Chapter 304: Every Step Felt Like Cowardice

Zeri stared directly at Raven.

"What... was that feeling?"

Raven remained frozen for a moment, her sword still held tightly in front of her. The question itself wasn’t what disturbed her. It was the fact that Zeri was standing there asking it at all.

She knew what the aura stored inside the Aesthor Stone could do.

She had seen demons exposed to it before. Some had been completely overwhelmed, while others had lost control of themselves beneath its pressure. Until now, Raven had never watched a demon simply walk out of that aura completely unharmed.

Yet Zeri hadn’t suffered so much as a scratch.

"What is this monster...?" Raven whispered through clenched teeth.

Zeri looked down at his trembling hands once more. The confusion on his face gradually disappeared, but unlike before, his playful smile didn’t return.

Instead, he stretched both arms outward.

Raven’s eyes narrowed.

Something moved beneath the skin of his forearms.

His arms suddenly distorted, splitting and stretching until four long, flesh-like tentacles formed from each side. They twisted through the air like living limbs, bending freely around Zeri as their ends hovered above the ruined street.

"Everyone, watch out...!"

Raven didn’t finish.

One of the tentacles shot toward her.

CLANG!

Raven raised her sword just in time.

The impact nearly tore the weapon from her hand.

"What?!"

Her boots scraped violently across the pavement as she was forced backward. Raven immediately grabbed the hilt with her second hand, putting both arms behind the blade just to keep the tentacle from breaking through her defense.

That alone told her enough.

Normally, one sword was more than enough for Raven to absorb an opponent’s physical strike. Even against powerful demons, she could redirect the force or hold her ground.

This time she needed both hands.

And Zeri wasn’t even moving from where he stood.

Raven twisted her blade and finally pushed the tentacle aside, immediately jumping backward before another swept across the place where her head had been.

Dangerous.

That single thought overwhelmed everything else.

"Group C, evacuate them immediately!" Raven shouted. "Everyone else, attack!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The Shadow Corps moved at once.

Three members of Group C rushed toward Yuuta and Elena. One carefully lifted Elena into her arms while the other two moved to Yuuta’s sides.

"Sir, we need to move."

Yuuta was still struggling to remain conscious. The strange dark-green aura around him had weakened, but his legs refused to properly support his weight. The two soldiers pulled his arms over their shoulders and helped him stand.

"Papa!" Elena cried, reaching toward him from the soldier’s arms.

Yuuta weakly lifted his head.

"Elena..."

"Your father is coming with us," the soldier carrying her said. "Stay close."

They began retreating.

Behind them, the remaining Shadow Corps attacked.

Rooftop soldiers fired first.

Several energy rounds tore through the air and struck Zeri almost simultaneously. Explosions covered his position, sending smoke and broken pavement into the air.

"Direct hits!"

Before the words had even finished leaving the soldier’s mouth, four tentacles burst through the smoke.

One slammed into the side of the building.

The rooftop cracked apart.

The soldier barely managed to jump away before another tentacle changed direction in midair and caught him across the body. He was thrown from the rooftop and disappeared behind the surrounding debris.

"Keep firing!"

More shots followed.

Zeri stepped through the smoke.

Nothing had happened to him.

The attacks hadn’t even scratched his skin.

Two Shadow Corps members rushed him from opposite directions, their swords aimed at his neck and side. Zeri didn’t bother dodging this time.

A tentacle intercepted the first sword.

CLANG!

The blade bounced away.

The second soldier came within striking distance, but another tentacle wrapped around his arm before his sword could reach Zeri.

His eyes widened.

Zeri flicked the tentacle sideways.

The soldier was hurled across the street and smashed through the remains of a storefront.

"Damn it!"

Another Shadow Corps member jumped from behind, bringing her sword down with both hands.

Zeri finally moved his head.

He looked at her.

A tentacle shot upward.

Raven’s eyes widened.

"MOVE!"

Too late.

The attack struck the soldier before she could complete her swing and sent her crashing into the pavement. Another tentacle immediately swept across the soldiers rushing in behind her, knocking several from their feet and scattering their formation.

Raven’s breathing grew heavier.

"Surround him! Don’t approach from the same direction!"

The Shadow Corps obeyed immediately.

They spread throughout the street, attacking from multiple angles while the rooftop units continued firing. Blades struck Zeri’s tentacles whenever they could, but every collision produced the same result.

Nothing. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Their swords couldn’t cut through them.

Their ranged weapons couldn’t damage him.

And now Zeri wasn’t dodging.

That realization slowly settled over Raven.

Earlier, they had believed his constant evasion meant they simply hadn’t found a way to hit him yet. Every time their blades approached, Zeri had slipped aside, ducked beneath them or jumped away while laughing and insulting them.

They had assumed they were forcing him to dodge.

They were wrong.

Zeri had been dodging because he wanted to.

Because it was fun.

Another Shadow Corps soldier rushed forward.

Zeri’s tentacle pierced through his defense before he could complete the attack, dropping him onto the ruined street.

"Fall back!" Raven shouted.

But Zeri gave them no time.

Four tentacles struck in different directions at once. One smashed through a defensive barrier and sent its wielder flying. Another tore through the soldiers approaching from the left, while the remaining limbs whipped upward toward the rooftops, forcing the ranged units to abandon their positions.

The organized assault began collapsing.

"Captain!"

Raven turned just in time to see another member fall.

Her grip around her swords tightened.

Only minutes ago, Zeri had been jumping around them, making childish jokes about their bodies and pretending to follow Raven’s plans. He had allowed himself to be surrounded. He had allowed their swords to come within inches of him.

He had even pretended the Aesthor Stone hurt.

Raven had mistaken that behavior for arrogance.

Now she understood.

Zeri had never been fighting them seriously.

