Damnit! Damnit!
Kuro, who was moving and running down the streets at inhuman speed while being chased by the demon, raised his arm high and swung it straight at the demon.
Kuro dodged it quickly and easily, and when it struck the ground cracked and a shockwave trembled nearly half the city.
"Damn! What kind of power is that!" Kuro thought.
"But considering its size it's probably the type that has great strength but is slow."
"But I bet it's not fast nor highly defensive."
"I slowed myself down so the monster could keep up with me, so I can get it out of the city before it causes more destruction and people blame me."
Kuro moved away from the city as far as he could. As he ran, in an instant the sky darkened, and his eyes widened in shock when the monster ended up right above him.
The monster raised a massive hand toward him. Kuro dodged as fast as he could, but the force of the blow sent him flying through the air and crashing into a skyscraper.
When Kuro hit, part of the wall cracked and he lodged into it. Kuro moved swiftly, climbed to the top of the skyscraper, and looked down where the demon stared at him expressionlessly.
"What was that just now?! Did it catch up with me? Is this damn demon faster? Faster than me?! What the hell is this?!" Kuro thought in shock.
While Kuro stared at it, the monster flew and landed on a nearby tower; both of them looked at each other from their respective rooftops with looks of threat and determination.
"Okay, you want to play? Let's go!" Kuro said angrily.
Kuro took a jumping stance and launched himself. As he surged, the ground beneath him cracked, and he landed close to the monster.
"Let's see how tough you are, big guy!"
As soon as Kuro reached it, the monster swung its hand quickly toward him. Kuro moved light and agile, used his claw as a thrust point, and lunged at the monster. When he got close to its torso, Kuro transformed his arm into a wolf's arm and delivered a powerful strike directly to its chest.
Boom!
The blow was powerful enough to create a shockwave that shattered the glass of the skyscraper; Kuro stared at it.
"So what do you think now?"
Grrr...
"?!?!"
He saw that the monster had not been hurt at all by the strike Kuro had delivered, leaving him stunned. Kuro decided to pull back and settle. As soon as he landed, the monster's tail came and struck him with unnatural speed. Kuro raised his arms and tried to block and withstand the attack, but it was useless.
The tail hit him hard; the ground under Kuro cracked and he fell seven stories down. He felt dizzy, got up immediately, and jumped quickly from the holes left by the impact's force.
When he got out, he saw the monster open its mouth wide and its chest begin to glow somehow. As soon as Kuro saw that, he dashed straight and his hands turned into large wolf-hands, and he struck it directly in its lower jaw with all his strength using both hands.
That attack was so strong the skyscraper's windows rattled. It seemed very powerful, but it barely moved the monster's head. Still, it was enough to stop the monster's attack. But in a moment of relief, the monster swung its hand and slapped Kuro, sending him crashing through two buildings.
Kuro flew for a few seconds until he hit the wall of a third building, became stuck, shook his head to clear debris, and rose quickly, climbing to the roof of a building and staring up at the monster with an annoyed expression.
"Damnit! What kind of situation is that?!"
"Its scales are absurdly hard, and it's so fast despite its size, and on top of that—"
"It's so strong! I know I only caused it a little scratch, I'm an insect to it."
"Is this the strength of an A-rank monster?"
The monster's face stared straight at Kuro, expressionless. Kuro couldn't tell whether it was looking at him because its horns blocked its eyes and they kept bleeding; after a few seconds it turned its gaze elsewhere.
Kuro felt anxious and looked to the right and saw a crowd of people still watching the fight. When he looked down he saw police had arrived, all staring at him and the monster.
"I can't transform now in front of all of them; I'll be classified as a monster immediately, and I already have enough trouble."
"But on the bright side, it's not focusing particularly on me. Is it lost? No — it's searching for something, but what?"
Suddenly the monster stopped moving, opened its mouth, and was about to release something. Kuro felt a sense of impending doom.
"Damn, I don't have time to think!"
Boom!
Suddenly the monster released a shockwave, but it paled compared to the wave Kuro had caused earlier. The wave shook New Hades entirely and triggered an earthquake that made most buildings tremble and collapse.
"Damn!"
Kuro raised his arms to shield himself from the shock, and when he opened his eyes he saw the demon had flown off in another direction.
"Where did it go?"
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A short while earlier, inside a facility
The situation was completely chaotic. Some personnel staggered after the sudden earthquake and the power went out.
"Restart the backup systems!" Martin shouted.
