Rebellion Against Heaven - Part 2

Chapter 2: The Hunter's Blood

The underground tunnels were a labyrinth of dampness, stench and death. Every drop of water that fell from the rusty pipes echoed in the silence, accompanied by the echo of his own footsteps. The air was permeated with a scent of mold, decaying flesh, and something else, something metallic that scratched at the throat with every breath.

Ryuusei and Aiko were moving forward with bated breath, feeling the pressure in their chests with each step they took. Their shadows danced on the walls in the flashing light of dying streetlights, casting ghostly figures that seemed to stalk them.

"They are following us," Aiko whispered, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly.

"I know," Ryuusei murmured, staring into the darkness of the corridor in front of them. But they are not the heroes. It's them.

A shiver ran down Aiko's spine. I didn't need him to say their names. He knew exactly who he was talking about.

A viscous and slow sound echoed behind them. Something was leaking. Something heavy. Something that smelled of blood and putrefaction.

"They're here," Ryuusei whispered, turning around with hammers raised.

From the shadows emerged the grotesque figure of a herald. Their body was covered in torn flesh, with parts of other bodies attached to it as if they were trophies from their hunt. Human teeth protruded from his arms in a chaotic pattern, and still-blinking eyes were embedded in his torso. His face was a grimace twisted with madness, his black eyes shining with an insatiable hunger. And he did not come alone.

Dozens of Black Heralds surrounded him, their silhouettes warped by unholy mutations. Some had extra arms sprouting from their backs, others possessed mouths in places where there shouldn't be, full of sharp, drooling teeth. One of them had a swollen, open belly, from which hung intestines entangled in rusty chains. They all shared the same goal: to tear Ryuusei and Aiko apart.

"Shit," Aiko muttered, drawing her sword.

"Die slowly," growled the chief herald, licking his torn lips.

The attack was instantaneous. A herald leapt at Ryuusei with sharp claws, but he intercepted it with a brutal hammer blow to the face. The skull exploded in a shower of brains, bone fragments, and teeth that flew in all directions. Another tried to tackle him from the side, but Ryuusei teleported behind him and embedded both daggers in the back of his neck. The herald convulsed violently before collapsing to the ground, gurgling as his own tongue tangled in his torn windpipe.

Aiko, on the other hand, danced among the enemies with a lethal coldness. His sword moved swiftly, slicing limbs and trunks with surgical precision. One of the heralds tried to reach her with a huge jaw that opened in her stomach, but she cut off his head in one motion. The body collapsed, but the mouth of his torso continued to bite into the air, emitting sickly clicks until he finally went inert.

Blood covered the walls. The flesh hung in tatters from the brothers' weapons. Ryuusei shattered an enemy's chest with a downward blow of his hammer, causing the torso to split open like rotten fruit, scattering hot viscera across the ground. An eyeless herald lunged at him, groaning with a dozen tongues sliding from his torn mouth. Ryuusei snapped his skull in two with a thud, and a gush of brain matter poured over his boots.

Aiko beheaded two heralds in a single turn, but one caught her off guard and plunged its hooked fingers into her side. She grunted in pain before turning her sword and piercing his throat, letting him drown in his own thick, blackish blood.

"We can't go on like this," Ryuusei growled, thrusting a hammer into another enemy's chest, crushing it to a pulp. The sound of crushing bones and bursting organs filled the tunnel.

Aiko gasped, her face covered in the blood of her enemies.

"Then let's get this over with quickly."

Suddenly, a screech pierced the air. A herald, the tallest of all, advanced among the mangled bodies. His skin was pale as wax, and his eyes, completely white, reflected the madness of someone who was no longer human. Its jaw was dislodged, revealing a mouth full of needle-sharp teeth. He raised a huge axe made of bones, covered with agonizing faces that seemed to groan in the silence.

"Ryuusei," Aiko murmured, taking a step back.

"I see it.

The herald opened his mouth. And then, in a distorted, guttural voice, he said a single word.

"Die."

The axe fell with absurd speed. Ryuusei barely had time to roll to the side before the edge hit the ground and split the concrete into a thousand pieces. The shockwave threw them both into the air.

But they wouldn't fall here. Not tonight.

The hunt had begun. And they didn't think they would die easily.