The illumination from the crimson moon made the surroundings eerie, as if they were something from a horror movie or a silent film. The gentle cold breeze of the wind gave goosebumps to one's unsuspecting skin if there was not enough protection to provide warmth in this freezing nightmare.
The sounds of branches and the occasional tremble of the ground gave a gripping fear in the heart of Quagmire. With an anxious mind and a firm hand on the knife, it was almost as if he could stab anything that moved from this moment forward. Fortunately, he still practiced caution despite all of this.
With excruciating pain all over his body to the point that it was enough for him to have a pale face twenty-four-seven—even so, he continued to move, so the effort he made was eventually rewarded.
"!!!" With a trembling body and a shivering sense, Quagmire was ecstatic about what he found.
His eyes twitched, trying to focus on the structure before him, just a few dozen meters in front of him. It was definitely a cave, though even with the illumination of the Crimson Moon, he still could not grasp the inside of the situation.
He felt like it was sucking him in to go there, like it was the abyss staring at him. An unexplainable sense of danger came ringing before him. Unfortunately, he would be better off in that cave, as he would only need to protect two sides, unlike outside, where every direction is omnipresent.
Though his sense of danger was ringing everywhere, he chose to ignore it. The fatigue of pain must have been consuming his very mental power and the very fact that he just needed to wait a few more hours until sunrise to accomplish the situation.
So with a sluggish body, he advanced at a snail's pace toward the cave entrance. When he arrived, he was shocked to find that the entire entrance was dark, which meant it was very deep inside the cave. It would be riskier to enter it, as the Crimson Moon's illumination could only penetrate just a few meters before it diminished—as if the darkness consumed it.
He felt vastly intimidated by it. What if there were ghouls inside the place? Even if he had only to defend a few spots, he had to remember that he was the only one here, and with a narrow space, he might just get overwhelmed by the sheer number of ghouls in this world. It is no less to think that over thousands or even millions of people were present in urban areas.
Nevertheless, everyone starts somewhere, and so here he was. He felt anxious and intimidated. However, just to make sure, he moved forward a few meters to check further inside. But just as he was moving forth, he tripped on a rock and stumbled to the ground with a loud crash.
Upon falling, his emotions and mind were once again in shackles as he looked forward in front of him. His entire face was drained of all life, as his heart fell deep into a pit of despair.
Just in front of him, he could see multiple red eyes that were looking over him. A loud growl took Quagmire out of his shock. Despite the pain and aches, he forced himself to stand up, all the while not leaving the eyes in front of him.
However, horror soon enveloped him as he saw the eyes—or the ghouls—getting closer to him. As they moved, he could feel the cold blow of air, and the foul stench of flesh began to permeate the entire surroundings as the rumbling of the ground grew progressively louder. With it, adrenaline once again began to flush into his body.
With his hands on the military knife, he made way for the space he needed for the battle ahead of him. He began to back off in a controlled manner. Unfortunately, just as before he got off the entrance of the cave and into an open area, he was ambushed by one of the ghouls that was in front of him.
Even so, with firm confidence in himself, he braved through it with sheer will and steel of balls. Just before the ghoul got near—too close for comfort—he dispatched it immediately into the afterlife, making sure that it was already dead, as it fell to the ground with a loud thud.
With the immediate threat dead, he sighed a breath of relief. But it was not done yet, as he still needed to make it into the open field. So slowly but surely, with his back toward the entrance, all the while facing the enemy, with his hands raised below his head, he was ready to attack anytime.
When he arrived at the open field, he had already killed two more ghouls and was about to dispatch another one. What was happening was great, as the enemy was going for him at a rate of one per a few seconds.
That meant he had more breathing room. But unfortunately, he miscalculated, as the following group would seem to overwhelm him.
Nevertheless, he made himself stiff and firm against the tsunami that was about to hit him.
A bogie came at his side, which he kicked and swiftly stabbed. At the same time, another was coming in before him. He took the knife and pulled it out as fast as he could, then immediately stabbed the other one.
As if to mock him—another one before him. However, he was already getting used to the fight, and so while the knife was in the head of another bogie, just as before the bogie grabbed him, he kicked its knees, to which it stumbled.
After kicking it, he yanked the knife from the other bogie and plunged it deep into the one that stumbled.
It was as if an intricate orchestra of a play was being shown. It was swift, efficient, and made the most out of his situation. However, he could not rest yet but only take a few breaths, as there were more coming out of the cave.