Late in the summer, at 1:29 a.m., the weather was unusually hot.
Someone arrives in the city in a truck carrying enough supplies and boxes for business and personal needs to accommodate several people.
He stoped the vehicle in front of the city gate," Coredith" was wrote in the top. He parks it before the gate entrance because the road is complete inside.
The gate was destroyed, even the sign had fallen to the ground and been smashed, rubble and ruined street floors could be seen, holes everywhere, and of course, broken and long-abandoned buildings and shops, and he has no choice but to improvise and enter.
A young man with a mature appearance emerges. His blond hair is combed back short and shaved from the heat. He wears a blue cap, a beige shirt, jeans, and white shoes. With his backpack he enters the city.
He started exploring the city, looking around him, hoping to find something suitable that could be used.
After a while, he notices a grocery store, It appears complete, with windows and a roof. There are meals, supplies, children's toys, and many other supplies, some of which are open and some of which have expired. The store's old, worn, and dark appearance reveals the spread of plants and seeds in every corner of the store.
The same applies to all the stores on the street, but this one's distinctive light, which lingers at the end of the shopping aisles, is visible from far away, even during the day.
When he approached it, it was exactly as the young man had expected: cold, filled with soft drinks and cans of sardines and beans.
The young man smiled and said, "Looks like I got a special dinner tonight".
Who could blame someone who spent days searching for provisions and healthy food between villages and some isolated houses? After those months of the incident, the foods that were easy to find were no longer available, so it was as if he had found a treasure.
He entered the store, lowered his bag to the side, and approached immediately to the refrigerator.
But as soon as he reach and opens the fridge, he notices something underneath: the body of a person wearing a white military uniform.
"What the…?!, wait, isn't this...." The young man gave a strange look as he looked at the corpse.
Grrr.., ggrrrrrrr...!!.
He didn't finish his words until he turned back and found himself surrounded by three wolves, seemingly hungry and ready to pounce on him at any moment.
Indeed, the wolves began to attack and jump towards him. One of them jumped towards the young man, but the young man rolled under the wolves and quickly took out his small shotgun and fired it at the belly of the wolf that pounced on him. It happened in an instant.
But before he stood up, another wolf had already pounced and bite him. Although his arm hurt and he felt the bleeding, he raised his shotgun and shot directly into the red, killing the wolf instantly.
The last wolf remained, the one who had been the first to pounce on him. He turned around and tried to attack again, but the young man was faster than him and pulled out his waist dagger and threw it towards the wolf, injuring its eye as well.
He was lucky, but with a little experience, he was able to time and aim accurately, then he grabbed the dagger that was stuck in the wolf's eye and moved his hand to cut off half of its head, and he died immediately after that.
The young man stood up, wiped the blood stained skin off the corpse, and then reloaded the rifle.
When he suddenly emerged, he was surprised to find an obstacle in front of him. There wasn't another wolf, but a human.
A boy with brown skin, has a thick, black, fluffy hair, wearing a half-white tracksuit and slightly wide black sweatpants.
He had two daggers on either side of his waist, surrounded by two wolves twice as large as the previous one.
"Impressive!, a good fight for a corpse that will soon die," he said, his gaze filled with arrogance and haughtiness.
The young man sighed, holding his arm, then looked at him: "...kids like you these days are becoming annoying and arrogant."
"You have to choose your words carefully, except that you will die here.", the boy pointed to the young man, and the wolves began to attack him and pounce on him.
Wooph, wooph!!.
The young man smiled and said in a low, almost whispered voice, with all sarcasm: "Last words? Hehehe..."
The wolves approached him, ready to bite him with their sharp, massive fangs. Suddenly, the young man grabbed the two wolves' necks tightly with both hands.
Tchh..., ttcchhh...
At that moment, smoke spewed from his hands, and in an instant, the wolf's entire body was engulfed in green flames. Within seconds, the wolves were transformed into roasted flesh.
"These words are too hot to say."
The boy was shocked. He hadn't expected him to kill the wolves so quickly, let alone possess an ability at all.
People with special abilities aren't as common as some might expect. Despite spending months in this city, he had only encountered two people out of dozens or hundreds.
The boy looked sharply at the young man again, who had a glowing aura of green flames around his arms.
"Come on, don't you want to end my life?" The young man raises one of his flaming arms and signals for the start of the fight.
