The pouring rain wasn't enough to wash away the blood already covering the square.
ROOOAAR!
The roar of the Grade 3 amphibious monster made bones vibrate, but Erik and Alfred didn't take a single step back.
I saw Alfred release another electric surge from his blade, while Erik dashed low, aiming once again at the creature's legs. The monster, enraged, swept away a group of Merchants with a single tail strike, sending bodies flying like rag dolls.
"We have to bring that thing down," I growled through my teeth, tossing aside the corpse of another freshly killed Grade 1.
I moved toward the shore, using Quick Step to dodge the random blows raining from every direction. A pair of Grade 2s tried to block my path: one, looking like a huge armored toad, snapped its tongue at me. I sliced it clean off and drove my halberd into its throat as a wave of thick blood drenched me. The other, some sort of fanged eel, tried to crush my legs, but I forced it away.
I finally reached the harbor. Erik fought with maximum focus, while Alfred kept the creature at bay with precise strikes and stunning spells.
Unnoticed, I slipped behind the monster's still steady hind leg and struck with all my strength where a wound was already open.
The beast staggered for a moment, while I felt the backlash from its rock-hard body.
Erik took the chance to slash the monster's face, destroying its left eye in the process.
The creature went into a frenzy of pain, smashing and tearing everything nearby.
All three of us pulled back, not wanting to get caught in the destruction.
"How are you holding up?" I asked as we ducked behind a building, while the monster kept rampaging.
"...I've seen better days," Erik muttered weakly.
He had several wounds, nothing fatal, but his pale face showed exhaustion, and Alfred wasn't in better shape.
"Once it's done rampaging, it'll be exhausted. We need to use that moment," I told them.
"My thoughts exactly," Alfred nodded.
"Emergency message! Emergency message!"
A Merchant came running toward us, screaming at the top of his lungs. I grabbed him fast and covered his mouth.
"Are you trying to get us killed?!" I hissed, peeking out to check if the monster had noticed us, but it hadn't.
"What's the problem?" Erik ordered.
"Monsters coming from the south!" the man shouted, and we all shushed him instantly.
"Keep it down!" Alfred snapped as well.
The man nodded quickly, finally understanding.
"But there's only a cliff to the south, are they going around?" I asked.
"No, they're... climbing it."
For a moment, we stood frozen, unsure of how to react. Then it hit me.
"Lena!"
The Merchants' base was near the cliff, and that area had literally no defenses except for the cliff itself. If those monsters climbed up, Lena would be in danger.
"Damn it!"
As I prepared to leave, Alfred grabbed my shoulder.
"If you go now, it'll take longer to kill the monster and longer for us to help the others!" Alfred gritted his teeth.
"Lena is my top priority, and even a single strand of her hair is worth more than a hundred people on this island. So if you don't want to lose your hand, get that hand off me."
I had no problem threatening him, letting my killing intent seep out. If anything happened to Lena in this timeline, too, I'd never forgive myself.
"Alfred, let him go."
Erik's voice cut between us.
"But—" Alfred looked like he wanted to argue, but obeyed Erik's order and released me.
"Adel, I know Lena is your priority, and I accept that. But please, try to help the people at the base too. Many of them aren't bad. And you know as well as I do, if the base falls, there'll be no safe place for your sister."
I could read the conflict in Erik. He didn't want to lose the base, but if that monster wasn't killed, the damage would be far worse. I gave him the only answer that could satisfy him, even slightly.
"I'll see what I can do."
Without waiting for a reply, I pushed Quick Step to the limit, sprinting through flooded streets.
The path to the base was hell. Alleys swarmed with corpses and living monsters. I leapt over one, an enormous amphibian, and drove my halberd into its back as I landed. Another blocked my way, an armored reptile as big as a calf. My halberd glanced off its side plates. I ducked just in time to avoid its bite and thrust upward into its belly, ripping open the soft flesh under its armor. With a grunt, I flexed my muscles, swung the weapon wide, and split the creature in two.
I quickly activated Predation and kept running.
When I reached the base, several monsters had already climbed up, and the men on guard were fighting desperately.
"Back up!" I roared, throwing myself into the fray.
My blade mowed down every creature within reach, while the scales on my body blocked the blows I couldn't dodge.
I used Shadow Veil to confuse a group of amphibians, cutting them down from behind, then delivered a sharp knee strike to fling one off the cliff.
With the fight momentarily under control, I ordered everyone to hurl rocks down the cliff to knock the monsters off.
I, meanwhile, went inside the base. Some creatures had broken in, but I cut them down quickly.
"Lena!"
I shouted as loud as I could, searching through rooms. When I opened yet another door, I had to sidestep quickly to avoid a spear thrust.
"A-Adel?!"
The one who almost skewered me was my sister. She threw herself at me, crying.
"I was so scared—sob... the monsters are everywhere, people are dying—sob... and you were gone!"
I stroked her back, wishing I could stay longer to calm her, but there was no time.
"Nice thrust earlier, by the way, you almost got me."
"I-I was desperate! And you slammed that door open! Even the barricade didn't hold!"
I glanced at the scattered furniture, surprised.
Looks like I've gained some kind of strength ability.
Ignoring that for now, I focused on Lena and the people with her.
"Some monsters are climbing the cliff. They shouldn't be able to get through, but stay here just in case."
Everyone nodded, and Lena tugged my shirt.
"You... be careful."
"Not like I've got much choice, no?"
She smiled at me, and I left, relieved to know she was safe.
Back at the cliff, more monsters were climbing, but with my help, they were quickly pushed back.
Luckily, they were only Grade 0 or 1, not too hard to handle, and after several minutes, they stopped trying to ascend. Cheers broke out among the defenders.
Someone shouted, "Erik and Alfred are about to finish the monster!"
With the base and Lena, safe, I had the strength to keep going.
Using Quick Step again, I rushed back to the harbor. When I arrived, I saw the final blow: Alfred sent a lightning bolt into the creature's remaining eye, blinding it, while Erik leapt onto its head and drove his sword deep, splitting its skull down to the neck.
The Grade 3 crashed to the ground with a thud that shook the pier.
The three of us exchanged a look, then collapsed. I'd been running nonstop, fighting monsters stronger than me, while they had faced a peak Grade 3 beast rivaling a dungeon boss.
"I'm too old for this..."
Alfred's remark made Erik laugh, while I just shook my head.
The storm caused by the Surge was calming, and the remaining monsters were being handled by the Merchants.
I should've felt relieved, but I couldn't. The Golden Rule rune still glowed black.
Come on, I fought to exhaustion against dozens of monsters, what more do you want?... Wait.
Thinking back, even in dangerous moments, I never truly felt things were critical.
The misfortune that assailed me was intended to kill me, but was there a rule that it should only do so in times of danger?
The answer was no.
Unlike other times, bad luck hadn't tried to take my life, but to put me in a position where it was easier to do so.
Realizing this, I felt the Golden Rule pulsing so hard it hurt, and with it, the weight of a gaze I knew all too well.
I turned toward the shore, where a pair of murky eyes stared at me.
You've got to be kidding me...
I saw the water around the creature start to churn, and I shouted to the others.
"GET DOWN!"
They were startled, but obeyed instantly.
A heartbeat later, several tentacles whipped forward at incredible speed, slicing apart the monster Erik and Alfred had killed with such effort.
We watched the scene in amazement, imagining what would have happened if one of us had found ourselves in that situation.