Tian Qi was born and raised in Antler City. His father, mother, grandparents, even his maternal grandfather and grandmother, all were Night Watchmen within the city.
Following in his family’s footsteps, Tian Qi became a Night Watchman as well, and at a young age, he even rose to the position of squad captain.
His entire family had given much for this city their homeland.
And they had gained much in return. If monsters had never appeared in the world, Tian Qi would have lived a peaceful and fulfilling life within Antler City.
A life of marrying, having children, achieving honor and wealth, and enjoying an upper-class existence.
But now.
Tian Qi was near death.
The golden rain was filled with a sacred aura, warm and comforting to the soul.
It not only healed old wounds but also dispelled all evil and darkness.
He—
Tian Qi lay in the sewer, his vacant eyes staring up through the round sewer grate at the night sky draped in golden clouds.
The Goblin Horde had suddenly erupted within the city, but resistance forces quickly organized.
Antler City was close to the border, so naturally, its experience in dealing with threats was greater.
Multiple factions contributed, sending squad after squad deep into the sewers to trace the source of the monster tide.
Tian Qi led one of those squads.
Not long after entering the sewers, their squad abruptly lost contact with the outside world.
Tian Qi took it lightly. After all, they were only facing a bunch of goblins.
Though numerous, for their squad—considered an elite force within all of Antler City—this was merely an obstacle that required some extra effort.
The more goblins they killed, the greater their achievements. The higher their hopes for promotion.
Magic of rank seven and above was typically called High-Tier Magic; rank nine and above was known as Super-Tier Magic.
The city-wide Super-Tier Magic named “Rain of Genesis” had already been activated.
The rampaging goblins were all exterminated beneath the golden rain of light.
The warm golden raindrops fell upon Tian Qi’s face, yet his heart felt no comfort or warmth—only a chilling cold.
It was over.
Antler City was finished.
Everything was finished.
“Rain of Genesis” was a Super-Tier Magic focused on auxiliary healing. Its vast range penetrated every nook and cranny, easily reaching every dark corner of the sewers.
It was lethally effective against monsters below first rank—touch it, and they died instantly.
On the other hand, the higher the monster’s rank, the less damage and debilitation the magic caused.
But it had no side effects whatsoever: it didn’t damage any buildings, pollute the environment, or harm any pure humans…
For the Goblin Horde, it was undoubtedly the most effective Super-Tier Magic available—without exception.
However.
Each activation of a Super-Tier Magic required at least a week of cooldown before it could be cast again.
During this recovery period, Antler City’s greatest trump card was unavailable.
“How could this be…”
The golden raindrops healed Tian Qi’s terrible wounds and also removed the fatal Curse from his body.
By all logic, he should have gotten up from the ground, continued running—running all the way out through the sewer grate.
His teammates were all lost deep within the sewers; if it weren’t for this grand golden rain, he himself would likely have already been killed by the Curse.
This Goblin Horde was merely a smokescreen, a deception to conceal the Evil God Ritual.
The true horror was safely hidden in the depths of the sewers—and the countdown to its detonation had already begun.
Tian Qi no longer wanted to run.
He couldn’t escape.
There was only one newbie Brave in the city with less than three years on duty, and the rookie Brave couldn’t handle that kind of thing.
He just wanted to lie quietly in the warm rain, reminisce about the past, and wait for death.
But…
Why?
Why did he still want to get up?
Struggling, Tian Qi forced himself to stand inside the sewer, breathing heavily.
Why? Why did his limbs, once restored to function, urge him to flee? Was he always this scared of dying?
“Run!”
“Run fast!”
“Don’t look back, just keep running… ah—!”
His mind was in chaos, his teammates’ suffering and screams of pain still echoing in his ears!
That’s right!
No one wants to die.
“Move!” Tian Qi’s face contorted in desperation, tears streaming down as he pounded his own legs, scrambling wildly through the trash-filled sewer, like a stray dog chased by the Reaper!
“I don’t want to die! I won’t die! Boo hoo… How can I die here? I still have to become captain! I can’t die here…!”
Plop!
Plop!
Tian Qi flailed his arms and legs as he fled through the sewer, directionless, clinging to the left wall.
“I refuse to die in the sewer! Boo hoo…!”
Ignoring the tears on his face, even if he fell, Tian Qi would quickly get up and keep running.
Plop!
Plop!
“Run as much as you want.” A grotesque monster, pieced together from several pale corpses, slithered from the depths of the sewer, its waterlogged feet exuding pale smoke.
It hesitated at the sewer entrance where the golden Rain of Genesis filtered in.
It dared not advance too far.
Slowly, it retreated back into the darkness.
“Then let your companions wait outside to reunite with you…”
Above ground.
Vyea, blocked and tense, clenched her pale fists, veins bulging.
“Kid, this isn’t a place for you. Don’t interfere with adult matters. Go back and find your mother for milk.”
The Black-clad Men impatiently tried to drive Vyea away, like swatting flies.
“Go, go, go, go!”
With that, the Black-clad Men stepped forward to shove her.
Bang!
A loud crash.
Vyea gently retracted her rain-free right foot, not even looking at the Black-clad Man who had been knocked against the wall and whose fate was unknown, and holding her black umbrella, she prepared to continue forward.
At the same time, the commotion caught the attention of other Black-clad Men.
They slowly gathered, wielding batons.
The White-clad Girl stood holding her umbrella in the rain, poised and serene.