Chapter 202 A Warning Arrives

What took him by surprise was just how much proficiency he earned for his assassin area in just that encounter.

…I guess killing people really is the truest essence of an assassin, isn't it? He thought.

It didn't feel good, and frankly, he didn't know how he did it. In the face of malicious foes, his mind simply went on auto-pilot.

With the Devil Slaying Hour realm shattering, he seamlessly returned to the street where it all began, surrounded by the corpses of all the players he had just eradicated.

"...Jeong-Hui," Xiaodan walked up, looking around.

Korain looked around too, "Serves them right. Scumbags."

"No."

"No?" Korain looked at him.

He glanced back as a single tear strolled down his cheek, "They were just trying to survive–like us."

Korain looked at him for a moment with somber eyes, nodding, "I see. Let's move on, lad."

–

Through the desolate city, they neared the luminescent Tower with the haze and fire surrounding them, engulfing the various buildings in the city.

Hours had passed and now it was but just an hour away: the opening of the Tower.

It was there in full-view now; it stood past the clouds, embedded into the asphalt as glowing roots entangled the surrounding buildings.

"There it is," Korain said, looking on, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"I'd say it's a mix of that and horrifying," he replied.

There was something about the Tower; such a structure was so out of this world that staring it almost felt as if you were being entranced completely–your eyes being lulled to its divine form as it sang comforting melodies to your heart.

"Let's go," he said.

"Right behind you," Xiaodan replied.

The streets were eviscerated around the Tower; the roots had carved through the asphalt, wrapping around buildings.

"Where do you think the others are?" Xiaodan asked.

Korain answered, lumbering along with them, "...Somewhere close by. All we can do now is look around and holler."

"Hollering doesn't sound like a good idea," he said, walking ahead of the two.

As of right now, his caution was at its peak. The blood in his veins was running hot, yet bearing a merciless cold as his trust was at its lowest. The top priority in his mind was survival–for him and his friends; this meant that anybody that challenged that would be dealt with–fiend or human.

"Yeah…" Xiaodan said.

"Let's just stay on our toes. Keep your eyes peeled–we've got to watch each other's backs right now–I'm sure you know just as much as I do that around the Tower is probably the most dangerous place in the world right now," he said.

"Why's that?" Xiaodan asked, walking beside him.

They marched through the burning streets, neighbored by the seraphic roots of the tower that were embedded in the walls of the buildings around them. Cars were totaled, flipped over, and smashed. There were bodies here and there, but it seemed most victims had already been taken away by something.

He kept his eyes peeled and focused, constantly surveying their surroundings, "--The close-off time for meeting the requirements of entering the Tower is just an hour away. That means anybody who met those requirements is waiting around here–since they were smart enough to survive, they're probably tucked away. But, those who didn't make it…"

"--Are desperate," Korain finished for him, "Like the group we just encountered."

"Exactly," he nodded, "people below level twenty, who are desperate, will probably try and score some experience by taking out other people around here."

Xiaodan gulped, looking around now with caution in his eyes, "I see…Makes sense."

–

Vrrrrr

Something unpleasant met their eyes as they all stopped at once.

"Huh…? What's that sound?" Xiaodan mumbled.

He was quiet, looking down the street as he kept his hands near his sheathed daggers–ready for whatever was coming.

It became clear what one of the sounds was–footsteps. There were desperate footsteps, turning a corner and running down their way.

"Help-!"

"It's coming!"

–Not that it was a complete shock to see, but there was a group of people in white uniforms rushing down the street with expressions weathered by fear and anxiety.

People? He thought.

"Please–! I-it's coming!" One of the men shouted.

"Help us! Do something–!" A woman cried desperately.

The panic on their faces as tears fled their eyes was nothing that could be faked; the utter dread of inevitable death had wrinkled their skin.

"Jeong-Hui…" Xiaodan said.

Korian kept his hand gripped around his claymore, "Do you think it's another set-up?"

