Smoke choked the passage as Leo sprinted toward the eastern boundary, the air smelling of burnt copper and ozone. Sirens wailed in the distance, their synthetic screams bouncing off the concrete structures of the sanctuary like desperate pleas. Red light painted the sky, a toxic hue bleeding from the ruptured barrier that had protected them for months. People ran past him, their faces pale and streaked with soot, clutching whatever belongings they could carry in their panicked flight. Dragging crying children, parents fled with wide, terrified eyes, looking back at the billowing dust clouds. Fear had turned the orderly refuge into a stampede of desperate souls. No one was looking back, too consumed by the primal urge to survive another day in this hellish world. "Get to the inner shelters!" Leo shouted, his voice cutting through the chaotic din like a whip. Pushing against the flow of the crowd, his boots dug into the cracked pavement with immense force. Every single step cracked the asphalt beneath him, a testament to his absurdly high strength stat. Up ahead, the massive concrete wall lay in absolute ruins. Jagged gaps yawned wide, black smoke pouring from the fractured rebar and shattered stone. Monstrous shapes lunged through the dust, their red eyes gleaming with insatiable hunger. Hounds the size of military vehicles emerged from the breach, their skin resembling peeled muscle and their eyes glowing with chaotic energy. Acidic saliva dripped from razor-sharp teeth, sizzling violently as it struck the rubble below. Guards tried desperately to hold the line, firing rifles and casting low-level elemental spells that flickered weakly against the darkness. Bullets bounced harmlessly off the beasts' hardened hides, sparks flying uselessly in the gloom. One guard fell hard, his shoulder crushed by a massive claw that sent him sprawling. Screaming in agony, he dragged himself backward as a hound reared to bite off his head. "Back off!" Leo roared, his voice echoing across the battlefield. Covering fifty feet in a single bound, he leaped into the air with terrifying velocity. Wind roared in his ears as gravity yielded to his sheer agility stat, turning him into a human bullet. --- Landing directly between the guard and the beast, Leo drove his fist upward. A deafening crack echoed as his knuckles buried into the creature's jaw. Bone shattered instantly, sending a spray of black blood into the air. Force from the blow sent the three-ton beast flying backward, crashing into the ruined wall and collapsing into a lifeless heap. It didn't even have time to whimper before its life snuffed out. "Are you alright?" Leo asked, grabbing the guard's collar to haul him to safety behind a metal barricade. "Leo... thank god," the guard wheezed, clutching his bleeding shoulder. "They just... they came out of nowhere. The wall just blew like it was made of paper." "Stay down," Leo commanded, his jaw clenching as he turned back to the breach. Three more hounds charged through the smoke, their claws tearing up the earth and leaving deep gouges in the dirt. Anger flared in Leo's chest at the sight of the cruel brand burned into their flesh—the mark of the Sovereign Coalition. These beasts were engineered weapons, designed only to slaughter innocent lives. Meeting them head-on, Leo relied entirely on his raw physical power. Fishing had granted him thousands of attribute points, elevating his strength and endurance to god-like levels. Catching the leading hound by its upper and lower jaws, he locked his fingers into its teeth. Thrashed as it might, the beast could not break his grip. Acidic saliva burned against his forearms, but his ridiculously high endurance stat made the pain nothing more than a mild itch. With a grunt of exertion, he ripped the beast's jaws apart. Blood sprayed across his chest in a dark, hot torrent. Spinning on his heel, he used the dead beast's weight to sweep the other two off their feet. Heavy impacts echoed as they tumbled into the dirt, their bones snapping under the blunt force. More creatures poured through the gap, their numbers seemingly endless. Spidery monstrosities with human-like faces and armored legs hissed, leaping from the top of the ruined wall. "Keep coming," Leo muttered, his eyes narrowing. Moving like a blur, he became a streak of silver and gold to the surviving guards. Every punch threw shockwaves through the air, shattering chitin and sending severed limbs flying. Kicks shattered chitin and broke bones with ease. Sharp, needle-like projectiles suddenly rained from the sky. Leo reacted instantly, snatching a piece of fallen concrete to use as a shield. Projectiles shattered