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Author's guide:
This is narration
This is a character's thoughts
"This is a character speaking"
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On the night of June 18, 1789, the scene in Eichenheim's commercial district was one of chaos. A train hurtled through the area, pursued by relentless beast-type Anomalies. Black Heart hunters on board engaged in a desperate battle, their gunfire echoing through the night. As each beast fell, another took its place, creating a sense of impending death.
Amid the chaos, Ijin Yu was roused from his short lived sleep by a fellow hunter.
"Sir Ijin, sorry to wake you but now is not a good time to rest, we implore you to help us with the situation", the hunter said before running off.
Ijin rushed to assess the situation. He observed the horde of relentless beasts drawing closer to the train. Ijin quickly made his way to the last train car, where he found fellow hunters Alan and Rheanna, along with others, relentlessly firing at the encroaching horde.
"Sorry to wake you" Rheanna quipped.
"What happened while I was out?" Ijin inquired, his eyes fixed on the approaching horde.
"What do you think?", Hannah who had appeared behind Ijin, remarked.
As Ijin readied his pistol, a beast managed to breach the train car, only to be swiftly dispatched by Hannah's shotgun. The hunters realized that some beasts were faster than the rest and might reach the train.
"Focus fire on the faster ones!" Hannah commanded, and Ijin joined the firefight.
As Ijin reloaded, a banging sound from above sounded out which drew the attention of the hunters on board. A beast leaped into the train car through a window, sparking concern.
"Are they coming from above?" Hannah wondered as she eliminated the intruder.
Ijin unsheathed his cane sword and ascended to the train's roof using a ladder. There, he faced numerous beasts that had taken issue with his presence. Ijin's silver cane sword made short work of them.
"You okay up here?" Hannah asked as she climbed onto the roof.
"I'll hold my own. Go help the others below," Ijin began to say before an unfamiliar Anomaly resembling a human-sized dragonfly appeared 20 meters away. The creature fixed its eight eyes on him.
An insect-type Anomaly? And a strange one at that, never seen anything like that thing before.
"That's a strange one. I've never seen a dragonfly-type Anomaly before," Hannah observed as she readied her shotgun.
"I don't trust you enough to handle that," Hannah quipped as she reloaded her shotgun.
The insect-type Anomaly locked its sights on the two hunters, then soared into the air and made a beeline for them. Ijin swiftly raised his pistol and squeezed off five shots in quick succession, but his efforts were in vain as all of his bullets missed their mark, unable to keep up with the blinding speed of the creature.
"Watch out," Hannah warned, pushing Ijin aside and landing a shot on the creature, forcing it to retreat.
"Go!" Hannah urged, and Ijin charged at the Anomaly with his silver cane sword. However, it rapidly regenerated its wounds and descended upon Ijin, while more beast-type Anomalies jumped onto the train from nearby buildings.
"Kill it, Ijin! I'll hold them back," Hannah shouted as she engaged the beasts.
Ijin, with lightning reflexes, executed a swift upward slash with his silver cane sword. His blade connected with the insect-type Anomaly, causing it to plummet from the sky and crash into the ground. Meanwhile, the chaotic scene on the train escalated as more beast-type Anomalies leaped aboard from nearby buildings, adding to the hunters' perilous predicament.
The insect-type Anomaly healed itself, charging once more. Ijin reloaded and managed to hit its wing, causing it to crash onto the train's roof.
The creature, still alive, attempted another attack, but Ijin expertly dodged. He realized in thr moment:
This thing, it's not healing its wings. Could it be that it can't heal its wings?
As the Anomaly's back faced Ijin, he took the opportunity and stabbed it through its chest.
"Finished?" Hannah asked as she approached Ijin.
"Yes," Ijin replied, wiping the blood from his cane sword.
Before they could continue, a loud roar echoed from the front of the train, accompanied by gunfire.
"What's happening?" Hannah questioned, and they rushed forward to find that the last train car had been overrun by beasts. Ijin and Hannah fought to clear the car as the horde drew nearer.
"Ijin! Hannah! Over here!" Rheanna called from another train car.
They ran to her, and she detached the car.
"Are you both okay?" Rheanna inquired.
"I've had better days," Ijin responded, his gaze fixed on the relentless horde.
"Sir Ijin, we need you at the front of the train!" a hunter urgently called out.
