Chapter 12: Hunter

  He walked out into the street as he scanned, training his rifle from left to right, looking for targets. Raiden called out into the darkness.

  “I know you serve the Abyss. Face me!”

  There was no immediate response. After he passed the first row of buildings, they struck. A swarm of millipedes burst out from inside the buildings, coming out of windows and doors as they shrieked and hissed, clacking their jaws as they tried to get at him.

  Raiden immediately opened fire, focusing his attention on the building on the right hand side. His aim was good. He killed most of the millipedes in one shot, aiming for their heads. A spray of gore exploded out from the first three millipedes as they were struck. His next round hit a millipede in its front section, slowing it and causing lethal damage. Raiden left it to its fate as he fired at the other millipedes, picking them off one at a time. The black ooze from their insides exploded outwards, spraying Raiden in whatever they had for blood.

  He killed the last of the millipedes on the right side when the millipedes on the left were most of the way to him. He trained his rifle back in that direction and fired. His aim was less precise as he sought to quickly take down the insects before they got to him. He fired two rounds at each creature before moving on. The millipedes writhed on the ground or died instantly as they were struck. After a few moments, a dozen of the millipedes were dead, unable to get to him before he finished them off.

  Raiden pivoted around, expecting the giant millipede to come rushing out at any moment, but it didn’t. The hissing and shrieking grew louder for a moment as the millipedes vented their frustration and anger at him for slaying fellow members of their swarm. And then the sounds ended.

  Raiden looked back at the temple. It was completely dark inside. He could hole himself up in there, but that would also leave him trapped should he need to escape. If the millipedes swarmed the entrance and he wasn’t able to take all of them out at once, it would leave him in a precarious position. He decided against it and walked forward.

  The darkness had now completely enveloped the cavern, and the only light came from his shoulder. He did a half turn just to make sure that nothing was sneaking up on him. It was clear, so Raiden pressed on into the main street as he passed a few more rows of buildings.

  The swarms of millipedes that he had fought before weren’t this tactical. They just swarmed at him. The giant millipede must be controlling the swarm somehow or communicating with them. The giant creature hadn’t shown itself. Raiden had no choice but to keep walking down the road.

  He heard more sounds and readied himself as more swarms of insects burst out from the surrounding buildings. This time, the swarms came from four buildings as they sought to completely surround him. Raiden began firing immediately.

  Zap, zap, zap, zap, rang out as he struck at the enemies in front of him. He concentrated his fire on all of the bugs coming out of the building in front of him on the left. He didn’t hold back as he burned through his mana. After killing a little more than half a dozen creatures, he charged in and kept firing. His aim while moving was atrocious, and it took him at least three shots per millipede to take them down.

  He charged forward at the remaining millipedes. He fired three rounds at the closest millipede, missing the first two shots and finally striking home with the third. It was incredibly hard for him to keep his rifle centered on the writhing millipedes as he sprinted as fast as he could. The next millipede approached, and he let off four rounds to kill it. The last two millipedes lunged for him. He fired off a quick burst, and they were obliterated, covering him in mucus as they exploded just a few feet away. He wiped his eyes and kept running, eyes shifting for the giant millipede that could strike at any moment.

  He ran around the corner of a building, ready for more millipedes to pop out. The way was clear. He sprinted down the side street, in between the buildings, and away from the main road. The horde followed. An angry hiss reverberated loudly through the temple area. The giant millipede was angry that Raiden had escaped its trap.

  Raiden smiled to himself as he spun up his mana once again and let it flow into the rifle, instilling him with confidence. Behind him, the millipedes advanced, eager to get their jaws set into his flesh. He sprinted as fast as he could, trying to gain some distance, and then slowed slightly as he did a half turn and continued firing while running. His aim was poor, but with a mass of writhing creatures behind him, it was hard for him to miss, and the millipedes began to die in droves. The first row of millipedes exploded from the shower of mana bullets, and their companions scrambled to get over their dead bodies. Raiden turned after his burst of fire and returned to his top speed as he jetted away.

  Raiden was just about to turn again to fire on the horde of millipedes behind him when a blur flew toward him from the side. The giant millipede crashed down toward him from the building above. The massive insect was just as terrifying as he remembered it, and its trajectory was straight on course for him. Time seemed to slow as he stared at its eyeless face. Its huge pincers extended wide to slice him into pieces.

