Destruction Level 5

There were several of them, not as formidable as the first eight but by no means weak.

*"Remember, we need them alive,"* one Orclin instructed.

Both enemies clashed, striking each other with everything they've got. The Nameless hunter did not stay out of their radar, standing at the corner did not help.

After knocking down one hunter, an Orclin noticed him. It launched at him but was slapped to the ground with its skull crushed.

Oliver did not sense any murderous intentions. That surprised him. None of these monsters were here to kill.

Yes, they were hostile, but not enough for the desire to kill to sip in.

"So that's what it is," he mumbled, realizing what they might be after.

Zilla dislocated the jaw of one Orclin with her knee, a hard blow that surprised the creature. Along with superhuman strength, Zilla is also a skilled fighter. She dodge every attack, deflecting a few that seemed impossible to evade.

Her blows targeted all potential weak spots of the being before knocking it out with her knee straight to the mouth.

Another one even stronger than that caught her off guard. Zilla received damage even though she blocked it.

The monster kicked her, a second assault that damaged her even when she defended against it. This Orclin possesses impossible physical strength, one that dominates hers. Until now, this is the first Orclin that is this challenging.

It grabbed Zilla by the face, slamming her to the ground. This is an action it repeated a few times until it was satisfied...

*"Huh"*

Zilla is still conscious. It had hoped to put her at bay, alas she refused to pass out. Her speed had doubled, she was faster, harder to evade.

The Orclin got knocked, a hit that sent it to the wall. However, Zilla was not done with it, she followed, pummeling the creature even further.

There was a slight delay from her and the Orclin used that to its advantage. It caught her by the neck and lifted her.

*Pow!*

Zilla kicked it in the face, doing reasonable harm to escape the creature's grip. Underestimating her was a bad idea. It is starting to realize that now.

*"It seems this creature isn't weak,"*

Out of nowhere, Zilla was punched in the face. Her flesh was cut on the inside, making her bleed from her mouth.

*"Leave this one to me,"* said a female Orclin.

"There is one more who is even stronger than she is,"

Four Orclins had been killed. They died a shameful death before any actual fight could occur. The Masked hunter is the only one who didn't seem to be having a hard time.

The female Orclin was not confident in her strength, she probably stood no chance against this man, but maybe 'Nor' could do better.

It grunted and walked away. On the other hand, the female Orclin locked on to Zilla before pushing forward.

This one was faster, much more agile, and a very troublesome one. Zilla is having a hard time connecting a punch to the female Orclin.

Oliver noticed an Orclin coming at him. This one looks stronger, the strongest he'll battle against.

*bang!*

A giant fist sent the Nameless Hunter on a flight, hitting the gate that was obstructing their escape.

'I was right. This one is stronger,'

It leaped towards the masked hunter, but Oliver stepped away by a few feet. Right after the Orclin landed, a blow hit it on the face.

*"Wha_"*

All it took was a single blow from the strange human for the Orclin to bleed. Nor began to view the masked hunter in a different light.

*"This being,"* it said, *"This one is different,"*

This realization only brought incitement to the Orclin. It attacked again but received another blow, a heavy one. The Masked Hunter found it too easy, Nor wasn't a challenge, not to him.

Oliver had acknowledged his capabilities, he is aware of his physical strength, that vigor that should be abnormal.

Nor, who could not accept this reality threw more punches, yet received heavier blows in return. The hunter buried the creature's head to the ground, slamming it repeatedly before kicking the creature away. By this time, Zilla had lost the fight, she had been knocked unconscious along with the others. Two deaths in total.

*"Let's see how you'll fight all of us at the same time,"* said Nor.

The seven remaining Orclin confronted the last one on his feet. Oliver is by himself against aggressive creatures who for some reason, had no killing intentions.

* * *

Eamon received a mail from an address he never imagined would contact him.

"He must be desperate," said Eamon as he went through the content of this mail.

Soon, his eyes widened when he came across this name.

Eamon rested his back on the chair caressing his beard. No doubt, Angus had a good reason to contact him.

Another mail came in, informing Eamon of an incident that had occurred hours ago. The old man was quick on his feet, worried sick like never before. He rushed out, uttering no word to anyone. By the time he got to the hospital, _ his wife was already there.

"He is fine?" he asked.

"According to the doctor, yes,"

The burns on his skin had been treated the way best they can. He lay unconscious and had been like this since the beginning.

By the corner of the room, you will find Gael who is understandably dejected, staring at the floor for reasons best known to him.

"What happened? were you attacked?"

"In some sense, yes," said Gael.

"What does that mean?"

Gael proceeded to explain everything, how the robbers broke in, the presence of a humanbrid. Every single detail to the very end.

None of that mattered as long as Carson didn't die.

The previous Eamon might have not been very affected by the news of his talentless son being hospitalized. His experience had made him cherish every member of his family no matter how useless they might be.

'A humanbrid huh?... Why didn't I think of this?'

The prospect of turning his son into one of these things crossed his mind but he quickly shook that thought off.

Carson could be stronger if he was fused with a monster. However, the likelihood of this process going wrong is very high, not worth the risk.

He gave Gael a meaningful look before walking out of the room. Gael followed right after he left.

"I have not heard from your father. Why is that?"

"He had other matters at hand, something that bothered him,"

Eamon nodded. He has a pretty good idea of what's bothering him.

"Heads up. Days from now will decide our fate,"

Of course, Gael did not understand what he meant. Eamon was indirectly making a point.

"Take care until then,"

* * *

Angus' claim had somewhat been confirmed. Military troops were dispatched to investigate... no news had been heard from them. Their signal was lost the moment reached the assigned location.

"It seems we've got a serious threat at hand just as he said. As to their level, we are yet to verify that," said a top soldier with many times more authority than Angus.

"We do not need to doubt his words. He had witnessed it himself. Isn't that enough?"

"We can't go to war against a creature that is not worth all that effort. So until we confirm its combat ability and Devastation Level, no troops should be wasted,"

A few days after they agreed. A group of soldiers heavily armed was sent out once again. With the coordinates given to them, navigating was easy. Their encounter with what was supposedly a Lethal Mutator ended in tragedy.

These humans were against beasts far stronger than ever. All those at the base watched in horror as their companions were getting killed one after the other. Three alone survived.

Monsters ranked as Level-1 can be handled by the weakest of the soldiers. For level two, you must be experienced to some extent. Now... if by some bad luck, the monster enemy is a Level 3, you're gonna have a problem, a big problem.

A Devastation Level 4 - 5 must be handled by very very experienced soldiers. Else, this is a fight you will surely lose.

"This is without a doubt a group of level five monsters," said a high-ranking military man who had witnessed the scene.

"My god. It is not enough that one monster of that level should not be allowed to roam freely. Yet, there are several of them,"

"Angus wasn't bluffing huh," said another. "As insulting as doubting his words might be, maybe it's a good thing we got to see what he is talking about with our own eyes."

"We lost men thanks to that... Experience isn't always the best teacher,"

"But at least we now know that there are no Lethal Mutators involved in this,"

"We don't know that," said Bevyn

"They found none,"

"Doesn't mean it is not out there," Bevyn begs to differ.