"I have to go. Stay safe," Ijin said as he sprinted toward the front. With each step, the sounds of roaring and gunfire grew louder, but his progress was abruptly halted as the train violently shook. Ijin, along with the Black Heart hunters, tumbled to the floor, and he lost grip of his silver cane sword. Moments later, the shaking subsided, but just as they were starting to regain their footing, the train shook once more, throwing Ijin off balance and causing him to hit his head hard on the surface of the train. His mind attempted to fight as his eyes grew heavy. He looked around to find the hunters scrambling around.
This isn't good...
In a moment, he heard a voice of a woman:
"Dead again huh"
He thought of bad memories as his eyes closed:
I would prefer dying compared to that...
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Relentless Slaughter
Chapter 3: Wether they live or die...
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"A poor child walks on the edge of life", a voice of a woman said.
...
At 11:24 PM on June 18, 1789, Ijin Yu regained consciousness, his head throbbing with pain. His hand came away stained with blood, and he surveyed his surroundings. He was inside a train car, which had derailed and tilted on its side. As Ijin attempted to assess his situation, the sound of a beast pounding on the train car reached his ears.
Panicking, Ijin desperately searched for a weapon to defend himself, but the hunters had already taken all the available weapons before abandoning the train. His efforts yielded nothing of use. He cast a fevered gaze around and spotted the exit door, which he tried to force open, but it remained unyielding.
Damm it, my legs feel like they're about to shatter any moment.
Frustrated and desperate, Ijin resorted to kicking the exit door in an attempt to escape. With each kick, the pain in his leg intensified, and he soon realized:
It seems like my leg is fractured, out of all times, of course it would have to be now.
Suddenly, a menacing roar echoed from above him. Ijin instinctively ducked down and controlled his breathing, his heart racing. The creature outside, its labored breathing reverberating within the train car, loomed ominously. Ijin waited in tense anticipation. Then, a massive claw tore through the train car, creating a gaping hole in its side. Ijin remained perfectly still, not daring to move.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Die!" a voice from outside screamed, followed by the rapid bursts of gunfire. The creature above the train car grew distracted and turned towards the source of the commotion.
Seizing the opportunity, Ijin cautiously slipped through the hole in the train car and made his escape. He found himself on a street near a train station in Eichenheim's residential district. He looked to the sound of gunfire and discovered a grotesque goat-headed beast Anomaly menacing a Black Heart hunter trapped inside a derailed train car.
As the nearby Anomalies remained distracted, Ijin swiftly sought refuge in a nearby office building, hastily barricading the entrance with available furniture.
Ijin began thinking urgently, scanning the office for any item that could serve him in his peril.
I need to find a weapon, even a metal pipe will suffice.
After a minute of frantic searching, he discovered that a beast had found its way into the building. Ijin immediately dropped to a crouched position, concealing himself from the creature's sight.
Spotting a nearby chair, Ijin moved stealthily behind the beast and, with swift precision, delivered a powerful blow to the creature's head, using the chair as his improvised weapon.
The beast crashed to the floor, and Ijin continued his relentless assault, repeatedly smashing the chair onto the beast's head until its visage was unrecognizable. As the beast initiated its regenerative process, Ijin seized the creature's body and hurled it out of a window.
Ijin acknowledged the temporary respite:
That thing will get up sooner or later.
He resumed his search for a more suitable weapon, soon coming across an iron pipe. While it might not be enough to kill an Anomaly, it could momentarily incapacitate them.
At that moment, the previously ejected beast reentered the building, its anger palpable as it charged towards Ijin. As the creature closed in, Ijin fiercely struck the beast's face, knocking it to the ground. Ijin continued his brutal assault until the creature's form was shattered beyond recognition, even as countless other beasts infiltrated the building.
Capitalizing on the opportunity, Ijin leaped out of a nearby window. Upon landing, he attempted to flee, but his leg gave way, the injury rendering it increasingly unusable.
"Just my luck," Ijin grumbled, frustration mounting. He limped away from the pursuing beasts.
As one of the creatures drew near, Ijin turned to face it, using his iron pipe to strike the beast's face. Two more closed in, and he repeated the process. However, the beasts soon outnumbered Ijin ten to one, overwhelming him. His throbbing head and fractured leg added to the dire situation.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Ijin bellowed in a fit of rage. He relentlessly pummeled the beasts with his iron pipe, managing to hold off the ten nearly encircling him. Every time the creatures healed, Ijin struck them again, targeting legs and hands, making sure they couldn't escape or fight back.
