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Chapter 20: Faraway Land, Same Reality

"Yeah," Finn answered.

"Monsters are coming—let\'s find somewhere to hide," Charlotte recommended, pointing towards the closest building.

While the cries and yells of fiends throughout the city echoed, he quickly ran across the street with the others right behind him. The entrance into a mall was already left open, through a busted in window.

Finn leapt straight in, turning back to watch as Charlotte nimbly did the same, and Damian more clumsily did.

"Safe—!" Damian claimed while stumbling into the building.

"Shut up and duck down, idiot!" Finn said in a harsh whisper.

Charlotte pointed out a hole-in-the-wall food place in the mall—what looked to be a fried chicken restaurant. Finn hopped behind the counter alongside Charlotte, while Damian more so rolled over the top as the sounds of fiendish footsteps outside the mall echoed.

"They\'re coming in fast, aren\'t they?—" Damian called out.

"Quiet," Finn said calmly, pressing his back up against the lower cabinet.

He remained still while listening to the rapid footsteps just outside of the shattered window of the mall.

As they all hid quietly amidst the sound of fiendish chasing, a peculiar sound hummed through the wind—vrrrrr.

"What\'s that—?" Damian asked.

Just as the question was audibly posed, all of the windows shattered in unison at the behest of a passing gale.

Finn sat up as the others naturally did the same, witnessing the glass fly in every direction.

"Behind me!" Charlotte shouted.

Without knowing what was planned, both men listened as the girl of hair as blue as the sky raised his mystical sword.

["Aero Blockade"]

The raised blade of Charlotte shined with an emerald glow, producing a wall of spinning wind. As the shards of glass scattered, the shield of air kept the chaotic sharpness away.

"Woah!" Damian remarked.

"Convenient," Finn said.

The [Spellblade] class was one known for being balanced with offensive and defensive abilities; physical and magic—a balanced class.

Finn watched as the glass was repelled and the barrier dispelled as the girl brought her sword down.

"Nice one," Finn complimented.

"Mm," Charlotte nodded her head.

What they all were more focused on is what produced such a force capable of simultaneously shattering the windows. The sound of the rushing fiends was no longer heard, bringing Finn to slowly approach where there used to be windows in place.

Right behind him, Damian carefully walked as well as glass crunched beneath his boots, seeing the city street they were just on, "Hey...did it always look like that?"

Charlotte was silent at the sight, though that reaction was the same for all of them upon seeing it.

"No," Finn finally answered.

Through the street of the unfamiliar city, it looked as though the asphalt had been hit by an explosion, with chunks blown out and a massive tear stretching down the direction of the street.

There was a smell in the air; a nose-burning scent like that of citrusy bleach. It was a somewhat familiar scent; the traces of mana in the air after a potent spell.

"What the hell did this?" Damian asked.

Finn walked through the shattered window, looking around the desecrated street, "I\'m not sure if I want to know."

"Whatever it was, it targeted the monsters," Charlotte pointed out.

As Finn looked over to the left where it was pointed out, the mangled, minced corpses of what appeared to be orcs were left on the street.

It was the opposite direction of where the tower in the foreign city had planted itself.

DOOOOOM

—The whole street seemed to rumble beneath a deafening sound. They each stood there as the wind rattled beneath what sounded like explosions moving in rhythm.

"What is that—? It sounds like it\'s coming closer—" Damian asked, readying his axe.

Charlotte looked towards the source of the noise, coming from down the left street, "Footsteps—Finn, do you hear that? It\'s footsteps!"

"Yeah—from something massive," Finn said with a nervous nod.

It was then that it became visible, turning from around a corner a few blocks down: a humanoid colossus covered in bulky armor as dark as night.

The size of it put a cyclops to shame, yet it moved with even more nimbleness. Each downfall of its foot, larger than a semi truck, crushed the pavement.

"It\'s freakin\' huge and–it\'s coming right for us, ain\'t it?!" Damian said in a panic.

As it marched through the street with a purpose, carrying with it a set of massive, silver swords that were each the size of buildings, it dragged its weapons through the neighboring structures.

The colossus of a faceless, horned helmet was something that only needed one look from Finn to realize it was above their capabilities, even without testing his new skills or equipment.

"We need to get out of here–" Finn began to instruct, raising his arm.

Just as he advised his companions, a flicker ahead caused him to come to a realization–it wasn\'t the steel-clad colossus that had shattered the windows, nor was it them the giant sought.

"That\'s..." He quietly let out.

It almost didn\'t make any sense in his eyes, making him blink to make sure his vision didn\'t deceive him, no–it was real.

There really was somebody on the street, meaning to challenge the seemingly impervious colossus on an open battlefield. A person, no larger than the giant\'s toe as the block rumbled so intensely, yet they seemed calm as if this was a normal outing.

"Who the hell is that? Do they have a death wish?!" Damian asked.

