Taking a sharp right, Theo kept running.

The desperate cries for help slowly faded behind him, replaced by screams that made his blood curl.

’I’m sorry!’ he thought, gritting his teeth. ’But I can’t take all of you out of here.’

’Not when my parents are still at risk.’

Splash! Splash!

Theo shot through another flooded alleyway at full speed, his spear tightly clenched in one hand.

At the next intersection, he briefly spotted two hunters completely surrounded by a wave of Ironclaw Crabs.

Spell after spell hit the crabs, yet none seemed to hesitate even a second.

Before Theo even got the chance to think, one of the hunters had already been grabbed by his legs and pulled underwater.

Blood exploded into the air the next second.

The other hunter’s head had been crushed between the crabs’ claws.

’Shit!’ he thought, shaking his head with a clenched jaw.

Without hesitating any longer, Theo immediately dashed across the intersection.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

The Ironclaw Crabs barely even noticed him, too busy tearing apart the hunters beneath the water.

Theo forced himself not to look back.

The moment he reached the opposite alleyway, he immediately slid behind a half-collapsed truck and caught his breath for half a second.

His heart pounded violently inside his chest.

’I’ve barely used my mana,’ he thought, pressing his back against the truck. ’And we’re not that far anymore.’

Farther ahead, he could already recognize part of the district.

Several familiar signs barely remained attached to shattered buildings while overturned cars blocked half the flooded roads.

’I’m at the restaurant part now,’ he thought, eyes narrowing slightly. ’I’m a little over halfway there then.’

If nothing major blocked his path, he could probably reach his parents within fifteen minutes.

Theo closed his eyes for a moment, his jaw clenched tightly.

’Please... be alright!’

As he opened his eyes again, his gaze shifted slightly beside him.

There, a middle-aged man hung halfway out of the truck’s shattered driver’s seat.

Or... what was left of him.

One side of his torso had been completely torn open, exposing broken ribs and dark red flesh beneath the soaked remains of a business suit.

His dead eyes still stared blankly toward the street ahead.

One hand remained tightly wrapped around the steering wheel.

Theo’s chest tightened.

For a split second, he imagined his father’s corpse.

’No,’ he thought, shaking his head. ’I can’t be too late.’

He immediately forced the thought away and looked elsewhere.

But the image had already burned itself into his mind.

His grip tightened around his spear as he pushed himself off the ground again.

Theo slowly peeked farther ahead into the district.

The restaurant area was one he wasn’t particularly familiar with.

Though he was painfully aware of one thing — the back alleys weren’t going to be that easy anymore.

They weren’t as narrow, had many twists and turns due to the non-standard sizes of the restaurants, and were filled with food that’d attract creatures.

If he continued using them to get around, he’d constantly be forced to slow down.

Theo’s gaze shifted to the main street.

’Do I go through there then?’

It stretched out in a clean straight line before getting to the turn he needed.

But... everything was laid out in the open.

Even from here, he spotted multiple moving figures alongside dozens of human and monster corpses.

’If a strong creature suddenly appears...’ he thought, pressing his lips into a thin line. ’I don’t think I’d be able to run.’

And if there’s any place they’d roam, it’d be on the main streets.

Theo remained crouched behind the truck for several long seconds.

His heartbeat slowly began pounding louder and louder inside his ears.

’Make a decision!’ he thought. ’Make a damn decision already!’

The thumping of his heart slowly drowned out all other sound around him.

Then—

He slowly pushed himself back up.

’Let’s risk it,’ he thought, sucking in a deep breath.

’I’d much rather do that... than be too late.’

Without another second of hesitation, Theo dashed out from beneath the truck.

He kept to the left side of the buildings as he sprinted forward at full speed.

The moment he fully stepped out into the open, several creatures immediately noticed him.

Gurgling screeches echoed out through the district.

Theo’s expression darkened slightly, pushing himself to go even faster.

CRACK!

