Chapter 22 – Bound (Part 5)
The monsters hurried toward Jack, who brandished his sword and sucked in a deep breath. 'This is my opportunity to get a few more experience points,' he mused.
The alley was narrow enough for the stream of monsters to be far smaller and more manageable. So, instead of dozens, only six or seven were able to come at a time. Using that opportunity, Jack rained attacks on the monsters.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward and sliced through them like a whirlwind, killing them on the spot. Every time he swung the sword, a notification flashed before his eyes. However, unfortunately, he wasn't gaining any experience points.
'It seems the system doesn't want me to kill more Level 1 Undead. They're useless now. I need higher-leveled mon—'
Before he could even finish the thought, a silhouette flashed before his eyes, appearing out of nowhere and lunging at him.
'Fast!' Jack quickly tried to sidestep. However, the monster was a tad bit faster as it grabbed his shirt, pulling him down.
Jack wrestled violently, then kicked the monster in the face before it could attack him. The creature stumbled back, regained its footing, and rushed toward him again.
Jack swung his sword, aiming for its head; however, the creature shockingly dodged it, then tried to bite his arm.
'Dammit.' He cursed as he jumped back before it could reach him. 'Can't let that thing bite me or I'm done for.'
The monster was thinner than the others, almost nothing but bones and skin. It had no eyes but a wide, gaping mouth lined with sharp teeth. It shrieked before charging again with even more vigor.
At the same time, the rest of the monsters closed in on Jack — he was about to get trapped.
So, he cursed and turned around, sprinting as fast as he could. At the end of the alley, Luna waited with a worried look on her face. She watched the scene in horror, mustering all her willpower not to rush in and help.
Luckily, the boy didn't get harmed and reached her quickly.
"Run!!" he yelled.
Luna nodded, turned around, and channeled her Aether before dashing away. The two emerged from the alley, followed by the wave of crazed monsters that burst through like a flood.
They ran through the street, cutting down any monster that blocked their path.
"They're closing in on us!" Luna yelled as she glanced over her shoulder. The monsters were somehow even more crazed than before, their speed increasing — the distance shortening rapidly.
"How much time has passed, Liliana?" Jack asked as he focused on cutting a path through.
"Hmm, four minutes and twelve seconds."
"They should be out at any moment. We just have to hold on a bit longer," Jack muttered as he looked behind him. 'That's easier said than done.'
Even as he faced imminent danger, Jack only had one thought in mind: 'Alex, you'd better do something.'
Inside the building, Alex and the others worked frantically, collecting all the supplies they could. Emi focused on the freezer, grabbing frozen meats and other ingredients. Alex picked up stored goods, while Evan moved trolleys back and forth, making sure everything was gathered as fast as possible.
"Hurry! Hurry!" Alex muttered as he wiped sweat off his face and picked up another box. The dark storage room didn't help — they couldn't even see what was inside the boxes. But they had no time to be picky, so they grabbed whatever they could.
In that storage room, time was their enemy.
However…
"Hm?" At that moment, Alex heard a small noise behind him. He looked up but didn't see anything. 'What was that?'
It sounded like faint taps, but it didn't come from Evan or Emi. 'Was it the wind?' he wondered, feeling an eerie chill crawl up his spine.
Still, time was ticking. He had no chance to check. He simply bent down again and continued working — until he heard the noise again.
TICK TICK
This time, louder.
"Huh?" He looked up again but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Are you guys hearing that noise?"
"Hm? What noise?"
"I don't know… It's like something clicking," he said. 'Where is it coming from?'
"What are you talking about? There's no noise. Focus on the job. We only have another minute at most," Evan said coldly.
"..." Alex pursed his lips, swallowing the unease before turning around. Just as he was about to look down again, he saw faint flashes of light in the darkness.
His eyes trailed to the wall — only to meet another set of eyes staring right back at him. For a second, everything froze. His heart stopped, his breath hitched.
"Wha—"
Swish!
Before he could react, the creature lunged forward, grabbing his face.
"AAAAGH!!!" Alex stumbled back, slamming into the wall. His arms clawed at the creature as he tried to rip it off. "Get off me!! Agh!!"
The monster clung tightly to his face before its sharp fangs sank into his cheek. He screamed in pain and fought harder, instinctively activating his ability. The boost of power let him rip the thing off — along with a chunk of his cheek.
He hurled the monster to the ground. It squealed before turning around and scurrying away.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Oh my god!! Alex! Your face is bleeding!" Emi screamed.
"Don't worry about me, there's a monster here! It's not an Undead — something smaller!" he yelled, clutching his face as blood dripped between his fingers.
"Monster?" Evan looked down immediately, scanning for it.
"It's like a mouse or a rat! I don't know! It bit me!" Alex said.
"Oh my god! A r-rat?!" Emi's face went pale as she started jumping on her tiptoes.
"Calm down! We don't have time to panic," Evan snapped, grabbing his weapon and glancing around. "If it attacked once, it'll attack again. Stay vigilant."
The group stood back to back, eyes darting in every direction. The creature was somewhere in the darkness, lurking and waiting to strike again. The silence in the storage room grew thick and heavy.
A few seconds passed in that nerve-wracking tension. Then…
CLICK
They heard tiny footsteps — and a shadow darted across the floor.
"There!!" Evan shouted, stabbing downward, trying to catch it. But the creature was far faster, dodging his strike and latching onto his leg. It bit deep into his flesh, making him groan and kick violently.
"Hold on! I got you!" Alex rushed in, grabbed the monster, and threw it down before stabbing it repeatedly. The creature twitched a few times and then went still.
"Hah… are you okay?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine… just a small bite," Evan said with a frown. "Let's hurry. We don't have much mo—"
CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK
His words were cut short by the sound of clicking — far louder this time.