Meeting for the Third Time

As expected, the Samo family's bunker remained intact, and, just like the Arvents', only their mansion was wrecked.

Aeon sighed with relief.

Looking around, Aeon could see some beasts running amok a few streets away from him. He slowly moved, careful about not being spotted. Then, he sneaked inside a broken underground bunker of a mansion. The hole that was more than half the area of the bunker's ceiling allowed Aeon to have good visibility inside.

The bunker wasn't quite big, but all the necessities were there. Aeon could see dozens of scratch marks on the floor and on the back wall of the bunker. The beasts that attacked it must've been reaching for the people inside. And, ultimately, they succeeded.

Aeon paid his respects before apologizing in advance for stealing from the dead. He rummaged through the supplies stacked by the corner and finally found some food and water. He silently had his fill as he tried to sort things out.

Basically, his job was done. Except for saving random people, he didn't actually do anything related to the task Suri had entrusted him.

Despite that, Aeon smiled.

He felt good having achieved something using his own strength.

Aeon was just about to finish his second bottle of water when he suddenly heard a familiar sound. Although it sounded a bit far from him, he still recognized it amidst the noises made by the beasts. But in the current setting, he couldn't believe that someone else could make that sound except for him.

After a few seconds of silence, Aeon heard it again. That distinct knocking sound.

Knock knock knock!

Aeon scrambled to get out of the bunker and looked around frantically. He tried his best to look for the source of the sound. However, the knocking sound didn't return. Instead, he heard a short bang like a bunker suddenly closing.

Did someone get out of a bunker and went back inside?

Aeon kept thinking but couldn't find a plausible explanation for what he had heard. If it was a normal person who had been meaning to enter a bunker, why was the person knocking a bit too calmly? The interval between knocks was very even and there was absolutely no sense of urgency behind them.

He kept his eyes peeled for any sudden changes while, at the same time, trying to keep himself safe from any beasts.

After the knocking sound disappeared, the number of beasts that passed through suddenly increased. At one point, 15 large beasts walked just beside the broken bunker Aeon was hiding in and he was forced to dip his head deeper.

Out of the blue, Aeon heard a subtle creaking noise. At first, he panicked because he thought that someone got out of a bunker while beasts roamed the area. But then, his paranoia disappeared when his rationality kicked in.

The people inside the bunkers, for sure, could feel the ground shake from the movements of the beasts. They weren't dumb enough to go out during that time. Maybe the noise just came from a piece of metal being stepped on. Aeon immediately calmed down and dismissed the thought.

However, as he was observing the surroundings, he noticed a familiar figure come within his field of view. He recognized it because he had only seen it recently.

The pouch on its belly bulged and it moved really slowly. It swaggered through the streets without fear in the world even though there were tons of magical beasts around. Well, naturally, it didn't have to be afraid.

Because it was one of them.

Aeon's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the monkey with the pouch.

It was looking around while scratching its head and appeared to be searching for something. Then, as if it finally found what it was looking for, it rushed forward. It stopped on top of a bunker and simply sat right next to the entrance that slightly protruded from the uneven ground.

Aeon couldn't make any hasty moves because several beasts were still passing by. He also kept his head down to avoid the monkey from seeing him. All he could do was stay calm and peek.

After a few moments, the beasts suddenly stopped moving. They just stood by the corner of the street as they looked around.

...

Three minutes had already passed, but the group of large beasts still stood there, unmoving.

The monkey was the first one to make its move. It looked at the large beasts in disgust and annoyance. It seemed to have lost its patience already. The monkey stood up and moved slowly. Then, it lifted a hand on top of the bunker's door.

It was during that time that Aeon realized he had found what he was looking for. Coincidentally, it happened right where he had a clear view.

Knock knock knock!

The monkey's knuckles hit the metallic door three times.

The sound was mild and even, and not at all irritating. However, Aeon found it rather dreadful.

How do the people inside the bunkers know that the beasts had been taken care of? Or, in general, how do they know that the battle against the magical beasts was already over?

The answer: they wouldn't.

Windows were avoided because they had the risk of breaking and exposing the people inside.

Instead, the bunker only had few holes with air filters attached to them. It enabled them to breathe and, at the same time, it kept them safe from being tracked through scent. To take extra precautionary measures, even those air filters were shaded so any form of light coming from inside the bunkers would not catch the attention of any beast at night.

The only feature that provided visibility to the outside world was a small peephole on the door. And even that can be rendered useless when covered by dirt.

Many people had already proposed to change the design because it was very unconventional and inhibiting. But, ultimately, the proposals were declined. Also, not many stressed importance on it because it had already been centuries since the last magical beast attack.

Investing in something that was obsolete was just too impractical. If having a bunker wasn't mandatory to any legal citizen of Sera City, they wouldn't even have it in the first place.

In the end, the design remained crude.