  Raiden dove to the side as he turned his body, aiming his rifle at the abomination. He fired a flurry of rounds that struck the insect. He had no more than a split second to deal damage before his back slammed into the ground and the millipede’s jaws viced shut toward him. As he tumbled, he rolled to the side awkwardly. Then the millipede impacted the ground, narrowly missing him. A spray of stone and dirt flew at him. He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t just been completely skewered. His awkward tumble had saved him.

  No sooner did he have the thought than the millipede was ready to strike again. It swung the front half of its torso at him, and he was flung backwards. He flew through the air until he crashed into one of the buildings. His eyes went hazy for a second as he tried to regain lucidity. His body, badly rattled from the impact, was sluggish to respond as he dove through a window right before the millipede clamped its jaw shut just above the space that he had vacated. Raiden realized he had forgotten to close his eyes as he landed, but the shower of glass flew all around him without doing any major damage. He rolled to his feet as he scrambled inside the building. It only had a few rooms on the main floor, and Raiden scrambled out of the room he was in as he raced into the hallway. The giant millipede was hot on his heels. After a few dozen steps, he was almost to the other side of the building when the swarm of millipedes burst through the windows on that side, streaming in towards him.

  Raiden didn’t slow down. He fired his rifle straight ahead in a burst that killed two of the millipedes, and he dove through the now open window. Another millipede slammed into him as he exited, slowing his momentum. He managed to keep his feet and dove to the side once again as the giant millipede burst out of the building, blowing out the wall. It lunged at him as he sped away, clacking its jaws loudly in frustration. Raiden could feel himself getting low on mana. He spared a glance back at the giant millipede. His heart sank when he realized that the flurry of rounds that he had hit the millipede with earlier, when it dove off the building at him during their first encounter, had hardly done any damage. The carapace was scored with pockmarks, but there was no blood, which meant the rounds failed to penetrate the carapace.

  Then Raiden noticed something. The bottom third of the millipede was missing. It turned out his strategy at the lab had paid off after all. The creature must have torn off part of its body to get free. That meant that it had to be much weaker than it was before. That also meant that this thing would stop at nothing to get him.

  His mana reserves were low. He didn’t have that many more rounds before he was out completely. It was time for him to use the ace up his sleeve. He didn’t know how long Overcharge would last. The description only said that it would be for a short duration. Raiden hoped that it would be enough for him to finish the battle. If he didn’t kill the swarm before his ability ran out, he would die.

  As he was about to act, a violent wave of energy assaulted his mind. He felt like he was swimming.

  A voice entered his head.

  “Die, human. Die, die, die, die. Where is the amulet? Give it to me now.”

  Raiden pushed past the telepathic assault and focused deep down in the center of his being, trying to feel for the power of the God Splinter that he knew was there, the might of a god waiting to be awakened. As he focused, he felt the connection to his soul and the power of the God Splinter waiting for his call. The God Splinter activated, and an energy unlike anything he had ever experienced before flooded into him. His veins felt like they were on fire. His chest burned, and a newfound energy coursed through him. Raiden smiled with grim determination. The newfound mana flooding his body poured into his rifle. It roared to life. The sound was even stronger and deeper than it had been before.

  Without breaking his stride, he held the mana rifle behind him in one hand as he continued running forward.

  “The only one dying today is you.”

  Raiden pulled the trigger in rapid succession as rounds flew out. They were larger and more substantial than the bullets he had been firing previously. Their bright signature flooded the area in blue light as they ripped through the swarm of millipedes. The giant millipede hissed in pain as the rounds punctured through its carapace, and blood began to squirt out. As holes opened up on its body, it shrieked at Raiden and veered off from attacking him as it sought cover behind one of the buildings.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The swarm behind him was absolutely being decimated by his assault, and he slowed down his sprint until he finally stopped, facing the swarm head on as he fired round after round into the horde of insects, butchering them without prejudice, without hesitation. Raiden fired again and again, zap, zap, zap. As he mowed down his enemy with this weapon, the swarm still pressed forward, fearless, as it sought to rip him apart.

  When there were no more than a dozen insects left still scrambling to get at him, he flipped his rifle over his shoulder and drew his pistol and blade. The giant millipede swung from around one of the buildings again and struck at him. Caught between the smaller insects and the giant millipede, he was unable to get away unscathed.

