Vin and the undead man were hurled across the ground by the sheer force of the blast. Bloodied and disoriented, Vin barely had time to steady himself before the green-limbed Elf, already recovering, began crawling toward him with hungry eyes. Just as the creature closed in, another crystal struck, detonating and blasting them away. A moment later, Vin was pulled up, and another entity bit into his shoulder, immediately restoring their own soul.

  Madness vitalized the man with a pact with a reptilian deity, and they rushed over and grabbed the throat of the new undead, squeezing it. One, two, and then three more nightmares had found their way to Vin. None of them had physical changes to their body, but he could tell by the uniqueness of their powers they also had contracts with gods.

  They fought around him, destroying what used to be a beautiful residential area as if he was a nonfactorctor, just a trophy for the winner.

  It infuriated him beyond reason.

  Vin crushed his exhaustion beneath his resolution and rose with a low snarl. Blood seeped from the many wounds on his body; some of his ribs were broken, and his arm was busted, but he wasn't going to sit there like their victim. Bonely returned to him with his steel baseball bat, and Vin wielded them with his little strength.

  One of the nightmares broke from the brawl early and dashed toward him, so Vin raised his club to defend himself, even knowing it wouldn't stop them.

  Engulfed with hate for those people, Vin clanked the bat against the ground and yelled furiously in welcome of the challenge. He was moments away from a clash when a cluster of transparent bubbles floated around him. One touched Vin, expanded like a balloon, and trapped him slightly above the ground.

  The enemy's attack bounced off the surprisingly soft yet resilient bubble, and a sword lobbed off their head in the blink of an eye. Standing before Vin was a tall, elven man with dark curls and striking teal eyes. Vin tensed, ready to fight once the spell dissipated, but before he could move, the Elf raised a large silver shield with blue highlights and blocked an incoming strike from another foe.

  It was protecting him? However, Vin wondered if that nightmare was just waiting till it was safe to eat him alone. Regardless, he was momentarily out of harm. Bonely began tearing at his hoodie for cloth and wrapping his wounds. Meanwhile, he looked at the field that had become a battleground for nearly thirty of those monsters.

  At first, it appeared as if all the undead were fighting over who would eat him. However, some seemed to be closer, forming a defensive circle. Vin recognized several of them, including the corpse bride, from his nightmare at the hot spring. Even though they protected him, he knew they wanted the same thing; the question was how they planned to obtain it.

  Fools.

  Fighting around him, treating him like some magic solution to their curse. As something less than a person.

  Vin gripped the walls of his transparent cage, a feral look on his face as he grimaced at everyone. Tiny, insignificant creatures that only stood in the way between him and never seeing that city again. He hammered at the bubble, yelling, "All this for what!?"

  He coughed up blood but wiped it away. His mental and physical damages took their toll, and before he knew it, he was shouting nonsense, "This is my power! Mine! You should be on your knees thanking me for even giving you hope!"

  No one gave him the attention he wanted. He was disregarded after all his suffering and the hurdles he overcame to get there. But why? He was the best. He had a perfect racing streak in the league, and sponsors were waiting for him to graduate high school and join their teams.

  He'd never lost. Not until this disgusting world ruined everything.

  He was better than every single one of them. Superior.

  Vin peered at the back of the shield knight and shouted into their mind, "Let me out of this fucking bubble!"

  The transparent sphere popped, and Vin landed. Fury filled his actions as he grabbed the hair of the two closest to him, the shield elf and bride. He yanked their heads back and screamed, his eyes filled with mania as he stared into the growing cluster of people, "Don't you ignore me!"

  He had never felt so mad, so insane. His voice boomed, "You rotting trash! Don't forget this is my power; I'm the one who decides who lives and dies!"

  Vin yelled, "A vow, for a vow. A blessing for a promise!"

  Soul Harvest had proved why it was his highest-ranked spell. Vin had been using it at its limit since the fighting started, and his essence was overflowing. Unlike everyone else, his soul wasn't always a fixed shape; it shrunk when overused and now had grown. It expanded like a balloon beyond its natural size, giving him three times as much energy as an average person.

  The process of restoration began. It was different from usual since Vin wasn't sacrificing one soul to save another. There wasn't a giant explosion of flames either. This time, he used his own massive stock of essence that he stole and pooled it into his targets to restore their broken core.

  Both of Elve's souls became full again. Mortal. They were still physically repulsive, but right now, he didn't have the ability to burn their rotting bodies and restore them to health.

  Both individuals instantly collapsed onto the ground upon having their souls revitalized, idle as if dead.

  "Get up!" Vin hollered, kicking both of the fallen Elves. He didn't move much, but his head became uncontrollably disoriented. All the essence he stored using Soul Harvest was gone. Those two fighters were supposed to honor him and give their life to protect him. But, when it was apparent they wouldn't rise, he clicked his teeth, "You're useless!"

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The army of undead warriors became even more fervent after seeing the miracle he performed. Even the few who'd defended him until then grew resentful. Everyone became enimies and charged Vin with ravenous intent, desperate to live again.

  All those nightmares witnessed the dangerous glint in his eyes as he gripped his weapon, prepared to fight to the bitter end. But just as he steeled himself for battle, a crushing wave of exhaustion slammed into his mind.

  For a second, Vin forgot where he was, what was happening, and even who all those people were. He lost control and dropped to his knees, suffering from a lack of both essence and blood.