With each swing of the iron pipe, Ijin grew more exhausted until he fell to his knees. He attempted to rise, using the pipe for support, but collapsed once more.
I guess this is it then...
The relentless beasts closed in, and Ijin resorted to crawling away from them. As his eyelids grew heavy, the creatures bit into his left arm, sending waves of excruciating pain coursing through him.
Ijin's anguished screams pierced the night before he succumbed to unconsciousness, the agony too overwhelming to bear.
...
Meanwhile, on a blood-soaked street near the residential district, a silver-haired woman named Hannah stood amidst a gruesome tableau. Her shotgun, adorned with a fixed bayonet, glistened with the gore of vanquished beasts. As she attempted to reload, a frustrating realization struck her—she had run out of bullets.
"Crap," Hannah muttered, just as a beast lunged at her, only to be swiftly cut down by her trusty bayonet. She surveyed her surroundings and noticed a group of five more beasts closing in on her position.
With precision and agility, Hannah dispatched the first two beasts as they drew near. She beheaded one and impaled the other through the heart. Another adversary attempted to close in but was met with a swift end. The remaining two beasts, perhaps sensing the tide of the battle turning, decided to flee.
They run away now?, since when did these things have fear?
Hannah wondered, putting down the beast attempting to heal itself.
Just then, the unmistakable sound of gunfire reached her ears. She rushed to the source of the noise, finding Alan Wake in the midst of a heated firefight, fending off a group of menacing beasts.
"Get away from me!" Alan yelled out, and Hannah swiftly came to his aid, expertly dispatching every beast that threatened him.
"Ma'am," Alan addressed her, attempting to regain his composure.
"No need for formalities now," Hannah replied, her senses on high alert as they heard a distant roar on a nearby street.
"We need to leave, follow me," she directed, wiping the blood from her face.
"Yes, ma'am."
The two hunters proceeded into a nearby alleyway, their every step accompanied by the eerie squelching of their boots on the blood-soaked streets.
...
An hour passed as they navigated the labyrinthine streets and alleyways of Eichenheim. Ultimately, they found themselves in a church's courtyard within the residential district. A chilling sight greeted them—a sea of lifeless bodies sprawled on the ground, with trails of blood leading into the church's interior.
Alan pondered after seeing the scene:
What the hell happened here?
Hannah inspected the corpses and discerned that many of them were Black Heart hunters or knights who had been in the company of Sir Grayrock and Sir Edrick. The wounds they bore appeared to be inflicted by bladed weapons, resembling sword strikes.
"I don't think beasts did this; these wounds were inflicted with some kind of sword," Hannah remarked, her tone laced with concern.
"A sword? Do you think the hunters and knights had some kind of falling out?"
"Either that or there's some kind of new Anomaly type wielding a sword," Hannah speculated, approaching the church's door.
"Alan, cover me."
"Yes, ma'am," Alan affirmed as Hannah forcefully kicked the doors open.
The interior of the church was a nightmarish scene, with the lifeless bodies of knights and hunters strewn across the floor. Amidst the carnage, a lone knight, covered in blood, stood in front of the altar.
Alan pointed his Lewis gun at the knight while Hannah adopted a fighting stance.
"You there! Explain what happened here!"
The knight's gaze fixed on Hannah, revealing himself as Sir Grayrock, but something was profoundly wrong. His eyes were red like those of a ghoul, and his complexion appeared cold and lifeless. Hannah pondered.
What the hell happened to that oaf?
"Sir Grayrock," Hannah called out to him, her voice carrying a mixture of surprise and concern.
"Beasts all over Eichenheim..." Sir Grayrock mumbled.
"You'll become one of them sooner or later... And so you must die!" Sir Grayrock suddenly roared before charging toward Hannah with astonishing speed.
Hannah managed to evade the attack, delivering an upward slash with her bayonet. The knight staggered back, and Hannah attempted to communicate with him.
"Sir Grayrock!" Hannah implored, but the knight responded with another relentless charge.
Their duel commenced, characterized by grace and precision. Alan tried to support with his Lewis gun but held back, fearing he might hit Hannah.
"You'll become a beast sooner or later, and so you must die," the knight repeated.
