𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.
His arms shake as he pushes himself upwards. The world spins and he slumps back down. The stench of ash fills his nostrils. 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬.
"Well, this is significantly easier than I thought it was going to be." The leader surveys the incapacitated three as his men all fill the room. "I expected more from users with a bounty. Who knew it was just a bunch of kids."
HAV0C grits his teeth. The blast has rattled him, making everything hazy and unclear. Not to mention the continuous pulse of bloodlust washing over him, making his body involuntarily tremble and shake.
𝘉𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺?
"Sir. Two of them are still conscious. The other seems to be in a coma."
HAV0C flinches. 𝘌𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘦?
"Hey." The group turn to look at him. He slowly attempts to rise once more. "She has nothing to do with this. She doesn't have a bounty." His vision wavers and distorts as he looks at them. From dizzyness or the skill, or possibly both. "You guys came for the bounty, right? Well, it's standing-well, lying-in front of you."
The leader tilts his head. "The bounty is for two players. HAV0C and Catnip."
"HAV0C. That's me. And come on. Did it explicitly say you HAVE to kill both in order to get the rewards?"
𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥-
"What? Are you offering yourself up?" The leader laughs. "What are you, a main protagonist in a novel?"
"Haha, I like to think I am....."
The leader snorts. "HAV0C, right? My username is [𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀]. Think of this as my one and only courtesy to you for your courage. Not many can keep a clear head in this kind of situation."
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?
"Anyway." Burns looks past HAV0C. "Your little friend there seems to be having a bit of a breakdown."
"Huh-?" He turns and sees Catnip trembling on the floor, whispering to himself. His breaths come out in frantic pants.
"I-it wasn't my fault. I-I had to. I had no choice-"
HAV0C's throat closes up in guilt.
𝘕𝘰. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
"Catnip-"
"Okay, we all have places to be. Kill him first." At Burn's order the men close in, walking past HAV0C as if he doesn't exist.
"WHA-HEY!" HAV0C attempts to straighten up. "DON'T TOUCH HIM-"
The men turn to look at him and HAV0C crumbles, their bloodlust weakening his limbs. He remains on his arms and knees, heart pounding. Sweat rolls down his temples. To him, they look like shapeless monsters, faceless beasts. And behind him stands the biggest monster of them all. His skin feels like it's on fire.
𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦?
𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦.
𝘖𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵?
His trembling hands curl into fists. Tears prick his eyes.
𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤.
Tears roll down Catnip's face. Everything around him blurs in and out of focus. He can't breathe.
"I didn't mean to do it-"
𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥.
"There was no other way!"
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴.
"I HAD NO CHOICE-!"
....𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥.
A hand grabs him by the hair and lifts him up. He cries out, pain exploding across his scalp.
"For fuck's sake, quit your screaming!"
The bounty hunters surround him on all sides.
"If you truly feel sorry for what you did, then don't fight against us."
He gasps, feeling the cold feel of metal, digging into his throat.
"Just shut up and die."
He grabs at the hand, crying.
"S-stop, I-I can't breathe-"
"I can't breathe."
[𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙣𝙞𝙥 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡!]
Golden electricity surrounds his body and his eyes glow.
"STOP!!!"
[𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩!]
A fist of gold slams into his attacker's face, sending him spinning through the air, bones and limbs snapping like sticks. The group stumbles back, fear radiating from behind their masks.
"What the-?"
A hand grabs unto another's neck, collapsing it with a simple squeeze. Catnip looks up, eyes widening. A being of gold metal looms over him, thin, almost skeletal.
"Huh....?"
"What the fuck is that thing!?"
The hunters take a step back, stumbling over their own feet.
"Did the brat just unlock his ability....?"
Burns observes from afar.
"Interesting."
He smirks, raising his palm.
𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.
"[𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭-]"
Pain explodes through his thighs and he drops his hand, cursing. HAV0C had yanked the rusty blade out from the door and stabbed it into his leg.
"You little shit!"
The bloodlust crashes down unto HAV0C in waves, squeezing the air out of his lungs and twisting his vision, his skin feeling like it's on fire.
𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘱 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.
He glares right up at Burns, staring into the blazing palms of death.
𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩!
Burn snarls. "𝘋𝘪𝘦."
[𝗘𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹!]
A beam of light pierces through Burn's skull. He stands there for a moment, before slumping to the floor. HAV0C remains frozen in shock.
"What-?"
Multiple rays pierces through the other hunter's bodies, riddling them with holes.
[𝙍𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩!]
Eclipse leans against the wall, hand outstretched. Cold sweat runs down her temples.
"Mom....!"
Catnip and HAV0C stare at her, speechless.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵!?
"I close my eyes for one moment, and everything turns to shit."
She sighs.
"What a fucking day."
𝘋𝘐𝘋 𝘚𝘏𝘌 𝘑𝘜𝘚𝘛 𝘚𝘞𝘌𝘈𝘙!?
Catnip and HAV0C don't know what to say.
𝘚𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦!?
With the waves of bloodlust gone, HAV0C is able to finally gets to his feet. His head throbbing.
𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭?
"Is everyone okay?"
Catnip shakily nods.
"I-I'm fine."
The giant stands behind him, placing its hands on his shoulders. HAV0C looks at it in slight jealousy.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘰𝘣𝘰'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘦-
Eclipse slowly gets to her feet, clutching her head. Dark rings surround her eyes.
"That had to be the worst nap of my fucking life."
𝘐....𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳-
"Sorry....."
𝘚𝘰, 𝘌𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘣𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯....𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳? 𝘉𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴?
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴.....𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.
A slight prickling of the hairs of his neck alerts him of a remaining danger. He whips around and sees one of the hunters getting up, a smoking hole in his shoulder.
𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘨𝘶𝘺.
"Hey." HAV0C raises the knife and points it at him, blood dripping down the hilt and unto the floor.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦....𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
"I think we both know how this is going to go."
𝘐𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵.....
He can feel two different waves behind him, warming up his skin.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸.
A smirk grows on his face.
𝘐𝘵'𝘴.... 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨.
"So why don't you do the smart thing and surrender-?"
The man never gets a chance to give an answer. He's cut down the middle, a blade sweeping through him so fast that to HAV0C and the others it doesn't look real. Than the waves hit, so fast and strong it knocks HAV0C off of his feet. He retches as his eyes water.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴-!?
[𝙒𝘼𝙍𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙂! 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩! 𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙!]
𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥!?
"So you took care of these fools....a strange, but pleasant surprise. It'd be a shame if you died before I found you."
HAV0C can only let out a gurgle in reply, his throat refusing to cooperate with him. What he's experiencing is something he's never felt before in his whole life.
𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴....𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴....𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦.....
A man, shrouded in a red cloak stands before them. In a hand rests a sword, comprised of twisting stripes of metal, dripping in blood.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧.
"𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠."