I'm doing abstract animation

Tomoya Aki is quick-witted, but sometimes being quick-witted isn't a good thing, especially since he's still a child.

What is a child's first reaction when they are frightened?

cry!

A heart-wrenching wail shattered the deathly silence. And since crying is contagious, Eriri instinctively started crying too. Instantly, the monster's scarlet eyes locked onto Eriri, who was closest to it.

"Eri-ri!"

An anxious shout rang out, followed by a figure rushing over.

"It's mom!"

Eriri watched as her mother rushed to her side with a speed she had never seen before, hugging her tightly in the process, even losing one of her shoes in the process.

However, the monster didn't care about any of that; it only had eyes for its prey. The arrival of her mother was just another bite for it.

No, given Eriri's size, there might not even be a need for her to take an extra bite...

P.S.: There will be another chapter later.

A bizarre and fantastical city: Chapter Sixteen - Beneath Despair

What is despair like? Sayuri Sawamura, who has always had a comfortable life, has never experienced it.

If an ordinary person's life is full of hardships, then she was never an ordinary person by birth.

She went through a smooth and successful journey of studying, growing up, getting married, and having children. It all felt natural and effortless for her, bringing her immense happiness and fulfillment.

But today, she finally experienced what despair feels like.

Completely powerless, even with all her might, she could only hold her daughter tightly in her arms. The shadow of death made her vision twitch uncontrollably, and the cold, suffocating feeling clung to her like a persistent ailment. She even subconsciously stopped breathing.

The monster's mouth opened wider and wider, and she could even see bits of flesh and blood still clinging to its sharp teeth.

It must belong to that teacher, right?

She must have suffered a lot when she died.

That's not necessarily true; she might not even know how she died.

How pitiful...

At that moment, she felt a strange sense of stagnation, as if the whole world had slowed down, and she even had the mind to mourn for the deceased teacher.

So what is the purpose of life?

If such monsters exist in the real world, why are humans still alive?

Is there some kind of organization that specializes in eliminating monsters?

Like those exorcism squads often mentioned in manga...

Honestly, what time is it? Why am I still overthinking things...?

The sharp teeth were getting closer and closer, and she could even feel the cold light gleaming on her face, making her cheeks sting.

Eriri, my poor Eriri...

She sighed, resignedly closed her eyes...

Bang!

A tremendous roar exploded in her ears, making her feel like she was about to go deaf. At the same time, a strong gust of wind and the dust it whipped up also swept in.

"You bastard, I've been looking for you for ages!"

A clear, childlike voice rang out, but the meaning behind that voice created a strong sense of contrast, because such words were certainly not something a child should say.

"Woo, chirp chirp chirp!!!"

The monster was kicked away by the blue-haired boy, but it was clear that the boy's kick did not cause it any serious damage. After bouncing on the ground, it immediately stood up and roared to the sky.

The pitch-black carapace shimmered with a bluish-purple glow in the dim light. Thousands of pairs of legs moved constantly through the air, occasionally colliding with each other to produce a heart-stopping cracking sound, like bones playing a nightmare symphony.

This centipede-shaped monster, when it arches its body, is at least ten meters long!

The blue-haired child in contrast is only 1.4 meters tall at most, and the two standing side by side create a sense of absurdity.

But no one dared to laugh at that moment.

Sawamura Sayuri blinked. She had just witnessed everything, and a sentence involuntarily popped into her mind.

Is there really some organization fighting against monsters?

Is it... that rescue has arrived?

The enormous monster roared to the sky in the dim world, and a small blue-haired boy stood in front of her. Sayuri Sawamura felt that she would never forget this scene for the rest of her life.

Bang!

The blue-haired boy showed no fear of the enormous monster. Instead, he launched an attack, his short legs digging a small hole in the ground. His small body transformed into a streak of blue lightning and arrived in front of the monster in the blink of an eye.

The blue-haired boy kicked the monster hard in the head again, like kicking a ball, making a loud impact. Now everyone finally knew how the monster had been defeated.

The ten-meter-tall monster was once again kicked to the ground by the blue-haired boy.

"Hurry up and leave!"

Seeing that the young woman behind him was still in a daze, the blue-haired boy couldn't help but remind her.

Sawamura Sayuri suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly picked up Eriri and limped away. She had been running so fast that she hadn't even noticed she had twisted her ankle, and now she felt a sharp pain in her ankle as she walked.

"The troublesome guy is finally gone..."

The blue-haired boy breathed a sigh of relief, and a long sword appeared in his hand amidst a flash of light. This scene attracted the attention of many onlookers, especially the children.

Wow, he conjured a knife!

"so amazing!"

"Idiot, he's a superhero!"

"Exactly, didn't you see him fighting the monster!"

"Go for it, blue-haired guy!"

