"Get the fuck AWAY from him!!!"
An explosive roar erupted beside his ear.
Without anyone noticing, Tax Bro had charged in front of him. He kicked the player to the side, gripped his great axe with both hands and brought it down, hacking directly into the Alpha's lower jaw!
CLANG!!!
A deafening clash of metal.
The axe blade struck the keratinized jawbone, sending a blinding shower of sparks into the air.
The webbing between Tax Bro's thumb and index finger tore open, blood streaming down the axe handle, but he held his ground.
His muscle fibers were strained to their absolute limit. His bones groaned under the crushing pressure.
Incredibly, he had temporarily locked the monster in a stalemate.
The Alpha clearly hadn't expected this tiny little morsel to possess such strength. A flash of confusion crossed its cloudy eyes, instantly replaced by a far more violent rage.
It bit down hard on the great axe and violently whipped its head.
Tax Bro was launched into the air like an artillery shell, smashing straight through a low stone wall at the edge of the plaza.
Rubble rained down, burying him halfway under the debris.
The great axe flew from his grip, clattering to the ground several meters away.
"Tax Bro!!!"
White Scars' eyes nearly popped out of his head. He raised his laspistols and fired frantically, trying to draw the monster's attention.
But the Alpha's target was crystal clear.
It wanted to kill the thing that had hurt it.
It turned around and took a slow, deliberate step toward the rubble where Tax Bro was buried. The ground trembled with every stride.
In the ruins, Tax Bro coughed up a mouthful of bloody froth.
The force of the throw was too immense. He felt at least three ribs snap, and his internal organs were definitely damaged.
The Type-III Physique Enhancement made his body incredibly resilient, but it didn't make him truly invincible.
He struggled to get up, but his left leg wouldn't respond. It was probably broken.
His vision began to blur.
He watched the monster approaching step by step. He looked at the massive maw dripping with blood and saliva, and a sudden thought crossed his mind.
Fuck... Zeke became a Champion, so he gets the Perfect Respawn...
If I die here and want to keep my current enhancement progress, the respawn cost is going to be thousands of Imperial Coins... What a loss...
Then he smiled.
He smiled like an absolute idiot.
Worth it, though.
He had saved someone.
The Alpha stopped in front of the rubble. It lowered its massive head, its cloudy eyes staring at the prey that was about to become its next meal.
It opened its mouth. The stench of rot washed over Tax Bro's face.
Just as those razor-sharp teeth were about to snap shut—
"DO—NOT—HURT—UNCLE—!!!"
A childish voice, laced with an indescribable, overwhelming power, echoed across the entire plaza.
Every single player, the surviving residents, and even the Alpha instinctively turned to look at the source of the sound.
On the west side of the plaza, next to the transport truck.
Helovia was floating.
Her tiny body hovered half a meter off the ground. Her long white hair whipped wildly behind her, entirely untouched by the wind.
Her once clear, green eyes had turned completely into burning, crimson gold, resembling two miniature suns.
Even more terrifying was the psychic energy surging around her.
It was a torrential flood of power, as violent as an erupting volcano.
Crimson flames materialized out of thin air, wrapping around her body. The air distorted and warped from the sheer heat. The gravel beneath her feet began to melt, turning into glowing, liquid magma.
"Teacher said..."
Helovia spoke. Her voice was still childish, but it carried an unquestionable, absolute resolve.
"The uncles and aunties of the Crimson Dawn are heroes who came from a very, very faraway place. They aren't afraid of dying. They aren't afraid of pain. To save the people suffering here, they are willing to give everything."
She raised her tiny hand, palm facing up.
A crimson fireball, half a meter in diameter, coalesced in her palm. Within it, patterns resembling flowing magma spun frantically.
"Teacher also said... those of us who have been saved must learn to protect. Protect the food that was so hard to earn. Protect the homes that shelter us from the wind and rain. Protect... protect the people who are willing to bleed for us."
Tears shimmered in her crimson-gold eyes.
"Uncle Paul gave me candy. Teacher Angel taught me how to read. Uncle Tax kept me safe..."
"You are the best... the best people I have ever met..."
She took a deep breath, her tiny chest heaving.
And then, with every ounce of strength in her body, she screamed:
"SO I WON'T ALLOW IT!!!"
"I WON'T ALLOW ANYONE TO HURT YOU!!!"
The moment the words left her mouth, the fireball in her palm blasted forward!
It wasn't ordinary fire. It was a highly compressed psychic construct, the unconscious manifestation of an S-Rank talent pushed to the brink by an emotional explosion.
The fireball streaked through the air, leaving a scorching trail in its wake. The air along its path was instantly ionized, producing loud, cracking snaps.
The Alpha sensed the lethal threat.
It tried to dodge.
But it was too late.
The fireball struck its flank dead-on—right into the wound that the rockets had blown open.
BOOM!!!
An explosion ten times more violent than the rockets erupted!
The crimson psychic flames burrowed into the wound like a living creature, burning, detonating, and spreading wildly inside the monster's body!
"RRAAAAGGGHHH!!!"
The Alpha let out a howl of utter agony.
Its massive body was blasted backward, rolling across the plaza. The bowl-sized wound on its flank was completely torn open, turning into a horrific, half-meter-wide crater.
Psychic flames spewed from the hole, setting its fur on fire, setting its muscles on fire, even setting its very bones on fire.
It thrashed wildly on the ground, trying to put the flames out.
But this was psychic fire. It was the manifestation of emotional energy. It was the burning resolve of Helovia's desire to protect.
It could not be extinguished.
"More..."
Helovia floated in the air. Her small face was as pale as paper, but her eyes remained utterly unyielding.
She raised both of her hands.
More flames materialized around her—a torrent of psychic fire.
Her tiny body trembled faintly within the violent storm of psychic energy. Blood began to drip from her nose, and thin streams of blood leaked from the corners of her eyes.
The power brought by Master-tier psychic ability was terrifying, but her body... was ultimately just that of an eleven-year-old child.
"Helovia! Stop!" White Scars roared from a distance. "Your body can't handle it!"
But Helovia couldn't hear him anymore.
In her eyes, there was only the thrashing monster, the severely injured Uncle Tax in the rubble, and the uncles and aunties of the Chapter who had been hurt or killed trying to protect the town.
"The song Teacher taught me..."
She muttered to herself, her voice as light as sleep talking. "Say goodbye before dawn breaks, smile through the tears to welcome the tomorrow you deserve..."
She smiled.
She smiled exactly like an ordinary child.
"Uncle Paul, Uncle Schrödinger, Uncle Tax, Uncle White Scars, Uncle Cogboy... you gave us tomorrow..."
"My mom used to whisper to me in the middle of the night that a person must learn to be grateful."
"So today... it's my turn..."
She thrust both hands forward!
"To protect you!!!"
"For the Dawn that will eventually arrive."
The torrent of crimson psychic fire, like a river bursting its dam, roared as it surged toward the Alpha Irradiated Mutant!