It was much easier said than done. I felt as though I might lose consciousness at any moment, so I hurriedly took out several doses and swallowed them one after the other.

But some of them fell from my hands amid the frantic scramble of the crowd; everyone was trying to save their own lives.

But was there any chance of survival at all?

The power supply had blown, and nothing in the place was working anymore.

There were only the flickering flames casting a dim light through the smoke and rubble; without them, no one would have been able to see a thing.

Strangest of all, some people were killing one another and looting whatever they could get their hands on. But what could one expect from criminals? Even in the darkest moments, when death was closest, they did not abandon the one thing they were good at.

Even so, I had no time to pay them any attention.

I could clearly see that some of them were starting to head towards me with menacing looks, but the fierce fighting between the guards and a group of mysterious figures prevented them from reaching me; they were wearing yellow masks.

Those strangers were killing people without hesitation, particularly the wealthy ones on the third floor, which forced the guards to engage them directly.

However, the people who made my hair stand on end were not those fighters, but the four mysterious figures I had seen earlier, who were wearing black masks

and appeared to be the group’s leaders.

What was worrying was that they showed no fear, even though the whole place was on the verge of collapsing on top of them.

On the contrary, they stood there completely still, as if what was happening around them meant nothing to them, not a single one of them moving from their spot.

I have no choice.

If I want to reach the warehouse, I’ll have to spend my bypass points.

I didn’t think I’d be able to reach it at all before that mysterious person killed me.

Even if I were at my best, I couldn’t guarantee success. The mere fact that I’ve survived until this moment is a miracle in itself.

Perhaps the reason I’d survived was that I’d stood near the rubble, whilst the raging flames behind me had hidden me from view to some extent. That must have been the only factor that had kept me alive until now.

But I no longer had time to think.

I tapped my glasses twice, then moved my trembling hand over the keyboard with difficulty. At that moment, I caught sight of one of the mysterious figures heading straight for me.

A clear smile was etched on his face.

Or at least, that’s how it felt, even though I couldn’t see his features clearly because of his yellow mask.

Panic swept over me, and without hesitation I rushed to spend all the overflow points I had on ’Imagination’.

As soon as I did, a notification appeared before me that brought a small smile to my face.

[You’ve finally decided to use the feature. I thought you’d never do it.

Well, I won’t keep you waiting.

It seems your current situation is dire, so yes, your rank was supposed to rise to Rising Star (C), but since this is your first time using Imagination, the effect will be doubled.

Your rank has been temporarily upgraded to King (B) for the next two minutes.]

No sooner had I finished reading the notice than a tremendous wave of power swept through my body.

I felt an indescribable energy surging violently through my veins, whilst my strength began to rise at a maddening pace.

The energy continued to swell within me until I felt as though I were about to explode at any moment.

Suddenly, my vision began to change.

Colours swirled before my eyes in a slow vortex; yellow, blue, red, purple, green, then gold, black, grey, and finally brilliant white.

The colours were flooding my vision as if the whole world had turned into a sea of emotions and sensations.

The next moment, a deep sadness swept over me, almost crushing my chest.

Then it vanished.

It was replaced by a strange, inexplicable joy.

Then anger.

Then regret.

Then denial.

Then another feeling I cannot describe.

It was as if I had completely lost control of my mind. I have never tried drugs in my life, but if people feel this confused under their influence, perhaps I now understand why some become addicted to them.

I wasn’t well. I wasn’t well at all.

And how did I know that?

Because I was smiling... smiling like a madman.

As I let out a long exhale, power surged violently through my body, like a raging flood searching for an outlet.

At almost the same moment, that mysterious figure finally arrived.

His spear was hurtling straight towards my chest.

"Heh... Have you ever experienced the sensation of blindness?"

My voice came out unnervingly calm.

The next moment, my waist bent suddenly, and the tip of the spear passed just a few centimetres from my face.

I grabbed the weapon before he could comprehend what had happened.

Then I kicked his leg with all my might.

Boom!

There was a loud cracking sound.

I felt the bones snap beneath my foot as if they were dry twigs.

I wrenched the spear from his grip, spun it swiftly in the opposite direction, and plunged it deep into his stomach.

His scream had begun to form, but my hand was quicker.

I violently ripped out one of his eyes.

His scream rose until it nearly tore the place apart.

But I didn’t let him finish it. I shoved the eye forcefully into his mouth, and the scream turned into a muffled choking sound.

And yet, the smile didn’t fade from my face.

In fact, it widened even more... I ripped out the second eye. Then I shoved that one into his mouth as well.

"So this is the feeling that comes with power... It’s a wonderful feeling."

A strange euphoria swept over me, as if the whole world lay in my hands, as if I were capable of doing anything I wanted. Yet a small part of my mind remained clinging to what was truly important.

