"We need more Wailing Buds, Netherite Elixirs, and Cold Herbs. And someone inform the Temple of Goddess Ashlan—we need more healers immediately! We can't handle this many critical patients on our own. The passive healing and calming spells are already overloaded. We need backup, now!"
The head healer barked the orders while swiftly wrapping a boy's thigh in gauze infused with cleansing balm. The child had been pierced by a shard of glass, ripping open the muscle. A nearby Ashlan healer's quick response had saved his life, but he was still clinging to it by a thread.
And he wasn't alone.
Dozens of patients lay groaning or unconscious in the emergency tents, many locked in catatonic states from the shock and aftereffects of the attack. While diagnostics were still underway, one thing was clear—those caught in the blast had been poisoned with irradiated essence. Healing them was exponentially more difficult.
"Just what the hell caused all of this…" a junior intern muttered under her breath as she moved between stretchers, echoing the thoughts of everyone there. Who could've imagined such carnage in a quiet, insignificant town?
***
"Your coat," the lady said, pointing toward Jake.
They were in the medical tent now, as a weary-looking healer hovered over the lady, tracing glowing signs in the air and muttering incantations. Her external wounds were minor, thanks to her use of basic healing magic. But deeper scans had revealed severe internal trauma, her mana pathways around the injury were damaged, and her core struggled to maintain resonance.
Jake blinked, glancing down. "What about it?"
"You got shanked, man. Doesn't that hurt?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
The healer paused, eyes shifting to the bloody tear in Jake's coat.
"Oh, that? It's nothing. Just a scratch. The coat dampened most of the damage," he said nonchalantly.
The lady looked unconvinced but sighed and sank back into the pillow. "Whatever, dude. I swear, I should've never accepted that idiot's offer to come to this cursed town."
Jake chuckled softly. "Come on. Aside from today's disaster, this place is usually pretty welcoming. Way better than Saigon, at least."
"Hmph. Hard to believe right now," she muttered, turning her head toward him. "Wait... did you say Saigon? You're from there?"
"Yup. And you don't sound local either."
"Eruisa," she replied. "Came here because an old partner roped me into helping with his new venture."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "New venture? By any chance... did you attend the University of Saigon?"
The woman straightened slightly, suddenly guarded. "How do you know that?"
Jake laughed. "Because I'm guessing your friend is Rai Haiden—he just started Carleon Weapons."
Her eyes widened. "You know Rai?"
"Know him?" Jake grinned. "I'm his bodyguard."
She blinked, then smiled in realization. "Ohh, you must be Jake! Rai's talked about you a lot."
"And you must be Renissa Kaisen, our new R&D head."
"Guilty as charged," she said with a chuckle.
BOOM
Their conversation was cut short by a thunderous explosion outside. The ground trembled. Jake stood instantly, hand on his short sword, eyes narrowing.
Renissa sat up, hands already glowing faintly, ready for combat if the threat reached the tents. Jake didn't wait. He dashed outside toward the source.
***
" Charge up the Cannons! Ground troops provide suppressing fire until they are ready. Keep pushing and for the love of everything that's holy, DO NOT STOP FIRING ".
The Group Leader roared towards the soldiers , who where now firing at creature that had appeared just near the Emergency tents.
Their current force just had 40 Ground troops and 10 Cannon troops, kept in case some sort of breakout happens , which are common during times of panic and society breakdown.
But to think the creature would show up here , talk about bad luck. Their current fire power might help in stalling the creature, but that stood on a thin rope of ' Might help', which was not so assuring.
Jake sprinted toward the chaos, eyes locking on the abomination ahead. It looked like a four limbed creature , Its body was a twisted mass of dark, pulsating flesh laced with glowing green veins. The "face" resembled an unbloomed flower bud, while thick tentacles emerged and retracted in a nightmarish rhythm, smashing and slashing indiscriminately.
One thing was certain—it wasn't native to the outer lands. It bore no markings of a divine beast. This thing was unnatural.