A soldier moved quickly, pulled a plug, and the power returned to the facility. Martin breathed heavily.
"What the hell was that?" Martin asked.
"This wave is far stronger than the previous one," Abraham said.
"If this continues it will be a disaster. We need to stop it quickly!"
"Can you hear me on the radio?" Martin asked.
"Yes! I hear you clearly," the soldier replied.
"Thank God the radio signals still work. How's the situation outside?" Martin asked.
"Totally chaotic. We're evacuating civilians to safety as fast as we can," the soldier said.
"And the monster — have you located it?"
"Yes, and it's currently fighting a hunter," the soldier reported.
"The wolf," Abraham said.
"And how does the fight look?" Martin asked.
"It's not dealing any damage; it barely gets the monster's attention."
"What? Are you sure?" Martin asked.
"Yes, it's barely hurting it," the soldier said.
"It seems even this kid has limits to his strength."
"Martin! There's a call from Colonel Leo!" another soldier cried.
"Put him on the second line immediately," Martin replied.
[Leo: Martin]
"Yes, Colonel Leo."
[Leo: What's the situation now?]
"We're trying to contain it as best we can."
[Leo: And the monster?]
"It's currently fighting Kuro."
[Leo: Have you determined its rank?]
"From what we know, it's likely an A-rank monster or higher."
[Leo: That's the worst. How long until the H.E.R.O.E.S. hunters arrive?]
"22 minutes."
[Leo: The city will be destroyed by that time.]
"Martin! The monster just moved south at this moment!" a soldier cried from a computer screen, and Martin was startled.
[Leo: Soldier, do you know why it went south? Are there other hunters there?]
"No, Colonel Leo. There are no hunters in that location. That area is a district of shapeshifters as far as I know," the soldier replied.
[Leo: What? Why did it head there?]
"That's because the monster didn't come to kill; it came for another purpose," Abraham said.
[Leo: Explain.]
"Monsters usually attack humans, but some with high instinct or intelligence assess threats and attack the weak link."
"But that's not the case here. My theory is that this monster came driven by instinct."
"Perhaps due to the density of people, or it sensed a threat from something — like the pressure of an S-rank hunter or a strong killing intent from some hunter."
[Leo: No hunter or person can threaten a monster like that except.....]
[Leo: Oh no...]
[Leo: I know who's hunting!]
"What?!" Martin asked in shock.
[Leo: it's ni___zzzzzzzzz]
"Colonel Leo? What's going on?" Martin asked.
[Leo: We're under attack.]
"What?" Abraham asked in shock.
[Leo: We're being breached!]
"By whom?! Can you identify the attackers, Colonel Leo?"
[Leo: I don't know, damn it, I'll call you back later! Remember to take her away!]
"Wait, Colonel Leo, tell me who she is!" Martin asked.
[....]
"The call got cut off, Martin," Abraham said.
"There's more," a soldier said, coming into the room.
"What is it?" Martin asked tiredly.
"There are orders from high command."
"What are those orders?" Martin asked.
"They concern civilian evacuation," the soldier said.
"Tell them we need more time to evacuate people from the shapeshifter district," Martin answered.
"The order is... they want us to abandon them," the soldier said.
"WTF?" Abraham asked.
"What? They're our people! We can't abandon them!" Martin said angrily.
"High command says the shapeshifters aren't officially part of our populace; they're just refugees. They want us to use them while the monster is distracted."
"What kind of thing is this!"
"It's an order, and they demand its immediate execution."
"...Fine, we'll do it," Martin said.
"Will you really do that?" Abraham asked.
"Yes," Martin replied.
"I didn't expect you to be so obedient," Abraham said, sounding a little angry.
"I'm not doing it because they ordered it," Martin responded.
"Then why?" Abraham asked confused.
"I'm doing it because I believe that kid will handle it... I hope," Martin said.
"Hope your expectations are right. Otherwise we'll have war crimes on our record."
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At the same time in the Shapeshifter district
Many shapeshifters were running through the streets. Nina was running with Roxie and her mother; they ran with dozens of others in the same direction.
"What's happening?" Nina asked.
"There's a monster in the city. We must hide quickly," Mrs. Anderson said fearfully.
"Hurry, go to the shelter!" she pointed toward the refuge.
"Roxie, Nina, you must go and hide," Mrs. Anderson said worriedly.
"Why? I'm a hunter. I don't need protection. I'm strong!" Nina shouted.
"No, you don't understand, my little one. What you're fighting is different from what you've fought. This is the real monster."
