The girl sped through the forest in Stealth, cursing Alex. Like damnation she was sticking around to fight that beast. And what—put her life in his trustworthy hands? He literally just confessed he couldn't beat it! Curse it to be damned, she should just run while–

"Ahhck!" The girl cried, clutching her chest. At the bare thought of leaving Alex to his retribution, her heart suffered a thousand needles. This damned contract! Why had she ever been fool enough to fall for his words?!

Shifting immaterial, she evaded a screeching winged chimik and stabbed her dagger into its back as soon as it passed through her. In a single moment, her relic sapped a sample of the beast's ichor, flashing an eerie green. The chimik slammed into an undead tree, roots draining what was left of the corpse.

The Demonic Dagger grows stronger by your offering.

Okay, she understood why she'd accepted the stupid contract. She just hoped to have a single relic that wasn't entirely awful. "Grows stronger by your offering"? What did that even mean?!

Ducking one winged beast whilst weaving to avoid another, she waited for her bracelet to recharge. Both the beasts looped back, lunging towards her before she became immaterial once again, stabbing and ripping out their fur as they rushed by. Looking down, she wrinkled her nose at the green-matted clumps before letting them drop. The Ghostbead relic was useful for gathering ingredients—as much as it wasn't worth it—so she already had more than enough of the disgusting rot.

The girl stabbed her dagger up as suddenly another chimik dove for her head. What the fuck was Alex doing? Couldn't he at least hold them back? He'd appeared from nowhere soaked in blood, spewing the devil's words, and she'd foolishly believed he was on the level of those other monsters. What else gave him the right to look at her like that? Not even she would've…

Oh, who cares anymore! If he wasn't an actual monster it meant when the time came, he was more killable. And… maybe the time was now. Why not? She could just leave him to perish and—

"Agghh!!" The girl writhed, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Okay! Okay! I'll fucking do it!"

Drawn by her screams, the chimik's swarmed, their own screeches becoming ear-deafening. She entered Stealth, running deeper into the forest. She'd hoped to lean on Alex's power, but since he was a stupid, inept ox, she would have to help him out of this. He didn't deserve it. The demonic cunt probably did this on purpose… She'd even warned him what would become of his mother's heart from his lies and still!

But why? Why… why… why… why! Why! He'd made her into a rotten slave again and why?! Why all this?!

Oh, to the devil with it all! How many times had she asked herself that? Who even cared?! His name was eighteenth on the list now and she'd do what she had to for the opportunity to cross it off. After everything he'd done… he could buy her five minutes at least!

The girl evaded the chimiks, running through the forest until she finally found a gap in the canopy wide enough for the moon to shine through—or at least, it would have if the mists weren't there. It would only be an issue if she lost focus. She summoned a large stick and began tracing patterns into the dirt. Alex would've had her redo it sixty-fucking times, but spell circles were less particular, and this was her specialty.

The gashes and scrapes she'd gotten from the chimiks began to heal themselves before she quickly stopped their progress. Curse Alex for forcing her to suffer this pain. Worse yet, letting them draw all that blood from her had been for nothing! She should've realized from how carelessly they were being sacrificed, but their maternal bond with their Chimik Lordling mother was weak to the point of insignificance. All that blood—both theirs and her own—all that fur and viscera, all for what? To stun their whore-fucking mother a scant few seconds? Their blood was weaker than bad wine!

Now, she had something more useful.

The girl pulled a vial from her inventory and held the Demonic Dagger to its mouth. When nothing happened she fed even more mana into the relic, slamming the pommel with her fist. You stupid thing! This is all you're good for, so just fucking do it!

At last, it worked. A drop of ichor she'd nicked from the Chimik Lordling slid down the sides of the vial. Then she held the vial up to her neck where the bitch had pricked her, and blood-red droplets mixed with the green.

While her blood dripped, she examined the chimik doll she'd made, tucking in stray hairs. She'd laboriously woven it from the First Scenario's chimiks, yet even after adding the hair she'd collected tonight, it barely did anything. She almost tore it apart in frustration, before repressing her rage, messily weaving a few of the mother's strands in with the others. The maternal bond between chimik and mother had been useless for harming the Lordling, but it had to be much stronger going the other way.

