Chapter 9 : Never Look Back.
The storm raged on as we ran towards the boat. Suddenly, a shriek echoed above us. It was a blood curling shriek, you don't want to hear that, trust me.
That only made us run faster. The wind seemed to be getting stronger, and the storm was starting to turn into a maelstrom, with a rain even heavier than before, and lightning and thunder booming across the land.
We were almost at the boat, when a Bnahabra suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling me and making me come to an abrupt stop, which made Hallie fall out of my arms.
I heard her fall with a cry of pain, which was followed by cursing directed towards me. I saw Coral stop,
"Coral, run! Don't wait for us!"
"But I can't leave you guys behind!"
Then Hallie finally managed to get up and said,
"RUN YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU HAVE FUCKING WORKING LEGS!"
She really looked conflicted.
"Look, Coral. Listen to Hallie. We will join you later. Now go!"
I shooed her with my hand and she finally took off towards the boat.
I then turned to Hallie, which was back on her knees.
" I will carry you."
"No. Just run. I will stay here and try to repel th-
Suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew us both to the ground, and some tress were uprooted and fell with a heavy thud.
Then it appeared. The Amatsumagatsuchi.
I was just paralyzed on the ground, not in panic, but in awe.
It didn't look like a monster. It looked like a god. The way it seamlessly seemed to float, and the delicate features, along with the frill and the general majestuosity, lead me to believe that this monster god wouldn't do anything hurtful to anyone. I was wrong.
Hallie looked at it terrified, and out of reflex hit it with her infected leg in the face.
The Amatsu grunted irately and clamped on her leg with its teeth. Incredibly, the infected "armor" seemed to block the attack and prevented Hallie's leg from being cut off.
She then unsheathed her katana and cut at its snot, which seemed to irritate it very much, and it let go off her leg as bright red blood seeped from the wound.
It then turned somehow red, and shrieked loudly again. I had to cover my ears. Then it started creating a sort of air vacuum which, to my terror, started sucking Hallie in towards it as she made futile attempts to escape the vacuum's grip.
Her katana fell to the ground, and she was only a couple meters away from the Amatsu, which was in a coil-like position, which I presumed was to attack with its powerful tail.
Then I panicked. I was really terrified, but somehow I unsheathed my lance and charged at it shield first, willingly being sucked into the vacuum while I struggled to put my shield in front of me. Then I grabbed my lance like a javelin and hurled it at the monster with a roar. I heard(and felt) my shoulder snap from the strain, I don't even know how I managed to even lift it. I cursed under my breath, but due to the adrenaline, I didn't feel that much.
The lance, however, simply bounced off the thick scales in the wing-flapper-whatever it was that it used to kick up the vacuum, but it managed to hit hard enough that it turned its attention towards me, and in doing so, stopped the vacuum.
I sighed of relief, and wondered what came now, as the beast stared into my eyes. Death?
Hallie was on her knees, panting with a wheezing sound and clutching her stomach with one hand, who didn't manage to stop the blood from pouring to the ground.
Then the Amatsu lunged towards me, and I thought, this is it. This is how I end. I tried. I failed.
I felt the beast's breath and embraced death, when suddenly I heard a howl of pain. How the fuck was I still alive? I opened my eyes to see the Amatsu laying on its side, with two big ballista arrows protruding from its stomach and its head. It howled again, and then left, taking the storm and rain with it.
I then looked to Hallie. She was standing barely standing on one knee, and there was an ever bigger puddle of blood in the ground in front of her.
A cold hand grabbed my heart.
I ran towards her and took her hand.
"Hallie, it's okay. You will be fine. It's okay Hallie. Please."
Her face was extremely pale. She smiled weakly and said,
"Huryk… it's okay. You saved me. I would be dead without you, which proves that you care for you comrades. That is a very important thing to have if you're going to be a hunt"- she stopped and coughed bood, while leaning to the side and falling to the ground with her back.
" No, you can't die! No, you piece of shit, please don't die. You have to teach us! You need to teach us! We need you!"
I started shaking her and slapping her in the face gently, while she smiled and caressed my face with her hand. It was cold to the touch. Then her arm slipped to the ground.
Then I heard Coral coming, and her eyes widened with horror as she saw Hallie laying on the ground.
"What?! What is happening?"
I looked at Coral with tears in my eyes and said,
"Hallie, she's…"
Coral looked at her, then at me, and started sobbing. I caressed her hair as she sobbed on my shoulder, and wiped my tears off my face.
I got up, carrying Coral with me, and started punching the ground.
"Why the fuck did you have to die?! You were so young! What kind of world does this? Who does this?!"
Coral wiped the tears of her face and hugged my from behind.
"You know, love, as much as I hate to say this, this is monster hunting. It is not a walk through the park. But I swear, I will personally slay every monster that can mean danger. I will kill them. They caused this. I will exterminate them. And maybe they will feel how I feel. I feel empty inside, Huryk. And, and… I just…"
She broke down and started weakly pounding the ground while sobbing.
"Coral… we need to be strong, and become the best hunters. To honor her memory."
"Yes. We will be the best hunters on the face of Earth, and we will exterminate every monster that ever posed a threat to humans. I need to kill monsters. And make sure we make them suffer. All monsters must die."
Then a felt a sharp pain in my shoulder which made me flinch, and I remembered everything. Throwing the lance, trying to save Hallie… and for what? For nothing.
I caressed Hallie's face, which was cold now, and said,
"Rest in peace, Hallie."
Then I felt another sharp twang of pain, I got dizzy, and I fainted.
Author's note: Here it is! A new chapter! This one is a tad shorter, but I think it is denser too, so it should be even.
Anyway, if you liked it, please review! Always keen to know what can be improved/what you like/dislike!
Till the next one!
