"Basta*d, I'll kill you!" Zok yelled in fury while kicking away one of the spiders.
"Huh? How will you do that after you die?" Taheton mocked him while hiding in the shadows, "But you know what, I'll stay here just in case you miraculously manage to defeat the Arachnids. Then you'll get a chance to kill me. Sounds good right?"
"Tell me where you are and I'll kill you now itself!"
"Do I look like an idiot to you?"
Even though Zok couldn't see Taheton, he was sure that bastard was smiling. He still couldn't understand how in Okun's name did Taheton disappeared into thin air. But it wasn't like he had time to think about that while the spiders were continuously charging at him.
Adrenaline filled Zok's body. His attacks were dealing more damage to the spiders, but even with that, it wasn't enough to kill the spiders quick enough. Soon he would get tired again and would ultimately die. Well, at that moment, he didn't even care if he would die. All he wanted was to drag that basta*d Taheton with him. However just because he wanted something, that didn't mean he would get that
"Poor guy... you must be wondering why the beasts are not attacking me?" Taheton wanted to make sure he agonised Zok as much as he could before his inevitable death, "You see, I have received a blessing by the shamans for being their faithful servant. They gave me this bracelet that can conceal my presence. Although it can't hide my smell, that won't be a problem with only arachnids being here."
Taheton continued, "You see, the Arachnids are indeed vicious creatures, but they lack the sense of smell and only depend on their vision and sense of touch to locate their targets. They are also highly sensitive to vibrations. But as long as I stay away from them, they wouldn't notice my movement and focus on the only one they can see. That is you."
"The shamans?" Zok yelled as he stabbed yet another one of the spiders, "Why would they-"
"Who knows? I don't ask questions. I just kill the ones they ask me to and in return they reward me. But since you're about to die, I guess I can tell you something. You know for the peace of your mind. Hahaha!"
Taheton's laugh pierced Zok's ears as if someone was stabbing him with a thousand nails at the same time. But he wanted to know who was responsible for this... just in case he miraculously survived the swarm. And Taheton was more than happy to oblige to his request.
"No one has ever told this to me, face to face. But the shamans only ask me for help to kill someone when they feel threatened by them." Taheton replied, "Maybe you did something to scare them. Or maybe you were about to do something like that. I don't really care. All I care about is to kill you and after that, I'll have some fun with your fiance. I hope you won't mind me doing that?"
"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTA*D!!!" Zok yelled in rage but that was all he could do.
Initially, Zok had hoped that Taheton's voice would somehow give away his location and Zok would be able to kill him. But since his voice was echoing throughout the cave, Zok's plan was a bust. In the meantime, the spiders were pushing Zok towards the pool of acid.
'There must be something I could use... come on think, Zok, think!' Zok thought to himself while looking around and then he finally saw it, 'The pool!!!'
All of a sudden, Zok remembered what Sera had told him about the acid. It was a great weapon against beasts having hard exoskeletons! However, he was stuck in a dilemma. How was he going to use the acid? It wasn't like he could just grab the acid in his hands and throw it on the spiders.
His only choice was using... the spear. Zok knew he was out of his mind to even think about it but it was the only thing he could try to do. Thus he kicked away a couple of spiders and rushed to the pool. The moment he reached there, he dipped the spear's tip into the acid.
He anticipated there would be the same sizzling noise, just like before but that didn't happen. In fact, the tip of the spear started to glow the moment it touched the acid. It was as if the spear was made for this purpose. Zok retracted the tip from the pool and sure enough, it had absorbed the acid from the pool and now had a silvery glow.
Taheton was dead silent while all of it happened. He could not believe his eyes. the spearhead had absorbed the acid within itself! At first, Taheton wasn't so sure about it but when he saw the spiders melting away with Zok's attacks he panicked.
'No... no... no... This can't be happening. I have to do something.' Taheton thought to himself, and then something happened. The tip of the spear stopped glowing. Even Zok's attacks became less effective after that, 'This could be my chance!'
Taheton smiled like the sly basta*d he was. A sinister plan had just entered his mind. Zok, however, was completely unaware of what Taheton was planning. He finally had a glimmer of hope for his survival. As long as he had his spear with him, he stood a chance to survive till the tribesmen arrived. The probability was low, but at least it wasn't zero anymore!
Zok once again rushed towards the pool. He had to dip the spear into the pool again. But he wasn't aware that Taheton was right there waiting for him. As soon as Zok got close enough, Taheton drew a poisoned knife from his back and pushed it right into Zok's chest.
"What... the..."
It took a while for Zok to register what had happened. The dagger had stabbed him right in the heart.
"You really thought spiders were the only thing you needed to worry about?" Taheton whispered in his ears. He was still hidden from the view but Zok could feel his breath on his neck, "Now, die."
Taheton twisted the dagger once again before pushing Zok into the pool of acid.
Zok didn't know what was going on. Why was he sinking deeper and deeper into the pool? The acid was supposed to burn him to the bones, right? Then why was he feeling so calm all of a sudden? It was as if he was sleeping on his mother's lap and she was touching his face... it all felt so weird...
'Is it over?'
Zok heard someone calling his name. It was fainter than a whisper but he could hear it clearly.
'What do you mean?'
'Who are you?'
'I do!'
That was the last thing Zok heard before a strange text appeared right in front of his eyes as the acid around him rushed into his open wound. The acid finally burned him... it felt as his body was on fire. His skin tone became lighter and so did his hair. He now had white hair instead of green. Even his body changed a bit as muscle filled his skin.
[Body alteration... complete.]
[Welcome, master.]