28 Snuff (2/2)

”Hah!” He let out a relieved sigh before tensing up again, as he could hear the cacophony of ominous sounds resounding once again! The beasts started to growl while the winds started to form once more!

”Damn it!” Alice cursed while grabbing Garett by his shirt and dragging him through the small building, her eyes scanning for anything that could illuminate a large area in the surroundings!

”Alice, the fire will extinguish!” Garett informed, doing his utmost to keep the flame from being quenched!

”I know!”

'Why is this happening? Are those beasts mutants? No... They don't look like it. The Old Keeper said that phenomenons could be materialized in the most different forms, but they would inevitably vanish after the source of energy is controlled! Fighting them will not do us any good...' Even if they managed to find something to illuminate the surroundings, so what? They would only wait till morning and wouldn't manage to solve anything! And the sky had just darkened, who knew what could happen until then!

”Alice, can you feel where their energy is being emitted from?” Garett pressed, his voice suffused with anxiety as he continued to force his Perception to scan the surroundings! Even if he only used this Power on living beings, he could only hope that it was possible to focus it on ethereal things and objects!

He allowed Alice to drag him forward while closing his eyes, first focusing on the lighter in his hands and tried to feel it with his ability! His bigger objective wasn't to monitor the surrounding beasts but to perceive the energy in the surroundings, hoping to find the source of energy that was creating the phenomena!

”If I could, do you think I would be running?” She responded with a bark, her voice showing boundless apprehension when she noticed the lights dimming, the howling winds were entering the building! Only Garett's hunched body prevented it from being completely extinguished! ”Shit! Your lighter won't last long.”

”I know that! Find the kitchen, hurry!” An idea suddenly popped in his mind, and he sprung his eyes open as he started to run, not caring about the fire being extinguished!

”What are you doing!?” She screamed in a panic! The light was their only source of light, and it was the only way to keep the beasts away! By voluntarily letting the fire smother, wasn't it the same as inviting the beasts after them?

Not caring to give an explanation, Garett continued to run to where he imagined would be the building's kitchen, his recent physical training was the only thing preventing him from falling dead tired on the ground!

”Found it!” Garett barged into the kitchen, lighting up the surroundings once more to observe the room. He could clearly feel his heart beating with immense intensity! It felt like it would burst out of his chest! ”Come on, Alice, stay with me!”

”Are you crazy!?” She followed him, her thoughts a mess of incongruencies! She was never the bright hunter of the team, and everything was always thought off by Dante, the only thing she had to do was beat things up with her gauntlets!

”There's no time to explain!” He extinguished the lighter once more and prepared himself to execute his plans! Every second counted in their situation! Even in a situation of life and death, Garett never felt calmer, it was like everything was in his control, his mind extremely clear!

GWARG!

A loud growl came from the corridor, followed by an aggregation of similar noises! Every second that passed was a second where the beasts got closer to them, and this time, they wouldn't stop to surround them! After Garett's kick, they would instantly pounce on them with full strength!

Garett noticed Alice's daze and pulled her into his embrace, and before she could emit an utter of protest, he dragged her to the wall near the kitchen's stove! A large pipe with a glaring red valve came out from the surface!

Alice finally realized Garett's plan, her mouth gaping at the craziness of the act! Every house had gas pipes! It was a common addition from since the beginning of the New Era, and Lhûn was built right at that time! As such, every house in the city had this addition!

”You are not thinking of-” She was interrupted as he forcefully kicked the valve, breaking the pipe with brute strength! A pressurized stream of gás started to leak from the small hole, the foul smell instantly making her frown!

”Yeah! We'll be jumping through that window right there, so Hold on to me tight!” His mouth curled into a mischievous smile, and his eyes started to emit boundless confidence once more!

”You are going to get us killed!” She screamed, but it was too late, the first of a pack made out of shadows arrived at the kitchen's door, the deafening growling turning into something similar to barks as the creatures approached with full strength!

”Now!” He yelled as he lightened the materialized object and threw it in the direction of the pressurized gas! His eyes reflected the flame for a second before he pressed Alice closer to his chest and ran toward the window!

BOOOM

The surroundings brightened into a hellish fire.