The Smiling Death

Now the city was covered with darkness. There was not even a single light of the moon falling over the city.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

The footsteps of someone running through a street could be heard.

It was none other than Amon.

"It's behind me!" Amon exclaimed, he ran faster using his mana.

Something lunged at him from behind.

'Shitt!' Amon cursed.

Sensing that something lunged at him from behind, Amon threw his body to the left side.

Thud!

He rolled on the ground but got on his feet instantly.

"Growl!"

The shadow that had just attacked him growled loudly.

Despite the darkness, Amon could still see faintly.

The creature in front of him was as big as a human. Its hands were long, reaching down to its knees.

Its body was skinny, long, and black like coal. Its facial features were not visible, while its nails were long and pointy, strong enough to tear apart flesh easily.

"Roaarrr!"

It roared menacingly and attacked Amon.

Its hand raised, claws sharp, ready to slash down at him.

Amon didn't just stay there. He pulled out his sword immediately and swung it.

The blade tore through the air with a soothing sound.

A blue line formed in the darkened space.

Cling!

The sound clashed with the creature's claw.

Both of them pushed each other away.

'Wow! I feel a lot stronger. Before I had a tiny pond of mana, now it feels like it's become a small lake,' Amon thought delightedly.

The hatchet appeared in his left hand. The monster lunged at him again.

His red eyes shined in the darkness. Amon smirked; he could follow and sense the monster much more easily.

Before it could reach him, his left hand moved at blinding speed.

Spin!

The shadowy hatchet tore through the air with unimaginable speed.

The creature tried to stop the incoming hatchet with its strong claw.

The dark hatchet, its sharp blade covered in shadow, slashed the nails of the being cleanly.

Crash!

And it didn't stop there. The curved shadowy blade crushed the head of the monster with a sickening sound of bones cracking and flesh slashing.

"Growlll!" The monster growled loudly in pain. Its body fell on the street limply.

It was dead.

"Hah..." Amon stayed still and silent for a while.

"That... was easy... that was too easy... tch!" Amon shook his head in disappointment.

Not because the fight was easy, not because the opponent was weak.

But he was disappointed for being so scared of this thing.

"Hehe."

Shaking his head lightly, he chuckled.

He turned back, ready to walk away. But he stopped.

His heart was beating faster. Louder.

He slowly turned his head back.

There he saw them. Not one, two, but more than twenty abominations like the one he just killed.

Some were standing on rooftops, some were inside broken buildings watching him from windows, while some were hiding behind walls, peeking their heads out and looking at him.

All pairs of red shining eyes glared at him.

He couldn't see them clearly... but he could tell. He didn't know why, but he felt it — that they were smiling at him widely. All of them.

He stepped back.

One. Two. Three.

He took steps back slowly while observing them. Slowly he turned and started to run forward.

The small steps became bigger and faster.

'Fuck! Fuck! Was I too arrogant just because I got a little stronger?'

"Graaaahhhh!!"

Amon heard the monstrous shrieks behind him. Dozens of them.

They didn't stay still and let him run away so easily.

He didn't look back. He could feel the ground shaking slightly with each of their steps.

They were coming for him.

'They're fast!' Amon gritted his teeth, running through the uneven street, his boots splashing through puddles of black water.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of the running horde could be heard.

The ruined buildings blurred past him — broken windows, fallen statues. All silent witnesses to the hunt.

One of the creatures jumped from the rooftop, landing in front of Amon with a crash that shattered the stone beneath.

"Tch!" Amon clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He didn't stop. He leapt forward, his right hand gripping the sword tight, swinging horizontally.

Slash!

The shadowy blade cut clean through the creature's torso. It let out a muffled screech before collapsing in two.

Amon didn't wait to watch it die. He kept running. He was holding both of his weapons tightly.

More shadows dropped from above. Some crawled from the walls, their movements twisted, spider-like. Their red eyes glimmered through the darkness.

Amon raised his hand. "Gloom Orb!"

A black sphere of mana burst from his palm, flying behind him.

Boom!

It exploded midair, releasing a wave of darkness that swallowed the street.

The creatures howled, disoriented, giving him a few seconds of advantage.

'Keep running, Amon! Don't stop!' he told himself, jumping over a fallen pillar.

But they were relentless. He could hear their claws scraping the stone, echoing from every direction.

He turned sharply into a narrow alley.

One of the monsters lunged from the side — Amon ducked, sliding on the ground, and the creature crashed into the wall above him.

"Shadow Clutch!"

Dark tendrils erupted from the ground, grabbing the creature midair and crushing it with cracking bones.

He got up again, panting, his heart hammering wildly.

Another came from behind, faster than the rest. Its long claws reached for his neck.

Amon turned, swinging his hatchet backward without looking.

Splat!

Blood splattered across his back. The creature fell lifeless, cut in half from its torso.

The air smelled of iron. The streets glowed faintly red from the monsters eyes surrounding him again.

'Damn it... they're not stopping... I can't fight all of them head-on.'

He glanced ahead. The black tower loomed in the distance, tall and menacing.

'The tower... maybe I can hide there!'

He sprinted toward it. The creatures screamed behind him, their voices like dying beasts echoing through the night.

Amon's mana surged around him. Faint shadows wrapped around his legs. His speed increased.

He was closer to it.

But then—

Another two came in front of him from the rooftop.

Amon didn't stop. He dashed at them.

Both monsters growled loudly and attacked him. Amon ducked, his hatchet swung, cleaving the left monster's torso while his sword thrust forward, tearing inside the stomach of the second.

Amon had become a lot faster compared to before.

But for every monster that fell, two more took its place.

Amon ran. He killed one after another while taking some small wounds. But it didn't stop him.