My Girlfriends Are Hardcore Yanderes - Chapter 214

Chapter 214: Casually
“Wait, is that it? Are you going already?”

Asher stood up after securing the information and credits he needed. There was no need to waste his time here.

“Yeah, I need to head to the nearest capital city,”

Asim frowned. “The closest capital city is at least 500 miles away, and—”

Before he could finish, Asher was already walking out, completely ignoring his words.

‘What a loss,’ The mercenary leader hoped to sell him more supplies, and items. He even considered asking for a favor, since it was rare for an Awakener to visit this place.

‘Will he be okay? Going to the capital city alone isn’t exactly easy even for someone like him,’ Asim muttered to himself.

He explained that the area was crawling with ferocious beasts and mutated monsters capable of wiping out hundreds of mercenaries if they weren’t careful.

‘Forget it. I already warned him. It’s his fault if he meets his death for not listening.’

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Back at the pub, Asher returned to the bartender and ordered a whole bottle of wine. He started drinking it before setting off on his journey.

The taste of the wine was sweet and bubbly, but it was nothing compared to the wine in Eryx, which was filled with magical properties. Still, he drank it to remind himself that he was back home.

A TV in the corner caught his attention, broadcasting news from the capital city.

The report focused on the recent war, showing yet another settlement reduced to ruins. It painted a grim picture—humanity was losing what little it had left.

It was even a miracle that they managed to survive this long, despite the huge gap in power.

‘Is Lucy really behind all of this?’ he pondered, struggling to believe it himself.

Recalling his time with her, he remembered that she wasn’t really violent.

Even though she saw humans as inferior, she didn’t hate them to the point of going out of her way to kill them.

‘Maybe she’s being forced?’ he wondered.

Right now, he could only focus on her. Traveling to the Void to get Index was still impossible— not even Pantheon could do it, even with coordinates.

He needed to get stronger if he wanted to get in and out of that place alive.

While he drank his third glass, a group of mercenaries approached him.

They didn’t seem hostile, just interested, so he didn’t automatically shrug them off.

One of them, a man with a scar running down his cheek, spoke first.

“Brother, you’re not from around here, are you?”

Asher glanced up. “Yeah.”

The mercenary looked him over, sizing him up. “We don’t get many like you around these parts. Did you come from the capital?”

He set his glass down, taking his time before answering. “A small settlement.”

They didn’t question him further about it. Small settlements like that were normal—remnants of the old world.

Even to this day, many remained hidden—survivors of the first wave of the invasion, still scattered across the world.

“So you’re planning to go to the capital?” a dark-skinned woman asked, her tone curious as she leaned in, showing genuine interest in him.

“I’ll go there after finishing this drink,” he answered, taking another slow sip.

“So you already hired a mercenary to accompany you?” she asked, her tone hinting at interest.

A job to the capital would net them a lot of money, and that caught their attention.

“Then how about hiring us? We’re one of the best around, and we even have our own armored amphibious vehicles. It’s much safer,”

“No, there’s no need for that,” Asher responded bluntly, setting the glass down.

As he stood to leave, a thought crossed his mind.

With a brief glance toward the bartender, he pulled out a 100,000-credit note and placed it on the counter.

The gesture shocked everyone—that amount as a tip was no joke, even with all the inflation.

This only made them more certain that he was loaded with cash, so they tried again.

He shrugged them off, making it clear he had no need for their services.

As he walked away from the bar, the rusty door creaked open, and he stepped into the open.

The high ceilings above were made of rough stone, remnants of the old salt mine that once stood here.

Most of the structures were constructed from metal, giving the place a harsh, industrial feel. Though it wasn’t particularly pretty, it served as a home for those who needed refuge.

On his way toward the exit, his eyes wandered to a group of children playing near one of the metal shacks.

Some of them were thin, their clothes worn and tattered. Malnutrition was common here, and despite their smiles, it was clear they longed for the life they once had.

He slowed his steps for a moment, watching as one of the older kids handed a smaller one a piece of stale bread.

The little one accepted it eagerly, tearing off small bites as if trying to make it last.

