Bang! Bang!
Loud, controlled gunshots rang.
"Grrroar!"
A growl tore the air.
A demon hound leapt in the air.
Shluck!
The teeth sank into flesh.
"AGHHHHHHHH!"
A pained roar tore in the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several gunshots rang out.
Bullets pierced, riddling the demon hound's body with holes.
Dark red blood flowed from the wounds.
Thud!
The demon hound collapsed on the ground.
Blood spurted from the man's wound.
"Focus!"
The commander roared.
"Watch out!!"
The group faced yet another crisis.
Demon hounds found them.
They slammed into the building.
Their numbers massive.
They threatened to collapse the building.
The group had no choice but to leave the building.
Demon hounds ambushed them.
Screech!
A cry tore the sky.
Several flying demons loomed, waiting for opportunities to strike.
The group was in the open.
Dozens, no...Hundreds of demon hounds surrounded them.
'How did they find us?'
The commander's thoughts raced.
Panic spread around.
The attack was too sudden. It caught them off guard.
They had no time to prepare. Mentally or physically.
"DON'T PANIC!"
His roar tore the air.
"SOLDIER! CUBE FORMATION!"
He ordered decisively.
Commanding awakened, he might not be good yet.
But commanding soldiers with military strategies, he wouldn't fail.
"YES, SIR!"
The soldiers moved.
Their boots struck the ground in unison.
"Everyone else, follow their lead and move to the center!"
The people obeyed.
The soldiers formed a massive cube.
They gradually stepped back, tightening the cube.
Until everyone else fit inside, leaving only the soldiers on the outside.
Serving as walls.
Their rifles pointed out.
They covered each direction.
The commander stood inside.
Lucian near him.
"Anyone possessing a support ability, use it now!"
The commander ordered.
A young man pushed through the crowd.
He reached the commander.
"Commander, I-I..."
"Not now."
The commander ignored the flustered youth.
His mind raced.
Looking around. Observing the group.
"I-I can use a buff,"
It instantly took the commander's attention>
"Use it. What are you waiting for!"
He shouted sternly.
"B-But, Commander. I only used it on a few people at once. Using it on so many people..."
"Is it dangerous? Will your life be in danger?"
The commander questioned urgently.
The young man's legs trembled.
"I-I don't think so,"
He shook his head.
"It will drain me. I-I may become a burden."
The commander placed his palm on his shoulder, assuring.
"Don't worry. Just focus on the soldiers. I'll protect you,"
He glanced at Lucuan.
Lucian nodded.
The youth nodded.
Determination flashed in his eyes.
He clasped his palms together and brought them near his heart.
The battlefield grew silent.
The demon hounds observed.
Circling the group. Drooling.
Hungrily waiting for an opportunity.
A golden glow erupted from the young man.
A warm glow.
His lips moved.
"LION HEART!"
His roar tore the air.
Swoosh!
A golden pillar shot into the sky.
It lit the night.
The golden light descended from the sky, illuminating the soldiers.
Their eyes sharpened.
Grip tightened, arms grew steady.
The trembling legs rooted into the ground.
Their hearts grew calm. Fearless.
Swish!
The light suddenly disappeared.
The world turned upside down.
Thud!
The young man collapsed into the commander's arms.
The commander nodded.
He saw the buff's effect.
'I thought it would be an offensive buff. But this works even better. It expelled their fear,'
"Soldiers! Steady your aim!"
He took the opportunity, ordering.
The soldiers located their targets.
"Gggrooowl!"
The demon hounds leapt.
They attacked.
"FIRE!"
Ratatatatata!
The soldiers opened fire.
Gunshots tore the air. Deafening the ears.
The gun barrels smoked. Bulets icharged.
The bullets pierced the violet bodies of the hounds.
Blood splashed around.
The hounds couldn't even approach.
They died before having the opportunity to counterattack.
As expected, bullets and guns remained more effective against the zombies and demons, at least for now.
However, the weakness quickly showed.
The magazines emptied.
The soldiers started reloading.
"Cease fire,"
The commander ordered.
The soldiers reloaded the magazines skillfully but did not fire.
Metallic stench of blood contaminated the air.
Corpses covered the ground around them—demon corpses.