"You're still too young to fight it," Mrs. Anderson said as she headed for the shelter.
While they were running, suddenly the shelter door closed, and it descended quickly underground, sealing the top, leaving many shapeshifters shocked and stunned.
"What?" an astonished shapeshifter asked.
"They... closed the door?" Mrs. Anderson asked in shock.
"Why did they close it? We haven't arrived yet!" Roxie cried.
"Don't panic. There must be a reason... maybe the elevator was filling; we must wait a few minutes—"
While Mrs. Anderson was speaking, an earthquake occurred and the next second a powerful shockwave slammed toward them, sending many building fragments and wheels and the remaining cars from the explosion flying toward them.
Nina raised her arm and closed her eyes against the pressure of the wind. While she shut them, something came toward them. Mrs. Anderson moved quickly, shielding them and taking the hit directly to her head; she collapsed to the ground immediately.
When Nina opened her eyes, she saw Mrs. Anderson unconscious. Roxie collapsed instantly and looked at her in dismay, hugging her in terror.
"Mom? Mom! Somebody, Nina please help! You're a hunter, right? Can you do something?!" Roxie screamed while crying over her mother.
"No... I... "
Whoosh!
As if there were no time to rest, a car flew toward them directly. This time Nina moved in anger, kicked the car forward, and then shot up high toward the clouds.
"Enough of you. Show yourself, you bad person!" Nina shouted angrily.
As if in response to her words, something appeared behind her. She turned and saw it with her own eyes—the monster.
The demon lowered its head and stared at Nina with an empty, threatening look. It let out a low roar, its teeth grinding as it walked. Its mere presence poured terrifying pressure on everyone around, freezing them with fear.
Nina's body trembled and sweated; her eyes fluttered with terror. She had never seen monsters personally; she'd seen slimes or goblins or creatures in games, not like this. She didn't expect the monster to be a demon itself.
Just as it was about to attack her, Kuro struck from above and hit its head with a direct, all-out blow, making the monster react for the first time.
"Hey, you bastard, your fight here is with me—"
Kuro froze when he saw Nina trembling with fear, his eyes widening at the sight.
"What the hell is that girl doing here?!" Kuro thought.
"Nina, get away from here quickly—"
Rzzzrrrrkkk!
The monster let out a cry and this time moved aggressively toward Kuro, charging like a bull. They flew apart, cutting through several buildings as they did.
"Ahh!"
"What was that?" a shapeshifter lying on the ground screamed.
"Nina, mom please help her!" Roxie begged.
"Roxie, Nina!" Raf shouted while running toward them. "Are you two okay? Where's Mrs. Anderson?" Raf ran anxiously to them.
"Raf!" both Nina and Roxie cried out.
"What happened here?"
"She was hit by something. Can you help us?"
"Let me think... Umm... Mrs. Weasley — the neighborhood doctor — she can help; her house is that way," Raf said.
"Ah! Yes, that's right. But how?" Roxie asked.
"I'll carry her." Raf moved and lifted Mrs. Anderson with both arms.
"I know Mrs. Weasley never leaves her house. We'll find her there. Follow me," Raf said.
"Okay!"
Raf, Nina, and Roxie went through the streets followed by some shapeshifters, hoping to find safety or anyone with hope to survive this calamity.
"By the way, Nina," Raf asked as they ran.
"Yes?" Nina replied.
"How did you make the monster move away from you? I saw it about to attack you a moment ago before I got here," Raf asked.
"That wasn't me," Nina said, looking down.
"Who was it?" Raf asked.
"It was—"
Boom!
Suddenly an explosion occurred above them.
"Ah!" Roxie screamed at the sound.
"What now?!" Raf shouted while looking up.
When Raf looked up he saw half a building falling straight toward them.
"Oh, no."
When Nina saw the collapsing building she grabbed both Roxie and Raf, pushed them, and pulled them aside. But just as she was about to finish she turned and saw some shapeshifters about to be crushed. Nina lunged at them and dragged them away at the last moment before the building fell.
Whoosh!
The building fell at the last moment, forming a barrier blocking everyone; Roxie and Raf could not reach her.
"Nina!" Raf cried.
"Are you okay?!" Roxie shouted.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine," Nina said.
"A little further ahead—"
"No need, I'm coming—"
Whoosh.
Rzzzrrrrkkk
Nina felt the same feeling and turned to see the monster coming toward her. The monster now concentrated all its savagery and aggression on Nina as it advanced.
