The final battle is split into two chapters. This is part 1 of the battle. Hope you enjoy it...
...
Chapter 24
"Wait up!"
"Haha, catch me if you can!"
"Rosa! You know that I'm not as physically fit as you!" The boy's cries went unheard as the young girl dashed through the hallways. She passed by several acolytes, who merely glanced at the young girl running past them before resuming their conversations. Once she reached the end of the hallway, she hid behind the corner and sat down to catch her breath. She giggled to herself as she awaited the boy to arrive.
As she expected, she saw him appear through the shadows, panting and clearly out of breath. "R-Rosa! Why…did…you…run…?" The boy bent over and made gagging sounds. Rosa laughed at this. He was incredibly out of shape despite the numerous times they went on missions.
"We were playing tag, weren't we?"
"T-Tag? Rosa, we're thirteen!"
She cocked her head to the side innocently. "So? What's the harm in having fun?"
"B-But-" Before he could protest further, the girl grabbed his hand and began to pull him away.
"C'mon Sieg, let's go play a prank on someone!"
"Huh! Rosaaaaa!"
"Rosa!"
She quickly snapped out of her daydreams upon hearing her name. She glanced around her before finding the source of the interruption. A scowl formed on her face and she abruptly shot her hand forward and seized the offender by the neck.
"How dare you mention that name to me!"
The man began to furiously tap her wrist. "Sorry, sorry! You weren't very responsive, and I had no idea how to get your attention- Ack!"
Pinching her nose with her free hand, she let out a groan. Releasing her grip on the man's throat, she pushed herself off the wall and stretched briefly, wincing slightly at the pain on her chest, the by-product of surviving a potentially fatal stab wound. "So? What is it that you wanted to tell me?"
The other man answered for him. "Lady Medea, we just wanted to inform you that the knights are closing in on this room as we speak and would most likely be here in a matter of minutes."
"That fast? As expected from Dundorma's Border Watch Commander and the Fire King. Tch. What's the use of trained soldiers if they can't even properly stall the enemy?" Medea pulled the visor over her face and pushed her dark red hair over her back. "Are the documents secure?"
"Secure and ready for transport."
"The lab?"
"Destroyed. The formula for the serum is safe and secure with our evacuation team."
"And the beast?"
"Currently awakening. It's only a matter of time."
"What of the prisoners?"
"Still in the cells. Shall we dispose of them?"
"Leave them. We got what we needed anyway." She snapped her fingers and the two men pulled their visors over their heads as well. "You don't have to follow me you know? I can handle these soldiers myself."
"We'd rather die for you, my lady!"
"Our lives are yours to command!"
Medea chuckled. They're obviously infatuated with me. Not like I'll ever give them the time of day. Still, at least they make good men. "Very well then. This will be our final stand. Have you got your vials ready?"
The two men raised their vials into the air. "Ready!"
"Good. If we die, know that today ended in our victory. Now let us prepare ourselves!"
On the hunter's side…
It didn't take them long to find themselves standing before an opening in the long corridor they found themselves in. An ominous light shined through the opening as the hunters hesitated.
"The moment we pass through that…There's no turning back." Hilda turned to look over the group. "Ready everyone?"
Hilda knew that the group wasn't, and she wasn't either, but they had to be ready. Suddenly, a loud noise startled them, courtesy of Pip blowing his horn. All of a sudden as if by magic, their nervousness disappeared. The Palico grinned and tucked his horn back into his pocket.
"Up until now, I still don't understand how that bloody horn works…" Hilda said with a shake of her head.
Pip shrugged. "Me neither!"
With their hesitation all but vanished, the hunters made their way through the corridor. Arriving at the opening, they found themselves standing before a massive open space filled with sand and debris. And in the middle of that space…was a creature they've never seen before.
"The fuck is that?" Romero moved closer to the edge for a closer look. Upon noticing the antenna and six legs, the hunter scratched his head in confusion. "Our target is…a giant bug?"
"A Neopteron to be exact," Hilda corrected. "Its…rather large for its species. Reminds me of a Seltas…"
"So…what should we do?" Eris asked.
"Hmm, Luca did you bring the binoculars?"
The hunter nodded and reached into his pack to hand Hilda a pair of binoculars. She looked through them, observing the creature's movements and taking note of its body. "It has a pair of giant sickle-like claws. Better watch out for that…Tail also looks like a weapon but I can't be too sure. But other than that, I can't tell what other abilities it has."
"So, our only option is to fight it head-on in order to learn what it can do…Fantastic," Rowan said, groaning.
"What's our plan of attack then?" Amber queried. "It appears to be alone but who knows what surprise it has for us."
"Good point," Hilda said. "Then I suggest we split up into smaller teams. We surround it and then improvise from there. Luca since you're our only gunner, stay at a distance and support us. That alright with you all?"
"Sounds like a plan," Luca said, readying his bowgun. The rest of the hunters nodded.
"Great. Let's go." Good luck to you all.
