INTEGER UNLIMITED

Despite the certainty of his death, Philips was not someone who would just die in vain. He refused to die here, leaving the monster able to attack the other survivors hidden throughout the town. His breath fell ragged as he pointed his wand upward, prepared to activate his contingency.

With the last drop of mana he could gather, he fired out a blast towards the large crystal that hung from the ceiling. It had originally been used as a chandelier, but Philips repurposed it into a container for as much magical energy as he could spare. He was an Infuser of Frost, trained to create devices full of magical energy to arm the mayor’s security detail.

This container had more energy than any mine he’d ever made. When his blast made contact, it shattered the glass with ease. With that, the contained energy burst from the now active mana making contact with it. The room shined brightly, as ice rapidly filled the room in its entirety.

Leo stared in amazement, the shock numbing the frost that had covered his lower half. The brightness blinded him for a moment. When his vision returned, he saw the beast and Philips encased in ice. It appeared as if the final moments of their battle were frozen in time, displayed as a memory.

He snapped back to his senses as the cold set back in, as he knocked off the ice that had spread around his body. Leo looked around, hoping to spot either other people or other traps. There was nothing but him and the display. He looked on at Philips, his eyes glazed over as his stomach bled from the monster's spike.

Leo wasn’t a doctor, but he knew that such a wound would be fatal. He couldn’t imagine any modern medicine being able to fix it, but then he remembered that magic might be able to. He didn’t see any trace of movement from either the beast or Philips. It was clear that, even if they still lived, they were now immobile.

He turned away and dashed to where Marem was. She was the only one who could save Philips’ life. While running, he struggled to remember the exact path to head towards. He relied on the shattered stone and broken path he left behind to guide his way. He ran to her location, as he felt anxious that he would take too long to arrive.

The journey to the Mayor’s office felt so long compared to how quickly Leo arrived at the apartment. Although upon his arrival, he could immediately tell something was wrong. The front door was open. He remembered how carefully the kid had the door locked, as he and Marem had to sit through the process. In Leo’s anxiousness to leave, he hadn’t remembered to lock it.

Leo charged in, a panicked look washed over his face as he tried to find any sign of Marem or the kid. The only thing that was different was the shattered stone that littered the base of the stairwell. He quickly headed up, each step smashing the floorboards beneath him. Moving up the stairwell proved difficult, as he struggled to make progress due to his destruction of each step.

He tried to control his strength, but he struggled to maintain any composure. He called out, as he hoped for any response that they were okay. When he finally reached the top, there was nothing but more shattered rocks on the ground. Through the darkness, he could see some faint movement from behind the half open door to the kids room.

He marched forward, he knew that Marem wouldn’t just remain quiet in this situation. He swung open the door, using enough force to snap it right off its hinges, and he saw what was lurking behind. A large beast made of stone loomed before him, its body covered in small openings that looked akin to mouths.

It swung at Leo, slamming its arms against his shoulders. He felt the small teeth try to chew and gnaw with a hungered frenzy, but the attacks were of no consequence, as the teeth shattered against his flesh. Leo grabbed the monster’s chest and pushed inwards, as he heard the stone crack under his grasp. The monster collapsed, having been effectively cut in half.

Leo didn’t spot any blood on the beast, nor any signs of it having attacked Marem or the kid. What he did notice was the broken stone that was strewn about the floor, similar to the stairwell. He didn’t spot anyone, as he continued looking around for Marem and the kid.

“Marem, please tell me you’re here,” he pleaded.

She responded, “Don’t worry, we’re safe.”

He watched as she crawled out from beneath the bed, kid in tow. Her hair was a mess, and she seemed to be covered in scrapes, as the kid was in the same rough condition. Leo wanted to give them a hug, happy that they were safe from whatever happened. He stopped himself before he reached out, as he glanced at the accidental damage he’d done to the floor.

“What happened to you two?” he asked.

“Me and Mark were in the room when some of the rock beasts from earlier burst in. They weren’t difficult to take care of, but then some larger monster came in,” she explained, “so we hid under the bed. I doubted I could take it on, so I hoped we could just wait it out until you came back.”

Before he could respond, Marem interjected, “So, how did the meeting with Mr. Philips go?”

Leo spit out, “We need to get to him fast, he was attacked by the monster terrorizing the city and is dying. He’s going to bleed out if we don’t get to him in time.”