Jasper and Emily ran through the narrow alley, desperate to find a way out of the city. Worry was evident on Jasper's face, although he trusted Tom's experience in dealing with those "creatures."
Emily noticed the anguish in Jasper's expression and tried to calm him. "Even though he seems unconcerned, I assure you that Tom knows how to defend himself. He'll be fine," Emily commented in an attempt to reassure him.
Jasper let out a sigh and gave Emily a smile, grateful for her comforting words.
After running for a few seconds, the sound of screams and roars grew louder as they approached the exit. Finally, they reached the entrance and stopped to witness how the streets had turned into a hellish scene. There was smoke and debris everywhere, and creatures could be seen flying with people in their claws.
Helplessness overcame Jasper, who clenched his fists in anger. He couldn't do anything to help those people. The city that once seemed beautiful had turned into a nightmare scenario because of those abominations. Jasper began to breathe heavily, overwhelmed by the horror of the situation.
Emily, noticing Jasper's state, took him by the shoulder. "Calm down. As much as we want to help, we can't. The best thing we can do is reach the shelter and find a way to help from there," Emily said with a tense look on her face.
Jasper nodded silently, unable to articulate words at that moment.
"Well, the shelter shouldn't be far from here. We'll try to get there as quickly as possible, but before..." Emily interrupted her sentence and tore her dress, exposing her long white legs.
Jasper blushed slightly at the unexpected gesture.
"I can't run well in this dress. Now I can move better. Ready, Jasper?" Emily asked.
"Yes, I'm ready," Jasper replied, and they both started running towards the shelter, driven by the hope of finding safety and a way to help amidst adversity.
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"Everything was in ruins. No matter where he looked, there was only fire and debris. For many, it was a horrific scene, but for Tom, it was already too familiar. He had lost count of the number of villages that had been destroyed, and with them, all dreams and hopes had vanished, crushed by the damned witches and their beasts.
Suddenly, a desperate cry for help resonated in the midst of chaos: 'We need help! We're surrounded! Help!' Without a second thought, Tom swiftly headed towards the direction of the cry. Passing through piles of rubble, he could make out a small group of people huddled in what seemed to be an improvised trench.
Three beasts were slowly approaching them. They were black felines of immense size, two or three times larger than a human. Their bodies were covered in pulsating green veins, and their eyes gleamed with a malevolent green light. They seemed to delight in playing with their prey, knowing that these defenseless humans had no escape."
The humans behind the trench relentlessly fired at the beasts, but the bullets barely grazed them, making it clear that confronting them was an almost impossible task. Helplessness mixed with fear and frustration gripped the survivors.
Amidst the chaos, a trembling voice rose: 'Mom, I'm scared...' It was a little girl terrified by the nightmare she was witnessing.
Her mother embraced her tenderly, trying to convey calmness. 'Don't worry, sweetheart, everything will be okay,' she replied, although deep down, she knew how grim the situation was.
The sound of the weapons abruptly ceased. The man beside them let out a desperate cry: 'Damn it, we've run out of bullets!' The outlook became increasingly desolate.
It seemed as if destiny had prepared a tragic ending for them, as if they were mere food for those bloodthirsty beasts.
Then, the girl pointed at something on the horizon. 'Mom, what is that?' she asked, as her finger pointed towards a small metallic sphere suspended above the beasts.
Before her mother could respond, the sphere opened, revealing its interior and generating a deafening blast.
People covered their ears to protect themselves from the thunderous noise, but the beasts reacted very differently. They roared in pain and thrashed about frantically, as blood gushed from their ears, causing them to lose their balance completely.
This sphere was a magical artifact specifically designed to capture and hunt down those beasts.
Tom smiled as he saw that the artifact had fulfilled its purpose. Without wasting a second, he swiftly approached one of the beasts, pulled out a pistol, and aimed at its head. A precise shot ended the creature's life, causing it to fall to the ground as the pulsating green veins covering it faded away.
"One down," whispered Tom, then he shifted his gaze to another beast. He fired two shots, hitting the front legs on the first attempt and bringing the creature down. He then aimed at its head and fired a final bullet.