Still, she saved most of the mother's hair for her ritual, tying the strands with twine to a seperate chimik doll she'd carved from wood. She'd been unprepared for the little devils in the First Scenario, and never again. Walking into her spell circle, she placed the doll down in the center. Then, when the mixture of their two bloods in the vial began to glow and froth, she unstoppered it, drenching the doll in the promised blood. Mana stirred within her core, and the wound the Lordling left on her neck burned as she started her chant.

"Beneath the gaze of the moon…"

* * *

Alex watched a flock of the chimik's endless brood descend after Gloomy and fought the urge to go after her. She would be fine—probably. Or at least, he was probably in far worse danger than her right now. What does she mean 'I'll be back'?!

Clearly, she had a plan. Otherwise, she'd be screaming in agony from the contract right about now—

"Agghh!!"

A scream echoed over the mountain. She does have a plan right?!

The Lordling Chimik stared Alex down, daring him to go to her aid. No, she wasn't just some helpless girl—he needed to get that through his head. She was clearly planning something, and given that it took her that long to breach the contract, she must have trusted his capabilities enough to believe he could buy her time.

Flattered, Alex stared down the chimik, communicating he was no longer her prey—challenging her authority. He'd come far from who he'd been at the start of Nightmare. Even if his opponent outmatched him, he could definitely buy Gloomy the time she needed for whatever she was doing.

Two minutes would be pushing it, but he could last one and thirty seconds for sure.

Alright, let's do this.

Essence has been consumed!

You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up!

The Lordling sprang forward, breaking their deadlock. Dozens more chimiks sprang from her pouch, and instead of putting space between him and the horde, Alex ran forward to meet them head-on. If getting caught in the swarm was inevitable, it was better to make the children a hindrance to their mother too.

She thrust her claws forward so fast that he might have given in to the instinct to parry—if not for the unnamed combat skill he'd recently created. His body whipped into action. His left hand curled beneath his right and he caught the clawed strike on Nychta's back-edge. With a flick of his wrist he stepped forward-left for positional leverage before hooking the Lordling's claws on Nychta's backwards curve.

back edge hook control move (change to something snappier before combat)

The skill's movement offered near-zero resistance and the chimik was hooked by her own momentum more than anything. Nychta rested comfortably on the back of the Lordling's hand, the throat in her edge's sight for the taking—if only it were that simple.

This was an animal, not a human, and the weapon he combated was not a sword but a limb; Nor was it the Lordling's only weapon. It's other clawed-paw swiped and Alex didn't have time to manage even a draw-cut on her thick-furred dorsal. He channeled mana into Feather-foot, dodging forward, then pivoted again as its maw snapped immediately where his head had just been.

She crunched half-a-dozen of her brood between her jaws but it was little relief to him. There were plenty more where that came from, scraping his armor and blocking the visibility beneath his viking-helm's visor. Rushing forward, he wrenched off a little one latched onto his chest piece, batting at another with the buckler shield he'd picked up as he approached the Lordling's rear. Then his instinct screamed danger. With a thwump her gigantic tail cracked the air, and Alex felt the force of that impact crush his astral body at the same time. He threw himself forward and came out of his roll, suffering scrapes and gashes—picking out which attacks he needed to dodge; choosing which wounds to take.

Essence has integrated with Dexterity!

Dexterity +2

Essence has integrated with Perception!

Perception +1

A minute and a half suddenly seemed to Alex like an eternity, and an over-estimation of his capabilities. The chimiks gnawed and shredded the places where he'd worn only leathers and gambeson, wearing down his health. He'd never kill enough to make a dent in their numbers and there was no time to even make the attempt. Already the Chimik Lordling had reared around, children scattering as she prepared for another go.

Alex grimaced. He wasn't nearly as good at killing monsters as he was with killing men. Everyone he'd worked with knew this and he was almost always given a team, or time to prepare. The minds and anatomy of such monsters were alien to his own and the historical texts he'd learned swordsmanship from were notably absent of instructions on facing them. The wise thing was to once more disregard everything he'd learned about fighting with a shamshir.

