The crackling of wood being devoured by fire still echoed in the air. James stood motionless in the shadow of a ruined building, the flames from across the street reflecting in his jet-black eyes, which still held a trace of terror.
The thick stench of blood still permeated every breath, seeping into his lungs until his body trembled. He looked down at his own hands, which were still shaking slightly.
Even though his body had been restored and strangely strengthened by the bloodline transition, the heart of an ordinary man who had just faced "death" and "horror" unlike anything in his life couldn't become numb so quickly.
"So bleak…" he murmured to himself. This city… Alvia… it was well and truly fallen.
From the flood of Lime's memories, James remembered this place as the most vibrant district in the city. A wide street market that had once been filled with the laughter of people, the cheerful sounds of haggling, and the footsteps of traveling merchants trying to draw customers to their wares.
But now, only remnants of that life remained.
The bodies of a mother and child in commoners' clothes lay in a tight, final embrace by a collapsed wall. The corpse of a small, pale-faced boy was crushed to a pulp in the middle of the street. Next to it lay a severed hand, still clutching a pouch of herbs so tightly it was as if its owner didn't even know they had left this world.
James held his breath, forcing himself to look away from the pathetic sight.
Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted from a distant location. A flash of orange-red light shot up into the dim sky, followed by the low, familiar roar of a demon.
Is someone still fighting?
Or is it just the demons destroying other parts of the city?
"At least there might still be other survivors," James muttered, a small sense of relief washing over him. He was terrified of being the only human left alive in this dead city.
After a moment, James turned his attention back to his immediate surroundings and his own survival. He looked down the smaller street before him. A sloping stone path, collapsed in sections, stretched westward. His destination was the old cargo transport center, a place where merchants once rested and traded their goods.
If luck was on his side, he might find a transport animal there to aid his escape.
"If I can get there before the demons seal it off completely… I might be able to get out of this hell," he whispered to himself, reinforcing his resolve.
But getting there would be anything but easy. Not because of the distance, but because the entire city had become a massive hunting ground for those vile demons.
James began to move out of his hiding spot as quietly as possible. He tried to use his heightened senses to avoid open areas or potentially dangerous spots.
However, the path leading west to the transport center was too quiet… unnervingly so.
James moved cautiously, through the smoke and scattered debris. The narrow street he chose was flanked by half-demolished buildings, and the stench of blood hung heavy in the air.
The soft crunch of his shoes on small stones would stop every time he heard an unusual breath or a faint movement in the shadows.
Until a distinct, soft scratching sound came from within the ruins up ahead.
He wasn't sure if it was just his stressed imagination or if… the Void-Born Apex Bloodline within him was warning him of something.
And then another sound…
Click… click…
The sound of hard claws on stone, echoing faintly, like the Grim Reaper drawing near.
James froze, his body instantly rigid.
From the deep shadows ahead, a figure flowed out in silence, as if it were part of the darkness itself. It stood nearly two meters tall but was gaunt and twisted, like a dry branch warped by the wind.
Its body was covered in dull, dark-gray scales that blended into the dim light, with small, sharp spines like glass shards scattered along its spine. A pair of its eyes glowed with a faint, pale green light in the darkness, staring at James with a cold, emotionless gaze, like a predator that had found its prey.
Instantly, the data overlay appeared in his vision once more:
[Bloodline Detected]
Name: Shadow-Meld Demon
Bloodline Sequence: Special Bloodline – Mist-Shadow Demon
Awakening Level: 2 – Fused
Strengths: Vibration Sense, Silent Movement, Excellent camouflage in shadows
Weaknesses: Low awareness, Slow reaction to surprise attacks
Evolution Potential: Low
::
James cursed internally. He had no weapon, no transport, and it seemed now he had no easy way to run.
The Shadow-Meld Demon had seen him!
It let out a sharp cry, the sound echoing in the silence, before its gaunt body lunged at him in a split second, its momentum tearing through the air!
James rolled to the side with all his might, his shoulder scraping against a broken stone pillar, a sharp sting of pain shooting through him. He gritted his teeth, trying to get to his feet and regain his balance, but the demon's cry sounded close again.
It gave him no opportunity to recover.
"This is bad…!" James muttered in despair, instinctively raising his arms to shield his face.
In that split second between life and death, an intense desire to live surged in James's chest.
He stared hard at the demon, not knowing what to do, but all his instincts were screaming at him to 'stop' it. His blood thrummed violently. Something in his veins responded instantly.
It was as if his blood was alive, and it… was listening to him.
Suddenly, James felt something violently distort within the Shadow-Meld Demon!
