Chapter Fifteen: Game of Life and Death
The beastman charged at the children with fiery momentum, making some of them cry out in fear. Its speed was simply too abnormal unless it was enhanced by a spell.
The alien had purple skin and three eyes. Two were small and narrow, sharp as razors slicing into the children's hearts, while the third was large and positioned on its forehead.
A long tail, covered with small spikes, protruded from the base of its spine. Its hands and legs were entirely human-like, but its body was packed with rippling muscles.
The beastman wore no clothes except for a cloth tied around its lower half, leaving its firm abs exposed, which was somehow mesmerizing despite the horror of the situation.
Dusken couldn't be sure, but he felt that the creature was probably famous among the women of its race.
The variant human ran on all fours, closing the distance to the children in mere seconds.
'Weird,' Dusken thought, realizing he had managed to follow the creature's movements.
It dawned on him that his perception had improved significantly since advancing to level 1. The adjustment was still new, but he was adapting.
The beastman growled loudly, attempting to silence the screaming children. However, when it was proven futile, it grabbed a nearby boy by the head and, without hesitation, smashed his skull against the trunk of a massive tree.
Brain matter splattered everywhere. The beastman then opened its mouth and began devouring the corpse, first the hands, then the legs, and finally the rest of the body, blood dripping from its jaws.
The other children froze, their cries dying in their throats. A deathly silence hung over the area as they watched in horror. The brutal sight was enough to shun them into complete obedience.
"You all," the beastman snarled, its voice rough and beastly, "are now slaves of the beastman race. You will be sacrificed to our king. Be proud for you shall serve the ruler of our clan."
The beastman spoke in a strange language Dusken didn't know but somehow understood. Fear and the image of the dead boy silenced everyone. No one dared utter a sound. No one wanted to die.
Dusken observed all of this with a cold expression. The beastman, it seemed, had used the boy's death to assert dominance and intimidate the group.
Without giving it too much thought, Dusken turned his attention inward, to his soul script:
[Species: Beastman
Rank: Awakened
Level: One]
'So, you're only level one?' Dusken mused. The death of the boy remained etched in his mind, but it didn't paralyze him.
He had killed a level one creature before, even as a level zero. Now, as a level one himself, with a weapon in hand and the body of a fifteen-year-old at its peak, what did he have to fear?
The beastman turned to converse with its comrades in their native language.
Then, abruptly, they all knelt as a massive beastman, seated on a throne made of bones, rose and began striding toward the children. They had to raise their heads to stare at the approaching beastman.
"You are children of the human race, and I would love nothing more than to devour you all," the beastman king declared in a calm but menacing tone.
Its towering figure cast a long shadow over the children, making them shiver.
"However, I will give you a chance to escape. Whoever unties their bindings before time runs out will be spared and allowed to flee."
The beastman king loomed closer, its presence alone caused many of the children to tremble uncontrollably.
"Daddy, come and save me!" one girl, about fifteen, cried out in despair.
Without hesitation, a beastman with a crocodile-like head grabbed her and swallowed her whole, leaving no trace of blood. The execution was so swift that no one had time to react.
Screams of terror erupted again, echoing through the forest and carried by the winds.
"This is just a warning," the crocodile-headed beastman growled, crushing the girl's bones with sickening crunches. "Anyone else who speaks will meet the same fate."
The beastman's voice silenced the group instantly. The other beastmen shot furious glares at the crocodile-headed one.
"The human was disobedient," it said defensively. "She had already given up on life. I merely punished her."
The children, now desperate, began frantically working at their bindings. No one wanted to end up as the girl had, so they became obedient.
Dusken joined them, keeping his mind sharp.
'The king is level two, while the others are all level one.' He filed this information away as he worked.
There was no telling when the "time limit" might expire, it was entirely up to the king's whim, a realization that only increased Dusken's frustration.
As he worked to untie the crude knots, a suspicion crept into his mind.
'Why would the king offer freedom to its slaves? What if it was a trap? Untying the rope might only lead to his immediate death, a fool's end.'
Dusken smirked grimly at the thought. Dying like that was unacceptable, since it would not be exciting in the least.
He decided not to fully loosen his bindings, instead opting to leave them just tight enough to appear bound.
This would buy him time to check his abilities. Excitement coursed through him at the thought. Summoning his soul script, he read the details:
[Name: Dusken
Innate Name: -
Rank: Seeker
Level: 1
Abyssal Fragments: [2/1000]
Spell Cards: 1
Scrolls: 1
Material Cards: -
Talent: Abyssal Star
Talent Rank: Ultimate
Talent Abilities: [Darkshadow Manipulation]
Side Abilities: [Scion of the Abyss]
Innate Abilities: [Dark Flame]
Legacy: None]
Dusken's eyes widened. The talent rank had appeared where there had been none before, and it was Ultimate.
His breath hitched as he realized the significance. The ranks, used for both talent and power measurements, ranged from Awakened to Celestial: Awakened, Preeminent, Reverend, Mythical, Sacred, Ultimate, Celestial. Ultimate rank was a rarity of legends.
Dusken nearly fell over in disbelief. An Ultimate ranked talent. Even those with Preeminent talents commanded great respect. He was beyond lucky.
Suppressing a grin, he continued pretending to work on his bindings, all the while reveling in his newfound potential.
He wanted to test his talent ability - Darkshadow Manipulation - immediately. At his command, the soul script began to rearrange itself to explain the ability.
But before he could read further, a sudden arrow fell from the sky, striking a beastman in the head. The impact shattered its skull, spraying blood and viscera everywhere.
Moments later, another arrow came. Then another. And another.
Dusken's head snapped up, his eyes widening in horror. The sky was completely filled with arrows, descending like rain.
"What... the... fuck?" he gasped as true terror gripped his heart. Suddenly, flames erupted across the area, consuming everything in a blazing inferno.