Screams filled the air, the sounds of terror and panic resonating throughout the city. Pedestrians fled in utter dread, flowing out of their apartments and homes and businesses as they were granted the opportunity to escape within a moment’s notice from the impending doom which was to come. 

There was smoke and dust and buildings were collapsing from on high, skyscrapers falling from their lofty thrones only to crash down in ruin against the concrete below, crushing and demolishing anything and anyone in their path to ruins. The inhabitants of this planet, the Berunes, made haste to the escape pods that were landing to pick up any remaining survivors. With oncoming dread, the Berunes were realizing that there were not enough escape pods for all of them, turning towards the next option of escape– the Tritan: a huge, colossal ship that could carry millions of civilians inside of its metal bowles and could transfer them safely to another planet. 

A deep, loud, thunderous roaring could be heard from afar, filling the Berunes with even more fear and terror than before, seeming to crumble and shake the ground beneath them all. It was a roar that was only told of in tales from the old, tales that no one believed were ever true. Until now. 

The Kypos were coming. 

One by one the began shouting in earnest, “The Kypos are coming! The Kypos are here!” It was to no avail. Even with the great amounts of escape pods and the massive Tritan to carry them off, there was no way that the entire population of the Berunes would be able to survive. And as the last of the escape pods fled away, the Tritan soon following, the remaining Berunes were left to deal with the oncoming force of their greatest enemy– the Kypos. 

Again came the roaring, but this time it was much closer and the menacing bloodlust behind it all made every fiber in the Berunes quiver in fear. Kypos were strong, stronger than anything they had ever known and faced before, much stronger than they. Kypos were known to have wiped out entire planets, galaxies even, with their species. They were not to be trifled with. It seemed that the legends were true. Kypos were still alive after all this time, they had remained dormant, but now the Berunes came to conclude it was only a trap. A trap set for them in order to get their guard down. 

And it had worked. Kypos were not to be taken lightly. 

“Kill them all!” a deep voice thundered. And with that, the Kypos rushed into their feeding grounds.

They came from all sides, the Berunes didn’t even realize where they had come from before they were pounced upon from above, driven to the pavement below where they were horrendously and grotesquely ripped open and gutted by those vicious, savage predators. 

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The Kypos were hunting now, they could not be stopped. So ravenous was their hunger, the taste for blood, for flesh, for organs, for brains, for meat…it was nauseating. The demonic beasts were half starved from their long, patient wait and now were ready to begin their feast. The sound of bones breaking and snapping, flesh and blood squelching, screams of terror, and the gargled mixes of the victims’ last efforts to remain alive were drowned in the mayhem of the screeches, snarls, growls and guttural language of the Kypos. 

One Berune narrowly dodged the salivating jaws of one large black monster.  With a savage flick of its barbed tail, a yellowish brown Kypos impaled its prey through the heart before whipping its tail again, flinging another victim against the wall. 

The unfortunate victim spasmed violently against the cold pavement as hot blood gushed from the wounded heart, spurting out heavily as the lifeline that kept the other alien in check died away. With a satisfied, sadistic grin, the yellowish-brown Kypos chuckled wickedly, licking its teeth with its long, moist tongue. 

Kuragari seemed like it was pouting and growled a little, eager for its own taste of flesh, although it didn’t look the other in the eye. The larger, stronger alien smirked, almost in a scoffing manner before it sneered scornfully, curling its tail around once again. Kuragari shivered, knowing what was about to happen as that weapon was raised high. This was the way of the Kypos. If one missed its target, then it would be punished by their team leader accordingly. It was especially worse when the team leader saw, which was happening now. 

The black Kypos cowered down low, wincing, expecting the blow at any time, whimpering, intending to feel the searing hot flash of pain and agony as its leader slashed it through. After all, it was the way of the Kypos. They never took anything lightly. To fail in an attack was to fail their leader. 

The blow came, quick and deadly and swift. Hot, searing pain shot through the young black Kypos’ torso, the blade of the leader’s tail cutting it wide open from the abdomen to the shoulder. Screeching in agony, Kuragari fell to the ground, writhing in pain as its leader stood over it mockingly, that weapon shifting back to its natural position. 

Once the lead Kypos had concluded that its underling had learned its lesson, it stepped back and away, hissing in satisfaction and seemed to frown, expecting more. More blood was still needed to satisfy its hunger.

The black Kypos hissed softly, slowly, slowly getting to its feet, trembling as its wound slowly but surely healed itself until it was as good as new. Glancing up at the powerful figure, it made sure to put on the most submissive and meek appearance as it could to win its leader’s favor. 

“Failure is for the weak,” the leader growled, its voice low and menacing. “Only the weak deserve punishments. Next time you won’t be so fortunate.” The yellowish-brown Kypos grunted, seeming to be satisfied, and turned and leapt away back into the fight, leaving its underling to do as it wished.