Awakening of the Weakest Slayer

Vesta ran ahead, guiding them through the labyrinthine streets of the dead city. The further they went, the more the city's character changed. Earlier they were in the outer part, and as they went deeper, the houses and the structures got messier, the skeletal remains of what had once been a fully developed, thriving metropolis.

Now just a shell of what it once was, maybe the same as the cities on Earth.

Sezel and Shiki took turns carrying Mari. Their progress had slowed to a crawl since they ran past something like an entrance to the city. The wilderness here was much denser, a tangle of vines and overgrown bushes that had swallowed the paved roads whole, even the Spirit Essence was hidden behind them.

Though there were fewer trees because of lack of proper place to grow, some even grew through the paved road, breaking through its surface.

Suddenly Vesta halted, the flame in her hand dying down. They had reached a large dome-like structure, covered in broken glass all around the top part. "It's a mall," she declared, her voice a mixture of disbelief and something akin to reverence.

She stood there for a brief moment, lost in her thoughts.

"So, what should we do?" Sezel asked, breaking the quiet.

"Let's explore the mall," she declared just on time. Sezel squinted his eyes. What good would exploring a broken, abandoned mall do?

But another, more childish part of him was excited. He had never been inside a mall in his life, it wasn't the luxury he was provided with. To be truthful to himself, he was thrilled at the prospect of seeing it for himself. They had gained enough distance from the starting point after running for about three hours, and there was a chance, however slim, that they might find something to eat or drink inside.

The night was almost over. The three moons, once high and brilliant, were now descending in a slow, graceful arc toward the horizon, giving space for the sun to shine again. Traveling in daytime would be far better for them.

They entered through what had once been a grand, automatic glass gate. Now, it was just a skeletal frame, the glass was already broken. The scene inside was no different from the world outside. The wilderness had claimed this place as well, its green tendrils snaking up the rusted escalators and choking the once-pristine tile floors.

After passing by the payment counter, Sezel went towards a machine that looked like a hand, rusted and old. "I wonder what this was used for," he mused, his fingers tracing the outline of the machine.

Mari's eyes, however, glowed with awe. Even in its ruined state, this was a real mall, a place she had only ever learned about in stories. She told Sezel that she had always wanted to visit one, and now, in this strange, broken world, her wish had been granted.

Then they went into the rows of metallic stands, lined with rows of different kinds of stuff, and then Sezel saw it. His eyes lit up as if he had discovered a king's treasure.

"Vesta! Shiki! I found food!" he called out, his voice echoing multiple times through the vast, silent space. Mari followed behind him, her voice echoed too, and for a moment, they were just two kids in a strange, magical place. Their laughter was a genuine, joyful sound in the oppressive silence. Sezel calmed himself down, but there was this warm feeling in his chest now.

He couldn't even remember how long it had been since he actually laughed, all he could muster were the bittersweet memories of playing with his sister. His hand reflexively found its way to Mari's head, a strange gesture. His lips were curled into a smile, his cheeks puffed with an emotion he couldn't quite name.

Vesta and Shiki soon joined them. They both had checked the other side of the first floor, but it was only filled with useless stuff that was of no use to them.

Sezel pointed towards the metallic shelf, which was full of edible things from bottom to the top row, a priceless treasure in this hell, and now they had plenty.

But all the hope that had flared up soon died. They checked the packages, one by one, and their hearts sank. The language written on them was foreign, a series of strange symbols none of them could decipher.

And the food inside… it was a nightmare. Every can was bloated, every package covered in a thick, velvety layer of fungus. The smell that emanated from them was so foul, so potent, that it was enough to make a person faint.

There were refrigerators on the side too. Vesta made the mistake of opening one of them. The meat had rotted completely, its form a black, liquefied mass, mostly decomposed already. Even some of the plastic containers were starting to break down.

It only made them wonder what exactly was this place, and how long had it been abandoned? But there was no answer.

Miraculously, Shiki found a single unopened cardboard box of water bottles, its contents still clear and untainted. It was a small victory, but in this world, any victory was a thing to be cherished.

They moved on. The first floor had killed all the enthusiasm they had. As they left the first floor, Sezel, in a fit of pure frustration, kicked one of the metallic racks, before leaving behind Vesta, Shiki, and Mari, who had already gone up to the second floor. 'Shit, not even a single thing.' he cursed, continuing.

Sezel was about to follow the others up the stairs to the second floor. A faint glitter caught his eye. It came from the back side of the hall, the area beneath the stairs. There was a door, slightly ajar.

Sezel let his curiosity win and went to investigate, his hand on the hilt of his katana. He pushed the door open, and the sight that greeted him left him utterly speechless.

It was a literal control room, sprawling with wires that connected large screens covering an entire wall to something at the center of the room, a massive machine, taller and wider than him, its surface covered in a complex array of lights and switches, all of them dark and lifeless.

It was a storage device of some kind, Sezel guessed, as he didn't know what to call it. Seeing so many wires, another question spiraled in Sezel's mind. Since coming to this city he hadn't seen a single electrical pole, not a single external wire.

So how did the people who lived here transmit electricity? On Earth, the sky was a spiderweb of wires, hanging from pole to pole, a constant reminder of the infrastructure that powered their world. There was not a single area where the wires didn't stretch to, but here it was as if they didn't use wires outside at all, and still almost everything was electrical.

Was this place even more technologically advanced than modern Earth? The thought was a chilling one.