The moment Ryan stepped onto the cracked asphalt, the smell hit him.
Blood.
Rot.
And the sharp metallic scent of spilled fuel.
It burned slightly in the back of his throat as he inhaled, mixing with the faint lingering scent of burnt rubber and dust from the earlier tremors.
The gas station sat in the middle of a clearing along the highway, surrounded by the dark walls of Blackwood Forest. The trees loomed close, their shadows stretching unnaturally far across the broken pavement.
Too close.
The earthquake had done damage here—one of the fuel pumps leaned slightly to the side, its metal frame bent and groaning softly in the wind. The convenience store windows were completely shattered, jagged glass still clinging to the edges of the frame. Cracks spiderwebbed across the parking lot, splitting the ground into uneven slabs.
But the structure was still standing.
Barely.
Right now, it was a battlefield.
More than twenty Fallen swarmed across the lot.
Some clawed their way over abandoned cars, their fingers scraping loudly against metal. Others sprinted across the broken pavement, their movements jerky and unnatural, limbs bending at angles that made Alice's stomach twist.
Their pale skin was streaked with dark veins.
Their eyes glowed faintly with a sickly yellow light.
At the center of the chaos stood a tall man swinging his fists like hammers.
Each strike glowed faintly with mana.
The man drove his fist straight through a Fallen's chest, ripping it free with a wet tearing sound before shoving the corpse aside and turning toward the next attacker without hesitation.
"Stay behind the truck!" he shouted, his voice rough and commanding.
He didn't even look back.
Behind him, several terrified survivors huddled near the convenience store entrance. One of them flinched every time a body hit the ground too close.
Ryan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Strong.
But sloppy.
The man's movements were powerful—overwhelming, even—but every strike burned through far more mana than necessary.
No control.
No efficiency.
At this rate, he'll collapse before the fight is over.
A few meters away, a woman with auburn hair darted between two abandoned vehicles.
She moved very differently.
Ryan's gaze shifted.
Focused.
She didn't waste motion.
Didn't overcommit.
A Fallen lunged toward one of the survivors.
The woman intercepted it instantly.
A burst of wind exploded from her step, kicking up dust and loose debris as she closed the distance in a blur.
Her blade flashed once.
Clean.
Precise.
The creature collapsed before it even understood what had happened.
Ryan smiled faintly.
Interesting.
Alice climbed out of the SUV beside him, her eyes wide as she took in the scene.
Her grip tightened slightly on the door before she let go.
"That's… a lot more than twenty."
Ryan lifted the crude tusk spear onto his shoulder.
The weight felt natural in his hands now.
"Stay close."
Then he walked forward.
A Fallen noticed him immediately.
Its head snapped toward him, jaw hanging open as a low, broken growl escaped its throat.
Then it sprinted.
Fast.
Too fast for someone inexperienced.
Ryan didn't slow down.
Didn't hesitate.
The tusk spear moved.
A single, clean thrust.
Thud.
The blade punched straight through the creature's skull. Ryan felt the brief resistance of bone before it gave way, the impact traveling up his arm.
He twisted slightly and ripped the spear free in the same motion, already stepping past the collapsing body.
Another Fallen lunged from the side.
Ryan pivoted.
The butt of the spear slammed into its knee.
Crack.
The joint snapped sideways.
The creature dropped instantly.
Ryan stepped forward and drove the blade down through the back of its neck.
Nearby, Marcus turned just in time to see the exchange.
"…Well damn."
He smashed another Fallen aside with a glowing punch, the impact sending it skidding across the pavement.
"About time someone useful showed up!"
Ryan stepped around an overturned car, his movements smooth and controlled as he drove his spear through another attacker.
"You seemed to be struggling."
Marcus barked out a laugh, even as his chest rose and fell more heavily than before.
"Struggling? I've got this!"
As if to prove his point, he slammed both fists into the chest of a charging Fallen.
The impact lifted the creature off the ground completely and sent it crashing into a fuel pump with a loud metallic screech.
Ryan's eyes flicked toward him briefly.
Too much output.
His breathing is already uneven.
At this rate, he won't last.
A scream echoed from the store entrance.
Ryan's attention snapped back instantly.
Three Fallen had broken past the line.
Too close.
Ryan moved.
His spear blurred forward.
Two quick thrusts.
Clean.
Efficient.
Both creatures dropped before they could reach the survivors.
The third stumbled forward—
Then vines burst from the cracked pavement.
Alice.
Green mana flared around her hands, her brows furrowed in concentration as the vines wrapped tightly around the creature's legs and dragged it to the ground.
Ryan stepped in.
One thrust.
Finished.
Behind him, Elena noticed.
Her sharp green eyes flicked between Ryan and Alice, taking in the coordination, the efficiency, the control.
Then she shouted toward Marcus.
"Marcus!"
He smashed another Fallen aside.
"What?!"
"We're not the strongest ones here anymore!"
Marcus turned just as Ryan drove his spear through another attacker.
"…Okay, yeah."
A grin spread across his face despite the situation.
"I see that."
The swarm was thinning now.
Bodies littered the parking lot.
But several still clawed their way over the abandoned cars, relentless and mindless.
Ryan shifted his grip on the spear.
Mana flowed along the tusk blade in a faint blue shimmer.
The next Fallen lunged.
Ryan stepped inside its reach and drove the spear forward.
The reinforced strike punched clean through the creature's chest.
He kicked the body free and turned immediately toward the next attacker.
Behind him, Alice raised both hands.
Her breathing was uneven—but steadier than before.
The cracked ground trembled.
More vines erupted upward, thicker this time, wrapping around the legs of several Fallen at once.
Holding them in place.
"Now!" she shouted.
Marcus didn't hesitate.
He charged forward with a roar, his fists crashing into the trapped creatures one after another.
Each hit explosive.
Each strike fueled by raw power rather than control.
Elena moved at the same time.
She slipped through the remaining enemies like a shadow, her blade flashing in short, efficient arcs.
Every movement deliberate.
Every strike lethal.
Within moments—
The last Fallen collapsed onto the cracked pavement.
Silence followed.
Slowly.
Gradually.
The only sound left was the ragged breathing of the survivors.
Marcus wiped blood from his hands, rolling his shoulders as he exhaled.
"…Well."
He glanced around.
"That was fun."
Ryan rested the spear across his shoulder.
"You call that fun?"
Marcus grinned.
"Beats sitting around waiting to die."
Elena walked over slowly.
Her eyes remained sharp.
Observant.
They lingered on Ryan.
Then on the spear.
"That's not a normal weapon."
Ryan glanced down at it briefly.
"It works."
Marcus chuckled.
"I'll give you that."
Behind them, the survivors finally began to step forward.
Shaken.
Unsteady.
But alive.
Marcus's father leaned heavily on a crowbar, breathing hard.
His mother helped Elena's younger brother climb out from behind a truck.
Maria Vale looked at Ryan with wide eyes, her voice quiet.
"You saved us…"
Ryan shook his head slightly.
"You were already fighting."
Marcus stepped closer.
Up close, he was even larger than Ryan had first thought.
Broad shoulders.
Calloused hands.
A body built from years of physical work.
A faint scar ran across his eyebrow.
Marcus extended a hand.
"Name's Marcus."
Ryan looked at it for a brief moment.
Then shook it.
"Ryan."
Marcus's eyes flicked to the spear again.
"…You've done this before."
Ryan's expression didn't change.
"Something like that."
Behind them—
Blackwood Forest stood silent.
Dark.
Watching.
And somewhere deep within those trees—
Something had taken notice.