But Nychta liked that no better than he, and so, as the Lordling shot forward, she showed him a path to follow. One so insane that it left no room for hesitation. The Lordling's conic snout barreled toward Alex like the nose of a fighter jet. She soared mere feet above the ground, claws outstretched like a drill, and instead of trying to resist her crushing force, Alex charged straight forward then swung off-center. He slid to his knees before impact and Nychta scraped against the exterior of the Lordling's claws—then dragged across her under-belly as she flew past.

Glancing Blow

With no strength behind his resistance, there was barely enough momentum for Nychta's swing to breach the Lordling's thick coat either. His true target—her tail—would be for the taking once he had space to swing again. Or so had been the plan.

When he completely passed beneath her the tail suddenly lifted and his path winked out. He braced himself, expecting it to slam down on him again. But no. She'd wrapped it around a high branch, arresting her momentum and looping through the air. Danger screamed from Alex's right. Turning, he saw a maw stretched as tall as any sword, and a swarm of chimiks coming with the Lordling, uncaring of what might become of them from flying in her path. The flying-bipedal-quadrupedal-nightmare-spawn darted from every which angle. And Nychta showed him no path to follow.

Sorry Nychta, he communicated through their bond, before summoning the Halberd to his hand—

The Lordling snapped it up in her jaws, denting the metal as he stuck it out. Alex mourned its loss, but better it than him. The Lordling raked her claws against his shield in her passing, but to inflict real damage she'd need to wind herself back for another loop-around. The halberd had bought him the precious seconds he needed.

Then he summoned Lionheart's greatsword.

Broad Swing

Alex spun the greatsword in diagonal arcs in front of him, swung a horizontal sweep overhead as he turned, then did the same to his backside. Broad Swing wasn't the perfect skill for the task but his strength stat was greater than when he'd first collected the behemoth of a weapon. It helped him minimize the openings he left in redirecting his momentum, and within seconds he established control over his immediate radius, inflicting sepsis on the chimiks he didn't outright kill. Then he leveled his blade at the mother.

Chimiks were intelligent creatures and it was good for both their sakes that when the Lordling saw sepsis taking hold of her children, she recoiled, snapping her jaw shut. He would have definitely managed to cut her gums, and she would have barreled through him anyways, forcing him to sacrifice another weapon to avoid dying. Sepsis was less effective on undead and creatures of higher biomass. But just because undead were dead didn't mean they didn't value their lives.

Well most of them at least!

The little ones continued to throw their lives away for their Lordling. Even with a sword specializing in controlling crowds, there wasn't a single moment to let up—lest he wanted that space over-run. Meanwhile the Lordling screeched a war cry, cheering her children on as she scrambled further up the trees and launching even more of the fuckers from her pouch. Mothers could usually carry up to about two hundred on their bodies—how, he didn't know—but they dropped from the trees in a continuous storm.

Damn it! How many have I already killed?!

No, the better question—what was she buying time for by sacrificing so many of them? Alex's gut twisted as power began to condense within the canopy. He spun the greatsword overhead, then in a low arc to warn off the crawlers fighting through sepsis. He tried to break free but there were so many more now and he was already caught in the eye of their storm. The moment he let up his cadence he'd lose the space he'd established, and then nothing would stop them from getting at his throat.

Where was Gloomy?! How much time had he already bought for her? A minute? Two…? Huh, he was doing better than he'd—

A flicker of light caught his eye from the misted canopies. The Lordling Chimik's maw was stretched so wide it yawned a near 180 degrees open. And in its center, a swirl of fire condensed in on itself. The fireball to beat all fireballs.

Alex vanished his greatsword, and a surge of excitement—then disappointment—flared from Nychta as he pulled out his Glock and emptied the entire chamber. The bullets did nothing but confuse them. Which was the normal animal reaction to gunfire, and that moment of hesitation was all he needed.

Smoke Screen

Leaping between two closely rooted trees he quickly gained altitude. He wasn't a squirrel, and Featherfoot didn't take him very far up before he began slipping, but it was close enough for his throwing arm to make up the difference.