Indeed, the boy responds, moving quickly after unsheathing his daggers.
As the young man approaches, the boy swings his daggers in a series of attacks, but the young man easily avoids them all.
In the end, the young man only grabbed one of the young man's daggers. The intense heat caused him to drop it to the ground.
Finally, the young man grabbed one of the boy's arms, and in pain, he dropped the dagger to the ground.
The young man noticed sparks coming from his hand and immediately jumped up to kick him.
But the young man blocked the blow and grabbed his foot. The young man smiled, signaling the end of the fight. Suddenly, his face was hit hard, not expecting another kick.
This was because the young man spun around in the air, striking his face hard and allowing the boy to escape his grasp.
The young man grabbed the dagger lying on the ground and succeeded in stabbing the young man in the stomach.
The boy grabbed the dagger lying on the ground and successfully stabbed the young man in the stomach.
However, he was too hasty to dig the dagger deep, allowing the young man to recapture it.
With lightning speed, before the boy could do anything, he landed a powerful punch under the boy's chin, affecting his sanity and balance. The young man followed this with another attack on the boy's face.
He finished his attack with a blazing, searing blow that easily pierced the boy's stomach, allowing his hand to emerge from his back.
The boy couldn't believe what happened. The Blood was pouring from his face, nose, and, of course, from the big hole in his stomach. His face was pale and filled with shock.
With a cold stare, the young man swung his arm out forcefully, causing severe bleeding and a profuse flow of blood, and kicked the boy away, crashing into the wall of the store's entrance, where a pile of empty cans and stones fell above him.
The young man looked expectantly, but the boy didn't move. The young man took a deep breath, and because of the sudden ambush, he felt a little tired. He turned around and found a dirty piece of cloth on the ground. He cut it and tied it around his arm and behind the wound to stop the bleeding.
As for the wound on his stomach, the cloth wasn't enough to cover the wound. He reached for painkillers and brought more cloth with him in his bag.
After a while of searching, he found a piece of his clothes suitable for wrapping the wound and some painkillers.
Suddenly the light around him dimmed, and he noticed a shadow looming behind him.
"Didn't I tell you? You're definitely going to die here." And immediately the young man head hard before he could do anything. His fell to the ground as he looked back to find the dead boy standing right in front of him.
Before he lost consciousness, he couldn't figure out how to move with a hole in his stomach.
However, it turned out that the boy was healthy and showed no signs of fatigue or exhaustion, as if he hadn't been involved in the fight to begin with.
The hole? There was no hole, no opening in his abdomen. Despite the torn clothing he was wearing and the edges of it being burned, only a portion of his abdomen was visible, intact and healthy, with barely any scratches.
The smile disappeared from the boy's face, and he watched the young man lose consciousness. He even approached to confirm this. Then he searched his body, his pockets, and even his bag, hoping to find anything that might be useful.
He did indeed find a rifle and some bullets, a painkiller, burn ointment, his phone, and his keys.
There was also a collection of glass jars containing various colored liquids, some with a foul odor, some with a strong odor, and others with a gasoline-like odor. The boy was puzzled by their presence, especially their quantity. He had never seen anything like this before, but he didn't ignore them and assumed they were just tools or some kind of weapon, and therefore might be useful.
Minutes later, he gathered all the loot and put it in the young man's bag, where he took it and left the store, he barely paid attention to the place or the wolves' bodies that were with him, as if they were mere tools.
After leaving, he headed directly towards the truck parked in front of the city gate.
He got into the back of the truck and saw enough food and other goodies to make the cold, gloomy boy's face beam. He took out everything he found and arranged them in groups.
Then he took out a whistle and whistled it. After a minute, he heard the barking of dogs, running enthusiastically towards the boy. A group rushed forward until there were 15 dogs, wolves, and some strangely shaped animals that were unrecognizable, standing in front of the boy. They varied in size and height, with half of them standing 30-65 cm from the ground, like small puppies.
He distributed the items and boxes fairly among his group, with the smaller ones taking smaller, lighter items, and the larger ones taking larger, heavier items. He tied them up, moved on, and ordered them to follow.
He wasn't going anywhere except one place, a place of warmth, peace, and safety: home.
In this time and place, especially the town of Corredith, life was almost nonexistent despite the town's size and the diversity of its buildings. Even the wild and peaceful animals weren't found in abundance where they were supposed to be.
