly, the rat jumped at Erdan when Jinn threw the bin.

Luckly, the rat could not evade it in time and the bin impacted its right side.

Grabbing the opportunity, Erdan quickly sidestepped and slashed at the rat head easily finishing the job.

“Good job dude!” Erdan said complimenting Jinn.

“Nahh, You know I am the intelligent one between us.” Said Jinn

Not wanting to admit it, Erdan said while grumping. “Let’s go”.