Despite their strong determination, their efforts were not enough to make an impact. "The beasts' numbers are so great. Even if we all follow that fallen man's lead, we will all die before a third of the beasts are gone.
And we cannot ignore the possibility that we are not as determined or as powerful as he was to endure such pain.
We have only survived this long because," one man said, catching his breath and gathering his strength, "because they are merely toying with us. If we are to defeat them, we need real power."
A man behind him agreed, nodding his head. He lowered his gaze to an old, rusted block of iron or some other metal, resembling a poorly crafted knife blade. Holding the blade, he said in a hopeless tone, "Yes, if we had a real weapon," looking down at his blade.
A beast roared and began moving towards them. The people were filled with fear, but they stood their ground. "Looks like their break is over," one man said, watching the beast approach.
The beast, hearing his voice, changed direction and headed towards him. Despite this, the man wasn't afraid. He muttered, "I am not afraid. Even if I am killed here, she was able to escape, and that's fine by me. I will buy as much time as my body allows."
The man braced himself for an attack. As the beast drew closer, his heartbeat fluctuated wildly. Despite his fear, he didn't let it show. When the beast was just a few meters away, it charged, but it was stopped by a strange presence.
Due to its lack of focus, its attack backfired, blasting its own mouth, and its lower jaw fell to the ground.The beast felt no pain, staring at the sky, towards where the women and children were hiding.
Suddenly, a bluish light flashed in the sky. Before anyone could react, the beast was cut in half. The two halves moved in opposite directions, revealing a strange, sword-like blade, old and rusted, yet radiating power, completely covered in bluish energy, giving the tiny item the shape and power of a blade or a sword.
The blade pulsed with power again and flew back to its source. The floating bluish-green energy merged with the blade, causing its power to explode.
The sky turned bluish-green with the glow of the blade, which fell with lightning speed towards the women and children. Everyone closed their eyes, and before anyone could react, the strange item exploded in that area.
The people who were trying to protect their future were jolted back to reality when they saw the dust cloud. Their hearts clenched with intense pain, and their hope and desire to fight began to fade. But some of their eyes turned red with anger.
"Wait..." Before they could think further, one of them rushed towards the beasts, shouting, "Even if I end up dying, what difference will it make...?" He paused deliberately, but his speed didn't slow; it increased.
He continued, "I have already planned to die, but not standing still, but after killing one of them..."
Another man rushed from the group. As he approached the man ahead, he saw him smiling. The first man said, his face alight with a smile, "I know you feel the same, Tlenion."
Tlenion replied with a smile, "Yes! I do, Carciyan."
"Okay, let's do this together." They both roared and charged towards the beasts.
Their fists tightened, and their eyes shone with renewed determination. "NOW!!!" they both roared again and punched the beast in its chest.
The beast, its eyes still fixed on the sky, roared. Its arms, covered in reddish-black energy, punched the person closest to it.
"TLENION!!" Carciyan roared and prepared his attack. His fist glowed with light purple energy as he watched the beast's attack change its path.
In contrast, the remaining people lacked courage, and some were lost in thought. However, everyone was intensely focused on the settling dust cloud.
One of them looked towards the sky, pondering. "This is strange. It's not burning, but something is odd. The energy is like his, but..." He looked towards the fallen hero and continued after a brief pause, "it's still different."
As the dust cloud settled, they saw the area was completely empty. Some fell to their knees, some lost the strength to stand, and some remained frozen.
Despite this, everyone turned their heads away, their emotions causing their hearts to ache. However, some still tried to look, and when they saw the dust cloud, they lost both interest and courage.
"Hey, hello, hey..." a voice echoed in the silence, but it was too weak to reach their dispersed souls. "Now I'm hearing things..." one of the people who had stood to protect them said. Still in a daze, he added, looking towards the beasts, "We are already half-dead.
Even if we survive this, it's not worth it. So, I will die killing them."
Everyone nodded. "Yes, let's at least die a proud death," one man standing next to him said. He smiled and said, "I am also hearing things."