The small group of five advanced step by step, their focus sharp. They knew the risks—one mistake could mean death.
Their plan of action had been prepared meticulously. Every creature in the area had been studied, every possible contingency considered.
The most dangerous part was crossing the parking lot. Once they made it inside the mall, everything would be much easier.
The five already had experience with this kind of mission; they were the ones who had carried out the most over the past few days.
One could say they were the elite of the survivor camp.
But unfortunately, things never go as planned, no matter how precise and prepared the plans might be.
Stefan, the man leading the group, suddenly stopped, placing his hand on the long knife at his belt and holding his breath.
The others did the same. Although they hadn't noticed anything unusual, they trusted their leader.
If he stopped, there was a reason.
The reason revealed itself a moment later.
One of the strange purple-skinned dogs was heading toward them, sniffing the ground as if searching for something.
There was no doubt—it was looking for them.
But they were prepared.
Each of them slid beneath the nearest vehicle, forcing their breathing to calm.
Though they had grown used to life-or-death situations, this did not mean they felt nothing when confronted with one.
The deformed dog continued searching, but after several minutes without finding anything, it gave up and returned to its pack, tail swaying from side to side.
The group let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Although they could have handled such a pack, doing so would have drawn the attention of the other creatures nearby—an instant death sentence.
However, their relief didn't last.
The sound of shattering glass suddenly echoed through the silence of the parking lot, followed by a loud alarm that drew the attention of every creature in the area to the group's location.
Their jaws tightened, hearts pounding.
They had no choice—they had to leave their hiding spots and defend themselves, or death would be inevitable the moment they were discovered.
The five exchanged firm looks and nodded.
They slipped out from beneath the vehicles and, without a word, began running toward the mall entrance.
It was their only chance at survival.
If they stayed outside, they would be surrounded in minutes by the incoming monsters.
The pack of Vioren was already on them, attacking from all sides.
Stefan, always at the front, drew his sharp knife and slashed the throats of three of the deformed dogs in one fluid motion. Their bodies hit the ground lifelessly.
The others acted with equal swiftness, cutting down the pack quickly and efficiently without slowing their pace.
They were frighteningly effective—an efficiency forged by experience and enhanced by the power they had gained from the system.
A devastating combination against creatures that were relatively weak and lacked intelligence.
They were now only five hundred meters from the entrance, closing the distance rapidly.
But they were forced to stop when a horde of over a hundred Fallen appeared, charging straight at them without fear or hesitation.
The five moved back to back, each covering the others.
A deadly dance followed—blow after blow against the abominations that had threatened their lives since the first moments of the apocalypse.
Fortunately, these things were far weaker than them, their only advantage being their overwhelming numbers.
Stefan cut through limbs one after another, fountains of black blood spraying in every direction.
The woman beside him was no weaker, her blonde hair whipping in the air as she delivered kicks that shattered bone with monstrous strength.
The other two women, almost certainly sisters judging by their striking resemblance, fought in perfect harmony, protecting each other flawlessly, making it nearly impossible for the monsters to land even a single hit.
The last, a burly man with a thick brown beard, swung his massive woodcutter's axe, cleaving enemies in half with frightening ease.
Victor watched the scene from the top of a nearby building, unable to stop himself from being impressed by their strength and coordination.
This clearly wasn't their first rodeo.
But that only raised one more question in his mind.
How much time had passed while he was trapped in the coliseum?
Ordinary humans couldn't reach such a level in just a few days. It was impossible—unless they had experienced something extraordinary.
The horde was wiped out in under ten minutes, leaving only mutilated corpses and pools of abyss-black blood.
The five survivors didn't linger. They rushed toward their objective immediately.
They were now only two hundred meters from safety, but they stopped again when Stefan suddenly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a quick, brutal death.
All eyes focused on the enemy now standing before them.
A massive insect—over two meters tall—with pale green, metallic-shining carapace. It stood on four thin hind legs.
But its most threatening feature were its long arms, ending in enormous scythes.
It looked like a giant praying mantis.
The blond man got back to his feet instantly, shouting over his shoulder.
"Formation! This thing is extremely dangerous!"
The others reacted at once, positioning themselves like a single unit.
The mantis stared at them with its faceted eyes, clicking its sharp mandibles.
An instant later, it vanished—simply fading into the air.
Everyone's eyes widened. Muscles tensed. Adrenaline flooded their veins.
The blonde woman moved first—twisting her body at an impossible angle as a slicing sound cut the air near her head.
She didn't hesitate—striking the empty space before her with all her strength.
A sharp crack signaled her success.
The mantis reappeared beside her—its abdomen now split by a long fracture.
It clicked in irritation and vanished again.
One sister moved toward the other, at the same time the second leapt into the air, narrowly dodging another fatal strike.
But the mantis wasn't done. Using its second scythe, it lunged toward the airborne sister—confident in finishing her.
But before it could leap, the bearded man grabbed one of its thin rear legs and held it in place.
He shot a look at the second sister—who immediately drew a small knife from her sleeve and drove it with precision into the cracked exoskeleton.
Sickly green blood oozed from the wound.
The mantis swung a scythe at the bearded man, forcing him to release its leg and fall back.
It vanished again—barely avoiding the follow-up strikes from Stefan and the blonde woman.
Stefan clicked his tongue, his eyes scanning the environment.
But ten seconds passed—no sign of the creature.
Had it fled? Or was it waiting for the perfect moment to strike?
No one could be sure.
They resumed walking—slowly this time.
Mantis were known as near-perfect hunters—able to kill prey much larger than themselves, masters of camouflage, unbearably patient.
If not for their small size, they'd sit at the top of the food chain.
They were now only a hundred meters from the entrance—mere seconds at their speed.
That was when the mantis struck again—its twin scythes crossing toward Stefan.
He dodged with a simple backward step.
But unfortunately—that was exactly what the creature had planned.
A second pair of scythes came from behind—aimed directly at his abdomen.
« No! »
The blonde woman cried out—but it was useless.
Before their eyes, Stefan's body split into two clean halves—blood gushing in a scarlet fountain as his entrails spilled onto the pavement with a sickening sound.
The faces of the four remaining survivors turned pale. Lips trembling. Breath shattered.
The man who had led them through countless dangers—their anchor—was gone in an instant.
But shock quickly turned to rage.
Pure, seething rage—directed straight at the two grotesque insects who were happily rubbing their sickles together, as if to celebrate the killing of their prey.
In that moment, the four survivors had only one thought.
Revenge.