An insect-like creature lunged through a pane of glass in front of him.

It spun around, swinging one of its arms at him.

Theo didn’t slow down.

SWISH!

His spear severed the arm in one clean strike.

Theo leaned down slightly and kicked off the ground, his spear slicing straight through its neck.

Blood sprayed through the flooded street as the creature’s head spun away.

Theo didn’t even look back, his attention focused on the next creatures.

’D-ranks!’

Two stores ahead, he spotted a group of five fishmen, each holding a trident in their hands.

One of them pointed it at him, a blue ball already forming at the tip.

Theo’s eyes narrowed instantly.

KRRRZZT!

The blue orb shot toward him like a cannonball.

Theo twisted sideways just in time.

BOOM!

The projectile exploded through the restaurant wall behind him, sending shattered glass and chunks of concrete everywhere.

The other fishmen raised their tridents immediately.

Theo didn’t hesitate.

He formed two lightning bolts and shot them forward in an instant.

The fishmen froze for a split second.

But the bolts completely missed them.

The fishmen looked at each other for a moment, then turned to Theo as they continued forming large balls of water on their tridents.

’Got you,’ Theo thought, still running toward them.

Two lightning bolts had stopped far behind the creatures and rapidly began spinning around each other.

Just then, five large water spheres shot toward him.

Theo immediately raised his hand, forming a large water shield in front of him.

BOOM!

The shock slid him to a halt, even forcing him a couple of steps back.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

The fishmen sensed it immediately.

They spun around, locking onto a large cloud swirling with yellow lightning.

"Too late," Theo muttered, jumping out of the shallow water. "Lightning storm."

Instantly, the yellow lightning gathered into a single bright mass.

Then—

BOOM!

It shot out in a massive, devastating beam.

A deafening explosion echoed through the district as yellow lightning swallowed the street whole.

The fishmen didn’t even get a chance, the entire group disintegrating on the spot.

Other nearby creatures weren’t spared either.

Lightning crackled through the remaining water, frying their nervous systems and stopping their hearts.

After a few seconds, silence settled over the street.

Theo glanced at the massive groove it had left behind, raising one of his eyebrows.

’It’s... gotten much stronger,’ he thought, jumping back onto the ground. ’And it doesn’t drain me that much either.’

From what he felt, he was more than fine using the same spell several more times.

Without wasting another second, Theo sprinted forward again.

His body shot through the district at full speed, the smell of burned flesh lingering behind him.

He passed restaurant after restaurant, each completely destroyed and filled with corpses.

One building had caved in completely, trapping several corpses under the rubble.

Men, women, children, elderly... none had been spared.

Theo’s attention remained fully on the road though.

’Corner,’ he thought, staring ahead. ’From there it’s just a straight line!’

Within seconds, he rounded the corner—

And immediately slid to a halt.

A deep frown appeared on his face as he stared into the distance.

Far down the flooded street, a massive group of people stood gathered together, each waving their arms up.

There were easily dozens, no... well over a hundred of them.

Above them, sitting on top of a bus stop, were two young beautiful girls.

Both wore pure white bikinis, revealing the rest of their hourglass-like bodies while wearing extremely sweet smiles.

Their gazes had long fallen on him, having seen the commotion earlier.

’What the hell is going on here...?’

That’s when a soft melody entered his ears.

His gaze snapped to the young girls, seeing them giggle as they sang.

Theo’s eyes slowly widened.

For a moment, the ruined city around him seemed to disappear.

The screams, the corpses, the creatures... everything faded away.

Their singing sounded strangely warm, almost comforting.

His body unconsciously began stepping forward.

Suddenly, soft thuds began echoing through his mind, interrupting the melody just slightly.

Then—

Someone violently yanked his arm backward.

Theo snapped out of his daze instantly.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" an angry but familiar voice shouted beside him. "Do you want to die or something?!"

Theo’s eyes widened.

He immediately turned around.

"Owen?!"