"It's eating him from the inside–I…I did my best to keep it at bay, but it's no use…" Eunji said as she hid her face in her hands with tears falling, "...I tried, but…Xiaodan is…Xiaodan is…going to die…!"
Hearing it straight from the lips of the only person capable of working miracles on the mortal flesh, it was solidified with a harrowing certainty to them.
Sol shed a few tears, but didn't weep–mostly standing in disbelief. Korain held an expression of regret, but he maintained his composure, turning away as he seemed angry at this outcome.
Tears trailed down his cheek, but he remained calm as he placed his hand on top of Eunji's pale, small one.
"...Are you sure about that?" He asked.
"Huh…?"
"Are you absolutely sure he's going to die? Can you promise that there isn't a chance for him? Can you guarantee it?...Eunji, can you say for certainty that we should–"
"Jeong-Hui."
–Stopping him in his words that were laced with rage towards the unfairness of the falling world and desperation was a call of his name and a hand befalling his shoulder.
"Ma-Ri…" He looked behind him at the icy-eyed woman.
He could tell that the situation was wearing on the leader as well, as though she still tried to remain as stalwart and unflinching as ever, those azure eyes of her held lamentation.
"That's enough, Jeong-Hui…" Ma-Ri told him.
After calming down, he looked forward to see Eunji's expression twisted with grief from his series of harsh, forward questions.
"...I'm sorry…" He apologized.
"No…It's alright–I…I shouldn't have said that," Eunji looked at him, removing her glasses for a moment to wipe her tears, "...There's always a chance, right?"
He smiled just a bit despite the dreadful situation, holding onto that faint light as he nodded to the young woman.
"That's right," his words were aimed at the entire group, "--Whether it's a one-in-a-million shot, we have to keep going. Xiaodan is fighting right now–he's not the type to just lay down and take it. We're alive until the moment we drop dead."
Eunji wore a trembling smile through her expression that was messied with her own tears before she nodded in agreement as well, "Right…!"
"...That's damn fuckin' right! We don't stop fightin'...not after how far we've come!" Yeong-Un added, having walked over, "Everybody who isn't here…they created this future for us. We better take it!"
"I agree…Xiaodan, keep fighting!" Sol supported.
He looked back at Ma-Ri, who seemed to know right away that the words he said were most of all, pointed towards her.
–
For the next few hours, they bunkered down on the rooftop of the mall, which was hardly comfortable, especially with the constant sounds of the rat plague below.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom At the very least, it seemed hellborne fiends and Defects weren't actively prowling the block with the vermin occupying its space.
Still, that didn't apply to all:
VRMMMM.
It sounded like a massive explosive firing off, sending a subtle tremor throughout the tiled roof.
"What was that…?" Yeong-Un questioned, sitting up after lounging back.
Sol was looking off, gulping as he seemed to notice it first–a colossal entity marched towards their location.
"..."
He was silent, just as the others were with finally seeing it up close. The whole time since the beginning of the Final Culling, the existence of the colossus was known, but they were more of a distant, scenic piece than a primary concern.
VRMMMMMM.
Each step sounded out violently as the entity's height overshadows the surrounding skyscrapers, bolstering a blocky, humanoid shape with no skin to hide its black flesh.
It wasn't just the one, truthfully.
[Enemy Identified: "Tarnished Colossal" | Level 48]
These colossals weren't visible before due to the crimson haze that limited their sight, blocking off all view just a few meters beyond.
They looked like skinless men with size surpassing that of skyscrapers, though instead of red flesh, it was pitch-black with azure flames clinging to their form. A massive, gaping hole was bore through their chests, the same as their faceless heads.
VRRRRRM.
Yeong-Un stood up as well, looking on at the group of black-fleshed colossals, "...So, what the hell do we do if those things get smart about us?"
"We run–really damn fast," Korain answered, looking beside him at the stoic leader, "--Right, Boss?"
"...Unfortunately, I agree with you. That seems to be the only choice against something of that magnitude," Ma-Ri replied.
Vrrrrrrr.
Each and every one of them had their eyes widened and their blood run cold as a massive air pelted at them from behind, brushing upon their backs like an augury of the most fearsome, unforgiving winter to come.
He slowly turned back, seeing the glow of an azure flame that emitted from the gargantuan entity that overshadowed not just them, the building, but the entire block.
