Chapter 84

Jake spotted a slasher emerging from a newly materialized portal, the toughest monster he’d faced so far. He knew he had to deal with it fast. As he was about to charge toward the threat, he heard a familiar piercing shriek from behind. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw another slasher that had just appeared. Then he heard a survivor’s panicked voice, trying to warn the others about a danger. When Jake turned to look their way, he saw a third slasher barreling right at the group of survivors standing at the center of the room.

All of them pivoted to confront the slasher hurtling toward them, unleashing a barrage of fire with their weapons. However, the creature was already dangerously close. Realizing they wouldn’t be able to inflict significant damage in time to halt its advance, Jake dashed across the room as fast as he could. Despite his incredible speed, it was obvious he wouldn’t make it in time to protect the group from the charging ex-human. The mutant, brandishing its swords, barreled into the center of the group, prompting them to frantically scatter in different directions in panic.

One of the survivors screamed in pain as the slasher struck out with one of its swords to slice a long, bloody gash across his arm. At first, Jake couldn’t see who it was, but when he got closer, he saw it was Frank. The group leader’s arm bled profusely, but the wound probably looked worse than it actually was. Jake cut his way through the horde of walkers as he ran, his swords cleaving reaching hands at the wrists and slicing through skulls, sending heads flying to bounce and roll across the floor of the room.

Finally, he reached his destination. Isra, Rick, and Archie had scattered throughout the room, doing their best to fend off waves of mutants swarming in from all directions. As for the slasher, it seemed determined to finish off Frank. The group leader was crawling on his elbows, trying to get away from the mutant after collapsing on the floor. The towering slasher loomed over Frank, who was writhing on the ground, its swords raised above its head, ready to swing its blades downward. Jake reached the slasher from behind just as it was about to strike.

Before the mutant could deliver a fatal blow to Frank, Jake thrust one of its swords forward with all the strength he could muster. The blade entered the slasher’s back and cut all the way through its body, the tip emerging from the center of its chest. Surprisingly, the mutant was still alive, but at least, it appeared to have lost interest in Frank. The group leader remained on the floor, looking up at the brutal scene unfolding before him. Just as the slasher attempted to turn, Jake yanked his sword from its body and swung again, severing the mutant’s head and sending it flying to the side.

With blades extended from his wrists, Jake couldn’t offer a hand to help Frank up. He was sure the group leader could rise on his own, though. Without a second glance at him, Jake turned around, scanning the room for the other survivors. Isra and Archie were currently on the opposite side of the room, fighting one of the two remaining slashers. Despite the mutant’s desperate attempts to reach them, they slowed it down with magic spells while relentlessly firing their guns at it.

Seeing there was no immediate danger to Isra and Archie, Jake diverted his attention from them to locate the last team member. Rick was the farthest away, firing his shotgun at the walkers and leapers approaching him from all directions. The mutants were so densely packed together every shot Rick fired took down multiple enemies at once. He was also using a Push spell to shove back those who got too close to him. Rick appeared to be managing well on his own, adeptly handling the walkers and leapers. If only faced with these types of mutants, he likely could have found a way out. However, his situation took a drastic turn when the third slasher targeted him, rushing toward Rick from behind. Jake sprinted toward the slasher, but it was painfully obvious he wouldn’t be able to reach the mutant in time to intercept it before it got to Rick.

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The survivor became aware of the slasher behind him only when it was almost on top of him. With a sense of mounting dread, he glanced over his shoulder and let out a panicked cry as he saw the slasher closing in on him. Swiftly pivoting around, he swung the barrel of his shotgun toward the looming threat. In that critical moment, Rick should have employed a Push spell to hinder the slasher’s progress toward him. However, he failed to do so because he either forgot about it in the midst of panic or had spent all his spells by that point. He pointed his weapon at the mutant, but before he could squeeze the trigger, the slasher struck out, chopping off one of his arms at the elbow.

The severed arm, still clutching the shotgun, dropped to the floor. Rick’s gaze fell upon the arm, his eyes widening in shock. Just as he opened his mouth to scream, the mutant lashed out once more, its blade thinking into the soft flesh of his throat, opening it in an explosion of blood. Seeing Rick collapse to the floor, the slasher seemed to lose interest in him even though the guy was still alive. The mutant scanned the room for its next victim and locked its menacing gaze on the nearest survivor, Frank. The slasher pivoted toward its new target, but before it could lunge toward the group leader, Jake finally closed the distance and intercepted the slasher.

He slammed into the ex-human with great force, knocking the mutant off balance. The slasher staggered but managed to stay on its feet. It turned toward Jake, but before it could utilize its special ability, he unleashed a relentless series of powerful blows against it. One of Jake’s strikes landed perfectly, driving his sword deep into the mutant’s chest. The tip burst from the center of its back in a spray of gore. Quickly yanking his sword from its body, Jake lashed out with his other blade, taking away the top of the mutant’s skull in a single powerful swipe.

Having killed the second slasher, Jake quickly scanned the area. He noticed that Isra and Archie had already taken down the third slasher without his assistance. Rick was bleeding profusely, but before they could tend to him, they had to eliminate the remaining ex-humans. Fortunately, it was the last wave on this floor, so no more mutants materialized. All the formidable mutants had been taken care of by then, leaving only low-level walkers and leapers to deal with. Quickly taking care of them, the survivors rushed to aid their severely wounded companion.

“We have to heal him,” Archie exclaimed, his voice trembling with emotion.

“Don’t bother,” Frank grumbled. “We only have basic stims on us. They won’t be able to treat such severe wounds.”

Rick lay on his back, staring up at them with wide eyes, attempting to speak but only managing a gurgle. Disregarding the group leader’s words, Archie knelt before the wounded companion, pulling out several healing autoinjectors from his rucksack. He administered them to Rick’s wounds, but as Frank had predicted, they struggled to repair the injuries. While they did mend the damaged flesh, the process was too slow. Before the medications could fully close the wounds and stop the bleeding, Rick passed away. His body stiffened, his eyes glazing over as they stared up at the ceiling.

“Told you so,” the leader said. “Shouldn’t have wasted your stims on him.”

“Oh, shut up, Frank,” Isra said.

A hush fell over the group for a moment. Then, Archie abruptly rose to his feet and turned away from the others.

“I’m done,” he declared in a flat voice, making his way toward the room’s exit.