Dominic looked at the person lying on the street, and the world around him seemed to freeze.
His ears started to ring, his heart beating fast as his breathing became uneven.
Then he saw it again.
A young woman lying in a pool of her blood.
Lifeless eyes.
Head split open.
Not again…
“–y!
Hey!”
Olive slapped him across his face.
“What the hell!” he exclaimed, holding his cheek.
“Snap out of it…
Now is not the time to blank out,” she said coldly as she ran to Roxanne, who had already gotten out of the car and was running to the unconscious person on the floor with her phone in hand.
“Hello, there’s someone who’s been hit by a car and–”
Dominic took in several deep breaths.
She didn’t have to hit me…
He looked around; the street was unusually quiet.
The usual buzz that comes with a busy street was non-existent.
There were no cars in this area, but there were people.
However, there was something off about them.
The usual buzz that usually occurs when someone is in an accident isn’t there.
Of course, they were moving towards them, but there was something.
Normally by now, half the population would have their phones out, some would have run over to check on Roxanne and the victim, or scrutinize him for not noticing, and others might ignore the scene.
But no, they’re all moving in a way he’s only seen once.
Like broken marionette dolls.
He noticed their faces were slowly becoming disfigured.
It’s just like…
“–Okay, I should turn them and raise their heads slightly…” Roxanne said, repeating the instructions given to her on the phone, but as she turned the body around, she saw the face was greyish, black veins peaking through the skin like cracks on dry ground.
As she touched them, pieces of flesh began to fall off.
“Blights!” Dominic exclaimed loudly, dodging several blights at a time, touching one of them lightly and watching them set ablaze.
She dropped the person, gasping in surprise, but her arm was grabbed.
“Help me!” The blight wail caused her to freeze up.
The other blights made similar sounds as Dominic fought them off.
Some sounded like they were begging for help, while others let out cries of terror.
Bang…
“What are you doing?” Olive hissed, grabbing her arm and forcing her to stand.
She raised her gun, resonance spreading through the weapon, forming floral patterns on it, and pulled the trigger at the blight–several times.
The blight turned to dust.
“Olive…” Roxanne whispered, her face pale in horror.
Several more shots filled the air.
“…These are non-awakened…
They are ordinary people.”
Olive looked around.
These blights were freshly corrupted.
How to tell?
Well, they were repeating the same thing…
A person who is freshly corrupted repeats the same words they spoke before they died.
These people were corrupted, screaming for help and terror.
It’s not a rare case.
What is unusual?
There was no resonance…
“That’s not possible…” Olive whispered.
Dominic watched the fire rise as the blights turned to ash.
It feels nothing like the last time he encountered blights.
Back then, he was filled with fear and the need to survive, but now…
Is it normal to feel nothing while doing this…?
There’s something off about all this.
We’re not in the laminar zone, and according to the textbooks, in the regular world, only one or two blights should be found at a time…
There are so many here…
Almost as if it was planted.
Flames surrounded Dominic like a shield as he moved towards Roxanne; every other theory can wait.
His task is to safely transport Roxanne to her hotel.
That’s not something he can do if she’s already eaten.
Then…
A single flower petal fell in front of him, bypassing his flames.
A liquid ran down his eyes and nose.
He wiped his face and saw blood on his fingertips.
Huh?
Like a cool summer evening…
Several more fell, as if it was raining, and the pleasant smell of flowers overshadowed the smell of ash.
He looked up to the sky.
Is it raining flowers?
Blood staining his hands as he coughed.
Who?
“Roxanne, look–” He was about to warn Roxanne to stay out of the open when he saw her looking up to the sky, hands stretched out to the fallen petals.
A shadow fell over him, and he was about to attack when he saw Olive standing above him with an umbrella over his head.
“What is she doing?” he asked weakly.
The blights had stopped attacking and were looking up to the sky, as if they were hypnotised.
“You weren’t given a synopsis of her resonance?” Olive asked, helping him up and brushing the flower petals from his body.
“No,” Dominic replied, coughing more blood.
“Next time this happens, make sure you find cover if you don’t want to die,” she said.
“Will I be fine?” he asked.
“You are fine, just a mild reaction…
At least you’re not them,” Olive said, looking at the blights as they turned to dust.
It looked peaceful; the sun shone through the falling petals, making the scene seem peaceful.
Like a glimpse of hope when despair is rampant.
Roxanne looked at him, her eyes widening in worry.
She’s saying something, but he can’t hear her.
He fell unconscious.
William reached his penthouse, exhaustion from the day’s work, slowly creeping in.
He wants nothing more than to order takeaway, eat, then sleep
He got to his door and stopped at the doorstep, his frown deepening.
What is she doing here?
His door opened, and he came face to face with a middle-aged woman, smiling at him warmly.
She was dressed elegantly, with her red hair tamed into a neat low bun, and wearing a tailored dress and coat.
“William,” she said, happily.
William took a deep breath.
“Mother…” he said slowly.
“What are you doing here in Saesburg?”