The next chapter exploded into chaos.
Before anyone could catch their breath, the Ursa Venator lunged forward with brutal speed. In one savage, unhesitating motion, it grabbed Dodge and snapped her neck. Dodge crumpled to the ground, unconscious, her eyes wide with shock and terror as she witnessed the horror unfolding before her.
Audi's heart pounded as he stared, panicking. "No Dodge!" he cried, but his words were cut short by the frantic commotion around him.
Without warning, the undead minions Two and Three whirled into action. They charged at the Ursa Venator, their tattered forms moving with eerie precision. Undead Two rushed forward and collided with the beast, forcing it to momentarily pause its deadly assault. But Undead Three, with a feral snarl, leaped forward and sank its teeth into the massive creature's flesh.
In that split second, as the chaos swirled around him, Audi's gaze fixed on the exposed, raw flesh of the Ursa Venator. A nauseating yet strangely familiar memory surged through him the haunting recollection of a past life as a zombie when hunger had driven him to consume the flesh of the living. Overwhelmed by a mix of horror and grim reminiscence, Audi instinctively bit into the beast's flesh himself, as if trying to reclaim or atone for that dark part of his past.
Dodge lay sprawled on the cold cave floor, her mind reeling in a fog of unconscious shock and fear. Even in her vulnerable state, the unfolding carnage terrified her to the core.
In a climactic moment, the Ursa Venator's massive body convulsed and collapsed. Its lifeless form then stirred one final time—the creature reanimated as a zombie, its eyes burning with unholy intent. It staggered toward the fallen Dodge, intent on finishing what it had started.
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"Audi, no!" Dodge's silent plea, unspoken but palpable, filled the air even in her unresponsive state.
"Stop!" Audi barked urgently. With grim determination, he ordered Undead Two and Three, "Finish it off now!" The undead companions attacked with renewed ferocity, and together they overwhelmed the shambling horror until it lay utterly defeated.
Breathing heavily, Audi rushed to Dodge's side. "I I don't know what I'm doing anymore," he admitted in a strained whisper, his eyes haunted by the recent carnage and his own inexplicable urges. Desperation and resolve mingled in his expression as he fumbled through his belongings. In a moment of resolve bordering on madness, he grabbed Dodge's blood potion one they'd carried for emergencies and forced her to drink it.
The bitter liquid flowed down her throat as Audi muttered, "This might help... or at least give us a fighting chance." His words were heavy with uncertainty, his hands trembling as he tried to come to grips with the monstrous events and the darkness that seemed to claw its way back into his soul.
In that silent, charged moment, as the echoes of battle faded into the oppressive stillness of the cave, one thing was clear: nothing would ever be the same again.
Dodge, regaining strength, slowly rose to her feet. Without hesitation, she walked over to the fallen body of the Ursa Venator. With a flick of her hand, she ignited a flame and set the corpse ablaze, ensuring it would never rise again. Watching the flames consume the beast, she turned to Audi, her eyes filled with something beyond gratitude
something closer to reverence.
"Thank you, Audi... whatever you are, I'll devote my life to you from now on."
The words lingered between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. As the last embers faded, a glowing light surrounded them both. A notification echoed in their minds...
Adventure Quest Job: Completed.