  The giant millipede’s strike hit his sword, and his arm shook terribly. The blow pushed him back into the group of lesser millipedes, and two millipedes landed on him. One bit into his abdomen, and the other bit his ankle. He yelled as he hacked down at the millipede on his foot and then pushed off the ground. One millipede was still embedded in his side as he dodged away. His other hand hadn’t been idle, and a fully charged round from his pistol blew through the insect’s head in retribution. Its pincers fell out as it died, and he backpedaled as the remaining millipedes closed in on him. He slashed, cutting one in half, and kicked, sending another sprawling away. Two millipedes came at him from behind, and he felt the power of the God Splinter flooding mana into him, allowing him to quickly get off a pistol round as he skewered the other one with his blade, then spun around as the giant millipede struck at him again. He dodged backward and blasted a round into its face. The ball of energy from the pistol was much more powerful now that he was using the might of the God Splinter. A chunk of carapace came away from its face. As the creature screamed, Raiden used the distraction to lash out at the remaining lesser millipedes, cutting two in half and blasting apart a few more with his pistol. The remaining lesser millipedes came at him. He slashed them to pieces.

  Raiden and the giant millipede moved as one. The millipede struck at him as he dodged to the side, lifting his blade to hack at its many appendages. The blade cut through a section of its legs, and he fired off another round, hitting the millipede’s torso. It shrieked and tried to latch onto him with its many feet. Some of the appendages struck into his armor, but a few others pierced into his abdomen and his side. He felt the sharp stings as they stabbed into him. He gasped and hacked down at the legs, severing a few, and fired off another round into the underside of the millipede that was now exposed.

  Just before more appendages could latch on, the round detonated, and Raiden pulled himself free of their grip. As he staggered away, the giant millipede loomed up over him. After raising itself into the air, it came hurtling down. Instead of dodging away, Raiden stepped under the legs, into its belly, and stabbed upwards as the giant millipede came crashing down at him.

  The blade punched right through the millipede and out the other side. It shrieked and writhed, but clamped onto him with its many appendages. Some of them pierced his flesh. Raiden yelled as he charged up the mana pistol. The millipede was now wrapping itself around him, attempting to trap him. Its head dove towards him, pincers extended for a deadly strike. Raiden fired off his round, hitting the underside of the millipede, and it exploded, causing his ears to ring with a loud crack, while a spray of ooze washed over him.

  His gaze didn’t move from the millipede’s pincers as they stabbed into him, piercing through his armor a few inches. Raiden couldn’t let the horrific attack distract him, even though it was excruciating. He could already feel the millipede’s pincers closing together ever so slightly as it sought to tear the rest of the way through his armor. He fired off another round into the millipede’s underside, and it shook violently. The millipede’s grip around him loosened for just a moment until it tightened again, and the millipede clamped down its jaws once again like a vise. Raiden kept flooding mana into his pistol, pushing as much of the energy from his body into it as fast as he could. He could feel the power of the God Splinter beginning to fade.

  In that brief moment, the millipede tore into his armor just a little more. His situation had grown desperate. His sword was still stuck through the millipede. He couldn’t move it. With the weight of the millipede pressing down on him and biting him, his next shot had to deal massive damage.

  He adjusted the angle of his pistol so that it would fire lengthwise into the millipede’s chest cavity and travel up the full length of this servant of the Abyss. He shot the round off.

  The mana bullet tore through the millipede’s insides for several feet until the energy finally dissipated. The giant millipede shook uncontrollably, and Raiden was thrown from its grip as the pincers came free. He thudded against the ground a few feet away.

  Streams of ichor flooded out from the millipede as it writhed and shrieked. Raiden got to one knee, amazed that he still held his grip on his blade. The millipede rose partially into the air once again as it shrieked in its death throes and dove at him.

  Raiden felt the power of the God Splinter fading away. He charged his pistol one last time.

  The millipede dove at him, but he didn’t fire. He swung up his blade to intercept the pincers, swinging diagonally and up at the millipede. The blade caught partway into the outside of its right pincer, deflecting the pincers away from Raiden’s body. As the millipede struggled to free itself from the blade that was wedged in its pincer, Raiden looked the millipede right in its face. His expression was cold as he pulled the pistol under the millipede’s jaw.

  The millipede, realizing what was about to happen, tried to scramble away, but it was weak from all the damage it had taken. Raiden burst a round out through the top of the millipede’s head as it let out a death wail. Carapace flew everywhere as the giant millipede finally died.

  Raiden sagged to the ground as the weight of the millipede pulled him down with it. He let go of his blade and moved to the side of the millipede as it came crashing down. Absolute agony wracked his body. He could feel himself dying. He looked around, hoping that maybe he would get some type of loot or dungeon reward. But to his disappointment, nothing happened. It seemed that this wasn’t an instanced dungeon section that would reward him once it was completed.

