We ran without turning back, knowing that the undead are relentless.

  It took me a while to realise that Leo and Rich were missing.

  With horror, I realised the people who stayed behind were the two of them.

  I considered going back. I didn’t want to lose anyone else.

  We were already far away from there. I couldn’t even hear the gunshots.

  “Keep moving,” Raven told me, seeing as I ran slower in my contemplation.

  “Leo and Rich…” I started, but could only bite my lips.

  “Another reason to continue. They decided it for a reason. Don’t mock their resolve. Thank them by surviving.”

  I clenched my fists and resolved myself to continue, yet tears reduced my vision.

  His harsh and calculated words had truth in them. I didn’t like it one bit, but…

  Thank you for your sacrifice. Sorry for always belittling you. You two were among the bravest and most worthy people I knew. You were good friends. Friends I will never forget and never replace. I’m sorry for being so weak and incompetent…

  I hope you find rest in the afterlife.

  I wiped my tears, but couldn’t stop crying yet.

  It all happened too fast! I wasn’t ready to lose any of you!

  Was my coming to the Continent a mistake? Should I have listened to Raven when he told us to forget about our mission and go back?

  I can’t change the past… Only do my best for the future…

  I stopped crying and wiped my tears.

  They stayed behind to buy time for our escape. The rest of us had to survive and finish the mission. That was the least I could do for the ones who didn’t make it.

  It was my obligation to tell the tale of my fallen compatriots and mourn them with their families.

  My biggest regret is my fake ignorance of their romantic feelings towards me.

  I wish I had confronted them directly instead of pretending not to notice their love. I should have told them I saw them as friends and only friends. I didn’t have to make them chase me for so many years…

  If they had already found someone worthy of them, maybe they wouldn’t have come with me and lost their lives. Instead of dying without any descendants, they might have stayed and cared for their children… for their families…

  I couldn’t even run well. It even feels as if the ground is shaking.

  “Get over it fast,” Raven told me with his icy tone.

  It’s easy for you, isn’t it? It’s not like you ever cared even a little, did you?

  I couldn’t reply to him. I feared that if I talked, my tears would flow again.

  I had to be strong… I had to survive… I couldn’t break yet.

  The exit has to be near us now. We should be exiting any moment now.

  The ground was shaking harder. Unusually harder…

  In my state, I couldn’t even detect the monstrosity that was catching up with us.

  Raven pushed me. A stalagmite flew next to me. It was aimed at where I was supposed to be if my path wasn’t altered.

  I looked at the monster, horrified by its existence. The Tank was back, albeit looking more battered than the first time.

  There were a few dents on its thick armour, but there were still no gaps to fight it with our small firearms. We had to run from it again.

  “Is there another path along our way?” Lily asked.

  “There should be one around here. A small path where a person could barely fit in. If we get in there, the Tank can’t follow us!” Olivier replied.

  “That behemoth will make it large enough,” Raven replied.

  His worry wasn’t addressed.

  “What about the other pathway?” Lily asked.

  Wait, Lily. Why are you asking that?

  “I don’t know. We haven’t gone in there. It might lead deeper into the cave, might be a shortcut.”

  “I see.”

  From the serene tone, I knew you had something dumb and dangerous in mind.

  Lily stopped running and turned around, taking shots at the Tank. She wanted to get its attention.

  I realised what she intended to do.

  “Please, don’t leave me! I can’t take losing and you!” I screamed, begging her to discard her suicide plan.

  She replied with a smile. A tiny, gentle, kind, warm smile. She has already made up her mind and wouldn’t follow my orders.

  We arrived at the crossroad. The soldiers were the furthest ahead and were the first to enter.

  Raven was behind me, forcing me to enter before him.

  Seeing my reluctance to enter before I was certain Lily was with us, he started pushing me in.

  When Lily caught up to us, she took the other path.

  The Tank was about to charge us.

  Raven got distracted by the Tank and I found the opportunity to pass him and follow Lily.

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  I wouldn’t let her die for me. I don’t want it!

  “That idiot!” Raven was mad.

  “Mary!? Why are you following me?” Lily turned around after hearing Raven and was surprised that I was behind her.

  The Tank charged, aiming for Raven.