The hunters took a deep breath before jumping down onto the area. The hunters noticed several abandoned ballistae and cannons. They soon split into smaller groups of three and four as they cautiously approached the beast. Luca quickly took position behind one of the ballistae and loaded his weapon with a powerful piercing shot. The beast noticed their presence seconds later and let out a shrill screech, raising its claws into the air threateningly.
"Showtime everyone!" Hilda unsheathed her hammer as did everyone with their weapons. Immediately after, Luca pulled the trigger. The bullet zoomed through the air before making contact with the creature's torso, piercing through it completely. It screeched in pain and staggered back but recovered seconds later.
"Well, it's tough I'd give it that," Luca said, reloading his gun for another shot before looking down through his scope, this time aiming directly at its head. The attack had immediately sent the creature into a rage and its eyes began to glow an ominous purple and red a stark contrast to its golden-colored body. Suddenly, it raised its rear up into the air and shot out a yellow orb directly at Luca. The hunter looked up from his scope…only to see the orb explode and ensnare the hunter in a sticky silk-like substance. "What the hell is this?!" He struggled against it, but the substance was strong, binding him to the ground and keeping him from picking up his rifle. Desperate to break free, he reached for his knife on his belt and began to vigorously cut at the strings. Meanwhile, the hunters were too distracted to notice the creature suddenly shoot out a string of silk at the ground below it, and to everyone's shock, it pulled a large girder out of the sand, strapping it to its back. Hilda's eyes grew wide and she issued an immediate command to everyone.
"EVERYONE MOVE!"
The hunters scrambled in all directions as the creature then promptly swung the massive girder like a yo-yo around it in an attempt to swat at its attackers. A few of them who didn't get far away enough in time jumped over the girder, before landing unceremoniously onto the ground.
"Shit!" Luca freed himself just in time, picking up his rifle and leaping over the girder as it destroyed the ballistae he had been hiding behind in the process. He rolled backward before entering a crouching position and looking through his scope. As the creature attempted to pull its girder back, Luca fired his shot.
It was a direct hit, piercing through its 'hood'. It squealed in pain but once again, the shot did little to it, only serving to make it even angrier. But the effect staggered it, causing it to drop the girder and providing the opening the hunters needed. Hilda sensed this and charged forward. "EVERYONE ATTACK!"
As all hunters moved to attack, the creature got up and let out a loud screech before firing several lines of string at the ground. The hunters stopped in their tracks and stared in complete bewilderment as the beast hauled…something out of the ground. One pull of the strings later and... a massive and towering mechanical contraption popped out of the ground! Using more of its strings, it pulled itself into the machine's chest, concealing itself in a golden cocoon. All of a sudden, a booming and thunderous roar echoed throughout the area as the massive machine lifted itself off the ground and revealed itself in all its draconic glory all while a sudden sandstorm raged in the distance.
Eris rarely felt fear yet at that moment as she looked up, the huntress could not stop herself from trembling as the massive shadow of the machine loomed over them. "What the hell have we got ourselves into?"
On Catherine's side…
Siegfried charged forward and ran his sword through the cultist's chest before kicking the body away. He ducked under a swing and slashed the blade across the attacker's stomach, slitting it open.
"Yeughh…" Siegfried stuck his tongue out in disgust as he carefully stepped over the fallen insides. They don't seem to put much of a fight… he noted as he blocked an attack from his side and impaled the cultist's face onto his sword's guard. He pulled the body off and took a look around him, analyzing his surroundings.
We've lost only a few Knights to some well-placed ambushes but other than that, things are going surprisingly well. The knights that they brought along with them were doing quite well and as the bodies of cultists piled up, the hunter noted that they may just be able to pull this off.
"DIE ALL OF YOU!"
Damn, she's going crazy over there… Siegfried thought as he glanced over at Catherine, who was furiously mowing through the cultists as if they were nothing. He watched as she decapitated two attackers, straight up kicked another and when her sword got knocked out of her hands, she resorted to beating the cultists with her own fists, dodging and blocking every swing towards her. Siegfried cringed when she punched a hole through a cultist's chest, her hands around their heart before she mercilessly squeezed it like a lemon. He was too distracted by Catherine that he didn't notice a cultist sneak up from behind him. Siegfried looked back…just as the cultist raised their blade only to get smacked away by a large hammer to the face. Becky appeared by his side moments later, a hand on her hip.
"Focus dumbass," she chastised, backhanding an enemy in the face after another poor attempt at a sneak attack.
He glared at her but kept his mouth shut.
The battle was over just minutes later. The hallway now littered with the bodies of the cultists; blood splatters everywhere and painting the hallway red. It looked like a massacre. Suddenly, a loud rumbling could be heard in the distance as the entire structure shook.
"Woah," Siegfried muttered as he looked back. Did they find the monster already?
"No time to rest. We keep moving," Catherine said, briefly wiping the blood off her face. Siegfried and the Knights didn't protest.
A few minutes later…
Catherine's group found themselves standing before a large dusty twin door. They had no idea what was behind those doors but something within Siegfried told him that the enemy must be waiting for them inside.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Siegfried commented, hesitant to approach the door.
