Chapter 7: The Kill
The creature was about to unleash its Banshee's Howl.
Zhou Ning reacted instantly. He knew this attack from his past life in the game Apocalypse. As the most difficult early-stage boss, Marion would use this trick to wipe out entire parties of clueless players. The only way to survive was to find cover—and fast.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ning spun around and dashed for the right side of the altar, his movements sharp and serpentine. A whoosh sounded behind him as a massive fireball shot past, setting the wooden floor ablaze.
In an instant, flames roared to life.
Her attack having missed, Niamh seemed oblivious to the danger of the impending Banshee's Howl. Her face grim, she continued chanting her next spell.
Zhou Ning ignored Niamh's attack and kept running. He barely made it, diving behind the altar and hitting the ground flat.
At that exact moment, a piercing sound wave erupted outwards—
`[You were hit by the Banshee's Howl! You take 57 points of damage!]`
`[You are hit by the Banshee's Howl! You are Dazed and your movement speed is reduced by 50% for 10 seconds!]`
Even though he'd been prepared, Zhou Ning was still caught in the blast. Warm liquid streamed from his nose. His head spun, and he subconsciously reached up to wipe it away, his fingers coming back slick with bright red blood.
That was close!
Zhou Ning's heart hammered as he checked his status. His health had plummeted, leaving him with only 25 points, and his stamina bar was nearly depleted. If not for his experience from the game and his quick reflexes, he'd be dead already.
As it was, his health bar was already in the red. Fortunately, according to the mechanics of Apocalypse, health recovered at an extremely slow rate after leaving combat. Otherwise, there'd be no point in even attempting the next fight.
The others weren't so lucky. Marion's Banshee's Howl was like a small hurricane tearing through the room, scattering the bits of flesh and blood on the floor. Alan, the fat boy, and the others were thrown onto their backs, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths and noses.
The black-robed cultists who had just charged forward suffered the worst of it. Caught in the center of the blast, they had no time to defend themselves. The Banshee's Howl sent them flying, and they crashed heavily to the ground, unconscious.
A moment later, the furious Marion stopped her screeching. Her eight legs scuttled left and right as she searched for enemies. Her primary target was Zhou Ning, the one who had wounded her so badly, but when she couldn't immediately find him, her attention snapped to Niamh, the caster who had just hurled a fireball at her.
Niamh cried out. "Stop! Stop! I'm not your enemy!"
Having taken the Banshee's Howl head-on, Niamh had only just recovered enough to shout his warning. But the newborn, low-level demon was ruled by madness, its reason easily lost. In a flash, Marion's sharp foreclaws shot out, snatched Niamh into the air, and shoved him into her maw of razor-sharp teeth.
A moment later, a shrill scream was cut short by the sickening, grinding crunch of teeth on bone.
Watching this, Zhou Ning felt his own heart pound in horror.
He recalled a story from his past life. A player with the ID 'Sad Wind Emperor' had the bright idea to try and have sex with Marion. It ended, tragically and predictably, in his death. Seeing the scene before him now, Zhou Ning felt like singing a tribute to the man's foolishness: 'Keep Your Roots.'
Seeing Marion's health rapidly regenerating after devouring Niamh, Zhou Ning didn't hesitate. He ejected the spent casing, rotated the cylinder, and calmly fired another shot.
"Bang!"
The bullet struck Marion squarely in the forehead, punching a deep hole through her carapace. Green ichor splattered out, sizzling as it hit the ground.
Marion, however, seemed unfazed. Though her health bar dropped slightly, she instantly shifted her focus. Spreading her eight long legs, she lunged furiously toward Zhou Ning's hiding spot behind the altar.
Zhou Ning didn't rush to dodge. He squeezed the trigger, fanning the hammer with his left hand and unloading the remaining bullets into Marion. His ivory-handled Colt M1873 revolver had a custom cylinder, but it only held ten rounds. After four quick shots, it was empty.
The volley of shots finally knocked Marion's health below half. Her massive body charged right up to Zhou Ning, then suddenly leaped into the air to pounce on him.
"Go... die... you ant!"
Zhou Ning remained calm, his eyes fixed on the descending monster. The empty M1873 revolver in his hand vanished, replaced in an instant by another weapon from his last simulation: the Swedish Sjogren semi-automatic shotgun.
Just like its description said: 12-gauge, wasp nest maker, a real murder weapon.
Zhou Ning raised the Sjogren, squinted, aimed for Marion's head, and pulled the trigger.
"BANG!!!"
Ichor and gore exploded from Marion's head. The deafening blast and immense recoil from the Sjogren shotgun knocked Zhou Ning back a step. Marion let out an eardrum-shattering shriek and crashed heavily to the ground.
-697!
This shotgun really lives up to its reputation. A single shot had taken her from half health down to a quarter, putting her deep in the red.
Marion lay crumpled on the floor. She took a deep breath, preparing to unleash another Banshee's Howl, but a thick gun barrel was suddenly shoved into her open mouth.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two more shots, and her head erupted in a spray of blood and tissue.
Zhou Ning's eyes were cold. He ignored the searing, corrosive pain on his arm where her blood had spattered and fired twice more into her mangled maw.
Instantly, Marion's health bar emptied, and the madness in her eyes began to fade.
"No... my child... my love... I don't want to die..."
Zhou Ning had no interest in listening to her dying words. He pulled the trigger a final time.
Marion's massive body collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud. A moment later, her flesh and blood disintegrated, dissolving into a swarm of tiny spiders that scattered across the ground.
"Finally... it's over."
Zhou Ning finally let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He stowed the shotgun back in his inventory and was startled to feel that his entire back was soaked with cold sweat.
`[You have slain the low-level demon, Marion the Oriole. You gained 3500 experience points.]`
`[You have attracted the attention of the evil god, Nyastra.]`
Zhou Ning shook his head. 3500 experience points is great, but the side effects of killing demons are a pain. There's always a chance you'll attract the attention of their boss. My luck is just terrible.
You had to give it to Apocalypse; it was a game with an incredible degree of freedom. Players could join the righteous factions, but they could also complete a series of quests to side with the evil camps, or even pledge themselves to an evil god. And now, it seemed the choice had been made for him.
Glancing around, he realized Marion had inadvertently helped him. Her powerful Banshee's Howl had essentially cleared the room for him. All the remaining members of the Curse Cult were either unconscious or otherwise out of the fight.
What a good woman, he thought wryly. I'm starting to understand Sad Wind Emperor's tastes.
Zhou Ning picked up a broadsword from the floor, tested its weight, and began finishing off the incapacitated Curse Cult members.
`[You dealt 80 points of slashing damage to the enemy!] (x5)`
`[You have killed a Curse Cultist! You gained 1200 experience points!] (x5)`
`[Your reputation with the Curse Cult has decreased by 5000. Current reputation: Hated.]`
After finishing them all off, Zhou Ning had gained a total of 6,000 experience points, and his reputation with the Curse Cult had officially plummeted to 'Hated'.
But it doesn't matter, he thought. As a partner of justice, isn't it my job to fight against these evil forces?