Sensing he was up to something, the Lordling Chimik unleashed her fireball half-formed just as he threw a ziploc pouch attached to a rock for weight. He hadn't wanted to use Smoke Screen given her ability, but hopefully with this, she would understand he was not easy prey for her to—

No, that's not right.

In a split second, Alex realized his mistake. He'd ragged on Gloomy for phrasing things the same way; he needed to assert himself more clearly than that. So, as he fell backward, he looked the Lordling Chimik in her beady red eyes and told her what he really meant:

I am your predator.

Her eyes widened slightly before their gaze was broken by flames. Under the cover of the explosion, Alex entered stealth, invisible to the lordling once again.

[Home-Brew Explosion]

An item crafted by Alex Smith: A mix of crushed charcoal, gun powder, and expired Black-Scale Powder.

* * *

"And the moon completes the bond that ties us—"

Gloomy cut off as an ear-splitting explosion lit up the sky. Curse it to be damned! Did Alex have no concern for the concentration this took? Now she'd have to start over again!

She cleared her throat.

"Beneath the eye of the gazing moon…"

* * *

Alex watched smoke rise as the fire began to spread. God dammit. Would every fight in this life end in flames?!

The explosion had somehow managed to make the Chimik Lordling even uglier. Just before it had happened, the Lordling made the smart, life-preserving move of turning its head—so while its right side was as pretty as ever, it's left side, from snout to neck, was now sufficiently scorched, revealing charred, blackened gums, and row upon row of serrated teeth. Luckily, it's left eye had also melted away, leaving it blind on that side—and that more than made up for the sight.

Stolen story; please report.

Now that it'd lost it's perfect-tracking ability, Alex weaved in and out of Stealth with his attacks. He stuck mostly to its right. Chimiks were smart enough that if he relied too much on its weakened left side, his attacks would become predictable. Better to keep that option open for when he really needed it.

Or so he told himself. The truth was, she just wouldn't let him anywhere near it.

Growing impatient, Alex almost used Pierce but quickly canceled the skill as a gang of chimiks swooped down from above. He slipped back into stealth, thankful for the split second it took the chimiks to relocate him.

Slicing his way out of the storm, Alex collected more scrapes than he'd have liked, barely evading the whip of the Lordling's tail. It slammed down next to him, shaking the earth. But before he could bring his sword down on it, she lunged forward again, claws bared. Alex switched Nychta out for the greatsword, bearing the brunt of her strike on its blunt side. The Lordling's immediate trepidation allowed him to stand his ground. He'd learned that her fear of sepsis was a far more effective shield than his actual one.

But the problem with blocking a monster's claws with a blade was she had two sets of them. The second swipe came from her other hand. He tried to parry, but he'd used this trick too many times and the Lordling had sneakily gripped the sword with its first hand's claws. He hadn't been quick enough to vanish it to his inventory and now he didn't have sole dominion over the object. He was forced to relinquish the greatsword in order to dodge as she wrenched it from his grasp and hurled it far into the trees.

He stepped back, putting distance between them as the swarm became too intense. She gave him no time to thin it, coiling her muscles and launching off once more. Her momentum wasn't too powerful and this time she left an even greater gap exposed beneath her––one Alex knew better than to take. He'd already shown her the sliding trick. Instead, he crouched low and lunged forward, holding Nychta vertically––then sliced between the ridges of her claws.

Glancing Blow

The cut was nowhere near enough to send the Lordling to the afterlife, but she hadn't been expecting to lose that much feeling in her limb from such a relatively minor wound.

Alex didn't have time to revel in that accomplishment. Danger screamed from two directions. The Lordling's tail whipped toward him from the right, and one of the chimiks with poor timing had latched onto his back while he'd been dodging the others. Between the two was an ultimatum.

Level 13 Chimik has been Cleansed!

Alex barely raised his shield in time and was sent tumbling down the mountainside, coming to a stop ten meters away. He coughed, assessing himself. The hand shield was ruined, bent out of shape. His chest piece was dented. No blood. No broken bones. Just some mild fractures and a collection of bruises beneath his armor that were likely the color of Nychta.

