Two of them.
His mind reeled. He'd almost died fighting one. The thought of facing two at once was a cold, physical weight in his gut. His muscles screamed in protest, the phantom ache in his ribs a stark reminder of his mortality.
But then, Elara's scream from the phone—a sound of pure terror, cut short by static—echoed in his memory. The cold weight of fear was instantly consumed by a clean, hot rage. It wasn't a choice. He wouldn't let these things stop him.
The two Gutter Scuttlers clicked their mandibles, their heads swiveling in unison as they focused on him, the only moving thing in their immediate vicinity. He was their target.
Think. The voice of the echo, the swordsman's instinct, was calmer than his own frantic thoughts. Don't rush. To fight two is to fight none. Separate them.
His eyes darted around the ruined street, no longer seeing just chaos, but a battlefield. An overturned taxi, its undercarriage exposed. A narrow alley between a bookstore and a laundromat. A fire hydrant, its paint chipped. Weapons. Obstacles. Cover. The world was a puzzle, and the solution was survival.
Kai took a steadying breath, his hand tightening on the saber's hilt. He needed a distraction. Something to draw one away. He spotted a loose hubcap lying near the curb. Without hesitating, he scooped it up and flung it as hard as he could down the alley.
It clattered loudly against a metal dumpster, the sound echoing in the unnatural quiet between screams.
It worked. One of the Scuttlers, the one on the left, immediately broke off, its head snapping toward the sound. It scuttled past the mouth of the alley, disappearing between the two buildings to investigate the noise.
One left.
His odds had just gone from impossible to merely suicidal. He'd take it.
The remaining Scuttler hissed and charged, its six legs a blur of motion on the cracked pavement. It was just as fast as the first one. But this time, Kai wasn't caught by surprise.
Stance. Breathe. Sidestep.
He moved, letting the creature's momentum carry it past him. As it went by, he brought the rusted saber around in a tight, controlled arc, guided by the phantom muscle memory in his arm. He aimed for the joint where its rearmost leg met its body.
The blade bit deep. Not a clumsy smack like before, but a clean, shearing cut. The sword was old and dull, but his improved Strength stat and the focused angle of the blow were enough.
The Scuttler shrieked as its leg was partially severed. Green ichor sprayed onto the asphalt. It stumbled, its charge broken, and spun around, its movements now clumsy and uneven. It was wounded, enraged. It lashed out with a foreleg, but the attack was slower, telegraphed.
Kai ducked under the swipe and thrust forward, putting his whole body into the motion. He drove the point of the saber into the same damaged joint, pushing until he felt a sickening pop. The leg came off completely.
The creature collapsed on its side, thrashing and snapping its mandibles wildly. Kai didn't give it a chance to recover. He raised the saber high and brought it down like a guillotine on the thin, exposed neck.
The monster went still, and its body dissolved into the familiar blue particles, leaving another glowing core on the ground.
[You have slain a Level 2 Gutter Scuttler.]
[XP Gained: 25]
[XP: 35/100 to Lvl. 3]
He didn't have time to feel relieved.
A high-pitched shriek came from the alley. The second Scuttler burst back onto the street, saw the fading particles of its kin, and fixed its multifaceted eyes on Kai. There was a new, keening pitch to its hiss. It was furious.
It charged, faster than the last one.
Kai scrambled back, raising his sword, but he was off-balance. He wouldn't be able to dodge in time. He braced for the impact, for the searing pain of its mandibles closing on him.
Just as it was about to hit, its path took it directly over the shimmering, purple crack in the street. As its legs touched the strange haze leaking from the fissure, the monster convulsed. It let out a pained chitter, its charge faltering for a fraction of a second as if it had been shocked.
The opening was all Kai needed. He lunged forward, not with a swordsman's grace, but with a desperate brawler's ferocity. He slammed his shoulder into the creature's side, using its own momentum to send it sprawling.
The Scuttler landed on its back, its six legs flailing uselessly in the air. Its underside was a softer, paler chitin, segmented and vulnerable.
Kai didn't hesitate. He plunged the saber down into the softest part of its underbelly, again and again, the rage for his sister's safety guiding every blow. The creature's struggles weakened with each thrust until, finally, it dissolved, leaving the second core behind.
[You have slain a Level 2 Gutter Scuttler.]
[XP Gained: 25]
[XP: 60/100 to Lvl. 3]
He stood there, panting, his body trembling with adrenaline and exhaustion. The street was quiet again, save for the distant, terrible sounds of the city tearing itself apart. He snatched the two cores from the ground, absorbing them without a second thought.
[Scuttler Core absorbed.]
[XP Gained: 10]
[XP: 70/100 to Lvl. 3]
[Scuttler Core absorbed.]
[XP Gained: 10]
[XP: 80/100 to Lvl. 3]
The warmth of the XP washed over him, knitting together a shallow cut on his arm he hadn't even noticed. It wasn't enough for a level-up, but it was something.
The path ahead was clear, for now. He looked down the ruined street, in the direction of Elara's apartment building, which felt like a world away.
And he ran.