Chapter 53- Alone
Chapter 53- Alone
"Hah... Hah... Hah..." Rein breathed heavily as he held his side in pain. The bullet wounds haven’t stopped bleeding yet, and that blood loss was starting to feel taxing on his body. His strength was waning, and he felt colder... way colder.
However, he tried to ignore that pain and continue moving. They simply couldn’t stay there when there are monsters all around them. Even if he was feeling extremely sick and could faint at any moment, he swallowed those thoughts and focused on the road ahead.
The others were too busy checking their surroundings to focus on him. Walking through this ruined city where monsters and the Undead lurked, every single turn, every single step, and every sound could be a source of danger, and they knew that.
Luckily, the morning sun started rising in the distance, so their vision only got clearer and clearer with every passing second. It felt way safer to finally be able to see.
"We actually made it through the night..." Alex muttered as he stared at the blue sky above. ’It feels like everything that happened was just an illusion and the world is going to come back to normal now...’
That normal weather, the temperature finally rising to a normal degree again, was so odd when the rest of the city looked completely destroyed.
"Rein, are you ok?" Violet approached her companion as she asked worriedly. "Do you need us to stop for a break? You don’t look well at all."
Just a single look at his face and she could see that he was very pale and he had heavy bags under his eyes from the immense strain. She knew that he was bleeding profusely, but she knew that even if she tried to ask him to stop, to rest, and stop his bleeding.
"No..." Rein replied as he sucked a deep breath through his mouth. "We need to at least get to a safe spot before we can rest."
’Shit, this is really annoying. I’m feeling really dizzy and tired.’ He clenched his teeth. The weakness he was experiencing at that moment was nothing short of terrifying. Rein knew that they could easily come across a monster that only he could fight, and in this state, forget about fighting, he was utterly powerless.
Even his essence was exhausted after the senseless use for hours and hours. He had to find a safe location quickly.
Luckily for him and for the rest of the group, as they walked through the wreckage left behind by the earthquake, they eventually found a small building that didn’t seem to have been heavily affected by the earthquake and the rain. Its low center of gravity possibly helped maintain its structural integrity, and miraculously, it stood against the natural disaster.
"That place actually didn’t fall..." Teo muttered as he looked at it.
"I thought everything in this city had been turned into rubble," Cain said.
"I think we should check if it’s empty first and then rest there. We are all really exhausted."
So, carefully, the group walked toward the building before Rein summoned his sword and stepped inside. The building seemed to be a cafe, a rather classic one with nice wooden walls and a nostalgic feeling to it.
Naturally, the nostalgia was wrecked by the death of the owners and all the people inside, which was why they found several Undead inside. However, taking care of them was rather easy since they were all very weak and slow.
After that, they inspected the entire building and made sure it was completely empty before they locked the door and the windows and sat down.
Rein walked to a corner and sat down against the wall, breathing heavily as he looked down at his injuries. Luckily, the bleeding was starting to slow down considerably, so he wasn’t going to die. However, the pain and the blood loss he was experiencing were severe.
’I was really close to death. If he hit another vital spot in my body, I probably would’ve not made it.’ He sighed as he tried to close his eyes and focus his Life Essence on those injured spots. This was merely an experiment since he knew Life Essence had healing capabilities, and perhaps concentrating it there would help with the process.
As he condensed the energy in these areas, he was surprised to notice that it was working. He couldn’t describe it well, but he could feel the Essence surrounding the injury and boosting the healing process considerably as if it had a mind of its own.
’This is definitely helping.’ He exhaled as he focused all his mind on the Life Essence, trying to guide it subtly while it did its magic.
"Can I check your condition, Rein?" Victoria approached Rein.
"Hm?" He opened his eyes.
"You have bled a lot, sweetheart. We need to at least stop the bleeding." She said.
"I’m really fine, Miss Victoria..." He replied with whatever strength he had left. "This injury isn’t normal. He used Life Essence-infused bullets on me. They’re far more damaging than normal bullets. I will heal it myself."
"That bastard..." Violet clenched her fists with a frustrated look on her face. ’I want to revive him and kill him all over again a thousand times!’
Seeing Rein suffer that pain broke her heart into countless pieces.
"What should we do now? Is the base still even intact?" Alex asked as he peeked through the window at the outside world. "I doubt anyone in the city could’ve really survived that unless they found a good hiding spot."
"..."
A solemn atmosphere fell on the group as the possibility of them being the only survivors left in the entire city started dawning on them. They could truly be completely alone in this city. Even the fighter jets and helicopters that filled the sky yesterday were no longer seen hovering above them.
If that meant something, it meant that the army either gave up or the government had finally completely collapsed. Both possibilities sounded more horrific than the other.
Staring outside, all they could see were vast stretches of land, empty of sound except for the howl of monsters and the grunts of the Undead. That feeling of dread they all experienced together was deep and, in a way, suffocating.
Where could they go? What could they do? Are they supposed to live in this world now? What if they don’t even find anyone else?
A lot of questions filled their minds, and nobody had an answer for them. But, if there was one thing they could truly think about, then it was...
"That structure..." Teo walked to the other side of the cafe and checked the window. The large tower in the distance was now in full view... shrouded in mist subtly, as it was extremely far away and yet easily stood visible from their position.
Just a single glance at it gave Teo a cold sensation. Something about it just didn’t feel right... Its cyclopian size that defied every law in this world, and its odd shape was like a spear that pierces the sky.
Perhaps this world got emptied for one reason and one reason only.
Perhaps that tower was their destination. Perhaps it was calling for them, beckoning them to come and see what it had within.
In Teo’s eyes, the reflection of the tower flashed for a second before he turned around and walked back in.