Chapter 5: Golden Light

"Ah ah ah ah!" The second scream, more piercing than the first, came from the corner ahead, and this time, it was a woman's voice.

Yaso glanced back, his vision seeming to have improved significantly. Even in the darkness, he could make out the silhouette of the girl.

The woman was on the ground, limping and trembling, her mouth wide open in sheer terror as she gazed ahead.

In front of her, the other two young people were frozen in place like stone statues, their eyes locked on whatever lay ahead, their bodies trembling with fear.

No matter how far he strained his eyes, Yaso couldn't discern the source of their terror. What had these three young people seen that left them so horrified?

Although he couldn't see it, he could faintly hear a bizarre sound emanating from not far away. It was as if someone were gnawing on something, gnawing with a voracious appetite.

It was a sound that sent shivers down his spine. Yaso realized it was reminiscent of the gnawing of bones.

The girl, her face etched with terror, ran toward Yaso, and he spoke to her in a low voice, "What happened?"

The girl seemed startled by Yaso's voice, and in a state of panic, she clung to his clothes, her teeth chattering in terror.

"Monsters... monsters are eating people on the ground!" she stammered, her voice quaking.

Yaso's expression shifted abruptly.

"Get out of here, go!" Yaso urgently instructed Elena and the girl.

As the words left his lips, the girl bolted like a frightened wild animal. She turned and sprinted with desperation, colliding with Yaso's shoulder in her frantic escape but quickly recovering her footing and continuing to run for her life.

"Monster... help! Help! Monster!" came a desperate cry from behind.

A figure emerged from the shadows, racing toward them.

Yaso had been caught off guard, and the collision with the fleeing figure almost sent his wheelchair toppling over. He stumbled but managed to steady both the wheelchair and himself. Just as he regained his balance, a distant, ominous thudding sound reached his ears.

It was like the heavy, earth-shaking steps of a beast drawing closer, an unsettling presence steadily approaching.

The girl beside him witnessed the grotesque scene unfold, her eyes widening in terror. Drawing strength she didn't know she had, she sprang up from the ground like lightning and fled, her screams echoing into the night.

As for the young boy who had struck Yaso moments earlier, he had fled long before, his fear spurring him to escape at a remarkable speed.

In the face of the gruesome and horrifying tableau before them, fear had gripped everyone's minds.

Yaso had only taken a few steps when his heightened senses detected a disturbance within ten meters of his location. It was as if he were encountering a creature that defied classification, something that was neither entirely human nor purely animal.

This entity possessed limbs and a head reminiscent of a human, yet it moved with the ferocity of a beast, running on all fours. It was a hulking figure, resembling a brown bear in its build. But what sent shivers down Yaso's spine was the grotesque, nightmarish visage atop its shoulders, contorted in a terrifying grimace.

The creature's face was ghastly pale and horribly distorted. Its long, pointed, scarlet tongue snaked out from its mouth, resembling a serpentine nightmare, extending half a meter and flexing sinuously.

Yaso's face contorted with a mix of disgust and fear as he watched the approaching horror.

The creature's speed was nothing short of astonishing. In mere seconds, it had closed the distance to within ten meters of Yaso, and it continued to advance at an alarming pace. Yaso could already feel a rush of wind sweeping over him from behind.

Elena, on the side, shared Yaso's growing sense of dread. Her face drained of color, overwhelmed by fear and panic. She turned her head slightly to see how far the monstrous entity was from her.

It should still be some distance away, right?

"Don't look back, go!" Yaso's voice suddenly rang out from the side.

However, it was too late for Elena. Her pupils abruptly contracted as the horrifying grimace drew perilously close, almost attached to her face, and she could feel the intense, overwhelming aura of blood emanating from the creature.

"Ah ah ah ah!" Another piercing scream reverberated through the narrow alley. She closed her eyes in a desperate bid to escape the terror, reflexively trying to strike the creature with the textbook she held in her hand.

But she was in a state of complete panic. Her schoolbag wasn't a weapon, and she was no trained warrior. In such a life-and-death moment, it was clear that the first to lose their composure would be the one who lost their chance at survival.

