Ulmak stood up, striking the crawler with his spear, but the creature easily leaped over his attack. It appeared like the beast, once focused, could perfectly sense even the tiniest movements of its target. Its absurd coordination sent shivers down Ulmak’s spine. He moved towards the Crawler, thrusting his spear with furious intensity. Each time, moments before, the weapon was about to strike true, the creature would tilt its head, move its limbs and twist its torso out of the way with little effort.

More crawlers gathered, slowly surrounding the trio, circling them in a spiral that kept getting increasingly smaller with each turn. These beasts were perfectly coordinated. A trait that gave these creatures the ability to hunt major Drakonians, who could pose a threat even to demons.

Zeke shifted his gaze in panic, from one side to the other in search of a way out of this predicament. But there were no openings. The creatures continued circling, rhythmically shifting their heads and twisting their necks, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike.

For a brief moment, Zeke and Ulmak made eye contact. Each nodded, as both knew what needed to be done.

Suddenly, the two began thrusting their spears one after another, covering up each other’s openings. Attacking the creatures in front of them in an attempt to escape the encirclement. However, this tactic, too, proved to be in affective as the moment one crawler leaped away, another would jump down in its place, holding the position.

Soon, the crawlers started attacking. Notably, they were being led by a large male. An alpha with red markings covering its entire body, the same one that had previously attacked Elaine. It was noticeably larger and leaner than the rest, its musculature was more defined. It crawled around the back and flanks, directing the other members of the pack and organizing their movements, directing them by tilting its head.

“See that?” Zeke pointed to the creature. “We need to kill that guy first,” he said with a scared expression on his face.

“Easier said than done,” Ulmak snarled.

“Alright! I’ll give it my all then,” Ulmak shouted, before closing his eyes.

Suddenly, stone pillars began sprouting from the ground, ramming themselves into the creatures, forcing them to scatter, if only for a second. Another pillar sprouted directly below Ulmak’s feet, oddly titled, designed to propel him towards the Alpha. Ulmak swung his spear at the beast, but the creature parried by using its horn, pushing Ulmak back, smashing him into the back wall of the cave.

The horde of crawlers quickly pounced, walling Zeke and Elaine away from Ulmak.

Ulmak stood up, his right hand broken from the previous impact. He looked at the beast standing directly in front of him as it glanced at him with a strange expression reminiscent of a sadistic smile.

Demonic beasts have always been known for their high intelligence. They have been rumored to possess the ability to feel complex emotions akin to humans. Yet there was one thing that separated them from humanity. It was their complete disregard for life. They did not fear death; they were driven by a strong primal urge. The urge to hunt, to harm their prey, to slowly torture them into submission. Such was the emotion taking control of this army of crawlers. They were all exuberated at the thought of crushing these weak defenseless humans.

Ulmak gripped his spear with his uninjured hand.

“Come, you foul creature!” He screamed with all of his might.

As the creature pounced, Ulmak recalled his youth. He was born in New York in the year 2024. At the time, the city was the largest human stronghold. Back then, those who had walled themselves away from the world inside the city of babel were still viewed as paranoid. Even though the world had ended, people still carried a strange sense of optimism within their hearts. They thought that the demons would eventually disappear just as suddenly as they appeared. This sentiment stemmed entirely from the self-centered nature of humanity, and as time would show, It would be proved to be entirely wrong.

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Ulmak’s upbringing was rough. He was born to two immigrant parents. Two tourists from Zimbabwe that were sightseeing in New York when the cataclysm occurred. Even though the fact that they were in New York saved them, it did not make their lives any easier. They became trapped in a society they were not familiar with. Yet that did not stop them from trying their hardest to make ends meet. Ulmak was born from the desperate love of these two people. A love that refused to waver in the face of catastrophe.