The demon, mid-lunge, faltered abruptly! The muscles that should have brought its sharp claws down to rip him apart suddenly went limp, causing its arm to hang strangely.
The Shadow-Meld Demon cried out in confusion and perhaps pain, before its hind legs also gave out. Its nearly two-meter-tall body lost its balance and collapsed to the ground in a surprisingly comical heap.
James did not let this golden opportunity slip by. He dove under its weakened arm and sprinted with all his might towards the alley between two buildings not far away.
The enraged roars of the Shadow-Meld Demon echoed behind him as it struggled to get back up. But its movements were now much slower, surprisingly so.
"Is this… one of my abilities?" James panted, his back against a damp, blood-stained wall. He felt a sudden wave of fatigue wash over his nervous system, as if some energy had been drained from his body. "Looks like… this ability has a pretty steep cost."
After his narrow escape from the Shadow-Meld Demon, James didn't waste any time and continued on his way. The fatigue running through his system was a reminder that he couldn't use that power carelessly.
But at the same time, seeing its effect gave him a small flicker of hope for his survival.
He tried to move along the safest possible route, avoiding main roads where demons might be abundant. The path he chose took him past a street that, according to Lime's memory, had been the barracks for the city guard. It had now become a massive pit of blood.
Corpses in armor were piled up pathetically. Some had their limbs brutally torn off, some were crushed beyond recognition by some enormous creature, and some had been split in two by immense force. The stench of blood and burning was so thick it was almost suffocating.
James carefully made his way around the pile of bodies, trying not to look at the nauseating sight for too long. Just then, a faint, agonized groan slipped out from under a pile of rubble by the roadside.
"Someone… is still alive?" James's heart skipped a beat. He stopped, his senses on high alert as he stared toward the source of the sound.
He saw a soldier, breathing shallowly, pinned under a collapsed wooden plank. The man's eyes were wide, staring at him with a vacant look. But what was horrifying was that both of his legs were gone from below the knees, leaving only gruesome wounds that were bleeding profusely.
James could only stare, a heavy, suffocating feeling in his chest. He remembered from Lime's memories that these soldiers were the ones who had tried their best to protect the city.
He wanted to help, to do something, but he knew he couldn't do anything for the man. Especially not for someone so gravely injured.
In a situation where he could barely save himself, trying to help someone else might just lead to both their deaths. Guilt and shame churned in his chest like a sharp acid… but he had to move on.
James gritted his teeth, turned his back on the groaning sound, and walked away quickly.
Finally, he reached an area with several large wooden buildings surrounding a wide, open courtyard. This was Alvia's cargo transport center, located not far from the western city wall. According to Lime's memory, this place used to be bustling with merchants and wagons.
But now… everything was unnervingly quiet.
There was no movement, no sound of people, no guards at the gate, not even the cry of an animal. Only the scattered remains of ransacked goods and the dark red stains of blood splattered everywhere.
James slowly crept into the wide courtyard, being as cautious as possible. The dim light from a torch still burning on a wooden post illuminated the bodies of two draft oxen, lying dead with their eyes wide open in a corner of the yard. Their condition indicated a brutal death.
But then his eyes caught the shadow of an animal that seemed to be breathing shallowly in a wooden pen at the far end of the yard.
His heart pounded with hope.
But suddenly! A high-pitched scraping sound came from behind one of the warehouses nearby. It was the sound of heavy metal dragging on stone, followed by a ragged, wheezing breath, as if some large creature was sniffing hungrily for prey.
James immediately ducked back behind a pile of broken empty crates. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he could barely breathe. His eyes were fixed on a massive dark shadow that was slowly moving past the warehouse entrance…
But then! A thunderous roar echoed from another part of the city, followed by the crash of what sounded like several large buildings collapsing in succession and a faint tremor that ran through the ground.
The sound made the demon that was about to reveal itself hesitate for a moment. It turned its head sharply toward the source of the noise, let out a low growl, and then quickly leaped away in the direction it came from, as if something more interesting than the prey before it was waiting.
James waited until he was sure it was gone before he held his breath and dashed straight for the animal pen.
Inside, he saw two traveling horses, trembling with fear, but they still looked strong and healthy. However, they were harnessed to a small passenger carriage.
Even more horrifying was what was on the driver's seat of that carriage… the upper half of a human torso was slumped over, blood still seeping from the massive wound at its waist.
James felt so sick he nearly threw up, but he had no time for that feeling. He shoved the remains of the corpse from the driver's seat without hesitation and quickly climbed up to take its place. His trembling hands grabbed the loose reins, holding them tight.
"I will survive…" he murmured to himself again, driving that resolve deep into his soul.