Betyl, Lamenti, 8:30.
Within the cursed city of Betyl, Kelvin and his fiancée, Helen, ran through the alleys of Lamenti as though they were being chased by something.
Not far from them, a man was running alongside them, but suddenly and swiftly, something came down from a rooftop and decapitated him.
Kelvin and Helen, seeing this scene, felt even more motivated to keep running and continued forward without stopping.
Soon enough, they reached a house and immediately entered it, quietly closing the door behind them.
Hmph... puff... Kelvin panted as he looked around the unfamiliar house he had just stepped into.
He thought of his little sister, Laura, back at home, and his brother, Lumian. A great fear immediately washed over him.
He and Helen had only gone out on a date when all of this happened. Since then, they had been surviving alongside other survivors.
The man who had just been killed was the owner of the store they had visited earlier. By this point, they had already witnessed a lot of deaths.
Kelvin was extremely grateful to whoever had left this house unlocked and open.
Helen, who was still feeling very afraid, slowly walked over to a couch and sat down, her body trembling slightly.
Kelvin, on the other hand, checked his phone, which was now damaged, and tried to call Lumian.
But as expected, there was no signal anywhere in Betyl.
Looking at the frozen weather report that had been issued earlier that morning, before the disaster began, Kelvin noticed something.
The report indicated that the weather tonight would be stormy, with strong winds.
He breathed softly, trying to calm himself.
After a moment, he put his phone back into his pocket and walked over to Helen.
Sitting down beside her on the couch, he tried his best to comfort and calm her. "Everything will be okay. Remember what they told us today. If we're afraid, we risk attracting them." Kelvin forced himself to chuckle and continued, "Besides, this whole thing will pass very soon. You know there are sorcerers and government officials around. They can do something about it."
Helen, who was nervously fiddling with her hands, replied shakily, "Yes, dear, I believe you, but... but I'm scared. I don't want to die."
Seeing this, Kelvin immediately pulled her into a hug. "Everything will be okay. Just calm down."
Inwardly, however, he added,
I don't want to die too.
At that moment, through the window, the wind could be seen howling across the silent night of Betyl as rain began to fall heavily.
Then immediately afterwards, the light suddenly went off.
Kelvin, seeing this, felt slightly afraid, but he pulled away from Helen's embrace and said, "I'm coming, dear. Let me go upstairs and check whether the owner of this house has a flashlight."
Helen gulped hard, trying to stay calm, then let out a shaky breath. "Alright... please come back quickly."
Kelvin nodded and swiftly went upstairs as the storm outside seemed to intensify.
During those moments, Helen was very afraid as she sat alone in the dark room, causing many thoughts to cross her mind.
She gulped once more and forced herself to stay calm.
At that moment, thunder struck, illuminating the dark city of Betyl with a flash of light.
The sudden light illuminated the curses on the roads, on the rooftops, and others feasting within hospitals or nearby houses not far from where they were.
Helen looked out the window at some of the creatures, and her body began to tremble. She continued fiddling with her hands as another thunder strike illuminated the night once more.
A sudden question rose in her heart.
Why? Why am I here? Why do I have to die? I simply want to marry a good man and have children. Why?
Her eyes reddened as tears began to fall.
Yet, through those emotions, she gradually seemed to regain control of her fear.
At that moment, she heard creaking sounds coming from the stairs, and her body immediately tensed up.
Just as she felt she might faint from fright, a beam of light suddenly shone on her.
Kelvin stood there holding a flashlight.
"Found it." He said it with a smile.
...
"Ha ha." He stepped closer and suddenly laughed. "Wait… were you just afraid? I was only gone for a minute."
Hearing that, Helen blushed slightly and seemed to forget the situation for a moment.
"Who's afraid? I was doing well."
Kelvin sat down and placed the torchlight on the table. "You doing well? I literally saw the fear on your face."
Helen didn't respond, but instead moved a little closer to him. After a few moments, she quietly asked, "So… what's the plan after the wedding?"