  Raiden pulled himself to his feet as he yanked his blade free from the millipede’s pincer. He holstered his weapons as he stood there in the darkness, his light beginning to flicker as it ran low on energy. His mana was completely spent, and he didn’t have any of his own energy to recharge it. He looked down at his body and saw all the blood and wounds he had taken. He was out of bandages and didn’t have anything in his pack that would be useful.

  Not lingering any longer, he was about to turn away from the millipede when he felt a flood of energy enter him. He felt his God Splinter activating as if he were consuming some sort of energy from his surroundings. This must be what his other ability, Devour Darkness, felt like. He felt something stir within him, but to his disappointment, he was still empty of mana.

  He began to walk his way back towards the main road. His clothing was slick with his blood, and every step was laborious. He walked as fast as he could without overexerting himself and soon found himself back on the main road. His light had dimmed considerably, and it was getting harder to navigate. He followed the road and walked in the direction of the cavern wall. Arovis had said that he just needed to head straight out of the temple and that he would find the device that would take him back up to the surface. He had no reason to doubt the old man, and so he trudged onward. At this point, he was feeling lightheaded, and it was getting harder and harder to walk straight. His mana light was so dim now that he didn’t know how far away the edge of the cavern was. He noticed the light flickering on and off, but he was too drained to do anything about it. To his dismay, the light finally went out, and he was left alone in the dark. Raiden wasn’t sure which way was straight anymore, as he had no way to keep his bearings.

  He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking when he finally bumped into the smooth edge of the cavern. He waited for a second, but nothing happened. Without wasting any time, he let his hand glide along the wall as he walked to the right, hoping that he had guessed correctly, as he had no doubt veered off course in his trek in the darkness. He didn’t know how much longer he could go on. He wasn’t sure if he had the strength to head back the other direction should this way prove incorrect. His footsteps were sploshy as the insides of his boots were full of blood. One moment, he was walking along the edge of the wall, and in the next, he was on the ground inhaling dirt. After a coughing fit that hurt tremendously, he struggled back to his feet. He hadn’t even noticed the lapse in his concentration when he hit the ground. He had no clue how he was going to keep himself alive. His only thoughts were of reaching the surface.

  After walking for a few more paces, he finally heard a click and paused. A grinding sound soon followed, and a crack appeared as a golden beam of light spilled through. The crack grew larger until the opening was big enough for him to walk through, leading to a hallway.

  He stumbled for a few dozen steps along the hallway until he made his way over to a pedestal. He sat down and looked around, wondering how to activate it. This pedestal was similar to the one that was in the temple. It was well lit; however, he didn’t see anything to activate the device.

  As he gazed around blearily, he finally realized that the pedestal had been moving upwards. Sighing, he let himself lie flat on the ground as the round pedestal ascended ever upwards towards the surface; he faded in and out of consciousness. He didn’t know how long the pedestal carried him upwards.

  Eventually, he heard a soft click and managed to open one of his eyes. The device had stopped. He was on a new level. He couldn’t tell where he was. The only feature besides the pedestal was a simple hallway.

  Raiden tried to get up and slipped, as the floor was covered with his blood. He crawled off the pedestal and over to the wall, where he pulled himself up. He kept walking, and soon a pair of doors before him slid open to reveal a soft light beyond. After walking out into the soft light, the doors shut behind him. He didn’t bother looking back. There were beams of gray light descending from holes in the ceiling above, and he realized that he was in a cave. He looked around and almost stumbled, but kept his feet. Then, he noticed that the light was slightly brighter at one end of the cave. He walked in that direction. Every step was like walking through mud, but he finally painstakingly made his way out of the cave.

  A fresh gust of wind caught him. He looked up at the sky to see the darkness of the night. The stars glowed brightly, and the silhouettes of the world’s moons hung high above him, casting their gleam down to the earth below. He fell to his knees, completely spent. He could feel himself dying, not just going through the process of dying but actually dying. His consciousness was quickly fading. He had made it through that entire ordeal just to die here. He had taken out the servants of the Abyss. At least he had one more life left. He would come back to life at a respawn stone in the city. His death wouldn’t be in vain. He had gained the God Splinter; he was now Splinterbound, and he let that thought console him.

  He fell over on his side and was turned in such a way that he was able to gaze up at the dark sky above. Just before he was about to lose consciousness, a new shape appeared in his vision, one that blocked out the light of the stars. He thought that was curious. He heard the soft clink of metal as something rolled him over onto his back, and the last fleeting thoughts of his consciousness faded away, and he knew nothing more.