So, the only way of knowing whether the surrounding area was already clear and safe was for the people inside to personally go out and check things for themselves.

Or, when people finally came knocking to tell them that the battle was over.

…

After a few moments, the bunker door slowly opened. Then, a head popped up looking left and right. In the person's point of view, no magical beast could be seen, so he immediately turned towards the person who was knocking. However, he couldn't find any.

The door started to open wider as the person tried to look for the one who knocked.

The monkey was positioned in such a way that when the bunker door swings open, he would be covered by it. After the door was opened wide enough for its bulky fingers to fit, the monkey grabbed its edges and opened it entirely. The person who was looking around was caught off guard.

Then, the monkey jumped in.

Just before the bunker door shut close again with a bang, Aeon heard the people inside scream.

Aeon found himself burning with rage. His breathing turned coarse and he was sweating profusely.

The screams of the people haunted him.

Oh, how he wished to murder that damned monkey! Unfortunately, even if he acted now, those people were already certain to die. Once the bunker closes, only someone from inside could open it.

The only thing Aeon could do now was to wait on the monkey and punish it the moment he gets out.

Unfortunately, there were 15 other beasts around. He took down 13 earlier, but that was with the help of the Brigadier. Aeon did not have any confidence at all right now.

What were the odds of meeting the monkey for the third time in a short span of two days? It was nearly impossible! But because of the situation, it happened.

Although it didn't look like it, the monkey was considered a lake beast, so it must've been with those colossal beasts that headed west. Due to it being a lot smaller, it couldn't compete with its peers when it came to hunting for humans. In fact, some other beast could simply just snatch what he could get.

However, it was smart.

It realized that there were bunkers that its peers couldn't open. And inside, there were people.

Aeon didn't know if the idea came from him or from another person that the monkey saw, but for some reason, it was able to know that people would come out when someone knocked on the door. It utilized this knowledge effectively, only knocking when everything seemed peaceful.

Relatively peaceful subdivisions with few beasts like the one it was currently staying at were the best hunting grounds.

Aeon looked towards the direction of the Samo family's bunker. He could literally hear his heartbeat right next to his ears as he started to feel panicked.

What if the Samos were already dead?

The door of the bunker once again opened and the monkey went out. It was slurping its fingers then it burped loudly. It reached for something inside its pouch and rubbed it on the surface of the bunker door.

Aeon felt the veins on his head pop. He felt that holding back was getting harder and harder as he stared at the monkey with hate.

Suddenly, the large beasts by the corner of the street perked up. They looked towards a single direction and remained motionless for a few seconds. Then, like the mindless beasts they were, they ran forward, bumping against each other as they went. They zipped right past the dumbfounded monkey.

Aeon smiled cruelly.

He emerged from the bunker he was hiding in.

The dazed monkey suddenly woke up from its stupor and looked behind to see a human it was familiar with.

Its eyes widened in shock as it scrambled to run away. It desperately moved forward to catch up with its companions, but it was a lot slower.

Aeon eyed the beast as it tried to escape. He didn't even bother rushing yet. Without the protection of the other beasts, he knew it was going to die today.

Aeon started with a jog then slowly increased his speed. He went right past the bunker that the monkey recently raided and saw that it had a huge X mark on its door. Aeon's eyebrows furrowed as he thought about something.

Did the monkey purposely left it to keep track of those bunkers he was already done with?

Aeon thoughts were interrupted when he saw the monkey disappear into an alley. He rushed forward even faster to keep the beast inside his radar.

He chased the beast down like a vengeful ghost, ready to exact his revenge.

As he advanced, the clouds became darker and darker. Then, after a few moments, raindrops started falling from the sky. To be exact, it was already raining there. Aeon just entered that area.

Aeon was immediately soaked. After three turns, he had finally caught up with the monkey. They were probably only separated by 20 meters which, in Aeon's measurement, was practically nothing.

Aeon activated his Tenro. He flashed forward while pointing Zephyr ahead of him, raindrops splashing on his face.

In a split second, the beast would be hanging on his blade.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as expected.

When his sword was less than a meter away from the monkey, ready to pierce its body, Aeon suddenly felt intense heat coming from the side. Through instincts, he forcefully canceled his thrust and moved backward.

He realized that they were already in a crossing. As his body was pulling away from the monkey, Aeon looked towards his left.

Time seemed to have slowed down.

There, in that particular street, Aeon saw a gigantic fireball heading straight towards them. Behind the huge fireball was a colossal figure of a gray lion.

Then Aeon turned his gaze towards the monkey once more. It already had its hands up, meaning to defend itself from the fireball but, obviously, it was futile.

Aeon exited the street as the fireball rapidly whizzed by.

The monkey wasn't too fortunate. After the fireball went past Aeon, it was nowhere to be found.

Not even its ashes remained.

….