I turned my gaze towards the warehouse.

Suddenly, the madness that had filled my head vanished, replaced by a harsh coldness reflected in my features.

I must finish this damned task before I turn into a pile of minced meat.

My body swayed slightly before I planted my feet firmly on the ground, then I charged towards the warehouse at an unbelievable speed. Every now and then I would raise stone walls from the ground to protect me from the falling rocks that threatened to crush me.

Meanwhile, I was using lightning to boost my speed, but the path to the warehouse wasn’t as easy as I’d expected.

Fierce fighting was raging everywhere between the guards and those strangers, to the point where simply getting through them had become a challenge in itself.

What a bunch of madmen...

The ground is collapsing over their heads, and yet they remain engrossed in the fighting.

Truly, I don’t understand how these people think.

But if they want to fight and cause chaos, why shouldn’t I add more fuel to the fire?

Isn’t that what they’re after in the end?

To cause chaos?

I stopped dead in my tracks, then pulled out more mana bombs. I began to infuse them with mana one by one, before hurling them towards a specific spot.

— Boom!

A massive explosion reverberated throughout the area, followed a moment later by a barrage of successive blasts.

The ground shook violently, and the steel floor cracked under the immense pressure, whilst a thick cloud of smoke and dust rose into the air. Because of the darkness enveloping the warehouse, I could see nothing but their faint shadows scattering in every direction.

— Boom!

I jumped back without thinking.

The very next moment, a massive boulder crashed down where I’d been standing just a split second earlier.

I looked up.

Dozens of monsters were pouring out from amidst the smoke and rubble.

They roared loudly before starting to attack everything in sight at random.

I leapt high into the air just as a massive claw swept right beneath my feet.

At the same moment, I turned towards the monster that was charging at me.

I clenched my fist tightly, and my knuckles struck the skull directly.

The monster’s head shattered with a sickening sound, and it breathed its last before its body collapsed motionless.

I landed lightly on a pile of rubble, whilst the beast’s corpse fell nearby.

Without wasting a single second, I unfastened the storage pouch hanging from my waist and took out all my remaining mana bombs.

I forced the beast’s mouth open.

Then I began stuffing the bombs inside, one after the other.

That should be enough.

I looked up, as the giant boulders were hurtling down rapidly.

I was running out of time.

The whole place was about to be buried under rubble in less than three minutes, at least by my reckoning.

I had to find a way out before it was too late.

I glanced quickly around me.

Most of the people here were already dead.

The guards... not a single one remained.

As for those mysterious figures, there weren’t many left, but some of them had already started rushing towards me.

I took a deep breath, then leapt away quickly. At that very moment, I felt a faint heat sweep over the spot where I had been standing just a second earlier.

I looked at the four who were approaching me and said coldly:

"Are you fools... or just people looking for death? Don’t you have a shred of sense to realise that if you carry on like this, you’ll all die?"

None of them seemed the least bit interested in listening. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

One of them suddenly lunged at me with terrifying speed, not even attempting to take a defensive stance.

He didn’t care about protecting himself.

He advanced as if he felt no pain... or as if death meant nothing to him.

Just as he was about to collide with me, I twisted my body to the side and struck him squarely on the head, whilst I saw him move his lips as if muttering something.

I didn’t hear a single word. And yet... pain exploded inside my ears.

Blood gushed from them profusely, whilst a sharp ringing tore through my head.

It felt as though hundreds of needles were piercing my brain all at once.

With every movement of his lips, the bleeding increased. And every inaudible whisper doubled the pain.

"Damn you!"

I shouted that as sparks of lightning began to gather around my hands.

Crack!

The lightning flashed for a moment.

The man’s body froze instantly, turning into a paralysed statue before falling motionless.

I fell heavily to the ground.

The bleeding from my ear began to subside slightly, but my head was still spinning violently as I slid over the rubble until I was some distance away from the other three.

I grabbed the monster’s corpse, stuffed with mana bombs, near me.

No sooner had it touched the ground than several monsters charged towards me.

I raised my hand quickly.

A massive stone wall rose from the ground, diverting their path and sending them towards a group of people hiding inside the remaining part of the crumbling building.

Suddenly, I felt something cold touch my cheek.

I raised my hand and touched my face.

"Oh..."

The word slipped out of my mouth without my realising it. I was crying.

But... why?

An overwhelming sense of sadness was consuming me from within.

A sadness so deep that my chest began to ache.

The coldness vanished from my features, replaced by expressions of despair and brokenness.

It was as if I had lost something very dear to me. As if the whole world had suddenly turned into an empty place.

I slowly raised my head. And only then did I realise that time hadn’t stopped for me.

The three people had already surrounded me.

[ Time remaining: 1:10 ]