The ghostly beast, with a ferocious grip, seized the strap of Elena's schoolbag and yanked her body mercilessly. She suddenly lost her balance and staggered to the ground, helpless and terrified.

A heavy, looming black shadow suddenly descended and crashed into Elena...

The next moment, a gruesome transformation overtook her as her lifeblood saturated her, drenching her in a deep scarlet hue.

Elena was dead.

Yaso bore witness to the entirety of her horrific demise. The monstrous creature had descended from above, effortlessly slicing her throat with its razor-sharp nails as if it were cutting through tofu. Afterward, it feasted upon her lifeless form with an almost ecstatic fervor.

Elena's eyes, right up to her last moment, were filled with a horrifying and despairing gaze.

Yaso had observed every gruesome detail in chilling clarity, his stomach churning, nearly causing him to vomit. Though he had endured considerable suffering and hardship, his mind had matured far beyond his years, but this was the first time he had encountered such a bloodcurdling sight.

However, now was not the time to be sickened.

Yaso wasted no time in hesitation. As the monster feasted on Elena's lifeless body, he deftly maneuvered his wheelchair with his hands and swiftly turned, heading in the opposite direction toward the other side of the road.

The path they had initially taken for retreat had been blocked by the monstrous entity, leaving him with no other option but to escape in the direction where the young man named Allen had met his horrifying fate.

Fortunately, it appeared that the monster was more interested in its grisly meal than pursuing Yaso. This provided him with a momentary respite, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief.

Yaso didn't possess the knowledge to identify the creature he had encountered. It clearly didn't belong to the category of "human beings," nor did it align with the known categories of "beasts." If he had to make an educated guess, he might consider the possibility of a mutated ape, affected by radiation. Its size, strength, and speed were far beyond those of normal humans.

However, it was nothing more than a speculation in a world suddenly filled with inexplicable horrors.

In this fog-shrouded world, Yaso didn't believe that science was the sole truth that existed. He held firm to the belief that there were "unknown" phenomena in this world, elements beyond the grasp of human knowledge.

Yaso couldn't shake the eerie feeling that he had seen the image of these monstrous entities somewhere before, perhaps in a distant memory, or maybe in some obscure piece of information.

As he pondered this, something moved into his field of vision. Yaso instinctively slammed on the brakes, bringing his wheelchair to an abrupt halt. His breathing grew heavier as dread coursed through him.

Approximately ten meters ahead, the ominous figure of another monster materialized. Yaso was certain that this was not the same creature he had encountered moments ago.

While the new monster bore a similarly grotesque appearance, it was clearly a different individual. The most glaring evidence was that this monster was still gnawing on the lifeless body of the young man named Allen.

By this point, Allen's face had been completely devoured, leaving behind only a vague, mangled mass of flesh and blood. Were it not for his distinctive clothing, Yaso might not have even recognized the remains.

This marked the arrival of the second monstrous entity.

This can only show that another monstrous creature, grotesque and ravenous, is already in the process of tearing into Allen's body, the gruesome sounds of flesh being devoured resonating through the air.

A narrow, desolate roadway, flanked by gnarled, twisted trees, and two nightmarish monstrosities, their malevolent forms silhouetted against the dim moonlight, completely blocked all avenues of Yaso's retreat.

Yaso's face, once touched by the pale glow of the moon, had now become an eerie shade of ashen gray. The emotion called despair was etched deep within his heart, like an unending chasm of hopelessness.

In the eighteen years he has existed on this cruel plane, there have only been two moments that have truly rendered him desperate.

The first, a decade ago, when he had watched in sheer terror as he became enveloped in a bizarre, otherworldly light, casting eerie shadows on his past.

The second, the present, as before him, the face-eating monster, grotesque and monstrous in every aspect, carelessly discarded Allen's lifeless body like a piece of discarded refuse. The monster turned its grotesque head towards Yaso, its malevolent eyes locking onto his soul, and it licked the blood from the corner of its mouth with a long, scarlet tongue, the sight sending shivers down Yaso's spine.