  The enemies saw his weakness and charged; however, a tremendous, invisible weight fell around him, causing all the foes to slam into the ground. Vin felt it, too, a hammering force pushing down, but not nearly as intense. He glanced over and saw the Elven bride hovering slightly above the ground, her hand covered with glowing magic runes as she squeezed the air.

  The few individuals could move beneath that aggressive gravity were struck down first by the teal-eyed man with the silver and blue sword and shield. Vin watched in awe as dozens were slain in mere moments. He thought there would be hesitaion since these people were once their party members who entered the Archival Dimension together, but there was no love here.

  Vin slowly regained his senses. He knew he should have rested and let the elven duo take care of the rest, but he couldn't. He struggled to his feet and then staggered over to the green-limbed nightmare, their body hardly lit by what little light seeped through the dense clouds.

  Most of that man's body had returned to normal. Their soul was already battered from the fight with Vin, so they were too weak to resist the gravity holding them down. They could only clench their first in frustration as the Human took a sword, stabbed it through their skull, and twisted it to scramble the brain.

  Vin abhorred them, yet there was also pity. That man had arrived first and fought hardest because they had the most to live for. Given opposite roles, he would do the same.

  There was temporary silence, but more enemies would eventually arrive. Vin peered at the two whose souls he just saved, wondering what they would do next, but they were calm. Almost like they were sedated by some powerful drug...

  He woke them up and alerted them of their next destination, the Sun Market. Vin hadn't used as much Astral Ichor, so he hailed a shade of the SUV from his [Items] archive and pushed them into the vehicle.

  <>

  Nothing was ever easy. At first, the two Elves were in the passenger seats, nearly falling asleep as something unknown plagued them after their soul was mended. But they were soon attacked by more undead and had to wake up. A giant bubble was cast around the SUV to deflect most ranged magic, and the bride destroyed those within the range of her gravity control.

  The run-and-gun continued all the way to the market, now completely dark and ominous compared to when it had the halo. After driving far enough, Vin saw wide tendrils sticking from the ground. There was a turbulent jolt as the SUV suddenly stopped, snagged by a vine that wrapped around the bubble and squeezed until it burst. The vehicle was also in danger of being destroyed, but the paladin acted and obliterated the plant with his sword.

  "Of course, it's you," Vin muttered, stepping out of the vehicle and fixing his gaze on the silver-haired caster. They sat idly on a tree stump, scorn replacing the usual passiveness in their eyes. The ground was littered with dead Ravenours, torn and lifeless. Only Casty and a handful remained, but they were bound in thick vines.

  The mage waved their wooden staff, and all the captives screamed as the plant squeezed and crushed their bodies.

  'Bait to lure me out,' he deduced. Looking for one captive in particular. As if answering his will, Gideon bolted from a nearby building and ran to him. The slick-haired guard was covered in blood, but he wasn't injured in the slightest. They grabbed Vin's shoulder, frantically stating, "You're here!"

  "He ambushed us, and everyone was captured," he said with bated breaths. "I tried to escape before the deadline, but he never left this area!"

  A blazing streak of light shot toward them, and Gideon instinctively recoiled, taking shelter behind Vin, who didn't flinch.

  "Gideon..." he muttered dully.

  Vin seized him by the collar, barely sparing the light attack a glance as a reflective bubble reflected it. His eyes burned with disgust as he asked, "Why aren't you up there with the others?"

  "Huh?" the winged guard asked in confusion. Vin repeated himself in the same revolted tone, and the man stood straight and answered shamelessly, "I got away."

  "Maeve was waiting. I couldn't afford to get captured here and leave her and Tristen alone," they explained, their expression hardening with seriousness.

  "You ran and hid?" That was the only thing Vin took away from their statement.

  "I survived! The others knew what this mission entailed and died for our cause!" He tried to shove Vin away, but their fist was closed tight on their shirt. "What are you doing! Wake up, we have to save the ones who were captured!"

  Vin's brows dipped in not anger- but disappointment. His hand released the man's collar, and he told them, "I wish you had died fighting..."

  "Then I could still respect you."

  The guard's breath hitched, and for a moment, he just stared, trying to process whether he'd actually heard those words. Vin snapped his head over at the bubble knight who had been at the throat of the earth mage and shouted, "Stop!"

  Their silver blade stopped just a second away from the young mage’s neck. A mental command from Vin compelled them to strike the vengeful, silvered-haired individual and knock them unconscious. It may have been dumb to let his pride dictate his actions, but Vin didn't want to win like this.

  The bride was dealing with arriving undead alone the entire time, so Vin sent the shield user to help. In the meantime, Vin gave Gideon a sword and told him to cut down Casty and the other captured Ravenours.

  The mint-haired woman slugged the guard when she was free, screaming, releasing all her pent-up emotion. She said it wasn't the first time that happened. Apparently, Gideon was known for treating others like they were expendable and justified any deaths by saying it was for their princess's sake.

  Vin knew the guard was dedicated to Maeve's dream, but this... Betraying your allies? It was inexcusable.

  There would be time to dissect their woes later, but Vin needed everyone to get into the SUV fast. His shade said it sat six, but they squeezed eight brutes inside while two clung to the roof. Vin began to drive, but an invisible force lifted them from the ground, and they ascended.

  They flew high above the city, out of reach of danger. Vin looked down as they fled, taking in the chaos. The once-sparkling green waterways were now red, and the plants burned alongside the many buildings. The beautiful Watervein city was becoming nothing but a decimated pile of rubble, a massive graveyard for its residents.

  A city of the dead.