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“…This is what it means to be an adventurer, right…?” He questioned to himself in a whisper.

Just then, the silver-haired beasts made their move; shuffling through the treeline with unarthodox, zig-zag movements, they closed in on his position with swiftness.

There wasn’t a single droplet of fear that entered his bloodstream as he stood his ground, standing still as he waited for the beasts to come.

They moved carefully, but with speed that made them blurs–to normal eyes, that is. As one leapt towards him with its chest-mouth clamping down, he lifted a single hand in response.

Before its fangs could reach him, a release of azure flames pushed against the silver entity, engulfing it in the sublime heat of the Dragonheart.

It was a controlled output; the majestic flames exuded in a condensed cone that targeted only the beast, swallowing it in the all-burning grasp of the draconic inferno before it dropped to the ground as a blackened husk.

As he looked forward with his merciless, bestial eyes, the silver-furred entities seemed wary now; lurking around as their chest-mouths clammered.

“Come on, then…I’m in a bad mood!” He yelled.

Inviting the unnatural entities into a battle, it seemed his outburst of emotion drew them in a half dozen leapt towards him with their tongues stretching out to unnatural lengths.

Still, there was no hesitance within him as the azure flames sparked around his left forearm as he pulled it back, gathering the heat before unleashing it forward in a tidal wave of destruction.

Those that lunged towards him were burned away to the afterlife in a flash; the spectacle of the azure was witnessed by none but himself and the malignant entities in that moment.

It’s their fault it came to this, he reasoned._.

As his temperament declined ever-so-slightly, so did his control over the draconic inferno as their azure burn stretched over the fields, igniting them as heat coalesced in the clearing.

Still, the agility of the beasts was something harrowing as he watched them begin diving into the soil, swimming through it as if it were liquid.

This is how they got through the sand? He thought.

The ground began rumbling as the dozen beasts were quickly carving through the soil beneath him; unable to see them, it seemed unlikely to launch a counterattack.

Though, ‘unlikely’ was all it was.

As he clenched his fist, his heartbeat increased through his own tensing.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

[Physical capabilities increased.]

Drawing forth the increased strength from his Dragonheart System, he stomped down, breaking the soil around him as it cracked and split, revealing the beady-eyed entities hiding beneath it.

Amidst the silver-furred beasts, his eyes laid on one that stood out to him: it had blood-soaked arms. Seeing that left little doubts in his mind as he found the object of his rage.

All at once, he unleashed a massive swirl of azure flames that cascaded into the broken soil, burning through the sediment before burying the beasts in a crematory.

“–” He watched.

As the burning of the azure flames came to an end, all of the malicious entities were handled without a single blemish being laid on his form.

[Level Up!]

[Level Twelve Achieved]

It meant little to him that he leveled up, as the loss in return for the gain didn’t make up for it in the slightest.

With his vengeance finished, the draconic essence faded before he looked down.

“Sorry, Joel…” He apologized quietly.

A slight ache resonated through his body as the Dragonheart blood quelled; it wasn’t just that. In the end, a hefty amount of mana was used previously, and though he was in the more durable, stable body of his normal self, it was taxing.

“Ghh…” He groaned quietly.

As he glanced behind him at the body of his silver-haired friend, a small frown was present on his expression before he hoisted him up, placing him on his back. There was no doubt that it was an awkward maneuver to carry the adult man on his back, but it wasn’t an arduous task with his increased strength.

“Let’s get you out of here,” he said quietly.

With his tired sights set on the lonesome door in the middle of the otherworldly zone, he slowly moved towards it before stopping in front of it.

A slow twist of the doorknob released a small squeak of metal before it clicked, unlocking and opening itself to present the sight of Larundog once again.

“…I made it out?” He questioned almost in doubt.

It was odd to him that he was relieved to find his way back into the hellscape that was in Larundog, but he was quick to act carefully as he carried Joel’s body into an alleyway at the sound of heavy steps around the corner.

…It never ends, does it? He questioned.

Hiding in the shadow-filled alley while listening to loud stomps traversing the desolate streets of the city, he carefully lowered the body of his friend onto the ground.

He knelt down, making sure Joel’s body was sat up as tears stayed in his eyes.

It’s weird. He looks…peaceful, he thought.

Difficulty came when looking at him, but a part of him was relieved to know that Joel was freed from the hell that ensnared them.

“…Bye, Joel. I’ve got to go now…” He said quietly.

As he brought himself to his feet, he buried his emotions the best he could as he wiped any residual tears from his eyes.

Alone again, he found himself aimless and without direction on what his next move was. More than that, he knew that simply acting without any semblance of an idea was something that would earn him a quick death.

He peeked around the corner, looking towards the source of the heavy footsteps. What his eyes found was a behemoth of a humanoid; it stood likely over four meters in height with broad shoulders and burly arms that hung down to the ground, walking like a gorilla. It was clad in ivory skin that almost looked like knightly armor, lumbering around as it used its fists as front legs.

…I’d rather avoid fighting that thing, he thought.

As he waited for it to pass by the street, he swiftly and quietly sprinted from the tucked-away alley to the other side of the street to another secluded area. It was a small park, gated off, but he found a hole through the black gates.

It seemed a lot less dense with malignant nightmares than the stone roads of Larundog; the park was compact with trees that held dried, dead leaves that also littered the verdant grass below.

“Ghk…!”

As he took a step forward, he winced and covered his mouth as he stepped in a puddle of blood that was left next to a contorted, mangled corpse.

It was a blonde-haired, adult male, but any other features beyond that were impossible to discern by how broken and torn the body was.

It’s terrible…He thought.

The stench of death hung thick around the park; a sickening, putrid smell of spoiled meat swirled in the air as he kept his nose and mouth covered with his cape before moving deeper.

I have to find Vandread…or anybody else for that matter, he resolved.

If anything, the park seemed to at least provide a good amount of cover, which felt invaluable in the fact that he wanted to avoid the lurking monstrosities entirely.

Though part of him knew he’d have to confront the source of the nightmarish city–the ‘Unending Nightmare’–it was something he didn’t want to face alone. Whether it was his own rationality of knowing it wasn’t something he could defeat alone or simply innate fear, he sought to avoid it before finding others.

As he moved on through the park, which had its trees layered in thick cobwebs that almost existed like a veil of fog, he looked around, finding more bodies strewn through the pathways and fields of grass.

It wasn’t just adults, clearly–children weren’t exempt from the horrific nature of the hellscape. As he moved forward, he found himself staring in horror at what awaited him when traveling to the heart of the town park: giant webs hung in abundance and sacks of cobweb in the shape of humans hung from trees.

Bodies…? What is this? He questioned.

The largest tree in the park, which sat in the center of the horrific area, was completely wrapped in white threads.

As the bodies tied by webs swayed by a passing breeze, he backed away, tripping over something as he fell on his rear. Looking at what tripped him, he found his heart caught in his throat at the sight of a young girl’s body, shriveled up and of a drained complexion as if all of the fluids were taken from her body.

“Gah…!” He covered his mouth.

As he sat on the grass in horror, he could feel the sticky essence of webs layering even the grass. Before he could gather his frantic breaths, he was sent into further panic as a ticklish sensation made him look at his left hand, causing him to find dozens of tiny spiders crawling up his fingers and ascending his arm.

“No, no, no…!”

He frantically swatted his arm in a panic, backing away and picking himself up before slipping right into a curtain of webs.

“Gah…!”