Buzzing Flies

"Magnus!" shouted Owen just before they departed. "You're not seriously thinking of going on foot, are you? We have cars!" The man already had his car keys dangling from his finger.

'TJ, take Mr. Murphy and Mrs. Williams with you,' instructed Magnus 2.0.

TJ immediately obeyed, approaching the two people mentioned.

Meanwhile, Magnus turned around to face TJ's father. "Your car will only fit a few of us, sir. And we can't use Mr. Alexandrov's and Mr. Williams' cars since they're electric. The portals carry over what is called abyssal energy. For some reason, electronics malfunction when exposed to this energy. So, within a radius of roughly 200 meters, all kinds of electronic devices, cars included, are useless," he explained as his mind hastily designed some kind of crude battle formation for everyone.

Owen was obviously annoyed at such a situation. "At least some of us who don't have enough battle skills need to drive ahead to safety. They can also act as a scout to find the best place for us to take shelter after this."

"I can do that, as well," his wife stepped forward.

Owen was about to comment on this before Magnus interfered, "I don't think that's a good idea, Mrs. Haysmith."

"Why?"

Magnus directed their attention to the portal above the house a few hundred meters up ahead. From the swirling black hole, flying creatures started popping out before they stopped to hover in the air and grab their heads, clearly experiencing slight disorientation caused by the turbulent nature of dimensional tear.

The creatures took the form of tall seemingly-females with hideous appearance. They had long grey hair that fell to their calves, wrinkled skin that covered their gaunt bodies, and yellow eyes with vertical slits for pupils. They were wearing shabby black dresses and were barefooted. Their feet didn't look like human feet, though; each had three forward toes and one facing backward, all with bird-like talons. Their arms and hands were feathery, and hooked claws grew from their thin and long fingers. Lastly, a pair of black wings, each spanning approximately two meters, sprouted out of their almost-hunched backs.

Magnus was half-relieved and half-worried seeing the arrival of these creatures. Harpies were known to travel in small flocks, and each of them had terrible sense of teamwork. Adding to that was their lack of magical abilities. Their only redeeming features were their flying skill and speed. Which was also the source of Magnus' worry. These monsters were some of the most annoying to deal with, what with their ability to maneuver in the air and evade attacks that couldn't keep up with their speed. Moreover, short-range attacks definitely wouldn't work on them.

Except if you were also able to fly.

"We need you here, Mrs. Haysmith," said Magnus. He then looked around to spot a few people before finalizing his decision. "Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Wang, and her twin daughters can take Mr. Haysmith's car."

The Wangs nodded in approval. The twins were obviously trembling in fear after seeing the harpies, and their mother would be more than glad to take them away from this place that was soon to turn into a battlefield.

Mei, however, was worried to leave her son behind. However, he gave her a reassuring nod and urged her to pick up the car keys from Owen's hand.

As much as Magnus wanted them to stay behind and fight to level up, it was true that they needed a scouting team. Areas near the Towers were undoubtedly in shambles, since they were the epicenters of the earthquake. Downtown was likely a bit more chaotic than the less-crowded neighborhood like where they were currently. With more people around, there were bound to be more unnecessary dangers. If possible, they needed to find a place that was ideal for them to rest after expending so much energy battling monsters. It would also preferably be a place that still had power.

After the four women and girls entered the car, Mei turned on the engine and drove away in a haste, glancing one more time at her son. The car zoomed past the houses and eventually swerved around the portal on the street. That particular portal and the one above TJ's house, for some reason, were still dormant.

Magnus turned to Victoria and pulled out his golden spear, [Forthright], out of his Inventory. He handed it to her and said, "Please take this, Mrs. Haysmith. I'm lending it to you. It doesn't have a wind affinity enhancing effect nor an active skill, but it increases your Mana and Agility considerably and can hopefully assist you in taking down those flies."

Victoria nodded and took the spear, feeling her Mana ballooning. "I'll take out the ones that are already recovering from their dizziness," she said before casting [Flight].

She was about to fly ahead before her husband spoke. "Be careful."

Magnus quickly equipped his armor and said, "Alright. For one reason or another, I can't help you much in the fight, but I'll be watching you from the rear. For those of you on my Team, anticipate a private message I'll send to you every now and then." He then turned to TJ. "You know what to do."

The black-haired boy nodded and ran ahead, with Patrick and Gina flanking him. Garrett's mother was already able to equip [Fortitude] after the many Strength boosts she'd received. The shield still looked a bit wobbly in her hand, but Magnus knew it wouldn't be much of a problem.

"Garrett, watch your mother's back. And Matt, assist Mr. Murphy," Magnus ordered.

The two boys nodded and followed after the frontliners.

Magnus turned to Fiona. "Mom, you'll be at the center. Dad and Katja will protect you from the sides. Mr. Haysmith and Mr. Williams will be with me. As for Mr. Alexandrov, please watch my back. Those masked rioters are still a threat."

They all quickly fell in line before moving forward as a group, barely maintaining their positions. This would be their first battle experience, so mental tensions were obviously still in the way.

Overhead, Victoria could be seen zooming toward a harpy who was slowly gathering its bearing. The woman raised her spear and thrust it at the creature's torso. Victoria had zero experience wielding a spear, but anybody with a brain and decent strength knew by instinct how to do basic strikes using the weapon, albeit barely.

