Chapter 18: Countdown
It had been five seconds since he activated Hellfire. That's how long it took to kill the first Carrion Hound.
With his strength at ten, and his small imp body, jumping fifteen feet came easy. Too easy. He nearly overshot.
Bursting from the hair growth, cleavers raised, he twisted midair using his tail for balance. He came down hard on the hound's back, both blades driving straight through its skull. Bone split clean. The head broke apart in three ragged chunks.
The demon never even made a sound.
[+2 SM // +5 Exp]
[SM // 13/13]
Glowing tabs lit up in the corner of his eye. He ignored them for now. Instead, his gaze locked on the next target, already turning, already catching his scent.
He stood high on a rise of rotted flesh, looking down at them. From here, it felt easy. The urge to grin itched at him, but he kept it down.
'Two soulmass back. Good. If I can kill one every five seconds, Hellfire won't run me dry.'
Still, he knew it wouldn't last.
He moved first. No hesitation.
The hounds didn't act like a pack. No coordination. They only smelled an imp and reacted. Dumb, easy prey instincts.
Sh-nchk! Krg-Shnk!
[+2 SM // +5 Exp]
Two strikes. Fast and clean. He landed on the next hound, severed its neck, then split its face. Soulmass topped off again.
But this time, something shifted.
The others froze. Heads lifted. They smelled it now. Blood. The blood of their own.
Their oily black skin writhed, muscles twitching. They charged across the flesh field, others stirred at the noise, but six broke into full sprint, closing fast.
The imp didn't wait. He leapt back, ready to use Rend at any moment.
But instead of carnage, he froze as the hounds swarmed the corpse of their kin instead. They tore into it, ripping chunks, gulping flesh. Finally, they made noise.
He wished they hadn't.
It wasn't a growl. It wasn't even a howl. It was a scream. Deep, layered, and twisted, like a pit full of tortured souls howling at once.
[–1 SM // Hellfire Upkeep]
[SM // 12/13]
He glanced at the number as his Soulmass ticked down. To level even once, he still needed thirty-two kills.
No time.
"Rend."
[–1 SM]
[+10% Slashing Damage // 3sec]
[SM // 11/13]
His cleavers grew as he dove in.
Each swing meant death. Hellfire and Rend pushed his damage up by twenty percent, putting his minimum hits at seventeen. Against enemies with barely twenty health at most, that left no room to survive. Three seconds was all Rend gave him. It was enough.
He carved through them like grass. One lost its head, another split clean down the middle. Black gore painted the field.
The last hound tried. It lunged, mouth wide, but caught steel instead. The cleaver punched through, splitting its head in half from jaw to skull.
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // –15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // –15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // –15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // –15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // –15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // –15sec]
[SM // 13/13]
[Exp // 242/372]
'Twenty-six left. I can do this.'
Rend burned out. His cleavers shrank, slick and coated with gore. He didn't waste time. Bending down, he tore a chunk from the nearest corpse and chewed. No taste. Just fuel.
He could already feel them coming. More were closing fast. Further out, others gathered.
He swallowed, wiped his mouth, and stood.
It was just starting.
[–1SM // Hellfire Upkeep]
[SM // 12/13]
Due to the six kills he just made, the cooldown to Rend had reduced from five minutes to three and a half.
Health full, soulmass replenished, and Hellfire coating his blades, he licked his lips as he watched the hounds close in.
The entire field was coming his way. His map was full of green X's, each one locked on his scent. At least ten at a quick glance, he started towards the closest.
One came in fast. Straight line. Predictable.
He sidestepped and swung without thinking. The cleaver split its skull in half. Blood and brain splattered his face as the body crashed at his feet.
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // –15sec]
He didn't have time to enjoy it. Two more were already on him, black skin rippling, mouths splitting wide as they lunged.
No room to dodge.
He snapped both cleavers up, crossing them like a shield.
The hounds bit down. Hard. Teeth scraped steel and locked tight, their heads shaking violently as they tried to tear through. And whether they knew it or not, they left him wide open.
A third hound came from behind. He felt it a second too late, its jaws clamped down on his shoulder and tore deep.
His vision flared.
[CRITICAL STRIKE // -9 HP]
[MANGLED // Movement speed and reaction time reduced by 20% for 5sec]
[HP // 60 → 51]
His back arched. A sharp, electric burn ripped through his chest and neck. His arms felt slow, heavier.
The panel flickered again.
[Demonic Will // Stack 0]
No bonus yet. The pain still raw. He hissed through his teeth, shoulder numb, blood pouring down his side. He could feel it...his reactions sluggish, as if the world had gotten faster.
[-1 SM // Hellfire Upkeep]
[SM // 12/13]
The hounds still clung to his cleavers. The one at his back growled, twisting its jaws, ripping deeper.
He'd only been at this for seconds and already it was costing him. He grit his teeth. He wasn't letting it end like this.
He did the only thing he could.
He used his teeth.
Fangs sank deep into the hound's face attacking his shoulder. Cartilage and muscle tore as he ripped back, tearing away half its snout in one savage pull.