At this very moment, Yaso felt a surge of anger and frustration welling up within him. Damn, why is he condemned to such relentless misfortune once again? It's as if the universe itself conspired to ensure his existence remained steeped in misery and torment.

As a child, he had endured the cruelty of a disabling leg condition, and now, in this horrifying encounter, he faced a destiny even more sinister and unforgiving.

Now, incredibly, his legs were showing signs of recovery, the burden of disability gradually lifting. Yaso had been ready to dedicate himself to rigorous studies and the pursuit of a bright future, one that promised a life renewed with hope.

But, by the cruel hand of fate, he was confronted with this nightmarish monstrosity once more.

How could it be that he, who had been scarred and battered by life's cruel hand, was once again thrust into the clutches of these abominable creatures? No one should have to endure such a gruesome encounter even once, let alone twice!

"**Curse it all!**" Yaso's voice, filled with rage, echoed into the night. The anger and sorrow he had suppressed for years, the pent-up frustration and despair, surged forth like a volcanic eruption.

The blazing fires of his fury consumed him, driving away the ever-present fear that had gnawed at his heart. From the depths of his being, a fierce and relentless determination sprung forth, an energy so powerful he couldn't fathom its source.

Yaso clutched the armrests of his wheelchair with a white-knuckled grip, his knuckles turning pale as he faced the monstrous horror before him. His chest heaved violently, each breath a turbulent mixture of anxiety and determination.

In this critical moment, the abhorrent creature that had just feasted on human flesh didn't appear as just a monster, but rather a manifestation of all the injustices, sorrows, and heartbreak he had endured over the past decade. It was as if the universe had conspired to pile all the grievances and setbacks upon him, and this confrontation was his reckoning.

He wasn't ready to accept his fate without a fight! The rage inside him burned hotter than ever.

Perhaps even Yaso didn't fully comprehend that beneath the torrent of emotions that coursed through him, his legs, which had lain dormant for more than a decade, now seemed to pulse with newfound vitality. It was as though his determination had rekindled the flickering flame of hope, bringing life back to the limbs he had long considered lost.

The monstrous creature, observing Yaso with a malevolent, almost perverse fascination, hissed like a venomous serpent and leaped toward Yaso, propelled by a sinister desire to consume. The hooligan in the beast's nature found irresistible prey in the face of Yaso, vulnerable yet determined, poised to defy all odds.

"**Damn, I'm not afraid of you!**" Yaso bellowed, leaping from his wheelchair and charging at the leaping monster.

The gap between them rapidly closed. As the monster's claws neared Yaso's throat, he deftly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the attack. However, the monster's strike still managed to leave a faint blood mark on Yaso's temple.

Seizing the opportunity, Yaso raised his wheelchair and smashed it into the monster with a resounding "**Pop--!**" The creature was sent reeling, and the tide of the battle shifted in that pivotal moment.

A crisp voice sounded, Yaso only felt a light touch in his hand, and then a huge force came from behind, and the monster's tail directly flew him away!

Yaso was pumped to the ground and rolled a few times. He got up in pain and saw that his wheelchair had become a pile of scrap metal.

"**Fuck!**" Yaso's outburst coincided with the destruction of his wheelchair, and his emotions detonated like a powder keg. He stood there, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, drawing traces of blood.

"I am not convinced!" He roared in defiance.

In the midst of this emotional turmoil, an unfamiliar sensation surged within him. It felt like an otherworldly power coursing through his body, a radiant, sacred light emanating from him and converging into his right hand.

Yaso experienced an intense heat, like a sun igniting within him, radiating from his entire body and concentrating in his right hand.

With an almost instinctive motion, he raised his right hand, now enveloped in a radiant, golden glow—an unmistakable sacred light, a divine power.

In an instant, the golden-clad fist connected with the monstrous creature, and a brilliant, scorching beam of light erupted from the road's edge in the old town. The resulting shockwave obliterated nearly all the surrounding buildings, turning the night into an incandescent day.