Catherine, having heard the hunter's words ushered the knights closer. "Stay in formation." She tapped the hunter's shoulder. "On my count, we kick open the door."
Siegfried obediently followed and positioned himself by the door. Catherine swiftly moved into position as well. She turned to him and nodded. "One, two, three…NOW!"
The two kicked the door open and the Knights rushed into the room, weapons drawn. Siegfried and Catherine rapidly followed after, taking their positions upfront. And as Siegfried had predicted, they came face to face with the enemy. But these weren't just the ordinary acolytes they killed earlier. Standing in the room was the woman from the ballroom massacre, armed with a pair of twin blades. Accompanying her were two similarly armored men, one carrying a glaive and the other a pair of gauntlets. Inexplicably, Catherine could feel that these three people were stronger than they looked.
"Well well, if it isn't my dearest Sieg," Medea taunted in a mocking manner.
Siegfried tightened his grip on his sword. "I'm surprised to see that you survived getting stabbed. Would have made this so much easier…"
She shrugged. "What can I say? I'm tougher than I look."
"And I suppose negotiations are out of the picture?"
"Of course. It would be dull if someone didn't die today."
"Figures…" He took a quick look around the area. "Where are the rest of you?"
"Oh? They're all gone. You people killed our only soldiers left. The three of us are the only ones here."
"Bullshit," Catherine growled, stifling the urge to run her sword through the woman at that second.
"Don't believe me? Think about it. Why is it that you haven't encountered any sort of proper resistance from our own? Haven't you noticed how easy it was for you to get here?"
She's right. That ambush was the only semblance of a fight they gave. "What are you playing at here?"
He could see the woman sigh. "You've always been rather boring…Fine, how about this? What if I were to tell you that…those Knights that came by several days earlier are still alive?"
Siegfried raised an eyebrow in confusion when suddenly, he heard a loud gasp from next to him. It was Catherine. "Lies!"
"Still think I'm lying huh…Fine, I'll allow several of you to leave this room to check." She crossed her arms and gestured to the door with her chin. "Go through the door to the left on your way here. The prison block is just downstairs." She sighed. "If you don't, I'll kill you all this instant."
Becky scoffed. "Kill us? Please give us a br-
The redhead was unable to finish her sentence as in just a matter of seconds, she was sent crashing against the wall. It had all happened too fast for a regular human eye to follow.
"Tch. Cocky bitch," said one of Medea's henchmen, the one-armed with gauntlets and the one that had attacked.
Medea tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? I'm waiting…"
Left with no choice, Catherine looked back and randomly selected four of the Knights. "Go and see if she's lying. If she is, return here immediately and if she's not, then immediately bring whoever you find there back to our camp."
The selected Knights nodded and scrambled out of the room.
"Now can we please go back to fighting? Yes? Alright then!" Before anyone could prepare themselves, Medea charged forward…directly towards Siegfried. He raised his sword just in time to block her blades from piercing him, but the force of the blow pushed him back until they both crashed through the wall, disappearing and leaving Catherine and her Knights alone to fend off Medea's two terrifyingly powerful henchmen. With Becky down for the count, they were at a disadvantage despite superior numbers.
"Shit…" Catherine muttered.
"Any last words?" he taunted as he and his colleague closed in on Catherine and her knights, backing them against the wall.
She literally spat at him. "Fuck you."
The acolyte she spat on visibly twitched in fury and raised his polearm to strike them down as Catherine and the Knights prepared to guard the attack. Just before they attacked-
"Did ya really think I'd go down that easily?"
From the corner of her eye, Catherine saw a shape move at blindingly fast speeds towards the two men. A hand shot out and seized the gauntlet-armed acolyte by the face, smashing them both through the wall on the opposite side of the room.
Still, in a state of shock, the polearm acolyte was too distracted to notice Catherine rush forward with her sword. He was unable to react in time as Catherine ran her blade through his torso. They struggled for a while before the acolyte grabbed her wrist. Unfazed, she pushed herself forward, knocking them both onto the ground with her on top.
"B-Bitch!" cursed the acolyte, his grip on her wrist threatening to crush the bone as attempted to push her off him. But Catherine didn't yield, digging her sword further into the acolyte's stomach and gritting her teeth through the pain on her wrist.
"Just die you-" She was interrupted by the acolyte delivering a powerful rising headbutt to her forehead. Catherine staggered back, clutching her bleeding forehead before collapsing onto the ground. The Knights watched in shock as the acolyte slowly stood up and pulled the blade off his stomach.
The Knights rushed forward in the acolyte's perceived moment of vulnerability. "Attack!"
But they were in a for a surprise. The acolyte dodged the first swing and countered with a powerful chop to the back of the neck, immediately incapacitating the Knight. He spun around the second attack, grabbing the Knight by his arm and twisting it painfully with an audible crack before taking their sword and running it through the unfortunate Knight.
One by one, more of the Knights fell to the injured acolyte, until only three remained, paralyzed with fear. Before he could kill them, Catherine rushed forward and shoved him away with her shoulder.
"You three, run! Get back to the ship at once!"
