Chapter Nine: The Rain of Silver
The countless-limbed monstrosity, first of its invading Tide, emerged from the tunnel like a rolling devil. It tore towards the bright ray of light in a crazy frenzy that was short-lived, for in the next instant, it fell abruptly on the floor.
Impaled on its loathsome form was a silver arrow glimmering in the sunlight.
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
"Bull's-eye." The shadow yelped behind him.
"Hey. Stick to your job." With one sclera blackened, Ashnight smiled before placing another arrow on the black bowstring.
How'd he know how to kill it? Well, it seems its core was located behind one of those limbs. It was like a pulsing bump. Guess Mr. Nephilim had actually left clues. But...
He narrowed his eyes while his eyeballs danced around his sclera. Locating the specific limb before they toppled the light-reflecting black katana which meant breaking the illusion,was a treacherous race against time.
"There."
Forcibly his darkened left eye located the pulsing black bump behind the next of the monstrosity. Surprisingly, this moron seemed not to care about its fallen comrade.
"Stick to your job, freak. Watch my back. I thought I said that loudly."
He let out the arrow from the bowstring. Like lightning, it struck the horrendous creature right at its Achilles heel. It gave a loud thud before crashing on the body of another.
"How'd you know they'd be drawn to the light?"
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
"Ash... you ignoring me or what?"
He ignored the irritating distracting voice in his head. Instead, he readied another arrow at the darkness saturated with great rumblings.
"Hey... Ash? Ash?"
Veins popped on his forehead. God knows—he fuckin knows how hard he was trying not to shout at this motherfucker.
"Can't you keep quiet for a minute?"
"I did. I'm just curious, you know. You don't have to get mad. You could just say no than ignoring me. We're bros, remember?"
Damn, this bastard got a sweet tongue. He gazed forward. The silhouettes were already right at the entrance. Might not hurt summarizing everything in one breath.
"Listen. If a creature were to be kept in the dark, it would without hesitation head to the first light it sees. Why? Cause all living things are drawn to strange phenomenons." He stretched the bowstring.
"I'm from the downside, thus I'm drawn to the upworld cause it's a place different from here. Same as those monsters. That's why they headed here rather than the other darker way. Understood? Now stick to your job."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
Nether rolled his eyes before reality smacked him hard. With a great shadow that bloated the sun from the horizon emerged not one of these monstrosities as they did earlier, instead a titanic crowd of four fought out of the darkness.
"Shit, this is bad, Ash."
Fuck. He ducked as a wave of pungent black limbs slammed above him. Blindly they missed his form, then slammed at the tunnel wall before retreating.
His breath hitched. Slowly he retreated deeper into the tunnel, trying as much to escape from the close maw of one who was right affront the tunnel entrance.
Damn. He glanced at his quiver of arrows and the impaled ones right behind the black body of these fellas. He had be in too much of a hurry to have grabbed them. He looked down at his hands. He only had one arrow.
Well, I'll be damned.
"Wanna go with Plan B?"
Surprised, he tilted sideways at the shadow now shrouded by the prevailing darkness.
"Plan B? What's Plan B?"
"Run, of course. I'll scout for you."
Surely it was a tempting offer, but—he stared at his hands again. He'd even left the mallet there. The sickles too. He noticed their forms resting in the quiver, which meant he only got the silver whip.
Totally not competent enough to save his ass if he were to meet up with other of these monstrous kind.
"No." Then he drew his bowstring, much to his shadow's dismay, then with a slow breath he narrowed his eyes. He couldn't see the bump under the countless limbs threatening to reach him, which meant it was up front.
"You know you can't kill it like this." The shadow whispered.
"Why're you whispering? I'm the only one who hears you, and by the way we're fuckin communicating internally." Then Ashnight added, "I'll need you for something. Now."
Moments later, this treacherous shadow slipped away from Ashnight's armed stance. Then it traveled the darkness, merged itself within the monstrosity's shadow upfront, giving Ashnight a full front view of this creature.
He grimaced in disgust. These inherent abominations were devouring their very kind, tearing them apart in flesh and bone, while devouring the dark bubbling viscera.
"Got it. High left, under the 13th cross-sectional limb."
"I know."
Now's the main deal. He exhaled deeply again. Since the creatures had no observable eyes and nostrils, then they were bound to possess a heightened sense of feel, which meant...
He slammed his feet against the tunnel wall. This action created an intense reverberation that, true to his theory, drew the creature's attention towards him. It halted its ceremonial feast, but he'd gauged wrong at some point—the monstrosity's speed of reaction.