As he depleted the ammunition in his weapon, the magazine split open and emitted a bit of smoke. Tom quickly holstered the empty gun and drew another one from his holster, aiming at the remaining beast. He fired again, but just before the bullet could reach its target, the creature clumsily moved to the right, evading the projectile.
Tom furrowed his brow as he saw the beast recovering. Without wasting time, he unsheathed a knife from his back. The weapon had a black blade of approximately 8 cm in length, adorned with intricate circuits converging into a rectangular stone embedded in the center. The handle, thicker than usual, had a peculiar feature: a discreetly integrated trigger.
The beast, showing signs of recovery, lunged towards Tom. Unfazed, he mirrored its movement, rushing towards it. Tom aimed at the creature's feet and fired, causing it to jump towards him. A flash of satisfaction crossed Tom's face as he swiftly ducked, evading the creature's attack. He then plunged the knife into its body and squeezed the trigger. The beast landed on the ground and barely managed to take a few steps before collapsing definitively. Tom released the trigger, freeing the detached stone from the knife's blade.
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"Well... That was the last one," commented Tom as he took out a small stone identical to the one on the knife from his pocket and placed it back in its original position.
"Thank you so much, we owe you our lives... If you hadn't arrived, I don't want to imagine what would have happened," thanked one of the men behind the barricade.
"Yes, sir! Thank you very much," said the little girl with a happy expression on her face.
A small smile appeared on Tom's face as he caressed the girl's head. "You're welcome. Now go to your mom. It's still dangerous to stay around here," advised Tom.
The girl nodded determinedly and ran towards her mother.
"All of you, head to the shelter... This is far from over," commented Tom as he turned around and pulled out a pistol. Gunshots resonated in the air, blending with the tension and the smell of smoke. He quickly replaced the empty magazine with a new one.
"Alright. Again, we thank you for your help... I just hope the others had time to activate the emergency signal," expressed one of the men, addressing the rest of the people to communicate with them. After a brief conversation, everyone hurried towards the shelter, longing to escape the imminent danger.
"Goodbye, sir," said the little girl, waving her hand cheerfully.
Tom smiled. Even though he had witnessed entire towns disappearing in flames and screams, as long as he could bring a smile to someone's face, he would keep fighting.
-And now comes the hard part... It seems that these beasts weren't the only ones," commented Tom as he watched four beasts identical to the previous ones approach, but this time they were accompanied by an immense golem about 4 meters tall. It appeared to be made of a strange mixture of stone and clay.
"A golem, I see... This could get a little complicated," murmured Tom, showing a hint of concern on his face
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Tom removed the briefcase hanging from his back and quickly opened it. His hands moved skillfully as he searched for something he needed in that crucial moment. The sound of the beasts' roars filled the air, intensifying the tension of the moment.
The beasts lunged at Tom ferociously, their sharp claws and menacing teeth gleaming in the sunlight. In that instant, Tom took out two identical vials from the briefcase, reminiscent of the one he had given to Jasper, anticipating the fierce attack of the four mercilessly approaching beasts.
Tom swiftly stood up and threw one of the vials towards the beasts. With agility, they moved to the sides to dodge the impact, but Tom was not willing to let them escape so easily. With lethal precision, he shot the vial in mid-air, causing an explosion that scattered its contents in all directions. Although two beasts managed to avoid the poison, the others were not so lucky.
The venomous liquid made contact with the creatures, causing them to howl in pain and collapse to the ground. Their bodies convulsed as smoke rose from the point of impact, enveloping them in a toxic cloud. After a few brief seconds, they lay motionless, a sign that the poison had served its lethal purpose.
The remaining two beasts, aware of the death of their kin, assumed a more cautious stance. They separated and encircled Tom, planning a coordinated attack.
The scene had become even more dangerous and challenging. Tom surveyed the situation with determination and, for a moment, considered reaching for the other vial of venomous blood he had on his belt. However, his gaze met the imposing presence of the golem, causing him to hesitate momentarily, aware that facing both enemies simultaneously would require careful strategy.
