The seconds slipped through his fingers like raindrops sliding between his grasp.

  The three of them left the garden, crossing the street toward the shops. Luca immediately noticed the absence of faces in the windows—and was grateful that Liona had agreed to leave them behind—and more importantly, he caught a glimpse of something near the corner of the museum.

  He led his two companions to the other side of the shops, trying to keep this barrier between them and the T. Rex—apparently resting in the rain—while they practically sprinted toward the exit. It didn’t help his nerves that he could hear the footsteps so clearly—not just his own, but the others’, louder in their case.

  Not even the storm could save them, huh?

  Luca pushed that last thought aside and focused on reaching the end of the shops, alert to strange sounds and movements in the shadows. There was more light here—a faint, pale glow from a few scattered lights—but both Liona and Nagato were using flashlights. Unlike him, they had to worry about tripping and falling due to poor visibility.

  The distant echo of a roar made the three of them pick up the pace even more—but it was the screech from across the lake, as they reached the garden, that made them break into a full sprint. They ran along the edge of the street, right past the Spinosaurus enclosure. But the Spinosaurus had to still be inside; it was too fond of its watery environment to come out. For now.

  More screeches were carried by a gust of damp wind, and a head peeked out from behind one of the pines up ahead—sharp claws glinting faintly in the dim light.

  There was no time to think. Luca raised his arm, squinted, and fired. The bullet tore through the air and embedded itself in the right side of the Orkoraptor’s skull, causing it to collapse without a sound.

  “Stay close,” Luca said, frowning as he slowed down, scanning the area for more threats.

  “Shit,” Nagato whispered, moving closer to Luca from the other side. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  Whatever Liona muttered was lost in the rumble that came from the north—a sound that didn’t come from the sky but from something much more earthly, closer, and dangerous. No words were needed; there was only one option: run, and run fast.

  They soon reached the food court—half-destroyed from the looks of it. Many of the food trucks were still stained red, as if even the heavy rain hadn’t been enough to wash away the traces of the massacre. They didn’t stop to look, though, trying to cross the area as quickly as possible.

  The Orkoraptor enclosure was up ahead, but they already knew its occupants weren’t inside. From what Liona had mentioned, they were the main culprits behind what had happened in that area. Though, Luca couldn’t help but notice the claw marks on one of the vehicles—too large to belong to a regular Orkoraptor.

  “Left, Luca!” Liona warned from behind.

  Luca turned in that direction and fired, hitting the chest of an Orkoraptor that died with a squawk. “Good catch,” he said to the woman with a nod. “There are four of them left, including Talia. Be careful.”

  Nagato raised both eyebrows before sighing. “Forget it. I’m not even gonna ask.”

  “We’re close,” Liona murmured, her voice tense but determined. “Come on, come on…”

  They left the food court and crossed the street, their boots splashing through the puddles covering the asphalt. Luca glanced over his shoulder and frowned. The silhouettes of more Orkoraptors were slipping between the food trucks like stealthy shadows. This wasn’t over.

  But the exit wasn’t far.

  Looking ahead, he saw the giant metal structure rising at the end of the path.

  “Hey!” Nagato was already panting. “I don’t see—I don’t see it opening.”

  “We have one more step,” Luca whispered before turning around immediately and firing his last two bullets. The good news was that both Orkoraptors dropped instantly, giving them a window of time. The bad news was that he could hear more screeches—and beneath that, another rumble.

  “Another step?” Liona asked, in better shape than the two of them, flanking him on one side with Nagato on the other.

  Luca nodded. “It’s not hard.” And they weren’t running out of time—with three minutes left. They could open the gate in that time.

  “Shit!” Nagato hissed, losing all color. “Two bullets aren’t enough to deal with that.”

  The T. Rex—Kaiser—had arrived at the food court, and its massive head was tilted in their direction. Considering the three of them were running, it was obvious it had seen them. But they weren’t the only ones moving—the last Orkoraptors were in the same area, closer to the giant than they were.

  “More levers?”

  Just as Nagato complained, there were three more of them at the base of the enormous gate.

  “Give me the gun,” Luca said as soon as they arrived. “I’ll cover you while you pull the levers. You need two,” he added as an afterthought.

  Nagato handed over the gun with a slight grimace, but his eyes said he understood, and he set to work pushing the levers with Liona—after trying on his own with no success.

  Luca resisted the urge to say “I told you so” and focused on guarding the scene, wincing as he saw the T. Rex was no longer occupied with the other dinosaurs but was… heading straight for them. Judging by its pace, it would reach them before the other two could finish.

  There was no other choice.