  He dodged the Tank by sliding under it and followed after us.

  We became separated from the soldiers. The three of us were on our own.

  “What are you doing?!” Lily was dumbfounded.

  My actions enraged her.

  “You know, the usual. Just trying to die!” Raven was sarcastic, yet the fury in his voice was evident.

  We became the decoys.

  “I had enough losses. I’m not losing either of you, you hear me!” I told them.

  “Great. The fucker is after us,” Raven lamented.

  “It must like you,” Lily joked.

  “Yes, it wants to hug me with its teeth.”

  We did our utmost to run from it, but we’ve been on the run for so long by now.

  We were tired and it was going to catch up to us at this rate.

  We entered a small cavern. This time, no Stalkers waited for our arrival.

  “Here is what we will do,” Lily said as we entered, her tone never as serious as before.

  “I will keep it busy. You, Raven, take her. By force if needed.”

  “Got it,” Raven replied.

  “We won’t! I have the last…” I was saying, but couldn’t finish.

  I felt sharp pain.

  I lost consciousness.

  …

  I saw how Raven knocked out my Mistress and took her. He put her over his left shoulder.

  Good.

  I didn’t have time for her stubbornness. It would be here any minute now.

  I looked at them, their figures distancing with every passing moment.

  I knew we weren’t on the best of terms, but at least one ‘goodbye’ was the least I expected from Raven.

  “Eyes and neck. Come back fast, before this baggage over here wakes up,” was what he said before exiting the cavern, my unconscious Mistress on his shoulder.

  Thank you.

  As for me, my job was to stall this thing. No. To kill it and catch up with them.

  My Mistress got it all wrong – I had no intentions of dying.

  I have no illusions – this is the hardest battle I have to face thus far.

  The Tank entered with a bang, enlarging the entrance it used and numerous rocks flew in all directions.

  No wonder it had sustained damage.

  During all this chasing, the pathways were too short for its massive build. It was forced to dig with its face.

  I fired my gun as it entered. It was useless.

  The Tank didn’t even hide its face.

  It was coming closer to me, each of its heavy and ominous steps shaking the ground.

  Even as this massive beast was approaching, all I could think about was my Mistress.

  Sorry, Mary.

  This was the only option I could think of.

  I’ll leave her to you, Raven; you are the only one who is left to protect her…

  I rushed into battle. I only hope I can stall long enough.

  Run and escape. Be happy.

  And, dear Mistress, there is no point in living for others. Live for yourself, and for your happiness.

  I dropped my backpack and holstered my assault rifle. I held my knife and pistol.

  The few weak spots I could see were the eyes, but it wasn’t something easy to hit.

  Raven’s words also lingered. The neck…

  It was more than twice my height. I had to make it lower its head if I had any chance of harming its eyes.

  A strong swing from its right arm was aimed at me.

  I saw how Raven managed to avoid that thing a while ago. The few times I saw him doing it were enough to understand what I had to do.

  I dodged its attack, backing slightly and used its massive arm as a bridge to get near its eyes.

  Its movements were slow and it required time to recover before launching another fist.

  I ran madly on its arm, shooting its face with my pistol.

  I jumped and aimed my knife to pierce one of its eyeballs, but it used its other arm to hide its entire face.

  The sound of my knife hitting its hand was as if I were hitting a rock.

  The damage I did was negligible.

  The shockwave from the hit forced me to lose posture.

  I recovered my foothold as its left hand was about to grab me.

  I slid over its back.

  After falling on the ground, I attempted to slice the joint on its left leg.

  The moment my knife touched its tough skin, the edge of my knife broke.

  I backed away, considering what to do now as it was turning towards me.

  From the first exchange, I knew that I needed to go for the eyes. Nothing else was soft enough to allow me to damage it in any way.

  The Tank started swinging both of its arms madly. I had to back away as it wasn’t stopping for a while. I held my assault rifle and fired at its face, hoping to harm it.

  When I distanced myself from it, outside the range of its arms, it started throwing rocks at me.

  I dodged one. Second. Almost got hit by a third before I managed to close the distance and empty my magazine on its face, doing minimal damage.

  All of its thrashing tired it and it became even slower.

