Chapter 7: The Cry of the Lost Souls
The forest, oppressive and suffocating, seemed to pulse with a dark, malevolent life. The air was heavy, almost choking. Chisato led the group, her face tense, her eyes fixed on the shadows dancing between the trees.
"We need to keep moving," she said firmly. "The longer we stay here, the more we risk."
Raiden, slightly behind, scanned the surroundings, worried.
"What if we walk into an ambush? These things never leave survivors, Chisato."
"I know," she replied without looking away. "But what else can we do? The children are exhausted, and this forest is a maze."
Shin walked in silence, in the middle of the group. His eyes were on the ground, but he caught every word.
"Raiden," he whispered. "Do you think we have a chance?"
Raiden shrugged.
"I don't know. But if we start doubting now, we're already dead."
Chisato turned her head toward them, her expression softening despite the tension.
"Raiden's right. We don't have the luxury of losing hope. Not now."
Elena (the orphan), clinging to Takashi, timidly asked:
"Miss Chisato, is the town... still far?"
Chisato crouched in front of her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"We'll be there soon, Elena. I promise. And once we're there, you'll be safe."
Elena nodded, tears in her eyes.
An Uncertain Encounter
As they continued, a flickering light appeared in the distance, piercing the darkness. A frail figure slowly advanced, holding an oil lamp.
"Who's there?" Chisato called out, instinctively stepping in front of the children.
"Calm down, calm down," came a gravelly, steady voice. "I'm just an old man."
Shin squinted, observing the stranger.
"Are you alone?" he asked, wary.
The old man nodded, moving cautiously.
"Yes. I've lived here for years, far from the city."
Chisato crossed her arms.
"In this forest, filled with monsters? Why?"
The old man lowered his head, a sad smile on his lips.
"Because I have nothing left to lose. My wife, my children… all slaughtered by those cursed Ganeesh."
Elena, curious despite her fear, whispered:
"The… Ganeesh?"
"Those specters," the old man explained. "They feed on fear, on pain. The more terrified their victim is, the more powerful they become."
Raiden frowned, suspicious.
"And you want to help us? Why?"
The old man shrugged.
"Because no one helped me when I needed it. And because I don't want others to suffer like I did."
Chisato exchanged a look with Raiden, then nodded.
"Alright. Show us the way to the town, please."
"Follow me," he replied calmly.
The march lasted for several hours. The children struggled to keep up, but Chisato encouraged them relentlessly.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the air.
"Aaaaaah!"
Everyone turned around. Where a boy had stood just moments before, there was only a dark puddle.
"What the…?" Chisato stammered, horrified.
A second scream rang out, then a third. The children were vanishing one by one, swallowed by the shadows.
"Stay together!" Raiden shouted. "Don't move!"
The old man burst into laughter.
"Ah, the poor little ones. Always so confident, always so naive."
His body began to distort, his human features transforming into a spectral monstrosity.
"System detected: Dangerous individual. Classification: Ganeesh Alpha."
Shin felt his heart freeze.
"You... it was you all along."
"Of course," the Ganeesh cackled. "You trusted me so easily. Pathetic."
The Ganeesh lunged at the group, its claws gleaming in the darkness. Chisato positioned herself in front of the children, armed with nothing but a knife.
"You won't lay a finger on any of them!" she screamed, narrowly dodging an attack.
Raiden tried to coordinate the children.
"Listen to me! If you have any skills, use them now! Those who can't fight, stay behind!" Raiden shouted, his eyes determined despite the fear.
Elena, her hands trembling, whispered a healing spell, but the magic seemed insufficient. Takashi's wounds were too severe. She couldn't keep up, couldn't heal everything at once. The monster in front of them continued to toy with their strength, their efforts.
Takashi, eyes burning with rage, rushed at the Ganeesh again. His muscles screamed, his breath was shallow, but he wouldn't back down. Not now.
"Everyone, fall back!" he yelled, his voice trembling but determined. He struck, each blow seeming more desperate than the last. But the Ganeesh easily dodged, mocking him.
The monster burst into cruel laughter, its voice echoing through the air.
"Pathetic. You are nothing but toys to me."
Takashi's fists continued to strike, but each punch seemed ineffective, his body responding slower and slower. He felt a sharp pain in his arms, as if his bones themselves wanted to break. He wouldn't last much longer. The Ganeesh, with a swift movement, grabbed his arm and twisted it violently.
A blood-curdling scream escaped Takashi's lips, but he gritted his teeth.
"I... can't…"
His arm cracked, an unbearable pain flooding him, but he remained standing, refusing to show weakness. Blood poured, but he kept fighting.
"Fall back, Takashi!" Raiden screamed, but Takashi no longer heard him. He heard nothing except the battle cry, the pain, and the rage that consumed him. He couldn't think anymore, just strike.
But his body began to react in a strange way.
"Not yet... not like this..." he murmured, his vision blurry. His exhausted body fought on its own, driven by an almost autonomous rage. He no longer had control; all he felt was an unbearable pain, but also pure fury, an insatiable need to destroy.