The three surviving Knights nodded without hesitation and fled through the door from where they came. Catherine shook her head and turned back to face the acolyte, who glared at her fiercely, clutching his stomach as blood seeped through his fingers.
"You just threw away your only advantage!"
"Less distractions," Catherine replied before rushing forward.
On the hunter's side…
"WHAT THE FUCK DO WE DO AGAINST THAT?!" Jason cried out hysterically. Nearby, Pip felt like digging underground and hiding there forever rather than fighting something that big. In comparison, their weapons were but toothpicks against something of that magnitude and size.
"Hilda!" Romero glanced at the huntress, who was equally speechless and stunned.
"I-I'm working on it!" Shit, what the hell is this?!
"We need to stay calm everyone! Focus!" Eris said, scanning the machine for any weaknesses.
"Eris is right! We have to- EVERYONE LOOK OUT!"
Unfortunately, they didn't have time to gape at the sight before them as the machine had lifted up one of its legs high into the air. The hunters scrambled out of the way as it promptly brought down its foot onto the ground, sending an eruption of earth in a straight line. The machine didn't move after that and the hunters attempted to use that opening to their advantage.
CLANK! The hunters couldn't believe it.
Hanzo cursed after his Greatsword effortlessly bounced off the machine's plating. "Dammit, our weapons just bounce off it!"
Luca clicked his tongue as he saw one of his bullets merely bounce off the hard surface. "Bullets don't work either!"
"No shit!" Romero said, slightly shaken and dazed after the rebound. Seconds later, the machine recovered, and the hunters were forced to retreat once more. The machine repositioned itself to face them before firing several lines of string at the hunters from the opening in its chest.
"SHIT MOVE!" The hunters leaped out of the way of the strings. Several of them made it, but it caught some of them as well.
"Aaargh!" Rowan growled as he found himself ensnared in the silk. Nearby, Eris and Jason too struggled against the strings.
"Use your knives!" Luca shouted. The hunters immediately reached for their knives and worked to break themselves free.
Meanwhile, Hilda watched as something shot out of the machine's back and three shadows appeared over the three hunters. Oh crap! "GUYS, LOOK OUT!"
The three hunters freed themselves just in time and dived out of the way as large pieces of debris crashed onto their previous locations. Jason looked back and gulped. "That would have killed us…"
"We need to regroup and find a way to take that thing down!"
"Easier said than done leader girl!" Romero said as the machine began to once again fire its silk beams. "Oh c'mon!"
The hunters once again attempted to dodge the beams, this time without fail. But they had to find its weakness, otherwise, they would exhaust themselves first just dodging its attacks.
Romero turned towards Luca. "Spot anything glasses?" he shouted.
"Not yet…Wait…I see something! There, the spots between its toes!"
Sure enough, the hunters could see that its feet had a middle 'toe' made of golden silk. At that moment, Eris finally noticed. It all makes sense now! The strings, the silk, and the fact that it was controlling the machine! "Everyone, I think we should attack those golden parts! If my guess is correct, then breaking them will cause it to lose control of its machine!"
"How do we know for sure it will work?!" Rowan yelled.
"We don't know if we don't try!" Hilda readied her hammer. "Attack!"
The fastest of the hunters moved first. The three of them, Romero, Amber, and Eris slashed simultaneously at the 'toe'. The part broke and all of a sudden, the machine staggered back.
"That worked?!"
"It's gonna fall!"
The hunters moved out of the way as the machine fell onto one side. Its 'head' dropped to the ground, exposing the opening within the 'jaw'. The hunters took one look at each other before grinning wildly. "Let's go!"
One by one, the hunters ran inside the 'mouth', climbing and making their way up the towering contraption. However, not everyone made it up as the machine promptly began to recover.
"We'll stay down here, and keep it distracted! In the meantime, destroy whatever you can up there!" Luca shouted as he began to fire a rapid series of bullets at the opening in the machine's chest.
Atop the machine, the hunters split off into different parts and began to wildly swing their weapons around, cutting the silk strings and destroying the machine bit by bit. Meanwhile down on the ground, Luca continued to shoot at the beast as Pip stayed next to him, preparing his ammunition and providing support through his buffing horns. The other hunters, Rowan and Hanzo ran around here and there, gaining its attention by attacking the other 'toes' on its three remaining feet.
The combined efforts of the hunters proved to be too much as the machine began to tremble in preparation to collapse. The hunters atop of it immediately sheathed their weapons and jumped off just as it toppled onto the ground in an explosion of sand and dust.
"Is it…over?" Amber asked quietly. Unfortunately, seconds later the creature climbed out of the machine. It faced the hunters and let out a rage-filled screech, clearly not happy that the hunters wrecked its machine.
"Had a feeling it wouldn't be this easy…" Hilda sighed. "Round two everybody!"
Becky's side…
Only one thought ran through the acolyte's mind at the moment. Who the hell is this woman?
Every punch and swing, she would dodge, duck or swerve around it effortlessly. She's incredibly fast! Another missed swing and Becky retaliated with a hard punch to his gut. The punch nearly rattled him to his core as he gasped but didn't double over. Even though he was blindingly fast, this woman seemed to move even faster than him!
