Chapter 344: 344 - Regretful Uncertainties

"Yeah, it's a public place after a—" Mid sentence, Noah was interrupted by the sound of a large explosion, the car itself shaking, and turned towards the source of it, looking back to the source of the sound, and seeing a large dark cloud a few blocks away from them.

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"What's going on over there?" Lilith muttered half-asleep, as she got herself over the middle console and over Noah's legs, checking out the window. "Damn, that explosion... You think something's going on?" she asked him now clearly awake, as Noah looked in the distance.

"I don't know for sure... but there's something happening," he said, seeing the image of a couple people running in the distance, all from the same direction. "I think there was a accident or something."

"Um... Noah?" Lilith squinted, looking out with more attention than he had.

"Yeah?" he asked, pulling the keys and shutting the AC down.

"I think you should take a look at that... Looks like it's another Fortress explosion."

"Again?" Noah was startled, and turned back to the window, as the sounds of people screaming became louder, and closer. "I don't have the mask on me, damn it!" he cursed as he opened the door wide, jumpung out of the car with Lilith on tow. "And we don't even know where the monsters are," he raised a flag, and almost as if called by his words, a large lizard appeared from the street behind.

The monsters were large, and far stronger than the Cyclops Wolves he'd fought last time he happened to get caught in an explosion. The lizards had thick leather with a metallic tint, which told Noah what kind they were. "Lilith, I think this is bad," he said, recognizing the Irontail Komodo. "That's a peak D-Rank Monster, and it seems there are more of them." His eyes panned around, seeing more people run from another street towards the monster, before realizing it and turning towards where he and Lilith were. But suddenly, the reptilian eyes locked with Noah's, a strange tension washing him over, "It's coming," he said attently, pulling the pair of blessed daggers he had tucked into his clothes as inssurance. And the lizard-looking monster dashed towards him from the distance, its tail aggresively swiping sideways as it accelerated towards them. Lilith rushed into becoming smaller, wrappign around Noah's waist as to not stand in his way.

One thing he knew well was how bad of a match this monster was to him, considering his flames would hardly damage it without injuring it first. 'Damn it, if at least I ahd the mask I could not worry about using the imps...' he thought, as he saw the half a dozen people running towards him.

'... You know we already made the whole renting thing company. Nobody gonna say anything if you use them,' Lilith rolled her eyes as she stated the obvious, making Noah shake his head.

'Yeah, sorry. I guess I was out of myself,' he answered, as three fiery circles appeared on the ground, Imps coming out of them. 'Guess we can deal with—nevermind,' he cut his thought short, as a handful more of the monster turned the street this one had come from.

About that time, the monster got close enough he felt this was a good time to start, "Go!" he told the imps aloud, as two of them rushed ahead to block the monster's path. The lizard screeched, as it pushed its claws against the imps, pushing them back. The [Fire Claws] one of the imps had had at least some effect, drawing glowing sparts from the monster's metallic claw clung to it, making it pull its paw back in pain.

Noah took the oportunity, teleporting above them monster, and slicing down with his blessed weapon. "Damn it!" he cursed, as his dagged got deflected by the thick metallic leather, leaving nothing but a small mark, unable to pierce it. At the same time, a pained grunt could be heard, as one of the imps was thrown back, hit by the monster's tail.

Noah teleported back towards the car, using calling forth two more imps, one being the one who could use [Healing Flames] "Go heal that other one there and hold the monster back, this is gonna be a tough fight," he yelled, as the people passed the car by, some looking at him with suspicion in their eyes, but more importantly, they had managed to run past him, and were now safe. "There's four more coming, we need to find a way to deal with them at once," he said, directing his words towards Lilith, as he tried to find out how to deal with the monsters.

'Oh, come on! Can't you just blow them all up? I mean, I don't thing they will be unharmed by that kind of thing,' she said while rolling her eyes, Noah jumping forward to counter the monster pouncing at him, managing to hold with back from sheer force. 'And, you are as strong as the thing... What are you so wary of?' Lilith was less than happy with his mindset to say the least.

'Now, are you doing this just to spite me?' Noah complained, as he kicked the monster's head, making its neck make an uncomfortable snapping sound. The monster, however, just turned back towards him, screeching.

'With the monster's yell, the other four started running towards them, acting like a pack instead of individuals, an explosion nearby calling Noah's attention. "Maggie!"

The explosion had come from the ice-cream store he was in just ago, making Noah's brain freeze for a split second, as one of the monsters crashed out of the building, sending glass shards all over the street. As the monster landed out, thought, a ball of fire roamed from within, making the monster screech in pain as its wounds from the glass shards turned ablaze. 'It's them," Noah thought, seeing imps fly out, and clearing his mind of all doubt. "I gotta finish this," he told himself while looking around, making sure no more people were nearby. "Keep them focused on us, I'll end this," he told the imps, as he teleported behind the monster, throwing a fireball at it, despite knowing it wouldn't do much.

But it was enough to call the monster's attention. And so he did the same to all other monsters, expect the one far away, who the Imps from the ice-cream store were taking care of. 'Noah! What out!' Lilith's warning came a second too late, and Noah turned in the air, as one of the monsters clawed him from the side, somehow avoiding Pyakugan's response. It was only then that Noah realized their claws could come out, one such slicing through his pants and cutting away at his thigh. 'Fuck!' he thought, as the sharp pain assaulted him, a certain fiery message appearing in the corner of his vision.

[Poison: Blood Metalizing Toxin has been learned. It can be used after surviving its effects.]

'This thing can turn one's blood into metal?! What kind of hellish venom is that?!' Noah thought to himself as he threw fire charges all around him, in all monsters' directions. The claw thrown at him landed on the ground nearby, blood coverin the alphalt. 'That's why they didn't do it more often," he noticed, as the monster who attacked him by detaching it seemed to be limping. "It's my chance," he yelled, as the monsters all headed towards him, the fire charges already laid all around and underneath them.

And Noah teleported upwards while jumping, finding himself almost ten stories up in the air, watching the confused monsters from above, "It's show time."

The fire charges exploded, the blast-wave destroying the windows and glass of all buildings nearby, a waft of incredibly hot air and smoke hitting him from below, as he teleported to the ground once again, avoiding gaining any speed. 'You think that took care of them?' Lilith's voice echoed in his mind, as Noah focused his eyes on the smoke, seeing the craters on the ground, and a handful of fiery monsters trashing around.

"All but one," he said, walking into the smoke, the deafening dying cries of the pained monsters scouring at his ears, as a glint of metal told him one of the monsters was not incapacitated yet.

As the dust slowly settled, the image of the lizards trying to fend off the fire that burned them alive seared itself in Lilith's eyes, the imps grovelling towards the burning carcasses as soon as they stopped moving to harvest the eyes. With the destroyed asphalt from the explosion and the leftover flames that burned even the road itself, an image much like that of Hell could be seen around, and Noah's cold expression as a large spike of fire materialized in his hand only served to further enhance that vision.

Walking throught the mayhem, Noah approached one last monster, whole entire back paw had been carbonized, but was still managing to crawl across the ground, his body not afflicted by the grueling fire. "It's your time too," Noah said, as the monster turned its head towards him in fear, not able to move or run.

And Noah's fire spike pierced through its undefended head, which had none of the previous metallic properties, making Lilith confused, as it too fell limply on the ground, its body consumed by the flames, as one of the imps used its lengthened fiery claws to pull the eyes out despite the vigorous fire burning.

And Noah dashed away in silence.