The Ganeesh's blows kept landing, but Takashi didn't fall. He refused to fall. Each pain drove him further to get back up.
"I'll kill you!" Takashi screamed, but his words were lost in the madness of his mind. He felt his body fighting against him, but part of him accepted the suffering, let it loose.
Suddenly, an odd sensation swept through him. A message flickered in his mind, almost imperceptible.
"Berserk skill... activated."
His eyes widened, but he didn't understand immediately. He only felt the rage surge within him more intensely. "Is… is this it?" The voice of the entity in his mind seemed distant, like a whisper.
"Let go... let your body act..."
Takashi, his vision blurry, let himself go. He struck once more, but this time it was different. He no longer thought about what he was doing; each punch was delivered with raw power, unrestrained violence. He no longer felt the pain, only the desire to destroy.
The Ganeesh, surprised by the brutality of the attack, staggered back a few steps, its carnivorous smile fading slightly.
Takashi didn't stop, each movement becoming more chaotic but stronger. He kept hitting, his body seemingly ignoring the wounds.
"That's it... you hear me?" the entity whispered in his mind. "You've opened the path. Keep going."
The ground trembled under Takashi's blows. The monster, though strong, hadn't anticipated such determination. Takashi's eyes were no longer clear; he saw nothing but the goal of destroying this monster.
Raiden, watching from the back, turned to Elena, panicked.
"He… he's completely losing control!"
Elena, her hands trembling, didn't know what to do.
"It's… it's his only way to fight now, but it's going to destroy him!"
The Ganeesh, seeing the situation slipping from its grasp, lunged at Takashi with new speed. But Takashi, in his berserk state, blocked the attack with one hand. He was wounded, out of breath, but his rage gave him strength he had never known. He retaliated with even greater violence.
Each of the Ganeesh's strikes resounded like a shock in the air, but Takashi resisted. His eyes, filled with hate and determination, shone in the shadow of his broken body. The Ganeesh began to lose ground, its claws digging into the earth under the force of the blows.
"You're nothing!" Takashi roared, delivering a direct punch to the Ganeesh's chest. This time, a scream of pain escaped the monster, a crack in its mask of superiority.
He felt adrenaline boiling through his veins, an exquisite and terrifying sensation all at once. He knew this wasn't normal, but he had no choice. He had to continue.
Raiden, from behind, observed.
"His attacks… they're hurting it now. But at what cost?"
Takashi, in his berserk state, didn't stop, each blow becoming more imprecise but more violent. He knew this battle wouldn't end well for him, but he would keep fighting, protecting those he loved, until his last breath.
The Ganeesh, shocked by Takashi's unexpected strength, took a few steps back. But its monstrous pride couldn't be challenged so easily. With a carnivorous grin, it gazed at Takashi, still standing despite the wounds.
"You really are a rabid dog, but you can't control everything, can you?" He chuckled, slowly stepping away from the young man. "I'll take care of the next one. She's the one that interests me now."
Takashi, his eyes still bloodshot and boiling with rage, stayed there, panting. He could no longer hear anything, his body lost in madness. The claws of the Ganeesh scraped the ground as it moved toward Elena.
"Elena!" Raiden shouted, leaping forward, but he was too far away. There was nothing more to be done.
Elena, trembling, stood behind Takashi, her hand reaching out to him, but she knew he was no longer really there. Her body was moving without her. Terror grew in her eyes as the Ganeesh approached, its gaze fixed on her.
"You want to protect your friends? Look around you, Elena. They're all on their knees. You'll be the next to pay." The Ganeesh taunted her, a cruel smile stretching across its face.
Elena, her heart racing, tried to move away, but it was already too late. The monster grabbed her by the hair, lifting her off the ground with disturbing ease.
"You fought well, but it was never enough," it said coldly, its claws digging into the young woman's skin. Elena groaned in pain but did not cry. She didn't want to show weakness. Not now.
A few steps away, Takashi, in his Berserk state, watched the scene. His hands trembled with rage, his eyes disconnected from reality. He struggled to understand what he was seeing, but he knew instinctively that his body continued to react.
"I'll tear her apart... tear apart everything they love..." he mumbled through gritted teeth, as his aura intensified. He was no longer himself. His movements were becoming erratic, almost aimless.
Raiden, his fists clenched, watched Elena suffer, helpless. "Takashi! Get a hold of yourself!" But the words had no effect.
The Ganeesh turned toward Raiden, its eyes full of disdain. "This is an illusion. You thought a little resistance would change anything?" It tossed Elena to the ground like mere trash, leaving her gasping and wounded.
Then it advanced toward her, a new threat in its smile.
"Where you stand, everything is mine."
Takashi, still in his blind rage, moved, but not toward the monster. He no longer reacted to his friends' calls. He moved like a machine, full of pain but with no return.
Elena, on the ground, weakly managed to rise, blood spilling from her mouth. Her healing powers couldn't help her this time, the pain was too great, too deep. She had never felt such terror, but something in her refused to yield.
"I'm not... running," she whispered, her words weak, but determination gleamed in her eyes. "Not now."