"Sit still damn you!"
Becky smirked and bobbed her head left and right, dodging every punch aimed at her. She ducked under a swing and countered with a palm strike to the back, sending the acolyte staggering forward. She's strong too!
"Had enough yet?" she teased.
"…You know what, fuck this." Becky watched as the acolyte took the gauntlets off, letting them fall onto the ground before he kicked them away. He then turned towards her and entered a battle-ready stance. "Let's settle this the old fashioned away."
Becky only looked mildly amused as he dashed forward to attack. His swings were wild but calculated and Becky could sense the power of each swing she managed to dodge. Getting hit would spell disaster.
He roared and swung back for a right hook, but Becky blocked it with a left knife-hand and countered with a quick but powerful straight jab into the man's face. He staggered back momentarily but recovered quickly and went back to the assault. But Becky would easily block and duck under every subsequent swing. He began to attack faster in desperation.
Becky had begun to notice his swings lose their calculated movements. He's frustrated…good. She blocked another swing with her right arm and landed an open palm strike on the man's chest, sending him reeling back. Before he could recover, she surged forward and grabbed him by the face before slamming him down hard onto the ground.
"Just close your eyes and sleep."
He grabbed her by the wrist. "Never." In a sudden burst of speed, he pulled her towards him, locked his legs behind her waist, and wrapped an arm around her neck, squeezing her and trapping her in a guillotine chokehold.
Shit, I got careless! The red-haired woman struggled against his grip, slowly beginning to lose air. She growled and attempted to pry his hands off, but the man's hold around her was tight and strong despite her strength. With every second she was trapped in the hold; her vision began to blur and the strength in her body weakened. Not even she could survive without much air. She had to break free.
Recalling a technique, she had observed when infiltrating underground matches, Becky was left with no other choice. She raised her free hand, straightened her fingers, and proceeded to brutally jab her fingers into the man's side, digging them deep into the flesh.
He cried out in pain and immediately released his hold on her. Becky seized the moment and straddled his waist, before proceeding to beat the man's face with her bare fists over and over and over. His arms and legs spasmed with each blow to the face as the beating continued for a solid few minutes.
By the time she had finished, her hands were bloody, her clothing and the ground stained red and the man's face was broken beyond repair. But he wasn't dead yet and Becky would show no mercy to people like him. Smiling viciously, she wrapped her hands around his throat and proceeded to strangle him.
He gasped and clawed desperately at her face, drawing blood. But Becky didn't falter, tightening her grip on the man's throat as he began to foam in the mouth. His face turned blue and his strength rapidly vanished from asphyxiation.
"Ack…H-Help…R-Rosa…"
And then, she heard a crack. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. His arms and legs went limp and when Becky released him, he didn't move. She pressed two fingers against the side of the throat.
No pulse. He was dead.
"There goes that." She stood and up and brushed the dirt off her clothing before walking the other side of the room to find her hammer. Just another day, as per usual.
Catherine's side...
Despite being injured, the acolyte put up a serious fight. With each swing of her sword, he would block it with his own. The sound of their blades clashing against each other filled the room. They were evenly matched despite their injuries. But Catherine wasn't a hunter and despite her already inhuman strength, she lacked the endurance needed. Even worse, the head injury she received had slowly begun to weigh her down, something the acolyte noticed.
"Getting slow, are we?" he taunted.
She growled at him as she blocked another swing. With her body tiring, the acolyte continued to land a barrage of swings. Catherine found herself being pushed back, unable to keep up with his attacks. He was purposefully exhausting her, and she knew it.
Then her sword was knocked off her hands.
The acolyte smirked evilly and thrust his sword forward with no hesitation. Catherine was just able to swerve to the side just in time, the edge of the blade grazing her armor as she spun to the side and ended up behind him. A lucky dodge, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep up.
The acolyte wasted no time turning around and continuing the assault as Catherine frantically ducked and dodged every swing, her endurance running out with each passing second. Soon, she found herself quickly backed up against a wall.
Oh crap.
The acolyte grinned before slashing horizontally at her with the blade, intent on decapitating her. Unable to dodge in time, she closed her eyes…
"Fuck! The hell?!"
She opened her eyes…only to find the blade stuck in the wall, centimeters away from her face. Now's my chance! Without hesitation she dashed forward and smashed her fist against the acolyte's cheek, sending him reeling back. Before he could recover, she charged forward and began to pummel him with punches and kicks. At some point, she landed a hard blow to the wound on his stomach, causing the acolyte to bend over in agony.
She slammed her knee into his face immediately after that.
But Catherine began to feel the exhaustion eat at her. Her punches grew weaker and slower. No, no! Gotta…keep…going!
"AARGH!" She swung her fist with all her might…only for her fist to be caught. Her eyes widened in horror. The acolyte scowled at her through his battered face, spitting out a bloody tooth at the ground.
"Out of juice, are we?"
