Fighting a horde of killer insects on a sinking ship was not what I would have had on my vacation bingo card.

The ship shook violently, and I slid on my hands and knees on the rain-slicked deck.

“We’re almost there,” Pam doubled back and threw out a hand to me which I took gratefully. We were near to the railed steps that led to the upper deck lightning struck the ship.

The crack was deafening. High above a piece of aluminum alloy detached from the wall and tumbled downwards.

“Move!” I shouted, grabbing Pam’s arm and steering her sideways just in time. The shard of metal buried itself in the deck only feet away where it quivered. It wasn’t the only incident. The ship was falling apart. Beneath our feet, wood splintered as a jagged crack appeared on the deck. Moments later the ship shuddered and lurched.

I was thrown forward as the upper deck buckled, tilting dangerously. I scrambled up the sloping deck, grabbing onto the back of Rob's shirt and hauling him over the widening crack.

The rogue raced past us, stopping only to be sure we made it. Through the heavy curtain of rain I could see the Hive Lord standing with his minions. A small army of Spiderlings and Warriors were now lining up to pass through the portal and into the void beyond.

But the Hive Lord didn’t bother to turn even as our party ran towards him. Instead, he was focused on something else. Something I couldn’t see. A flash of blue light burst forth, and several spiderlings went catapulting backward as if thrown by the hand of God.

“What the..” Another warrior was tossed sideways through the air, his head little more than blue pulp. That’s when I spotted him. The blond-haired fighter from before was making his way through the ranks of insects, and he was… alone.

In his hand, he was wielding some kind of spectral Warhammer, and his eyes glowed blue.

“Who the hell is that guy?” wheezed Rob from somewhere behind. “He’s a loner,” I said. “Fighter I met hours ago. I didn’t think he’d still be alive.”

The Hive Lord snarled and whirled his spear, leaping forward with frightening speed. He may not have been able to fly on account of that injured wing, but underestimating him would be a fatal mistake.

The fighter was too busy fending off a wave of spiderlings that were racing toward him to see the danger coming. I tried to shout to him as I ran, cupping my hands around my mouth to be heard. But the storm and the creaking of the ship drown me out entirely.

The Hive Lord lifted his spear, the tip glowing a deep dark purple. I was out of options. I lifted my hand, concentrating on the flow of mana. My already low pool of mana drained as I tried to focus on my skill.

Sand materialized before me, condensing into a spike and hardening. I took aim, lining my sight up with the Hive Lord's head. The sand spike shot forward with lightning speed, whistling over the heads of several Hive Warriors between us. They turned, their angry bug eyes coming to rest on me. I ignored them as I watched the spikes flight.

The Hive Lord seemed to sense the threat before it reached him. He arrested his forward momentum faster than I would have thought possible. Like a prize boxer, he twisted his Torse, narrowly avoiding taking my spike to the head. Instead, it buried itself in the meat of his shoulder and dissipated into dust.

Warning: Mana level low

“I know, I know,” I growled as I opened my inventory and reached inside. I had the attention of the Hive Warriors now. They came for me, buzzing with angry killing intent. Rob stepped forward and drove his sword into the neck of one. A crossbow bolt to the eye made another stumble and I snatched up his spear before it could fall.

Racing up the steps I charged towards the Hive Lord, bellowing for all I was worth. If this was it, my last chance, then I was going to take this bastard down. I ran forward, ducking a spear as it sailed over my head. The Hive Lord turned towards me as I charged him and his wings flared.

He was intending to lunge, and out here in the open I had no method of defense against him. The hammer came out of nowhere. It hurtled through the air end over end and slammed into the Hive Lord with enough force to knock him sideways. He slid, clawed legs digging into the wood of the deck as he steadied himself. Somehow he seemed unharmed.

“Get the spear,” I called to Pam. She nodded, her face determined as she jogged towards the fallen spear. The Hive Lord’s head Jerked towards me and his eyes narrowed. So, he could speak English, eh? Fine.

“Listen up you gooey fuck,” I said, brandishing my stolen spear. “I’m sick of you and your kind. This ends now.”

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The Hive Lord barked an order in that strange clicking language. Two of the nearest warriors rushed Pam.

“I’ve got this,” she shouted as I stepped towards her.

“You take care of him.”

Right, easier said than done. Behind my back I held my secret weapon, waiting for the right moment. The Fighter was still upright even as spiderlings swarmed him. He had lost his hammer now, but he was fighting with his fists, the knuckles wreathed in blue magic.

I stepped forward, stumbling as the ship shuddered and groaned. Several deck chairs slid down the slopped surface, tumbling past the rail into the sea.

The Hive Lord stalked forward and the two of us circled each other. He was a tall one, I’ll give him that. Even weaponless he was an imposing figure. Each arm ended in razor-sharp claws, and his horns looked like they could do some serious damage.