The Ganeesh laughed. "Running? No, my dear. That's not what you're going to do... What you're going to do is die."
But then, in that instant, as the shadow of the monster approached her, Takashi, in an explosion of uncontrollable rage, threw himself at the Ganeesh once more. His rage amplified, he no longer had any awareness of what he was doing, only this brute force pushing him forward.
"You... won't... touch..." he murmured, his body shaking with spasms. He lunged at the Ganeesh with everything he had, his arms extended like weapons, ready to crush the monster, even if it was the last thing he did.
The Ganeesh, surprised by the brutality of the attack, tried to block, but the madness in Takashi's eyes was uncontrollable. Every blow, every movement, propelled him further into insanity, his body falling apart, but he didn't stop.
"Is that all you can do?" the Ganeesh sneered, before sending Takashi crashing to the ground with a powerful swipe of its claw.
But Takashi, even battered, got up again, screaming in pain and rage. His eyes glowed, burning with pure madness, his body trembling under the impact, but he kept going.
The Ganeesh watched, amused but also annoyed by this farce. "This is what happens when you have nothing left to lose. But it won't change anything."
Takashi, despite everything, kept attacking, the world around him becoming blurry. He knew he wouldn't survive much longer in this state. But for now, there was only pain, rage, and this determination to protect. Even if everything around him was collapsing.
As Takashi, beside himself, continued to fight, each blow becoming more frantic, a strange silence suddenly fell over the room. The Ganeesh slowly turned toward Elena, a sinister smile on its lips.
"Ah, the little healer... So fragile, so sweet. Do you really think you can save your friends?" it said, its voice dripping with disdain.
Elena, her eyes filled with terror, backed away, but there was nowhere to run. The children were scattered, some crying, others paralyzed with fear. She felt vulnerable, helpless, and the pressure on her shoulders became unbearable.
"No..." she whispered, preparing for one last healing spell. But her hands were trembling, and fear almost paralyzed her.
The Ganeesh approached her with slow, deliberate steps, like a predator savoring the terror of its prey. Each step echoed like a hammer blow in her mind. And when it was close enough, it raised its hand to grab her by the throat.
Takashi, across the room, heard Elena's scream. A spark of clarity flickered briefly in his rage-clouded mind, but the pain in his slashed arm pulled him back to the reality of his state. He stopped, panting, his vision blurry, his limbs shaking with exhaustion and pain.
"Elena..." he murmured, but his body no longer responded.
The images around him became blurry. His thoughts were lost in darkness as he felt his body struggle against exhaustion. He knew the situation was hopeless, but the desire to sacrifice himself, to do something to stop this monster, burned in him.
But he couldn't move.
"And that's it... It's the end for all of you. You're just trash. Broken toys."
The Ganeesh smiled, then tightened its fist around Elena's throat, lifting her off the ground. Her face twisted in pain and fear, her eyes full of tears.
"You have no chance, children. None. You're already dead."
Suddenly, a red glow, as brief as a shooting star, appeared in Takashi's eyes. He still stood, a gleam of steel in his gaze, despite the intense pain. And without a word, he charged toward the Ganeesh again. The wounds on his arm, his battered body, none of it mattered anymore. He was nothing but a man consumed by rage and the will to protect.
"You won't touch her!" he screamed, his teeth clenched, his body enveloped in a red aura.
His fists struck with monstrous force, each blow resonating like an earthquake, but the Ganeesh, still impassive, dodged and then grabbed him with a brutal gesture. Takashi struggled, but the creature's grip was too strong. He was reduced to attacking wildly, his blows having no real effect.
But it was at that precise moment that Shin, until then paralyzed by his own inability to intervene, felt a sharp pain ripple through his soul. Elena's scream, Takashi's suffering, the helplessness… All of it awakened something inside him.
"What is...?" Shin murmured, his eyes wide. He had never felt such intensity. It wasn't just anger. It was an inner cry, an unbearable pressure that seemed to boil in his body.
He stood up abruptly, fighting against the tremors running through his being. The Ganeesh, meanwhile, burst out laughing, deliberate and sadistic.
"So, you finally want to play? After all this time hiding, watching your friends get slaughtered. Look at them now! They're just torn-up dolls, and you... you're nothing!"
But Shin, for the first time, didn't respond.
He closed his eyes for a brief second before something inside him unfolded. The entity that had tormented him until then, mocking his weaknesses, felt suddenly drawn to him. It was like a call, an opening.
"Do you really want to die with them, Shin?" said the entity in his mind, its voice bordering on madness. "You have no luck. You have no power... But I could help you, if you want. Do you really think they'll survive without you?"
Shin clenched his fists, blood pounding in his temples. He felt an overwhelming pressure on his chest, but in his mind, a small flame of hope began to burn. He didn't want to listen to this voice. But he understood something.
He might have been alone. He might have been weak. But this moment, it was the one where he had to choose. Not for himself, but for them.
"I'm going to save them," he whispered, his voice trembling, but determined. "I'm going to save them, no matter what you say."
A burst of intense light flashed, but this time, it was not controlled by the entity. He had made the decision on his own.
And in that moment, everything changed.