"Fu-" She was silenced by a vicious punch directly into her stomach. She dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach, coughing, and gagging. She felt as if her insides were ready to come out of her mouth. She felt drool drip down her mouth and onto the ground.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her throat. "It was a mistake of someone of your caliber to challenge me." She was lifted up, her legs dangling in the air.
"Any last words?"
Despite her fading strength, Catherine gave him her nastiest glare. "…G-Go to hell…"
He sighed. "Tsk, tsk." In a sudden and rapid burst of speed, with his hand still around her throat, the acolyte rushed forward and slammed her into the wall. Catherine let out a pained cry as she felt her back collided violently against the hard surface. He pressed her harder against the wall and tightened his grip around her throat.
"It was also a mistake for a weakling like you to think you could beat us." He squeezed harder. Catherine felt her vision blur, gasping desperately for air and clawing at his hand in an attempt to break free. But the longer he squeezed her, the more her already depleting strength left her.
Then she saw him. "Catherine." She saw him calling out to her, reaching out towards her. She felt herself reaching back towards him. Edmond… Her hands became limp and she resigned herself to her fate. The acolyte grinned victoriously.
"Not so tough are ya-"
BAM!
Suddenly, he released her. Catherine gasped for air and fell to the ground, rubbing her throat. She opened her eyes and looked up at the acolyte…and saw that his head had been buried within his own chest cavity. She yelped when the body fell forward, slumped against the wall right next to her. His corpse twitched briefly before going still, as blood squirted out of the hole that was once where his head was.
"Wha-" she uttered out, bewildered before realizing that a figure was standing there.
"Came here just in time." It was Becky. She sheathed her now blood-stained hammer and held out her hand to her. "C'mon. We're done here."
On the hunter's side…
"AAACK!" Jason landed with a hard thud onto the ground, groaning in pain after receiving a direct hit on the chest from the creature's hard abdomen. His sister quickly moved to his side.
"Are you alright?"
"Aside from some broken ribs?" He coughed. "Yeah, never better…"
Nearby, the creature raised its rear and shot out multiple shots of silk. Once again, the hunters attempted to leap out of the way. However-
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Despite his enormous strength, the silk that trapped Hanzo was incredibly strong. As he reached for his knife, the beast suddenly shot out a string of silk at the hunter's body. "Wait-WOAH!" He was suddenly lifted off the ground, still trapped in the silk. Before he realized what was happening, the creature began to swing him wildly around the area, using him as a makeshift flail. In the process, several hunters were hit, sending them flying from the impact. It then swung the hunter around one last time before throwing him directly against one of the area's walls.
CRASH!
He crashed hard into the wall at the distance as the remaining hunters who didn't get hit could only stare and watch with wide eyes. "Hanzo!" Luca trembled with rage. "Die you monster!" He quickly aimed down his scope and shot out a single bullet. The shot embedded itself within the creature's torso before suddenly exploding, stunning it briefly. The hunter then loaded a large magazine into his gun, before running towards the creature and pelting it with a steady stream of bullets. Overwhelmed, the creature used its sickle claws to block the bullets but was unable to stop the stray bullets from piercing the rest of its body.
"Luca!" Hilda called out to her comrade, watching him slowly push back the monster with heavy machinegun fire all while screaming bloody murder. The hunter failed to notice the beast shoot out a string of silk at the nearby pile of debris. Alarmed, Hilda immediately attempted to warn him. "Luca! Watch out!"
But the hunter was too clouded by rage to notice as he continued to shoot at the beast, unaware of the incoming piece of debris flying towards him. By the time he ran out of bullets, it was too late. The remaining hunters watched in horror as the pile of debris smashed violently into him, sending him flying meters away. He didn't get up after that.
"Damn it!" Hilda cursed, fighting to control her emotions and to remain calm. Pip cried out in despair as he ran as fast as his four paws could take him towards their downed gunner.
"We lost our only gunner…Shit." Rowan tightened his grip around his hammer as the creature soon recovered and faced them again. Though its body was littered with wounds, it didn't appear to be close to death at all. Its purple eyes glowed red once more, signaling its rage. Suddenly without warning, it charged forward towards the hunters, baring its sickle-shaped claws.
"WHY ME?!" Amber cried out as she dived out of the way of the deadly claws, forcing her to drop her weapon. She didn't even have time to get up before it brought down a claw onto her. "EEK!" She rolled to the side, dodging the attack. But the creature was relentless as it continued to attempt to stab at her as the huntress continuously rolled left and right, dodging the attacks. Holyshitholyshitholyshit!
"Hang on Amber!" Romero exclaimed as he dashed forward and sliced at the creature's legs. It shrieked in pain and attempted to slash at the hunter. Romero's speed and reflexes were his saving grace as he narrowly ducked under the slash. He attacked its legs again, distracting it long enough for Amber to scramble away for safety.
"Guys! I can't keep it occupied for- Woah!"
"We're coming, Romero!" His brother replied as he and Hilda began to charge up their hammers. But they needed to find a solid opening to hit the creature's head. "We need an opening!"
Eris nodded. "Got it! I'll-"
"How dare you try to kill my sister!"
