Ed shot two threads down from the ceiling, spiking them right through the man’s body as he soared through the sky. He flung the body back down with tremendous force, sending it shattering through a line of people and knocking them to the ground.

Draven went for the kill, diving through the shadows and cutting off the heads of the dozen fallen guards.

The remaining guards open fire on the ceiling, forcing Ed to drop down and engage them in hand-to-hand combat. The guards slung their guns back over their backs, equipping themselves with all kinds of melee weapons as they charged at him.

The few more skilled marksmen kept their guns, taking potshots at the trio whenever they got the chance. They maintained perfect vision of the battlefield. Every shot they took went straight for their target, and even on the occasion that they dodged, the bullet would fly harmlessly past the guards in melee range.

Shit, thought I’d be able to stop all of it. Dodging the repeated gunfire now that he was locked in melee proved even more difficult than dodging the hail of bullets from earlier. He grew frustrated, as no matter how many bullets were shot, or how he positioned himself, the guards never seemed to hit their own men.

Crunch!

A metal bat swung into his left arm the moment after he dodged the slash of another’s sword. Pain shot up his arm as the bone was crushed. He winced, scrambling out of the way of another guard’s fist.

Completely surrounded by guards, and with the others busy, Ed had to defeat this group all by himself. His left arm exploded into a mass of threads, smashing into a few of the guards and sending them flying. He charged through the opening, only to have a bullet explode in his sternum.

The force of the gunshot knocked him back. The sword wielding guard swung his sword with immense force, cutting Ed in twain.

Fuck!

His torso flopped to the ground as pain coursed through his entire body. The guards ganged up on him, turning his body to mush.

His mind buzzed, as his entire body shut down, unable to do anything at all. The sole reason that he was still alive was because the healer sent by the company was topping him up just enough to keep his soul from leaving his mangled body.

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

Draven tried to reach Ed, but was held back by the guards.

The guards split off to reinforce those dealing with Ulric, who was steadily taking them down one by one with help from Draven. Two guards stayed behind, collecting Ed’s remains and ferrying him through the building, all the way to a study at the end of a long corridor.

The guards bowed respectfully as they left Ed at the foot of an armchair.

Ed’s mind was blurry, and he could barely think. He didn’t even register that his surroundings had changed, nor that he was no longer being attacked. He felt as if he was still back in the battle, surrounded by guards.

A man was sitting there in the armchair, flipping through a newspaper with a small smile as he stared down at Ed.

“Looks like I’m going to have to leave the city after all. How annoying. But at least I get to take out one of her men before I do. I haven’t eaten anything in a while, and I’m sure anything served to me by the princess will be absolutely exquisite.” Christophe reached down and placed his hand on Ed, channelling his strength.

Completely delirious, Ed somehow felt an overwhelming pain despite the fact that he couldn’t even feel his own body. It was a tugging, tearing sensation, as if someone was trying to rip out the core of his very being. As the pain grew, so too did something else. It was almost unnoticeable at first, but with each and every tug, it grew more and more, until it overwhelmed the pain itself.

Hunger... His brain completely shut down from the overload, with the company’s healer not even being able to keep him awake.

~

Christophe grunted as sweat dribbled down his cheek. It’s really stuck in there. Looks like I’m eating good tonight. He pulled and pulled, slowly dislodging the soul bit by bit. A reddish black seeped out, coating Ed’s skin. What is this?

Christophe felt a tingling sensation. All his hair stood on end, as a warning blared through his body, telling him to move.

Ed’s body exploded into a mass of writhing threads, searching the room for prey. A few latched onto Christophe, and immediately the rest swarmed him. He was impaled by the mass of threads, before he could even think. His soul was sucked out through the threads. His body left as a hollow husk, hanging in the air.

The entire room quickly became a labyrinth of threads, as the monster searched for more souls to feast on. The furniture was torn to shreds and thrown against the wall in a deafening crash.

“What’s going on?” A voice called out from outside the door, drawing the attention of the monster.

Still carrying Christophe’s lifeless corpse, the creature burst through the door, quickly taking over the corridor, and mowing through the two helpless guards before they could so much as draw their guns. It writhed joyfully, as it felt the faintest of tremors in the air, sensing more food waiting for its arrival.

Alarms blared as the underground complex soon became a scene from one’s worst nightmares. Bodies hung lifelessly from threads. The complex now firmly turned into a den for the foul beast as it feasted. Its body grew bigger with each soul it harvested, its body lying in wait across half of the complex.

Blood and broken furniture littered every room as the creature pressed forward, sweeping through as it made its way to the largest source of food it could find. It sent the door flying off its hinges as it found waves of food surrounding two delicious-looking morsels.