105 Chapter 105: Crashing the Party (2/2)

Resisting the temptation to hurl my phone down the mountain, I hastily climbed up the trail and toward the cliff. Perhaps I would be able to see them, or the monster. Either way, it was better than sitting around here, doing nothing. Jogging, I quickly covered the remaining distance in about three minutes.

Clambering over the cliff, I found myself overlooking a huge valley.

”There it is!”

I finally caught sight of the smoke produced by the massive campfire that burned in the center of the site. True to her word, Alicia had invited almost the whole school. It was a full-blown party, with hundreds of students dancing, chatting, eating and having fun.

…except that I was staring at the aftermath.

”…what the hell?!”

My jaw dropped when I saw the devastated remains of the campfire, and the countless corpses that were strewn across the place. Not only that, even from this high up, I could sense an evil presence. It was steadily growing stronger, to the point where I found myself shivering subconsciously.

I glanced down at my trembling, sweaty palms. The evil presence was growing stronger and drawing closer the further I went up the cliff. I felt as if it was getting more difficult to breathe with every step I took.

To my horror, I realized that the evil presence was still right in the middle of the campfire site. Initially, I thought I was too late and was only viewing the aftermath. To my slight relief, I saw that there were still a significant number of survivors. They had split into two groups, heading in opposite directions. One of them was heavily weighed down by the wounded. From up here, I couldn't see them clearly or make out their features, but they were clearly limping, or supporting or carrying their severely injured friends.

The monster was in the middle, and it was turning toward the slower group who maintained the tenacity and courage to hold onto their friends and attempt to escape with them instead of abandoning the wounded to flee for themselves. It mercilessly lunged forward.

”…that's…!”

Swallowing, I recognized the monster. It was a Crastrate, one of the most fearsome monsters known to man. I had read about it in the monster encyclopedia, struck by the similarities between it and some alien monster in a horror movie I had watched during my timeline. It was a true hellspawn that embodied the very essence of darkness, embracing destruction and craving massacres. There was some sort of life cycle that it followed. Unlike most monsters, it didn't emerge from an Emergence event as an actual creature, but as an egg that held a parasitic larva.

The parasitic hatchling would emerge from the egg when a potential victim approached, wrap itself around his face and implant a monstrous embryo inside his chest. When the embryo matured slightly after feeding off the nutrients from its host, it would eat its way out of the host body, killing the poor victim in the process…in an excruciating manner that was practically unimaginable.

It then grew up very quickly, especially if it fed on smaller monsters in the wild, and became a fully grown, mature adult in the matter of hours.

And now it was the terrifying Fiend class, rank B monster that had massacred so many of my schoolmates.

”…fuck!”

A rank B Crastrate. I honestly didn't want to fight something as terrifying and powerful as that, but upon seeing how resolute my schoolmates were as they valiantly sought to escape with their wounded friends, I felt ashamed of my terror and cowardice. My schoolmates were so courageous even in the face of certain death, yet here I was hesitating to help them.

”It's too late. I'm too far away. There's nothing I can do. I won't be able to make a difference.”

All those were just excuses. Of course there was something I could do. There was always something I could do.

Closing my eyes, I wondered briefly what Dad would do if he was in my position.

The answer was obvious. Dad never ran away from a fight. He saved me. He was a hero. He would never abandon people in danger. Seeing his courage, his strength and his conviction, I was inspired to follow in his footsteps.

How could I ever hope to emulate my dad if I continued to make excuses and hesitate to take that first, crucial step to saving people? How could I chase after my dad's shadow if I continued to lack the courage to defy death and stand between innocents and monsters?

While I was dithering, someone paid for my hesitation with his life. A mage stood between the Crastrate as it closed in on the other fleeing schoolmates, swinging his weapon as he yelled incoherently. The Crastrate's claws flashed, and he went down in a spray of blood. Not even bothering to glance at its victim, the Fiend advanced upon the escaping group. A few of the students turned around to fire upon it with magical projectiles.

I was suddenly reminded of Alicia. She must be in the group, shooting at the Crastrate with her guns. And she probably wasn't alone. Elliot. Dong Fang Yue Chu. Nicholas. Harvey. Jin Hao. Aoi. Stan. Wang Fei.

All my friends. Craig definitely dove in at the first chance to engage the monster. If he wasn't dead then he was among the wounded. And now the monster was closing in on him and the rest, hell-bent on finishing the job.

Something inside me snapped.

Taking a deep breath, I backed away, and then sprinted forward. Reaching the edge, I leaped down from the cliff and plunged headfirst toward the Crastrate. Spreading my hands, I directed my descent, gliding toward the Crastrate and the group of wounded students. Diving faster than a speeding bullet, I could feel the wind blasting me, the cold headwind ruffling my hair and clothes. Ignoring it, I did a complete flip just above the Crastrate and swung about to slam my foot into its head, throwing my entire momentum behind the kick.

The Crastrate was flung off its feet and sent spinning. Smashing into the earth a few yards away and toppling into barbeque pits and tables, it continued sliding further away before it finally came to a stop, leaving a huge tunnel in its wake.

Turning to my astonished friends, I bowed my head apologetically.

”Sorry for being late.”