The night passed, and very quickly, dawn broke once more.
Rehema numbly walked into the factory workshop, where she immediately ran into the foreman.
"Well, Rehema. Have you thought it over carefully?"
Rehema said nothing, merely giving a silent nod before returning to her workstation. She knew that today, she would sell the last remaining piece of her soul.
Except...
A terrifying roar echoed across the entire colony. The ground shook, accompanied by incessant vibrations.
The entire colony was affected, including, of course, the factory where Rehema worked.
"Gastrea! It's the Gastrea!!!"
Someone screamed, causing a complete frenzy. Everyone panicked and rushed to escape.
Rehema hurried outside and was instantly frozen by the sight before her.
Flocks of winged Gastrea were soaring through the sky, beginning their descent to attack the city. Against these flying Gastrea, the city walls and fences were meaningless. Without varanium bullets, even continuous gunfire was pointless, having no effect other than enraging the Gastrea.
Blood, flesh, organs, and corpses flew everywhere, mixed with countless screams of agony and the sound of gunfire. Rehema ignored everything, running as fast as her legs could carry her toward home.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario had not occurred, as her two younger siblings were safely hiding inside the house.
"Sister Rehema!"
"Onuris, Oseye."
The three hugged tightly. Rehema then ushered both siblings to hide under the bed, while she stayed inside, barricading the door, even though she knew it wouldn't do much good.
"It will be fine, it's just a swarm of flying Gastrea. As long as we don't draw their attention, otherwise…"
Rehema glanced out the window and saw a silhouette that completely blotted out the sky.
It was a colossal Gastrea, incredibly huge, shaped like a dragonfly. Surrounding it was a swarm of other flying Gastrea, furiously invading the area.
Rehema sank to her knees.
This was a systematic sweep, not just a few simple, stray Gastrea.
No one would be able to escape, because the Gastrea would destroy everything.
That dragonfly Gastrea must be a tier four Gastrea. As the highest-stage Gastrea in the evolutionary hierarchy, these high-stage Gastrea always attracted a large number of lower-stage Gastrea around them.
While not all stage four Gastrea were like this, their existence was certainly akin to a natural disaster. In the Gastrea War, this was the sign of an entire city's collapse!
Rehema was forced to abandon the plan of hiding in the house. Her only hope was to run to the landlord's manor, the only place with a means of escape.
Thinking quickly, she immediately tied her sick younger sister Oseye to her back, held her younger brother Onuris's hand, and ran. She left behind the small house they had lived in for so long.
This time, there was truly no returning. Because this entire colony was going to be annihilated.
However, the journey to the landlord's manor was not short, so Rehema decided to make a stop first.
"Onuris, you must stay here, no matter what happens, you cannot come out, remember?"
Onuris nodded, and Rehema was momentarily relieved. She used a sheet of corrugated iron by the roadside to conceal Onuris, then, carrying Oseye, headed straight for the hospital pharmacy.
Oseye's condition was quite serious, so she urgently needed medicine for treatment.
The hospital was also a scene of chaos. Most of the staff had fled, abandoning the patients in their beds. There were also those with intentions similar to Rehema, coming in to scavenge for pharmaceuticals or medicine, hoping to profit from the opportunity. After all, this colony was certainly doomed, and no one would investigate them afterward.
Because many shared this thought, the hospital had become a battleground, with gunshots and agonizing screams occasionally ringing out.
How ridiculous it was that even with life and death staring them in the face, some people still could not let go of petty gains.
Rehema stealthily entered a room, approached a medicine cabinet, and began rummaging through it, checking to see if it contained what she needed.
Just then, the sound of a gun cocking echoed from behind. Rehema slowly turned around. It was a man, holding a gun pointed at her with one hand, and clutching several boxes of medicine with the other.
"Please… I only need medicine for my sister…" Rehema said weakly.
Whether it was a sudden surge of compassion or simply indifference, after glancing at the sister on Rehema's back, the man slowly took a small bag out of the box of medicine and handed it to her.
"Take it."
Rehema was overjoyed, quickly accepting it and running out of the hospital.
The rest of the journey was strangely smooth; she did not encounter a single Gastrea. It seemed the Gastrea had been drawn away by the military, but Rehema dared not let her guard down. After picking up Onuris, she didn't stop, heading straight for the landlord's manor.
However, when Rehema arrived, the gate of the manor was blocked by several hundred people.
"No!!! Let me in, let me in!!!"
"Please have mercy!"
"Just let my child in!"
They cried and wailed desperately to get inside, but the gate remained shut. Behind the gate, the guards stood with murderous expressions, pointing their guns at the civilians, just waiting for them to break down the gate and rush in before immediately shooting them down.
The crowd surged forward more and more, causing the gate to bend under the pressure. Those at the very front knew their desperate situation but could do nothing to escape. Their bodies were pressed so tightly that some began to split open and bleed.
But the crowd didn't care. In this situation, very few people would give up their chance of survival for the sake of a few others' lives. Finally, the crowd knocked down the gate entrance and wildly poured into the manor.
"Fire!"
Flashes of light erupted repeatedly, and the first wave of civilians who rushed in were instantly killed. But this only made them more frantic, like unyielding zombies charging forward, not even caring about the bullets whizzing past their ears.
Rehema stood still.
Because she was far behind, she and her two siblings were not affected by the pushing or the gunfire.
She stopped because she suddenly found the whole thing meaningless.
Those people would most likely all die under the barrage of bullets.
Or perhaps there wasn't enough room on the plane.
Or perhaps the landlord simply wouldn't share it with anyone else.
Just then, an aircraft flew out from behind the manor. It was the landlord, who had loaded all his assets onto it and was fleeing.
But then, a gigantic Gastrea flew over, instantly tearing the aircraft to shreds, much to everyone's astonishment.
The dragonfly Gastrea hovered in the air, looking down at the people as a human looks down at ants. Its compound eyes pulsed, reflecting the horrified expressions of all the humans.
"Sister Rehema, I'm scared…"
Her younger brother Onuris tightly grasped her hand. Rehema suddenly smiled, reaching out to pat his head.
"Don't be afraid, I'm right here."
Then, she looked up at the blue sky; this might be the last time she could ever do so.
And then, she closed her eyes, awaiting the end for all of them.
But then…
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted in the air.
The head of the Gastrea exploded, and its colossal body fell heavily, crushing the entire manor into a pile of rubble.
Rehema opened her eyes.
A figure appeared in her line of sight, seemingly bathed in the sun. His entire body was enveloped in a silver halo, like a stellar deity descending upon the mortal world.
It was the most beautiful light Rehema had ever known.
"Are you alright?"
A calm but not emotionless voice wrapped around Rehema's eardrums. In that moment, she felt as if she had seen the truth, and she had been reborn.