Chapter 24: The City That Came Alive

Raj looked down and saw a bronze beetle crushed beneath his foot, its broken legs still twitching as dark green mucus oozed out.

Ye Mi jolted in shock. Weren’t these statues supposed to be hollow? How could they bleed?

“Get back!”

Red grabbed Raj’s collar and yanked him away, making him stumble.

Not far off, a canine statue began to convulse violently. Its verdigris surface bulged with countless tumor-like lumps, its spine stretched like an elongated spring, joints twisted backward, fangs burst from its mouth—within moments, it transformed into a monstrous creature over three meters tall.

The attack erupted in an instant.

When the mutated bronze hound lunged, Keira was prepared; her throwing knife sliced through the air.

The blade lodged in the creature’s swollen eye socket, slipping in as easily as through rotten mud. Beneath the bronze shell, the flesh was half-melted.

It howled twice, then collapsed with a final gasp.

“All the bronze statues are moving!” Ye Mi raised her defensive shield, warning her teammates.

Every bronze statue they’d seen on the street was now eerily ‘alive.’ They moved like ancient beings revived, shedding fragments of bronze as they flexed their joints.

It was indescribably bizarre.

If they were surrounded, things would take a turn for the worse.

“To the clock tower!”

Red reacted swiftly, activating his powers and spreading his wings, carrying his teammates with him.

The sound of wings beating filled the air. Several bronze statues moved with uncanny speed, quickly gathering at the spot where the Gray Hawk squad had stood moments before, but now they looked around in confusion.

At the top of the clock tower, all four observed the situation below.

Having lost their targets, the bronze statues did not cease their activities.

A slender statue carrying a basket strolled across the street, the basket filled with ancient, weathered metal fruit; childlike statues chased and played, hollow faces frozen in smiles; farther away, merchant statues arranged utensils on stalls, their movements so practiced they seemed repeated a million times.

“This city... has come alive?”

It sounded insane, but it was the thought shared by every heart present.

They had come to life.

---

“There are so many... what’s going on?” Raj held his breath, watching below. More and more bronze statues awakened, numbers increasing until they matched the bustling crowds of a lively avenue in Polygon City.

“They seem to only attack living creatures in their sight,” Ye Mi ventured. “When we flew away, they lost their target.”

The bronze creatures below spread in all directions, their lines of sight crisscrossed until there was almost no gap.

“There are too many,” Raj swallowed hard. “While the captain can still fly for eighteen more minutes, we should get moving.”

The others quickly agreed. No one wanted to linger in this haunted place.

Red led them out, flying low—he’d tested this repeatedly, knowing that exceeding a certain altitude triggered an inexplicable restriction, causing his powers to drain faster.

Suddenly, Raj gasped and pointed skyward. “Wait, captain, something’s up!”

Several black dots in the distant sky grew larger, spiraling in strange patterns.

As they approached, their forms became clear—bronze birds with four wings and wingspans over two meters, beaks sharp as blades. A bite from one would surely draw blood.

“We can’t fly anymore,” Red assessed quickly, switching tactics. “They’ll definitely attack us if we’re in the air. I can’t fight them and protect you at once.”

He landed on a rooftop devoid of bronze creatures. The Gray Hawk squad now needed a new route.

“So we’re playing hide and seek with these freaks?” Raj quipped, but Red already had a plan.

“Someone needs to draw their attention. I’ll do it.”

Keira immediately understood, her brows knitted. “Captain, it’s too dangerous. There are bird monsters overhead.”

“No time to argue,” Red said, unfurling his wings. “I’ll distract them from above; you cross the street.”

There was no other option. Keira nodded, her voice low. “Be careful.”

The action began.

Red leapt from the clock tower, wings slicing the air with a shrill whistle.

“Hey!”

He shouted, swooping low over several statue heads, his voice unnaturally loud in the silent streets.

Instantly, every statue turned in unison, hollow eyes locking onto the airborne figure.

They surged toward Red like a swarm of angry bees, their footsteps so heavy the ground trembled.

It was almost like a horde of zombies...

---

Ye Mi watched, scenes from zombie movies flashing before her eyes.

“Go!”

She knew that with Red gone, command fell to her. Seizing the moment, she led Keira and Raj down the opposite side of the building.

With Red clearing the way ahead, there were fewer bronze statues on the road. The three stayed close to the walls, moving swiftly, careful to avoid every statue's gaze.

Raj’s breathing was ragged, like a bellows, but he kept his lips pressed tight, refusing to make a sound. Keira’s throwing knife was poised between her fingers, ready to respond to any threat.

At a street corner, Ye Mi suddenly raised her hand, signaling them to stop.

A few childlike bronze statues stood at the intersection ahead, backs turned, mechanically repeating some unknown action.

Their verdigris hands fluttered up and down, as if playing a children’s game.

“We’ll go around.”

Ye Mi lowered her voice to a whisper, gesturing toward a narrow alley nearby.

As they passed, one child statue suddenly turned its head, a strange smile fixed on its face, bronze lips writhing as if about to shriek—

Keira’s knife flashed faster than its movement.

A cold gleam, the blade embedded in the statue’s throat, cutting off the impending cry.

It fell instantly, but the other statues seemed oblivious to the disturbance. Even with a fallen companion at their feet, they continued their game.

“Let’s move.”

Keira retrieved her knife, its edge coated in verdigris fragments.

The closer they drew to the city center beneath the idol, the denser the statues became.

In the distance, they heard the commotion Red was stirring—he was still distracting most of the statues.

“We’re almost there.”

Ahead, the faint outline of the passage’s entrance sparked a flicker of hope in the hearts of the three as they ran.