Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 24: Not Everyone Can Be Saved

There were two ways through Sun City.

Alleyways and smaller roads, which they had used to get to the hospital, were quieter. They were more narrow, and easier to hide in.

Aren dismissed them almost immediately.

Normally, it’d be a great option, but in this situation, it would be a death sentence.

Their group was simply too big. The alley’s narrow paths funneled people together. If something hit them there, panic would spread quickly out of control.

Just one fall was enough to cause the whole group to pile up on each other and eventually be wiped out.

He shook his head and looked down the main road.

The chances of being attacked here increased significantly, as they would be in the sightlines of every monster. However, it also worked in their favor.

Seeing where the attacks came from at least gave them time to react. And without the other downsides of the alley, the main road seemed like the best choice.

"We’ll take the main road," he turned and spoke quickly.

A few people looked at him in confusion. Someone in the back muttered something under their breath.

Aren didn’t bother responding to that.

"If we get hit, we’ll see where it came from and be able to deal with it before it reaches the center," he continued.

"And if worst comes to worst and we have to run...well, at least we’ll have space to do that."

Heads nodded in unison as they arranged himself in the order he specified before—and started to move.

Civilians who never used their Bloodline to fight were now lighting their ether, control frail and unstable. The rest huddled into the middle, including Aren’s family, holding whatever makeshift weapon they found.

Lily was at the rear. Aren took the front.

With a group this large, they hadn’t even made it three blocks before something moved.

Dark Coat Monkeys, with jagged teeth jumped around buildings and street lights, shrieking as they converged on the road from both sides.

"Soldier-class incoming!" Aren shouted. "Don’t panic and fend them off!"

The first beast dove into the crowd seconds later.

A civilian swung a metal pipe too early, the blow glancing off the creature’s skill.

The monkey raised its claws upwards, ready to strike.

Aren stepped in first.

His fist drove forward and shattered its jaws with a sharp crunch, the body collapsing at his feet. Another lunged immediately after, only to be yanked sideways as Lily’s vines snapped tight around its torso and slammed into a nearby parked car.

More poured in from the sides.

A man near the front clenched his teeth and thrust both hands forward. Fire ignited around his palms, catching one of the monkeys mid-leap and sending it screaming to the ground.

"I–I got it!" he shouted.

Another civilian beside him followed as ice crept from her arm and into a nearby monkey. It slowed and eventually became stuck to the floor, allowing Aren to throw a right hook to finish the monkey off.

But the scene was horrible. Aren struggled to keep up as there were simply too many people he needed to protect.

One of the dark-furred monkeys jumped overhead. It slammed into the first man, jaws snapping shut around his shoulder. He screamed as its teeth ripped through his throat.

The woman with the ice didn’t have time to even breathe. As a second beast came through and raked her with its claws straight through the chest.

"Hold the line!" Aren shouted. "Don’t chase, protect the center!"

Lily’s vines snapped out, yanking two beasts away before they could reach the middle, but another slipped through.

It died seconds later, but not without taking someone else with it.

Then, something new stepped from the shadow from a collapsed building, slightly taller than the rest. Its eyes were sharper, more alert as it scanned the entire crowd.

The Dark Coat Monkeys pulled back a bit, seemingly waiting for commands.

Aren’s eyes narrowed.

It stood back from the rest of the group, eyes darting constantly between Lily, the civilians, and him.

The Alpha Dark Coat Monkey, Semi-General Class.

Aren knew exactly what to do with this type of enemy.

Ones that expected the enemy to respect their intelligence always crumble when that same expectation is broken.

And with the way things were going...this was the only option.

He stepped forward.

"No—wait!" someone shouted behind him.

Aren exploded into motion.

The Semi-General snapped its head toward him, clearly surprised, but surprise only lasted a fraction of a second before it raised an arm, preparing to retreat behind its pack.

Aren never gave it the chance.

He closed the distance in three strides, ether surging violently through his body as he threw himself straight at the creature’s chest.

Its minions tried to throw themselves in the way to block him, but water gathered at the tips of his finger before he unleashed the devastating strike.

"Dragon’s Claws"

Blades of water sliced clean through the bodyguards, leaving nothing to protect the Commander.

The Semi-General shrieked as Aren’s fist punched through its ribcage, bone cracking apart under raw force. Its core shattered instantly, body collapsing in on itself before it even hit the ground.

Aren landed hard on one knee, breathing heavily but scanned the field once more.

The remaining monkeys froze.

Not because they understood what had happened, but because something impossible had just occurred.

Their commander was gone.

One by one, they began to pull back, cries echoing as they retreated into the ruins.

Aren didn’t let himself relax. He turned immediately, eyes scanning the line, counting movement instead of bodies.

"Check the wounded," he said. "If you can still walk, help someone who can’t."

The gaps were obvious now. Places where voices should have been. Where someone had been standing minutes ago and wasn’t anymore.

He swallowed and kept walking.

A woman sat slumped against a car, staring blankly at the blood on her hands. Two men were dragging a body toward the sidewalk. Somewhere farther back, someone was crying openly.

Aren didn’t stop.

He found his father first. A shallow cut ran along his arm, already wrapped in cloth. Relief hit him so hard his knees almost gave out.

His sister was there too—hands shaking as she held onto her father’s sleeve.

She saw Aren and immediately let go, marching straight up to him.

"What were you thinking?!" she shouted, voice breaking as she shoved his chest with both hands.

"You can’t just run in like that!"

"Anna..." their father started.

"No!" she snapped back, tears spilling freely now. "You could’ve died! Do you hear me? You could’ve—"

Her voice cracked. The words caught in her throat, turning hoarse as they fell apart.

Aren didn’t interrupt. He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"I had to," he said quietly. "We wouldn’t have made it to the bunker otherwise."

Anna sniffed once, before pulling back.

"I know..."

After a while, the dead were gathered and burned before they continued.

No one spoke while it was done.

Aren took a moment to count. Sixty people remaining.

He didn’t announce the number.

"The bunker’s close," he said instead. He pointed down the street ahead, where the road curved sharply left between two collapsed buildings.

"Just past that corner."

A murmur rippled through the group, sighs of relief went through the crowd.

Lily caught his eye from the rear and nodded once. Aren stepped back into position at the front.

"Right," Aren said. "Let’s continue moving."

They advanced together, turning the corner as one.

The bunker was just ahead.

And for the first time since leaving the hospital, Aren allowed himself to believe they might actually reach it.