  He pulled out the syringe he’d found in the park owner’s vault and injected it into his arm without hesitation. Liquid fire devoured his skin and spread through his veins, making him gasp. He dropped the revolver without realizing it, consumed by the wave of pain.

  Fuck. He had no idea it would hurt this much.

  The ground began to tremble—and both Liona and Nagato froze as they saw the enormous figure approaching.

  “Keep going—” Luca muttered, gasping, as he clutched his arm. Out of the corner of his eye, a notification appeared.

  “I’ll handle him,” he assured them, giving them a quick glance before picking up the gun and running toward the T. Rex. Not directly, but in a wide arc. “Kaiser!” he shouted, and the giant’s head turned toward him, its small eyes focusing on him.

  Luca smiled.

  It wasn’t a pleasant smile, and for a moment, he was Mithras again.

  He could feel the strength under his skin, how easy it was to move twice as fast as before—and the pain in his joints, as if they were being stretched beyond their limits. He grimaced, barely holding back a groan of pain, but didn’t stop. He raised his hand, focused, and in a moment of relative calm, fired straight into one of the T. Rex’s eyes—one of the few vulnerable spots on the giant.

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  It was a shame he couldn’t shoot through its brain or chest directly.

  The roar that erupted from the animal’s mouth was deafening, a bellow that resonated through the air like thunder. Luca felt the vibration in his temples, as if someone had struck a drum inside his head. But one shot wasn’t enough to take down the king of kings. Though now blind in one eye, the T. Rex still had its keen sense of smell and hearing, and it didn’t take long for it to charge at Luca with blind fury.

  Liona and Nagato shouted something, but their voices were lost in the chaos of rain and teeth. Luca dove to the side, dodging the sharp teeth that sought to tear him apart. He rolled on the ground, feeling the mud cling to him even more and the rain pounding his face, and quickly got back on his feet. Without hesitation, he aimed the revolver at the dinosaur’s other eye and fired.

  A second roar erupted from the T. Rex’s throat, now completely blind.

  Luca looked toward his companions, noticing they still had one lever left to open the gate. Time was running out, and the pain in his body grew with every passing second. He pulled the pill from his pocket, but a wave of nausea hit him so hard he gagged. It wasn’t the best time; the noise he made was enough to give away his location to the furious, wounded predator.

  The T. Rex lunged at him, and Luca barely had time to throw himself forward, narrowly avoiding being devoured. He rolled across the ground, putting distance between himself and the giant, and took refuge among the few trees lining the path.

  A few meters away, the T. Rex rose like a fierce embodiment of nature, opening its jaws and releasing another earth-shaking roar. For a moment, it seemed unharmed, as if its blindness was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. But the blood streaming from its two eyes told a different story.

  If their lives weren’t in danger, Luca might have felt genuinely sorry for the predator. A small voice inside him, sounding suspiciously like a younger, more compassionate version of Shawn, whispered that this was cruel. If the Mystery didn’t operate on a cycle, it was almost certain the animal wouldn’t survive.

  “Kaiser!” Luca called, still standing by one of the trees. The dinosaur turned its head toward the sound of his voice but didn’t move, its jaws still open threateningly. “Kaiser!”

  Beyond, near the gate, Liona raised her hands and waved them, while Nagato watched with a mix of terror and fascination. The gate had begun to glow, a faint but noticeable light indicating it had worked. Nodding toward them, Luca rolled around the tree and lunged forward, feeling a new wave of nausea that he did his best to ignore.

  He knew he had to reach the gate at all costs.

  The number in the corner of his eye was dropping dangerously. Time was running out.

  His body burst into flames just as he was within arm’s reach of Liona and Nagato. Luca stumbled dangerously to one side, but before he could fall, someone grabbed his arm and dragged him. He didn’t see who it was, only aware of the searing heat under his skin and the liquid dripping from his nose—was it rain or blood?

  The last thing he heard was the horrific roar of Kaiser, a sound filled with rage and pain.

  Sorry, buddy, he thought, and let himself be dragged into the darkness.

  He was enveloped in whiteness when he regained consciousness. A notification glowed before his eyes.

  The feeling of a smile —a bloom of color among the white— spread across his consciousness.

  132 points. That—that was what he was talking about!

  This was a tenth of what he owed Victor—a tenth! And only his first official mission, in a 1-star world. Sooner —way sooner— than later he could pay off the entire debt and make sure his brother kept recovering safely, out of the life Luca had made on the last years.

  On the other hand, his growth wasn’t bad at all. Level 1 already.

  Yes, everything was fine…

  Everything would be fine.

  Slowly, the world blurred, and Luca felt himself being pulled back into the darkness.