Chapter 16 - Unpredictability

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Countless screams are heard, and the atmosphere, which already felt dense and suffocating, now becomes unbearable. Uneasiness and chaos reign once more.

The sharp, high-pitched whinnying of horses echoes in the distance. The wooden carts and vehicles lining the road leave the paved road and enter the nearby forest.

Kazuki and Rei exchange glances, look ahead, then exchange glances again, startled.

They turn to the driver and lean their heads slightly out of the carriage. Both stare stunned.

They're taken aback by the sight: the street is in ruins, engulfed in flames, fragments of wagons scattered everywhere. People are running frantically, disoriented, screaming for their lives.

Some try to escape from the street, wounded, crawling miserably. In the end, however, they die from inhaling the carbon dioxide and cyanide that fill the air. A horrible scene indeed.

Several events unfold at that moment, making it impossible to process everything at once.

While Rei and Kazuki are absorbed in observing the chaotic scene from a distance, their thoughts are abruptly interrupted by the shaking, cold voice of the coachman standing beside them.

"F-for heaven's sake... T-There's a demon general on the road. What the hell is he doing in such an insignificant place like this?" he stammers, his eyes wide with horror as he points to the sky, his entire body shaking with fear, unable to believe what he's seeing.

Upon hearing his words, Kazuki and Rei immediately turn their gaze to the sky and notice the silhouette of a being hovering above them.

It's too far away to make out clearly, but the presence of two massive wings extending from its body is unmistakable.

A red spark near the creature begins to grow larger by the second.

These sparks take shape and turn into massive fireballs that rain down on the wagons and people in the street.

Several fireballs are launched from the mysterious creature. It seems to indiscriminately destroy everything in its path. And unfortunately, many people begin to perish.

In this moment of madness, Rei regains some of his senses and rolls his eyes in despair before noticing that the merchant is still frozen, not moving a single muscle as he stares fixedly at the sky.

The boy shakes slightly, doing his best to suppress his nerves - the uncertainty is constantly tormenting him.

Trying to shake off these negative feelings, the student turns sharply toward the merchant and suddenly yells at him.

"Mister, wake up! If we don't get out of here right now, we're all going to die!"

Hearing the boy's urgent cry, the merchant comes out of his trance and quickly urges the horses forward, trying to steer the carriage off the road and into the forest like the other vehicles.

But as fate loves to play tricks on men...

A massive fireball of absurdly colossal size becomes clearer and more visible. It seems to be heading straight for them.

"Shit..." Eyes wide with terror, the merchant stares as the fireball slowly approaches.

"Fuck… If that thing reaches us, we're dead. Shit, shit. What should I do?"

"Mia and Takayo are still in the back. We won't make it out in time... Even if we did, we'd be caught in the impact... Fuck."

The student quickly opens his status screen and scans all his abilities at a glance.

"...Yeah, this should work."

Just as they're about to be hit, Rei activates a skill he acquired upon leveling up.

[Angelic Barrier]

A huge, divine, transparent barrier forms around the carriage and horses.

When the fireball hits its surface, the flames gradually dissipate until there's no trace left of the once deadly attack.

At that moment, the boy shakes the still paralyzed merchant once more, who practically plays dead.

Then they quickly leave the street and head for a safer area in the nearby forest.

Feeling an unsettling sensation looming over them, the boy looks back and notices that the airborne creature is staring directly at them.

A shiver runs down his spine. He expects the creature to attack again or come after them... But nothing happens. 'Is it not going to do anything?' he wonders in bewilderment.

The creature hovering in the sky examines the carriage heading into the forest and then turns away, uninterested.

"Hmm..."

"Interesting."

"Someone managed to neutralize my ability..."

"...I have no time to waste killing these insects," he mumbles as he flies through the air, heading towards the destroyed village.

...

[Minutes Later]

[Past Perspective]

"??" places a hand over the fragmented remains of something grotesque on the ground, trying to analyze the last moments of its existence.

"Interesting... So a human managed to destroy the Master's creation..."

"...I must report this to my king," he mumbles before jumping into the sky and taking flight.

"All anomalies in the plan must be eliminated so that the Master's will may unfold accordingly."

His figure slowly fades into the distance as he flies south.

To be continued...