Overwhelming Firepower

Despite the fear and madness trying to devour him, Alexander stepped forward. He had made a promise to protect those within his reach; for that promise, that wish, he would never back down.

The being above the red sky was something beyond words, beyond understanding, beyond everything, but Alexander was determined to protect everyone. It didn’t matter if it was a God or an Overlord, he would stand before them to save everyone within his reach.

Alexander’s legs trembled. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run. His aura mantle flickered violently. Facing the being above the sky, reality itself seemed to be bending into something distorted.

The whispers seemed to be growing louder. The sound did not enter through his ears, but it seemed to be echoing endlessly in his mind.

They spoke in countless voices at once, voices that sounded ancient, sorrowful, joyous, furious, and utterly alien.

Alexander could not understand a single sentence. Yet every word threatened to shatter his sanity. Blood started to slowly trickle from his nose, and his vision was starting to get blurry.

Alexander resisted with everything he had, reinforcing his Aura Mantle, but even that protection was beginning to weaken.

Yet even with all that, even without any weapon, he needed to do something. He never planned on fighting that thing in the sky, which would lead to nothing but his demise.

Rather than throwing his life away against something he could not defeat, he would focus on saving everyone he could.

Alexander forced himself to look away from the impossible being. The moment he did, the pressure on his mind weakened slightly. The volume of the voices had lessened a bit, so he was able to think a little more properly.

Alexander slowly approached Cael, who was the only one able to move among his companions.

Cael was still on one knee, one hand gripping the hilt of his sword while the other pressed against the ground. His breathing was uneven, and dark veins had begun spreading from his neck toward his face.

His eyes were open, but they were not focused on anything before him. Instead, he was staring at something Alexander could not see.

”Cael?”

Just like with the others, he was not responding at all and was only looking at something beyond.

Alexander could not believe it. Ever since knowing Cael, he seemed like a person who would cut down anything on his path, but now he could not even raise his sword.

Whatever Cael was seeing had trapped him somewhere Alexander could not reach. Alexander gritted his teeth, strengthened his aura mantle with his willpower, and carried Cael on his shoulders.

He placed Cael beside the remains of a black stone building, then turned to rescue the others.

Seeing as the being in the sky was not doing anything except messing with his mind, all he needed to do was endure while he saved everyone.

Alexander left Cael resting beside the remains of a black stone building and hurried toward Mina.

The tendril holding her twitched as he approached, but it did not attack. It merely pulsed like a vein connected to some enormous unseen heart.

Alexander strengthened the aura around his hands before grabbing it. The moment his fingers touched its surface, countless voices entered his mind.

He saw a vast ocean beneath stars that had never shone upon his world. Something slept beneath the water, so large that its slightest movement drowned entire civilizations.

He saw people kneeling beneath a sky filled with mouths. He saw himself among them; he was smiling, even worshipping that thing. Alexander bit down on his tongue. The pain brought him back.

”I don’t have time for your nonsense!”

His golden-white aura flared around his fingers. Alexander pulled with everything he had, tearing the tendril apart. Black liquid spilled across the street.

It did not fall normally. The droplets crawled along the stone, moving toward the shadows as though trying to hide from him.

As Mina was falling to the ground, Alexander caught her. Alexander looked at his childhood friend with worry.

”Mina...”

Alexander, who was holding her, felt that Mina’s body was ice cold; if it weren’t for the fact that he could still feel a pulse, he would have thought she was dead.

Alexander quickly carried her back and placed her carefully beside Cael. Neither of them responded, but their chests continued to rise.

He then continued to rescue the others. Each one of them had the same blank look on their faces.

Once he had gathered them all up, Alexander planned to carry each of them at the same time out of this evil-looking place.

With his Aura Mantle, he was able to carry them on his shoulders and back with ease.

Their physical weight was nothing compared to the pressure bearing down upon his mind.

Alexander placed Cael and Ryan across his shoulders while carrying Mina and Nina beneath each arm. Catherine clung weakly to his back, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck.

It was an awkward position, but he could move. That was all that mattered. ”I’m taking everyone home, and then I’ll come back to save everyone else,” Alexander murmured to himself, trying to encourage himself.

