Chapter 25 – Bound (Part 8)
Jack walked up the stairs slowly, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. Peeking at the second floor again, he saw that the monsters were growing restless, feeling the heat slowly rise. However, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
'Good, they didn't realize yet.' He mused. 'I think I can…'
Taking a deep breath, Jack held the stick high and then, out of nowhere, threw it up. The stick spun in the air a few times before landing at the first step of the second floor. The fire flickered a few times before everything descended into chaos.
The monsters screeched as they scattered away from the fire, trying to stay as far away as possible.
"Give me another stick, Luna," Jack said as he quickly gestured for his companion. The latter was ready, pulling one stick and giving it to him. Then, Jack threw the second stick a bit further into the room, and the monsters scattered crazily everywhere.
Their screeches and the sound of their feet tapping on the wood gave Jack an idea of where they were clustered exactly.
'I can easily guide them wherever I want with this method.' Jack's eyes flashed with a strange glint before he signaled for Luna to bring him another stick.
Then, the boy started slowly advancing onto the floor with the torch in his hand, ready to defend himself against anything that might attack him. Step by step, he climbed the stairs until he was standing on top, staring at the clustered rodents.
They had clumped into a huge pile to the side. 'They aren't attacking me. It seems the fire is scaring them.'
"Luna, grab as many fire sticks as you can. We're going to need them," he said. Then, he walked onto the floor, not caring about anything. The fire in his hand at that moment was stronger than his sword, ironically.
The moment he got close, the monsters scattered away as if they didn't want anything to do with Jack.
The boy stared coldly at the creatures before glancing back at the first stick he'd thrown. The fire was already catching in the wood rapidly.
'A few minutes, give or take. I need to act quickly.' Saying that, Jack saw Luna appear on the floor, carrying four sticks.
"Put them there, Luna. We want to corner these things in one place and make sure they stay in the building when it falls."
The girl quickly acted, placing them strategically, pushing the rats further and further into the corner until they were all clustered completely, with no room to move.
Seeing that, Jack nodded before turning around and rushing to the bathroom.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Guys, open the door. We're here," he said.
"W-Wha—"
"Jack?! Is that you?!"
"Yeah, open the door, Alex."
Almost immediately, he heard rushed footsteps before the door was pushed open rapidly.
"Jack!!" Alex yelled, his eyes lighting up. "How did you know we're here?!"
"It's a long story, let's leave quickly. This building is about to collapse."
"O-Oh! Ok!"
Without asking further questions and seeing the spreading fire, the group dragged the trolleys out and started running. At the same time, the fire all around them grew exponentially, from a small area to almost half the floor, effectively trapping the rats in a small circle of hell.
The creatures shrieked in pain as they quickly tried to cluster into one small space, crushing one another in the process.
"Hurry, hurry!"
Pulling the trolleys down the stairs, the group made it to the first floor and looked around. The gates to the cafeteria were still being relentlessly smashed by the Undead outside. The tables and chairs had been pushed back. At the same time, the fire Jack and Luna left behind had started eating everything, growing to a terrifying degree.
'They'll break in at any moment. Dammit.' Jack cursed as he quickly looked around and saw a window on the other side.
"We'll leave through that!" he said as he pointed.
"What?!"
"No time to question, Evan! Let's move!" Emi tapped her companion's shoulder and rushed after the group.
"Aagh, you're kidding me," he grumbled and pushed the cart. Reaching the gates, Jack smashed them with his fist and then looked at Luna and the others.
"Get out. I'll push the carts through the window, and you catch them outside."
Rapidly, the trio climbed out while Jack used his power to lift up the carts. Since he had almost doubled his strength ever since he awakened, it was an easier task.
"Take this."
"We got it!"
Jack then moved to the next one. But at the same time, he heard loud banging behind him. Then—
BREAK
He heard wood breaking, coupled with loudened cries.
'Come on!' He didn't even dare to look behind as he focused on pushing the second cart out. After a few seconds, it was out.
'The third one.' Jack quickly rushed to grab the third. However, at that moment, he heard a loud bang, and the doors were blasted open.
Monsters flooded in like endless waves, rushing toward Jack.
"Jack!"
"Leave it be! Jump out!!"
Jack looked at the supplies and then at the monsters before he clenched his teeth and turned around. He knew he wouldn't be able to get the cart out in time.
Jumping out, Jack pulled his sword out.
"We'll kill anything that jumps out of that window!" he yelled. The others grabbed their weapons too, ready to attack. Eventually, the first few monsters lunged through the window. However, a quick slash from Jack killed them on the spot. More and more tried to climb through, getting stuck in the window frame.
Immediately, everyone started poking and slashing at them with all their force. Blood and flesh splashed everywhere. The gruesome sight of mangled corpses and struggling Undead would make anyone throw up.
However, none of them dared to stop attacking. At the same time, inside the building, the roof started collapsing as fire caught onto it. The flames quickly spread as large chunks fell on the Undead inside.
[You have killed 5 Undead.]
"Hm?"
Jack immediately received a notification.
[You have killed 20 Undead.]
[You have killed 30 Evolved Rats.]
[You have gained +5 in all stats.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
A storm of notifications assaulted his retina.
'What? Is it counting the monsters killed by the fire as mine?' He frowned.
"Jack… are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Luna asked.
"You're also getting—?"
"Mhm…" She nodded.
"Indirect kills still count. After all, you two are the reason that fire happened in the first place," Liliana said with an amused smile. 'A very smart and very interesting plan, Jack.'
BANG
Another large chunk of wood fell as the fire spread even further. Monsters were getting burnt alive inside the building. Each monster that fell dead made Jack and Luna receive another notification.
[You have killed 20 Undead.]
[You have killed 15 Evolved Rodents.]
[You have killed 30 Undead.]
[You have gained +3 in all stats.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
For several minutes, it didn't stop. A rush of immense strength filled Jack's body so rapidly that he almost lost his balance. He felt so much power constantly being pumped into his very being.
'What the hell is going on?' He was completely lost. 'I feel like I'm being changed… I'm being completely peeled out of my own skin.'