Legend Of Corpse Hunter!

Luther's face twisted, a dark, unsettling grin spreading as he loomed over Elizabeth. His voice was low, sharp, laced with a venomous edge that left no doubt he'd long crossed any line of mercy or restraint. He was done playing the hero.

"How does it feel, Elizabeth? To know that you're worse than any beast?" He spat the words, disgust flaring in his eyes. The memories he had torn from her mind weighed on him like a sickness, memories of her using the blood plague as her twisted experiment, turning Evernight Town into a breeding ground for the alien parasites she so eagerly cultivated. Her ambition had devoured her humanity.

Elizabeth's face paled, lips trembling as Luther grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her toward Soros's lifeless body. She stumbled, fear radiating from her in waves. She tried to stammer something, but Luther's grip was iron; her pleas would fall on deaf ears.

Behind him, the Zerg larvae pranced eagerly, their malformed bodies quivering with excitement as if they sensed the brutality hanging thick in the air.

"Stay put, vermin," he snarled at them, slapping one away as it tried to inch closer. "Your turn will come. For now, let me finish with her."

The creature recoiled, clicking in what could almost be called obedience, then slithered over to Soros's head. It burrowed in and out of his skull, the bone offering no resistance, as though mocking the fragility of human flesh.

Luther ignored the creature's grotesque display and fished a small vial from Soros's coat, a tiny red pill within catching the light ominously. He dangled it before Elizabeth, his gaze like a hawk's on wounded prey.

"Do you recognize this?" he asked, his tone almost gentle; a mockery of compassion.

Elizabeth's eyes went wide. Her face froze in horror, and she shook her head with frantic desperation.

"Really? You're going to lie again?" He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper laced with cruelty. "Maybe you'd like a taste of your own creation."

With a slow, deliberate motion, Luther unscrewed the vial, letting a single pill drop into his hand. His fingers dug into her cheeks, forcing her mouth open, the pill hovering dangerously close to her lips.

"Still don't recognize it?" he taunted, his voice a low, menacing murmur. "If you're truly so ignorant, I suppose I'll just have to help you remember."

Elizabeth's terror was palpable. She thrashed against his grip, but his hand was like steel. "Please… please, don't… I'll tell you what you want to know!"

Her voice broke, tears slipping down her cheeks as she finally capitulated.

He let go of her, a faint smirk playing at the corner of his mouth as he watched her gasping for air, scrambling to find her composure.

"It's… it's a medicine, made from the eggs of the alien species," she stammered, unable to meet his eyes. "It can sometimes cure the blood plague… but it often parasitizes in the human body. It changes people, turns them into… something else. And if a parasite is already inside them, it'll create a clash; an internal war, consuming them from the inside out."

"So, it can cure the blood plague… but it's more likely to turn people into monsters," he said, each word heavy with contempt. "Is that what you wanted?"

"Yes…" She swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper.

Luther's smile faded, replaced by a cold, calculating expression. "Then tell me, Elizabeth, is there a way to end the blood plague once and for all?"

Her lips quivered, but she hesitated, knowing her answer would either doom her or save her.

"There… there is a way," she admitted, glancing nervously at the vial still in his hand, "but only if we can find the original source of the plague. The source holds a serum that, when mixed with clean water, can cure it. But… that's only a legend. No one's ever found it."

"A legend?" he echoed, his voice dripping with scorn. "So you're telling me there's no real cure?"

She nodded, almost shrinking under his stare. "Yes… that's the truth."

"Then you're useless to me." Luther's eyes gleamed with dark intent. He shook the vial, spilling all the red pills into his palm, letting her see them glistening in the dim light. "Open wide."

Elizabeth's survival instinct kicked in, and she lunged backward, trying to escape his grasp. But Luther was faster, his hand locking around her wrist, his grip unyielding as he yanked her back down.

"Fine. You want to keep struggling? Go ahead. But I'm done with your games." He leaned close, his breath warm against her ear, a cruel smile on his face.

"Ugly thing, come here!" Luther barked, his voice dripping with disdain.

The Zerg larvae wriggled out of Soros's shattered skull, its grotesque form squirming with what could only be described as twisted joy. It scuttled over to Luther's side, its oily body glistening under the dim light. Elizabeth's face turned a sickly shade of white as she watched the parasite approach, her stomach churning with horror.