The Tarnished Colossus looked down at him with its faceless hole as the whispers of its eternally burning flames spoke.
"--Holy shit," Yeong-Un muttered in disbelief.
Somehow, it had snuck up on them as if apparating out of thin air, sending an unequivocal feeling of smallness through them all.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die, Sol thought.
He was the first to move, but only a split-second before Ma-Ri as he used a [Blink Step] to pick up the sickly, unconscious Xiaodan, hoisting him into his arms just as the leader yelled out an order simple enough for them all:
"We're leaving! Start moving–now!" Ma-Ri shouted.
As the colossus lifted its tower-sized arm of black, rotting flesh high enough that the air howled in response, parting the lowest hanging of the crimson clouds, the entire group took off, following behind Ma-Ri as they leapt from one building to the next.
He carried Xiaodan in his arms, sprinting beside Eunji who was already hard of breath, nervously clutching her breath as not even the girl's fear of heights stopped her against the fear of the giant.
Luckily, the surrounding buildings were similar in height and close together, though looking back, luck hardly felt like a big enough factor.
Holy…He thought.
Watching behind, he witnessed the Tarnished Colossus swing its massive, black arm down, completely demolishing the mall which they inhabited previously with an impact that sent a brief earthquake through the neighborhood.
"What the hell!? How is something like this fair–?!" Sol frantically said while sprinting across one rooftop and leaping to the next.
"Don't question it!--It's here now, so deal with it!" Korain yelled out in response.
It was less than a steady path ahead of them, having to jump from building-to-building while making sure not to miss their leap as the sea of plague-carrying rats waited beneath.
He kept Xiaodan in his arms while sprinting and hopping swiftly, glancing back to see the lumbering colossus following them.
"--"
In his arms, he could feel the unnaturally heated body of his silver-haired friend, along with Xiaodan's ragged breaths as he continued forward, jumping across another building.
"Watch out-!" Yeong-Un called out.
During the group's next jump over, Korain grabbed Eunji by the back of her shirt, bringing her with him into a powerful leap as they all moved just in time before the massive, skyscraper-sized arm swept through the street, shoveling the buildings in its path.
It was complete mayhem.
"Do ya' got him?!" Yeong-Un asked while running beside him.
He nodded, keeping the unconscious, feverish young man in his arms as he sprinted, "--I'm fine!"
From up above, a hailing storm began to descend in the form of large chunks of debris from the Tarnished Colossal's destruction of the buildings behind them.
"There's another! To the left!" Ma-Ri called out from the front of the group.
This brought to his view another of the black-flesed titans that lumbered in from the west, marching through the billowing crimson.
Vrrrrrm.
With one behind and one to the left, the towering entities' sluggish chase felt claustrophobic, forcing them all to begin aiming towards the right in their run now.
"We need to lose these things!" Sol yelled out.
"Easier said than done," he added.
Though the Tarnished Colossals were slow in their movements, just a single step of theirs could cover the entirety of a block, and their unseen eyes were watchful of likely the whole city with their natural vantage point.
Not only that, the option of hiding between buildings was mitigated by the fact they couldn't simply rush through the streets and rush through doors with the endless vermin occupying the streets.
"Ma-Ri…We need to think of something," Korain said, following behind the frontmost woman.
"I know," Ma-Ri replied, "...I'm thinking, we should–"
As the dark-haired woman glanced back while running across the flat roof of the brick building, looking at the members of the group that followed–something arrived.
Vrrrrm.
The bellowing hum of a colossal; directly above them that seemed to manifest instantly from nothing but the dust particles in the air.
Such a wide-reaching shadow was cast over them all, leaving the people below wordless in shock from the close and sudden appearance of that which transcended the height of man made architecture.
What sailed down towards them with an inescapable size was the decrepit, rotting arm of the colossus, which was being constantly seared by the azure flames attached sparsely to its form.
He held Xiaodan tightly in his arms, thinking to himself but one thought in the face of certain death:
"What do I do?"
It all transpired within moments, but by the time his thoughts flowed once again–
VRMMMMM.
The arm slammed down with such a heavy force that an amazing wind pressure was formed, spawning a short-lived natural disaster that interweaved the air into a chaotic torque.
It all went black to him for a moment as the indirect force of the blow, just grazed by the wind expulsion alone had nearly made him lose consciousness as he was flung back.
What's…going on? He questioned.
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