The gunshot was loud, echoing throughout the store. Everyone rushed to Vincent's location, taking out their own guns.
Talia was more cautious as she only had a butterfly knife and brass knuckles. This was her personal defense whenever she went out on a "night stroll."
There were two more people besides the ones writhing on the ground.
The first one rushed toward Vincent, hunting knife in hand. They made a hesitant noise as they plunged it forward, but Vincent dodged backward.
Another slash cut through his winter coat and into his chest. The new assailant arched it with his unstable posture.
[-4 hp]
Vincent hissed, internally grateful for having 21 max health points, before kicking him in the gut.
Bang!
He shot at the guy's foot as well, struggling to keep himself from aiming at the hand holding the knife.
'What do you need to shoot that for? Revenge, really? Get it together.'
Angel encountered the other one, tapping a woman peeking into another aisle by the shoulder with her revolver, eyes narrowed. When the woman turned, she froze from Angel's cold gaze.
"Down." Angel flicked her gun down, her voice deep.
The woman was already at her wits' end. She obediently dropped down, raising her hands in surrender.
"P-Please, I-I'm not one of them! We just didn't want to be alone…!"
"Quiet." Angel inched the barrel closer to the woman's temple. "I'm not a very patient person. I want you to answer my questions. How many are in your group?"
"O-Okay, okay. S-Seven."
"Where are the rest?"
The woman's face distorted, distress evident in her expression. Hot tears started falling, steaming and then freezing before they reached the ground.
"P-Please help—They've gone with my husband! They're planning to use him as bait! They saw you guys from a mile away. They want your guns…!"
Angel studied her face, the fear in her eyes, the care for the person she called her husband, and though she didn't drop all her guard, she believed the woman.
"Get up. I won't hurt you as long as you do as I say."
"Yes, yes!"
Angel brought the woman to where Vincent was and found Talia helping Daniel tie up the three people groaning in pain with ropes they found in the store.
Vincent was ghostly pale. Though he stood there with his back straight, Angel could see his faintly trembling hands, holding the gun down.
Wordlessly, Angel took off her left glove and rested her warm hand on top of his, silently reassuring him with her heat.
"There are three more. One of them is this woman's husband. She said they're planning to use him as bait."
Vincent rebuilt his composure, his hold on the gun loosening. "Bait? What for?"
The woman looked like she was waiting for that exact question, but before she could reply, Vincent held his hand up to stop her.
"Shh!"
Everyone, including the people tied up, froze reflexively. They couldn't help it. Vincent had an air of authority that clearly didn't fit with his appearance, and yet it was very effective.
The sudden silence was deafening, but only a moment later, the faintest of tremors and the sound of the wind picking up became clear.
"We need to leave!" Vincent decided. Even with his guess being only 70%, it was still too high for his liking.
"W-Wait! Please! Help my husband! We'll do anything for your team!"
The woman caught Vincent's arm, struggling to clutch at his winter coat. But her panic was palpable.
Vincent's gaze moved from the woman to the people tied up. His mind and body fought.
Rationale told him to leave—the siblings' lives were more important. And though these strangers were clumsy at it, they had still planned and steeled themselves to hurt another human.
But his body locked up. His morals kept him grounded.
'Fuck! I know I have to adapt. These things will be common from here on. But… But goddamn, I guess I'm still human…'
Vincent inhaled sharply. "Go—to the backrooms! Don't make any noise. You won't get another chance."
Everyone collectively released a breath.
Daniel and Angel saw the relief in each other's eyes before they helped guide everyone to the backroom. Vincent took the rear, his confusion gone now that he had made a decision.
The backroom was spacious, looking untouched. Some forklifts and boxes were in the way as if the people who had been working here left in a hurry.
The tremors grew stronger as they found a place to hide.
Vincent let them decide who was going with him.
"I'm going to need Talia, but there should be someone to keep an eye on them as well."
"I'm going." Angel stated, staring straight into her brother's soul as if she meant to chain him on the spot.
Daniel was exasperated. "God, you don't have to look at me like that. Don't worry, I won't fight for the main bitch's spot," he murmured.
Angel kicked the back of his knee, effectively buckling him.
Vincent frowned. "Why are you fighting?"
"It's nothing. He called me a bitch. Let's go."
Her reply was so casual, coupled with how regularly they called each other names, that Vincent let it go.
After getting a description of what the woman's husband looked like, the three of them left.
The intensity of the tremors spiked, the sound growing nearer, becoming apparent that they were the footsteps of a massive creature.
Outside, a blizzard came abruptly, tethered to the boss of the zone.
Three people were running for their lives, unaware that their predator was playing with its food.
The six-meter-tall creature had a sinister smile, its dark blue eyes glinting with malice. Icicle furs dominated its back, its dark grey skin bulging with veins, muscles bursting with power.
The troll's arms reached the ground without bending its knees, using its knuckles to push itself up and forward, snorting with glee.
[Frost Troll*] a purple name tag.
"Hey!!! Help us!!!"
That sounded like someone who regretted his actions. Pure terror shook his voice, and though the biting chill hurt his lungs, he pushed through the pain.
"Help us!!! Please!!!"
One of them was crying with frozen snot, red-faced from the cold. He looked nothing like the homeless crew, his white perfect teeth flashing.
Just then, the wind dragged them toward the troll. Its mouth opened wide, sucking in the air—a preparation to roar.
Bang! Bang!
Vincent shot its throat, and Angel hit its eye.
The disruption was successful. It wailed in a low frequency instead, black blood dripping from its wounds.
The three men who stumbled back were in a daze, disbelieving that someone had really come to their rescue.
"What are you doing? Keep running!"
Vincent counted his remaining bullets—five. He had given six each to the siblings.
Just as they prepared to run, the troll's injured eye healed. Seeing them stunned, its mouth morphed into a mocking grin.
"Huhahaha!"
Bang!
The exact same eye was shot again.
Angel snorted, checking her bullets while arching her brows. "I've got four more of that, buddy. And I have a really good aim."
The troll paused, taken aback by the audacity of its food. The eye healed again, and madness flashed, its veins pulsing with rage.
It roared in indignation, punching the ground, pushing the piled-up snow back with its sheer force, revealing the street.
Everyone but Talia held their ground.
Frustrated, she got up and used her skill. Her eyes glowed purple as she spoke in an otherworldly language. A purple magic circle appeared underneath the troll, and a blast of dark ice shot into the sky.
[-Resisted-]
"What?! Hey, Cents, it says the troll is resistant!"
Vincent cursed, preparing for the worst. But seeing the troll's movements visibly slow, his eyes lit up.
"It's working. But your spell's strength has been halved. No worries. That will do."
Vincent and Angel started their harassment. They had no plans of actually killing it—he knew that would be impossible.
They stayed out of its range, shooting the same eye whenever it attempted to prepare a roar again.
Half a minute later, when Vincent was sure the three men were gone, he took the aggro. "Don't follow me. I'll lead it away!"
"Cents!" Angel was alarmed.
"I'll meet you back at the store!"
Angel wasn't planning to obey, but Talia caught her arm and kept her in place.
"Listen to him. It's going to be difficult to shake the boss off if there are two people."
Talia slightly regretted her spell, as blinking meant the troll would regain its original speed for a split second. But at the same time, it was incredibly useful.
Angel bit her lip, unconvinced, but Talia was strong, and she didn't have the heart to hit her best friend.
"Fuck!" She stomped the ground, slightly teary from worry.
They stayed there until Talia could no longer see the troll through the fog, and she internally prayed for Vincent's safety. She had mustered those words to convince Angel, but even she didn't have that much trust in Vincent's abilities.