Yet the boy lived in a house that wasn't even luxurious, distinctive, or prominent. Would anyone do the same?
Perhaps for the boy, it wasn't like that. As he entered at 3:04 PM, he entered his house and followed his animal group.
His house was clean and tidy, with furniture of a somewhat modern style, as if things had remained normal before the incident that changed everything.
The boy had returned from the war with new spoils and provisions. He was greeted by his little sister, who called him from the kitchen and welcomed him home.
He walked down the long, almost narrow corridor and stopped at the door on his right, to see his sister's happy face.
A fifteen-year-old girl with a brown skin but slightly lighter than her brother's, she had long, prominent black hair tied in a ponytail. She was slim and wore a yellow dress with a floral pattern. She was preparing lunch by heating up some canned beans with rice.
"You are finally back! Jelian!", she said, her face sweet and innocent.
"I'm back, Nandi."
Nandi noticed the group of dogs entering, carrying their belongings, and also noticed a robe. Jelian, torn, burned, and covered in blood in parts.
Nandi frowned and shouted at Jelian, "Jelian!! ... Did you kill someone again?"
Jelian looked at her for a while, coldly, while he was also changing his torn clothes into new ones, and during that, he replied and said: "Don't worry, I didn't kill him, I just made him lose consciousness".
"Then what's that blood?".
"It's my blood. That idiot had weapons and abilities I didn't expect. He even killed my precious wolves".
"Brother..." Nandi frowned even more.
Jelian sighed heavily and put on his robes. "Nandiki,... I didn't kill him, believe me. I also got food and found he had some useful medicine for you".
"...Okay, but get those boxes out of the kitchen. They smell awful and fill the place. Also you should take a shower because lunch is ready. Don't forget to use the shampoo and soap I brought you." The younger sister acted like a mother, caring for her older brother and loving to take care of him.
Jelian had already left during her last sentence, then entered the storeroom at the end of the corridor, after emptying the boxes of the dogs and ordering them out of the house.
In reality, it wasn't a storeroom or anything like that, just a regular room. However, it was spacious and contained a set of cabinets, which Jelian used as a storage room for various types of weapons, in addition to a collection of cans of beans, tuna, sardines, and other types of food, as well as crates of natural and soft drinks, some beer, and bottles of alcohol. There were also armor, jackets, and military clothing of various colors.
Half an hour later, Jelian finished storing the goods. After another half hour, he took a shower, cleaning himself up from the mess he had caused a short while earlier.
After leaving the bathroom, he headed toward the kitchen, followed by his small animal group that hadn't left. He was carrying a soda bottle, sipping it on the way.
As he arrived at the kitchen, he said to himself, "I ruined the can of beans because I daydreamed. Nandi is going to scream at me and…"
His expression changed when he noticed that some of his animal group had changed their behavior. Anger and fear were written all over their faces, and some of them were…
With grunts and barks, they all headed towards the kitchen.
At that moment, he heard a conversation, clearly hearing Nandi talking to someone else.
He quickly ran towards the kitchen, hoping it wasn't what he was thinking, but it was.
He found that Nandi was talking to a young man sitting at a table, eating that supposed to be a Jelian's lunch. It was the same young man he had fought with earlier in the store!.
Jelian turned first to Nandi, who was standing in the corner. Her body was trembling, and her expression was filled with worry and some fear as she looked in Jelian's direction. He also noticed her hand moving as she tried to grab the knife beside her.
Nandi noticed her brother's face, which bore a look of fear, worry, and even anger. She focused on the young man in front of him. Even some of the puppies and wolves showed the same reaction.
At that moment, their eyes met between the young man and Jelian, and they began a sarcastic dialogue. "Oh, how I envy you. Your sister made such delicious food!"
"...You!...You!!! How did you get here? How did you find this place?!" Jelian shouted at him, seething with rage.
"Woah, whooah, me? You led me here!"
"Huh?!".
"Luckily, after I woke up, I ran to my truck and didn't find my things there, but I was lucky to find you entering your house".
"...Huh?...You said lucky? That's why I don't like the idea of keeping anyone alive, you idiot! This is where your luck ends".
"...Huh?...You said lucky? That's why I don't like the idea of keeping anyone alive, you idiot! This is where your luck ends".
