"They are truly weak," one of the Lore Group, the current strongest group, members remarked.
The leader, Dean, nodded his head. "Let's move deeper. Leave these fries to the others."
"Yes Sir."
For these people, the level of monsters around here was nothing but ordinary people who were not worth their attention at all. Right now, their target was the vial. If they could earn the vial, it was worth coming here.
While those from small and unknown groups came here for the money, those from the higher groups came because they wanted the vial. They clearly knew the content of the vial very much. It was the drug that can awaken their talent fully!
As they had been training very much, they knew that the addition of this vial would make their name soar further. Reaching the stage that was not normally possible for them because of the limitation in their body would not be a dream anymore. It was the goal they pursued.
They were not the only one thinking about that. Randy from Hunter Group, the current second strongest group, was also thinking the same.
"Follow inside. Those who can't keep up can stay behind. There's no need for useless people to follow," Randy ordered.
"Yes, Boss."
"Move!"
While the three strongest groups made their way out easily, the others were struggling to keep up with the fight. Seeing the death of their comrades caused them to feel hatred for the monsters. Trying their best to fight, they could only hope that they managed to survive.
SLASH! GRAB!
"Rei!" Jason managed to hold a grip on Kanae's arm. Upon sensing the power of which she used, his heart nearly dropped to the bottom of the abyss. It was far higher than what he usually faced Kanae before. Did she make a breakthrough in strength again?
He felt that her jump in power has become more often ever since she started participating in the Black Street.
Kanae staggered for a moment. Her eyes were looking back towards Jason. "Oro?"
"Calm down a bit. We have to get out of this encirclement."
"I'm calm," Kanae replied softly. Her eyes were staring at the monsters that came towards her. Even though their appearance was already like that, she knew that they were people inside. Or at least, they were previously people.
Jason frowned. Even during usual fight, Kanae would always be very energetic. Seeing the solemn Kanae already told him that she was not perfectly alright.
"Can you fight?" Tommy was also making his way towards them. His hand was already drenched in blood from killing several of the monsters. Thankfully, their strength was not too much, so he was still able to fight them.
Kanae nodded her head. "Let's go."
Sliding her hand from Jason's grip, she moved forward once again. In a speed that Jason was unable to follow, she already arrived in the middle of three monsters. Her hand made horizontal movement towards their neck, killing them in that instant.
The sight of Kanae killing them sent shiver down Jason's spine. For whatever reason, he was feeling afraid when he saw this Kanae. When they fought before, he was always stronger than her, so he paid extra caution to not hurt her. However, right now, he had the feeling that if the attack was directed towards him, he might not be able to escape unscathed.
Or worse, he might be at the death's door.
Pushing his feeling down, he moved to help Kanae. It took them several more minutes to break free from the encirclement of the monster.
"There's a storage room nearby," Jason pointed to one side.
"Let's go there," Kanae answered simply.
They quickly made their way towards the building. Upon reaching the building, they closed the door and sat down on the ground, not caring about anything else. The storage room was rather dark, but no one paid any attention.
Jason turned his head towards the sitting lady near the mattress. "Rei, are you alright?"
Kanae raised her head slowly. Her dark iris was looking back towards Jason, showing to the man how her feeling was. Inside the usually calm pupil was now a raging storm, ready to break out anytime. The lady was not calm at all. She was afraid, she felt nausea, it was terribly scary, and the feeling was completely foreign for her.
It was different. The feeling of a fight and killing was completely different. It never crossed to her mind that the feeling would be this bad. Taking someone's life was not easy.
Closing her eyes, she could see their eyes when she took the monster's life. They no longer have any control of their body after they turned into a monster, but their eyes were still filled with life. It was scary to think that she had taken someone's life just now.
"The first time is not easy," Jason tried to calm the girl down. "It'll never be easy, but you have to do it."
"I know," Kanae whispered in her reply.
"You don't have any choice, Rei. If you don't kill them, they'll kill you," Tommy leaned back on the wall. "It's the real law in the street if you go to deeper place. There's no regard for someone's life there. In the outer place, they didn't really go that far because there's no one who really care, but in the middle place, they will kill anyone they regard as enemies."
The outer layer was filled with weak people, so no one really cared about that. However, the middle to the inner part was filled with stronger people. If they didn't kill, they would be killed in the next day. There was no one who would stop them.
Kanae nodded her head. "I know."
"Don't think too much about it," Tommy stretched his body. "When you calm down, let's get out again. This place won't be that safe for long."
Closing her eyes for a moment, Kanae gathered her resole and feeling. Up until now, she has never thought about killing people. There might be some that was killed out of accident by her hand, but this was the very first time she truly aimed for them.
It was not easy, it would never be easy.
However, it was inevitable. If she wanted to delve deeper into the underworld, there was no way she could avoid it.
But time waited for no one.
In this place, right now, she had to make the decision. Even the slightest hesitation would spell her death.
"Rei," Jason called. He placed his large hand on top of the girl's head. "You're not alone, and you have your own reason of why you should get into the Black Street. When you're ready, we're still by your side, accompanying you."
"Don't forget about me," Shiro's voice came from the phone. "I'm still watching you three."
Kanae nodded her head. At least, she was not alone this time. Besides, she should have known that stepping into the Black Street meant staining her hand red with the blood of other people. There would be no way she could keep it clean with her activities.
This was the inevitable rule of Black Street that she was unable to escape from.
"Let's get out. We come here to practice and not to hide."