Only a few remained standing, uninjured.
They dared not approach.
In the distance, the leader stood.
A low-grade demon hound.
A demon hound like the one Vincent possessed.
The ordinary people within the cube cheered.
They resolved the crisis with only a few injuries and no deaths.
But the soldiers remained vigilant.
On guard.
They steadied the rifles.
'Something's wrong,'
The commander frowned.
He kept feeling uneasy.
'That demon hound.'
His eyes landed on the leader.
It's strong. But not nearly to command such a massive army.'
He glanced up.
The flying demons still loomed.
'They are still here. They are not escaping,'
Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind.
Do demons have a stronger sense of human flesh than zombies?
"Lucian,"
He turned sharply.
"How did the demons discover us? Is there a possibility they could smell the scent through your barriers?"
"Impossible,"
Lucian shook his head.
"Even the zombies couldn't smell us. I don't think the sense of smell for human flesh of those demons is much stronger."
Then a possibility crossed his mind.
"Unless..."
The commander's heart skipped a beat.
Urgency filled him.
"Unless what?"
"C-Commander..."
A terrified voice reached his ears.
A soldier called.
The commander sensed it.
He turned.
His eyes widened. Terror.
In the distance, eyes lit.
Red eyes.
Red eyes covered the distant hill.
They gradually approached.
Dozens, hundreds. Several hundred.
The answer arrived before them.
"Unless something is far stronger than me,"
Lucian mumbled.
Terror spread.
"NO..."
The people around trembled.
Disbelief.
Several low-grade demons walked with the group.
Serving as commanders.
But the true leader, they couldn't see it.
It only spoke of the size of the group.
It was far behind.
Commanding.
'Can we survive?'
Doubt crept up in their hearts.
Even the Commander.
.
.
.
A bulky man stood on a hill of rubble.
He held binoculars—night-vision binoculars.
People stood behind them.
Excitement painted on their faces.
They clenched the weapons.
Barely containing themselves.
"Boss! Do we charge!"
A man shouted excitedly.
But the boss remained silent.
His breathing grew shallow.
Arms trembled.
The binoculars lowered.
His eyes revealed. Terror.
"Retreat now,"
He whispered.
"Boss?"
Confusion struck.
The people erupted in complaints.
"Silence!"
The boss roared.
The two men who ruled the group with him glanced at each other.
"Brother, what's the matter?"
Their expressions darkened.
But they knew he wouldn't act like this without a reason.
He turned.
He showed his expression.
Terror.
They had never seen him like this.
Not when facing a demon. Never.
"A monster..."
He pointed.
His finger trembling.
"We are no match for it...we wil die..."
He handed them the binoculars.
The two looked.
Terror struck them.
Theri bodeis trembled.
"Retreat,"
They whispered as well.
Silently, afraid it would attract attention.
But their followers were unsatisfied.
"I don't care what you think or want,"
Murdurous intent flashed in the boss's eyes.
The weapons in the palms of the people clattered.
As if the weapons themselves trembled.
The air grew heavy.
It felt his fear.
"You can stay and die,"
The man ran.
The other two followed.
They dropped the binoculars.
Leaving their followers on the rubble hill.
Shocked!
"Hmph! A bunch of cowards!"
A man walked up.
He picked up the binoculars.
"Unworthy. How dare he proclaim to lead us?!"
But as he looked in the distance, his breathing stopped.
His mind changed.
He spoke no word.
He ran after the leaders.
The people followed his example. Complaining.
But as they picked up the binoculars, their mind changed.
They fled.
.
.
.
Deeper into the city.
A man lay asleep in a stone hut on a rubble hill.
Wings grew from his back. A spear rested near his head.
A being.
Neither demonic nor human.
"UUUUUUAAAAGHHHHH!"
A roar shook the surroundings.
An inhuman roar.
Swoosh!
The elder's eyes snapped open.
He grabbed the spear.
His heart trembled. Primal fear invaded him.
Fear from the depths of his soul.
But he quickly calmed himself.
His eyes grew colder.
"I finally found you,"
He left the hut.
And flew into the air.
The wings flapped.
He held the spear.
Back straightened, eyes emotionless.
The time has come.