Chapter 1

[Zack’s POV]

I stared at the corpse in front of me, then at the picture I held in my hand. Contrary to the agonized face of this man before his death, the smile he showed in this picture was serene, his arms wrapped around his wife and two kids.

An innocent target, I knew. But it did not matter. What mattered was the Matthias Family. For the sake of that man, I will kill anyone.

I tossed the picture onto the burning ground. It burned nicely, turning into crisp and dust in a matter of moments. Fire continued licking the room, filling everything with thick, black smoke.

“Over here!”

The shout outside the room was accompanied by numerous footsteps. Probably four or five men. I pulled out the gun holstered in my belt and pointed it at the door. After a kick from the pursuers sent it open, I immediately opened fire. After two shots, I rolled on the ground and hid behind a wall.

Headshots. Two down. Three to go.

The other three immediately retaliated. Bullets rained down the room, riddling the walls with innumerable holes. Fire continued licking the ground.

They stopped firing. I heard clinking sounds. I dived out of my cover and aimed my gun at my pursuers. In that split moment, I clearly saw the panic and fear within their eyes. They were young, probably ten years my junior, maybe more.

But they have to die here.

Without hesitation, I rapidly fired the remaining bullets onto them. Six shots, three dead bodies. They all fell down as blood started gushing out, blanketing the ground.

I reloaded my gun, tucked it inside my belt, then checked the dead bodies for any ammunitions. I took a pistol and two grenades. This should be enough for me to escape this place.

From the opened window, I could hear the sirens outside. The cops were here. I frowned. What were the other teams doing? Surely, they have finished their missions by now?

As though on cue, the device in my ear made a buzzing sound. A raspy female voice came through. “Zack, we’re done. How’s it at your place?”

I pressed the button. “Killed the target. And… the cops are here.”

“Yeah, I see them,” said the woman. “We’ll be firing the flare for half a minute. Use that time to get down to the basement. We’ll be waiting there.”

Half a minute was not enough time, but I did not really have a choice. If the cops were close enough that my team could see them, then it would only be a matter of time before they reached this place.

“Understood,” I said.

The moment the contact was cut, a deafening boom was heard outside, which was quickly followed by a blinding flash of light. Gunshots echoed as numerous men shouted in panic.

I immediately ran outside the room, my body dashing past the hallway.

And then I froze.

What was happening? I could not move my body.

On my feet, a hexagram appeared. The symbols engraved on it started emitting light. The flashes of light started to become increasingly bright. I closed my eyes and gnashed my teeth. I tried moving my body, but to no avail.

My instinct was screaming at me that I should move my body away from the hexagram underneath my feet.

“Move, God damn it! Move!” I snarled, my voice reverberating through the desolated hall of the mansion.

A warm sensation enveloped my entire body. A buzzing sound rang through my ears – then stopped.

The heat from the burning mansion vanished. I could no longer hear the sirens outside, the gunshots. Slowly, I opened my eyes.

I frowned.

I was inside a cage. A very large one at that. Around me were around a hundred people, their expressions similar to mine. They all looked around, bewildered and confused, their murmurs filling the air.

“Where is this?”

“Hey, I’m supposed to be in a meeting right now!”

“Daddy, I’m scared!”

“Where the fuck is this place! I was just watching tv in my room!”

The murmurs and complaints blended together, creating a deafening noise. I silently inspected my surroundings. Initially, I thought this was a dream, but the vividness of things made me realize this was reality. I bit my lips hard just to be sure. Blood dripped down. Painful.

But how did I get here? I was sure I was in the mansion, escaping just after I killed my target. Who were these people? Why were we all inside this gargantuan metallic cage?

Looking up, I could see nothing but a metallic plate. Through the bars, the fierce ray of morning light clearly illuminated the barren plains outside the cage. If one looked carefully, it was possible to see the sea of trees further beyond that.

“If you guys don’t want to die, shut the fuck up!” A snarl made all the buzzing sounds vanish. Everyone looked at the young man who spoke. He was wearing a uniform, probably from High School.

“Hey kid, do you know something about this plac—”

“—Shut up old man,” spat the young man. “Those guys will come earlier if you keep on…” He stopped, his eyes quickly widening as he stared outside. “Shit! They’re here!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The young man quickly ran towards the back, as far away as possible from the entrance of the colossal cage. I noticed that several other people did the same. Now that I had a careful look, those people all have tattered clothes, with several cuts and bruises here and there.

I looked at the place where the young man looked at.

“What the hell is that?” someone among our group voiced the thoughts within me.

Three large black figures were coming towards the cage. Judging by the direction, they probably came from the sea of trees beyond the plains.

The Harvest has started. The Sasquatch are to collect ninety human bodies for Agares.

A message appeared in front of me. Judging by the expressions of the other people around me, they probably received the same message too.

This was the first time I heard of Sasquatch, but for Agares – wasn’t that a devil written in books? I was pretty sure I’ve read about him before.

The people around me started screaming the moment the black monsters reached the entrance of the cage. Their hairy bodies reminded me of apes. Those arms were probably strong enough to crush a horse in a single blow. One of them was carrying large empty leather bags, the second one was holding a rusty iron axe, while the third one started unlocking the cage using the keys in his hands.

Everyone started running towards the other side of the cage as two of those monstered entered. The last one remained standing at the entrance.

“Strip and give your respect to the Supreme Ruler,” said the one holding the leather bag.

