CH 60

It was late at night and a young boy was still typing on his computer. His youthful eyes glowed brightly, but their white sheen had a little redness that was formed due to the overexposure to the light coming from the monitor.

Classes will start in only a few days from now, so he wanted to finish his work by then. Though it was only his first draft, at least he was presently fit to say that he had composed a novel. He had been trying to accomplish this for a while, and the productive summer seems to be just enough for him to finally finish writing one.

'Let's see. This looks too boring. I'll change it into this.'

" Click. Clack. " The unmistakable sounds of typing lasted for a while before a final click was heard, then he relocated the mouse cursor to the save button on the top left corner. He leaned back in content, pleased with his work. He looked at the glass by his right side and picked it up to have a drink.

" Hmm? " He turned the glass upside down, and not a single drop fell. It seems the water it held had long been drained by him. He looked at the time, only to see it was already 12 o'clock, three hours later than he usually slept. " Sigh."

The bewildered boy looked meaningfully at the glass and wondered which one he wanted more. To sleep now or obtain more water. Advantages and disadvantages of both possibilities had been scrambling inside his head before he decidedly placed the cup back down on the desk and headed straight to bed.

'I'll drink tomorrow.'

Swallowing his saliva, he stood up from his seat and headed to bed. His exhausted body was too wasted for him to mind his thirst. Though the unquenchable thirst never escaped him, he was too tired to adequately care.

Drifting off to sleep, the young boy found himself standing on the edge of a sizeable wall. The blue sky overhead contained not a single cloud, causing the sun's harsh light shine down on his surroundings. A massive city was before him, one that was surrounded by three circular walls. He was standing on the wall farthest from the outside.

'This place looks nice, I wonde- Beep. Beep. Beep. " It was then that an alarming sound echoed all over, making him flinch for a second before he felt the surroundings go silent. Hundreds of men and women came from who knows where and were standing on the largest wall, the one connected to the outside. 

"Is it the Coalition?" Zel looked towards the direction the question came from, discovering a young man standing close to him. His eyes were dull, all grey and unfocused. But he looked strong, as his broad shoulders, combined with his tall and fit body were easily recognizable past the tight armor he had on. He gave Zel a smile before jumping down from the wall, causing the boy left behind to worry for his life.

"Wh- Whoosh. " Before he could inquire what was happening, a few swift figures showed in the distance. Bearing with them a deafening sound that was due to their speeds breaching the sound barrier.

'Are those fighter jets?!' The sight of three giant aircrafts speeding through the sky greeted the boy in the succeeding moment. He was startled due to the terrible surprise and stepped back a little. But that was when he felt his body become unfamiliar, as the modest step he took had transported him a few centimeters farther than he remembered it would.

'What's going on?!' He looked down to observe his body, one he had no recollection of owning. His unusual sense of height was hopelessly confused, as he felt like he was standing unsteadily on a pair of stilts. His arms were also longer and much thicker than they really were. And yet it felt eerily familiar. As if it was his own.

"Defend the city!" The man who jumped down from the wall had already arrived at the outermost wall. A few sparks were emitting from his feet as he ran on the air, causing the young Zel to sway his head in confusion. 'Am I seeing things?'

" Roar. " Shouts rang out from his surroundings as various men and women wearing a similar type of uniform ran towards the direction of the northern city gate. Their tight fitting tops were all blue, making them look like police cadets. Everyone had guns on them, looking like a well armed army. 

'Why am I wearing armor?' Zel didn't register it at all until he looked down, but was wearing one as well. But his armor was different in color, being a bright white instead. There was also an insignia of a crown on his left chest, with the words 'King' beneath them.

"Defend the city!" Zel held his hands on the sides of his head as felt his ears ringing when a young woman beside him shouted back in reply to the cry from the distance. He didn't know why, but he felt his body heat up, like it was boiling.

"Zel! The south gate!" The young woman didn't seem to perceive what was happening to Zel, as she was preoccupied with the coordinated attacks from all sides. The three entrances to the city were locked down, the fifteen-meter tall gates barricaded from the inside to stop the forces outside from coming in.

" Boom. Boom. Boom. " A series of mighty explosions came from behind the boy so he took a look. He turned to witness an explosion in the air, one that seemed to have bombarded a barrier in the sky. He was about to hide when a gentle hand held his, one that instantly filled his body with confidence and energy.

"..." Zel didn't fathom why but his body suddenly felt out of control, as words he had no intention on giving was spoken by his body. The body then turned to face the charming woman, one whose appearance had made the young Zel's youthful mind tremble from genuine shock.