Jason came barreling in, sprinting past the surprised Eris before promptly leaping onto the creature's back. "Die!" He buried his switch ax's sword form deeply into its back and began to pump energy into his blade. The creature thrashed around, attempting to shake the hunter off its back, but Jason kept a firm grip on his weapon and used his free hand to hang onto the creature's torso, all while laughing maniacally. Several seconds later, a powerful explosion erupted on the creature's back thanks to Jason's elemental discharge. The force of the explosion rocked the creature's insides, eliciting a squeal of agony from it as it collapsed onto the ground once again.
"There's your opening!" the blond-haired man grinned, jumping off.
Both hammer users immediately charged forward. "Go!" As they moved closer and closer to the creature, it raised its twin scythe claws in preparation to slash at the two hunters. But they couldn't waste this opportunity by dodging and resetting their momentum!
SHIING!
The creature let out a cry of pain as the tips of its claws were promptly sliced clean off, courtesy of Eris's absurdly sharp katana. The huntress rolled out of the way and wiped the blood off the tip of her blade. "Now!"
"HYAAAA!" Both hunters spun around and smashed their hammers onto the creature's face. It was a colossal hit as the monster staggered back from the force of the twin hammers. The impact left visible damage, with its 'crown' broken off in several spots and its mandibles completely destroyed. It let out a gurgled squeal before promptly collapsing.
"Did we…do it this time?" Amber asked hopefully.
"There's no way it would recover from that," Hilda said as the hunters cautiously approached the beast.
All of a sudden, it stirred.
Romero groaned loudly. "You have got to be shitting me!"
"How much can this think take?!"
None of them expected the creature to somehow remain alive even after all that. Unable to believe their eyes, the hunters simply stared in absolute astonishment as the wounded beast slowly got up and stared right at them. Its mandibles hung precariously off its face from a thin piece of flesh, its crown is broken off in several places and its claws missing its tips. And all hunters knew that a wounded animal is the most dangerous of all.
"Uh oh…" Rowan gulped. Before they could do anything, it let out a gurgled screech before an explosion of silk burst out from its abdomen in a multitude of directions, covering the entire area in long strings of silk. The results were devastating as all the hunters found themselves ensnared in the silk.
"Not again!" But just as they reached for their knives, the beast shot out multiple lines of string at each of the hunters. Quickly pulling the strings, the creature shot out several more lines at the structures around the area before promptly lifting all the hunters into the air. They were left helpless and dangling mid-air.
"Damn it!"
"Fuck, I can't reach my goddamn knife!"
Then to make things worse, the creature sauntered up to the hunters. It moved in front of each one, looking over them with its big reddish-purple eyes. It moved from each hunter to the next, as if determining something before finally stopping in front of Hilda. The huntress glared at it, growling and struggling to break free. The creature's eye twitched and bobbed its head from side-to-side briefly. And then, it raised a claw and punctured the huntress in the torso.
Rowan screamed.
Siegfried's side…
It was at times like this that Siegfried was grateful he wasn't wearing his heavier armor. He ducked and dodged each of her wild swings.
"You can still come home you know!" he said, narrowly dodging the blades.
"Shut up and fight me properly!"
He wanted to tell her that he couldn't, considering that she broke his sword already but he chose to keep quiet. "Rosa!"
"Shut up!" Her slashes grew wilder, making it even harder for Siegfried to dodge the blades. He hissed when a part of the blade lightly slashed his torso.
Shit. He took several quick steps back to regain his momentum, but "Rosa" leaped forward and swung her blades down. He jumped to the side and quickly swerved around to her back and wrapped an arm around her neck. She raised a hand to try to stab him with one of her blades, but he grabbed her wrist with his free hand and crushed it with a sickening crack, eliciting a pained cry from the woman as the sword dropped to the ground.
"Damn it! Rosa!"
"I said-" She turned her body around and slammed her back, or rather Siegfried against the wall. "-shut up!"
The force of the impact was enough to crack the wall. The hunter gasped in pain, feeling the bones within his body shatter from the blow. He slumped to the ground in pain, groaning. But the woman wouldn't didn't give him any breathing room as immediately after, she thrusts her blade forward, aimed at Siegfried's face.
SPLITCH!
"Damn it!"
Siegfried gritted his teeth, fighting through the pain after using his left arm as a meat shield, the blade just centimeters away from his face as blood dripped off the tip and onto his nose. He landed a hard kick to the stomach, causing her to stagger back and resetting their positions. Before she could recover, he quickly got up and tackled her to the ground, and proceeded to land blow after blow on her face with his fists.
She, however, caught one of his fists in her hands. Growling through her now shattered visor, she rapidly sat up and headbutted him. Stunned, it was Siegfried's turn to be tackled to the ground. She straddled his waist and began to strangle him with both hands. They struggled briefly before Siegfried managed to turn them over, this time with him on top. His hands wrapped around her throat, choking her back in return.
They growled savagely at each other, baring their teeth as the struggle intensified. Siegfried strengthened his hold on her throat as Rosa clawed at his face, screaming profanities through a raspy voice.