He rolled himself further down the mountain, behind some cover, and slipped into Stealth before anything worse came his way. Given that the Lordling could no longer track him, he'd have liked to retreat, maybe pick up Gloomy on the way back to their path. But no—if he ran now, the Lordling would mark him as prey and he wouldn't be able to see Gloomy's true abilities.

That was why he was doing this, wasn't it? To secure his advantage? Knowledge was his advantage. He had his blessings, sure, but in the grand scheme of things, he'd never been special. He'd never had what it took to rise above the times. The only reason he'd gotten so far in this life was because he'd lived it all before.

But something about that didn't feel right. What about when he lost that advantage? Would that make him weak again? And what about now?

Alex felt the weight of those chains as he shifted through the forest, angling toward the Lordling's left side. It was distracting. It's head turned in the direction Gloomy had gone, something catching its attention.

Alex struck with a mana-charged Pierce, lunging at speed. It lifted its left claw limply before interceding to swipe his sword astray with its right. It only had one fully-functional set of claws now and it met Nychta at the bind as Alex swung again.

Then he danced back, just before its tail could reach him. Seizing momentum, the Lordling lunged, unrelenting. Alex side stepped and let it collide with a tree—

—but it outright bit through to the tree, Its jaws snapped shut inches from Alex's face, slapping him with a wave of foul breath. He punched it on the snout with his ruined shield, then scythed Nychta through five of the swarming chimiks in a quick motion, before slipping back into Stealth.

HP: 71%

Alex wove between the trees, his breathing hot and heavy. He could feel the sting of his wounds across his body. Worse yet, all the bruises he'd collected were dulling his movements. His gear wasn't in great shape either. To think he'd wear out all this armor so soon after getting it. His leathers were ruined. His gambesons were in tatters and cotton fluffed out like gore, dyed red with his blood. The rest of him was dyed unanimously green by all the Chimiks he'd killed and the last thing he wanted to do was go back there and fight more.

But he had to so he did.

Essence has integrated with Dexterity!

Dexterity +3

Essence has integrated with Strength!

Strength +1

Essence has integrated with Perception

Perception +1

Alex danced in and out of Stealth, buying time for as long as he could. He tried to engage whenever the Lordling's attention shifted elsewhere, and disengaged before he got completely trounced. Even with its limp appendage, the Lordling showed few openings, and fighting it was a humbling experience. Alex had grown strong—stronger than he ever could've expected this soon into Nightmare. He had not, in fact, grown strong enough to solo a Level 53 Chimik Lordling.

And while it may be the ugliest opponent he'd have to face; it was not the scariest. It was nothing compared to Anne. And yet… he was still struggling this much. That same desperate hunger for strength he felt when he'd lost himself in the mists clawed at him. Then a shiver climbed his spine. After a second too long in Stealth, Alex lost his invulnerability to the Lordling's senses, becoming prey once more.

The Lordling launched itself through the forest toward him. Normally, Alex would consider the terrain an asset, but that was before he saw how easily it uprooted and tore through the trees in its path. He cursed as its tail wrapped around one of them and hurled it in his direction. He dove aside, bombarded by dirt and rocks as the massive trunk barreled into the ground just past him.

The dust thickened the mists. Alex tried forcing his bruised body to move but the tree—somehow still lively—snared his ankles in place for a second too long before it finally died. His hand had been outstretched toward Nychta when the Lordling came. It loomed mischievously and snatched his sword in its clawed hand, throwing her far into the trees. She reared back with a victorious war cry, her remaining children chiming in with their own. Alex spat blood and stood to face her, unarmed, his fists raised in defiance.

The killing intent he felt was more predatory than ever and a thought occurred to him then. He'd… actually never fought a Chimik Lordling before. This was uncharted territory, a situation he'd never faced. And did that make him weak?

She sure seemed to think so. The Lordling's intent oozed with gloat as she raised her tail to cave in his skull, hovering it above him like a taunt. Alex fought off the swarm with nothing but his shield and fists, selling the act until the very last second when she whipped down her tail.