The imposing golem, which had remained motionless until that moment, raised one of its immense arms. Sharp spikes began to emerge from its fists, threatening to turn Tom into its next victim.
"Damn it," muttered Tom with a mix of surprise and frustration as he quickly rolled to the right. In that instant, several stone spikes were shot from the golem's hand, impaling the spot where Tom had been seconds before. If Tom had hesitated even for a second, he would be dead by now.
"It's a magical golem... damn it," Tom thought, but his thoughts were interrupted by the approaching beast on his left. Without wasting any time, Tom shot at the beast, which swiftly moved to dodge the projectiles. Tom took advantage of that movement and pounced on it, quickly firing and hitting the beast with two shots to the head, instantly taking it down.
Tom ran a few meters and abruptly stopped, leaping backward to dodge the stone spikes that were being shot once again. The other beast, seeing that, jumped and lunged at Tom. In a swift motion, Tom drew his knife and managed to make a cut on the beast's face, causing it to move its head and miss Tom's body. Without wasting any time, Tom quickly fired at the beast's head, finishing it off as well.
Although he didn't have time to celebrate, as soon as the golem saw that, it raised its other arm, which transformed in the same way as the previous one, shooting twice as many stone spikes towards Tom.
"Damn golem... If I keep fighting at this distance, I'll turn into a sieve," exclaimed Tom, already on his feet, while blood ran down his right arm.
"I can still move my arm... that means the cut wasn't deep. Now I have to kill that thing... unfortunately, my bullets won't do much to it, and since it's not an organic beast, the poison won't affect it," reflected Tom as he ran, trying to circle around the golem, which continued shooting spikes.
"Well, I'll use 'that,' but I'll have to get closer," said Tom, dodging another wave of spikes. "Although easier said than done."
Tom grabbed a small leather pouch from his belt and threw it with precision between the golem and himself. The golem quickly reacted by shooting its spikes at the pouch, but upon contact, the pouch exploded into a thick smoke cloud, enveloping the scene in a curtain of mystery.
The golem abruptly stopped, confused and disoriented, clumsily moving from side to side, unable to clearly see what was happening around it.
"Golems can be formidable on the battlefield, but they have a notable weakness: they rely entirely on their vision. I'm sure you're thinking I disappeared and no longer pose a threat," said a mysterious voice coming from behind the golem.
"It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, you're just a pile of rocks," the voice responded again. With a slight gust of wind, it was revealed that the figure was Tom, aiming one of his guns directly at the golem's back, just centimeters away.
The golem seemed to sense something and began to move slightly, but it was already too late.
"Die..." Tom whispered through gritted teeth as the drum of his revolver spun rapidly and the barrel split in two. A deafening roar accompanied a beam of light as a bullet-like projectile pierced through the golem entirely.
The golem immediately stopped, as if trying to comprehend what had just happened, but seconds later, it crumbled into pieces.
Tom's weapon emitted smoke, and the barrels were reddened as if they had been heated to a high temperature.
"Well... This is where it all ends," declared Tom with satisfaction as he observed the crumbled golem on the ground.
"From what I can see, the shot also destroyed the core... what a shame, it would have been useful," murmured Tom as he headed towards his briefcase. With trembling hands, he carefully extracted some bandages to treat the wound on his arm, feeling the slight sting of escaping blood.
"This will be enough... Now I just hope Jasper and Emily managed to reach the shelter safely," added Tom, mixing hope and concern in his voice. He closed the briefcase and securely fastened it to his back, ready to face what would come next.
However, as he took a few steps into the distance, the ground began to tremble beneath his feet. The vibrations grew in intensity, accompanied by a rumble that echoed in his ears. Tom abruptly turned to witness with awe and concern what was unfolding just a few meters away. A group of wild beasts made their way, advancing determinedly in his direction. The powerful golems accompanied them, moving with supernatural clumsiness. And to make matters worse, the silhouettes of flying beasts cut through the sky, announcing an additional threat.
-Fuck……