ENERGI: THE PRIMORDIAL CONDUIT[OP MC, APOCALYPSE, SURVIVAL, AND LITRPG]

- SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

A chill-inducing screech reverberated through the air as several leeches, over a meter and a half long, flew into the air before descending toward Kael's group like jagged swords raining from the heavens to judge them.

Luckily, Nathan and Alice had reacted to Kael's scream almost instantly and had rejoined the group.

"Natalie, take Sophia to the room and hide." Ms. Claire quickly beckoned at the quiet middle schooler. Natalie was the only one yet to kill and have a chance to level up. After all, just like Sophia, the girl's class wasn't one made for battle. Kael had chosen to level up the others first before focusing on Natalie, after all, the girl's ability was important to the group as well. Yet he didn't get the chance to act before the situation changed.

Natalie nodded her head and quickly took Sophia's hand, as she pulled her toward the room Rachel was in. Yet, she had barely taken a step when the usually shy Sophia suddenly shouted:

"No! I want to stay with Rose."

The little girl struggled in Natalie's grip, her resolve clear and her intention firm not to leave her friend's side. Ms. Claire frowned and was just about to chastise her; after all, this was no time to be willful. But before she could voice her thoughts, Rose, who had been quiet, suddenly smiled before moving toward Sophia and grabbing her other hand. Her bright and clear eyes focused on Natalie:

"Big sister, you can leave. I will take care of Sophy."

"This..." Natalie hesitated, and she quickly looked at Ms. Claire for help. But when they both noticed the now-healed undead behind Rose, both of them relented.

Natalie gritted her teeth, a feeling of bitterness welling up within her. She wanted to stay. She wanted to help. But she knew the truth.

'I will only be a burden.'

A tear quietly slid down her cheek before being snatched into the air as she turned and swiftly retreated into the room. She went to the other side of the room and noticed the door to the bathroom was already sealed shut from the other side.

'How hateful!'

.....

Back in the corridor.

Kael quickly moved to position himself at the front of the group. But he couldn't help but feel astonished when he saw Alice dismiss her massive shield before forming two small blades she quickly hurled at the approaching leeches.

The blades arced through the air before colliding with two of the creatures; they weren't sharp enough to pierce their leathery skin. But, it was more than enough to stop their momentum.

- SKREE!

- SKREE!

The two leeches screeched in anger as they plummeted from the sky down to the ground, away from their line of sight. Alice was able to repeat her action once more before the falling leeches grew too close and dangerous for them. After all, unlike Kael, just one bite was enough to corrupt any of them and turn them into undead.

"Retreat!" Kael shouted as he moved past her and reached the front.

He raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist, about to activate Ignition Fist, when his eyes widened once more in surprise. Three fireballs as big as basketballs suddenly flew from behind him and plunged into the swarm of falling leeches.

- BOOM!

- BOOOM!

- BOOOM!

A wave of red fire exploded outward, engulfing the leeches and causing a wave of heat to hit Kael's face. To Kael, the heat felt welcoming rather than dangerous, yet he couldn't help but feel a strange feeling.

For the first time since the apocalypse descended, Kael felt... truly felt that he wasn't alone. He didn't have to be the only one protecting the others. He didn't have to struggle by himself.

His eyes couldn't help but become wet, and his shoulders relaxed as he felt the mountain he didn't know he had been carrying was taken off his shoulders. He turned his head back and saw his little sister's eyes glowing with a deep pink light while her hair flew behind her. She held Sophia in one hand, and behind her was the mage zombie he had subdued, roaring—not at them, but at its kind.

Rose's pink eyes were not fixed on what she just did; instead, her now mesmerizing, glowing eyes locked with her brother's before she flashed a smile, one that conveyed her emotions.

'I got your back!'

Kael's eyes turned to Ms. Claire, who had her hand raised, ready to summon her barrier, and Nathan, who stood with his shadow, a sword clenched in both of their hands. Finally, his eyes landed on Alice, who was directly behind him, and for the first time since he met this peer of his, Kael could read an emotion in her usually impassive eyes.

