Drake takes his position, and Forge opens fire without hesitation, luckily not being close enough. The guardian leaps to the right, rolling on the floor to avoid the barrage of bullets. At an extended distance, as he gets back up, he forges a shield, blocking the remaining shots until the magazine is empty.
Without giving the soldier time to reload, Drake runs towards Forge. When Forge attempts to strike him with the edge of the shield, a bayonet emerges from the rifle with a distinct unsheathing sound.
Forge aims a slash with the blade, but Drake manages to block it in time with the shield. They engage in a power struggle, and soon enough, the guardian gains ground due to his superior physical strength, culminating in a powerful push that throws off the free-thinking soldier's balance.
The guardian follows up with a direct shield strike to the face, breaking the nose and jaw of his opponent. Red-stained pieces of teeth fly in a reddish explosion, splattering lines of blood on the floor. Forge falls backward, losing consciousness.
Then, Drake forges a claymore sword without hesitation and swiftly beheads the unconscious soldier with a single stroke. Blood drips onto the floor in the presence of the shepherd, who holds his arm with the seal; nervously reciting words in another language, summoning a monstrosity.
The red warrior's heart wavers as he realizes that the old man's plan was to use Forge as a distraction. Without second thoughts, Drake lunges forward at an inhuman speed, launching a downward sword cut that falls like a crimson thunderbolt, severing the arm marked by the familiar's seal.
A surge of reddish liquid spurts from the amputated stump, spilling onto the cracked floor of the dungeon. The old man lets out a scream so loud that it almost bursts his vocal cords, falling to his knees, clutching the mutilated stump. The severed arm, bearing the runic seal, rolls uselessly, leaving a trail of blood, breaking the contract.
A bestial roar echoes in the dungeon as the chimera makes its presence known on the balcony edge, observing the scene. The creature's eyes radiate fury and a desire to kill, freed from the familiar contract it was once bound by, now enjoying free will. The creature leaps and descends to the ground, raising dust clouds upon landing, with only thirty meters separating it from Drake and the shepherd.
"Seems like a good time to pray to your god, scum.
The guardian says as he lifts the shepherd by the tunic's collar and throws him towards the creature. In a fit of rage, the monstrosity voraciously pounces on the man, tearing into him with a well-placed bite to the chest.
The sound of bones breaking and guts being crushed is heard. What starts as a piercing scream gradually fades. Drake runs towards Forge's body to retrieve two things: first, the bag of money, and second, the belt from the corpse containing ammunition, and most importantly, grenades. At a safe distance, he turns towards the creature, which is engrossed in its prey.
The guardian ascends the stairs noisily, and upon reaching the threshold, he abruptly stops, turning to see the beast lifting its snout from the pastor's torn body, focusing its furious eyes on the guardian, and proceeds to rise, closing the distance towards the stairs.
Sweating profusely, Drake does not hesitate for a second and throws Forge's belt from the balcony, unlocking the safety of one of the three grenades as he enters the tunnel at a safe distance. The ceiling in that area is much higher than the ground, so there is no danger of the explosion causing a collapse.
As the grenades explode near the beast, which grumbles in confusion at the strange object, the triple explosion detonates, hitting the chimera directly, just as the bodies of the soldier and the shepherd are consumed by the fleeting inferno.
The adjacent chamber feels the strong tremor; the guardian leans against the wall with a pounding heart. White noise pierces his ears; if not for the support of the wall, he would have surely fallen. After waiting for a few seconds and having recovered, Drake leaves the bag in its current position, promising to retrieve it later. He runs back towards the balcony, finding a pile of bodies torn to unrecognizable pieces on the cracked floor, with debris scattered.
From the smoke, the agonizing beast walks unsteadily at the edge of collapsing. Half of its face was lacerated, with pieces of burnt flesh hanging, severe wounds running through the scorched scales pierced by grenade shrapnel. One of its hind legs was separated from its body in the explosion, making it almost impossible for it to stand on all fours.
"Time to earn your keep, darling! "Drake exclaims cynically, savoring the victory.
He charges at the beast, which is still dying, receiving a claw swipe capable of decapitating heads. Easily dodged by the guardian, he slides on the floor and, with a leap, stands on the right flank of the beast. With a magnificent slash, he tears off the chimera's claw.
