The Fallen Death Dog

After knowing what has transpired inside his master's mind, the Black Dog spins its body around and then bashes its tail up. Following the dog's action, the shadows beneath the men wriggle in unnatural ways before sprouting, forming a layer of dark veil that blocks their sight.

"What is this!?".

"Darkness attribute?".

"Careful guys!?".

"...".

Succeeding in causing the scene, Cain urged his partner and took the boy's hand to resume their run, entering the dark alley to search for a place to hide their presence.

After taking a left turn, they kept rushing ahead carefully, watching their surroundings to avoid stumbling upon the messy place. Cain occasionally looked behind him and saw a silhouette of his partner that perfectly blended with the darkness surrounding them.

Thanks to their connection, they could understand each other's simple thoughts even if they didn't have to speak them. While the three of them ran, a T-junction was ahead, and Cain took a right turn.

Near the place he was in, there was a small, cramped space that went straight toward another narrow path.

Ahead of them, Cain clearly remembered that there was some huge abandoned warehouse, the place where he used to play with the other kids on the outskirts. He launched himself out from the alley and went straight toward a massive grey building with no lights on.

They circled to the left and pushed inside the old rustic metal door; it creaked open, letting the air trapped inside flow, along with the piling dust, choking the two of them.

"Let's go inside, first!".

When they entered the room, he closed the door tight. The interior was still the same as he remembered it from those times: a dimly lit vast room with high ceilings. On top of the wall, a line of transparent glass stretched to all sides, letting the moonlight filter through the room.

Many types of steel containers are piling up dust for not being taken care of. On the corner, sacks and card boxes containing preserved food and other goods now lay scattered, proof of the abandoned time.

However, despite all of the things he mentioned, the place still stood firmly on the ground, and there was no indication that it would erode over time.

"Ha,, ha,, ha,, Big brother, why do we stop? Should we keep running?".

True, given their situation, the best option for them was to run away and not stop in their tracks. But several problems follow.

First, the boy seemed already past his limits, seeing that his face was now blue and gasping for breath. Even Cain could see the boy's feet tremble. Second is the fact that one of the men Cain trapped earlier is a Resonator.

Cain looked up to his partner, whose gaze was still lingering on the door, wary about the threat that followed behind them. He took out his phone and presented it to the boy.

"Here, call your family or whatever, ask them for some help! The model was old, but you know how to use it, right?".

The boy was hesitant to receive the phone, but he eventually gave in and nodded his head. He began tinkering with the phone and then pressed the numbers he remembered.

Upon the connected call, he placed the phone near his ear, and Cain just shoved him inside a box in the corner to hide him from the pursuer.

"Stay here and let the call connect through time, letting them detect you via tracking!".

Unease began to creep deep in the boy's heart, watching Cain's resolved face.

"Where are you going?".

The boy pulled Cain's clothes near, his eyes pleading, asking him not to leave him alone in this vast and lonely place. Cain stopped, his eyes faltering for a moment. He wanted to stay near the boy's side, but someone had to distract the pursuer and, if possible, disarm them.

Cain gently places his hand on the boy's head. He puts on the best smile he can muster despite internally being still clueless about what sort of plan he would make. He crouches down at the boy's eye level.

"Don't worry. Keep calling your family for help, and I will do something about those pursuers."

"...No, you can't beat them!".

"Who says I am going to beat them? I just need to act as a decoy and let you run the opposite way toward the guards who will protect you. Listen closely. Straight from this place, there is a patrol headquarters on the outskirts. You'll be safe there."

The boy feels warm and gentle encouragement from a stranger he met for the first time, while his own family never looks at him, except his big sister.

It gives him a bit of courage. Strong light begins to form in his innocent eyes. He nods solemnly, giving Cain self-reassurance, and then he stands up from his place.

"When the sign is up, run with everything you have got!".

"Sign? What sign?".

*Woff!

Behind them, a warning was issued by the Black Dog, who constantly observed its surroundings.

"Give me your jacket and hide!".

