Chapter 19: Overrun
He felt it. His own death. Impossible not to when it stood right in front of him.
An Alpha.
Twice the size of the largest Carrion Hound he'd seen. Same canine shape. Same black, torn skin that stretched and split as it moved. But this one had a major difference besides it's size. It had eyes.
Sickly yellow. Like the pus that oozed from the flesh fields. They glowed. They locked on.
[Recommendation: User should run. Target is two ranks higher. Probability of survival in direct combat is 0%.]
"Can I outrun it?"
[Negative. User's agility is F rank. Target exceeds by at least twenty points in all categories.]
"Then what do I do?!"
Desperation crawled up his throat, hot and choking. He couldn't win. He couldn't even run. He'd drawn too much attention and forgotten where he was. This wasn't some training ground.
This was the Maw.
[Recommendation: None.]
His blood ran cold.
"Wait... there has to be something you—"
Movement cut him off.
The pack shifted.
The front line spread wide, each hound stepping in perfect unison. Side by side. Forming a wall of claws and teeth.
"Something's different..."
They weren't like before. Every step was in sync. Every breath matched. Watching them move, something sharp and primal stabbed up his spine.
They were thinking now.
[Analyzing… High probability: Carrion Hounds under Hive control via Alpha ability. Targets will now exhibit higher intelligence and coordinated tactics.]
"Don't talk if you're not going to help!"
He bared his teeth, crouching low. Ready, but empty. No plan came. No skill or ability offered a way out. Nothing. He was going to die, and he knew it.
A bitter grin cracked his face.
"If I'm going to die... I'm gonna die eating! Hellfire!"
[-1SM]
[+10% Damage]
Cursed black flames crawled up his arms, cold biting deep as they coiled toward Butcher's Wrath. The cleavers drank them in, coating themselves in hungry darkness.
He made his choice. And it seemed the Alpha had made its own.
It threw it's head back and screamed.
Cleavers still in hand, the imp clamped them over his ears, terror stabbing through his chest. It was like the hounds before, the sound of screaming souls. But where that had felt like a crowd, this felt endless. Like the Maw itself couldn't hold the hate pouring out of those voices.
Unshaken, the front line charged.
The scream died fast. As he lowered his hands, watching death rush toward him, something strange settled deep inside.
Acceptance.
[-1SM // Hellfire Upkeep]
[SM // 11/13]
He braced. Blades heating in his grip, feet planted, tail whipping wildly behind him. He bared his teeth and screeched back.
"Come! I'll kill all of you!"
The imp didn't wait. The second they closed in, he met them, cleavers rising and falling. Meat split. Bone cracked. The first hound fell fast, its skull split down the middle.
[+2SM // +5Exp // -15sec]
But the second didn't die so easily.
It took two blows, straight to the spine, before it dropped. No cry. Just collapse.
[+2SM // +5Exp // -15sec]
He felt it then. These weren't like before. They didn't die clean.
A snarl broke from his throat. His arms worked faster, cleavers cutting wide arcs, but the bodies kept coming. Every kill took two strikes now. Each second spent finishing one left gaps for others.
And they pressed.
[-1SM // Hellfire Upkeep]
A set of jaws nicked his side. Another scraped his thigh.
[-7HP]
[Demonic Will // Stack 0]
[-6HP]
[Demonic Will // Stack 1]
[+5% Pain Reduction // +1% Health Regen]
[HP // 47/60]
He moved faster. Forced himself to stay mobile. Step, slash, pivot. No wasted movement. He could feel his instincts pulling tight, snapping his body into sharper focus.
The time spent with the swarm, his battles so far, all of it came through now. He kept his back guarded, always turning into the attacks. Nothing got behind him.
[+2SM // +5Exp // -15sec]
[Feed // Activated]
[+1HP/5sec]
Still, they pushed. Still, they clawed. Even as his blades tore into them, they didn't stop.
Another down.
Two more.
A third.
Seven dead.
He paused only long enough to draw a sharp breath, watching the fallen dissolve into the field. His cleavers vibrated, his arms with them. Blood soaked the ground, painted his legs, clung to his face.
