Chapter 28

The three of us rushed from the hospital toward the metropolitan area of the city, where tall skyscrapers vanished into the fog above us. As we got closer to where the crashing noise had originated from, the streets and houses gradually became more and more wrecked, with entire apartment complexes being broken into barely erect chunks of building, and roads that were stripped of asphalt and littered with deep holes. These holes kept getting bigger too, and by the time we finally found Terry we had passed some that could fit a two story house snugly in their diameter.

As we rushed past the rubble and pockmark infested road I took a look behind me to see how Peter was doing. To my surprise, he was keeping up without any trouble at all. In fact his mobility was remarkable, as he used the extra arms sticking out of his back as spare legs too-jumping high over rubble and even running along the sides of buildings like he was magnetized to them.

We found Terry about four miles away from the hospital near the center of the city, in pitched combat with an all new type of insect. It was another species of beetle however, unlike the Beacon, this one clearly specialized in combat as it was maneuvering around Terry’s hammer with surprising swiftness and a clear understanding of combat tactics.

It’s body was typical of a beetle if much smaller than those we had seen before, only being about as large as a bull cow. It was still rather bulky and heavily armored, but what set this beetle apart were the massive mandibles that stuck out from either side of its head which looked like the antlers of a deer.

As I realized what kind of beetle this must have been I turned my eyes back to Terry and stared, convinced he was blessed by some god of irony.

“Of all the enemies to find, the Hero winds up running into a Stag beetle.” I thought, shaking my head. I almost wanted to laugh, but thought it would be inappropriate given how much trouble he seemed to be having.

The Stag beetle was clearly one of the more intelligent bugs, as it dodged, weaved, feinted and otherwise made a nuisance of itself. It was fast too, easily being able to rush in and bait an attack from Terry, dodge, and counterattack.

“Ember…?” I prompted

“Yes Master. That would be a Ronin. Ronin are single soldier units who have the unique roll of seeking out Lords to fight. They are specialized for combat against small opponents with explosive power and have been blessed by her Majesty with Speed, Strength, Intelligence and Dexterity above anything in their grade. If I had to give them a rating, each one of them would easily be a 4/10, with evolved even managing to dip into the 5th grade. If they have any weaknesses, it would be their incessant pride which rivals even that of the Cleaners.”

I put my head in my hands when she said Ronin, as I was suddenly getting an idea of the kind of person this Queen was. I was about to jump in and help Terry out when his voice suddenly rang inside of my head.

“Don’t. Let me do this on my own.”

“Are you sure? According to Ember, this guy exists to fight the likes of us, and he’s strong as sin to boot.”

“Yes. I need to know how strong I am and…I need to know if I can really be of any use to you. If I die here then I guess that’s all I was worth to begin with.”

“…Alright. But if it looks like you’re about to get killed, I’m cutting the fight short.”

“Thank you, Forminus.” he said, allowing his gratitude to transmit to me via our mental link,

I shuddered for a moment, unused to such genuine emotion from anyone but Ember, and cut the link off.

“He’s asked us to let him fight this one on his own. Do as he says for now but prepare to jump in if it looks like he's going to lose.” I said.

“Aye aye, sir!” Peter said, smiling brightly. It might have been my imagination, but he seemed genuinely happy to be outside again as he kept taking in deep breaths and looking around at the changed scenery.

“Ember, play tag with Peter or something.” I said, as I sat down and prepared to watch what would assuredly be a long and drawn out fight between Terry and the Stag (I refused to refer to it as a Ronin).

As I predicted, the fight lasted long into the evening. At first Peter watched the battle with rapt attention, taking in the sights and sounds of a Lord battling against an opponent with equivalent strength. But after several hours of seeing Terry exchange blows with the Stag it was clear that he was rapidly becoming more and more bored so, as I ordered, Ember invited the boy to play hide and seek.

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The two of them were currently a short distance away, playing in the ruins of some art museum.

Meanwhile Terry, who had been at it for six hours now, was steadily gaining ground against the Stag. At first he had been playing catch up, as the beetle boasted superior speed and dexterity, as well as a better understanding of how to actually fight. But as time went on Terry had started to adapt to its speed and had even learned to mimic how the Stag used its massive size to trick its opponent into thinking it was an easy target. Coupled with the fact that the beetle, while strong, wasn’t strong enough to deal any lasting damage to Terry, made it clear who had the upper hand.

Finally the beetle rushed at Terry, mandibles spread wide as if to clamp him between them causing Terry raised his hammer, tensed to swing. The beetle, faster than the eye could see, feinted to the side and made to both dodge the overhead hammer swing and close its mandibles onto Terry’s torso. But this time Terry had managed to predict the Stag’s move and, dropping his hammer, he quickly turned and grasped both of the long appendages.

The beetle tried to wrench itself out of Terry’s grasp, but it was too late. Terry planted his foot on the stags head, gave a great heave, and ripped the mandibles right off of the insect. Suddenly I heard an unfamiliar voice scream “Noooooo!” inside of my head, but that only lasted for a moment as Terry took one of the mandibles, turned it around and thrust it deep inside of the Stags cranium, killing it instantly.

