CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40 – RETREAT

Chapter 40 – Retreat

The lightning slammed into the front line of the horde, devastating it. The wave of charged energy obliterated the first few undead and completely immobilized a large number of others around the gate. The sound of sizzling flesh and the acrid smell of burning meat filled the air as the group froze in place, completely taken aback by what had just happened.

Then, a silhouette flashed before their eyes at incredible speed. Reaching the horde, all they saw was a blur of motion before monsters started getting sliced left and right. Heads, limbs, and entire torsos fell to the ground as blood sprayed in every direction.

In a split second, several undead were down, and even more were pushed back by the sudden ambush. No one truly understood what had just occurred — not until they saw the person who had arrived.

"Jack!!" Alex was the first to yell his name in surprise. He could recognize his friend’s silhouette anywhere he went.

"What are you waiting for? Move!" Jack shouted as he thrust his sword into one of the undead and kicked it away before taking a few steps back. "I bought you time! Just run!"

The group hesitated for a second before Luna grabbed their shoulders and pulled them back. They quickly realized the kind of situation they were in again. There was no time to be shocked.

"You heard him — we have to move."

Emi and Alex nodded and quickly stepped out of the building, while Evan lingered, staring at Jack’s back with a dark expression before clenching his jaw and nodding.

"Let’s go, Luna."

The two ran outside, following the others for several dozen feet before Luna suddenly stopped and looked back. ’Why isn’t Jack coming out yet?’

She saw the gates still open — yet no sign of her friend. She halted and waited for a moment.

"Where are you...?" she whispered. Even after several seconds, the boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Luna?"

"..."

"Luna? What are you waiting for? Let’s go," Evan repeated as he approached her.

"No — you go ahead. I’m going to help Jack retreat."

"What?! There’s no way you can go back in there! He’ll figure something out on his own!"

"No... you move ahead. I’ll go after him and catch up with you all," she said, already starting to run back.

"Hey, Luna! Wait!"

Just one glance at the scene told her everything she needed to know — Jack wouldn’t last much longer fighting alone. As the undead recovered from the initial lightning strike, they began rushing at him again, attacking from every direction. Jack’s speed and strength were terrifying, allowing him to cut down several within seconds.

With each swing of his sword, another monster fell. But for every one he killed, several more took their place, closing in on him and slowly cornering him.

"I don’t think you should stay much longer, Jack," Liliana said, watching as her little human tore through the undead like a machine that couldn’t stop.

"I... know!"

Swish!

"I just need to buy them a little more time to run — then I’ll escape!"

"RAAAA!"

BANG!

Using Mind Manipulation, Red Lightning, and his sword Song of the Night, Jack was completely unstoppable — at least for a while. With each kill, he grew more in sync with his weapons, learning to harmonize his techniques instinctively. Even when he wasn’t conscious of it, his mind was creating combinations that dealt the most destruction.

Mixing Mind Manipulation with the energy of lightning, slicing with his lightning-imbued black blade — Jack was evolving rapidly. Every cell in his body seemed to be working toward one goal: to make him stronger. Not just in power, but in mind, in experience, and in precision.

He was learning quickly — and the only one to truly notice that was Liliana, watching from close by.

He’s growing at an exponential rate, she thought, frowning. ’And it doesn’t look like that’s going to stop anytime soon. Every battle only makes him more lethal and efficient. What a frightening talent...’

However, that momentum didn’t last forever. With each strike, Jack was pushed farther back, and the number of monsters swarming him grew exponentially. Leaping over the corpses of their fallen, the undead attacked with no restraint, uncaring if they would be next to die.

"Tsk..." Jack clicked his tongue as he glanced over his shoulder, realizing he needed to find an opening to retreat. I just need some space...

Yet—

ROAR!

The monsters made sure he had none. Even looking away for a second could be fatal. His eyes had to remain locked on his targets as he attacked, dodged, ducked, and countered.

Dammit, all I need is a little opening.

"RAAAR!"

As he searched for that chance, a creature suddenly leapt over the others, diving straight for him. Jack reacted instantly, using Mind Manipulation to freeze it midair before skewering it with his sword. Throwing its body aside, he barely had time to fend off another.

’That was too close... I’m screwed...’ Sweat ran down his face as he realized just how trapped he was. The door was several dozen feet away, and making a run for it would expose his back to attacks, something he can’t defend while running.

The situation grew more desperate by the second. He couldn’t turn his back, couldn’t push them far enough to run, and couldn’t possibly fight them all.

’What should I do?’ Jack’s eyes darted around as he tried to keep his composure.

"RAAA!!"

Another monster lunged — then another, and another. For every undead he cut down, more surged forward, pushing him into a worse position. Some even grabbed at his clothes, yanking him toward their gnashing teeth.

"Just let go!" He kicked one away and barely managed to block the next strike. The monsters yanked him in all directions as he dodged their bites and claws.

He tried to step back farther, but there was little he could do against the relentless horde.

"Dammit... I’m stuck..." he cursed.

"What are you going to do, big boy?"

"Not dying would be nice," he muttered.

"Hehe, I’m sure you’ll be fine~"

"I wish I had your optimism right now!"

"Jack!!"

At that moment, he heard someone shout his name — and a silhouette appeared at his side. Several undead were thrown back, others sliced apart.

"Luna?" Jack frowned. "Why did you come back?"

"I couldn’t leave you alone. I was afraid you were stuck."

"..."

"Let’s get out of here together!" she said as she cut down another monster.

For a moment, Jack was taken aback — but he quickly nodded. There was no time to argue.

With that, the two focused on fighting as they pushed the monsters back step by step, slowly closing the distance to the gate. With Luna’s help, the task became far easier; together, they carved a path through the horde.

"Don’t stop!" Jack shouted, blasting several monsters with a strike of lightning.

Meanwhile, Luna used her gravity to push the horde back. Her Aether was running dangerously low, and using it further only drained her faster. Her steps faltered, but she bit her lip until it bled and forced herself to keep going.

"We’re almost there!"