These monsters could speak? I was not the only one surprised by this fact.

Seven guys ran towards ape. They were all naked as they kowtowed in front of the monster. The high schooler from before was among them.

“We give our respect to the Supreme Ruler!” they all said in unison. “The Great Demon, Agares!”

They kept hitting the floor with their foreheads as they chanted these words over and over again like mantra. I could hear and feel the desperation within their voices. The high school kid, particularly, was on the verge of crying as he kowtowed there naked.

“We give our respect to the Supreme Ruler! The Great Demon, Agares!”

“We give our respect to the Supreme Ruler! The Great Demon, Agares!”

“We give our respect to the Supreme Ruler! The Great Demon, Agares!”

After some time, the monster snorted. “Enough. Go over there.” He pointed at the corner.

The seven guys looked at each other and nervously went towards the place where the monster indicated.

“This batch of humans are many,” said the one holding an axe. “We can probably bring back some extras with us. My wife’s just learned how to roast human meat recently.”

The one holding the leather bag snorted. “Just five. And you give me an extra body.”

The monster holding the axe broadly grinned. It was so damn ugly. The kids inside the cage started violently crying, and even the adults joined in too. Everyone was too tensed and petrified that they refused to move from their current spot.

The two monsters started approaching us. I saw the relieved expressions of the seven guys at the corner of the cage. The high school kid did not even bother hiding his emerging grin.

So, those guys knew that they would be spared if they did that huh? I gnashed my teeth after I realized.

“D-Don’t come near us!”

“Oh, God! Jesus Christ!”

“P-Please! Someone!”

The cries of terror resounded. The monster holding the bag grabbed one of the frozen humans and ripped his neck off the body using his large hands. He tossed the headless body, together with the head, inside the leather bag.

I unconsciously swallowed my spit. This was a really dangerous shit I found myself in.

The monster holding the axe started hacking at the humans one after another, cleaving their bodies into two. The stench of blood intensified as people kept dying before my very eyes.

“Help!”

“S-Stop!”

“You damn monster!”

Several people started running for the cage’s entrance. At first, some daredevils tried to escape through the opened door, only to be sent flying with a kick from the monster guarding it. Those that were kicked flew all the way towards the other end of the cage, their abdomens burst open from impact. After seeing this, people stopped trying to escape using the entrance.

The massacre continued. The dead bodies were thrown inside the large leather bags. Right now, two of them have been filled to the brim.

The monster looked at me.

I finally found myself the monster’s next target. It swung its axe towards me, its strike fast yet sloppy. I dodged by sidestepping, then quickly ran to the side to widen the gap between us.

The ape-monster was clearly displeased by this. A steam puffed out its snout as it slowly walked towards me, its axe resting on its shoulder.

“Don’t run, human,” it said. It gripped the axe and swung it. Once again, I sidestepped. It missed.

“This damn human dare!” it snarled angrily. Was it expecting me to simply stand there and take the blow? Fucking stupid monster.

I pulled out the gun in my waist and fired at the monster. Three bullets hit it right at the face. It groaned, it’s eyes filled with vehement fury, before it fell limp on the ground.

You have killed a Sasquatch!

You have gained a level!

You have gained a level!

Another weird window popped out in my head. I dismissed it immediately.

The sounds of panic and terror vanished entirely. Everyone looked at me, at the gun I held in my hand, then at the monster slumped on the floor.

The monster in-charge of the leather bag glared at me after seeing its friend limp and lifeless. It roared and charged at my direction. I pointed the muzzle at it and pulled the trigger once.

The deafening sound of gunfire echoed. The charging monster was hit right at the jaw. Blood profusely gushed out. It halted in its tracks as it screamed in rage and agony. The hatred within its eyes was so fierce that I felt it penetrating my very flesh.

“Not enough, huh?” I said. I pulled the trigger once again. The deafening sound of gunfire echoed. This time, the bullet hit the monster right at the forehead.

The black ape fell down the ground with a thud.

You have killed a Sasquatch!

You have gained a level!

You have gained a level!

“A-Awesome! Y-You’re awesome, man!”

“This guy has a gun!”

“We’re saved! He has a gun!”

I frowned as everyone looked at me with sparkling eyes. Damn it. I’m not here to save you guys.

More importantly, there was still that monster outside. I still have an extra cartridge left. I should conserve the bullets in case more of these monsters come out. After all, fighting them using the knife was a very risky idea.

Thankfully, the bullets were enough to kill these beasts. I still have a lot of questions, but for now, staying alive was top priority.

As I started approaching the monster outside to kill it, something completely unexpected transpired. The ape monster closed the door and twisted the metallic lock. I heard clicking sounds. The damn ape just locked us inside.

“Human, I shall come back,” the ape monster said. Contrary to the other two, this one was calm and composed. “Do not expect an easy death. I shall rip your limbs apart and—”

Bang!

The eyes of the ape monster widened after the bullet penetrated its skull. Its entire body quivered for a moment, before it fell down the ground. I stared at the keys it held in its lifeless hands. It should be possible to get it if we have something like a pole to take it out.

I tucked the gun inside my belt. I ignored the stares of everyone around me as I walked towards the seven naked guys. They clearly knew something about this nightmare.

I stood right in front of the high school kid.

“Hey, brat,” I said, my eyes predatory. “Speak. I want to know the full story.”