[Sally’s PoV]
“You have five minutes to kill one of your fellow hybrids. We will kill those that refuse to fight within a minute. Now hurry on, we don’t have much time left haha!”
This makes no sense. Rather than abandoning us, they should kill us all for experience and then return back. They know we won’t survive the trip back, even if we were to run back at the same time the humans are simply much faster than we are, they would’ve returned before we left the forest. The carts aren’t worth anything either, so it’s not a matter of ensuring they get them back. So why, why on earth are they forcing us to kill one another. Do they mean to abandon us, while also hoping for some to return? If that’s the case, then perhaps this is a chance, a chance to gain some freedom once the humans leave, maybe I can survive. But to do so means killing one of my own.
Looking around, I spot him. Number 2, Lou, if I must kill someone to gain a chance to be free, it will be him. He has indirectly gotten his own brethren killed by snitching on them, taking food or water from those weaker than him and doing what he can to gain favour from his handler. Grabbing my sword, and ignoring the shocked gasp from Alisha, I dash towards Lou. Swinging from above, I slice down at him. He doesn’t see me until it’s too late to completely dodge, he manages to side step, causing me to miss his head and cut his arm off.
“You bitch!”
The sound of that scream is like a trigger, and the sounds of fighting erupt around us.
[Alisha’s PoV]
Chaos. That was the only way to describe this scene, complete and utter chaos. My brethren, fighting and killing each other, Sally was beside me a moment ago before charging off towards what I can only assume was her target.
Feeling a familiar stare that gives me a chill down my spine, I turn and see Thomas standing there, a perverted grin on his face, his green eyes excited. One hand gripping his sword, one hand running through his blonde hair, he laughs like he is having fun.
“Let me hear your screams of fear. I want to tear your limbs off one by one, taste that fresh flesh of yours.”
[Quest: Kill Thomas.
You have been assigned a cruel fate, to die at the hands of one of your own. Escape this fate by embracing the monster you are by killing Thomas.
Rewards: 1,000 xp, 1x Medical Kit]
Stepping back, feeling fear from the words that came out of his mouth, I fail to react in time, Thomas charges at me and stabbing out with his sword, aims for my leg. Taking advantage of my earlier steps backwards, I fall backwards and try and roll away. Feeling pain coming from my thigh, I get back up and look down. A shallow sword cut, not enough to hinder my movements, I look back up while grabbing my sword. Taking up my stance like I’m facing a monster, perhaps I really was now, I stare down Thomas. Ignoring the pain throughout my body and trying to focus my mind out of its exhausted state, I ready myself, knowing that if I were to die here, it was likely Thomas would devour me.
Following Alice’s advice, I follow Thomas’s eyes to gauge where he would try and attack me. Seeing him once again charge at me and following his eyes, I see he is aiming for somewhere around my right side. Adjusting my sword, I block his sword but fail to see the fist coming at my face, hitting me in the nose. Recoiling, I attempt to swing my sword to retaliate, which Thomas deflects easily. I know I’m falling behind, my body hasn’t rested probably since before the last time we came to the dungeon, but I must keep going, I must survive.
This time, I take the initiative, raising my sword I charge at Thomas. Holding myself back while swinging, I aim to injure him, in the hopes he stops trying to kill me. This was a fatal mistake. Parrying my sword once again with one hand, he grabs me by the throat with his spare, raises his sword and swings down, slicing through my skin and shirt from my right shoulder down to my left hip. Holding in the scream he wants, I struggle to free myself from his grip. Laughing, he throws me down, releasing me from the grip and kicks me exactly where he just cut. Rolling a few times, I can feel tears coming out. I feel shame, anger and fear of what is to come, not only that, but I’m feeling sorta hungry. Weird, why is the feeling of hunger growing.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Slowly getting onto my feet, I see a slightly annoyed face on Thomas. Gritting my teeth, I fall back to my knees, my body ignoring my cries to move. That last strike from him drained whatever meager energy I had gained. Sword slipping from my grip, I grab my stomach, which is in pain…or am I hungry? Yes, I’ve been hungry for a long time…that slice of bread was nothing, it made my hunger worse. Looking at Thomas, I consider his words about tasting my flesh, and wonder what his flesh tastes like. Gulping down a mouth full of saliva, I try to reject these thoughts, however as my hunger grows, a crushing craving grips me, eager for flesh. The smell of blood from my surroundings smells amazing now, I want to drink it, it must taste so good. I want to kill the one who hurt me, I want to feast on him, tear him limb from limb, and as I look up at Thomas, I give in to those thoughts, my mind goes blank, and the hunger take over.
