"Mom, I'm scared," sobbed a little boy from the group of survivors as they heard the terrifying squeaks and hisses coming from outside the inner waiting room and the tunnel.
His mother could only hold him, curled up at the farthest corner among the survivors. She was just as scared.
Without waiting for orders, Thalia had already started firing arrows at the monsters emerging from the tunnel.
"SHOOT!"
Kelvin shouted when the monsters became visible at the entrance.
Panic spread among the survivors and they stepped back instinctively, while the Awakened gripping their weapons tighter.
Her new skill, which allowed her to see clearly regardless of distance, darkness, or brightness, made her faster and more accurate in taking down the creatures.
CHIIIIETTT!
The massive rat-like monsters hit by arrows or bullets fell to the ground, wounded or dead.
Meanwhile, Kelvin and the Awakened, who had close-combat and defense skills, were ready to face the creatures that managed to slip past the ranged attacks.
"ATTACK!"
Kelvin's voice echoed through the room, overpowering all other sounds, followed by war cries from his followers.
His twin swords sliced through the air, cutting down every monster blocking his path.
The others took on their own share of monsters, fighting them off.
On the other side, Kael, upon seeing the monsters enter, sprinted along the railway to meet them.
Agilely, he sliced through the neck of a giant rat trying to bite him from below, feeling the resistance before his blade cut clean through.
Blood sprayed as he swiftly kicked another mid-leap, sending it crashing into the ground before driving his sword deep into the jaw of the next monster, silencing its furious screech instantly.
He moved forward again, swiftly cutting down two more creatures beside him, making them collapse with severed heads.
Then he leaped aside just in time to dodge a giant centipede's strike, causing its snout to crash into the ground and the railway tracks.
Without hesitation, he slashed the monster's body in two and advanced once more to finish off the rest.
Arrows from Thalia whizzed past him on both sides, helping reduce the number of monsters surrounding him.
For nearly an hour, they battled against dozens of creatures pouring in through the front entrance and the tunnel.
"Collect all the mana shards!" Kelvin ordered his subordinates as he jumped and struck down the last monster, a brown mantis, with a cross-slash from his twin swords.
Then he rushed toward the tunnel, intending to assist Kael and Thalia, but he saw that they had already gathered all the mana shards.
He stopped at the edge of the platform, watching them, deep in thought.
'He's definitely no ordinary person. And that girl… she's far from weak,' he mused.
Kael, noticing the presence of the group's leader, approached him, leaving Thalia to continue grumbling in disgust at the monsters, though she still needed their mana shards.
Kelvin glanced at Kael as he walked over, then at the mana shards he carried.
"We'll take just what we need once we've gathered everything," Kael said.
Kelvin stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright. It's better to collect everything first, then divide it up later."
He turned to leave for the waiting room, but Kael's voice stopped him.
"We can eat the rats' meat."
Kelvin turned back to look at the thin young man, then replied, "That's great. We'll deal with their meat soon."
Then he turned again and walked away.
His thoughts were troubled, how had those two managed to fight off the monsters without a single injury? The rest of them had needed the combined strength of at least ten fighters.
But he set those thoughts aside for now. The survivors needed him. More than anything, he had to make sure everyone was safe.
Since childhood, Shaolin disciples were taught to balance physical strength with virtue, ensuring they helped others in times of danger when needed.
Now, the survivors and the Awakened had to move to a safer place. This location was no longer secure. There was no time to reinforce their defenses—the creatures were simply too many.
Without delay, he gathered all the Awakened and assigned tasks.
Some were instructed to collect all the mana shards, including those Kael and Thalia had gathered.
Others were tasked with organizing the survivors for departure.
Those with knives were asked to carve the rat meat and collect it as food rations.
Finally, he assembled a group, including Kael and Thalia, to discuss their escape plan.
Ron, who joined the discussion, gave Kael an unfriendly look, his expression full of suspicion.
Narrowing his eyes, he studied Kael from head to toe.
'Damn, I wasn't here when he arrived,' he thought.
Kael noticed Ron's gaze but ignored it. He understood now, Ron didn't want anyone threatening his position in the group.
In the past, Kael would have been intimidated by his own thinner, smaller frame compared to Ron's. The fact that Kelvin was his cousin made him hesitant to challenge anything.
"We need to leave this place and find somewhere safer," Kelvin said, bringing everyone's focus back.
"Does anyone know a place safer than here?" he asked again, making everyone think.
"Why don't we head to a military base? Even if it's locked, with our strength now, we should be able to break in," Duncan suggested without hesitation.
"The museum! Its walls are thick!" Ron interrupted.
"But if it collapses, we'll be stuck inside!" Duncan countered, leading to more arguments between them.
"How do we know the military base is actually safe?" Ron shot back.
The two of them kept bickering, but the others, seemingly accustomed to their behavior, continued thinking.
Then Kael glanced around before speaking up. "If someone here can see the future, it would be best if they could predict where we'll end up and whether monsters will attack there."
He knew Sharon had Clairvoyance skill, but he pretended to ask casually.
Everyone turned to look at him. He simply shrugged.
Then, aside from Thalia, they all shifted their gaze to Sharon, who had finally calmed down from her earlier hysteria.
With a weary expression, she whispered, "The museum…"