"You can do it, sir!" Adrian's departure carried not only their hopes but their collective trust in him as well. "He’s gone?" Samantha, who was feeding Nova, asked when Gloria walked in. Gloria had been atop the city wall and confirmed Adrian had left. "Yeah, he's gone. He's probably fighting off those monsters as we speak. The citizens have great faith in him, so he's sure to find a way to rescue them."Samantha sighed. "He said there's a chance for the people who vanished to return. I wonder if that's true. Do you think Mya and the others will be back?" Over the past few days, she had been missing her friends and family. Gloria sat on the bed and said, "I'm sure Adrian knows what he's talking about. There may be a chance for them to come back after he has killed the Creator.""I hope so. We've been blessed with somewhat peaceful days now that we're here. I'm so sorry for dragging you into all this, Gloria."Gloria shook her head. "I'm powerless right now, so as much as I wan
Other major cities were being reconstructed amid the chaos as well. Their defenses were being fortified, an effort by humans to fight against the monsters. With their communications reestablished, these cities were now in contact with each other as the people fought hard to restore what they had.Based on the information they had gathered, there were several hundred million survivors throughout Navia, two million of them being Wyvern Peak soldiers.***On the second day after Adrian left Novemton, a disheveled woman cautiously emerged from behind a hill in the remote wilderness two hundred kilometers away from Swallowston, nervously scanning her surroundings.Despite the monsters littering the outskirts, it was difficult for them to notice the woman unless she started a commotion. Seeing that the monsters were quite far away, she lay down to catch her breath.In her race against time and with her grumbling stomach, the woman crawled toward a heap of grass. It was brown due to the
Nadine crouched and sprinted toward an area that had no monsters. However, her movements alerted one of them and it began to pursue her.Panicking, Nadine ran as fast as she could. Due to her weakened state, she could barely stay on her feet. It was her survival instincts that took over. She had no idea when she would ever find safety or how long she had to run. ***Meanwhile, a car was steadily traveling across an empty street far away from Nadine's location. Adrian was behind the wheel, while Rozi munched on some jerky as she gazed outside. "Do you know where we are?" Adrian asked.Rozi wiped her mouth and looked at Adrian in confusion. "No."Adrian smiled. "This is Vanglesville.""Vanglesville? The place where its people became legates?" Rozi asked curiously as she took a sip of water."This is the place where Jerome was found as a baby!" "War Legate Dominus?" Rozi had heard of how Adrian was Jerome’s mentor, and that he had replaced Adrian as the next legate. Adrian n
Adrian slammed the brakes and swiftly exited the car.Nadine was beginning to lose consciousness and control over her legs due to starvation and exhaustion. Only her subconsciousness pushed her forward, keeping her from falling.The monsters behind her were in hot pursuit, but she was too exhausted to continue running. A monster’s claw was about to hit her when a golden light flashed before her eyes. Immediately after, a sword swooshed past her hair, narrowly missing her shoulder.The sword severed the monster’s arm, leaving it screaming in agony.Unable to muster any strength, Nadine collapsed just as Adrian arrived. He delivered a mighty punch to the monster that snapped its neck. The now lifeless monster fell to the ground, but the commotion attracted other nearby monsters. After retrieving Dragonbane from the ground, Adrian unleashed several sword strikes that decimated the remaining monsters before picking Nadine up and returning to the car."Take care of her," he instructe
Adrian retrieved some food and said, "Eat."Nadine heard someone talking to her but had no energy to respond.Rozi said, "She's in horrible shape. She must be exhausted.”Adrian noticed Nadine's heartbeat slowing down. He placed her back on the car seat and performed CPR. Each compression pumped Nadine’s heart, but what she needed most at that moment was food.“We have to get some food in her. That’s the only way she’ll recover,” Rozi urged.Adrian did not hesitate to chew on some food and feed it to Nadine, who devoured the food and spit mix. Adrian repeated the process several times while also feeding her some water. Nadine's heart rate slowly improved as the food in her stomach converted into energy that nourished her body.Adrian checked the time and said, “It’s getting late. We won’t reach Vanglesville before nightfall, so let's rest here and set off early tomorrow morning.""Is it because you don't want her to suffer? Is she someone important to you?" Rozi inquired.Adria
Nadine felt all her hardships had been worth it as she lay in Adrian’s arms. She was ecstatic, even though she was in disbelief that she had run into him.After a while, Adrian pushed her away and asked, "What are you doing here? Where’d you come from?""I was returning to Swallowston after visiting my mother when everything happened. Those monsters attacked me and I drove away, but my car ran out of gas. I had no choice but to run. Before I knew it, I ended up here.”Nadine would never forget those haunting memories. The sudden turn of events had shattered her hope.Adrian had believed Nadine, like Sarah, had vanished. He never expected her to be alive. He hugged her tightly once more after listening to her story. "I thought you were gone. I went to Swallowston and rescued Sam and Nova. They’re alive and currently in Novemton. The city has fortified defenses, and soldiers from Wyvern Peak are guarding the place."Nadine anxiously asked, "Are they all right?""Yeah, they're fine,
Nadine whispered, "Is that Rozi? She looks so much stronger than other women."Adrian gestured for Nadine to lower her voice and said, "Rozi is a princess, after all.""A princess? From where? Somewhere in the West? Is she a royalty of Sormbay? I've never heard of her.""She's from Partingia.""Where's that?" Nadine looked at Adrian, wholly puzzled.Adrian chuckled and explained, "Partingia is an ancient kingdom dating back twelve hundred years. Rozi came out of a coffin in Enigma City and is our companion now.""What?!" Nadine, unable to control her shock, exclaimed loudly and went wide-eyed.Rozi looked at Nadine curiously, leaving the latter embarrassed by her outburst. Adrian continued, "She's from an ancient kingdom and was a princess there. She's probably our great-great-great-great-something grandmother.""You mean to say she’s been alive for over a thousand years? Is she some kind of monster?" Nadine was astonished.Adrian shrugged.Nadine gently patted Rozi's shoul
Nadine fell silent. The extraordinary situation left her lost in thought.Soon after, Adrian drove to the vicinity of a tower just outside Vanglesville. The tower constructed five years ago was tall yet easy to climb. He spotted several monsters nearby and gestured to Rozi. She opened the window and transformed into a streak of light. She resembled a comet that swooshed past the nearby monsters and instantly defeated them."Wow…" Nadine was amazed at what she had just witnessed.Adrian parked the car, and then he and Rozi unloaded the remaining supplies and strapped them onto themselves. Adrian gazed at the tower and said, "We'll spend the night here. Rozi, you take Nadine up. I'll prepare a little surprise for the monsters."Rozi looked at Nadine and said, "Hang on tight, Nadia. I won't be responsible if you fall off.""Hey! It's Nadine!"Rozi ignored her and led Nadine up the tower. Five minutes later, they reached the top just as Adrian finished setting his trap below. She kep