On the night of January 27th, a torrential downpour suddenly began in Meteor City, catching everyone off guard.
The rain was heavy, loudly pattering against tiles, wooden planks, plastic bags, and the piles of corpses stacked high.
The corpses were all horribly disfigured, their faces twisted, with limbs sprawled out like black thorns reaching toward the sky.
Sheila stared grimly at the foul-smelling mountain of bodies that would have to wait until morning to be dealt with, lost in thought for a long while before letting out a sigh.
How did it come to this?
When she first heard about the war situation that Meteor City was facing, she had said her goodbyes to Kite and rushed back, weary from the long journey.
Unlike Germain and Shizuku, no one in Meteor City knew what she had been up to, so she was still considered one of them.
Meteor City certainly needed any available strength... no, it could be said that a quarter of Meteor City needed her.
A quarter of Meteor City was under the control of the one remaining elder, while three-quarters of it was ruled by the terrifying Gyro.
Gyro...
Months of war had turned the proud and defiant people of Meteor City into lost and confused souls.
All of Meteor City's forces—the elders, the Phantom Troupe, the combat units, and others—had been deployed, only to be defeated one by one by Gyro's forces.
Even more terrifying were the fates of those captured by Gyro's army. They endured unspeakable torment.
The captives' ultimate fate was either to become food for the Chimera Ants or to lose their humanity, turning into monstrous, flesh-eating Chimera Ants themselves.
It was horrific enough to have their bodies devoured, but now even their free will was stripped away. For Meteor City, this was a devastating blow.
To hold onto the last quarter of their territory had been the result of endless, bloody fighting, pulling back and forth across the battle lines with all their strength.
As for reinforcements, they had little to no resources left for that.
The Mafia that had once closely collaborated with Meteor City had only sent a small force in the beginning, trying to hunt the "New Ant King" and "New Ant Queen."
After the inevitable massacre of their troops, the Mafia gave up, paying no further attention to Meteor City's worsening situation.
If they had abandoned them so easily, it was clear that V5, the Kakin Empire, and other nations and regions were of no help either.
For them, "Meteor City" was like a garbage bin, a place where all the filth was collected. There was a war happening inside the bin, but they didn't need to care.
As long as they were careful and didn't let the bin tip over, everything would be fine.
Moreover, for months now, countries, regions, and organizations had made a fortune just from selling weapons, emergency medicine, stimulants, and so on.
They were almost draining every last resource from "Meteor City."
In addition, some people had crazed ideas, thinking that everyone in Meteor City had become terrifying Chimera Ants. They believed working with them would be even more profitable.
In the end, the only ones truly willing to help Meteor City were people like Sheila, who had walked out from there.
Her Nen ability — "Accumulated Good Luck" — didn't seem to have much effect in the direct battles under daylight.
Because of the constant misfortunes, she was bruised, scratched, and covered in mud. She looked like she'd been through a long, exhausting battle.
Her Mickey Mouse heart-shaped headband, which originally had two ears, was missing one of them.
Looking at the rain curtain outside the shelter, with rain droplets as big as beans, Sheila felt a wave of unease rise in her heart. Without thinking, she reached into her pocket.
She pulled out her phone, pressed a button, and saw her call history in the glowing screen.
Did I… make the right choice by calling them? Can I really save Meteor City by doing this?
Maybe the people of Meteor City would rather die than accept help from a "traitor"?
But the reality facing Meteor City was even more terrifying than death: being completely replaced… fully replaced.
When it came to external combat strength and malice, the people of Meteor City had been completely overshadowed by this group of Chimera Ants.
If the "replacement" were to be completed, they would end up being more "Meteor City" than the people of Meteor City themselves...
Not only that, but for the people of Meteor City, when both the physical body and mental will could be controlled and turned into someone else, a complete and utter death would actually be seen as a great blessing.
Sheila sighed again.
Suddenly, some incredible sounds surged through the torrential downpour, immediately catching her attention.
She quieted down and listened carefully, while the people from Meteor City, dressed in protective suits, also paused their steps, trying to make sense of the chaotic rain.
But the rain was just too heavy, almost drowning everything out.
Finally, when several dark figures rushed out of the night, shouting in panic and fear, the people started to realize something was terribly wrong.
They were all from Meteor City.
Their protective suits had been torn apart by something, exposing their bright red blood, which spilled freely onto the muddy ground, only to be washed away by the rain.
Their faces were pale as they stumbled around.
Some ran towards Sheila and the others, some tripped and fell to the ground, while others, desperate, knelt down, praying for salvation.
One person finally burst out from the rain, collapsing under the shelter, gasping for air as if they had lost their last breath.
"Help... help..."
Sheila knelt down, trying to help him up, but realized he was trembling as if he were naked in freezing snow.
His legs seemed to slide on an impossibly smooth icy surface; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get back up.