Cain began to take out the boy's jacket and throw his own in exchange. He walked briskly past the dog, who started to follow him behind. From the corner near the door, there was a steel pole, so he took it in his hands.

It was a meter long and fit in his hand as a temporary weapon. He opened the door and began to run outside toward the highway.

"Grrr!".

Once they arrived near the highway, the dog growled threateningly toward the path they had come from. Cain observed his surroundings and found another alley that would lead him to another alley.

He took a run, and the dog followed behind, deliberately making some noise. Cain hit a trash bag that was still piling up on his way, the tangy stench of something rotting, foul liquid that made his stomach churn, almost spilling his stomach. But he had to do it anyway.

At the same time as Cain entered the alley, the men arrived, following the hyenas, which were tracking their scent.

"Tsk, they're gone!".

"Where are they?".

The Hyena sniffed around and noticed two distinctive smells that branched. One came from the massive building in front of it, but it was faint, and the other came from a moving target to its left.

As an intellect beast, the Hyena could recognize its own potential warfare and the enemies it faced. Hyena instinct kept pointing toward the warehouse, aiming for the little one, who was also the more suspicious one.

However, all of its attempts to tell its master broke off as a crushing sound came from the left of the alley.

"There they are!".

"Let's capture them this time!".

"Okay, leader, your call?".

"Hyena take us there!".

Hearing its master order, the Hyena reluctantly ran toward the left. Soon, their faces contorted in disgust, and one of them even threw up.

"Bleeerg!".

"Eck, that's disgusting, dude!".

"Ukh, the smell".

"Keep moving guys!".

Cain, who heard the pursuers' outburst echoing within the narrow alley, began to run aimlessly while thinking of what kind of plan he had to make to disarm them. This was Cain's first time he would undergo his first fight as a Resonator.

As someone who was raised on the outskirts of the city, Cain had a fair share of fighting himself, but this time, he could do nothing but sigh. 'Huuf, to think my first battle would be against another resonator, what luck I have'. Cain stopped in his tracks and looked toward his partner, who looked up at him. Both of them stayed for a moment before he spoke.

"Help me defeat those guys, would you?".

*Woff!

The air around them changed its flow. Subsequently, shadows began to crawl beneath their feet, shocking Cain to his core. The shadows crept up before enveloping both parties' bodies, and they felt something had been cut off.

"Amazing. What is this?" Cain looked at his own body, but there was no particular change in him.

However, one thing that kept bugging him was his own presence. It was thin, almost escaping even his own perception. His gaze flickers, and he sees his partner before him. Its presence had indeed faded into the world, blended perfectly into darkness.

"Where is it?"

"Where are they?".

"They must be hiding around here!".

"Hyena, could you track them!".

Cain's body flinched, hearing the voice from his pursuers, who stood dozens of meters away from him. All of them have an absentminded look, searching for something that is present nearby.

'Don't tell me!?'. Cain glanced at his partner, who crouched down, ready to engage in battle. 'So, this is how it feels in stealth mode. Hehe, not bad!'.

He inhaled deeply and submerged himself into his own delusion, throwing away his fear and keeping himself convinced that he could do it.

When the two breaths synchronized, Cain and his partner rushed forward, approaching their enemy.

A steel pole in hand, Cain brought it upward, and his partner, its body slowly sank deeper into its own shadow before disappearing. They approached from the pursuer's blind spot; Cain jumped and clenched the pole in hand, aiming to swing it toward one of the man's nape.

The Hyena probably notices something dangerous coming to their side unnoticed and turns its body, but alas, it's too late. A gaping maw with protruding teeth embedded itself toward its throat; it came from the black dog that emerged from the shadow beneath it.

*Nnng!

The Hyena whined, finding itself had been bitten in the neck by the dog, alerting the leader of the group, but beside him, the figure of Cain had grasped his chance and swung the pole with all his might, hitting the man's nape perfectly with a *Thunk!

Two sudden attacks simultaneously brought down their leaders and the Hyena, shocking the other as they stood still, unmoving.

"Counter attack, begin!".