Celia's words were vague, but Conrad seemed to have understood them in an instant. Dean looked oblivious, his gaze shrouded in a thick hunger for ghouls. Jin was just as clueless as he was. The piercing sound was disorienting, but it didn't ring any bells for him.
Conrad spoke hurriedly as he turned to Jin.
"Take Evelin! I'll cover you from behind."
There was no time for words. Jin was about to grab Evelin, but before he did, he took a close look at Conrad's appearance.
'Curses…'
Conrad's eyes were half-closed despite the urgency, his breath ragged. Hollow craters were appearing under his eyes as thin veins bulged around his iris. He had been able to hold on for so long, but if he kept at it any longer, Conrad would fall midway.
And Jin didn't want to risk the chance.
Jin narrowed his gaze.
"No."
Conrad furrowed deeply.
"What? Listen, we don't—"
Jin extended his hand.
"Your spear. Hand it over."
Conrad was dumbfounded. It was so bizarre that the weariness he was feeling a moment ago disappeared.
Instead of waiting for Conrad to comprehend his intentions, Jin stepped forward and snagged the adorned staff from his hands. He had expected some form of resistance, but Conrad didn't seem aware of his own lack of energy.
He slid his fingers across the staff, the cold metal responding to his touch. It had been ages since he last wielded a spear, let alone a spear of the same caliber as this one. Just holding the haft made him feel like he had been granted another life, as if their chances of survival increased magnanimously.
He lowered the spear and spoke in an even tone.
"I'll hold the back, Dean can deal with the flanks."
Conrad wanted to retaliate, but he knew himself better than anyone else. He knew that he didn't even have essence left to channel his ability. Just keeping himself awake felt grueling. Biting his lip, he darted toward Evelin and lifted her on his back.
Celia walked up to him. There was a subtle difference in her appearance, like she had regained some of her spirit.
"What about me?"
Her raspy voice was unpleasant to hear. Turning sideways, he spoke firmly.
"I need you at the front of the group. Don't fall behind."
She replied with a sluggish nod, "Aye, Captain."
As she moved past him, he glanced at Dean with a complicated look. He opened his mouth to speak, but Dean turned to him, his eyes reflecting a murderous glint.
"I'll watch the flank."
Jin was still unsure of Dean's stability. But he didn't have any other choice left.
Both of them dashed forward and caught up with the cohort immediately. They encountered a ghoul or two on every step, either stationary in the air or lying on the ground. Not a single one of them spared a glance, their orb-like eyes glued to a single direction.
He was certain that there was no other infrastructure outside the city that was advanced enough to obtain such a far-reaching siren other than an outpost. They didn't even need Conrad to use his ability anymore. They just needed to keep running toward the siren.
However, it wasn't going to be easy.
Despite being heavily injured, Celia's pace was considerably fast. But it wasn't fast enough. The siren wasn't going to last forever. The moment it stopped, the ghouls would not hesitate to chase them once again. It was only natural for a hunter to finish their prey off before it could escape.
'This won't do.'
Inhaling deeply, he relaxed his limbs. The next instant, he appeared beside Celia. Seeing him appear out of thin air was as unnerving for her as it was for the others who saw him do it.
Picking up his pace, Jin spoke.
"How long do we have?"
Celia tried to knit her brows, but ended up making a comical face instead.
"I don't know… a minute or two?"
Jin jumped over a ghoul lying on the ground.
He had been expecting a more generous interval, but his luck seemed to still be in the underworld. He was certain that it wasn't going to get any easier, which meant that they had only sixty seconds before the ghouls caught up to them.
'Twenty-five… thirty seconds have already passed.'
Repositioning his spear, Jin spoke evenly.
"Can we cover the distance in that time?"
Wiping the sweat off her eyelids, Celia thought for a moment.
"Huff… We might get out of the nest in that time… But… there's still some distance after that—"
Seeing her lose her pace as she talked, Jin cut her off.
"Keep up the speed… Try to go faster if you can. I'll take care of the rest."
Before she could speak, Jin retreated to the back.