Her long raven hair was styled into what looked like a flower that grew from the back of her head. He couldn't describe them properly, only knowing it looked elegant when worn by her. Combined with those luscious rosy lips and piercing blue eyes that were looking at him with an adoring gaze he had never seen before, she was a striking beauty. He couldn't help but try and place his capable hand on his mighty chest, right over his innocent heart, as he felt his heart beat rapidly.

"You can protect us, Zel. I know you can." The ideal woman beside him was holding on to a book, with a few more floating serenely around her. She extended one hand and the book on her other hand glowed. Then a pleasant glow that radiated out of her outstretched hand landed on the men lying near the south gate, and they stood up afterwards.

"..."

"Hey! I told you!"

He once again looked at those alluring blue eyes as her cherry lips curved into a shy grin. Her hand that held his had been raised to her chest level as she gave it a hug. His fears seemed to have lessen in but an instant, especially as he heeded her next words patiently.

"I'm always by your side."

"Boom." Zel looked towards the explosion that occurred not too far from his location, he didn't know when but a gaping hole appeared on what appeared to be a gigantic wall. Fortunately, there seemed to be two more walls before they get to him.

"Let's go!"

Zel then felt the hands that held his let go, her back growing smaller as she went closer to the hole in the wall. He was terrified, so scared that he tried to shout at her to get back here. But his body had once again took on a life of its own as he moved forward.

'What?' He didn't know when or how but the hole had suddenly turned much larger. It was only a narrow hole from his perspective from up where he was before but now it was a few tens of meters high. 'Wait.'

"Kill him!" A vicious person wearing a military officer's uniform pointed scornfully at him while aiming a sniper rifle at his position. Zel couldn't help but be afraid for his life as the nozzle was aimed precisely at his head. But his body had once again moved on its own.

" Thud ." A wet feeling suddenly appeared from his left hand as something seemed to have popped. He looked down only to see a shallow pool of blood and what was once a hateful person. That was because Zel's bloodied hand had pierced through the armed man's sunken chest. But the blood was then washed away by a blue glow that came from his body.

"Fire!" The surrounding soldiers were surprised at his speed, but the death of their comrade only made them less hesitant to drown this monster in lead.

" Bang. Bang. Ding. Ding. " Zel closed his frightened eyes when the short-lived series of gunshots sounded out. Though he felt it was strange as the deafening sounds had been incorporated with what seemed to be metal hitting metal. It was even more so when the overwhelming noise around him suddenly turned quiet, with a few clicking noises sounding out. He knew these sounds, and he was about to run away when he heard another clicking sound. One that he recognized being the sound of a gun being reloaded.

'Run!' He uncovered his anxious eyes, believing this critical moment to be a golden opportunity to run. But when he turned back, he was only able to see a burst of light heading towards his body. He screamed in terrible pain but then the raw sounds of clicking sounded out again. Yet he was still standing, and he bore no pain whatsoever. The sounds of guns being reloaded were once again heard, but this time he didn't look away.

A violent group of armed men discharged their guns at him while his hands veiled his face, leaving only a lone eye to check out what's happening. He nervously watched as those bullets suddenly stop and fall right by his feet, smoke was still present on the burning red pieces of unknown metal. He was about give off a sigh in relief when a tail appeared on his right, one he felt he could control. " Whoosh. Whoosh ."

'?' He commanded it to move to the right, and it did as it was told. So he tried commanding it to move to the left and it still followed. But then another tail appeared from his left, then from above. They continued popping out until he couldn't count them anymore. He moved them all, not perceiving them foreign to him in any way. That was until he lost control.

" Bang. Bang. Fuck off! Splurge. Ahh!"

" Bang. Bang . No! Thud ."

The hundreds of brilliantly blue tails that floated aimlessly around him earlier had extruded into long and thick spears that skewered the numerous men who had fired indiscriminately at him beforehand. Their bodies mangled into kebabs that only used their mortal bodies that squirmed in protest as if trying to pry themselves off the spear that impaled them. It was when they had stopped moving that Zel felt his body getting stronger, as if their deaths fueled him. And it horrified him.

"What in the world is happening?" The moment he said this, the spears that were coldly glowing blue suddenly turned into a mist that went back to his unknown body. He looked gloomily at his fumbling hands that didn't contain a single drop of blood on them, but in his mind, they were doused in it. The bodies that surrounded him were proof of his murder spree.

As he finally seized back control of his body, the first thing he did was to try and understand. Where was he? Who was he? But he received no time to think as a pain that came from the back of his head took his consciousness, making him faint.

Only to wake up and find his bed wet, and quite warm.