Feeling around the spot of the sting, Chase felt something and pulled it free. Taking a look, he felt his face pale at the tiny dart. He’d seen enough movies and documentaries to know that a dart that size was only ever used to deliver poison.

Lifting his head to Muthroth, he immediately asked, “Do you have any way to identify poisons?”

The shake of his head was Muthroth’s answer, and Chase grit his teeth, picking up his shield and readying his pick as he began to scan the surroundings. He very much doubted that the frek’idh had anything like this, which meant that it was most likely one of the chimps that had stayed behind as an assassin.

Muthroth’s hand flew to his own neck, and Chase spotted a shape just barely peeking over one of the hills overlooking the valley. Immediately, he began running, pushing his legs as fast as they could move. The wind whipped through his hair, and with grit teeth he began to push his body to move faster as the shape rose into the long armed form of an ape.

Dressed in dark blues and purples, the ape seemed surprised, its eyes wide and its jaw slack as it watched Chase rapidly approach. A moment later, and it was turning, seeking to flee. It barely made it ten feet, before Chase threw his shield like a frisbee, taking out its legs from under it.

It fell with a scream, the sound cutting off abruptly as it slammed face first into the dirt. Chase was on it in an instant, and began looking around for anything that might be able to save him. His search was fruitless, and the ape let out a derisive snort.

“You are a fool, human. Your death is inevitable. You will die alone, and cold, with nothing and no one to mourn your passing,” the ape said, before the shadows wrapped around it, shooting out at Chase like spears.

Chase was able to dodge the first, but the second managed to graze his thigh, making him stumble. A third spear of darkness missed entirely, but the fourth and fifth took him in the abdomen and the chest.

Chase was sent stumbling backwards, the wind knocked out of him. The ape stood, pulling a nut that looked to be made of granite and tossing it into its mouth, chewing and cracking it audibly. The shadows around the ape writhed, twisting and squirming through the air like something from a poorly written eldritch horror story.

The ape grinned, its teeth sharp and menacing, and opened its mouth wide, the shadows pouring into its maw. The ape grew taller, and its muscles swelled, the shadows wrapping around its body. As it grew larger and larger, Chase got to his feet, his eyes narrowing as he pulled forth the Path of Tenacity, hoping it would help him fight the effects of whatever poison the ape had used. Rolling his neck, Chase tightened his grip on his pick before rushing at the ape.

It was now as tall as the treeline, and it looked down at Chase with a sneer. It didn't even bother raising its fists, merely swinging its arm, the shadows still wrapping around it. Chase jumped, his legs tensed and prepared to kick off the ape's arm, the ape's hand swinging through the air right where he'd been.

When he was just in front of the ape, his body still in the air, Chase swung his pick, and the ape let out a pained shriek as the weapon slammed into its forehead. Despite burying it all the way to the haft, it seemed unimpeded, its hand swatting Chase away from it, leaving his pick behind.

Chase landed hard, rolling several times before managing to rise to his feet, and cursed as he figured out why it hadn't been more than inconvenienced by his strike. Its size now meant that its skull was too thick for the pick's blade to penetrate to the brain, and he didn't have a weapon suitable to deal with a monstrosity of this size.

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Looking up at the ape, the thing glared at him, a nasty grin on its face, and raised its foot. It was a long way up, but the ape's foot was large enough that it didn't matter. The shadow-wrapped foot fell, and Chase leapt to the side, just barely avoiding being crushed into paste.

Fortunately, his leaping roll took him next to his shield, and he figured that if it was good enough for captain stars and stripes, it might work. It wasn't like he had many other options. Taking the shield in hand, Chase braced his feet, and prepared to dodge to the side. The ape lifted its foot to stomp again, and as the muscles in Chase's legs coiled, he was blindsided by a wave of shadow blades stabbing into his back, knocking him forward and sending him rolling.

A scream tore itself from his throat as his flesh was torn to ribbons, the shadows ripping at his back as he rolled through the dirt. It seemed that the ape had realized it didn't have to bother trying to stomp him flat, and had simply sent the shadow-spears after him.

Rolling over, he came face to face with a massive fist, and his eyes widened, the world slowing down. It was almost as if the world was moving through water, and as the fist fell, his eyes traced the movements of the ape's muscles, and he could feel the air pressure and force being created.

The fist slammed into the ground, but Chase had managed to dodge, the Path of Precision giving him an understanding of the forces at play, and letting him know just how much time he had. His free hand lashed out, grabbing a handful of fur and shredded cloth before Chase used every scrap of enhanced strength that the Network had given him, sending him flying through the air towards the ape's throat.

Unexpectedly, the ape opened its mouth in a roar, and Chase threw his shield as hard as he could. The massive skull flew through the air, the eye and nose sockets creating a whistling sound that contrasted with the ape's bellow, before both were suddenly cut off. The ape's eyes widened, its hands flying to its neck as it let out a weak, wheezing gasp.

Chase, his momentum carrying him forward, slammed into the ape's head. He was thrown off balance, and fell to the ground, hitting it hard. He could see the ape, the monster having fallen backwards, clutching at its neck, gasping as it tried to breathe past the obstruction in its throat. Chase blinked a few times before understanding dawned on him.

Walking up to the ape, whose struggles were slowly growing weaker, its fists slamming into its chest in an attempt to force out the skull it was choking on, Chase hopped onto its head and grabbed onto his pick. Muscles bulging, Chase pulled it free with a grunt, and the ape's eyes rolled back as it let out a wheeze.

Hopping down to the ground, Chase let out a noise of alarm as the ape reached into a pouch and pulled out a paper charm. The writings lit up with a blinding yellow light, forcing Chase to look away and shield his eyes with his arm as the air was filled with a wet, bloody tearing sound.

When Chase lowered his arm, he winced at the sight before him. The ape had returned to its original size, but doing so hadn’t expelled his shield. Instead, it had resulted in the ape’s neck being ripped apart, decapitating it. It was an incredibly unpleasant sight, and he could hear his stomach threatening to rebel.

Ignoring the body and its spilled entrails, he moved towards the ape's bag, intending to take a look at its belongings. Unfortunately, he had only gotten a single step when an immense pressure descended upon his shoulders. It felt as if a great weight had settled onto him, and he stumbled, falling to his knees.

The sound of hoofbeats made him lift his head, and Chase felt his jaw drop. A chimpanzee dressed in segmented armor armor sat atop a black horse, a pair of golden chains dangling from his pauldrons.

He looked to be about five and a half feet tall, and had a set of matching red tattoos around its narrowed eyes, a frown on its lips as it studied Chase. It wore no helm, instead leaving its bald head bare.

“You killed one of my elite guards,” the chimpanzee said, its voice a high pitched hiss. “I must say, I am quite impressed. To kill him alone, without any help, is no small feat. Especially while suffering from his favorite poison.”

It smiled, and it was a sinister thing, its teeth looking sharp and dangerous.

“However, you will pay the price for such an act, human,” it spat, its voice holding nothing but scorn and disgust on the last word. “Not right now, but soon. So swears Isushi Riniki, Oni King of the Infernal Gates.”

With those words, it pulled on its horse’s reigns, riding off. After a minute, the pressure on Chase released, letting him stand once again. Glancing at his shield, still sitting in the ape's ruined neck, Chase winced.

“Fuck. I just can't seem to catch a break, can I?”

Moving over, he pulled his shield free, and began looking through the ape's bag, wanting to find anything useful. His search was soon interrupted, yet again.