Jake distanced himself away from the battalion as they seemed to hold up for now . He ran towards the creature so to make a hiding place as near to it as possible, in order to know every details and come up with a plan to contain it effectively.
He found a bush that was enough close to be able to watch the creature, but not close that the creature might catch him immediately.
He starts watching at it's whole body which was now fully visible. The first thing that he noticed at this distance was , the four legs that he previously thought were limbs, were not exactly that but some sort of appendages that connected directly with the ground, acting as feeding conduit while anchoring it.
Then he realized something that turned his blood cold.
A Trap
He manages to leap just in time, jumps as farther from it as possible. Soon enough, a Large black tentacle broke through the bush's ground , before slashing everything around it and going back .
It had sensed him. The hunt was on.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Jake attuned his senses. The earth around him shifted. Soon, three tentacles shot out from the ground , from which he skillfully side stepped the first one , while slashing with his short sword . While the bigger first one only suffered a small deep wound, cutting through half of the tentacle, while the shorter one was slashed cleanly . The third one went past him, in an attempt to circle him, but he jumped on top of the severed second tentacle, turning his whole body to gain momentum, before slashing it completely.
As soon as he landed, four more tentacles came towards him from the front . But before he could dodge, suddenly two small tentacles caught his ankles from behind. Before he could react, the front tentacles smashed his head and chest, while the other two on his abdomen. He suddenly knew that this attack just now was severe, and he had no way to escape now .
The creature's lower form began to glow, energy surging up toward its head. Its throat pulsed. He knew the creature was about to unleash another round of devastating power, but he had no way to stop it .
Then,
A fireball roared through the air and struck the creature dead in the face, interrupting its charge. Another blast followed, obliterating a tentacle that moved to strike the attacker.
" A fire user" Jake thought.
He swiftly sliced through the tentacles constricting his ankles, then spun away from the incoming wave of four more. With their speed reduced, most now focused on the battalion and the fire caster, Jake cut through each with clean, calculated strikes . The battalion was changing their position to offensive, who were now being joined by healed people from the emergency tent.
" Hey you"
A man in long ceremonial robe shouts towards Jake as he walks out of the bushes, fury etched into every line of his face. "Are you fucking insane? Who the hell runs toward the monster!?" he continues.
Jake exhaled and walked toward him, acknowledging the mistake. He had underestimated the creature, and had only survived thanks to the fire mage's timely intervention.
The robed man, already back into his incantations, didn't wait for a reply. Flames coiled at his fingertips as he summoned a circular barrage of fireballs. They floated around him in a halo of heat, launching in timed bursts every time he snapped his fingers. In front of them, a rising cage of flame began forming, its bars lashing out at nearby tentacles like molten chains.
Jake stayed beside him, scanning the battlefield. He knew the creature would lash out during the mage's summoning phase.
Sure enough, the ground twitched.
Seven tentacles erupted from the front, while four more curled up from the ground behind them.
Jake moved before the mage could even finish his chant. He struck the burrowing tentacles as they surfaced, cutting through each in a blur of metal.
From the seven ahead, four were instantly incinerated by the fireballs spiraling around the mage. The remaining three were gunned down by a fresh squad arriving just in time to support them.
The mage's voice rose in crescendo, words thick with ancient weight. He carved a burning sigil into the air, each stroke flaring into existence and floating toward the creature.
Then came the final chant.
Flames burst from the earth beneath the creature, carving a massive circle around it. Within it, glowing lines formed a star, a binding array. The fire cage completed its formation, bars latching together around the monster.
Suddenly Jake's instincts flared up.
He turned and shouted " get awa...." .
A deafening explosion tore through the air, cutting off Jake's shout.
He was hurled backward by the shockwave, flung through the chaos like a ragdoll. He crashed violently into the dirt near the medical tents, skidding across the ground and slamming into a support post.
When the smoke began to clear, he slowly tried to open his eyes.
What he saw drained the color from his face.
Where the mage and the battalion had stood... there was nothing left. Just a crater soaked in blood and scattered with shredded armor, robes, and scorched body matter.
No one survived.