He kept still before shaking his head, "...No. Something is coming!"

It was just then after he had stood there listening closely did the subtle hum personify itself as a rain of pale-white arrows rained down on the street.

"What the–?!" Xiaodan let out.

The arrows were massive and glowing; landing down and eviscerating the people that were trying to run. It was a gruesome, brutal sight–the arrows tore through the humans as if they were made of paper–cleaving their limbs, heads, and even cutting them straight in two.

It was impossible in that moment to make out what had done such a visceral act as the light of arrows filled the sky above, raining down on the surrounding buildings.

Vehicles were trampled by the light arrows, having their roofs crushed and pierced through; the asphalt was stabbed and cratered–it was utter destruction.

"--Get to cover!" He shouted out.

It was his words that shook the shock from his two comrades, prompting all three of them to rush into the alleyway and barge through the door of the closest building for cover.

A small cafe was found on the other side of the door; obviously long since abandoned and messy, but it was enough.

"What the hell was that?!" Korain yelled.

"--I don't know, but it shredded those people up…!" Xiaodan replied.

Again, the calamity of arrows rained down from the sky, unleashing a destructive onslaught on the streets below.

Out of instinct, he covered his ears, with the other two following, just as the storm of heavenly arrows desecrated the street just beyond the cafe windows.

It was a hellish sound; the scraping off asphalt, steel being skewered, windows busting open, and the hissing of the air as the giant arrows of light cast down like missiles.

After a few minutes, it finally stopped.

"My conquest here is over. The land is mine. The glory is mine."

It was a calm, focused voice devoid of emotion that echoed through the sky above before the air howled with the seeming departure of the unseen figure.

"...Is it over?" Xiaodan asked, still holding his hands over his ears.

The windows had shattered from the shock waves of the arrow barrage, but it had fallen as quiet as the apocalypse could be now.

"Think so," Korain said, standing back up.

He carefully stepped forward as glass crunched beneath his boots, peeking out of the broken windows towards the skies.

Besides the hellish horizon above, it was clear now.

"...Looks like we're good to go," he said.

They headed out once more, hugging close to the buildings as he kept his eyes cautiously watching their surroundings.

Right now, there is no such thing as being "overly cautious"; this is the climax of it–the moment just before the "Tower" finally opens–everything is trying to kill us, he thought.

"Jeong-Hui, you have a skill that can find the others, right?" Xiaodan asked him from behind.

He glanced back, "Huh?"

"That one thingy–err…I forgot what it was called, but you used it when we first met! Against that weird head-demon!" Xiaodan said.

For a moment he was confused as to what the feminine, silver-haired boy was referring to, but he stopped once figuring it out.

Recon! He remembered.

"Yeah, I do," he said.

"Well? What're you waiting for!" Korain asked.

–There was no question that time was of the essence; not only was the opening of the Tower near, but the wounds that Korain had suffered weren't simply vanishing, and the same could be said for Xiaodan's exhaustion. It was still up to him to handle all of the fighting.

"...Right. Give me a moment," he nodded.

It was something that slipped from his mind due to the fact he'd never aimed [Recon] to be used for this specific purpose. Usually, including the concept of "allies" in the desired scope would only distract him since he mainly used it to figure out where his enemies were or how they were approaching in their attack.

Alright…this works perfectly! Even if I can't find them with one use, something as low of cost as Recon won't take a toll while I'm using my Sage Period! He thought.

As he held his hand out, he invoked the spell, "Cast: Recon!"

While standing perfectly still and concentrating solely on the extension of the veil of sensory particles, he was able to propel the range of his reconnaissance.

It covered the surrounding block, delving through the intersection as he looked for his lost companions.

"—"

He went silent.

"Jeong-Hui?" Xiaodan called his name.

"Did you find anything?" Korain asked.

His fingers began to tremble as something indeed was found from the recon, but it was not the desired traces of his allies.

[WARNING: [BOSS] FOE APPROACHING.]