As the abomination collapses to the ground, the guardian continues with a second cut, opening the abdomen, releasing a bloody torrent that ends the creature. As the beast falls to the ground, it causes a short tremor in the dungeon, raising dust clouds; only Drake remains standing. Panting, he approaches the corpse carefully and, without hesitation, beheads the beast as a symbol of his victory.
Amidst the stress, fatigue sets in; he sighs in relief, it's all over. With tired legs, he sits down on the floor with his back against the wall. Leaning on his knees, he catches his breath, slowly recovering his lost energies from the previous skirmish.
On the verge of falling asleep from exhaustion, he hears the sound of something crawling on the floor just in front of him. He looks up with tired eyes, discovering the identity of the creature, and with a hiss, he confirms it. A snake as white as ermine raises its head, stopping a few meters from the guardian.
Both lock eyes, analyzing each other, stirring deep resentment in Drake; he hates snakes with all his soul. A bitter taste fills the guardian as he encounters those yellow eyes, feeling a poison in his mouth, and his heart constricts in a knot of pulsating flesh, tainted by a venomous memory. It's not fear towards the creature; it's the memory it carries.
In his mind, those visions arrive, of a town consumed by flames, where the screams of hundreds reign, all in agony and writhing in a suffering from the depths of hell. A glimpse of the darkest horrors hidden in the world, like a hungry beast showing its poisonous fangs, waiting to claim its next victim.
He remembers the inhuman laughter of that humanoid creature with a black goat's head, in sync with the cacophony of cries and pleas that fall on deaf ears; no prayer is heard. That night, the gods and even the Almighty turned a deaf ear. In the vision, he can see the man in black moving like lightning, demolishing entire buildings and leaving mangled masses of bodies and human entrails.
On the other side of the town, however, a wintry chill sneaks through the ruins, extinguishing the flames, as a hooded figure passes. Death itself comes to claim the souls of the innocent, accompanied by a legion of disfigured and grotesque beasts. All reveling in the pleasure of the slaughter.
Amidst all that chaos, amidst all the death and blood, he can see her. The memory that runs like putrid poison in the guardian's blood; that woman with yellow eyes standing amidst the chaos, with a disgusting savage smile, the same smile that once was warm and filled with pure love.
Drake thought at that time that he had found his greatest desire in that maiden, unaware that he would commit the greatest mistake of his entire existence. To this day, he continues to carry that sin marked on his skin, a perpetual curse.
"Scarlett... "he whispers the venomous name. Veins mark his face, emanating an intense glow in his red eyes.
The snake comes with a bite. A nightmare shadow appears in the snake, making the guardian remember the sins he has committed and the faults he still carries. In a split second, he reacts, throwing a knife like a projectile, slicing the animal in two, its mutilated pieces falling to the ground, splashing lines of thick crimson liquid.
A morbid pleasure surges within him; for a moment, he imagines that woman torn apart instead of that snake. In these desires, a very familiar voice creeps in, a small torch illuminating the darkness of resentment, and a promise from a beloved being resonates in his mind, filling his heart with great bitterness. That voice forces him to remember what is truly important and why he became a monster hunter.
"Don't seek revenge, son... continue with your life and seek happiness..."
"No... I mustn't... "He closes his flooded eyes. He tries to push away those dark desires.
The promise made to his father remains firm in his own heart. Promises are unbreakable, and sometimes, a heavy burden equivalent to the same hatred. Drake stands, taking the chimera's head on his back, along with the bag full of gold; he resumes the journey back to the outside, guided by the dawn's light.
He longs to return to "La Doncella" estate, repeating the reminder of what is truly important. Finally, he exits the dark labyrinth, limping, his armor adorned with a new coating of blood, covered in pieces of sanguine flesh.
The daylight is so dazzling that it blinds him for a moment; the free-thinking soldiers are at the entrance. The men can't stop staring. Drake throws the head at their feet. For a moment, he thinks they will raise their rifles and fill him with lead; that would have been poetic or dramatic, but the truth for the guardian is that he only needs four things right now: his money, a pretty girl, a doctor, and a toilet because after today's emotions, that's the least they can give him.
"Here's your damn beast, bastards... "he exclaims between gasps.