She opened her mouth to speak, but dizziness overtook her, her mind foggy, barely registering Luther's voice as it oozed with malice.

"Don't worry, Elizabeth," he said smoothly, leaning close. "It'll keep you company on your way home. And when I'm done here, I'll come to find you in Grunt Province. So don't try hiding. I always find what I'm looking for."

"Understood, Master," the larvae hissed, as if relishing the command. Elizabeth's terror was complete; whatever dignity she had was stripped away.

As she was dragged off into the shadows, Luther turned his attention back to his next move.

---

The next morning, Luther returned to the clinic, his mind unsettled yet sharper than before. The Zerg parasite, with its unique ability to latch onto memories, was feeding him fragments of Elizabeth's past. Bits and pieces of her twisted plans and forbidden knowledge trickled into his consciousness, unveiling a world much darker and far more complex than he had ever imagined.

The words echoed in his mind: 'Extraordinaries, alien species, apostles, Church of Dusk, Holy Inquisition.' Elizabeth's memories painted a world seething with hidden factions, powers lurking just beneath the surface, forces that tore society apart from the shadows.

But Luther had little interest in joining their world of politics and power. He was just a man. An ordinary man who only wanted to save his town from the curse that had taken so many lives. His focus was clear: the plague that tormented Evernight Town, the mysterious epidemic with a single known link—'the Plague Stone.'

If he could gather the fragments of this stone, perhaps he could finally put an end to the suffering. But his mission would require stealth, strength, and a growing ruthlessness he wasn't even aware he possessed.

---

In a narrow alleyway, shaded from the morning sun, a mother and her young son walked with a cautious haste, bags of vegetables clutched in their hands. They rounded a corner and froze.

A zombie, gaunt and ravenous, staggered into view, its vacant eyes locking onto them. The mother's face went ashen, and she instinctively pushed her son forward, voice trembling.

"Jace, run! Don't look back!" she shouted, her voice cracking with fear. "I'll hold it off. Just go; be brave!"

Jace stumbled forward a few steps, his mother's urgent shove breaking him from his shock. But after a few strides, he stopped, turning to face her with fierce determination.

"Mother! Don't be afraid! I'll… I'll call the Corpse Hunter! He'll come! He has to!"

Without another word, Jace snatched up the small metal whistle hanging around his neck, brought it to his lips, and blew with all his might. The sharp note pierced the alleyway, echoing off the walls.

"Jace!" his mother cried, desperation in her voice. "Run faster! The Corpse Hunter is… he's just a story! He—"

But her words died on her lips as a shadow descended from above. A figure, cloaked in a gray robe and with a mask concealing his face, landed smoothly in front of her, his presence emanating calm, deadly intent.

"Madam, take your son and leave. I'll handle this," the figure said, voice steady, even courteous.

"Mom, mom! See? I told you he'd come!" Jace's voice was breathless with excitement, his eyes wide with admiration. "The Corpse Hunter! He's real!"

The boy's excitement was electric, his little heart pounding. For the past week, ever since his friend had given him that whistle and whispered tales of the mysterious Corpse Hunter, Jace had been itching for a chance to see the legend in action. And now, here he was. The corpse hunter had come to life.

The mother hesitated, looking at the masked figure, fear and gratitude warring in her gaze. She opened her mouth to say something, but as she watched him draw a dagger and move toward the advancing zombie with chilling confidence, she simply nodded.

"Thank you! Please… please be safe!" she whispered, then grabbed her son's hand and sprinted out of the alley, her heart hammering.

Luther; watched them go, his mind calm and focused. The zombie lunged at him, its fetid breath reeking of decay, but he sidestepped easily, the movement almost lazy. With a quick motion, he grabbed the creature's head, his hand like iron, and slammed it against the wall.

In one fluid move, he drove his dagger up into the zombie's mouth, the blade puncturing through to the back of its head and pinning it against the wall. It twitched and writhed, its body jerking in final death throes, but Luther held it fast.

Ignoring the last spasms, Luther reached into his pocket, drawing out a set of small, wickedly sharp knives. Without a second thought, he began to cut, probing the zombie's flesh, searching for any trace of the Plague Stone.

This was only the beginning. He would hunt down every trace of this cursed stone, every fragment, and end this plague once and for all.