[HP // 51/60]
[SM // 13/13]
[Exp // 332/372]
He was starting to feel like he could do this. But then the Alpha finally moved. It didn't rush, didn't roar, it simply leaned forward and gave the smallest motion.
The response was instant.
Another wave came from the dark edges of the field, ten more. Not slow, not hesitating. Straight into formation with the ones already harassing him.
The eight left became eighteen.
The imp lowered his stance. His tail lashed once, twice. He growled low, eyes darting between them.
[-1SM // Hellfire Upkeep]
[+2HP]
[HP // 53/60]
Even as his health steadily climbed, his budding confidense suddenly plunged.
They'd keep coming.
He moved fast, but they adjusted faster.
The Alpha's head shifted. Just a tilt, a slight jerk of its maw.
The hounds reacted. They broke left, circled, switched angles. No simple charges now. They began working together. The imp slashed one, but another bit into his side.
[-7 HP]
[Demonic Will // Stack 2]
[+10% Pain Reduction // +2% Regen]
[HP // 46/60]
He grunted and twisted, cleaver crunching through the attacker's neck.
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+3HP]
[HP // 49/60]
But they didn't let up. Another came from low. He barely avoided losing his foot, catching a shallow gash across his calf.
[-4 HP]
[Demonic Will // Stack 3]
[+15% Pain Reduction // +3% Regen]
[HP // 44/60]
The pain was growing duller, but his reactions remained clear under the growing effect of pain reduction. Thanking the skill, he kept moving. His blades never stopped.
Another fell. Then another. Only four dead.
He felt like they were dying slower.
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+2HP]
[HP // 46/60]
He snarled through clenched teeth as he sliced through a paw, diving from an attack.
The Alpha's eyes glowed brighter. That sickly yellow bored holes into him as it tilted its head again, sharper this time. Commanding.
The hounds grew tighter. Their strikes more focused, aiming low, wide, pushing him toward the center. They wanted to cage him in.
He couldn't let that happen.
"Enough."
He shoved forward and activated his skill.
"Rend!"
[Skill Activated // Rend]
[+10% Slashing Damage]
The transformation was instant. Cleavers rose from his arms with a violent snap. His muscles bulged under strain as the oversized blades slammed down.
KRG-THUNK.
CRRK-SNAP.
Bodies split apart. Heads rolled. Chests opened like rotting fruit as he continued to attack.
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[Level Up +1]
[Level 5 -> 6]
[+3 AP // +1 Int // +1 vit // +1 Wil // Sm +1]
[System Skill Unlock // Desecration]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
Rend faded. His cleavers shrank, slick with filth. But the weight didn't leave his arms.
Eight died in an instant while he leveled. The eruption of light from his body did nothing to the blind Carrion Hounds, only the Alpha noticed. Snarling, the pack responded and increased the pressure.
Rend's cooldown had dropped.
[Rend Cooldown 5 minutes → 3 minutes]
[HP // 60/60]
He didn't have time to process any of it. Barely registering his level up as notifications blurred past. His body felt lighter, reactions sharper, his health replenished, none of it mattered.
Only the shift in the hounds registered.
The Alpha's eyes narrowed, the yellow glow flickering. The pack shifted again, faster, sharper. Like hammers swinging from a single hand.
From every dark crevice, more bodies surged. Black skinned monsters, the entire pack poured in. Claws tearing dirt, maws open wide, the whole of them charging at once.
The Alpha followed.
Slow, heavy steps. But coming.
The imp's blood went cold. The noise. The quake of the demons charge. His health wasn't bad, and his Demonic Will was maxed out. But Rend was gone, Hellfire was draining. He wouldn't win. Not like this.
He lowered his cleavers.
Chest heaving. Arms numb.
'This is it.'
He laughed bitterly.
"Savage beasts…"
He saw them closing in. Black waves. Death incarnate. And then—
His eyes flashed, a memory hitting like lightning, two words burning in his mind.
"SAVAGE FEED!"
The hounds slammed toward him. Teeth. Claws. All a breath away as the imps sight went dark.