Chapter 93: Monster, My Friend
SHIFF!!
I shook violently, my body drenched with sweat, my baggy eyes wide and my disheveled hair straight.
I was horrified.
And why?
Because of the creepy eyes of the Red Lycan.
Its gaze was locked on mine, unblinking and unnerving. It seemed to have no purpose for its action, its eyes being eerily empty.
Even when I looked to the side, its eyes followed mine and as I moved, they moved as well – tracking my every movement.
The action was deeply disturbing and gravely chilling.
HA... HA....
"H-hey...w-what's w-wrong?", I managed to ask with my quivering lips.
Silence.
I was met with no response.
GULP!
I swallowed loudly, a deadly chill running down my spine, my hands shaking and my heart pounding.
I was just about to let out a scream when suddenly I heard a sound.
THUMP.
I froze, turning my head to the direction of the sound.
THUMP.
The cave's entrance.
THUMP.
It was the sound of footsteps....
THUMP.
Coming from outside...
THUMP.
In the dead of the night.
SHIFF!!
I shifted violently and the Red Lycan finally blinked, taking her eyes off me.
Her head turned to the cave's entrance, which had suddenly grown silent.
HA...! HA...!
I panted heavily, utterly terrified.
The silence grew longer, the air thicker.
The Red Lycan's gaze remained fixed on the entrance for what seemed like an eternity before...
It finally dropped its head back to the ground, and returned to sleep.
I-is...is it gone...?
I blinked, still frozen before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
HA...
My expression one of utter reprieve.
Thank God...it was probably just a wandering...beast...
FWOO...
I let out another relieved breath before snaking out a shaky smile.
W-we're...we're safe...
DOOM!
HIHIHIHI...
"T-there...y-you...are..."
Those were the last words I heard before the system spoke.
[Extreme Bloodlust detected.]
[The player is being endangered by an enemy.]
[Level 6. Redcap Troll.]
...
This cave had once been a solace. A place where I could eat, drink, laugh and sleep. A place to return to whenever I got hurt.
Overtime it began to lose those qualities but at the very least...
It was a place I could call home.
But now...
It was no longer that...
It was no longer the place I called home...
It was now a cage...a cage where I was trapped with a monster with no way out...
SHIFF!
The Red Lycan moved, rising up to her four paws despite her enlarged belly. She stared at the monster in the cave, who met her gaze with its eerie blood-red eyes.
The weapon in its hand, an object which seemed to be a mace was dripping with red; it was fresh blood.
HA...! HA...!
I watched the two monsters with frightened eyes, my body curled up at a corner of the cave.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to run.
But of course, there was no way to run and I dared not scream.
The cave was sealed, the only way out being the entrance which was blocked by the murderous Troll.
SNARL!
The Red Lycan let out a low threatening sound, as if trying to scare away the Redcap Troll.
For a moment, I believed her actions to be pointless, the murderous Troll didn't look like a mere beast to be scared away from that.
But on God was I wrong...
W-wha-?!
ZWOOM!!
Suddenly, the air changed and the shadows grew deeper.
The Red Lycan suddenly rose to her two hind legs and undertook a drastic change.
Her body grew wider, her fangs sharper, her fur thicker and her slender fore-legs turned into large powerful arms, ending with ruthlessly sharp claws.
The Red Lycan had transformed from a four-legged carnivore into a looming werewolf beast.
I stared at her towering form, now matching the height of the Redcap Troll. I was awestruck.
The Red Lycan met the sickening gaze of the Redcap Troll, who's bloodied lips twisted into what seemed like a revolting smile.
I stared at the two behemoths in the cave, one brimming with primal fury and the other with chilling malevolence.
I watched, breathless, seemingly dumbfounded by the scene before me.
The two beasts continued to stare each other down for several seconds.
[Extreme Bloodlust detected.]
[The player is being endangered by an enemy.]
[Level 6. Red Lycan.]
[Extreme Bloodlust detected.]
[The player is being endangered by an enemy.]
[Level 6. Redcap Troll.]
The bloodlust of the monsters clashed, sending an electric jolt up my flesh. These two were both powerful Level 6 creatures, and thus, their bloodlust was immensely terrifying.
It filled the space of the cave, making it harder to breathe.
HA...! HA...!
I clenched my chest with a hand, doing my absolute best to stop myself from emptying my stomach.
The two beasts remained unmoving for several seconds, before the Red Lycan suddenly howled...