Asher sighed, reminded once again of how bad the situation was.

But he wasn’t a hero—saving everyone was not his priority.

For now, he decided to approach the children, pulling out a handful of credits and handing each of them 10,000. He didn’t really need the money anyway.

At first, only a few accepted the cash with wide eyes, clutching it tightly as if afraid it might disappear.

But soon, more children gathered around him.The commotion didn’t go unnoticed, and before long, adults began to approach as well, their gazes fixed on the money in his hands.

‘I knew it… this is why being too generous in times like these is annoying,’

Asher kept moving, ignoring the noises behind him. The people who didn’t receive anything cursed him, while those who got something were asking for more.

Just moments ago, they were grateful, but now they looked at him with resentment, as if he owed them.

This was the sad part of humanity: no matter how much he gave, some would never be satisfied.

His steps slowed as he reached the market area, where merchants haggled over supplies.

Just as he was about to turn a corner, a low rumble vibrated through the cavern floor.

Conversations stopped, and people exchanged uneasy glances. The trembling grew stronger, shaking loose bits of stone from the high ceilings.

Then, without warning, a deafening explosion ripped through the far end of the underground.

The force sent dust across the cavern, knocking over crates and toppling market stalls.

“MONSTERS!”

Screams echoed in the air as people ran away from the source of the explosion.

Asher, on the other hand, jumped onto the roof to avoid the stampede.

From his position, he narrowed his eyes to get a better view.

Smoke billowed from the blast site, and through the thick haze, monsters crawled into view.

Their armored bodies gleamed under the dim orange glow of the flames, and their sharp pincers snapped hungrily.

As they crawled along the walls, their true form became clear—red scorpions, large enough to tower over most people.

“Mutated beasts! They’re coming through the tunnels!” someone shouted.

In response, armed men and mercenaries rushed into action, grabbing their guns, large swords, blunt hammers, and maces.

They also used pre-set Gatling guns and sack covers to give themselves an advantage, all while setting off the alarm to alert the locals and get them to safer locations.

For a moment, high-powered bullets rang out, one after another, their sharp echoes filling the air.

Realizing it wouldn’t last, they charged toward the scorpions to save ammo, swinging their weapons and cutting down the monsters one by one.

They might not be as powerful as awakeners , but they were still formidable.

Each swing of their weapons was powerful enough to sever a leg—or two.

But the tide didn’t stop.

They kept coming, pushing the defenders back. Soon, the tide turned, and the favor turned against the humans.

Men and women fought valiantly, but one by one, their heads were bitten off or impaled by the monster’s vicious pincers.

Blood splattered as mercenaries fell, their screams quickly drowned out by another.

The death count grew by the second, and panic spread like wildfire.

“I– It’s over,” a female mercenary dropped to her knees, her sword slipping from her grasp as she stared at the incoming monsters.

Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the last of them would be slaughtered.

But then, a figure emerged. A man in a robe walked steadily toward the group of monsters.

“What are you doing? You’ll get killed!” someone screamed, but the figure didn’t even slow down.

They thought he had lost his mind and was planning to kill himself.

But as the scorpions neared, something unbelievable happened. One by one, they started to drop, collapsing to the ground.

The figure continued walking, as if he were simply taking a stroll through a park.

Finally, he entered the tunnel where the monsters came from.

After a few minutes, everything went quiet.

The mercenaries, still confused about what happened, slowly moved toward the hole.

When they turned on their flashlights, they were met with the sight of hundreds of dead scorpions scattered across the ground.

It kept going, the corpses stretching far into the tunnel, until it was swallowed by the darkness ahead.

“W—Who was that?” one of them stuttered, still trying to process what they had just witnessed.

“Maybe an Awakener?” a woman chimed in.

The people around her stared, as if she were out of her mind.

“And since when can an Awakener just casually stroll in and take down a horde of monsters without even lifting a hand? If they were that powerful, humans wouldn’t be hiding like rats.”

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Authors Note

The app is having issues, so I only posted one chapter for today in case it goes down again and I miss my schedule. Don’t worry, it’s almost 1700 words, so it’s pretty long.