Eric's words caught in his throat as he watched the monster bite off the head of the terrified Alex. Bones offered no resistance to its shark-like teeth. A crunching sound echoed each time its jaws closed.

Dead? Alex is dead?!

He didn't know what he felt. There was a stabbing sting in his chest. The pain was worse than the time he was shot. Glass shattered as he clenched his fists.

It took less than ten seconds for the monster to finish devouring her. Eric’s shocked eyes wandered over Alex’s body. It only left an arm and half of her lower body that was buried under the rubble. Some of her insides were spilled on the ground like a bunch of worms.

He frowned and looked away, clenching his fists. Though he had seen his fair share of corpses with torn limbs, it had never been this extreme. The experience was both disgusting and horrifying to watch.

Eric flinched as he caught the beast staring back at him. Fresh blood dripped from its mouth. It was still hungry.

The monster raised its paw and took a step toward him. Eric’s heart almost jumped out of his chest, and the hand holding the glass shard trembled. It was coming for him.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain of his broken rib, as it was the least of his problems.

Will I end up with the same fate as Alex?

As a soldier, he was already aware of his potential death on missions. He was okay with that, but being eaten alive was not part of the deal. Suicide would be much better.

Blood fell on Eric's face as the towering figure of the monster loomed over him. It was Alex's blood. His friend's blood.

He raised his head until their eyes met. His trembling pupils slowly stopped shaking as the fear in his eyes turned to a glare. Hatred. Blood dripped as he clenched the glass.

If I’m going to die anyway, I’m not going to make this bastard feel any better!

"Come on, you bastard! Bring it on!" Blood spurted from his mouth as he squeezed out words.

The monster put its huge paw on the rubble Eric was pinned under. The extra weight made him groan in pain as he felt his legs being crushed.

Gritting his teeth, he raised his hand and smashed the glass in the monster's direction. He knew the consequences of his actions, but even if he angered the beast and it retaliated, Eric did not care. He was going to die anyway, so the least he could do was hurt the monster. Even a single injury would satisfy him.

Unfortunately, his expectations were too high, as the glass shattered the moment it hit the monster, leaving no injuries. Its skin was too thick and hard for the glass to pierce.

Eric stared at the beast with blazing eyes, but a bitter smile crept across his face as the monster's shark-like teeth greeted him. The smell of foul, hot breath hit his face as it was exhaled.

He closed his eyes and accepted his fate, hoping that his death would be quick, but even after a while, he was still alive. What's wrong?

Opening his eyes, he saw the monster looking behind him, its ears twitching constantly. Did it hear something?

The bear retreated a little and turned its head behind, confusing Eric. Just a second ago, it was about to rip his head off, and now it was backing away. Had it changed its mind, no longer wanting to devour him?

“Hello!”

Eric’s ears perked as he heard something.

"Can anyone hear me?"

Someone was calling.

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"If you can hear my voice, please make some noise, we'll help you!"

Someone offered help. Had the firemen finally arrived, or were they just ordinary people? Eric couldn't tell.

He tried to scream but stopped when he saw the monster next to him. Even if he called for help, which he couldn't because of his injured throat, wasn't he just inviting these people to be the monster's meal? It was like throwing them into the monster's mouth with his own hands.

He bit his lip. He didn't want to die, but he also didn't want to be the cause of these people's deaths. Besides, the monster was ignoring him right now; who knew what would happen if he made any noise? Wouldn't it just turn its attention to him?

Eric was startled when the monster moved, not towards him, but towards the voices. His mouth hung open. The glass in his hand shook before it fell to the floor.

"Hello, please say something. We are here to help you."

Please stop talking!

"Hey, I heard something. It came this way."

No! Just run!

"What? Hurry up and lead the way. Maybe it's someone who's hurt."

Get out of here!

"It's this way..."

Or else...

"W-What the hell is that thing?!"

"Monster, it's a monster!"

You're going to die!

"Run! Get out of here!"

"Everyone, spread out! Don't move in one group!"

A familiar, thunderous roar rang.

"Help!"

"Mom, please save me. Mom!!"

Eric heard people screaming. Some cried while others begged, experiencing the same despair he did. He covered his face as the screams and the sound of crunching bones filled the air.

Dammit, dammit, dammit…He punched the ground over and over, numb from the shards of glass that pierced his hand.

"Damn...it!"

Blood spilled from his mouth as he forced his voice out. His vision blurred. Consciousness slowly slipped away.

His last thought was:

When will I wake up from this hell?

****

Eric awoke from a wet lick on his cheek. The sound of crickets entered his ears. He shielded his eyes from the sunlight before aching pain shot through his body, reminding him of what had happened.

So it wasn’t a nightmare.

He looked down at the rubble he was trapped under and sighed. He hoped that what had happened was just a dream, a hallucination, but the pain he felt was too real to be fake.

Damn it!

His face felt wet, so he wiped it with his forearm before looking away but was startled to see something beside him. It was an animal that resembled a brown rabbit but differed from the normal in that it had a horn on its forehead.

Does this kind of rabbit exist?

Eric blinked and reached out to touch the strange rabbit. The animal didn’t escape his touch and let him stroke it while keeping its big eyes on Eric.

“Hey there.” Eric smiled as the creature licked his arm, but his smile soon turned to a grimace as he felt a sharp pain. Blood dripped as he saw the animal’s barbed tongue retract. His heart pounded, and he tried to back away before remembering he was still stuck.

The rabbit’s ears perked up as it chewed the skin off his arm. The little bastard seemed to like his taste and came for more as it hopped towards him.

Eric grabbed a piece of glass and swung at the approaching rabbit. He missed. The creature jumped out of the way just as he was about to stab it and took a bite out of his arm.

Shit! It’s too fast!

The animal never stopped moving, jumping out and biting him the moment he attacked.

What the hell is going on?! First that weird monster bear, and now this rabbit. Did they escape from some kind of lab?

And if that wasn’t strange enough, as he watched the animal in front of him, a sound echoed in his mind, and a tiny message appeared on the top of the rabbit in his field of vision. With wide eyes and a hanging mouth, he absentmindedly focused his attention on the unexpected message:

[Rabbit, Level 1] (corrupted)

W-What the...!

Distracted by the sudden message, he failed to notice that the rabbit was staring at him. Eric suddenly felt a burning pain in his face and instinctively grabbed the sharp object that had stuck to him. Using both hands, he ripped the creature away, a guttural groan escaping his lips as a chunk of his skin was torn off. Clutching the rabbit tightly, he slammed it to the ground again and again, ignoring the creature’s agonized cries.

“Animal cruelty can kiss my ass!”

He didn’t stop until it stopped screaming, and even then, he hit it a few more times just to make sure it was completely dead. He let go of the lifeless rabbit and dropped it to the ground.

Immediately after it died, a new pop-up window appeared.

[You have killed [rabbit, Level 1]. (corrupted)]

Eric laughed as he looked at the virtual screen.

“I’m finally going crazy, right?”