Hovering midair in a tipsy manner and blinking itself out of the cross-Realm disorientation, the harpy suddenly saw the tip of a spear speeding toward its chest. It didn't even have time to reel from the shock before sharp pain assaulted its heart. Black liquid spurted out of the hole made by the spear tip as the monster let out a raspy shriek.

Victoria yanked her spear back as she watched the harpy's eyes losing their light. She glanced for a moment at the creature's freefalling form before moving on to her next victim, who had just been jolted out of the disorientation by its friend's shriek.

Victoria accelerated in the air, rushing before the creature could get the chance to defend itself. She swung the spear toward its neck, but the harpy was fast enough to gain its focus and flew backward, avoiding the incoming blade. It screamed at Victoria and charged, claws extending.

With her awkward grip on the spear shaft, Victoria was too slow to withdraw the blade to send another strike. So she instinctively raised it in front of her while commanding the wind to push her back a bit.

The claws failed to slash at the retreating woman, but the harpy didn't stop there. She kept charging forward while extending both hands to grab at the spear shaft protecting Victoria's front. Both she and the harpy now had their hands on the spear, and the monster's sharp and long fangs were now close enough to tear Victoria's flesh off her face.

Victoria kept flying backward, while the harpy kept advancing and chomping its fangs at the air just an inch away from her face. Eventually, Victoria snapped out of her panic and casted [Gale] toward the monster's face. At first, the wind only served to forcefully push its head back, much to the harpy's shock. However, as Victoria increased the mana output of her skill, the harpy's grip on the spear loosened and it couldn't resist the force of the rough wind.

As the creature's body was flung backward, Victoria cancelled [Gale] and accelerated forward. She thrust the spear while using the momentum of her charge, planting the spear blade into the monster's abdomen. Without pulling it out of the wound, she whipped the spear sideways, its force causing the harpy's body to slide off the blade and be thrown in the air. In its last moments, the harpy managed to let out a horrible shrill before it went splat onto the asphalt.

Victoria tried to catch her breath as she glanced at the spear blade now tainted with black blood. She then cast a brief glance at her neighbors bolting out of their houses for a moment before going back inside, like a turtle retracting its head, after seeing the chaos happening on the street. She then observed the group below, led by her son. Colorful spells were constantly thrown around at the harpies surrounding them.

Steadily, the group was inching toward the portal in the middle of the street, intending to bypass it while it was still dormant. However, the harpies were making their advance difficult. Those monsters kept flying near and slashing their claws while evading the magic projectiles.

For the time being, the group wasn't doing too badly. Some did receive slash wounds every now and then, but Summer had that covered. All they needed to do was retreat for a few seconds and let her do her job.

TJ clearly wasn't being conservative of his Mana. He pulled out all the stops and kept firing [Flamethrower] at nearby harpies and [Death Flame] at the ones further away. His fire balls had gotten sizably bigger since his last battle. And they travelled at great speed, successfully turning some of the harpies into either roasted chickens or outright charred piles of bones.

On his right side, Patrick kept casting [Earth Wall] to deflect attacks coming at him and Matt, who was focused on zapping the further harpies and sending punches at the ones closer to him. On TJ's left, Gina acted as her son's shield. Garrett himself kept firing [Rapid Fire], his staff's active skill. Behind him, Katja kept alternating between casting [Thunderbolt] and firing wind bolts from her crossbow. Next to her was Fiona, who was busy casting [Riptide] and occasionally [Tidal Wave] to intercept any harpies aiming their claws at Katja and her husband.

Wait, her husband?

Victoria frowned. She knew Markus was supposed to be by Fiona's side, as that was where Magnus had asked him to position himself. However, Victoria failed to spot the man. Or, more precisely, she failed to keep her focus on his form. It was as if he was there one second and gone the next. But seeing the few harpies who either got their throats slashed or their stomachs pierced, it was evident the man was making good use of his dagger.

Her eyes traveled to the four guys guarding the rear of the group, with Magnus as the center. The blond boy could be seen darting his eyes around the battlefield, a look of unwavering concentration on his face. She didn't know why he seemed to be refraining from making a move, but she trusted he knew what he was doing. However, her eyes soon spotted a change in the direction of the rioters.

Meanwhile, as Magnus 2.0 was busy sending instructions to everyone, Magnus kept his eyes peeled for any unexpected turn of events.

Eventually, his vigilance paid off. Up ahead, he spotted the previously-dormant black hole shifting slightly. A moment later, one creature walked out of it before stopping to look down at the ground in a daze.

It was only a single creature, but the size was enough to stop everybody in their tracks. The quadrupedal creature was approximately three meters long and almost two meters tall. Its hindlegs resembled those of a hippopotamus. It had a lion's torso as well as front legs, and the protruding head of a crocodile.

'Shit. An ammit,' Magnus cursed. What made the monster troublesome was its darkness element skills.

Before Magnus 2.0 could issue a warning to TJ, Nikolai shouted, "Magnus! The rioters are—"

"Dreamer!"

Magnus' ears perked up. An instinct deep within him told him to instantly dislike whoever called his Alias in such a hostile manner. 'Well, at least the gods have been updated on the latest Alias database. I won't have to be called an Anomaly anymore. Wait a second, isn't TJ the target? Why did that bastard yell out my Alias?'

He turned his head to see The Mad King raising his arm, ready to give an order for his 'demons' to advance. "While Death is ironically going to meet his end soon, I'm going to deliver you your own death!"

'What a horrible line!' was Magnus' only thought after hearing that.