As he was walking out of the eerie town, the people started looking at him. They did not speak, nor did they move, but they were all staring at him. Alexander ignored them.

Each step carried him closer to the edge of town. His companions were heavy, but their weight was reassuring. He could feel their breathing, faint as it was.

They were alive, and that was all that mattered. As long as they lived, there was always something they could do; there was always hope.

The black road slowly changed back into packed dirt. Beyond the last row of crooked buildings, Alexander could see the burning forest.

Just a little farther. Once he brought his companions somewhere safe, he would return for the villagers.

It was at that moment that everything became silent. The distant crackling of the burning forest vanished.

The murmured prayers behind Alexander stopped. Even the footsteps he made against the dirt no longer produced a sound.

Alexander dared not look back as he continued walking. It was then that he felt Catherine tightening her hold on him. She whispered in his ear.

”The voices have stopped humming... He is now looking at us...”

Alexander did not even need to ask who she meant. The enormous eye above the blood-red sky shifted.

Its pupil moved away from whatever distant thing it had been watching and settled upon the small figure carrying five people toward the forest.

Alexander’s entire body locked. The pressure was not like killing intent. Killing intent came from something that wished to kill you.

This was entirely different. The being did not hate him. It did not even seem angry. Its attention carried the same curiosity a person might show toward an insect crawling away with something from their table.

A thought had forcibly entered Alexander’s mind. ’They Belong To Me.’

His knees struck the ground. Cael and Ryan nearly slipped from his shoulders, but Alexander tightened his hold. Blood burst from his nose, and the golden-white aura around him cracked like glass.

Behind him, the villagers began laughing. Alexander gritted his teeth as he stood back up and replied. ”They belong to no one!”

’Leave Them Here.’

Alexander felt something inside his mind begin to tear. Memories slipped away at the edges. For a heartbeat, he forgot the name of the village, then the road he had taken, then even the sound of his father’s voice.

He bit through his lip until blood filled his mouth. ”NO!”

The golden-white aura around him flickered. He forced one foot forward, and then another. ”I said... I’m taking everyone home!”

Alexander took another step. The pressure followed him, growing heavier with every step. His knees bent, his bones creaked, and blood poured from his mouth, but he refused to loosen his grip on anyone.

The forest was close; he could feel it, he could make it, only a few more steps, and he was there.

Then the command returned, heavier than before. ’Leave Them.’

Alexander’s vision darkened. It was then that he finally understood. The being above was not even actively trying to harm him, yet its voice alone placed unbearable pressure upon his body and mind. That meant this was a being that could erase him with but a thought.

Alexander stopped. If he continued carrying them, the pressure would crush all six before reaching the forest. Slowly, he lowered his companions, placing himself between them and the watching eye.

There was only one solution he could think of, to make sure his companions survive. ”Take me instead!”

The eye did not answer. Why would it?

To the being beyond the red sky, Alexander’s words were no different from the buzzing of an insect.

Yet its pupil narrowed. Not because it accepted his offer, but because the creature before it had refused to obey.

This time, the being actually put all its attention on Alexander. The second it did so, Alexander felt a pressure like no other pushing him down.

His aura mantle shattered. Bones cracked beneath his skin. Blood began flowing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Alexander understood then: there would be no bargain, no mercy, no answer. To that vast existence, his life was less than dust.

If its attention was what bound them, then he would take all of it. Even if that attention crushed him, he only needed to hold it long enough for the others to escape.

The golden white light of his aura was now being enveloped by something brighter than the sun. Alexander had entered his burst mode.

The whispers surrounding his companions weakened as the entirety of the being’s attention shifted toward him. He looked behind him and saw that his companions were slowly waking up.

Seeing that scene, Alexander smiled, feeling relieved that his theory was correct. He then started running deeper into the village, farther away from his companions.

Alexander felt his body was burning from the inside out as his vision was getting darker, but still he ran until the golden light around him began to fade.

The thing above followed, its attention swallowing the town, the sky, and finally him. His body broke, yet he kept moving until his legs no longer answered.

Alexander looked back one final time. Beyond the consuming darkness, through a narrow fracture of golden light, he saw his companions escape into the forest.

Even though he was unable to save the other people in town, at least his companions were saved. That alone was enough for him, and he was engulfed in darkness with a smile on his face.