HOWL!!
...and... then...
All hell let loose.
...
BOOM!!
CRASH!!
BANG!!
Outside the collapsed cave, the Red Lycan and the Redcap Troll were locked in a bloody struggle. They both clashed against each other with harrowing might and chilling violence.
Their struggle disturbing the eternal silence that loomed over the night.
GROWL!!!
The Red Lycan let out a threatening sound, as she violently clawed down at the Redcap Troll who responded to her brutal advance with a lung of its mace.
BANG!!
They collided, the sound of the impact rupturing the space.
HIHIHI!
The Redcap let out an excited sound, as it brought down its mace once again, clashing with the claws of the ferocious Lycan.
TANG!!
The Red Lycan fought with all her might.
To protect her unborn child.
To protect herself.
To protect me.
She fought violently and furiously using her immense strength and speed while the Redcap Troll fought with equal might and its bloodied mace. They were both Level 6...they were supposed to be equally matched...so...
So... why?
BASH!!
The Red Lycan stumbled, haven taken a violent blow to her face.
SPLURT!!
Blood busted out of her left eye socket as her movements momentarily slowed, but she didn't stop.
GROWL!!
She kept fighting.
Even though it was futile...
She kept fighting.
Fighting for the sake of her cub.
Her child.
But...
RIP!!
TEAR!!
CRUNCH!!
BASH!!
The Redcap Troll ruthlessly brutalized the Red Lycan, tearing her flesh and smashing her bones while I watched in horror.
n-NO...I... S-stop...
I reached out my hand, as if trying to grasp them.
"S-stop!", I let out a weak cry.
Come on! Move! Move body! Move!
My legs shakily began to move towards the scene, my hand stretching out and my face slowly contorting from one of pain to rage.
I've faced greater enemies! I've faced several beasts! I've killed many of them! And I survived!
FUCK!
I survived that damn lake!
Inventory Open!
[Equipped Item: Stray Stick.]
Compared to that lake! This fucker is nothing!!
My body swelled with powerful determination, my spirit overcoming the fear.
I gripped the stick in my hands and ran, I opened my mouth and screamed,
"I'LL KILL-"
ZWOON!
The Redcap Troll suddenly snapped its head in my direction and stared at me with its blood red eyes, its lips twisting into a deranged smile.
[Extreme Bloodlust detected.]
[The player is being endangered by an enemy.]
THUD!
The stick fell from my hands, hitting the ground with a dull thud as I turned my back and...
Ran away.
...
What was I thinking?
Just who do I think I am?
A hero? A killer?
Neither!
Am just a stupid, useless kid!
What did I think I was going to do?
What did I think was going to happen?
Have I forgotten that I'm just a human?
Did my head swell just because I died once and came back?
Is that why I think am strong?
BULLSHIT!
BULLSHIT!!
I'm just a science student in my final year...just a boy who was dreaming of entering university...
So... how did my life turn to this...?
Tears trickled down my eyes as I ran through the Wyvern Woods. My expression filled with anguish and self-loathing.
I hated myself.
Not because I was weak.
But because I thought I was strong.
I let the few Level 2 and 3 monsters I had killed go into my head.
I totally forgot that I ran away from more monsters than I'd slew.
I'd utterly forgot that many of my kills had been close calls and many more were only possible due to assistance from the Red Lycan.
Red Lycan...
She had given me food and shelter, had given me hope when I was lost.
She had saved me.
And in return, I betrayed her!
I had left her and her unborn child to die.
All because I was weak.
But what could I do?!
I was merely a 16-year-old kid...what could I even hope to do in a world filled with such monsters?
A world so warped, even the strong and intelligent wouldn't survive.
I'm such a fool! I'm such an idiot!
I should have died in that lake along with my classmates!
'I chose Freedom'? What a load of bull!
HIC! HIC!
Tears continued to roll down my eyes as I ran, I ran as fast as I could.
HIC! HIC!
I ran even as my legs ached, even as my lungs burned...
Even as my body got cut against the trees, even when I nearly tripped on roots, and...
Even when the trees grew faces and laughed.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
They laughed.
Laughed at my weakness, at my futility, at my fear, at me.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Their faces were expressions of dark excitement, genuinely reveling in my sorrow.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
They laughed because of how vain my predicament was...
At how desperate I was to live, even though my reality was dark.
HAHAHAHAHA!
