4 Taking On a Mission (1/2)

Shura sat down next to a large tree on an open courtyard. He held a cup of steaming hot tea in his hands. It was now winter and every exhale of his shot white puff of air.

After an entire turbulent year after the Great Destruction, Shura's life was resuming its stability. Humanity wasn't entirely powerless to resist the changes. A group of people calling themselves Slayers were already aware of what was to come before the Great Destruction had even occurred. Their preparation had prevented the extinction of humanity.

Shura was now living in a walled-city under the jurisdiction of the Slayers. When the demons began massacring everyone and everything, he had thought that the good days were gone forever. He was wrong. The terror and fear took hold of people for a while, and he had seen some morally disturbing things committed by survivors.

But that atmosphere eventually gave way to something else. Something unexpected. There were still helpless people out there dying each moment because they were weak and couldn't adapt. The fear and terror would be strong within those people. Death was very real to them.

Then there were others who weren't any different from cultivators. There could be no fear nor a sense of terror for something that was incapable of being a threat. These people were strong. And while there were some truly powerful and scary demons out there, for most of the weak ghouls and normal demons, these people weren't afraid of them.

They weren't afraid because they had the power to kill and destroy those beings.

Nothing had truly and irreversibly changed. Most of the world was in ruins, but what was left of humanity were still killing each other while defending themselves from the onslaught of the demonic hordes.

Cultivation as the world had known it was gone. But the path to survival and becoming stronger still existed, albeit in another form and name. Society was also patched back together, smaller and more compact than before. The world became both smaller and larger.

”We're going to be forced out if we don't complete a mission soon,” a girl's voice sounded behind Shura.

Shura took a sip of the tea. ”Give me some more time. I feel like I'm almost there. If I break through to the…”

”To the…?” A young girl in white with short brown hair walked in front of him.

”I… there's nothing to break through to, I can't force it at all,” Shura said and sighed.

”Stop being silly, this is serious. We finally have it easy living here in the city. Come on, get up. We're going to the mission hall right this instant.”

The girl—Claira grabbed Shura and pulled him to stand up.

Shura had met Claira during the early days of the Great Destruction. Doing things with others was more convenient and offered an advantage over being alone, provided they were someone trustworthy. Any group larger than two and the dynamic would be too complicated and unreliable. That was what the both of them thought. So they stuck together ever since.

Weird things had happened recently to Shura. The demonic energy in him had hit critical mass. He would be able to reach a higher level soon. But when exactly he wasn't sure. He had started becoming weird since then. His senses were oddly disturbed. He would see most people in a vague, and dried-out color. Their voices would also sound like low whispers. He could see and hear them, but it was very awkward. It was as if they weren't really there.

On the other hand, his senses when it came to demons and demonic things were heightened. He could see and hear them very clearly. He had also developed a sort of sixth sense where he could feel the presence of demons.

Shura looked at Claira. ”You know that it's just the two of us. The world outside the wall is still dangerous, any extra advantage we have could mean the difference between life and death.”

”I know, that's why you're anxious to break through to the next level right? But it's not something you can control. It will happen on its own. Maybe today, maybe a month from now. We can't be sure, and we can't wait. The deadline is soon,” Claira said. She had an understanding look on her face.

Shura knew that she was right. As much as he wanted to increase his strength and have more confidence in going outside, he couldn't wait. He would have to act now. They had to complete missions for the Slayers to be able to continue living in the city. People of no value had to fend for themselves outside.

”Okay, let's go then.” Shura finished the tea.

The two of them left their house and headed for the mission hall. The mission hall was a large building in the central plaza of the city. There were many people out on the plaza. Some were selling their wares, others were looking to group together.

They all looked and felt faint to Shura. Only Claira next to him was bright and radiant as the sun in the sky.