"My plan, my plan... can you believe I talked to my brother about this situation? You know our parents are dead, and there's no one to stay with them. So now I'm thinking maybe buying a new house in the outskirts would be nice." Kelvin replied.
"Your brother? Isn't he old enough?"
Hearing that, Kelvin chuckled. "Yes, he is. And with time, he'll build his own house. But for the time being, I'd rather stay with him."
"Life of an older brother," Helen said with a chuckle.
The tension seemed to ease with that joke, but while they were chuckling, thunder struck, illuminating the outside and revealing the curse near the window, gradually approaching them.
Whoosh!
In the falling rain and wind that seemed to intensify, the brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the figure approaching the window, causing Kelvin to become greatly shaken.
It seemed the curse had been drawn here by Helen's earlier fear.
Seeing this, Kelvin stood up and picked up a crowbar.
Helen looked at him and said in a hushed voice, "Why do you want to go outside? Don't you think it's better to stay indoors and wait for it to pass?"
Kelvin breathed in softly and replied seriously, "it definitely sensed fear, that's why it's here. And it won't leave… it may even enter the house."
With that, Kelvin began walking forward, his footsteps echoing slightly.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He reached the door and was just about to open it when Helen suddenly noticed a light through the window.
It was an orange flaming light flying brightly through the night and the falling rain.
Seeing this, Helen's heart tightened as Kelvin turned toward the window and saw it as well.
Not long after, a knock sounded on the door.
Knock! Knock!
"Kelvin, don't open the door. What if it's something worse?" Helen said, still keeping her voice hushed.
Kelvin thought about it for a moment before stepping forward and slowly opening the door, the crowbar still in one hand.
By now, the storm had intensified, and the night seemed even quieter as the wind blew past.
Kelvin looked up and saw a man standing before him.
He had slightly long black hair and green eyes.
It was Vincent, and he had arrived with other survivors.
Vincent smiled and said, "Good evening, sir. Would you mind letting us in?"
Kelvin thought about it for a moment before stepping aside and allowing Vincent and the other survivors to enter.
After stepping inside, Vincent briefly scanned the dark room before turning to Kelvin. "My name is Vincent Brent, and you can trust me with your safety."
With that, he extended his hand with a smile.
Kelvin saw it and shook his hand in return.
"Kelvin Ward."
Ward... Is this Lumian's brother? Vincent thought inwardly as he withdrew his hand and turned around. "When this heavy storm passes, we can head out and look for other places. It shouldn't be too difficult since there's a lower concentration of curses within Lamenti."
Kelvin smiled and replied, "With you here, we can finally get some rest. Helen, let's go upstairs."
From the orange light he had seen earlier, Kelvin had already concluded that the young man was a sorcerer, and more importantly, he seemed friendly.
After that, Kelvin and Helen headed upstairs, while the other survivors either searched for food or went upstairs to find places to rest.
...
11:30, Lamenti, Betyl.
With the rain growing heavier and thunder illuminating the night intermittently, Kelvin came downstairs with a yawn, intending to get some water from the fridge.
As he reached the end of the stairs, he saw one of the survivors with pale white skin standing completely still in the darkness.
His eyes were open, revealing two pairs of eyes shining blankly in the dark.
Kelvin suppressed the urge to fear as he turned to him and asked, "Brother, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"
The survivor's mouth slowly curved upward as he replied, "I was. Restless. So I came to keep myself. Busy."
Hearing his tone, Kelvin's heart trembled slightly, but he still forced out a weary smile and said, "Alright... goodnight." Before swiftly heading back upstairs.
Gasp. Gasp. Gasp.
Sharp, loud gasps resounded from downstairs a few moments after Kelvin left, followed by the piercing scream of a woman.
Immediately, all the upstairs doors suddenly opened as Vincent and the others rushed downstairs.
Reaching the lower floor, they looked into the dark room and saw a girl with a face full of terror.
Nearby, one of the survivors lay in a pool of blood, his intestines squirming out from his stomach as blood gradually spread across the floor.
Kelvin was momentarily frozen in fear as he stared at the horrifying scene.
Then he slowly turned back to look at the survivor he had seen earlier.