Then, he Severed. He sliced the tail clean off with the very sword it had just stolen from him.

The Lordling howled in pain—but lashed its severed tail at him anyway. Caught off-guard Alex stumbled back with Feather-foot as jagged marrow ruptured his armor and raked across his chest. The Chimiks swarmed, closing in fast, but his focus was on the massive snout lunging for his head.

One doesn't exactly parry a jaw with a sword, but that's exactly what he did. He held Nychta defensively—perpendicular, tip-to-ground—with his left, shield-strapped hand around her hilt to shield against the teeth and his right half-way down her length for support. The force of the bite pushed him backward through the dirt.

Meanwhile, he felt the chimiks about to skewer his undefended back through his Dangersense. One even darted in, claws out, aiming straight for his neck.

He paid them no mind, as he wedged Nychta further into the Lordling's gums, cleansing. It recoiled, dragging its head back into the mist, and when Alex looked around, all the chimiks that had been about to kill him had died without him lifting a finger.

"About time!" he yelled. "It's been over six minutes, Gloomy!"

"Is that how you thank someone for saving your life?" She asked.

A vein popped beneath Alex's skin. He'd been about to retort, but there was no time for chat. He spun, cleaving directly through Gloomy's neck, and slashing a chimik behind her as she turned immaterial in reaction.

"What the fuck, Alex?!" she yelled.

"I forgive you," he said.

Then he turned his attention back to the battle. The Chimik Lordling stared Gloomy down, assessing her will. Was she prey? Or predator? Gloomy didn't seem to care, and ultimately, it didn't matter. The undead didn't retreat nor would they.

The chimiks swarmed again. Their numbers seemed endless, but their levels had dropped significantly on his kill feed. They were down to the runt of the litter. He spun around Gloomy, cutting down three with a single strike and slashing through more on the backswing. He continued to thin their numbers, focusing on himself now that he didn't need to worry about her handling things on her side.

But when he glanced back, "handling things" wasn't exactly what she was doing. Dozens of chimiks swarmed her and she hardly moved to evade them. She was covered in scrapes and gashes, bleeding out more than he was after enduring six minutes of that. His stomach twisted. The contract compelled him to–

"Don't interfere, Alex!" Gloomy yelled. "Just keep the fat one off my back!"

He narrowed his eyes. He almost moved to protect her anyway, but someone had to keep the Lordling in check, and he was the only one who could. He was capable of this much, easily.

The beast swung at his head—he deflected it.

It snapped its jaw—he ducked, well-used to its movements by now. He'd used all his tricks and was still on the defensive, but she was weighed down by a limp arm, a shortened tail, and a blind eye. They weren't quite evenly matched, but it was close enough to buy some time.

"Hey, you do have a plan, right?" he yelled. "Gloomy?"

She didn't answer. Then Alex felt a pulse of magic.

When he turned back, every single chimik that had been swarming her collapsed, dead. Gloomy stood among the corpses, bloodied but smirking, that hair-woven doll in her hand. He frowned, slashing at the Lordling's blind side, forcing her back before she lunged at him again.

"Well, if you do, now would be a good time!"

"That depends on you!" Gloomy said.

"What?"

"Will you let me do my thing, or are you going to fuck this up again?"

Alex's frown deepened as he watched her sprint forward, dagger in hand, charging the Chimik Lordling head-on. His duty was to protect her—every muscle, every instinct screamed at him to stop her from doing something so reckless.

But she said she had a plan. And all he had to do was ask himself: Did he believe she could win?

He was surprised to realize he did. He ran after her anyway, ready for whatever came next, but didn't impede. She held a dagger in one hand, two dolls in the other, one carved from wood. This was what he'd been waiting for—a glimpse of her true abilities. He watched, heart pounding, as the Lordling launched itself at her, jaws yawning wide.

And as Gloomy…

She released… a flying kick?

Alex watched in horror as the Chimik Lordling clamped its teeth around her legs. Gloomy screamed in agony and he knew, immediately, that he'd made the wrong choice. He surged forward, expecting some kind of counterattack—

But none came.

Before Alex could strike, two things caught his attention.

