Leave The Monster Alone

It would hurt when it connected and there was no way to dodge it either. Whatever Luna had done, it had not been appreciated by the other side.

"I hate water and getting wet. Ok kid, hold on tight" the wave came down with a loud smack and eroded the landscape.

Water filled the landscape and also filled Mark's lungs. His tight hold on Yun did not slack and they both were eroded further with the pressure. It was almost miraculous that Mark was still conscious even after the amount of pressure around him.

"Yun, you still breathing? Are you still with me?" Mark somehow swam to the top of the tides and dragged the unconscious body in his arms as well. They were high but the water seemed to be receding at a fast pace now.

It would not be long before the land would, once again, be dry fully.

Mark extended his hand and found a sturdy tree to rest his foot at. Most of the trees had been uprooted by the huge wave of water but not all of it had been which was their saving grace.

Mark dragged himself as well as Yun on top of it and then looked around for Luna and Kuro. they would be alright in the water since they were better than Mark at everything, especially swimming but he could not help but worry about the pair.

Especially Luna who was taking far too unnecessary risks throughout the whole operation this time.

Many situations could be avoided just by taking a step back but Luna did not seem to know the meaning of this phrase. Instead, he seemed to be braving forward without any worry. The scale of balance was already not in their favour and yet the other was braving forward.

"W-What happened? I felt as if something huge crashed right into me" the kid came around in the next few seconds which relieved Mark. Yun had a delicate frame which worried Mark a lot, even enough to make him forget that Yun was a divine beast, one of the top four even and also labelled as a level S threat.

"We got blown back by the tsunami and got separated. Thankfully we did not drown. So, any idea how we should approach it next?" Mark looked at the teen and then down to check the situation out.

He instantly wished he had not done that because the ground was crawling with unique monsters now and they were not common monsters even. They were crawling, mostly disfigured mass of bodies and cells. Gross abominations made Mark sick to his stomach and he ached to empty it. His gag reflex even made him heave at the look of those creatures.

"Ah, the cursed ones. They were creatures who evolved wrong, the early experiment and most of them perishes early on. The ones left were taken in by the guardian since he pities them" Mark could not imagine anyone finding sympathy for those creatures.

But obviously, someone had if they were here to haunt his dreams for the future. He desperately wished he had his system active right now so that he could numb his feelings and get through this gaging reflex. It was a wonder the kid was able to take care of himself.

"Ah, look, isn't that your partner? The scary guy who liked to threaten me?" Mark turned to look in the pointed direction and it was Luna, right as the day Mark had last seen him. He did not look to be affected by those creatures or their aura of wrong.

"I need to help him out" Mark readied his gun and fired a few shots. He only had a limited amount of ammunition left inside his gun but he did not let it hinder him. He could feel something coming alive inside him which gave him the courage to shoot more.

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System reboot complete.

Welcoming user...…..

Version2 installed...…..

Accessing new features....

Would the user like to visit the shop?

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Yes.

Yes, Mark would like to very much visit the shop before he was out of ammunition and other ways to defend himself. He needed something to keep himself on top of things the system's timing seemed to be impeccable.

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Loading new mission....

World quest part 3...….

Loading...

Visit the divine hall and seak an audience with the almighty. The result does not matter.

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Mark had never been gladder to see the system, even when it made an absurd demand out of him. He was happy to have his golden finger back because he had realised the importance of it recently.

On the other side, Luna seemed to be getting overwhelmed once his gun ran out of ammunition. But he was in luck because Mark had him covered.

But he had to get to Luna first which was not going to be easy with this much crowd in-between them. There were monsters everywhere but this time Mark had dimmed his senses enough to make it through without feeling sick at the first contact.

It became apparent early enough that normal guns would not work so Mark had to switch his weapon to the sword. His system shop had another A-ranked weapon available but the main problem was the material required to exchange for it. Mark did not have enough right now but each monster that was killed gave him more and more.

"Luna, use this" he shoved the sword, his best weapon in the other's hands and exchanged everything he had left for the A-grade gun in the store. He had no regret doing so either, even if he was broke once again. He would get the materials back soon enough.

"What, where did you get this? Should I be concerned about it?" Luna looked concerned but he did not question Mark and his decision. He did not even question where the new weapon had come from, his trust in the other much stranger than before. 

The monsters were mere paper in front of the powerful weapons they had but they made up for it with their sheer numbers. It was a battle of endurance now, monsters vs humans. Kuro was the one who was making the most kills even which was ironic on her part.

"Ne, don't you think you've done enough. They were my precious people you killed. How will you ever atone for it?" it was going so good that Mark felt a shiver go down his back at the voice which whispered almost in his ear.

He stabbed in that direction reflectively but his fist was met a viscous liquid which rendered it useless. He took a shot at the danger as well but it was not going to work at a liquid. His body was twisted backwards and Mark found himself unable to move, his limbs restrained.

"I would stop now if I were you. You don't want to lose your friend, do you?" Mark saw Luna stop at those words and Kuro crash into a nearby tree. She was growling at the other in warning but Mark could not make out who his attacker was.

He could only hear the male voice behind him and knew he was in danger. The water around his limbs was exerting pressure which was cutting off his circulation. One wrong move and he would be done for. 

This whole situation was much more dangerous than they had been prepared for and Mark might lose his life because of it.

"No, wait. Please don't kill him because he's with me. I'm sorry, it's my fault" at the very last second Yun stepped forward to claim his involvement in this whole mess and Mark wanted to facepalm. Right, they had that bargaining chip as well.

"I figured it was something like this when you did not show up with Nathan and your babysitter. But did you have to do this to my precious children? Anyway, I'm not helping you out now" the man sulked, or so his voice told Mark. Not like he could see it himself to confirm.

"B-But. Please? I want to go home" Yun looked on the verge of crying now, his eyes wet and Mark would have been worried if he was not on the verge of losing consciousness. The kid seemed sad and it did things to the part which made Mark an older brother.

Not that he was an older brother but he just adopted people fast.

"Give up because it's not going to work on me kid. I know how you work and whatever you are planning, you should give up on it" the clearing was filled with silence before Mark felt the pressure shift in a matter of minutes.

And then he was free of the water as the guardian stepped back to avoid a sharp blade. 

"Tch, it was worth a shot anyway but you had to go and expose me like this. I just wanted to have a little fun" Yun had attacked the guardian, his moment far too professional to be untrained.