1013 Human Nature

As the clock ticked to the doom of Neptune, Sarah and Sia continued to guard the military compounds against any large threats. While doing so, they witnessed some of the most brutal scenes in their lives.

"Please! Save him! Take him with you!" A woman in a damaged soldier's uniform rushed through the crowd and entered the military compound.

Her two legs were missing and were cut at her knees. She was moving thanks to prosthetics but due to her speed, she was bleeding heavily in her knees.

But her attention wasn't on the terrifying pain from her knees or the blood spilling out of her body and weakening her further. All her attention was on the little baby she wrapped in her arms.

The woman pleaded to the soldiers behind the lightning wall. "Please! I beg you!"

A few kind souls gave up their positions even in this adverse condition and the woman was finally able to enter inside.

But when she did, the soldier arranging everyone in the formations stopped her in place and said with an uncomfortable face. "Mam, your baby is dead."

"What?!" The woman gasped and checked her child. Her son, only two months old, wasn't breathing anymore.

At some point during her rush, he passed away. She guarded him carefully. Even though her legs were severed by the abyssals, she managed to escape and managed to find some prosthetics.

Then, she rushed back home as soon as she could and took her baby. The abyssal soldiers spotted her several times on the street and almost killed them both. It's only thanks to her desire to protect him that she's able to make it this far.

But when she learned her little son already, something in her broke.

"Mam, you can still go in—"

"Mam?"

"Mam!"

Plop!

The woman collapsed onto the ground and the coarse cloth covering her back flew off.

The soldiers sucked in a breath of cold air as they watched the hideous wound on her back. From her back all the way to her lungs, everything inside was burnt. It was a miracle she was even able to run this far and talk.

A miracle that was possible because she wanted to save her baby son. But the moment she learned he was no more, she lost the strength to live.

Some in the crowd cried while others cursed for her wasting precious time and putting their lives at risk.

In the farthest compound, a one-armed man rushed into the lightning wall holding an unconscious woman.

A burnt smell came from him and with each step he took, blood spilled out from the large open wound on his shoulder missing the arm.

But the man didn't seem to feel any pain. He handed the woman to a female soldier and bowed. "Please send her to safety."

Then, he turned around and ran off.

"Don't go out! You'll die!" A soldier shouted.

The man stumbled to the ground as he had trouble balancing his new center of gravity. But he immediately stood up and continued running off into the bloodied streets filled with corpses.

Only his weak but stubborn voice lingered in the air. "I'll bring my daughter back."

The people lowered their heads and sighed.

The man knew it was risky. But he still went back. As they expected, he didn't return.

After finding his daughter's corpse in her school, he collapsed and the building was destroyed by an abyssal.

The evacuation continued as time trickled by.

Sarah and Sia witnessed selfless deeds, tragic moments, and heroism.

Ordinary men and women who had never fought their entire lives rushed into streets filled with abyssal predators to find their sons and daughters.

They could've chosen to just get into the formation and get to safety. But they wanted to save their loved ones with them or die together.

While many left to bring their families back, only a fraction returned.

Even in the most adverse of times, these precious bonds didn't break. It was perhaps the greatest symbol of human nobility.

But this adversity also brought how low humans could stoop to.

A young man and his old father were quickly walking through an alley and rushing towards a military compound.

A mocking chuckle sounded from behind and an abyssal soldier jumped into the alley.

The faces of the son and the father paled. And suddenly, the father felt a force in his back and the next thing he knew, he crashed before the abyssal's feet.

"You!" The father stared at the receding back of his son with pained eyes. The man never shed a tear in the past thirty years but today, he couldn't stop the hot tears from flowing down his cheeks.

"…Why?" He asked as he stared at the silhouette of his son in the far distance.

"Why?" Even as the abyssal's spear pierced into his stomach and twisted his insides, he continued to stare ahead blankly.

The abyssal took joy in his misery and drove his spear into the old man's heart, ending him. "If you asked me, I'd ha…"

The son got past the lightning wall and got back to safety. But after the elation of survival, he clutched his head and broke into tears. He'd never be able to forgive himself.

If this was the apex of selfishness, then there was also the opposite.

A young grandson, only aged sixteen was carrying his grandfather on his back, as he ran through the streets.

The young boy had several cuts on his school uniform and was bleeding from his abdomen.

Since he was carrying another person on his back, his abdomen was strained and blood was spilling out with every step he took. It was painful for the young boy and tears were rolling down his cheeks with every step he took.

But even then, he continued to run carrying this old man. He wasn't really his grandfather but a janitor from his school. But the old man had been kind to him. When he was bullied and cried alone in his room after school hours, this old man who he never knew approached and consoled him.

If not for those kind words that evening, he would've quit school and never had the life he did today.

"C-Child, p…please." The old man, no, grandfather's weak voice sounded from his back. "L-Leave me alone, I beg you, kid."

The young boy gritted his teeth and refused to even entertain such a thought. "Grandpa! I'll save you! Please believe me!"

The cries of the young boy attracted some others who were running in the same direction.

Even though the young boy was fit, he was significantly slowed down because of carrying another person.

As they ran past him as fast as they could, the people advised him to give up the old man and run alone.

"At least you can survive."

"You both will die like this!"

"Kid, I saw an abyssal heading this way! Hurry!"

The boy didn't give up. He ran and ran squeezing every bit of energy he had. When it was the last alley before the compound, a red silhoutte flashed in front of him and an abyssal soldier, drenched in human blood, appeared.

The boy's face paled and tears pooled in the corner of his eyes. The old man saw the situation and sobbed. "It's all my fault. My fault! I should've just died!"

The abyssal relished in their misery and swung her sword.

The young and old died side by side, just a few hundred meters away from the compound. If the boy did run alone, he would've reached safety.

Choosing to help despite the crisis was selfless.

But this wasn't a movie. In real life, good isn't always rewarded and evil isn't always punished.