Max used his most powerful attack. Although he wasn't sure if it was powerful enough. Out of everyone on the ground, he was the only one who opened his eyes to see if it worked. If not, he would have indirectly killed all of them.
Doing so, made Max blind for a few seconds. Directly looking at the bright light from the supernova he created was probably the worst decision of his life. But he did see the Cyclops monsters all die in seconds. Or atleast, they vanished and became nothingness.
When he was done, his arm started hurting. Max screamed as he fell down to the ground. He clenched his left fist tight and also his teeth. The pain was too much for his body to handle. He used his right arm to clutch his left shoulders to deal with the pain. Tears were flowing out of his eyes, as he tried desperately for the pain to subside.
Max opened his eyes as he felt a hand touch his other shoulder. He turned to look at Melissa and Chuck, who were concerned about him.
Chuck: Are you okay??
Melissa: Can we do something to ease your pain..??
Max grunted, and finally let a breath out. Without realizing it, he had stopped breathing. His eyes were now red, with pain. But he still got up, and looked ahead and smiled, still teary eyed.
Max: Yeah...I'm fine now. Getting used to the pain, you see...
Max raised his hand and gave a thumbs up, trying to hide the lingering pain, from the kid and the girl.
Chuck: But that was soo coooool!! You defeated all of them in an instant!!
Max was blushing hard. He would rarely get compliments from others, and this kid looked up to him.
Max: Well...you know....it's as they say...when you are a God, it's that easy...
Lin: What the hell does that even mean..??
Max blurted out whatever he thought was cool, only to get confused looks from Chuck. Lin actually brought him back to reality.
Lin: Well, atleast we got rid of them all....
Melissa: So...what do we do now?
All four of them sat in silence. Unable to think for the future ahead, all of them just stared blank at a random direction.
Chuck: I'm gonna stay here. In this village. You guys carry on...
Max: Wait...isn't it dangerous? You said everyone in your village vanished...
Lin: Yeah....what if those monsters come back..?
Chuck paused for a moment. He was trying to think about the future ahead. After a few seconds of silence, he had made up his mind.
Chuck: Don't worry. I know my people are somewhere in the forest, Max did say he saw them. I'll just go searching for them..
Chuck gave the most forced smile he had ever seen. Melissa looked at him, and turned to Lin.
Lin: Absolutely not! We are leaving..!
Melissa pouted at his cold reply. She then got up.
Melissa: We will be off then....we have a purpose to fulfill too ...hope you find your family...both of you..
She looked at both Max and Chuck when she said that. Max realised that his journey was to find his family somewhere in this world. He had realised that Lin and Melissa also have a certain mission they were going for. And he understood it. Since he was in no hurry, Max thought he could probably stay in here and help Chuck find his family.
Max: I'm sure I saw the villagers at some lake in between the forest. If you know the route, we can go check there together.
Chuck: You would do that for me..?
Chuck had those puppy eyes, and Max gave a warm smile.
Max: Of course kid...after all, I might be the only one to help you..
Max grinned, and Chuck smiled. Melissa smiled too, but Lin on the other hand had an opposite reaction. He was impatient and was waiting to get out of there.
But then a huge thorn-like structure came out of nowhere piercing Max!. He fell down, his senses going blank. He no longer could think freely, and the part around his neck, where the thorn pierced felt numb.
Max fell down to the ground, and with his rapidly diminishing eyesight, he could see that the thorn on him was just one of many.
There were hundreds of thorns all over the place, stuck on the ground. Lin bad blocked one of them and he immediately kicked Max far away, and the paralyzed Max fell into the bushes. But he could still clearly see the other three.
Melissa was also in the same predicament as Max. She was on the ground, but before Lin could help her, he was also hit by the thorn. And he fell down too. They both could barely move and lay side by side, their eyelids still open.
Max was beginning to lose his consciousness, but he held on, trying to focus on the matter ahead. All the information that was entering his brain was hazy at best, but somehow Max was forcing himself to understand. And he didn't know if it was because he had the Godly power, or because he just had a really good brain.
Foam started filling Melissa's mouth as she finally closed her eyes. Lin tried hard, but he also fell asleep. Max could still see them breathing, so they weren't dead.
Then he saw it. A man, six feet tall, walked down the street. He wasn't alone. A huge bulking monster with a disfigured face, was following him. He was holding something that looked like a box.
??: What sh-sh-should we d-do Myaster..?? Me use Th-the Boxxx??
The disfigured man had a weird way of speaking. Matched with the annoying voice that sounded like an absolute man baby, he gave off a creepy aura. However the man beside him was different.
???: No...my dear...we needn't kill them.. I need them..for a few experiments. I need them alive...
???: O-okay..myaster..!!
They both stood there. The only one conscious and moving was Chuck. He was desperately trying to help Lin wake up. But to no avail.
Chuck: It's you!
Chuck sounded angry. The tall man came into the light. He had a weird attire on. He was wearing black leather clothes that had straps everywhere. He was covered with tattoos on his arms and feet, that was visible. His face had dark circles, or black paint under his eyes. His hair reached his hips behind him, and they were porcupine-like. He must've used a strange power to shoot his hair as thorns to strike them, Max wondered.
???: Ahh...look who it is...if it isn't our little helper boy!!
Chuck: I am not your helper!!
The man totally ignored Chuck.
???: Man, I can't believe you three took down all of my beasts...no one has ever done that...how did you do that..?
Chuck gave no answer. Max realised that he didn't turn back and look at Max even once, probably to protect him. Even now, the kid's maturity shocked him. Max wanted to get up, but he couldn't.
??: I swear, I'm sure I saw four of you here...but anyway...you guys are enough. Dear...carry them..!
The man ordered his ugly servant for the job.
???: Yess myaster!!
The ugly hulking monster went to grab Melissa and Lin, and Chuck screamed. And that was the moment, Max lost his consciousness.
Lin had used his last minute thinking to save Max atleast. Possibly because he saw the direction from which the thorns came, and realized that Max was already in the blindspot, and realized that saving him was the best option. Almost as if, he was counting on Max to find them and save them.
***
Max: I'll save you...
Max murmured in his sleep. But then he heard a distinct voice.
??: I think you should get up now...
Someone put water on his face and Max immediately woke up. He was now in the middle of the street and it was still night time. The moon had moved a bit far, but it didn't feel like a lot of time had passed.
Max sat back up breathing hard. Then he turned to see his saviour.
Max immediately realised that he was a familiar face. In front of him was a man with a woven strawhat and a huge sword, clutched to his waist. He was wearing a green yukata and brown wooden sandals. His long brown hair was visible, but his eyes were tied in a blindfold.
In front of him...was the Samurai!!