A loud explosion tore through the silence of the night, followed by the terrified screams of the villagers. Mercy rushed to Varryance, shaking him awake.

  "Varryance! Wake up! VARRY!" Mercy yelled, slapping him across the face. The shock of the slap brought him to his senses.

  "Wh-what is it?" Varryance groggily asked, his mind still hazy from sleep. Mercy didn't waste time, quickly explaining the situation.

  "We're being attacked! We have to get out of the village, especially you!" Mercy's voice was urgent, as if Varryance's safety mattered more than anything else. He got up from the couch, immediately moving toward the door. The sight outside hit him like a punch to the gut: the village was burning, and bandits were gunning down anyone in their path. The same bandits from the facility.

  Varryance's instincts kicked in—his fight-or-flight response firing on all cylinders. Mercy grabbed her bow and a quiver of explosive arrows, heading for the exit.

  "Stay here!" Mercy called out, but Varryance was already moving.

  He darted into a narrow alley, where the lifeless body of a village guard lay sprawled on the ground. Without a second thought, he snatched the guard's 9mm pistol, an old but useful piece of technology. He crouched behind a building, peering around the corner. The bandits were scouring the area, looking for more villagers to kill. It seemed they were planning to take over the village.

  "Varryance, reinforcements are on the way from other villages. Just stay put!" Mercy's voice reached him, but it was drowned out by the chaos outside.

  "Other villages? By the time they get here, they'll all be dead!" Varryance snapped, turning away from Mercy before she could argue.

  Mercy sighed, realizing there was no stopping him. She climbed to the roof of a nearby building for a better vantage point, her eyes scanning the scene for danger.

  Varryance crept closer, spotting a bandit making his way down the alley. In a swift, calculated motion, Varryance took the bandit hostage, shooting him in the hand with the pistol and holding him at gunpoint.

  The bandits, despite their comrade in his grip, kept their weapons trained on Varryance. But they missed every shot, no matter how hard they tried. Varryance used the hostage as a shield, shooting back at the others with cold precision. One by one, they dropped, until a bandit car raced toward him. Bullets sprayed his direction, but Varryance stayed protected behind his captive.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Mercy saw the danger from above and immediately loaded an explosive arrow. With a steady hand, she aimed and fired at the fuel tank of the oncoming car. The explosion rocked the air, sending the car and the bandits inside it flying into pieces.

  "What the f—" Varryance muttered under his breath, stunned by the carnage. He ducked behind a wall, barely processing the destruction, and looked up to see Mercy waving at him, smiling like it was nothing.

  "Great..." Varryance muttered, throwing the now-dead bandit aside. His focus shifted to the remaining bandits, all of whom had weapons drawn and a hunger for blood in their eyes.

  Something inside Varryance was changing. He was no longer just fighting to survive—he was hunting. His blood ran hot, and his need for revenge drove him forward.

  There were three bandits left, three of them armed with knives, and the last one holding a gun. Varryance made his move, tackling one of them to the ground. As he did, he fired, putting a bullet straight through the bandit's head. His aim was sharp, his hands steady.

  Without hesitation, he moved on to the next target, aiming at the gunman in the back. The shot rang out, and the bandit crumpled to the ground with a bullet lodged in his skull.

  Out of ammo, Varryance tossed the pistol aside, forgetting to grab extra magazines. But that didn't matter. He was already in the thick of it.

  "We're gonna take your guts and give 'em to the Gutters!" one of the bandits screamed.

  "Oh yeah? Fucking try me." Varryance growled, letting the bandits take the first swing.

  One of them charged him, screaming. Varryance caught the bandit's arm, twisting it until he heard a sickening snap. Then, he drove the bandit's own knife into his stomach. The second bandit charged right after, and Varryance grabbed the stabbed man as a shield. When the second bandit went for the strike, he hit his friend instead, leaving himself wide open. Varryance capitalized on the mistake, delivering a brutal dropkick that sent the bandit flying. He grabbed the fallen weapon, slashing the bandit's neck as he went.

  The bandit Varryance had kicked in the chest barely had time to react before Varryance drove the knife into his throat. The man gurgled, his blood spilling as his life quickly drained away.

  The other villagers had watched from their windows, cheering as Varryance fought with ruthless efficiency. But more trouble was coming. A truck, armed with a mounted machine gun, barreled into the village. It opened fire on the houses, taking out several villagers who hadn't found cover in time.

  Varryance dove behind the body of the bandit he had just killed, using it as a shield as the machine gunfire rained down on him. The bandits were closing in, targeting him directly.

  "Take this, you son of a bitch!" Mercy's voice rang out as she fired another explosive arrow, hitting the machine gunner's truck and obliterating it in a fiery explosion. The truck flipped, sending the remaining bandits flying in all directions.

  But the battle wasn't over. More trucks, more bandits, and more chaos. It was a full-scale invasion.