“Level thirteen huh,” I called, trying to goad him. “You don’t seem so tough.”

He seemed to sneer, pincers opening and closing. In my youth, I learned not to waste time in a fight. If you wanted to win, it was better to strike first and strike hard. I skipped forward, thrusting the spear at his chest. He knocked it aside and swiped his claws at me. I side-stepped, only just managing to avoid getting a bloody haircut.

“Zade!” the shout came from Nat who was carving up a warrior with her cleaver. “Wrap this up. The ship is going down.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I muttered, leaping aside as the Hive Lord came for me again. This time I managed to block his claws but he lifted a foot and caught me in the chest with the full force of a kick. I went down hard, tumbled like clothes in a dryer.

I ended up scrambling on my hands and knees as the Hive Lord came after me, trying to stomp me like a cockroach beneath his clawed foot. Ironic.

I’ll admit it wasn’t my finest moment but it gave me the time I needed. I flipped the lighter open in my hand, at the same time pulling one of the two remaining cocktails from my inventory. I had to use my body to shield it from the rain.

The cloth smoked, and I swore as I heard the Hive Lord coming. He was chittering now, no doubt in triumph at his assumed victory. The wind stirred the linen cloth. Then, blessedly, it caught.

I turned, rolling unto my back as the Hive Lord bore down on me.

“Eat this,” I said and I hurled the bottle at him. The Hive Lord had fast reflexes. Instead of shattering on his chest like I had intended, it broke against his forearm. Flaming liquid spilled out, drenching him in fire.

He jerked backward, shrieking as the flames surged. In the rain, it wouldn’t last long. I snatched up the spear from the deck.

“Now,” I shouted to the others. There was no time to see if they had heard me. No time to do much else than kill the enemy in front of me or die trying.

The Hive Lord stumbling backwards and I used that opportunity to strike. I struck him at full tilt, spear gripping in my hands as I forced him backward towards the portal. Ahead, I could see Pam waving at the others.

The rogue was the first to reach the tear in reality. She glanced back once, eyes sweeping the carnage. Then she ducked into the void and disappeared entirely. Nat was the second through, rolling her shoulders and nodding to me before stepping in.

I bared my teeth as I forced the now smoldering Hive Lord back and back. He slammed an arm downward, breaking the spear in a splinter of wood. But now, the remnants of the flickering flame had all but died, leaving his thorax and head a charred mess. He tried to swipe at me but only ended up stumbling. I kicked the back of his knee, bringing him to his knees.

Rain ran down my chin as I whirled the broken spear shaft in my hand.

“I told you,” I said, glancing up long enough to see Pam raise a hand in farewell. “I told you that you fucked up the day you chose to mess with mankind.”

The bug let out a noise somewhere between a chitter and a cough. Blue blood dribbled down the side of his face. He turned his head to look at me. In the heat of the fire, one of his bulbous eyes had popped and was nothing more than a mess of goo on the side of his face.

His mandibles moved and it took me a moment to realize the Hive Lord was trying to form words.

“Zade Russo,” he said, his head tilted to one side as blood oozed down his face. “Your fate is marked in blood. It was already written.”

The strange halting words sounded like a bunch of nonsense. But something about the words chilled me to the bone.

“How do you know my name?” I asked. His remaining eye fixed on me.

“They know,” he said.

I stalked forward gripping his horns and yanking his head back to expose the burned remnants of his throat.

“Who knows?” I snapped, impatient for games. The ship creaked again and more cracks appeared in the deck all around us. One of the giant tentacles above wrapped itself around the ship's hull, suction cups sliding against metal with an unearthly sound.

“The Gods,” said the Hive Lord. Then, before I could stop him he threw himself forward and cut his own throat on the blade of the spear. I was too slow to stop him, and truth be told, I wasn’t sure that I would have.

The Hive Lord’s body slumped sideways.

Ding!

You have slain Hive Lord. Automatic level increase, two skill points available.

The deck beneath me fractured. I fell on my back as huge splinters of metal and wood burst upward in a mini explosion. Thick smoke was clouding the remainder of the deck, smelling strongly of fuel and gas.

The engine it seemed, had finally given out. The crack in the deck had widened and through it I could see the churning ocean below. The body of the Hive Lord slid over the deck, tumbling through the gap and down into empty air.

Even as I watched the water stirred. A giant maw opened was that a beak? Inside were rows of tiny sharpened teeth that seemed to stretch into endless darkness.

I scrambled away from the hole and scanned the deck for my only salvation. Ahead, I could see the shifting blue and red of the portal. It was only twenty paces away, but would I make it?

I slipped and slid over the deck, vaulting over fallen chairs and tables. Below me, the ship lurched as it began to sink. As I stepped into the portal, the last thing I saw was a third tentacle wrapping itself around the ship, pulling the wreckage into the depths.