"What was that?!" I immediately stood up and glanced out the glass of the Ferris Wheel compartment. What I saw, was something far too horrifying to be perfectly captured by mere words alone. This, was the invasion Plague had talked about.

Massive black humanoid creatures loomed across the skyscraper plaza, destroying everything in their way. The most terrifying thing about them, however, was that I had witnessed a similar lifeform to them before - in the battle with my former brother, Xuan Kun. During the fight, he had drank an unknown elixir, then turned into a monster that looked exactly like the creatures ravaging the city right now. In order to get a better idea of what is going on, I decided to enhance my eyesight temporarily.

Potentia Excitant: Oculus.

Upon zooming in to the apocalyptic scene below, however, I grimaced. Not a single human could be seen. My guess was that they either were crushed under all the destruction caused...or had turned into these monsters themselves.

But that left one question - how was everyone morphed like so? From what I know, Xuan Kun had consumed an elixir before transforming...but I doubt the Midnight Syndicate started up a drinks shop or something and ended up selling these elixirs to oblivious people. That wasn't how they did things...

"Master, look," Mei Gui said, pointing below us. The humans down there have been transformed as well, and they were trying to claw their way up the Ferris Wheel.

"This is bad...we have to get out of here before this thing collapses," I muttered in frustration.

Level One Fire Magic - Flame Lotus.

I aimed my spell at the window of the Ferris Wheel compartment we were currently in, which shattered upon coming into contact with my magic. I turned to Mei Gui.

"C'mon, this way."

Then, I leapt off the Ferris Wheel through the hole I just created, and Mei Gui soon followed.

Level One Sky Magic - Flight.

Luckily, both of us were wearing black hoodies underneath our cloaks (since Mei Gui insisted a couple weeks ago that she wanted to match with me), so the two of us both pulled over our hoods to shield ourselves against the rain as soon as we jumped out. We also activated Flight, and were now soaring through the air, grimacing at the scene of chaos and destruction below.

CRASH!

Not even a minute after Mei Gui and I left the Ferris Wheel, the whole thing collapsed from the weight of all the monsters that had crawled up on it. I didn't know if there were any other survivors besides us, but...now wasn't the time for that.

"Let's land on solid ground first, then discuss what to do from here..." I suggested, then glanced into the distance, spotting one of the few still-safe areas of the city that didn't seem to have been obliterated yet - the school campus.

I then took off in the direction of the school, Mei Gui following closely behind.

*****

- Boys' Dormitories, Shenzhen Magic High School -

"Finally...we can take a breather," I said, sitting down on the floor. Mei Gui sat down beside me, and the two of us didn't even bother removing our hoods, since we probably would have to head out again once the monsters reached here. It was only a matter of time, after all.

I clenched my fists. "The Midnight Syndicate is the one behind this...no doubt about it...so this is what you meant, Plague...how cunning. To think you used Xuan Kun as a test subject in preparation for this calamity."

Mei Gui then removed her hood. "What should we do now, Master?"

"By now, the city government should've began emergency procedures. Let me check my phone real quick."

Saying this, I took out my phone from my pocket and unlocked it. I fired up the News app and saw the first headline:

[EMERGENCY: Shenzhen Citizens]

I frowned and clicked into the article. It read:

All Shenzhen citizens, please evacuate to the Coastal Metropolis. It is our designated safe zone from the ongoing catastrophe. We are currently uncertain as to who or what is behind this disaster, but we assure you, this problem will be resolved soon, under the efforts of the city guard and government officials. For now, please just evacuate to the Coastal Metropolis.

Warning: This is not a drill.

We repeat: This is NOT a drill.

- Shenzhen Government

I shut off my phone, then looked at Mei Gui. "For now, we're going to the safe zone. And then..."

I gritted my teeth, and trailed off. Feng Mian...Qing Yue...Yu An Yan...Yu An Xue...where are you guys? I shouldn't care about you anymore, and yet...damn it.

I shook my head. "Whatever...Mei Gui, let's go."

However, when I started walking towards the front doors, Mei Gui didn't follow. Instead, she was staring down at her palm in great focus.

"What's wrong?"

Mei Gui finally looked up. "Master, this rain water...there's something off about it."

I tilted my head, and began moving to acquire a sample for myself from the leftover rainwater on my cloak, but Mei Gui quickly stopped me.

"Don't touch the water, Master. It is not as simple as it seems."

I slowly moved my hand away, and furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you find it odd, how everyone in the open was turned into monsters, but we, who were within an enclosed space - the Ferris Wheel - were not?"

My eyes widened. "You mean...the culprit is this rain?"

Mei Gui nodded. "Of course, this is just mere speculation, but...it is highly likely that the Midnight Syndicate diluted Plague's elixir into the rain water somehow, thus causing this catastrophe."