Jelian immediately took a whistle out of his pocket and whistled it. Three huge wolves, similar to the ones that had stood with him before, came running. He ordered them to stand and activate their protective mode around Nandi.
After making sure they were safe, he rushed towards him with the intention of attacking, accompanied by some puppies. He had nothing to fight with, and didn't think much of it, but instead launched himself at the young man with a punch.
Before the punch landed, the young man had prepared well and was able to easily catch Jelian's fist, just like the previous time. He quickly pulled out police-style handcuffs and tied them around Jelian's arms, holding them from behind.
This all happened quickly and in an instant, and then Jelian kicked away, sending his body crashing to the ground.
Nandi began to panic and fear as she witnessed the situation before her. She even grabbed a knife to defend herself and pointed at the young man, terrified and trembling, barely able to stand up straight, despite standing behind the large wolves.
The young man noticed the panicked look on Nandi's face but ignored it with a cold smile. He moved a chair and sat in front of Jeliano. "Don't be so impulsive, boy. I didn't come to fight or do anything. I just came to talk".
Jeliano scoffed, "Keeheh, enough of this nonsense! Do you think I'll believe that?".
"Maybe, maybe you can't avoid it in this situation".
"Threatening me? Is that what you call talking?".
"I'm serious. Listen, I'm going to offer you a deal. If you tell me how you trained your pets, I'll provide free treatment and full medical care for you and your sister".
"A cure? Who told you we need a cure?".
"Your sister told me you're doing everything you can to find a cure for her constant bleeding. What do you think? You'll get a bigger house, unlimited food, and of course, treatment and healthcare".
"Hahaha, damn you and lick my shoes, you insect. Do you think I'm an idiot to trust you? You're not different from everyone else".
"Trust me? Hmm... I don't need your trust, just a promise. Have you heard of 'Osiroh'?"
"Huh? What's that?" he said coldly and unconcerned.
"You don't seem to follow the news or browse the internet, and you don't even know about Osiroh".
"What? Are you some kind of famous idiot?" He said it with sarcasm and mockery.
"I'll tell you, my name is Harris Aiden, ranked 10, also known as (The Blaze), and I lead a squad of people with superpowers in Osiroh.
Jelian gave Aiden a long, surprised look. "Ranked? The Blaze? Do you enjoy burning people? I bet you do".
"Hahaha, what a joke, hahaha," he said, trying to hide his anger with a smile.
"The squad and I are striving to bring as many people as possible to Osiroh, to save them and provide necessities for those in need and those who cannot survive in this unforgiving wilderness".
He took out his phone. "Here, scroll through some photos and videos to see for yourself."
"...…, yes, if I can even take the phone with my hands tied, you idiot".
"Oh, yes, yes, that's my fault...".
Indeed, Aiden himself reviewed and explained a collection of photos and videos showing various buildings and the events within them, such as the availability of schools and children entering them, a side street that appeared lively with people and vehicles, a guard shift at the gate, young men playing soccer on a small field, a fast-food restaurant with some people sitting there eating, and, of course, several shots of the health center, showing the availability of medical staff, doctors, and nurses, and the comfort and satisfaction of the patients.
Jelian watched all of this carefully and couldn't hide his shock, as it caught his attention greatly.
Is this real? Does such a place exist? Can Nandi be saved? Is this hope? These were the questions running through his mind as he looked toward his sister, filled with expressions of bewilderment.
The other responded with confusion and concern after seeing her brother staring at her.
After much thought, "What..., how can you confirm that this isn't fake? That these aren't old videos?" Jelian asked.
Aiden knew at that moment that he'd been caught by the offer, and he was still hesitant, but that was enough for him. He smiled and said, "I knew you'd say that. I have a lot of evidence that...".
Wooph!, wooph!, WOOPH!!!.
Suddenly, they both heard barking from outside the window, and a loud banging on the glass, which caught the attention of everyone in the kitchen.
"What's up with your dogs?" he asked, confused.
Jelian replied, "Looks like some idiot came to town and met his end".
Wooph!, wooph!!!.
Then another puppy appeared. "Oh, two idiots!" He smiled.
Wooph!, wooph!!!.
Another puppy appeared. "Three!!" He couldn't hide his shock.
Wooph!, wooph!!!.
And again, another dog appeared. "..." He was very surprised.
WOOPH!, WOOPH!, WOOPH!, WOOPH!, WOOPH!!!.