against the stone, sizzling with green poison. Behind the smoke, a dozen multi-legged chitinous stalkers crawled over the ruins. They had human-like faces frozen in permanent, agonizing grins. Claws clicked against the stone as they prepared to pounce. "Not on my watch," Leo hissed. Dropping the makeshift shield, he blurred forward. He caught the nearest stalker mid-air, crushing its head between his palms. Green ichor splattered his boots. Pivoting on his heel, he grabbed another by its tail, using it as a flail to smash three others into the ground. Craters formed in the concrete as they slammed into the dirt. He was a force of nature, an unstoppable juggernaut fueled by sheer will. A massive, armored bear-like creature, easily twenty feet tall, stepped through the dust. Roaring with a sound that shook the dust from the remaining walls, it lunged. Leo didn't flinch. Sliding underneath its massive swipe, he pivoted on his heel. Driving his elbow into the back of its knee, he caused the joint to explode. Leaping onto its back as it fell, he wrapped his arms around its thick neck and squeezed. Muscles in his forearms bulged, veins popping against his skin like thick cords. A sickening crack echoed, and the titan slumped forward, dead. --- Silence fell over the immediate area, save for the crackle of burning debris. Standing atop the carcass, Leo wiped black blood from his forehead with the back of his hand. His breath was steady, his pulse barely elevated despite the chaos. Stats of this magnitude made short work of a raid that should have wiped out an entire division. Yet, something felt wrong. Looking past the breach, he scanned the ruined outskirts. Empty fields met his gaze. No Coalition soldiers were in sight. Commanders were absent, and no high-level hunters were present to capitalize on the breach. Mindless, mutated beasts had simply been sent to die. "Why?" Leo whispered, his heart dropping into his stomach. Coalition tactics were ruthless, but they weren't stupid. They knew his capabilities. Sending these beasts was nothing more than throwing meat into a grinder. Unless they didn't expect the beasts to win. This wasn't an invasion; it was an expensive, bloody distraction. Memories of his lost orphan family flashed through his mind. He remembered the night of the first dungeon break, the screams, the helpless hands reaching out to him. He had sworn never to let anyone down again. That oath had driven him to fish day and night, pushing his limits, hoarding stats like a dragon hoards gold. But that same vow had made him blind. He had rushed to the loud noise, the bright explosion, the immediate threat. Leaving the vulnerable unguarded was his ultimate mistake. "Toby," Leo muttered, memory flashing back to the control room. Young scout Toby had warned him about Clara, and about the Coalition's reach. If this attack was meant to draw him out, then he had fallen directly into their hands. Cold sweat broke out on his neck. Running to the eastern wall meant he was now miles away from the inner sanctum. He had brought all his strongest fighters with him to plug the breach. Sanctuary defenses at the center were practically nonexistent. Realization hit him like a physical blow, knocking the wind from his lungs. He was the protector, yet he had left his flank completely exposed. "No," Leo gasped, jumping down from the titan's carcass. Turning to the guards, his voice shook with sudden panic. "Secure this breach! Use the emergency barricades! I have to go!" "Leo? What's wrong?" one of the guards yelled, but Leo was already running. Pushing his speed to the absolute limit, he felt the wind scream in his ears. Buildings on either side became a blur of concrete and rusted metal. Mind racing faster than his legs, he realized the trap. Coalition forces didn't want to fight him head-on; they wanted to bypass him. Striking where it hurt the most was their true objective. They wanted his people. Sanctuary's heart was the main reservoir, the vital life source keeping thousands of refugees alive. Around it, the civilian camp lay completely exposed. If they got in there, a massacre would ensue. All his hard work, all the lives he had saved, would be wiped out in minutes. "Please let me be in time," he prayed to whatever gods were left watching. Central plaza came into view, the massive steel dome of the reservoir rising like a metal mountain. Suddenly, the air grew incredibly cold. Hearing a sound that cut through the screaming wind, Leo stopped dead in his tracks. A chilling horn echoes from the center of the sanctuary, right where the main water reservoir—and the refugees—are located.

Chapter 43: Crimson Waters Rising