He kept falling, getting bruised, and the dark red blood flowing into his mouth didn't seem to register with him at all.
"They're here... 'demons'... they're coming..."
At that moment, Sheila couldn't help but freeze, her breath caught in her chest. She knew exactly what the Meteor City person meant by "demons."
It was a bit strange, but in a place like Meteor City—so poor and crowded—there was indeed religion, there were grand cathedrals, and there were priests.
However, the cathedral, which had originally gathered the orphans of Meteor City, had completely fallen months ago. The idols and crosses inside the cathedral had been utterly desecrated.
Even the old priest, who had been highly respected and who had practically watched over many of the younger generation of Meteor City, had betrayed his faith and become a cannibalistic demon.
Then, amidst the drumming of the rain, the demons appeared, their unnerving laughter ringing out as they entered the people's sight.
Someone screamed, and then came the deafening sound of gunfire, the sharp bangs pounding in Sheila's eardrums.
Sheila could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her breath quickening uncontrollably. She quickly reached out, trying to drag the person on the ground to a safer place.
But the sound of gunfire echoed through the rain.
The demons also used firearms, and with each victory in battle, they seized more and more weapons, improving their armaments.
Clink, clink, clink—a few sharp sounds, like a stapler, and then Sheila saw the person she was dragging explode in a spray of blood and flesh, splattering across her face.
The person collapsed completely, not even having time to scream in agony. Despite Sheila's efforts, she was only dragging a heavy corpse.
The gunfight in the torrential rain raged on. However, the demons' equipment was superior, and their physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary humans, even many Nen users.
The demons pushed the people of Meteor City back with ease, forcing them to retreat from the area and leaving behind those who couldn't escape in time.
Unfortunately, Sheila was one of those unable to escape.
Crash, crash—
In a panic, she scrambled into a nearby pile of garbage, covering herself with trash bags, burying herself underneath.
Breathe—breathe—
Hiding in the stinking garbage, Sheila could hear that this small skirmish, for the demons, was almost over.
Still, occasional gunshots and screams echoed through the area. Those were the executions of those who tried to flee or resist, or perhaps, the demons were just having some fun.
By now, the demons had long lost their human nature, becoming more brutal, malicious, and insatiable.
While they did need to capture prisoners for the "Queen Ant" Zazan to turn into their kind, they didn't need to capture everyone—just a few would do.
After all, conversion wasn't always successful, and the physical condition and luck of the prisoners played a crucial role.
Then, Sheila heard the sound of meat being torn apart. Through the gaps in the trash bags, she witnessed two demons dismembering a human body.
They're eating people...
The moment Sheila realized this, a wave of nausea surged through her, and she fought to keep herself from throwing up.
But now, she deeply regretted it.
She had rushed back from the Kakin Empire to Meteor City, all for nothing—was this really how it was going to end? To become food for demons?
Sheila refused to believe such misfortune would fall on her. She immediately used all the "good luck" she had saved up and silently prayed.
Please don't notice me, please don't notice me, please don't notice me...
However, things didn't go as planned.
A rustling, bone-chilling sound echoed around her.
The trash bag over Sheila's head was ripped away, and rain splashed onto her face. Narrowing her eyes, she barely managed to make out the towering figure standing before her.
"Look what I found. There's another one here."
A rough, scaly hand wrapped around Sheila's throat, effortlessly pulling her from the garbage heap and lifting her into the air.
No—no—no—
Sheila gasped and kicked desperately, trying to break free. But the grip tightened, suffocating her. Her neck turned bright red.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
The demon watched with a cruel gaze, savoring the moment. It flicked its tongue and slowly licked its lips.
"I realized it a long time ago. In your most terrified state, that's when you taste the best to me."
"How tragic. You'll never have the chance to transform like us. You'll never know how sweet it is... Can you still hear me? You're not dead, are you?"
Sheila was indeed losing consciousness. Her throat let out a gurgling sound as her tongue slid out involuntarily. Dark spots crept from the edge of her vision. In a few seconds, the darkness would swallow her whole.
But she didn't want to die.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
Tch—
As if responding to her inner plea, a sharp, whistling sound pierced through the air, followed by a bluish light bright enough to pierce the darkness and save her!
"Ahhhhhh—" A scream, not her own, echoed out.
Sheila fell to the ground with a thud. She coughed violently a few times before her consciousness and senses returned under her control.
When she looked up, she realized the demon that had been choking her was nowhere to be seen.
No, that's not right. It was still here. But... it was nothing but a pile of blackened, scattered remains.
In that brief moment, it had died due to some force!
It was eradicated like that?! What happened?!
Sheila's eyes widened, and her gaze was drawn to the man in the black robe standing beside her, holding a sword glowing with a holy light.
"Sheila, right?" Germain adjusted the brim of his triangular hat, his black eyes meeting hers. "Looks like we arrived just in time."
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