The windows of the ruined apartment blocks stared blankly at the world, and the darkness between them felt thicker than usual.
Adam walked through the shattered streets, the echo of his footsteps bouncing off battered walls. The air smelled of dust, ash, and something else... something metallic. As if blood itself lingered in the atmosphere.
Valeria walked beside him in complete silence. She hadn't said a word, yet her presence was tangible with every step. Their synchronized footsteps echoed off the hollow buildings, as if they were the last two souls in the world.
Suddenly something snapped. Like metal striking concrete. Adam froze instantly, and Valeria halted with him. Silence shattered under the weight of a high-pitched screech, followed by a low, guttural growl—unlike anything they'd heard before. It sounded like the creatures didn't even know what they were.
Adam glanced at Valeria. She stood with her hands behind her back, as if strolling through a park, that signature lazy smirk playing on her lips.
"You hear that?" he asked quietly.
Valeria raised an eyebrow and looked at him with feigned surprise. "Hear what? Hm... maybe the wind?" Her tone was far too innocent to be genuine, and that mischievous grin never left her face.
Adam opened his mouth to retort, but his eyes caught something at the end of the street.
Something small like rat, but clearly larger than an ordinary rat—about mid-calf height. The creature stood in the middle of the road, staring directly at him. Their eyes locked.
Suddenly, the rat let out a piercing, inhuman screech, like it had just triggered an alarm only others of its kind could understand.
Then it bolted straight at Adam, claws clacking against the asphalt like a predator.
Adam tensed.
But the rat wasn't as fast as he expected. Its movements seemed... slightly delayed. Like everything was unfolding in slow motion. Adam didn't wait. With his left hand, he pulled a metal rod from the ground—it lifted into the air like a puppet on invisible strings. The creature was just hitting full speed when the rod whipped through the air and struck it square in the skull.
There was a dry crack. The animal spiraled through the air and slammed against a nearby wall. It crumpled to the ground, its limbs twitching erratically, nerves refusing to surrender. Adam walked closer and finished it with a single, decisive blow.
Silence returned, as if someone had muted the world.
Adam stared at the dead rat, feeling the tension slowly drain from his shoulders.
"That... was too easy."
A familiar translucent screen popped up in front of his eyes:
[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed]
[Target: Mutated Rat (LVL 2)]
[Reward: +1 AGI]
Adam frowned and looked down at the corpse. Only now, in the light reflected from a pool of blood, did he see the details.
It looked like a rat... but its limbs were longer, claws curved like hooks. Patches of skin were bare, stretched over grotesquely swollen muscles. Its tail twitched spasmodically, like a slimy snake. Its eyes were lifeless, yet something within them still resembled rage.
Adam snorted softly, shook his head, and muttered, "Thanks for the free stat point, buddy."
Another screech rang out in the distance—the same irritating, metallic sound the first rat had made. Then came a grinding clatter, followed by a short, human scream. Adam paused, holding his breath. It sounded like someone was fighting nearby. And again, that same furious pitch in the screech, identical to the first monster.
He turned to toss a comment to Valeria... but the space beside him was empty. As if she'd never been there.
He frowned and sighed.
"She always disappears when things start getting serious..."
Adam adjusted the strap on his backpack, like bracing for something heavier than just a walk. He glanced toward the sounds, reached for his belt, and drew the Bloodshadow Dagger. Its blade gleamed briefly in the half-light, black as the void. Then he moved forward.
He didn't have to go far.
The acrid smell of smoke and ash hit him from around the corner. The sounds of battle grew sharper, more chaotic. When he finally peered beyond the wall, he froze.
Chaos stretched before him. Hundreds of rats. At least a hundred and fifty—maybe more. A swarm flowed between flames, writhing and surging like a black tide of fur, claws, and fangs. All of them like the one he had just killed—mutated, grotesque versions of rodents from childhood nightmares.
Adam took half a step back. Not from fear, but pure shock. He hadn't expected such numbers.
In the heart of the inferno, five people fought to hold their ground. Three on the left moved in perfect sync, their weapons flashing among sparks and fallen bodies. On the other side, slightly further out, two were backed against a wall. A blonde woman gritted her teeth, blood streaming down her thigh, yet she kept swinging her short sword with a veteran's determination.
This wasn't a fight.
It was a siege.
"Stay close!" a blonde woman barked through clenched teeth, lunging and fending off a rat with her blade.
"I can't keep this up!" cried the boy beside her, barely deflecting another attack with trembling arms.
"Just a few more seconds! We need a few more seconds!" she hissed, turning mid-strike to cut down another beast. Her voice rose above the noise, directed at the trio across the square.
"I'll be able to use my skill soon! Get ready!"
A short shout answered her, followed by louder roars. The trio was surrounded, but stood firm in a tight triangle, backs to each other.
One was a young woman with a short sword and narrow shield, moving fluidly, striking with deadly precision. Beside her, a man in leather armor hurled glowing knives in wide arcs, energy pulsing around his hands. The third, a hulking man with a warhammer, served as their wall—his swings slow but devastating.
They said nothing else. Only heavy breaths and relentless focus remained.
Adam stood frozen, eyes scanning the groups, trying to absorb the scale of the chaos. His gaze flicked between the writhing mass of rats and the flashing weapons.
"There's too many of them…" he muttered. "If I jump in, I could die. Even if I help and somehow we kill all these rats, the noise'll attract zombies from half the city."
He was about to retreat when something strange happened.
The woman by the wall, despite the blood and pain, struck down two more rats with machine-like accuracy. Then she opened her mouth and let out a low, resonant note. It wasn't a cry or command.
It was a song.
A single, vibrating tone hung over the battlefield, cutting through the chaos like a sound from another world.
The air trembled, as if sliced by an invisible blade of sound. The note was low, shivering, rippling through the battlefield like a wave. Even the rats hesitated, their movements faltering, unsure if the echo meant something greater.
And then everything changed.
The fighters moved with fluidity, their strikes sharper, their bodies in sudden sync. The shield maiden blocked with machine precision. The hammer struck more accurately. The glowing knives spun faster, forming a vortex of death.
And she kept singing.
She didn't stop for a second, guiding the melody through clenched teeth while still fighting, slashing, stepping back, and attacking with renewed strength. Her voice rang out like a battle bell.
Valeria hovered several meters above the battlefield, as if resting on an unseen current of air. Her posture was loose, casual. One hand on her hip, the other lazily twirling a strand of hair, as if everything below was nothing more than entertainment.
And then she heard it—that one pure note that didn't belong to this world. The woman's voice below pierced the noise, clear as glass and sharp as a needle.
Valeria blinked.
Her eyes widened, body going still as if everything else had vanished.
"Impossible," she whispered. Her gaze sharpened.
Adam had just taken a step back, about to retreat. And then—out of nowhere—Valeria appeared beside him.
She didn't look at him right away. Her eyes were fixed on the singing woman, as if trying to decipher whether what she saw was real.
Adam shot her a sideways glance, surprised by her sudden appearance.
"What's going on?" He asked in a whisper, frowning.
Only then did Valeria tear her gaze away and look at him—seriously, without her usual smirk.
"You need to save her " Her voice was quiet, but something deeper burned in her eyes.
Adam stared at her like she'd lost her mind.