Cough! Cough!

The leader coughed out a mouthful of blood as they slowly pulled the blade embedded to their stomach.

​​

Katrina supported the leader with a worry plastered on her face. Blood was dripping on one of her eyes as it got unfortunately stabbed by a blade earlier.

She and the leader were already pale as a sheet of paper due to the blood loss. If not for them being Level Two humans, they would have surely collapsed by now.

Around them, they were still surrounded by a dozen or so hybrids. It's not that they didn't kill any but it was because reinforcements kept on coming one after the other.

They no longer even know how many hybrids they have killed already. All they know is that the dead bodies of the hybrids were also sprawled around them.

The hybrids they fought with were mostly Early Level Two and below. The reason why the leader who was at the peak of level two could not contend with them was due to their numbers and the fact that they are stronger when the sun goes down.

"It's not much but I hope we have reduced their numbers even by a bit, hehe!" The leader uttered with a smile on their face full of blood.

"Yeah!" Katrina replied, fully understanding where the leader was coming at. They already accepted their fate and it was only a matter of how much more hybrids they bring along with them to the afterlife.

"Pwee! You should've surrendered earlier. See? The outcome still did not change. You're still gonna die!" One hybrid spat red saliva as he stared at the two.

He's the only level two hybrids remaining from the dozen or so hybrids around so he immediately took the first in command role.

He did not expect that the two humans would resist to this extent.

"Finish them!" He ordered in a tone full of authority as he brandished the bloody blade on his hand.

The other hybrids no longer dared to underestimate their foe this time as they already saw how their comrades became lifeless the next moment after they underestimated the two.

They all surrounded the two in all directions and instantly, they leap at the same time while donning their respective attacks.

However, right at that moment, they suddenly heard a series of resounding claps in the distance.

All of them stopped at the same time as they turned their heads towards a dark area where the claps were coming from.

A silhouette of a man could be seen walking slowly towards them. He was wearing a magician's hat while his hand was holding a stick that acted like his crane.

On his shoulder, the silhouette of the birds could be seen flapping their wings forcefully as they tried to make the loudest possible flap they could produce.

When the man appeared close enough for them to recognize his face, a hybrid suddenly exclaimed in surprise,

"The Magician Adam!"

Seeing his expression, the other hybrids could not help but raise their guard up on the new individual.

The one with the highest level amongst them inquired, "Who is that?Is he strong?"

"Eh? It's surprising you don't know him." The one who exclaimed responded with a hint of ridicule on his voice.

"That's why I'm asking who he is! Dumbass!" A punch flew towards the one who exclaimed earlier as the one in command also flew into a fit of rage.

The one who exclaimed could only wipe the pain away with his hands as he dared not to talk back to him anymore.

"He's a famous magician before the apocalypse, he only performed on the street though so maybe that's the reason why you don't know him."

"Is he strong?'

"That… I don't know! However, I recalled that I became Level One earlier than him. Maybe he's also at Level One right now, just like me!" He answered confidently.

"Hmm… Good! Now go back to your position!" The hybrid in command ordered as he stared at Adam in the distance.

"As for you, just stay there a bit longer, you'll also become our dinner later!" He laughed loudly as he licked his black lips.

Adam has been silent this entire time. It was not that he was afraid or something, it's just because he's waiting for someone or something.

Phew!

He released a heavy breath as he stated confidently, "Don't count the chicken if they're not hatched yet, young man!"

At the same time, he raised his cane and slowly pulled something from it.

It was a sword as thin as a stick, but the gleam it produced nevertheless screamed danger in the hybrids' eyes.

He put the thin sword in the middle of his chest, not having any intention to attack.

The hybrids gulped a mouthful of saliva seeing that stance. They often see that kind of stance from those powerful grandpas that they saw in the movies.

They are on the apocalypse after all, and the old fogies that knew martial arts at the back of their hand might have surfaced again to save the world.

Their imaginations get wilder and wilder the longer Adam stays still.

What they didn't know was that Adam was just a completely ordinary magician before the apocalypse. He just got lucky that the pigeons he raised did not turn their backs to him and instead even helped him in surviving and getting stronger.

They didn't know that he's just waiting patiently for something.

The hybrid in command somehow also got nervous from that unknown stance. Unlike the others, he did not grow in the town and instead came from the southernmost part of Subo. He grew up playing with fishermen and not with those high tech gadgets.

All his life, he could even count in one hand the number of movies he had seen. However, seeing the nervous expression on his comrades face, he could also not help but feel nervous.

"W.what are you trying to do?" He yelled in a nervous tone.

However, Adam did not respond and continued staring at them while the tip of his thin sword rested on the middle of his eyebrows.

Crororok!

A while later, a flying pigeon could be seen circling above the sky. It then made a whole circle before it descended towards Adam's arm.

Crororok!

The pigeon tilted its head while producing a series of sounds as if it was talking with Adam.

Adam listened carefully to what it was saying, and a while later, he finally nodded his head.

The pigeon flew away from his hands again as it joined the pigeons who suddenly appeared above the sky.

The hybrids were taken aback by what was happening around them. It was their first time seeing a human talking with a mutated animal. Not to mention the sudden appearance of the dozens of birds above them.

Their attention was completely drawn by the pigeons above. Even the weakened Leader and Katrina also stared at the pigeons above the sky in bewilderment. They knew of Adam's existence as well as his mutated pigeons from the report of their subordinates, but they never knew he had this many.

Nevertheless, they did not think for a second that they could still be saved, especially now that the one who arrived is one of the Blue Wave Faction's high ranking members.

While they were busy staring at the pigeon's silhouette above, they didn't know that multiple people had already closed in towards their location.

A while later, when Adam was already certain that all his accomplice was already at their respective location, he suddenly brandished the thin sword on his hand causing a light humming sound to occur.

At the same time, the pigeons above slowly descended one by one perching in anything they could find as long it was near Adam. Some of them even perched on his hat while the others hung on tightly on his coat.

The hybrids, the Leader, and Katrina's gaze followed the pigeon as it finally rested on Adam.

Adam beamed a huge smile seeing that his performance caused such a phenomenon It was the magicians pride and honor to deceive the audience. Garnering their attention to the other things while the real trick was actually happening behind the scene.

"Congratulations everyone!"

"You just got deceived!"

Adam adjusted the monocle on his eyes as he bowed deeply.

"Go!"

His words echoed and at the same time, all the pigeons flew in coordination as they produced a thunderous clapping sound that somehow garnered the audience's attention even more.

Adam also burst into a thunderous laugh as he yelled, "Let the show begin!"

He then ran towards the hybrids without fear as he readied his thin sword for an attack.

At the same moment,the same scene could also be seen happening in seven different directions.

However one thing was in common from them, they are going in the same direction without fear- towards the hybrids.

_____

Thanks for reading!