Ron Williams

15 years after the catastrophe, it's year 2049 of the earthen calendar and the landscape is shrouded in an eerie, crimson glow from the ever-present red moon. Its light casts long, distorted shadows over the remnants of civilization—crumbling buildings, abandoned vehicles, and nature reclaiming the land in twisted, unrecognizable forms.

Amidst the haunting sight, a young girl, no older than 10, traverse the place in search for any potential sustenance, anything remotely edible.

She wears tattered clothes, patched together from scavenged materials, and carries a worn backpack that holds her precious few belongings.

Her small figure that got dwarfed by the surrounding ruins, was enough evidence of the scarcity of supplies and the malnutrition that plagued the population.

The girl had the look of a beggar ,her cheeks were sunken, and dark circles marred her hollow eyes, giving them a haunted appearance. Her lips were chapped and dry, trembling slightly as if holding back tears. Dirt and grime smudged her pale skin, and her hair hung in tangled, unkempt strands around her face.

The expression on her face, resembling to that of someone who has gone through an endless amount of suffering, with a deep sadness settled in her gaze, screamed despair.

Yet, she keeps moving, her legs never stopping for even a single moment, knowing the importance of time, as the endeavor needed to be complete before those bloodthirsty creatures came hunting for her frail body.

She kept moving, while huffing again and again, muttering at the same time,

"Huff.., huff..., I h-have to find something to e-eat soon, before t-those creatures spot me.... "

She soon came across a dalipated building, with debris scattered around. She tried to expand her senses, to try and search for any potential signs of food. Soon, she caught wiff of a musky odor, along with a potent smell of iron.

She clenched her fist and quickly got to work, digging through the ruin. She wasn't searching for staple items like bread, wheat, cans, or other everyday edibles that were common in the old world, but rather, for the potential carcasses of the monsters that ravage the land.

Rattle /Rattle /Rattle

Rattling sounds were heard as the girl continued to dig through the rubble, hope in her eyes. Her efforts were finally rewarded as she came across an animal leg while sliding through the dirt.

"Y-yes..., finally, food.. "

She said with an excited expression on her face, her breathing ragged as she put aside the remaining broken glass and twisted metal.

As she put aside the remaining pieces of metal and dirt, her joyful expression soon morphed into that of horror.

"B-Blood.... And it's f-fresh.. "

She said out aloud with her body trembling and shaking from fear repeatedly as she gazed at the pool of blood under the corpse of the monster.

She wasn't scared just because she saw blood. Neither was it her first time witnessing something like this, nor will it be the last.

The reason for her reaction came from fear as she analysed the situation around her.

"There was a monster corpse under the debris....This building was intact until the last full night.... The blood is still fresh.... A-A fight between mosters broke out not long ag-"

Before she could finish her words, a chill ran down her spine, her hairs on the back of her neck stood up, as she felt a predatory bloodlust from behind.

She slowly turned her neck around, as her gaze met the ferocious eyes of an ape like creature, it's expression unsightly as saliva and drool dropped of it's mouth.

"Aaaahhhh... "

The girl scrambles backward, her heart pounding in her chest. She stumbles over debris, but quickly regains her footing and try to hid behind the leftover walls of the building as her hand moved towards a makeshift pocket on her ragged clothes, grabbing the portable knife present there.

"Sigh.. " She sighed audibly, trying to calm herself down.

Darkness of the night, and the smell from the blood of the deceased monster were the only things that helped the girl retain her life up until this point.

The waning crescent moon, which further minimized the already vacant red light, also helped to the cause.

Growl...

An oppressive silence descended as the low grunting of the monster echoed in the area. The girl moved from one place to another, trying to escape the senses of the monster by hiding in the shadows.

Anxiety took over her, but she was smart enough to not try anything foolish, and make rational decisions, knowing that not doing so would spell her end.

"Calm down, calm down, .. "

She said twice, trying to calm herself down.

'Think, think....How can I escape in this situation?'