Not even once.

And whatever he had felt inside that black aura had ended the game.

Meanwhile, the pain inside Yuuta’s head gradually began to fade.

His breathing slowly steadied as the strange pressure that had been crushing his thoughts weakened. With the help of the two Group C soldiers supporting him from either side, Yuuta forced his legs to move, one unsteady step at a time.

Then he raised his head.

"Elena..."

A few meters ahead, the third Group C member was carrying Elena in her arms, keeping the little girl pressed safely against her chest while moving through the ruined street. Elena kept looking back toward Yuuta, her frightened crimson eyes refusing to leave him.

"Papa!"

"I’m here..." Yuuta managed.

Hearing Elena’s voice helped clear some of the fog from his mind. Yuuta forced himself upright and began moving faster with the soldiers.

Then he made the mistake of looking behind him.

His steps slowed.

The street they had just escaped from no longer looked like a battlefield.

It looked like a massacre.

Several Shadow Corps members were lying motionless across the broken road. Others were still alive but horribly wounded, struggling to rise despite injuries that should have kept them down. One soldier had lost an arm. Another was being dragged away by a comrade while blood poured from his leg. Farther back, Yuuta caught sight of a body missing its head before smoke and debris obscured it again.

Yet the Shadow Corps weren’t retreating.

Those who could still stand continued attacking Zeri.

Those who could still hold weapons kept fighting.

And Yuuta knew why.

Because of him.

Yuuta’s eyes shifted toward the woman supporting his left side.

She was trembling.

At first, he thought she was struggling beneath his weight, but then he noticed her breathing. Her hand shook around his arm, and every time another scream came from behind them, her fingers tightened involuntarily.

She was afraid.

Yuuta looked toward the soldier on his other side.

He was afraid too.

They didn’t want to die.

None of them did.

They weren’t fearless warriors who felt nothing when their comrades were torn apart. They could hear those screams just as clearly as Yuuta could. They knew that if Zeri broke through Raven and the others, they might be next.

And yet they were still here.

Still helping him.

"Keep moving, sir!" one of them urged. "Don’t look back!"

Yuuta stumbled forward.

Behind them, Raven’s voice thundered across the street.

"Don’t fall back! Everyone, use Shadow Bind!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Yuuta heard the response.

Then came another crash.

A scream followed.

Yuuta flinched but continued running.

Another scream came moments later, this one from a woman. It was abruptly drowned beneath the sound of breaking concrete and something snapping with a sickening crack.

Yuuta’s stomach twisted.

He kept running.

The Group C soldiers kept him moving while the rest of the Shadow Corps threw themselves between Zeri and the escaping family. Every second they bought allowed Yuuta and Elena to travel a little farther.

But every second also brought another scream.

Another impact.

Another voice disappearing.

Yuuta clenched his teeth.

Keep running.

His legs moved.

Elena needs to get away.

Another scream echoed behind him.

Keep running.

Yuuta’s crimson eyes trembled.

He hated this.

He hated every step.

People were dying behind him while he ran away.

His mind understood why. Elena was here. Staying would place her in even greater danger, and Raven herself had ordered him to leave.

But knowing that didn’t make the sounds behind him any easier to hear.

For the first time since the battle began, Yuuta felt like a coward.

He didn’t turn around again.

He was afraid that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to keep moving.

Back on the ruined street, the Shadow Corps’ numbers continued falling.

Shadow Bind had slowed Zeri briefly, but it hadn’t been enough.

The last few soldiers tried to maintain their formation, only for Zeri’s tentacles to tear through it. One was thrown into a building. Another collapsed after taking a direct strike while attempting to protect a wounded comrade.

Then the street became quiet.

Raven’s breathing was heavy.

She slowly looked around.

Her Shadow Corps were down.

Some remained conscious, barely moving among the debris. Others weren’t moving at all. Broken weapons lay scattered across the road beside pools of blood, and the formation that had surrounded Zeri only minutes earlier had completely disappeared.

Raven was the only one still standing between him and the direction Yuuta had escaped.

She didn’t move.

Both swords remained in her hands.

Her arms hurt. Blood ran down one side of her face, and every breath sent pain through her body, but she planted her feet firmly against the road.

She couldn’t let him pass.

If Raven stepped aside now, Zeri would reach Yuuta and Elena.

And if that happened...

Raven didn’t know how she could ever stand before Erza again.

She tightened her grip around both swords.

Zeri stood several meters away.

His tentacles slowly twisted around him, but strangely, he didn’t immediately attack. His earlier playful expression still hadn’t returned. He simply stared at Raven as though the battle itself had become secondary.

"Captain."

Raven raised both swords.

Zeri tilted his head.

"Just tell me."

Raven’s eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"That feeling."

His voice was quieter now.

"The one I felt earlier."

Raven said nothing.

Zeri looked toward the remnants of black aura still lingering through the street before returning his attention to her.

"For a moment, my heart wouldn’t stop beating. My body wouldn’t listen to me. I was shaking..." He looked down at one of his hands, flexing his fingers slowly. "I’ve never felt anything like that before."

His black eyes returned to Raven.

"What was it?"

Raven’s teeth tightened.

Zeri waited.

When she still refused to answer, one of the tentacles beside him suddenly shot forward.

CLANG!

Raven crossed both swords in front of herself.

The tentacle smashed into them with tremendous force, driving her backward across the road. Her boots tore through dust and broken stone before she managed to stop herself.

Zeri took one slow step forward.

"Tell me."

Another tentacle attacked.

Raven twisted aside, but the tip caught her shoulder and sent her spinning onto the pavement. She rolled once before forcing herself back onto one knee, both swords still clenched in her hands.

Zeri stared down at her.

"What was that feeling?"

To be contiuned.