Leave The Monster Alone

While Mark had to deal with the screaming humans, Alan and the company had bigger fish to fry. Many of the newer and more powerful monsters had decided to come to join this party and it would not be long before one came which they would not be able to handle.

Not to mention, Suzy did not look so well either. From what Alan had heard of her species, she should not be sweating that bad or painting that hard with this little exertion on her part.

"Are you alright?" Alan could not help but ask her since she was their strongest companion. It was likely that they would collapse if she did. They had to keep her alright for now.

"My body is too damaged to hold the core properly and it is trying to attract a stronger beast to contain it. Should it succeed, we all will die" the girl sounded far too sure of her words. Even Alan knew what she said was likely true.

Alan knew he could not best Suzy at her current condition, not to mention at her best. It would be a battle he lost even before it started at all.

"Is there anything that can be done? Can you not transfer into someone who will not kill us?" Suzy shook her head. Of course it was not that easy. The conditions to hold the core were already complicated.

Humans were generally part of the stream of life and the core would not be held in that circle, so that was already out. Besides, Suzy could only think of one person who was capable of holding this core - Mark.

And somehow she did not like the idea of that. Her core did not feel safe when he was near which was odd since Mark was a human. Her core begged for his attention a little too much for Suzy to feel comfortable handing it over to him.

But in the last few minutes, this teen also seemed like an excellent choice. Her core actually did not mind him either and had even tried coping with a feel over his control and functionality to see if he was a fit.

"Would you be interested in taking over my core?" Suzy asked Alan who almost missed the shot on the closest monster in surprise. He turned toward the female who was not really looking at him right now.

But Mark had heard what he had and now he wanted to confirm those words.

"Are you serious? I can?" he could not help keep the excited tone in his voice. That kind of power! That kind of power would allow him to do anything. He would be able to help out a lot more like Kuro and Mark would trust him more.

He would also be a better shield and able to take hits better. This was the perfect solution for him at this time.

"Yes, I'm sure you can handle it. Though we have to get through this situation first before we can discuss this any further" Alan felt his body dodge the next projectile aimed at him. It was a tough manoeuvre to keep his body straight and alright.

The monsters were multiplying in number but Alan no longer felt the pressure that much. He just needed to survive and things will become alright. Everything would be alright once again.

Then the shaking started and everyone lost their balance with the fast-moving vibrations. Alan could not stop the beam that fell over him as he lost his balance. He did not even see the shadow that tried to shield him.

Meanwhile, Mark decided to check the other two safe spots as well. The second one had no dead body luck but the last one had almost descended into a bloodbath. The female who had died had been relatively well-liked by people.

As such, a group of people had defended her body from Mark. it had not been till a monster had somehow slipped inside that they had accepted to give the body up. Mark had a feeling that they would never forgive him for this but at least they were alive.

Once everything was collected, Mark made his way to the central hall. The earthquakes were getting worse by the second and Alan had stopped answering his messages a few minutes back. Mark did not have a good feeling about all this so he hurried outside to the location of the battle.

There were no gunshot sounds which instantly raised red flags in his mind. He could spot Kuro ferociously snapping monsters left and right but she was not moving too much. Her feeling of frustration and protectiveness flooded his senses and he knew she was looking after someone.

Has someone fallen? Who? ALAN.

If Kuro was behaving like this, then it could only be Alan or Rika. Since Rika was not here right now, it left Alan as the only one. 

Mark felt himself go cold but his mind still remained calm. His body and mind were at a war here which he could not pay attention to. Where was Suzy? Why had she not helped?

Mark shot his way near as well and he knew the instant Kuro recognized him. She gave him an accepting growl of appreciation before focusing back on the monsters.

Mark drew nearer, dreading what he would find. His mind had already drawn conclusions for him though, so he just needed to confirm. But his heart decided to become weak at that very second and he could not see it any longer.

"Mark, we are both still alive but in critical condition," Suzy said once she saw Mark had no intention of looking at them at all. Her words brought Mark's full attention to her which was nice.

"Mark, I am going to give you a choice now. Either allow me to live or allow Alan to live. Though saying that, even if you do decide on me, I will likely die in a few weeks anyway" Mark knew he could save them both. There had to be something in his system to do so.

And there was.

The only problem was - he did not have enough material to exchange for it. Why? Why did it have to be like this? He had the means but no way to execute those means?

Maybe he could kill more monsters. If he cut the higher-level ones he had to only deal with around 1000 of them before he would have enough. He could make it in time, right?

"Mark, listen to me. We do not have time. Alan does not have any time left. Either you take my core and transplant it into him or allow him to die. The choice is yours" That didn't seem right. 

Even if his brain was telling him it was a logical solution to many of their problems should he do it, he did not want to risk it. Especially when there was no guarantee that Alan would even survive the ordeal.

Besides, the kid did not even consent to it.

"I talked it over with Alan and he is not opposed to the idea. If you would not then I will myself" the female was trying to stronghold Mark into her own decision. Mark did not like that strategy at all.

"There should be another way. You will perish like this" Mark warned her, wanting her to think it over once again. Maybe she would be able to come up with an answer on her own.

"This is what I want though. Also, we are running out of time. You can feel it as well right?" she was likely referring to the monster he could feel as well. This one was strong, far stronger than any of the present ones. 

He was not at the level of Oractus yet but he would be soon. And if he somehow got the core, it would likely accept this one. They would all perish without any chance and Mark's brain knew it as well.

"Do it for survival" Alan's breath was getting harsher and shorter. He was likely about to die at any second and Mark could still not make a move.

Suzy was the one who took his hand and placed it on her temple. She pushed his fingers and they sank inside her head. Then she left his hand there and Mark could feel a very familiar shape in his grasp.

He pulled it out as the last of the female's consciousness left her eyes. Just like that, she had died with her core out. It pulsed in Mark's hand and it burned.

He dropped it and it fell on Alan and seemed to sink inside his body. The scream that followed would become one that would haunt Mark's nightmares. It was chilling and very loud.

Every monster turned toward them at that very instant and tried to come near but seemed to be shining a holy light and Mark felt Kuro cover him before it was all white.