Get up.

His arms shake as he pushes himself upwards. The world spins and he slumps back down. The stench of ash fills his nostrils. Fuck.

"Well, this is significantly easier than I thought it was going to be." The leader surveys the incapacitated three as his men all fill the room. "I expected more from users with a bounty. Who knew it was just a bunch of kids."

HAV0C grits his teeth. The blast has rattled him, making everything hazy and unclear. Not to mention the continuous pulse of blood-lust washing over him, making his body involuntarily tremble and shake.

Bounty hunters? How did they track us down so quickly?

"Sir. Two of them are still conscious. The other seems to be in a coma."

HAV0C flinches. Eclipse?

"Hey." The group turn to look at him. He slowly attempts to rise once more. "She has nothing to do with this. She doesn't have a bounty." His vision wavers and distorts as he looks at them. From dizziness or the skill, or possibly both. "You guys came for the bounty, right? Well, it's standing- lying-in front of you."

The leader tilts his head. "The bounty is for two players. HAV0C and Catnip."

"HAV0C. That's me. And come on. Did it explicitly say you HAVE to kill both in order to get the rewards?"

It did. I'm pretty sure it did-

"What? Are you offering yourself up?" The leader laughs. "What are you, a main protagonist in a novel?"

"Haha, I like to think I am....."

The leader snorts. "You're HAV0C, right? My name is Burns. Think of this as my one and only courtesy to you for your courage, or absolute stupidity. Not many can keep a clear head in this kind of situation."

That is true. Why am I so calm about this?

"Anyway." Burns looks past HAV0C. "Your little friend there seems to be having a bit of a breakdown."

"Huh-?" He turns and sees Catnip trembling on the floor, whispering to himself. His breaths come out in frantic pants.

"I-it wasn't my fault. I-I had to. I had no choice-"

HAV0C's throat closes up in guilt.

No. I did that to him.

"Catnip-"

"Okay, we all have places to be. Kill him first." At Burn's order the men close in, walking past HAV0C as if he doesn't exist.

"WHA-HEY!" HAV0C attempts to straighten up. "DON'T TOUCH HIM-"

The men turn to look at him and HAV0C crumbles, their blood-lust weakening his limbs. He remains on his arms and knees, heart pounding. Sweat rolls down his temples. To him, they look like shapeless monsters, faceless beasts. And behind him stands the biggest monster of them all. His skin feels like it's on fire.

Is this what terror feels like?

I can't move.

Or is it, I don't want to move, to avoid getting hurt?

His trembling hands curl into fists.

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I'm so pathetic.

Tears roll down Catnip's face. Everything around him blurs in and out of focus. He can't breathe.

"I didn't mean to do it-"

I did.

"There was no other way!"

There was.

"I HAD NO CHOICE-!"

.....I did.

A hand grabs him by the hair and lifts him up. He cries out, pain exploding across his scalp.

"For fuck's sake, quit your screaming, kid!"

The bounty hunters surround him on all sides.

"If you truly feel sorry for what you did, then don't fight against us."

He gasps, feeling the cold sting of metal, digging into his throat.

"Just shut up and die."

He grabs at the hand, crying.

"S-stop, I-I can't breathe-"

"I can't breathe."

[Catnip uses Skill!]

Golden electricity surrounds his body and his eyes glow.

"STOP!!!"

[Construct!]

A fist of gold slams into his attacker's face, sending him spinning through the air, bones and limbs snapping like sticks. The group stumbles back, fear radiating from behind their masks.

"What the fuck-?"

A hand grabs unto another's neck, collapsing it with a simple squeeze. Catnip looks up, eyes widening. A being of gold metal looms over him, thin, almost skeletal.

"Huh....?"

"What the heck is that thing!?"

The hunters take a step back, stumbling over their own feet.

"Did this kid just unlock his ability....?"

Burns observes from afar.

"Interesting."

He smirks, raising his palm.

Let's see if he can take this!

[Use Skill-]

Pain explodes through his thighs and he drops his hand, cursing. HAV0C had yanked the rusty blade out from the door and stabbed it into his leg.

"You little shit!"

The bloodlust crashes down unto HAV0C in waves, squeezing the air out of his lungs, twisting his vision, his skin feeling like it's on fire.

I can't just let Catnip do all the work.

He glares up at Burns, staring into the blazing palms of death.

Bring it on, you son of a bitch!

Burn snarls. "𝘋𝘪𝘦."

"DIE-!"

[Eclipse uses skill!]

A beam of light pierces Burn's skull. He stands there for a moment, before slumping to the floor. HAV0C remains frozen in shock.

"What-?"

Multiple rays pierces through the other hunter's bodies, riddling them with holes.

[Ray of Light!]

Eclipse leans against the wall, hand outstretched. Cold sweat runs down her temples.

"Mom....!"

Catnip and HAV0C stare at her in awe.

What the hell was that!?

"I close my eyes for one moment, and everything turns to shit."

She sighs.

"What a fucking day."

DID SHE JUST SWEAR!?

Catnip and HAV0C don't know what to say.

She can heal, AND one-shot people!?

HAV0C gets to his feet, head aching.

Is this the side effect of using that skill?

"Is everyone okay?"

Catnip shakily nods.

"I-I'm fine."

The giant stands behind him, placing its hands on his shoulders. HAV0C looks at it in slight jealousy.

The guy actually summoned a freaking stand.

Eclipse slowly gets to her feet, clutching her head.

"That had to be the worst nap of my fucking life."

And I'm still not used to hearing her swear-

"Sorry, Mom....."

So, Eclipse can heal and shoot lasers. Catnip is a Jojo character. And I can....do what? Detect danger? Be a slightly tougher punching bag than the others?

That's really fucking depressing.

A slight prickling of the hairs of his neck alerts him of a remaining danger. He whips around and sees one of the hunters getting up, a smoking hole in his shoulder.

He survived? What a tough guy.

"Hey." HAV0C raises the knife and points it at him, blood dripping down the hilt and unto the floor.

The blood-lust is nowhere near as strong as it used to be....which means he must be more scared of us than we are of him.

"I think we both know how this is going to go."

In fact.....

He can feel two different waves behind him, warming up his skin.

The roles have been reversed. We're the ones inflicting terror now.

A smirk grows on his face.

It's....a nice feeling.

"So why don't you do the smart thing and surrender-?"

The man never gets a chance to give an answer. He's cut down the middle, a blade sweeping through him so fast that to HAV0C and the others it doesn't look real. Than the waves hit, so fast and strong it knocks HAV0C off of his feet. He retches as his eyes water.

What is this-!?

[You are under the Terror effect! Movement speed is halved!]

Halved!?

"So you took care of these grunts....a strange, but pleasant surprise. It'd be a shame if you died before I found you."

HAV0C can only let out a gurgle in reply, his throat refusing to cooperate with him.

I thought I knew what fear felt like with Burns....but this....

A man, shrouded in a red cloak stands before them. In a hand rests a sword, comprised of twisting stripes of metal, dripping in blood.

This is true terror.

"I'll make your deaths quick."