As it tilted to the side,it released a dense saturation of dark flesh reaching like cursed strings towards him.
"Ash!!...."
Damn. He gritted as he skid to the ground, narrowly avoiding being impaled by the ones that reached upwards, but there still existed a few that had traveled low. And unfortunate enough, a few meters from reaching him.
There were only two choices.Either He lunge upwards, saving himself but only for a short while, or stay for a clear shot. In that fleeting set of seconds, his eyes and brain synched in a perfect combination.
13th cross-sectional... 13th...
Frantically his eyes skimmed the entire body of the creature. Ten seconds. Focus, Nether. Focus.
He could see no less than a dozen gleaming claws right up his face. And as one last cold sweat dripped from his face, he found his breakthrough.
The beating bump beneath a stretched arm. Eat this, motherfucker. He let out the silver arrow, right on point, as one of these cursed stumps grazed his shoulder, while he used the bow to parry a bit of some.
Then the hurtled arrow found its place on the creature's heart, abruptly bringing its extended limbs to a halt. Quite an amount of it slammed on him, creating a much louder vibration that drew the rest of the abominations from their meal.
"Ash... you still alive?"
Urgently his shadow swept towards where he was buried under the pile of limbs.
"Ash? Come on, man. Don't die. What now happens to the reward you owe me?"
"Fuck you, man." Ashnight's voice boomed from underneath the stump before his hands tore through the pile. Moments later he had fully emerge, though not unscathed. He had a graze on his cheek and right shoulder, each bleeding quite profusely.
He staggered away from the stump towards where his impaled arrows were, but not without giving the shadow a wary glare.
Luckily the motherfucker had not buried them under its dead form
"What's with the look? You got bigger problems."
"Nah. I'm just a little thankful of the way you mourned me back there...it was quite emotional"
He grabbed a bunch of the silver arrows, placed them in between his teeth, with one on his bow. He stared at the combined silhouettes of these abominations staring straight at him—or more like facing him. It seemed others had joined the fray.
A dozen? Not good. Totally not good.
"So you running now?"
He stared at the fallen body of the monstrosity he just killed. A high vantage ground. Quite important. He climbed his way unto it, then he pulled one arrow from his mouth and placed it on the black bowstring..
Funny how he was the only thing living before these monstrosities. Right from here he could see the full light of the sun untainted by the darkness. Pure and bright.
"Listen, Shadow. We're going full offense. You know what I mean." He stared at the shadow on the wall beside him, who gave back a nod.
"I can do this all day."
Ashnight smiled at the wall. "That's cliche."
The shadow smiled back, then it tore forward towards the tide of awaiting monstrosities. He slammed his feet on the wall—not once but twice.
They responded in a barbaric hunger; they fought their way towards him, or rather he watched through Nether's eyes.
"12th diagonal. Under."
His eyes swept to the first of the tide.Before its limb could find him,his arrow did, right on point on its heart. It fell gracefully, stumbling the others. Quickly he drew another one from his teeth.
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
"10th vertical. Upper."
He released the silver streak again; like lightning it brought death upon another on Nether's command.
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
"Left, 2nd cross-sectional. Distance 3 meters." He swerved left, with desperation he shot at another, then right per Nether's next command, halting another.
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
"15th vertical upper..."
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
"4th diagonal under.."
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
Like a dominating lightning storm, his rain of arrows devoured the monstrous tide. Guided by his shadow, blinded by the light, and covered in sweat and blood,Ashnight graced upon this unholy souls, Merciless Retribution.
The burning pain in his right arm was threatening to limit the tension of his bow. He gave a tired sigh. He'd lost quite an amount of blood already.
[You have slain a Green Tier Monster: Cute Teddy.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
His weak eyes glimmered at the last of these abominations slowly trailing behind. Finally. The very last. He swung his hands to his mouth but he felt nothing.
Whadda..? His eyes followed.
Then slowly they widened in realization. He'd exhausted the arrows he took. Fuck! His heart palpitated as he stared back at the monster, which was now closing the distance fast, and its limbs faster. Some of its maw devoured the flesh of its kind as it moved.
Damn. He looked downward to see a mountain of corpses already fallen over his quiver, and his katana was far beyond reach. Unless...
"Ash!!!!.."
His eyes widened as something vast swallowed the sunlight.
In that slight moment of distraction, the monstrous form of the countless-limbed abomination found its way before its confused prey.
Like a dark moon ready to devour him whole.