"You... I won't let you hurt more people anymore!" Nina shouted in anger and overcame her fear.
The monster moved quickly and swung its fist directly at her.
Whoosh.
Nina grabbed its fist with both hands and pushed it away; the monster staggered. Nina took advantage of this, jumped, and struck a powerful blow to its jaw, sending it looking up at the sky. She didn't stop there; Nina gathered magic in her hands.
"Take this!"
Boom.
She struck it hard in the chest, sending it flying into a building. After it crashed, Nina landed near Raf and Roxie.
"Wow, that was amazing!"
"Did you kill it?"
"I told you before I—"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, while Nina was speaking, the monster appeared above her and was ready to strike them all.
Nina moved quickly and pushed Raf and Roxie away from its grip. When it landed its fist, it struck Nina with all its weight.
"Nina, ah!"
Raf and Roxie were thrown by the force of the blow. Raf protected Mrs. Anderson's body beneath all this. The monster now unleashed a barrage of attacks on Nina; after the first punch it hit her a second and third time until a whirlwind of punches formed, leaving Nina unable to respond. Each strike caused an earthquake that shook the city.
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At the same time
Damn...
Kuro was inside a building, something like scales piercing his bone and flesh, as if he suffered many large wounds across his body.
"Damn, I can't believe it can launch its scales. They're as fast as... damn rockets."
"This monster suddenly started taking me seriously. Is this the power of A-rank monsters?"
"I'm still far from them."
"Hmm?"
Kuro saw the monster beginning to head toward Nina and move with a ferocity Kuro hadn't felt during their earlier fight.
"Hey, what is this monster doing? Is it targeting Nina?"
Kuro watched the battle with Nina and was shocked by the outcome at first.
How does she have all that strength? Is that her skill?"
"Good, she killed it. No... she didn't kill it."
After that he saw how it struck her and how the battle proceeded.
"Damn it, I have to help her. Ughhh! Damn, the regeneration takes a long time without my transformation. I—"
Wait, why should I?
"She's just a girl I saw for one day. She's not someone worth saving. I'm just a random hunter; what can I do? I'm nothing in front of it... yes... that's right, I'm just a—"
Thud....
Kuro saw a girl about Nina's age throw stones at the monster while crying and trembling with fear, and the monster turned toward her.
"Is this girl crazy? Why is she—"
While Kuro watched helplessly, something shattered the silence.
"No... stop..." Nina screamed, revealing her face full of blood and bruises.
"Stop this. I want you... hurt me instead of them," Nina cried while sobbing.
When Kuro saw her, he opened his eyes wide as a painful memory came back to him — an ugly memory he wanted to forget — and he began to transform.
"No... no... NOOOOOOT AGGGGAAAIIIINNNN!"
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Back to Roxie...
"Nina!" Roxie cried in terror.
Nina saw the attack coming toward her; there was no room to dodge or run, so she closed her eyes and accepted her fate.
"At least I did something good."
Boom.
The shock passed; seconds later nothing happened. When she opened her eyes she saw him.
A massive werewolf, larger than anyone she had ever seen, held the monster in one hand while looking down at her. He pushed his hand and the monster stumbled two steps away, and he looked at Kuro with a slightly serious expression while tilting his head.
Nina began to rise and stared at him, instinctively feeling she knew this person. Despite his appearance she somehow knew he was human.
"Who are you?" Nina asked anxiously.
"Go away," he said, eyes fixed on the monster.
"But I can fight. We can—"
"I SAID GO AWAY!" he shouted angrily.
"Ah, I—"
"Nina, come here quickly!" Roxie shouted as she pulled her away.
While Roxie pulled the exhausted Nina's body, Raf watched silently; it wasn't the first time he had seen the werewolf. He'd seen him when he was about to die. Roxie saw his expression and felt suspicious as she looked at the werewolf.
"Mr. Raf, do you know who he is?" Roxie asked.
"He's the person those thugs were searching for."raf replied
"Wait, do you mean that he is—" Roxie asked quietly as she observed him.
"Yes... he's the werewolf."
Nina looked at him and felt a sense of familiarity, as if she knew him well. The monster was now shaking its arm and tightening its grip as it narrowed its eyes at him.
It was Kuro, standing before him wearing an unparalleled angry expression.
"Congratulations, you're the first person to make me this angry,Be proud of that, because it will be the last thing you ever know."
"Now let's go for round two, damn demon," Kuro said, spreading his arms wide.