"What are you talking about?" Hannah inquired, pushing the knight back with a well-placed side kick.
"You'll become a beast sooner or later..."
"I don't understand."
"AND SO YOU MUST DIE!" Sir Grayrock screamed, launching a furious flurry of attacks toward Hannah.
Despite her efforts to dodge, Hannah found herself overwhelmed, stumbling backward before collapsing to the ground. The knight pinned her with a foot on her body, raising his sword for a downward strike.
"YOU'LL BECOME A BEAST SOONER OR LATER, AND SO YOU MUS—" Sir Grayrock began, only to be cut down by Alan's Lewis gun.
The knight fell to the ground, panting and bleeding. As Hannah stood up, she witnessed the knight's body healing its wounds, just like an Anomaly.
Hannah moved to finish the knight, attempting to stab him in the heart with her silver bayonet. However, the knight thwarted her with a powerful kick that sent her flying several meters.
"Ma'am!" Alan called out, rushing to check on Hannah, who was bleeding from her mouth.
The two hunters observed as the knight transformed into a werewolf-like beast.
"WØRTHL3SS HŲŊÞƏRSSS!" the distorted voice of the beast rang out.
Hannah, though injured, assumed a fighting stance, ready for the impending battle.
"Fire!" Hannah commanded Alan, who unleashed a volley of bullets from his Lewis gun upon the creature. The beast attempted to block the bullets with its arms, but they passed through, causing the beast to scream in agony. It then charged towards the hunters.
As Alan's Lewis gun ran out of ammunition, Hannah darted toward the beast, slicing off its left leg with her silver bayonet. The beast fell to the ground, but its leg regenerated instantly, and it rose once more, charging furiously at Hannah.
Hannah skillfully evaded the beast's attacks, but the creature's fury was relentless. It managed to claw her in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the ground.
"ẄŒřÞĤ·ƏßŜ ĤỤŊÞƏŔß," the beast uttered in a distorted voice before Alan's Lewis gun rained bullets upon it.
With Hannah clutching her wounded stomach, the beast charged towards Alan.
"Ma'am, stand up!" Alan desperately cried out as the beast closed in.
Alan's Lewis gun had run out of bullets, leaving him with no choice but to draw a silver dagger and engage the beast in a desperate melee combat. However, his inexperience became apparent as the beast swiftly kicked him to the ground.
The beast loomed over the fallen hunter, and Hannah, helpless, could only watch as their desperate situation unfolded.
"Hoy!" A commanding voice boomed from outside the church, followed by a gunshot that struck the beast's eye.
Startled, both the hunters and the beast turned their attention to the source of the voice. A middle-aged man dressed entirely in black, wielding a silver scythe and a pistol, strode into the church with an aura of menace.
The beast charged at the man, but with incredible speed and precision, the beast's head was severed by the man's silver scythe. As the beast's head regenerated, the man fired multiple shots at the creature's limbs before ultimately bisecting it.
"WŒŔÞLƏߪ," the beast's distorted voice managed to utter before being silenced when the man shot it in the heart, finally ending its existence.
The two hunters watched in awe as the man approached Alan and inquired, "Are you alright, brother?"
Alan, still panting and wounded, could only gaze at the man in astonishment. Meanwhile, Hannah, now on her feet, walked towards the older man.
"Master Horus!" Hannah exclaimed, a mix of surprise and relief evident in her voice.
"Hello, my dear student. You look like you've seen better days," Horus observed, his concern evident.
Hannah chuckled before responding, "Indeed, indeed I have."
Hannah's curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, "Why are you here?"
"The higher-ups told me to come here," Horus explained, casually wiping the blood from his scythe.
Suddenly, a few men, who appeared to be Black Heart hunters, emerged from behind Horus and began tending to Alan's wounds.
Hannah reached for her bayonet but was halted by Horus's firm grip.
"Take a rest, Hannah. You've had a rough night," he advised.
Hannah fell silent for a moment before accepting, "Very well."
The Black Heart hunters, under Horus's guidance, attended to Hannah's wounds. However, even in the presence of her comrades, an unsettling feeling remained.
Rheanna, Ijin, Rachel, and K...
Comrades who were still missing, their fates uncertain...
Whether they lived or died...
The relentless slaughter continued, indifferent to the lives it had left in ruins.
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Relentless Slaughter
Chapter 3: Wether they lived or died...
Chapter end
To be continued