Terry allowed himself a moment to breathe before raising his arms up and bellowing out his defiant scream, causing me to tense up for a moment. Likewise Ember and Peter stiffened and immediately returned from their game.

“Game’s over…” I thought, pulling myself to my feet as Terry dragged his kill over to our group. Behind me, Peter and Ember had arrived and were staring at Terry wordlessly.

“So, are you satisfied?” I asked

“…Yes. Yes I think I am. Come, eat with me you two.” He said, offering his kill to Peter and I.

Peter made to walk forward and eat but I raised my arm and stopped him, saying “No. These are your hard won spoils. We will not partake of them. Enjoy yourself my friend.”

Terry hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure, and then nodded. He tucked into his quarry and managed to eat roughly 75% of it before his hunger was satisfied. Almost as soon as he finished eating his body began taking on the characteristics of the Stag, becoming slightly slimmer and developing a pair of mandible shaped horns on either side of his head.

“I feel…stronger.” he said.

I nodded. Whatever uncertainty Terry had been feeling after his transformation had vanished as he witnessed the strength of the foes we were now facing. If he had wandered into that Stag before evolving he most certainly would have died-so what if humanity as a whole had to face monsters of that caliber? They would be wiped out. Only by bringing atrocity unto ourselves can we gain the power to save them. Only by walking a grey, murky road can we ensure others may walk in the light.

“It is unfortunate, but that’s just how it is…” Terry muttered to himself.

“For now, let's just go back to the hospital. We’ll turn it into a second base until we can move, so I’ll need some materials to make a kiln…”

“A what?” Peter asked, bewildered.

“It’s for heating materials so I can shape them into weapons.”

“You mean like that hammer Mr. Terry uses?”

“Mmhmm” I responded absentmindedly, already thinking about what I would make while waiting for Ms. Perkins to move on. “Terry, bring the rest of the Stag with us. Partake of the meat at your leisure, but leave the chitin.”

Terry, understanding immediately, nodded his head and heaved the remainder of the beetle over his shoulder. The three of us returned to the hospital, where we stayed for another three weeks.

In that time I built myself a new forge in the lobby and created a series of new weapons for my companions, including a single bladed greataxe for Terry that used the Stag chitin for a blade. It was shorter than his hammer, meaning his range would suffer when he used it, but it also meant that he would be able to swing his weapon faster.

For myself, I used some of the Stag to fashion a spear tip for my collapsible scythe so that I could increase my range when I needed to. And as for Peter…

“Here” I said, handing him the meter long scabbard I had just finished making.

“Are you sure?” he said, awe coloring his voice as he beheld the weapon he was being given.

“I am. You’re going to have to learn how to use that thing on your own time though.”

Proffering the blade to him again, this time Peter took it from me. Slowly, he drew the curved blade from it’s sheathe, allowing it to glint in the half light. Like my scythe and my bastard sword, this blade radiated an incredible aura. But whereas my weapons auras were of a dark and twisted nature, this one was the opposite. The golden sword and sheath gave off a soft, warm light that bespoke of hope.

It was the weapon of a hero. It was a weapon created from a hero. Terry stood off to the side, absentmindedly stroking one of the newly regenerated Stag horns on his head.

Originally I had wanted to use one of my own body parts to create this weapon, but Terry had been staunchly against it, insisting that the weapons made from my body were “Too twisted to allow a child to use.”. As a compromise, he donated his own parts to the cause resulting in the sword that Peter was currently gawking at.

“But still…why a katana?” Terry had asked.

“It’s made out of a Stag.” I pointed out, expecting him to get the reference.

He did not, causing me to momentarily regret my past as a chun- as someone who spent a lot of time playing games and reading manga.

Regardless, Peter was very taken with his new toy and spent the first few days after receiving it practicing his swordsmanship. He wasn’t bad, but he still had a ways to go before he could properly utilize the sword.

After making my friends their weapons I was content to while my days away hunting. I didn’t stray very far from the hospital, but I was still able to hunt a fair amount of prey. I even discovered a new type, some sort of small, tick like creature that ate concrete and secreted a sweet smelling substance. I wanted to hunt it when I first saw it, but the substance it created was delicious and the creature itself wasn’t very large anyway, with it being only half as large as Ember. I decided to allow it to live in the hopes that it would propagate.

Finally, at the end of our three week stay, Ms. Perkins met her end. It was very quiet, with no struggling and no pain. She passed in the middle of the night with her son next to her, holding her hand.

Peter didn’t cry. Rather, he looked relieved that her fight was over. We buried her in the lobby and erected a concrete gravestone to mark the spot.

Here lies Pansy Perkins

Beloved Mother of one.

May her soul find peace in this place.

Though the ceremony was a solemn one, it had an aura of hope attached to it. Peter was finally free of his shackles to humanity. He was finally free of his burdens.

He could finally move on, on into the mist.