'Don't look down at me.'

"HAHAHAHA!"

Kael didn't even realize when he burst into laughter—a genuine laugh since the apocalypse descended. He had almost died twice, he had lost his limb, and he had faced horrors and experienced pain that would make any normal fifteen-year-old insane.

But now, Kael felt his heart lighten. He turned his head back to the inferno above him, the explosive air carrying his tears away.

"Let's do this!"

He roared as the wave of fire from the explosion finally blew away, revealing many descending leeches. Only the ones at the forefront had borne the brunt of the attack, but that didn't matter.

"IGNITION FIST!"

Consuming two units of energi, golden flames suddenly erupted from Kael's arm before coiling around his clenched fist like a gauntlet. Kael used another unit to boost his mind stat and, most importantly, enter COMBAT TRANCE. Then he took a stance, his left foot placed forward, his toes digging into the revealed concrete while his right arm drew back.

As the rain of leeches finally fell on them, he sent his fist hurling forward.

- BOOOM!

A massive shockwave erupted from his fist, carrying with it a wave of scorching golden flames that engulfed the leeches, causing them to scream in pain and fall in droves. Yet a few still streaked past him and into his group. But Kael didn't spare them his attention. His group wasn't so weak that they couldn't handle them.

Claire quickly activated her skill, causing a massive translucent blue barrier to form before them like a wall. Two leeches impacted the structure, causing cracks to spread across the barrier in an instant, but before the structure could crumble, Claire activated the reflecting ability of her barrier, causing a shockwave to burst outward, scattering all the arriving leeches away.

The barrier finally gave way, and Alice and Nathan quickly jumped into action. Alice quickly reached one of the leeches that had been flung into the wall, creating a sword in her right hand and a shield in the other. Before the leech could react, she raised and plunged her sword into its body, causing it to screech in pain. Black blood splattered on the wall, but she had already raised her shield before her, protecting her from the threat of being corrupted. She raised her shield and slammed it into the hilt of her sword, causing the blade to finally pierce deep into the leathery skin of the monster and end its life.

On the other side, Nathan controlled his shadow to climb on one of the thrown leeches which had yet to recover. The shadow sent its master an aggrieved look before doing as it was told. The leech screeched and flailed about, sending the shadow reeling. Making use of that momentary distraction, Nathan quickly drew close before plunging his sword into the creature. He had to strike three times at the same spot, with his mouth closed and breath held, before life left the disgusting creature.

Despite their determination to help, Alice and Nathan were still far lower leveled than these level 13 and 14 leeches. They had barely killed one of them, and that too because of the advantage they had, when they found themselves in a dangerous situation.

Luckily, Rose sent the mage undead she controlled forward. The monster's fireball skill was still on cooldown, but the creature still had one defensive skill it could use. Flames erupted around it like an aura covering its body, and with a menacing growl, the undead lunged forward into the midst of the leeches.

- GRRR!

Despite having a weak body, it was still higher leveled than these leeches, not to mention its flames seemed to be a natural counter to them. With its rampage and with Alice and Nathan assisting from the sides, they were able to barely handle the leeches that got past Kael.

At the forefront, Kael erupted with one Ignition Fist after another, the golden flames killing many of the falling leeches, while the shockwave generated from the explosion sent many of them flying away and down to the ground, where they splattered against the pavement with a disgusting SQUELCH.

Yet the leeches raining on them didn't show any sign of stopping; not to mention that with the path at the good side of the corridor now free, many of these creatures were already crawling toward them instead.

'This is getting dangerous. I need to kill the main body!' Kael realized. He knew they couldn't continue like this. Sooner or later, they would be overwhelmed, and just one bite or a bit of blood entering their system could corrupt the others.

He took a deep breath and boosted his agility with two ENERGI before he screamed:

"I will be back soon!"

His knees bent, calf muscles flexing, as he jumped with all his might, dust swirling upward from where he left. His body flew forward toward the raining leeches as he raised his right hand once more.

"IGNITION FIST!"

*****

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