His expression wasn't as grim anymore. If Celia's calculations were right, and they could actually get out of the nest in time, their chances would rise tremendously. Unlike the open space all around them, the rest of the forest was filled with luxuriant trees. The lack of visibility and nothing to use as a shield were the two weapons the ghouls were abusing against them.
'Take that away from them, even a novice could tear them apart.'
However, he preferred not fighting them at all. The rest of the cohort was young. They hadn't practiced martial arts as long, nor did they know how to use their qi efficiently. That was one of the reasons why he was still capable of facing the ghouls. If he willed it, he could even erase their entire nest if not for the darkness.
Nevertheless, he was still exhausted. No amount of qi could soothe the wounds the pincers had inflicted on him. Just the bleeding alone was bad enough that he would be dead by now if not for the Demonic qi.
And the Heavenly Demon, he knew, went beyond the words powerful.
Being a Demonic martial artist meant you would be seen as a competent foe wherever you went. With their boundless physical stamina and formidable martial prowess, nothing could stand in their way once they set their sights on a goal.
Having the grace of possessing the vital qi given by the Heavenly Demon himself, it was only natural that there would be other effects than just increased strength and stamina. It went as far as to heal the minor wounds passively. Most of the cuts and abrasions had healed, leaving behind dry blood.
However, his inner injuries were still there, reminding him of the pincers with every step he took.
A corner of his lips faintly curled up.
'Even in this life… I owe him once again.'
As he was about to pass by another ghoul, he noticed something. One of the ghouls had unconsciously turned to them, just to return to stare at the source of the siren. He squinted his gaze as the group picked up its pace.
'Fifty seconds… We only have ten seconds left.'
Celia only kept getting faster. She was just as tired as everyone else, even more exhausted than the rest, perhaps. But she couldn't be the burden, not when they were so close to actually ending this nightmare.
Conrad gasped heavily as the last five seconds rang like a bell in his mind. Dean didn't seem bothered by it at all. His gaze still lingered on every ghoul they passed by.
The siren came to an abrupt stop.
The mesmerized ghouls turned their heads in the cohort's direction like ghosts, their orb-like eyes glowing in the dark. The next instant, every ghoul in their vicinity attacked them all at once.
'Bloody hell…'
The ground blurred beneath Jin's boots.
The beasts were onto them—three of them from the left flank, two drooping from above, and gods knew how many screaming behind him in the dark.
The first ghoul hit him like a thrown boulder.
It caught his shoulder from behind, talons raking across the leather pauldron, and the impact nearly sent him spinning into the roots that clawed up from the forest floor. He tucked the stumble into a roll instead, shoulder dropping, the world tilting sideways for one lurching moment before his boots found the earth again, and he was running, the spear horizontal across his body.
Evading the ghoul that dove at him, Dean punched it in the skull, throwing it toward the other ghouls behind him. One of the ghouls twisted its body midair and accelerated toward him. By then, they were already gone.
Suddenly, the terrain changed. Intertwined trees replaced the empty ground, narrow rays of sunlight creeping through the ceiling. Celia shifted her weight at the last second, dodging a tree blocking her way.
'Great… Now—'
Jin heard a clattering scream among the countless trees surrounding them. The ghouls had left their nest and were still chasing them. With nowhere to hide, they didn't bother going easy on the cohort either.
He tightened his grip. The runes around the haft ignited. The symbols burned in sequence from grip to throat, and the light they threw was not warm cerulean but something colder and more absolute, like light that had forgotten it was supposed to comfort.
Two more peeled away from the flock and came at him from either side, a pincer that would have worked beautifully on a lesser man. He let them almost close the gap — let the stench of them fill his throat — and then he dropped flat to the ground, sliding on the moss, the spear sweeping a horizontal arc at shin-height as he went under their crossing paths. One wing-joint connected with the rune-carved haft, and the contact point flared. The blade cut through the membrane like paper. The beast veered, careening into the dark between the trees.
Jin was already rising.
Despite the thick vegetation, the ghouls found their way to them. He would cut one down, only for two more to ambush him from behind. Dean was in a similar situation, if not worse. Fighting solely with his fists didn't seem efficient, but he was too caught up to notice the torn skin between his knuckles.