And then another dog, and another, until a large group of his various pets, all of whom he'd spread out across town, called out. Jelian was speechless and looked at the situation in shock.
"What's going on?" Aiden asked.
Jelian frowned. "It seems like a group of people has arrived! No, that's too many? Is it an army or something?"
"An army???" Aiden was a little intrigued by the matter.
"There are several entrances to Coredith, and each one has three or four guard dogs stationed at it".
The air became heavier and more tense than before. For Jelian, he had never seen such a sight before.
At that moment, Jelian moved first. He was able to free himself from the handcuffs hanging on him, having broken his thumbs to loosen them.
He first calmed the barking group outside with a whistle and ordered them to wait in their seats. Then he quickly went to the storeroom. There, he quickly changed into armor and a bulletproof vest. He grabbed two MP5 submachine guns and bundles of ammunition.
He took with him a small emergency bag like this one, containing smoke bombs, grenades, explosive charges, and a set of knives and daggers.
He returned to the kitchen, fully prepared, confident, and armed, and pointed at Aiden. "Listen, man. You're coming with me now. I won't leave you behind me with her".
Aiden didn't think much and had already agreed to go out with him. "Wa… Hey, Jelian , you haven't eaten your food yet!" Nandi said to Jelian , worried about him, but they had all already left.
Jelian charged at full speed toward the new enemy that had appeared, carrying the backpack behind his back and his weapons in his hands. However, it didn't seem to weigh him down or slow him down, and he moved lightly despite the weight of the items.
Minutes later, he reached one of Corredith's main streets, but quickly hid behind a wall and concealed himself.
Peeking into the street, he noticed four military men, dressed in white and fully armed, walking along the diamond formation. Two were on either side, watching the sides. One was in the front, watching ahead, and hadn't noticed Jelian in front of him. Finally, the person directing and leading the team was in the back, sending and receiving instructions on his handheld radio.
Jelian noticed Aiden's absence and mocked him. "That slow idiot!" He wanted to use him to fight them and take the spoils from both of them, but that was happening, and he had to act alone.
On the opposite side, the front man noticed something and immediately aimed his weapon forward, shouting, "Stop right there! Identify yourself, boy!"
The team he was with was surprised. They all looked forward to finding someone moving toward them.
It was an armored boy with a gun in his right hand, walking slowly and with composure.
The entire team began aiming at Jelian, and the front man shouted again, "I told you to stop right there!!!".
But the boy didn't respond. He continued walking towards them and didn't stop. After the man in the back sent information about the situation via his radio to the higher command, he received permission to fight, and indeed ordered immediate firing!.
Taa, taa, taaa!!!....
Then the three of them began firing at Jelian, not caring if he was a child, a woman, or an innocent person. They cared only about the order directed at them.
But they couldn't hit him, as he moved quickly and carefully avoided the bullets. Then he grabbed the machine gun and began firing at the squad.
None of the bullets hit the team, as it was difficult to fire while moving that way.
When he got close enough to them, he threw his weapon, quickly pulled out his dagger, and rushed towards the man in the vanguard.
The man was surprised by how close Jelian was to him, and he too jumped up, aiming his dagger at the man, managing to hit his neck.
The wound wasn't deep and would have been fatal had the soldier in the rear appeared from behind with a stick and struck Jelian hard in the face until he was thrown away and fell to the ground.
He took full advantage of that moment and ordered him to be shot while he was on the ground, and a torrent of fire and bullets rained down on that spot.
Taa taa taaa, tttaaaa...!!!.
After a minute, the firing stopped, creating a cloud of dust that almost obscured anything they could see, but they could see Jelian, a lifeless body on the ground, his right arm completely gone, along with his right face, head, and shoulder. There were even obvious holes in his right side, his abdomen gushing with blood.
After examining them and confirming that there was no movement, the commander relayed his message via his radio, informing him that the enemy had been eliminated.
Taaaakh!!!.
But suddenly, one of the soldiers was hit from behind and fell to the ground. The commander and the rest of the team were shocked as they stared at the soldier, blood pouring from his head.
Immediately, they all turned around to find an unimaginable sight: the boy, whose right side of his body had been completely torn off, and even his head, half destroyed to the point that his brain was protruding from it, standing in front of them, holding a weapon pointed at them, saying with a mocking smile.
"I'm not done with you yet".