[Monster Form Released.
Are you afraid of the Monster within?]
Crack…
[Thomas’s PoV]
Looking down at Alisha, I feel myself get more and more excited. She was already on the brink of exhaustion before all of this broke out, but now she can no longer resist. It’s a bit boring, but with the little time given to us, I have to make do. I can at the very least take her corpse with me when we return to Crater. Stabbing my sword into the ground, I approach her, intending to torture her to death my hands. She resisted screaming when I cut her, and that won’t do, that won’t do at all. With each step towards her, I try and contain my excitement. That all falls away a few steps away from her. For some reason, fear grips my heart, not knowing why I quickly move away from Alisha. Something isn’t right, why do I feel this fear. Looking at her carefully, I can see that she is staring at me like a human looks at us, except there is a…hunger to it, a real hunger, like she couldn’t wait to devour me. It was then she started to change right in front of me.
At first, it was her eyes. Turning red, her irises became more cat like, her stare intensifying. From the top of her head two fox-like ears grew out, like they forced their way out, matching her black hair in colour. Her nails extend out , thick with a sharpness to me, growing to be around ten centimeters long. I can’t see it clearly, but I see a tail behind her, standing on end. From the top of her mouth, two fangs stick out slightly. I can feel a sinister aura coming from her, I knew if she reached me, I would be torn apart. Requesting the System, I check her status and gasp in shock and confusion.
[Level 3 Demonic Fox, Alisha]
Looking around trying to find my sword, I knew I had to kill this thing now, it was bad news. No, my sword is still behind me, I don’t have time to reach it. Trying to look back at her, I realise I can’t move. Have I frozen in fear? No, that’s not it, I think I’ve been picked up, I’m looking down. It’s getting hard to think…I think I see my body from above…but my head is missing, what’s happening…my vision is getting darker. The last thing I remember is the System notification I see.
[You are dead.]
Sitting down near the headless corpse of Lou, I see my status has updated from my kill.
[You killed Lou, gained 700xp!
Quest: Kill Lou Completed! Rewards Available.
You have leveled to 9!]
Sighing, I knew I’d either be abandoned here or killed on the spot for experience. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the humans don’t check our levels before leaving. After all, they would be in a hurry before night sets. Looking up and seeing the carnage around me, I suddenly feel a sinister aura, one that felt like it wanted to kill and devour everything around. Looking towards the source, I’m shocked to see Alisha transforming. A Monster Form Release! Checking her status, I see she is only level 3, a Demonic Fox. Monster Form Release, while not rare, isn’t something easily seen, the last one was 3 months ago. The humans took care of raising that one to level 9, the experience they gain from Monster Form Releases is much better than just a level 9 like myself.
Watching, I see Alisha move fast, very fast, and tear off Thomas’s head. I doubt he would’ve known how he died, it happened too quickly. Those who weren’t fighting were also watching as Alisha raised the bloody head above hers and drank the blood that was flowing down, splashing down into her mouth and face. Throwing the head away after the blood flow stops, she pounces at the corpse of Thomas, tearing an arm off and biting chunks out of it and swallowing whole. At this moment, I move, using all my strength to move before she consumes too much. As I hear the humans laugh, I quickly get behind Alisha and aim the pummel of my sword at the back of her neck.
Just as I pull my sword arm back, she reacts much faster than I anticipated. Adjusting, I change the angle of my swing, increase my speed and hit her in the lower jaw, knocking her out. I know I’ve broken her jaw, there was a solid crack from that hit. I see the transformation coming undone, and knowing that I’ve stopped her delving too far into the form, I sigh in relief. Grabbing Alisha and throwing her over my shoulder, I quickly glance around and dash into the forest, with Alisha over my shoulder. I intend to escape, and I know the humans will not follow me, since they won’t have the time. Looking back again, I see Gerald glaring angrily in my direction, but not moving, I go deeper into the forest, and wait for the humans to leave.