First, the Lordling was frozen in place, caught in some kind of spell.

Second, somehow, inexplicably—its legs had been mangled into a bloody mess, buckling beneath its weight.

And if there was a third thing that stood out… it was the way Gloomy cackled like the mad witch she was as her dagger stabbed in and out of the Lordling's snout in desperate rage.

Alex swung. Sever

Undead Chimik Lordling has been cleansed!

+50,000 Essence Crystals

Alex's mind wasn't on the essence, the loot, or the core that undoubtedly lay within the mammoth chimik's corpse. He rushed over to Gloomy. Her legs were mangled, her flesh ruptured in several places, her bones crunched in others. But she had already taken a health potion, a more potent one than even high-grade, given how the wounds were closing abnormally fast. She would live. As long as she didn't bleed to death, the rest could be fixed with time.

Alex could recognize shock when he saw it. She was still laughing as she dragged herself out from the creature's jaws. "Serves the fucker right. Thought I'd make a nice snack? Well, think again, you dead whore! Agh! Fuck me, it hurts!"

Alex assessed her wounds, then glanced at the Lordling's injuries. They matched. Then he looked at the pile of dead chimiks and realized every last one of the brood had died. He was starting to see the picture. Gloomy was a witch, all right—the kind people feared. The kind that it might not be wise to reveal his aims to before killing.

And right now, she was completely defenseless. He'd planned to try negotiating first but instinct drove him to put Nychta away. He drew a dagger instead, hiding it behind his back.

Gloomy noticed his approach. "Alex, you fucker! You said we'd 'practice a combo or two,' then call it a day! You wretched crow! I swear I'll kill you for this! Now help me up! You owe me one!"

Alex took a breath.

"Alex?" Gloomy asked. "Are you deaf? I said help me up."

His grip on the dagger tightened, then released with a sigh. "Gloomy, can I ask you an honest question?"

"Now?"

"Sorry for the inconvenient timing," he said. "But it's important. From your perspective, do you think I'm strong?"

Her eyes were a little hazed over from blood loss. She opened her mouth, a snarky retort clear on her lips, but something in his expression must have stilled her tongue.

"Not the strongest," she said, "I've met people way stronger than you. Monsters who even being around them make my skin crawl. But if I'm being honest…"

"Yeah?"

She bit her lip. "You creep me out more than every last one of them."

Alex considered this. Then he slipped the dagger away. As loath as he was to admit it… he liked Gloomy. He'd regret killing her. And he'd long since told himself no regrets. Someday, whether it was years or a decade from now, he would no longer have the advantage of foresight. And would that make him weak?

He didn't know. But if he couldn't imagine killing Anne with the quest, then so what if he couldn't imagine doing so without it? Perhaps that was flimsy logic but he made his choice. He'd get his revenge anyway.

"On my soul, Alex! This is why you creep me the fuck out! Do you have a mangled-leg fetish or something?! Help me up!"

"Sorry," he said. "I spaced out. I'm just going to borrow this doll real quick. I'll be back."

Before Gloomy could object, Alex grabbed the wooden doll, assuming it was the one she'd used to reflect the damage she'd taken. Ever since she'd given him that tip for expelling the lost souls, there'd been something he was itching to try.

He pulled out a wooden slate carved with two runes: Collect and Soul. The formation drawn around it was one he'd reached through trial and error, working backward from the formation he'd used to expel Lost Souls until he had something he felt might work.

The Chimik Lordling had been strong, and even after all this time, its soul fragment still lingered, dissipating slowly where it floated above its corpse. Alex placed the wooden slate on its fur, then set the doll on top of that. He channeled his mana through the formation, then used his skill.

Enchant

The soul fragment shone briefly, then was drawn into the doll.

[Chimik Soul Vessel]

A doll containing the Soul Fragment of Chimik Lordling.

Alex smiled at the success, before stealing it away to his inventory as the price of his mercy or something like that. What would he do with it? He still wasn't certain, but Gloomy's cursing quickly grated on his ears and yet another fire was starting to spread. So he stopped marveling at the most significant loot, pocketed all the rest to split later, then quickly set out in search of his greatsword before returning to help her.

