Chương 43: Run

After about half a second of pondering, I snap out of it. My attention is yanked away as the world lights up, nearly blinding me with just the light coming in from a window. Seconds later, the ground starts to shake, and I hurry out of the building, fearing it might collapse. It doesn't, though, even as a roar loud enough to split the sky fills the air. Quite literally so, as the rift above the city swells. The thing grows and grows, until it is about double the size.

Naturally, it immediately starts disgorging monsters, through even the parts of the city that we have cleared. Pulling up the map, I watch in horror as all of the territory we have taken is filled with dots of monsters. Ones with levels that are far too high, around forty even outside the city. A ding sounds in my mind, and my gut drops.' Ding', Blackharbor Incursion has progressed: Stage 2: Find the heart -> Stage 3: Slay the heart.

Stage 3: Slay The Heart The heart of the incursion has been found, and its children slaughtered in their nests. But this has awoken the heart itself from its eternal slumber. Defeat it at all costs or run for your life. Though do be warned: as long as it remains alive, death is the only guarantee. Now, I am no expert in bad situations. But, as I glance upwards and see a gigantic monster with wings the size of buildings hovering in the air, I do get a feeling that this is a bad situation.

Its scales are a vivid blue color, like the oceans I have only heard about in legend. I try to get more information on it and my identify comes back almost instantly, only further increasing my sense of dread. [Lesser Dragon - Level 87 (Incursion Heart)] There is nothing I can do but simply stare at the dragon as it hovers in the sky. It seems to be looking for something, and I watch its head survey the terrain. Why the fuck is it all the way out here in the fifth ring?

I am certain that they found its nesting ground in one of the inner rings. What reason would it have for coming all the way out here? My answer comes when the dragon's beady red eyes find me. I am standing in the middle of the street like an imbecile. Yet, somehow, I feel like it wouldn't have mattered. The dragon is definitely staring at me, and a shiver of pure terror goes down my spine. My knees go weak and I wobble ever so slightly Then, the aura hits.

Like a physical force, it knocks me off my already unstable legs and onto my ass. Without hesitation, I pull Luma back into my phylactery.

"Dovey, get the fuck out of here!" I scream as loudly as I can, hoping the stupid bird can hear me. The dragon opens its mouth, still hundreds of meters away. Yet it does not matter, not to such a creature. I am unable to look away as fire starts to gather in its mouth. Nor as it releases that fire in a wave of white-hot flame so dense that I am not certain anything could survive. The attack will easily obliterate this entire city block down to the stone beneath the dirt.

A mere human like me has no chance against such an attack. Heck, even if I was twice my current level, I doubt I could survive. Guess this is what I get for thinking I could be some awesome hero. I close my eyes, and simply await my second death. Pop. A figure in full black plate armor appears in front of me. They raise a sword to the oncoming fire and speak.

"<Cut of A Thousand Hearts>" The world around us explodes, nearby buildings getting flattened in an instant. My mind is barely able to keep up as the energy from the attack collides with the wave of fire, diverting most of it away from us. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Fire slams into the world around us, pulverizing everything more than thirty meters away from us.

The heat in the air is intense, and I can feel my skin sizzle a bit. It should definitely be killing me right now, and I wonder how I am alive. Then I remember that my cloak has some sort of environmental protection. It all ends as quickly as the dragon formed the fire, and the world is still for about a second. I glance up at the dragon, and while I am no expert at reading dragon facial expressions, it seems mad. Letting out a roar, I can see it charging up another attack.

But before it can unleash it, a silver form crashes into its side like a ballista bolt. Scales fly everywhere and the dragon is flung hundreds of meters away. The silver form retreats, twin blades shining red with blood. But, their opponent is a dragon. With speed far too great for such a behemoth, it spins around and wraps its mouth around the figure. Then, a dull thump can be heard and a bit of smoke curls out of the dragon's nostril. The silver figure never emerges. Suddenly, I am surrounded by dozens of people.

Warriors that appear as if they have been watching the entire time. I identify two of them, mid eighties, and determine that these must be the elites of the city. The swordsperson in black armor turns towards me, seemingly trusting the others to keep any stray attacks at bay for a moment. They reach up and click something on the side of their helmet, and the faceplate disappears.

"Phew, glad I got here just in time." I stare in shock as Reli smiles at me and offers me a hand. She pulls me up off the floor and hands me a health potion, which I pop open.

"Listen." She says once I am done. She places one of her hands on my shoulder and brings herself to stare into my eyes.

"You need to run. Use whatever power you used, tell people to evacuate. Find Claire, tell her what has happened. Then, run away. North is probably the best direction, make your way towards the sixtieth great city, then try to find a way to the capital." I raise my hand, "Wait, why would I run? We just have to slay the dragon, right? W-well, obviously not me. But this group." I gesture to the warriors around us.

"You can do it, right?"

"Calder is dead." The air goes silent, save for the distant sound of those trying in vain to fight the dragon. Reli grits her teeth and continues, "He was in the group that found the heart's nest. That idiot didn't think it through, and when the monster awoke, he died instantly in a fireball that consumed the entire first ring.

"We cannot kill this dragon, it is too strong. As you can probably tell." Reli gestures over to the dragon as it breathes out more flame, engulfing almost a dozen people as they desperately hide behind a barrier.

"We were supposed to take it slower, strategize, get stronger slowly, then challenge the heart after fully securing the rest of the city. But now, we cannot win, only save what few remain." I stare at her, my entire body frozen. Calder is dead, it almost seems impossible. I may not have known him for all that long, but he seemed damn near invincible. The way he handled the prison break, teaching me all that shit, and even the inquisition. Heck, he even introduced me to Claire. How can he have died, just like that?

Reli slaps me, sending me flying into a nearby building and through a wall. Before I can even realize what has happened, she appears next to me. Grabbing my collar, she lifts me up. I try to look away, but she forces me to look at her.

"Get it together. People die. You know this." She spits, anger filling her voice. Logically, I know it is not really about me. But I can't help but cower just a bit.

"You are a hero, whatever the fuck that means. You got involved in this, so do your fucking job. If you've got a trick to kill that dragon, use it. If not, send the evacuation order." She throws me to the ground and then turns around and walks away, not even sparing me a glance. I watch as she sprouts large black wings from her back. For a moment, I think she looks like some sort of demon.

Before I can even think of retorting or even moving, she takes off into the sky and rushes towards the fight, blade coated in a fire of what I can only describe as solidified rage. I feel empty. Yet, she is right. I got myself into this, and all the people that followed my command. So it is my job to do something. I feel the eyes of the elites staring at me, as I look around I expect to see pity, or even disdain. But that isn't what I can see. Instead, I see hope. Barely there, of course, but I cannot mistake it.

These people are looking at me, waiting for me to do something. There is no way I can fight that dragon. Even if the goddess gave me some ridiculously powerful skill right this instant, it would be hopeless. So, I open up my interface and enter a simple command, to broadcast to anyone within about a hundred kilometers of the city. I keep it simple. More or less just 'We have lost, run away as fast as you can.' I make it completely clear, there is no way anyone can misinterpret it.

I am sure some fools will try to stay and fight, but they are not my problem. My problem is the ones that chose to follow me, my orders and what I represent as a hero. As I hit send, I watch as the message flashes into the mind of those watching at me. Their hands grip their weapons tighter, and I can feel resolve fill the air. But not resolve to fight, a resolve to survive.