Curses...if any of the girls were outside and hit by the rain-!

"Now that I think about it...the rain did indeed start quite suddenly, during the fireworks show," I muttered. "Luckily, when we jumped out of the Ferris Wheel, we both pulled over our hoods..."

Mei Gui nodded. "I am immune to this substance, since I believe this is meant to target humans only. However...if Master were to have touched the rain, there is no telling what would've happened."

I sighed. "Most likely, I would've became one of those monsters too...and I doubt the Chaos energy within me would be able to stop the transformation."

"Yes...as of right now, that is. If Master keeps evolving and improving at this pace, then should such a calamity befall once more, Master would have no problem dealing with it."

I smiled in return. "Yeah...I'll definitely keep getting stronger and stronger, until no one can oppose me anymore."

*****

- 20 Minutes Later, The Coastal Metropolis -

Mei Gui and I flew to the Coastal Metropolis in a little under 20 minutes. On the way, we were spotted by numerous monsters, but luckily for us, they did not possess the ability to fly.

Well...even if they did, I can always just run faster than them. I mean, if all of these monsters have the same stats as Xuan Kun after consuming that elixir, then they shouldn't be too fast. Instead, their power lies in their physical strength and invincible defense that normal spells have no effect on.

Although...it would be better to assume the elixir had gone through some improvements since Plague used Xuan Kun as a lab rat. After all, that's what experiments were for - testing and improving the target based on observations and results.

I landed gently right in front of the main entrance of the Coastal Metropolis...or rather, the barrier that had been evoked all around the massive shopping mall. Two people wearing the dark blue city guard uniform immediately ran over to me.

"You two, are you alright?" the first asked. He wore a moustache, and gave off a 'loyal servant' kind of feel.

I nodded. "Yes, fortunately."

I decided to cover up the fact that Mei Gui and I flew here, since the guards were undoubtedly going to ask for my identity. Once they find out who I am and see that I didn't possess an affinity for Sky Magic - at least on the surface - many problems would arise.

"Good to hear. What's your name?" the second guard continued, pulling out a notepad from his breast pocket.

"Xuan Kai," I replied truthfully.

"Xuan Kai, huh...a student at Shenzhen Magic High School, correct?" he continued.

"Yes sir."

"Very well...and her?" the second guard pointed at Mei Gui with his chin.

"Her name is Mei Gui," I responded. "Believe it or not, she's actually my golem."

The first guard raised an eyebrow. "A golem? But she looks so much like a real person..."

I laughed awkardly. "Ah...she was pretty expensive, haha...."

The two guards were evidently skeptical, but they didn't pry, which I was thankful for.

"Alright, you guys can head in," the first guard said after the second had finished jotting our names down.

"Before that, is it alright if I ask you two a question?" I asked.

"Heh, you just did, brat!" the second guard said with a chuckle.

Haha, very funny. I'm dying of laughter, haha.

...No, I'm not.

"Er...I'll take that as a yes," I continued, unfazed by the second guard's cringy joke. "Have you guys seen four girls? One of them has blonde hair, and the other three you should recognize - Qing Yue, daughter of the Qing family matriarch, and the Yu sisters."

The guards looked one another, then back at me. "Sorry pal, but we haven't seen them. They may have entered from another entrance though, so don't be too down yet."

They seemed to have figured out my intentions in asking this question (which wasn't that hidden anyways), and were now comforting me like an adult treating a child.

"Thank you anyway," I said with a bow, before entering the building along with Mei Gui.

Before they were completely out of earshot, I managed to pick up on a little bit of their exchange.

"Hey, that kid...does he have some relationship with the Qing and Yu family heiresses? Xuan Kai...from what I know, he was exiled out of the Xuan family from a young age for having no magic, then around a month ago suddenly acquired element affinities somehow. It caused quite an uproar here in Shenzhen."

"I don't know, man. But he's a good kid, I can tell. At least, he doesn't have any harmful intentions when asking about those girls...he was just concerned, that's all. Who knows? Maybe he has a crush on them or something?"

"Haha! All three of them? Man...he's got quite the ego, I'll give him that."

"Well, he may actually have the skills to back that ego up. There's that 'expensive' golem of his, too. Every man has a secret, you know."

"Yeah yeah...oh, here comes another survivor."

"What's with this evacuation anyway? I haven't even seen any of these so-called monsters."

"Ha! I bet I could take down five of them all by myself."

"Woah there, you were just talking about that kid's ego, and now look at yourself. I don't think you should be so confident when you haven't even actually seen any of the monsters yet."

"Hmph! Man...it's the new year too. Can't believe I got caught up in this."

"Haiz...we just follow orders. It's what we do."

I looked behind me one last time, confirming the new survivor wasn't any of the four girls, then entered the mall.

Now then...I hope you're safe, everyone.