Chapter 60: It’s alright now

Zephyr didn’t care what Han and his two teammates were thinking. Right now, there was only one thing on his mind—he had to save the children hiding inside the school.

He might have grown indifferent to many things in life, but children were different.

They were precious existences.

He couldn’t just stand by and let them die.

His psychokinesis skill stretched to its limits as Zephyr constantly sensed and observed everything in his surroundings.

The sheer strain of maintaining such precise control caused a vein to bulge on his forehead, but he didn’t slow down.

Soon, he landed on the school’s rooftop.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his mana spread across the entire building.

He immediately detected a hole torn into the side of the building and understood how the monster had entered the school.

The ant monster inside the building was relatively small compared to the massive creatures outside, allowing it to squeeze through the opening. However, even if the monster’s aura told Zephyr it was small, it was still far larger than an ordinary person, let alone the crying children hiding inside.

From their voices, Zephyr could tell the children were barely eight to ten years old.

And judging by the monster’s aura, it was getting dangerously close to their location.

It had probably heard their faint cries.

Without hesitation, Zephyr rushed into the building, heading straight toward the wild aura. He couldn’t see anything around him, but he no longer needed his eyes to navigate.

His mana spread outward like an invisible blanket, enveloping everything around him.

Through it, he could sense the surrounding walls, corridors, and obstacles, giving him a rough idea of the building’s layout. It wasn’t precise enough to reveal every small detail; however, it was more than enough to guide his movements after entering the building.

Suddenly, Zephyr reached out and ran his hand along the nearby wall until his fingers found a series of metal pipes, likely part of the building’s water supply system, running along its surface in straight lines. Without wasting a second, he grabbed one of the metal pipes and tore it away from the wall.

His steps quickened.

Yet, not a single sound escaped his movements.

Without even realizing it, Zephyr had completely concealed his presence.

He didn’t want to alert the monster, as he had already sensed how incredibly fast it was, just like the ones outside the school.

That was also why he hadn’t immediately helped Han and his two teammates. After all, he couldn’t use his skill recklessly and risk injuring them along with the monsters.

A loud crash rang out as Zephyr came to a halt in front of a classroom. The wild aura he had been sensing was right before him.

Just now, he had sensed how the monster had smashed apart the door and front wall of the classroom as half of its massive frame forced its way through the opening.

Zephyr’s expression tightened as he heard the monster’s body scrape against the floor, creating a harsh, grating sound that echoed through the empty corridor. From inside the classroom came the frightened screams of many children, their voices filled with fear.

Sweat trickled down his forehead as he tightened his grip around the metal pipe.

It seemed... he had pushed his skill a little too far today. A dull, throbbing pain pulsed through his head, leaving him slightly dizzy.

Still, he had no time to think about that.

Without hesitation, Zephyr lunged toward the monster. A pitch-black corrosive power slipped out from his body, wrapping around the metal pipe and coating its entire body.

Gathering all the strength he could muster, he drove the pipe into the monster’s body.

The monster recoiled in surprise, letting out a pained screech as it scrambled backward.

It was simply too fast. Zephyr nearly lost his grip and slid off its body, but he gritted his teeth and steadied himself. Before the monster could shake him off, he steeled himself and thrust his free hand into its body.

A sharp, putrid stench of blood filled his nose. He even felt the skin of his fingers burning. But Zephyr completely ignored it.

He couldn’t fall down. Not yet!

The next instant, the dark power flowing from his body erupted once again, surging from both of his palms under his command.

Wherever it touched, the monster’s flesh began to disintegrate into tiny particles.

Zephyr still hadn’t gained a good control over his SSS-Rank Corrosion Manipulation skill. He hadn’t even understood it properly yet. So, he hadn’t dared to practice it before, as he knew even the slightest mistake while using this skill could put those around him in grave danger. Even now, Zephyr had to do his best to keep the skill from spreading.

Fortunately, what he had used was more than enough to deal with the monster. The corrosive power spread through half of the monster’s body, erasing it almost instantly.

The entire exchange had lasted only a few small seconds. Only when Zephyr felt the massive body beneath him stop and finally collapse did he release a breath of relief.

He pulled his hand out from the monster’s body, hissing softly at the pain. Then, used his healing ability to heal the injury before jumping down and entering the classroom. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

The children inside had already fallen completely silent. Zephyr wasn’t sure whether it was out of fear or shock.

Since they weren’t Awakened, he couldn’t sense their presences exactly. Instead, he relied on their breathing and the occasional shaky whimpers to pinpoint their locations.

Turning toward them, his expression softened as he lowered himself to one knee. Zephyr tried to sound as gentle as possible to them, but his voice came out hoarse due to the splitting headache.

"It’s alright now."

No one answered him. The small figures only buried themselves further beneath the overturned wooden tables and chairs.

Zephyr didn’t mind. He silently stayed with them, waiting with a faint smile until they had calmed down and lowered their guard.

He couldn’t see the wide eyes staring at him. Among the children, one had not cried from beginning to end. She was a little girl in a floral dress, and she was also the one Zephyr had heard trying to calm the others.

She was the first to approach him, taking small, hesitant steps. Their class teacher had asked her to be brave and make sure the other students didn’t leave the class, since she was the oldest, before leaving to call for help. However, their teacher never came back. So, even when everyone else was crying, she had held back her tears.

But now that the danger had passed, she finally couldn’t hold them back anymore.

Tears quietly streamed down her pale cheeks as she grabbed Zephyr’s sleeve.

"Big Brother... I want to see Mom."