"Yeah, keep it up, blue-haired guy!"

"Come on!"

…………

Human infants don't understand the atmosphere. They were frightened by the gruesome deaths of their kind, but they don't really understand how cruel and disgusting those scenes were. They were just driven by instinct to be afraid.

The appearance of the blue-haired boy has deeply attracted the attention of this group of human children. Most importantly, the blue-haired boy is the same age as them, and also the same age as them who are fighting monsters. This is simply fatally attractive to these ignorant human children.

Hearing the cheers, the blue-haired boy, if not greatly encouraged, could only be described as having a face as black as the bottom of a pot...

"Damn it, don't set up this kind of Genos-esque flag for me!"

He roared and leaped to the monster's head, sword in hand.

He gripped the long sword tightly with both hands and slashed fiercely at the monster's forehead, between its tentacles.

Duang ~

The monster, which had just been kicked down and then stood up again, didn't even have time to react before being sent sprawling face-first into the dust by the blue-haired boy's New Year's greeting sword technique.

"Great!"

"Amazing!"

"Win!"

"The blue-haired guy is the best!"

…………

Please, please stop setting unrealistic goals for me...

The blue-haired boy's face darkened. Unlike the optimistic group of human children, he had a bad feeling. His strike, which had gathered all his strength, seemed to have failed to break through their defenses...

"Chirp chirp chirp!!"

The centipede-shaped monster let out an incomprehensible cry. This time, it did not stand up, but instead lay flat on the ground. Countless legs wriggled rapidly, each leg being half the size of an adult human. The frantic thrashing of thousands of legs not only produced a chilling sound of bones grinding together, but also made the enormous monster crash into the blue-haired boy like a high-speed train.

The speed was so fast that the people around had no time to react, but the vigilant blue-haired boy was not among them. He lightly tapped the ground and dodged the monster's impact in an instant. While dodging, he noticed a shallow mark between the monster's two tentacles.

His face immediately turned ugly.

Damn, it really won't break through my defenses!

This is trouble...

What he feared most was not being able to break through the defense; no matter how fast he was or how quick his reaction was, it would be useless.

"Ahhh, help!"

“Ah… Ugh!”

"Wow, waaaah!"

......

"trouble!"

The blue-haired boy's expression changed, and he quickly ran behind him, narrowly saving a frightened little boy from the monster's hideous maw by a mere second.

He looked at him and realized it was the guy who had asked him to apologize earlier.

The blue-haired boy didn't seem to mind, and with a few quick movements, he led him to a group of people who were hiding.

"Take care of him!"

After leaving a message, the blue-haired boy disappeared again, and later brought back a number of people from outside, but most of them were children.

This is a corner of the parking lot wall. It's not big, but the presence of two walls gives it a slight sense of security.

Sawamura Sayuri was hiding here with Eriri in her arms.

The people here are instinctively quiet, afraid of attracting the monsters that wreak havoc in the parking lot. Even the human cubs feel the oppressive atmosphere and dare not speak.

"Mom, Mom, where's that blue-haired boy?"

Little Eriri, sobbing, hid in her mother's arms and asked. She was only afraid, and even her mother's embrace could not stop her trembling. Only when she thought of the blue-haired child who had stood up for her and her mother did she feel a little calmer.

The blue-haired child wasn't necessarily older than her, but she subconsciously called him "little brother," which is a kind of admiration for the strong that arises under pressure.

Sawamura Sayuri pursed her lips and forced a smile, saying, "That young man went to save more people, let's not disturb him, okay?"

"Oh no, I'm scared, I want the older brother to stay with me..."

Little Yingli pouted, and it looked like she was about to cry.

Sawamura Sayuri could only gently soothe her daughter; this was no time for crying...

"Don't worry, Eriri, your little brother will be able to drive the monster away soon. How about we invite him to our house then?"

Eriri's eyes lit up as she looked at Sayuri Sawamura hopefully: "Really, Mom?"

"Of course it's true! After all, the young man saved us, so we should thank him properly!"

"Okay, I'll treat him to cake then!"

"Hehe, my Eriri is the most generous! Don't worry, Eriri, it'll be over soon..."

Yinglili: "..."

Having observed the whole way, she no longer wanted to speak. As memories resurfaced in her mind, she began to gradually become familiar with everything before her.

And very soon?

If she remembered correctly, this nightmare had lasted for about a week, and now... this was just the beginning...

She sighed, no longer focusing on her childhood self and her mother. They should be safe now; the real danger should be a couple more days away.

She's more curious about the blue-haired child now.

Who is the other party?

Why is he so amazing at such a young age?

And what exactly did he do?

Why do I have no memory of this after all these years?

She had so many questions, and now that she could witness it all unfold, she was determined to make the most of it!