They laughed.
After all, the herald of death was coming.
[Extreme Bloodlust detected.]
[The player is being endangered by an enemy.]
[Level 6. Redcap Troll.]
My breath hitched and my chest tightened, my eyes turned bloodshot as every cell in my body screamed at me to get away.
But no matter how fast I ran or how hard I tried...
I could never escape.
The Redcap Troll continued to close the gap, its eerie laughter growing closer and closer with each passing moment.
HIHIHI!
HA...! HA...!
Once again, I found myself running for my life but this time, I was alone.
Vicki wasn't here to share the burden with me.
It was simply me, the Wyvern Woods and the lingering cold.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The herald of death was closing in with weighty yet powerful steps, ready to bring an end to my pitiful and miserable life.
HIHIHI!
It's laugh sounded deathly close and its shadow loomed over me. My death seemed certain. It seemed inevitable.
And yet, I didn't slow down, I didn't stop.
I continued to run.
HA...! HA...!
HIHIHI!
A sudden coldness loomed across my nape, chilling and deathly close. I didn't need to look back to know what it was though.
Instinctively, I knew, it was the Troll's hand.
Wide and ready to crush my throat.
HA...! HA...!
HIHIHI!
"W-why...resist? W-why...run? W-why...delay the...inevitable?"
The Redcap Troll spoke in a chilling voice, its words mocking yet its tone inquisitive.
Like it was asking a valid question.
But I didn't bother to answer.
HA...! HA...!
I kept on running, never looking back even once. I kept running until finally, my luck ran out.
TAK!
AH!
[You have been wounded.]
The system spoke as my body fell into a roll, colliding with several sticks and stones before coming to a halt.
ACK!
My back collided with a hard surface, turning into a map of pain.
[You have been wounded.]
The system spoke but I paid it no mind, because...
I raised my head and stared forward.
A few meters away from my position, was the herald of death.
[Extreme Bloodlust detected.]
[The player is being endangered by an enemy.]
[Level 6. Redcap Troll.]
The Redcap Troll.
HIHIHI!
"Finally..."
It spoke in a coarse tone as it approached, its powerful steps deliberately slow and measured. It dragged its mace across the ground, leaving behind a trail of blood and viscera.
HIHIHIHI!
It let out a low creepy laugh as it stepped forward.
SHIFF!!
I rose to my feet, using the jagged surface behind me as support.
I don't want to die...
I thought as my gaze met the Troll's chilling one.
THUMP. THUMP.
I don't want to feel that pain again...
Tears threatened to roll down my cheeks, as my body trembled.
I was scared, terrified.
But the Redcap Troll was undaunted, it took another step forward and in response...
I put up my hands and screamed, "STOP! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!"
HIHIHI!
"STOP! I SAID STOP!"
HIHIHI!
The Redcap Troll lunged at me, its mace fell, aiming to smite me when suddenly...
[Skill: Blood Factor has been activated.]
The system spoke.
Huh?
For a brief moment, I caught sight of the Redcap Troll's blood-red hair glistening and suddenly its mace flashed down at me, but I wasn't struck.
BOOM!
The dreadful weapon instead connected with the ground and shattered it.
"AH-"
The ground beneath me disappeared, turning into a dark hole that swallowed both me and the Redcap Troll.
AH!
For a brief moment, I seemed to be in freefall, descending down a rocky path.
The cold that had accompanied me throughout my arduous journey suddenly disappeared and then...
I heard a dreadful scream.
HIEEK!!
Followed by a sickening sound and the feeling of fresh blood splattering across my skin.
I couldn't tell whatever had just happened, but I suddenly felt it...
Death was no longer near.
I survived...
I thought as I descended into darkness.
...
My eyes suddenly shot open, dispelling the darkness.
HA...! HA...!
I sat up and looked around.
W-where am I?
My gaze was alarmed, fearful, scared but slowly...it relaxed.
Oh...am at the cottage...
I turned to the window and gasped.
"It's already...dark?"
I must have been out for a long time...
I remained still for a moment, before turning to back.
ZZZZ...
Vicki's sprawled frame was resting on the floorboards of the plain room. She was sound asleep.
ZZZZ....
My gaze softened slightly as I watched her.
She seemed strangely peaceful, a sharp contrast to my recent flashback.
My gaze was clear for a moment before it cracked.
Red Lycan...
My face crunched up and my eyes glistened before I broke into tears.