[Chimik Lordling Core]

The core of a Chimik Lordling with Fire Aura.

[Chimik Lordling Skill Stone]

Break for a chance to gain one its owner's skills.

[Chimik Lordling Claws]

Curved, sturdy claws with a natural piercing edge.

[Chimik Lordling Hide]

Coarse, dark fur-covered hide. Highly resistant to slashing and tearing.

[Chimik Lordling Scent Gland]

Pungent organ used to mark territory.

[Nightmare Token] x10 has been added to your inventory.

[Nightmare Loot Box] x1 has been added to your inventory.

Gloomy screamed in agony as Alex shifted her balance on his back, trying not to jostle her wounds. He could already hear the wailing of wraiths nearby. They'd dallied too long. Or… he had. She was a cripple and couldn't help it.

"Agh! Ouch! I said help me up! Not to carry me!"

"What, were you going to outrun the wraiths?"

"Anything would be less humiliating than this," she muttered.

Alex laughed. "Well, you'd probably be in less pain if I carried you like a princess, but I thought you'd prefer this instead."

"Creep…"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm going to need you to enter stealth if you have any mana left."

Gloomy did as he asked, then fell silent, her head collapsing against his back. She was so gaunt that his hands found nothing but bone and muscle to grip. He was sure she had eaten something, just as he was sure she must have slept at some point during their time together. Humans couldn't go a week without food or sleep, after all. But he had never seen her do either in front of him. And he could tell just how hard she'd been pushing herself.

"Why…?" She muttered.

"Why?" Alex echoed. He felt her stealth drop. "Hey Gloomy, you're losing a lot of blood. If you have another health potion you should take it now."

She mumbled incoherently in response, no longer lucid. Her already pale skin seemed to grow paler by the second, turning ashy in color. She was cold to the touch. Her breath came short and fast against the back of his neck.

"Gloomy! We're almost back to the path now. Just hang in there a little longer."

She didn't respond.

"Gloomy?"

"Grandma… would be disappointed. I've strayed from her… teachings."

Her voice was loopy, unfocused. Alex picked up the pace, rushing back to their path. He hadn't decided not to kill her just to have her die anyway!

"Grandma…"

Her breath quickened.

"We're back now, Gloomy. It's—"

Alex shivered, his hairs standing on end. Two long fangs sank into his neck, feasting on his blood. He jolted, throwing Gloomy onto the ground as they broke out of the mists. Blood smeared her lips. Two large incisors protruded from her mouth—then slowly began to shrink as color returned to her skin.

Alex touched his neck—damp and slick. He looked down at the blood on his hand, then back at Gloomy, still in shock. She was… a vampire? He'd been worrying all this time about killing a vampire? Was this some kind of sick fucking joke?!

But how? How had she hidden the signs? Why hadn't she burned in the sun?

It didn't matter. When the shock faded, all that remained beneath the anger was stark relief. Alex's choice had just become much easier. Or rather, it wasn't a choice at all. She'd deceived him! And for that, and for so much more, she had to die. He approached Gloomy's sleeping form, summoning Nychta.

Undead aren't the only things that need cleansing, he reminded her. And this time, there was no doubt about what Gloomy was. A girl wasn't always as young as she appeared—nor so innocent.

He swung for Gloomy's neck.

Then a sharp caw split the air, halting his blade.

His sword hovered, drawing a line of red at Gloomy's throat. Further up the path, a crow perched on a tree, her eyes all-seeing. She tilted her head expectantly. Then, with a rustle of wings, she took off into the mists, beckoning him to follow.

"Took you long enough," Alex muttered.

He wanted nothing more than to separate Gloomy's head from her neck right now, but after the holy gauze he'd been gifted in the second scenario, he knew he'd be making a powerful enemy if he didn't at least hear what she had to say first.

Hesitantly, he sheathed Nychta, glaring at Gloomy with contempt. And to think he'd just been coming around to her too. The only good vampire was a dead one, but for now, he left her.

He stepped into the mists to meet Corvus, the Constellation of Omen.

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