Anderson's knees buckled as the fatal blow struck him in the heart. The claymore fell from his hand with a dull thud.
His eyes locked on his friends; his expression was one of both pain and acceptance. He fought with all he had; he tried and tried, but in the end, he wasn't strong enough. However, he could not blame anyone since the idea to come here had been his; Erik warned them of the dangers, but he pressed his friends to do something nonetheless.
Well, at least he managed to save his father and the other people; however, as he looked at his surroundings, he saw a couple of them dead.
<Did I really make a difference?> the young man asked himself.
That was not comforting to see before dying trying to rescue people, but since reality could not be changed, he at least hoped that Mikey, Aaron, and the others would survive.
His breath came in short, ragged gasps as blood bubbled from his throat, staining his lips blood-red.
His friends, still fighting against their opponents, could only look on in horror from a distance as he fell to the ground.
They knew there was nothing they could do to save him. Martha felt tears streaming down her face as she watched helplessly.
Anderson's breathing became shallow and ragged, and he struggled to stay conscious. He looked up at his friends, his eyes filled with pain and regret.
"I'm sorry," he managed to whisper before turning his head to the right as his hand tried to reach the hilt of his sword already on the ground.
His friends would have been frozen in place if they weren't fighting for their lives; however, they looked at him with wide eyes, unable to believe what they were currently seeing.
Benedict tried to rush forward, but his opponent stopped him; he couldn't get distracted for long, and if he did, it would have been him to die next.
However, he saw Anderson's eyes grow dim, and his body slacken.
"Anderson!" Aaron shouted, his voice choked with emotion. "Hang on; we'll get you help."
However, as Anderson lay dying on the ground, his friends were still locked in their own battles and couldn't do much.
Carl, Mikey, and Erik were fighting fiercely, unable to aid their fallen comrade.
They could see the life slipping away from Anderson's body from a distance, and knowing they could do nothing to stop it tore their hearts; Anderson couldn't be helped. Everyone knew that much. Tears streamed down his friends' faces.
"ANDERSON!" Carl shouted. "ANDERSON!" he shouted again, shock evident on his face at his son's situation.
The young man smiled, but his chest heaved with one final breath, then went still.
His eyes were fixed and unseeing, staring up at the ceiling as if searching for something that would never come. Anderson died like that.
Mikey was the first to notice Anderson's stillness. His heart sank as he realized that his friend had died.
Carl and Erik quickly caught on, their eyes darting toward Anderson's motionless body and their opponents.
But they had to stay focused on the battle at hand. Each of them knew they couldn't afford to let their guard down, not even for a second.
They fought fiercely, even as they felt the weight of Anderson's death bearing down on them.
"MOTHER FUCKER, I WILL KILL YOU!" Erik shouted to Kevin.
"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA, WHAT WILL YOU DO?! EH, TELL ME?! YOU WILL BE DEAD BEFORE THE NIGHT COMES!" Kevin shouted at Erik, taunting him for what he said.
[ALLY KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 3827 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
Erik looked at his notification, and a tear escaped from his eyes. The system absorbed the mana from the surroundings and got Anderson's once he died.
For a moment, it was like there was only silence around them, broken only by the sound of Carl's quiet sobs.
Amber and Gwen stood a few feet away from Anderson, watching the brutal fight between Anderson and Kevin unfold.
As Anderson's body slumped to the ground and his claymore clattered out of his grip, the two women gasped in shock and horror, becoming despair as their friend died.
Amber's face became red as tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.
She had known Anderson for years, trained with him, and fought by his side, and now he was gone. She felt a deep sense of loss and sorrow welling up inside her.
Gwen, too, was stunned by what had happened. The sight of Anderson's lifeless body on the ground made her feel sick to her stomach. She couldn't imagine what his father was feeling right now.
Erik's heart raced as he saw his friend's life slip away. He wanted to stop fighting and help him, but he knew he had to keep going. The thought of losing a brother was too much to bear, but those thoughts fueled his rage and resolve, and he started fighting with even more ferocity.
Mikey felt a surge of anger and sadness as he watched Anderson's life slip away. He couldn't believe this was happening, and he started unleashing bugs with all his might, determined to make a difference and help his friends survive.
Despite their fears and grief, the three continued to fight, each strike fueled by the hope that they could somehow turn the tide of the battle and save the others' lives.
"Let them pay," Mikey snarled, his eyes flashing with fury. "Let's kill them!" he shouted again. Even Martha nodded. However, they were bound to finish the fight on their own without their friend by their side.
Carl's heart sank as he watched Anderson die, and a pool of blood formed around him. He was in shock and couldn't help but feel helpless. Anderson lay motionless on the ground, his body sprawled in a pool of crimson. His vacant eyes stared blankly into the void, mirroring the unimaginable pain that had probably consumed him moments ago.
The metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air, a grim reminder of the brutality that had unfolded.
Every inch of his being seemed to bear witness to the violence inflicted upon him, his broken form serving as a haunting testament to the fragility of human existence. He was fighting as if he was in auto mode.
Carl wanted to rush to Anderson's side but knew it was impossible due to the many thugs preventing him from going. Tears welled up in his eyes as he watched his son die.
However, things didn't end there. As Anderson was getting killed, multiple fights were going on. In particular, Frank, Adam's brother, was doing a lot of damage as he could create and control ice.
Frank faced a woman named Maya, a thug who could summon gloves that enhanced her strength.
It was a weird power, but it was powerful since her strength increased a lot. But Frank had an advantage since his brain crystal power allowed him to attack from a distance.
Maya rushed towards him with her gloves on and a sword in hand, aiming for a quick slash at Frank's throat, but the man quickly created a wall of ice to block her attack.
She tried to break through it with her enhanced strength, but the ice remained unbreakable, and then he launched a barrage of icicles at her.
Maya moved quickly, evading the icicles and closing the distance between them.
She swung her sword in a wide arc, but Frank was ready. He created a small ice shield, blocking the blow easily and preventing any kind of damage to his body.
However, the woman wasn't done, and she charged at the man again, bearing her sword to him.
Frank didn't waste time; he created an ice spear and hurled it at Maya.
She avoided it, but as she did so, Frank got closer. He unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, and each strike imbued with his ice power, which pervaded the girl, causing pain and severely slowing her down.
Maya was quick, but Frank's control of the ice gave him an advantage in the fight.
Frank then created a sharp ice spear again and thrust it toward Maya, piercing through her body. This time she had been unable to avoid the attack since the previous attack had slowed her. She fell to the ground, defeated, with a gaping wound on her chest. She died like that.
Frank looked around and saw that a woman, one of the hostages, had been hit by a stray attack. He quickly went to check on her, but it was too late.
The person had already died from the wound. He didn't know her, but she was definitely someone's parent.
Since things went like that, Frank turned around to see who he could fight against, and he quickly spotted his prey, a thug fighting against a woman.
He quickly joined the fight and attacked him by helping the woman, this time using his ice as a sword, and after a short 2v1 fight with the said thug, they killed him in conjunction.
The battlefield quickly turned into a cemetery, with blood, corpses, and guts exposed to the ground, leaving behind a scene of gore and carnage.
At the same time, Erik received a notification.
[MULTIPLE INDIVIDUALS KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 7764 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
[LEVEL UP.]
This content is taken from freewebnove(l).com