Under the Veil of Night

*Warning: the following chapter contains violence that might be unsuitable for young readers (under the age of 13)*

The number of people that arrived continued to increase for the next several hours. Kanae hid herself behind her other two friends as she secretly snacked on the foods they got. The waiting took too long that her stomach disagreed with her.

"Captain, have you finished?" Tommy asked helplessly. The others were nervous as hell, but their group was practically relaxing. It was clear that the discrepancy caused him to feel embarrassed. After all, their fighting strength and their group's overall ranking was near the bottom.

"Yes," Kanae wore the piece of cloth over her mouth again. "You can move now."

"Next time, please make sure that you already filled your belly, Captain," Jason remarked.

Kanae rolled her eyes. "Who told me that we have to wait for hours? I already ate a lot this morning!"

Tommy and Jason looked towards each other. They didn't know whether they should laugh or cry. Their captain was truly a glutton. Her first thought would be about food and the second thought would also be food. As for the third one, it might be food too.

"EVERYONE GATHER!"

The thunderous voice caused them to stand up abruptly. They were not the only ones; the others did the same. Kanae's eyes narrowed when she saw how a single sentence could affect them all. It was clear that the person who shouted was not an ordinary person.

"Captain, let's go," Jason was startled to see that Kanae was still sitting. When he heard the voice, he couldn't help but stand up.

Kanae was still hidden behind them, so she quietly stood up and ran alongside them. She noticed that some people on the sidelines were quietly taking notes of the people who were still sitting after the sudden shout.

'Lore Group and Hunter Group have half of their members sitting, but only a few members of Oval Group are still sitting.'

It was easy to deduce that those strong people were still as calm as ever. Even when the person shouted, they merely cast a disinterested glance towards the man. It was clear that they were not worried because they couldn't sense any danger from the man.

"Captain, why were you still sitting before?" Jason asked quietly.

Kanae shrugged. "I'm not sure myself, but it's as if my body told me that there's nothing to be surprised about."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Kanae's eyes narrowed. "But I can guess that those who were still sitting have either awakened or have already pushed their potential to the limit."

Jason's eyes widened at Kanae's conjecture. If that was true, it would mean that the one who hosted this mission was purposely testing their reactions to find out those hidden people. It was truly cunning of them.

"Did they see you?"

"I don't think so, you were still covering for me because I was eating, right?" Kanae shrugged.

By this point, they already reached the front. The barrier in front of them flickered slightly, showing that it was weakened considerably to allow them to pass through.

The big man who shouted earlier pointed to the barrier behind him. "After you enter you can stay as long as you want, but remember, your mission is to retrieve the vial and sweep the place. Whoever brings out the vial will be given a special reward at the end of the mission."

Hearing the words 'special reward,' everyone's eyes immediately lit up. They would try their hardest to get the vial! Right now, they were already sending competitive glances towards the people around them.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes!"

"Are you all ladies? Louder!"

"YES!"

The man nodded with satisfaction. "Now, GET IN!"

With that single order, hundreds of people immediately ran towards the barrier. Every one of them tried to get inside faster than the others. Right now, everyone was forced to move forward along with the groups.

Kanae's eyes widened when she got near the barrier. She could clearly see the destruction inside the barrier. From the outside, nothing could be seen, but on the inside, everything was a mess. Buildings were torn apart, rubble was everywhere, and most importantly, numerous corpses and body parts were strewn everywhere, scattered around.

"STOP!" someone suddenly shouted in horror.

Trying her best to stop, Kanae saw a horrible scene right before her eyes. Several men, or more like monsters, were charging towards them at high speeds. Their eyes were red and their muscles bulged out unnaturally, bulldozing their way towards them. They still looked like humans, but their body structures and the way they moved had changed. It was horrifying.

The front line was practically screaming in horror at the sight of these monsters charging towards them.

RIP! TEAR! SPURT!

Blood and flesh were torn apart. Even the bones couldn't stay intact as these monsters crushed them upon contact. Nothing was left aside from scattered flesh and pooling of blood on the ground. Their intestines spilled to the ground, becoming a squishy carpet for these monsters.

Those who didn't die immediately from the first strike were covered in blood as they bled from the numerous wounds covering their body. Some unlucky ones lost one or more of their limbs as they scampered on the ground, trying to get away.

''HELP!

"NOOOOOO!"

Blood splattered in all directions, painting the ground red with blood. So many people died that the blood trickled to gather into a pool. Drawing their guns and other weapons, they tried to fight back against the monsters.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!"

"Stop pushing!"

"NOOOOOO!"

Desperate screams mixed in with the sounds of fighting, echoing through the building. It was already hopeless for people who froze up from despair. Some people managed to move, evading the looming death sweeping towards them. However, they weren't able to keep fighting for long.

Their friends fell without them being able to react. The stench of death encapsulated the entire area, sending chills down their backs as it washed over them.

"Retreat!"

Even when they were trying to scramble out, they found that the barrier didn't allow them to leave. Besides, the stream of people rushing in from outside completely blocked their way.

In short, they were trapped here, no matter if they liked it or not.

"Rei!" Jason yelled when he saw that one of the monsters came near Kanae.

From the corner of her eyes, Kanae saw the incoming monster. Her hand moved by itself as she shifted her body's center of balance. The small sword in her hand immediately reached the monster's neck, cutting the head off perfectly.

BA-DUMP!

The sensation of her sword tearing through the large amount of flesh felt extremely strange to her. This was the first time she truly aimed for a vital killing point. Before, everything was merely a fight, where she would only aim to wound but not kill.

As the monster fell down near her feet, blood splattered on her hand. Another monster appeared near her and her body moved once again. With her sword ready, she pierced towards the monster's heart. Blood gushed out like a fountain from the torn flesh.

"Rei!" Tommy was also stunned to see Kanae's sudden moves. He was about to protect her because he knew that she never truly killed someone before. However, her movements showed told him that she could do it, but she was just not used to it.

"Tom, let's go!" Jason yelled as he drew his large sword and killed another monster heading towards them. As the young master, he had learned since young about how to kill. It was easy for him to adapt to because he had faced numerous assassins in the past. But it was different with these two.

Even if she has been fighting on Black Street, she never truly killed someone before. He had to calm Kanae down before she completely broke herself.

As for Tommy, this brat was more used to it as he had witnessed life and death countless times ever since he was young.