And then she gouged his left eye with her sharp nails. "AAAARGH! MY EYEEEE!" Siegfried cried out in pain, standing up and clutching his face. Red seeped through the crevices of his fingers as the hunter was left in a state of agony, dropping to his knees and writhing on the ground.
"That's what you get bastard…" Rosa said, standing up, a satisfied smirk on her face.
The hunter glared at her with one eye. He roared and swiftly turned around and charged towards her, landing a fist directly into her mouth, shattering numerous teeth. Immediately after, Rosa retaliated with a punch of her own, breaking his nose. Adrenaline coursed through their veins as they proceeded to trade vicious blows one after the other, neither side giving up.
"DAMN YOU!" A savage fist to the gut and the hunter was sent reeling back. Rosa stepped forward to follow it up with another punch, but Siegfried immediately side-stepped out of the way before landing a powerful uppercut to her jaw. The hit sent her flying upwards, before landing with a hard thud on the ground several meters away. Siegfried attempted to follow it up with an attack of his own, but he couldn't as he was stopped by the unbearable amount of pain he felt at that moment.
"S-Shit…" he muttered, coughing out blood. At the same time, Rosa shakily got up and spat out several pieces of teeth out. She wanted to attack but her body held her back as well.
Both sides just stood there, meters away from each other, panting and bloody, waiting for the moment to strike. Their emotions ran wild, a combination of rage, desperation, and above all, sadness. And then without hesitation, they charged forward at the same time in a burst of adrenaline.
"ROSAAAAA!"
"SIEGFRIIIIED!"
BAM! They each landed a punch at the same time, knocking them both onto the ground simultaneously. For several minutes, neither side got up…until Siegfried coughed and weakly pushed himself up onto his feet.
"I…I promised your sister that I…will bring you…home…" he drawled, limping towards Rosa's body. He lightly kicked her feet, "So get up…Get up Rosa!"
When she didn't move, the hunter moved crouched down closer…and stopped mid-way. His eye widened and he slowly angled his face to the right, only to see a blade impaled firmly onto his shoulder. In shock, he stumbled backward, letting out a strangled cry of pain as he attempted to pull the blade free from his shoulder.
"You…were always so gullible Sieg…" She stood up, staring right at him through her rapidly blurring vision. "Always will…and always has been…" She slowly walked towards him, one shaky step at a time, her body threatening to collapse at any moment. "Rosa… is dead. She died the moment you left us. Abandoned us, like the coward you are!"
"I may be a coward but you're worse! You people are monsters! You-" He pulled the blade free off his shoulder and walked towards her as well. "-ruined me and everyone I cared about!"
Both their hands shot out to grab each other's throats.
"You betrayed me!"
"You betrayed yourself!" he countered back. "You saw what these guys do for a living! They kill people, all for the sake of their balderdash beliefs! And yet…you stayed behind with them. Why?"
She continued to glare at him, trembling with rage and frustration. Siegfried clenched a fist and demanded she answer him again. "Tell me, Rosa! Why stay? We could have run away together!"
"Because I had no fucking choice!" She pulled a hand back and punched him square in the face before nearly stumbling in exhaustion.
"Then-" The hunter turned around and slammed a fist against her cheek. "-talk to me dammit!"
She spat out another tooth before retaliating with another punch of her own to the hunter's stomach, causing him to drop to his knees. "I…tried to escape as you did but…" She grabbed a fistful of his hair and winded up another punch. "I failed…and they punished me for it!" She struck his face one last time before falling onto her knees and panting heavily. "You…You left me…with them!"
"Hey Sieg?"
"Yeah?" The young boy looked up from his lunch, giving the girl a confused look. They were in their private lunch spot, far from the prying eyes of their fellow cultists.
"If…If we are going to escape them, promise me you'll not leave me behind."
"Leave you behind? What kind of person do you take me for?"
"Just promise me. Please."
He held her hand and squeezed reassuringly. "I promise."
"I…never intended to…" The shock of it all drained his remaining strength. He laid there, too stunned to move and still processing her words. Weakly, she climbed onto him and reached down to wrap one hand around his throat. The hunter didn't attempt to resist.
"It's too late for me now…I can't go home anymore. I belong here now…with them." Rosa grabbed the nearby blade. "How long have I waited for this moment…"
"N-No…"
The hunter could feel her body tremble. "I hate you, Siegfried. I hate you so much for betraying me. And for that…you must die." Her eyes were filled with so much anger and sorrow that the hunter couldn't find the strength to fight back. I'm so sorry Rosa…So sorry… Soon, various images began to flash before him. Images of his parents, his comrades, and all the time they had spent together. And then he saw her. The woman he couldn't help but fall in love with. The one he wished to spend the rest of his life with. He knew she would never forgive him for dying before her.
Forgive me Eris…Looks like I'll be going ahead first after all. He smiled bitterly, thinking about how she had been right that he definitely did have problems with all the women he met. Damn it…
As Rosa raised the blade high into the air, he closed his one eye and waited for the inevitable.
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Note: The Ahtal-Ka is noted to be an intelligent creature so I thought of portraying that intelligence here
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Please review!