"No," Charlotte said, seeming to come to the same conclusion as Finn. "That person is powerful. The strongest I\'ve seen."

Of messy, gold hair, the stranger looked to be in his mid-twenties, covered in scars with an open, snow-white coat with the sleeves rolled up. The lonesome man ran with a superhuman grace, bursting forth with large, golden gauntlets that reflected the sunlight.

With a single step, the unknown figure caused the wind to break as the sound barrier was so violently shattered, along with the neighboring windows.

"That sound–!" Damian said, covering his ears.

"It was him," Finn remarked, doing the same as the wind shrieked.

The gauntlet-wearing stranger met the dual-wielding colossus halfway within a half a moment. Ready for the clash, the armored giant raised its massive swords, swinging them as multiple buildings were cleaved in the process–

It was the single man who acted first, leaping in the air to make up the difference in height. A single thrust of the massive gauntlet on the stranger\'s fist caused the wind to swirl and rampage forth; an emission of the blow was constructed in the shape of the fist.

The strike expanded with knuckles even larger than that of the colossus, shattering its sturdy armor and blowing away the flesh underneath in one blow. A sheer force off of the blow tore through the street, ripping up the asphalt.

It was only for a moment that it was seen; like a gilded cloud in the shape of a fist, large enough to blow through the giant.

"...Holy shit..." Damian remarked in disbelief.

Finn nor Charlotte had any such words to say, instead in an absence of anything to say at the one-sided slaying of the monstrous figure.

As the gauntlet-equipped man of wild, gold hair landed back on his feet, a shower of blood and guts rained down from the decimated colossus. Only its lower half was left, slowly collapsing backward as the stranger was left victorious.

["Sleuth Status"]

[...Assessing information about [???]...]

[Name: Seung]

[Age: 22]

[Designated Class: Crusher]

[Level: 34]

Obtaining the information confirmed Finn\'s suspicions as he looked at the back of the stranger that was multiple blocks down.

\'Thirty-four? That\'s incredibly high–he must\'ve been fighting non-stop since this all began. Just what kind of person even is this guy?\' Finn questioned, keeping behind a concrete pillar in front of the mall not to expose himself.

Damian stepped out, seeming to want to approach the mysterious survivor, "We should talk to him. Somebody that powerful–"

"Hold on," Finn sharply said, grabbing onto the shoulder of the warrior.

"What? Are you saying we shouldn\'t?" Damian asked hurriedly.

Charlotte shook her head, seeming to share the same reluctance as the assassin, "Somebody with a level like that...from what I\'ve seen, a level that high at this point likely means they\'ve been obtaining experience from not just monsters."

"You mean by killing other people? We don\'t know that, though," Damian argued.

"That\'s right, we don\'t–that\'s why it\'s safer not to get that guy\'s attention. If he ends up seeing us as "experience"--do you think we\'d be able to stop somebody like him, Damian? Do you think we\'d stand a chance?" Finn sincerely asked, looking into his friend\'s eyes.

There was a clear goodness in Damian\'s heart–that much couldn\'t be denied. However, that same kindness was often a detriment at times; something Finn took note of.

"Damian, not everyone is somebody that we can work together with," Finn told him.

"I know, but...What about you, Charlotte? We reached out to you, didn\'t we? And that worked out," Damian asked.

"I get what you mean, but the reality of it is...from what I\'ve experienced, most people out here, most that are left...They aren\'t friendly," Charlotte said.

"I guess you both are right. I just wanted to believe maybe it didn\'t come to that," Damian sighed. "Doesn\'t seem like that guy needs any help, does he?"

"Gotta agree there–he seems more than fine on his own," Finn remarked, looking around the pillar again.

To his confusion, the figure in question was already gone, only leaving the sight of the torn-up street along with the legs of the slain giant.

\'He\'s already gone–?\' Finn questioned.

Brushing it off, he looked around, figuring out what the next move was as he noticed how quiet the area now was. Looking at the buildings clung by vines, with the colossal, digital screens that stretched the heights of skyscrapers left shattered, it was surprisingly silent.

"What\'s the plan?" Damian asked.

"Right now, I think it\'s our best chance to navigate this city–I don\'t think any monsters will come out for the time being," Finn remarked.

"Why not?" Damian further asked curiously.

Charlotte seemed to get at what he had in mind, tilting her head as she put her hand to her chin in thought, "I see. I believe you\'re right, Finn."

"Man, why am I always the slow one on the uptake?" Damian breathed out.

"It\'s just a guess, but after the display of strength from that guy, I think the creatures around here are gonna stay put. At least until they think he\'s gone. They\'re smart enough to recognize that," Finn presumed.

"Right, that makes sense. Oughta get moving, then, right? I\'m pretty hungry," Damian said, patting his stomach as the sound of his metallic glove striking his armor clanged.

"Yeah," Finn agreed.