[Feed // Activated]
[+1 HP / 5sec]
The beast shrieked and released him, but not before raking its claws down his back.
[–5 HP]
[HP // 46/60]
[Demonic Will // Stack 1]
[+5% Pain Reduction // +1% HP Regen]
He didn't waste the moment.
Snarling, he ignored the heat in his back and pushed forward with everything he had. Muscles flexed, blades drove deep. He screamed as he rammed both cleavers straight into the gaping mouths of the other two hounds.
[+2 SM // +5 EXP // -15sec]
[+2 SM // +5 EXP // -15sec]
[MANGLED // Timed out]
His speed came back. Wrenching the blades free, black gore trailed as he spun. He caught the third hound mid-lunge. One cleaver took its leg, the second cracked its skull open in the same motion.
[+1 HP]
[HP // 47/60]
[+2 SM // +5 EXP // -15sec]
He checked his cooldowns. Rend still had two minutes and forty-five seconds left. Not fast enough.
Pain roared through his shoulder, but it began to dull. He could feel his flesh pulling together, hot and tight, as Feed slowly did its work.
But no time to focus on it.
More were coming.
[+2 HP]
[HP // 49/60]
He bolted, closing the distance to the nearest gap. The hounds were fast, snapping at his heels, but he was faster. He angled for an open patch of fleshfield, keeping them all to one side of him.
[+1 HP]
[HP // 50/60]
'Seven left.'
Eyes locked on two sticking close together on the right, he sprinted towards them. The second they committed to their lunges, he sidestepped and dragged his blade across one in passing, splitting it clean open.
[+2 SM // +5 EXP // -15sec]
[+2 HP]
[HP // 52/60]
Skidding hard, he pivoted and leapt onto the second as it turned. Both cleavers came down, crushing through bone and brain.
[+2 SM // +5 EXP // -15sec]
Five remained.
He could've sworn more had been closing in from the distance earlier. Maybe he imagined it.
Pushing aside the unease tightening in his gut, he used the moment to test a theory. He backed up and positioned himself so the bodies of the fallen hounds lay directly between him and the incoming pack.
As they charged, his suspicion proved right.
'They prioritize eating.'
The hounds swarmed the corpses. Tearing. Snapping. Consuming. Not even glancing his way.
He moved in quietly. Calculating.
Three circled one body. Two gnawed at another. He waited until they buried themselves in the kill. Until the bigger group was about to finish.
Then he struck.
He sprinted. Fast. Silent. Closing the distance in a blink, he drove both cleavers down through the back of one's neck, severing its spine in an instant.
Before the others could react, he leapt back, landing hard, blades raised.
No counterattack.
Instead, the two nearest immediately dove onto their fallen packmate, tearing into its corpse without hesitation.
[Tactical observation noted. Carrion Hound Demon profile will be updated.]
"They're no better than imps. Makes this simple."
Keeping steady, he waited. Watching for the break in rhythm. As soon as their jaws latched deep into the flesh, he lunged again.
[+2 SM // +5 Exp // -15sec]
----
Having finished off the last of the hounds, the imp stood still. Muscles tight. Breath ragged. He scanned the corpses scattered at his feet. The field stank of blood and steaming meat. A heavy, satisfying weight settled in his chest.
With a thought, Hellfire faded. The black flames snuffed out without sound, drifting away like dead smoke. His health was full. Soulmass topped off. Demonic Will deactivated now that the fight had ended.
He checked his notifications while a rare grin tugged at his face.
'Nineteen kills.'
His experience now sat at 297/372, only fifteen more hounds and he'd level. Glancing at the hunting timer, he realized it had barely been five minutes since the slaughter began.
"At this pace, I should easily finish the second level. Too bad imps barely give any experience, getting Rend to rank up would be alot faster."
His eyes swept the field. The flesh beneath had already begun absorbing the bodies, tendrils pulling down bones and meat. He sniffed the air, head tilting slightly.
"I thought there were more..."
Annoyed but not concerned, he started moving again. The direction was obvious. Toward the Gate. He figured another feeding ground would come soon enough.
Cleavers hanging tight in his grip, he sprinted. Blood still dripped from the blades, the heat of battle clinging to his skin. He focused ahead. Hunting. Thinking only of the next kill.
That was his mistake.
Just a few breaths later, cresting the rise where his hunt had started, reality slammed back into him.
Always trust your gut.
[System // Notification]
[Directive // SURVIVAL // Quest Activation]
[Quest // Flee!]
[Conditions // Successfully escape certain death]
[Rewards // Survival Skill Choice / Exp]
He froze.
Ahead, gathered loosely in the ruined expanse, stood about fifty Carrion Hounds. Hundreds of feet away, but already fixed on his scent. They waited. Silent. Coiled.
That should have been enough to set off every warning in his mind.
But that wasn't what did it.
Behind them, dwarfing even the largest hounds, stood something worse.
Twice their size. Heavy, still, and watching.
[System // Notification]
[!! WARNING !!]
[Threat Identified // Carrion Hound Alpha / D Rank]
His spine locked. Blood cooled.
Death had been waiting for him.