'This… I can handle these numbers. Let's just hope they don't come all—'
At the corner of his sight, across the maze of trees, he saw the ghouls flying ahead. He glanced to his right… It was the same there. Yet, there were hardly any ghouls on his back.
'... I just had to say it.'
As he had expected, the ghouls were smart creatures. They knew the cohort wasn't trying to fight them, that they couldn't hunt them in the woods either. So, they went for the next best thing: to attack them from every direction, all at once.
The group wasn't slow, but the ghouls were faster than they were. Their only way out would be blocked in no time.
Conrad was out of breath. To do so while escaping countless ghouls felt like life was being sucked out of his soul.
The next second, though, his soul returned to him.
"Heh…"
He couldn't believe he was smiling. The gigantic wall guarding the city peered at them through an opening in the thick ceiling. Its concrete looked like the soft clouds of heaven, urging him to run.
Nevertheless, his joy was crushed the next moment. A few dozen meters ahead, he saw an army of ghouls creeping toward him from both directions. It was as if they were forming an impenetrable wall around them.
He adjusted Evelin on his back and sprinted ahead.
'How dare they…'
Something flashed past him. It was only for a split second, but he saw the pristine metal of his spear shine with a deep red flame.
Jin poured a great amount of his demonic qi into his legs and lunged forward. He covered several meters in an instant, the tip of his spear facing the ground.
Before it could even see him, Jin jumped on his first prey. His spear flashed between the swarm of ghouls, tearing them apart like a phantom. His lung burned as his movements became more fluid. He wasn't just killing aimlessly. He targeted only those who attempted to close the final gap.
The ghouls fell to his blade like a moth to a flame. The scarlet tip of the spear burned through skulls and wings alike.
The cohort didn't let his efforts go to waste. Before the ghouls closed the gap, they passed through. The swarm collided with each other. Several beasts died as their heads crashed into each other, while the others fell, getting entangled in each other's wings.
Yet, a flood of ghouls found their way to them. Dean kicked a ghoul back to the swarm and matched his speed with Celia, who was in the front.
Some of the ghouls were waiting for them ahead as if something was blocking them from going any further. Dean didn't hesitate as he pushed the ground and dashed forward with all the remaining strength he had.
He grabbed the ghoul by its head and yanked it ahead like a ball.
Thump!
The ghoul instead crashed into something invisible in the air. Another ghoul was about to dive at him, but it was stopped midair. Dozens of beasts slammed against the invisible wall as the cohort got inside.
Conrad fell to the ground like a log. His legs gave out before he could even stop himself. Evelin's unconscious figure rolled forward and came to a rest. Celia was standing beside Dean, examining the bizarre phenomenon. It was as if a barrier was holding the beasts back, forbidding them from harming the young challengers.
Celia kneeled in front of the gathering swarm, her joints creaking like a rusty screw.
'Barrier…'
She let out a chuckle.
"This damned tower… Who could've thought…"
It was one of the tower's blessings, an unbreakable barrier that prevented the creatures of the Surge from entering. An invisible barrier that protected them better than any steel wall ever could.
She smiled as her muscles relaxed. She felt the lactic acid rushing in those same muscles. However, she was too tired to care. A muscle cramp was always better than the ghoul who still thought it could eat her.
Jin jumped inside the barrier immediately. His bloodied figure rammed into the tree behind her. Instantly turning in his direction, she tried to stand up, but her legs were in no condition to do so.
She watched as Jin stood back up as if he hadn't just thrown himself into a swarm of ghouls. The metallic plate on his thigh fell off, his entire armor seemingly chewed up by the beasts. His face was covered in the ghouls' and his own blood.
Celia gave him a weary smile.
"We made it… huh?"
Jin leaned against the thick bark, his ragged breath making him uncomfortable. He looked at Conrad, who had already passed out from the migraine, as well as Evelin, who was still near death's door. Dean was still staring at the endless horde of ghouls trying to breach the barrier.
He sighed deeply.
"... Hah! Sure…"
Jin closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting the cold breeze caress his blood-soaked face. However, when he opened his eyes, someone was standing in front of him.
As a matter of fact, it wasn't only a single person. Dozens of challengers were staring at him and the rest of the cohort, their gaze full of confusion.
It was as if they were looking at a dead man.