I headed straight for the cages. I didn't think. I didn't hesitate. I shot forward like an arrow, the sword in my grip trembling under the pressure of my fingers. The massive beast stood in front of me, roaring from deep in its chest, each step sending tremors through the ground.
I raised my sword and struck, forcing its colossal body backward. It staggered two meters away. But no sooner had it retreated than the children lunged at me. Their small, twisted bodies crawled from every corner toward me.
My grip tightened on the Wave Fang. I raised the sword high, ready. Ready to cut them down one by one. But when I looked into their empty faces, I lowered my blade slowly and stepped back.
Suddenly, the feral merchant attacked from behind. I leapt away from the strike, but my shoulder slammed against the concrete floor, my head hitting the metal edge. The Wave Fang slipped from my hand and skidded away. The children kept crawling toward me from all directions, like swarms of worms.
I stretched out my arm, searching for the Wave Fang. When my fingers closed around it, I swung in a half-circle, unleashing a water wave that blasted them back.
The mutated merchant charged again, roaring in rage, his deformed body spewing fire from his mouth.
My muscles screamed in protest as I swung the Wave Fang, its watery blade blocking the surging flames. The water, upon contact with the fire, evaporated in an instant.
If this fight had been only between me and him, maybe I'd have had a chance. Maybe I could have walked out of here in one piece. But fate had other plans. The children kept leaping at me from every direction.
"Get away..."
I blocked their attacks, dodged their strikes, trying only to disable them without killing. I deflected another blow from the merchant. His massive fist smashed into a water shield I raised at the last moment.
"Damn you..." I muttered, gasping from exhaustion.
The merchant didn't tire. I, on the other hand, was running out of steam. Still, I was standing. But there was a limit to how long I could keep using the Wave Fang. It gave me tremendous power, unnatural speed, and control over water, but everything had a price, and system relics never gave without taking.
The Wave Fang might be less dangerous than others, its drawbacks milder than those that tear their users' minds apart or steal their memories, but it wasn't harmless.
With prolonged use, my bones weakened. My physical strength gradually eroded. My reflexes dulled.
I could recover later, yes, if I stopped using it long enough. My body would slowly rebuild itself. But in the middle of a fight, that wasn't an option. When danger closed in from every direction, I couldn't just toss the Wave Fang aside and say, "I need a break."
I pushed forward with everything I had left. Water burst around me, wrapping me, shielding me from the rising flames pouring from the merchant's mouth.
I shoved the little monsters back, dodged their blows, and cut down every claw that came near with sharp waves bursting from the Wave Fang's blade. They came at me from all sides. And still, though I knew letting them live might be the death of me, I couldn't kill them.
Without warning, the merchant exhaled a fiery blast. I sprinted at full speed toward the cages. Inside, the three of them huddled, trembling behind the bars, their eyes wide with terror.
I raised the Wave Fang and formed a massive water shield, wrapping them in a transparent dome. The flames slammed into it, steam hissing into the air. When the fire died, the shield dissolved. My legs could no longer hold me, and I collapsed to the ground.
The small monsters began falling one by one. Their bodies couldn't withstand the merchant's fire. They didn't seem to want to fight anymore. I should have felt relieved, but I couldn't. A heavy guilt settled on my chest.
I had failed to save them. I knew it wasn't my fault, but still, I couldn't shake the guilt.
I returned the Wave Fang to its original state. The blade retracted slowly, as if sensing my exhaustion. I slipped it inside my coat. I couldn't use it anymore. I needed rest.
There was no other choice. It was time. Time to use my Authority. That cursed power that had clung to me since those wretched days in the lab: the Silence Authority.
I closed my eyes, breathing slowly, letting the power seep into me. Moments later, my presence vanished from this world.
I shot toward the beast, fast, giving my opponent no time to react. I rammed my shoulder into it, forcing its massive body deeper into the warehouse.
All I wanted was to distract it for a few moments, just enough to recover some strength. I couldn't re-activate the Wave Fang yet.
We traded blows like wounded beasts. I struck, it struck back. I shoved, it shoved harder. Its last hit sent me flying across the space, slamming me into a metal cage.
It rushed me again, but I rolled aside before its fist could crush my face. My back hit the ground, but I sprang up and kicked it hard.
I closed my eyes again, hiding my presence once more, reappearing behind it. I pulled the Wave Fang from my coat.
Flames burst from the merchant's body without warning. I didn't move. I planted my feet, raising the Wave Fang before me. I blocked the first fireball, then the second. As I deflected the rest, I saw Jevan running, carrying the three children one in his arms, one on his back, and the third clinging to his shirt.
The merchant turned toward him, lunging like a predator spotting prey. I leapt forward, swinging the Wave Fang at him. The strike sent him crashing to the ground.
I landed between him and Jevan, standing firm, my back to the man, shielding them. I said without looking back:
"What are you doing here?"
"Didn't you say we're just gangsters, not storybook heroes? Then what are you doing here?"
"I didn't come to save this pile of strays."
"If not for them, then why are you here?"
"That's none of your business."
The merchant hurled waves of fire like a madman. I raised the Wave Fang, sending a torrent of water forward. Water clashed with fire, steam filling the space.
I saw Jevan from a distance, slipping away after dodging a fire wave. Maybe he wasn't completely useless after all. A faint smile touched my lips as I watched him go.
That was enough. I hadn't come here to leave alive. From the moment I faced the guards, I knew this would be my grave. Even if I survived, they wouldn't let me be. The Wardens would hunt me, and the Bloody Fang wouldn't forgive this interference. In the world of gangs, there were rules that could not be broken. Deals, no matter how rotten, were sacred. One of them was clear: don't interfere in others' business.
I took a deep breath and raised the Wave Fang high. The blade trembled in my hand, the runes etched into it glowing faint blue, growing brighter until the light washed over my face.
I muttered softly:
"Let's end this."