When Ulmak was 12, the contractors scouring the streets of New York badly beat his father, leaving him crippled. His arm was broken, spine shattered, and skull cracked open like it was a walnut. The perpetrators were caught, but they were not punished for their actions. The authorities could not deal with contractors, they themselves feared them. This incident proved as a life lesson for young Ulmak. “Strength is everything,” he thought to himself.

Ulmak’s mother always told him stories about the old times. When men from her tribe, her grandfather among them, would pick up his spear and fight off the approaching infantry. And even though the men they fought against had firearms and modern weaponry in their arsenal, the men did not waver in his determination.

From an early age, Ulmak picked up his spear and never looked back, following the path of his predecessors.

A year later, Ulmak’s father passed away. He and his mother were so poor that they couldn’t afford a funeral service. Ulmak had no other choice but to bury his father under a bridge.

Some time later, a terrifying entity known as the Azure king began destroying human strongholds all around the world, killing millions of innocent people. I lieu of these events, Ulmak, his mother, and many others, gathered most of their belongings and traveled to the city of Lower Babel in thought that the settlement was too small for the azure king to target.

Their actions proved correct as a year later, the Azure king destroyed the New York settlement, leaving an enormous crater where the city once stood.

Ulmak’s mother soon passed away, leaving her son alone on the streets in utter poverty. He used the last money he had left to cremate his mother’s remains, carrying them around with him everywhere he went. As a boy, he did what he could to survive. The steadily growing city of Lower Babel became a perfect hunting ground for him, allowing him to become a mercenary. Yet the pain from the past still remained nested deep within his heart.

He had a dream. One day, he would travel back to New York and gather his father’s remains, then he would travel back to the homeland and put their remains to rest where they were born.

Powerful demons roamed the world, demons that would surely kill him. Ulmak needed to become stronger, he needed to become a contractor.

Many years passed. Ulmak grew into a fine young man. He met the love of his life and started a family. But he could not rid himself of the memories of his earlier days.

One day, when Ulmak’s wife and daughter were returning home, they were assailed by a group of contractors. Ulmak intervened, protecting the love of his life, fighting the contractors with all he had. But It was not enough, he was not enough. He was but a frail human attempting to hold his own against 3 contractors blessed with unbelievable power. His skill proved not enough to counteract the difference in strength.

One of the contractors struck his wife as he was being beaten by the other two. Ulmak burst into a sudden rage and with it came an opportunity. It was in that moment that a demon known as Chastiefol offered him a contract. Without much thought, Ulmak accepted and slaughtered his opponents with ease. But as his blind rage ceased, all he could see were the terrified eyes of his family, looking at him with utter terror and disgust.

Ulmak left and never returned, determined to protect his family from the monster he had become.

“I’m a fool,” Ulmak sighed right as the creature’s horn was about to make contact with his chest.

Suddenly, he heard a voice piercing his mind like a bolt of lightning. “My contractor, you finally did it! You who wished to be the punisher of fools. You are the biggest fool! There is no one more foolish than you, only you are foolish enough to take on such a task! You have finally realized it, and for that, I will reward you!” The voice laughed as Ulmak became engulfed by an enormous aura of demonic energy.

Suddenly, a golden flash filled the cave, reflecting off every crevice in a strange kaleidoscopic pattern.

“Soul!” Ulmak screamed with all his might, binging forth a molten golden spear.

A weapon appeared in his hand. It felt like the most comfortable weapon his hands ever held. Its grip, with every notch and uneven surface, was made specifically for Ulmak’s hand. Its weight shifted perfectly and without any effort, Ulmak struck the Alpha, piercing it through the shoulder.

“Huh,” he said, in surprise of his attack landing.

“No fool shall dare to challenge you again. No one will ever outwit you with this weapon in hand. It cannot be perceived by your enemies. They see its length, but they cannot judge it. They feel its shape, but they cannot understand it. They see your strength, but they cannot conquer it. These beasts are foolish beyond belief. Now go! Slay these fools, my contractor!” the voice inside his head ordered.

“Alright.” Ulmak sighed. “I will slay all of them!” He shouted with a determined gaze.