The Warp Spider sighed, as he saw the girl die. Too soon, too young. But then again, that's what being a hero was all about. Life for a hero was nothing more than seeing your comrades die around you, or, if you were lucky, to die first. It was a shit job, but somebody needed to do it. So right now, right here, he'd end this invasion. And he'd end the next one. And whatever came after this, he'd end it too, before it even began. Before they ever reached the city. Before girls like that would have to die. Until his body and mind broke down, and he finally faced the end he had seen so many others fall to.

It was an old promise, filled with regret, and yet strengthened by his own conviction.

A pulse of energy seemed to move across the ground, as it seemingly evaporated. A thin layer of bricks disappearing beneath Zelan. For in his attack he had walked straight into a trap that had never been intended for him. A thick layer of explosives was revealed, enough C4 to blow the entire city block to hell. It was unknown whether, in that instant, Zelan recognized the explosives of human design. Or whether Linia knew what was coming when the floor beneath her vanished, or was even lucid enough to realize it. It was only a fraction of a second, that moment of sudden realization, as the trap was revealed. And then, as Shiro lit the fuse, the world was filled with light and sound. Furious heat and force, the raw power of an explosion, annihilating everything nearby.

Shiro stood, staring, nearly blinded by the glow. It hurt, but it should. For that explosion would undoubtedly have killed Linia. And no matter how much he told himself she was beyond saving, that she was already too wounded.... he would never forget that look on her face. The face he had seen too often, the fear of death in the eyes of a person not ready to die. A new addition to a long list of failures.

Afterwards, the remaining heroes and fishmen found themselves surrounding an immense crater. Thasseldar had been just outside the blast radius, most likely assaulted by flying debris and heat, but not seriously harmed. Who knew where Abbadon had been, but at least one of his locusts had been killed in that blast. They were expendable, however. Shiro held out his hand, as Fullbringer appeared in it. He blew out a cloud of smoke, which slowly rose into the air, even as Absolute Eye scanned the area. Counting the survivors, on both sides. Trying to find Zelan, if he was still alive after that explosion.

First the fishmen, then Cataclysm. And maybe then he could worry about the demon. And whatever came after that, assuming he would live that long.