She thought as she tried to get a better read on her situation.

"There are three exit to this run down store... But the monster will spot me the moment I try to escape from here.... Given my physical abilities and a recruit's control over mana, I won't be able to escape.... It will catch upto me before I could try to increase the distance between us..... The stronghold is a bit far away from this place....The monster will find me before help arrives.....I won't be able to survive till then.... I-I have to take the initiative... "

She muttered it all under a single breath, her mind going through possible outcomes. Her analysing and thinking speed were clearly beyond her age.

It couldn't be helped. The 'children' of this new era were forced to mature very quickly. It was a prerequisite needed for survival in this time and age.

The girl quickly made up her mind, firmly grabbing the knife with both of her hands, as she tried to find the monster, while channeling mana through her body and knife.

Her meagre strength couldn't hope to achieve much in this precarious situation, but there still might be hope if she's able to land a sneak attack on the enemy.

"I-It should be fine. Although ape species could produce upto 3-metre class monsters, this one must have been born recently.. given it's barely a 1-metre class, even the monster corpse I found was only a bit above 1-me-" /Roar/

Her words were interrupted as she heard a roaring sound coming from her left.

She instinctively turned her head as she saw the ape-like monster lunged towards her with horrifying agility, closing the distance between them in an instant.

The monster opened it's mouth, revealing rows of sharp, uneven teeth, and a guttural growl emanates from deep within its chest, reverberating through the silent night.

"Ahh...."

A soft cry came from the girls mouth as her already trembling legs finally lost their strength as she stumbled down to the ground.

"N-no, not like this"

Tears filled her eyes, as the inevitable approached her, she nearly lost all will to fight.

But suddenly, as the ape's claws approched her, threatening to tear her body apart, she pursed her trembling lips and gritted her teeth, her hold on the handle of the knife firmer than ever.

"You vile creature, I am not letting you do as you please."

At this point, her previously held back tears finally overflowed, dripping down her cheeks, her eyes bloodshot.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DOWN WITH ME!!"

She shouted at the top of her lungs, her expression turning ugly. All the hatred that she, no, all the hatred that the citizens of this world had accumulated over the years towards these creatures, was finally showing itself.

The monster continued to advance forward, unbothered by the sudden outburst of the girl.

As it's claw drew nearer, the girl closed her eyes, ready to stab the monster in its vital part the moment it let's his guard down.

/ROAR/

The monster roared loudly, but in the next instance....

/CRASH/

The wall on the right side of the girl got destroyed and dust flew up in the air as the rubble hit the ground.

Amid the rising dust, a thin oxblood color arc of light shoot out, headed straight for the neck of the monster.

/Splurt/

As the arc of light reached the neck of the monster, severing it as smoothly as butter, a crimson fountain also sprung of from the same place, bathing the surroundings in its radiance, avoiding the girl.

The girl just kept sitting there with a dazed look on her face as she saw the monster lifeless body falling to the ground

"W-what happened?"

Panick stricken, she asked out aloud. It couldn't be helped. She was this close to losing her life, but was saved in the nick of time. It was natural that she wasn't able to take it all in at the same time.

"Huuu.. Haaah"

She inhaled a deep breath and exhaled after some time, calming herself down.

As she regained her bearings, she started looking back at the sequence of events that transpired a few moments ago but only a single thought occupied her mind.

'Someone helped me.'

That was the only conclusion she could come up with the limited information in front of her.

"But who could it be?"

She asked herself but there was no one to answer her questions present there.

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she remembered a particular detail from the battle.

"A thin arc of light.... W-was it perhaps m-mana?"

While the young girlgirl's mind was filled with various thoughts and questions, the dust started to clear up as the silhouette of a man was now visible.

The girl, not even waiting for the dust to fully clear up, stood up and almost instinctively asked the foremost question in her mind.

"Umm....Who are you?"

Amid the clearing dust, the man scanned his surroundings, trying to assess the situation, he replied afer some time.

"Ron Williams"