  I used a stalagmite to help me jump.

  The Tank tried smacking me while I was airborne, but it was all part of my plan.

  I used the wall as a stepping stone to dodge the attack and then ran on its arm. I stabbed what was left of my knife in its right eye.

  I grabbed its rough head and used its back as a foothold to stay stuck to it.

  It screamed from the pain. The roar shook the entire cavern.

  I was on its back and was fiercely pulling my knife and stabbing its right eye repeatedly.

  This was a chance I couldn’t miss!

  Its arms were swung madly, but I still didn’t let go.

  Who knew if I’d have another opportunity like this?

  After my foothold worsened, I went for the neck.

  I hit it again and again, but it did very little, barely peeling a few scales of its armour. My knife broke completely, leaving only the hilt.

  I was about to drop down when it charged the wall with its body.

  The impact made me lose my shaky balance.

  The next moment, I was falling. A strong punch hit me, making me fly and hit the opposite wall.

  I puked blood. The Tank was coming closer to me.

  It looked at me. From its right eye, blood was coming out. It was destroyed.

  I felt its desire to kill me, all the rage it possessed.

  I had to get up before it came and finished me.

  With a struggle similar to the ones I have only experienced during my “educating”, I barely got up.

  My knife was broken. My assault rifle fell during the impact. My pistol wouldn’t fire.

  The only thing I had left at my disposal was my body, my fangs.

  Both of us were hurt badly.

  From the pain I’m feeling from each movement, I must have a few broken bones.

  My insides were burning, yet this was a pain I’m used to enduring.

  It roared and charged at me.

  I took a deep breath and smiled.

  I was never given an order from my Mistress to die. She was desperate to have me run with them, wanting me, her loyal servant, by her side.

  How can I face her if I couldn’t fulfil such a simple request?

  I will survive without a doubt!

  I charged at it myself.

  With speed I didn’t know I had in me, I ran towards it.

  My target was the neck that I weakened beforehand with the knife.

  I used the walls and stalagmites to jump around it.

  It tried to hit me desperately, but I kept my position to its right rear, looking for an opening.

  While I was behind it, I saw a weakness in its defence.

  On the nape, there was a large dent, soaked with dry and fresh blood.

  It must have been a wound Raven gave it.

  Neck, he said… Haha… Thank you.

  I found and held in my arm a rock, the sharp edge intended to be my new weapon.

  I jumped from the ground and began hitting its dent with all my strength. I repeated the movements until the rock broke.

  My last hit made it kneel and unable to get up for a moment.

  I sped up, jumped high and used my right arm to pierce its wound on the nape.

  It used both of its arms in an attempt to intercept and grab me, but I was confident in myself. Given that its back was facing me, there wasn’t much it could do to stop me.

  My nails and fingers easily pierced the wounded rear and exited from the other side, my hand sticking out from its neck.

  It was all over.

  The Tank missed me.

  The next moment, it began falling to the ground.

  I pulled my arm away, feeling intense pain, and backed away.

  My arm was a mess. Some of my fingers were broken and my nails were gone or broken. I couldn’t move my hand anymore.

  The Tank was swinging its massive body madly, but it started to lose power not long after it fell.

  I used the closest object to lean on.

  I was tattered. My breathing is unstable. It hurt everywhere.

  However! I managed to kill it!

  I have blood all over me, both undead and mine.

  I’m barely able to stand. I feel my arms burning from the pain. My left arm is busted.

  Now, I have to catch up…

  The only thing left for me is to go to my Mistress’ side.

  Mary and I may be together once again…

  I want her to know my achievement. I want her to praise me.

  I want her to need me… I want her to be happy…

  I… I don’t want to die before seeing her.

  So, my body, don’t break yet. Not before I see my Mistress!

  I managed to stabilise myself. I was in pain, but moving forwards.

  I felt a presence behind me. A terrifying presence.

  “You are dangerous.”

  An ominous voice spoke behind me. It was the voice of a mature woman.

  My instinct screamed not to move. I couldn't do anything against the monster behind me.

  How many of them were with us? This is too absurd.

  ‘Slash’.

  Before I realised it, my head rolled off my body.

  Everything went cold and I could see only darkness.