Gyan felt his lungs burning as he and Rendi kept running through the ruins. Their breaths were heavy, hearts pounding, legs nearly giving out. But they couldn't stop.
Behind them, the ashen mist surged like a stormy ocean. The thick fog swallowed everything, reducing their visibility to barely five meters. The shattered buildings loomed like shadowy silhouettes in the emptiness, creating a suffocating sense of isolation. From within the mist, heavy footsteps echoed, shaking the ground and filling the air with suffocating tension. Something big... something not human.
"Yan! This is bad, they're getting closer!" Rendi shouted between ragged breaths.
Gyan glanced back briefly, but all he saw was a wall of mist, swallowing everything in its path. Then, from within the swirling dust and ash, a dark silhouette emerged. Slowly, its form became clearer with each heavy step.
It was over two meters tall, with a muscular body and dark blue skin that glistened under the dim light. Two pairs of arms hung at its sides, each gripping something that resembled curved swords—almost as if they were an extension of its body.
But the most terrifying thing was its eyes—dimly glowing orbs piercing through the darkness like ghostly lanterns. Its gaze was not wild like a mindless beast, but sharp and calculating. It was studying them... reading their movements.
Then, something unexpected happened. The creature grinned.
Like a hunter who had just found an interesting prey.
A chill ran down Gyan's spine. This wasn't just a mindless monster relying on instinct. It knew exactly what it was doing. It was enjoying the moment.
"Don't look back! Keep running!" Gyan grabbed Rendi's arm, forcing him to keep moving.
The monster let out a low sound, almost like suppressed laughter, before leaping forward with a speed unnatural for its massive frame. The air trembled, sending dust and debris flying around it.
And suddenly, time seemed to slow for Gyan.
A sharp premonition stabbed into his mind—a feeling he couldn't explain. He didn't know how, but in a fraction of a second, he saw something. A shadow—no, a possibility.
The monster would attack with its left hand first. He could see the trajectory of the strike in an impossibly brief moment.
On instinct, Gyan shoved Rendi aside and threw himself to the ground.
At that exact moment, the monster's curved blade sliced through the air just inches above their heads, slamming into the concrete with an ear-shattering crash. Dust and shattered debris exploded around them.
The monster turned its head toward Gyan, its eyes narrowing. As if it had realized something.
Gyan himself was stunned by his own reaction. That wasn't just instinct, wasn't just reflex.
The monster lifted its head and let out a strange sound. Like someone who had just found a worthy opponent.
Gyan gritted his teeth. This was no longer about running. This was about survival.
"We can't outrun this, Yan..." Rendi panted. "If we don't fight, we die."
Rendi, who had always been a street fighter and was even in the selection stage for the First Championship—the most prestigious martial arts tournament in Asia—grabbed a piece of the broken wall and hurled it at the monster.
The creature effortlessly sliced through the flying debris. Its movements were precise, with no wasted motion. No hesitation in its attacks—it was a trained warrior.
Rendi dashed forward, swinging a two-meter-long steel rod at the monster. Again, the creature blocked it with ease. After the third strike, the monster caught Rendi's weapon and lunged forward.
SMACK!
Rendi barely blocked the counterattack, but the monster's strength was overwhelming. He was sent flying three meters back into a crumbling wall. As he struggled to get up, the creature grabbed him by the throat.
It laughed—a deep, guttural sound that filled the air with dread.
Rendi squinted. He didn't understand the monster's language, but he could feel its intent. The way it stared at him, the expression on its face, the way it gripped his throat without immediately crushing it...
"Yan... they're not going to kill us yet," Rendi muttered, still gasping for breath. "They want to see... how strong we are."
Gyan rushed to help, but before he could move, that strange premonition struck him again. Reflexively, he ducked.
Sure enough—another attack came.
Five more creatures had arrived.
Without thinking, Gyan dropped to his knees, hoping it would be seen as a sign of surrender. But one of the larger creatures stepped forward, raising a fist to strike.
Gyan tried to dodge, but it was too fast. The punch landed on his shoulder, sending him stumbling. In seconds, another monster had grabbed him.
The largest one among them stepped closer, observing him with curiosity before suddenly roaring right in his face.
The sheer force of the sound made Gyan's ears ring. His skin prickled. He knew his death was near.
He turned to Rendi, praying for a miracle. Their eyes met.
The creatures began speaking in their strange language again.
Rendi, nearly out of breath, suddenly swung his last desperate punch into the face of the monster holding him.
THUD!
The creature staggered. Rendi immediately reached for a sharp piece of rebar lying nearby and, without hesitation, drove it straight into the monster's abdomen.
The creature roared in pain!
The others immediately swarmed Rendi, beating him down. But then, their leader—the one who had grabbed Gyan—suddenly raised a hand.
The beating stopped.
Silence.
The leader reached into its armor and pulled out a strange device. Without warning, it stabbed the tool into both Rendi and Gyan.
Gyan caught a glimpse of the leader's expression—one of curiosity, as if it were weighing something.
Then, everything went dark.
"Take them." The leader's voice was cold. "Let's see if they are worthy... to live."